Elise can’t stop staring at Yuele while they wait in the short line to get into the Fyre Art Museum. He somehow gets hotter with each time she sees him. She thinks it’s the clothes. It’s just a white t-shirt and black cargo pants. Elise likes simple.

“You’re staring again.”

“Oh, I know, it’s just-”

“I’m pretty?”

“Yeah,” Elise nervously laughs. “So, uh, you like art? I didn’t expect you to have me meet you here.”

“Nope!” Yuele chuckles. “But what better way to get to know someone through something they both don’t like.”

“Is this a date?”

Yuele smiles at Elise which completely absorbs her to him. “Darn, I should have made myself more clear.”

Elise laughs. “I saw you have long hair, why do you always hide it with a hat?”

“Stalker.”

“What?! Its literally the first photo on Instagram. And who shows that much skin?!”

“Stick around long enough and you’ll find out why,” Yuele jokes. How has she not figured it out yet, is she that dense? “But it’s a personal reason.”

“Why not just cut it?”

“Again, it’s personal.”

“Alright, Mr. Mysterious. I’ll play your game.”

The pair enter the museum and walk around looking at all the art pieces. Nothing captives them and Yuele starts to joke around with describing the art with fancy sounding words that make no meaning. It makes Elise laugh hysterically and she joins in the fun.

Yuele does take a second to stop to look at one painting. It’s a jigsaw puzzle forming a portrait only it’s of two people forming one face. A male and a female.

“What’chu thinking?” Elise asks not notices that it’s actually pulling him in. Yuele waits for her to start making fun of it, but she doesn’t. “It’s quite inventive how this piece captures the struggle of an aesthetic woefully misunderstood. The contrast is romantically and emotionally charged.”

Yuele isn’t sure if Elise meant that or she just happened to accidentally say the right words. “It’s beautiful,” he says.

Elise hasn’t even taken a look at the piece. She pulls him away into the next room. Yuele looks down to see she’s holding his hand. She lets go and takes a seat on what she thinks is a chair. “My head hurts.”

“Do you want to leave?”

Elise shakes her head, “I just need a break.”

Yuele sits on the other art piece beside her. “Having fun at least?”

“Plenty,” she smiles. “Hey, are you in school?”

“Yeah, why?”

“College or high school. I know we’re the same age but I can’t tell with you.”

“What do you think?”

“I can’t which is why I’m asking you.”

Yuele chuckles and looks down at the floor. “High school. Graduating in two months, same as you.”

“So do you always take girls to the art museum or am I just that special?”

“It’s not always girls, sometimes guys,” Yuele jokes. There’s no way in hell he’ll ever tell her that this is the first official date he’s ever been on.

“Ah, should’ve guessed you swing both ways.”

Yuele meant it for her to take it as a joke but now he’s curious what she would say if he meant it. “Is that a problem?”

Elise hops out of her seat by kicking her feet first. “Nope! If anything, it makes you hotter.”

Yuele doesn’t allow her to catch him smiling. “Thanks for the ego boost.”

“You’re very welcome.”

“What about you, what are you into?”

Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

“Guys, obviously.”

“No dumbass, as in things. What do you do for fun?”

“Oh! Nothing special or exciting but I like to read.”

“Read what?” Yuele has to confirm that she actually is a closeted otaku.

Elise laughs, “Japanese picture books.”

“Manga,” Yuele corrects her.

Elise looks away embarrassed. She answered so naturally like it wasn’t a secret she kept. It was so easy and didn’t even give it a thought.

“I never strike you as someone who does. You don’t look the part,” Yuele chuckles. “It’s cool though.”

“Not a lot of people know.”

“What else, Elise?”

Her heart jumps when she hears her name. It’s the first time Yuele has said it. “Those secrets are reserved for later down the road, mister.”

“Fair enough,” Yuele extends his hand, “You ready?”

Elise nods and the pair walk into the next room holding each other’s hands.

-

Yuele looks down at his hand and tries to remember the exact moment he started to hold Elise’s hand after leaving the Art Museum. He didn’t have anything planned after because he thought he could only tolerate Elise for those two short hours. Now they find themselves roaming the streets with no destination. As he hears Elise talk about some story he isn’t listening to, he comes to the conclusion that Elise isn’t all that bad to be around. She’s funny. There were various times when she made him laugh when he least expected it. Elise is nothing like the person he’s built up in his head. If she was, this date would already be over.

They wander to a nearby park where they sit on one of the benches. Yuele finishes his story about his first concert.

“So when did you meet Grace? You didn’t mention her at all.” Elise asks.

“Two years ago. She was a real mess back then, but she’s cool now.”

“They’re raves, like the show I met you, yeah? I always hear everyone just goes to them to do drugs. Do you?”

Yuele shakes her head. “I personally don’t.”

Hearing that makes Elise happy. The most she’s ever done was smoke weed and even then she didn’t enjoy it. One of the red flags she looks for in guys is whether they’re involved with drugs or not. “Good!” Elise smiles with her eyes closed.

Yuele catches it and for the first time notices how pretty Elise is. He’s never paid attention. Elise’s hair is what he likes the most. It’s straight as hell but heavily layered so it all flows downwards neatly and stops as soon as it reaches her shoulders. He has a thing for bangs and Elise’s are parted perfectly down the middle to join the rest of her hair backwards. Her brown hair changes shades all throughout and it gives her the illusion of it being dyed.

Elise’s eyes are light brown but almost look like they glow orange. The eyeliner and eyeshadow she is subtle but it makes her eyes look much sharper than they are. Her lips are a shade darker than the usual pink and a thought gets in Yuele's head that makes him want to taste them.

His eyes move back up the moment Elise opens her eyes.

“Something on my face?”

He shakes his head and pulls out his phone to fake that he got a text message. “My mom wants me home now, I guess this is where it gets cut short.”

“What a buzzkill.”

“Do you live far? I’ll order you an Uber or Lyft.”

“No, it’s alright.”

Yuele stands up to take a few steps forward then turns to face Elise. “How was I? Am I forgiven for the spilled coffee?”

Elise laughs and stands herself. “It was more than enough. Thank you for inviting me. I had a lot of fun.”

Yuele never expected to have as much fun as he did either. Elise is still a bit boring for his liking, but she isn’t who he thought she was. Elise is kind and patient. Yeah, she has a short temper when you push her buttons but she’s quick to calm down. She’s a bit dumb but that doesn’t stop her from trying to learn new things. Yuele did watch her when she was reading the history of some of the old paintings they saw. Elise isn’t the self-centered, attention-seeking, and easy girl he thought she was. There’s a lot more to Elise than she shows.

Elise can’t even look Yuele in the eyes. She was skeptical of how he would act because of the first impression he gave her. Yuele came off as an overly cocky dick just because he’s incredibly hot. A playboy. A fuck boy who treats girls like crap because they were just numbers to him.

No, today he was nice even if he still walked around with the same confidence he always carries. Yuele is extremely funny too. She tries to think of a time when she has ever laughed so hard but can’t think of any. To top it off, he even showed genuine interest in her, unlike the other guys she has gone out with. Elise has even figured out what makes him a bit uncomfortable already.

Right before they left the museum, Elise jokingly slapped Yueles baseball hat off. She wanted to see how he manages to give the illusion that he has short hair on the back. The truth is often disappointing, he just kept it in a knot that somehow hides perfectly inside. She thought nothing of it but Yuele freaked out a bit and rushed to put it back on. He said he felt naked without it. Another mystery to add to the list.

Elise doesn’t notice Yuele approach her.

She might be cool, but I’ll never forgive her for what she did to me. I’ll crush her. These are Yuele’s thoughts, masking what he really feels.

“I like you, Elise.”

“Huh!?” her head jolts to meet his. There isn’t a single thought that comes to her head. It’s like her brain is unable to push the words just said to be processed.

Yuele moves his attention to her left eye, then her right. His gaze moves down to her shocked and open lips. Elise becomes conscious when she feels him grab hold of her left arm and his right grabbing the back of her neck. She closes her eyes.

Her lips taste like any other. It’s not special. It reaffirms to Yuele that he truly doesn’t have feelings for her. He reminds himself again that all of this is just to fuck with her. But for Elise, it’s far different. It’s just like her first kiss with her first love. It melts her and doesn’t want to let go. She wants it to go on forever.

“When can I see you next?” she asks when Yuele pulls away.

“I’ll let you know, but soon.”

A part of Yuele wants to reveal that he’s the person Elise hates the most right now. It won’t have the same impact as he wants but it’ll make for the greatest prank. It would be so easy. All he would have to do is untie his hair and fluff it around so his bangs fall how Yuna wears them.

None of them notices just how long their lips were locked as Yuele gets a text message that his ride has arrived. “I gotta go now. See ya!”

“Text me!” Elise yells right before Yuele gets inside.