To find the number of moles, you divide mass over molar mass…

   I wrote neatly onto my notes, drawing arrows, formulas and stars everywhere as reminders and helpful hints.

   To find the number of moles, you divide Avagadro’s Constant over the number of molecules…

   Crap, what was Avagadro’s Constant?

   I bit my lip as I glanced at the clock on the wall of the library. It was a little past five, which meant that Jinyoung should’ve been arriving soon – unless, for some reason, he couldn’t come. Or didn’t want to. Flipping my bangs out of my eyes, I opened my binder with a quiet thud and began flipping through pages and pages, looking for information.

   “Actually, you’re supposed to divide the number of molecules over Avagadro’s Constant.”

   I froze, surprised to hear his voice so close – I could feel the warmth of his breath on my ear. Snapping my head to the side, I came face to face with his grin, bright and adorable. “Hey,” I smiled, relaxing. “You know Chemistry?”

   “I had to suffer an entire year of it last year and I’m still suffering it now,” he stated, pulling up a chair at the table. I noticed that rather than sitting across from me like yesterday, he sat beside me instead.

   “Oh, really now? Let’s test you: what’s Avagadro’s Constant?”

   “Easy. Six point zero two times ten to the power of twenty three.”

   “Thank you, you just saved me from looking through my binder,” I snickered, fixing my notes.

   “Wow,” he pretended to be offended. “So I’m nothing but a tool?”

   “You were always nothing but a tool,” I teased playfully.

   Jinyoung stuck out his tongue at me before peering over at my small stack of notes. “Then I guess I’ll have to do my job. Want some help? The things I’m learning aren’t that different from what you’re learning.”

   “What’re you learning?”

   “Grade 12 Chemistry.”

   Ooh, so he’s a senior, I thought to myself. It made me slightly happy that he was only a year older than me, and very happy that he wasn’t younger. “Alright, let’s see what you’ve got then. It’s a challenge.”

   Smirking up at me, Jinyoung swerved my binder in front of him, and started to explain the theories and formulas to me – ten times better than I could’ve ever thought through in my head. It occurred to me how strangely attractive he was to me when he was showing off his intellect. He seemed so confident, so sure, and he was also able to rephrase sentences which made absolutely no sense coming from my actual Chemistry teacher.

   “Of course! Does this mean I win the challenge?” He said when I complimented him on his skills.

   Smiling, I replied, “I guess just this once, yes, you win.”

   “So I should get a prize, right?”

   “That’s not fair, we never set on a prize!” I pouted.

   “We could set one right now…” He raised his eyebrow mischievously.

   “Depends, what do you want from me?” I asked warily.

   “Treat me to a latte? I have been teaching you for the past hour.”

   He was right, it was now reaching 6:30, and he had helped me write out three pages of notes, getting through half of the units I had to cover. “So you had an ulterior motive to helping me all along? So that you could use me for a free latte?” I smirked. “At least a break sounds pretty good right now…”

   Sliding out of his chair and throwing his bag over his shoulder, he grinned excitedly. “Let’s go to Starbucks?”

-----

   “Good evening, what can I get you?” said the boy behind the counter.

   Jinyoung and I looked at each other, silently asking who was going to order first.

   “Cinnamon Dolce latte, please,” we both said at the same time. I looked at him, surprised, before laughing. “Make that two,” I smiled at the cashier. I took out my wallet to pay, when Jinyoung grabbed a light hold of my wrist.

   “Hmm?” I questioned.

   “You didn’t really think I was going to make you pay, did you? C’mon, I’m at least a gentleman, if nothing more,” he said. He took out a twenty, and paid the cashier before I could react.

   “Aw, but you did win the challenge! And hey, you can be a gentleman and a tool.” I reminded him.

   “A gentlemanly tool, exactly what I’ve wanted to be my entire life.”

   “You just lost yourself a free latte and an extra couple of dollars! I’ll pay you,” I said, trying to stuff a five dollar bill into his hand. When he pushed my hands away, I tried to reach for his front pocket.

   “Yah, yah! Where do you think you’re touching? Are you a closet ert?” He teased, backing away.

   “Probably the only time I’ll ever try to give you money and you don’t take it?”I smiled, giving up. “Thank you for the latte,” I said shyly.

   “Anytime,” He grinned back. He took our cups from the cashier, and led us to a small table at the back. All I could think about was how nice his smile looked.

   “There are so many couples here,” I bit my lip, seeing all the teenage couples gush lovingly at each other. There were at least six surrounding us. “We seem so out of place.” I looked up to see Jinyoung staring at me, but he quickly shifted his gaze to the other couples.

   “Well, I guess if I ever have a girlfriend, I’d bring her out to coffee dates, too. There’s something intimate and peaceful about it.” He opened the lid of his latte to let it cool.

   “You mean…you’ve never?” I said, blowing on my latte.

   “Had a girlfriend? Yeah. Never really had the time and besides, my friends all tell me that my standards are too high.”

   “Mmm. I guess we all have our ideal types, huh?”

   “What’s yours?” He leaned forward and rested an elbow on the table. “I’m ready to gossip.”

   “It isn’t gossip if it’s about myself, dummy,” I joked. “My ideal type…” I tapped my chin thoughtfully. “A man who is sweet…hilarious…and honest.”

   “That’s no fun, those are just the normal generic answers,” He took a sip of his latte before continuing, “Be more specific.”

   “Specific? Uhm…I want somebody who will surprise me from behind, give me random hugs, and always text me. Hmm. Somebody who’ll love all of me, even my clinginess. I think I just want somebody who can make me laugh, but also be sincere if I want to talk.” I started grinning as I got slightly carried away, thinking of more and more details. “Oh! And you know how in all those dramas, the boy always chases after the girl? Yes! I want a boy like that, somebody who will chase me until the end of the world!” I pretended to faint, while Jinyoung started letting out an endless stream of chuckles. “Then when he catches me, we run off into the sunset and live happily ever after.” I clasped my hands together proudly as I finished. “How about you?”

   “Well I don’t think my ideal types will ever live up to your fantasy…” he laughed, “I think I want somebody…who understands me. My jokes, my thoughts, my values. Cheesy stuff like that.” He shrugged.

   “I don’t think it’s cheesy!” Assuming that my latte was cooled, I took a sip. “Ouch!” I cried, sticking out my tongue and fanning it. “Burned my tongue~” I whined.

   “Classic smooth move,” he said, pretending to fan me also. “Aw, poor baby, want me to kiss your boo boo?” He cooed playfully.

   “Yes mommy, I need a bandaid,” I cooed back. I smiled at how well we got along, and how easy it was to just be with him. Over the next half hour, we sat there, sipping our lattes, finding out more about each other, and exchanging endless jokes.

   There were so many times I burst out laughing at his stories – for example, how he, for some reason, had a duck target practice machine in his bedroom, and his roommates would all gather there at night to shoot toy ducks. For another example, how he and his friends came up with a “Sprout Dance,” where they all shake their butts from side to side. I almost fell off my chair when he showed me.

   “Sit down, sit, sit, sit! You’re embarrassing me,” I giggled.

   “But I gave you a private show! Be grateful!” Thankfully, he sat down anyways. “You know what?” He said as he finished up his latte.

   “Hmmm?”

   “I think we fit right in with the couples in here.”

   I widened my eyes as I turned warm. We had flirted indirectly while talking or joking around many times, but never bluntly like this. “I think we do, too.” I looked down at the table and smiled.

   Peeking up, I could see his soft smile as he was just staring at me. Clearing his throat, he stood up and swept my finished cup away. “Let’s go, _____ ~ I’ll walk you home.”

   “Oh, no! No, it’s totally okay.”

   “You did say that you wanted somebody polite, right? Do I not fit your criteria?” He joked.

   “I don’t want to bother you, and really, my mom would make a huge fuss.”

   He bit his lip as you stared mesmerizingly at his handsome features. “How about you give me your number, so I can text you? I won’t be as worried that way,” he said, not meeting my eyes.

   “What if I’d rather you worry?” I blurted before I could stop myself. Oh my – now he’s going to run away!

   I saw his eyes roam my face, pausing at my lips before smirking. “Are you trying to play hard to get?”

   “Ah, sorry, it seems to come naturally!” I winked, relieved, and walked out the door, smiling as the cool air blew around my face.

   Jinyoung stopped behind me, and I felt him grab hold of a section of my hair, smoothing it down my back. I froze, feeling extremely aware of him. I felt him brush his hand on my shoulder, then pull back. My heart thudded uncontrollable as I turned around, looking up at him.

   We stood there, just gazing at each other for a couple of seconds.

   “Since you couldn’t buy me that latte, and you won’t let me bring you home…how about you go out with me tomorrow?” He muttered. We were still standing pretty close, and I could smell his cologne. I lagged with my response – why did he have to smell so nice? Why was he so good looking?

   “S-sure,” I responded quickly. “I could meet you somewhere?” I bit my lip hopefully.

   “No – I’ll pick you up.” He said hurriedly. “I’ll text you, okay?”

   I couldn’t wipe the grin off my face if you paid me to even try. We exchanged numbers, then exchanged our goodbyes.

   “I’ll see you tomorrow, tool.” I waved as I started to leave.

   “Hey, that better not be my new nickname, or I’ll have to think up of one for you!” He smirked. Giggling, I stuck out my tongue at him and left.

   Minutes later, I felt my phone vibrate, signaling a text message.

   Jinyoung: Do you hear those footsteps behind you? Yeah, ignore them, that’s just me stalking you home. You might hear some screams – ignore those, too. Just kidding! Get home safely.

   Me: Yah, tool! I will continue calling you that forever if you don’t stop that!

   Jinyoung: I’ll think up of a nickname for you, just you wait…I’ll text you tomorrow morning.

    My heart felt as if it had grown twice its normal size, swelling up. Sighing contentedly, I swung my arms and couldn’t help adding a little skip to my walk.

   Was this what it felt like to have a crush?