peach starbursts ━━ h.hj + k.sm

2.3

first person pov 5 - Hyunjin

He's waiting outside my house as I walk out, we're finally able to walk together. And while it hasn't actually been that long since we last walked to the bus stop together, we've seen each other so much elsewhere during that time that the dynamic is completely different.

He's so much more familiar with me, we can talk and laugh without feeling like we're being judged.

He's talkative this morning, a new side to him that I hadn't experienced yet. It's absolutely wonderful.

He's telling some story about a friend, someone his parents forced him to hang out with a long time ago, and he's laughing so hard he can barely tell it. As far as I can tell, they were like five at the time and the girl had a massive crush on him.

"It was borderline creepy, you know? She literally followed me around. And, to be fair, there wasn't much else to do when our parents got together, but she asked to come over all the time. I remember hiding on the top shelf of the closet until she went crying to my mother that she couldn't find me, but she never seemed to remember that I was always hiding there. Our parents thought it was adorable, of course, and I always got in trouble for hiding. I think that was when I first realized that I don't like girls."

I almost choke as he finishes his last sentence.

Is he saying what I think he's saying? He says it so casually, it can't be. Maybe he just means he doesn't like them as in he just doesn't like spending time with them.

Can that mean the same thing?

I'm deep into my train of thought when I see him look over at me, his eyebrows drawn together.

"What?" I say, and he laughs.

"Well we certainly switched roles didn't we. I was asking if you had any stories like that."

"Oh," I say, trying to remember the story he was just telling me, "yeah maybe. I can't think of any right now," I say, and it sounds evasive even to me.

He doesn't seem to pick up on it.

"Well think about it on the bus, okay? Are you walking home at the usual time tonight?"

"Yeah, yes," I say, glad that we've reached the bus stop. My brain can't process anything right now, I'm still trying to figure out what he meant. I wouldn't be able to bring up a childhood story if I'd tried.

"Okay!" he chirps, his happiness is contagious, "See you then."

"See you then," I say, but he already has his headphones in, walking onto the bus.

And then suddenly I'm smiling, grinning from ear to ear. He's like a happy pill, he makes me so happy I'm jittery. Nervous.

This has never happened to me before.

The bus stop in front of me, startling me out of my train of thought.

I put in my headphones as I find a seat, still smiling.

・━━━━━━━━・

I'm antsy on the bus ride home, playing with my rings and shifting in my seat. I can't wait to see him.

I was thinking about what he said all day, trying to recall how he said it. I've thought about every possible meaning at least six times, and I finally came to the realization that there's only one way to find out what he really meant.

He's waiting for me as I get off the bus, standing against in the same position he was standing this morning.

I can't help but smile. I haven't stopped smiling all day, all I can do is think about him.