Since they found out they were going to the same university, Wendy and Irene had the habit of waiting for each other before going home.

Even when Wendy’s professor went 30 minutes beyond the lecture time, or when Irene waits for the rain to stop at the convenience store after an abrupt rice cake run, they would always meet at the same spot to wait for a ride home: a red bus stop a few blocks away from the university. 

The routine was a refreshing restart for the pair of best friends, who hashed out an awkwardness out between the both of them in high school, stemming from Wendy having a huge crush on Irene in junior year. 

It was a truth or dare game, and Wendy, out of pressure, confessed that she liked the elder. After that she built up her own wall because she knew damn well then that the girl was out of her league. How they rebuilt their friendship was another story. 

Now that they’ve patched things up and built memories that seemed to bury that rough phase, the conversations about it seemed nonchalant. 

“Was I really head over heels for you then?” Wendy asked, rocking the heels of her chucks back and forth while looking at wilting trees. 

Irene laughed, gripping at the rice cakes she bought from the convenience store. “Well, you cried over me, after all.” 

"Yah! Where did you hear that?” Wendy kicked the dried leaves off the pavement, towards Irene, who let out a loud laugh as Wendy's cheeks flushed. It was 9 in the evening and there were hardly any buses coming by. 

There was silence, followed by a chuckle from the blonde, who found it right to ask a question she’d been meaning to ask. “Irene?”

“Yeah?”

Wendy pursed her lips, trying to word her question properly. “Did you ever y’know... uh, like me back then?”

It took a while for Irene to answer. “No.”

“Well,” Wendy grinned, fidgeting the strings of her bag. “I wonder why it took me this long to ask that? Me going through that trouble of crying over puppy love?"

She continued. "At least things are okay now, right?” 

Irene nods lightly, and looks at the left side of the road, where headlights started drawing closer. Above them had bus number assigned for Irene’s route home lit up

“Hey what time do your classes end tomorrow?” Irene asks. 

“5 PM. But I’m going out with my girlfriend for early dinner.”

The elder grinned her widest, and looked at her best friend. “Perfect, my class ends at 8.” 

The bus finally approached their stop and Irene mouthed a “see you” at Wendy before turning away, throwing the grin away, dropping her ticket and looking for a free seat she could slump on.

As the bus started moving, Irene looked at the window towards Wendy’s direction apologetically, looked away and mumbled. “I do now. But it’s too late for that isn’t it?”

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im so sorry for any typos but yeah enjoy 👉👈

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