~ “Oh. But I’m not playing around with you.” Yona leaned in closer to Yibo, whose heart rate was steadily increasing. “I don’t know what it is about you Yibo, but I’ve fallen for you. Hard. And I do everything in my power to get what I want.” She crawled onto his lap, straddling him.

“No exceptions.” ~

Yibo’s face heated up quicker than a furnace in the wintertime. Roughly shoving the very cute girl from his lap, who only giggled at the action, he stood up abruptly, moving his hands to cover his very obvious blush. “Will you ing quit that ?” He mumbled, looking everywhere but her. She smiled up at him deviously.

“Hm? What was that?” Yona cupped her hand around her ear. “I couldn’t hear you Yibo, why don’t you think it instead? You’re much clearer in your mind.” She grinned at him seductively. He rolled his eyes, sighing aggressively.

“You’re too much.”

“Oh don’t act like you don’t like it. I can read your mind, I know what you’re thinking even if you don’t want to admit it.” She winked at him, standing up to press her chest against his. “I know exactly how you feel towards me. Let loose Yibo, go wild.” Her fingers began to walk their way up his chest. “I won’t say no, if that’s why you’re hesitating.” Yibo seriously considered taking her up on her offer. He thought about it, in pretty graphic detail too. But as he looked down at the smirk on her face, he remembered that she could see everything he was thinking, and his embarrassment overrode his lust as he pushed her away from him, turning back to the direction of their lecture hall.

“Honestly, stop! Like , you’re seriously pissing me off.” He spat, putting as much venom as he could muster into his words, intending to drive her away. He stomped off, hoping she would take him seriously but as he felt her hand latch around his arm almost instantly, and her cheek press against his bicep, he didn’t need to be a mind reader to know that she wasn’t fazed by him in the slightest.

~~~~~~

“I’ll see you guys later.” Yixuan waved at the pair, making his way to his car. The lecture had since ended and the school day was over, leaving the trio and a few other stragglers behind, waiting to go home.  “Oh and if you guys need the notes, since you missed over half the lecture doing God knows what,” he paused, raising his eyebrows suggestively, “you can feel free to copy mine.” Jogging backwards to avoid the arm that was swung at him by Yibo, he chuckled, winking at Yona who giggled, waving back.

“Damn him.” Yibo grumbled. Yona smiled up at him, latching her arm around his. He protested slightly but made no move to detach her arm so she took that as a go ahead, smiling widely to herself. As the two began to walk to the bus stop, Yona noticed a group of guys lingering behind them. She looked directly at one, waiting for his thoughts to make their way into her mind.

…get him yesterday, but we’ll definitely get him today.

Yona looked around, confused. ‘Get who?’ She thought to herself, glancing at some of the other guys.

He can’t run this time. We’ll beat his and finally get our money.

“What?” Yona spoke out loud. Yibo looked down at her, slightly annoyed.

“Hm?”

“No, nothing. I was just listening to those guys over there and it looks like they want to beat someone up. Poor guy, whoever that is.” Yibo tensed up in her arm. “You ok?” Yona looked up at him, worried. “Do you know who they’re looking for?”

“Yona.” Yibo’s eyes darted from left to right, panic setting in as he noticed the group of guys Yona had seen. They were beginning to walk in their direction. Yibo sped up, pulling Yona roughly to keep her beside him. “Did they say what they wanted?”

“Um not really. Just something about beating someone up to get their money.”

“!” Yibo took off in a dead sprint down a long side alley, dragging Yona beside him. There was a commotion behind them and suddenly the guys from before were chasing after them, yelling for them to stop.

If we can just make it to the end of this alley, the other side has a lot of crowds we can blend in with and escape in!

“Yibo what’s going on?” Yona yelled, confused out of her mind.

“Just keep running!” Yibo’s voice was full of panic. Yona quickly got herself together, not wanting to slow Yibo down. Having run track in high school, she easily kept pace with him, never once lagging behind. She switched the filter off her mind reading abilities and at once was flooded with thoughts from everyone surrounding her. Picking out the two voices she heard earlier, she listened intently, trying to figure a way out of their situation.

We’ve almost got him!

She heard one man think.

If the kid tries to get away the same way he did yesterday, then we’ll get him. Good thing we have someone waiting at this end of this chase.

Yona yanked Yibo’s arm to get his attention, causing him to stumble and almost lose balance.

“What the do you think you’re doing?!” He yelled.

“We can’t go the same way you went yesterday!” He looked at her strangely before brushing her off.

“It’ll be fine, I’ve gotten away using this route every single time. These idiots never seem to clue in.” Yona shook her head, frustrated.

“Well it seems like they’ve wised up because according to them, if you go the way you went yesterday then they have someone waiting to catch you at the end of this alley.” When he gave no response, she tugged on his sleeve to get his attention. They locked eyes, hers pleading with his. “Hey, trust me on this.” He looked at her uncertainly. “I just want you to be safe too, ok?” Yibo broke eye contact, staring ahead hard before cursing and turning on his heel to bust into a door beside him. He and Yona came crashing through the room into a restaurant kitchen, running full speed ahead to the exit. They heard the men shout behind them, but their threats seemed more distant than before. They had gotten away.

~~~~~~~

After wandering through the crowds a little bit to ensure they weren’t still being followed, they stopped to catch their breath. Yibo leaned up against the side of the wall, a sense of relief filling him. Yona, however, was not as calm. She paced back and forth, highly thrown off by what had just taken place.

“Damn, do you think it’s too late to make the bus?” Yibo asked, breaking the silence for the first time since they had gotten away. He was met with silence. “Yona?”

“Yibo.” She said after a few moments. “What just happened?” Yibo looked away, his sense of relief slowly leaving him.

“What do you mean?” His tone had an edge to it. Yona didn’t need to read his mind to know that he was trying to close himself off again. She looked at him incredulously.

“No. You are not going to do that.” She walked over to stand in front of him, the top of her head barely reaching his chin. He rolled his eyes, looking away. “You are not going to bull me on this Yibo, both of our lives were in danger just then.”

“It’s me they were after, it didn’t matter if you were there or not.” He growled, closing his eyes in frustration. She crossed her arms, not backing down.

“Oh so you think that if they had caught us, they would have just let me go to run off and find the police? I would have been in just as much trouble as you, and you want to stand here and try to act like I don’t have a right to know what’s going on?”

“It’s none of your business!” Yibo yelled, shoving her away from him. He was getting extremely angry and didn’t trust the way he was feeling. “Stop acting like we know each other! You just show up and think you can shove your way into my life and invade my privacy, my thoughts!?” Yona opened to interject but stopped herself, noticing Yibo’s eyes begin to gloss over as he continued to yell at her. “These are my ing thoughts. This is my ing life! I DIDN’T ASK YOU TO BE A PART OF IT.” He sank to the ground, his emotions getting the best of him. He cried into his balled up fists as he slowly felt a pair of small arms wrap themselves around his shoulders.

“I’m sorry.” She whispered. He only squirmed within her hold.

“Oh off.” He spat out in-between sobs. “You’ve probably already read my mind, haven’t you? You already know what happened and you’re sitting here thinking I’m some kind of pathetic charity case.” Yibo continued to struggle against her hold but she only strengthened her grasp.

“My eyes are closed.” He turned to look at her face to see that what she had said was true.

“S-so what?”

“So, I can’t read your mind. And I won’t read your mind until and if you ever decide to tell me.” Noticing he had stopped moving, she moved her hand to gently rub circles against his back. “I know you don’t believe me, but I honestly have fallen for you. I don’t know why, but I know my feelings are real. That being said, I’ll only be in your life if you want me to be, and if you let me, I’ll do everything in my power to make sure nothing ever happens to us, to you. That’s a promise.” Yibo blushed, slowly standing up, bringing her with him. Shocking both himself and her, he pulled her into a gentle hug, resting his head in the crook of her neck.

“I can take care of myself.”

And you.

He thought to himself, remembering she wasn’t listening to what he was thinking.

“I know that silly.” She giggled, wrapping her arms around his waist. “But I’ll be here to help, every step of the way.”

“…Whatever you say.”

~~~~~~

The following week after the incident, it was as if Yibo had become a totally different person. No longer was he pushing Yona away, he was wholly accepting her in, giving her full control in their budding relationship. He never out right admitted he had feelings for her as well, and she never used her own methods to check, but the notions were there.

“Yona!” Yibo called out, standing at his front door. He looked down at the floor, frowning slightly as he looked around. A pair of arms wrapped themselves around his mid-section. Yona had been coming over in the mornings and after university to make the both of them food, clean up after, and just provide good company in general.

“Yes babe?”

“Where did you put all my shoes?” She sighed, unlatching herself from his body.

“In the closet, where I tell you to put them. All the time.” She walked over to the closet, briefly glancing at his outfit before pulling out a pair of shoes. He looked at her questioningly.

“Why those ones?” He asked, accepting them.

“They go with your outfit. Why not.” She shrugged, tugging on his hand as she opened the door. Yibo inwardly smiled at the girl leading him to the bus stop. He was finally beginning to become comfortable with her always being around, and opening up to her. Honestly, he was glad he decided to give this a shot. Although she made him happy constantly and did so much for him, he was beginning to get worried that she wasn’t as satisfied as he was. She had been looking a little on the pale side these past few days, and when she thought he wasn’t watching, he had caught her wincing in pain several times.

She would tell me if something was wrong, right?

Arriving at the bus stop, he squeezed her hand to get her attention. She hummed in response, slightly squeezing back. He frowned, he wanted her to look at him. That was another thing she had been doing these past few days, avoiding looking at him for more than a short period of time, or at all sometimes.

“Yona.” His voice came out deep. Her eyes flickered in his direction before instantly moving back to their original focus.

“Hey look, the bus is here.” She over enthused. He narrowed his eyes, deciding to let it go for the moment, but he was definitely going to bring it up later. Walking onto the bus behind her, he almost fell back as she stopped abruptly at the top of the stairs.

“What?” He asked, hearing her take a deep breath.

“Wow, it’s um, really crowded today.”

“You claustrophobic or something?” He asked, gently placing a hand on her back. She was shaking slightly.

“N-no, that’s not it…” She shook her head as if to clear it. “In any case, maybe we can find some seats?” She hopelessly looked around the bus, noticing with dismay that every seat was filled. Yibo joined her in looking, shrugging his shoulders.

“Good luck with that. It looks like we’re going to have to stand for this one. You good?” She let out a shaky breath, placing a hand on his arm to steady herself. Yibo looked her over, noting that her face was pale and her hand was clammy even though the weather was slightly brisk. “Yona, are you ok?” He asked her, getting even more worried. She smiled up at him, clearly in pain, and slowly walked over to a slightly less populated area of the bus, holding onto the railing as if it was the only thing keeping her standing. He frowned and walked over to join her. He placed one hand on the railing over hers, and the other around her waist.

Ok something is definitely wrong.

Almost always, if Yibo showed any kind of sign of interest towards Yona, she wouldn’t let him hear the end of it for hours. He currently had his hand on hers and an arm around her and she didn’t even spare him a glance. “Yona, what is the matter?” Her eyelids fluttered as she kept her eyes trained on the pole in front of them. As if she barely heard him, she slightly turned in his direction.

“Did you…say something?”

“Yeah I asked what’s YONA!” He yelled out as her body went limp in his arm. “Stop! Stop the bus!” Yibo yelled, causing the bus came to a screeching halt. The doors opened and Yibo carried Yona’s half-conscious body out and laid her onto the grass. A few other passengers came out to see what the commotion was and Yibo glared at them, yelling for them to keep their distance. Yona’s eyes fluttered open and closed, her mind painfully flooded with the thoughts of every single person within a 10m radius.

“It…hurts…” She mumbled, switching her filter on for the first time in a week, since she told Yibo she wouldn’t read his mind. Her mind was instantly filled with silence and she let out a sigh of contentment. Her head was still pounding as she looked up and noticed Yibo standing over her, yelling at the others around them. She smiled before she realized she had looked at him for too long, and his thoughts entered her feed again.

Yona. Yona. Yona. Yona. Yona.

Was all she heard him think. Smiling to herself, before she felt darkness encompass her mind, she brushed her hand against Yibo’s leg. He looked down at her, alarmed.

“Dammit.” She mumbled. “I broke…my promise.” 

A/N Yibo's a huge tsundere, if you couldn't tell. Tsundere: When someone acts strong, cold, and hostile towards others but they actually are a very warm person. They gradually show their nice side towards another person. So, whatcha thinking? Leave your comments below, it always brightens my day to hear from you guys <3