A Fool's Holiday (9/?)
Title: A Fool's Holiday (9/?)
Author: cocobaby347
Pairing: Nichkhun/Wooyoung
Rating: PG-13
Summary: College AU. Two haters of Valentine's Day meet in a bar. (I suck at summaries. I know.)
A/N: This was going to be two separate chapters, but I ended up deciding to post it as one.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 [Unlocked] | 8.5 | 10 | 11 | 12 (part 1) | 12 (part 2) | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 |
Wooyoung lay sprawled out on his bed with his face buried in a pillow, and his arms hanging limply over the sides. Remaining in this position for the past few days, he only got up to go to the bathroom. He had banned any type of thought; never had his brain activity been this low for such a long period of time. But this was better than dealing with an active brain that ran through memories that he didn’t want to relive ever. Out of nowhere, an all too familiar song started to blare out of his cell phone’s speaker.
I don’t think you’re ready, for this jelly-
That damn phone had been ringing nonstop for the last few days and it was really starting to grind Wooyoung’s gears.
I don’t think you’re ready, for this jelly-
This one ringtone had been plaguing his ears, in particular. He had specifically set it for one person and one person only. In retrospect it didn’t really matter much, it’s not like he had so many different people blowing up his phone that he needed to differentiate callers.
I don’t think you’re ready for this~
Wooyoung still didn’t know why he had chosen this song.
‘Cause my body’s too Bootylicious for you baaaabe.
Junho really needed to find a hobby and stop calling him.
Finally snapping, Wooyoung lifted his arm and felt around for the electronic annoyance on his nightstand.
“I’m sleeping.”
“For the past three days? You’re not an animal, Wooyoung; YOU DON’T HIBERNATE!”
Sighing, Wooyoung rolled on his back.
“My hearing is quite valuable to me, Junho; I would appreciate it if you didn’t scream senselessly in my ear-”
“I’ll show you senseless! That’s what you’re going to be after I beat you-”
“Please stop with the violence. It’s not a good look, Junho.” Wooyoung said in an emotionless tone.
Junho didn’t respond for a moment, and all Wooyoung could hear was deep breathing.
“I’m coming to your apartment, and when I get there, I’m going to beat the shit out of you until I feel better. I don’t care if I’m younger than you, Wooyoung.”
Wooyoung sighed again and started to respond, but Junho cut him off before he could even start.
“And you’re going to open up that door, because if you don’t, I will smash it down and make you pay for the damages.”
Junho hung up on him and Wooyoung rolled back over on his stomach. Junho lived in the dorms. Normally, it took about twenty-five minutes to walk between the two friends’ residences. Even if Junho power walked, Wooyoung still had at least ten minutes before he showed up at his door.
Five minutes later a thunderous pounding caused Wooyoung to start.
“OPEN UP THE DOOR SO I CAN BEAT YOUR ASS.” The wood door and thin walks did little to muffle Junho’s voice. Groaning, Wooyoung rolled onto his floor and landed in a big heap. He didn’t even know if he had enough energy to make it to his door. A remarkably raucous thud that caused his small safe haven to rattle gave him an incentive to get up. It looks like Junho wasn’t kidding about breaking down his door, and he really couldn’t afford to pay for that.
Getting to the door was the easy part (even if he did feel a bit light headed); it was finding the right timing in opening it that was hard. He stood in front of the entrance to his apartment for about three minutes trying to decide if he should open it up gradually, or swing it open immediately. And what about waiting for him to stop hammering at the entrance to his apartment? Should he wait for a break in Junho’s rambunctious beating of his door? But then again it didn’t seem like he was going to tire anytime soon.
Wooyoung couldn’t help but love Junho at this moment. He served to be a great distraction. What a friend.
“I KNOW YOU HEAR ME YOU CRAPPY EXCUSE FOR A HYUNG. OPEN UP THIS DOOR RIGHT NOW SO I CAN CHECK TO MAKE SURE YOU’RE STILL ALIVE SO I CAN KILL YOU!”
…It would probably be better just to open it up now.
Steeling himself for the worst, Wooyoung grabbed the doorknob, unlocked the door, and swung it open. Junho was in mid-knock and stumbled forward.
“Happy now?”
Wooyoung thought he saw Junho’s left eye twitch.
“Happy? Happy? Wooyoung, you haven’t answered your phone or gone to any practices for the past three days.” Junho took a deep breath to calm himself. “So no, I am not happy.”
He stepped inside past Wooyoung and shut the door behind him.
Raising a finger to his face, Junho said, “I should kill you right now.”
“But you won’t,” Wooyoung said as he pushed Junho’s hand away and walked around him. “You’re too nice, so calm down. What’s your problem anyway?”
“Oh, I don’t know, maybe one of my friends suddenly disappears off the face of the earth and I’m stressing out because I don’t know if he’s dead or not.” Junho said sardonically. He frowned and started walking after Wooyoung. “Dammit, I’ve been worried sick about you, man.”
“I’m just…tired. You know how school is.” Wooyoung opened up a cabinet above the sink and started searching for a glass. Pushing some plates around, Wooyoung puffed out his cheeks in frustration. When was the last time he organized this crap? He was still looking around when Junho’s hand wrapped around his wrist.
“Wooyoung, we haven’t even been in session for a week yet.” Junho yanked Wooyoung’s hand out of the cupboard and spun him around to face him. “I’m not stupid, something’s up.”
The boy in question looked down at his feet and shrugged. No matter how close you are to somebody, there are just some things that you don’t discuss with that person. And for Wooyoung, this was that thing. Kissing another dude is one thing, maybe even making out with one is acceptable, but…but messing around when he was fully sober and in total control of his own actions was just…he didn’t even want to think about it. Let alone talk about it with his best friend whom he had no measure on how he might react.
This wasn’t high school anymore. He had rules now.
He shook his head and gave Junho the brightest smile he could muster. “I’m fine. Really!”
It wasn’t a surprise when Junho raised an eyebrow. He dropped Wooyoung’s wrist and shrugged. “Whatever, you don’t have to tell me anything. Just let your troubles eat away at your being until you’ve withered away both mentally and physically into a void husk-”
“Stop being so melodramatic. You see, this is why I tell you to not hang out with theater geeks.”
“Hey, they’re nice people! You’re just mad because you don’t have any friends.” Slinging an arm around Wooyoung’s shoulders, he added, “And I wouldn’t have to if someone didn’t abandon me.”
“How days three days count as ‘abandonment’?” Wooyoung shimmied from under Junho’s arm and sat down at the table. Being a shut-in meant he didn’t move much. He wasn’t used to standing up for more than a few minutes.
“You didn’t contact me; I don’t know what happened to you.” Junho made his way to the sink in peered inside it. “There aren’t even any dishes, and I know you weren’t actually doing them. This is why I’m worried, I’m not even sure you’ve been eating!”
Wooyoung coughed timidly. “Of course I’ve been eating it’s not like I have a death wish or something.”
“Uh huh. So what’ve you been eating, then?”
“You know…food and stuff.”
Junho opened up his trashcan to find a huge pile of wrappers. Curious, he picked one up to examine it.
“…All you’ve eaten for the past three days is ice cream?”
Wooyoung winced and rubbed the back of his head. “Uh…easy preparation?”
“That’s it; I’m taking you out of here.”
Junho grabbed Wooyoung by the arm and started dragging him towards the door. Wooyoung resisted the best he could.
“I don’t wanna,” Wooyoung whined as he pulled back. “I’m not even dressed yet, anyway!”
“We’re going to the caff, Wooyoung. Nobody’s going to care if you’re wearing pajamas.” Junho grunted as he continued to yank Wooyoung’s arm.
The game of tug-of-war stretched on but Junho ended up winning when he jerked his opponent’s arm with an abrupt burst of strength and Wooyoung came tumbling forward. Junho caught his friend and wrapped an arm around his waist.
“I hate you.” Wooyoung said, his voice muffled by Junho’s chest.
“There, there,” Junho said sweetly as he patted his head, “I love you too.”
-------
Wooyoung stared down at the plastic tray of food in his hands and scowled. His stomach hadn’t stopped growling since they had entered the refectory.
Junho received a sudden call and ran off after mentioning something about introducing him to somebody. Hence, Wooyoung was standing by himself against the wall feeling extremely lame and increasingly hungry after every minute. His lack of a snazzy outfit just made his whole situation worse. And Junho hadn’t even let him grab an ice cream bar for dessert since he was paying for the meal. Wooyoung’s scowl deepened when he looked at the tiny bowl of fruit salad on his platter. The little grade-skipper got on his nerves sometimes.
“Wow, that’s the most welcoming face I’ve seen in a long time,” a voice said amusedly.
Wooyoung sighed and tried to think happy thoughts. He was not in the mood for random assholes today. Not that he was ever in the mood, but specifically not today. Whoever owned that long pair of legs had chosen the wrong pajama-clad person to mess with.
“Look,” Wooyoung raised his eyes to redirect his glare. “If you’ve got a pro…blem…” he stopped in the middle of his comment when they reached the face of the “random asshole”. The only thing that kept him from dropping his food was the fact that Junho probably wasn’t going to pay for more, and Wooyoung was an extremely broke college student without a meal plan.
“I didn’t quite catch that.”
What were the chances of Nichkhun eating lunch at the exact same time he was? By the time this day was over, Junho was going to pay for dragging him out of his home. Most likely by death if Wooyoung had his way.
Wooyoung pressed himself farther up against the wall and swallowed thickly. His throat quickly ran dry and his brain dumped any smart-ass comebacks he may have used in this situation. It was obvious he wasn’t expecting to come face to face with Nichkhun this soon. He still hadn’t prepared for this inevitable meeting, and now he was going to have to improvise. Great.
“I uh, I was just talking to myself.” Which was (of course) a lie, but it’s not like he had anything better to come up with. Wooyoung couldn’t have constructed that excuse any more poorly if he had tried. “Sorry.”
“That’s a little weird.” He had a slight smile as he said this, but Wooyoung still felt a little insulted. Like Nichkhun could even talk. He sure as hell wasn’t having breakdowns and randomly molesting random people, unlike Nichkhun. Weird was an understatement for that kind of behavior. Crap like that was just downright abnormal.
Thankfully, Junho showed up before Wooyoung was forced to somehow carry on a conversation. Looking behind him, Wooyoung could see a huge, friendly-looking senior. Why Junho had someone like that trailing after him confused the hell out of Wooyoung, but anything was better than his current predicament.
“Sorry about that,” Junho said as he clasped his hands together in apology, “Chansung’s a freshman and doesn’t know his way around campus yet.” The so-called “freshman” waved cheerily and laughed sheepishly.
Again, Wooyoung only managed to keep his food from having a rather unceremonious meeting with the floor by reflecting on his own poverty. But surprisingly, Wooyoung still didn’t regret spending his budget on filling his freezer with ice cream, but he did wish he had saved a little extra. Most of his stash was gone and he didn’t have any money to buy more. He couldn’t help but pout slightly at that revelation.
Anyway, Wooyoung blinked and turned his attention back to the seriously old looking freshman, and then directed an “explanation please?” look at Junho. He looked between Wooyoung, Nichkhun, and Chansung, not sure whether or not to ask about Nichkhun, or grant Wooyoung’s request first.
“Well,” Junho took another cursory glance back at Chansung. “He’s a new Dance recruit-it’s a long story, I’ll tell you when we sit down.” His eyes flickered to Nichkhun and he paused. “So…introduction please?”
Wooyoung stiffened and took an intense interest in the number of sesame seeds on his sandwich bun. “This is, um…Nichkhun,” Wooyoung mumbled timorously, “H-He’s my-” and froze. There really wasn’t a title for his…relationship with the other man.
“I’m Wooyoung’s friend,” Nichkhun schmoozed as he leaned forward and shook Junho’s hand. “We’re in the same Korean History class.”
Uneasiness washed over Wooyoung as he looked between Nichkhun’s bright smile and Junho’s crinkled eyes. He remembered that look, it was the same look Junho gave him the first day they met, and countless other people. Wooyoung didn’t get his obsession with making everyone like him and collecting friends like some people did ceramic cats. It didn’t bother him normally, but today wasn’t exactly normal.
“In any case, it was nice to meet you, Nichkhun.”
Wooyoung cringed at the way he said his name.
“Likewise, Junho.”
Even though he wasn’t looking, he could hear the grin in Nichkhun’s voice. He wanted to barf.
“Now then!” Wooyoung announced suddenly. “This is nice and all but we have to get a table and stuff so…yeah.” He balanced his tray carefully in one hand and snatched Junho’s hand out of Nichkhun’s grip with the other. “Let’s go, Junho.” He grunted and started to drag Junho back toward Chansung so the newfound trio could find a place to eat. ‘And to prevent anymore of their fucking flirting,’ Wooyoung thought bitterly.
“You could eat with us!” Nichkhun called out. Wooyoung cursed under his breath and tried to think of something quickly. He didn’t want Junho to jump on this train; he desperately needed for Junho not to jump on this train.
“That’s okay, but we wouldn’t want to intrude. I mean, your friends probably don’t want a bunch of underclassmen just plopping down at their table unwanted.”
“I’m sure they wouldn’t mind, they already know you. And,” Nichkhun added thoughtfully, “I know all of you know Jay.” Wooyoung didn’t miss the victorious air hidden in Nichkhun’s smile. Wooyoung chanced a look at Junho and Chansung; they were clearly enticed by that information. Nichkhun and Wooyoung both knew who just won that battle.
“Nichkhun is one of Jaebeom-hyung’s roommates.” A defeated Wooyoung explained to a slightly puzzled looking Junho. Wooyoung felt betrayed when Junho’s face lit up.
Junho snatched his hand back and said, “Chansung and I’ll go get lunch and meet up with you two later.” The smile Junho flashed at him as he led Chansung away felt like a well-placed stab in his back. They watched as the other the two boys left, Wooyoung sending telepathic distress signals the whole time. Junho never turned around once.
What a shitty friend.
“So,” Wooyoung went on edge as soon as he heard Nichkhun’s voice. “Are we going to stand here all day?”
“Lead the way, friend.”
Wooyoung kept his line of sight directed down toward his food and followed Nichkhun to the table by his legs…and sometimes ass when his eyes slipped. He finally looked up when the long pair of legs (and ass) stopped moving. All three of Nichkhun’s roommates greeted him warmly, and Wooyoung bowed to each of them in turn making a point of not looking at Nichkhun.
“Where’ve you been, Wooyoung,” Jaebeom asked as he slid in a seat across from the four. “We’ve missed you at practice.”
“I’ve been a little…sick.”
Wooyoung ignored a completely audible cough that came from Nichkhun’s direction.
“Oh really? Is there something going around?” Junsu asked.
“No just a stomach bug. I probably ate something bad and got some annoying parasite that won’t leave me alone.” Wooyoung was sure to throw a pointed look at Nichkhun when he said the last part.
“That sure sucks.” Taecyeon said through a mouthful of something. Wooyoung wasn’t exactly intent on staring into his mouth to figure out what.
“The worst part is that I thought it had gone away, but as soon as I got some food today it started bugging the hell out of me again.” Wooyoung tried to keep his face as serious as possible. He was having a little bit too much fun playing this game.
“You should really get that checked out.” Nichkhun said opposite of him. He furrowed his eyebrows (that were unusually thick, Wooyoung noted) in worry, but he held up his bottle of water next to his mouth so no one else could see his smile except for Wooyoung.
“You’re right; maybe I’ll get something that’ll help me kill it.” Wooyoung responded brightly.
Nichkhun’s smile faltered a little.
‘Ha ha, who’s winning now BITCH.’
Wooyoung hoped Nichkhun could somehow read his thoughts.
Their mini-showdown was interrupted when Junho and Chansung showed up. Mostly by Chansung since his overflowing tray of food served to be quite distracting. Everybody looked down at what was in front of them and then back to Chansung to compare. It wasn’t an overstatement to say that all five students that were sitting down at the table suddenly felt inadequate as men.
“…Holy shit, what are you!?”
Chansung looked at Jaebeom innocently when he sat down and asked, “Me?”
“Yes you! What the hell is up with that...that monstrosity in your hands?”
Chansung looked to Junho in question who shrugged. “It looks normal to me.”
Wooyoung turned to look at his friend who took a seat next to him. “What the fu-” he glanced at Jaebeom. “Heck do you mean by normal.” Wooyoung susurrated.
Junho looked at the smorgasbord on his other side and shrugged again. “That’s about what he normally eats, I guess.” Junho whispered back. “It’s not like I’m not used to people with weird eating habits, Mr. Snow Miser. I would never ask what you would do for a Klondike Bar.”
“…Touché.”
“Seriously though, do you usually eat this much?” Junsu sounded slightly awed but sickened at the possibility.
Chansung looked down and scratched the back of his head, “Um, not really.” The rest of the table let out audible sighs. “I had a snack a little bit earlier so I’m not that hungry. I usually eat a lot more than this.” He smiled obliviously as everybody but Junho looked at him in shock.
“I think he’s a bear.” Wooyoung heard Taecyeon whisper.
Jaebeom shook his head slowly and just stared at Chansung, not quite sure what to say. And Jaebeom almost always had something to say.
“I-It’s nice to meet you.” Nichkhun said as he tried to save the conversation. “So where are you planning to go after you graduate this year?”
“Oh, I’m a freshman.”
It was a surprise no one fell out of their chair.
“The fuck!?”
“Yeah, I get that a lot.”
“Good god,” Junsu groaned. “Now that we’re past that, I’m guessing we should introduce ourselves, now.”
His three roommates looked grateful for the diversion from the mind-fuck that was Chansung.
After everybody was acquainted, Jaebeom was pleased to find out Chansung was part of his class (“I knew something about you was vaguely and oddly familiar!”). Wooyoung began to relax as everyone started to converse and he was allowed to melt into the background. It was unnerving that Nichkhun was sitting right in front of him, but Wooyoung refused to look up from his lunch. Out of sight, out of mind, right?
“…dipped out before we even came back. What was that even about, Wooyoung?”
“Huh?” his head jerked up to look at Jaebeom.
“You know, that day Nichkhun went bat-shit crazy and Taecyeon’s dumb-ass nearly killed him-”
“What?”
“Don’t ask, Junho.”
“-what happened? By the time we got back Nichkhun was awake and you were gone.”
Wooyoung nervously noted that everyone had turned their attention to him, including Nichkhun. He cleared his throat. “I had an emergency to attend to and he was awake and said it was okay to leave so I…left. Sorry about that by the way.”
“Don’t sweat it; I’m surprised you decided to stay behind with him at all. I sure as hell didn’t trust his crazy ass. He probably did something weird to chase you away.” Jaebeom laughed, with the rest of the guys joining in. Wooyoung chuckled tensely, and shook his head.
“Of c-course not! I just feel bad that I had to leave him alone.” Wooyoung nearly stabbed himself with his fork when his voice cracked. Thank goodness no one noticed. Well, almost no one. Nichkhun was too busy enjoying his fidgeting to say anything. It was kind of cute.
“I never thanked you for that, Wooyoung.” Nichkhun leaned forward and simpered, “You took great care of me.”
And then he did the unthinkable.
He winked at Wooyoung.
The smug little bastard fucking winked.
Wooyoung stood up abruptly. “I have to-uh-b-bathroom!” he stammered before running away.
To his luck, the restroom was empty when he entered. Wooyoung clutched onto the edge of the sink and leaned over it, trying to catch his breath from the short sprint. He looked up in the mirror and his face was flushed, though he was pretty sure it was like that even before he dashed away from his lunch table. Fucking bastard.
“What the hell is wrong with me?” He looked in mirror trying to find an answer, but all he saw was a flustered, distressed boy who obviously had enough problems of his own and didn’t have the time to deal with anything else. If only he hadn’t picked up that notebook-that fucking notebook was at fault. Wooyoung groaned and clutched his fists tighter, his knuckles turning a white comparable to the porcelain of which he was abusing. Why was Nichkhun even in that class anyway, he was a junior for Christ’s sake!? He let his head drop forward again.
“I need help.” Wooyoung groaned to himself.
“Everybody else thinks so too.”
Wooyoung looked up and in the reflection of the mirror he could see Nichkhun leaning up against the tiled wall with his arms crossed against his chest.
“Somehow, I’m not surprised to see you.” Wooyoung said through gritted teeth.
“Your friends were worried when you ran off like that. It would only be fair if I went to check on you, you did do a favor for me after all.” Nichkhun explained nonchalantly. “Quite the favor,” he added as an afterthought.
A bubble of rage welled up inside of Wooyoung and he felt himself begin to snap. He turned around and yelled, “Stop playing with me, you asshole!”
“That’s no way to talk to someone older than you.”
“Screw you.”
“Really, Wooyoung,” Nichkhun sighed, “This being angry thing really doesn’t suit you. You’re a lot cuter when you blush.”
Wooyoung stepped up to Nichkhun, put his hand on his chest, and shoved. Really hard.
“You don’t know jack-shit about me, so back the fuck off.”
In response, Nichkhun grabbed his wrist and rammed him against the wall. It hurt when his back hit the tile, but Wooyoung wasn’t going to let him know that.
“I don’t know anything about you?” Nichkhun asked, as he grasped Wooyoung’s other wrist. He pressed them up against the wall next to his head. “I know a lot more than you think, you little shit.”
Wooyoung laughed. “Oh really now? Let’s see what you got, dick-wad.”
“I know,” Nichkhun said, his leg sliding in between Wooyoung’s. “That if you’re bitten on a certain spot on your collar bone, you get so horny it’s unbelievable. I also happen to know where that little spot is.” He intoned while he grinded his thigh into Wooyoung. The trapped boy bit down on his lip and turned away from Nichkhun.
“I know you always turn your head away when you get embarrassed, and that you get embarrassed easily when you’re…intimate with somebody.” Wooyoung felt his face go hot when Nichkhun pressed even closer to him and his voice dropped even lower. “And when you fuck around you always cover your mouth so nobody can hear you moan as if you’re ashamed that you’re enjoying it. But really, I don’t get why; you make the most adorable noises.”
Wooyoung could feel every breath Nichkhun took and perfectly hear every word he murmured into his ear. How he wished that he didn’t. Wooyoung tried to pull his hands of Nichkhun’s grip, but it was a lot stronger than last time. He wasn’t getting out of this until Nichkhun finished with him.
“I know you find an odd sense of enjoyment in getting your mouth fucked, and you also just happen to give really great head. It makes me wonder what you do in your spare time,” he chuckled darkly.
“You’re such a dick.” Wooyoung was trembling and felt completely humiliated. He was even more upset that he couldn’t keep his voice from shaking.
Nichkhun paused and put a little bit more space between them. “I know that you have this extremely unhealthy, but cute obsession with ice cream,” he said, his voice and grip getting gentler. “I know that you’re smart and witty, I know that…that you’re lonely, and the reason why you normally stay distanced from people is because you become attached easily, and you’re afraid of feeling that hurt that comes with losing somebody.”
It would be a lie to say Wooyoung wasn’t perplexed as hell. There were so many questions swirling around in his head. How did he know all this crap? Where was going with this? Why was he choosing to say all of this now?
“What…? H-How-”
“No, I’m not a stalker. I just-” Nichkhun stopped and brought Wooyoung’s hands together to press them against his chest. “You’re easy to read.”
He let finally Wooyoung go and took a full step back. “And I know that-that I’m…sorry. I was really messed up that day and I shouldn’t have taken it out on you.”
It took a moment for Nichkhun’s apology to register in Wooyoung’s brain. He blinked and look down at his hands, and then back to Nichkhun. He was still pissed, but puzzled enough to the point where he could ignore it. After minutes of staring at Nichkhun in confusion, Wooyoung decided that he was going to be a mature individual, and accept his request for forgiveness. By punching him in the arm. And throwing all of his weight into it.
“Ow!”
“You’re lucky I didn’t hit you in the face,” Wooyoung said as he shook out his hand. His knuckles stung, somewhat. “Damn that kind of hurt, I can’t even imagine what you’re going through. That’s going to be bitch when you wake up tomorrow.”
“Thanks for the concern,” Nichkhun said sarcastically while rubbing the sore on his arm. “So…?”
“Yeah we’re cool…I guess. But I swear if you try anything, I’ll knee you in your junk next time.”
Wooyoung was still irritated, and the fact that he could still feel the blush on his face only served to make him even bitterer. But when Nichkhun laughed and stuck out his hand for him to shake, a little bit of that anger slipped away. Everybody has bad days, right? There was a chance Nichkhun really was being sincere. So Wooyoung returned the gesture, and let himself smile, just a little.
And maybe-just maybe-it helped that the feeling of Nichkhun’s hand in his own really wasn’t that bad.
If he was completely honest, it actually felt quite nice.
<< >>
Author: cocobaby347
Pairing: Nichkhun/Wooyoung
Rating: PG-13
Summary: College AU. Two haters of Valentine's Day meet in a bar. (I suck at summaries. I know.)
A/N: This was going to be two separate chapters, but I ended up deciding to post it as one.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 [Unlocked] | 8.5 | 10 | 11 | 12 (part 1) | 12 (part 2) | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 |
Wooyoung lay sprawled out on his bed with his face buried in a pillow, and his arms hanging limply over the sides. Remaining in this position for the past few days, he only got up to go to the bathroom. He had banned any type of thought; never had his brain activity been this low for such a long period of time. But this was better than dealing with an active brain that ran through memories that he didn’t want to relive ever. Out of nowhere, an all too familiar song started to blare out of his cell phone’s speaker.
I don’t think you’re ready, for this jelly-
That damn phone had been ringing nonstop for the last few days and it was really starting to grind Wooyoung’s gears.
I don’t think you’re ready, for this jelly-
This one ringtone had been plaguing his ears, in particular. He had specifically set it for one person and one person only. In retrospect it didn’t really matter much, it’s not like he had so many different people blowing up his phone that he needed to differentiate callers.
I don’t think you’re ready for this~
Wooyoung still didn’t know why he had chosen this song.
‘Cause my body’s too Bootylicious for you baaaabe.
Junho really needed to find a hobby and stop calling him.
Finally snapping, Wooyoung lifted his arm and felt around for the electronic annoyance on his nightstand.
“I’m sleeping.”
“For the past three days? You’re not an animal, Wooyoung; YOU DON’T HIBERNATE!”
Sighing, Wooyoung rolled on his back.
“My hearing is quite valuable to me, Junho; I would appreciate it if you didn’t scream senselessly in my ear-”
“I’ll show you senseless! That’s what you’re going to be after I beat you-”
“Please stop with the violence. It’s not a good look, Junho.” Wooyoung said in an emotionless tone.
Junho didn’t respond for a moment, and all Wooyoung could hear was deep breathing.
“I’m coming to your apartment, and when I get there, I’m going to beat the shit out of you until I feel better. I don’t care if I’m younger than you, Wooyoung.”
Wooyoung sighed again and started to respond, but Junho cut him off before he could even start.
“And you’re going to open up that door, because if you don’t, I will smash it down and make you pay for the damages.”
Junho hung up on him and Wooyoung rolled back over on his stomach. Junho lived in the dorms. Normally, it took about twenty-five minutes to walk between the two friends’ residences. Even if Junho power walked, Wooyoung still had at least ten minutes before he showed up at his door.
Five minutes later a thunderous pounding caused Wooyoung to start.
“OPEN UP THE DOOR SO I CAN BEAT YOUR ASS.” The wood door and thin walks did little to muffle Junho’s voice. Groaning, Wooyoung rolled onto his floor and landed in a big heap. He didn’t even know if he had enough energy to make it to his door. A remarkably raucous thud that caused his small safe haven to rattle gave him an incentive to get up. It looks like Junho wasn’t kidding about breaking down his door, and he really couldn’t afford to pay for that.
Getting to the door was the easy part (even if he did feel a bit light headed); it was finding the right timing in opening it that was hard. He stood in front of the entrance to his apartment for about three minutes trying to decide if he should open it up gradually, or swing it open immediately. And what about waiting for him to stop hammering at the entrance to his apartment? Should he wait for a break in Junho’s rambunctious beating of his door? But then again it didn’t seem like he was going to tire anytime soon.
Wooyoung couldn’t help but love Junho at this moment. He served to be a great distraction. What a friend.
“I KNOW YOU HEAR ME YOU CRAPPY EXCUSE FOR A HYUNG. OPEN UP THIS DOOR RIGHT NOW SO I CAN CHECK TO MAKE SURE YOU’RE STILL ALIVE SO I CAN KILL YOU!”
…It would probably be better just to open it up now.
Steeling himself for the worst, Wooyoung grabbed the doorknob, unlocked the door, and swung it open. Junho was in mid-knock and stumbled forward.
“Happy now?”
Wooyoung thought he saw Junho’s left eye twitch.
“Happy? Happy? Wooyoung, you haven’t answered your phone or gone to any practices for the past three days.” Junho took a deep breath to calm himself. “So no, I am not happy.”
He stepped inside past Wooyoung and shut the door behind him.
Raising a finger to his face, Junho said, “I should kill you right now.”
“But you won’t,” Wooyoung said as he pushed Junho’s hand away and walked around him. “You’re too nice, so calm down. What’s your problem anyway?”
“Oh, I don’t know, maybe one of my friends suddenly disappears off the face of the earth and I’m stressing out because I don’t know if he’s dead or not.” Junho said sardonically. He frowned and started walking after Wooyoung. “Dammit, I’ve been worried sick about you, man.”
“I’m just…tired. You know how school is.” Wooyoung opened up a cabinet above the sink and started searching for a glass. Pushing some plates around, Wooyoung puffed out his cheeks in frustration. When was the last time he organized this crap? He was still looking around when Junho’s hand wrapped around his wrist.
“Wooyoung, we haven’t even been in session for a week yet.” Junho yanked Wooyoung’s hand out of the cupboard and spun him around to face him. “I’m not stupid, something’s up.”
The boy in question looked down at his feet and shrugged. No matter how close you are to somebody, there are just some things that you don’t discuss with that person. And for Wooyoung, this was that thing. Kissing another dude is one thing, maybe even making out with one is acceptable, but…but messing around when he was fully sober and in total control of his own actions was just…he didn’t even want to think about it. Let alone talk about it with his best friend whom he had no measure on how he might react.
This wasn’t high school anymore. He had rules now.
He shook his head and gave Junho the brightest smile he could muster. “I’m fine. Really!”
It wasn’t a surprise when Junho raised an eyebrow. He dropped Wooyoung’s wrist and shrugged. “Whatever, you don’t have to tell me anything. Just let your troubles eat away at your being until you’ve withered away both mentally and physically into a void husk-”
“Stop being so melodramatic. You see, this is why I tell you to not hang out with theater geeks.”
“Hey, they’re nice people! You’re just mad because you don’t have any friends.” Slinging an arm around Wooyoung’s shoulders, he added, “And I wouldn’t have to if someone didn’t abandon me.”
“How days three days count as ‘abandonment’?” Wooyoung shimmied from under Junho’s arm and sat down at the table. Being a shut-in meant he didn’t move much. He wasn’t used to standing up for more than a few minutes.
“You didn’t contact me; I don’t know what happened to you.” Junho made his way to the sink in peered inside it. “There aren’t even any dishes, and I know you weren’t actually doing them. This is why I’m worried, I’m not even sure you’ve been eating!”
Wooyoung coughed timidly. “Of course I’ve been eating it’s not like I have a death wish or something.”
“Uh huh. So what’ve you been eating, then?”
“You know…food and stuff.”
Junho opened up his trashcan to find a huge pile of wrappers. Curious, he picked one up to examine it.
“…All you’ve eaten for the past three days is ice cream?”
Wooyoung winced and rubbed the back of his head. “Uh…easy preparation?”
“That’s it; I’m taking you out of here.”
Junho grabbed Wooyoung by the arm and started dragging him towards the door. Wooyoung resisted the best he could.
“I don’t wanna,” Wooyoung whined as he pulled back. “I’m not even dressed yet, anyway!”
“We’re going to the caff, Wooyoung. Nobody’s going to care if you’re wearing pajamas.” Junho grunted as he continued to yank Wooyoung’s arm.
The game of tug-of-war stretched on but Junho ended up winning when he jerked his opponent’s arm with an abrupt burst of strength and Wooyoung came tumbling forward. Junho caught his friend and wrapped an arm around his waist.
“I hate you.” Wooyoung said, his voice muffled by Junho’s chest.
“There, there,” Junho said sweetly as he patted his head, “I love you too.”
-------
Wooyoung stared down at the plastic tray of food in his hands and scowled. His stomach hadn’t stopped growling since they had entered the refectory.
Junho received a sudden call and ran off after mentioning something about introducing him to somebody. Hence, Wooyoung was standing by himself against the wall feeling extremely lame and increasingly hungry after every minute. His lack of a snazzy outfit just made his whole situation worse. And Junho hadn’t even let him grab an ice cream bar for dessert since he was paying for the meal. Wooyoung’s scowl deepened when he looked at the tiny bowl of fruit salad on his platter. The little grade-skipper got on his nerves sometimes.
“Wow, that’s the most welcoming face I’ve seen in a long time,” a voice said amusedly.
Wooyoung sighed and tried to think happy thoughts. He was not in the mood for random assholes today. Not that he was ever in the mood, but specifically not today. Whoever owned that long pair of legs had chosen the wrong pajama-clad person to mess with.
“Look,” Wooyoung raised his eyes to redirect his glare. “If you’ve got a pro…blem…” he stopped in the middle of his comment when they reached the face of the “random asshole”. The only thing that kept him from dropping his food was the fact that Junho probably wasn’t going to pay for more, and Wooyoung was an extremely broke college student without a meal plan.
“I didn’t quite catch that.”
What were the chances of Nichkhun eating lunch at the exact same time he was? By the time this day was over, Junho was going to pay for dragging him out of his home. Most likely by death if Wooyoung had his way.
Wooyoung pressed himself farther up against the wall and swallowed thickly. His throat quickly ran dry and his brain dumped any smart-ass comebacks he may have used in this situation. It was obvious he wasn’t expecting to come face to face with Nichkhun this soon. He still hadn’t prepared for this inevitable meeting, and now he was going to have to improvise. Great.
“I uh, I was just talking to myself.” Which was (of course) a lie, but it’s not like he had anything better to come up with. Wooyoung couldn’t have constructed that excuse any more poorly if he had tried. “Sorry.”
“That’s a little weird.” He had a slight smile as he said this, but Wooyoung still felt a little insulted. Like Nichkhun could even talk. He sure as hell wasn’t having breakdowns and randomly molesting random people, unlike Nichkhun. Weird was an understatement for that kind of behavior. Crap like that was just downright abnormal.
Thankfully, Junho showed up before Wooyoung was forced to somehow carry on a conversation. Looking behind him, Wooyoung could see a huge, friendly-looking senior. Why Junho had someone like that trailing after him confused the hell out of Wooyoung, but anything was better than his current predicament.
“Sorry about that,” Junho said as he clasped his hands together in apology, “Chansung’s a freshman and doesn’t know his way around campus yet.” The so-called “freshman” waved cheerily and laughed sheepishly.
Again, Wooyoung only managed to keep his food from having a rather unceremonious meeting with the floor by reflecting on his own poverty. But surprisingly, Wooyoung still didn’t regret spending his budget on filling his freezer with ice cream, but he did wish he had saved a little extra. Most of his stash was gone and he didn’t have any money to buy more. He couldn’t help but pout slightly at that revelation.
Anyway, Wooyoung blinked and turned his attention back to the seriously old looking freshman, and then directed an “explanation please?” look at Junho. He looked between Wooyoung, Nichkhun, and Chansung, not sure whether or not to ask about Nichkhun, or grant Wooyoung’s request first.
“Well,” Junho took another cursory glance back at Chansung. “He’s a new Dance recruit-it’s a long story, I’ll tell you when we sit down.” His eyes flickered to Nichkhun and he paused. “So…introduction please?”
Wooyoung stiffened and took an intense interest in the number of sesame seeds on his sandwich bun. “This is, um…Nichkhun,” Wooyoung mumbled timorously, “H-He’s my-” and froze. There really wasn’t a title for his…relationship with the other man.
“I’m Wooyoung’s friend,” Nichkhun schmoozed as he leaned forward and shook Junho’s hand. “We’re in the same Korean History class.”
Uneasiness washed over Wooyoung as he looked between Nichkhun’s bright smile and Junho’s crinkled eyes. He remembered that look, it was the same look Junho gave him the first day they met, and countless other people. Wooyoung didn’t get his obsession with making everyone like him and collecting friends like some people did ceramic cats. It didn’t bother him normally, but today wasn’t exactly normal.
“In any case, it was nice to meet you, Nichkhun.”
Wooyoung cringed at the way he said his name.
“Likewise, Junho.”
Even though he wasn’t looking, he could hear the grin in Nichkhun’s voice. He wanted to barf.
“Now then!” Wooyoung announced suddenly. “This is nice and all but we have to get a table and stuff so…yeah.” He balanced his tray carefully in one hand and snatched Junho’s hand out of Nichkhun’s grip with the other. “Let’s go, Junho.” He grunted and started to drag Junho back toward Chansung so the newfound trio could find a place to eat. ‘And to prevent anymore of their fucking flirting,’ Wooyoung thought bitterly.
“You could eat with us!” Nichkhun called out. Wooyoung cursed under his breath and tried to think of something quickly. He didn’t want Junho to jump on this train; he desperately needed for Junho not to jump on this train.
“That’s okay, but we wouldn’t want to intrude. I mean, your friends probably don’t want a bunch of underclassmen just plopping down at their table unwanted.”
“I’m sure they wouldn’t mind, they already know you. And,” Nichkhun added thoughtfully, “I know all of you know Jay.” Wooyoung didn’t miss the victorious air hidden in Nichkhun’s smile. Wooyoung chanced a look at Junho and Chansung; they were clearly enticed by that information. Nichkhun and Wooyoung both knew who just won that battle.
“Nichkhun is one of Jaebeom-hyung’s roommates.” A defeated Wooyoung explained to a slightly puzzled looking Junho. Wooyoung felt betrayed when Junho’s face lit up.
Junho snatched his hand back and said, “Chansung and I’ll go get lunch and meet up with you two later.” The smile Junho flashed at him as he led Chansung away felt like a well-placed stab in his back. They watched as the other the two boys left, Wooyoung sending telepathic distress signals the whole time. Junho never turned around once.
What a shitty friend.
“So,” Wooyoung went on edge as soon as he heard Nichkhun’s voice. “Are we going to stand here all day?”
“Lead the way, friend.”
Wooyoung kept his line of sight directed down toward his food and followed Nichkhun to the table by his legs…and sometimes ass when his eyes slipped. He finally looked up when the long pair of legs (and ass) stopped moving. All three of Nichkhun’s roommates greeted him warmly, and Wooyoung bowed to each of them in turn making a point of not looking at Nichkhun.
“Where’ve you been, Wooyoung,” Jaebeom asked as he slid in a seat across from the four. “We’ve missed you at practice.”
“I’ve been a little…sick.”
Wooyoung ignored a completely audible cough that came from Nichkhun’s direction.
“Oh really? Is there something going around?” Junsu asked.
“No just a stomach bug. I probably ate something bad and got some annoying parasite that won’t leave me alone.” Wooyoung was sure to throw a pointed look at Nichkhun when he said the last part.
“That sure sucks.” Taecyeon said through a mouthful of something. Wooyoung wasn’t exactly intent on staring into his mouth to figure out what.
“The worst part is that I thought it had gone away, but as soon as I got some food today it started bugging the hell out of me again.” Wooyoung tried to keep his face as serious as possible. He was having a little bit too much fun playing this game.
“You should really get that checked out.” Nichkhun said opposite of him. He furrowed his eyebrows (that were unusually thick, Wooyoung noted) in worry, but he held up his bottle of water next to his mouth so no one else could see his smile except for Wooyoung.
“You’re right; maybe I’ll get something that’ll help me kill it.” Wooyoung responded brightly.
Nichkhun’s smile faltered a little.
‘Ha ha, who’s winning now BITCH.’
Wooyoung hoped Nichkhun could somehow read his thoughts.
Their mini-showdown was interrupted when Junho and Chansung showed up. Mostly by Chansung since his overflowing tray of food served to be quite distracting. Everybody looked down at what was in front of them and then back to Chansung to compare. It wasn’t an overstatement to say that all five students that were sitting down at the table suddenly felt inadequate as men.
“…Holy shit, what are you!?”
Chansung looked at Jaebeom innocently when he sat down and asked, “Me?”
“Yes you! What the hell is up with that...that monstrosity in your hands?”
Chansung looked to Junho in question who shrugged. “It looks normal to me.”
Wooyoung turned to look at his friend who took a seat next to him. “What the fu-” he glanced at Jaebeom. “Heck do you mean by normal.” Wooyoung susurrated.
Junho looked at the smorgasbord on his other side and shrugged again. “That’s about what he normally eats, I guess.” Junho whispered back. “It’s not like I’m not used to people with weird eating habits, Mr. Snow Miser. I would never ask what you would do for a Klondike Bar.”
“…Touché.”
“Seriously though, do you usually eat this much?” Junsu sounded slightly awed but sickened at the possibility.
Chansung looked down and scratched the back of his head, “Um, not really.” The rest of the table let out audible sighs. “I had a snack a little bit earlier so I’m not that hungry. I usually eat a lot more than this.” He smiled obliviously as everybody but Junho looked at him in shock.
“I think he’s a bear.” Wooyoung heard Taecyeon whisper.
Jaebeom shook his head slowly and just stared at Chansung, not quite sure what to say. And Jaebeom almost always had something to say.
“I-It’s nice to meet you.” Nichkhun said as he tried to save the conversation. “So where are you planning to go after you graduate this year?”
“Oh, I’m a freshman.”
It was a surprise no one fell out of their chair.
“The fuck!?”
“Yeah, I get that a lot.”
“Good god,” Junsu groaned. “Now that we’re past that, I’m guessing we should introduce ourselves, now.”
His three roommates looked grateful for the diversion from the mind-fuck that was Chansung.
After everybody was acquainted, Jaebeom was pleased to find out Chansung was part of his class (“I knew something about you was vaguely and oddly familiar!”). Wooyoung began to relax as everyone started to converse and he was allowed to melt into the background. It was unnerving that Nichkhun was sitting right in front of him, but Wooyoung refused to look up from his lunch. Out of sight, out of mind, right?
“…dipped out before we even came back. What was that even about, Wooyoung?”
“Huh?” his head jerked up to look at Jaebeom.
“You know, that day Nichkhun went bat-shit crazy and Taecyeon’s dumb-ass nearly killed him-”
“What?”
“Don’t ask, Junho.”
“-what happened? By the time we got back Nichkhun was awake and you were gone.”
Wooyoung nervously noted that everyone had turned their attention to him, including Nichkhun. He cleared his throat. “I had an emergency to attend to and he was awake and said it was okay to leave so I…left. Sorry about that by the way.”
“Don’t sweat it; I’m surprised you decided to stay behind with him at all. I sure as hell didn’t trust his crazy ass. He probably did something weird to chase you away.” Jaebeom laughed, with the rest of the guys joining in. Wooyoung chuckled tensely, and shook his head.
“Of c-course not! I just feel bad that I had to leave him alone.” Wooyoung nearly stabbed himself with his fork when his voice cracked. Thank goodness no one noticed. Well, almost no one. Nichkhun was too busy enjoying his fidgeting to say anything. It was kind of cute.
“I never thanked you for that, Wooyoung.” Nichkhun leaned forward and simpered, “You took great care of me.”
And then he did the unthinkable.
He winked at Wooyoung.
The smug little bastard fucking winked.
Wooyoung stood up abruptly. “I have to-uh-b-bathroom!” he stammered before running away.
To his luck, the restroom was empty when he entered. Wooyoung clutched onto the edge of the sink and leaned over it, trying to catch his breath from the short sprint. He looked up in the mirror and his face was flushed, though he was pretty sure it was like that even before he dashed away from his lunch table. Fucking bastard.
“What the hell is wrong with me?” He looked in mirror trying to find an answer, but all he saw was a flustered, distressed boy who obviously had enough problems of his own and didn’t have the time to deal with anything else. If only he hadn’t picked up that notebook-that fucking notebook was at fault. Wooyoung groaned and clutched his fists tighter, his knuckles turning a white comparable to the porcelain of which he was abusing. Why was Nichkhun even in that class anyway, he was a junior for Christ’s sake!? He let his head drop forward again.
“I need help.” Wooyoung groaned to himself.
“Everybody else thinks so too.”
Wooyoung looked up and in the reflection of the mirror he could see Nichkhun leaning up against the tiled wall with his arms crossed against his chest.
“Somehow, I’m not surprised to see you.” Wooyoung said through gritted teeth.
“Your friends were worried when you ran off like that. It would only be fair if I went to check on you, you did do a favor for me after all.” Nichkhun explained nonchalantly. “Quite the favor,” he added as an afterthought.
A bubble of rage welled up inside of Wooyoung and he felt himself begin to snap. He turned around and yelled, “Stop playing with me, you asshole!”
“That’s no way to talk to someone older than you.”
“Screw you.”
“Really, Wooyoung,” Nichkhun sighed, “This being angry thing really doesn’t suit you. You’re a lot cuter when you blush.”
Wooyoung stepped up to Nichkhun, put his hand on his chest, and shoved. Really hard.
“You don’t know jack-shit about me, so back the fuck off.”
In response, Nichkhun grabbed his wrist and rammed him against the wall. It hurt when his back hit the tile, but Wooyoung wasn’t going to let him know that.
“I don’t know anything about you?” Nichkhun asked, as he grasped Wooyoung’s other wrist. He pressed them up against the wall next to his head. “I know a lot more than you think, you little shit.”
Wooyoung laughed. “Oh really now? Let’s see what you got, dick-wad.”
“I know,” Nichkhun said, his leg sliding in between Wooyoung’s. “That if you’re bitten on a certain spot on your collar bone, you get so horny it’s unbelievable. I also happen to know where that little spot is.” He intoned while he grinded his thigh into Wooyoung. The trapped boy bit down on his lip and turned away from Nichkhun.
“I know you always turn your head away when you get embarrassed, and that you get embarrassed easily when you’re…intimate with somebody.” Wooyoung felt his face go hot when Nichkhun pressed even closer to him and his voice dropped even lower. “And when you fuck around you always cover your mouth so nobody can hear you moan as if you’re ashamed that you’re enjoying it. But really, I don’t get why; you make the most adorable noises.”
Wooyoung could feel every breath Nichkhun took and perfectly hear every word he murmured into his ear. How he wished that he didn’t. Wooyoung tried to pull his hands of Nichkhun’s grip, but it was a lot stronger than last time. He wasn’t getting out of this until Nichkhun finished with him.
“I know you find an odd sense of enjoyment in getting your mouth fucked, and you also just happen to give really great head. It makes me wonder what you do in your spare time,” he chuckled darkly.
“You’re such a dick.” Wooyoung was trembling and felt completely humiliated. He was even more upset that he couldn’t keep his voice from shaking.
Nichkhun paused and put a little bit more space between them. “I know that you have this extremely unhealthy, but cute obsession with ice cream,” he said, his voice and grip getting gentler. “I know that you’re smart and witty, I know that…that you’re lonely, and the reason why you normally stay distanced from people is because you become attached easily, and you’re afraid of feeling that hurt that comes with losing somebody.”
It would be a lie to say Wooyoung wasn’t perplexed as hell. There were so many questions swirling around in his head. How did he know all this crap? Where was going with this? Why was he choosing to say all of this now?
“What…? H-How-”
“No, I’m not a stalker. I just-” Nichkhun stopped and brought Wooyoung’s hands together to press them against his chest. “You’re easy to read.”
He let finally Wooyoung go and took a full step back. “And I know that-that I’m…sorry. I was really messed up that day and I shouldn’t have taken it out on you.”
It took a moment for Nichkhun’s apology to register in Wooyoung’s brain. He blinked and look down at his hands, and then back to Nichkhun. He was still pissed, but puzzled enough to the point where he could ignore it. After minutes of staring at Nichkhun in confusion, Wooyoung decided that he was going to be a mature individual, and accept his request for forgiveness. By punching him in the arm. And throwing all of his weight into it.
“Ow!”
“You’re lucky I didn’t hit you in the face,” Wooyoung said as he shook out his hand. His knuckles stung, somewhat. “Damn that kind of hurt, I can’t even imagine what you’re going through. That’s going to be bitch when you wake up tomorrow.”
“Thanks for the concern,” Nichkhun said sarcastically while rubbing the sore on his arm. “So…?”
“Yeah we’re cool…I guess. But I swear if you try anything, I’ll knee you in your junk next time.”
Wooyoung was still irritated, and the fact that he could still feel the blush on his face only served to make him even bitterer. But when Nichkhun laughed and stuck out his hand for him to shake, a little bit of that anger slipped away. Everybody has bad days, right? There was a chance Nichkhun really was being sincere. So Wooyoung returned the gesture, and let himself smile, just a little.
And maybe-just maybe-it helped that the feeling of Nichkhun’s hand in his own really wasn’t that bad.
If he was completely honest, it actually felt quite nice.
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