花樣年華 : HYYH | Act One Scene Five : Turn and Walk Away
“Y/N, over here!” You heard Vernon call somewhat shyly, raising his hand to indicate where he was sitting. He’d already gotten a booth in the far corner of the diner and was poring over the menu when he’d heard the door open. You smiled widely as you walked over to join him, sliding into the seat opposite and shrugging your coat off your shoulders.
“How’s it going?” you asked, picking up the other menu on the table even though Mingyu had every single item on it burned into your brain. He’d been pretty insistent on knowing it by heart and having you help him do so, only to end up working in the kitchen and having no use for his newfound knowledge. Vernon grinned up at you, resting his chin in his hands with his fingers interlocked.
“Not bad! Hyungseo was already gone when I woke up so yknow… if I’m honest I just spent all day looking forward to this ahaha.” His cheeks dusted pink and he avoided your eyes at the admission, to which you chuckled gently.
“I spent all day looking forward to this too.” Your words visibly reassured him and his shoulders relaxed, the blush on his cheeks deepening slightly. “They added my favourite tea to the menu! I only spent forever begging Mingyu to try pushing for it, the Obelisk just refuses for some reason,” you said excitedly. “Like, the diner doing it instead of the cafe?” Vernon laughed, a loud belly laugh that turned the heads of the only other two people in the diner; a couple resting their intertwined fingers on the table next to a milkshake with two straws poking over the glass’ rim - a scene right from a rom com to be sure.
“You come to a diner and you wanna drink tea?” he snorted, eyes widened by surprise. You furrowed your brow and folded your arms across your chest defensively, throwing in a pout for good measure. His eyes immediately softened when you frowned. “Hey I’m joking, drink your hot leaf juice! I’m not judging.”
You ordered your tea and the two of you stared down at the menus in silence a little longer, not really paying attention to any of the words on the laminated paper. An idea suddenly crossed your mind and you faltered in bringing your teacup up to your lips, wondering if it was really worth it or not.
“What are you thinking of?” Vernon asked with a raised eyebrow, noticing your hesitation. You watched him over the rim of your teacup for a second, unblinking, lost in thought, before outstretching your hand and slowly pushing your menu towards him.
“Order for me,” you said simply, still watching him over the steaming drink in your hand. He glanced down at the two menus in front of him and then back up at you, eyes narrowing in confusion.
“I don’t know what your girlfriend likes,” He studied your expression for a moment, your eyes dark but face unemotive, before swallowing thickly. He’d caught on. With a small smirk he pushed your menu back.
“Order for me too, then.”
Another slightly tense second of eye contact, before you finally took a sip and he beckoned over a waiter.
A steak, still sizzling on the plate, rather uninviting lumps of white cabbage and potatoes on the side. Far from your usual. You cut a rather small piece and chew it slowly and thoughtfully. Vernon and yourself keep stealing glances at each other, a whole range of emotions; anxiety and curiosity and pondering. His eyes lingered on you a little longer eventually, but before you could ask if he wanted to say something he reached for the mustard on the side of the table and daubed some on the side of your plate. You looked at him inquisitively and he smiled, so you dipped the meat already speared on your fork in the speckled condiment and went back to looking down.
“Why did you call me after class today?” He watched you carefully for a moment, prodding potatoes around his plate idly.
“I had nothing to do, I wanted to hear your voice,” he responded after a few seconds of silence, lifting his eyes to meet yours. You smirked, reaching for your teacup once again and nodding slightly.
“You have Mark down, he’s a real sweet-talker.” A hint of venom in your voice took him a little by surprise, though it resonated strongly.
“It’s late, won’t your girlfriend mind?”
“She’s used to it, she doesn’t care. What about your boyfriend?”
“He must be asleep by now.” You leaned up against the wall outside your apartment, gazing up at the stars. It was slightly cloudy but you could still faintly see some gleaming amongst the dark backdrop of the sky. Vernon followed suit, standing beside you, tousled hair blowing over his eyes in the breeze. He reached a hand out to take yours, slowly, deliberately, not shifting his view. His fingers were slightly calloused, you noticed as he ran his thumb over the back of your hand.
“Should we stay out tonight?” You looked over at him, but he didn’t avert his gaze. You removed your hand from his and shifted away from the wall, moving to stand in front of him but only just out of reach.
“Mark would never say that,” you said solemnly, and Vernon finally looked at you.
“Not that.” You turned away from him, feeling admittedly a little too dramatic, but your heart was heavy and your thoughts were racing. He stepped closer and sighed gently.
“Someone must have made the first move. Who else could it be?”
Again you walked alongside the wall that leads to your apartment block.
“He must be asleep by now,” you said, smiling up at Vernon as flirtily as you could. He grinned, seemingly trying not to laugh, and awaited your next line. You reached for his hand but before you could take it you hesitated, and eventually returned your own to your side. “I can’t say it,”
“I understand,” he responded softly. “After all, it’s already happened. It doesn’t matter who made the first move.” You looked at each other, and you wondered how many intense moments of eye contact you’d shared tonight. Your mind was suddenly brought back to Twilight. He walked you to your door and brushed a misplaced strand of hair from your face.
“Goodnight, Y/N.” he smiled at you, a wide gummy smile that you became completely endeared by the first time you saw it.
“Goodnight, Vernon.” you squeezed his arm briefly and suddenly before turning to enter the building.
synopsis: when vernon and y/n realise their partners are cheating with each other, they strike up an unlikely friendship trying to figure out how it all began
pairing: vernon x fem!reader
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taglist: @a-lil-bit-nuts @kikivonpoopyhead @woozarts @gold-dragon-slayer @h6ngs @imcoenffl @alamorticia
a/n: a lot of the dialogue in their role play is directly from the movie but slightly modified to fit the story better! plus the titles of the scenes are bits of dialogue from the film as well, i didn't know if that was obvious or not haha. highly recommend it, it's genuinely beautiful. way too beautiful for me to capture but hopefully i got the general mood right :) feedback on this part would be especially appreciated because i haven't written in a while nor posted my writing in like 5 years lol i am INSECURE. now, onto the next scene!
