The rest of the practice finished up. Because Kai and Lay would be waiting around longer to practice more, everyone left, not wanting to wait around. 

   "So, where do you want to head first? The nearest soft tofu stew is it a bit too far to walk, so do you want to risk taking the subway? It shouldn't be too busy at this point. Everyone is still in school and work." Chanyeol looked at Nicole who seemed a bit too quiet. She just nodded and looked back at her phone.

   "Okay, what happened while I was practicing? You've been acting really weird." Chanyeol turned her to face him while they walked to the subway station. She looked at her phone and got a bright red blush on her cheeks.

   "He texted you, didn't he?" He always knew what she was thinking.

   "Do you wanna go home so you can text him instead?" Chanyeol started getting into his sad thoughts, already assuming she would ditch him.

   "Not at all. He asked if I wanted to hang out today, but I told him I was hanging out with you already. We're meeting up tomorrow night instead." She started grinning wildly as Chanyeol himself got a small grin. He was so thankful that she didn't cancel on his, but also beyond confused why. Her FAVORITE celebrity ever asked her if she wanted to go out, and she refused? 

   "Are you feeling okay? You said no? You're not sick, are you?" He held a hand up to her forehead to make sure she didn't have a fever, and she just pushed his hand away.

   "I'm fine. I didn't want to cancel on you. We haven't spent the day together in a while so I figured it would be good for us. Plus, you're free lately, so might as well utilize this time while we have it."  She gave Chanyeol a cheeky smile and a squeeze on the arm, He smiled back and grabbed her hand, continuing walking towards the subway station.

   "Are you trying to start a scandal of us dating?" Nicole asked nervously, looking down at her hand that was in Chanyeol's. He laughed and gripped onto her hand tighter.

   "Possibly. But I think those rumors died out a while ago when we first moved in. I think people gave up on trying to claim we were dating and just accepted one way or the other." Nicole shrugged, letting him hold her hand. Because he was so much larger than her, she felt very secure and safe in his grip. She realized the past few nights that she loved cuddling with him. He engulfed her in warm comfort and he now did the same with her hand. She wasn't worried that people would think they were dating. She accepted his hand and gripped onto his to the best of her ability despite his hand being so much larger.

_____

   They went shopping for about two hours, finding her new shoes and a new hat for him. Her shoes were high heel boots that she could wear in the fall and winter. His hat was red with white vertical stripes, tapering out towards the bottom into a feathery design. They were both very proud of their finds, yet Nicole was still feeling slightly bitter because Chanyeol paid for her shoes. 

   "I told you I can pay for my own stuff." 

   "Come on, you are thanking me sooo much in your mind. Think of it a belated birthday gift."

   "But my birthday was in April and you already got me something for my birthday."

   "Cant I dote on you? I'm trying to be nice. Besides, I know you would be worrying about how much money you have left. I don't have to worry. Just thank me and wear them well, okay?" He grabbed her bag with the shoes in it and started carrying it, quickly grabbing her hand, holding it tightly. She just sighed and let him dote on her. She had to admit that she really liked when Chanyeol would do this. He always acted so sarcastically with her, but sometimes he could be so gentlemanly. She really appreciated when he was like this.

   "Do you want to go home now? I've found what I wanted and I really just want to sit on the couch and relax. But it's all up to you." Chanyeol looked towards her to see what she wanted to do.

   "I'm cool with going home. I want to relax too." She told him. She tugged on his hand to go towards the subway. They were thankful they hadn't encountered too many fans. Not many people followed him after they completely ignored everyone that surrounded them. They must not have fully recognized him because he was a bit more covered than usual.

_____

   They had just arrived home when Nicole got a text message from Eunhyuk.

   From: Eun Oppa: 'Hello friend. Do you want to go out with the Super Junior members tonight? We're celebrating our comeback and hard work and just being alive in general.'

   To: Eun Oppa: 'I'm sorry oppa! Chanyeol and I are staying in tonight. We just got back from shopping and I want to stay in and relax tonight. Maybe some other time?' 

   What was wrong with her? First she rejected her favorite celebrity by himself, now she's denying going out with all of the members form her favorite group? 

   She got one more text from him before she put her phone on vibrate and went to sit on the couch next to Chanyeol who had already splayed out, his long legs taking up the majority of the space. He was laying on his stomach, and refused to move when she asked him. She playfulling smacked his , hoping he would move, yet he still refused. She gave up and ended up laying on top of him, her back against his back. She got comfortable as he groaned, not expecting her weight on him.

   "Come on, get up!"

   "You'll have to move in order to get me up." She wiggled a bit, tapped his , and then turned so her chest was on his back.

   "Fine. I'll get up, just get off me." 

   "Actually, I'm rather comfortable." He could feel her smirk on his back and knew what she was planning. Before he had time to react, she leaned up and put her hands on his back, giving him a back massage. He was not expecting that.

   "You're massaging me?"

   "Well, I figured, in order to help you relax, a massage would help." He closed his eyes in the comfort he was feeling, letting his guard down. When she saw this, she immediately moed her hands to his sides and started tickling him, making him roughly wiggle underneath her. She was laughing maniacally when he managed to get her off of him and trade positions, making her beneath him, and him tickling her. They continued the tickle fight for quite a few more minutes until they both called truce.

   "Tie? I can't take any more." He said out of breath. He was gripping onto his sides as she just stood up and walked into the kitchen.

   "I think we've burned enough calories. Time for food!"