August 21st, 2005
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Your eyes flutter open. The smell of something cooking wakes you up, and it smells really good.

But you live alone?????

Fearing that the killer broke into your house again, you reach for your switchblade resting on your bedside table. Ever so quietly, you tip-toe out of your bedroom, holding the knife in front of you.

Careful not to make a sound, you make your way down the hall and into the kitchen. Peeking into the kitchen, you see....

"Bob?" You lower the knife.

Bob turns around, a sweet smile on his face. He eyes the knife in your hand. "(Y/N)? You alright, sunshine?" Bob asks.

Sunshine. That's a new one.

Scratching the back of your head in embarrassment, you slide the knife into your pocket. "M sorry... I thought you were a serial killer."

Bob laughs, turning around. "Don't worry. It's just me." He turns back around and gestures for you to sit at the kitchen island. "I made breakfast."

He places the plate in front of you. It's eggs and bacon, shaped in a smiling face. Unable to control your giddiness, you look at Bob. "Oh my god. This is so cute!!!!" You laugh, once again looking at the happy breakfast that stares up at you.

Bob smiles. "Just like you."

You pause, fork mid air. "What?"

Bob stares back at you, emboldened. "I said you're cute."

You look away, face fuming. "Oh hah.... thank you... you're cute too."

Bob didn't expect you to compliment him back, so his face quickly turns beet red. Turning around, he fiddles with the eggs on the stove.

Chewing, you ask, "Hey why are you here anyway? Not to be rude. But I thought you left after last night?"

"I slept on your couch. I was... too tired to walk home." That was a lie. He just wanted to be around you some more.

You drop your fork. "Bob!! You should have told me! I would've let you borrow my bed."

Completely flabbergasted with the fact that he could have slept in your bed, Bob just nods. Changing the subject, he asks, "So you and that cop. You're buddies now?" His tone gave away his jealousy. But you didn't comment on that. Instead, you poked at your eggs.

"Jack? We're... I wouldn't say buddies. I'd say more of acquaintances?" You take a bite and swallow. "He helped me the night I was chased by the Red Devil killer. He put bandaids on my knees."

"Hmm." Bob hums. He doesn't know why, but it makes him mad that the police officer was the one to help you that night. Not that he could have helped you anyway, for obvious reasons.

"Yeah. Although his wound-cleaning technique was adequate at best." You laugh and take a sip of orange juice. "Are you gonna eat?"

"I already did."

"Oh okay."

Twiddling your thumbs, you look to Bob again. "Thanks for breakfast. That was really nice of you. And it was really good!"

Happy with the compliment, Bob smiles. "Glad you liked it darlin'."

You stand up to take your plate to the sink. "Not to be rude or anything... but are you gonna stay? I don't want to keep you."

Bob is close to you, watching you scrub your dish. "Do you want me to stay?"

It would really be nice to hang out with someone... "Yeah. We can hang out! I don't really have anything to do today."

Happy with that answer, Bob takes your dish from you and begins to dry it. "Alright. Let's go do something then."

"Do something?"

"Yeah. Go out."

You ponder as to where in town you guys could possibly go. "Um... okay! I want to shower first though."

You thank Bob for drying your dish and rush off to the bathroom to get ready for the day. As soon as you disappear, Bob can't contain his excitement. He gets to spend the day with you... only you.

You stick your head out of the bathroom door. "Bob! I have an idea of where we could go!"

Bob looks up from where he as standing, and begins to walk towards your voice. "Oh yeah? Where?"

"We can go to the mall a couple miles out of town. I heard they have boba tea..." You dry your hair. "I've always wanted to try that..." You haven't been to the mall yet since you moved here. It was a pretty popular spot among the locals, and tourists alike. Though not many people came in town to visit.

"That's a great idea kid. I've been meanin' to get some new clothes anyway."

You smile, hopping out of the bathroom trying to get your sock on. "Great! I'll drive." You step out of the bathroom and grab your keys and other misc. items you might need. You turn to Bob. "Ready?"

He simply smiles and nods as he leads you out the front door. You both clamber into your tiny car. You smile, a bashful look on your face. "Sorry uhhh.. I don't have air conditioning in here. If it gets hot just roll down a window."

"Alright."

You rev the engine and speed off. According to your GPS, you should get there in about 25 minutes. Music is blaring, and you're suddenly reminded of Bob sitting next to you. It's... nice that he made you breakfast this morning. But isn't that something that a boyfriend would do? You glance over at Bob. He's looking out the window, wind blowing his hair. He looks content.

I mean... he is pretty attractive. But I don't think I feel that way about him... and I'm pretty sure he doesn't either. Plus... I don't think I'm ready for a relationship yet. Not after what happened.

Not wanting to think about it any further, you focus on the road.

-------

Sooner than later, you pull into the parking lot. It took fucking forever to find a spot, as the mall is considerably packed. Cracking your back and stretching, you step out of your car. "Woah. This place is bigger than I thought."

The two of you walk in the entrance and you gasp, pointing at something. "They have a water fountain?!" You zoom up to it, observing the fish swimming around inside. "Holy shit. I've never been to a mall with live fish."

Bob is right beside you. "...Have you ever been to a mall? It's not that uncommon."

You look at the orange koi swimming in circles. " I have, once. When I was little my grandma took me to one. My mom was so mad after she found out."

"Why would your mom be mad about that?" Bob is watching you.

You sigh, leaning over the railing a bit. "My parents were very strict growing up. They never really let me do anything." You look down. "I don't talk to them anymore."

Noticing your somber attitude, Bob puts his arm around your shoulder. "Hey, cheer up Sunshine. Now's not the time to dwell in the past." He meets your eyes. "Want to get some ice cream?"

You smile. "Sure."

-

As you walk down the hall with ice cream in your hand, Bob stares at your happy form. There's a certain air of mystery about you that intrigues Bob. He wants to know more about you. But he certainly doesn't want to overwhelm you, so he just listens to you babble on about what ice cream flavors are the best.

"...And honestly, mint chip is overrated. It just tastes like toothpaste- woah hey look!" Bob looks to where you're pointing. Oh, it's Lila. Before he can react, you're already zooming over to Lila and June.

"Hi guys! I didn't know you'd be here today!"

Lila smiles. "Yeah, well, June and I decided that we would have a girl's day out." Lila shows you her perfectly manicured nails. "You like?"

You hold her hand in yours, turning it around. Her nails are a shiny purple, which you think suits her perfectly. "Yeah! These are beautiful. Oh and June let me see yours!"

Bob is standing a foot away, observing you and the women chat. This is what he finds annoying about you. You're too friendly. Did you forget that you came here with him? He can feel the jealousy creepy back into him again.

You gesture towards Bob. He didn't realize you were talking about him. "Yeah, I'm here with Bob! He took me home last night."

June has a sly look on her face. "Oh?"

Lila notices this quickly and elbows her friend in the ribs. "Oh stop that." She looks to you. "Well, it was nice seeing you, (Y/N), Bob." Lila and June turn to walk away. "I'll text you later!"

You wave. "Okay!" Mouth full with the rest of your ice cream, you look up at Bob. "Hey didn't you say you needed to buy some clothes or something?" 

Bob gazes down at you. Yeah, he did, but he doesn't really wanna do that now. Maybe you guys could go back to your house? Then again... you looked really excited to be here. He didn't want to ruin that for you. 

Sighing, Bob responds. "Yeah, somethin' like that." 

"Okay awesome, we can-"

CRASH!

A rack in a nearby store falls over, many items cascading to the ground. Quickly turning around, you spot the source of the noise. It's a worker. She fell over, and is seizing on the ground. Many passerby's quickly go to help her, someone shouting out to call an ambulance. You spring into action at once, quickly kneeling on the ground beside the girl. You gently turn her body on it's side. Glancing around the room, you ask, 

"Does anyone have a pillow? Or something soft?" 

As you grab a jacket from someone, Bob is watching you intently - mesmerized. He's intrigued with how fast you responded. He watches you as you gently cradle the woman's head, putting the jacket under her head as a pillow. 

...Can you cradle him like that?

Before he could think any further about it, the paramedics soon rushed onto the scene, quickly assessing the situation. You stand back, watching everything unfold. As they lifted her onto a stretcher, you felt Bob's warm hand on your shoulder. 

"You alright darlin'?" 

Sighing, you lean into Bobs side. "Yeah. She'll be okay." You're quiet for a moment. "I...haven't helped anyone in a while. I forgot how scary it can be." You look at Bob. "I kind of... want to go home now."

Thank god. 

Bob turns, walking with you, his hand on the small of your back. "Me too kiddo. Wanna watch a movie or somethin' when we get back?" 

You smile. "That sounds good to me. I need a drink." 

-------

The drive home was pretty quiet, save for the music playing and wind blowing in the background. 

You and Bob were now sitting on your couch, both of you equally buzzed from the alcohol. Some random movie was on, called, "Freaky Friday" or whatever. But you weren't really focusing on the movie. 

"Hey, Bob."

Bob turns to look at you, face tinted red and eyes half lidded. "Hmm?"

"I wanted to tell you... thank you. For today." You take a swig of your drink. "It felt nice to get out and do something with a friend. Especially you because you're like... my best friend now." You blurted out, words slightly slurring. "My only friend back home was my sister. Everyone else thought I was too annoying, or loud, or childish." You turn to look at him again. "But you chose to stick around. So... thank you." 

Bob is a bit taken aback by your sudden sappiness, but he doesn't hate it. Setting his cup down, Bob gets closer to you, leaning forward. He can tell you're a bit apprehensive, face red. He probably shouldn't do this but... he gets close to your face, whispering, 

"So... we're best friends?"

At that, you burst out laughing, playfully pushing Bob away from you. You can't think about how him getting that close to you made you feel, so instead, you just laugh. "Yes, we're best friends." 

Happy with the confirmation, Bob reaches out and ruffles the hair on top of your head, laughing as well. 

Oh fuck. He's in deep waters now.