I couldn’t stop the blush from forming on my face as I stood stock still. The pink-haired thing noticed my strangeness and seemed to have figured it out. She seemed very preceptive for someone who was a pink-haired thing. 

“Let’s go downstairs. There is a coffee shop that does bagels across the street. It will be my treat.” The pink-haired thing walked over to me and pulled my hand. I could only nod. My hair was a mess not that I cared, nor did the pink-haired thing since she actually grabbed one of my hoodies and put it on before going next door to get her shoes. I do wonder why she was wearing my clothes when she was going back to her apartment but I guess it was fine. 

With my arm taken hostage by the pink-haired thing, we made our way out across the street. The morning was still slightly chilly. Especially since I was wearing pajama shorts under my hoodie and had no socks on in my shoes. It had rained last night, so the air was moist, making it even colder than it should be. I guess, in a way, having the pink-haired thing hanging off me was warming me up as well. 

We entered the coffee shop and were instantly hit with the smell of freshly brewed coffee and baked goods. They sold more than just bagels. They had muffins as well as doughnuts as well. “Zoe, what do you want?”

I looked up at the menu for a moment before leaning close to the pink-haired thing’s ear and softly saying: “A regular with cream and sugar and a cinnamon raisin bagel.”

I finally did not stutter. But when I looked at the pink-haired thing her face was bright red. Even her ears were turning red. I wonder if she is sick? I raised my hand and placed it on her forehead. It did seem slightly warm. 

    “Feuwah! Zoe…. Never whisper in anyone else’s ear but mine from now on.”  The pink-haired thing let out a strange noise before telling me not to whisper in peoples’ ears, not that I would do that to anyone else since it would be impossible. I trusted the pink-haired thing and although I hate to say it am comfortable with her being close so it was fine to do it with her, but…. I couldn’t see myself doing it with others.

I wanted to ask her why she said that but decided to wait until we got to a place that was not in public. I was pulled to the counter where the pink-haired thing ordered for us. We got our ticket and took a seat while we waited for our food. We were not staying here but we still had to wait to get our order.

We picked a spot in the corner. Well, the pink-haired thing picked the spot I was just dragged along. Although there were people coming and going, no one even looked at us, which allowed me to feel slightly at ease. I guess at this time, most people are in a hurry and do not care about others. But these people were smart and seemed to have placed an order over the phone.

“Zoe, do you realize that your voice is enough to make a girl have second thoughts? I know I keep asking you to speak, but I think it might be best if you don’t.” What the hell was this pink-haired thing talking about? My voice makes girls have second thoughts? At what? Living? I was quite confused as to what she was talking about. Shouldn’t she be happy that I was able to speak without stuttering to her? 

I guess seeing my confused expression made her flustered since she started waving her hands back and forth. “I am not saying you shouldn’t speak! I am just saying…. Whispering in other people’s ears except mine should be off limits.” 

Her voice trailed off at the end as her cheeks began turning red again. I was still confused as to why she was acting so strange but well…. She is a pink-haired thing so I guess this is normal. After that, we sat in an awkward silence for five minutes until our order was ready. We then walked back to my apartment, where she seemed to lighten up a bit more.

Since there was no one else around, I finally decided to ask: “Why?”

“Hmmm? Oh… Ummm… because you have no idea how sexy your voice is when you do that. I thought my heart was going to melt into a whole new world.” The pink-haired thing really said something strange just now. I mean, my voice? I highly doubt it could do anything this girl just said. I decided to ignore her and sip my coffee while I munched on my bagel. I really wanted to take a shower as well. 

“After we eat, I want to wash up.” I sent her a message on her phone. I was already exhausted from speaking so much. But I am proud of myself for speaking so much. This was a step forward. I mean, I even accepted a pink-haired thing into my inner circle. This was major progress!
 
“Oh! Let’s take a bath together!” And once again, the pink-haired thing said something very strange. Why the hell would I bathe with a pink-haired thing? What if I catch her pink-hairedness?