American Girl [knj]

11

kim namjoon

Namjoon's hands were shaking. Would Solàna even show up?

He remembered their conversation about ice cream so he invited her to meet him at an ice cream parlor. Namjoon showed up five minutes early and Solàna was supposed to meet him in two minutes.

He was tempted to call her, but called Jin instead, hoping to find some advice.

"Hello?"

"Jin, I need you to calm me down."

Jin sighed. "Can I tell you a joke?"

Namjoon suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. "Help yourself."

"Why couldn't the bicycle stand up by itself?"

"Why?"

"Because," Jin could hardly control his laughter, "it was too tired."

Namjoon released a few light chuckles. By the time he looked up, Solàna was entering the parlor. He rushed to end the call. "Got to go."

Namjoon's breath got caught in his throat. Dear God, she's beautiful.

He stood up and rubbed the sweat on his palms onto his jeans. Solàna saw him and smiled. Her smile is even more heavenly in person.

She ran up to him. "You're Kim Namjoon."

He bit his lip. "And you're Solàna Cooper."

She enveloped him in a tight hug. Namjoon hugged back, resting his chin upon her braided scalp.

If Solàna didn't let go first, Namjoon sure wouldn't have. He held her hands afterwards, admiring her face.

"Are you going to let me go now or..." Solàna looked down at their hands.

"Where are you going?"

"To order myself strawberry ice cream and you chocolate ice cream."

Namjoon reached into his pocket and pulled out a credit card. "I'll pay."

Solàna smirked. "No need to. The owner of this place owes me a favor. Now's the perfect time to cash it out." She left Namjoon to sit and ponder how he was going to address the fact he blatantly ignored her for two weeks.

He had been composing, writing, meeting fans, and living his celebrity life.

"One chocolate ice cream for the man and one delicious strawberry ice cream for Solàna."

Solàna sat the cups in front of them and immediately started eating. Namjoon picked at his food.

"Y'know. I was really upset with you before you called."

Namjoon picked his head up and made eye contact with Solàna, urging her to continue.

"I honestly felt like our friendship was getting somewhere. You weren't even an internet friend anymore. You became a real person!"

Namjoon laughed. 

"So when you abruptly stopped answering my calls and text, I took it personally. I was like, 'Damn. Am I feeling this too much?' So I just stopped reaching out and put my energy into school."

Namjoon licked his lips. "I'm a celebrity."

Solàna coughed. She stopped breathing for a second. Namjoon gave her a second to compose herself.

"Are you serious? Fuck. Like seriously, you? Namjoon. Be honest. Yo, are you a rapper? Is that why you asked me which rap to choose? I thought it was something random--"

"Solàna!" Namjoon slightly raised his voice to stop Solàna from her rambling. "Calm down. I know it's a hard pill to swallow but-"

"Hard pill to swallow? You're a freaking celebrity. God! Why didn't you tell me this before?"

Namjoon bit his tongue. "Most people don't treat you the same after they find out you're a celebrity. I can count the number of true friends I have on both hands. Solàna, can you blame me?"

Solàna looked down. "I'm sorry. It's just hard to wrap my head around it." She sat up in her chair. "Tell me what it's like."

Namjoon relaxed a little bit. "Our band is called B.T.S. which means Bulletproof Boy Scouts in English. Our fans are beyond amazing. We call them A.R.M.Y. And there are six other members."

"Your six best friends, I remember."

Namjoon smiles and grabs Solàna's hands.

"Let's go somewhere."

Solàna smirked. "You want to go sight seeing in my city?"

He nodded.

"Alright. Let's go. We'll go grocery shopping after I take you to this one place. It's probably the most memorable place in Maryland."

"Where?" Namjoon asked.

"Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park. Are you up for it?"

He smacked his thighs. "How could I not be? Have you been there before?"

Solàna shook her head. "I've been dying to go since I got to Maryland three year ago."

"Let's go then."

---

Solàna really liked boat riding. After Namjoon paid $45, a short man escorted them onto a private, thirty minute boat ride. 

The moment Solàna safely buckled her life jacket, she almost fell overboard into the water because she tried to touch the river water.

Namjoon chuckled in amusement.

"Why are you laughing at me?" She pouted.

"Because you're adorable. Why are you enjoying this so much?"

Solàna sat next to him. She tucked a braid behind her ear. "My grandfather used to own a boat. Every summer I used to go down to Louisiana to spend the month of July with him. He used to take me fishing and let me play with all the fish after we caught it. Most of the time, we let them go back into the water. On the way back, he always let me sit in the front seat."

Namjoon felt his own heart warming at the memory. "My grandfather died before I was born. So I had my grandmother. She always smelled like oolong tea because it was my grandfather's favorite. She used to always have a cup of tea with me whenever I  visited. I used to always add too many sugar cubes in my tea because I hated the taste."

Solàna smiled. She pointed to the sky before she and Namjoon got off the boat. The sun was casting its final glows. They stared at the sun until their eyes hurt and got off the boat.

"Now for grocery shopping. We're going to have dinner at my place."

Namjoon linked hands with her. "I might not be able to stay."

Solàna smiled. "That's okay. I'll cook something quick and you can take it to the hotel. I just don't want you to go home empty handed."