He was patiently trying to converse with me, nonetheless, I was not willing to give in to his persistence. I never turned my head. 'Nothing good will happen to me when in the company of boys,' I must have reiterated that in my head, a mantra against the burgeoning unease.
I thought he finally stopped but then he dropped the bombshell remark on me.
"You know~ Cici..." he began again, voice softer now, almost teasing. Then he dropped the bombshell: "I like you. Please go out with me."
The world seemed to tilt as the weight of his confession sank in. A faint voice from behind me echoed, perhaps trying to clarify or say something else, but I couldn't focus. My grasp on the ball I had been holding slipped, and it clattered uselessly to the ground.
'Please go out with me?'
'Like me?'
'L-Like!?'
