Fanfic: [B1A4/Block B]: Lessons Learned
Title: Lessons Learned
Pairing: Zico(Block B)/Jinyoung(B1A4)
Rating: PG
Summary: After school tutoring
A/N: written for kpopv with a huge amount of help from Jill :)
Jinyoung tried not to count down as he watched the second hand approach the 12 but he couldn't help it, murmuring the numbers under his breath. "3....2....1." The alarm sounded and he burst out of his chair - and out of his homeroom, tie still perfectly tied and shirt still tucked in. He ignored the teacher's comments or the looks from his friends. He had somewhere to go...somewhere that wasn't a student council meeting or glee club.
Zico waited outside the school gates, arms folded across his chest, half amused and half bothered that he even planned to show up. Still. But then, this was better than most anything else he had planned, so he waited for the boy he was to tutor (no, really, it still made him laugh, and he hadn't even mentioned it to his brother or his best friend. They’d never let him live it down.) in... being tough. Or whatever.
His words.
"Sorry I made you wait.." Jinyoung panted as he finally reached the other, then cringed and tried to take a more casual pose - which was very difficult when you were hunched over, trying to catch your breath. "I mean, what's up?" He was trying for ‘wassup’ but he’d spent too many hours in grammar classes for his tongue to wrap around the slurred greeting - yet another part of his problem.
Zico shoved away from the wall and had to hide a smirk. "No prob. Come on... no, wait." He pulled Jinyoung's tie off and stuffed it into the pocket of his denim jacket. "Untuck the shirt," he added. "You look WAY too put together. And at least two buttons undone."
"Oh, yeah, right," Jinyoung said sheepishly, doing as the other suggested and also reaching up to muss his perfectly coifed hair as well. Of course, the action only made him look like he stepped off the pages of GQ. "Better?" he asked hopefully.
Zico looked him up and down, and shrugged. "Some, yeah. Come on." He turned and sauntered down the street, hands in his pockets.
Jinyoung looked at the other out of the corner of his eye and adjusted his own effortless glide to something more slouching and casual, hands stuffed into his own pockets.
"Better," Zico said after they turned the corner. "Much better." After a couple weeks of this, it'd better be. "You got anything in that backpack you can't replace?"
Jinyoung went through the itemized list in his mind. His homework was done and turned in, the student council notes were with Shinwoo. He had his mother's shopping list memorized... "No, I don't think so. Nothing important."
"Just in case," Zico said. "I don't expect anything to happen, but just in case."
The other boy looked at him curiously. "Yeah, okay..." It was strange to see Zico so worried. After all, he was the toughest kid in school. He shouldn't care about things like that.
"Tell me," Zico went on as the sauntered down the street, which began to get busier as the afternoon shoppers started doing their daily errands. "What exactly do you want out of this?"
Jinyoung thought about it for some time. "I'm tired of everyone thinking I'm just some pretty boy, some goody-goody. I don't want to be so perfect anymore."
"That's a good start," Zico said with a nod, studying the other bluntly, his steady gaze making Jinyoung nervous. "What are you really like?"
Jinyoung came to a dead stop in the middle of the sidewalk and had to apologize when an older woman scolded him for being in the way. "I'm just me. I don't think there's anything wrong with getting work done and helping people out," he said with a shrug. "But that's not manly or cool or anything."
Zico stopped and yanked him into a side alley, the frown on his face interrupted by his lip ring. Jinyoung kind of wanted to touch it. "Wait. So you're like that at school because you think that's how people see you?"
The other boy's actions surprised Jinyoung and he stumbled into the alley. "I'm like that because it's who I am. I care about what people think of me. Maybe I want to be able to not care..."
Zico blinked at him, scratching at his head. "So... what's with these lessons?" he asked.
"I want to be tough, cool....I want people to respect me," Jinyoung muttered, reaching up to rake fingers through his hair in frustration. "Like you."
"People respect me because this is who I am," Zico said, and leaned against the wall. "Could you go to school looking like that and be comfortable, no matter what anyone else said?"
Jinyoung looked down at this uniform - shirt unbuttoned and untucked, tie still in Zico's pocket and had to fight back the urge to try to tidy himself up, his fingers already itching to do just that. He shook his head. "No."
"So be comfortable in your own skin," Zico said. "Who cares what they think - what I think? You tried something new. That's awesome. You know what you aren't now, at least one thing, and it's a start. Do what makes YOU happy."
"But I'm not cool...or manly, or anything like that," Jinyoung murmured. Zico must think he's an idiot...
Zico bit his lip, knowing Taewoon and Kyung would be laughing their butts off right now. "And you think I am," he said, half statement, half question.
Jinyoung blinked. "Well...yeah." As if the answer was obvious.
Zico frowned. "Cool depends on the definition," he said slowly. "I never wanted to be cool. I'm just me. As for manly, I'm not sure why you'd think that."
"You are sure of yourself - you don't take shit from anyone. No one walks over you, Zico." Jinyoung closed his eyes, remembering all the times when he'd back down to keep others happy, how he'd stepped in to stop fights.
"I'd be sure of myself even if I went to school with my uniform crisp and clean and perfect," Zico said. "The clothes don't actually matter. This is what I'm comfortable in." He gestured to his jeans and t-shirt, covered in a well worn jean jacket. "And people walk over me all the time. You just don't see it. Benefits of being a younger brother," he added with a scowl.
Jinyoung’s shoulders sagged. “So I guess I’m never going to be cool then.”
Zico shrugged. "I don't know," he said. "Be you. What more is there? Make the you that you are cool."
"Sorry to have wasted your time," Jinyoung murmured, offering the other a bow - it wasn't needed but it was just part of who Jung Jinyoung was - a little naive yet sweet, putting the feelings of others above his own. No, it wasn't cool but that's who he was.
"You didn't waste my time," Zico said, pulling the tie from his pocket. "Sorry it's a bit crumpled. It was nice to spend time with someone more... refined that I'm used to."
Jinyoung took the tie from Zico with a slightly bitter laugh, his fingertips brushing against the other boy's. "Refined isn't all it's cracked up to be."
"Neither's this," Zico said, gesturing to himself again. "Besides." He had to catch his breath at the jolt that went through him when their fingers brushed. "I figure I have what, two weeks of lessons for free before I start paying you to teach me how to be... more acceptable."
Jinyoung blinked, staring at the other in confusion. "You want lessons from me? But you are just fine the way you are."
Zico shrugged, uncomfortable. "Maybe," he said. "But I'm not sure it's who I am any more. I figure I'll try something else. Can't hurt, right?"
The other boy suddenly smiled, his eyes meeting Zico's. "I guess not....but you might want to tuck in your shirt."
Zico laughed, blushed, and started to do just that.
Pairing: Zico(Block B)/Jinyoung(B1A4)
Rating: PG
Summary: After school tutoring
A/N: written for kpopv with a huge amount of help from Jill :)
Jinyoung tried not to count down as he watched the second hand approach the 12 but he couldn't help it, murmuring the numbers under his breath. "3....2....1." The alarm sounded and he burst out of his chair - and out of his homeroom, tie still perfectly tied and shirt still tucked in. He ignored the teacher's comments or the looks from his friends. He had somewhere to go...somewhere that wasn't a student council meeting or glee club.
Zico waited outside the school gates, arms folded across his chest, half amused and half bothered that he even planned to show up. Still. But then, this was better than most anything else he had planned, so he waited for the boy he was to tutor (no, really, it still made him laugh, and he hadn't even mentioned it to his brother or his best friend. They’d never let him live it down.) in... being tough. Or whatever.
His words.
"Sorry I made you wait.." Jinyoung panted as he finally reached the other, then cringed and tried to take a more casual pose - which was very difficult when you were hunched over, trying to catch your breath. "I mean, what's up?" He was trying for ‘wassup’ but he’d spent too many hours in grammar classes for his tongue to wrap around the slurred greeting - yet another part of his problem.
Zico shoved away from the wall and had to hide a smirk. "No prob. Come on... no, wait." He pulled Jinyoung's tie off and stuffed it into the pocket of his denim jacket. "Untuck the shirt," he added. "You look WAY too put together. And at least two buttons undone."
"Oh, yeah, right," Jinyoung said sheepishly, doing as the other suggested and also reaching up to muss his perfectly coifed hair as well. Of course, the action only made him look like he stepped off the pages of GQ. "Better?" he asked hopefully.
Zico looked him up and down, and shrugged. "Some, yeah. Come on." He turned and sauntered down the street, hands in his pockets.
Jinyoung looked at the other out of the corner of his eye and adjusted his own effortless glide to something more slouching and casual, hands stuffed into his own pockets.
"Better," Zico said after they turned the corner. "Much better." After a couple weeks of this, it'd better be. "You got anything in that backpack you can't replace?"
Jinyoung went through the itemized list in his mind. His homework was done and turned in, the student council notes were with Shinwoo. He had his mother's shopping list memorized... "No, I don't think so. Nothing important."
"Just in case," Zico said. "I don't expect anything to happen, but just in case."
The other boy looked at him curiously. "Yeah, okay..." It was strange to see Zico so worried. After all, he was the toughest kid in school. He shouldn't care about things like that.
"Tell me," Zico went on as the sauntered down the street, which began to get busier as the afternoon shoppers started doing their daily errands. "What exactly do you want out of this?"
Jinyoung thought about it for some time. "I'm tired of everyone thinking I'm just some pretty boy, some goody-goody. I don't want to be so perfect anymore."
"That's a good start," Zico said with a nod, studying the other bluntly, his steady gaze making Jinyoung nervous. "What are you really like?"
Jinyoung came to a dead stop in the middle of the sidewalk and had to apologize when an older woman scolded him for being in the way. "I'm just me. I don't think there's anything wrong with getting work done and helping people out," he said with a shrug. "But that's not manly or cool or anything."
Zico stopped and yanked him into a side alley, the frown on his face interrupted by his lip ring. Jinyoung kind of wanted to touch it. "Wait. So you're like that at school because you think that's how people see you?"
The other boy's actions surprised Jinyoung and he stumbled into the alley. "I'm like that because it's who I am. I care about what people think of me. Maybe I want to be able to not care..."
Zico blinked at him, scratching at his head. "So... what's with these lessons?" he asked.
"I want to be tough, cool....I want people to respect me," Jinyoung muttered, reaching up to rake fingers through his hair in frustration. "Like you."
"People respect me because this is who I am," Zico said, and leaned against the wall. "Could you go to school looking like that and be comfortable, no matter what anyone else said?"
Jinyoung looked down at this uniform - shirt unbuttoned and untucked, tie still in Zico's pocket and had to fight back the urge to try to tidy himself up, his fingers already itching to do just that. He shook his head. "No."
"So be comfortable in your own skin," Zico said. "Who cares what they think - what I think? You tried something new. That's awesome. You know what you aren't now, at least one thing, and it's a start. Do what makes YOU happy."
"But I'm not cool...or manly, or anything like that," Jinyoung murmured. Zico must think he's an idiot...
Zico bit his lip, knowing Taewoon and Kyung would be laughing their butts off right now. "And you think I am," he said, half statement, half question.
Jinyoung blinked. "Well...yeah." As if the answer was obvious.
Zico frowned. "Cool depends on the definition," he said slowly. "I never wanted to be cool. I'm just me. As for manly, I'm not sure why you'd think that."
"You are sure of yourself - you don't take shit from anyone. No one walks over you, Zico." Jinyoung closed his eyes, remembering all the times when he'd back down to keep others happy, how he'd stepped in to stop fights.
"I'd be sure of myself even if I went to school with my uniform crisp and clean and perfect," Zico said. "The clothes don't actually matter. This is what I'm comfortable in." He gestured to his jeans and t-shirt, covered in a well worn jean jacket. "And people walk over me all the time. You just don't see it. Benefits of being a younger brother," he added with a scowl.
Jinyoung’s shoulders sagged. “So I guess I’m never going to be cool then.”
Zico shrugged. "I don't know," he said. "Be you. What more is there? Make the you that you are cool."
"Sorry to have wasted your time," Jinyoung murmured, offering the other a bow - it wasn't needed but it was just part of who Jung Jinyoung was - a little naive yet sweet, putting the feelings of others above his own. No, it wasn't cool but that's who he was.
"You didn't waste my time," Zico said, pulling the tie from his pocket. "Sorry it's a bit crumpled. It was nice to spend time with someone more... refined that I'm used to."
Jinyoung took the tie from Zico with a slightly bitter laugh, his fingertips brushing against the other boy's. "Refined isn't all it's cracked up to be."
"Neither's this," Zico said, gesturing to himself again. "Besides." He had to catch his breath at the jolt that went through him when their fingers brushed. "I figure I have what, two weeks of lessons for free before I start paying you to teach me how to be... more acceptable."
Jinyoung blinked, staring at the other in confusion. "You want lessons from me? But you are just fine the way you are."
Zico shrugged, uncomfortable. "Maybe," he said. "But I'm not sure it's who I am any more. I figure I'll try something else. Can't hurt, right?"
The other boy suddenly smiled, his eyes meeting Zico's. "I guess not....but you might want to tuck in your shirt."
Zico laughed, blushed, and started to do just that.