Lucas said, "I'm not."

Irene said, "You are blushing. I can clearly see that."

"I'm not treating you as a friend." Lucas looked at the dark sky. "Being friends with people like me does not come with any benefits."

"You don't make friends because you want benefits. Friends share their thoughts with each other, and when one of them is in trouble, the other does whatever they can to help. Mr. Lucas, you're a person who is worthy of a good friend. I'm also worthy of having good friends. When I was young, I had a great friend, but we were split apart."

Irene could not remember much about what she and Rose had gotten up to when they were younger. All she knew was that they had been best friends.

That beautiful memory made her feel warm and fuzzy every time she thought of it.

The bus slowly came to a halt in front of them. They got on the bus one at a time.

About 20 minutes later, the bus stopped at a stop in the city. After they alighted the bus, Irene held Lucas' arm without any tho