Content

"Wait...Raoul." Iris called as she walked fast to the door holding it still.

"Actually..."

"You don't have to explain yourself.It's okay."

"No." Iris was a bit hesitant. She knew nothing about what Raoul might be feeling .One, because of her obliviousness towards him. Two, because Raoul wasn't the type to open up quickly to people and would rather hide how he feels towards someone until he is sure.

"I was not uncomfortable. It's totally...the opposite..." Her voice got lower as she reached the end of her sentence , but her words did not escape Raoul's attentive angel ears.

"The opposite?" Raoul stood closer to Iris now ,still confused at the meaning behind what Iris has said. "Yeah... the opposite..."

"I don't mind us being close.Look, it is nice and comfortable.My heart...it-it feels like it skips a beat when I - I mean you- you stand close to me than usual. I hope you don't mind being close to me too cause I actually like it, Raoul. I really do. I like spending time with you, beig around you...and...and... yeah" Her heart was now beating so fast, as silence filled the room.

A beat passed to nothing. Then a second , followed by a third. Fourth.

Yet Raoul stood still, and with an expression Iris could not read. Then, by the eight beat, Raoul gulped . His eyes that were facing nowhere were now facing Iris's shiny ones. "You mean it?" He simply asked , walking three steps closer.

"Yes." She said breathily, anxiety rushing through her , but she didn't hate this feeling. The feeling of butterflies rushing through her veins , fluttering in the stomach. " I mean it." She bit her lip anxiously as she awaited what the latter might say next.

"Okay." He then said making Iris confused.

"Okay? What? That's it? Are you not going to say anything more?" Iris raised her voice slightly more than normal, unable to process what he just said. What does okay even mean? She angrily thought.

Except, Raoul's next move made her stumble back, cutting the rope of thoughts. He smiled , bringing his face closer . "I don't mind too. Knowing that you also don't mind, I hope you'll be okay with this." He directly moved his boddy forward , hugging Everly ever so tightly. Less than two beats after, Everly was hugging him back , both enjoying the embrace of the other, peace and comfort filling their hearts.

-

52 heartbeats later, the hug was broken and they both shyly looked at each other. "So... Do you want me to leave?" Raoul asked slightly awkwardly.

"No" Iris said too quickly. "Stay for a while." Raoul smiled , chuckling. He mumbled an 'okay' closing the still open door behind him.

They both sat again on the table , trying to eat the now not-so-hot food they left a few minutes ago.

"It's a pity. They were really good at first. Still good , but not as much." Iris mumbled as she munched some more fries.

Raoul licked the ketchup from the corner of his lips as he hummed back to Iris .

"I feel a bit bad since it's partly my fault. Why don't I invite you to lunch tomorrow?" Iris's eyes grew wide. She could not believe that Raoul actually asked her out knowing how he is.

"Sure." She nodded quickly as she smiled at him , receiving a similar smile back. "We can try some 'Chinese food' if you want. I heard they're tasty . I found a place close by while doing some research and it's pretty famous between the humans."

"I would love to. It was on my list to try some Chinese food."

"Tomorrow at noon I'll come over, mhm? Is it okay with you?" He carefully asked as he wiped his fingers with the napkin , his mouth following.

"You don't have to be this formal." Iris chuckled. "And yes perfect." she smiled as she was dying of joy inside.

"Does it bother you?" He questioned in a serious tone. She bit the inside of her left cheek trying to find the right words to answer. "It doesn't it just makes me feel like we're strangers or like in some sort of business talk." Iris confessed nervously.

Raoul nodded comprehensively. " I didn't mean that, Iris. I'll talk less formally if it makes you feel better. It's just I am a bit used to it since I'm working most of the time and that's how I talk at work."

-

EVERLY'S POV:

"You're starring again." I rolled my eyes jokingly as I catched Mark again for the seventh time this morning. His phone was in his hand as if he was on it , but his eyes were glued on me. " Well, can you even blame me?" He tilted his head to the side grinning widely. "A pretty girl is standing right infront me baking me some cookies."

Looking at his grin, a smile grew over my face too as I looked back at him. "I could watch you all day."

*tick*

"Hey" I unintentionally shouted out of reflex."Why did you-"

His grin turned soft as he sat straight, showing me the picture he jusy took. There I was , standing behind the counter , my hair in a bun as I wore a crimson red shirt ,my hands on the counter full of flour. A big smile on my face, a smile that has been there ever since I started to accept Mark. A smile i fogot existed until him." I wanted to keep it as a memory." He said.

"You smiling because of me."