PRETEND || JENO

1:5

"Hm, not too bad. Presentation is good." He rubs his chin. "It smells really good. It looks really good."

"You need to expand your vocabulary."

"You forgot one thing."

"What?"

"How can I eat and have nothing to help me push it down?"

"A drink? You want a drink?"

"Of course! How could you forget the most important part of a dish?"

I purse my lips.

"If you want a perfect score, you must never forget the drink-"

A perfect score?

Must.

Get.

Perfect.

"I'll get you the drink. Just hang on." I hurry over to my backpack. "You want a soda? Sprite?"

"Wait, Sk- Wait, how did you know I wanted Sprite?"

I swing my backpack over my shoulder. "I see you drinking it a lot during lunch and passing period. And who doesn't like Sprite?"

His lips form into a small smile.

"I'll be back soon." I head for the door.

"Sky, wait."

I kneel down to put on my shoes. "I'll be fast."

"I want to eat with you, Sky. Come here. I'll be fine with water. Water's good for you, right?"

I set my backpack down by the door. "You should know how I feel about perfect scores. That's basically what my life is wrapped around."

"Come here." He pats the chair besides him.

Embarrassed, I sit down by him and kept my gaze on the table.

"When you're with me," Jeno moves a loose strand of hair from my face. "You don't have to worry about being the perfect person. To me, you already are."

<•>

"Alright! Now that our bellies are full, we can finally start the first lesson." Jeno announces with a clap.

I pull out a notebook and pencil from my backpack. "Ok, ready."

"No note-taking! Sky, this isn't supposed to be like damn school." He snatches my notebook and throws it behind him.

"Note-taking isn't school. How else would I study and learn?"

"No, no, no studying! This is something you need to plant into your brain and naturally learn."

I lean against the couch with my arms crossed. "I hope you know what you're talking about."

Even though it seems like he doesn't.

"First lesson to being the best girlfriend ever...." He holds up one finger. "Always be vulnerable to your boyfriend."

Whoa, big word, how does he know what that means?

"Vulnerable?"

"Always tell him how you're feeling. Don't pretend to be ok when you're not. Let him help you. Let him be the one you rely on when you feel like you have no one else. Let him protect you."

My heart warms up.

That's actually really sweet to think about.

Better to rely on my boyfriend than my own mother, am I right?