Ice cream shop

Life goes on, pretty normal. Lucas is off sick for 2 weeks and his group bunk off, leaving me in good peace for about that time.

A transfer student joins too, a quiet and confidential boy called Adam. I don't have the confidence to give him a better experience than I've had, and end up ignoring him entirely.

Some random day before half term break, yuta texts me

Yuta: HEY HARRIS, LETS GO TO MY HOUSE AFTER SCHOOL ON FRIDAY

I don't know how to handle this question and think through it for a second.

.

Me: okay sure if you want

Yuta: I have something to show you. That's why

Me: what is it?

I'm curious now, really wanting to know if he's just been playing around and wants to tell me he was. Maybe he does remember me and just wanted to play with my feelings a little… it does sound like a thing he'd do for fun.

Yuta doesn't respond, but he does look somewhat creepily excited when I walk into the gym to meet him on Friday afternoon.

He has his headphones plugged in and he's sat on a bench, lost in music and looking euphoric but scary. His music is so loud that the closer I get the more it drifts to me… and it's a song I recognise. The familiar lyrics stop me in my tracks as I try to get a hold of which part of the song it is…

"I'm only a man with a candle to guide me, I've taken a stand to escape what's inside me,"

"Y-yuta?" I call him now, interested to share our similar music taste. "Hey! Yuta!!"

"A monster, a monster, I've turned into a monster, a monster a monster,"

"YUTA!!" I Call him louder, waving my arms and finally he looks at me with glazed eyes.

"You bitch!!" He looks happy, though. My moment of suspect while I try to detect what I've done wrong fades immediately while Yuta unplugs his headphones for a minute-

"AND IT KEEPS GETTING STRONGER…"

The last lyrics echo in the gym hall as Yuta cuts off the music.

"Sorry," he smirks. "I got lost in it."

"You like Imagine Dragons?" I ask as we start to head to the door.

Yuta slaps me on the back, making me buckle a little but I try to ignore it.

"A little. And you?"

"Hmm, yeah." I reply. Since he's being secretive, then me too. We're playing it fair today.

"A little, or a lot?" Yuta scoffs, suddenly doing a weird impression of him opening a door. I frown in confusion, just as he says rather loudly, "I saw all the cute little stickers in your locker of them. You like them a little huh?"

"Oh!" I'm taken aback for a minute, embarrassed for another, then I'm angry that he'd shout that out. "Oh.. oh you're… yeah, I like them okay?? And what?"

Yuta seems pleased with himself. I so badly want to get back at him, saying a huge remark that will hurt his soul and shut him up. I sigh, deciding I probably have a temper and should shut up.

"You're cute." Yuta says, not for the first time. "I can see you battling with your little inner demons."

"Not little." I reply, and my voice is so cold and hard that I scare myself. I didn't mean to be so butthurt and offended. "Demons are huge, or…..nothing at all." My last three words are so flat that I feel like a punctured tire, and walk a little ahead so Yuta won't see this side of me and think I'm some sensitive mental teenager. He catches up though, in just one stride with his long legs.

"Hey don't be like that," He slings his heavy arm over my shoulder and hugs me to his side, making my heart race and I instinctively flinch. "It's okay."

His suddenly very calm and comforting voice makes my shoulders immediately relax and I feel like if there was a bed nearby I could even sleep. I pull myself out of the feeling and shrug him off.

"Let's go. I don't want people thinking we're gay or something," I run ahead for him to chase me, heading to the ice cream parlour.

"Let's get ice cream first." I say.

Yuta doesn't object even once, and pays for the lot. We decide to sit outside since it's sunny today and, though I don't say this out loud, I'm hoping to leave his house late. I don't allow the flood of questions to come to my mind today. I don't feel bothered to think everything and I don't have answers. I don't know why I want to be with Yuta. I'm even a little stiff with his weird behaviour at times, but … my inner self doesn't seem to think that. As I quietly crunch through the ice cream, which is way more crunchy than I thought it would be, I suddenly sense a pair of eyes staring at me. I ignore it for a while, constantly checking if it's Yuta, which it isn't…. And upon looking around a little more I see Adam staring through the blinds of the indoor seating.

I feel a little spooked. He doesn't look away when I look at him, despite his scared and tense expression.. he just keeps staring unblinkingly while his ice cream melts into its cup.

"Yuta. Let's go." I say quietly. "I'm done now."

Yuta stares at me with one eyebrow raised before standing up and leaving the seating bay.

"Whatever. Come on, then."

As I try to follow him I suddenly feel a warm hand grab my wrist and turn, startled.. only to see Adam.

He has the same tense look on his face as if he's a scared kid from a movie, and he glances at Yuta before saying in a hushed voice;

"Don't."

I don't understand, don't what? I don't want to ask. Here he is, ruining a completely normal day for me. Like I needed that at all?

"Um.. what." It wasn't a question, just a few words to tell him to let me go and bugger off. "Do I know you?"

"Don't." Adam repeats, sounding even weaker than before. "Don't, Henry."

How does he know my name?? I try to pull away from him but his grip tightens and he lets out a small sharp noise, like a small kid who will cry if I get him off.

"Adam…" I think of something to protest. "Adam please let me go I need to be somewhere."

Yuta's arm suddenly slinging around my neck in a 'friendly' way from behind makes me jump in fright.

"Hey Adam," he says in a way that suggests they already know eachother. "Are you okay?"

Adam looks strange and suddenly lets my hand go, backing away and hurrying inside. Not before giving me a short glance and swiftly shaking his head to signify "no," or maybe "don't".

Yuta sheepishly says, "well, bye i guess." Before heading out of the gate. I stare at Adam inside the glass of the shop for a second before following Yuta away from there.

Let's just hope I'm not making another stupid mistake.