Outside the cafe, a silver van’s door opened and the guy with the hoodie got in.

The guy in the driver seat turned around and looked at the guy in the hoodie. “Hey, you’re back! Did you get your buttermilk waffles? Luckily there’s not many people around this time ya?” 

“...”

“Are you ok?”

“...”

“Septh?”

“Yeah, I got them.”

He took off his hoodie and mask, revealing a nice set of platinum hair and icy blue eyes. He took out the waffle that was nicely packed in a handheld carrier and took a bite out of it. The ice cream was separated into a different container. He scooped a spoon of it and put it in his mouth, savoring the cold velvety texture of the ice cream and the freshly made warm waffle. 

“I think I found something interesting today.”

“What?”

Those girls are from his school… That girl…

“When’s my next available time in my schedule?”

“Hmm, the earliest would be next month, why?”

“Could you free up my schedule the soonest?”

“I’ll see what I can do.”

“Good.”

Septh stared at the cafe for quite some time. After he finished his food, they left.

::::::::::::::::::

The “date” in the cafe ended quite abruptly as Rosie was just shoving down her waffles in the end, she couldn’t even taste the food as she was tensed up the whole time that Mica was staring at her. The group left the cafe and headed home. Bethany and Jessica stayed in the same area so they took the bus together. Rosie took Mica’s car ride back home. She tried to explain in the car again and Mica told her not to worry. 

“Let’s talk back home Rosie.”

Soon, they reached home. Mica went back to his house and Rosie to hers that was just beside.

She headed upstairs and sunk herself in her bed.

He looks fine but I’m sure he’s still at least a little upset about it. What should I say to him later? Bethany’s right, I must be honest to him…

In the evening, Mica came by her house with his parents after dinner. They gathered together often around this time after they had dinner. The Roxhojens would usually have their dinner at Mica’s grandparents’ mansion, and sometimes they stopped by to meet with the Behl’s. They would talk about their work, complain about this and that, talk about the latest news, and even gossip about the neighborhood. It was very lively in the living room whenever the Roxhojens visited. They always had such a warm and open personality that‘s infectious to everyone around them. And the Behls looked forward to their visits every time.

Rosie hid herself behind the staircase as she peaked at Mica. She tried to reduce her presence as much as possible but Mica spotted her by the staircase the moment he stepped in.

“Why are you hiding there Rosie, come on down, Mica’s here!” Mrs. Roxhojen who finally saw Rosie waved at her asking her to join them.

”Good evening Mr. and Mrs. Roxhojen.“ Rosie greeted.

“What’s going on? Why’s she hiding there? She’s usually the first to greet our son.” Mr. Roxhojen whispered to his friend standing nearby. Mr. Behl shrugged.

“It’s ok mother, I’ll head upstairs to meet with Rosie.” Mica glanced over at Rosie. As their eyes met, Rosie, who was caught peeking at him by surprise, quickly averted her eyes and dashed back to her room.

Mica walked up the stairs, heading towards Rosie’s bedroom.

The parents exchanged glances, looking confused.

-Rosie’s bedroom-

Knock, knock*

“Rosie, may I come in?” Mica was standing outside her bedroom, talking over the door with a calm voice.

Rosie felt a little nervous, she thought about it a lot just now and had also prepared a script of what to say. She was afraid of hurting his feelings so…  she lied to him. 

Honestly, she had never lied to him, so this was the first time she did. It wasn’t about the outing with friends or the waffles, it was about trust. She felt like she betrayed him by lying to him and going out with her friends behind his back. It was as if… she chose her friends over him… Which made her feel awful. 

“Ugh…Um...” Rosie put her hand on her mouth as she gagged and almost threw up at the thought of hurting him. To her, Mica will always be her best and most important friend. 

I’ve got to tell him that… I won’t hurt him again.

She must make things right again, explain properly and give a sincere apology, setting things right.

She pulled herself together and prepared what she had to say beforehand.

She opened the door. 

“Mi-” She said before she could even finish her sentence the guy outside pushed her with such considerable force that she fell on her side into her bed. She couldn’t even process what just happened because things happened very fast.

Mica locked the door behind him and turned towards her. He stood over her bed and stared down at her with an air of dominance.

Rosie froze with her eyes open wide as she looked up at Mica. His expression darkened. His eyes were cold. Due to the immense pressure he was giving, his piercing stare sent chills to Rosie.

“M-Mi… M-” Her voice was trembling. His cold stare and intense glare scared her. 

End of Chapter 7