Magnetic

Chapter 7

He soon pulled into the drive-thru. There were a few cars in front of us so we weren't close enough to the menu board just yet.
"Wanna look up the menu to see what they have?" He suggested.
"Nah, just get me whatever burger you don't get." I said. I trusted his judgement. Also, it really didn't matter all that much to me.
"I got you." He said. His phone lit up on the console and he picked it up to respond to whatever message he received. I resisted taking my phone out of my pocket. There was no point. Then I remembered I never responded to Jongin so I decided I probably should do that now.

To: Jongin [21:15]
Sure. What time and where?

May as well get that out of the way. I put my phone away again and just waited. From the corner of my eye I saw Chanyeol typing away on his phone. I wondered who he was talking to. I wondered what his friends were like. I wondered what his life was like. The times that he stayed after, we talked shit about school then about dumb stuff we saw on the internet recently and watched viral videos. Nothing deeper than that. I mean, we didn't need to go deeper but I was now curious about him. He still felt kind of like a stranger but I wasn't sure if he should be more. He was just a hookup. That I hooked up with more than once. Twice in twenty-four hours now. Shit.

When it was our turn to pull up to the window to order, it had started raining. It was still pretty light but enough to start the windshield wipers. He pulled up to the speaker and ordered. He was directed to the next window to pay and he warned me to not argue with him about paying so I stayed quiet. After a few more minutes, we received our order. He handed me the bag and one of the milkshakes before pulling out of the lot.
"Try the shake." He said as he sipped on his own red velvet one. He ordered me the double chocolate. I took a sip and was impressed. He was right. It was better than Sunset's milkshakes.
"Okay, you got me." I admitted. He laughed.
"Told you. Mirage is top tier."
"You are not wrong." I took another gulp. I expected him to drive back to my apartment but instead he pulled into the lot of a nearby park And stopped the car. I glanced over at him curiously.
"I'm not trying to kidnap or murder you. I promise." He said.
"That's exactly what a kidnapping murderer would say." He laughed.
"You grew on me a little too much to wanna kill you." He said.
"Wow, comforting." I said dryly. We stared at each other for a moment before breaking out in laughter.
"I just like sitting out here every time I get food from there." He said once the laughter died down. "Plus, it's raining. It's peaceful." I nodded and didn't protest. I could use some time out of my apartment.

He did the honors of unpacking the contents. I felt kind of weird eating in his pristine car but he didn't seem to mind at all. He handed me the Sahara burger, which he revealed was his actual favorite, and kept both orders of fries in the bag on the console, folded down for easy access. He watched me carefully as I took my first bite. I couldn't help but laugh. He was cute.
"Verdict?" He asked.
"I believe your judgement when it comes to food." I said. He had an accomplished grin on his face.
"I have successfully converted you."
"Don't say it like that." I laughed. "And I still like Sunset." He narrowed his eyes at me.
"Okay, time to return you to where you came from." He put the car in drive, causing me to laugh harder.
"No one told you to bring me out in the first place."
"I had to show you the light." He returned the car to park.
"Whatever." I said. "Just take the win that you got me to say Mirage is better than Sunset."
"I mean I guess." He huffed, taking another bite of his burger. The only sound in the car for a while was the soothing lo-fi beats coming from the speakers and the pattering of the rain on the car as it grew heavier. There wasn't much to look at, just an empty park, but he was right. It was pretty peaceful. I was so zoned out after some time I almost didn't catch it when he started speaking again. "You seemed pretty...intense last night." He wasn't looking at me as he spoke. He sounded unsure of himself. "Everything...good?" He finally peeked over at me. I chewed slowly, wondering what to say. If I should even say anything. It really wasn't any of his business. I guess it was a bit strange that he was just over and then I called him back again so soon. But it was nothing to warrant questioning being as though he was just as much there for the sex as I was.
"Yeah. Just...stressed. Needed a distraction." I stared straight ahead again, taking long sips of my milkshake.
"I get that." He nodded. There was a pause for a moment before he spoke again. "Did it help?"
"Yeah. It did." I admitted. I caught his smile.
"Well...I don't mind being your distraction every once in a while. If you need it." I turned to him with a raised eyebrow and he shrugged. "So far it's been fun. And sometimes I need a distraction too." Okay, what was happening?
"So..."
"If you're down, I'm down."
"But that's it? Right?" My heart was pounding now.
"For sure. Unless you were looking for something more then I can't-."
"No. Absolutely not." I said. He chuckled.
"Then I think we're good."
"Yeah." We smiled at each other. I wasn't sure if it was a relief or not. It was nice to finally put a meaning to all of this. Now we were clear of what we were and what we were doing. I no longer had to worry if he was ghosting me or not. I've never had a fuckbuddy before and honestly, I think it's all I really need at the moment. So far it's been golden. Hopefully it would stay that way.