It was finally Friday. My racing mind was distracting me from work. Without wasting time, I trusted John with the keys to close the company, and rushed home to get ready for the date.

Wearing the outfit Lily picked for me, but ditching the headband, I strode my way to the stop. The bus left as soon as I arrived. I thought I'd be late for sure. But when I arrived at the station in Brooklyn. There was no sign of Cris.

He didn't answer the message I sent. That wasn't uncommon, but it had me worrying. The sound of buses coming and going filled my head as I paced around the station. Eventually, I just sat down, looking at my phone.

I almost didn't recognize the figure walking towards me until he stopped in front of me. He had a striking eyeliner on top of a subtle pink eye shadow. A vivid blush and pink glossy lips. His long hair ended on their shoulders, that were covered by a black coat. Underneath it, there were pink overalls with a white shirt and a fishnet body.

"Y-You." 'He's a girl!?'

"Are you standing, or are you just going to stay there, staring?" He... She said. "Am I that cute?"

I jolted up. Without being able to look into Cris' piercing red eyes. I extended my hand for a shake. But he pulled me in, embracing me. He was taller than me, leaving my nose right at his neck. She smelled like a soft and light flower. Before I could recognize the scent, the hug ended.

"So..." Cris looked down, holding a finger. "Excited to learn some pottery?"

"Yeah..." I said under my breath, still processing. Trying to think of something else, I stuttered, "W-Why pottery, though?"

Cris started laughing.

"What?"

"Nothing." Wiping a tear, Cris said, "It's just that, every time I see you, you're completely different."

"You tell me."

"Is something wrong with this?"

"No! I mean, I just wasn't expecting... I mean. What should I call you? Are you a boy, girl...?"

The dimples left Cris' face.

"I don't know... whatever floats your boat, I guess." Cris shrugged it off.

"That's not how it works."

"And how does it?" Cris asked, with furrowed eyebrows.

We were interrupted by the sound of the bus. I entered behind, looking down, with a pit in my stomach. 'Was I rude?' I thought. Sitting beside Cris, as... they looked through the window. 'Why do I always ruin everything?'

Some boys were listening to music on the back of the bus. Right in front of us, there was a cute old couple holding hands. A mother was nursing her child just across as she talked on the phone. And the hair on the back of neck was standing from the moment I sat.

I looked back at Cris; they were still looking through the window. With a serene smile, their legs bobbed up and down. There were lessons in psychology that taught me to suppress that, to not look nervous in front of superiors. But I pulled my shorts down in a futile attempt to get them to cover my legs, as the gaze continued to haunt the back of my mind.

There was a man wearing a tuxedo, probably coming back from work. He turn away as I looked at him. My hairs stood up as soon as I looked forward again, and my psychology classes failed me.

"You're from Manhattan right? How's the climate around there?" Cris said, naturally making small talk. I had already ruined the whole date before it even began, but they were still trying to fix it.

"It's getting pretty cold, huh?" They continued, taking off their coat and putting on top of my legs.

"Yeah..." I answered quietly, looking up to see their gentle smile made my leg stop bouncing.

"Do you like the cold? Or are you more of warm climate kind of person?"

"It's easier to remedy coldness rather than the warmth." I said, looking into their amber eyes. "I love autumn as well. The city gets so pretty."

"It really does."

* * *

Cris disturbed the moon's reflection in the puddles as they hopped off the bus. I followed, avoiding it. The coat was tied to my hips, covering up what my shorts didn't. Attempting to accompany Cris' rapid pace, I stepped into some reflections. The sound of our footsteps being the only thing cutting through the silence.

"Were you born here in the city?" Their voice came out, joining our steps.

"No, I'm from Texas, actually."

"Really! you barely have an accent." Cris said. Matching my pace. "How was it there?"

"Well, I lived in the country... Nothing really happened."

"Is that so?" They left our steps alone for a bit before joining them again. "Can you guess where I'm from?"

"How would I know?"

"Ha! you've got a point." Their dimples appeared again. "I'm from Japan."

"Do you speak Japanese?"

"Katsukatsu."

"I don't know what that means."

"I've lived most of my life in Brazil, so I don't remember much."

Cris kept asking questions on the way to the studio. Not being the one asking all the questions was nice, but I didn't get to learn much about them.