Ep. 10

"I'll be out for a while!" Chunhua yelled, observing her form in the bathroom mirror as she bunched her hair into a ponytail. Her roommate, Changying, was heard groaning from her bedroom.

"Why are you up this early?" she grumbled. 

Chunhua rolled her eyes before replying, "It's cool right now."

She had worn a pink tank top with a pair of gray workout leggings that reached her ankles. Her sneakers squeaked with each step as she prepared to head out in the early Saturday morning.

"See you later," Jialin said as she went towards the door. With quick steps, she walked down the stairs until she reached the ground floor. Then she proceeded to walk for a couple of minutes before taking off in a run.

It had been weeks since Chunhua had exercised. She was hardly getting enough time to do that because her project was costing her time away from class. To be specific, she was still stuck on the drawings for the characters of her short film.

It was going to take quite some time, and it made her doubt ever picking her choice for the project.

Jialin shook the thoughts off, deciding to focus on the environs around her. Because it was early, there was a comforting silence. There was also a cool breeze in the area that raised goosebumps on Chunhua's arms. The sun was on its course to rising, illuminating everything hidden in her path.

Chunhua preferred to run around the campus grounds very early in the morning because it provided her with some privacy. She was not willing to do it when the sun had fully risen. People, especially the male population in the campus, would stare at her with hungry gazes. She would even catch some staring at her butt or boobs, or both, and it made her wary of being outdoors. 

She did not like the attention. She just wanted some alone time away from people, especially those who would look at her like a piece of meat.

Jialin sighed, picking up her pace. She continued running around the campus for more than ten minutes. By then, her form was getting covered in sweat. She had started breathing through her mouth. Her feet had begun to protest every time they hit the ground, and she knew she would have to run back to her dorm to rest soon. It wasn't good for her to keep pushing herself, especially when she would need her legs to work once the weekend ended.

"Chunhua!" she heard someone shout her name behind her. She stopped running and turned, glad about the momentary rest. To her surprise, she spotted Zhang heading toward her.

"Hey. I didn't know you run," Zhang commented once he was in front of her. He was panting with his hands on his knees, staring up at Chunhua. A green, wet tanktop was hanging off his torso. It was sleeveless, and so it showed off the perfect bulging muscles in his arms. He had also worn a pair of tracksuit shorts that reached his knees, showing his muscular legs.

Chunhua found herself speechless for a moment.

"Do you always get up this early?" Zhang asked as he rose to stand.

"Yeah," Jialin replied. "It's good for privacy, you know?"

"Oh, I know," Zhang said, still panting. "Man, do I feel like I'm on fire."

Chunhua's lips turned, ready to release a laugh as she watched Zhang reach for the hem of his shirt. He raised it high to wipe his forehead, and Jialin froze with a gulp at what she saw.

She knew that her project partner was fit, but she had no idea how good he looked shirtless. The last time she had seen his naked chest was in high school, and his muscles weren't as developed as they were now. 

Chunhua remained speechless at the sight of Zhang' torso that glistened with his sweat. His shirt had been raised high enough to reveal the base of his pectorals, and they seemed to heave with every breath he took. Chunhua noticed a couple of dips and ridges she hadn't noticed on his form, especially on his sides and where his abs began. His six-pack clenched and relaxed, and Chunhua spotted a bead of sweat drip directly in between. She watched, mesmerized as it traveled lower, touching the contracting muscles before moving to his shorts.

Chunhua's mind caught with her actions, and she turned her eyes away, feeling a hot flush overcome her body. She couldn't explain the emotion she felt. Her cheeks had turned red, and she suddenly felt bad for checking Zhang out.

"How long have you been running ?" he questioned, forcing her eyes back to him. His naked chest was hidden once again, and Chunhua tried not to feel disappointed.

"I think twelve minutes... I don't know for sure. It feels like it's been a while," she replied. Zhang stared at her with a grin.

"Wow. It's like you never fail to surprise me every time I learn something new about you," he commented. 

"What are you talking about? I used to be a cheerleader in high school, remember?" she said with a raised eyebrow. He answered with a shrug.

"Well, I'm heading back," she told Zhang. "My legs are aching right now. It will even be a miracle if I'll be able to walk later."

Zhang laughed at her, and that caused her to smile a bit.

"After you get changed, would you mind if we meet up for breakfast? I know a café nearby, and--"

"Sure," Jialin cut him off. "You had me at breakfast."

"Okay, see you soon," Zhang said with a smile before jogging away from her. Chunhua observed his behind, and she shuddered at the sight of his clothed ass. 

And damn, was that ass fine.

"Stop it. Stop it. Stop it," Chunhua said, slapping the side of her head each time to calm her thoughts as she jogged back to her dorm.

********************** ************************ ********************** *************

More than half an hour later, Jialin found herself preparing to leave her dorm. She had showered and dressed in casual clothes, waiting for Zhang to call and tell her where they would be meeting.

She went to unlock her phone, but a knock on her door interrupted her movements. She headed to it, making quick work of opening it.

To her surprise, Zhang was standing at the entrance. He had changed out of his workout clothes, choosing to wear a short-sleeved checkered shirt with a pair of blue jeans.

"Zhang!" Jialin could not help but voice out her surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"We have that breakfast thing, remember?" he said with a raised eyebrow.

"It's just that I thought you would call me or something," Chunhua answered as she exited her dorm, closing the door behind her. She found herself unconsciously moving closer to Zhang, and her nose picked up a whiff of the cologne coming off him.

It did things to her that she couldn't explain.

"Yeah," Zhang replied, forcing her attention back to him. "I didn't think it through."

Chunhua eyed him before saying: "I must say that I didn't even think you would remember where I live."

Zhang chuckled at her before replying, "You know how our minds work. They can choose to remember small details at times. Now come on. Let's go eat."

Zhang had led Jialin to a café that was a short walk from her dorm. It was surprisingly packed with students like them and other people who were probably heading off to work.

"So, how is the project going?" Zhang asked Jialin once they had occupied a booth and given their orders to a waitress.

Chunhua groaned before replying, "Not good. I feel stuck."

Zhang nodded along before saying: "Me too."

"This is bad, Zhang," Jialin commented.

"It's normal," he replied with a frown. "It is usually not very easy to come up with designs for characters."

"And the bad thing is that we cannot copy character designs from other sources."

Chunhua hated that. Sure, she understood copyright laws and other stuff, but it was a huge inconvenience for her at the moment.

"Chunhua, let's not think about it now. The important thing is that we have our story. We also have made the designs for the scenes, remember?"

It was true. On one evening when Jialin had complained about the problems with the character designs, Zhang had suggested that they save the characters for later and to instead focus on the scenes for their story. It meant that they had to draw everything they needed for the film, and that included trees, rocks, hills and other structures found in the wild. Weeks later, they had completed that. The only thing they had left to deal with was to change the drawings into 3D.

"Yes, you are right. And again, thanks for helping me with the scenes," Chunhua replied, earning a pleased smile from Zhang.

"You're welcome. So, do you have any plans today?"

"Yes," Jialin replied, earning a frown. "There are a couple of movies I wanted to watch today--"

"Those are your plans?"

"Spiderman Homecoming should be available on DVD soon," Jialin said with a smile.

"I wanted to ask you out to the movies today."

Jialin seemed to freeze once she had heard those words come out of Zhang' mouth.

"Not like a date," Zhang corrected with widened eyes. "As friends. If you want."

Chunhua felt a little disappointed all over a sudden. Then she wondered where that emotion had come from.

"Oh. Okay," she replied.

"Really?"

"Yes, Zhang. Why wouldn't I go out with you? It sounds better than my plan to stay in my dorm." 

"Okay," he grinned. "I'll pick you up later."

"Here you go," a waiter appeared before them with a large tray filled with their breakfast options. The two thanked the server before digging into their meals.

************************ ******************************* *********************

That evening, Jialin had found herself being driven to a movie theatre that was in the town near the campus. Before Zhang had arrived to take her out, her roommate made her endure minutes of nonstop teasing.

"Make sure you kiss him!"

"Don't be afraid to get bold. Touch his abs if you want to!"

"Chunhua, it won't be slutty if you make him take you in his car."

Those were some of the words Changying had told her, and Jialin had been a blushing mess by the time Zhang arrived at her place. 

He had asked her what was wrong, but Chunhua silenced him with a quick "Nothing!" He knew she was lying, but he decided to let it go.

As they drove to the town, Jialin wondered about Changying's words. Changying was teasing her about Zhang, and it didn't take a scholar to know she wanted them to date. Sure, the guy was great. He was good company, and he also made Chunhua smile whenever he was around.

She also felt comfortable around him as if they had known each other for hundreds of years even though they had been hanging around each other for weeks. She felt as if she could tell him anything, like when she had told him about her virginity. He proved she could trust him with her secrets, and it was a good shock for her.

She sighed, turning to look at Zhang. He was focused, staring ahead as he drove the car. In a way, the orange lights provided by the street lamps outside made Jialin view him differently. Her heart swelled again with an emotion she still did not understand.

Six radio songs later, the two pulled into a parking lot near the large cinema. They had quickly got out and made their way into the lobby.

"Oh! That It movie came out!" Zhang said as he pointed at something behind Chunhua. She turned, and she almost jumped in fright.

Among the movie posters pinned high on the wall in front of her was of the famous IT movie. Jialin had forgotten about it, but once she saw the poster, she remembered it. She had not seen the movie, but she had seen the trailer.

The movie features a clown with red hair, a fading clown attire and a sinister look. It was enough for Jialin to say no to it.

"We could go watch it," Zhang suggested, and that had Jialin turning to give him a look of disbelief.

"Are you serious?" she asked.

"Yes," Zhang replied. With a sigh, Jialin took out her phone and entered her browser. She searched for news related to the film.

"This movie got high ratings," she pointed out.

"So?"

"Zhang, let me repeat. It. Got. High. Ratings. Shouldn't that be enough of a warning to tell us it will be creepy?"

Zhang frowned before saying: "Insidious got near-average ratings, and it is still scary as hell."

Jialin did not know how to reply to that, but she still continued: "Zhang, let us not watch this movie. I saw the trailer, and on that same night, I had a nightmare about the freaking clown. It should be enough to tell us we cannot handle it."

Zhang snorted. "Please, it's just a poster. It's not scary at all. Now come on. Let's go see it."

He had already purchased the tickets for the movie. Jialin turned to see the other options available, but they were all related to horror and paranormal stuff.

"What kind of movie theatre offers only one genre of movies at one showing?" Jialin grumbled as she found herself walking with Zhang towards the viewing area.

********************** ******************************* ****************************

"So... I was wrong," Zhang replied hours later, staring ahead as he drove the car away from the theatre.

"You think?" Chunhua stated, shivering a little when he noticed the vehicle moving faster.

"Um, Zhang, could you slow down?" Jialin asked him.

"Oh. Right," he gave her a sheepish smile before doing so.

A couple of seconds filled with silence passed.

"That movie was frightening," Zhang commented.

"I told you!" Jialin pointed out.

"I mean, wow. That scene with Georgi, the one with the bloody sink, the projector scene--"

"Zhang, please stop," Chunhua cut him off. "I do not want to relive the memories of that movie, especially during this hour."

It was around nine in the evening by then. For a Saturday, the road looked a bit deserted. That was not helping with Chunhua's imagination. The dark areas of the road had her picturing a giant version of Pennywise coming to eat them.

'Damn it, Zhang!' she thought, wishing they hadn't watched that film at all.

The dude had acted all calm and cool, carrying their popcorn and drinks as they made their way into the auditorium. But minutes into the movie foretold that the snacks would remain untouched.

"Oh, why did we watch it?" Jialin whined.

"Because we were idiots?" Zhang suggested with an uneasy smile. It just made Jialin sigh.

"Now I'm going to have a hard time falling asleep tonight."

"Did it really affect you that much?" Zhang asked her.

"No," she lied. "Don't worry about me, Zhang. I will get over it the same way I got over The Conjuring 2."

"Chunhua!" Zhang whined in boredom, remembering the scary scenes from the film, and that had her laughing.

They continued to talk on their way back. It was a good distraction from the movie they had seen.

Minutes later, the two were parked near Jialin's place.

"Thanks, Zhang," she told him. "I had a great time."

"You're welcome," he replied with a smile. "Hope to do it again?"

"As long as it's not another scary movie," she warned. "Good night."

"Have a great night, Caitlyn," Zhang told her. The name brought a warm sensation to her heart. She smiled at him before proceeding to head back to her dorm.

It was only after she had locked the door behind her when she heard the car speeding away from the area. 

"Changying?" she called out. When she heard no reply, she sighed in relief.

Jialin's heart thudded with an unknown feeling. It felt pleasant, especially when she remembered their outing that had ended seconds ago.

Chunhua knew there was something going on in her body whenever she was with Zhang. She didn't understand it then, but she was determined to figure it out.