Title: A Penny for Your Thoughts?
Pairing: Kai x OC
Genre: Fluff
Rating: G
Word Count: 1163
Summary: Sometimes strangers listen best
 

Lily sat in the middle of the cafe, a steaming mug sitting on the table in front of her, laptop open, and a book on the other side of her mug. A small frown was taking up residence on her pretty face as she flipped frantically through the book, searching for her notes. 

Midterms was next week, and she was feeling extremely stressed out at this point. She couldn't focus on her history notes, the soft music playing in the cafe grating on her last nerves. With a huff, she slammed the book down and closed her eyes, cradling her face in her hands, trying to calm herself.

"A penny for your thoughts?" a voice asks, and Lily jumps up in suprise. Standing over her is a boy, around her age, with dark chocolatey hair and a lovely tan. 

"Sorry?" she squeaks, and winces at the pitch of her own voice.

The boy chuckles before sidling into the seat across from her, setting his own backpack down. "You seem stressed, and well... a penny for your thoughts?"

Lily stared at the boy in amusement. "You'll pay me... to complain to you?" she asked incredulously, before taking a sip of her tea. "A complete stranger's," she continues, a small grin forming on her face, "problems are worth a penny to you?"

The boy grinned at her, and she couldn't help but admire how white his teeth looked against his smooth, tan skin. "Of course. It makes me feel like my life isn't as bad as it could be" he retorts cheekily, his eyes crinkling up as he gave a small chuckle. "Besides.. I'm a complete stranger. What do you have to lose?"

Lily just shook her head, bemused. "I won't waste your time, as my problems are all trivial and completely boring." She gave a small chuckle. "Once I start, I won't be able to stop. I think a full rant is worth more than just a cent, don't you?" 

The boy stared at her, his mouth ajar in suprise before bursting out laughing, his shoulders shaking with amusement. After the laughter finally died down, he leaned over across the table asking, "Would you like to see a magic trick?" With a nod of her head, he reached over and plucked something out of her ear. Lily saw a glint of copper before the boy returned to his seat with a flourish. A penny.

"A penny for your thoughts?" he asked once again, waving the shiny coin in front of her face with a grin on his face.

What could it hurt? "Sure" Lily replied, plucking the coin out of his hand. Taking a sip of her tea, she began talking about her problems to the stranger sitting across from her. Strangely, it didn't feel at all awkward, and she just gushed on and on about her stress, midterms, everything. The boy just sat across from her, sometimes nodding, othertimes wincing sympathetically. 

That's how they sat for a few hours, Lily pouring her heart out to the tan, dark haired boy who sat across from her. As Lily had started to worry about her math grades to the boy, she took a peek out the window and immediatly quieted down.

"Oh, wow, its been a while" she said lamely, staring at the penny which was now sitting between them on the table. Her mug of tea had long been empty, and in its place was a half empty mug of coffee. 

The boy simply shrugged nonchantly, and rose from his seat, putting on his jacket and picking up his backpack. "Thanks" he said, a small smile on his face before leaving the cafe.

"Wait, I don't even know your name!" Lily cried, but the boy was already gone. Packing her bag, she realized that sometime in those three and a half hours that they had been sitting there, the stranger had gone over the history dates with her. And they were still stuck inside her brain, as was the image of the boy with the brown hair and the creamy, dark skin.

The next few days, Lily arrived at the small cafe as soon as classes were over, taking with her notes, books, her laptop. She would sit in the same place she sat every time, and study. However, she would find herself staring at the doorway and the seat across from her. Waiting for that stranger to come back. But a week passed, and he never did, so Lily gave up hope. After all, midterms were over, and she had aced the history exam.

On that day, Lily was feeling more stressed than usual. She was sure she was almost bald, the way she had been running her hands through her hair, pulling out strand after strand. Growling in frusteration, she looked up to find a copper coin being waved tantalizingly in front of her face. Then she saw the grin, the white teeth shining, causing unnecesary butterflies to flutter in her stomach. 

The two grinned at each other, before he placed the coin on the table between them. "A penny for your thoughts?"

So it became a routine for the two of them. Whenever Lily was stressed out, he would appear, a single copper penny in his hand. He would sit down, and silently listen to everything that was on Lily's mind. After a few hours, when Lily was done ranting, he would just as silently get up, murmer a quiet thank you, and leave. 

Lily never found out his name, and he never asked for hers. 

Finally, Lily couldn't stand the enigma any longer. After staring at her math worksheet in frusteration, she had looked up and found the penny in her face. He had sat down, and resumed his usual stoic appearance, but instead of ranting, Lily just looked at him, a small pout on her face.

Realizing Lily wasn't going to talk, the stranger instead, raised an eyebrow and stared right back at Lily, causing a small flush to rise in her cheeks. He smirked, and she scowled, unconsciously admiring the boy's strong cheekbones and the undeniable bulge of muscle in his arms. The small curve of his lips only enticed her more and she slapped herself to get a grip. 

The boy looked amused as Lily slapped herself on the cheek, cocking an eyebrow in question. In response, Lily stuck out her tongue.

"What's your name?" she blurted out, and flushed as his eyebrows rose even higher. 

"We've known each other for almost 4 months, and you don't know my name?" he drawled out, amusement in his eyes. "I'm Jongin. Kim Jongin... and you are...?" He gave a sheepish grin, as she in turn raised her eyebrow.

"Lily" she replied with a small smile, before reaching into her bag and pulling out a small purse. Opening it, she took out a single copper coin, before placing it in front of the boy. "A penny for your thoughts, Kim Jongin?"