the girl- city and color

~Hoseok's POV~

He waited patiently as you unlocked the door to the house, his heartbeat thudding with excitement at the notion that he would be spending the rest of his day with you, and at the fact that you were the one who'd taken the initiative to invite him inside. He, too, hadn't wanted the time together to be finished just yet, but he was shy about asking for an extension.

He followed you into the house, noticing that all the lights were turned off.

"That's weird, Mia said she'd be home all day," you seemed confused, and he continued to follow as you walked down the hall into the kitchen. A bright neon yellow sticky note was stuck to the fridge. You pulled it off, reading it. "She went running errands. Doesn't seem like the others are home either," you shrugged, crumpling up the note and throwing it into the nearby trashcan. "Too bad, I wanted you to meet her."

"I take it she's easier to get along with than the others?"

"Oh definitely," you opened one of the cabinets, taking out two glasses. "I mean it's not like we've shared our life stories with each other yet, but she seems really genuine from what I can tell. I hope we'll get closer, so we can actually go do things together."

"The other girls still giving you a hard time?"

You moved over to the fridge now, "You want Coke or Sprite?"

"Sprite."

You grabbed the bottle from the fridge then returned to the kitchen island. "I mostly try to stay out of Paige and Emma's way. We've barely had a conversation since the first day."

"That must be awkward to not get along with half the people living in your house...I'm sorry."

"It's not like we're fighting all the time, though. We just kinda go our own ways and try not to bother each other. If we aren't fighting, it's not so bad," you pushed a full glass of Sprite in Hoseok's direction. "I also try not to spend a whole lot of time at home."

"Oh, so you're using me to get away from the scary sisters?" he chuckled.

"The sisters are a bit scary, but no, that's not why I've been spending an absurd amount of time with you lately." You put the lid back on the bottle, making sure it was on tight before taking it back to the fridge.

"If you aren't hanging out with me to avoid the scary sisters, then what's the real reason you're spending an 'absurd' amount of time with me?" he challenged you, wondering how honest your answer would be.

"I like spending time with you," your answer was more straightforward than Hoseok had expected, leaving him with a slight tinge of red on his cheeks. He felt the warmth in his face suddenly appear, and he could only hope that you weren't paying enough attention to notice.

"And why's that?" he couldn't believe he was still pushing the subject considering he was already a blushing mess. But, he was so interested he couldn't help but ask.

"You're warm," you said, taking a sip of your Sprite. He thought you were referring to the blush on his cheeks, which made him blush even more.

"Huh?"

"Your personality. It's warm."

"Oh."

"Your outlook on life is something I have respect for. You're honest.... Like I said before, you're just warm. I like that."

He was at a standstill, simply looking into your eyes because he didn't know what to say. There were a few quiet moments before he finally spoke up, "You're being awfully honest today."

"Something about you makes me wanna tell the truth."

You managed to leave him wordless yet again, and he just kept standing there, looking at you.

He wanted to kiss you.

The urge came out of nowhere, and once it appeared it was undeniable and overwhelming. He gulped slightly, subtly putting another step of distance between himself and you. It was too soon, and he knew that.

But, boy, he wanted to kiss you.

☼☼☼

You both had concluded that after walking all the way from Koloa back to Poipu, exhaustion was something that could no longer be ignored. And that's how he ended up lazing around on the couch next to you for the rest of the late afternoon and evening, mindlessly watching television. His mind wasn't focused on the shows, but rather he was thinking about you, Kai's earlier comments, and the future. He was aware of how close you were sitting next to him, which pushed him into a spiraling battle within his conscious.

Should I really be here right now?

Should I really be pursuing a relationship that is bound to end?

Shouldn't I get out of this before I come too attached, or too interested?

Aren't we both just going to hurt each other in the end?

They were all questions that were valid, but they were all questions that he didn't want to have to answer. He felt a bit ridiculous about getting that far ahead of himself; he'd only known you for a few weeks. He knew that he was likely overthinking the little details far too much and that he was creating unnecessary stress for himself to carry around.

But, he couldn't help it. Hoseok had never been in love before. In fact, he really hadn't ever liked someone before. Not seriously, anyway. So, the feelings rising in his chest were both scary and unfamiliar, driving him to overthink in a way that wasn't common within his mind.

"Are you falling asleep?" you poked his arm, suddenly jolting him out of his cerebral conflict.

"I'm not," he poked you back.

"Then what show are we watching right now? Don't look at the screen," you put your hands in front of his eyes, and he knew he had been caught. He had absolutely no idea what show was playing on the television. He'd been too deep inside of his own head to care what was happening on the screen.

"You got me. I have no idea," he chuckled as you pulled your hands away from him.

"Am I that boring?" you teased, "Falling asleep right beside me?"

"You aren't boring at all. I wasn't sleeping, either...I was just thinking a lot," he back peddled on his previous confession to a certain degree, simply because he didn't want you to think that he really was bored of being with you.

"What were you thinking about?" you asked, turning the volume down slightly on the TV, eyes meeting his eyes in a more direct way. He had no idea what to say, but he knew he couldn't be honest.

"Just...you know...life and relationships, and stuff." He settled for a half-truth.

"Is something bothering you?"

"No, I mean I'm not exactly bothered. I'm just considering a lot of things, that's all," He settled for another half-truth.

"It's easy to get caught up in stuff like that. I understand," you settled back down into the couch, your eyes moving back to the television.

"Yeah, exactly," he muttered.

Another silence fell over the room, and back into his own mind, Hoseok went.

☼☼☼

He woke to the sound of a door slamming. He never meant to fall asleep, and he couldn't recall the time in which he started to drift off. You were leaning against his shoulder, seeming also asleep. He was disoriented and groggy, but the sight and feeling of you peaceful sleeping so close to him sent a jolt of affection for you through him. All of that peace was interrupted by two bickering voices that gradually came closer to the living room.

"I can't believe you spent the last of our monthly allowance on those ugly flip-flops! Dad is gonna be so mad!"

"They are NOT ugly! And you're the one that dropped over a hundred on a pair of headphones!"

"They have space age technology!"

"No, they don't!"

The voices came to a halt as the lights in the room were flicked on and the two girls' eyes finally landed on the nappy-accidental-cuddle session that was taking place on their couch.

"Who are you?" the taller girl asked, her eyebrows furrowing in a rather disapproving manner. You shifted beside him, waking up at all the noise.

"I'm a friend of Y/N's," he said because he didn't know what else to say. The whole situation was incredibly awkward, and you were still half asleep.

"I didn't mean to fall asleep," you mumbled, rubbing your eyes gently, trying to wake up.

"Y/N, you should ask before you bring random guys over to sleep on our couch. This isn't just your house, you know," the other girl was speaking now, and Hoseok felt himself growing annoyed at their attitudes.

"Paige and Emma?" Hoseok asked you, and you turned to face them.

"This isn't just your house, either. I don't need permission to have friends over," you stood your ground, rising from your spot beside Hoseok.

"Don't you think it's inappropriate to have a guy here without even telling us first?"

"No, quite frankly, I don't think it's inappropriate. And you two were gone all day anyway." You crossed your arms. Hoseok was starting to feel uneasy about the situation, feeling bad for causing what was going to be an obvious rift between you and your already difficult housemates. He stood as well.

"I'll just leave. No reason to fight about this," he said as politely as he could manage despite the fact he felt the other girls were being a bit ridiculous. It just wasn't in Hoseok's nature to be mean, even when he felt like someone deserved a bit of harsh treatment.

"No, this is stupid. We were just watching TV, and it wasn't like we were disrupting anything you two were up to. You both just love drama, that's all this is about."

It was interesting for Hoseok to see this side of you come out, one that wasn't afraid to stand up to people or put them in their place. He liked what he was seeing.

"Whatever then," one of the girls shrugged, still clearly irritated but not bothering to argue back any further. She stalked off into her room without another word. The other sister was left standing there alone, almost looking uncomfortable. Perhaps the two couldn't function well without one another. Then again, it seemed like all they did was fight. Hoseok didn't understand women.

"We both overreacted. Don't you dare tell Paige I admitted that, though. She'd be pissed if she thought I wasn't taking her side," Emma said in a hushed tone, giving off an awkward and apologetic smile before returning to her room as well.

"Yikes, they are scary," Hoseok chuckled, "You don't call them the scary sisters for nothing."

"Sorry about that, I'm sure that was uncomfortable for you," you sighed, grabbing the remote and turning the television off.

"It's okay. I'm sorry if I just made things worse between you and them."

"You didn't, that's just how they are," you glanced down at your phone, "Woah it's nearly nine. No wonder I'm starving."

Hoseok stretched, spitting out his words before he had a chance to rethink or regret them, "You down for some convenience store ramen?"

You smiled. "You bet I am."