dreaming of things

which brings you back to right now, where friends would be really amazing. or maybe a phone that wasn't dead.

'damn i need to get my shit together.'

you had seen the same guy for three blocks now. every time you would nonchalantly glance behind you, that same man in a red hoodie would be a behind you. he was pretty far away, but he was always there. you didn't want to assume he wanted to kidnap and assault you, but in today's world no one would blame you for being a little paranoid. you had no idea what to do until you saw a group of guys hanging around a street lamp in front of a shop. it was late so the shop wasn't open, but they didn't seem to care. they looked to be taking pictures and laughing.

'they seem nice enough.'

you immediately increase your pace until you're right beside one of them; a tall, black-haired man, sporting an earring and a very fashionable outfit. there were three guys in total and they all seemed to be around your age, (and very attractive.)

they immediately looked at you in confusion.

they didn't seem too weirded out though, so you took that as your chance.

"i'm so so sorry to interrupt, but i think there's a guy following me and i've been walking for a little bit because my friends were supposed to meet me but they stood me up and my phone died and i was wondering if i could stand with you because i don't know what-"

"woah woah, slow down," one of the other guys, who had (beautiful) long blonde hair and baby blue eyes, put his hands up, "you think someone's following you?" his eyebrows knit in concern and you feel your heart flutter.

"yeah, i think. he's wearing a red hoodie and black pants. i don't really know that he's following me per say, but he's been walking behind me for a while and i get kind of paranoid about this stuff." you frown because you suddenly realize you might be blowing this out of proportion.

"no, i understand. it's better to be cautious." the same boy replies with a smile that almost knocks you off your feet. you give him a shy smile in return.

"you can stay with us for a little bit if you want. at least until you feel safe enough to leave." the third boy tells you and you could've kissed him with how grateful you felt.

"thank you so much, i know this is weird, but i really appreciate it." you say honestly.

"don't thank us, you're just scared for your safety so we'd be happy to help you." the blonde boy that caught your eye says this and your heart melts.

what do they say about love at first sight?

"so i guess we should introduce ourselves," the black haired boy next to you speaks up, "my name is chris, and this is luis," he gestures to the brown haired boy in front of you who gives you a smile and wave, "and this is leon." the very nice-looking blonde boy gives a smile.

"i'm yn, it's really nice to meet you guys." you give your own smile and hope it conveys how grateful you are.

"yn," leon says almost absent-mindedly, "that's a nice name, i like it." he meets your eyes and you have to look away to try (fail) to hide your blush at the unexpected compliment.

"wait-" luis starts, "didn't you say the guy had a red hoodie and black pants?" he asks you.

"yeah, do you see him?" you don't look back, partly because you're a little scared.

"yeah, he's just standing against that wall. he’s not moving, but he keeps looking over here." luis frowns.

"oh my god-" you start to tear up. you don't mean to seem like a cry baby, but you've never been in a situation like this before and you'd be lying if you said you weren't thinking about all of the news stories you’d heard about women getting kidnapped and found dead, or worse.

you almost feel yourself spiral into a panic attack until you feel a pair of hands grab your arms.

"yn? hey, it's alright. we won't let anything happen to you, okay?" leon trains his ocean eyes on you and you can tell in that moment you couldn't be safer.

leon lets go of you and you take deep breaths to calm yourself down.

"okay, yeah— yeah, i'm sorry, it's just been a long night." you rub a hand over your forehead.

you all stand and talk for a little bit before chris notices and points out that the unknown man is starting to move towards the four of you.

"he's what? oh shit shit shit—" before you can completely go crazy, leon comes to the rescue, again.

"hey, remember what i said? we won't let anything happen to you, and i mean that. just stay back okay? let us handle him." leon moves you behind him to use his body as a shield.

you see the man stop in front of the three guys and you can tell they're all sizing him up.

"is there a problem?" leon is the one who speaks up first, his arms crossed and by his posture you can tell he's tense.

you try not to pay attention to the way his shoulder muscles strain against his jacket.

"no problem. just trying to get to that little lady right there." his words slur and he makes eye contact with you to give you a crooked smile that makes your stomach twist.

"that's too bad actually, because she doesn't want anything to do with you. so i think it's time you left and stopped bothering her." chris speaks this time, a warning in his tone.

"come on man, i just want to have some fun. she obviously wants it, look at what she's wearing. slut." you flinch at the harsh word and cave in on yourself.

leon is seething and steps towards the man aggressively, but is held back by luis.

"just get the fuck away dude, she doesn't know you and you're being a creep. leave before we call the cops." luis says in a calm, but serious tone.

the man stays silent for a second as if asking himself if it's worth the trouble. evidently it's not, because he starts to walk away.

"whatever. she's ugly anyways." he flips his middle finger up as he walks down a nearby alley way, out of sight.

"what a fucking asshole." leon says angrily, arms still crossed and posture tense.

"yeah he was a jerk, but at least he left." chris says in relief.

you don't say anything as you process what happened.

he called you a slut and then proceeded to call you ugly in the very next sentence. what was wrong with people?

you start to feel self-conscious, so you put your arms around your middle and back away from the guys a little, wanting to hide and cry forever.

leon turns around and his anger seems to melt away and is instead replaced with a look of concern.

"yn, are you okay? don't listen to anything that dick said, he was stupid." he looks you in the eyes and you can feel gentleness and care radiating off of him.

you don't say anything, opting to look sideways at the ground.

"are you cold? do you want my jacket?" leon starts to shrug off his jacket and before you can even protest, he places it around your shoulders. it dwarfs you, but you’re grateful for his kind gesture.

"thank you. i'm sorry i got you guys into that, but i'm really glad you helped me, im really lucky." you say sincerely, hoping they can hear it in your voice.

they all smile at you and you realize it's probably time for you to go home. for some reason this thought makes you sad.

"um—" you start quietly, "could someone call me an uber? my phone's dead and i don't really feel up for walking." 

"actually, is it okay if i give you a ride instead? after what happened, i'd feel better if i drove you myself." leon says while scratching his head, not making eye contact. 

he looks, nervous?

"oh, yeah, i'd appreciate that, thank you." you give him a smile and he gives you one back.

after parting with the other two guys and giving them plenty thanks for helping you, you follow leon to his car which happened to be parked right across the street.

"wow, this is your car?" you ask in disbelief. “it's so—"

"awesome?" leon interjects playfully.

"expensive." you finish.

leon lets out an airy laugh and you swear you've never heard a sweeter sound.

he opens the passenger side for you, before getting into the driver's seat.

the ride to your apartment is silent except for the radio playing softly throughout the car.

"here we are." leon puts the car in park but neither of you move.

"thank you again for tonight. i don't know what would've happened if you and your friends weren't there." you say playing with your hands, a nervous tic.

"again, don't thank me. i'm just glad we were able to help you." you look at him and see him already staring at you with a smile on his face.

you can't help but notice how beautiful he is. the way his hair is almost falling in his eyes makes you want to brush it away.

you blush and look away.

"well i guess i should leave now." you sit still.

"yeah i guess you should." he sits still.

it takes you all of 30 seconds to finally get out of the car, giving leon a goodbye and another ‘thank you’, receiving another ‘don't thank me’ in return.

you're walking away from his car to your apartment complex when you hear leon shout your name.

you turn around to see leon getting out of his car and jogging towards you.

oh shit, his jacket.

you start to take it off and utter apologizes before he stops you.

"no no, that's not what i came for." he holds out a piece of paper with what you're assuming is his phone number.

you take it in shock and look up to see him smiling down at you.

"have a good night yn." leon turns around and walks back to his car. 

just before he gets in, he turns back to you.

"and keep the jacket, it looks cuter on you anyway." he leaves.