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Ruki chuckled again as he pulled out his wallet. “If you can’t finish it, I’ll take care of it. And if you’re still hungry, I’ll take you to In-N-Out.”

***

“… in line?” an unfamiliar voice broke him from his reminisce.

Jun blinked. Esquites came into focus in front of him. He only left the Challenger to grab something to eat, then head back.

He blinked again and turned around. A tall man in a gray sweater hoodie and a Dodgers cap stood before him. Jun’s hands went cold. Behind the cloth mask and the cap’s shadow, he couldn’t read the man’s expression.

“I’m sorry?” Jun stammered.

The tall man sighed. “I asked you like three times. Are you in line?”

Jun glanced at the esquites booth, his heart almost leaping out of his throat from the pressure. He didn’t think it would get worse—and then his phone screamed from his pocket.

Jun snatched the phone out of his new cargo pants. The screen lit up: “Unknown.” He glanced back at the booth, then the stranger, who was still staring him down.

“You can go ahead,” said Jun, and he dashed off.

When he was sure he was out of sight, Jun sighed. He pressed the call button and held it up to his ear with shaky hands. “Hello?” he asked hoarsely.

There was so much static on the other end that it was almost impossible to tell if someone said something.

“Hello?” he asked again slowly.

“Oh! One second!” There was shuffling in the background when he heard a sigh. “Can you hear me better now?” The voice was much clearer, but still unrecognizable.

“Who is this?”

The person at the end of the line laughed. “I guess you’re not used to hearing my voice on the other end of the phone. It’s just me, Robin!”

“How did you get this number?” Jun tucked the phone under his ear, wincing as it bumped the new earrings Kana had given him. The baggy street clothes still felt like wearing someone else’s skin—an Alex costume he hadn’t earned.

“It’s in the group chat! You just click on the person’s profile and press call, and here I am!”

Some fried smell drifted close enough to taunt him, and his stomach gnawed. Jun paced along the grass behind a tent, regretting he hadn’t grabbed the esquites when he had the chance. “Why did you call me?”

“Well… actually, Kana and Hal were calling you. But you didn’t pick up, so I thought I’d try calling you to see if it was their reception or something.”

Jun pulled the phone back.

Twenty-seven unread messages.

Multiple missed calls from Kana and Hal.

His stomach dropped. He’d been so deep in that memory that he hadn’t heard any of it.

“Is everything alright?” he asked, pressing the phone back to his ear.

“I think so? I mean, where are you at?”

Jun bit his tongue. “Um, I was trying to get food,” he said, pathetically, scrunching his shoulders.

Robin giggled in the background. “What did you get?”

“I didn’t get anything.” Jun’s cheeks heated.

“… Did I interrupt you?”