I press the 1 button on the elevator. The doors almost close before a hand reaches in to hold them open. I slightly jump, not expecting a rogue limb to show up out of nowhere.

The doors reopen and Lincoln walks in. The elevator suddenly feels a lot smaller.

"Hey, heading home?" he asks in a friendly tone.

"Oh uh yeah," I nod awkwardly, watching the floors go by. The doors open with a chime on the main floor. I'm about to say bye and step out, but he speaks first.

"Same, I was gonna grab some food first though, would you like to join me?"

My heartbeat quickens. Why would he be asking someone like me? "Oh sure," I nod, trying not to sound nervous. It's not a big deal right? It's just two people hanging out together as friends.

"Great, my car is parked in the lower parking lot," he says as he presses p2.

He opens the passenger door for me and we get in his car. As he drives, I steal a quick peek at him from the corner of my eye. He has blonde hair, slightly messy in a deliberate way. His eyes are an icy blue, and from what I can see, he looks relatively muscular.

"Are you fine with that sushi place on third?"

I quickly snap back to reality. "Yes," I answer.

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It's a small, cozy restaurant tucked away in the corner of the street. It's one of those places you wouldn't even notice, unless you were specifically looking for it. There are long, pale brown wooden tables and matching benches. The walls are a matte black, with delicate silhouettes of flowers. The bar wraps around part of the kitchen, allowing guests to see the chefs cooking. They're joking around, my Japanese is fluent enough to understand the slightly inappropriate things they're saying. 

"So how are you finding school so far?" he asks.

"Oh it's nice. I went to a small all girls private high school so it's a bit overwhelming trying to meet so many new people," I admit. There wasn't much bullying or anything like that at my school, I just preferred keeping to myself. I notice his eyes very slightly widen.

"I see. I'm always around if you ever want someone to hang out with." He gives me a charming smile that makes my insides feel warm and light.

Nice, I think to myself. Only my first week and I've already made a friend. "Thanks, maybe I'll take you up on that offer sometime," I say.

We share more small talk. Favourite foods, movies, music - the works. He's really friendly and easy to talk to. Soon our food comes. It's not the greatest. "How's yours?" I ask.

"It's..alright," he admits, chuckling. " I guess the last time I came here I was a broke freshman when everything I could afford to splurge on tasted good. Your company makes up for it though." I try not to blush, but I'm sure I do anyway.

After we finish and pay the bill, we leave the restaurant. "So, dessert next?" he asks with a mischievous grin.

"Oh? I thought we were just getting dinner," I raise an eyebrow. Not that I wouldn't love to spend more time with him.

"Can't have dinner without dessert," he laughs, "there's an ice cream place just down the block from here." I'm not familiar with this neighborhood at all, I only moved to this city less than a month ago, but I decide to trust him.

"OK sounds good," I nod as we start walking. He holds the door open for me and we enter a small shop. It's quite nice. The floors are shiny white tiles, contrasting with the deep wooden walls. It smells faintly of vanilla and coffee. The sitting area is small but quaint - wooden chairs with soft beige cushions, and wooden tables with tiny potted plants. A woman with a warm smile at the counter greets us. I order a scoop of peach ice cream, while he orders mint chip.

We take a seat at one of the tables on the patio, it's early September and just warm enough to sit comfortably outside. I notice him eyeing me as I take my first lick. "Penny for your thoughts?"

He quickly blinks a few times and runs his hands through his messy golden hair. "Oh sorry, just spaced out for a second I guess."

I laugh, "So, how'd you end up joining ASA?" His carefree attitude makes him seem like someone who would never join an academic club.

"Well, I joined last year as a committee member, after Jason and Ray bugged me for so long about joining. We've known each other since we were eleven and they've always been the ones interested in joining clubs and extracurricular activities," he rolls his eyes and chuckles. "I hope we end up getting you on the board, it'd be really cool to have you around."

"Me too. You all seem really close," I say cheerfully.

"Yeah, we're actually roommates too," he adds, "we used to live in the dorms but something happened and I got kicked out last year. Jason and Ray decided they would leave dorms too so I would still get to live with friends."

"What happened?" I ask, extremely curious. What could someone like him have done?

"Uh, don't worry about it," he mumbles, and changes the subject. I'm still suspicious but I decide to drop it.

By the time we leave, the sun is already setting, leaving an orange glow around us. It's really pretty. "Well I'm heading to the bus stop." I point to the one down the block.

"Are you sure? I can drive you home if you want," he asks. "It's no trouble, really."

"It's OK, I live on campus and it's only a short bus ride back," I reassure him. He's so sweet though. We wave as we go our separate ways. 

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Thanks for reading this chapter!