“Where have you been the last couple of days???” Amber asks in a hushed tone as they stroll along the brightly colored pavement ahead of them.

 

The background noise of numerous screams from all sides of the amusement park, as well as the thrilled cheers and laughter from several people surrounds them. Not too long after Amber's birthday comes Jongdae's. And it isn't a surprise that he would choose to celebrate in such a rowdy and excitable place. Bambi is just thankful that he purposely picked the day of his birthday to visit the park (which happens to be a weekday) and not the weekend after it. God only knows the amount of human beings that would've crowded and defied her personal space.

 

“Um...work? Home?” She answers her best friend's previous inquiry casually.

 

“Excuse you. You weren't in the loft from Sunday to Monday,” Sandara sasses.

 

“I was at my parents', stalker,” Bambi counters, making a face, as her brain recalls her weekend and the events that rippled the days after.

 

Saturday was the day of Amber's big blowout of a birthday celebration, which also turned out to be the night she would never forget, thanks to her loftmate. After they were interrupted, she and Sehun had no follow-up explanation session whatsoever about what happened. She figured that they were both just in shock and that maybe they could fix it the next day. But her all too convincing instincts got the best of her as soon as the sun rose and she chose to go in hiding for a couple of days in her parents' home. She returned Tuesday afternoon, but avoided him like a plague. Now that it's Wednesday and she's running out of ideas to ignore his attempts to speak to her, she almost forgets that she also has to worry about what to or what not to tell her nosy friends.

 

“What was the occasion?” Sandara pries.

 

“Nothing. I just felt like it.” Bambi shrugs with an unreadable expression.

 

“Hey Bambs, can I talk to you for a sec?” Sehun suddenly whispers next to her just as the girls fall in line for the swing carousel.

 

“Maybe later? We practically live in the same apartment, don't we?” Bambi retorts in a snippy tone.

 

“I just...” He hesitates for a moment before giving up, “Okay, fine.”

 

Silence then surrounds the three girls that remain as Sehun gets back to the guys' 'watching' spot nearby. Jongdae is strangely nowhere to be found and Kyungsoo is just peering at them with his arms crossed over his chest.

 

“Is there something going on between you two????” Amber questions, a bit shaken by what she just witnessed.

 

“Nothing. Should there be anything? Because there's none at all whatsoever,” Bambi replies in one breath while avoiding her gaze.

 

Amber narrows her eyes at her and then looks at Sandara. “There is definitely something.”

 

“Was it Saturday?” The oldest one offers.

 

Bambi momentarily freezes, her heart skipping a beat. “What about Saturday?”

 

“You guys were out on the ing street doing God only knows what,” Sandara responds in the most condescending tone possible as she snickers, “Did you finally hook up?”

 

Bambi nearly chokes on the mint candy she's been eating for the last few minutes and coughs, “Don't be ridiculous.”

 

“Second base then?”

 

“NO!”

 

“First?” Sandara makes a face at her own remark. “Man, he moves slow.”

 

“NO. Okay? None. Nothing happened,” Bambi snaps annoyed.

 

“I still find that hard to believe,” Amber says unconvinced and reasons, “I mean, I wouldn't go as far as the theory of hooking up but...absolutely NOTHING? Zilch? I don't think so.”

 

Bambi attempts to intimdate her by sending the most intense stare she can muster.

 

Amber remains unfazed and slowly asks, “Did he... almost...?”

 

Bambi offers no reply and continues to glower at her best friend.

 

“Whoa, whoa, you guys!! Time to pop the champagne!!” Jongdae exclaims happily as he joins them with the rest of the guys.

 

“Where the hell did THAT come from?!” Kyungsoo protests with a bewildered expression on his face. “You literally said that you just wanted to talk to the girls before they rode!”

 

As the crowd grows inconvenienced by Jongdae's sudden intrusion, Sehun quietly explains to those near them that they aren't cutting the line. They're simply fulfilling the birthday boy's wishes and that they'll be gone before they even realize.

 

“I have a friend who works here.” Jongdae shrugs nonchalantly and gives the bottle a couple of shakes.

 

“Ooohhh! Sneaky sneak!” Sandara giggles, gazing at him in anticipation.

 

The cork then flies out from the bottle and fizzy bubbles spill out all at once; which earns numerous complaints from the people around them.

***

Even if the gang did cause quite a ruckus with the champagne (which almost got them kicked out as well), everything from that point on went smoothly. Jongdae behaved himself just as much as Sandara, and the rest couldn't help but crack up at the sight. Granted that they still fooled around like a couple of hooligans, it was still a bit of a downgrade compared to their usual behavior. They did enjoy the feeling of sneaking around though and according to Sandara, it was way more 'badass' than any of their wild activities combined.

 

While all that occurred, Sehun tried to find any opportunity to talk to Bambi in private. The only reason he gave her space that same night they almost kissed was because he didn't want to shock her any further. Having known her for more than a year, he's well aware that she needed the time to let all of what happened sink into her system. But then the next day, she was gone. And also the day after that. What else was he supposed to think? At this point, he's already passed the point of desperation.

 

His guts told him that he scared her away and she most likely doesn't feel the same as he does. But deep down, he was hoping for the opposite; even if the former theory is more plausible. He just needed one moment alone with her. That's all it's going to take for him to finally deal with his feelings properly. No bull, no kissing, no hinting. Just a plain, flat out, blatant confession.

 

And as they both enter their loft after a long day of being dragged to every possible ride in the amusement park by Jongdae, Sehun decides that this is the exact opening he's been waiting for.

 

He merely watches Bambi with caution as she cleans up a couple of plates and utensils he's left on the table since breakfast and heads to the sink to wash it.

 

“Hi,” He greets shortly from the kitchen counter as his eyes stay glued to her every move.

 

“Hi,” She greets back, not even giving him one glance.

 

“I haven't seen you in days. Are you okay?” He asks in hesitation as his mind shoots an even more profound question. Are we?

 

“Yeah. I'm fine,” Bambi answers, concentrating on the dirty dishes in front of her.

 

“You haven't been avoiding me, have you?”

 

She stops whatever she's doing at first, but continues after a brief mental debate and chooses not to respond.

 

“So, I was right...”

 

She sighs and wraps up her washing after a few minutes. “I'm tired. Let's just call it a night, okay?”

 

“You're not making it easy for me, you know?” He softly states.

 

“Ugh. Sehun!” She finally faces him with an annoyed expression.

 

“And I don't mean just today or the other night,” He adds while gazing at her with sincerity.

 

“What?”

 

“Look, Bambi.” He gulps nervously and continues, “I...really like you. I have for awhile, in case you haven't noticed already. You drive me crazy. Like bat crazy and I can't stop thinking about you and just being with you and--”

 

“You don't like me,” She cuts him off harshly, “You like the chase. You like the fact that I'm not fawning over you like every other girl that meets your eye. You like that I want to keep being friends with you and that's it. Because I'm a 'challenge' or whatever the society's decided to call a girl like me. You don't like ME, Sehun. Stop thinking with your for once. This is exactly why I set that strictly platonic rule in the first place.”

 

“You done?” He scoffs, “It's my turn now, right?” With a hurt expression, he counters, “First of all, who told you that you can dictate whatever it is I'm feeling???? And about you for that matter. You think I'm thinking with my ? If I was, I would've tried to have with you the minute we met. But I didn't. Because I didn't want to do that to you.”

 

“Please. I set the ground rules before your can even twitch at the thought of ing me,” She argues with an unimpressed eye-roll.

 

“Even if you didn't, I wouldn't have tried,” He reasons, wanting to stop their heated exchange from turning into a fight.

 

“Why? Because you thought I was different?!” She explodes in a high octave, “That's like the third most common line in the 'how to woe dumb women' book.”

 

Sehun feels his jaw clench at her sudden outburst and though he tries his best not to stoop to her level, he couldn't help but snap, “You know what? You're right. You must be ing dumb.”

 

Bambi lets out a sarcastic chuckle. “At least I don't use as a defense mechanism.”

 

“Well, at least, I'm not a hypocrite about my defense mechanism,” He blurts out.

 

A chilling silence then takes over the room as they continue to glare at each other; she, with utmost disdain and he, slowly turning into regret.

 

“What did you say?” She finally questions.

 

He avoids her eyes and mumbles, “Nothing. I didn't--”

 

“What THE did you say?” She asks again in a much more livid tone, not wanting to hear any excuses.

 

He chooses not to reply as the air fills with silence once more.

 

“WHAT THE DID YOU SAY?! SAY IT AGAIN!!!! SAY IT AGAIN IF YOU EVEN HAVE THE ING BALLS TO!” She screams at the top of her lungs.

 

“I don't need this ,” He mutters under his breath as his feet lead him to the front door.

 

“Oh yeah, just walk away. BRAVO. SO MUCH LIKE THE OH SEHUN EVERYONE KNOWS WELL AND LOVES. WHY DON'T YOU ONE OF YOUR S ON YOUR WAY OUT TO FILL THAT ING VOID INSIDE THAT ORGAN IN YOUR BODY YOU CALL A HEART. THAT IS, IF YOU EVEN HAVE ONE!!!”

 

And with that final shout, he slams the door behind him; leaving Bambi all alone in the loft with nothing but anger surging inside of her. It takes awhile before she tears her eyes away from the front door and steadies her breathing.

 

When she enters the safety of her own bedroom, her body and mind finally let go. She silently sobs into balled fists as her knees give in. Remaining in the same position, she sits there, not knowing what exactly is making her cry in so much despair.

 

It then dawns on her when she looks at her door.

 

No longer is it because of Aaron. Her tears are all for Sehun.

 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

AN: 

Two chapters this week, because I don't want to be crucified for the brief drama/angst I've just created between Bambi and Sehun. If you understand WHY this happened, thank you and I adore you. If you don't.... um... okay then. To each their own hahahaha. Anyway, carry on. There's still a 30th chapter waiting for you~ :) Hint: I'm not one to prolong angst unless I think it's necessary.