After staring at the text again, I hesitantly disregarded it and slid my phone into my pocket.

It was probably just a wrong number, an accident... But who would text that to me? Who would text that to anyone? 

I ignored the chills that it sent up my spine and the bad feeling panging in my gut as I turned my attention back to the dark street stretching out in front of me. I was now on my way back home, since I couldn't go to the amusement park with Felix while practically drowned in brownie batter after the unfortunate mishap at his house.

He had offered to drop me off, but I needed at least a 24 hour breather before riding a motorcycle or anything else as dangerous again. 

Plus, I just felt like walking alone to sort the thoughts in my head, although I had agreed to let Felix pick me up in his car when I was ready.

Kicking a rock that came into view as I passed under a flickering streetlight, I continued on under a star-filled sky, the arrival of which had gradually hushed the lively noises of the city and replaced them with wistful quiet, the exception being the occasional whizzing of a passing car or the distant footsteps of another late-night traveler echoing through the streets, now almost deserted.

...But the distant footsteps behind me were getting closer as they crisply sounded out through the otherwise silent night, their echoes becoming louder and more prominent as they approached.

My thoughts interrupted by the subconcious acknowledgement of the sound, I stopped in my tracks and spun around on the sidewalk to face the direction of the noise.

Staring past the beam of the streetlight I had just passed under, I strained my eyes to look for the owner of the footsteps in the darkness, but they had immediately ceased when I noticed them, and their owner was nowhere to be seen.

... 𝘏𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘦? 𝘖𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘐 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴? 

Turning and continuing on my way, I convinced myself that the darkness was so deathly quiet that I was hearing things to fill the silence.

I didn't usually walk home, especially at night, alone, so I had to get used to the weird feeling of doing something new.

I nodded contently to myself, happily agreeing with my conclusion, and after shuddering to shake off the weird feeling of being watched, I returned to my contemplations about the previous day and the radio station. 

Somehow, at some point, I caught myself thinking about Hyunjin— how he had danced that last night when I came to pick him up from the dance studio, how his every movement was full of grace and elegance, beauty and fluidity. 

My new-found perspective of Hyunjin occupied the whole of my mind as I walked, the night only getting darker with every step I took. Time passed quickly with memories of Hyunjin's smile and uniquely memorable personality, and as I looked up at the stars scattered in the sky, they reminded me of how his large, dark eyes sparkled with emotion and depth.

They always shimmered as if a hundred diamonds had been sprinkled in them — whether he was eating his favorite food and made that cute face, shutting his eyes tight and scrunching his nose as if he had to rumple the rest of his face to open his mouth, or if he was casually talking with me about his passions at the station, a note of excitement in his voice, he was always cheerfully brightening everyone's day with merely his presence and his smile.

I was so enveloped in reflections of my interactions with Hyunjin that I hadn't realized I had already reached my home, unlocked the door and entered until my phone dinged. The sound substituted the silence of my bedroom, which I had been standing in the middle of, doing nothing in particular, and jolted me out of my trance. The unexpected and annoying bell noise left a ringing in my ears.

I should change the notification sound soon. 

Felix had texted me asking if he could pick me up at 9:30pm, and I reminded myself to come back to the moment as I chased away my Hyunjin daydreams.

9:30 was extremely soon, and I was still covered in brownie batter.

After taking a quick shower, I returned to my bedroom and mulled over the contents of my closet, initiating the next step in going out somewhere: picking an outfit.

I hadn't gone shopping for clothes in a while, which I didn't really regret until now. I only had a few options, and I wanted to put effort into my outfit since this would be a fun outing with Felix.

...It was an "outing", wasn't it? Unless, this was a date?

I tapped my forehead more aggressively than necessary, shaking my head to get rid of that random and seemingly groundless idea.

We were just friends, his feelings for me wouldn't— 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯'𝘵 go as far as that. Of course this wasn't a date; it was hanging out with a 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥.

And for a late-night excursion with a friend, I had two obvious options: a black off the shoulder button down romper which could be paired with platform tennis shoes, or a white tank top with a pink cropped sweater and jeans, paired with some converse. 

I sighed in disappointment when opening and closing my closet doors repeatedly didn't magically make another outfit appear. Although, it didn't work like that when I stood in front of the fridge, opening and closing the door in an attempt to produce desirable food, so I shouldn't be surprised.

Resting my hand on my chin, I stared at the two options, indecisive. 

...Would Felix like the first outfit more? I think he likes black... but his favorite color is blue. Do I have a blue outfit...? 

I started to rummage through my closet to look before suddenly stopping myself.

𝘞𝘢𝘪𝘵, 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘤𝘬 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘧𝘪𝘵?? 

I huffed and snatched the second choice from my closet, deciding on the tank top and cropped sweater with shorts. I threw the outfit on my bed, crossing my arms and glaring down at it. 

𝘐 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬. 𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦? 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦. 

I quickly put it on and finished getting ready, leaving my hair down and lacing up my go-to converse. 

𝘐 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦...

... No, I 𝘥𝘪𝘥 care what Felix thought of me. It was constantly nagging in the back of my mind, becoming more prominent whenever he entered the room and my breath caught as I stared at him, my heart starting to beat faster. 

But the real question was 𝘸𝘩𝘺? Why did I care so much about his feelings, his thoughts... about 𝘩𝘪𝘮? 

A car pulled up outside at 9:30, and I assumed that Felix had arrived. As I grabbed my bag and rushed outside, hopping in the car, I was extremely thankful that we didn't have to travel on his motorcycle. I got a bit dizzy just thinking of the recent trip to his house... the motorcycle definitely suited him better than it did me. 

"Hello," Felix smiled, his voice like a soft breeze that drifted to my ears and immediately relaxed me. Shifting his hand on the wheel, he watched me settle into the passenger seat. 

I smiled back, attempting to draw my seatbelt across my torso. "Hey. Thanks for inviting me, I—" but my seatbelt fought back, and I had to pause to tug at it, trying to get it to click in place. 

"Oh, let me help." Reaching over and leaning closer without warning, Felix grabbed my seatbelt, and he was so close that I could once again feel his breath tickling my skin. His face was directly in front of me, his freckled cheek almost touching mine, the gaze of his dark eyes focused downward.

I immediately froze and held my breath as my face reddened due to his proximity, and my body felt like it was starting to overheat.

His hand wrapped around the rebellious strap, and his arm flexed as he yanked at it, defining his muscles and causing his bicep to stretch the sleeve of the tightly fitted t-shirt he was wearing.

When he casually brushed my hair away from the seatbelt, finally succeeding in fastening it, I felt my heart beat faster, and I clenched my fists in my lap, trying to calm myself.

"That one gets a little stuck sometimes," Felix explained calmly with a beautifully ignorant smile, as if he hadn't caused my heart to race from one simple action, barely allowing me to speak or construct a coherent thought.

Why? Why was it at times like this that my cheeks flushed, and my heart fluttered, and I... 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨? 

"Th-Thank you," I managed to whisper, taking a deep breath and attempting to return my heart rate to normal. 

Felix nodded in response, leaning back in his seat and starting his car as if nothing had just happened.

I tried to ignore what I felt— I didn't even 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 what I felt, but I reminded myself that Felix was just a friend. 

...But it bothered me how, as time with him passed, I had to try harder and harder to convince myself to believe that.