A few days have passed, and Skeppy and I are out shopping with our friends. I think this is the first time that we have all gone shopping together. The idea had never come up until Puffy mentioned that she really wanted something from the shops, and suggested that we should all go shopping someday. So, now we're here.

I've never found shopping very fun or thrilling. I've always seen it as some sort of chore. A necessity if you want to buy something. But ever since that time that I took Skeppy to shop for his clothes and shoes, I've found shopping a bit more intriguing. Well, in reality, I only find it more intriguing if Skeppy is here shopping with me. I came to this realization just now, as this is the second time that I've been shopping with Skeppy.

This whole time that we've all been shopping, I've stayed near Skeppy the whole time. The way that Skeppy just looks at everything with such wonder and excitement immediately caught my attention. Whenever an item catches his attention, he goes very close to it, or holds it and starts commenting on what he like about it, or just silently stares at it with a huge smile on his face. It is similar to when I first took him out shopping, but back then, he seemed much more reserved, as if he was holding back the urge from looking at different. Now, he's letting loose and completely exposing himself to the world. I'm glad that he's gotten more open and comfortable with expressing himself.

I find it quite adorable how Skeppy reacts to everything that catches his attention. He looks so precious right now, making me subconsciously follow him around the store. I don't know if Skeppy acknowledges this or not, but either way, he doesn't comment on it. He just goes ahead and finds a way to enjoy himself in the store, which I like.

Right now, Skeppy is holding a small antique clock and admires it. His eyes look so bright right now. It's as if he is looking at the most amazing thing he's ever seen. It would be true if he didn't have that same look for the rest of the items that he has looked at today. After a good moment of staring, Skeppy glances to look at me for a second, but then pauses once he takes a look at my face. He completely turns his head to look at me and even tilts it a little bit after a second, looking a bit confused. Even when he's looking confused like this, he still looks adorable. Skeppy then snaps me out of my faze as he slowly asks, "Why are you looking at me like that...?"

It's only then that I noticed that I'm smiling like an idiot and that- am I blushing...? No- no way- it's just hot in here- right? Yes, that must be it. I think about Skeppy's question for a moment. Soon, I decided to respond with, "I just really adore your childlike behavior. You look at everything with such wonder like you are discovering it for the first time. It's quite refreshing to see someone look at everything with such importance."

Skeppy looks at me pleasantly shocked. I even catch a glimpse of a pink tint on his cheeks before it quickly fades away. After a moment, he asks, "R-really...?"

Somewhere behind Skeppy, I catch sight of Red, who is looking at us and smirking with a raised eyebrow. I ignore him and just smile at Skeppy and say, "Of course I do."

Skeppy looks down bashfully and smiles softly. But after a moment, his smile slowly disappears as he starts thinking about something else. Worriedly, I ask, "What's wrong, Skeppy?"

He just gives a half-hearted chuckle and asks, "Nothing. I was just thinking that you shouldn't look at me for too long because sooner or later, you'll start getting tired of it."

I furrow my eyebrows and ask, "Why would I get tired of looking at you?"

"...Because nobody wants to stare at something ugly for too long."

My eyes widen, and my heart aches at that. Why does he think he's...? I say, "You're not ugly, Skeppy. You're actually very pretty."

"I appreciate you saying that, but I know that it's not true..."

I furrow my eyebrows at that in a bit of mild frustration that he won't believe me. I say, "Then tell me one thing about your appearance that is ugly."

"My eyes."

The response is immediate. There's not a hint of hesitation. ...He really believes it. I stare at his eyes, which continue to look down. One dark brown and one vibrant blue. They completely contrast each other, but that doesn't mean that one's any less special than the other. His heterochromia eyes were one of the first things I noticed the moment he woke up after I found him and treated his unconscious body. The blue one was the one that particularly caught my eye, and while I think it suits Skeppy more since it is very bright when he's happy, the brown one is still equally beautiful. I say, "Actually, your eyes are what I like most from your appearance."

Skeppy blinks a few times, processing what I just said. He then looks up at me and says in disbelief, "What?"

I can't help but let out a short giggle from his reaction. I say, "Yeah, you heard me right. I really like your eyes. They make you look unique, which is good, because it'd be quite boring if we're all exactly the same. Everyone should have something special about them that makes them different from the rest."

Skeppy, looking at a loss for words, just looks down again and stares off into space. After a moment, I realize that he won't say anything, so I ask, "Who told you that you're ugly?"

Skeppy tenses up a bit at that. I wasn't completely sure if someone had told Skeppy before that he's ugly, but that reaction makes me think that that's the case. Skeppy says, "N-nobody."

I frown at that. I feel like he's lying to me. So, I say, "You know, Skeppy... if you ever need someone to talk to, you know you can talk to me, right?"

Skeppy stays silent for a few seconds, not responding. But then, a small smile is displayed on his face. He looks up at me and says while smiling, "I think I'm starting to believe that."

Before I can say anything else, Skeppy turns away from me and places the antique clock back where he found it. I forgot that he was still holding it. Once he places it, he says, "Let's go look around somewhere else."

Without waiting, he walks away to look at other items. I stand there dumbfounded for a second before I snap out of my daze and follow Skeppy.

-------------------------------------------------------------

After some time, I needed to go to the restroom, leaving Skeppy with the others for a little while. Once I leave the restroom and make my way to find the others, I halt before turning a corner at hearing Ant say, "Hey, Skeppy. I've been meaning to ask, why do you always wear that hoodie, even if it's very hot out?"

I had a feeling someone would ask at some point. After all, it wouldn't go unnoticed forever when someone wears something every day. ...I am kind of curious myself as to why Skeppy wears that hoodie all the time. The others could guess, but they don't know for sure that Skeppy wears the hoodie all the time at home. I hear Skeppy say, "Oh! This? It was a um- gift from Bad!"

Red then says, "Really? So, you're saying that it's special to you because Bad gave it to you~?"

I roll my eyes at what Red is clearly trying to imply. Skeppy says, "Uh- I guess-? I mean- this is the first gift I've received in a while, so there's that. But I just really appreciate the fact that he was thinking about me when giving me this."

I don't know if I want to laugh because of Skeppy's obliviousness to what Red was trying to imply, or at how Red's face must look right now due to how Skeppy deflected his comment by responding so innocently. I'm totally not trying to ignore the fact that my heart fluttered a bit due to Skeppy saying that he always wears the hoodie because I gave it to him. I wait a little bit longer by the corner, and once the conversation shifts to something else, I decide to move and finally join the others. In the back of my head, I wonder if I should secretly buy Skeppy a gift.