The funny thing was, although Bobby did have more experience in the opposite gender, you actually had more experience in dating. 

  First dates, anyway. You didn't remember the last time you liked anyone enough to give them a chance for a second.    You stared down at the flowers Bobby had given you -- which were very, very nice -- only what you were really looking at was the card inside that translated the meaning of them. "Fertility?"   "You like them?" Bobby said, blinking obliviously. "The lady at the store gave them to me. She seemed like she knew what she was doing."   "Thanks," you said, trying not to laugh. "But do you know what fertility means?"   "Love, harmony, faith, fertility," Bobby said, shrugging, "all of those frilly words mean the same."   You blinked, realizing he really did not know. Made sense that he was failing his composition class. "Remind me to find you a better tutor after we're finished with this."   Bobby didn't seem to put two and two together, and you didn't blame him. You weren't very big on those words either -- emotional words.    You just hoped he didn't get you pregnant like the flowers promised.       ---         So now the two of you were sitting in the neighborhood diner, coincidentally at the same table you sat when Bobby brought Yerin on their first date. Wow, what were the chances?   "Isn't it kind of funny that this is where you took Yerin, too," you said, laughing airily. "I appreciate your variety."   Bobby sighed from behind his menu. "I knew you'd say something about it. In my defense, this is one of the only diners in town and the waitresses always give me good service."   You shook your head, snorting as you glanced down at your menu. "I wonder why."   You weren't bothered by the fact that Bobby was friendly with pretty much every pretty girl in town, but every now and then you liked to say something to scare him, just to keep him on his toes, so that he knew you weren't going completely soft on him (even if you were).   Before you could even give your menu a full glance over, there was a waitress -- two of them actually -- waiting by your table, eyes on your handsome boyfriend, just begging him to look in their direction.    Guess that was something you were going to have to get used to every time you went out with him. Good thing you'd known Bobby long enough not to be surprised.    "I'll have the number 4," you said, sighing as you folded your menu. "No onions, easy on the cheese, extra tomatoes, please."   Both waitresses, who had been too busy for Bobby to even acknowledge them, blinked over at you, scrambling to catch any of what you said. "I'm sorry, what? I didn't catch that."   You looked over at Bobby, raising your eyebrows with a slightly amused expression. "Number 4, no onions, extra tomatoes, easy on the cheese."   Bobby kept his eyes on you as he passed over his menu. "I'll have what I usually have."   The waitresses looked a little off guard that he hadn't spared them a single glance, but quickly jotted down your orders and took your menus. At least these girls were polite enough not to give you any trouble. The girls Bobby attracted usually did.    "Would you still like me if I failed out of high school?" Bobby suddenly said, not even giving you the time to look back at him yet after the waitresses left the table.    "Hm?" you said, giving him your attention.    He had his elbows on the table, eyes alert but almost sad in a way. It was the first time you'd seen them like that. "I'm probably going to fail school at the rate I'm going at. Will you think of me any less if- when that happens?"   You wondered why he'd suddenly bring that up now. Way to ruin the romantic atmosphere.    You leaned forward, tilting your head to the side. "With all due respect, Jiwon, I've never expected much from you. Anything you do will be impressive in my eyes."   Bobby's eyes suddenly glowed. "Jiwon. This is the first time you've called me by that name."   "It was for emphasis," you answered, leaning back in your chair. That apparently seemed to be the only thing he retained. "Meaning I want you to listen to what I'm saying."   "Sorry, go on," Bobby said, easing up.    "You're not a failure and you never will be," you replied, the lack of intonation in your voice doing no justice to the weight of your words, at least to yourself. "But you are an idiot if you don't try at all and predict failure. And in that case I will dump you. Probably for Shin."   "Ha ha," Bobby dryly replied, all seriousness slowly dissipating from his expression. "If you dump me for Shin, label me as good as dead."   "I won't dump you for Shin if you won't dump me for Yerin," you said, finally breaking into a slight chuckle.    Bobby smiled. "Deal."   "I'm serious, though," you said, giving him a look. As much as you hated to pull out your concerned parent voice, you knew you needed to at this moment. You remembered those things Bobby told you about his mother. She obviously didn't look like she was doing it enough. "I know you can't fail if you do try."   "But what if I do?" Bobby answered, smiling sadly.   "You won't," you told Bobby. "Because you have me."        ---         "What else do you usually do on these things?" Bobby said, kicking the ground as he continued with you down the sidewalk. "Eating dinner can't be it. That's just boring."   "Depends," you said, looking around at the shops you passed. "Most people's idea of an exciting date usually ends in teenage pregnancy."   "And yours?" Bobby said, glancing over at you.    You thought for a few seconds, remembering all of your dates, good and bad. There was Kyungsoo, who took you to the museum. And Yoongi who took you to an outdoor concert. Jinyoung at his little sister's birthday party (so bad you'd rather not think about it any more). Jackson who did that picnic thing which ended up messy when he knocked over that beehive.   And then there was today, right now, with Bobby. It was only 7 o'clock at night, and most places in your small town were already closed by now. What was there really to do?   You looked at the plastic bag of left-overs in your hand and suddenly you had an idea.          ---       Bobby flexed his fingers, wiggling them from beneath the plastic bag wrapped around his cast.    "You're crazy," he said breathlessly, watching as you shrugged off your cardigan and tied up your hair. "People think you're well-behaved and stiff, but you're crazy."   "You asked for my idea of an exciting date," you said, standing in front of the lake. "I'm giving it to you."   If there was a time to go night swimming, it was now. Well, now as in summer. Bobby disagreed. Now he had a broken arm. But for you, it was the perfect time. You loved night swimming.    "I learn more and more about you everyday," Bobby said, watching as you unbuckled your heels and tossed them over your shoulder. "And each day gets more and more confusing."   You smiled sarcastically, glancing at him. "On a first date, you're supposed to learn about a person. I hope one of the things I learn about you tonight isn't that you're a giant wuss."   Bobby's jaw unhinged. "You did not just-"   And then you jumped into the water, not even paying attention to anything else. The lake water was actually ice cold despite it being summer, but that was the best part of it. It felt amazing.    You swam to the surface, and shook your hair out of your face. Bobby's expression blanked as he watched you, a wide smile breaking out across your face as you looked at him. "Well, what are you waiting for?"    He exhaled heavily, tossing his cap onto the grass.   "Oh, it."   He took off, jumping into the water with you, not giving you nearly enough time to take in the light in his eyes he had when he looked at you moments before.   He surfaced in the water a few seconds later, wrapping his arms around you. He laughed, eyes thinning as he smiled wide.    Even though your clothes were weighing you down, and there was a large chance the plastic bag thing didn't really work in protecting Bobby's cast, there was nothing that could happen to dull the smiles on your faces. Because for the first time in a long time, you actually enjoyed a date you were on. And you weren't there because Haeri forced you, or because Minhee was concerned about you getting out of the house more often, but because you actually liked the guy you were with. A lot.    Only then did it hit you how much you actually liked Bobby. And it wasn't because you had a weird dream about him that you couldn't get out of your head or you had some random unshakeable flutter in your stomach every time you saw him that couldn't be helped.   You liked him. You knew exactly why.   You leaned into Bobby, fitting your lips against his. You smiled against his lips. You were happy. And so much of why you had to thank him for.        --       Bobby pulled up to your house, glancing over at you. "You know even though you're soaked, I still think you should wear your sweater. I don't want your family getting the wrong idea. I'm already taking you home hours after your curfew."   You rolled your eyes, but did as you were told. You still felt guilty that the whole plastic bag method failed you, and you ended up having to jet over to the hospital for a new cast. "Sure, sure. You know my parents love you, though. They'd probably be estatic if I came home with a wedding ring."   Bobby laughed, pinching your cheek. "Hurry up and get out of my car. I don't want Hanbin busting my windshield with his baseball bat."   You laughed, leaning over to give him a quick peck on the cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow."   Bobby smiled, grabbing your chin before it could get to far, kissing you again on the lips. "Or tonight after I take a shower."   You smiled. "I like the way you think."     --       You sat on the bench of the skatepark, frowning down at your homework. As much as you hated to lug your homework here, it seemed like your dates with Bobby were dipping into your study schedule.   "Where is Bobby, anyway?" Chanwoo asked, dropping down on the bench beside you. "I thought he'd be here."   "Bobby's at his tutoring session," you replied in an exhale, staring down at your homework even though you'd forget what it'd say moments after reading it. Over and over and over again.   "Bobby's lucky he's Bobby," Chanwoo said, shaking his head. "That girl that's tutoring him -- wow, she gives no one else the time of day."   You raise an eyebrow, already forgetting about your homework. "What do you mean?"   "Dohee's always had the hots for Bobby," Donghyuk adds, sitting beside Chanwoo. "You should be careful, Ahri. She seems like the ambitious type."   Oh great, you thought, dropping your pencil. You weren't so worried that this Dohee -- whoever she was -- would be making moves on your boyfriend (you trusted him too much to get worried over petty things), but you were more so worried that she was spending more time batting her lashes than actually teaching him a thing or two. Honestly, if she was just wasting his time, you wouldn't let it go.   "Is she smart?" you asked. "How smart is she?"   Chanwoo's face scrunched up in confusion, like he didn't expect that to come out of your mouth. "Huh? Oh, I mean, she gets good grades, yeah. But she copies her friend's work all the time. But if it means anything, she asked me to borrow a calculator in History class. Must've been a misunderstanding or something."   "Wait, so she's in your grade?" you ask, giving them looks. "That's like two levels under Bobby."   "Yeah, see that's why I was confused, too," Chanwoo said, scratching his head. "She's a first year just like us. I mean, she looks mature and all, but it doesn't really make sense, does it?"   Donghyuk laughed, suddenly remembering something.   You suddenly stood up, tossing your things back in your school bag. "Okay, that does it."   "What do you mean?" Chanwoo asks, looking up at you. "Where are you going?"   You slung your bag over your shoulder and walked off, already too deep in your thoughts to have heard Chanwoo's question.       ---  

 

At this point Bobby was considering his options, ones that didn't involve a high school diploma. Because wow, either he was really stupid or his tutor was really bad at tutoring. Was it possible to know less than when you started? Because if so, Bobby thought that might've happened.

"Eunhee, this is really confusing," he said, squinting hard at his paper. "I'm not sure this is how the teacher said to do it."

It was so frustrating sitting still for this long, let alone doing problems he still didn't know how to do after a whole hour. He could really use a smoke  or two right now. But he was supposedly quitting for a certain Kim Ahri... so that wasn't going to happen.

"Really?" Dohee replied, looking a little flustered. "That's how I learned it. If you did it like I taught you then it should be the correct answer. Just write it down."

Bobby glanced down at his calculator, raising an eyebrow. "Well it says error."

Dohee smiled uneasily. "Well, maybe you just typed it in wrong."

"I double checked."

She flashed him a smirk, leaning on her palm up close to him. "Well then maybe it's time for a break."

Bobby's eyebrows flicked up. They literally just took a break. "I don't have time for that. Can you just explain this to me again?

And then she leaned in, so close it couldn't result in anything but a kiss.

He was getting really tired of this. 

 

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