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“I’ve come to pick Qiu up.”
Roxy winks at Qiu, and they giggle at the dorky action before looking at another mutual friend of theirs, Clover for the last time. “That’s my cue.” They smile slightly, and wave goodbye to their classmate. “See you around.” Roxy greets them, mirroring Qiu’s waving.
Enthusiastically, Qiu walks up to Roxanne and hooks their arm on her elbow as they walk downstairs. The two pass by another pair, Ren and Mavix; they wave to each other and Roxy’s smile quickly fades right after.
“Pfft, Rox. Do you hate those two?” Qiu teases, nudging her playfully. She shakes her head and grimaces, wordlessly denying the accusation. “Of course not, things are just complicated.” She sighs, “They always are, but today’s worse.”
Qiu tilts their head, their smile fading as quickly as it appeared on their face. “Are you alright?” They query, genuinely concerned this time. “I got a bad score on my quiz today. I should’ve just pulled an all-nighter instead of half-assing my studies.” Roxy takes a deep breath, and Qiu frowns.
“That wouldn’t happen under my watch.” They state, the seriousness on their face causing Roxanne to chuckle. Qiu didn’t find anything about the situation funny, but they’re glad that they were able to make Roxanne laugh. “I have an idea.”
Roxy raises an eyebrow as the two walk downstairs, unsure what to expect. “What’s the idea, Qiu? Don’t tell me we’re going to elope…” She teases, and Qiu groans at her words. “No, not yet. You don’t have the money for that.” They retort, smirking widely.
“Me? I’m going to pay for everything?” Roxanne scoffs, pushing Qiu’s arm away to feign anger. “Relax, I was kidding.” They laugh softly, winding an arm above her shoulders. Roxanne does the same, wrapping her arm around their waist.
Qiu clears their throat, as if to announce the idea like a declaration. “How about we go to the park today? I’ll tell your Ma, and my parents so that they don’t worry.” They smile widely, causing Roxanne’s heart to skip a beat. No matter what happened—Qiu was still the prettiest person she’s ever met.
The girl swore there were flowers blooming behind Qiu every time they graced her presence; that face was really a sight for sore eyes.
“Rox?” Qiu calls her name out, snapping Roxy out of her daze. She jolts, quickly apologizing. “Sorry, I’m not sure if I deserve this. I feel so stupid.” Roxanne frowns, and Qiu’s expression parallels hers. “You deserve it, Roxanne. Believe me.”
“You’ve worked so hard, Choco. Let’s just rest for a while, please?” Qiu pleads, adjusting their stance to grab her arm that’s embracing their waist. Roxanne inhales—then exhales—she was unable to resist Qiu no matter how hard she tried. “Only because it’s you, Toffee.”
The two finally walk outside of school, “Did you bring your bike?” She asks, and Qiu shakes their head to say no. Roxy sighs of relief, smiling softly at them. “It’ll be more work walking, but it’s definitely better than seeing you ride your bike without your helmet.” She states, brushing her hair back with her fingers.
Heading towards the sidewalk, Roxanne makes sure to take the side closest to the busy road due to Qiu’s sometimes inept nature. They don’t say anything, but they’re always grateful to have Roxy look out for them, offering her a smile. For a while, Qiu stops to let their parents know about their plans.
“Where do you want to go first?” They interrogate her, and she ponders carefully for a bit. “We could go to the library.” Roxanne replies before continuing her statement, “I know both of us don’t like books, but there’s non-book stuff there. Maybe I'll find something nice.”
“That sounds ridiculous, but anything to make you happy.” Qiu sneers, but there was no real heat in their tone; Roxy just giggles at their reaction, smirking widely. “That’s settled then.” She retorts, and notices the park getting nearby; the short conversation made the walk faster, and the two were surprised they didn’t bump into anything on the way.
“It’s right over there.” Roxanne points in the direction of the building she just mentioned, and Qiu nods, agreeing to the idea. They eventually reach the park, eventually heading into the library as they look around.
Looking around the shelves, Roxy tries to find something interesting enough to read; this catches Qiu’s attention, causing them to raise their eyebrow. “I thought you didn’t like books?” They click their tongue, and Roxanne chuckles.
“You know me so well, Qiu.” She replies, and they just shrug at her words, following her lead in looking for a book from a distance. Roxanne approaches them curiously, finding the title written on the side of a thriller novel interesting.
She decides to reach out for the book, only to accidentally place her hand on top of Qiu’s. It was undeniable—their tastes were incredibly similar. Roxanne jolts away and lets go of their hand even though she didn’t want to, feeling a bit embarrassed despite her ability to be shamelessly candid towards them.
“You just wanted an excuse to hold my hand.” Qiu teases, and both of them blush while laughing gleefully. Roxanne crosses her arms, but grins widely. “Maybe. Although, you’d definitely hold mine if I just asked you to.” She retorts, and Qiu just beams at her to wordlessly respond to her statement.
“So, are you getting that book?” Roxy queries, and Qiu scratches their head. “Maybe. I just didn’t bring enough money right now.” They smirk clumsily, and Roxanne pokes their forehead, the force causing Qiu to fall back slightly.
“What was that for?!” They sulk, and Roxy just laughs. “How could you invite me to go to the park with you and not bring enough money?” She rolls her eyes, swatting their shoulder. “I just wanted to make you feel better.” Qiu responds earnestly.
Roxanne ruffles their hair. “I’ll get it if you want it.” She offers, and Qiu immediately shakes their head, refusing the offer. “Not a chance. My mom will make me pay for it.” Qiu dramatically stops, “Besides, I’m supposed to be making you feel better. I can get it next time.”
She frowns, and Qiu takes a deep breath. “It’s fine, Roxy. You can get me something in the corner store if you really want to buy something for me.” They reply sincerely, grabbing her hand and squeezing it.
“Are you sure?” She doubtfully questions them, and Qiu nods reassuringly. “Yes, I’m sure.” They respond, tugging onto Roxanne’s pinky and leading her out of the library after returning the book the two took out. Roxy makes a mental reminder to buy the novel for Qiu next time.
“I’m craving spicy chips right now.” They mutter, and Roxy remembers the time they first went to the park, where Qiu bought the same exact snack. Qiu may have changed—but some things still remained. Even if the words they uttered didn’t have much meaning on the surface, the effect it had on Roxanne was undeniable.
A smile creeped up on Roxanne's face, and her eyes lit up while looking at Qiu. “Sure, that’s not a problem at all.” She says, opening the door for Qiu in the corner store. They beam at her in return, feeling touched by the simple gesture even though they were already used to this kind of chivalry from her.
“What a gentleman.” Qiu chuckles heartily, and Roxanne just winks as they enter the corner store together, still holding hands. Immediately, they pick up on the spicy chips they were talking about earlier and hand it to Roxanne as she follows behind.
Carefully, she takes the chips from Qiu’s hands before taking barbeque flavored chips for herself. Before heading to the cashier, they mutter something, and Roxy picks up on it quickly. “Sorry.” They mumble, and Roxanne raises an eyebrow.
“Sorry for what?” She asks them, and they sigh. “I should be treating you right now, you’re the one who’s had a bad day.” They bite their lip, and Roxy softly pats their back. “It’s okay, you can pay for me next time.” She clears her throat, “Besides…”
“Today was great because I got to spend time with you.” Roxanne grins widely, cheeks slightly reddening. “Thank you, Qiu.” She looks at them with appreciation in her gaze, and Qiu smiles back, thankful for the fact that they were able to lighten her spirits.
“You’re always welcome, Rox.” They acknowledge her gratitude, and she pays for their snacks quickly before carrying them in a paper bag as they exit the corner store, nearly ready to head home before she notices something in the distance.
Qiu attempts to grab the paper bag from her hands, but it was no use. Roxy wouldn’t let them carry anything. “Come on, you never let me do anything for you.” They pout, and she giggles. “Your bag is already heavy enough, you’ve already done enough for me today.”
“I know something you can do for me… for today at least.” She continues her train of thoughts, pointing to the photobooth in the distance. “You want us to take a picture?” They confirm if they were both on the same page, and she nods, taking their hand and squeezing it.
Since it was getting quite late, there wasn’t a line anymore for the photobooth. Qiu opens the curtains, giving them booth leeway to head inside. As they sit down and start the countdown, Roxanne quickly presses a kiss onto Qiu’s palm, causing them to blush, not only on their cheeks but also on their ears.
“That’s a thank you for today.” She grins, and decides to press one more kiss on their palm for the photo. Qiu giggles brightly, poking her cheek. “Way to catch me offguard.” They grin, looking at her as they quickly place their index finger and thumb on the sides of Roxy’s face.
Looking at them, she decides to do the same as the photobooth snaps another picture. “Uh, what should we do now?” Roxanne looks at Qiu awkwardly, and once the timer hits one, they press a kiss onto her cheek.
She blushes as she stares into the camera, and scoffs at Qiu. However, the negative reaction didn’t hide her enjoyment for the sudden gesture. “You’re adorable.” Roxy mutters, and Qiu beams widely. “No, you are.”
Enthusiastically, Qiu presses the side of their cheek against Roxy’s, causing her to smile widely. They mirror her grin, and the booth finally snaps the last photo. As their photos print, Roxanne gives a copy to them.
“I’m totally keeping this, you better keep yours too.” She grins in amusement, staring at the photo strip before staring at Qiu again. They nod, firmly addressing that they’ll be doing the same. “I will, I promise.”
Qiu holds their pinky out, and Roxanne interlocks her pinky with theirs as they promise to keep not only the photos, but remain in each other’s lives forever.
Art by @skiesatlas on Discord!