Yixing stared through the windows some more before grabbing the door handle and entering.

The toy store was dark and not a soul was in sight.

He took his time browsing through the shelves. A depressed sock monkey glared at him from the cashier's table.

Yixing strolled deeper into the store and tapped his fingers on glass balls with carvings inside of them.

The bell in the front rang, signaling a customer had entered but Yixing ignored it.

He crouched down so he was eye level with a pair of hugging rabbits. Next to them were several other animal couples.

He stood back up and nearly jumped when his face almost collided with another.

Scarlett beamed at him. "What a coincidence! I didn't see you in the cafe today, and who would've guessed you'd be here?"

Yixing forced himself not to roll his eyes.

"Isn't fate funny like that?" Scarlett chuckled. "I work here."

Yixing nodded and bowed so she would know he was going to take his leave.

"Why weren't you at the cafe today?" She pushed on.

Yixing breathed steadily through his nostrils and subtly tried to shuffle past the persistent girl.

"You don't talk much, I guess."

Finally! He was in the clear and he began walking hurriedly to the exit when an old, brown dog intercepted him.

Yixing stared in surprise at the mangy looking mutt and it wagged its tail, panting happily at the sight of a new hand to pet it.

Hesitantly, he reached out a few fingers and the dog pushed its nose against them, encouraging Yixing to scratch its ears.

The dog was not big by any means. It came up a few centimeters short of Yixing's knee. Its dark, brown fur was clumped and dirty looking, and its muzzle and paws were graying.

Yixing crouched down and the mutt. It wasn't soft, and its fur was rather coarse to the touch.

He let a small smile quirk up one side of his lip before a now familiar voice interrupted his peace.

"That's Kyung. I found her in the park and Mr. Choi said I could keep her here as long as I fed and watered her, and took her on walks."

Yixing stood and attempted to leave the shop.

"She likes you." Scarlett beamed. "Come visit us again!"

Yixing nodded but he knew he wouldn't.

He stepped back onto the lively street and looked up at the sky. There were a few clouds littering an otherwise clear, blue ocean and the faint scent of flowers mixed with roasting meats filled the air.

Jill jogged past him a few seconds before Phil hurried past and Yixing stood still, taking in the lives of others.

He watched other people live because he couldn't. He'd long forgotten how. He wasn't entirely sure what started his downward spiral. He'd always been pretty popular in high school, his family was caring, and he had a best friend worth the world.

Now, he hadn't called LuHan or his family in years, and all other friends had slowly disappeared from his life.

People came but none stayed. All he had were the imaginary lives he created on this street.

People suggested a therapist but Yixing wasn't especially sad. He wasn't satisfied with his dull, pointless existence, but he wasn't sad.

He had a feeling he might grow to be depressed in the future when he's thirty, working a meager job, too old to dance freely, and too occupied to play his guitar. He knew he had promise, but he never had the incentive to pursue it.

People continued to pass Yixing by and he wondered if any of them looked around themselves and pondered about the lives of those they walk by.

No, Yixing wasn't sad with his life, but he was tired of it.

Yixing slung his old duffel bag over his shoulder and walked down the worn pavement that led to his university.

When he arrived, he placed himself back onto his schedule. He danced until he fell, then left and sat down at the bus stop.

Scarlett wasn't there today.

At home, he opened the refrigerator to a flickering light bulb and a carton of expired milk.

Yixing sighed. He would have to go grocery shopping.

The building below his apartment complex was a drug store so he could purchase a TV meal there.

In the drug store, Yixing spotted a yellow phone book in the sickly lights by the pay phone.

He paused before heading over to the wrinkled book. He flipped to the X's and sure enough, Xi LuHan was listed at the top of a page. He stared at the number underneath it for what seemed like an hour.

How many years had it been since he'd talked to his friend? How many years ago was it since LuHan had given up on trying to revive Yixing? Two? Three?

Yixing slammed the phone book shut, payed for his meal, and went back to his apartment.

That night, he dreamed of memories with his friends. That night, for the first time in ages, Yixing felt a little prick of misery tug at his rusty heart.

The next day, he felt too strange to skip his visit to the cafe.

Yixing pulled his stool out from underneath the table and stared blankly at the pedestrians walking on the street.

Weird emotions were playing in his heart and he didn't like it.

He missed Jill walk past, as well as Phil. He would have missed Scarlett too of it hasn't been for the fact that instead of pedaling by, backing up, and leaving, Scarlett stopped her bike before she could zoom past.

She waved at her friend, the waitress, then turned to where Yixing was sitting by the window. She gave him a big grin and waved to him too.

He stared in shock at her for a few moments.

Scarlett hopped off her bike, locked it, and entered the cafe.

She struck up a lively conversation with her friend and snuck glances at Yixing every once in a while.

Yixing turned his head back to the street.

"You're doing that thing again." A voice said by his ear.

He yanked his back so hard he was sure he'd just given himself whiplash.

"You know, staring at all those people sadly. Why do you look so sad?" Scarlett took the seat next to him.

Yixing's senses were in overdrive. His routine that he'd relied on for years to keep him going was crumbling right in front of him.

"Well? You can talk to me. I know we haven't known each other for very long but I can be pretty good listener." She smiled. Her fiery hair was unruly from the bike ride.

"We don't know each other at all." Yixing stared at the unremarkable faces.

"Sure we do. I know you use a fake name, Lay. You know my name is Jia Li. I know you attend the university near this street, and I know you play the guitar. I know-"

"How did you know I played guitar?" Yixing looked at her sharply.

"You have callouses on your fingertips." Scarlett pointed to his hands as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I noticed them when you were petting Kyung yesterday."

Yixing didn't reply.

"So why do you look so sad all the time?"

"I don't know what you mean."

"Your expression." Scarlett motioned to his face. "When I see you staring out the window, you look really sad."

"This is my face. I'm not sad."

Scarlett pursed her lips but didn't push on. "Why don't you order something? TaeUn says you always pay but you don't order anything."

Yixing guessed TaeUn was Scarlett's friend. "Force of habit."

"I really shouldn't be saying this; everyone would kill me, but most of the waitresses here have crushes on you." Scarlett grinned.

Yixing shrugged.

"What's your real name?"

"Why should it matter?"

"It does." Scarlett insisted.

"It doesn't to me."

"Well, it does to me."

Yixing opted not to answer her.

"You should try the caramel cappacino." Scarlett suggested. "This cafe is pretty famous for it and I must admit, it's to die for."

"Don't you work at the toy store?" Yixing gave her a pointed look. "You said you are responsible for feeding and watering Kyung."

"Yeah, but I already did. And I only work at the shop on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays."

Yixing sighed, deciding that the girl was probably not going to leave so he stood up, fished some bills from his pocket to slap down on the table, and exited the cafe.

He pretended not to notice Scarlett follow him after retrieving her bike.

He wondered for how long she would trail him as he walked up the university steps.

If you didn't have a membership, or if you weren't a student at the university, the rules said that you couldn't use the gym, but they hardly enforced it. Yixing hoped today would be one of the rare days they did.

When Scarlett followed him straight in and past the treadmills, Yixing confirmed that no, today was not one of the rare days that they would actually care about the rules.

He took a left past the basketball courts and passed the pool reserved for only the University's swim team.

Scarlett trailed him right into the dance studio and plopped down next to the pile he'd created of his duffel bag and his windbreaker.

He ignored her again and stared at his reflection.

He didn't care whether or not he seemed weird for staring at himself for so long. Maybe if he looked strange enough, she would leave him alone.

After a while he began dancing. He stumbled over more steps today as he wasn't used to an audience. He kept dancing even when his knees started to buckle. He'd long ago passed his usual limit on when he would stop dancing but he guessed that now someone was watching, his body unconsciously wanted to show off.

His legs felt like they were on fire and Yixing's mind blocked out any sights other than his own dancing figure in the mirrors so he almost didn't notice when his limbs finally did give up and he tumbled to the floor.

Almost immediately, Scarlett was above him asking if he was alright.

He brushed her off and limped over to his stuff where he put his windbreaker back on and left the studio.

His legs felt sore and he knew he wouldn't be able to dance tomorrow. Actually, make it a few days considering how painfully his limbs were protesting.

He plugged his iPod in and this time, steady hip-hop beats filled his ears. He'd almost forgotten about an extra presence until Scarlett sat down next to him at the bus stop.

"You're an amazing dancer." She beamed.

Yixing closed his eyes.

"But you really shouldn't push yourself like before. I thought you had had a or something." She pouted.

The bus arrived and Yixing was grateful.

Once again, Scarlett took the seat beside his and chattered about nonsensical things until his stop approached.

He stood up and was genuinely surprised when Scarlett continued to follow him.

Surely she wouldn't follow him to his apartment.

He was proved wrong when Scarlett hopped in the elevator that took him to his floor without missing a beat in her one sided conversation.

He hurried down the hall and shut the door in her face, successfully cutting off her incessant talking.

She knocked on his door and he ignored it, slumping down onto his lumpy, colored couch. He closed his eyes and willed the pain in his limbs to go away.

The knocking grew louder and he grit his teeth in frustration. For all this chick knew, he could be some e who liked luring young high school girls to his apartment to or eat or something. He couldn't understand why she wouldn't leave him alone.

"Zhang Yixing, open this door right now." He could hear the grin in her voice.

His eyes shot open and he yanked the door open.

Scarlett slipped past him into his apartment and looked around. She whistled. "Some Martha Stewart you'll never be."

"How'd you get my name?" His eyebrows creased into an irritated line.

Scarlett held up a bundle of mail. "It's written on your bills."

He grabbed the stack from her hands and threw it onto the coffee table. "Get out." He looked at her.

"I just got here." She whined.

"I don't care. Get out. What kind of person just lets themselves into somebody's apartment. Especially when they don't even know the person."

"Hey, that's the most you've said to me yet. And we've been over this before. I said I do know you. Now I know you like to dance and you have a shabby apartment too."

"Get out." He held the door open for her.

"Fine. But don't worry. I'll see you again."

Yixing rolled his eyes.

"I'll teach you how to live." With a sparkle in her eye, Scarlett slipped out of his apartment and skipped down the hallway.

Yixing was left staring at her retreating back with a dumb look on her face.

Once again, he felt a twinge of something unfamiliar pull at his heart.