‘Danah, there’s someone outside for you.’

Danah blinks as a confused frown settles over her face. Someone for her? There are only two types of possibilities; either it’s one of her siblings, which is most likely to be Lisa because Samuel is supposed to be at school, or…

She doesn’t want to think of the other option. Doesn’t even want to harbour the possibility of such atrociousness.

‘Who is it?’ she finally asks, heart starting to beat wildly in her chest.

‘It’s a guy,’ Sam shrugs before resuming to mop the floor. They have been called out for doing some overtime this week and are currently the only ones in the restaurant. The manager had tossed Sam the keys as he’d departed and the latter had thrown Danah a grimace at that, swearing that the manager has something against them two as they always seem to get the short end of the stick. While workers are supposed to get night shifts equally, it feels as though they both seem to be getting more than others should.

Oh no. This isn’t good.

Yoongi can’t show up here. Not now.

‘Your boyfriend?’ Sam asks before she can choke out an excuse about her not knowing anything about this said guy in question.

Danah shakes her head adamantly, ‘god no. Don’t have one.’

‘Well, he’s holding a bouquet of lollipops so I’m assuming that he wants to give them to you,’ Sam says, ‘what I mean is: pretty sure he wants to be.’

‘Be what?’

‘Your man.’

Danah whips around in surprise, eyeballs popping out and heat suddenly rushing to her face like a warm flood, ‘excuse me?’

Before she can say anything more, her friend has grabbed her broom and flings it against the wall. She pushes Danah towards the main door, slinging the sais girl’s back onto her shoulder, ‘go on. He’s not gonna wait all night.’ Sam says with a playful roll of her eyes.

She wants to tell her friend that she’s got it all wrong, that he’s actually not a normal man and that for all they know he might be hiding a knife beneath all these sweets so that he can cut once they’re alone and without distractions.

But it’s too late. She’s already stumbled outside and hears the door shut firmly behind her. She stares at Yoongi and he stares back with a small smirk playing across his lips.

He is decked in all black with his leather jacket, black tank and black jeans that are ripped at the knees. His black boots squeak when he strides up to her. Without a word, the blonde-haired man sticks out his arm full of lollipops with an expectant look.

‘What is this?’ Danah eyes the bouquet of sweets wearily, hating the fact that he has once more ignored her attempts at shutting him out of he life, hating that he doesn’t even seem to be uncomfortable with the scowl she throws his way.

‘Apparently they call them lollipops,’ Yoongi’s eyebrows shoot up curiously, ‘and if you don’t want them, at least take them for Samuel’s sake.’

‘Yoongi, I don’t know what you want from me and I don’t want to know.’ She says with growing impatience, her line running thin at the edges, ‘But let’s make it clear:

I don’t want to see you. I already promised I wouldn’t say a word about what happened. So you don’t have to bother yourself with all—‘ she gestures towards the bouquet, ‘all of this.’

Yoongi frowns at that but doesn’t say a word, leaning back on his heels as if contemplating her words.

His silence reigns and causes goosebumps to prickle uneasily over her skin, ‘aren’t you saying anything? Not even a sorry?’

‘I didn’t do anything wrong.’

‘You’re stalking me.’

‘I wouldn’t go as far as calling myself a stalker.’

Danah can’t help but let out a frustrated sigh, ‘well please enlighten me.’

‘Rather than a stalker,’ Yoongi kicks at an invisible stone at his feet, looking like a kid that has just been scolded for having stolen a candy, ‘I prefer calling myself a friend with a benefit.’

Danah almost chokes on her saliva, ‘Do you even know what that means?’

‘I wasn’t referring to that kind of definition,’ Yoongi’s lips flicker into a crooked smirk, ‘but I don’t mind—‘

Danah doesn’t hesitate to slap a hand onto his mouth, ‘shut up.’ She can feel the heat accumulate in her cheeks, can feel the blood boiling inside her like a volcano about to burst, ‘just shut up.’

And then, realizing that she is touching a murderer’s skin, Danah recoils back as if he has burnt her. She holds the said limb against her chest before speaking up again.

‘Look, can we just not see each other? I’d be more at peace knowing I don’t have to see your face pop up everywhere I look.’

There’s a flicker of undeciphered emotion on Yoongi’s face, though she can’t quite place it. Then he says, ‘What about if we call a truce?’

Danah frowns at that, ‘excuse me?’

‘I stop blackmailing you.’ He shrugs, ‘I’ll be your friend instead.’

‘And why would you want to be?’

‘Cause friends don’t tell each others’ secrets.’ His lips purse at the thought, ‘at least that’s what friends taught me.’

‘Well, not all friendships are like the ones in friends. Sorry to burst your bubble.’ Danah shifts her bag over her shoulder as an overwhelming sense of tiredness washes over her. She just wants to go home, go home and forget everything for a little while. She has enough on her plate that she doesn’t feel like dealing with Yoongi, not today and not ever. Danah has a family to think about, she has bills to pay and siblings to nourish. There is no space for a murderer to wriggle himself in.

‘I’ve got to go.’ She finally says and doesn’t wait for his response, swivelling around to walk towards the nearest bus stop before his voice rings out in the darkness of night.

‘I’ll give you a ride.’

She blanks. Turns around. ‘You know where I live?’

‘That depends. You gonna keep accusing me of being a stalker?’

‘That qualifies you even more as one.’

‘Hey, I’m just doing my job right—‘

The door to the restaurant squeaks open so suddenly that they both jump in surprise, turning to face whoever has exited the building with guilty look on their faces.

‘Are you still here?’ Sam can’t help but scoff, gaze going from Danah to Yoongi and back to Danah again. The latter tries to mouth out help but is totally ignored when Sam grabs onto the back of her shoulders and pushes her towards the blonde young man.

‘Hi, you must be interested in Danah.’ Sam says, ‘I’m Sam. So if you ever hurt her I’ll kick your .’ That is before she sends him a wan smile, ‘you can take her home.’

Which is how Danah finds herself at the back of Yoongi’s bicycle, trying not to fall off as he speeds through the small alleyways as though he knows the city map like the back of his hand. She has to admit that he has the speed and the power to pump through and part of her is horrified that such a thin man has that much power coursing through his limbs. But then she is reminded of how he’d taken down that big guy without any difficulty and her blood runs cold.

Although she has to admit, she’d been expecting Yoongi to be a complete badass with a big black motorcycle twice his size rather than have him pedaling like a child who’s going to be late for school.

Her lips curl up slightly at the thought.

He rolls to a stop right in front of Danah’s door and the girl hurriedly makes a run for it. But he sees it coming, for he calls out her name as she’s skittering away, which makes her pause in mid-run.

‘What time do you start work?’

Turning around to throw him a confused look, she replies with her own question, ‘Why do you ask?’

Yoongi can’t help but shrug, ‘so I can stalk you better.’

‘If you think that’s gonna help us become friends then you can think again.’

‘Fine,’ He places a foot onto the pavement and leans his elbow onto the handlebars, ‘Tell me then. What do friends do?’

‘First of all, we’re not friends,’ Danah says firmly, ‘And second: being friends is a two-way thing. You can’t be friends with someone who doesn’t reciprocate.’

‘Well you’re talking to me, so I’m assuming that it’s reciprocal.’

This guy. Danah’s scowl comes forth even when she struggles to keep her face as clean as a slate. How many times will she actually have to explain to him what the true meaning of friendship is?

‘You want to be friends?’ she asks then, crossing her arms over her chest before raising an inquisitive brow.

The blonde haired man nods without any hesitation and Danah lets out a huge sigh, as if she can’t quite believe the fact that she is doing something like this.

‘First off,’ she says, holding up a hand up to his face, expression serious, ‘You can’t blackmail me anymore.’

Yoongi’s expression turns into one of alarm. He looks so panicked that it makes her want to laugh at his naivety. For a criminal, he doesn’t seem to be on his guard much and she isn’t sure whether that’s a sign of innocence or confidence in his killing skills.

He opens his mouth but she beats him to it by saying, ‘I’m not going to tell your secret but,’ she adds with growing confidence that the tables seemed to have turned, ‘You can’t harm me, or my family. That’s not what friends do. And you can’t keep following me around all day.’

Yoongi seems to contemplate over the idea. He presses his lips together and ponders over her words for a while as silence drifts in-between them. Danah shivers suddenly when a gust of wind blows through her street and glances up impulsively at her sister’s window, thanking god that right now she’s probably busy chatting with one of her schoolmates. For once, she’s glad Lisa is minding her own business and talking with extravagant noise.

‘Fine.’ Yoongi suddenly blurts out. Danah blinks at him for a full minute, trying to comprehend the fact that a huge- murderer has just agreed to leave her alone on her own terms.

She realizes that he’s still waiting for her to continue, and she clears with fake confidence, ‘Alright then. Second: you can’t hang around my brother. He’s my family and family matters are kept private.’

‘Fine.’

‘You can only see me when I’m alone.’

Yoongi’s expression seems to darken more and more. ‘Fair enough,’ he mumbles out with narrowed eyes. Then, as if like a sulky child, he gives out the lollipop bouquet to her, ‘Take it. It’s yours.’

She wants to say no, wants to throw his lollipop bouquet away and watch him get crushed by the mere fact that he’s getting rejected so that he can think twice about killing people without any second thoughts. But she can’t.