When I come back from grabbing the debit card, Corey's right where I left him. Giving him a tight smile, I move over to the couch where I dropped the papers and quickly fold them up.

He points at the papers questioningly. "Is that your list?"

"Uh, no. Just some stuff from my dad." I push them in my back pocket, opposite the one with my actual shopping list. Shaking my keys, I take a step towards the door. "All ready. Would it be okay if we stopped at the bank first?"

"Sure. Which one?" We walk towards the door, side by side and Corey opens it for me.

"Chase?"

"No problem. There's a Chase ATM in the mall we're going to."

"Great." I turn and lock the door. "Is it possible to just hit one store that'll have everything?"

"It's possible, but the closest WalMart is in the next town over."

"Oh, never mind then. The mall is fine."

"We can go there if you want," he offers, pushing the button for the elevator.

"No, no it's fine. The mall's great."

"If you're sure?"

"Positive."

"Alright." The elevator dings and we step on. "So where's your list?"

"Right here." I pull it out of my pocket and pass it to him. While the elevator descends, he reads it and lets out a low whistle once the doors open.

"We might have to get some of this delivered. I'm not sure everything's going to be able to fit in the car, and there's no need to make more than one trip."

"Oh, yeah. I guess I didn't really think about that." I push my finger into my lip.

Corey grabs my hand and pulls it away, intertwining our fingers as he pulls me out of the building towards a black town car. He opens up the passenger seat for me and I slide inside. Once the door is closed, he rounds the car and gets in his seat. He clicks his seat belt while simultaneously putting the key in the ignition, but he doesn't turn it.

"Seat belt," he says, looking at me pointedly.

"Oh!" I've never ridden in the front of a car before. Grabbing the belt over my shoulder, I click it into place and give him a quick smile.

"Good girl." Corey starts the car and I can't help the blush that rises to my cheeks. "How about this? We'll get the big stuff delivered, and then everything else we'll load up in the car. Once it's full, we can call one of the others to help us out. Deal?"

"Corey, I already feel bad taking up your time. Don't make me be a burden on the others too."

"Sang, sweetie, you're not a burden." He takes one hand off the wheel and grabs mine from my lap. How he can do that while keeping the car straight is almost mind blowing. My father never took a hand off the wheel. "We want to help you. We want to be your friends. So stop calling yourself a burden, because you're not."

"I still don't want to be a bother."

"Sang."

"Okay." I sigh. "Fine."

"No, I want to hear you say it." He slides a grin my way before looking back at the road.

"I'm not a burden," I murmur.

"Or?"

"Or a bother."

"Or?"

"Or a hindrance, an inconvenience, or anything else that my not equipped for friendship brain can come up with."

Corey laughs. "While all true, where did that 'not equipped for friendship' part come from?"

I disentangle our fingers and start to play with mine. "I've never really had friends."

"Not possible," he says matter-of-factly.

"What makes you say that?"

As we stop at a red light, he turns to me and takes my hand again.

"Sang, in this short time I've known you, even I know that you're kind, sweet, caring, and too adorable for your own good. Kids would've been tripping over themselves to be your friend. I know I would've."

At the honk of a horn coming from behind us, Corey turns back to continue driving. But he never lets go of my hand. We sit in silence until we get to the mall. I've never been shopping before, and this place is huge! I can't even tell how many floors there are from the entrance.

"Yeah," Corey laughs at my expression. "It's pretty big."

"We're going shopping here?"

"Yup. For everything except the food." We walk in together with him still holding my hand. "The bank's on the first floor, along with the stores we need. We'll come back another time if you need to go clothes shopping or something."

My eyes widen at all the people navigating the space with ease, enjoying the company of their companions or just by themselves. When we get to a store filled with a bank of ATM's each hosting a different provider name, he steers me over to the blue and silver one branded with the logo Chase. He shows me which way to feed it into the machine and turns his back to give me some privacy.

"So, Sang. We're friends now, right?"

"Yeah," I answer distractedly, going through the prompts on the screen.

"And friends know stuff about each other, right?"

"You'd know more about that than I would," I mumble.

"So would it be alright if I asked you a few questions? To get to know you better, of course. Anything I ask I'm willing to answer. Promise."

My finger freezes over the touch screen as I'm about to choose the amount to withdraw. I turn my head to look at him, but he's still turned away. Respecting my privacy. He just wants to get to know me. I'm not sure what good it'll do, but I guess he's right. Friends know things about each other. I'd like to know more about him. And I guess as long as he doesn't ask anything too personal, it would be okay.

My upper lip twitches, trying to release a smile as I turn back to the screen. "Sure. Ask away."

Tapping the selected option, I brace myself for his questions as the ATM gears move audibly. It spits out my card, followed by my money and the receipt, which I fold around the card before putting it all back in my pocket.

I tap his arm when I'm all done. "Ready."

"Then let's get going."

He doesn't ask me anything as we head to the first shop for my bedroom and bathroom needs. I slowly start to relax as we grab a cart and start shopping. I grab two extra packs of bedding and an additional towel set. When I find a washable shower curtain, I grab two and throw them in as well. This store has a lot more than just bed and bathroom stuff. I suppose that's the beyond part of the name.

When we get to cookware, I go to grab two different sized pans when Corey points out a 15 piece set that has everything I need. Since it's cheaper than what I'd need individually, we grab it and a small set of silverware, plates and bowls. Everything comes in fours. The kind of thing needed for a full family. The one thing I've never had. They're going to be mocking me, staring at me from my cabinet when I don't use them.

I also grab up the swiffer pack which Corey says works better than a mop and broom. Soon I have everything from my list that's necessary before heading to check out. There's not much we need delivered, so we opt to just put it all in the car. My bags fill up the trunk, and I'm grateful that we've gotten most of what I need.

Next we hit an electronics store. I only need a small clock radio for my room, but Corey shakes his head at my choice. Instead, he pulls me over to this stereo system that has a five disk changer, radio and Bluetooth capabilities. It's way more than what I need but Corey says if I don't get it, he'll buy it for me himself. I suppose one extravagance couldn't hurt.

Corey runs back to get a cart and drops it in before moving on to the TV section.

"I don't need anything over here," I tell him. "I don't really watch TV."

"Okay," he smiles. "Works out better for me anyway. Just another reason for you to stop by our place when you want."

A blush heats my neck as we head to check out. I set up delivery for the stereo, the only item in my cart, and then head to another store for a first aid kit. It never hurts to be safe. I also end up getting a small side table and a bowl to have by the door for my keys and mail. Once all that is in the car, my stomach starts to growl. Corey laughs as we head back inside and up to the second floor so we can grab something to eat.

We end up at a Mexican fast food place and walk up to the counter to place our order. I get a chicken bowl, while Corey gets a steak burrito. We both stick with bottled water for our drinks and Corey pays, no matter how much I protest. He tells me it's a southern gentleman thing, although he believes it should be a gentleman thing period. As we sit down to eat, we start talking and he finally asks those questions he wanted to earlier.

"So, new friend Sang?"

"Yes, new friend Corey?"

"What's your favorite color?" He smiles. He always seems to have a smile ready. I like that.

"Pink," I answer. "Yours?"

"Yellow. What's your favorite kind of music?"

I twist my lips as I think about it. "I have a pretty rounded appreciation for music. Classical, rock, pop. I like it all."

His shocked face has me giggle.

"Wow, that's quite... eclectic," he says with a laugh. "I feel kind of boring with my normal instrumental rock."

"Why instrumental?"

"It helps me focus. I work with computers a lot, so music with words is a little distracting."

"Ah, I get that. That's one of the reasons I love classical music. You don't lose the feeling of the song by having to listen to the words around it. The music doesn't get lost."

"I have a friend who plays classical music. Remind me to introduce you sometime."

"Okay," I smile. "So, why computers?"

He shrugs. "I don't know. It's just always something I've been good at. I like knowing how things work. It helps with getting to know people. Makes them easier to read."

"And what have you read about me?"

"I haven't figured you out yet. Must be your eclectic sensibilities stopping my powers of deduction."

"Must be," I answer around my laughter.

We finish the rest of our meal with light conversation. Favorite movies, hobbies. I can't really contribute much to that part since I wasn't allowed to do much with my family other than read. I'd sneak outside to climb trees, or take a hike sometimes, but I always had to be careful. Thankfully, Corey shares my love of books as well, though not as much.

When we finish eating, we dumb our trash and head out. At the bottom of the escalator, he pulls me away from where I was headed, towards the exit, to the other side of the mall.

"One more stop." My brows furrow in question and he continues. "You my friend, need a cell phone. I'd insist on a laptop too, but we'll talk about that another time."

"Why would I need either?"

"For contact and entertainment, of course," he answers, like it was obvious. "You are going to get a job out here, right? You'll need a way for them to contact you. And to send them your resume. A call back number, email. You'll need that stuff. And for us to get in contact with you," he shrugs. "Or vice versa."

My eyes widen as he pulls me into the store. I really hadn't thought about all of that. I don't have a resume, I've never worked a day in my life. So how could I ever get a job?

I shove down my fear and focus on the simple part of that statement. "We?"

"Me and the guys. It's what friends do. They have each other's numbers."

He may have been right about that, but I was way too overwhelmed to get into logistics. He said we'd leave the laptop talk for later, I could do that. And I would need a phone to carry with me in case someone needed me. I'm not sure who would, but I couldn't just give them the apartment number.

"Okay," I agree.

I try and go over to the cheaper phones, but Corey steers me to the touch screens.

"If you aren't going to get a laptop yet, the least you could do for yourself is get a phone that works like a mini laptop. Two for the price of one."

I hate that he's right. I doubt I could set up an email account on one of those flip phones.

Giving in, we try out a couple of the smart phones, and I end up choosing one of the older IPhone models. No reason to get the newest one that costs a fortune when the older model works just as well. I grab a phone case and screen protector as well since I'm known to be a bit clumsy and we go to the register.

Back in the car, Corey helps me with the phone setup and logs in all of their numbers before handing it back to me. After that's done, we head off to the grocery store. I get the breakfast essentials along with some fruits and veggies, juice, sandwich meat, milk and bread. All of it goes into the back seat and we drive back home.

We don't need to call the others until we arrive and begin to unload everything. Brandon and Raven come down to help, and between the four of us, we're able to get everything up in one trip. They offer to stay and help me unpack everything, but I quickly wave them off, claiming it as a rite of passage or something. They agree to leave with the promise that I'll call if I need help with anything.

After they're gone, I get to work unpacking everything and putting things where they belong. I take a small break when the stereo system gets delivered, and thankfully, they place it on the dresser in my room for me.

By the time everything is put away, I'm so drained that it's all I can do to pop a CD into the new system and let the soothing tones of Vivaldi lull me to sleep.