Annie's stone cold face couldn't match the burning trembling feeling happening in her chest and stomach the moment she saw Jun infront of her.
"J? What are you doing here?"
"Annie."
His voice never intended to be so sexy and seductive. Not even under these circumstances. Coming into the most crappy club in the city that she can only afford being in.
Being ditched for the second time. Being a total mindfuck mess after the one on one convo with her mother. Being short on cash, not being able to afford buying even a pack of cigarettes. Being so tipsy right now under the influence of the cheap beer the guys kept buying. Not knowing what to expect tomorrow.
Was he even that hot in the first place or was she ever sober when she had met him till now? Not that it has been that many times keeping in mind his tendency not to show up but still.
She hoped to have him as a boyfriend. He still wasn't but who counts on technicality. If she said to people they were together even though they've been on only 2 dates it counts they are? This way every whore is going to stay away from him and leave him to be only hers. Or at least she Annie hoped so. He was the one she wanted.
And she was not going to stop trying to make him hers until he bends.
"Annie?" said J making her come out of her trance. "Wanna talk?" he tried to say through the loud music.
She had only the energy to nod. Her whole body lost its mobility to exist. That's how he was influencing her but she never wanted to admit it and always pretended to look not affected at all by him.
"Yeah, sure, if you want to." she said pretentiously while scoffing casually towards her friends. "Wanna go for a smoke?"
"Lead please." J said flatly.
"Shit." Annie exhaled under her nose while making shaky steps towards the smoking room.
Once the door was closed J looked around seeing surprisingly that they were the only ones there. He trapped Annie between his arms around her head placing them on the wall behind her.
"So, Annie." he whispered in her ear. "I've heard some things tonight about me."
" Oh, is that so?" Annie replied with doe eyes looking under her lashes directly into his chocolate almond eyes.
"Mhhh, you surprised?" He continued whispering in her ear. "You don't seem to be. Wanna know what I've heard? Or maybe you already know?
"How would I possibly know, J? You're funny."
"Oh, so now you're playing dumb, nah? We both know that you're pretty but not stupid."
The situation was not in her favor at all. Annie felt it in her heavy and empty stomach but her insides giggled with shivers across her spine when he breathed out the word "pretty" in her ear. He thought she was pretty. Not that she didn't know it already.
She's heard that from every moron trying to flirt with her in the hallways of school and in the secretive whisper in between groups of girls whenever she crosses beside them. But hearing it from J's mouth and his body in such close proximity to hers made her blood boil like she was in hell and all of her nerves were being so sensitive to him that sometimes she thought that she would go crazy.
"I'm not dumb yeah, but still I have no idea what you're talking about." she chirped, turning her head to the exit door where that creep like a shadow that shortly started following J around almost everywhere was standing outside and she could see his godly profile through the small window.
"Hm, okay, let it be like that." he barely touched her cheek with his breath. "But you know, we've been out once? No, twice. And I remember it being on the docks so late at night that no normal human being would be there during this hour and still I see some rumors you see."" he scoffed.
"Rumors are bad, they don't usually reflect the truth."
"Funny how you're right and wrong at the same time."
"Interesting. Please explain." She started to get more and more nervous and annoyed at the same time because she knew how this was going to end and could't make a U turn anymore.
"I'm at a party tonight and you see I see some unusual interest in me especially from the girls' auditory. But the most interesting part comes when for the third time in a row a cute girl asks me if my girlfriend would mind us if we speak casually with each other.
"Oh, okay. So what did you say to her?" she asked with a shaky breath, starting to nip at her lower lip.
"See this is the contradiction of this situation. It was bad hearing from other people that I have a girlfriend knowing I don't do that shit. But the most surprising part was that when they said your name with such envy I started liking the idea just slightly."
Annie's heart stopped for a moment.
"Wh-what do you mean by this?" she tried to play it cool as if she wasn't on the verge of exploding into a million pieces any moment now.
"Oh darling." he brushed vaguely his nose through her cheek bone. "You know."
"I guess since you're here and haven't killed me yet for that slippery tongue of mine that you really like the idea?"
"Hahahahahaha" he tilted his head back and his hair locks brushed her face in the motion. "Oh, you're something, I finally start to see it."
She wanted badly to go outside or get away from his closeness because her breath was short from the convo. She bent over to escape the prison of his hands around her head and stole in a single motion the pack of cigarettes hanging from his back pocket.
"I'm taking one."
"Suit yourself." said J dryly." Hey San'ah?" he screamed so loudly her ears started ringing.
Annie saw how his shadow turned his head around to meet J's eyes and then they bounced to hers. He blinked once and got through the flying doors inside.
"I need my lighter." J retorted to his stare.
San lit the lighter and in a single motion, gestured it towards Annie's lips. She was still staring surprisingly to herself directly into his black monolid eyes.
Bending to light her cigarette she thanked him in a mumble and turned towards J.
"Aren't you joining me?"
"Nah, I'm good." he said, handing her the rest of the pack, "Keep it."
"If you insist."
San was not moving out from her side still standing next to her and she caught her foot tapping to the ground. She didn't like some random dudes coming in her way so close to her body.
And on top of that what was he still doing anyways there with them? Can't he go to where he came from? Now was not the time to have a third wheel.
"If you'd excuse us, could you?" she pointed to the door for him.
"Right." he said, catching himself in surprise..
After they were alone again Annie came close to J and started drawing slow motion gestures on his chest playfully. "So, J. Wanna walk me home?"
She was trying to have her best game here despite that she was drunk and barely keeping her balance.
"Why leave so early, hm?"
She escaped his leaning figure against hers and said with a cocky voice "A lady should know when to stop, don't you think?"
"Oh, that lady knows how to twerk though." he said with an unreadable smile. "Lead the way, Annie."
"I'm off" Annie screamed through the sound to her group of friends while grabbing her jeans coat.
"Hey, girl." Yoona turned her over, grabbing her for the wrist. "Is everything alright?"
"Sure, why?" tried Annie to sound sober.
"Annie, you've been gone for a whole twenty minutes with two guys you barely know. And you're drunk." Yoona stated while staring laser eyes behind Annie's back right into J and San.
"I trust J."
"But I don't."
"C'mon Yoonaaaah!" Everything will be fine. I have a chance now."
"What are you talking about? Get yourself together. Here." she handed her a half empty bottle of water." Drink this first."
"Take that" San gave Yoona a card. His ID.
"You know I can get you in trouble if something happens to her" she hissed as waiving his ID card.
"I know."
—---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Annie and J were walking way ahead on the road back to her home.
"So the famous An is weak in drinking, huh?"
"Me? Famous? Ha?" Annie exclaimed.
She was. But she never thought about what she was famous for and if it was for good..
"Fishing compliments? Didn't expect that from you. Ah, you're kinda heavy when you're drunk, girl."
J was holding Annie trying to make them both walk straight with an already numb hand that was wrapped around her waist and draggin more and more up her body.
"I like fish." she laughed with a breath of cheap beer.
"You're gone."
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Next thing she remembers is that some cold air is crawling on her face. Still dark outside the curtains on her open window were blowing the cold autumn breeze into the room.
Shit.
Did she pass out? She jumped off the bed hurriedly trying to assess what happened.
The clock was pointing that it was almost 3am. Maybe she wasn't gone for long but there was no sign from J in her room.
Dammit. She missed her chance again to be alone with him.
Jumping off the bed and slipping into the slippers she saw on the floor she jumped through the open window and hopped on the grass.
Her shaky breath was crawling in the air while she was looking hastily around for J.
"J?" she whispered.
She started running down the alley trying to catch him as she was convinced she saw his black clothed back just turning around the corner.
"Where do you think you're going, miss?" a freezingly cold voice sounded from behind her puffing in the air a cigarette smoke.
Annie froze in the alley and turned to face her.
"Mom?"