◦•●◉✿ The Days We Have ✿◉●•◦

✩four

✩four

The wait had been completely unbearable. June had gone through all of the nearest stores more than three times each and she wasn't even looking to buy anything anymore. She tried to occupy herself doing small chores and tasks, but there was nothing for her to do. There were still school things that needed to be taken care of, but that wasn't a priority. They could be done over the weekend, just like the last time June convinced herself she would do last weekend. June groaned as she slunk around the town in the mountain. This was the third Friday she had officially been in Taiwan and it was beginning to feel like she had lived there her whole life. Of course, her Mandarin and Taiwanese were still not up to par, but she was getting the feel for the way of life. And she should have felt relieved to be back in the mountain, but once again, she had failed to confirm a meeting spot with Chen. She knew she was an idiot, but she didn't think she was capable of the same mistake twice. Maybe she had overestimated herself. Because she also couldn't remember the way to Chen's house. What a wonderful hippocampus she had. It was okay because Chen always ended up finding her anyway.

June turned up a path and headed into the forest. She hadn't been inside in a while, and she felt the need to visit a shrine and talk to the forest spirits like an old superstitious Chinese lady. But she wasn't Chinese, she was Taiwanese, so technically, it didn't count. The day was a little warmer than usual, but in the mountain, the humidity wasn't as bad. That didn't mean June wasn't a sweaty mess, but it was still tolerable. June looked at her surroundings, thinking about all the stories the trees standing there must have to tell. She knew that there was an old Japanese railway in the mountain from during the time of the First Sino-Japanese War. She didn't know where it was and she wasn't planning on searching for it alone, especially when she didn't really know her way around. June began to daydream about all the other things there were to do on the mountain. Maybe one of the farmers would let her help out in the tea or wasabi plantations. But she doubted it, since they treated their farm work seriously, and probably wouldn't want a curious teenage girl poking around their precious crops. As she continued to walk, June was really hoping Chen would turn up soon. She missed him and wanted to spend as much time together so that the little summer she had left wouldn't be a total waste. With that in mind, June decided it would be best to go to the rock spot when she had met him last since it seemed like he went there often. Maybe the man who had been repairing the roof of the shrine was done and she could pay her respects.

After some climbing June got back on track and found herself in front of the shrine. There was a man sweeping the stone floor around the shrine, singing a tune she wasn't familiar with. She was unsure if it was the same man from the roof, but that didn't really matter. June stepped towards the Buddha, did bai-bai, then went the short distance to her hideaway. To her surprise, there was someone laying down there already. They were shirtless. She let out a small gasp, not wanting to draw attention to herself, and peered over. Just then, the stranger who had been relaxing under the shade of the trees lifted their head and looked in her direction. June's eyes widened as did this person. They scrambled to get their faded blue t-shirt over their head then stood up, trying to break the awkward atmosphere.

"Uh, hi June. Didn't know you'd be here today," Chen said, cheeks red, forehead slightly glistening with sweat.

"Um, yeah, I forgot to ask you where to meet you the next time I visited, so I just came here to, you know," June said, gesturing at the rock, "wait for you to find me." She finished her sentence realizing how stupid she sounded. Chen laughed awkwardly.

"Well it looks like you found me," he joked.

"Yep," June replied, looking everywhere else but Chen's eyes. She rocked back and forth on her heels, forcing herself not to squeal or embarrass herself in any girly way. But holy apple turner overs she just saw Chen shirtless. It wasn't as if this was the first time she'd seen a guy shirtless; she had lived in America for her whole life until now. But this was different. It was Chen. Holy crap, she needed to stopping thinking-