Caught in dust, the wheels on the luggage bag could barely turn, and she had to tug twice as hard to cover the same distance. The bag came to a halt a few steps before the front door, and she sat defeated on the alleyway. A ferocious dog barked in the distance. Sam came strolling after with one bag tugged in his hand, and pulled the other bag with his other. She could see sweat drowning his forehead.

“You don’t have to do this, you can go. It’s late now anyway.” Honey dared not look him in the eye, embarrassed by her incompetence.

“No, it’s okay. My parents come home late anyway, they won’t even know.”

She stepped foot into her new flat, and saw nothing but a counter and a couch. The cupboards and drawers were wide open with nothing stored inside. A wave of depression cripples her.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay. I’ve lived in apartments like this before, I know exactly how it’s like. How much do you have on you?”

“A lot…” Her cheeks scalded. The credit card wasn’t even her’s, and it would be a matter of time before it got declined by its owner. “I think it’d take like a few days before they decline it.”

“Do you think they’d do that?”

“I don’t know! They don’t even know I stole it from them.” She sat on the couch and sobbed to herself.

“Hey, it’s okay. Tomorrow is Saturday, I’ll come over and we can go buy all the essential stuff okay? This apartment will become your apartment. Your’s. You get to design or decorate or re-arrange whatever and whenever you want, because you bought it with your- well- with money.”

“What do I even buy?”

“I’ll give you a list, but for starters, buy hygiene stuff first. It’s insane how fast things get disgusting around here. Buy all your… shampoo and whatever… other stuff that you need for your hair, toothbrush, toothpaste- write it down, there’s a lot to do.”

She sighed again, her head weighing of bricks being tossed around at high velocities.

“I’ll help you, okay?” He said again. The sun hits his shoulder at the right angle, and for a moment he appears divine. “I’m here for you. Sonia too.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Really. This isn’t the end of the world Honey, you can still turn this around and succeed in life. You just gotta keep going, and never give up, okay?”

“How do you know for sure?”

“Because hard work pays off. That’s just how it works. Trust me… it’ll get better.”

Her heart melted into a puddle and oozed out of her mouth. “Ok…” She felt herself physically powering up and transforming like some cartoon character accessing his true potential.

**

She stands outside the restaurant, peeking through the backdoor to see a sliver of him waiting. Her phone buzzes, which caused her to jump. Her phone almost fell into the sewer. “Are you here yet? Where’s your cab at right now?”

“Uh… soon. Five more minutes!”

“Ok… take your time.”

She hung up, clutching her chest. What is she doing? She had no idea where to proceed from here. Did she want a genuine relationship with him? Why did she advance to the next step if she didn’t then? She gave Sonia a call, desperate for any form of advice or guidance.

“What.”

“I’m outside the restaurant, what do I do now?”

“What do you even want to do?”

“I don’t know!”

“Do you want to date him? Or not?”

“I don’t know!” She screeched higher. “I’m just- I- I don’t know!”

“Then what can I possibly advise you on?”

“What do you think I should do?”

“Break it off with him, he’s disgusting, you’re disgusting. This whole thing is disgusting.”

“No! I still need someone to do my school project.”

“Oh my god, fine, if you break up with him, I’ll do the stupid project with you.”

“No.”

“Whatever. If I hear his name one more time I’m gonna cut off my ears. Bye.” She hung up.

She cursed at her unhelpful friend, and took a deep breath. “Screw it!” She decided she was simply going to improvise and trust her gut.

**

There was already a plate of food on her side of the table, and beside her sat Joe who had pasta sauce all over his face. Sam quickly asked him to clean up, embarrassed with his antics.

“Sorry, I can’t just leave him at home.” He apologised.

“It’s okay. Hi Joe!”

Joe pointed a finger gun at her.

“Rawr!” She played back, inspecting the dish before her.

“I hope you like it.”

She ordered this exact dish everytime she came here, which begged the question of how Sam came to know about it. She took a bite and pretended to be amazed by the food. “Oh my god, this tastes so good! Thanks Sam.”

“Welcome. I knew you’d like it.”

“How?”

“You like sweet-tasting food. This is the sweetest dessert served here.”

Even she herself didn’t notice her sweet tooth until now, “Doesn’t this cost a lot?”

“It’s worth it.”

She almost spat cake in his face upon hearing it. Unsure of how she felt about it, and how to react, she gave a half-hearted ‘Thank you.’

“I’m glad we finally get to do this…” Sam rambled without a point in mind. “How are you?”

“I’m fine.”

“No… how are you?”

“Huh?” Honey raised an eyebrow.

“Like… how’s the neighbours? Are they still blasting annoying music?”

“No, I talked them down.”

“That’s good. You need to sleep better.”

“I can’t sleep.”

“Why? What’s keeping you up at night?”

All the eyes were on her, and she swallowed a huge ball of air.

“Nothing… I just can’t sleep.”

“What’s going on Honey? I feel like we don’t talk anymore.”

“Well, I’m talking to Sonia.”

“Ugh, why? She only knows how to judge you. Ignore her. What’s going on?”

Cold sweat broke out, and her body repelled the question, shrivelling into a husk. “She’s not that bad, you know? Things are hard for her too.”

“Doesn’t mean she has to make everything hard for everyone else along the way.”

“Sam, how am I supposed to film and edit the film by myself?” She quickly changed the topic.

“Huh?”

“I don’t know how to use the camera or edit stuff.”

“But you’re the one in the film course…”

“Well, the teacher explained it poorly!”

“I can teach you, first tell me what you already know.”

“Can’t you help me with that too?”

“I am! I’m gonna teach you how to film and edit, okay?”

“But… can’t you just do it?”

“Honey, that’s cheating, we could get expelled.”

“But if you don’t tell anyone, how would they even find out?”

“I don’t know, but I don’t wanna risk it. What would happen to you if you got expelled? Surely you don’t want to work as a waitress your whole life.”

“But if I fail this project, I’ll be working as a waitress my whole life too. Don’t you love me Sam?”

“I do!” He said with surprising conviction. “I do, okay! Which is why I’m not gonna cheat, I’m not letting you get expelled. You need to graduate, and you need to get your diploma so you can get a job in the future.”

They finished their dinner, played a round of bowling where she won effortlessly and headed back to her place to rest. She wondered if Sam went easy on her to pump her confidence up. Whether he did or not, it worked.

“I get… lonely at night.” Honey said, checking the stock in her fridge. She made a mental note to shop for groceries this weekend.

“Oh.” He said. Joe ran straight to her bed and rolled around in it with her permission.

“That’s why I can’t sleep…”

“Oh, well… I could call you, I’m kind of a night owl anyway.”

“Really? You’d do that… for me?”

“Yeah. But I can’t guarantee I’ll stay awake though.”

“That’s okay… thanks Sam.” She smiled. She had him under his thumb, and all of a sudden felt the agency to demand whatever her heart desired.

“We should have dinner more often.” She hated cooking instant noodles for herself in her dilapidated kitchen. “Don’t you think?”

“Oh yeah, definitely, but I don’t know if I can afford-”

“Next date, I’ll choose where to go, okay?”

“Uh… don’t choose a place that’s super expensive, okay? I don’t have a lot of money. Heh.”

“Didn’t you say your cousins are rich?”

“Well, I can’t just ask them for money whenever, I gotta work for it.”

“Next Friday, we’ll have dinner again, okay? Ask your cousin for money.” She yawned, chiding Joe lightly for dropping her blanket on the floor. “You know… my ex… he never bought me anything. Not for my birthday, or for Valentine’s Day, or anything. I can’t believe I missed that major red flag…”

**

Next Friday, she chose a restaurant by the beach, and watched the ocean waves in glee whilst Sam watched the bill in horror. He tried his best to ignore it, compensating by recounting more stories about his affluent cousins.

Following the dinner, Honey felt nothing but comfort. At first, she was apprehensive of the relationship, wondering if Sam had ulterior motives or devil fangs he showed no one, but now she can’t imagine living without it.. With this comfort, she started desiring more from him, knowing he had his cousins to fund him, asking for gift after gift after gift.

“It’s a week before Valentine’s Day, let’s celebrate early.” She winked.

“Oh my god, that looks so pretty, can I have it? Please-please-please-please…” She squealed again, getting herself the make up kit of her dreams. She put it on for him the next day, which seemed to convince him that he made a wise purchase.

She also began to overcome her aversion to physical contact. He wanted to hold her hand, and she let him. He wanted to put his hand over her shoulder, and she let him. But kissing still crossed the line. Now, she practically lived at his place, spending her afternoons working the bare minimum on the school project, and slyly provoking Sam to do the work for her by playing dumb.

“How do I put this together.” She hits undo. “Uh oh, it’s gone. Sam, help.”

“What? What did you- Oh, don’t hit Control-Z, that’s undo. Here, I’ll show you…” He took over. “All you gotta do is…” She pointed a finger gun at Joe, and he pointed one back. The two had a western-style brawl, taking three paces before shooting. “And then snap it together… and done! See? It’s not hard, it’s just slow and tedious, you know?”

“Yeah. Oh! I see. I get it now, thanks.”

“Welcome.”

“Tomorrow’s Valentine’s Day, how’s the surprise coming along?”

“Fully prepared. Prepare yourself girl.”

“Oh, okay.”

“You got anything planned for me?”

“Hm?”

“Nah, kidding. You don’t have to do anything. Seeing you happy makes me happy.” His smile carried so much sincerity it made her feel a foreign emotion.