chapter 5: never like this before

"Wait, someone called me." Saff mentioned

After the phone call, he looks at me with a guilty expression.

"Han... I don't want to say this, but my parents called me and asked me to meet them at the mall now. I guess you will have to go back home on your own." Fuck this boy. Always find a way to make me hate him.

"If that's the case then you should just go meet them, I can go back on my own. I'll use a taxi."

"Sorry..." He apologizes and leaves me alone at the cafe.

I spent about another 2 minutes finishing my second drink, when about to leave the cafe, it just hits me, the reality just hits me-hits me harder than a bulldozer.

"FUCK MY WALLET!" I scream inside,

My eyes and mouth are wide open in surprise. How can I order a taxi this way? I spent minutes just staring at the table, questioning everything. I thought that all these tortures, starting from having to act cute to Saff, to getting stuck at this cafe, wouldn't have happened if I hadn't left my wallet.

My phone suddenly rang, and it was my mom calling, asking me to go home because they were going to my grandma's house and probably wouldn't be back until late at night. I told my mom that I left my wallet and

"Just walk home," then she hangs up.

I get up from my seat, and suddenly my hand is grabbed by someone. I turned my back, and it was Aiden.

"Let's go home." he drags me to the outside. I don't stop him because, at that time, my brain was still processing everything.

Once outside, I told him to let go of me.

"How did you know I was here?" I asked

"I saw you when I was passing the cafe window."

At first, it sounded logical until I realized that Saff and I sat at the very end corner table that was pretty far from the window; we were not even visible from the outside the last time I checked.

"Wait, so you were inside the cafe? For how long?"

"Long enough that I heard your mom called you and asked you to go home. Maybe when making a phone call, you should stop using the speaker."

He insulted me. It's not my fault that I can't clearly hear what someone is saying without the speaker!

"Gosh, when I thought that you're actually not annoying, I was really wrong about it," I scoffed

"Fuck this shit! I'm going home," After saying that, I look for a passing taxi on the road.

"With what?"

"With taxi? Don't ask lot of questions, please? You're getting on my nerve."

"And what'll you pay with?" My face dropped the moment he said that. I forgot that I left my wallet at home, and now I have no choice but to walk myself home. I turn my body back to him just to see this guy annoyingly smiling.

"I can help you, Han."

"So you're going to give me money and call a uber for me?"

"No"

"Then, I guess company me walking home?"

"No"

"Then what?!"

"You're riding with me."

All the annoyance that I felt before from his repeatedly "no" suddenly turned to shyness and dirty shits. My cheeks and ears felt so hot. I tried to hide my smile and asked him boldly.

"The fuck you mean riding you?!"

He looks at me with wrinkles on his forehead, showing that he doesn't get why I'm in red. After a few seconds, that expression suddenly changed to a smirk and a teasing face. He leans forward and closer to me while whispering.

"I didn't know that you're secretly naughty," he smirked. I look away in embarrassment while he just laughs.

"No, what I mean by riding is that I'm going to drive you home; come on, get in the car," he said.

He leads me to his car, and I enter it. He starts the engine and drives me home. I was okay at first; the radio was playing city pop genre music, and the breezing wind from the open windows was really enjoyable at first, until it hit me that this boy, who is driving beside me, is a minor who still does not have a license.

"Wait, you didn't have a license! STOP THE CAR, YOU LUNATIC!" I shouted loudly in surprise.

"Don't worry, okay? I can drive... You're not going to die," he just laughs.

"Please god! Please don't have police! I have an upcoming quiz competition coming up! My future is too bright for a single crime!" I cried

"You're being a little bit too dramatic, Han; don't worry, just think of me as your boyfriend who will keep you safe."

I turn my head to him with a surprise expression. Aiden and I are not that close; it is really shocking to me to see that this boy, who I am still awkward with, is playfully flirting with me!

"I find it fascinating that we're not close, but you're already playfully flirting with me. I salute you." I joke. After saying that, he suddenly pulled over the car. I repeated asking him what he's trying to do, but he just ignored me until he fully stopped the car.

I have seen this kind of scene before. He's trying to hurt me. This is not funny anymore. I just stay quiet while thinking of a way to escape. I can't just get out of the car because I will have to wear off my seatbelt first, and it will give him enough time to stop me. After a few seconds of stopping the car, he finally says something.

"Since when did you get so close to Saff?"

"Literally today's morning."

"So you have just known him for less than 24 hours but are already feeling fine with him flirting with you?"

I turned my head to him with a confuse face. Since the fuck did Saff flirted with me? If he actually meant to threaten, then it's a yes.

"Saff has never flirted with me. What are you saying?"

"Oh yeah? Then let's see whether you remember this sentence or not. "Okay, choose which one; your 'boyfriend' right here will buy you one.""

I find the sentence familiar, but my brain can't remember when I heard it. It took me very long to finally remember that Saff actually said that. It was very long, but Aiden still hasn't given up on waiting for my answer. Impressive, but scary.

"Oh, I act like it's fine because I don't want to hurt his feelings. It's not like I said that I am his boyfriend."

"But you feed him cheesecake!" The tone he used was dissatisfied, displeased and concerned, this got me overthinking.

Now why suddenly we're like a couple arguing? No! Why does this affect him so much? Like, how does me, feeding Saff because I want to be kind, affect him? Why is he so mad?

Although at that time I also felt like being mad at him back, I held on to that desire because I'm scared of him asking me to get off the car in the middle of the road and I will have to walk back home.

"He seems hungry; I feel bad... Do you want me to feed you too?"

"Yes," he answers quickly and simply.

"Then remind me if you really want to."

"Really?! Promise?!" His wide eyes show a great, excited expression. This expression does make me melt a little because of his cuteness; however, I want to keep my cool.

"Yes... promise! Now continue driving! I want to go home!"

He left with a huge smile and started driving again.

The ride was so quiet and awkward. It feels so tense. I decided to start a conversation.

"So... I was wondering, you said you saw me and Saff from outside of the window, right? But we sat at the very end of the cafe, and the last time I checked, which was minutes ago, that table was not visible from outside. How did you see us?" At first, my intention was to start a conversation to shake off the awkwardness, but I couldn't find an interesting topic, so I just asked him about my curiosity.

"Han"

"Yes?"

"Are you trying to say that I am a liar? I will be really offended if you do. I will cry if it's you who called me a liar," he said with a psychotic smile. Okay, maybe just to me! But what he said did give me a shiver.

"n-no! I didn't mean it that way! It's just that I am curious! That's all! Please sorry! Don't cry! You're going to make me worried if you did!"

After saying that, he turns his head and stares at me with a surprise look. A few seconds after that, he changed his focus back to the road and left out a small laugh.

"Han, don't you know that was dangerous?" I turned my head quickly to him, offended with what he said as if I'm the one who's driving.

"Why are you blaming me? It's not me who's driving! You're the one to blame! You should always focus on the road! That way, it is not dangerous! WOAH YOU'RE STRESSING ME OUT SO MUCH AIDEN!" I said loudly in annoyance.

He left out another laugh, but this time it was loud. I stare at him, so done with this ride. Regretting my decision and telling him he's not a liar just to comfort him. After that very annoying and long laugh, he finally stopped and took a deep breath.

"No, Han, *sigh* not dangerous that. You're the one who is dangerous."

"I don't understand the what you're saying right now."

Again, he pulls over. I said nothing and just waited for his answer. After stopping the car, hee took off his seatbelt and leaned closer to me. Unlike last time, this time he did it so slowly. I kept asking him what is he's trying to do but he just ignored me and continued to lean closer to me. I found myself backing away from him, avoiding getting any closer. However, my limit was so limited because of the seatbelt that I was still wearing. I tried to take off the seatbelt, but Aiden suddenly held it from being able to be taken off.

I look at him in surprise while he keeps getting close to me with an emotionless face. Not enough with that, he used his other hand to block the door's handle, which also made myself pinned by him. I close my eyes and shut my mouth tightly while turning my head to my left in fear. Although my eyes are close, I can feel that he is only about a centimeter away from me as I can feel his breath. The weird thing is that I felt it on my neck! The silence finally broke when he whispered in my ear.

"Saying that you are worried if I do cry is dangerous. You almost make me go crazy."