𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐫𝐮𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫? - 𝐓𝐌𝐑 𝐀𝐔, 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐡𝐨

008 - a treehouse sneakout

Minho

6:26 pm

Minho

Hey Ley

You

Heyy

What's up?

Minho

Do you want to come to my treehouse?

You

Oh, of course

I'll be there soon

Bye, Minho

Minho

Alr

See you, Ley

**

The sun begins to set, casting long, golden shadows across the forest floor as I climb the wooden ladder to the treehouse. I reach the top of the ladder and push myself up onto the platform, standing up as I do so. My eyes adjust to the dim candle light, the smell of lavender filling the air.

Minho is already here, sitting comfortably on one of the old, cushioned chairs. His feet are propped up on a rickety wooden table, and he has his phone in his lap; he seems to be playing a game. He looks up and grins when he sees me.

"Hey, Ley," he says casually, turning his phone off and shoving it in his pocket. "I was starting to think you'd never show up."

"You texted me like five minutes ago," I remind him, rolling my eyes, though a smile is planted on my lips.

I walk closer and sit on the other chair in his treehouse, looking out at the night time view. Lights are on in the cabins; it partly lights up the camp. The sea glistens as the stars reflect on it. The trees occasionally rustle as the breeze hits them. Overall, the view is beautiful.

"It's a nice view, isn't it?" Minho looks at me, speaking my thoughts as if he can read them.

"It really is," I respond, nodding as the wind blows into my face. It would usually annoy me, but right now it's honestly relaxing.

I glance over at Minho, my lips forming into a smile, and he returns it. I look back at the view, the sound of nature letting us fall into a comfortable silence.

The birds chirping in the distance relax me even more, and the breeze hitting the trees helps them. This is what I want my life to be like, not worrying about some stalker who watches my every move. And nobody even knows. Nobody except for me.

"Why don't you normally invite the others here?" I ask, breaking the peaceful silence. I turn to look at Minho, our eyes meeting.

He shrugs. "They don't enjoy the peace like you do," he says. "That's why I invited you."

I raise an eyebrow at him, cocking my head to the left. "How did you know I enjoy the night's silence?"

"It's in your eyes," he responds, his lips curving upwards as his dimples reappear.

I pause for a moment before speaking again. "Well, why did you want me to come today?"

"I don't know," Minho tells me. "I just wanted you to."

My face turns a shade of pink, which I hide by looking down. "Thanks for inviting me here, I really enjoy coming to your treehouse."

He chuckles slightly. "So do I."

Again, our voices fade into silence, but this time the silence isn't comfortable, nor awkward. It's just... silence.

My gaze travels to my hands, which are fiddling with some loose wood that is aparting from the treehouse. The texture is rough on my hands, though it still feels satisfying.

"You were pretty fast earlier today," he abruptly begins to speak. "It was amazing."

"You basically beat me," I remind him, smiling to myself at his compliment.

"No." He shakes his head. "We tied, remember?"

My index finger reaches my chin and I tap multiple times, looking upwards. "I can not recall us tying," I joke, continuing to grin.

"Oh, right." Minho hits his head softly, his grin mimicking mine. "How could I forget? We were last."

"Yeah, obviously." I roll my eyes as we fall into laughter.

My laugh is muffled into my legs as I lay my head in my own lap. I look up, covering my mouth with my dominant hand, and my eyes trail to Minho's face. His eyes are squinted and the dimples are more visible than I've seen before, his smile wide.

"You're extremely funny, Ley," he says in between laughs. "Has anyone ever told you that?"

"Yes," I tell him dryly. "Has anyone ever told you that your smile is cute?"

Those words were not supposed to come out of my mouth.

"Is that another one of your funny jokes?" Minho asks me, his laugh fading, but his smile staying put.

"No." I shake my head. "It's a genuine question."

"Oh." He pauses before speaking, his hand scratching the back of his neck. "Uh, no. Noone's ever told me that."

"Well it is," I blurt out, my intrusive thoughts getting the better of me.

Interrupting the awkward conversation, my phone goes off.

Tes

6:47 pm

Tes

Whitleyyyyy

Where are you?

Whit?

Answer me or else I'll eat you

Kidding

But answer me

I look up at Minho with a look as if to ask, do I say I'm here?

He nods, so I tell her.

You

At Minho's treehouse

Tes

With Minho?

You

No, I'm with Sonya

Of course I'm with Minho

Smh

Tes

Alright

See you soon

Have fun ;)

I look up at Minho. "I told Teresa I was here, by the way."

He nods. "Alright."

After a long pause, I ask, "Do you ever have the idea just to stay here?"

"Stay here?" Minho repeats. "Like... forever?"

"Yeah," I say. "Wouldn't it be nice to live without school, responsibilities, life in general?" I'm tempted to add, without stalkers, but I don't.

"I guess it does sound nice," Minho agrees, nodding. "Living here, just us."

I nod. Just us