"Why are you suddenly quiet?" Naoki presses, snickering, as they make their way out of the store, the bags on his hand rustling.

"Shut up," Elle snarls. "I said I don't have... That fetish."

He bobs his head. "Wanna bet again?"

One corner of Elle's lips twitches upward as she considers Naoki's challenge. "You know what it'll take to get the answer, right?"

Naoki shoves a tongue on the inside of his cheek, looking away, the blasé expression crawling back to his face. "Never mind."

Elle's muscles loosen, grateful that he declined this time around. Her mouth moves before her brain functions sometimes, and she's not a hundred percent confident she wouldn't let him if he wanted to spend another night in her bed.

But Naoki is to blame. He lived up to his I'll make you never forget me line and had the audacity to appear in her dreams every night.

Elle zeroes in on the list to bring the conversation to a topic that will be more child friendly and to restore the mood of: we are never ever getting back together. As it should be. Neither should overlook the situation they're in. That they're temporary.

"So, um, I think that's all. The cake I'll pick up tomorrow before I head to the location. I'll see you there?"

Naoki checks his phone. "It's only 11. Want to get brunch?"

"Brunch?" She repeats skeptically. "You sure about that?"

"What do you mean?"

"Having brunch is basically agreeing to spend more time with me," Elle explains, her thumb pointing to herself, eyes wide. "I know you can hardly look at me."

And that's where Elle has it all wrong. It's not that Naoki can hardly look at her. It's that he can hardly not look at her.

"You can just say no."

"Naoki, you're uncomfortable around me. I get it. No need to force yourself."

"Elle," he starts, cocking his head to one side. "Don't flatter yourself. I didn't tell you I was working here, and I didn't say hi, because I didn't have to. We're not anything to each other. Like strangers on a train. You and I? We just have mutual friends. Now, I'm asking you to eat because I'm hungry, and you look hungry, and I'm not a jerk to let you go home alone and then eat by myself."

His words sting, an uncomfortable sensation sinking into the pit of her stomach, but for some reason, she cannot stop a smile from breaking out in her mouth.

"Naoki, that's the most number of words you've said to me," she says. "They're not nice, but you've convinced me to have brunch with you. Nice work." She reaches her hand and gives him a pat on the shoulder.

Naoki watches Elle walk away, his forehead creased, a sense of bewilderment washing over him. He was pretty sure Elle would leave him after the nonsense he sputtered out of the blue. His brain was already conjuring up a hundred of ways he could apologize to her, but her reaction was one he didn't see coming.

As usual.

Elle pauses, half-turning. "I thought you're hungry?"

Naoki clings to the bags and trails behind her. "Yeah. Sorry."

"Coffee?" The waiter offers, inclining the carafe to Naoki's nearly empty cup.

"No, I'm good, thanks," Naoki replies.

Elle smiles at the waiter and also says thanks, and he motions to the next table seating a family of five.

"You know what's a red flag for me?" Elle utters, stabbing a pineapple slice with her fork. "People who are rude to servers. There's absolutely no reason to be rude to customer service staff unless they are 100% horrible at their job. Like if they are not doing what they're supposed to do on purpose. Other than that, there is no excuse."

Naoki concurs, "I agree."

"Good. What about you? What's a red flag for you?"

He strokes his chin. "Hmm. Let me see. Maybe being too... Clingy?"

"Clingy? How?"

"When I can't spend time with my friends because she won't let me. She'll get angry if I take some time away. Won't give me space, always needing to be around me, and getting jealous over nothing. Something like that."

"Was I like that?"

Naoki taps a finger on his temple. "Nah... You're like a stray cat. Coming and going whenever. I couldn't tell when you'll show up or disappear."

Her eyes dance in amusement. "Thanks."

"You like being called a stray cat?"

"I like being the opposite of your red flag," she clarifies, biting into a slice of apple. "You used to host Zoe and the others all the time. You must really enjoy hanging out with friends."

"Only because they're great people."

"It's too bad you guys are from different parts of the world."

"It's alright. We find ways to talk. Taylor, Kaito, and I still play games," Naoki replies casually. "I remember what Zoe said the first time she hung out with us. Distance doesn't matter if the relationship matters."

Elle grins, picturing her best friend saying the exact same thing.

"That is a very Zoe thing to say."

"Isn't it?"

Naoki gazes outside the window, to the stone fountain in the middle of the strip mall, the water cascading in consistent motion. The first night of their break up he wished Elle would have at least half of her best friend's faith. But as he had recognized long ago, the two had nothing in common.

"Will Zoe's parents be there tomorrow?"

Elle nods, dabbing a paper napkin on her cheek. "Yes. They've changed a lot, you know? They adore Kaito. They're supportive of Zoe. It was so great to watch everything turn well for them. Remember when they kept doing this back and forth?"

"Of course. I was there for the whole thing," he utters, leaning forward, his elbows on the table. "So, what did you do?"

Elle squints in confusion. "What did I do?"

"I have a feeling you played cupid." He prods, his hand gesturing in the air.

"You know me well," she giggles. "I offered advice here and there. A gentle nudge in the right direction. I did arrange some meetings. I told you about them, didn't I?"

"A gentle nudge? More like an aggressive shove," he teases. "But the last I heard from you was that everything was canceled because of the pandemic," he replies.

She fidgets, vestiges of the early months of 2020 flashing before her like a powerpoint presentation. January 2020: She heard about Kaori. February 2020: Her and Naoki's plans to visit Hong Kong got postponed indefinitely. March 2020: The lockdown. Law school was a big mess. Everything changed.

And then in August 2020: They broke up.

She hides her hands under the table, her fingers playing with the jewelry encircling her wrist.

"Will Seth be there tomorrow?" Naoki inquires.

"Yes."

"He and Kaito are good?"

She drains whatever is left on her apple juice. "Yes."

"And you're good?"

"Of course," Elle answers, waving her hand coolly. "Connor is history."

"Will he be there?"

"Connor?" Elle exhales slowly. "Actually... He and Seth broke up. It's been a year... So, no."

Naoki's eyebrows raise as he surveys Elle closely for any hint of lingering emotions. When he fails to accurately read her, he quizzes, "And how did that make you feel?"

Elle tucks stray hairs behind her ear then fakes a carefree grin. "What's with the question?"

"You were badly hurt by what happened. That's why you kept me in the friendzone for two years. So, it's... Acceptable. If you celebrated their break up."

The insinuation mortifies Elle, the pretentious smile faltering completely. "You think I took pleasure in it?" She blows air out of her cheeks. "I'm not that kind of person."

"What kind?"

"The kind who enjoys people suffer."

"Don't misunderstand," Naoki replies timidly. "I'm saying you can be a little selfish."

Elle expels intermittent peals of laughter; she almost sounds as if she's barking. "Ha-ha... Ha. I'm selfish! You know that! That's why you dislike me now. Because I... I'm selfish."

Naoki places his elbows on the table, his fingers entwined, a thumb poking his bottom lip. "Can I say something?"

"Go ahead."

"Once I begin saying this out loud, I won't stop."

Elle leers at him, intrigued. "That sounds like a warning... But yeah, shoot."

Naoki takes a deep breath, his eyes locked onto Elle's.

"I think you're both. You're selfish to some extent, and you're not selfish enough. You're fiercely loyal. You accepted the cheating right away and didn't let yourself be angry. You skipped an important stage of grief," Naoki states without blinking.

"I didn't! I was angry."

"And was the time you gave yourself sufficient? You frustrate the people around you by your unselfishness."

"You're not making any sense," she utters. "If I'm not selfish, it means I'm doing them a favor. How can that be frustrating?"

"Because it's a favor that they don't even ask for. Did you think Seth believed you were okay with what happened? Did you think Zoe did?" He retorts. "Did you think she was perfectly fine with you bringing Seth to Tokyo after everything?"

Did you think you were doing me a favor when you told me not to move for you? He thinks, but he catches himself.

Elle's lips part, but no words roll out of her mouth.

"You... Choose to fix things your way when they don't even ask you to because you can't stand the mess, or being a burden, while you also set aside your own pain. But in the process you disregard other people's feelings, too. So, in a way, you're hurting yourself and also doing yourself a favor."

Naoki juts his chin out and lifts his hand to call the waiter. "Bill, please."

The waiter scampers to their direction and hands Naoki the invoice. He says a few things, but Elle is too flustered to answer, her fingernails making involuntary clicking sounds as she taps them on the table."I'll pay my own."

"I got it." Naoki taps his card on the machine. They exchange thank-yous with the waiter who hurries to the other tables.

"Let's go?"

"You think you can just leave it at that? You said we're nothing to each other, and you think you can rebuke me?" Elle says, scowling.

"I'm not scolding you," Naoki shrugs. "Plus, it's because we're nothing to each other that I can decide not to spare your feelings. There's no relationship to take care of."

Another thing she hated and loved about Naoki: he's a little too logical. And he can read her. Zoe usually can't, but this guy? He will stare at her, and he'll get the gist of what's running inside her mind.

He was kinder before, though. He was sweeter and thoughtful. He was honest, but he would choose his words before spitting them out. In short, Naoki as a boyfriend was simply a chef's kiss.

But after what she'd done, maybe he's truly become apathetic to her feelings. What does she expect? He showers her a little bit of kindness, a glimpse of the past version of him, and she interprets it differently, thinking she's gotten away from hurting him. Pathetic.

Elle flings her crossbody bag over her shoulder and gets up from her seat. "Fair enough. But it doesn't matter now. I've moved on from all of it."

"If you say so." Naoki grabs the bags of decorations beside him. "How about you start being more selfish and actually prioritize yourself more? Without meddling in other people's lives. That's all I'm saying."

"I am prioritizing myself."

"If you say so."

"Stop that," she groans. "Gosh, can I also say something?"

"Yes."

"You might want to keep some thoughts to yourself," Elle fires back. "You can be a dick sometimes. If it were someone else, you would've gotten punched in the face."

"I warned you, didn't I?"

"You're hopeless," she mutters, ducking her head. But the tears welling up in the corners of her eyes are like sharp pangs that pierce Naoki's heart, his gut twisting.

"Alright, I'm sorry."

"Too late," she says, lips tightly pursed. "But don't fret. After all, we mean nothing to each other."