A/N: sorry for the wait, was struggling to incorporate all the date ideas but hope you enjoy nonetheless, it certainly won't be the last "friend date" they'll have.

Chapter 11: Friend Date Pt. 2

Ollie's POV

"Four hundred dollars?" I gave Haruto a weird look, the ridiculously overpriced shirt slipping through my hands. "What the fuck is it made of?"

He glanced at the tag. "It's the brand."

Gripping the price tag, I covered the last zero. "I wouldn't even pay forty dollars for a shirt like this."

He stuck out his left arm pinching a fold in the denim jacket. "This was actually sixty bucks."

"You're insane."

He huffed before glancing around the store, occasionally touching and feeling a feel of the clothes, gawking at the prices like I was. That was until something caught his eye, his body freezing before whirling around to face me.

"Oh, I forgot I needed a new shirt," he mumbled, stepping closer to me before reaching above my head where a shelf of shirts were.

"Haruto, what are you doing?" I tried to move past him but he didn't move, just fumbled with something on a shelf above me. Trying not to push him away as then I'd technically be touching his chest, I awkwardly stepped into the lower display rack, the coathangers digging into my back as he leaned over me.

"This shirt," he urged. "I think this looks good. What do you think? Salmon not my color?"

I scoffed, my mind all over the place with how close he was standing near me. "Uh, sure?"

"Yeah, I don't know about it, too expensive," he mumbled before glancing over his shoulder. Before I could ask what that was all about, he stepped back, uttering an apology. "I think he's gone."

"Huh?" I tried to look over his shoulder. "Who?"

Blocking my view of most of the store, he scanned the crowd. "That ex-friend of yours."

I blinked. "My what?"

"Mason, was it?" He thrummed and jeered his thumb towards the registers and table of jeans. "I saw him by the jeans over there."

My heart pounded against my chest. He was in here? Sure he was in town but in the same store and the same mall? That was too much of a coincidence to be true. I glanced around until the back of Mason's head appeared by the display Haruto mentioned.

Sure enough, a couple of yards away from him, the person I most desperately did not want to see ever again was holding up a pair of jeans toward Mason.

Benjamin Adams.

The living, breathing reason why my years of trying to "find myself" was a total disaster and shitshow. Just seeing his side profile made my breath come out raggedy, my hands shaking at my side.

"We should leave," he said, holding his arm out toward the door. I didn't argue and left the store, my heart still wracking against my chest. I couldn't imagine having to be caught by those two, especially in a crowded place like a mall. All the onlookers and people gazing at us from just being around Haruto was nerve-wracking alone. Being around those two would only bring the unwanted memories of high school to resurface.

"I am getting hungry; maybe we should get some food," I urged.

He smiled. "Let's go then. The food court?"

The food court was on the other side of the mall; surely running into them would be less likely there. "Sure. Let's just get out of here."

Despite Haruto's excessively long legs, I walked to the other end of the mall so fast that even he was struggling to keep up. Either that, or he was trying to give me space, for which I was grateful. Between seeing those idiots in the Macy's and the curious onlookers who kept staring at us, the persistent itch-like feeling of their scrutinizing was starting to get to me.

As we neared the food court, Haruto pointed at the chain store coffee shop. "Want a cold brew? Maybe if I charm them like you say I do too much of, I can wiggle my way behind the counter and make it just the way you like."

"Let's not get people fired, please."

"Can't promise you that their cold brew will live up to your impeccable taste buds." He let out a chuff before getting into line.

Not liking how many people there were or how many seemed to be looking toward us—even though I knew it was totally irrational, I couldn't help but compare it to the cutthroat memories of a high school lunchroom. I wasn't even in the food court, but it felt like laser beams all pointing at me again.

Waiting nervously on the side for him to order the coffee, I wondered what the odds were that Mason was here of all places. Why couldn't they have gone shopping yesterday, or tomorrow, or just somewhere else? Especially today of all days. I had wanted this to be a fun friend date, and I was a drag, making this outing more awkward than it should have.

As Haruto returned with a suspiciously dark-looking cold brew, he looked at the vendor's signs before pointing at the drink. "I know it looks hideous, but I didn't want to make a scene with that big of a line. I'll see if I can make it work with their creamer and sugar over there."

"It's okay." I took a hesitant sip, and despite how strong and bitter it looked, it tastes like Janice's cold brew, which was tolerable, to say the least.

"See anything you wanted? I can grab the food if you want to save us a seat."

Letting out a squeaky no, I chuckled nervously before gripping the sleeve of his denim jacket.

"Actually, can I go with you? It's just there are so many people," I mumbled, loosening my grip on his arm. "What if I can't find you? I mean, you can't find me and the table."

He blinked before smiling at me. "Yeah, we can check out the shops together. I usually hit up the Japanese or Korean place, sometimes the Sbarro if the other places are busy."

"Yeah, whichever works."

He pursed his lips before leaning down near my ear. "You sure you're alright? We can check out the food trucks outside."

"No, it's okay; I'll just get what you're having."

"Ollie?" He placed a hand on my shoulder. "You sure?"

Trying to keep the anxiety at bay, I forced a smile. "Yeah, yeah."

He looked at me incredulously before guiding me to the Japanese vendor, my mind racing as I zoned out, just agreeing to whatever Haruto suggested eating, pointing at pictures, and trying to explain Japanese words for foods. Had I not been inwardly panicking, I would've commented that his Japanese was cute to hear and just as charming as his English. He bowed and thanked the workers in presumably Japanese before grabbing utensils and pointing to the food court exit.

"Let's sit outside. There's a couple of benches nearby."

I hummed in agreement, following him toward the bench where I could feel the nerves slowly die from the exceedingly loud sounds of the shoppers in the food court. My breathing, although still rapidly going, I finally felt in control of it as opposed to in there.

He handed me the bento box—he had explained again—before giving me the utensil. Finally trusting myself to speak, I thanked him.

"Hope you like it. There's shrimp tempura, pickled vegetables, some rice, nigiri, and fried chicken." He pointed it with his chopsticks.

"Thanks again. I can pay you back for the meal."

He let out a chuckle. "It's on me, don't worry. If you don't like it, we can grab something else."

He helped me with my chopsticks before going back to devouring his meal. I picked at some of the chicken before picking up the shrimp and eating one. This probably beat any fried shrimp I ever had, and if this weren't Haruto's treat, I'd probably just ask for a plate of these. But he was treating, and I had already messed up our friend date with this whole fiasco of seeing Mason and Benjamin and then rushing out of the food court like a wanted person.

"Sorry—" I let out a sigh. "About in there. The whole crowd thing."

"No, it's okay. Crowds can be very nerve-wracking; I totally get it. If you'd rather leave the mall, that's fine too."

"I just." I waved the shrimp in my hand in his direction. "We're sitting on a bench, not at a table, and it's probably harder to eat like this when we should just eat at a table like normal fucking people do."

"It would make you uncomfortable, though, Ollie. It's okay to want to sit somewhere quieter."

I groaned. "You don't get it; I feel like I'm ruining this date because you have to keep accommodating me and trying to shield me from them, and I just—"

As I jeered the shrimp in my chopsticks toward him, my grip on the shrimp loosened. It landed on the floor with a bounce. I stared at it in frustration, the last remaining shrimp in my bento box, now sullied and inedible.

And with the fall of the tempura shrimp, it sent my plateaued nerves and anxiety over the top. It had been the last straw. I had wanted this to be an enjoyable, pleasant friend date. It should've been, and I was ruining it.

Irrational, I told myself, given it was just a piece of shrimp, but it was the accumulation of everything else that made me just want to run away and hide in my bed for days. It was always my stupid emotional baggage from the past with those idiots that made me act like this. If it hadn't been for them, then a crowded mall, a few onlookers, and being left alone while someone gets me food shouldn't have been an issue. But, it was; probably always will.

It also didn't help that I was having a fucking meltdown with someone I most definitely had a crush on and was on a friend date with. Or the fact that Haruto insisted it was fine, even though no matter where I went, he was probably wondering why I was acting like a cornered animal.

If people weren't already staring at us earlier, they were most definitely staring now at my crying self and the tempura shrimp on the floor.

"Come on, let's get out of here," he said. "We'll go somewhere more quiet and less chaotic."

Too much of a mess to say anything properly, I nodded, letting him guide me out of the mall and toward his car. I probably would've joked that I was acting like a silly damsel in distress and him a prince to save me, but I could hardly see where I was walking with the tears in my eyes that refused to dry. He set the bags in the backseat after closing the passenger door for me, then sitting into the driver's seat.

The ride to the park was silent, except for the radio that remained on volume 2, blasting some 2010 music I couldn't identify. Haruto circled before finding a more quiet and sparse parking area, just under some tall pine trees. In front of us appeared to be some flag football and baseball practices for really tiny humans. They looked like they could hardly walk, let alone pull the flags off the strap around their torso.

Haruto didn't say anything, and although my mind was racing, his silence didn't bother me as much as Benji or Mason's silence would have done. It was a reassuring silence, one that was soothing rather than oppressive. One that helped to calm me down enough to muster up a sentence.

"I'm sorry I ruined our friend date." The bento box sat in my lap half-eaten, my appetite lost after the shrimp fell.

Putting the car in park, he turned to me. "No, I should be sorry. I should've been more considerate and asked if the food court was too crowded for you. We could've gone somewhere else for food away from them and the crowds. I know a couple of great food trucks near Chinatown."

"No," I drawled. "It's fine; it should've been fine to eat at the food court, I mean. I just overreact sometimes and am not a fan of people staring at me or us. And it didn't help that we saw them, and—"

"Ollie," Haruto interrupted. "It's okay. I could tell the crowds were bothering you, and I should've done something earlier to make it more enjoyable for you."

"I did enjoy it," I said a bit rashly. "I did. It's just I feel bad; your food's probably cold."

He shrugged, looking at the nearly finished bento box. "Still good. If yours is, we can stop by somewhere on our way back. Unless you want to go home? It's probably a bit stressful after what happened."

"No, it's okay. I don't mind staying here and talking," I replied. "Or we can watch those videos and listen to your playlists if you want. Unless you want to go home?"

He smirked. "I like your company, Ollie. I don't mind chatting with you while there are little munchkins playing flag football."

Watching the small children play was quite amusing. Some would stop and sit down, while one seemed to be chasing a butterfly instead of the ball. "They are quite young, aren't they?"

"I don't think they really understand the sport at all."

"I don't think so either."

We laughed at how silly the kids looked, the parents cheering them on regardless. Almost in a whisper, Haruto asked, "Was it because of them that you don't like crowds?"

He muttered out an apology, but the question didn't bother me. What bothered me more was how much my agoraphobia affected me because of those two, as well as the entire posse they had.

I hummed before telling him, "people talk, you know. Make rumors and assumptions, insensitive remarks, or say things that aren't their place to tell."

"It's always negative," I added. "Never anything positive. It doesn't matter who you are; it's always negative. Guess you just can't trust teenagers and their stupid hormones and need for popularity, I guess."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

Letting out a frustrated sigh, I turned to the window. "They hurt people, offend people, leave them behind, all for what? For a fresh start after high school is over. Never any real consequences."

"Well, hopefully, karma kicks them in the butt." He said it so seriously that I laughed at his remark.

"Maybe," I told him. "Karma better after I just cried about dropping a piece of shrimp like a small child would with a fallen ice cream cone. I looked absolutely pathetic."

"I admit, it was quite funny at first until I saw the tears. You watched it fall and stared at it for like five seconds."

"Haha."

He grinned before pointing at the untouched cold brew in the cupholder. "Want me to make you a better one at the cafe?"

"Yes." I made a note to pay him back for the bento and coffee, even if it was a shitty coffee the mainstream coffee branch made. It was the least I could do for him after my pathetic meltdown over a fallen shrimp.

He fumbled through the compartment between us before reaching an aux cord. "Here. I'll let you play your sad and angsty music."

"Very funny," I rolled my eyes. "Hand me the cord."