Leiko's eyes fluttered open as she stared at a mint roof with wooden planks. She blinked a couple times before remembering the panic attack that she had. How long had she been out? The window next to her bed gave her a view of the trolley intersection and she sat up. Where was Aiko? Leiko's heart rate picked up she felt like she was suffocating again. Her fingers tingled and shut her eyes and hugged her knees.
"Here," a voice startled her as her eyes opened and there sat Tadashi Hamada, the boy she noticed in the café. He held out a stick of gum, "It helps, trust me."
Hesitantly, she took the piece and unwrapped the foil. It was just regular bubble gum. Popping it into her mouth and slowly chewing it while the sugary syrup ran down her throat seemed to open her lungs up a bit and she could breathe again. "T-thank you…" she stuttered, "Where am I?"
"Oh I'm sorry! You're in my house, my aunt and brother live above the café and you had a panic attack outside and I carried you to get rest. Anxiety does quite a bit on someone's mental health," he looked a bit grim, "But your friend Aiko had to go home, and I didn't want to wake you so I was just working on some work before I heard you hyperventilating."
Leiko wrapped the blanket tighter around her and groaned, "I apologize, and I must get home now." She stood up and grabbed her leather jacket from a chair nearby and started to walk out the door.
Tadashi's hand grabbed hers, "It's three in the morning, and it's not safe."
"Well what do you want me to do?" she popped a bubble angrily. "Who the hell was this guy?" she thought.
"Please, I wouldn't want anything to happen," his eyes softened, almost pleading, "If you really want to go home, I'll take you. Just don't go alone."
She sighed, "Fine, but I need to get home." The last time Leiko left her home for a bit; she lost her savings to a sly bastard.
Tadashi stood up and grabbed his jacket and hat. They walked down the stairs and out of the café before Leiko saw his scooter. Its blue paint was chipping and one of the handles had duct tape wrapped around it.
"I-is that even safe?" she questioned, "We can take my motorcycle."
He looked at her puzzled, "What? Old Bessie here? She can handle anything; she's reliable and safe! Besides, how will I get home?"
Leiko rolled her eyes as he tossed her a helmet and patted the seat behind him, "Well? Are you coming?"
She gaped for a second before climbing on and wrapping her arms as loosely around his waist as she could. As he started the scooter up, it jolted forward and she held him tightly while he laughed, "Sorry about that, she can be a bit fussy at times."
"I'm going to die," she replied pressing her face against his back as they started riding down the street. The bitter cold air slapped her face as he rode confidently. Leiko felt like the scooter was going to break any moment but a fifteen-minute ride later, she was home. She got off the bike and went up to the door, the scooter stopped humming and Tadashi Hamada got off.
"Is this where you live?" he asked and whistled, "Nice place." He grinned a goofy smile and waved, "Well, see you later!"
"Bye." Leiko replied bluntly. "What an idiot." She muttered to herself as she watch him ride away. She hoped that this was the last time that she would see or even hear of Tadashi Hamada but alas, fate has a strange way of working and the flavor of bubblegum never left her.