The Girl I Almost Met | Jeon Jungkook

Not Quite Spiderman, but Still-

Even the waitress flirted with him as she took our order, ignoring me completely. It was fine though. I had been in here at this hour hundreds of times before and she knew all she'd get from me was, "Two eggs, over easy; wheat toast with jam; coffee, black."

"Smile at her," Jimin whispered before the waitress finished writing my order on her small pad.

Plastering a smile across my face, I waited for her to look at me again, but she didn't. She just smacked her gum while she stuffed her pad back into her pocket and then she walked away.

Jimin shook his head at me in disappointment. "Forget about trying to flirt with her, just be friendly. That's the first step."

"I wasn't trying to flirt with her, Jimin," I asserted. "She's not the one I like."

His eyebrows shot up, "So there is someone you like? Tell me everything. Spill the tea, boy." He leaned forward eagerly with his elbows on the table, waiting for the sad reoccurring story of my life, as if he hadn't heard it before.

I shook my head. I didn't want him to start helping me again. The last thing I wanted was for her to meet Jimin.

"No, there's no one. You know me; I gave up on meeting anyone special a long time ago."

He let the topic go, thank goodness. Instead he talked about Tilly and how happy they were together. Settling down with her had been the smartest thing Jimin had ever done.

He was still talking about Tilly when the waitress came back with our food. She set the various plates in front of us, taking special care with Jimin's. As he went on and on about the dinner that his girlfriend made the night before, the waitress rolled her eyes and turned to me, setting her hand on my shoulder, "Is there anything else you need?"

I looked up into her sky blue eyes and froze.

What the hell do I do now?

Remembering what Jimin had said about being friendly, I forced a smile and shook my head. She smiled back, squeezing my shoulder. Feeling my cheeks flush with heat, I immediately lowered my head and dug into my food.

I was so embarrassed hearing her chuckle as she walked away. I may never be able to have breakfast here again.

"I love this place," Jimin said, between mouthfuls of food. "We have to come here more often."

I sighed and looked up from my plate, my eyes settling on his plate. Frowning, I asked, "What the heck are those green things in your eggs?" I had seen green onions in eggs before, even spinach. But those?

"What?" he exclaimed. "I like pickles!"

Gross.

Must be something Tilly made him eat; he used to only have cheese in his eggs. Love must not only be blind, but also have no taste buds.

We finished eating and headed to his car to go to work, but I couldn't get Jimin and his happy relationship out of my mind. I was jealous; I wanted someone to eat weird things with too.

As Jimin drove, he sang softly to the radio. Up ahead, I could see my bus stop in the distance. She was already there, sitting at the end of the bench where she usually sat. The light overhead flickered on and off, more off than on today, leaving her mostly in the darkness.

We passed by the intersection and I saw a man in the shadows behind her. He was walking toward her, and I imagined he had all sorts of ill intentions.

"Stop the car! Stop right now!"

"Why? What's wrong?" Jimin asked in confusion, looking around to locate the emergency.

"Just stop! I'm going to ride the bus today."

He pulled over easily as there was little traffic at that hour. "But why would you ride the bus? We're already on the way."

I jumped out of the car. "Don't worry about it," I said over my shoulder, but he was already looking at the girl on the bench.

"Ohhh, I get it," he said with a smirk. "I know what you're up to."

I didn't wait around to find out what he thought he knew though. Sprinting back to the bus stop, I saw the shadow man now sitting in the middle of the bench—too close to her. She was leaning away from him, obviously uncomfortable.

Without thinking, I slid in between them, throwing my arm around her shoulders.

"Sorry, I'm late, baby."

"I wondered where you were," she said, her voice trembling with relief.

I settled back in my seat and turned to look at the character next to me. He smelled like he had bathed in alcohol and looked like he was up to no good.

He looked back at me, sizing me up.

"What am I doing here?" he slurred. "This isn't my bus stop." He got up and stumbled down the street, his steps faltering every few feet.

As I watched him careen into the side of a building and fall, the bus noisily pulled up. She quickly gathered her things and stood up. She turned back to see if I was coming, but I didn't move, still watching the drunk to make sure he didn't wander into traffic.

She was already on the bus and in her seat before I boarded, absentmindedly digging through my wallet for my bus pass. As usual, I took the first available seat and stared out the window.

I can't believe I just did that. What must she think of me now, putting my arm around her like that?

I thought I could feel her eyes boring into the back of my head. How do I explain that I was just trying to help?

The bus slowed down; her stop was coming up and I heard her shuffling up the aisle. The shuffling stopped beside me and I looked away from the window to look up at the most beautiful smile I'd ever seen.

She dropped something in my lap and I looked down to find an elegantly wrapped gourmet cupcake resting on my leg.

"That's the second time you've saved me," she said softly. "Thank you for being my superhero."

I silently cursed my inhibition, tongue-tied again. I took Jimin's advice and smiled up at her, thinking how much easier it was to smile at her than at the waitress earlier.

Her smile grew bigger, and then she was gone.

I stared out the window again, watching her climb the brightly lit steps to her apartment and greet her mother at the door.

I'm her hero? No, superhero is what she said! 

I grinned, a rush of happiness flooding my chest. Not quite Spiderman, but still—superhero.

That's progress, right?