Sunlight filtered through the white curtains of a white mansion, stilettos clicking on white marbled floor, party music blaring through the white walls – if only the colours in her mind were as white as the others.

White to represent a sense of pureness, a simple way to describe a joyous occasion but all she can see was grey.

In fact, Wendy felt grey.

The sun proved too hot (it happened to be summer), her Converse stood out amidst the Jimmy Choo’s and her ears were in pain from what she assumed was the latest Billboard hit by DJ Snake.

Wendy hopelessly wondered of her existence – wasn’t the peak of a high school student this particular moment anyway?

Her eyes darted around some familiar figures, those of which she’ll rarely interact with in school. There was Irene, the party host, who had graciously extended her invitation to her - though Wendy wondered why she bothered holding a high school party when she’d already graduated in the first place.

Joy, the sidekick, or as Wendy would like to call it; the pretty girl who was too nice for her own good. Jaebum – Irene’s boyfriend and Quarterback – very handsome (but with anger issues). There was also BamBam, the freshman who seemed too popular for his own good as well – his dancing covers are the best in school.

Yeri was BamBam’s girlfriend – Wendy actually liked her. She was a really bubbly girl and she didn’t pushed people around. Once, however, Wendy swore she saw the girl violently mangling a Pokemon plush toy; but hey, nobody’s perfect.

How could she forget Yugyeom? Jaebum’s literal sidekick – the boy carried around his backpack for him. Also Youngjae – the nerd from the next class – far too smart and was way up from everyone’s league.

And finally, her eyes rested on Seulgi; her eyes wide open and her back sticking onto the wall like glue. Wendy gave a small chuckle as she made her way across the room.

Where should she start with Seulgi?

Co-Captain of the Cheerleading Squad and also the best dancer in their school. Literal sweetheart as popularity doesn’t even faze her (or rather she’s allergic to it). Supposed wallflower (literally) – beautiful like a daisy and yet she blends into the background (or stick to it).

Smart as well for she’s the only one to ever win Youngjae in a chess game; yes chess and not freaking checkers.

Role model and also Vice-President of the Student Council – Wendy’s the President – and secretly a huge Girls Generation fan.

Has Wendy mention that she’s also her best friend?

She waved a hello to the girl who only seemed too eager to return her greeting. The two friends hugged, and Seulgi twirled her friend around for a closer look.

“Converse, really?” She raised her eyebrows at the lack of fashion sense. “They don’t go well with your dress, Wendy.”

“At least I got the colour right.” Wendy winked, noting her dress was white and her Converse black.

The girl shook her head, already too used to her best friend’s antics. She narrowed her eyes at the background and sighed, her dissatisfaction showing in her eyes.

“I’m bored.” The former mentioned a little bit too honestly. “There’s nothing here except for… drunk kids and their obvious hormones. It’s only 4 in the afternoon, too.”

“I guess that comes with being seniors!” Wendy raised her voice to get herself heard when the DJ blasted yet another painful song to her ears. Why couldn’t they play some Ed Sheeran, anyway? “Shall we head outside?”

Seulgi nodded her head, linking arms with Wendy as they both stepped towards the pool area. There had barely been a difference, for kids still made out at every corner they could lay their eyes upon. Wendy secretly hated those kids, not because she felt they could use some privacy (well that too) but because she wished she had someone to do that to.

She noted seniors were doing weird diving stunts into the pool, or they were drinking the fabulously created cocktails made by Irene’s finest bartenders. Another look towards the tanning chairs and all she could see were the couples getting hot (pardon the pun) and heavy with one another.

Wendy rolled her eyes and wondered if she should have taken Seulgi’s advice and bailed from this party.

But she couldn’t, for everyone attended Irene’s party; and not going to one ended up meaning that you were simply not cool enough for high school.

Luckily for Wendy, Irene seemed a little too interested in her, seeing how a wallflower like her was best friends with Seulgi the cheerleader. Little did she know that Seulgi ended up being a bigger wallflower than her; at least in her personality.

“Look at that at 3 o clock.” Seulgi whispered with awe as she nudged her shorter peer. “They’re here too.”

The girl turned and she immediately felt her stomach churned. She found it a surprise that they had come too, as they rarely attended any social parties before. It was easy to distinguish them from the rest; especially when they had their presumably Givenchy black leather jackets on, the Dr Marten boots laced up nicely and their skinny fit black pants showing how firm their thighs were. Unlike the other guys at the party who either wore a singlet or were half , their more prominent fashion statement had stood out; especially during a hot summer day like today.

Their hairs were slick back, their shades on point and Wendy found it amazing how they didn’t seem to squirm even under the hot sun.

“He’s looking at me, oh my god.” Seulgi grabbed on to her tighter as she made eye contact with one of the infamous trio.

Wendy narrowed her eyes at the sight of her best friend flailing about in front of that guy. If Seulgi had a flaw, it would have to be her taste in guys. Park Jinyoung wasn’t exactly the best boyfriend material, she noted, being one of the three that the whole town seemed afraid of.

She supposed her best friend had always liked the allure of danger, and she respected that, but she would never try to put herself in the other’s shoes. Wendy found them bothersome, with their smouldering stares and good looks – they honestly could have been celebrities if not for their notorious activities.

Park Jinyoung nodded lightly towards their direction and Wendy heard Seulgi squealed harder. She face palmed at the sight before dragging Seulgi all the way over to the other side. If there was a worse way to spend an afternoon aside from this horrendous party, it would definitely be catching the eye of the infamous trio.

“Wendy!” Seulgi huffed. “What are you doing?”

“We’re heading to the other corner.” She lamented. “Far, far away from them.”

“But… Jinyoung finally looked at me.” The former argued. “I should go talk to him. When else could I have the chance, without looking as the weirdest girl ever for striking up a conversation with them?”

“Oh, so you do know that they’re bad news.”

“They can’t be that bad.” Seulgi pondered for a thought. “After all, that girl Sana from our grade is dating Jackson Wang.”

Wendy shook her head at the ridiculousness of it all. Was Seulgi even hearing herself right?

“Number one. Jackson Wang is probably the nicest of the three. I mean, he’s decent, I guess.” Wendy nodded her head at her own sentence.

“Is that because he gave you a lollipop when we were five?” Seulgi frowned.

“Whatever.” She dismissed the girl. “Number two. Sana isn’t exactly normal. I mean, her dad is close with Jackson’s dad. I suppose they could be each other’s childhood loves. It happens, but it’s a different story altogether.”

“But they’re still hot, right?” Seulgi urged for an answer. “I mean, if you were to put yourself in my shoes, will you still be as calm and rational as you are?”

“Definitely.”

“Eat your words, Wendy.” Her friend starting laughing. “Because the leader Mark Tuan is looking at you now.”

“W-What?!”

She hurriedly turned and was dismayed to find that Seulgi had been right. His shades that was once on his face was tucked in neatly at the centre of his jacket, and he raised an eyebrow upon making eye contact with her.

Wendy blushed, something she didn’t expect herself to do, but continued making eye contact with the said person anyway. Upon seeing the flustered state that she was in, the young man had smirked; leaving Wendy very much annoyed at the sudden scene she got herself into.

“Told you that you’ll eat your words.” Seulgi giggled. “Maybe you should go up to him.”

“Never in a million years.” The girl crossed her arms in frustration.

“Your loss.” The former sighed before grinning too widely for her liking. “But I’m going over to Park Jinyoung. He might just make this boring party a little bit better.”

“You’re not leaving me are you?!”

“For now I am, sorry.” Seulgi apologised. “Catch you later, Wendy!”

She was left alone, standing at the corner and being unable to comprehend the situation that had taken place. Her eyes darted back to the infamous figure, and she soon found him subtly laughing at her direction. The girl sulked and went straight to the mini bar, her eyes glazing over the ready-made cocktails before her. Wendy didn’t felt like drinking – she admitted she liked to stay by the rules – and ended up holding a glass of pineapple juice instead.

“Are you not going to drink?” A deep voice suddenly whispered in her ear.

She spun around, startled at the new company behind her. Wendy widened her eyes in disbelief, wondering what Mark Tuan was doing talking to her. For once, she really didn’t want to stand out and be like the wallflower she was always used to be.

“I, uh…”

“I guess if you’re taking the pineapple, I’ll be taking the lemon.”

Wendy froze as Mark started to grab a glass of his lemon juice. He didn’t bother to move, for he only stood by her front and reached out to grab it (and can she mention that he was far too close?!).

He smelt surprisingly good – Wendy expected him to reek of sweat – but the young man smelled like some really nice, non-overbearing cologne.

The girl finally snapped out of her weird thoughts, and realised that his face was too close to hers. His lips were smacked on tightly to the straw and she noticed how his Adam apple bobbed up and down from drinking the juice. Wendy unknowingly gulped, and soon found herself being into the depth of his eyes. She never did had the opportunity to look at the Mark Tuan in the eye but right now, all she could see was a handsome young face peering right back at her.

She wished, however, that she could wipe off the small smirk on his face.

 “You like what you see?” He teased, and Wendy pushed him off quickly.

Mark chuckled, giving the glass of lemon juice back to the bartender. He inched closer and Wendy only found herself moving further. She honestly felt like a prey being attacked by its’ predator.

“I’m Mark.” He finally offered an introduction. “Mark Tuan, though judging by how negatively you’re reacting to me, you already know.”

“Yeah, I do.” The girl acknowledged. “But I’ll be going now, if you don’t mind me.”

The young man stopped her before she could walk away. “You’re Wendy, right?”

Wendy was surprised that he knew, and she wondered if she wasn’t the wallflower that she always had prided herself to be. Maybe it was because she was the President of the Student Council, for goodness sake.

“Wendy Son…” Mark trailed off. “That’s your name right?”

“How did you know?” She managed a sentence out, hoping he won’t notice that she was surprised.

“I… uh… just know.”

Wendy swore she saw his cheeks blush but Mark Tuan doesn’t blush, does he?

Mark Tuan’s the infamous leader of the wicked trio – he vandalises walls, he doesn’t come to school and he rides motorbikes for goodness sake!

And of course, she could add more bad things that he’d done before, but Wendy had no time to think of everything.

“Hey,” He called out to her again. “You wanna hang out sometime?”

She took a good, hard look at him before shaking her head completely. It was one thing to be talking to him, but it was another to actually be hanging out. Wendy had her reputation to consider, one that involved her getting safely into college.

“Sorry.”

“But why?” Mark came closer. “Do you hate me?”

“Not really.” Wendy clarified. “Though I don’t really hang with people like you. No thank you.”

“People like me?” The man uttered with raised eyebrows. “What does that even mean?”

“You know… bad boys.”

“Ah,” He nodded his head in understanding. “You’re scared of me.”

Was she scared? Definitely. She was absolutely, wholesomely and undeniably terrified of Mark Tuan. And she didn’t even know why either.

“I won’t bite.” He came closer again, leaving her to walk further backwards. “Well, maybe once or twice, if you know what I mean.”

“I don’t need your ual innuendos.” Wendy warned him. “And why do you keep coming closer?!”

“Because I like you, obviously.”

“Well, I don’t like you coming closer to me!”

The young man kept coming forward, and Wendy felt no choice but to keep walking back. She was sure she collided into some others at one point of time, and she did felt sorry, but there was no way her eyes would be leaving Mark’s face anytime soon.

It felt as though he would pounce of her if she ever turned her back on him. Knowing Mark Tuan – fine, she didn’t know him at all – he would do that, wouldn’t he?

“I’m not good with words.” Mark suddenly confessed. “But I mean no harm. I really do want to get to know you, Wendy.”

“I…”

“Please? I’ll be really nice.”

“I would like you if you were nice,” Wendy stammered. “But it’s obvious that you’re not.”

“And how would you know that?” The young man frowned.

“Because!”

“Because?”

“Because… I just know, okay?”

Mark paused, sighing as he took her words in. He ran his hands through his hair, which turned messy, and finally raised his arms in defeat.

“I respect your opinion, then.” He muttered quietly. “But I will change your perception of me.”

He turned around and walked away, and Wendy clutched at her chest in relief. She was glad that he was gone, but she wondered if she had been too harsh on him. Her eyes scanned the area once more, and noted that Seulgi had gotten along really well with Mark’s sidekick, Jinyoung.

And was Jinyoung putting flowers in the girl’s hair?

Wendy shook her head at that sight and turned around to head home. She had enough of boring parties, drunken kids and bad boys; she really just wanted to go home and listen to some Ed Sheeran.

“Hey Miss! Watch out!”

The girl turned around to see a random guy flailing towards her, obviously in no control of his skateboard. She wondered why he was even skateboarding in a small, condensed place like this but she soon realised that that wasn’t of utmost importance right now.

The important thing was that this guy was coming towards her fast and it looked like it’ll hurt if she didn’t moved out of the way fast enough.

Before she could have time to react, both the guy and his skateboard had rammed right into her; causing her to fall and slipped into the pool that was right by her side.

She felt the cold water splashing her entire body and Wendy tried to kick her legs as hard as she can. It dawned on her that she never did was able to swim and the girl panicked, causing more stress on her body. She tried to kick upwards, but felt that she was being pulled down deeper to the ground instead.

Under water, she couldn’t hear the horrific mixes of DJ Snake any longer, but the stillness didn’t make it any better. The air in her lungs depleted and she mistakenly took a huge breath through . The girl tried to shout for help, her hands stretching far to get to the surface.

Her vision soon turned hazy and she felt herself sinking lower and lower into the grounds below.

“Wendy!” A sudden, distinctive voice shouted her name.

Was it really her name, or was it an illusion? What had she been doing anyway? Where was this place?

All she could see was blue… was she drowning? That cannot be, for she would never voluntarily step into a water area when she knew she cannot swim.

That was it, wasn’t it?

She couldn’t swim and that was why she was drowning.

There was no point in struggling, she thought, for no one would come save her anyway. She was after all, a wallflower, and people paid no attention to her.

The girl blanked. Had she been a wallflower?

It seems as though she can’t really remember things right now. Was the drowning getting to her?

The girl felt herself sinking lower and she went with the flow. Her eyes started to shut close – all she could see was black - but thankfully it rested on some white light coming towards her. It seemed to be getting closer; she thinks it’s the light that people always talked about when they’re dying.

She was dying, wasn’t she?

The girl wished that the light would come embrace her soon and put her out of this misery.

Strong arms soon grabbed her by the waist, pulling her further up into the surface. Her eyes were still hazy but she tried her hardest to make out that face.

Was this an angel, grabbing her soul to send her to heaven?

All she noticed was that he was really handsome; his beauty indescribable.

The angel pulled her up and made her lie on some sort of hard surface. She thought it to be a coffin; after all, people do get cremated in coffins when they die.

She could see him waving frantically towards her but her eyes struggled to stay open. His face came closer and she felt cold lips on hers; was he perhaps an angel of death? She did hear of stories where the angel’s kiss proved to be fatal.

Warm air started flowing through her body, and the girl realised she could breathe again. And so she started breathing, one time after the other, before finally realising what was happening.

The angel was giving her CPR.

And he was no angel; he was Mark Tuan.

Wendy hurriedly sat up and started coughing – or vomiting – water out of her system. She clutched at her chest, the pain had disappeared but there was some sort of soreness.

She felt strong hands patting her down her back and coughed more water out; hoping she didn’t look so unpresentable.

“Wendy, are you okay?” A hushed but panicked voice started whispering in her ear.

Yes, that was it. Her name’s Wendy. Wendy had been minding her own business when that freak of skateboarder knocked her into the pool. She didn’t know how to swim and was drowning, until an angel pulled her out of the water.

But he was no angel for he was the same Mark Tuan she had just rejected a few minutes earlier.

For the first time since she remained conscious, Wendy took a good hard look at the young man before her again.

His hair was even messier from before, droplets falling from the tips of his hair. His white shirt was soaked to the point of where she could make out his body lines (he must have apparently taken off his leather jacket first).

Mark was huffing for breath, though his eyes seemed to pierce into her soul. When Wendy suddenly started smiling towards him, the young man had ruffled her hair softly; his eyes turning soft at the sight before him.

“Wendy!” She could hear Seulgi shouting right beside her. “Are you okay?!”

The girl had wanted to answer that she was more than okay, but she couldn’t seem to take her eyes off his face. She wanted to see her saviour and she wanted to see everything about him. Wendy felt bad for judging him wrong.

At Seulgi’s question, Wendy nodded her head.

“Who was it?!” Mark suddenly stood up and roared; a very different image than what he was portraying earlier.

He always had a quiet tone to him, but seeing the young man bellow, the others scurried off in fear. The guy that had knocked her off cowered in sheer terror and Mark had grabbed onto his collar with much force. He kept apologising but it seemed that Mark was taking none of it. Before he could blow a punch, Wendy started to speak up.

“Mark!” She called out to him and his fist magically stopped. “I’m okay now, thank you.”

“He almost killed you.” Mark muttered through gritted teeth. “And loser here didn’t even bother to swim after you.”

“Maybe he doesn’t know how to swim.” Wendy tried to rationalise with him.

“Y-Yeah! I d-don’t!” The guy defended himself. “Seriously dude, I’m sorry!”

“You don’t need to be sorry to me.” Mark grabbed him before having him kneel down in front of Wendy. “You need to say sorry to her.”

“U-Uh, of course.” The guy turned to Wendy pleadingly. “Look, I’m really sorry man.”

“She has a name.” Mark growled and the guy shook further in fright.

“S-Sorry, Wendy! Really!”

“It’s okay.” Wendy finally replied, before ordering the young man to let him go. “Mark, really, it’s okay.”

The young man huffed, pulling the guy back up to his feet. He started glaring, leaving the other still shaking in fear. After much time has passed, Mark finally let go of the guy’s collar; pushing him away while he was at it.

“You may leave.” His voice still had the scary edge to it. “And seriously, don’t bring your skateboard to a pool party next time, will you? It’s an ugly sight.”

The guy frantically nodded his head in submission, before scampering off to wherever he came from. Mark started rolling his eyes, before focusing his attention back onto the young lady that was sprawling wet on the floor.

She felt her cheeks burned – not because of the sun – and averted her eyes quickly to her side.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Mark crouched down in front of her. His tone was gentle, and Wendy found some reassurance in that. “Do you need to go to the hospital?”

“I-I’m fine.” She started fiddling with her fingers.

“Should we head home, then?” Seulgi interrupted, her eyes worriedly scanning over her best friend’s face. “You should rest.”

“I… I guess.”

Wendy stood up, shivering, for the sudden breeze made its’ way through the summer day. She tried to warm herself up by rubbing her hands together, but found that it was of no use. The water really did a number on her, and she secretly wondered how the hell she was going to get home.

Her white dress that had been at her knees was soaking wet, and her Converse was definitely far too heavy to walk in. The girl cursed, knowing she will never wear Converse to a pool party ever again.

It didn’t take long until she felt something heavy on her shoulders. The girl stared at the sudden object weirdly before turning to a bashful Mark.

“U-Uh, it’s okay.” Wendy tried taking off the leather jacket that he had placed on her. “I’m not that cold.”

“You’re freezing.” Mark forced back the jacket on her shoulders. “You should wear it properly.”

“But I’m really okay!” The girl protested. “It’s just a little cold but I’ll deal with it, really. It is a very warm day after all.”

She could see how panicked he had become as he struggled for some words. The young man shook his head again, though this time his hands were still on her shoulders. Wendy blushed, seeing how close his face was to hers again and she averted her eyes to the ground.

“I-I insist.” Mark stuttered. “Y-Your b-bra is showing anyway.”

Wendy turned horrified as she peeked through her dress. True enough, the colour and outline of her innerwear had been showing and the girl froze in place.

“I…” Wendy choked on her own voice. “I’ll wear it! Thank you!”

She hurriedly slipped into his leather jacket, and found that it was really warm. The girl zipped up, before holding onto the jacket a little bit too tightly for her liking. Anyone could see she was nervous; but the fact remained that Mark had been really nice to her.

“Uh, Wendy?” Seulgi interrupted at the right timing. “Shall we head home now?”

“Wait.” Mark stopped them from leaving. “Do you guys have a ride home?”

The two girls turned to look at each other in confusion and realised that they didn’t have any. Seulgi had hitched a ride from her older brother, and Wendy had hitched one with another classmate of hers. They had both planned to head home with a few others by carpooling, but it dawned on them that their classmates would only leave later in the night.

“I knew it.” He smiled, but soon wiped it off because it was clearly an inappropriate response. “Uh, I can send you home, if you’d like?”

Wendy turned again to Seulgi and her best friend only shrugged her shoulders in indifference. She knew, somehow, that Seulgi was panicking about her own ride home.

“That’s great!” An arm suddenly embraced Mark’s shoulders from behind. One look, and Wendy realised it had been Park Jinyoung. “You should send Wendy home, then. I can send Seulgi home, if she doesn’t mind.”

Jinyoung turned to Seulgi, who only smiled in response. Wendy knew her too well to know that the poor girl was practically dying to squeal in delight.

Seulgi faced Wendy excitedly, but upon seeing the bitter smile that was forming; the girl quickly changed her expression into a more neutral one.

“I… uh… It’s really up to Wendy.” Seulgi uttered at long last. “I’d want to make sure she gets home safe and all.”

Of course, Wendy had really wanted to head home with her best friend. At the same time, she couldn’t help but feel bad that she was getting in the way of her best friend’s love life; even if it was fact that the guy was a troublemaker.

She took a good hard look at Jinyoung – unaware that Mark had turned a little envious – and came to the conclusion that Park Jinyoung couldn’t have possibly be as bad as she originally thought of him.

After all, he did happen to be Mark Tuan’s best friend and Mark did save her from drowning just now.

Just maybe, the infamous trio weren’t as bad as she once thought they were.

“You… you go with Jinyoung, then.” Wendy lightly pushed her friend towards the guy.

“Are you sure?!” Seulgi almost screamed out in joy before turning to the other guy. “You’ll bring her home safely, won’t you?”

Mark nodded his head once, before extending his hand towards her. A few seconds passed by with Wendy just staring at his hand. Finally, the girl looked up and blushed in embarrassment.

“M-My hands are cold.” She gave an excuse. “I’ll just put them in the pockets.”

“Ah.” It was Mark’s turn to be embarrassed. “Of course. Uh, follow me. My bike is at the back.”

The walk back had been quiet. Neither said a word, with Mark leading the way. Wendy started fidgeting about nervously. If her memory was right, Mark did say they were walking towards his bike. She has seen one of those bikes before; heck, she always saw it around town too.

The thought of riding a scary bike – mind you, she had never ridden on one before – wasn’t as scary as the thought of well, holding on to him during the ride.

“Here’s my baby!” Mark grinned when they reached. Wendy didn’t know what model it was but she could definitely tell a Harley Davidson at first sight. “Isn’t he pretty?”

“He?” Wendy raised an eyebrow. “You address your bike using pronouns?”

“Well yeah.” The young man seemed offended. “Any sane guy would.”

“Right. Not judging.”

“You don’t need to be jealous, you know.” Mark started teasing. “You’re as pretty as he is. Maybe even more.”

The girl turned red, averting eye contact from him at the same time. She was caught off guard when he suddenly threw something big in her way, and she had fumbled to catch it. Looking at it now, it seems as though it was a helmet.

“Wear it.” Mark commanded her. “Unless you want to die.”

She nodded her head and scrambled to put it on, noting that it was a little bit too big for her head size. Her fingers darted around for the strap and she felt put off when she couldn’t manage to handle it properly. Seeing the sorry state she was in had the man shaking his head.

He walked over towards her and helped her with the straps once and for all.

Wendy blushed (again, she has to stop that), upon close contact with him. She knew he could see her blushing but the man only focused on the strap before him. She swore she saw a light smirk forming on his face but unluckily for her, she didn’t even noticed that he had stopped strapping.

When she realised what had happened, the girl had wanted to give an excuse but Mark only smiled in front of her. He did, however, slide her visor down before walking back towards his bike.

Mark started the engine, and the bike went about a few inches. He then urged her on, leaving Wendy utterly confused at how she was supposed to ride the damn thing.

“You can step over that little peg there.” He nodded his head towards some sort of stepping thing. “Put your left leg there and bring yourself up.”

“U-Up?” Wendy stuttered, unsure.

“Yeah. Just hold on to my shoulder and bring your right leg over.”

“O-Okay.”

She did as she was told and found that it was easier than expected. The girl gave herself a pat on the back in her own mind but soon came across another problem herself.

“Uh, M-Mark?” She stammered again. “W-Where am I supposed to uh, put my hands?”

She could see his shoulders moving up and down (probably from laughing) and as it stopped, he finally answered.

“Anywhere, really.” He teased. “But if you don’t want to fall, you should place them on my shoulders or around my waist.”

“R-Right.”

Wendy then proceeded to place her hands awkwardly on his shoulders and as he drove off, she found that the act itself would be impossible.

“It’s very fast!” She tried telling him, hoping that he could hear.

“This is the first time I’m riding so slowly, to be honest!” Mark answered back.

“B-But it’s too fast!”

“Put your hands around my waist.” He ordered again, this time with more force. “It helps.”

Wendy shyly placed her arms around him and she felt the muscles in his body tensed for a moment. She hugged him tighter, really hoping she won’t fall with this awful speed. Mark’s hands then held hers, as if to reassure her that they won’t be falling anytime soon. Thankfully for Wendy, he then placed his hand back on the handgrips.

It didn’t take long for Wendy soon found that they’ve reached her neighbourhood. The bike slowed down and before she could process what was happening, Mark had started parking his bike right outside her house.

Remembering what Mark had taught her just now, Wendy had gotten off the bike easily and funnily this time, she managed to take off her helmet just fine.

“T-Thank you.” She gave him back his helmet when he too was taking it off.

He dismissed her coolly, but the atmosphere soon turned awkward when they both exchanged no words. She fidgeted about nervously and her eyes soon rested on the leather jacket that she was wearing.

“O-Oh!” Wendy cried out, startling him. “Your jacket! Here, you can have it back.”

“It’s okay.” Mark stopped her from ping. “You can hold on to it until Monday.”

“Monday?”

“Yeah. When school starts.”

“But…” She trailed off. “You don’t even go to school.”

Mark started laughing, knowing that she was right. It was true; he didn’t attend school if he didn’t need to. But people can’t stay the same forever and people can change.

Maybe it was time for a change.

“I had no reason to.” He told her seriously. “But now I do.”

“F-For your jacket?”

Mark laughed again. “For you, silly.”

This time, Wendy was absolutely sure that she was as red as a tomato- heck, maybe even a bleeding apple.

“That’s… nice.” Was all she muttered. “U-Um, I’ll pass you your jacket on Monday, then?”

“Sure.”

“Right.” Wendy nodded her head, though she didn’t know why. “I’ll… head in, then.”

Before she could turn fully, she felt his hands tugging at the jacket that she was wearing, and Wendy had faced him again in confusion. Had Mark been kidding when he said he wanted his jacket back on Monday instead? Of course he did, Wendy thought solemnly.

After all, this was Givenchy that he owns.

“Hey,” Mark’s stare seemed to pierce into her soul. “Mind if I give you a kiss?”

“S-Sorry?!”

Was she hearing him right?

“A goodbye kiss… you know.” He seemed bashful. He really cursed himself for being horrible with words. “As a reward? For saving you and stuff.”

“I…” How was she supposed to react to this?! She was sure he had no ulterior motives when he was sending her home. “I mean… you’re very nice, but…”

“Huh.” Mark started grinning for no reason. “You called me nice.”

“Y-Yeah?”

Seeing that she couldn’t recall her own words, Mark chuckled before patting her on her head. Wendy didn’t wanted to admit it, but she really liked how that felt.

“You said you will like me if I’m nice.” He refreshed her memory for her. “Does this mean that you finally like me?”

“Ah…” His words finally dawned on her. Does she like Mark? Could feelings just change within a day? Honestly, Wendy doesn’t know. “Pfft… I mean… I don’t know?”

She could see how he was struggling to smile, as if that had been a big blow to him. Wendy had wanted to comfort him that what she feels for him now had been positive, unlike what she felt for him before.

But the girl didn’t speak out, for she thought it would only make things worse.

“It’s okay.” Mark patted her head again. “We have time.”

“Yeah…”

“Well, I’ll see you on Monday then.”

The young man was about to wear his helmet back when Wendy had unknowingly stopped him. She felt it ridiculous how her body had moved on its’ own, but she guessed it was only fair seeing how her heart was controlling her right now instead of her mind.

She relished in the fact that even if her mind was in full control of her, it still meant that she owe this man some thanks for saving her from drowning.

“Uh,” It was strange for Wendy to be this wishy-washy. “The kiss.”

“Sorry?”

This time, it was his turn to think that he wasn’t hearing her right.

“The kiss.” She blurted out with more clarity. “You said you wanted a kiss. I… I’m okay with one.”

Mark only looked at her strangely, and Wendy wondered if she had said the wrong thing. She wished this whole thing would be over soon enough.

“I mean,” She tried to explained herself. “As a form of thanks and all.”

The corners of his lips tugged upwards and Wendy knew that the man had been bursting with joy. She didn’t know what came over her, really, but perhaps having to die actually did really change people.

“I’ll be gentle.” Mark pursed his lips together, trying to stifle in his excitement.

Wendy’s head bobbed up and down and the girl shut her eyes close; patiently waiting for the kiss. The air seemed to still in that few moments and she found herself getting impatient with each moving second.

It then came crashing down, sweet and gentle though it left her eyes wide open. Mark had kissed her forehead instead, leaving Wendy bewildered by his actions.

“Thank you.” He smiled sweetly towards her, one that she had never seen the infamous Mark Tuan do.

“I… You…”

“Were you expecting something else?” His eyes were laced with amusement. “Something more inappropriate?”

 “O-Of course not!” Wendy laughed awkwardly, hoping that he’ll never find out that she thought he would be kissing her on the lips.

“I know what you’re thinking of.” Mark winked again, before putting his helmet back on. “But I’m not that type of man.”

He started strapping his helmet in place and went on to ride his bike. Wendy could still see his eyes staring right at her, and she shuddered at how intense it looked.

“I promised to be nice, remember?” Mark grinned before sliding his visor down.

The engine started and the man ride off into the sunset.

Wendy found it ironic, how her day started with a grey. She was in between, never here or there and she felt as though she was on the fence.

She wanted to be like the cool kids, although she had always been the wallflower. Again, grey; being in between.

She saw blue, when she drowned into that pool. Black too, for she must have been dying.

And Mark had saved her – he took care of every little detail for her – he was actually amazing! She swore she didn’t hallucinate when she thought that he was an angel.

White; representing pureness of an angel (actually Mark) and representing their start.

Their start, which will be the new pages of their story; still waiting to be written with many more colours.

Wendy guessed white wasn’t that bad as she made it out to be at the start of the day. After all, white did represent them.

And of course, who could forget black? For if it wasn’t for the colour black – his black jacket, pants, shades, hair and even eyes – she wouldn’t have noticed him.

Wasn’t she grey as well? In between? Would that mean that she’d be embraced in between his two arms?

Wendy quite like the thought of that.

Maybe having to drown wasn’t that black – bad, she means – after all.

A/N I really need to stop writing oneshots haha but i can't help it!

hope you guys like this short piece :D

xoxo