_______

"NI-KI!" Eunhee spoke, waving at the younger boy as he stepped off of the stage, his diploma in hand. Ni-Ki smiled brightly, walking towards the girl as he waved his certificate around in the air.

"We're finally graduated!" He let out, excitement rushing through him as he hugged the older girl quickly. The girl let out a hum, nodding her head before pulling away.

"So, do you have any plans? Anything you want to do now that you're graduated?" Eunhee tilted her head, earning a small shrug.

"Mm.. not really.. wait, actually, nevermind. I really want to get a car, just like Heeseung-hyung." Ni-Ki perked up, smiling at the mention of the name.

"Ohh, a car? That's a good one. I really want to get a car too, but I'm afraid I'd absolutely suck at driving." She chuckled, pressing her lips together in a thin line.

"Really? Why is that?" Ni-Ki quirked a brow in interest, staring at the girl as he awaited an answer.

"I'm just not a very big fan of being in cars since I was younger. I always feel like something is gonna happen. So, I'm worried that if I were to drive, I'd probably be too paranoid and pull over every five seconds." Eunhee explained, letting out a small breath.

The boy hummed in response, dropping the subject as he could tell she was growing uncomfortable with it.

Ni-Ki opened his mouth to speak, but quickly cut himself up. He was hesitant.

He wanted to ask how she was doing, as she seemed to be oddly happy at the moment, despite what had happened a few nights prior.

He felt as if her behavior seemed fake, but wasn't quite sure and surely didn't want to overstep any of her boundaries unintentionally. The last thing he'd want to do would be to make her upset at him, as in his personal opinion she was a really cool person to hang around.

Plus, both him and her didn't need more drama in their lives. It would only cause more chaos and stress than they needed.

After a moment of contemplating, Ni-Ki sighed and began to speak, hesitantly halfway through his question. "So, how are you.. you know, how are you doing after everything? You know.. the stuff that happened at prom." He asked awkwardly, watching as her demeanor changed slightly and her smile faltered a bit.

"Oh." She let out, taken aback by the question.

"Sorry, you don't have to answer tha--"

"Don't apologize, you idiot. It's fine." Eunhee nudged the boy, rolling her eyes playfully before crossing her arms over her chest.

"I'm doing alright, I guess. I've mainly just been alone since then, since I wanted some time to myself to process everything. And, I'll be honest, everything that's happened recently has been keeping me up at night, hence the fact I'm tired right now. But, other than that, I'd say I'm doing well?"

She tilted her head, as if she was questioning herself. Ni-Ki squinted his eyes slightly, brows furrowed.

"You're not getting sleep? Girl, that's not good for your health." Ni-Ki pointed out, earning a small chuckle from the girl who only shrugged.

"I'm fine."

"You know that lack of sleep increases your risk of falling ill, right?" The boy stated, quirking a brow.

"Ni-Ki, really, I'm fine. There's nothing worth worrying about."

"How long did you stay up last night?"

"Almost four in the morning." The girl shrugged it off, pressing her lips together in a thin line.

"That's awful!"

"Once again, nothing to worry about, so stop stressing over it. I can take care of myself." Eunhee muttered, reaching up to ruffle his hair.

Ni-Ki snickered, shaking his head before letting out a sigh. "..fine, whatever. You're staying longer, right?" He switched the subject, earning a small nod in response to his question.

"Yeah. I'm gonna stay for Hanni, and then I'll head home right after." She replied, threading her fingers through her own hair.

Eunhee had already met up with Minji, although the girl had to go as she apparently had celebration plans with her family she had to attend to.

Ni-Ki froze, eyes widening slightly as he felt panic settle in. He needed her to stay until at least Jungwon, as he still has important matters to discuss with the both of them.

"Uh.. but, you can't leave that soon!" He blurted out, earning a small eyebrow raise from the girl.

"Eh? Why?" She tilted her head.

"..because, I don't want to be alone."

"Ni-Ki, the others are here too. You won't be alone, you'll be fine." Eunhee chuckled, patting his back.

"Well, yeah.. but like, I don't want to hang out with them right now." He spoke, mentally cursing himself for lying so terribly. Ni-Ki silently prayed she'd buy it.

And surprisingly, she did.

"Huh? Why? Did something happen?" Eunhee frowned, as Ni-Ki reluctantly nodded his head.

"..yeah. I got into an argument with them, so I don't want to talk with them." He spoke.

"I am so sorry, guys, but I've gotta get her to stay somehow." Ni-Ki thought to himself, messing around with his fingers anxiously.

"Oh.. sorry that happened, Ni-Ki." She mumbled, brows furrowed in concern.

"It's okay. So, will you please stay longer with me?" He asked, tilting his head as he pressed his hands together in a begging motion.

Eunhee let out a small sigh, slowly nodding her head. "..fine." she agreed.

Ni-Ki couldn't help but let a large smile settle onto his lips, as he practically bear-hugged the girl. "Thank you!" He exclaimed happily, pulling away from the hug.

"Mhm, of course.. how long do you plan on staying, anyways?" She questioned.

"However long it takes for Jungwon to get his ass down here.." the boy muttered under his breath.

"I'm sorry, I didn't hear you."

"Uhh, I just said only for a little while longer." Ni-Ki lied, plastering a small smile onto his face. Eunhee nodded her head slowly, not fully believing him, but she didn't have the energy to interrogate him.

"Let's go sit down." Ni-Ki spoke, pointing to an empty set of seats overlooking the stage. The girl hummed, following shortly after him as he wandered towards the seats.

__________

AUTHOR'S CORNER
bro

tell me why i went on a walk with my sisters today to some valley and there was this random ass bench in the middle of it

and we stayed there until like 5:50pm and it was literally almost seven by the time we got home 💀

all we did was play that heads up game the whole time on my phone too lmao

i have videos from it

as much as i say my sisters are annoying-- which they are, i love them too

ngl they're literally my best friend's 🥲

i haven't met someone that i'm willing to open up fully to yet

anyways

an update on that guy from school who gave me kitkats--

i texted him back wowowo

shocker

he doesn't listen to kpop but he listened to ditto bc i sent him the link to it 💀

he said he liked it lol

pretty sure that's a w

idk tho

also i'm going to a uswnt soccer game soon 😍😍

i love soccer

literally been playing since i was two years old even tho where i first started out, the age requirement was three

my first steps were literally bc i was chasing after a soccer ball

my mom has a video of it

i was so cute when i was a baby omg

anyways

love you alllll <3
february 18th, 2023 -- 11:22pm.

not proofread.