"i want to be nicer."
꒰🏁꒱
"do you like exo?" "no, they suck."
"how dare you." heeseung whispers & keeps his eyes on the road, yet swiftly taps on the play button of his playlist, pretty & rich by saweetie coming up.
ava frowns. "certainly didn't peg you for the type to listen to saweetie." she comments and he snickers. "it's cause you haven't pegged me yet." "BRO?"
he heartily laughs, glancing over to see her wide eyes and flushed cheeks on full display. "had to~" he playfully coos, yet his smile drops at an instant, taking her aback. she shrugs, opting to change the conversation. "this is nora's fav by the way."
"how's she?" he asks as they enter a tunnel and darkness envelopes them ─ her ears might be deceiving her, but ava recognizes some sort of genuine interest for her friend & her situation.
"she's fine, just dealing. she is seeing an expert this week." she replies and he hums in response. "she's honestly so strong... I doubt I'd be like this if it ever happened to me." she adds and her fingers fiddle as she stares at her lap.
"indeed. I'm just so glad that maxwill has been removed from the event, or else he'd be a threat to more women out there. hopefully nora will win the case and find justice. this bitch should honestly rot in both prison and hell."
"I still can't wrap my head around it though. I mean he did make remarks and stuff about how he wants to fuck one of the female racers but... didn't think he'd reach such an extend."
ava's head snaps at him at the speed of light. "wait─ he's basically made his intentions clear all this time & no one bothered to tell us?" she shrieks & her jaw hangs in disbelief as she stares at him. "what the fuck?"
"I told you, we didn't think that he'd reach such an extend. sexual jokes & remarks are quite common between us." he adds and she husks in shock. "you say it as if it's something normal mate!"
"but isn't it? when you are sexually interested to someone, you make it clear." he widens his eyes at her as they exit the tunnel. ava squints her eyes at him ─ both due to the bright light and her anger.
"no! fuck, no! if I walked around and voiced my sexual desires about every handsome man I've ran into, I would be called out for sounding like some whore. plus, it's rude as fuck!"
"but you won't get it." she scoffs, her tone bitter. "why is that?" he raises a brow, genuinely curious ─ something that adds to her frustration. "are you seriously that dense?"
"it's the double standards, lee. double, motherfucking, standards. if a woman expresses her desire to hook up with someone, she's a whore. if a man does so, it's seen as normal ─ even acting upon that desire is normal, while we are called sluts for wanting to fullfil our sexual desires."
heeseung presses his lips together, not really knowing what to say. "welcome to the real world, hee." she chuckles. "where not anything and everything revolves around you."
"you know yoon, I am really not as self-centered as you think I am." he exclaims & his grip on the steering wheel tightens. ava tuts and laughs. "oh? and how is that? by purposefully insulting & bullying a rookie just to bring her down, because you're too scared she'll take your place?"
"I've told you lee, you can be fucking pitiful. you offering to drive me home doesn't sit right with me. just like how dropping by my house at seven in the morning isn't." she turns her head to her left, staring at him with furrowed brows.
"so what's it?"
heeseung stares back at her for some moments, before turning to keep his focus on the road. his stomach churns and his palms itch as he gulps down a not so reasonable amount of saliva, adam's apple bopping prominently.
"cause I want to be nicer to you."
ava falls silent for a while, then erupts in a fit of loud laughter. "no... no, I am not falling for this." she says & shakes her pointer at him. "no no no~ there's no way lee heeseung is saying that."
"well he does!" heeseung protests and bumps his fist on the wheel, glaring at her. "keep your nerves at bay, k?" ava warns and glares back, gaze fierce and piercing right through him. "you really expect me to believe it after all you've done to me?"
he thinks for a while, his eyes fixated to the front. "not really." he mutters. "but I mean it, I really want to try to become better... not only to you, but to anyone ─ but first & foremost, you. you... you weren't worthy of it."
an electrified silence fills the car, with only the faint sounds of you're the one i want by cigarettes after sex playing at the background. ava takes a breath & looks out of the window, supporting her chin on her prompted arm.
"be it my trust issues, or the fact that you don't sound as genuine. but I will need more than you offering a ride to see that you truly mean it." she says, leaning back on the seat as heeseung nods, lips pursed. "sure."
moments of silence pass. suddenly, ava scoffs a laugh and slaps her thigh. "this... can't be real." she mutters and rubs her forehead, shaking her head. he glances over at her with a subtle smile and chuckles.
"should I pinch you?" "no thanks, I'll do it myself." she says and traps some skin between her thumb & index and adds pressure. "oh well, it's real."
heeseung giggles & turns to the front, keeping his right hand on the steering wheel while the other hang out of the window.
"this will be interesting."
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"this is it?" heeseung asks the moment he stops the car, looking at the rather small, two─storey house before them. she loudly sighs, scratching an itchy spot right beneath her nose, her eyes starting to sting.
"yup." her voice cracks, but heeseung doesn't point it out. he glances at her puffing her cheeks as she takes a few, hesitant steps towards the door, him following closely with his hands in his pockets.
it might of been his imagination, or some game of the sunlight ─ though there's barely any sun showing, due to the gray clouds starting to gather ─ but he can swear he saw the curtain on the third window of the second floor shuffling.
"uhm... you'd rather stay here." she takes a breath through gritted teeth. "dad doesn't like, uh... unannounced guests." she explains, running her tongue through her bottom lip.
heeseung nods, taking a step back and standing there, as ava goes up the two stairs in front of the door, her hands shaking while hanging on her sides.
she takes a deep breath, cracking her knuckles with her thumbs. she raises her right hand & knocks on the door once, then twice. heeseung can't hear much from where he is, but from the way she flinches some seconds later, he guesses she heard footsteps.
indeed, the door opens no long after, revealing a tall man around the age of fifty, hair damp & greyish as he stares down at the girl with angry eyes. with awe, he notices how the two look the absolute same when raged.
wait, why's he raged?
"why are you here?" the man asks and he flinches. oh lord, he's indeed angry. ava almost steps back, yet intertwines her fingers behind her back and rocks on her feet as she clears her throat & boldly meets his eyes.
"I came to see you guys." she starts. "I found some time now that the event is on hold, so I thought of dr─"
"you're not welcome here!"
"don't you remember? we kicked you out! you chose your stupid dream and declined your spot to one of the most prestigious universities in the world! you disappointed us!"
a thunder rumbles and heeseung jolts on spot. ava's head drops, and that's when the man notices the presence of his behind her. he scoffs. "seems like you've already forgotten the rules. no, fucking, strangers in the house!"
"sir, please calm down."
oh shoot.
shoot shoot shoot!
he must've fucked up big time, cause even ava drops her brave facade and turns around, her eyes wide open as she mouths something incoherent ─ he catches the word "crazy" and it doesn't take much for him to figure it out.
"don't interfere young man, it's none of your business." he glances down at the brunette. "I have no choice but to believe that you brought him along only cause you're scared."
"you've done worse things to me and I didn't need any help, what makes you think I do now?" she challenges, her hands fisted on her sides.
heeseung, who watches the scene unfold before him with his breath hitched, spots a head peeking from behind the same gray curtain he saw moving before. a pair of eyes meet his & the head is gone at an instant.
the man's eyes glint & his right hand jerks, but one glance at heeseung and his tensed muscles relax, mumbling & grunting under his breath. he points a finger at ava.
"don't you dare ever step close to this house ever again, you hear me?" and with that, he walks back in and slams the door straight to her face. heeseung stays still, observing the frozen girl.
"ava..." he whispers, walking up to her in a slow and steady pace. he extends his hand to grab her arm, only for her to push him away & stomp down the stairs, speed-walking off to wherever.
he takes a deep breath through his nose, gaze traveling around for some seconds, before he decides to follow her. his throat tightens at the sight of her kicking the grass and wiping her tears, her sobs loud enough to ring through the air.
and then, a tear rolls its way down his flushed cheek.