"So, um, what do you wanna do now?" asked Rogue looking at Mikael through her lashes shyly while they were standing face to face on the pavement.

"Um, come walk with me. I'm tired of running."

She was biting her lip, and her expressive eyes reflected her obvious nerves. She thought for a minute and nodded.

They were silent for a few minutes, just enjoying the awkward silence.

"I'm sorry for the trouble. I didn't mean to jump in front of the car and make a scene. I was just desperate to see you," Mikael started with a confession.

Rogue blushed deep scarlet, unable to reply with words.

"I saw you earlier, inside that car. I ran after it. It drove inside Gates. I-um, I'm a biology student at Gates. And then the car went out of my sight. After my English class, I saw the car again, and you were right there and – " he was a blabbering mess, "Well, I ran after it again to...to give you back your book."

"That was foolish." She grimaced.

"Yeah." Mikael nodded. "I thought you were just thirteen? Do you go to Gates too? Are you some kind of a genius, accelerated student?"

Rogue burst out laughing. "Do I look like one?"

"Yeah, I mean, no, not in a nerdy kind of genius way that you're probably thinking," he stammered. He looked around him, avoiding Rogue's gaze.

"No, I don't go to Gates. I go to Pristine Middle School. But my father owns the University.

"Your father...y-you're Rufus Gates' daughter?"

"Y-yeah." Rogue slowly nodded. "I just recently found out. Long story. Family drama."

"We have plenty time. I'm willing to listen." Mikael stopped walking and faced her.

"Thank you," Rogue said.

"For what?"

"For bringing back my book."

"Oh, that, of course. You're welcome," Mikael grinned. "I was able to truly read it this time. It was an amazing book."

"I know, right? It's one of my favorite books." She looked over at him casually, studying his posture and expression. He caught her look and smiled sweetly. She looked away to hide the faint blush on her cheeks.

And so they walked on enjoying the scenery around them, the fresh air and each other's company.

"How do you find Boston so far?" Mikael asked to continue the steady flow of their conversation.

"I'm enjoying my stay so far. Boston is a great walking city. My Aunt Rita toured me around Back Bay, Waterfront, and Beacon Hill. We rode this hop on, hop off trolley that took us to Quincy Market, the Bunker Hill Monument, the Theater District, the Boston Public Gardens, and a lot more!" Rogue told him with full enthusiasm.

"Have you tried the Swan Boats?"

"Yes!" Rogue nodded in earnest. "We shopped at Newbury Street too!"

"Great," Mikael smiled half-heartedly. "Have you gone to Freedom Trail?"

"We did the tour and loved it. Lots of amazing information and the guides were dressed up and was in character." Rogue laughed in between.

"Oh-okay," Mikael only managed to say and let out a weak smile.

"I bet you haven't been to Harvard. The Art Museums at Harvard are definitely worth visiting. And personally, one of my favorite things to see at Harvard is at the Natural History Museum. The Glass Flowers exhibit is really wonderful and fascinating."

"Dad told me he will take a day off to tour me around museums next week."

"Bummer," Mikael mumbled.

"Huh?"

"I said that's cool," he said with a forced smile. "How about a tour at Fenway Park? The home of the Boston Red Sox!" Mikael wiggled his eyebrows up and down.

"Um, I'm not a sports fan," Rogue said coyly.

"Uh-huh, so any place you haven't been to? I volunteer to be your guide."

"Kevin is our guide."

Mikael suddenly stopped in his tracks. Brows furrowed, he turned around to face her and asked, "Kevin? Who's Kevin?"

"Um, Kevin, he's the family driver. The one who almost hit you earlier," Rogue clarified.

Mikael's features softened. "Ah, the driver. I see."

Rogue chuckled at his reaction.

"You mentioned during the flight that you're going to do a front act, right? So how the concert went?"

Mikael gingerly put his hands in his pockets. "Oh yeah, the concert of Under Prescription. It was really fun and awesome. The crowd was mind blowing. We're lucky that the other front act band backed out and we got to play for an hour."

"That's nice," Rogue smiled.

"Have you ever been to a concert before?"

Rogue's smile faded and she shook her head in shame.

"Good," Mikael blurted.

Rogue's head jerked up.

"That's another excuse to see me."

The two stayed quiet for a couple of minutes, looking at each other.

Mikael shrugged and wiggled his eyebrows in a lovable way that led them both laughing.

They continued walking, taking in their surroundings.

"So, aside from reading, watching movies and thinking of me, what's keeping you busy?"

"My doctor told me no contact sports of any kind because one wrong hit might damage my pacemaker or shake loose the wires so my Dad opted to enroll me in arts and crafts classes, cooking courses, and piano lessons."

"Wait, what? You have a pacemaker?" Mikael halted and looked at her.

"Yeah," Rogue nodded and dropped her gaze on the ground.

"You're so young," Mikael remarked. A typical response Rogue heard from people finding of her pacemaker for the first time.

"Well failures in the heart can occur to anyone...but gratefully there is a fix for it," Rogue said in a low voice, keeping her gaze on the ground.

"Hey, cheer up!" Mikael placed his finger under her chin, lifting her eyes up to meet his.

Is he gonna kiss me? Oh my God, he's gonna kiss me! Yes! Um, no!

"Sometimes things just need a little help running smoothly," Mikael simply said.

Rogue let out a small smile, a little disappointed.

"Mr. Buckwheat!" Mikael yelped.

There was a food truck just a few feet away with a few benches in front of it.

"Who's Mr. Buckwheat?" Rogue asked.

"It's my favorite food truck. The taste of the flavored shaved ice is heaven. You gotta try it!" The excitement in his voice was evident as he dragged Rogue to the food truck.

Oh gosh, he's holding my hand.

Mikael ordered a regular Tiramisu Bingsu for himself and a Mango Cheesecake Bingsu for Rogue.

"They just opened a couple of months ago but I guess more and more people have heard it judging by the queue. Here you go." Mikael handed her over a bowl of cheesecake and a vanilla ice cream for topping and lots of Mango pieces at the center with shaved ice beneath.

"Mmm," Rogue hummed and dug in without hesitation. "It tastes so good!" Her eyes wide and mouth slightly agape.

"I knew you'd love it." Mikael let out a triumphant smile. He pulled a chair and they sat for a while enjoying the sumptuous dessert. "I have a knock-knock joke."

"Okay, what it is?"

"Bingsu."

"Bingsu, who?"

"I thought we were friends...but why are you bingsu cold?!"

Rogue laughed like a child clapping her hands. It had been so long since she laughed this loud and it felt so good.

They suddenly heard a car horn honked. Apparently, Kevin was following them. The car was at the roadside with the hazard lights blinking.

"Can I...c-can I see you again?" Mikael asked hesitantly.

"As a friend, yes! More than that, no." Rogue made it clear that she was not willing to explore those possibilities yet.

"I'm cool being on the friendzone. At least I get to see you more often. Do you have any time-frame as to when you can get out of the friendzone?"

"Senior high." Rogue shrugged.

"Hmm...three years." Mikael counted on his fingers.

"I don't expect someone like you to wait."

"Someone like me?" Mikael frowned.

"Some rock star who has his life ahead of him, who has enough charisma to attract groupies, someone who—"

"Someone who appreciates you. Someone who's willing to jump in front of a speeding car to see you. Someone foolish like me."

"Yeah, someone like you." Rogue smiled sweetly. "I have to go Mik. I'll see you around."

"Mik...," Mikael said. "I like that nick. See you around, Rogue."

The walk along the downtown and a little stopover at the food truck had been everything that Rogue had hoped for.

* * * 

Thank you for reading Rogue and Mikael's short story!

Are you curious what happened to Reeve? Do you want to read more about Rogue and Mikael?

You can download Underneath It All  from Amazon and follow their journey!