Sehun is in class and since we already planned to watch a movie together afterwards, I am waiting for him as I sit on the hood of his car. As I read my book, someone stops before me. So I look up, only to see Jongin in front of me. I smile at him.

"What are you doing here?" he asks.

"Waiting for Sehun to be done with classes," I tell him as I shut my book. "You?"

"On my way home. Should I accompany you?"

I shake my head. "It's fine. Sehun will be done in ten minutes anyway."

Jongin stares at me. He always has that kind of stare that makes people feel abashed and shy. His stare is intense and it honestly feels like he can see through the walls of my heart. I finally look away because it's just too much. What if he sees my inner most darkest secret that even Sehun doesn't know? My entire face is hot and I feel too timid. Eventually, he moves and settles lightly on the hood of the car next to me, his feet still touching the ground.

"I'll stay. Sehun might accuse me of not taking care of you otherwise," Jongin says teasingly.

"He can get very protective sometimes," I agree. "Probably because I'm a girl..."

I swallow that lump in my throat because I just don't want to keep my hopes up and think that Sehun likes me and therefore is protective of me.

Jongin hums. "You remember Solji?"

"Sehun's cousin?"

He nods and looks at me. "Chanyeol told him that he was going to go out with her, just to spite him. But he didn't mind at all." I look at him, not quite sure what he is driving at. So he continues, "Baekhyun told Sehun he wanted to date you—" When he sees my eyes widen, he smiles. "I don't even know if he's joking. But when he told Sehun that, the boy threatened him not to and if any one of us tries a stunt on you, it's the end of our friendship."

"That serious?" I look at him dubiously. He chuckles and nods. "Maybe... Maybe that's because Solji isn't as close to him as compared to me."

Jongin bobs his shoulders. "Maybe."

We talk for a bit until I see Sehun in the distance, making his way towards us. I perk up, which makes Jongin trail off in his sentence. He turns to the direction I am grinning at. Sehun's eyebrows are raised when he notices the male next to me.

"Hey man," Sehun mutters, giving Jongin a weird bro-handshake-and-half-hug ritual before standing in front of me. "What are you doing here?" he asks him.

"Saw her sitting alone so I thought I'd accompany her to wait for you," Jongin replies. "You know how bold guys are these days..."

Sehun glances at me and blinks, making a cute annoyed look. "Yeah," he wrinkles his nose. Then he turns to his friend. "Thanks, Jongin."

"Anytime." Jongin smiles at me. "See you around."

I wave and he pushes off the hood, leaving Sehun and I alone. I am about to turn to Sehun when I spot a girl walking her dog. I squeal a little.

"Aww, look, Sehun!" I grab his elbow, trying to move him so he sees the dog too. It's a beagle pup. "There, Sehun, do you see it?"

"Yes," he says, his chuckle low and soft. "I can see perfectly fine."

I huff and pout at him, only to widen my eyes when I notice how close he is to me. Sehun stares at me, with a gaze so intense and so strong that I have to look away quickly.

"Shall we go?" he murmurs, his hand slipping around my waist just so subtly. I nod my head slightly and he carries me down the hood of the car carefully. He taps on my , "Go."

I blush at that. He unlocks the car and we get in, quickly driving off to the mall. It is quiet at first before I speak up.

"Jongin told me something."

He raises an eyebrow, "What was it?"

"He said Baekhyun wanted to ask me out," I stare at him. He frowns. "But you didn't let him. Why not?"

"Does it matter?" he mutters. We come to a stoplight and he faces me. "Do you like him?"

"Well, I think he's cute," I mutter. "And he's nice." Sehun doesn't say anything, so I cross my arms. Shouldn't he say something to defend himself or something? "Why won't you let him ask me out?"

The stoplight switches to green and we start moving again. His teeth clench and something ticks in his jaw. The song in the radio has a dark vibe about it, which only intensifies the tension between us.

"You know," I grunt, facing the front again, slamming my back against the seat as I do so. "The reason why I don't have a boyfriend is probably because of you. Thinking you have the rights to tell someone whether or not they can date me. Do you like me, Sehun? Is that why you're doing this?"

The boy doesn't answer, despite the accusation and the obvious blaming that I am doing. He has always been good at holding back his anger when he's with me. But I can tell that he is annoyed, especially from the way he grips so tightly on the steering wheel. My mouth tastes sour when he doesn't reply to my question. Of course he doesn't like me. Why did I even ask him that?

The rest of the ride is silent. We don't talk even when we leave the vehicle after parking the car. We buy something small to eat before presenting our tickets to the counter. We enter the cinema right away so that we don't have to talk, even if we weren't speaking in the first place. We settle in our seats at the very back of the theatre and the moment we sit, Sehun is on his phone, texting someone. There is nothing playing on the screen yet, so it kind of pisses me off that Sehun is neglecting my presence just because he is texting. We never do that even if we have nothing to say. We both know it's rude.

"Sehun." He hums as an acknowledgment to my calling. "I'm right here."

At that, he looks up from his phone, eyebrows raised. "What?"

"I said—" I pointedly glare at his phone. "—I'm right here."

His phone buzzes and he looks down promptly, ignoring the fact that I've practically just told him off. A grin slides on his face and I feel extra annoyed. I can't believe he's texting a girl while he's with me. Even when he had girlfriends, he has never done this. He knows how much I like spending time with people and he is definitely aware that I hate it when my friends only stare at their phones while neglecting me.

I finally snap when messages don't stop shuttling back and forth. "Who are you texting?" I grit out.

Sehun tilts his head towards me though his head is still down to look at his phone. "Why?" he mutters distractedly.

"Which girl is it," I grunt, shifting in my seat uncomfortably.

He lifts his head. The expression on his face is one of amusement. "What makes you think I'm texting a girl?" he raises an eyebrow. When I shrug, he locks his phone. He rests his elbow on the arm rest between us as he stares at me with a stony face. "Do you like me?" he almost sneers.

I hate it when Sehun does this. I hate when he gets mad at me but never shows it, so instead, he plays dirty. And I hate that despite me hating this, my heart is beating so fast and I feel choked by his question.

Because yes. I do like him.

A couple is at the end of the aisle, trying to get to their seats in the middle. I use this distraction to look away while Sehun merely keeps his leg in, his eyes still on me. It only makes me madder. We don't speak a single word after that. He doesn't touch his phone either. The movie starts after the advertisements and though this is a movie I've been wanting to catch, my mind isn't on it. All I'm thinking about is how Sehun is quietly watching the show.

We normally watch movies huddled together. Even with the arm rest between us, sometimes I would have my back against it while Sehun rests his elbow there, just so we can be as close to each other as possible. Half an hour into the movie, I twist my body so that I'm basically hanging off the arm rest. I'm not the kind to be able to sit still and neither am I the type to stay mad the entire day. And Sehun actually likes skinship though he acts like he doesn't. So it isn't a surprise when he moves so that the back of my head is touching his stomach. Ten minutes later when my arm is numb from this position, I sit upright and rest my head on his shoulder.

Sehun stills for a fraction of a second before he relaxes. A minute passes when he leans down and murmurs in my ear. His breath is warm and ticklish as  he tells me, "I wasn't texting a girl." I look up at him. He stares back, eyes boring into mine. Then he smiles, a strained one but still a smile nonetheless. "I got you a date with Baekhyun hyung."

"What?!" I whisper-hiss at him, moving away.

"I have no right in preventing you from going out with anyone," he mutters, nodding. "You were right. And I'm sorry. You said you think Baekhyun hyung is cute. As your best friend, the least I can do is to help you gain a date, right?"

I don't know what I want to do with Sehun. I feel like shaking him and screaming at him how much I like him. I feel like ripping him apart for doing this and then putting him all back together because life would be nothing without him.

"If this doesn't turn out right, you're gonna make it awkward between Baekhyun and I!" I hiss as I punch his arm.

He frowns at me like he doesn't understand. "You were mad at me for preventing the date from happening and now you're mad at me for making the date happen?"

"I just..."

I couldn't find an excuse other than the fact that I just wanted to determine whether or not he likes me. Maybe now I know the answer. I groan and rub my temples.

Perhaps this is also the time I should confess to him. Tell him that I like him more than as a friend. Tell him that I want him more than anyone else. That I don't need a date with Baekhyun. That—

"Should I cancel the date?" he whispers tentatively.

I sigh and shake my head. I guess I got myself a date with Byun Baekhyun.

"I'm sorry I'm late, I had to talk to my teacher for a bit," Baekhyun apologises the moment I step into his car. It smells so nice. 

I chuckle, "It's fine. You were only late for five minutes anyway."

He smiles at me, eyes crinkling cutely. I smile back. It's weird because if Sehun was to be the one smiling at me like this, my stomach wouldn't have been this calm. Every system in my body would have gone haywire, really. But with Baekhyun, nothing seems to be happening. My heart does not move in his direction. It has already been lodged with Sehun.

"So Sehun told me you like Italian food—"

"Did he?" I smile softly as I turn to Baekhyun. "I love Italian food."

He glances at me as he drives. When he sees my excited expression, he chuckles. "He knows a lot about you," he says. I raise an eyebrow at him. "He told me you that you like the smell of peaches so I stole this air freshener from my mom's car." Baekhyun takes the bottle out from in front of the air conditioning and holds it out to me. It smells like peach.

"Aw, you shouldn't have!" I laugh, taking the bottle from him so I can help him fix it onto the AC again.

"Even if nothing stems from this date, I can't let down a friend," he winks at me.

I laugh again. And that's what this date ends up as. Instead of a date, it feels like a hang out between two friends. There's no awkward tension like how dates do. We talk and we laugh. We stroll along the shopping districts, eat street food, listen to buskers performing. Baekhyun and I both know this is nothing like a date. He has never once tried a move on me and neither has he looked at me with eyes that regard me as more than a friend. And honestly, I am glad of that.

At the end of the night when Baekhyun drives me home, he turns to me and smiles that charming smile again. I would have fallen at his feet if only I had my heart with me and not with Sehun.

"I had a really fun time, Baekhyun oppa," I smile back, hand already on the door handle. "Thank you for everything."

"You were a great company," he grins. "Next time get Sehun to join us too."

I nod, "Definitely."

I open the door and just before I really leave, I turn around to give him a hug. Baekhyun chuckles softly, rubbing my back gently. I suddenly feel like crying because I miss Sehun already, and it's so stupid. This little action reminds me of how Sehun comforts me and I haven't seen him in three days, I just really want to see him already.

I let go of Baekhyun before I really start bawling and step out of the vehicle. I wave and catch his tiny wink before shutting the door. He doesn't leave until he watches me enter my home. Just before I open the door, I turn back and wave at him, shooing him off. I think I catch his grin as his headlights shine and he drives away. The moment I step into the house, I jump when I notice a shadow in the doorway of the kitchen. It's too tall to be my mother and his shoulders are too broad to be my father. The person walks out into the living room and the light from the movie playing on the TV screen shows me that it's Sehun.

"Oh, you're back. How was the date," he mumbles against his beer bottle.

"What are you doing here?" I mutter, watching him settle on the couch.

He shrugs. "Am I not allowed to be here? Your mom gave me permission."

"What are you watching?"

"Ironman 1."

"You didn't wait for me!" I gasp, rushing over to the sofa. "We said we would marathon the series together!"

Sehun looks at me. Then he moves forward to pause the movie. "Change out then. I'll wait."

I grin at him. I all but run up into my room to change out of my clothes and to wind down after my "date" with Baekhyun. When I am in my comfy pajamas and have my make-up all off, I go back down to see Sehun texting on his phone. I sit next to him, accidentally bumping his arm.

"Baekhyun hyung says he had a fun time," he mutters, raising an eyebrow at me.

I bob my head happily. "I know, I had fun too."

"What did you guys do?"

I hum as I shift my body to lie down. I grab a cushion and place it on Sehun's lap so I can lay on it. "We window shopped. And talked. And also had Italian food." I grin at him. "Thank you for letting him know that."

"What else?" he mutters, ignoring my gratefulness.

I frown. "Nothing else." When there is silence, I finally remember what Baekhyun and I planned at the end of everything. "We also agreed that we should do this again."

"Like a date?" His eyes are wide in surprise.

I make a face, an expression almost similar to shock. "No! I meant the three of us."

"On a date?!"

"It wasn't a date, Sehun!"

"Huh?"

He looks confused. It makes me want to laugh because he honestly looks like he is trying to solve a mathematics equation.

"We were hanging out as friends, that's what this date was," I say, making air bunnies when I say the word date.

"But Baekhyun hyung paid for everything?" I nod. "Then that's a date, isn't it?"

"You pay for everything when we go out too," I point out.

He rolls his eyes. "That's different."

"How different?" I mutter. "Baekhyun was paying for his friend and you were paying for your best friend too."

"Of course I have to pay with you. And it's different between us because it's like a date every time we go out," Sehun murmurs, staring at me.