The Tried and Tired Bus Stop

He held out his hand.

"Sorry about that."

It was Bus Jibbus himself.

Tired couldn't believe her eyes. Could this really be him? She hadn't slept in a while. Maybe, she was hallucinating? She blinked and squinted a couple of times, confirming that her eyes weren't deceiving her. She could clearly see the bright number on his chest, and he even had a marker in his pocket from when he signed Kawaii's T-shirt. Not only was it him, but it was him acknowledging Tired was there, holding out his hand to her to help her up. Nonetheless, despite the scene being very much real, Tired couldn't help but feel like it was all a dream. Time started to slow down as she gazed into his eyes, almost mesmerized by them. The moment, if left undisturbed, could've lasted forever.

Unfortunately, all good must come to an end. Bus, confused about why everyone was so stunned, just raised an eyebrow and looked at her awkwardly.

"Uhh…Are you okay? Did you hit your head or something?"

At that moment, Tired snapped out of her trance, and she finally remembered she was supposed to hate him. She gently pushed Bus's hand to the side as she got up, groaning as she held her head. She glared at him momentarily before rubbing where the spot was.

"Yeah, no thanks to you! Don't you know how to look where you're going?"

Bus was slightly taken aback by her sudden mood change. However, the audience around her was even more shocked as they sneered. Jace looked around and slowly hid his face in his hoodie. He was part of the Bus fanbase. He knew exactly what they were thinking. How dare she talk to their Bus like that! Oh, how they would give anything to be in her shoes. To them, Tired wasn't even worthy to loosen the laces on his sneakers. Yet, here she was, disrespecting their quarterback, their idol…

She was going to pay for that later. For now, though, Bus talked back to her, putting his hands up to his chest in defense.

"Hey, I said I was sorry! You don't need to snap at me like that!"

As Bus looked at her more, Tired started to look a lot more familiar. He could've sworn he'd seen her before. At a game, maybe? Those dark circles were too prominent to get anywhere else. As he looked at her more, Tired's face turned from a glare into a face of bewilderment and pondering. The extra attention even made her blush a bit, giving new light to her face.

"…What?"

"Do I…know you from somewhere?"

What kind of question is that??? Tired scoffed.

"As if! I don't think I'd ever have the energy to talk to you, thank you very much."

"No, no. I've definitely seen you before. Just give me a second."

"…Fine."

Tired crossed her arms and tapped her foot. She thought- no, she knew- that this was a waste of her time. With how many fans he gets to see on a daily basis, there's no way he'd recognize her so easily. Little did she know, however, that amidst the seething Bus fans and her sarcastic demeanor, Bus started to connect the dots. Looking back at his games so far- not just when he was quarterback but before then as well- he'd see that same face in the corner of his eye. Sometimes, it was easy to ignore. Other times, however, he couldn't help but stare while she was talking with her friends. She was pale, had dark circles, looked feisty and mean, and always wore black. Yet, despite all of that, even he had to admit that she looked absolutely…beautiful.

That's when he began to hear the rumors. First, he heard that there was some kind of cult revolving around him. He was flattered, but if he was being completely honest, he was kinda creeped out. "What do these guys even do?" He thought. "Do they sacrifice people or something!?" Even if they didn't, the thought still unnerved him slightly. There was only one that didn't follow through, one that looked like she knew more than he thought, one that is stubborn, and one who didn't play by anyone else's standards.

Take a wild guess who that was.

Bus smirked.

"Ah, I see. You're that 'Bus hater' I've heard so much about, aren't you?~"

Tired's eyes widened. "How the hell does he know me!?" She thought. She could feel her face getting hot, completely embarrassed on how she got caught off guard. In any case, as humiliated as she was, it wasn't long before that face of embarrassment soon turned to anger.

"I hope you don't expect me to dignify that answer with a response."

Bus shrugged as Tired turned around. Not even looking behind her, she gave him the middle finger before striding towards the exit. Security began to push people back as they began grasping towards Tired, desperate to "avenge" Bus. Jace squeezed through the crowd, trying to catch up to Tired. Before he could, Bus tapped his shoulder.

"Hey. You're with her, right?"

Jace gasped as he turned around and nodded. He was humiliated by Tired's behavior, but he was also overall anxious. How was he going to recover if his favorite quarterback hated him? Jace had to respond carefully.

"Yes, sir! I'm so sorry! I promise it won't happen agai-"

"Could you give this to her?"

Inside of Jace's hand, Bus handed him a tiny slip of paper. Jace, shocked at how calm he was, fiddled with the piece of the paper in his hands.

"Don't open it. Just let her open it. Let's just say I'd like to…get to know her more."

Oh?

…

Oh.

Ohhh, he knew what was going on now~

The long pauses, the blushing, the rom-com-type scenario? It was obvious! He knew exactly what this paper was, and Bus didn't even have to say anything. Jace slowly smiled as Bus helped him get through the crowd, trying to push the fans back. Jace ran towards Tired, waving the piece of paper in his hand.

"Tired, Tired! Wait up!!"