I Fell in Love with Hope - Lancali

“You should be.”
“Why? Because a skull stood me up?”
There it is.
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay,” Hikari laughs. It’s dry, no discernible beats to count.
“You can talk to me about it if you’d like,” I say, nodding my head in
her parents’ direction. “About what happened. Or if you need me to
carry a box around, I can do that too.”
“You really want to know?”
“Yes.” I swallow, eyes flicking side to side, foraging for some
courage. “I’m exploring you.”
She’s been tying her hair up more often nowadays. Whenever we
stand or sit this close, little details like that become apparent. Her
eyes are close to her nose. She’s colder when she’s upset. And if I
say something out of character, she searches. She reads lines in me
she’s already read as if she misunderstood them the first time. And if
you give her a chance, she’s forgiving.
“Okay,” she nods. Then, she turns on her heel, hair swinging with
her, striding away from the weary cafeteria. “But you owe me a night.
So c’mon.”
—
“So why did you stand me up, Yorick?” she asks.
“I was scared.”
“Scared?”
“Neo says you won’t bite me, but I don’t believe him.”