Best Friends, Maybe? (A Song Joong-ki Fanfic)

Chapter 5

"You're done?" I ask. Joong-ki nods and gets his bag. "Let's go!" I say and we leave the bakery. He bid goodbye to the other employees and leave me standing there like an idiot. Trying not to look stupid and cold, I wave, smile and bow a little. Surprisingly, they wave and bow back! These people really are friendly. I just have to be nice to them.

"Come on, let's go," Joong-ki says. He pulls the café door and the bell jingles as it swings open. He walks out of the café and keeps on walking down the pavement without looking back. I'm used to this. That's how he has always been. He always walks ahead of me, leaving me behind. He doesn't socialise much at school. No wonder he doesn't have many friends. I've never seen him talk to any of our classmates. Well, I did see him talk to those "cold" girls the other day. But it wasn't friendly.

Only now it makes me think. Does he even have friends who he hangs out with on weekends? Friends who he can count on to when he's in trouble? I've never seen any guys talking to him at school, like ever.

I catch up with him – running through the small crowd of people - and grab him left arm for balance since I almost fell. He stares at me in bewilderment. "What is it?" he asks. His eyes are big as he stares at me, probably shocked that I grabbed his arm out of blue.

"Sorry for startling you," I reply as I try to catch my breath. "I was thinking and...can I ask you something?"

"What do you want to ask?" he asks without looking at me. We continue to walk and avoid bumping into people at the same time. How should I ask? Should I even ask that question? I bite the inside of my lips whilst thinking. Should I ask or should I not? I don't want to offend him but I'm curious at the same time. "Hello?" His voice disrupts my thoughts. I look at him. "What do you want to ask?" he continues.

"How come I've never seen you talking to any of the guys in our class? And why won't you socialise with the girls?" I blurt out. It has been lingering in my head and I can't help but ask. He responds with a laugh. What does that supposed to mean? I smack him on the arm and say, "What's so funny?" His laugh doesn't last long. He takes a deep breath and let it out.

"Okay, so you're curious. The guys don't talk to me, maybe they don't like me – I don't know about that though – so I don't talk to them," he replies and shrugs. Maybe they don't like me, what he has said is odd. How would someone not like Joong-ki? He's...friendly? Okay, maybe a little quiet but he's alright. "And why I don't socialise with the girls?" He looks at me with a raised eyebrow. "Trust me no regular non-slutty girls would like that," he says and glances at me, probably anticipating a reply. But I remain silent. I know he has more to say. "I'm not the kind of guy who would hang out with a bunch of slutty girls who put on pounds of make-ups on their naturally pretty face and wear tight clothes. Besides, I'm not a player like some of those cool guys at school," he continues and gives me a smile.

Not a player. What an honest confession from a handsome 17-year-old guy. It's my turn to raise an eyebrow. "Really?" I say sarcastically. I don't mean to mock him or anything but it is pretty hard to believe that he's not one of those "cool guys" or "popular guys" at school.

"You don't believe me, do you?" he says. "You know, I was trained to pay more attention to my studies and anything school-related. Besides, I really love doing that. While other schoolboys hook up with girls their age and waste their time wondering whether or not their girl is cheating, I spend my time shaping my future. Is that wrong?"

I bite my lip. He does have a point. "Why did you...what's the word...um." Joong-ki taps his chin gently with his index finger, thinking. His "thinking pose" is so cliché, I thought. Watching him keep on doing that "thinking pose" makes me feel like laughing but I hold it in and form a smile instead. "Doubt!" he yelps which startled me. "Yes, that's the word. Why did you doubt me?" he asks.