The grass is so warm. Oh gosh, I wish I can lie here forever. The sky is so clear, the flowers are so vibrant with colour, and the smell is just so... I don't know... clean. Smiling, I take a breath and exhale, peace settling over my soul and I close my eyes. All is silent, except for the chirping of birds in the distance, and the occasional hum of a hummingbird. A gentle breeze rolled by, ruffling my bangs, and I sigh, contented. Beijing isn't my most preferable place to be, but it has its charms. Chuckling, I think back to my first visit to the busy city. I was 5 and my mother wanted to visit some relatives. Of course, I had to come along, and in the beginning, I absolutely hated the place. So much pollution, smoke, people. The little clearing in a forest, which was where I was at the moment, was the only peace I could find. I had wandered away, desperate to be far from the bumbling groups of civilians and somehow managed to stumble onto the wide patch of grass. The sunlight shone through the canopy, and there was a little hole between trees at the top, allowing in the sight of the blue sky. Flowers were everywhere, colours varying from yellow, red to blue. I came here every day after that, until I was to go back home. And every time we came back to visit, I would run back to the forest and seat myself in the grass and just think.
"Hi." Bolting upright at the sudden voice, I swiveled my head around to face the source of the sudden interruption.
"H-Hey..." I stuttered. There was a boy standing a little ways behind me, looking to be around my age. He was Chinese of course and after a little bit of inspecting, I could tell he was just as surprised to see me as I him. Clearing my throat, I try for a friendly smile. Tentatively, he smiled back and dipped his head.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you..." he mumbled. Shaking my head, I gesture him to come closer.
"No, no, it's no disturbance. I was just surprised is all." I patted the area beside me. "Come sit." Slowly and warily, he obliged, but choosing to sit across from me instead of beside. After a couple moments in awkward silence, I scratched the back of my head and extended my hand.
"Um, my name is (f/n)" I say, and he reached out to shake it.
"My name is Liang." I smile. 'This is progress.'
"I didn't think anyone else knew this place." I continue "I've never seen anybody whenever I'm here."
"Neither did I." Was his only response. Tilting my head, I go for another attempt at a conversation.
"What do you like to do for fun?" I ask him, after a bit of thinking.
"Kung-fu." Was the clipped reply. But even though, the response was short and somewhat harsh, I saw his eyes warm up a bit and the ends of his lips turn up into a small smile.
"Interesting. I suppose Master Li is your master?" Liang blinked and I almost giggled at his surprised expression.
"How would you know that?" he asked, after a moment. My smirk slipped and my face hardened a bit. Reaching out, I brush my thumb lightly over a bruise on his cheek. He flinched, but otherwise, remained still.
"I understand how strict he is." I murmur, looking at the purplish brown skin. I tasted something bitter in my mouth and I inwardly grimaced. I was absolutely disgusted with Master Li's teaching ways. How dare he strike on his students, for showing mercy to their opponents? I hear a cough and my eyes flicker to Liang's and I see the slight discomfort he has and quickly withdrew my hand.
"Sorry..." I say sheepishly, rubbing the back of my neck. "I didn't realize..." Averting my eyes, I decide to change topic.
"Why do you come here?" Liang leaned back onto his hands and I watched as he turned his focus onto a leaf.
"It's quiet and I come here to get away from my friends sometimes. They can be rowdy." He smirked, thinking about them.
"I come here to think as well, but not so much as to get away from friends or family. I mean, I kind of do, but... I don't know." Liang cocked an eyebrow at me, and silently urged me to continue. "Beijing is a very busy place." I say, choosing my words carefully. "Many pedestrians, pollution, vehicles... I don't like it. I come here to get away from all that and have peaceful moments."
"Are you not a local?" Liang asked and I shake my head.
"Nah, I'm from Boston. I come here to visit relatives."
"Ah." Liang paused, seemingly in thought. "What do you like to do?"
"I like gymnastics." I reply, shrugging. "It's fun." Liang nods, smiling.
"I can do a few, since I go to kung-fu." I was suddenly struck with an idea and grinning, I jump up. Startled, Liang quickly stood up as well.
"Do a back flip."
He blinked.
"Excuse me?" Rolling my eyes, I repeated.
"Do a back flip." Liang furrowed his brow, but did as told. Not impressed, I follow suit, except after the flip, I did a back kickover. I face him, and smirk. Raising an eyebrow, he shakes his head. He backed up some, and ran forward, doing a cartwheel, but when he landed, instead of landing on his feet, he landed doing the splits. Impressed, I nod my head.
"Not bad, not bad..." I say, not giving up the impression of being impressed. Liang scoffed as he got up.
"Not bad? You've got to be kidding me..." he said. "Like you can do any better." I shot him a look that said 'Bring it on' and I backed up. Charging, I launch myself into the air, twirling my body sideways and landing with a back handspring to my feet, making sure that most of the pressure would be on my elbows, not my wrist. Smirking, I rest my hands on my hips.
"Beat that." I say, but already looking at his expression, I could tell that he couldn't.
"You win." He muttered and I silently pumped my fist in the air. But before I could turn my attention back on him, I was in the air and with a thud, on my back.
"Oh" I say breathlessly as the wind was knocked out of me. "What the hell..." Blinking, I sit up and glared at Liang. "You bastard... you flipped me over!" Liang's face was neutral and controlled, but I could see the laughter in his eyes. Huffing, I stood up, brushing dirt off of my pants. Laughing, Liang walked up and helped me swipe the grass off the back of my shirt.
"You should learn some form of self defense, you know." He said and I scoffed before pausing.
"Hm... That doesn't sound like a bad idea actually..." I murmur. "Will you teach me then?" Liang stepped back and smiled.
"Yeah, sure." He said. "Let's start with kicking..."
"Here, take this..."
"Whatever, bastard."
"Oh, c'mon, you can't possibly blame me for that."
"Damn straight I can. You punched me."
"You were supposed to dodge that!"
"Well, I would've if you hadn't been distracting me with your other hand!"
"My hand wasn't doing anything"
"Whatever! You shouldn't have even thrown a real punch anyways!"
"Maybe I would've gone soft, if you hadn't been telling me over and over not to go easy on you!"
"I'm a girl!"
"What kind of a feminist, are you?"
"I never said I was!"
"Yeah, you did, you specifically said it yest-"
"WHATEVER! Just give me that damn ice."
We were currently at Liang's house, in his bedroom, where I was nursing my bruised eye. Liang took a seat at his desk across from me, swiveling the chair around so he could face me. Scowling, I press the ice bag Liang got for me to my face. We were training at the clearing in the forest, as we now did every day, and all was going well. I can now successfully block a kick, as well as throw one, and can flip someone over my back. Today, we were working on dodging attacks, and everything was great... until a butterfly drifting through caught my eye, causing me to miss a punch and was struck in the eye. The whole ordeal was my fault, I was well aware of that, but there was no way I would be telling him that.
Finally, Liang sighed irritably and walked up, kneeling down in front of me. He stared impassively into my eyes.. well eye, and I glared fiercely into his.
"(f/n)" he says, and he reached out to brush a strand of hair behind my ear. I immediately stiffen, but otherwise, remained still. "I'm sorry, okay? I didn't mean to hurt you and although we've been friends for a couple weeks, you are very close to me. So forgive me, alright?" My face took on a tint of pink and I nodded, slightly touched by his apology.
"Y-yeah. Okay." I manage, before focusing my attention on anything but him. The truth was, although I've only been here for some time, I felt like Liang was the closest friend I've ever had. Which was kind of easy, considering I didn't have many back in Boston. But looking at him now, is it strange to say that perhaps I have fallen for him? Is it possible to like someone after only a few weeks of meeting? Thinking about this, I blushed harder, and unfortunately for me, the said friend noticed.
"Um, are you alright? You seem flushed..." Liang asked, a bit concerned. "Do you want water?" I quickly shook my head no and smiled. Looking at the time, I stand up.
"I should get going. It's almost dinner and..." *beep beep* Pulling out my phone, I see that someone had texted me. I quickly scan it and my smile froze, though it would seem a bit more like a grimace. "Never mind. My mom texted...is it alright if I have dinner here?" Liang nodded.
"Yeah, yeah sure." He said and led me downstairs into the kitchen. He opened his cupboards and started rummaging around in them. "What would you li- OW!" Liang stepped away, clutching his ear. "What the hell was that for?"
"All you have are ramen cups, are you serious?!" I shrieked, opening all the drawers. Turning back to him, I rapped on his forehead again, causing another shout of pain.
"You have got to eat healthier! I know you're parents are out of town, and you don't know how to cook, but come on!" I run upstairs into his bedroom. When I came back, I was holding Liang's wallet and with him in tow, we went to the grocery store.
"Wow, this is really good." Liang mumbled, chewing vigorously. Smiling, I pick up my own fork.
"My mom taught me how to cook a long time ago." I reply, before digging into my plate. After scavenging around the grocery market for ingredients, we went back to Liang's to cook. I made an omelette with fried rice on the side and was feeling my ego swell as I listened to Liang's appreciative moans. After dinner, I start to somber, remembering something. Liang seemed to take notice.
"Hey (f/n). Something wrong?" he asked, worry laced into his voice. I nod slowly before looking at him in the eye.
"I'm leaving tomorrow Liang." I said, and I watched him, waiting for his reaction. His concerned face slowly morphed into a controlled one and he stared blankly back.
"What?" he finally asked.
"I'm leaving. My visit to Beijing is over, Liang." I shifted uncomfortably under his strong gaze. "I'm going back to Boston tomorrow morning."
He blinked.
"But... I have school tomorrow morning." Liang said and I nodded.
"Yeah... I know. Which means we have only this time to say goodbye." We fell into a sombre silence, until finally Liang pulled me into a tight hug. I readily returned it, squeezing my eyes shut to stop the tears. Pulling back, I sniffle and swipe my nose across my sleeve. "So... I'll really miss you." I mumble, staring at his chest. Using his fingers to tilt my chin up, I was forced to look at him in the eye.
"I'll miss you too." He says and we hug again, longer this time. Finally my phone rings, and looking at the screen, I see it's my mom.
"I got to go..." I say quietly, feeling a heavy stone settle in my stomach. He nods and we head towards the front door. I put my hand on the door knob to open it, but pausing, I wonder if I should take the time now to confess. I could be lifted from this burden of the secret, and it could be my only chance to tell him, but then I know that he might not reciprocate my feelings and I could be forever hurt...
Choice #1: You choose to not confess.
Choice #2: You choose to confess.
Choice #3: You choose to not confess (another version)