(I posted the last chapter a few days ago, and the last one a few days before that. If you didn't read those yet, read them first.)

 

 

Bobby didn't realize the mess he'd gotten himself into until it was finally too late to turn back. Was the girl on his arm really worth waiting after ten people in line for? No. Not really. He could've easily left the moment he got bored and realized this "date" wasn't everything it cracked out to be. But it was the bigger picture hovering in the back of his mind that kept him waiting patiently, pretending that anything she was saying really interested him.    So, for the second time that day, he realized just how crappy he was in the art of romancing girls.    The first, he realized, was that very morning, when he woke up remembering half of what happened the previous night (and it wasn't the good half, either). He'd remembered running into you on the street, he remembered only a fraction of the things he confessed to you, and then he remembered asking you to stay with him (he must've been really out of his mind to think that'd work).   All in all, the sad conclusion he came to was that he got rejected... again.    So that's what finally brought him to the girl standing next to him. It was his own sloppy attempt at picking himself up from his sad rejection and the harsh reality he'd been forced to come to terms with. You just didn't like him, even when he was completely honest with you. In fact, it was inconveniencing you just for him to have a crush on you.   And so Bobby decided right then and there he needed to do some mental housekeeping.    Somewhere down the line, he was led to the conclusion that maybe if he actually tried to date (it seemed to work for a lot of people), he'd finally be able to get over his hopeless crush on you and move on with his life. If it was possible for him to harbor a two year-long crush on you, maybe it was possible for it to happen with some other girl. One that actually liked him back this time, maybe.    What he didn't realize when he called the girl up, though, was that she knew how he was, how he usually treated girls, and so she expected nothing more than his usual game plan. It was depressing, really, trying to get her to take him seriously.    When he mentioned going to a restaurant, she laughed in his face, and said, "Why don't we just skip to dessert?"   And now here he was holding a box of condoms just so he could be prepared for anything, even though he didn't even feel like having (not even the weirdest part of the day either). Picking up condoms every time he met up a girl just seemed like a habit.    "Listen, why don't we just get a bite to eat," he sighed, realizing the line wasn't about to let up anytime soon. Everyone was loading up on groceries in preparation for the storm; one box of condoms just wasn't worth the wait.   The girl (he somehow managed to forget her name) nodded. "Yeah, this is weird. I think I see my Geometry teacher over there."   He dropped the box of condoms next to the other discarded items by the magazine rack and the two awkwardly walked out of the store.   "I'm feeling a burger," the girl started, pointing her finger toward the burger joint a few steps away. "You're paying, right?"   Was that a thing? Bobby thought, still blindly walking into the whole dating scene one step at a time. He really should've thought this thing out better. (The fact that all of his friends at actually romancing girls wasn't of much help either.)   He remembered his mom taking half of his money the previous night, and sighed. There went his hopes of buying that new set of skateboard wheels in time for spring break.    Bobby nodded, gesturing lazily for her enter the restaurant first. "Of course. This is a date, isn't it?"   The girl looked at him strangely for a few seconds before smiling. "Is that what this is?"   When he followed in shortly after her, he realized this chick cleaning out his wallet wasn't even the worst part of his day. He spotted Jinhwan talking up the waitress at a table within eyesight, his table filled with the rest of their friends. To make matters worse, he also spotted your friends sitting with them. He really hoped you weren't here, too. He wasn't sure his heart could take all of this at once.     Junhoe spotted him almost immediately, flagging him over with a wide grin. The wide grin, Bobby knew, was Junhoe welcoming trouble with open arms. He was always looking to start trouble. He nudged Hanbin, speaking loudly so everyone could hear. "Well look who finally decided to show up!"   Hanbin's eyes followed Junhoe's finger and he eyed Bobby, shaking his head mockingly as he and "whats-her-face" neared the group.    "Glad you could join us," Hanbin snorted. He leaned on his palm and gave the girl a look--the exact same look he used to make girls weak in the knees. He could see her turn pink, but she didn't look away. "Well, who's this pretty little thing you decided to blow us off for, Jiwon?"   The girl giggled and Bobby glanced over at her, raising an eyebrow. Naming girls in his phone by their hair color and hotness factor was really biting him in the now. He could get away with a lot of things, but introducing her as "Pretty Hot Blonde from World History" probably wouldn't end up well.    "This is my new girlfriend," he improvised, wrapping his arm around her, hoping she'd play along and not figure it out (he chose to mess with the dumb ones for a reason). He'd talked to her a few times in World History before asking her out--maybe she actually believed those few instances were enough for their relationship to take off.    The girl gasped, turning to him with wide eyes. Her name started with a "Y" didn't it? It finally hit him. "Are you asking me out right now? This is all sudden. Not that I'm complaining, I just never thought-"   "He'd ever have a girlfriend?" Hanbin finished, expression remaining unconvinced. "Yeah, me neither. Isn't this all so sudden?"   "I really like her," Bobby answered, lips pulling into an unnaturally wide grin. "I haven't found someone I like as much as I like her."   He could see Jinhwan grimace, eyes crawling back to safety in his food. "Disgusting."   "I'm Yerin!" the girl finally said, filling the silence. If she always talked with that height of intensity, he didn't know how much longer he could take it. He also reminded himself not to forget her name again--looks like this girl's gonna stick around. (Yerim was it?)   "Oh?" Yerin said, looking over her shoulder at the steps nearing their backsides. Her smile widened (if that was even possible) as she waved. "Hi! You're Hanbin's sister, aren't you?"   Bobby felt his heart jump to his throat. He didn't turn around.           You weren't mad, you weren't hurt, you weren't anything to deserve the looks of pity your friends were throwing your way. You were just a little shocked, but it's not like that transferred into your expression.    It was just that all that Bobby said to you last night--his promise to do "better"--you didn't think to interpret i