Author’s POV

Evie ran out from the bar feeling scared and heartbroken. Why does everyone hate me because of my past? After I tried so hard hiding it... Xiumin is going to leave me as well... The only people who truly understand me are Yifan oppa and Himchan.

Xiumin and Himchan watched as Evie dashed away out of the bar. They both stood there, not yet realizing the situation.

"What do we do now?" Xiumin asked.

"I think we should call Yifan hyung. He’ll know what to do," Himchan replied and took out his phone.

Xiumin nodded. "I’ll go after her. It doesn’t look safe for a girl like Evie to walk alone around here. Who knows what might happen. I'll find her and make sure she's alright." He jumped up and took off in a sprint.

There goes the prince saving the beauty. Himchan couldn't help but feel a little unhappy. He sighed and dialed Yifan’s number.

Evie ran as tears streamed down her cheek, leaving trails of mascara on her face. She ran and ran, past the corner shop, past the park and stopped in front of a wide street. On the other side of the road was an abandoned building. I remember that place. I discovered it when I was sneaking around with the girls. It is a quiet peaceful place for me to sort things out... Evie thought as she stepped onto the wide road.

Lost in her thoughts, the girl didn’t notice the vehicle approaching at a dangerous speed until a loud honk and tires screeching snapped her out of it. She looked aside in horror. Before she had the time to move, she saw a truck speeding toward her. But strangely, she was calm. She didn’t care anymore. She gave up. Evie shut her eyes and took the last second of her life to think about the good times she had with her friends. This is the end for me then... I’m alright with that, I’m satisfied with my short life.

Expecting the painful contact that would shatter her bones, she squeezed her eyes closed. Instead of the fatal blow from the truck, she felt a force from behind that pushed her forward, out of the way of the charging truck zooming past. Evie blinked her eyes in surprise, trying to perceive what just happened.

An angry voice boomed behind her. "What were you thinking? You could have killed yourself!" Xiumin yelled as he brushed the dust off his pants with his hands and rushed to her.

"Xiumin..." That was all Evie managed to say. Uncontrollably, tears started forming in her eyes. When had I become so weak?

Noticing the tears on the poor girl’s face, Xiumin was guilty for raising his voice, "sorry for yelling at you..." He looked at her and offered her his hand. Evie paused for a moment before taking it in her own.

"Why did you save me?" Evie asked numbly after she stood up.

"Why wouldn’t I save you? You were in danger," Xiumin replied, still holding on to her hand. He led her to the sidewalk before stopping to face her.

"But, I’m so-" Her words was cut off when Xiumin placed a finger on her lips, shushing her.

"You’re perfect, Evie. Please don't say that ever again. It hurts me to see you get hurt," Xiumin said and stared intensely into her eyes.

Evie sniffed as her tears started streaming down her cheeks. She closed her eyes firmly, trying to hold it back. Xiumin looked at the broken girl with, not sure what to do. "It alright now, let it out. I’m here for you," he said and brought her head to his chest. "You can cry all you want now..." He held on to her tightly.

Evie wanted to bury her face in his chest, but she didn’t. Instead, she looked up and asked, "do you have a tissue?"

Surprised by her strange request, he dug in his pocket and pulled out a package of tissue paper. He took one out and handed it to her. She took it and wiped her tears and eyes. Xiumin smiled at her actions."I wouldn’t have minded if you got my sweater wet."

"I wouldn’t cared if your sweater got wet, but considering how hard it would be for you to wash my mascara off your sweater, I decided to make life easier for you," she mumbled and buried her face in Xiumin’s chest.

She wasn’t crying anymore, she just wanted to be close to this boy. Xiumin smiled as he patted the girl in his arms. He was happy to be with her. The two stayed like this for a long time.

From the other side of the road, two other figures stood, watching them.

"Hey hyung, I don’t want to watch them anymore, I want to go."

"Why? Weren’t you worried about her?"

"She fine now with Xiumin by her side."

"Are you jealous?"

"Who wouldn’t be? Are you jealous, Yifan hyung?"

"Me? I am not allowed to get jealous."

"But are you?"

"I don’t know. Hey Himchan, we should go."

"That’s what I suggested earlier!"

"Okay then, let’s go back."

Evie’s POV

He held me close. I buried my face in his chest and closed my eyes, breathing in his scent. He smelt nice. His sweater has a musky yet fragrant scent that calmed me down. I treasured this moment, because he didn’t hate me for who I was before.

"Xiumin..." I called his name in a muffled voice.

"Yes, Evie?" He replied, gently patting my back.

"You’re a very good friend. I’m glad to have someone like you by my side." I said, looking up at him.

"I’m glad to be by your side." He held me tighter.

Okay, this was getting awkward for me... Being held by a boy at the side of a street saying cheesy words to each other... Wait, why did this sound romantic? This might be considered normal for other girls but for me, no way.

I gently pushed him away. He hesitated for a moment before letting me go. "Done being comforted?" He asked.

"Yeah, that was getting uncomfortable for me..." I replied and looked away, feeling heat raising to my ears.

"Glad you’re feeling better. It’s not that late yet, do you want to go to the new mall down by the bay? We can have dinner there," Xiumin invited, hoping I would accept his offer.

"Yeah sure, I need some new sweat pants. Let me call Yifan oppa first," I said and took my phone out of the purse.

"Yeah, tell him you won’t be home for dinner either," Xiumin added.

"Okay, now be quiet." I held my phone up to my ear. "Hello? This is Evie... yeah.... I’m okay now... Okay... I’m not going to be home for dinner... Sure... Don’t worry... I’ll be fine... okay... I'm with Xiumin... Alright... Bye oppa." The call ended. I looked at Xiumin and grinned.

"You can go, right?" Xiumin asked again to make sure.

"Yep." I happily replied.

"Do you know where the bus stop is? I honestly have no idea where to go," he laughed.

Wow, talking about going to the mall when he didn't even know how to get there... "Don’t worry, I know my way around, let’s go," I said as I grabbed his sleeves and dragged him beside me. When I tried to let go, Xiumin grabbed my hand tightly. I looked at him questioningly and he looked back with a smile on his face. Seeing his cute face, I sighed and let him hold my hand. Fine, just this once. You cute baozi...

We held hands all the way to the bus stop. Once we arrived, I glanced around and realized we were the only two there. I tried pulling my hand back, but Xiumin looked at me with no intentions of letting go. I forcefully pulled my hand back, ignoring the looks he’s giving me.

"Why? Your hands were so warm," Xiumin asked, putting on a sad face.

"Because we’ll look like a couple," I replied and poked his puffed up cheeks. 

"You don’t want that?" Xiumin said.

"No, I don’t have feelings for boys that way, you already know." I said simply. He looked at me silently. I Caught a glimpse of hurt on his face. Why would he feel hurt when I tell him I don’t have any feelings for guys? I didn’t say I’m not friends with them. I stared at him, he forced a thin smile and looked to the ground.

The bus arrived after a while. Xiumin and I got on the bus. The driver waved at us. "You teenagers heading for the new mall?"

"Yeah, my friend has been feeling down. I’m going to make her feel better," Xiumin smiled and replied to the bus driver.

"What a nice boy, taking care of you girlfriend. Have fun there," The bus driver smiled at us and looked at the road. I stood there, speechless. Xiumin dragged me to the back and sat down, I took the empty seat beside him.

"You could have explained to him we weren't dating," Xiumin said.

"Why didn’t I?" I asked myself.

"Maybe you liked it?" Xiumin looked at me with a cocky smile on his face.

"Not possible..." I murmured unsurely. I felt Xiumin wrap his arm around my shoulder. I leaned to him. Why the heck am I doing this? I quickly sat straight and immediately regret my actions. "Sorry, I didn't mean to do that."

"It's okay, I know I’m attractive," Xiumin smirked. I felt nice, having someone there for me... Xiumin pulled me in close once again. This time, I was too lazy to do anything. I leaned against him with his arm around my shoulders. It's alright, we are just friends... My eyes grew heavy and I quickly fell asleep in this boy’s arm.

Someone poked my cheek... My eyes fluttered open and I immediately sat up. Wait... SAT UP? Did I fell asleep on Xiumin? I turned my head and found Xiumin’s face inches away from mine.

"Ah!" I jumped and moved away.

"Hello, Evie, did you sleep well? Was my shoulder comfy?" Xiumin ruffled my hair and beamed a smile. I didn’t know how to respond for a second. Sure it was comfortable, but I wasn't going to admit it... I looked around the empty bus. Me and Xiumin were the only ones on. "It was okay..." I responded, avoiding his eyes.

"Only okay? If I didn’t wake you up, you probably would have slept through the night beside me," He laughed.

"Heck no!" I smacked his head and smiled too. "Are we almost there?" I asked.

"There? We were past there a long time ago. We already went around once," Xiumin replied casually.

"What? I slept that long? It only felt like a few minutes..." I shook my head, trying to clear my thought.

"Well, you are pretty worn out after the events today. How are you feeling now?" Xiumin asked softly and placed a hand on my forehead.

"I’m alright now," I said as I removed Xiumin’s hand from me.

A few minutes later, the bus arrived at the stop, me and Xiumin got off. I looked around and enjoyed the cool breeze on my face. Xiumin stretched and fixed his hair. I looked at him and smiled.

"Why are you fixing your hair, it’s windy outside." I looked at him and messed his hair up.

"Hey! I just fixed it!" Xiumin whined and fixed his hair again. I stood there and giggled. Soon, we arrived at the brand new mall. It was very big, bright lights shined through the glass walls and people came in and out of the various stores. We walked through the mall entrance. We went to a couple of shops and bought ice cream. 

Walking past crowds of people, Xiumin accidentally stepped on someone's feet. He apologized sincerely to the other person. However, the response we received wasn't so friendly. The male didn't look like a regular person. He multiple facial piercings and looked and dressed like a gang member.

"You stepped on my foot.," the male said.

Xiumin nervously nodded, "I'm very sorry, it's kind of crowded here."

"I'm not okay. I won't be okay unless you provide a medical fee," the male said in a threatening tone.

Before Xiumin could reply, I stepped up and stood infront of the male. "Cut it out already." I said and gave the guy a light punch on his chest. He was surprised for a second, but quickly smiled after recognizing me.

"Evelyn, I almost didn't recognize you, it's been too long," he said.

"Yep, I'm sure your feet is okay and doesn't need medical fee," I said and pointed at his foot.

The guy rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. "No, no, I'm perfectly fine."

"Good," I said and glanced at Xiumin who was looking at me with a puzzled expression. "Well, see you later," I bid goodbye to my old friend.

After walking for a while, Xiumin pulled me over to a bench beside a pet shop and sat down beside me. "You know that guy?" He questioned.

"Yep, he’s a good friend of mine."

"Good friend? You got to be kidding me Evie..." He said, looking away.

"Well, even though he looks and acts like that, he’s pretty nice and kind on the inside. He just does that to make some money for living, he helped me lots of time before. I really-"

"You done yet?" I was interrupted by Xiumin. "You’re talking about him like your boyfriend. I don’t give a crap about him." I was very surprised, Xiumin had never said anything like that before. Why was he acting like this? It was probably because of what he learned about my stupid past... I felt my face blank. I looked away, swallowing hard.

Xiumin suddenly realized what he had said. "I’m sorry! I didn’t mean that, I just-"

"Yes you did. Listen Xiumin, if my past affects you that much, on your opinion about me or the way you treat me, then our friendship isn’t working out. I should leave, sorry for making you uncomfortable." My mind was blank as I said those words. I turned around and left him.

I didn't turn when I heard footsteps rushing to me. I knew it was Xiumin, but what else did he want with me? Suddenly, I was back hugged. I was surprised when he hugged me so suddenly after what he said. This time, I didn’t move. I stayed in his embrace.

After a while, I looked up at him, it was hard to guess his thoughts. Does he hate me or not? We sat on the bench later. My mind was busy, trying to recall all the evidences and clues that might give me the slightest idea about his thoughts. 

"Hey Xiumin, how do you feel about me?" I asked out of nowhere.

"Huh?" He looked surprised, face turning pink.

"Do you like me or hate me? It’s hard to guess with your change of mood towards me... I don’t want to force you to be friends. If you don’t like me, you can say so..."

"You’re not forcing me into anything. I like you."

"Alright then, I'm glad..." I felt the rock in my heart drop, a wave of relieve took over my mind.

"Thank you... Do you like me back?" Xiumin mumbled and his face slowly turned pink.

"Of course," I answered, but Xiumin didn't speak, he looked at me.

"As a friend," he stated.

I nodded, "yeah, I can't like you in any other way."

"You just won’t allow yourself," Xiumin said.

"Xiumin, I really don’t know..."

He didn't say anything. We stood in silence. People walked past us in the busy mall. Without a warning, the boy leaned in and kissed my cheek.  I felt heat burning on my face. Did Xiumin just kissed me? My mouth hung open in surprise, Xiumin looked at me and a smile formed on his face. "You want me to kiss you there too?" He brought his lips closer. I quickly pulled back and closed my mouth.

"No, I-" I stopped when his lips closed in on mine. What? He, he kissed my lips too? It was a soft kiss. Just lips on lips, no tongues were involved. Xiumin's lips almost seemed magical, it was opposite of the hungery rough kisses Jimin gave me.

Finally, Xiumin pulled back and smiled. "How was it?"

"Why did you kiss me on my lips?" I pouted, something I had only done in front of Yifan oppa.

"I just felt like it," He replied and rubbed the back of his neck. "So how was it?"

"It was nice, something I never experienced before..." I replied and looked away shyly.

"Glad you enjoyed it. Let’s go have dinner now. I know a great place," Xiumin smiled and took my hand.

"Why did you do that? I might be mad at you now..." I trailed off.

"I'd be sad if you are mad at me though," Xiumin said with a little chuckle, I smacked him hard on his head.

"I can't believe you... Kissing someone like me..."

"You are perfect the way you are. A person can change, but their past can’t. You’ve grown up and have learned your mistakes painfully. It was a shame that I wasn’t there for you," Xiumin said as he wrapped his arm around my waist.

I pushed him away and stuck my tongue at him. He grinned back and started walking. We went to a restaurant and had dinner. I felt grateful for his acceptance, I wanted to stay by his side. A strange feeling lingered beneath my heart. 

Word count: 2975 words