Perpetual Rain ✓

Lead the Way

Well, there it was again. That unfiltered silence. Truly, conversation wasn't your strong suit. Raising your cup, you chugged more of the warm liquid than you normally would in your unease but the liquid had cooled enough that you didn't scorch your tongue. How were there people so outgoing?! This kind of thing was borderline torture.

Setting your cup back down you exhaled a long sigh, trying to breathe out your worries along with that vanilla-scented breath.

"Here ya go." The female barista from earlier said as she set down a newspaper on the corner of the table. Complimentary, but who really read those things now with smartphones? Yup, you were a millennial.

"Thank you." You smiled up at her, despite your disinterest in the offer you didn't want to decline and come off rude. Which is the same reason you ended up at this table with a strange man in the first place?

The woman nodded her head, keeping that customer service smile strong. Her bangs swaying with her movements while the rest of her blonde locks pulled up into a bun. She looked sweet, hell she kind of reminded you of your drink with the smooth lightly browned blonde locks she donned.

In the death of the conversation, you let your eyes wander over the newspaper on the table. Just idly reading the headlines, that seemed better than whipping out your phone in front of company.

"What?" You muttered under your breath, your brows hunching downward as you curled closer to the table. 'Wednesday Times' read the top of the newspaper, in a larger font than the rest.

"Hm?" Taehyung hummed back in question as his deep brown hues broke from his cup and to you before catching sight of what you were staring at.

"Oh. Nothing " you said, shaking your head lightly. "I thought it was Sunday?" Your remark more of a question than a statement.

"No...?" His tone drawn out to imply his wonder of how you had not realized.

"Didn't we meet yesterday?" You raised your head, looking over at him as your brows knit together.

"No, we met on Saturday."

"Four days ago?"

"That would've been Saturday, yeah."

"But..." Your tone dropped off as you looked back to the paper. Where did four days of your life just go? You could have sworn it was just yesterday you met this man on a waterlogged street just down the road from your house. 

"Y/N, are you okay?" Taehyung's voice broke your perplexity now.

"Yeah, yeah. Just, I guess my days are escaping me lately." Dryly, you chuckled. Raising a hand you rubbed at your forehead trying to sooth the headache you could feel seeping into your brain. If you met four days ago, why could you not recall the three days between then and now?

"Maybe we should get you some air." Taehyung suggested as he finally unraveled himself from his modelesque pose and sat more normally in his seat.

"No, I'm fine." Objection, he said 'we' and you weren't sure if leaving here with him was a sane plan of action.

"Seriously, you've got me worried." His hands pressed into the tables brim, ready to get up at any second. His voice emanated that concern he had shown for you before.

"You barely even know me, why are you so worried?" Lowering your hand, you met his gaze with one that seemed both irritated and confused. He was so persistent! An incoming headache was making you more irritable.

"Is it bad for someone to care? Even if it's for a stranger?" Dark brown eyes narrowing and brows scrunched in the middle, he looked like a wounded puppy, hurt by your sharp words.

"Well, I guess not but... it's not the norm?" Folding your arms on the table, you hung your head as you offered an exasperated sigh, eyes falling shut. You tried to whisper away from the throbbing of your mind.

"Well, to hell with the norm." Taehyung uttered so easily.

Another somber laugh lightly rattled your chest, but you didn't falter from your spot. Where were your days going? If it was Wednesday then why was...?

"Come on" He spoke, the sound of his chair scratching catching more than just your attention as he rose to his feet. "I want to show you something." Moving to the table's edge he extended his large hand out to you, for you to take.

"What?" You looked up from your brief rest to see his extended offer, your eyes trailing his form in question. He was dressed a bit more 'elegantly' today than the almost 'hoodlum' look he portrayed Saturday.

A light tan fleece trench coat covering a white button-up shirt matched with loose fitting black slacks. Maybe he dressed this way for classes today. Ironically, the color scheme of your outfits matched. Tan and black, excluding his white shirt, you almost seemed like you might have been wearing a pairing outfit.

"Trust me." He pleaded as he rattled his hand impatiently for you to take.

"I just met you." A bit of an attitude biting at your tongue as your gaze became more piercing.

"Four days ago" Copping a faint attitude of his own. He pointed out your gap in time to better get his point across. "Come on. It's just a few blocks away. I promise, nothing bad will happen." His lower lip puckered as he laid on the sad puppy dog look hard now.

He had been stoic up to this point, showing no real emotion in his face or in the tone in which he spoke, though now he finally was. The look in his once stone cold brunette hues now appeared softer, his lip puckering to change the curvatures of his face. All it took for this man to appear more human was for you to get a headache? 

"You just saying that makes me think otherwise." Pulling yourself from the table you had draped yourself against you sat back in your seat, arms folding against your chest as you tried to remain firm to your convictions.

"Please?" He whined, trying to open his eyes wider. He was stubborn and relentless. No hint of backing down, well that hadn't changed at least. 

"Ugh. Fine" You groaned as you pushed your chair back and let your body raise, moving in such an irritating haste, your own chair screamed as it was pushed across the floor. "Just a few blocks?"

"Yes." He nodded, lowering his empty hand with a smile as if he had won. He basically did. But, he was smiling now. You hadn't seen that sight not even once till now. Normally, a smile would come off as welcoming, inviting... but for some reason, you were left uncertain as to what you should make of his sudden change in attitude. Now, it seemed like you were the stone-faced one. Turning, you grabbed the strap of your bag and yanked it onto your shoulder, keeping a firm grip on the cloth strap.

"Lead the way." You said, waving toward the door, though your tone didn't reflect any sense of amusement, only bitterness of having lost the battle.