You darted down the streets to avoid as much rain as you could. You were suddenly starting to regret giving away your hoodie. You had been running for quite a bit as you tried to find a hiding place from the rain. Your apartment was a ways away from where you were at the moment and you didn't quite have the stamina to run that far. You grumbled to yourself as you tried to mkeep yourself as dry as you could. Luckily it wasn't raining too hard.

Stupid me being nice and giving away my hoodie... You thought bitterly. You growled at yourself as you felt yourself slowly starting to run slower. Soon you had to stop so you paused beside a building leaning your hand on the wall as you tried to regulate your breathing. You stood there panting heavily, your lungs burning, until you heard someone clear their throat behind you.

Your head whipped around to see a tale man with chestnut colored hair and amber eyes. He looked familiar...

"Are you okay...?" His deep voice suddenly interrupted your thoughts.

"Y-Yes..." you mumbled and you looked down to avoid eye contact. Why was he talking to you...? You glanced up slightly to look at him more closely. He had a pair of black headphones hanging around his neck. He had a pair of blue jeans on and red sneakers as well. He also wore a (F/C) hoodie. His hand were stuffed into the pockets as he stared down at you with a bored expression.

"Wait a second...you're the guy I gave my hoodie to at the park right?" You asked. The man huffed a bit before replying.

"Took you long enough," He mumbled under his breath which made you scrunch up your nose slightly in annoyance. "Yeah I just wanted to say thanks."

"O-Oh! You're welcome." You say. "I just didn't want you to get drenched and all. It'd be a shame if that nice jacket you had on earlier got ruined." You said as you looked at the ground again. Silence took over the conversation as you became more and more uncomfortable. "So...um...how did you know where to find me?"

"I was just walking down the street and saw you running." He answered. "Kinda stupid of you to give away your hoodie to a stranger when it's about to rain." He stated bluntly. Your face turned red in embarrassment and your stomach knotted. "...but thanks anyways." He added quietly.

"S-So...what's your name?" You asked as you attempted to make the tension and awkwardness disappear.

"Takeo. You?"

"(Y/--) (Fake Name)!" You quickly cut yourself off from saying your real name. "N-Nice to meet you."

"You too. So..." He trailed off looking to the side. For the first time during your conversation he actually looked tense and awkward. "Um...w-would you maybe wanna go get something to eat or whatever? J-Just as a way to say thanks for, y'know, the hoodie and all...?" He asked. You immediately froze.

This was the exact thing your father had taught you not to to. Converse with strangers. To get close to anyone that you didn't know personally. But yet...as you looked up into his eyes you saw a faint look of hope. You opened your mouth to reply. To reject him. 'No' was all you had to say and then you would turn and walk away, never to see him again. But instead of that was came out of your mouth was...

"O-Okay..." Damn it! Why couldn't you just say no to people? Takeo nodded.

"Alright. Are you free right now?" He asked with a slight smile. You tried to force yourself to nod but instead you shook your head no. "Okay. I know a great place near here. It's just down the street." He said. You nodded and he started to walk with you following close behind. As he made slight conversation with you, you mentally cursed yourself for not rejecting him when you had the chance.

You arrived at the restaurant after a few minutes of walking in awkward silence.

"Now don't get me wrong this place isn't the most popular and fanciest place in town but it has awesome food." Takeo said with a small smile as he held the door open for you. You thanked him with a nervous grin and walked in. He led you to a booth and you sat down on the opposite seat as him. A waiter came by.

"What can I get you two to drink?" He asked as he passed the menus to the both of you.

"W-Water please..." You asked quietly as you hid your face slightly behind the menu.

"I'll just have water too." You heard Takeo say.

"Alright. I'll be back in a short while to take your orders." The man said and walked off leaving you and Takeo in awkward silence yet again.

You hated the tension in the air. The feeling of his eyes watching you at all times.

You're being paranoid! You mentally screamed to yourself. You glanced around and saw that most of the seats in the restaurant were filled. So many people...such a big crowd. You started to feel self conscious and found it ver hard to breath.

"U-Um...I-I need to go to the bathroom! I'll b-be right back." You said as you quickly stood up and hurried to the restrooms. You nearly threw the door open and rushed into a stall.

This is why you hated crowds. They were to cramped and loud. It felt like a thousand eyes were watching you, judging you. You hated the feeling of being watched.

You started doing your breathing exercises that you had practiced. They had helped you many times over the years.

As your breath returned to you you sighed.

What am I going to do...? I can't just leave him there...I just need to build up my courage and go out there!

You took one last deep breath and walked out of the stall. You exited the restroom and walked towards your table to see Takeo waiting and your drinks now on the table.

"H-Hi again." You said as you sat down with a sheepish smile.

"Hey." Takeo replied. Awkward silence yet again. You looked at the table and your eyes wandered to your drink. You decided that staring at your drink would be better than looking at Takeo or the crowd around you so you fixed all your attention there. "Why are you staring at your water?" You heard Takeo ask. You flushed red and started to laugh nervously.

"Oh! Um...Hahah! I was just gonna...um...drink some..." You said flushing redder at your horrible excuse. You quickly grabbed the cup and drank a good half of the cup out of sheer nervousness. "See...um y-yay water!" You continued to laugh. You suddenly started to feel very exhausted. You eyelids felt heavy. You looked up to see Takeo smirking at you from across the table.

"Sleep tight, girly..."