A wide grin of pure happiness spreads on your lips. "Now! Let's go! Tell whoever you need to. We're going to have fun, whether you like it or not!"
___
You grasp his wrist and start off, pulling him along. He follows lazily, stumbling every little while. After a short time of being dragged down the sidewalk, he reclaims his wrist with a sharp tug. "I can walk by myself, you know," he mutters, rubbing his wrist.
"Sorry," you apologise before exclaiming, "Let's go!"
Walking by you, head tilted towards the ground, Law murmurs something incoherent and barely audible. You question him with a hum. "I said: where are we even going?"
"Oh," comes your bland response. "I'm not sure. Know any places?"
Law sighs and rubs the bridge of his nose. "You were the one who dragged me along, figure it out yourself," he retorts.
"Then, uh..." You look around at your surroundings. "Look! It's a street performer, let's go watch!" you exclaim with a small bounce, grabbing his hand and bound towards the man.
To keep from falling, he goes along with you, reluctant.
The performer is dancing to upbeat electronic music. Watching the dancer fascinates you---him being able to maneuver his body so easily, matching each one of his movements perfectly with the beat. There's some type of specific way of doing it, yet it seems like such a free art, as well.
As the song progresses, more people crowd the sight, awestruck. Eventually, the song ends, and the dancer takes a flamboyant bow. You realise you're still holding Law's hand to clap, and you send him an apologetic look before returning your attention to the performer.
Law takes his hand back, letting it sit in his other hand, rubbing the palm with his thumb, as if grasping back for the unfamiliar warmth. Confusing feelings and thoughts swirled in his mind and chest as you converse with the street performer who goes around with a hat, requesting spare change. Searching through your bag, you grab a five dollar bill from the front pocket and toss it in.
"Thanks so much, miss," he says gratefully, a heavy Boston accent in his voice.
You shake your head. "No problem, you've really got talent!"
He thanks you again before farewell. "Have a good day!"
"You too," you return. "Hey, Law, wasn't that awesome?" You look up to the boy with hopeful eyes. As your attention redirects to him, Law folds his arms.
A stoic expression stained on his face, he replies monotonously. "I suppose so."
Unpleased with the reaction, you put your hands on your hips and frown, going down a list of things he likes or may like and thinking of places relating to it. Suddenly, your face lights up, and if you were in a cartoon, no doubt a bright light bulb would shine above your head. You pull out your phone and tap away at it.
"Hold on, you're gonna love this. I'll find something you like," you say, typing away into the maps application. "Found ya," you speak aloud to yourself. "Let's go!" you announce, shoving your phone back into your pocket.
Before you can sprint off, Law grabs the back of the neck of your shirt. "Calm down, we can walk. Besides, we've still got a week to do things," he reminds you.
"You're just saying that so you don't have to spend more time with me doing stuff," you pout, arms crossed.
He lets his hands fall into his pockets and shrugs. "Whatever, maybe I am or maybe I'm not. Or maybe I just don't feel like running. Either way, don't you think we should drop off our bags and change first?" he counters.
Your shoulders droop as you realise he's right. Quickly rearranging plans in your head, you then nod, satisfied with having everything under control again. "Good idea. Let's exchange numbers and then we can both head home and find somewhere to meet up after we change and stuff," you suggest.
Him pulling out his phone enough of a response, you pull out your own device and swap phones, typing in numbers then returning them.
Truth be told, Law was almost happy to do something like this. Almost.
"Alright, then, I'll see you soon!" You head off quickly, determined to see the boy happy at least once.
When you reach your home, you rush to shower and change. You decide on a simple (F/C) shirt with a design of swirling flowers and vines growing from the inside of the breast pocket, matched with dark jean-shorts.
As you make your way out, you open the drawer right of the sink and lift a cooking book and grab a few twenties your mother left you. After placing everything back, you grab your phone and scurry off.
At around the same time, Law finishes drying his hair and puts on his hat. He exits his apartment, heading down the hallway and into the elevator, exiting the complex.
Walking in a random direction, you unlock your phone and click the green 'Call' button under Law's contact. He picks up after a couple rings.
'Law answering. It's you right?" he asks from the other end. You nod. A couple seconds pass. 'If you nodded, I can't see,' comes his regular, bored tone.
You scold yourself mentally. "Right. Yeah, it's me, (Y/N). Is there a place you want to meet or is anywhere fine?"
'Well, right now, I'm heading out. Are you actually up or just lazing about?' You could practically hear a criticising, half smirk forming on his lips.
"I've been out for a while now, so you're the lazy one here, you... uh... you lazy person!"
A sigh comes through his end of the call. 'What street are you on?'
You pause and tilt your head up. "On Drum, heading up to Green Bit."
'Green Bit? That's a little far into the city,' he murmurs to himself. 'I'm coming up on Drum here. How about meet up at Tottland and Drum? You'd just have to turn around, Tottland's in the opposite direction of Green Bit.'
"Yeah, I can do that," you confirm. "See you then, Law."
He ends the call halfway through your sentence, and you roll your eyes with a small smile, heading towards Tottland.
After around a 10 minute walk filled with distracting searches of places to go, it seems just like a minute or two when you look up and find Law several metres away from you. You jog up and close the distance, leaving just a metre or two in between you and him.
He has on dull cerulean pants with clusters of black spots infecting the pants randomly and a yellow hoodie with black sleeves and hood, an odd looking smiley face in the middle. He wears a fluffy looking white hat with deep brown spots lining the lower parts of it.
"Hey!" you greet, grinning widely.
"You."
A flicker of annoyance lights in your eyes before quickly diminishing. Still, it's somewhat surprising to him. "I have a name, you know," you say lightly, but a certain twinge of irritation intrigues Law further. "Well, let's go!"
Subconsciously, you grab his hand as you begin to walk. "I'm not five," grunts Law, as if it's now just a common reminder.
"Yeah, but I feel like you're gonna run or something if I don't keep track of you," you joke.
He clicks his tongue and shakes off your hand, to which you respond to with a playful eye roll.
"Do you actually have plans this time?"
You leap forward a bit and turn around, walking backwards to face him. Folding your hands together behind your back, you reply cheerily, "Yep! First off, what type of food do you like?"
"I don't really care," he says.
You think for a moment. "How about subs or something, then?"
His eyes widen before he scrunches his nose in disgust, shaking his head. "No," he states sternly.
"But you said you didn't care," you recall, giggling at his blatant disliking of the idea.
He grits his teeth. "No bread," he corrects himself.
You can't help but laugh at his childish pickiness. "Alright, alright. Then, what do you like? I mean, like, any particular places or just general foods like Italian or Greek?"
Eventually, he complies and admits, "I like Japanese food."
"Great! Japanese it is!" You walk around and search for a Japanese restaurant and come across a Japanese cafe. "Let's go in."
You sit at a table next to the window and gloss through the menu. "What do you think you'll get?" you ask, unsure yourself of what you want to eat.
He remains silent briefly, still looking at what the cafe has to offer. "Probably the grilled fish with onigiri," he replies finally. Another moment of quiet lies between the two. "What about you?"
Progress! you think, brightening. "I think I'll get the (Food)," you reply happily. He nods in acknowledgment.
A blonde waitress with too much eyeshadow and a horribly fake smile plastered onto her face bounces up to the table. "Hello, my name is Brittney, I'll be your waitress for today. Are you ready to order or should I start you out with some drinks?"
"We're ready," you respond for the two of you. "I'll have the (Food) with a glass of (Drink), please." You smile politely back at the girl.
She jots the order down on a little pad. "And you, sir?"
"I'll have the grilled fish with the onigiri. And an unsweetened black tea," he mumbles.
With a small roll of her eyes, she demands, irritated, "You're not 4, speak up."
"He said it just fine," you defend, annoyed, though keeping a sweet front. "Perhaps you just didn't hear."
The waitress growls at you. Noticing a man, presumably her boss, she suddenly smiles widely. "Perhaps you're right! Sir, I do apologise, but could you kindly repeat that?" Her own words barely come out clear through her gritted teeth.
Unfazed by the scene that played out before him, he repeats his order a little louder. Though, he won't deny he's grateful for you doing something. This time, the girl is able to write down what he wanted.
"It'll be out soon," she practically hisses.
Once she gets out of earshot, you check on Law. "You alright?"
He raises an eyebrow. "Fine, why wouldn't I be?"
"No reason," you shrug with a small grin, "Just checking."
Just as stated, only ten or so minutes later, the girl comes back with drinks and the ordered meal. "That will be $17.78, cash or card?" she asks. You hand her a twenty as a response, accompanied by a smile that told her clearly to keep the change and go away. "Enjoy your meal." It sounded much more of a demand than a wish, but it's dismissed quickly.
With the provided utensils, you take a bite out of the food, and your face glows up, your taste buds swimming in strong and delicious flavour. "It's really good!" you announce, barely swallowing your food before taking another bite.
At your response, Law takes a bite of his own, eager to taste it. He nods in agreement. "Yeah, it really is good." He continues eating, face void of any visible signs of happiness.
The sight makes you chuckle softly before digging in, earning an inquiring hum. "You eat so seriously, it's just a little funny."
"Don't say it like that. I don't have to be super expressive when I'm literally just eating," he argues.
You allow another laugh to escape your lips, amused by his sudden defense. "Sorry, sorry." Conversation halts as you hastily finish your meal, content. "That was delicious!" You notice Law's plate not even a quarter finished.
He pauses and sets down his fork. "If you eat so fast, you'll get a stomachache."
"Really? Why?" you take a sip of your drink.
After taking a slow bite, he responds with a small sigh. "When you eat too fast, it's bad for your stomach---particularly your digestion system. Not to mention you'll get full all at once, and you'll end up eating too much without realising, which is unhealthy."
You grin at the boy. "You're really smart! Did you learn all this stuff from studying to be a surgeon? Do you need to know normal doctor stuff too?" you ask, bringing the cup to your lips once more.
He hesitates before nodding. "It's kind of common knowledge not to eat quickly," he says carefully before swapping the matter quickly. "But as for the other thing, you'll have to take 'normal doctor's' courses to get the degree to become a surgeon. So on top of being able to perform surgeries themselves, you must also be aware of illnesses, injuries, and other things a 'normal doctor' would take care of."
Taking another small bite, he finds himself awaiting your response. It takes a while longer for you to process everything, and he worries for a moment he's said too much, boring you.
"Amazing," you gasp at last. "That's just awesome. You can do all that? Woah, that's gotta take a lot of skill and determination, and you're gonna do that? Just awesome," you praise, eyes shining with admiration.
He feels his pulse increasing and some odd feeling he can't quite place. He slows his breathing and shakes off the feeling and allows a small smile to line his lips. "I can't do all that just yet, but thanks," he says before taking another bite, the flavours seeming much brighter and richer with pride washing through his body.
"Still, it's pretty awesome. I don't even know what I want to do yet."
He thinks two or three times before deciding what to say. "You'll find it someday. At least you're taking your time until you find something you're really passionate about. When you do, you'll know and it'll be enjoyable for you," he reassures and explains.
"Thanks, Law."
Recovering his poker face and attitude, he replies plainly, "Sure, whatever."
He finishes most of his meal before he rests the fork on the plate and pushes it forwards. "I'm done eating. Are we done with this little hangout or do you still have things to do?"
"More stuff!" You get up from your seat, motioning for Law to follow in your example. He follows you as you trot out the building.
"You're going to run out of things to do fairly quickly, you know. It'll be boring, then."
"Maybe, but that's fine. We'll still have fun," you insist. "Alright, let's go!"
He walks next to you doubtfully. "Do you even know where you're going?" He looks down at you, walking along with a small bounce in your step and subconsciously matching your footsteps with his.
"Yup! I really think you're going to like where we're going. We're taking a right," you warn, pointing at the upcoming corner. The sound of cars and people chatting and passing fills the conversational stalemate. You halt in front of a building. "We're here!" you announce, excited and proud.
"A bookstore. Maybe you're not as idiotic as I initially thought," he comments, looking almost impressed.
"Oh hush," you say, playfully nudging his arm. "Let's go in." You pull open the door, holding it for the boy. He walks in and you enter behind him. The store is larger than you expected, and a multi-floored map breaks up the different parts. "Any books you need? Genres you like?"
He thinks for a second before shaking his head, humming no. "None in particular. I guess I like mystery and horror. Fantasy is good, too. I'll need some medical books on specific surgeries, but they're really expensive."
You dig into your memory to try to think of a book he'd like. You didn't know much of horror or mystery, but you try as best as you can. "How about Stephen King?" you offer the obvious. "Or heard of Beyonders? Brandon Mull? Or Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson? Oh, a lot of Brandons," you trail off.
"I've read Mistborn and many of King's works. Never even heard of Beyonders." He walks further into the store towards the side where the stairs lie and starts up towards the second floor.
Following him, you try to explain. "Well, it's about this dude who gets kinda trapped in another world, and," you rack your brain for the right words, "I'm not too good at explaining. I bet they have the series here, we can check."
You find the right aisle and run your second finger along the spines of the books, looking for the last name 'Mull.' Law watches you, your focused eyes skimming through the names. Slowly, you lead your eyes up and down in the 'M' section, looking for the particular name and pull out the first book.
"Here." You hand him the book, pulling him out of a small daze. He thanks you quietly and reads the premise on the back. "There are two others," you inform.
"It actually sounds pretty good. I think I'll get the first one. You actually seem to have a good taste in books."
A pleased smile takes over your lips. "Thanks, you too."
"Any other suggestions?"
"Maybe Night Angel? It's also a trilogy. I think the last name is Weeks. I can think of a couple others if you need, but we could just go and browse and meet back here in, let's say 20 minutes?" He nods, and you split up from one another.
As agreed upon, you return to the fantasy aisle you were in beforehand. A stack of books rest in your palms, barely balancing as you peek around it. "Law," you call out softly. He sits on the floor, immersed in a book. A few other books are piled neatly by him. You guess he probably finished browsing earlier and came back to start a book until you return. His face is practically buried in the pages, eyes following the words carefully, occasionally backtracking.
You think it cute, watching how his face would subconsciously react to the story. He half smiles or scrunches his nose, and sometimes he'll let out a huff of air or click his tongue. It took more minutes than you like to admit until you realise you're staring at him.
Shaking away the daze, you speak louder. "Law." No response. You set the books down and walk closer to him. He still doesn't make notice of your presence until you sit next to him and rest your chin on his shoulder. "Hey. The book good so far, right?"
He can feel his heart beat faster, but it isn't an uncomfortable feeling. He almost likes it. Almost.
He stands up with haste and checks the page number before closing the book and brushing off his pants. "Don't sneak up on people like that."
"I was there for at least the past five minutes, and I tried to get your attention twice. Hardly sneaking up," you say.
"Well," he stampers, "Still. You didn't have to get so close."
He earns a muffled giggle from you, your hand covering your mouth. "Sure, sure."
"So, are you getting all of those?" He gestures towards the sizeable stack of books on the floor.
You attempt to lift them again, but to no avail. "No, I'm just," you try lifting the stack, only getting it a few centimeters off the ground, "Going to pick and choose which ones I really want."
He pitches in and grabs half of the stack before balancing it on one hand, getting his own (much smaller) selection of books off the floor.
"There's a table we can sit at," he motions his head towards a table with a couple chairs.
"Yeah. Right," you agree, waddling towards the table and breaking down the towering pile into a few smaller groups. He sits across from you, and you begin sifting through the books.
"Hey, can I see that one?" he asks.
"Hm? Sure." You hand him a book with a navy blue cover with splotches of bright sanguine across the front, a looming castle in the background. "It's a little dark," you warn.
"Figured, but noted."
The two of you sort through the mass amounts of books and chat about other novels and series the two of you have read, criticizing and praising aspects of the stories. After a while, you put back the books you'd decided not to get. You walk beside Law, holding a much smaller pile of books, towards the check out area by the entrance.
"It's gotten late," you notice. Through the window, you can tell the sun has already gone down and the street lamps have turned on.
You pull out your phone and gasp. "It's already almost 9:30!"
He peeks over your shoulder to see your screen. "Yeah. Will your mother be mad? You should probably text her."
"I would, but she's staying the week at her workplace. So she's not home, and she'll probably be too busy to check in with me. Besides, what she doesn't know won't hurt her," you say, though mostly for your own reassurance. "Plus, I don't have to wake up early for school, so it doesn't matter if I end up staying up a little late."
Unsure of what to say, Law's thankful for the lone cashier calling for the next in line. You set the collection of books on the counter as the worker scans them. "$62.28 will be your total." Shifting around, you grab your wallet and hand the employee three twenties and a five. "Alright, and your change is "$2.72-"
"Keep the change," you say, grabbing the bag of books, almost somewhat cool until you realise you were still buying a lot of books. A smile reaches your lips as you start towards the exit. "Thank you very much! Have a nice night!"
"Thank you for shopping here, have a good night as well."
You walk a small distance before stopping and waiting for Law to finish checking out before exiting the store with him.
"Which way are you going? For your house?" he asks.
"This way, mostly," you point. "Why?" you respond, looking around at the nighttime scenery of the city. Light posts shine brightly, casting their rays onto the sidewalk, though some flickering or completely out. Many cars still pass back and forth, headlights creating beams of light.
"Me too. Just wondering. Should I walk you home?"
You look around at the nighttime scenery of the city. Light posts shine brightly, casting their rays onto the sidewalk, one or two flickering on and off. Bugs swarm the source. Many cars still pass back and forth, headlights creating beams of light, and people in uniforms striding homewards from work. Peaceful and many people around.
"No, I think I'll be fine. I don't mean to bother you, but thanks for offering."
"Alright." Minutes pass before he pauses.
"Hm?"
"I'm turning here."
"Oh, okay. I'll see you tomorrow then! You'll still have to deal with me then," you remind.
Although his back is already turned to you, you can tell he rolls his eyes. "I know, I know."
"And, Law," you call, "Sleep well, night!"
"...Goodnight."