yuta
He never would have imagined venturing halfway into the city just to pick up some obanyaki and boba in a tram with a girl he'd just met. She had been babbling on the way to the tram stop and looked like she wanted to talk or be friends or something. He figured he'd indulge her this once if only to pass the time or whatever. 

Leaning against the tram window, he crossed his legs. He had mindlessly answered a few of her questions. What school do you go to? Just uni. What music do you like? Mmm. What genre does your band play? Rock. Where do you live? Green Square. Um, was wondering old are you? 23. What, really? Yeah, really. But the school uniform? Ah. 

He could never figure out girls, most of the girls he encountered always wanted to know him to be seen with him. Girls like to be seen with him by their friends and by other girls on the street. Almost like a he was a trophy to be flaunted. Those girls are so boring. He wondered if she was the same, pretty and boring. 
Pretty boring, he thought.  

Luckily, he was saved from the interrogation when the tram arrived and they both hopped on. 

He honestly wouldn't have invited himself to obanyaki and boba with her on any other occasion, but she seemed to need it so he figured he'd jump along for the ride. Even if it meant listening to her ramble. 

belle
When she had first spoken to Bobby, mainly out of altruistic motives due to his link with one of her mother's family friends she never would have thought he'd be so snide. 

He had seemed genuinely interested in her over text until he met her in person for sushi. He had looked at her over and laughed. Said she looked like a loli. 

She would've refuted him but she had a social conscience and thought of the political and social machinations middle-aged women engaged in over yum cha if she dissed him. And even if she wanted to, she just couldn't bring herself to do it. Shy and timid as she was, being mean wasn't in her repertoire. 

After their sushi lunch which Bobby had begrudgingly paid for, they had walked on George St to head for the The Rocks when they bumped into Yuta. She had wanted to catch up to Yuta and let him know about the things that were dropping out from his tote bag. Things that Bobby was snickering at. If it wasn't the condom wrappers, it was the make-up that Yuta had or the scrunchies. Bobby was such a dick. And the only credit that could be attributed to him was the tap on the shoulder he gave Yuta. 

When Yuta had leaned in towards her and stared fixedly into her eyes, she felt time stop. Just for that millisecond. 

She couldn't stop staring at him, he was so beautiful.  

Bobby caught onto her diverted attention, said she was expired and sick or something like that and said he'd go to the bathroom in the art gallery never to return. 

It was almost like a horror dating story, Belle thought as much. She was digesting the situation trying to make light of it in her mind but feeling incredibly dejected and angry simultaneously.

Bobby was such a dick, she thought furiously. He dared to wear a hoodie and flip-flops to see her. He had insulted her a few times; "you're such a loli", "who uses colouring books, are you a kid?", "you tutored kids before, really??that's hard to believe…" and lastly "expired and sick". And he didn't even want to pay for two $6 sushi rolls for both of them, which if she added them up was only $12. Oh my god. He deserved to sit on an island by himself for life wanking to trees. 

Then, someone had grabbed her by the wrist and was walking ahead of her towards the station. That person was Yuta.