y/n had told mina that she would call shinso, but she never mentioned when, so she went until wednesday of the following week without calling him.

she would've called earlier but the fear of not knowing what she had done at the party ate away at her. she was finally able to turn in her project, a few days early but eager to put this past her and in hope for things to go back to normal.

but after being scolded by mina, y/n decided to finally call him.

-

i had to build up the courage in order to dial the number and once i did, i crossed my fingers in hopes he wouldn't pick up. i pressed the little phone icon and pressed my phone to my ear.

a first ring.

'don't pick up, don't pick up.'

a second ring.

'don't pick up, don't pick up.'

a third ri-

"hello?" voice soft, relieved at the other end.

i held my breath but answered. "hi."

"hey."

'fuck, this is awkard.'

"are you feeling better?"

"huh?"

"from the party?"

"oh. oh, yeah. i don't remember much but yeah, i'm better."

"oh." he seemed to deflate.
"that's good."

"yeah."

the tension between us was the thickest it had ever been. even in high school, it wasn't this bad.

"um, i turned my photos in."

"oh, that's good."

"yeah."

...

"look, i'm not sure what i had said at the party because i don't remember much. i honestly don't even remember dancing with you or whatever.."

i took a deep breath. "but i want us to move past this...if that's okay with you."

shinso sighed. "yeah, of course."

"okay."

"i want to.. i want to explain what happened last week, though."

"it's okay, you don't have t-"

"i know, but i want to."

"okay."

"let's meet tomorrow?"

"tomorrow? that's a thursday, though?"

"yeah? are you not free?"

"oh, no, i am. but... we usually meet on saturday's or wednesday's."

"well, we could meet on saturday, if you want."

"oh! no! no.. thursday's good."

"okay."

"okay."

"bye."

"bye."

-

the call had made me feel itchy, my skin felt out of place and i wanted to just sleep through thursday. shinso and i had made progress since high school, we weren't down each other's throats anymore but whatever i had done at the party had definitely made him uncomfortable.

i wasn't stupid, i could tell by the way shinso seemed more quiet on the call. i wasn't even mad at him anymore, i just wanted to move past this.

-

there was nothing out of the ordinary waking up on thursday. but what was, was the fact that i would be meeting with shinso today. we had only ever made efforts to meet on wednesday's and then plan things for saturday's.

even more, it didn't help that shinso had called me while i was having breakfast with mina.

"mh, hello?" i said, muffled with food in my mouth.

"l/n?"

"yes?"

"can you meet me at the coffee shop? the one where we met-"

"for the first time, at like 4 in the morning?"

"yeah."

the word was affectionate and for a moment, i let myself imagine shinso behind the phone.

"yeah, i'll meet you there. um, around what time?"

"whenever you can. i'll be here."

hearing him say that bloomed butterflies in my stomach.

that or the breakfast mina made was expired.

"oh, okay."

"bye."

before i got to say bye back, the call had ended.

"so there's no date today?" mina peered at me. the words were meant to comfort me, make light out of the situation.

and they did. "not today, mina."

-

no "date" meant no effort in looking good for shinso. it was back to casual dressing and i was more than grateful for it, i needed my big baggy sweats and hoodie to hide behind.

i made my way out of the apartment, shouting a quick goodbye at mina. the butterflies from earlier were still in my stomach and only settled slightly while i was driving.

it was easy to remember where the cafe had been, remembering that it was next to a big skating rink; popular around christmas time.

i needed a few minutes in my car, once i parked in the lot. i debated going back home, telling shinso something came up, but i knew that i had to face whatever i had done at the party.

the same warmth greeted me as i stepped through the coffee shop's door, bell above it announcing my arrival. but this time, it wasn't a brunette who greeted me at the register, it was shinso.

he shouted a mandatory greeting then lifted his head, eyes widening when he saw me.

he shouted something about a break over his shoulder and made his way to me from behind the corner.

he towered over me and it was a feature about him that i forgot often. "hi."

he smiled softly. "hey."

there was something different about shinso. maybe it was the black collared shirt or the black jeans, maybe even apron he was wearing, but something about him seemed more... attractive.

"let's sit down? or we can go outside if you want?" i shook my head and shinso started leading me to a booth with a view to the outside of the shop.

once we were seated across from each other, shinso began to speak. "look, l/n, i'm sorry that i had disappeared on you. and i'm sorry i wasn't able to reach other, either."

i opened my mouth to interject but he held up a hand, eyes pleading. "and i don't want to hear that it was okay, or whatever, because it wasn't. we had arranged to meet and i should've honored my word."

he brought his hand down, along with his gaze.

"can i ask what happened?" i said, picking at my hoodie's sleeve.

shinso let out a small chuckle, but there was uncertainty painting his face. "um, well, i got hospitalized."

the butterflies from before crumbled and sat heavy in the pit of my stomach. "what?"

i'm not sure how i meant for it to come out but i definitely didn't want it to be whispered.

"yeah, um, i have a sleeping disorder. it hasn't been bad in a while, since school started, but with finals and things, it started to get bad again."

'so, you're telling me, that while i was throwing a hissy fit and overreacting, shinso was in the hospital?'

"a-are, are you okay, now? when did you get hospitalized?" i asked, my mind running wild.

his mouth twitched. "i got hospitalized monday night, and then i stayed tuesday and wednesday. and when i got out on thursday, i caught up on things i missed. and then on saturday..."

on saturday, he texted me. and came to the party.

"but yeah, i'm okay now. i'm sleeping better and i'm taking my medication." he finished.

that's what it was. i let my gaze find it way back to shinso and i realized it. shinso didn't look tired.

this time there was no butterflies in my stomach, instead, something tugged on my heartstrings.

weird

"i-i'm glad to hear you're good. genuinely." i said, ignoring the way i stuttered.

the corners of his mouth quirked up and his eyes shone. "i'm glad, too."

"well," i said, trying to continue the conversation. "one last week left until break..."

shinso seemed amused. "yeah?"

"do you have any plans?"

he thought about it for a moment. "i think i might go home."

my heart jumped, it was being weird today. but with good reason, this was the first time either of us had acknowledged our pasts or how we knew each other's homes and parents.

"oh? that's nice." i nodded, thinking about my own mom.

"yeah." shinso rested his chin on his hands and leaned in closer. "do you have any plans?"

the shop seemed to get warmer at shinso's proximity. "i think i might go home too. or stay here."

shinso hummed and glanced over to his left, behind me. "my break's over. i gotta get going."

he stood up, as did i, and walked me towards the door. he pushed it open for me, leaning up against the frame. i passed his form and waved at him.

"maybe we could head home together, y'know?" he said.

"what?" my cheeks heating up against the bite of the cold air.

"to save gas and things." he gestured.

"oh. um, i'll think about it." i said, retreating to my car.

he gave me a lop-sided grin and waved me goodbye.

no way

it was safe to say, the butterflies were back.

~

a/n: smh,, i literally hate this chapter sm but yeah,, idk 😔 like always! thanks for reading though and stay safe n take care!! <3 :))