Knock, knock, knock
No response.
Knock, knock, knock
No response. Again.
Knock, knock, knock, knock, knock
Still no response.
Knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, kno—
GoGo swings the door open, a scowl on her face, mad at the perpetrator in the middle of the night. She ignored the first two knocks because she thought it was for her neighbor. But it didn't stop, then she realized it was actually for her apartment.
"What the fuck are you—"
"Hey, GoGo."
"Hamada?"
A sheepish grin appears on Tadashi's face as he gives GoGo an awkward wave. He is wet, GoGo notices. Clothes drenched, and hair disheveled. He's not wearing his baseball cap that he usually dons.
"Whoah. What happened to you?", GoGo asks, brows furrowing.
"Umm. I stayed at SFIT longer than I expected and I was about to go home but then I saw it was raining and I didn't bring an umbrella or my moped and running to the house would be too far then I realised that your apartment is the nearest from campus so I figured that I might take shelter here for a while until the weather calms down.", Tadashi explains in one breath but quickly adds, "If you don't mind, that is. If not, I could just stay at the lobby." The short girl stares at him dumbfoundedly.
"O-kay."
"Okay, what...?"
GoGo turns around and walks toward her bedroom.
"The bathroom's beside my room. Go take a shower before you get a cold. I'll get you some clothes. And please close the door."
Tadashi smiles and closes the door behind him after stepping in. GoGo comes back holding a small stack of clothes and a towel then hands it to him. He thanks her then proceeds to the bathroom. He finished showering after a few minutes and comes out wearing a grey shirt with a Captain America shield graphic and pajama pants that both fit him perfectly.
GoGo is slumped on the couch, television on, watching a cartoon.
"I'm finished.", Tadashi says.
"Yeah. I heard you come out of the bathroom."
"Oh. Right."
Tadashi sits down with GoGo and looks at her. Her eyes are droopy due to the sleepless nights she had a few days before.
"These clothes are my size. I'm sure it's not actually yours. Do you secretly have a brother that we don't know?"
GoGo turns her head to his direction and sees that the clothes do fit him. She brings back her eyes to the television.
"No. It's my ex's."
Surprised isn't enough to describe what Tadashi's feeling. He's having all sorts of emotion running inside his head and for some reason, his heart ached a little.
"Ex?"
GoGo merely nods.
"How come we didn't know?"
"We only dated for a couple of months. Plus, I didn't want to even bother telling all of you. It doesn't matter now. We broke up."
"Can I ask who it is?"
The short-haired girl turns her attention towards Tadashi who seems to be nervous and awfully curious.
"What's up, Hamada? Why are you interested with my personal life all of a sudden?"
Tadashi scratches the back of his neck.
"Umm. Because we're friends?"
"That's not enough reason. Two years ago, you never asked me about dating stuff even though you knew that I did have exes before. And now, you care. Why is that?"
"I uhh—it's just—I don't know. But hey, I asked you first."
"It's Andrew."
"Andrew Yiu? Andrew Yiu, the editor-in-chief of SFIT's school publication? Andrew Yiu who makes puns about his last name at the nerd lab?"
"Yeah."
"I've always wondered why he was visiting the nerd lab frequently. Now, I know. You two were dating."
"Yeah."
"But why did you two break up?"
"He said I was too boring. I didn't care. He was too loud anyway."
"But you're hurt."
"Was."
"He made a huge mistake."
"What?"
"You're not boring."
"Showering me with compliments doesn't work, Hamada."
"I know. But it's true."
GoGo felt uncomfortable under his gaze. He's staring at her with his chocolate brown eyes, the light from the television illuminating the right side of his face with a bluish glow.
"Believe me when I say that you're not boring. Given that you are cranky and have the patience as thick as an 80-page notebook, but you're still one of the most caring people that I know and that's not a lot. It makes me sad knowing that you are an amazing person but you constantly downgrade yourself when you shouldn't. I may sound cheesy but I really needed to say this to you."
GoGo swallows the lump in her throat, at a loss for words. She's not one for sickeningly sweet and sappy speeches but coming from Tadashi, it made her feel warm. She has always admired him, not that she would admit it to herself. But she realised that her admiration for him became deeper and deeper as time went by. She's now in love with him.
"GoGo?", Tadashi becomes worried with the shorter girl's silence. He flinches inside thinking that he might've said too much. This is not the time to tell her how he feels about her.
"T-thanks."
GoGo looks away from him and stares at the television for him not to see the blush forming on her cheeks.
"I have something else to tell you."
"What is it now, nerd?"
"Look at me."
GoGo does so and had barely a time to react when Tadashi leaned forward and kissed her forehead. His lips stayed there for a couple more seconds before pulling away.
"I think I'm in love with you."
Remember when Tadashi thought that now is not the right time to confess? Well, he did, not able to stop himself from kissing GoGo.
GoGo's breath hitches, shocked and panicked with the sudden confession. But she tried to compose herself, making sure not to be vulnerable in front of him.
"You think? Well, I'm in love with you. And I'm pretty sure about it."
Tadashi stiffens but quickly responds by actually kissing her. On the lips.
"Forget that I ever said 'think'.", he said in between their kiss. GoGo just smiles and snakes her arms around his neck, deepening their lips.
5:30 a.m.
GoGo wakes up, feeling arms embracing her and a warm breath tickling her neck. She smiles and gently pokes him.
"Hey, sleepyhead. We have classes in one and a half hour."
Tadashi groans and snuggles his head on her hair.
"You forgot to go home. Aunt Cass and Hiro might be worried sick."
This made him immediately stand up, a panicked look on his face.
"Oh, crap. Oh, crap—I need to go home. ASAP."
GoGo smirks and shakes her head from side to side while crossing her arms as she leans on the headboard. She gets up from her bed and starts rummaging through her closet to pick her outfit for the day.
"But Leiko,".
"Yeah?"
"I love you."
GoGo had to suppress a smile.
"I know."
•••
A/N:
This won't be the last time Andrew Yiu will be mentioned. I like to think of him as this over confident guy but actually cared for GoGo but did not care enough to even leave her. He'll be present in future one-shots. Hehehe.