The car journey home was pretty quiet. Sehun seemed tired from all the not-helping he had been doing all day, or maybe it was because I had woken him up so early this morning. Either way, an almost continuous stream of yawns escaped his mouth accompanied but a very odd variety of sounds.

I, on the other hand, couldn’t even think about being tired. My mind was alight. It was like a million thoughts were pulsing through it at once. It was tiring, in its own way. And frustrating, almost endlessly. But most of all, it was confusing.

Baekhyun had clearly called me his friend earlier. And Sehun had called his friend the other day as well. Then there was Luhan, my long-time friend – best friend, even. So why was I feeling differently towards them all? I could feel my face screwing up and was glad for the darkness within the car to hide it from a potentially-prying Sehun.

If I had been alone, I might have slapped my face to try shake myself from these thoughts. A glance to the side told me that Sehun was still (thankfully) at the wheel. I really don’t know why I even felt the need to check that.

Maybe I just needed to think about this logically. Yes, that was it. Firstly; Luhan. I’d known him for the majority of my life – twelve years, to be exact. We only became close when I was almost nine, though. He was caring and gentle. He was from my world, and he knew me well; the real me. Through everything, he had been there for me. And I for him, I suppose.

Secondly; Baekhyun. Really, I didn’t know him that well. But he has always been kind to me; I recalled how he had treated me when I had first arrived here. Heck, I had almost ran him over before we met for the first time. Baekhyun was comfortable to be around for the very fact that he was so relaxed himself. Even when he was annoyed or frustrated, I always got the impression that he would do anything to cheer someone else up if he suspected that they were feeling the same way.

Finally; him. I glanced to the side at Sehun again. We were sitting in traffic lights and he was absentmindedly tapping his hand on the top of the steering wheel, probably to some rhythm going through his own head alone. He was. . . He was. . . What was he? I couldn’t find the right adjective, or the reasoning behind it. Yes, I could say he was kind. Yes, I could say he was caring. Yes, I could say he was charming – in his own weird way. But that wasn’t it. None of those words were adequate. I seriously considered looking up a thesaurus when I got home.

“What are you thinking about?” Sehun asked me suddenly, totally drawing me out of my daze with the sound of his voice. Not to the extent that I heard what he said, though.

“What?”

He glanced briefly in my direction before facing the road again. It was too dark for me to see his face properly, but from his voice it sounded like he was smiling a little, probably at my absentmindedness. At least that’s how I imagined him looking. “I asked what you’re thinking about.”

“Oh,” was I could reply. It wasn’t an answer. But I didn’t know what the answer should be. Oh, you know, just trying to think of the right adjective to describe the random stuff I happen to like about you. I almost scoffed at my own inner sarcasm.

I heard Sehun chuckle quietly. My head snapped around to face him. The street lamps we were driving under would occasionally allow a little stream of light to find its way into the car and illuminate his features for a fraction of a second before they would disappear again. From the brief flickers, I could tell he was smiling lightly. I felt the corner of my own mouth turn up at the sight.

“Wow,” Sehun mumbled quietly.

I blinked a little at his unexpected outburst. “What?” I asked as I looked around just above the dashboard in the hopes of seeing what he had seen.

He shook his head slowly. “I just had no idea you were such a creep, Mira. I wouldn’t have let you get into my car if I thought you were just going to side-ogle me the whole way.”

Utterly incredulously, I let out a strange high-pitched noise squawk that showed my disbelief. “What are you talking about?” I scoffed.

He suddenly pulled up the car. I don’t know why, but the first thing I thought of was that he was about to kick me out of the car. Looking around myself to see which awful place he’s found to abandon me, I instantly felt a little stupid. We were home. Maybe he was right; maybe I had been staring at him for so long that I hadn’t even realised that we had reached the apartment block.

Without another word I slid out of the car, into the cold air, and I watched as he carefully reversed into the space in the garage. In my head, he was whispering sweet nothings to it as he locked it and pulled the garage door down.

“So,” he called out as he began walking back to me after triple-checking that the garage was secure. A small smile was laced on his lips. “What thoughts were plaguing Mira’s mind that could possibly make her stare at me in such a scrutinous manner?” The way he spoke suggested that he was just thinking out loud to himself, but of course he was wanting an answer. I still didn’t have one. 

“Hmm. . .” he pretended to consider as he reached me. A mischievous grin stretched over his lips. “Trying to work out how to beg me to make you dinner? Or just thinking about how handsome I am?” he teased lightly.

I felt my eyebrow begin to pull up but I dragged it back down. Two could play at this game. Nodding, I smiled a little slyly at him, “The latter.”

His grin was wiped from his face instantly, being replaced with an almost vacant glance. My heart raced a little when I saw his cheeks gain a little colour. It was reassuring to know that I wasn’t the only one who felt a bit confused by our relationship. Sehun had composed his face a little now, but he just looked baffled. His eyes roamed deeply into my own as if searching. The action suddenly made me feel bare, exposed.

I was going to turn and head towards the building when I saw something large land on Sehun’s