the drive to the convenience store was a quiet one, not the awkward kind of quiet or the one that left unspoken words stuck in your throat. no, it was a one where neither party felt like they had to make conversation, the company was simply enough. the silence between the two was accompanied by the low volume of the radio playing some western tune taeyeon couldn't pinpoint right away, but she later recognized that it was a song by maroon 5; which one she didn't know exactly, but she hummed the melody quietly while looking out the window of the car.
taeyeon didn't usually go out to buy food with anyone, especially at this hour since she didn't like to bother anyone. typically she'd walk 20 minutes to the nearest convenience store and buy whatever it was she was craving and that was it, but now her time was shortened up to 7 minutes, she had a warm presence next to her and she felt secure knowing that she wasn't vulnerable as she was when she went alone.
she snapped out of her thoughts when her door was suddenly opened and she jumped when her head lost contact with the window she was leaning against. there was light laughter from donghae and taeyeon felt somewhat embarrassed but let out a small breathy laugh as well as she stepped out of the car.
the pair walked into the store and taeyeon shuffled toward the displays of food, her hand reaching out of the long sleeve of her jacket to reach for the food she was craving.
donghae kept close to her after he had grabbed a drink from the fridge in the back waiting for her to finish getting whatever it was she wanted.
they made light conversation and taeyeon fell quiet after a few seconds. she felt someone staring at her and she felt herself cower. it was as if someone was burning a hole though her head and she didn't even want to look up in fear of meeting a stranger's gaze.
she instinctively stepped closer to donghae and he looked at her in question when she did, but she only kept her head down as if she were inspecting a candy bar. in reality she was trying to appear unphased and trying to not freak out in the middle of a convenience store at 2 in the morning.
that'd be a whole other misunderstanding., taeyeon thought and clutched the sleeve of donghae's jacket when she dared to look up and met the gaze of the person who kept staring at her.
"you ok?"
"yeah, can we just leave?", taeyeon looked up at him and darted her eyes to the stranger who had kept their gaze on her since they stepped into the store. he caught on quickly and nodded before placing his hand on the small of her back and lead them toward the counter to pay for their things.
taeyeon felt relief wash over her entire being once she stepped out into the cold night air and got into the car. she took a deep breath and closed her eyes.
"i'm gonna have a heart attack.", she muttered quietly.
"you're gonna fight them my ass."
"ok look–"
"taeyeon chill, you didn't know this was gonna happen. i was just messing with you.", donghae said and taeyeon's mouth fell open.
"i'm gonna punch you in the face."
"you wouldn't."
"...i hate you."
"love you too."
taeyeon noticed different scenery once she looked out the window again, that and the fact that they had been driving for about 10 minutes had her conclude that he wasn't taking her back to her apartment.
"where are you taking me?"
"wow that totally doesn't sound creepy and make me seem like i kidnapped you.", taeyeon rolled her eyes at his comment and waited for him to answer her.
"i don't feel comfortable leaving you alone so i'm taking you back to my place."
"you don't even know my favorite color and you're already taking me to your place, you need to chill."
"haha very funny. and it's purple."
the rest of the car ride was spent making jokes and singing obnoxiously loud whenever a song they both knew came on the radio.
when they arrived taeyeon let out a laugh as she remembered a previous memory from their first meeting, almost 2 months ago.
"remember when you almost killed us in this very car?"
"i didn't almost kill us ok, you're over exaggerating."
"you drove on the wrong side of the road twice and almost collided into an 18 wheeler. how you didn't almost kill us right now is a miracle."
"shut up."
their bickering and laughter was heard until they set foot inside the building being more quiet and 'civilized' until the doors to the elevator closed and they ultimately let out the laughter they were holding in.
the both of them calmed down and got quiet for a few seconds before taeyeon broke the silence.
"thanks for not letting me be kidnapped or whatever."
"sure thing."
they gave each other smiles they had both grown fond of and stepped out of the elevator before donghae said something and all you heard was taeyeon's loud laughter echo through the empty hallway of the building.
