"What about that person?" Scarlett pointed out the polished window of the cafe at a middle aged man in a green button up shirt that was too small for his protruding  belly and a pair of black slacks that were too long for his short frame. On his head was a thin toupee and he had a pair a of wired glasses resting at the bridge of his small nose. He was currently standing across the street waving maniacally at speeding taxi drivers who ignored him. 

 

"I've never seen him before." Yixing rested his chin on his knuckle, staring into the sea of people.

 

"Do you recognize anyone here?" Scarlett had been trying to get him to give a background story on a pedestrian by pointing out random passerbys in hopes he might comply.

 

"The girl outside that store eating an ice cream is the daughter of the shop owner and the famous lawyer you see everywhere. You know, that one on the ads at the bus stops."

 

"Really?" Scarlett stared at the girl. "How do you know?"

 

"I don't." 

 

She shot him a look. "Did you make it up."

 

He nodded, not glancing away from his view of the street.

 

"Why?"

 

"Because you would have believed anything."

 

She gave him a small harrumph. "You agreed to spend the rest of the year doing things with me. Why are we still coming to this cafe?" 

 

"I like this cafe." 

 

"Let's go hiking."

 

"I don't like hiking."

 

"Play the guitar for me."

 

"I don't have it with me."

 

"Get it."

 

"I wouldn't come back."

 

"I could go with you."

 

"No."

 

Scarlett crossed her arms and slumped down on her stool. Her red hair looked wild as ever and was a stark contrast to the gray sky outside and plain interior of the cafe. "Do you play the piano?"

 

He nodded.

 

"Can you teach me?"

 

"Why do you want to learn the piano?" Yixing spared a look at her from the corner of his eye.

 

"I've always liked the piano. I told you I wanted to learn but I never had the chance. I just like the sound." She smiled at the window and Yixing took the opportunity to study her facial features.

 

Her eyes were large and easily her best feature, but her eyelashes were too thin. She had a short nose and thin eyebrows but her lips were full. Her face was too round for the ideal Asian beauty and her ears stuck out too much. She wasn't ugly, but she wasn't beautiful. Yixing decided she was plain looking at first glance (minus her hair) but marginally pretty when you looked again. Her hair was enough to provide a completely opposite image of Yixing who took care into making himself look as dull as possible. He didn't like flashy things while Scarlett wore tights, mini skirts, graphic shirts, and combat boots when she wasn't in her school uniform.

 

"Why do you dye your hair such an unnatural color?" Yixing asked, not answering her question.

 

She looked a little thrown at the change of subject but she recovered quickly enough. "I don't know. I like it. Red is such a passionate color so I'm always jealous of those pretty women on foreign TV with bright hair colors. Don't you like it?"

 

"It's too bright." Yixing huffed and faced the window again.

 

"Why don't you dye your hair?"

 

"It is dyed. Do you think this brown is natural?"

 

"No, why don't you dye it a more shocking color? Brown is boring. Too plain for you. Be spontaneous." Scarlett grinned.

 

"Brown looks good on me." He grunted.

 

"Yeah, but why settle for that when you're still young enough to get away with wearing whatever you want with whatever hair color you choose?" 

 

"I'm not like you." Yixing said stonily.

 

Scarlett frowned. "We don't have to be alike. Dye it blonde if you want."

 

"That's not what I meant." He muttered.

 

She grinned. "I know." Hopping off the stool, she looked up at Yixing. "Come on. You promised to do fun things with me. Now you have to keep your promise."

 

Yixing gritted his teeth but slid down anyway. "Infuriating." He mumbled, but the word didn't really reach his heart. 

 

Scarlett giggled and skipped away. 

 

He followed her onto the street where the darkening clouds had yet to release the possible storm they were holding and was nearly run over by a boy on a bike. 

 

"For such a fluid dancer, you're pretty clumsy." Scarlett tsked and dragged him away. 

 

"Where are we going?" He asked, trying to keep the groan out of his voice. 

 

"If I told you, it wouldn't be very spontaneous, now would it?" 

 

"I told you I don't like being spontaneous." 

 

"And I told you, I don't care." Yixing found it slightly amazing that she could stay so patient and not give any cares to how he treated her. 

 

Though the sky was a steely gray, the air was still hot and unnaturally dry. Umbrellas were secured to the hips of many people, and shops were putting up awnings. It looked like nasty weather would be hitting them in a few hours. 

 

"Maybe we should do this another day. It looks like we're going to be rained on." Yixing frowned at the sky. He didn't particularly feel like getting caught in a storm while this psychotic girl dragged him wherever. 

 

"I don't plan on taking you somewhere outdoors." Scarlett reassured him lightly. "A little rain won't daunt me."

 

"Well, it daunts me." Yixing quickened his pace so he wouldn't lose her in the crowd. 

 

"Everything is daunting to you." 

 

"I'm a rational person." He defended himself.

 

"You're a boring person." Scarlett raised an eyebrow at him, daring him to challenge her word.

 

He huffed but didn't contradict her. He didn't feel like having the argument. 

 

"Look." She stopped walking at grinned at the building in front of them. 

 

It was a one story gaming arcade. The lights through the dusty windows were dim and a dead neon sign hung in the door. Yixing could see old fashioned arcade games lining the inside in mechanical rows. Even though it was dark, their bright colors were still noticeable. 

 

"An arcade?" He looked down at her doubtfully. "I don't think it's even open."

 

"I know the owner." Scarlett beamed at him. "He said I could come whenever I want as long as I don't hijack any of the machines for coins."

 

He thought she was joking but the serious look on her bright face said otherwise. 

 

"Why are we here?"

 

"I like to play games." She answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

 

"I have no doubt of that. Let me rephrase that: Why did you bring me here?" Yixing's eyes scanned the shady looking shop. It looked like the type of place where teenagers would come to deal drugs behind the building or have a smoke. 

 

"Because I like company while I play games." Yixing rolled his eyes at her answer but he half expected it.

 

Scarlett pounded on the glass door with a big smile and Yixing winced at the sound. More than anything he wanted to go home and maybe strum his guitar for a while before taking a nap on his lumpy bed.

 

A large man opened the door with a grin as big as Scarlett's. He had long, greasy looking hair, and his black shirt had stains darker than the fabric dotting it. Though Yixing wasn't by any means tall, he only came up to the man's shoulders. 

 

"Jia Li!" He exclaimed. His voice was ridiculously deep and raspy. From his ragged  breathing, Yixing guessed he was a chain smoker. A long term one at that. 

 

"Mr. Park!" Scarlett accepted the offered hug from the dirty looking man and Yixing restrained himself from wrinkling his nose in disdain. 

 

"Mr. Park, this is my friend, Zhang Yixing. Mind if we play some games?" 

 

Mr. Park nodded to Yixing in acknowledgement and opened the door wider for Scarlett to slip by. "Don't break my games, Jia Li." He wheezed. 

 

She sent him a sarcastic look and he held his hands up in a laugh. 

 

"How are your tests going? I heard the ol' man and missus sent you all the way to this good country for them." Mr. Park slapped a heavy hand between the girl's shoulder blades and she let out a gasp before laughing.

 

"Fine. I'm gonna go play now."

 

Yixing followed the head of fire into the arcade reluctantly. The insides held a faintly sweet scent and he decided that people probably weren't dealing illegal substances just behind the building. 

 

The floor was sticky from old soft drinks that people never bothered to clean up and hardened gum was stuck everywhere. Some pieces had turned black and were beginning to blend in with the carpeting from old age. 

 

Scarlett jammed a coin into a machine and Yixing noticed Mr. Park had left them. He watched the girl shoot at aliens for a few minutes before the faint splatter of rain could be heard on the roof and windows. 

 

He sighed. The bus stop was at least a block away. That meant he would be well soaked before he got home tonight. 

 

"Die! Die! Yes!" Scarlett's shouting jolted him back to reality and he frowned at the pixelated spaceship on the monitor.

 

"Your parents must be pretty strict about your education." Yixing leaned against a game with a jungle and a hoarde of monkeys painted onto the side.

 

"Hmm?" Scarlett tore her eyes away from the dark screen

 

"Sending you all the way to Korea just to take tests."

 

"Oh." Scarlett frowned. "Yeah." There was a pause. "I think they're just hoping I get good grades. If I get good grades, I can go home and everyone would stop worrying about my future."

 

He hummed in response, watching her shoot at alien space craft for another few minutes. 

 

A roll of thunder sounded loudly throughout the arcade and they both jumped.

 

She laughed it off while he stood silently.

 

"Do you want to play?" She offered the controls to Yixing after successfully earning a new high score.

 

"I'm not good at games."

 

"Try it. It's pretty easy."

 

He accepted the blue plastic gun with little enthusiasm and pointed it at the colorful screen. He clicked the trigger a few times and successfully managed to shoot his own spacecraft before hitting a pile of explosives and killing himself.

 

His score didn't even break the triple numbers. 

 

Yixing eyed Scarlett's score with over six zeros in it with resentment. 

 

"You really do ." She commented bluntly.

 

"I don't like games." Yixing muttered, tossing the blue controller down carelessly, causing Scarlett to wince at the harsh sound of plastic hitting another hard surface.

 

"Do you want to go home?" She asked, her expression unreadable.

 

"Yes." He pretended not to notice the disappointment in her eyes.

 

"Fine. Tomorrow, you can play the guitar for me." She smiled brightly and Yixing rolled his eyes. 

 

The rain was still a steady rhythm on the roof and they watched the droplets hit the pavement from a safe distance behind the glass.

 

Everything was grey outside. The streets were iron, the rain was steel, the sky was tin, and the people were smoke - appearing and then silently leaving before fully taking shape. Only the shadows were still a reliable black. 

 

They watched the water pour down relentlessly with doubt in their eyes. 

 

Yixing briefly weighted his desire to go home and bask in soltitude to the feeling of wet jeans and icy hair. 

 

"Are you sure you want to leave now?" Scarlett voiced his concern aloud. 

 

"I'm thinking." He replied, his eyebrows creasing.

 

"What a funny answer." Scarlett smiled to herself.

 

"I have a lot of those." He murmured. 

 

Yixing pushed on the cracked, black handle to the foggy glass door of the game shop hesitantly. 

 

A light spray of rain hit their faces in a wave and they both shivered.

 

The rain was louder now that the door had surrendered its line of defense for them. 

 

The distant sound of tires splashing through growing puddles was only the bass line to the symphony the water droplets were providing on the cold pavement. 

 

Yixing gritted his teeth and stepped into the downpour, when the freezing water immediately soaked through his light clothes. 

 

His hair was plastered to his face, and his clothes were sticking uncomfortably to his body by the time he reached the bus stop. He shook off the thick streams of water trailing down his face and held back a smile when he saw Scarlett's condition.

 

It was the first time he'd seen her look anything less than happy. A sour frown was stuck onto her face and Yixing noticed her hair, which was glued to her scalp, was much thinner than he'd originally thought. He guessed the bright color must have been her way of covering it up. 

 

Her black combat boots looked soggy and heavy and he could imagine how unpleasant they must feel. She wasn't wearing a jacket and her tee-shirt hung off of her sadly.

 

"That was fun." Scarlett remarked dryly.

 

"You look like you're dying." Yixing said, an eyebrow raised.

 

Scarlett glared at him.

 

The bus pulled up and Yixing escaped into the dark blue vehicle, hoping for a heater and groaning audibly when he was greeted with an air conditioner.

 

The driver watched Scarlett and Yixing sit down, his eyes assessing their state with a judgemental aura. 

 

Within seconds, they were both shivering violently and Yixing hoped he wouldn't catch any illnesses. 

 

The cold seeped into his skin and the hairs on his body rose. He was fighting the urge to chatter his teeth but when his jaw started cramping from the effort, he gave in and frowned at Scarlett who giggled when his teeth clacked loudly.

 

His stop arrived and he was slightly surprised when Scarlett didn't get up to follow him. Then again, he supposed even she wouldn't want to sit around in those clothes.

 

When he'd shut the door to his apartment, he ripped his wet clothes off and praised his formerly stupid decision not to buy an air conditioner. 

 

The rain still pounded on his window harshly. It provided a fast, but lazy tempo to his monotone existence, highlighting the fact there was, is, and will be life no matter how reliably his heart beat. At least for one night. 

 

 

---

 

 

A.N

As always, I love you guys' feedback.

Chapter six will be up either tomorrow or Friday. It's all written and I just need to edit it.

To the people who are frequent commenters, you guys' support is so appreciated. I don't know how to express it in words. You silent readers, I'd love your feedback but I still love you anyways. 

Here's a unicorn chewing his ice cream. (Why are you chewing your ice cream Xing I don't think that's how it works. Does that not hurt I don't understand)