She sat in her last class of the day, in the secluded corner at the back of the room. She looked up in shock as some kid sat next to her.

“Hi, I’m Zelo. I’m new here,” he introduced himself, bowing slightly in his seat and holding out his hand for a handshake.

“Um, hi,” she replied, and nervously shook his hand.

“Aren’t you going to tell me your name?” he asked, cocking his head to the side.

“Oh, sorry. Mira.”

“Mira…. I like your name. It’s pretty!” he said, smiling brightly at her. She laughed. She hated her name. It was stupid. It sounded silly. As soon as she turned 18, she was going to legally change her name to something better. No more Mira. She only had to wait two more years.

“So, Mira, how was your day today?” he asked, with a tone that suggested that they had been friends for years, instead of just meeting a few minutes ago.

“Uh, good?” she responded, unsure. How was her day? Was it fun? Was it boring? Was it a good day? Was it a bad day? Was it an exciting day? She hadn’t really noticed. To be honest, she couldn’t recall one specific detail from her whole day.

“Is that a question?” he raised his eyebrows.

“Yeah I guess.”

“Well, how do you not know how your day was? I mean, only you can know.”

“I wasn’t really paying attention,” she said, running her hand through her dark chocolate brown hair.

“Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why weren’t you paying attention?”

“Why do you care?”

“I’m merely curious.” He smirked.

“Fine. I wasn’t paying attention because, I really don’t care.” She supposed that was the truth. She really didn’t care. A day was just a day.

“Why don’t you care?” he asked.

“I just don’t.”

“But why?”

“Why do you ask so many questions?” she barked back, becoming annoyed with the seemingly never-ending flow of questions that was coming out of this kid’s mouth.

“I don’t know. Why does it bother you?” he smiled mischievously.

“Argh!” she sighed and slammed her head on her desk. She could hear him chuckling.

She sighed with relief when the bell rang, signaling the end of the day. She quickly scurried to put away her things and made her way out of the classroom, only to be blocked by an extremely tall figure.

“Hey Mira. How was class?” the giant laughed, and she scowled up at him. Why did this new kid have to have grown an interest in her of all people? And why did he have to be so freaking tall?

“It was boring. Uneventful. Annoying. Sleep-inducing.” She smirk, proud of what she thought was a witty response.

He just gave her a strange look and tilted his head to the side again.

“What, are you not pleased with my adjectives?”

“No, I’m happy with them. I guess. But they are so negative. How about this: ‘Oh it was amazing! Really a very interesting class. Plus a handsome new kid came and sat by me today!’” he attempted to imitate her voice, but it only came out high pitched and annoyingly squeaky.

“Haha don’t flatter yourself. And that is NOT how my voice sounds,” she said, and tried to push her way past him, but he stood firm.

He pouted. “How would you know what your voice sounds like? Wait, don’t answer that.”

She could feel the laughter bubbling up, but she tried to force it down. She failed. She burst out laughing.

“Hey, what’s so funny?” he asked, pouting some more.

“HAHAHAHA ‘how would you know what your voice sounds like’? Really? Hahaha!”

She could not believe that she got talked into letting Zelo walk home with her. Well, he probably would have followed her home either way, but he insisted that she give him permission. The only reason she gave it was because he swore he would never move out of the doorway to let her pass if she didn’t.

“I wonder what your house looks like,” he mused as they walked. “I bet it’s big. And painted blue. No yellow. No! Brown! No, better yet, RAINBOW!!”

“I do NOT live in a rainbow house.”

“Fine then, a pink house. I’m guessing you live in a pink house. And there’s a big oak tree in the front yard. And maybe a small pond in the back. OH! I’m guessing there’s a playground! Is there a playground?”

She just shook her head and smiled. Sure this kid was annoying and a bit invasive, but at least he was able to make her smile.

“Do you have any siblings? Of course you do, you have a playground after all! You have a little sister named…. Um… Soo…Hye! And a brother named…. DaeJung! DaeJung is in collage, and SooHye is in fifth grade. Isn’t she getting too big for a playground?”

“Are you having fun making up a family and house for me?” When he nodded enthusiastically, she couldn’t help but laugh again.

“Well, you are right about one thing. I do have a little sister. But her name is Hana. She’s in sixth grade.”

“Close enough. Wait a minute; did I just trick you into revealing something about your family?”

“What makes you think that you have to trick me into revealing anything? You don’t know me well enough to know how I think.” She stopped walking and crossed her arms over her chest. He just turned around and laughed, resting his big hands on her shoulders.

“I don’t need to know you very well. I’m good at sensing this kind of thing.”

“Oh, so you can SENSE that I’m reluctant to give personal information?” an annoyed tone rose in her voice. This kid, pretending to know me.

“Uh, yep! Pretty much!” He smiled before turning around and continuing down the sidewalk. She paused, but followed him. For some reason she couldn’t stay angry at this kid. Although honestly, she didn’t even know why she was mad at him in the first place.

They kept on walking, and he kept on making up more and more strange additions to her family. She ended up with a pet ferret and two Welsh ponies.

Before she knew it, they were standing in front of her house. “Well, this is it,” she said, as she waved at him and started up the steps.

“Your house is grey? Whoa. I don’t see any tree though… But the playground is around back right?” he asked, standing on his tiptoes to get a better look at her yard over the tall white fence.

“Sorry, no playground,” she said, and laughed when he pouted.

“That’s too bad. You at least have a tire swing, right?” He looked hopeful. She rolled her eyes at him for about the millionth time that day.

“Goodbye Zelo. See you tomorrow at school I guess.” She ran up the steps and was about to stick her key in the handle.

“Wait Mira!”

She glanced up. “Yes?”

“Give me your phone.” He held out his hand for the smartphone that was shoved carelessly in her pocket.

“I don’t need your number, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Just give me your phone,” he said. She gave an over-exaggerated sigh before pulling it out of her pocket. He quickly snatched it from her, not giving her the chance to change her mind. He quickly typed his name and number in and then went to her messages.

“Hey, what are you doing?” she asked, and tried to grab her phone back.

“Don’t worry; I’m not going through your stuff. I’m just sending myself a text so I’ll have your number too!” he said, showing her the screen.

New conversation:

Zelo

You: Hey handsome!

“Really?” She snorted. He just grinned.

“Don’t worry, I’ll only text you if you text me first. I promise. I won’t blow up your phone. For now,” he laughed evilly and handed her phone back.

“Yeah whatever. Now I really have to go! I’ll see you tomorrow!” she shouted over her shoulder as she walked into her house.

Once inside her house, she tossed her keys on the small table beside the door and headed for her room.

“How was school today honey?” her mom’s voice called from the kitchen.

“Actually, pretty good.” she realized that she replied with honesty, and she couldn’t help but smile to herself as she joined her mother at the kitchen table.

“Must have been. I haven’t seen you smile like that in a while! What happened?”

“Oh, just this new kid. He’s weird, but he’s nice. He walked me home.”

“Oh? What’s his name? Is he cute? How old is he? Do you like him? Is he dateable?” she leaned in close to her, looking very much like a school girl wanting to hear the latest gossip on the cute boy in school. She rolled my eyes. Her mom has wanted her to get a boyfriend for the past two years. She even set her up on a date with one of her friend’s sons. She is just doing what she thinks is best for her, she knows Mira is lonely. But she can figure life out on her own. Besides, she doesn’t need a boyfriend. They just cause all sorts of problems.

“He’s just a friend,” she said, picking a strawberry from the bowl of fruit on the counter and heading towards her bedroom.

“Hey hey wait! You didn’t tell me his name! What’s he like? Oh come on honey, please?”

The next day at school went by about as fast as a snail on sedatives. She had two tests in the morning, followed by the most boring lecture about lichens, a pop quiz, and a new reading assignment. Oh joy, Shakespeare.

She almost ran to sixth hour when passing time came, but came to a halt right outside of the classroom. Why was she in such a rush to get here? Then she realized. She wanted to see that new kid, Zelo. For some reason, she was EXCITED to see him.

She hadn’t realized that she was still standing in the doorway until someone put a hand on her shoulder.

“Are you going in or what?”

She jumped and wheeled around to see Zelo standing behind her.

“Don’t DO that! You scared me!” she whined.

“Don’t stand in the doorway,” came his simple reply. He had a point…

They both walked over to their spots in the back and sat down.

“Hey, why didn’t you text me yesterday?” he asked, holding up his phone, displaying the empty inbox.

“You expected me to?” she raised an eyebrow.

“Well, yeah.”

“Why?”

“Um, I don’t know.”

She saw this as an opportunity to get him back for yesterday’s interrogation. “Why don’t you know?”

“Are you seriously going to do this to me too?”

“Of course. Why, does it bother you? Why does it bother you? Is that question too hard? Do you want me to ask a different question? Why can’t you answer that question? What-“

“Okay okay I get it! I thought you were going to text me because well, I guess I would have texted you if I were you. Why? I have no idea. Satisfied?” he retorted grumpily.

“Fine. Ok, I’m done firing questions at you, but are you okay? You were so happy yesterday and now… you aren’t.”

He looked up in surprise. Then his face fell. “Oh my gosh, am I grumpy? I’m sorry; I’ve just been having a really bad day. I failed my math exam.”

Bzzzz

He felt the sudden tingle of a phone vibrating against his leg. Who the heck is dumb enough to text him during class? Glancing up to make sure the teacher hadn’t noticed, he pulled out his phone and was surprised to see the name in his inbox.

Mira: Cheer up. Failing isn’t the end of the world.

Bzzzzz

Mira: I have a tire swing.

He laughed, which he quickly turned into a cough as the teacher shot him a curious glance. He typed furiously on the small keyboard and shoved his phone back in his pocket. He glanced over at Mira and saw her pull out her phone.

Zelo: Still think u need a playground. U should let me ride the tire swing 2 make up 4 it. :)

She smiled slightly as she read the message. She looked up at him rolled her eyes. Then she surprised him. She nodded quickly before turning her attention back to the teacher.

Zelo counted down the seconds until the bell rang. It had barely tolled and he was already out of his seat and blocking Mira’s path.

“I’m going to walk you home and then we can go on your tire swing!” he exclaimed, bouncing up and down a little.

“Oh we are, are we? What are you, five?” she asked.

“I’m a child at heart. Come oooooon, let’s go!” he grabbed her wrist and dragged her out of the room. She had to jog to keep up with the fast pace his long legs were creating.

“Hey, slow down!” she complained, trying to pull her arm out of his grasp, but he was too strong.

“Tire swing tire swing tire swing!” he chanted. She laughed, reminded of a small child impatiently dragging his mother to a playground or where ever excited children drag their parents.

They reached her house quickly. She opened the gate to the back yard and he immediately pushed past her. He ran over to the old tire swing that her father had hung over an ancient maple tree.

“Mira, push me!” he called as he climbed onto the swing.

“Do I have to?” she asked, not wanting to exert the little energy she had by pushing the heavy swing.

“Please? Please please please please?” he shot her puppy dog eyes. They were surprisingly extremely hard to say no to.

She started at him a minute. She almost denied him, even with his adorable puppy eyes, but when he decided to quiver his lower lip, she had to give in. She was a er for cuteness. “FINE.”

“Yay! Push me really high!” he commanded. She tried, but he was heavy. Plus, the maple didn’t allow the tire to go very high.

“This isn’t as fun as I thought it would be,” he pouted as the swing came to a halt. “I know! Let’s go to the park!”

“I don’t know of any parks around here,” she said. She really didn’t want to go to a park right now.

“I know of one! Let’s go, Mira, let’s go!” he started to pull her away again.

“Wait! Um, can we please go a different time? I uh, I have a lot of homework.” Which wasn’t a lie; she DID have a lot of homework.

He flashed her a sad look, but he agreed. “Tomorrow. We are going tomorrow no matter what, okay?”

“Fine.”

“Promise?”

“….promise.”

She woke up early and stretched. Forgetting that she was supposed to go to the park with Zelo, she completed her normal morning routine. Taking a shower, brushing her teeth, eating breakfast, and settling down on the couch with a book. She almost peed herself when there was a sharp knock on the window behind her. She turned around to see Zelo smiling at her, face pressing into the glass.

“Let’s go to the park!” he said, voice muffled by the glass.

She sighed. She had forgotten about the park, and she had just reached a very good part of her book. She frowned as she bookmarked the page, and grabbed her jacket on the way out the door.

“Let’s go!” Zelo said, once again feeling the need to drag her along with him.

They arrived at the park, and Mira was surprised that it was empty. On such a beautiful day, the park should be swarming with youngsters, fighting each other over who gets the swing and what game they should play. Their screaming and shrieking should be resounding throughout the whole neighborhood. But instead it was quiet. Peaceful.

Zelo left her side to go sit on one of the four swings. “Come swing with me Mira!” he said as he started to move back and forth, the swing going higher and higher.

She sat on the swing farthest from him, and slowly rocked herself back and forth.

“Come on, that’s not how you use a swing!” Zelo scolded. He jumped fluidly off the swing and landed neatly on his feet. “This is how you ride a swing!” He began to push her. “Underdog!” he shouted randomly, and without a seconds pause, he pushed her up and over his head, running forwards.

She let out a small scream as she faced the sky, gripping the chains of the swing with all her might.

“Now jump!” he cheered as he watched her.

“WHAT? Are you crazy?! I can’t jump now! I’ll hurt myself!” she shrieked.

“You won’t hurt yourself. I’ll catch you! Trust me!” he encouraged, opening his arms.

“Why should I trust you? I barely know you!”

“Just trust me.”

She gave in. She squeezed her eyes shut and slowly loosened her grip on the swing, slightly leaning forwards as she completely let go. She flew through the air and landed heavily on her feet, losing her balance. She could feel herself tipping towards the ground and she reached her arms out to brace her fall. Right before she hit the ground, a pair of strong arms caught her and wrapped around her, pulling her up. She opened her eyes and saw Zelo grinning at her as he hugged her.

“See? That wasn’t so bad now was it? And look! I caught you, just like I promised!”

This was their third time at the park. Somehow, Zelo managed to drag the hesitant Mira out to the park two more times after their first visit.

He had also somehow managed to get her to jump off the swing four times in one day. They took turns, seeing who could jump the farthest. Zelo always won, but it didn’t bother her.

He kept his promise. Every time she would jump, he was always there to catch her. Although she had improved her landing, and no longer needed help to keep her balance, he continued to hug her after each jump.

“Ok Zelo, I’m tired. Can we go home now?” she asked. They had been at the park for a few hours, and she was getting bored.

“One last jump. Please? Just one more.” He ran to the swing and jumped on the swing, quickly getting high enough. He launched himself off.

“Mira, I love you!” he shouted as he flew through the air and landed effortlessly on his feet. She stood there, frozen; a shocked expression on her face.

“You- you what?” she asked, voice barely audible.

“I love you!” he smiled. She felt the heat rising in her cheeks and she blushed a deep red.

“Your turn!” he shouted, pushing her onto a swing. He pushed her until she was high enough and then ran in front of her. “Now jump!”

Her hands let go automatically, and she soared through the air, into his arms.

“I-I love you,” she breathed, wrapping her arms around his waist.

“I love you.” He pressed his face into her hair.

And she felt loved.

And it felt good.

 

 

 

 

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AN: So yeah, this one was already posted as it's own one shot, but as you guys already know, I'm re-uploading them~

Next story is new. Excited? :)