Your plan.

            The first stage was simple, surprise him. More specifically surprise him enough to get him to talk to you. Whether it was a ‘what the ’ or ‘get out of my way’ you didn’t care. The content didn’t matter.  As long as he acknowledged your existence.

            Two: Engage him in prolonged conversation. This would make it even harder for him to ignore you in the future

            Step Three was to propose the idea.

            You knew that Woozi hated girls, and that was partly the reason why he was taking such extreme measures to ignore you. So, the only logical reason to fix this was to get him to either change his viewpoint about women (his arrogance ruled out this option.) or to get him to no longer see you as a woman.

            You also knew that Woozi would never hit a woman.

            Step four: get in a physical fight with Woozi.

            This seemed crazy, you knew it. But if Woozi was able to hit you, then it would be a good thing.

            The story that Hoshi told you about Woozi and one of his friends made everything click together.

Hoshi had told you that Woozi, no matter how heartless he seemed, had a kind of strange respect for those who had enough guts to hit him. One of Woozi’s best friends, Coups (Hoshi refused to tell you his real name, like always) became his best friend after a fight.

            Apparently, in the High School that they all went to together, no one had the nerve to so much as talk trash about Woozi. Woozi had never really fought anyone in the school. But this was just because no one had the nerve to. Woozi, when in a confrontation, would often offer the person to fight him. No one had ever taken the offer. Y

But then there was a new kid, Coups.  From the moment Coups came into the High School, he immediately challenged Woozi’s stance as the class ‘badass’ (Hoshi’s words not yours). Woozi and Coups used to heads almost every day. Coups was the first one to offer a fight. Of course, Woozi agreed.

            No one really knew who won, to this day neither one of them would tell you. All anyone knew is that after the big fight, Hoshi saw them at a restaurant, both equally bloody and broken, and talking casually over an appetizer sampler they were sharing.

            This whole story was very telling.

            So this was your tactic. If you could get Woozi to punch you. Not only would you gain his respect but he would have no choice not to think of you as a woman. His pride, Hoshi told you, wouldn’t allow it. He would rather admit that you weren’t a woman, than admit that he hit one.

            So when you did hit him, you made sure it was not some feeble attempt. You threw your entire body weight into it. You hit him in the side of his jaw. His head snapped back and he stumbled back a bit.

            You immediately felt pain in your knuckles. You had never hit someone before, but you never imagined that it would hurt the person who was doing the hitting. Great. Now both of your hands hurt.

            He stayed there for a good few seconds. Completely frozen, his whole back hunched and facing you. His head still snapped in the other direction, his face hidden.

Then he ly his face to you.

            . Was the only thing that went through your mind.

            His face was absolutely murderous. His eyes were wide with furry, his mouth pursed in a kind of silent, deadly, rage. His face was starting to turn red now, his hands clenched into fists at his sides.

            You had to stop yourself from instinctively taking a step back.

            And you immediately regretted throwing the punch.

            In that moment, you realized your flaw in your plan. You had been thinking about it logically but your forgot to factor in, that the other person in your equation was not logical. He was ticking time bomb of emotion, the main of which was rage.

            “WHAT THE ?” He yelled at you, his nostrils flaring. He was squeezing his fists together so tightly that his whole arms were shaking. He turned to you and took one swift stride. You were barely a foot away from each other.

            You opened your mouth to explain but no sound came out.

            It happened in a moment.

            He spread his feet shoulder-width apart and turned to you. His brought both tight fist vertically to his chests. His right elbow swung back and he propelled his fist in your direction.

            You didn’t move, you didn’t flinch. You stood there waiting, for what seemed to be minutes, watching his hand get closer to your face.

            And then his hand, that was inches from your face, swung before it could hit you.

            You looked at him, his face was still furious. “That was a warning.” He said, the danger in his voice evident.

            He didn’t punch you.

            “WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?” He yelled again, touching his cheek where you hit him. He got closer to you now, you could feel the spit of his heated words, on your face.

            “I don’t-“ But you couldn’t think anything. You had been so sure that Woozi would hit you. “Aren’t you going to hit me back?”

            “I don’t hit girls.” He leaned his head back ever so slightly. He was confused, but the anger was still there. “Why do you want me to?” He threatened. You noticed that he still hadn’t moved out of attack formation.

            His shoulders were rolled back, his feet still apart. And his right elbow was bent ever so slightly back. Just enough that, a quick whack by him would take milliseconds. You swallowed.

            You were tempted to provoke him. In fact, you opened your mouth to but air just came out.

            Analyze the situation. Clam down.

            Woozi was obviously hesitating hitting you. He was logical. He had just proven that logic rules over emotions by not socking you in the face. But he looked at if he was on the breaking point. His logical side seemed limited. You knew if you were to provoke him, he would break.

            “You couldn’t hit me if you wanted to.” You scoffed, trying to sound pompous. You leaned into him in a threatening manner.

            “Believe me, I do.” He sent you a dark look. , he looks like he really wants to punch you. “So, Don’t tempt me-“

            All fear went away. You had to do this, for Hoshi. “What if I am? I don’t even think you can throw a proper punch.” You provoked him

            “Like your one to talk.” He scoffed, he puffed out his chest, “Was that your first time punching someone?”

            “And if it was?” You said, feeling your face go red.

            “I would be impressed.” He said. The words implied a compliment but his tone implied otherwise.

He was struggling to control his breathing. He was trying to calm himself down. His anger was just building up inside of him, without having a proper outlet to let it out.

            “Is that a compliment?” You said, very confused.

            “Stop talking.” He ordered, his fists were shaking. “You are one more second away from being seriously punched in the face.” His rage was building. “Your voice irritates me” He added more to himself than to you. He took a step back from you and ran pulled at his hair, a bit too roughly.

            “But-” And before you could finish he picked up your backpack and threw it across the room with force. It hit the wall high up with a loud bang that shook the room.

            “I told you to stop talking.” You couldn’t tell if it was a warning or a order. A fire was burning underneath his eyes

            You felt yourself get angry too, now. Punching you were okay with. Insults you could take. But one thing that you did not from anyone was orders. Especially, if it was by some ist .

            “My stuff-“ you said angrily. Pointing at it. “Why did you do that?”

            He was breathing in heavier now. It was as almost as if he was in the stages right before becoming the Hulk. You know you should stop, but you were too curious.

            “You PUNCHED ME!” He yelled.

            “THEN PUNCH ME BACK.” You yelled back at him.

            “I TOLD YOU-“ He yelled, and said in a constricted voice, “I don’t hit- GOD DAMNIT”

            His fuse had broken. He ran past you, pushing you out of the way as he did so. He ran over to the table, took one chair and threw it across the room. The metal chair made vibrating sound when it hit the floor. He punched the table and let out a yell.

            “WHAT GAME ARE YOU PLAYING?” he yelled. It only took two strides, and there he was, grabbing you by both of your shoulders and shaking you violently.

            Instinctively, you pushed him away. He stumbled back a bit before running past you. As he did so,  he purposefully knocked you down. “Get the out of here.”

            This surprised you. The rage made his voice tremble, but his eyes were pleading you to go.

He ran to your room and you heard yells and the sounds of various things being thrown around.

            Conclusion: Woozi can’t control his anger

            Conclusion: However, Woozi can control how he outlets that anger.

            You got out your phone.

            “Joshua?” You said, “Yea, its me. Are you free right now”

            You waited for Joshua outside of your apartment. You took Woozi’s advice and got out of there as soon as Joshua said he was on his way.

            You were sitting on the steps for a few minutes before a black car pulled up. The windows rolled down and Joshua smiled at you.

            “Get in.” He yelled.

            So you did. “Hello.” You greeted him.

            “Woah,” He said taking one look at you, “What’s up?” He looked concerned. Apparently you weren’t as good of an actor as you thought.

           “It’s nothing,” You said, “Just wanted to hang out.”

“Well, you are lucky it’s my day off.” He smiled at you. He was wearing his hipster glasses along with a  slouching beanie, his dark bangs showing ever so slighting from underneath. He wore a red plaid button up shirt that was buttoned up to the very top button, and what looked like handmade bracelets on both of his wrists. He had on worn-looking skinny jeans and tan working boots on. His left ear was pierced twice, once in the normal earring position and the other on the cartilage. He looked like a true hipster

But he looked good.

You looked down at yourself, suddenly feeling self-conscious. You were wearing your old running tennis shoes that had at one point looked cool because of their vibrant colors. But the colors were dulled by the amount of dirt and mud covering them. It was obvious that your jeans were old. They were extremely tight  on you and exposed at least three inches of your ankle. The plain white t-shirt didn’t help either.

           “Where do you want to go?” He asked.

           “I didn’t really think about it.” You admitted to him, giving him a wary smile.

           He just smiled back at you, “That’s okay, uhh, I know this really good coffee shop across the way from the guitar store.” He said while putting the car in drive, and pulling out of the apartment complex’s parking lot.

           “The one with all those books on the wall? I love that place.” You said, “I love to go there and draw when I need to chill.”

           “Then it seems like the perfect place for you.” He winked at you, and you gave him a confused look. “Oh come on,” He rolled his eyes, and gave you a bored expression. “I know a post-Woozi fight face when I see one.”

           “Is it that obvious?”

           “Well, you were sitting out on the curb waiting for me, so obviously you didn’t want to be inside. Also-“ He coughed. “Woozi sent me a text right before I picked you up.”

           “He did? About what?”

           This time Joshua’s kind demeanor shifted. “Well someone told him that I told someone things about Woozi.”

           You groaned and remembered Woozi’s rage when you mentioned Joshua. “How do you know Joshua? What did he tell you?”

           “I am so sorry.” You pleaded, not wanting to mess up this friendship before it even began. “It just slipped out and I didn’t know what to do. Woozi was fuming and I was defensive. Thing were crazy. You know how he gets. I mean you probably know seeing as you lived with him. But I know you told me that you didn’t exactly room with him. I remember you told me that. I remember most things that you tell me. But I don’t remember only just what you tell me because that would be awkward. I remember things that all people tell me because I have a good memory, you see. Well not exactly, once in fifth grade I-“ You said this all rapidly in one breath. The sound of Joshua’s laugh, thankfully, stopped you before you could say anything further.

           “Take a breath, dude!” The smile re his face. “I was just giving you a hard time. But that was entertaining. Remind me be hard on you again.”

           You couldn’t help at snort at his last sentence. ‘Be hard on you again.’ You looked at him, and he looked happily oblivious to you why you were laughing.

           You kept replaying that last sentence in your head and you couldn’t stop laughing. You began laughing so hard that you were snorting an ugly laugh. The closest comparison would be pig noises. When you kept laughing he got confused.

           “Wait, what’s so funny?” He asked, wide eyed.

           “’B-b h-h-hard-“ You  were laughing so hard that you could hardly finish the sentence. “-on m-me.”

           He looked confused for a moment, “Wait, I don’t under-“Then he gasped, and turned to look at you. An expression that was somewhat a mixture of scolding and shock. “Dirty mind! You have a dirty mind!” He yelled, with flushed cheeks.

           “That is not at all what I meant!” He said in a scolding tone, which made you laugh more. “Dirty mind! I would’ve never thought that your mind dwelled in the gutter.”

           “Admit It, that was funny.”

           You could see him repressing a smile. “Whatever, I don’t care.”

           “Tell your face that.” You poked his cheek. “You're blushing.”

           “Of course I’m blushing!” He said bluntly, his face finally cracking a smile. “You just made a ual innuendo about me, in my presence!”

           “Technically speaking, I’m not the one who said it.”

           With his non driving hand he shoved your shoulder playfully, “You added context! You shoved him back.

           “Stop messing with the driver!” He said, trying to fend off your hand with his own.

The whole car ride was like this. Talking and joking like old friends. The laughs and smiles never faded the whole way. You got that warm feeling in your chest, again.  The fact that Joshua was your friend made you very happy.

Honestly, you didn’t really have any friends. So that fact that you made one, on your own, made it easier to smile.

 When you got to the coffee shop, you could see how it fit Joshua’s style. It was an old building, with old redish- brown bricks exposed, with warm dark wooded floors. Bookcases covered nearly every inch of the walls. Not all of the books were on the shelves, but scattered throughout the coffee shop. There were piles of unorganized books next to the fat oversized armchairs.  A dim lighting filled the back of the shop with hanging lights.

           Joshua ordered earl grey tea. He said he didn’t like coffee and was surprised when you said you also didn’t like it either.

           You appreciated that fact that Joshua didn’t try to pay for your drink. You somewhat hated it when your guy friends tried to do that.

           You found a pair of armchairs in the front by the windows. The armchairs where so big that you could sit cross-legged and still not touch either side: which is what you did.

           “So what happened with Woozi this time?” Joshua said, cutting to the chase.

           “Well, I’m pretty sure that Woozi is in my room at this very moment destroying all my possessions.”

           Joshua looked out the window to watch the people on the street as he sipped, “What? If you want me to stop him-”He started reaching for his phone.

           You stopped him, “No, no, no. That’s not really necessary. To be honest I kinda deserve it”

           “Don’t say that. He overreacts to the simplest of things”

           “No, I mean like I really deserved it.”

           “What did you do? Accidently rip his music sheets?” He cracked a smile and took a sip of his tea

 “I punched him.” You blurted. And Joshua chocked on his tea in a coughing fit.

 “Y-y-you w-what?” He coughed. His wide eyes looking completely dumbfounded.

“Yea.” You found it hard to make eye contact with him

           “Wait. You punched  him? You punched Woozi? Like you took your fist and physically hit him?” He still was in shock. You remembered that Woozi had Joshua had been friends for years. You really didn’t want Joshua to be upset with you.

           You just nodded silently.

           “Are you hurt? Did he hit you back?” Joshua asked you quickly, scanning your body for any signs of injury.

           His concern caught you off guard, “Um, no actually.”

           Joshua let out a sigh of relief.

           “Shouldn’t you be angry or something? I mean I did punch your friend in the face.”

           “Oh, don’t get me wrong. He is one of my best friends but I can totally understand why literally anyone would punch him. He can be a jerk sometimes. What did he say to make you so upset?”

           “Well, he didn’t really say anything. In fact, I was calm throughout the whole conversation. He was the one that was angry.”

           “Why did you punch him then?”

           You explained the whole four step plan to him and you explained your whole thought process. You told him how Hoshi’s story about Coups influenced this. And told him step by step what you planned to happen, and followed it with a step by step of what actually happened. Joshua listened in a vivid interest.

           “I can see how it didn’t work.” He said after you finished and sat back in the chair. He had been leaning forward on his toes the whole time you were telling your story that you imagined his back hurt. “I forgot that Woozi doesn’t hit girls.”

           “I thought he would! And then we could be civil.” You said in frustration. “But I think I just made things worse.”

           “Sounds like it.” He took another sip of his tea. “Give him some space, he should go back to ignoring you.”

           “But I wanted to stop that in the first place.”

           “You punched him.  Just be glad that he didn’t do the same.”

I thought that I shouldn't leave you with a cliff hanger since I did that last time.

AND OH MY GOSH, so many people commented on the last chapter that i got so happy! I'm glad you guys had a strong reaction to it. I've been planning the later chapters and I can't wait to you guys to read what's coming up. ITS KILLING ME KEEPING IT TO MYSELF. 

Brief Coups came in this chapter and he will make a future appearance. If you guys haven't noticed yet, all SEVENTEEN were all friends in High School. 

Working on the next chapter as we speak. Teaser: Woozi is a lot smarter than he looks.... :)

[P.S. I'm trying to create a more interesting description. Anyone want to help me? Shoot me a message :) PWEASE ]