[Her]

"I'm Jieun. Kim Jieun. What's your name?"

I gave a sideward glance at the girl that sat beside me. Her large orbs gazed at me, and her pink, plump lips stretched into an eager smile on her almond-shaped face. My eyes flitted upwards and her chestnut-brown hair glistened under the artificial light of the auditorium lamps. A stray strand of hair flopped over her eyes and she blew at it but it still came back down.

A snicker escaped my lips before I could stop it.

"You laughed!" The girl's face edged close to mine, and I could make out the colour of her irises. Hazelnut-brown.

"I wouldn't call that a laugh." I muttered and turned my attention to the stage, where a balding man with grey hair stood. "It's a snicker."

"Whatever it's called, psh." She rolled her eyes. "Now tell me, what's your name? I have this strong feeling bubbling within me that we'll be two peas in a pod."

Her hands reached over and gripped mine. Her smile dazzled me and for a moment, I thought my eyes were burning from all the ‘light’ that emanated from her.

She’s so bright.

I hate ‘bright’ people.

I pulled my hands out of her grasp and my lips curled in distaste.

“Please don’t go round holding strangers’ hands, thank you very much.” The heavy displeasement in my tone surprised me, but I kept my face straight and looked away. “Some of us have cleanliness issues.”

“Oh.” The disappointment in her words was apparent, and an awkward silence fell between us. From the corners of my eyes, I see her placing her hands back on her lap as she turned back to the front. Her lower lip was slightly pushed forward into a small pout and her eyes were downcast.

Was I too... harsh?

When I saw that that her eyes darted up, I quickly averted my gaze and refocused my attention on the man that still stood on the stage.

Don’t be stupid, girl. Don’t soften; don’t fall for human tricks. You don’t need friends.

You only need yourself.

“I believe I have spoken enough.” The balding man on stage chortled and an awkward silence hung in the auditorium where the w