#allenma

   He adjusts the strap of his backpack on his shoulder, rolling his neck in circles while groaning quietly to himself. "Damnit, if I hadn't left Hyeongjun with the scissors he wouldn't have cut all that paper and my hair." He picks on the shorter strands of the said hair with a childish pout.

   He continues grumbling useless complaints to himself, the only thing able to hear being his loud thoughts and mumbles, occasional cars passing by, and the slide of his worn-out converse against the rubble.

   Minhee recognizes the chinese takeout restaurant nearby, and is a little relieved that he's nearing his home sweet home faster than he had anticipated. Standing in front of the place was a crosswalk and a traffic light-- where a girl stood, still in her uniform as she looks around, eyes half-lidded as if she were sleepy.

Same, man.

   Minhee agrees mentally, averting his attention from you to his path in front of him. Another car passes by. Eight more seconds until you can walk on a red light.

   You move around freely in your position, a tiny childish smile gracing your lips. Seven.

Six.

   You glance at Minhee with an awkward nod to acknowledge him, a slight pump in your step as you jump your heels anxiously on the sidewalk.

Five.

   A hooded, black figure suddenly appears from around the corner, and Minhee doesn't fail to notice.

Four.

   The figure freezes before walking in a much faster pace towards your direction.

Three.

   You stop bouncing on your heel, the color from your face draining the closer he comes.

Two.

   Minhee grows weary.

One.

   A buzzing sound emits from the traffic light as it turns red, and you make a dash for it, legs sprinting towards the safest thing you could think of. And then your eyes meet Minhee's.

   "Chan? Is that you!?" You suddenly burst out, arms flying open as you make a jog towards him, brows furrowed nervously. Minhee's taken aback, "What-"

   "Oh my god, Chan!" You cut him off with a grunt, wrapping your arms around his waist tightly. He yelps, eyes widening at the a affectionate embrace. "It's been so long!"

   "Who are yo-" "Help me out, will you?"

   You hiss, head gesturing backwards. Minhee lifts his head to look across the street, a shiver running down his spine when his eyes lock with a pair of agitated ones. The hooded figure stops and stares at you two.

   "A-Ah! Hey, you! I haven't seen you in, uh, years!" Minhee says aloud, wrapping his arms around your shoulders and pulling you closer. It was like a silent agreement— shuffling away inch by inch while holding each other awkwardly.

   After a solid minute, the mysterious man-- or woman-- turns around and walks away. You could practically hear his teeth gritting.

   When he's out of sight after turning on a corner, you both let out relieved sighs, arms unwinding from yours bodies.

    "Dude," You breathe out, a small, scared smile itching on your lips. "that creep's been following me since, like, last Friday."

   "What? How lo- wait, who are you?" Minhee asks incredulously, taking a step back. You snicker at his reaction, "Well, I was just a stranger, but now I'm a stranger in your debt."

   "In my debt? Sounds a little sugarcoated— you save yourself anyways." Minhee doesn't know why he's so worked up-- he's talked to a lot of girls.

"Yeah, but you willingly played along."    "You were squeezing my chest." "I was desperate!"

He turns and starts walking, clicking his tongue and acting cool, but pauses momentarily. "Well?" He turns his head behind, shooting you an expected glance. "Are you coming?"

   It takes you five seconds to process that he's waiting for you, and you can feel blood rushing to your cheeks and the tips of your ears. "Huh? Oh, yeah." You shove your hands into your jacket's pockets, jogging to his side. "Where are you going?" Minhee shrugs, "I was waiting for the 8.40 bus, but I guess plans changed."

   There's a weird tingly feeling that starts from the ends of your toes, then creeps up your feet and legs, and then washing over from your stomach to your head overwhelmingly fast. It makes your chest weirdly tight, but you don't mind.

   It makes you pick on your hangnails unconsciously, or chew on the dead skin of your lips on the corner of your mouth. You hadn't felt like this since middle school-- you try avoiding it at all costs, but it's inevitable, right?

A crush. A tiny one. A teeny-tiny one. 

You're baffled at the loud voice, repeating those two words. A crush. A crush. A crush. A crush-

   "You know what, I think I'll take up on that 'debt'." You're snapped out of your trance, and look-- up-- at Minhee. He's already facing you, "Let me take you out."

"What?"

   "You heard me. Let me take you out." He repeats more boldly this time, puffing his chest out. But when he glances at you again, your deadpanning face bearing holes into his, his confidence dissipates into the night air, "Uh, that is if you want to, of course."

   "Oh, uh, I'd like to. I'd really like to." "...great, it's a date then."    "Yeah, it's a date."

You two walk along the sidewalk, hearts clenching in content. And then you realize-- you don't know his name. The simplest thing to ask, and you're too nervous to spit it out.

"...L/N Y/N."

"What?" Minhee hums, tilting his head. "My name's Y/N." You smile, suppressing a chuckle at the fact that you hadn't even introduced yourselves.