Kagami's mother drilled her continuously on fencing techniques. It didn't matter if Kagami had a cold, or if she had just come back from school, or a fencing lesson. Sometimes it didn't even matter that her father was there to pick her up for his days with her. Every day, for hours, Kagami's mother forced her daughter to hold the saber and hone her skills. She'd make Kagami work on basics, like stance, and walking back and forth, or lunging, parrying, and reposting. Sometimes she'd force Kagami to have endless matches with other fencing students. If Kagami hesitated or allowed a single instance of doubt as to who the winner would be, she would be punished with dozens of more drills. This had been going on for years.
Kagami had quickly grown to hate fencing. She had also quickly understood that her opinion didn't matter.
Her mother's obsession with perfection had been the end of her relationship with her daughter, and the destruction of her marriage. Her mother didn't seem to care, though. All that mattered in her mind was that Kagami live up to the legacy of her family. The Tsurugis demanded perfection, and would accept nothing less. If Kagami didn't prove herself to be on par with her grandfather, neither she nor her mother would get the Tsurugi inheritance. To her mother, money was everything. Passions, desires, wishes all came second.
Kagami briefly thought back to Nino. He was so unlike anyone she'd met before. His smile had easily stretched across his face from the moment she'd met him, showing him his slightly crooked front teeth. His brown eyes held nothing back, and he seemed to say exactly what was in his heart. He'd said he admired her for her bluntness, but she herself admired his ability to show all his emotions, to embrace them and rejoice in them. Nino was a boy who lived every day for the pleasure of living, and it showed. Kagami used to dream of a life like that. Now, she knew that kind of life was never to be hers.
"This is pathetic," Kagami's mother said. "Go inside. I can't bear to look at you right now." Typical. That was usually how her mother ended their training sessions. Kagami gladly packed up her fencing equipment and walked to her room. Like everything else in her life, Kagami's room was organized and cleaned by her mother on a daily basis. She opened the closet doors, pulled out a mother-approved casual outfit and changed out of her fencing gear. Then, she left the house. She hopped onto her bicycle and wandered through the streets. She had forty euros in her pockets, and an afternoon free. What could she do with herself?
A familiar building appeared in front of her. It was slightly tilted now, since the Makara continuously shook the Parisian streets, but it was still standing. And it was glorious. The arcade. Kagami locked her bike to a bicycle rack outside the building and entered, looking forward to a few hours of mindless fun.
Machines of all sort lined the perimeter of the building, and rows of games lined the inside. Some were new, some were old, and some were out of order. Most of them flashed with bright yellow or red lights. All the sound effects from the different games clashed in the air, creating a blanket of comforting white noise in the air. The carpet was dirty, and some of the lights on the ceiling flickered. It smelled of sweaty feet and musty plastic, but Kagami couldn't get enough of the scent. She practically skipped to the front counter, money in hand.
After exchanging her money for tickets, she wandered the arcade, searching for her favorite game: Donkey Kong. It was old, sure, but it was a classic, and it was in every arcade she'd ever been to. Donkey Kong was the first game she and her dad had played when he'd taken her to her first arcade. It had a special place in her heart, and she never grew tired of it.
She walked through the rows of arcade machines, looking for that iconic gorilla, when she heard a familiar voice. Two familiar voices, actually. She looked around, and there they were: Marinette and Nino. They were competing against each other at Dance Dance Revolution. Marinette was winning. Typical.
The round only lasted a few more seconds, and Nino started demanding a rematch, convinced Marinette had cheated, when he caught sight of her.
"Hey, isn't that Kagami?" he asked Marinette. He didn't wait for her response and answered his own question: "Yeah, that's her!" He waved her over, and Kagami saw no reason to ignore him. His viewpoint on freedom and passion and not doing something if it made you unhappy hurt her deeply, but that was her own problem. He was nice, and he was Marinette's friend. She couldn't justify being rude to him.
"Hello," she greeted. Marinette grinned at her.
"Guess who just won the fifth match of DDR in a row?" she boasted. "That's right. Not Nino."
"I swear, you cheated that last time," Nino argued. "You started before I was ready." Kagami shook his head.
"The poor soul is still in denial," she said, and Marinette snorted in amusement. Kagami turned to Nino. "You can't beat Marinette at any of the games in here. I guarantee it."
"Oh yeah?" Nino's eyes lit with that spark of a challenge. "Wanna bet?"
"Definitely," Kagami nodded.
"I'm in, too. I'm always in the need for more money."
"She's already beat you at DDR five times," Kagami noted. "Let's move on to another game."
"She cheated that last time!"
"Shut up, I don't cheat, and you know that!"
"Fine. She beat you four times. Let's move on to another game."
They circled the arcade. Nino insisted on playing each game twice. Correction, he insisted on losing each game twice. He said it was no fun only going up against Marinette, and had convinced Kagami to play against him, too, even on games she didn't like. It was surprising that she was able to beat him. She'd only ever been to an arcade with her father or Marinette, both of whom were amazing video game players. She'd never been able to win before. With Nino, however, she was finding it impossible to lose.
"You suck!" Marinette laughed, playfully shoving Nino to the side. He almost fell to the ground. "I can't believe I get to beat you, and then get money for it."
"Jeez, no need to be such a sore winner," Nino grumbled, rubbing his now sore arm. "Don't you have a shift at the bakery or something?"
The victorious smile fell off Marinette's face. "Oh, shit. What time is it?"
"Don't swear, Marinette. There are children present."
"Time for your shift at the bakery. Now run along, little baker girl. I've got a cooler, nicer girl to hang out with."
"You're an asshole," Marinette frowned at him, but Nino and Kagami both knew she didn't mean it. Marinette left, and Nino pointed to the next game. They continued to move through the arcade. Nino managed to snag a couple of wins, but for the most part, Kagami was the victor in their competitions. Finally, they came across her holy grail game: Donkey Kong. Oh, if Nino thought she'd been unbeatable before, he was sorely mistaken. As soon as they entered the tokens into the slot, he would see what a true unsurpassable being looked like. They moved towards the game, but Kagami's phone vibrated.
Her heart sank past her stomach, past her feet, ten feet under the ground. She'd been gone for hours. Couldn't her mother have waited a few minutes longer before caring about where she'd gone? Kagami picked up the phone.
"Hello, Mother."
"Where do you think you are?" her mother's stiff voice crackled through the phone. "You're just like your father, always slacking off. Do you think I went through nine months of discomfort, and twenty hours of labor to have a lazy daughter?"
"No, Mother."
"No, I didn't! I expect you to be here, ready to train, and instead, you're off doing who-knows what for God-knows-why. Let me ask you a question, Kagami: is what you're doing helping your future? Wherever you are, whatever you're doing, does it help either you or I in any way?"
"No, Mother."
"How is it possible that I've raised such an ungrateful, selfish child? Apologize immediately and return home at once!"
"I apologize, Mother. I will return home momentarily."
"I take it, that was your mom?" Nino asked. Kagami wished he had harsher eyes, or a more grating voice. She wished he wore crisply ironed clothes and spoke more formally. But no. He was a boy of medium height who had slightly longer than acceptable curly brown hair. All his clothes were slightly too baggy and worn so often that the color was fading. His jawline was soft, and his brown eyes were even softer. When he spoke, she felt like she could tell him anything, and he wouldn't judge her at all for it, the complete opposite of her mother. It would be so much easier to brush him off and ignore him if he wasn't so...genuine.
"She is upset that I am not at home, training."
"You turned into a bit of a robot, there," Nino tried smiling at her, but it felt like all her happiness for the week had been sucked away with that one phone call. How was it that her mother had such power? One moment Kagami had been laughing and smiling widely, largely influenced by the boy next to her. The next moment, all traces of those emotions and reactions were gone. Instead, she felt an intense tension and anger. Silence and exercise usually helped ease these emotions for her, but Nino wouldn't let her leave. He kept speaking, and she couldn't understand how he didn't see she needed to leave-right now.
"I am needed at home. My mother wishes to drill me in fencing techniques again. She is quite upset she has to wait for me to return home."
"That's stupid," Nino mumbled, moving out of the way for a couple of tweens to get to the game he was blocking. "Why don't you just tell her you don't want to fence anymore? You obviously hate it."
"Why do you insist on speaking on matters which don't concern you?" Kagami stared at him. It was suddenly becoming clear why Marinette was in a perpetually bad mood. With friends as aggravating as this, no wonder. "I simply need to be the best. There is no requirement for enjoyment. Look at you, for example. I've been listening to your music and reading the comments people have left on the songs. You clearly are passionate about music, and you create songs you love. Yet, no one has a nice word to say other than your friend Adrien. I was born to be a winner. I can't follow a passion and fail at it, like you."
Something in Kagami broke as the words left her mouth. Her brain was spewing the words out, one after another. She kept telling herself to believe them, to think like her mother, to leave and cut off all ties with Nino, and possibly Marinette. Being around such passionate people constantly reminded her of what she wanted, and what she couldn't have.
"Hey," Nino stepped back. Her heart broke at the unguarded betrayed expression on his face. She knew what she'd said, and she'd known as she was saying it exactly how it would affect him. She no longer had a right to feel guilty, or remorseful. Nino swallowed. "Why the heck would you say that? You know music is a sensitive topic for me-I told you everything. Why would you bring it up like that?" His eyes were cast down, and a few tween boys laughed at him for having tears in his eyes. Kagami felt a heat in her ears and behind her eyes. Those stupid boys didn't know anything. Nino was a good guy, and she had hurt him, deeply. Showing emotion wasn't a weakness, it was a strength. Those who hid behind harsh words and a blank face, like her, were weak. Frustration mounted inside of her, and she longed to just let it all out. How could she? That was not who she was raised to be.
"I'm speaking where my opinion isn't wanted." Kagami said. It was too late to apologize. She needed to burn the bridge completely. "Like you do every time you see me. I don't like it, and now you know how it feels."
"I'm sorry," Nino's voice cracked. "I didn't mean to hurt you or anything, but it sure seemed like you were trying to hurt me. And congratulations-you succeeded."
The ground shook, and Kagami looked at Nino, shocked. A siren rang through the Parisian streets. This was getting ridiculous. The last Makara attack had been ten days ago. Kagami knew she had to get to a bunker, and she should probably call her mother to see if she was safe, too.
"Come on!" Nino pulled her out into the street. People were already spewing out of buildings, running to Bunker 12, the closest bunker to them. Nino kept his hand tight around hers, and she helped him push through the crowd. Her phone rang again, and Kagami hastily answered and held it to her ear.
"Where are you?" her mother's voice gnashed through the phone.
"Mother, there has been a Makara attack!" Kagami grunted as a man ran into her. Nino pulled her to the side and kept her moving through the street. There, just a few hundred yards away. The bunker. "Did you hear the sirens? You must get to safety."
"Did I ask about the Makara attack? No! Where are you? You still need to train!"
"You are being completely unreasonable, Mother!"
"It doesn't matter!" her mother yelled through the phone. "If you're not the best, nothing matters!"
People started screaming around her, and Nino snatched his hand away from her, like she had suddenly burst into flames. There were shouts about a butterfly, and an Akuma, but Kagami couldn't focus on anything but the boiling anger and frustration surging through her.
"Would you help me protect Paris?" a silky smooth voice purred in her ear. Kagami tilted her head to the side. The man's voice was so pleasant, like satin. She could just imagine the type of person who sounded like that. He would be kind, and protective, and he would let her have all the freedom she could want.
"Will you help me be free?" Kagami asked hopefully.
"I'll help you with whatever you want," the voice wrapped around her like a ribbon. It was cool on her skin, but it itched. Her face warmed.
"How?" she questioned him. "Do you know what I want?"
"I am Hawkmoth," the man replied, and the ribbons tightened around her ever so much. "I know all."
"Do you promise?"
"I will do everything in my power to help you free yourself, but you must fulfill your end of the bargain first. Protect Paris, and I will help you fight for your freedom."
"It's a deal."
Nino had heard about Akumas, and the victims. He'd even seen a couple of rad and high-quality videos of Ladybug purifying some Akumas at the hospital. He's never thought about the process of being Akumatized. He hadn't seen many people online think about it either. Everyone knew the Akuma were people underneath all their fur, the wings, and the red glow around their eyes. It hit differently when you actually saw a person-a person you knew-slowly morph into one of them.
Nino had been just inches from Kagami when the butterfly landed on her jacket and transformed her. He'd seen the fur, or hair, or whatever, sprout out of every visible part of Kagami's skin. He'd seen and heard the wings sprout from her back. He'd seen the red haze appear around her eyes, and heard her half of the conversation.
He trembled all over now, stuck in a jam-packed bunker with hundreds of other people he didn't know. The bunkers all had names. Originally, the city decided to name them after letters because they weren't planning on making too many. This was back in the early days of the Makara and Akuma. Around six months after the attacks started, the citizens realized twenty-six bunkers wouldn't be sufficient for a city of more than a million inhabitants, especially since each bunker couldn't even hold a thousand people. So, after a certain point, the city started naming the bunkers numbers rather than letters. After all, letters were finite, but numbers had no definite end. That was why there were only letters up to L bunkers, but around eighty-seven bunkers scattered throughout the city.
The letter bunkers weren't much different from the number bunkers. They were built for use, not comfort. Around the perimeter of each bunker were chairs or old couches, reserved for the elderly, handicapped, or children. After a particularly long Makara attack and more than one uncomfortable accident, a few changing stations and honey buckets were installed in each bunker. A couple million teenagers, young adults, and parents of young children petitioned to the city, and soon each bunker was equipped with free wi-fi. Other than that, they were completely barren. A few of them had scented candles or air fresheners, but the majority of the bunkers smelled horrible. None of them had lighting, so people relied on their electronic devices for light for the Makara attacks. In all, they were sparse and dreary environments for horrifying events.
A woman bumped into him and he almost dropped his phone on the ground. That would have been a disaster. Hundreds of people had lost their phones during Makara attacks, and only one man had recovered his phone. He hadn't even lost it in a bunker-apparently Ladybug had taken his phone, for whatever reason, and she'd ensured the police gave it back to him. No one else had been so lucky.
Nino's fingers trembled as he was shoved back in the bunker, dozens of new people desperate to make it to safety. He opened up the Ladyblog and typed up everything he'd seen, everything he'd heard. He kept Kagami's name out of it, though. He was angry at her, sure, but he wouldn't post her name on a public website without her ok. He posted his comment on the Ladyblog forum, and shut his phone off. He knew from experience that it was easier to meditate and wait than stay on his phone for the duration of the attack and curse the hundreds of Parisians around him for the impossibly slow signal. It was easier to be content than purposefully put himself in situations which would make him angry. So, Nino stood, and he waited for the attack to end.
Kagami flew through the air, not totally sure what was going on around her. The colors of the world warped from what they usually were, and she didn't feel like she had complete control over her body. A slippery smooth ribbon wrapped around each of her limbs. They hadn't done anything to hinder her movements yet, but she had a feeling that if Hawkmoth wanted to, he could stop her from doing something, or make her do what he wanted.
She trusted he wouldn't. He'd promised her freedom. His voice had been so calm, so reassuring, there was no way he'd lie to her. She would protect Paris by defeating the Makara, and then he would set her free.
From her hands erupted organic fencing sabers. For once, she was incredibly glad to have a decade of fencing experience under her belt. She battled the Makara, stabbing it, slashing at it, slowing it down. Fencing had always been a symbol of pressure and suppression. Now, it would be an indication of her independence.
Ladybug flew past her, using her yo-yo like a swing, and Cat Noir followed behind. Cat Noir moved towards the Makara's head while Ladybug stayed low to the ground, using the string of her yo-yo to trip the Makara and send it to the ground. Cat Noir extended his staff into the Makara's eye.
For whatever reason, Kagami couldn't see the Makara. She knew, vaguely, that it was present, but something was stopping her from actually seeing what it looked like, or where exactly it ended or began. Now, though, that didn't matter. It was destroyed, and Hawkmoth would give her freedom.
The ribbons tightened around her limbs. Ladybug threw her yo-yo at her. Kagami narrowed her eyes. Oh, no-never again. She swatted the magical toy aside with her saber. She would never allow herself to be confined again. Hawkmoth would help her-she would be free.
The reassuring voice was silent in her mind. Ladybug ran up to her and sweeped a leg under Kagami's feet. If Kagami didn't have basic training in martial arts, she might have fallen on her back. As it was, she jumped over Ladybug's attack and lunged at her. Cat Noir's baton came out of nowhere, parrying her thrust. Kagami narrowed her eyes. A fellow fencer? Too bad for him, she was better.
Her muscles moved, and she lunged. Cat Noir parried and shot back at her-repost. She twirled away and kicked at him. Screw the rules, she now had the freedom to do whatever she wanted. Ladybug grabbed her leg and flipped her on the ground. Kagami growled. It was so annoying-they had two people, and one of them seemed to know Northern Shaolin kung fu, while the other knew fencing. How was this possible?
She engaged with Cat Noir again, but the ribbons pulled, and for a moment she couldn't move. A moment was all Ladybug needed. The yo-yo wrapped around her, and Kagami was, once again, trapped. She struggled and screamed and tried to free herself. She wailed for Hawkmoth to help her. He'd promised.
He'd lied.
She kept trying to remind him of his promise, of what he'd said to her. She called for him.
Please, please don't leave. Help me. He didn't reply. He was gone.
Cat Noir destroyed her jacket, and Ladybug purified the butterfly. Kagami curled up in a ball on the ground, rapidly forgetting about the man's voice. All she felt was a gaping sense of loss, of betrayal. She thought back to the moments before the Makara attack. Nino had been there. They'd been arguing. He's looked at her with such hurt on his face. The feelings expressed through his eyes perfectly matched what she felt right then. It didn't matter if she was allowed his forgiveness or not. She had to apologize.
Ladybug walked over to her and covered her with a blanket. Kagami held it tightly to her. She hadn't realized she was shivering until Ladybug wrapped her arms around Kagami's shoulder and rubbed her arms to try and warm her. Cat Noir sat on her other side. The chill was rapidly leaving her, and now she was just tired. She wanted to sleep.
"Do you remember a man speaking to you before you were transformed?"
"A man?" Kagami had no idea what Cat Noir was talking about. The only people she remembered before her transformation were Marinette and Nino. Neither of them really qualified as men, though Marinette came close. She was pretty sure that's not what Cat Noir wanted to hear. Kagami looked at Ladybug, hoping to get some sort of clue, or figure out what they wanted from her.
"You don't remember," Ladybug sighed in disappointment. "That's alright. Are you ok? While you were an Akuma, you kept screaming. Are you in pain?"
"Are you sure you don't remember anything about the man?" Cat Noir tried again. "He's known as Hawkmoth. Does that ring any bells?"
Freedom… The promise had been fleeting, and now it was gone forever. Kagami should have known better than to trust such sweet, tempting promises. Freedom didn't exist for her. It never would. She curled in Ladybug's arms and cried.
Nino had invited Kagami over to his house. She knew she should have refused him, but she simply didn't want to. Something in her wanted to see his face again. Others might not think he was handsome, what with his soft jawline, round nose, and slightly uneven eyebrows, but Kagami loved looking at him. When she saw his face, she knew he would be honest with her. More than that, when she saw his face, she knew she was with someone who cared for her, who would be kind to her. After a lifetime of indifference, his warmth and carefree humor was addicting. She couldn't get enough. He reminded her of a big teddy bear, and she never wanted to let go of him.
So, she found herself standing in front of his house, and rang his doorbell. Nino himself didn't answer the door. It was a pretty young girl, probably around thirteen or fourteen years old.
"Hello," Kagami greeted. "Nino invited me. Would you tell him Kagami's here?"
"Wow, listening to you is like hearing someone talk like an old timey journal or something," the girl said. "I feel sophisticated just listening to you."
"Thank you," Kagami nodded. "Would you tell Nino Kagami's here to see him?"
"My name is Helene," the girl had very selective hearing, as it turned out. "Nino's my brother. He's so lame, I can't believe he knows someone as cool and collected as you."
"He's not very lame," Kagami defended. "He invited me over. Would you tell him I'm here to see him? My name is Kagami."
"You didn't say it was very nice to meet me," Helene seemed disappointed. Kagami was not raised to disappoint.
"It's very nice to meet you, Helene."
"Helene!" Nino's voice rounded a corner of the house. "Why'd you answer the door, you brat? I told you my friend was coming and I'd get the door."
"Yeah, but I didn't want to listen to you," Helene said like that was a perfectly justifiable reason to not listen to her older brother.
"Understandable," Nino nodded. Apparently that was a totally justifiable reason not to listen to her older brother. If this was the environment Nino lived in, no wonder he kept pushing her to just say she didn't like fencing and move on from it. He had no idea what kind of life she lived. Kagami briefly imagined what it would be like to speak to her mother the way Nino and Helene spoke to each other. Her head would likely explode, firstly. Then she'd come back as a ghost and never let Kagami hear the end of how inappropriate her attitude was.
Nino turned to her, smiling, and invited her in. He shooed Helene away. The girl must have found that suggestion agreeable, because she did just as he asked. Nino led Kagami through his house. Well, it was more of an apartment. It was small, and crumpled and full of walls. Somehow it felt cozy without being suffocating.
The kitchen was small. It really only consisted of a stove, a microwave, and a small refrigerator. Most of the space was taken up by a counter top which the family seemed to use as a dining table. She sat on one side of it and watched as Nino pulled a couple of glasses out of a small cupboard near the ceiling. He wasn't very tall, but he could reach it with minimal effort. Kagami would not have been able to get any of the glasses in this house.
"I'm really happy you actually came by," Nino said. "I wasn't sure you would." He closed the cupboard and faced her, two empty glasses in his hands.
"I had to," Kagami said. "I have something to say to you."
"My music is off limits," Nino said, averting his gaze and studying the glasses in his hands. Kagami smiled at him sadly.
"I need to apologize," she said. "I shouldn't have said any of the things I said. I didn't even believe half of the words coming out of my mouth. I can't explain why I said what I said, or why I was so harsh, but I need to apologize, and I understand if you can't forgive me."
Nino was silent for a moment. "Why would you think I wouldn't forgive you?" He turned and opened the fridge. "Do you want some orange-" He cut himself off, shaking his head. "Sorry, I forgot. No orange juice, no milkshakes, just water for you."
"Actually," Kagami cleared her throat. "I would like to try your orange juice. If that is alright."
Nino grinned widely at her. Just seeing the jubilant expression on his face made it worth swallowing her pride to ask for the devil juice. Nino filled up the glasses, set one in front of her, and took the seat opposite her.
"And as to why I would think you wouldn't forgive me-give me one reason why you should forgive me."
"You're not exactly your best advocate, are you?" Nino took a sip of his juice. "I'd forgive you because you were honest about it, and you felt bad. So, I forgive you."
"That's it?" Kagami questioned. Nino shrugged.
"Yeah. It's not a spell, Kagami, the world isn't going to start spinning the opposite direction or something if I forgive you."
"I know that," She didn't snap at him. Kagami had more control than to snap at a boy who was currently forgiving her for her earlier cruel words. "I'm just surprised you would believe me so quickly."
"I have a feeling you wouldn't lie." Nino gestured for her to try the orange juice. She braced herself and took a sip. It was cool and sweet, but there was a tangy aftertaste. Orange juice was surprisingly delicious. She didn't like it very much in the cold weather, but she imagined it would be absolutely delicious in the hot summer months.
"It's good."
"Don't sound so surprised." Nino laughed slightly. "It's my favorite after all. I have good taste."
Kagami hummed again and studied the doors of the refrigerator behind Nino's head. She could think of a few areas where his taste could be improved. Friends, for one. She was an awful friend, yet he had invited her over. Girlfriends, for another. She wasn't sure if he had one, but she knew he hadn't asked her. She would be a great girlfriend. If he truly had good taste, he should ask her to go out with him.
"What?" Nino demanded. "I do!"
"I didn't say anything," Kagami said. Nino made a face at her, but didn't deign to respond. They sat in silence for a moment, sipping their own glasses of orange juice.
"I've been thinking about the other day a lot," Nino said. "I kept trying to think about what triggered you into getting possessed by the butterfly. I couldn't figure it out until I remembered what happened before we were in the streets. We were at the arcade, and your mom called. Then I stuck my head in like an idiot and made the whole situation worse."
"That's not true," Kagami said. "You saw that I was unhappy. You were just trying to get me to stick up for myself. The only idiot was me."
"Let me finish, would you?" Kagami nodded and Nino continued. "I think you were overwhelmed. And if you already knew that and have your own coping mechanism, I'm sorry. I just figured I'd be a bad friend if I didn't at least try to help you out a little."
There he went again with that awful word. Friend. Disgusting.
"I don't know anything," Kagami asserted. "Tell me what you had in mind."
"You were getting frustrated by all the constraints and pressure your mom places on you. Next time you feel that tension rising up in you, try to chill. Talk to a friend. You've got Marinette, and you've definitely got me, or you could text your other friends. You could listen to music. Remember what I said earlier? Slow beats slow your heart rate. If you listen to slower music, it would help you physically calm down. Heck, if you don't want to do either of those, you could just sit down and think. Have a glass of water, or drink some orange juice, I don't know. Just, take a moment to breathe."
He offered her a vulnerable smile, and she returned it. Maybe she wouldn't push the relationship she wanted onto him right away. She had a feeling that before either of them needed a boyfriend or girlfriend, they could really use just a simple friend.
