tomorrow's ours- lights follow

YOUR POV

"Why are there so many chickens on Kauai?" You asked curiously through a mouthful of ice cream, now sitting beside Hoseok in the open grassy area of the shopping center. You'd been comfortably sitting there with him for a while. You kept finding yourself surprised at how, already, you didn't feel too awkward around him anymore. He was so easygoing, so kind...You were at ease, and given the situation, it felt a bit strange to feel that way. Regardless, you were perfectly content spending your first evening in Hawaii with him.

"After Hurricane Inki back in the 90s, a bunch of domesticated chickens got released all over the island. The people here didn't mess with them, and they have no natural predators, so they kind of just spread out and are everyone now," Hoseok explained, leaning back and supporting himself with his hands, and tilting his head back, the waning sun washing over his already tanned face.

"Oh, that makes sense. They definitely aren't shy of people," you chuckled, watching as Kaylen broke off pieces of the waffle cone to give to the chickens to eat.

"People feed them here all the time," Hoseok laughed, "If you haven't noticed all the chickens are fat."

His laughter was like music to your ears, managing to elicit a smile from you. "That's true."

"Sunset is going to begin soon," he murmured, his eyes trained up at the sky that slowly starting to become stained with streaks of pink and deep orange. "Wait, Y/N!" He exclaimed suddenly, sitting completely back up.

"What?" you said with surprise at his sudden burst of excitement.

"This is your first day in Hawaii!"

"Yeah?"

"That means you've never seen a Hawaiian sunset before! We need to go to the beach! Now!" He was beaming, his smile large and incredibly bright. "C'mon, get up!" He hopped up to his feet, offering you his hand and pulling you up off the ground.

☼☼☼

He left Kaylen with Kai, at first lightly holding your hand to pull you in the right direction. You ran beside him along the flower-littered sidewalks, happiness rising in your chest as you did so. He was giddy and excited, urging you to hurry up so that you would make it on time.

It was a strange light feeling; freely down the sidewalks with a boy you barely knew, in a place that was unfamiliar, the wind billowing through your hair without you having a single care about how it looked. You kind of let yourself go in that moment, literally just going with the flow of nature without the weight of anxiety or the fear of unknowns inhibiting you. Back home, running off with a random boy would've never been something you'd allow yourself to do. But here, the pace of life was different. Time felt different. Even the air felt different. And because you finally felt disconnected from home and judgemental eyes, you felt okay about pushing your limits.

"Hurry! Take off your shoes!" Hoseok shouted, nearly tripping over his own feet as he pulled his flip-flops off before jumping into the warm sand. You followed suit, except unlike Hosoek, you actually ended up falling down.

"Are you okay?" he giggled, reaching to help pull you off the sand, your clothes now covered in it.

"I guess I can't catch a break with the universe today," you laughed as you attempted to brush off some of the sand that was sticking to you.

"Forget that," Hoseok said as he watched you, "Come over here!" He ran off down the beach, prompting you to follow him.

The sky you were faced with couldn't be described as anything other than stunning. You could feel Hoseok's eyes on you as you stared up at the sky, in complete awe of the brilliance of colors that were radiating from it.

"Pretty amazing, huh?" he murmured, his voice calmer and softer now.

"I've never seen anything like it," you breathed, overwhelmed by the sheer beauty you were seeing, and by a plethora of emotions that were unfamiliar to you. Is this what it felt like to be free? Is this what it felt like to truly let yourself go? You weren't sure but you knew that you loved those feelings and that you wanted to chase after anything that made you feel them.

"I'm still not used to it...It doesn't ever get old," Hoseok replied. You snuck a glance at him, his profile view visible to you as his head was tilted upward, admiring the sky. There was something so blatantly positive about his presence. You had only known him for barely even a day, but you already recognized that he was the type of person to immediately uplift a person's mood. He seemed like the kind to always look for the good in things, and he was explicitly honest. And those things were attractive.

You stood beside Hoseok on the beach until the sun had completely disappeared, the night air a comfortable cool with a slight breeze.

"Thanks for making sure I got to see that," you thanked him, both of you put your shoes back on as you reached the sidewalk.

"Of course. It was the first thing that Kai showed me when I first got here," Hoseok explained, yawning slightly as he did so. "It's been a long day for both of us, hasn't it?" he chuckled.

"You have no idea...That plane ride was exhausting," you reciprocated his smiles and laughter. "And of course, getting a huge gash in the back of my head didn't exactly help me out all that much."

He looked guilty again, and he opened his mouth to likely apologize for the millionth time before you intervened. "I'm only kidding."

"Phew, I was starting to get scared again," he smiled, his dimples showing. You smiled back. "Oh, but do you know how to get back to your house from here?"

You stopped walking alongside him, looking around at the unfamiliar surroundings that were even more unfamiliar in the low light. "Um..."

"I'll take that as a no. Come on, I'll just walk you home. I only live two streets over from there anyway," he offered, and you weren't really in much of a position to refuse, given that you had no idea where you were.

The sidewalks weren't completely empty, but they were quiet. You and Hoseok weren't the only ones who had dropped what you were doing to absorb the sight of that beautiful sunset.

"So, how do your housemates seem?" he asked casually, interrupting the previous silence that had surprisingly not been uncomfortable at all.

"They're um...Well, they're interesting..." you allowed.

"You're being way too nice."

"Okay, they're two crazy sisters who were screaming about stolen cashmere sweaters," it felt nice to have someone to complain to about it all.

"Cashmere sweaters? They do know they're in Hawaii, right?" Hoseok joked, looking over at you.

"That's what one sister yelled at the other," you giggled, "It's going to be a long summer now that I'm stuck with them. The fourth housemate hasn't shown yet, so I hope she'll be at least a little less crazy."

"Yeah, I can understand why that would be annoying. But, you shouldn't be spending all of your time in that house anyway. You are in Hawaii, after all. Take advantage of the great outdoors," he lifted his hands then as if he was presenting nature to you. You laughed.

"True, but I still have school work to do," you sighed, remembering that your first essay over culture shock was due on Sunday night.

"Oh, that's right. How does being in Hawaii go along with your school work?"

"It's all about integrated into other cultures, doing research, talking to locals, and writing a bunch of papers."

"That sounds fun."

"It is, but it's a lot of work," you sighed again, suddenly not feeling so carefree anymore after remembering your responsibilities.

"Is there anything I can help you with?"

You looked over at him, "What do you mean?"

He grinned, "I know this island like the back of my hand and my best friends are native Hawaiians. Isn't it obvious how I could help?"

"Oh...Duh," you smiled sheepishly.

"I mean, don't feel like you're obligated to say yes or anything, but just know that we're around. I live down the street from Brennecke's, that two-story blue building with the chipping paint across from Poipu Beach. So, if you ever find yourself needing a little adventure, or maybe a little culture, come find me."

"Are you sure? I don't want to intrude on your life or anything," you felt a bit uneasy about just randomly showing up at someone's house, even if they were offering for you to do so.

"Look, Y/N, one of my favorites things to do is to show new people around this place and to let them really see all it has to offer, apart from the tourist traps. I want people to see why I really love it here, and why the locals do too. But, I don't get the opportunity to do that very often. And all of the sudden, here you are, and here you'll be for three months. Your assignments just so happen to require you to experience what the real Hawaiian way of life is. If you would let me, I would love to be apart of that," he explained sincerely, relieving your previous apprehension.

"That's really kind of you to offer, Hoseok...Beware, I might actually take you up on it," you smirked.

"I hope that you do."

You two were crossing the final street, already back at your house.

"Thanks for walking me home...Again." It was hard to believe that you had only been here for one day, given everything that had happened. "We're completely even now, so don't you dare feel bad anymore, okay?"

"Okay."

"Promise?"

"I promise."