Hey I just met you…And this is crazy.. but here's my numb- 

"Hello?" Mayu groggily rubbed her eyes as she answered her phone. A sharp pain ran through her spin, that's when she realised she had passed out on her couch. She looked at her tv, she had been kicked for being afk. She was still laying down, cuddled next to her cat when-

"WHERE ARE YOU?! YOU PROMISED YOU'D COME WITH YOGI AND III, WE'RE WAITING FOR YOU AT THE ENTRANCE!" Tala shouted. Mayu sat up instantly, she had forgotten that she promised to meet with Tala and her boyfriend at Cosmoland. 

"Yeah yeah, I'll be there soon, just give me a moment!" Mayumi started getting ready as she stayed on the phone with Tala. Tala nagged and nagged but Mayumi couldn't be mad with her. Her voice was high and it was cute to her, she whined and whined and Mayumi made herself look nice. 

Mayumi decided that she would wear a pair of grey sweatpants with a baggy long sleeved shirt. She tucked the shirt into her bra, placed a black baseball cap on her head and left the house quickly remembering to bring her D-tablet with her.

Luckily Cosmoland wasn't all that far, only a 15 minute bus ride and she was there. 

"Mayu!" Tala shouted, smiling and waving. She ran up to her and gave her a hug. Mayumi hugged back, even though they had seen each other yesterday, Tala was always so filled with warmth. Mayu was happy. 

"Hey." Yogi lifted his hand, Mayumi returned his high five. This was their greeting, Yogi was a chill guy. He was the total opposite of Tala, both physically and personality wise. Tala was ironically a bit of an air head who also somehow managed to always overthink and somehow get hurt, Yogi on the other hand was a very sweet guy who cared about her a lot, he was notoriously very smart and careful. He would be the only one to calm Tala down in every situation, Yogi was so smart that, despite Tala and Mayu going to an amazing school, he went to an even better school. He had a pale complexion and had a bigger body build, but he was definitely Tala's other half.

Mayumi was happy seeing them together, she had known Tala since childhood and Tala and Yogi had been together for 6 years now… wow time sure flies. 

Tala grinned a mischievous grin and looked at Mayumi. Of course Mayumi was perplexed. That's when she understood the situation. 

I was set up.

"Yo Mayu." 

Mayumi knew that voice, deep and silky yet playful and flirtatious. She knew that familiar pink hair that shimmered brightly in the sun, beautiful and fluffy. She knew those clear blue eyes, innocent and honest. 

"Hi Simon." She responded with a nod. 

Tala giggled and grabbed Yogi's hand. 

"Let's go have fun!" Tala shouted, running into Cosmoland. Yogi followed, softly smiling at Tala.

Simon and Mayumi were left in the dust. 

"Man.. she really is a force of nature." Mayu said, talking slow steps into Cosmoland, she was slightly holding in her excitement. She had it in her head that she had to be all cool and mature and that's what she was going to do. 

"She is, isn't she.." Simon's voice trailed off. Mayumi looked up at him and he was looking directly at her. Mayu blushed and tucked her hair behind her ear. 

"How.. Did you meet Tala?" Mayu asked, placing her hands in her pockets as her and Simon began walking around the amusement park. 

"Oh.. I don't know, I was just walking and she ran up to me and said 'GO TO THIS CAFÉ, THIS GIRL WILL BE THERE, HERE'S MY NUMBER. BYE' and I just listened to her." He responded nonchalantly.

".. sounds just like her. Do you usually just.. listen and go with the flow? You must've gone on countless dates." Mayu knew Tala always lived in the moment, she wished she could've been like her. 

"Hm, I do like to go with the flow but.. you see, that has never happened before, I was curious. You would be too, right?" He answered facing slightly upwards.

"Hey, why don't we go ride that?" Simon pointed at the cosmic drop, Mayu's eyes twinkled. This is what she'd been waiting for.. the rides! Mayu quickly grabbed Simon's arm and without a word, ran over to the ride. 

She was basically jumping for joy. Simon chuckled and petted her head. Mayu's excited face twisted into a scowl. Though, that wasn't going to stop her from being excited. 

After waiting for a bit, Simon and Mayu got situated. 

"Are you ready?!" Mayu asked Simon, "It's not like I'm scared or anything," she continued. Mayu loved rides but she was also such a wimp. It was clear to anybody who saw her that she was shaking. Simon reached out his hand. 

"Would you like to hold hands? It'll help you calm down." 

Mayu held his hand, a little bit embarrassed but she was way too scared to care. 

3

2

1

They were sent up quickly, then they slowed down and they were slowly lifted a whole lot of metres off the ground. Mayu squeezed Simon's hand. 

"Take a deep breath, you'll be okay." Simon's voice was so calm it reassured Mayumi. She took a breath and then-

"WAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!" Mayumi screeched as they went down and up. The experience ended just as quickly as it had started. 

Mayumi held her glasses and wiped the tears out of her eyes. 

"That was awesome!" She shouted, Simon nodded.

"That was very fun." He answered, Mayumi was quick to notice his lack of excitement. That confused her, he wasn't even scared at all. Nothing! She furrowed her brows and got out of her seat, pulling him away from the Cosmic Drop and towards The Meteors, which was a name for the bumper cars. If something extreme like the Cosmic Drop wasn't going to get any reaction out of him, maybe the fact that she was going to beat him at bumper cars, would. 

"Are you ready to get your ass whooped?!" Mayumi shouted as she pumped herself up. Simon paused for a moment, a devilish grin appeared on his face. 

"Whoever gets pumped the least is the winner, the loser has to do what the winner wants. If you're that confident, agree to my bet." His voice was haughty and cocky. Mayu nodded. 

"Bet, there's no way you'll beat me."

5 minutes later

"No fair! Simon please!!" Mayu was on the ground begging and whining. Her cool, hot act was collapsing at her loss. 

"Don't be a sore loser. Tonight, you're staying at my place." Simon winked as Mayumi hit his back multiple times in a whiny childlike way and pouted. She hates losing.

"If you don't actually want to come, you don't have to, I don't want to force you. I just want a friend." He honestly and earnestly added. Mayu thought for a second. A small pause..

She knew for sure that Tala and Yogi would be spending the night together, they do most nights because they do live together. She was gonna spend the night at their place but.. She only knew Simon for a day.. 

"Sleepover as friends?" She asked, Simon nodded sticking out his pinky finger beckoning her to agree to his pinky promise.

"I swear on it, you could kill me if I try anything." He responded wholeheartedly. Mayu hesitated but then agreed. If it was just going to be a night as buddies, then she could take a bit to relax. That'd be nice.. relaxing with someone. 

"I trust you." Mayumi added, Simon gave her a thumbs up. Mayu could see a visible change in his demeanour, he seemed a lot more giddy and happy. 

Mayumi wondered if he was actually somewhat lonely, it made no sense though. He was so good looking and friendly, why would he be lonely? A guy like him should have lots of friends.

They spent the next few hours running around going through many different rides. Mayu and Simon had a good day. A date of just two friends. They spoke about a lot of random things and enjoyed each other's company. It felt like they had known each other forever. Mayu only had 2 friends, those were Yogi and Tala, it seemed to her that Simon was joining their trio.

Cosmoland was running out of rides and the pair were running out of motivation. Mayu got a beep on her phone and she checked it.

It was a notification from Tala letting them know that they were at the entrance again. Tala wanted them all to go have dinner together at a nearby pho restaurant. Mayu texted back, agreeing in excitement. If there was one thing that could get her going… It was a delicious pho restaurant. 

Mayu held tightly onto Simon's hand, it had become customary at this point, almost every ride they had been on, Mayu had to grasp Simon's hand tightly. 

"We're going to a pho restaurant with Tala and Yogi! Excited?" Mayumi asked with a twinkle in her eyes. Simon had no choice but to say he was excited as well. Mayumi loved to express herself through food, it helped her be herself. If she wasn't eating, she had a cold demeanour, almost standoffish, but once she was sharing a meal, it was a lot easier for her to express herself. To just talk without worrying about being judged. She loved having a meal with friends.

The four of them met up again. It then crossed Mayumi's mind, she looked at everyone and then looked at Simon. He stood out like a sore thumb! He was way too tall.

"Hey Simon, how tall would you say you are?" Mayumi asked, looking up at him. Squinting her eyes as she looked at him.

"I'm about 6 '3 ft, what about it?" Simon responded innocently.

Tala, Yogi and Mayumi froze, huddling together away from Simon and muttering.

"Too tall…"

"Right? Plus, he's only 19!"

"We're… we haven't stopped growing yet.. right guys?" 

Tala, 4'10 ft.

Yogi, 5'6ft. 

Mayumi, 5'2 ft.

All three went over to Simon and looked up at him, glaring. Simon started sweating and looking away nervously. 

"Shrink! You're still a baby!" Mayumi shouted. Raising her arms up in frustration. She pouted and Simon petted her head.

"What's your foot size-" Yogi was about to ask when Tala kicked him. 

"You don't need to know that!" She protested, Yogi snickered. Tala was the only one who could melt Yogi's cold cool exterior, it was always refreshing to see. 

Simon smiled innocently and picked up Mayumi, placing her on his back. Mayumi's heart jumped into her throat as Simon held onto her legs. She was so close she was practically smelling him with every breath. She had no words.

Mayumi softly punched Simon's back in protest. 

Who gave him the right to-

She paused, looking at her surroundings. Things looked so much more.. small. A new feeling for her. She had never gotten the chance to ride on someone's back. It was nice.

Yogi looked Simon in the eyes and nodded in agreement. Yogi picked up Tala and placed her on his back as well. 

It's as if Yogi and Simon had some kind of mental agreement. Tala and Mayumi gave the same look of confusion and slight disgust. It was weird seeing Yogi so friendly to someone. 

Tala was enjoying the ride on her boyfriend's back but Mayumi was unsure of how to feel. Her heart was thumping loudly. She leaned in and rested her body on his back. She could feel how muscular he was through his white t-shirt. 

That's when her eyebrows furrowed. 

Wait.. he's really muscular. Not just regularly muscular.

She started feeling around with her cheek. Rubbing it all over his back. She took her hands and felt his shoulders and arms. 

What the fuck, he's so muscular. Strong!

"A-uhum.. Mayu.. we've made it to the restaurant."

Mayumi snapped out of her daze and looked around. Tala was sitting there snickering. Mayumi clicked her tongue as a way to say stop. 

"I-im sorry. A- I'm sorry." She stuttered, flushed as Simon let her down. She quickly ran into the restaurant.

Tala nudged Simon and winked. 

"You're doing a good job." She followed Mayumi into the restaurant, a little skip in her step causing her yellow dress to flow freely like a ray of sunshine.

Yogi looked Simon in the eyes and they both nodded. They had come to another agreement.

★★★

Inside the restaurant, Tala sat beside Mayumi. Yogi and Simon sat together. The girls goofed around, reading the menu and making comments on every food. Yogi and Simon looked at the girls with a certain type of fond appreciation. 

While they were ordering their food they had found out Simon had never had Pho before! Of course, everyone had different opinions on which was the best. Simon was surprised that Tala's pho of choice contained the most meat. 

The 4 friends simply had a wonderful dinner. A little bit of alcohol was involved, Tala got wasted whereas Mayumi was only a little bit tipsy. Yogi knew he had to take care of Tala so he didn't drink and Simon preferred his cup of strawberry bubble tea.

It was 10 pm when they all decided to leave. 

Simon was carrying Mayumi on his back again when she got a text from her mother. "Hi, Tala let me know you were going to spend the night at her place so I'm at your place taking care of Cleo. ❤️😀" 

Mayumi smiled appreciatively at her phone. It was true, before she made a bet with Simon, she was going with Tala and Yogi. Tala seemed to always plan ahead and Mayu's mom was always there for her. For Mayu it felt like her life was good.

Mayumi's eyes fluttered closed as she leaned into Simon. His steadily beating heart calmed her. Comfortable silence filled the air. This was nice. She breathed in his scent, Japanese cherry blossoms. A scent that was all too familiar to her, she loved that smell. 

"Today was a great day." Simon spoke cheerfully. Mayumi was quick to agree.

She looked up at her city, tall buildings that matched the black night sky. The only thing that separated the two were the rows upon rows of rooms filled with light. The warm spring breeze made her feel alive. She looked at Simon who was still steadily walking her to his house. He was tall and strong. She took note of his broad shoulders wondering how he got that strong. She'd only known him for 2 days but her monochromatic world that felt like it was on repeat seemed to be filling with bright neon colours and changing with every step she took with this man. 

They stopped at an apartment in the heart of their city. The doors were the type that spun, Simon and Mayumi made their way in. It was weird to Mayumi. This apartment looked really nice, the floor was marble. The lights were warm. The elevators were glass and circular.

Mayumi was speechless and in awe. Simon made his way into the elevator, scanning his card, he hit the button for the top floor. Mayumi grabbed Simon's arms as they kept going up. 

There's no way..

Mayumi thought as they kept ascending. To her, it was impossible for him to actually be living in the penthouse of this apartment. 

But he did.

The doors to the elevator opened and Mayumi was greeted with a huge two story penthouse. It was breathtaking. There were huge windows on one side overlooking the city. The television greeted them, it was attached to the wall. He had two coffee tables and 4 couches. As she looked around she saw the kitchen that was made of marble, a bathroom respectively made of marble as well. This was only the first floor, she wondered what was waiting for her on the second. 

Simon let her down, Mayumi quickly took off her shoes and hat, Simon took off his shoes and switched to his slippers.