You stare at that unfamiliar hand reaching out to you, at that golden watch that encircles a slim wrist. You gulp nervously and take a deep breath, suddenly becoming very aware of your appearance, wondering whether you look respectable enough in front of such a distinguished man. You meet his eyes and tentatively reach forward to shake his hand, and he grasps yours firmly. His eyes are just like Kai's, you realize; they're unsettling.

"I didn't know you were bringing a guest, Kai," his dad says. "Why don't you come out?" He asks you. Seeing that you have no choice but to obey his request, you cautiously step out of the car, shut the door firmly behind you, and walk to where Kai stands. You can sense the tension in his tightly-wired body, the way he clenches his jaw and narrows his eyes at the ground. 

You feel as if you should say something, so you smile and reply, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be - " 

"You're not intruding, it's no problem," Kai's dad assures you, shaking his head and waving your apology away. "Are you a friend of Kai's?"

You open your mouth to reply, but Kai butts in and hastily says, "No one. She isn't anybody." He doesn't meet your eyes, and you stare at him, wondering why he's just written you off like that. 

Kai's dad contemplatively stares at you before he turns back to Kai. "Well, come on. I can't have them waiting." He starts to walk away, and Kai throws one last, worried glance over his shoulder before he rushes to catch up to his dad. You watch them disappear around a corner before you let out a heavy sigh and lean against the hood of the car.

What was that? Why had Kai just treated you like you were nothing to him? He could have at least described you as his friend, couldn't he? Or does he find you so annoying that he doesn't think you're even worth acknowledging?

And what's with Kai, anyway? Why does he act so pompous and sure of himself one moment, only to lose all that chutzpah the next? It hurts. Not just his words, but his actions. It hurts, because you want him to trust you, but you don't know how to tell him he can do that. How can you assure someone like Kai that it's okay not to keep secrets? How can you assure someone like him that it's okay to be unsure of yourself every once in a while?

His dad is partly to blame, you're sure. You could infer that from the way Kai had held himself, from the way he had balked and deflated at his own father's presence. There's something going on there, and you want to know, you want to know so badly that it hurts, but you don't want to be perceived as nosy. You don't want to seem overly eager. You just want Kai to see you as someone he can trust. It tugs at your heart, the way he smiles with a tinge of sadness, the way he laughs with an echo of loneliness. 

Is that too ambitious? Is that asking for too much? You'd like to pretend it isn't. You'd like to think it's possible, judging from the glimpses of vulnerability he's shown you already. You know something other people don't, even if you don't completely comprehend why he'd want his personal dancing studio to be kept a secret. One moment, you think he's opening up to you, then the next he says something entirely rude.

Like just moments ago, when he had explained to his father, rather blatantly, that you meant nothing to him. Is that really it, then? You're nothing to him? Is that true? If you were really nothing to him, would he have gone out of his way to drive you around the city aimlessly? If you were really nothing to him, would he have bothered to help you in the parking lot? If you were really nothing, would he have ignored your request to sit with you at lunch?

Or maybe you're just over thinking it.

You stare at your hands, the hands that had briefly touched Kai's. When is he coming back? You start to worry and scan the parking garage for any sign of life, but Kai hasn't returned yet, and neither has his father. 

You want to see him: Kai, that is. You're feeling impatient and concerned and frustrated and confused, but most of all you just want to see him. See that he's okay. See him smile.

He doesn't smile a lot, does he?

You hear footsteps and look up to see Kai walking towards you, his head ducked down and his bangs shading his eyes. You take a step forward to greet him but hold yourself back, sensing that now isn't the time to be familiar. You straighten and, while fiddling with your fingers, ask, "How ... was it?"

Kai raises his head then, and the blankness in his eyes scares you. He smiles bitterly before he shakes his head, as if trying to clear his thoughts. "It was fine. He just wanted me to meet ... " he stops, glances at you, then walks over to the driver's side of the car. "Come on. Let's go. This place is ... suffocating." He doesn't explain what he means by that, but you quietly obey and slide into the passenger's side of the car as Kai buckles his seatbelt. He leans back in his chair and briefly closes his eyes, attempting to regain control over his emotions, before he starts the car.

"Do you have anywhere to go?" He asks you as he starts pulling out of the parking lot.

"No ... " you say, and attempt to gauge the moment. "We can go anywhere you like ... if you want."

"You sure?" Kai asks as he stops for a red light. "You're not planning to take those words back?"

"No ... ? I don't ... " 

"Okay. Just don't make me say I told you so," he says, roughly turning the wheel, making the car shake unsteadily. Your heart starts beating wildly, and you're not sure if it's from the thrill of the unknown, or from his ambiguous suggestion. He continues to drive silently, and you watch him, remembering the waves in his thick, black hair, memorizing the curve of his jaw, and appraising the shape of his outline. He clears his throat, breaking your reverie, and says, "I'm sorry about what I said earlier." You wait for him to continue, and he skittishly adds, "I didn't mean ... what I said, I mean, that is, not that you're asking, but ... " he gets flustered and stops for a moment to run an irritated hand through his hair. "What I'm saying is .. my dad, he's a business guy, and anybody ... I mean, he would have tried to get you to spread his name around, you know, make him a household name in the industry, and I didn't want you to get caught up in that, so I ... you know what? Never mind. You didn't even ask me. I don't know why I'm saying this." He shakes his head at himself and steers the wheel, avoiding your eyes.

You can't help but smile at the small break in his defenses, however. "Thanks," you say, feeling like it's the proper thing to say.

He flashes a small, brief smile, a smile that makes your heart jump at its abrupt appearance. It lights up his face in a way you haven't seen before, and you discover that this is the first time Kai has genuinely, sincerely smiled in front of you.

"You should smile more often," you suggest lightly.

"That'll ruin my reputation," he scoffs. "Anyway. I'm going to bring you to some place cool, so don't distract me."

"Where are we going?" You ponder out loud, and he allows himself to smile again.

"You'll see."