Jae stared up at her ceiling, unsure of what to think. After her second day of school, she kept to herself. Kyungmi was constantly asking whether she was alright or not. Jae repeatedly assured her that nothing was wrong, so Mi was forced to drop the topic each time. 
She ran into Niel a few times in the garden, whenever she needed air. They usually just sat there in silence, basking in the sun's harmful yet soothing rays.
She even tried to keep her encounters with L.Joe at a minimum, which was all in all pretty hard to do, considering they had a class together. And he always found a way to "run into her".

When the end of the week finally arrived, Jae couldn't be more relieved.
There Jae lied, in the same position as she was three hours ago, when she came home from school. The minute she got home at 4 o'clock she walked into her room, shut the door and threw her bag on the floor while simultaneously throwing herself onto her bed. She hadn't moved since.  
A knock.
"Jae?"
"Mm?" She hummed in response.
"Someone's here to see you." Her mother's muffled voice came through the door.

Jae blinked unresponsively, then reluctantly rolled out of bed. It could be Kyungmi, she thought as she smoothed out the skirt of her school uniform. But she never told her where she lived, she never told anyone where she lived, in fact. Who would know she lived here?
It could be L.Joe.
She froze.
He did seem to have a way of getting information, finding out Jae's address would be a piece of cake to him. What if he really was at her door? The thought of that scared her to death. He could be meeting her parents right now. He could be charming his way into their hearts at this very moment.
Jae dashed out the door.
What did she find? Her father critically examining an awkward long-legged boy.
"Niel" 
Jae repeated the thought aloud. "Niel."
Both her father and the now relieved boy turned their attention to the almost breathless brunette.

"You know him, Jae?" Her father inquired, still wary.

"Yeah, he's a friend from school."
Jae quickly dragged Niel out the door before her father could protest any further.
"We'll be outside." Jae popped her head back inside before closing the front door.
She headed down the stairs and out the door in front of the apartment complex, with Niel trailing behind.

"How did you know where I lived?" Jae asked once both of them were outside.

"Don't think I'm creepy, but....I kinda followed you home." Niel rubbed the back of his neck.

"WHAT?!" Jae couldn't stand all these stalkers, and she's only been here a week!

"I said kinda! Before you get anymore defensive or pissed, let me explain!"
Why not? What more could go wrong?
"I was walking home from school, and I saw you walking."

"So you followed me?!" Jae blurted out.

"No! I realized you took the same route home as I did. Then you got to the corner...." Niel gestured to the end of Jae's block. "...you took a left, I take a right there. I watched you walk into this building and I realized how close we live." Niel finished his explanation and shifted uncomfortably in place.
Jae softened up a bit.
"Where do you live?"
"There." He outstretched his long arm and pointed to a small house just down the street.

"I guess we're neighbors then." Jae smiled and unfolded her arms.
She realized that she'd much rather have Niel as a friend rather than a creeper who lived extremely close. 
Niel brightened up as well.
"That's great!" He opened his arms for a hug, to which Jae happily accepted. 
"AHEM!" Mr. Jung called from three stories up.
Jae and Niel laughed as they pulled apart.
"I should be going anyway."
Jae waved goodbye as the brown haired boy jogged down the block.

"What was that?" Mr. Jung highly resembled a stereotypical Korean father, with his graying hair and thin framed glasses. 
His daughter closed the front door, giggling.

"He's just a friend, don't worry about it." Jae reassured.

"Just a friend? I don't think so. What was his name? Ahn Daniel? Why did you call him Niel?" 

"Yeah, his name is Daniel but everyone calls him Niel." Jae answered. 

Mr. Jung may not seem like it, but he was an overprotective father. He couldn't seem to believe that "Niel" was no more than an acquaintance to Jae. The last thing he wanted to see, was his daughter getting hurt.

"Dad, I don't like him." Jae put a bit too much emphasis on the word "Him", implying that she did like someone. It just wasn't Niel.
Mrs. Jung piped in.

"Why did you say it like that?" Mothers intuition told her that Jae liked someone. 
In response, Jae turned redder than her bright nail polish. 

"What are you talking about?" Jae stuttered out.
Her mother smirked, knowing what her daughter was thinking. Mr. Jung, on the other hand, was clueless. However, Mrs. Jung decided to let her off the hook.

"I'll bring dinner to your room in a little bit." Jae was never more relieved to be excused in her life.
She practically dashed out of there.

"What just happened?" Mr. Jung turned to his wife.

"Nothing, honey. Don't worry about it, it's girl stuff." Mrs. Jung said that knowing that her husband would immediately stop questioning her, which he did.

--------

Jae quietly shut her door and leaned against the adjacent wall.
She slid her back down until she reached the ground.
Why did she think of L.Joe the minute her father mentioned her having a crush? Why couldn't she just forget him?
But why should she?
Jae didn't even properly get to know L.Joe. All she knew were the rumors she heard. For all she knows those could be vicious lies. Jae's seen firsthand the damage rumors can cause. 
L.Joe seemed okay enough and was really good looking.
She should give him a fair chance, just like anybody else.
She wasn't going to listen to what some girl in one of her classes said.
She wasn't going to listen to...........Kyungmi?
Her first new friend?
One of the nicest people she's ever met?
Why did Jae feel so obligated to listen and follow every word Kyungmi said? 
She had her own mind and her own thoughts, and right now they were both telling her to give L.Joe a shot.
Or was that her heart talking?

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Hey guys sorry it's been so long, I just haven't been feeling this story lately. I've kinda been losing my inspiration. But I feel a bit better after writing this chapter. I hope you'll stick with me, even with my extremely long waits in between chapters :)

And sorry for the really short chapters, I just can't seem to write a long one xc