(for baekmebacon) make a wish ✸ part 1 of 3
❊ for: baekmebacon
❊ title: make a wish
❊ pairings: kai/d.o, baekhyun/chen, slight!suho/lay
❊ rating: pg
❊ word count: ~20k
❊ summary: It's almost funny to think-- none of this would have ever happened had Baekhyun not forced Kyungsoo to let go of a balloon that day. High School!AU
❊ a/n: to my recipient: your prompts were so awesome! i had a hard time choosing between them, and i really hope that i did this one justice. enjoy! to my beta: <3 ily
🎈🎈🎈
It is December 26, the day after Christmas. The magical mood in the air after the holidays has barely begun to dissipate, and traces of the yuletide spirit still whisk around, trying to make as many miracles happen before Christmas has to leave for good.
Do Kyungsoo stands in the parking lot of an empty, closed school, next to his best friends. Each seventh-grade boy, with flushed cheeks and red noses, holds a balloon in their hand. Permanent marker is written on each balloon, a wish from their respective owners. There’s a frozen permanent marker sitting on the snow beneath them, cap thrown to the side.
They’ve each written down a wish.
“Not your deepest desire, just something small that you’ve always wanted. It had better be selfish- we’re not accepting anything else, Kyungsoo!” Baekhyun had said, before grinning and flashing his sharp canines at the hesitant expression on Kyungsoo’s face.
Jongdae had agreed easily.
“C’mon, it’ll be fun! It’s nothing serious- Baekhyun saw something like it in a girls’ magazine recently and just wanted to try it-”
“Did not!”
Kyungsoo hadn’t been too on board with the plan at first, deeming wishes as frivolous and a waste of time, but now even he has to admit that a tiny bit of him is enchanted with the idea.
“O- On three, okay?” Baekhyun says through chattering teeth, shivering even though his heavy coat Is buttoned up to his chin. Jongdae pulls off his scarf, and drapes it around Baekhyun’s shoulders, before agreeing with a sharp, “Aye!”, and Kyungsoo nods, smiling.
I wish that I’ll find someone who I can love.
“Three…”
There’s an intense feeling of happiness rushing through Kyungsoo as his friends begin to count down. Baekhyun’s lips are just slightly tinged with blue, and Kyungsoo knows they’ll have to head back soon.
“Two…”
Baekhyun grabs Kyungsoo’s hand, and then Jongdae’s.
But as Jongdae says the last number, there’s a slight pause right before any of them release their balloons from their gloved hands. Time freezes for just a second, and the wind nipping at their noses suddenly feels warm and comforting instead of cold.
Kyungsoo’s breath hitches in his throat, as he tries to ask what’s going on, but just as fast as it came, the moment leaves.
A red, a yellow, and a blue balloon (Baekhyun, Jongdae, and Kyungsoo, respectively) soar up into the winter sky. Kyungsoo cranes his neck skywards, trying to stare at his balloon as long as possible.
Minutes pass.
“Guys, I’m really, really, really cold.” Baekhyun whispers, as to not disturb the peaceful atmosphere. He doesn’t succeed, and laughing, Kyungsoo and Jongdae pull him back towards the direction of Kyungsoo’s house.
Exhilaration and happiness mix together in Kyungsoo’s heart, and he runs alongside his friends back home. The wind nips at his ears, and Baekhyun yanks his hat down further.
Softly, it begins to snow.
🎈🎈🎈
At some point, (junior year, Kyungsoo thinks,) Kyungsoo finally comes to a sad conclusion.
His wish won’t come true.
It’s been four years, and every year around Christmas, he foolishly hopes that something will happen. Nothing magical ever happens, and this year is no different.
Kyungsoo is in the school parking lot, scuffing his shoes and waiting for his ride to come.
Baekhyun’s the only one out of the three who has gotten a license, and had kindly offered to pick up Kyungsoo whenever he stayed late to study in the library.
Before junior year, Kyungsoo would have just walked to Jongdae’s house, but Jongdae had moved, and now lives on the opposite side of town.
The wind howls, making Kyungsoo shiver. He pulls out his phone, and texts Baekhyun to please hurry up because it’s cold and i don’t have a jacket.
There’s still a light dusting of snow on the ground, and Kyungsoo groans as the wind doesn’t stop. He feels the beginning of a stomachache settling in, and goosebumps raise on both arms.
In an attempt to stay warm, Kyungsoo squats down in the middle of the parking lot, takes his backpack off, and sits on it. He wraps his arms around himself, shivering and wishing that he’d brought a thicker jacket.
Water begins seeping through the front of Kyungsoo’s bag, and Kyungsoo jolts up, swearing and praying that his research paper wouldn’t be ruined. Luckily for him, only the front of the bag is wet, but Kyungsoo decides not to take any more chances.
As he stands up, a burst of yellow against the white snow catches his eye, and Kyungsoo turns around to inspect it.
It’s a popped balloon, dirtied and old, but the writing on it is still legible.
Kyungsoo’s breath hitches as he recognizes Jongdae’s balloon, with his wish written on it.
Every fiber of Kyungsoo screams at him to not touch it, to respect Jongdae’s privacy, but his curiosity crushes his morals, and Kyungsoo bends over to grab it.
The sharpie has bled a little, and it’s pretty hard to read what it says. There’s one word in the middle, with most of the ink still intact, and Kyungsoo looks intently at it.
It’s capitalized, decently long, and has an ‘h’, what looks like a ‘k’, and a ‘y’. There’s a list of words running through Kyungsoo’s mind, and when it finally hits him, he feels stupid.
The word is Baekhyun. For some reason or the other, Baekhyun’s name is written on Jongdae’s balloon.
A car pulls into the school parking lot, and Kyungsoo sees Baekhyun’s brunet head behind the wheel. Hastily, Kyungsoo crams the balloon into the side pocket of his bag, and gets into Baekhyun’s car.
“Chanyeol asked me out.” Baekhyun’s eyes are wide, and he’s smiling.
Kyungsoo shifts. “Did you accept?”
“Yeah! He’s so… nice. And he’s got a great sense of humor. And he’s kind of really, really hot,” Baekhyun laughs. When Kyungsoo doesn’t join in, he frowns and looks at him.
“Anyway, it’s Friday before break. What the heck are you doing still at school?” Baekhyun teases, trying to get a smile out of Kyungsoo. It works, unfortunately.
“Student council sucks, okay? Thanks for coming to pick me up, though. I wish our meetings could still be at the public library. Then I wouldn’t need to bug you,” Kyungsoo says sheepishly.
Baekhyun grins. “No, don’t worry about it! That’s what friends are for. Besides, you got me out of detention just last week. Which Jongdae got me into, but…”
Kyungsoo doesn’t say anything.
Baekhyun adjusts his rearview mirror, and turns to look at Kyungsoo. “Speaking of Jongdae… Can I ask you a question? What’s up with Jongdae? I’ve texted him a few times, asking about a movie, Mario Kart night, the works. Haven’t gotten a single text back. You know anything?”
Kyungsoo raises an eyebrow.
“Jongdae loves Mario Kart night. He isn’t responding to your texts? Um… Have you tried calling him?”
Baekhyun nods, nibbling on his lip. “Five, six times. It’s not that his phone’s not on him. He’s just hanging up on me. Chanyeol even tried knocking on his door.”
Kyungsoo stills, the gears in his mind clicking together. “When did Chanyeol ask you out?”
“Uh, right before the normal kids-- a.k.a, not over-worked student council members, -- left for home. He stopped me on my way to my car, and asked.” Baekhyun grins as he makes a right turn.
He pulls into Kyungsoo’s driveway, and turns to look at Kyungsoo again.
“Hey, you okay? Are you going to ignore me too?” Baekhyun’s eyes look genuinely hurt and confused, and Kyungsoo feels bad.
“Of course not, Baek. I’m sure Jongdae will get over it soon. See you when winter break ends?” Kyungsoo bluffs, stepping out of the car.
Baekhyun smiles gratefully and nods.
“See you, Kyungsoo!”
🎈🎈🎈
On Monday morning, Kyungsoo wakes up nice and early to go to the library for studying. If Baekhyun had been there, he would have laughed and forced Kyungsoo back into bed. If Jongdae had been there, he would have barricaded Kyungsoo into his house, and then laughed.
But neither of them are here. Baekhyun is out with Chanyeol, and Jongdae is probably hiding somewhere.
And so, Kyungsoo is easily able to go to the library. He walks slowly, not enjoying the freezing morning air but not willing to run and fall on the ice. Kyungsoo thinks he’s clumsy enough, thank you very much.
He’s never been a very vocal person, always unable to tell people exactly what he’s thinking. Kyungsoo talks, sure, but he often goes around and around his main point, without ever actually saying what he wants to say.
Baekhyun’s always been better at that than both Kyungsoo and Jongdae. Loud, rash, but kind Baekhyun, who isn’t afraid of sharing his opinion. Jongdae’s very loud too, but he hides secrets behind that mask of jokes and casual banter.
The library has just opened when Kyungsoo arrives, and he settles happily into his normal seat at the fifth table on the second floor. He types away on a small laptop, totally intent on finishing the lab report for chemistry.
However, an hour of polishing his lab report later, Kyungsoo’s thoughts turn to Baekhyun and Jongdae. The more he thinks about it, the worse it seems. He’s nearly nauseous, and when he goes to put the chemistry book back, his knees give out.
Embarrassed, Kyungsoo stands back up, itching his neck and hoping no one saw. After all, it isn’t even his problem, it’s Jongdae’s… right?
“Hey, you okay?” A voice interrupts Kyungsoo’s inner turmoil, and Kyungsoo, surprised, looks up.
“Oh, uh, yeah. Just--” Kyungsoo’s voice dies in his throat as he stares at the stranger standing in front of him.
If Kyungsoo had flipped open a dictionary to the word, “flawless”, the boy standing in front of him would be right there in the definition.
To say he was gorgeous would be a gross understatement.
“--fell.” Kyungsoo coughs. “Yeah, I just fell.”
The boy’s much taller than Kyungsoo, but despite that, his face seems younger, especially as he smiles.
Suddenly, it’s much too hot under Kyungsoo’s collar, and the shorter swallows uncomfortably.
“Well, then don’t fall again!” the boy jokingly admonishes, eyes crinkling into sunny crescents. “You’d think that a library would be a very safe place, you know?”
Without pausing, he sticks out his hand. Kyungsoo stares at it.
“I’m Kim Jongin, sophomore and also newly-elected president of the Helping-People-Stand-Up-In-Libraries club, or HPSUIL for short.” Jongin grins, and Kyungsoo feels like melting. The sophomore pronounces the club name as “hup-sue-eel”, and it’s kind of super adorable to Kyungsoo.
He takes Jongin’s outstretched hand and shakes it.
“I’m Do Kyungsoo, junior.” He smiles back at Jongin.
“You’re- You’re the guy who’s offering tutoring in Algebra 2, right? I- I really need help…” Jongin says sheepishly, and pulls out a messy binder.
“Uh, yeah. Nice to meet you.” Kyungsoo gulps, and walks back to the table where he had been sitting. Kyungsoo pushes his stuff aside to make room for Jongin. “What do you need help with?”
“So, I’ve got this major exam I need to take a week after break ends. It’s on the first six chapters of my textbook, and I know exactly one chapter of that.” Jongin scratches his head sheepishly.
“You want me to go over them with you?” Kyungsoo motions for Jongin to hand the book over, and he puts a purple-covered textbook on the table. Kyungsoo flips the cover open and raises an eyebrow at the names written on the inside cover.
Kyungsoo’s own name is printed neatly into the inside cover. Right underneath it is a messy scrawl, and when Kyungsoo squints, he realizes it says Jongin’s name.
“You- you got my textbook,” he says, going for suave and cool but landing somewhere between excited and creepy.
“Uh, yeah, that’s kind of funny,” Jongin laughs weakly. “What a coincidence.”
A beat of silence passes as Kyungsoo tries to collect himself, and not weird Jongin out too much. The sophomore begins (very attractively, he notes) pulling out pencils and notebooks from his bag. Kyungsoo wants to hit himself in the face, but that would probably fall under the “mental problems” category in Jongin’s eyes.
“So, um, second chapter?” Kyungsoo finally says.
“Yeah. That’d be great.” Jongin grins.
Kyungsoo launches right into the details of the chapter to avoid any more awkward conversation. Jongin picks things up quickly, and they work well together.
“Think that’s enough for this week?” Kyungsoo asks, setting down his pencil and looking at Jongin. He’s staring at the paper intensely, as if trying to burn a hole into it. Jongin’s ridiculously handsome, and Kyungsoo swallows thickly as the sophomore looks straight into his eyes.
“Yeah. Good amount! Thank you so much, Kyungsoo!” Jongin smiles, and his eyes crinkle.
Kyungsoo feels alarms going off in his head-- WARNING: You’re developing a crush! Stop! Stop!.
“Bye,” he says, waving.
Jongin waves back, and Kyungsoo’s heart skips a beat.
He silences the alarms in his head, and tries to hold his smile back for the rest of the time in his library.
🎈🎈🎈
His phone buzzes with a new notification, and Kyungsoo checks it with a swipe of his finger.
Jongdae’s name flickers at the top of the screen, and then the text pops up.
meet me @ the cafe in 10?? it reads, and Kyungsoo sends a quick sure before slipping on his coat and shoes.
His mom shoots him a strange look as he heads out so soon after coming back, but Mrs. Do doesn’t say anything except a quick, “Be back for dinner, okay?”.
Kyungsoo nods, kisses his mother on the cheek, and breezes out the door.
The cafe’s less than a ten minute walk away from Kyungsoo’s house, but it’s a solid twenty minute drive from Jongdae’s. And so, when Jongdae greets him at the cafe, Kyungsoo’s a bit shocked.
“When did you get here?” He asks, pulling his jacket off and flinging it onto the seat next to him.
Jongdae smiles, but it doesn’t quite reach his eyes. Kyungsoo notes that he has heavy eyebags.
“Around four hours ago,” Jongdae says, absentmindedly opening a bag of sugar and dumping it into his coffee. Kyungsoo gapes at Jongdae.
“What- why? Why didn’t you text me earlier?”
Jongdae shrugs.
“I don’t know.”
Kyungsoo shifts uneasily, remembering the recent events.
“Well… You okay?” Kyungsoo says carefully, gently taking the coffee from Jongdae. Just as he expects, it’s ice-cold and saturated with the contents of at least seven or eight sugar bags.
“I mean, I called you over, didn’t I?” Jongdae leans back in his chair, and there’s an air of uncomfortableness that Kyungsoo never felt with Jongdae before. It twists viciously in his stomach before curling up his throat and making it hard to talk.
“Anything- anything you want to say, you can tell me,” Kyungsoo manages, accepting the fresh coffee that the waiter sets down on their table gratefully.
“I love Baekhyun,” Jongdae says plainly, looking Kyungsoo in the eye for the first time. “I love him so much, and he’s dating Chanyeol.”
“I- I’m sorry,” Kyungsoo stammers. He’s not supposed to be shocked, but the hurt in Jongdae’s voice is still sharp and startling. Kyungsoo clenches his hands into the fabric of his pants.
“I know it sounds childish, but I really, really love him?” Jongdae runs a hand through his hair, breathing heavily. “I thought- I just thought- you know, after so long… Maybe he’d feel the same way.”
“Love…?” Kyungsoo asks gently. “Or like?”
“Love,” Jongdae says. His mouth sets into a hard line, and his eyes seem to wander into a world Kyungsoo can’t see. “It’s definitely love.”
Kyungsoo sips at his coffee, just to make up for the lack of words that he could say. It scalds his tongue, but he drinks it anyway. The coffee’s horribly bitter.
“If you’d asked me four years ago, the answer would have been less sure,” Jongdae continues, “But now, it can’t be anything else. I always thought I’d get over it, but...”
“The balloon- was that, was it-”
“You found it?” Jongdae raises an eyebrow, and Kyungsoo flushes.
“I just… I found it in the school parking lot, and I saw Baekhyun’s name on it…” Kyungsoo explains. “But is it about... this?
Jongdae nods, lacing his fingers and letting his head rest on his knuckles.
“That old thing… That wish never did me any good, eh?”
“Why didn’t you ever tell anyone?” Kyungsoo presses. His phone buzzes again, and Kyungsoo glances at it. It’s a text from Jongin. Quickly, he silences it, but makes a mental note to check it later.
“I… I was afraid… That he didn’t like me back? I regret not telling you guys, though… It’s much worse this way. Now I don’t have a chance at all.”
Wordlessly, Kyungsoo rises from his seat and wraps Jongdae in a gentle hug. Jongdae shifts a little, but ultimately returns the hug and buries his face into the fabric of Kyungsoo’s clothes.
“Anything else you want to tell me?” he asks as he pushes his own hot coffee in front of Jongdae.
Jongdae stares at the coffee, and when he talks, it’s almost like he’s talking to the paper cup instead of Kyungsoo.
“No, not really. I’m just mad at the world right now.” And Baekhyun, Kyungsoo knows, even if Jongdae didn’t say it out loud. “I haven’t talked to him- Baekhyun, I mean-, in a while I can’t look in him the face at all.”
“You really should,” Kyungsoo says, “I know you don’t want to, but-”
“But what the hell do I say? Oh yeah, it’s me, your childhood friend who casually loves you! Please break up with your boyfriend because I want to be him!” Jongdae nearly yells in frustration, scaring a nearby waitress.
“Just- whatever we used to talk about before, like- like the comic series that you two tried to get me obsessed with, wasn’t there a new update?” Kyungsoo tries.
Jongdae laughs bitterly.
“Yeah, that’ll work real well. I can’t even say hi to him without feeling like shooting myself in the chest, but a comic strip about an alien and a cow? Sure, no problem!”
Kyungsoo opens and closes his mouth. Jongdae’s just being mean, Kyungsoo can tell, but only to hide the sense of desperation that tinges every one of his words. He isn’t the one having issues, but the heavy eye bags under Jongdae’s eyes made Kyungsoo almost wish that he was.
“Listen, Kyungsoo… I know you’re just trying to help.” Jongdae smiles weakly. “Honestly, though, I got myself into this mess, and there’s no way out. Give me another week and I’ll stop being a jerk.”
“Anything I can do? At all?” Kyungsoo asks, watching the way Jongdae’s smile wobbled.
“If you could magically make Baekhyun love me back, it’d be lovely. Actually, it’d be fabulous, but I’m guessing you can’t.” Jongdae swallows the last of the coffee in a gulp. “Kyungsoo… I’m gonna go. Take care. I- I’ll see you after break ends.”
Without anything more than a casual wave, Jongdae rises from the table and leaves. Kyungsoo stares intently at his retreating back and stirs sullenly at his coffee.
His phone buzzes again. Reluctantly, Kyungsoo pulls it out of his jacket pocket to check it. Jongin’s name flickers on the screen, and Kyungsoo opens the texts.
The sophomore wants to set up another study session on Monday, and Kyungsoo quickly checks through his calendar. When nothing comes up, Kyungsoo fires back a next monday @ 6.00 is fine for me.
Jongin responds with a cute Japanese emoticon, and Kyungsoo smiles before he can stop himself.
🎈🎈🎈
Coming back to school after winter break is always a miserable affair, and Kyungsoo feels the heavy weight of exhaustion the second he gets up.
“I… hate… this…” he grumbles, standing at the bus stop in the freezing cold. The end of winter break did not mean the end of winter, and Kyungsoo swears he can feel his fingers beginning to fall off.
He brings his hands up, trying to scrunch up five or six layers to see his watch. After forcefully tugging up the sleeve of his winter jacket, Kyungsoo spies the time. The bus is late by a solid fifteen minutes, and Kyungsoo is probably going to freeze to death before it comes.
A rumbling sound comes from the right side of the road, where the bus usually comes from. Kyungsoo picks his head up, praying that it’s the bus, miraculously coming early.
Unfortunately, it’s not a bus but a car, and Kyungsoo sadly burrows his head back into zipped-up top of his jacket. However, the car begins to slow in front of him, and Kyungsoo squints at the driver’s seat.
The silver car looks familiar.
Baekhyun waves from the driver’s side, and Kyungsoo nearly sobs with relief. He runs as fast as he can through the snow, tugging on the passenger’s side seat door. It opens with a slight creak, and Kyungsoo climbs in gratefully.
“Byun Baekhyun, I love you so much right now,” Kyungsoo pants, rubbing his hands to try and get the circulation back. Baekhyun tosses him an easy grin, before driving out of Kyungsoo’s street. Kyungsoo doesn’t recognize the way he’s going.
“Picking up Jongdae, right?” Kyungsoo asks.
Baekhyun shifts uncomfortably as he stops for a red light.
“Actually… I’m picking up Chanyeol. They live on the same street.” Baekhyun chews his lips, shooting quick looks at Kyungsoo to judge how he reacts.
“Aren’t you going to pick up Jongdae, too?”
The light goes green, and Baekhyun floors the gas pedal a little harder than necessary. His eyebrows are furrowed on his face, and Kyungsoo wonders if Baekhyun knows a little more than what Jongdae gives him credit for.
“Jongdae… hasn’t been talking to me for the past week and a half. I’ve texted him a lot, but I think he’s pissed at me for some reason or the other. I’ve been giving him some space, and I don’t know if he’ll appreciate getting picked up.” Baekhyun makes a left down a small street, and Kyungsoo finally remembers Jongdae’s new street.
“Baekhyun, it’s freezing cold and the buses are late. You sure you want to leave him out there?” Kyungsoo reasons. Both him and Baekhyun know that Jongdae now takes the bus in the morning, with one of the longest routes and earliest pick-up times. If Kyungsoo’s bus had been late by fifteen minutes, Jongdae would have been out there for twenty-five, at least.
Additionally, Jongdae and Chanyeol are at the same stop. If Baekhyun comes and only takes Chanyeol with him...
Two figures stand in the distance, and Kyungsoo points them out to Baekhyun, who nods and drives forward.
Jongdae recognizes Baekhyun’s car almost immediately, face lighting up quickly. However, the second he looks to his left and sees Chanyeol, the smile melts off his face. Kyungsoo sighs sadly, and jumps out of the car to invite both in.
“C’mon, Baekhyun’s driving us,” Kyungsoo yells over to them, and the two share a quick glance before tearing across the street to the car.
Chanyeol makes it there first, having longer legs and the advantage of being on the school basketball team. He holds the door open for Jongdae, who grudgingly thanks him and gets into the car.
The four people in the car sit in absolute silence, and Kyungsoo hates it. Jongdae and Baekhyun used to never shut up, but neither of them even open their mouth right now.
“Uh,” Chanyeol tries, clearing his throat. “So, how was everyone’s break?”
“Good!” Kyungsoo says immediately. He doesn’t miss the grateful look that Chanyeol shoots him, and the horrible sensation of uncomfortableness comes pooling back into his stomach.
“You should have gone sledding with us,” Baekhyun says. It’s directed towards Kyungsoo, but Chanyeol’s the one who Baekhyun looks at.
They make small talk, trying to make the air in the car feel less hostile. They can’t even talk about the same thing for two minutes before the conversation trails off. It’s barely even a conversation, though, feeling fake and superficial to Kyungsoo.
He can’t help but think that it’s Chanyeol’s fault that Jongdae and Baekhyun aren’t bouncing in their seats with energy and blabbing on and on about anything and everything. Baekhyun’s talking still, but there’s no excitement behind it like usual.
“I haven’t really been up to much. Baekbeom visited; Chanyeol, you met him, right?” Baekhyun says, and Jongdae lifts his head up at the mention of Baekhyun’s brother. Kyungsoo twists his head around to look at him.
“Yeah, I did! He didn’t really talk to me, though, so…” Chanyeol laughs sheepishly.
Jongdae knows Baekbeom pretty well. In fact, it had been Baekbeom who’d introduced Jongdae to Baekhyun.
“Jongdae, how was your break?” Chanyeol asks, trying to force Jongdae into the conversation.
It’s impossible not to see the baleful glare that Jongdae sends his way. He hasn’t said a single word throughout the entire car ride, and he isn’t planning to start now.
“Jongdae?” Chanyeol presses.
“It was fine,” Jongdae nearly spits, turning around quickly and seemingly burning a hole into the car window.
“Jeez, Jongdae. Chanyeol just asked you a question. No need to get so snippy,” Baekhyun scolds. “I don’t know what’s gotten into you recently.”
They pull up at the school, and Jongdae doesn’t even say thank you before he leaps out of the car. No one but Kyungsoo sees the tears brimming in his eyes.
🎈🎈🎈
Kyungsoo stands in front of the mirror, the contents of his closet a mess on his bed. It’s stupid, but Kyungsoo really wants to look good for Jongin.
Get a grip, he chides himself. It’s only tutoring. Still, he slips on at least three more sweaters, taking each one off because they make him look frumpy and uptight.
He texts Baekhyun about it, because Kyungsoo doesn’t think Jongdae’s in any mood to give fashion advice. Unfortunately, Baekhyun doesn’t respond, and Kyungsoo is forced to actually try to match clothes.
Eventually, he gives up, rinses his mouth out with Scope twice, and leaves for the library. When he finally gets there, he checks his reflection in the glass of the library door. Kyungsoo’s hair is a mess, and the more he tries to comb it with his glove, the more it stands up from static electricity.
Kyungsoo gives up.
He takes three deep breaths, and walks into the library.
“Hello, Kyungsoo!” Jongin waves energetically over the stack of books surrounding him, eyes bright and a pencil tucked behind his ear. He resembles an over-eager puppy so much that Kyungsoo has to physically restrain himself from ruffling the sophomore’s hair.
It would probably be nice to ruffle Jongin’s hair, Kyungsoo muses dazedly. It looks so fluffy and dark, framing the younger’s face so nicely… He doesn’t even realize he’s staring until Jongin gets out of his chair and waves a hand in Kyungsoo’s face.
“You okay?”
“Uh, yeah. I’m just a little out of it, nothing major,” Kyungsoo says, before hastily taking out his books and changing the subject back to school work. “You worked over winter break?”
Jongin nods.
“How much stuff did you get done?” Kyungsoo asks.
Jongin itches his neck and flips his notebook to the first page.
“I got through the first four chapters, but parabolas…” Jongin trails off, staring blankly at Kyungsoo as the other flipped through the textbook.
“Ah, graphing quadratics? No worries, we’ll get through this in no time flat, if you’ve got graphing linear equations and quadratics down.” Kyungsoo plops down next to him, and pulls out a couple sheets of graph paper.
“You sure? I just--”
“Don’t worry about it,” Kyungsoo says, taking a look at the problems in the book and quickly writing out the equation on the piece of paper. “Tell me, what’s a graph?”
“A graph is the connection between all the solutions to an equation…?” Jongin says, almost questioningly.
“Correct. So, a parabola would be a graph of all the solutions to a quadratic equations. They also either open up or down…” Kyungsoo begins, explaining the chapter carefully to Jongin.
Jongin’s eyes light up with understanding, and slowly, Kyungsoo leads him through a few problems until Jongin’s able to solve them on his own.
“See, if you alter it by one or two, the parabola will move by one or two. It’s that simple, really.”
Nearly two hours later, they’ve covered the second half of the chapter and majority of chapter six too. Kyungsoo has probably never tutored a more hard-working student, and he can’t help but ask as they’re putting the textbooks away.
“Why are you so behind in school? You’re smart, you pick up the lessons quickly, and your perseverance and working skills are incredible,” Kyungsoo says, grabbing the nearest math textbook.
Jongin grimaces. “I dance, and this year, we went to competition for nationals. My team got third in the end, but we missed around two months of school. The rest of my classes have been okay, because I’ve got a pretty good hold on everything except math.”
Kyungsoo nods, before groaning in dismay when he realizes that the book he needs to put away is supposed to go on the top shelf. He can barely touch the edge of the second shelf.
Jumping, Kyungsoo tries to slot the book onto the shelf. It doesn’t work, and Kyungsoo tries until he can hear Jongin laughing behind him.
“Shut up,” he says, embarrassed. “Make yourself useful and put the book away for me.”
Jongin gently takes the textbook from Kyungsoo’s hands and easily puts it away. It’s ridiculous how much taller Jongin is than him, and he grumbles about it every time Jongin puts a book away on the top or second shelf.
Kyungsoo slips on his coat, buttoning it all the way up to his chin. Jongin is still laughing at him, and Kyungsoo glowers at him over the collar of his jacket.
“Why’re you still laughing?” Kyungsoo mumbles, face growing unbearably hot. It’s unfortunate for him that Jongin has a very nice laugh. “Stop it.”
Jongin steps forwards, and tucks a lock of hair behind Kyungsoo’s ear.
Kyungsoo freezes.
“You’re so cute, I can’t help it…” Jongin says, seemingly unaware of Kyungsoo’s state of petrification. He pulls his own coat on, zips it up, and slings his bag over his shoulders. “I have to go now, I have dance early tomorrow morning.”
“On a Tuesday morning?!” Kyungsoo yelps in surprise, snapping out of his reverie. “School starts at seven forty-five-- when do you have the time to dance?”
“I get there at five-thirty; I have two hours and fifteen minutes to choreograph and practice. It’s only a few minutes from the school.” Jongin scratches his head. “I think I’ve finished all my homework, but there’s always room for me to lose it.”
Kyungsoo stands, jaw slightly slack with awe. Jongin looks up curiously at him. “You okay?”
“Just… Five-thirty just for dance?” Kyungsoo says.
“Mm-hmm.” Jongin shifts his backpack straps to a more comfortable position. “Tomorrow at the same time?”
“Sure.”
Jongin points at the door. “Oh, look. My ride’s here..”
A tall, lanky kid with bleached-white hair swings car keys around his fingers, and Jongin walks to his side
“Didn’t know you could drive, Sehun,” Jongin says dubiously. “When I called you up for a ride, I thought you’d get Minseok.”
Sehun smirks, and easily wraps an arm around Jongin’s shoulders. Watching quietly, Kyungsoo decides he doesn’t like the kid. For underage driving, not because he’s touching Jongin. Even though Kyungsoo kind of wants to hug Jongin.
“Well, I didn’t get Minseok himself, but he gave me his car keys.” Sehun says, his voice slow and nearly a drawl.
“Uh, Kyungsoo, meet Sehun. He’s in my dance group. Sehun, meet Kyungsoo. This is the person stopping me from failing algebra.” Jongin smiles, and Kyungsoo’s heart feels like bursting out his chest. Jongin’s smile is practically blinding, and his eyes crinkle up in the most adorable way.
“So, this is the famous Do Kyungsoo.” A smile twitches at the edges of Sehun’s mouth, and Kyungsoo finds it uncomfortable.
“Yeah, I-I’m Kyungsoo,” he responds. Sehun grins, and elbows Jongin in the ribs, making the latter cough. “Is there something weird about that?” Kyungsoo asks carefully.
“No, nothing at all,” Jongin hisses, slapping Sehun on the arm. “Sehun, shut up.” His cheeks are flaming red, and he tugs on Sehun’s sleeve.
Kyungsoo waves confusedly as Jongin leaves. Not a minute passes before he begins walking home himself, shivering in the cold air.
🎈🎈🎈
Tuesday morning comes around with sub-zero temperatures again, and Baekhyun’s waiting again at Kyungsoo’s driveway. Kyungsoo smiles gratefully as he slides once more into the passenger seat.
“Seriously, how will I ever repay you for this?” he jokes, knowing that Baekhyun would never really ask for a price.
But for some reason, the corners of Baekhyun’s mouth don’t lift, and instead, the brunet wordlessly backs out of the driveway and veers down the street. Kyungsoo hasn’t even gotten his seatbelt on yet, and he collides into the dashboard.
“Sorry.” Baekhyun pulls over, waiting for Kyungsoo.
“Baekhyun- Are you okay?” Kyungsoo scrambles back onto his seat, hurriedly clicking his seat belt into place. When Baekhyun turns his head to finally look at Kyungsoo, his eyes are red, as if he had been crying.
“What did I do wrong?” he whispers, asking Kyungsoo.
“What?”
“Jongdae. What did I do wrong with Jongdae?” Baekhyun says again, louder this time. “He’s- was- one of my best friends, and now, he won’t even look at me anymore.”
“What happened?” Kyungsoo asks, though in his mind he’s already gotten an idea of what happened.
“He… After we got to school yesterday, Chanyeol felt bad because he thought he’d made Jongdae uncomfortable. I talked to Jongdae about it, and he told me not to pick him up. I tried to say more, but he totally ignored me, and pushed me out of the way.” Baekhyun massaged his forehead.
“Did you try again later?” Kyungsoo says quietly, praying that Jongdae had at least apologized later.
“Yeah, I did. Remember how during lunch, you went to student council? Jongdae didn’t sit at our table, and so I went to look for him. Found him in the back of the computer lab. He’d rather eat with the eighty-year-old technology teacher than Chanyeol and I.” Baekhyun slams his hands on the dashboard, startling Kyungsoo. “And the worst part? When Chanyeol went to ask him to come back, he didn’t even look at Chanyeol. Like he couldn’t hear him.”
“Why didn’t you ask him yourself?” Kyungsoo unconsciously moves his bag closer to him. He can see the bulge in the side pocket where Jongdae’s balloon is hidden, and it feels like someone’s cramming the yellow plastic down his throat.
“I was so pissed at him, if I’d gone to ask him-- and I was going to!-- I would have smashed his head into the computer desk he was sitting at.” Baekhyun yells. He shakes his head, and then gets back on the road. “In any case, I’m not picking him up today.”
“Baekhyun, it’s cold…”
Baekhyun snorts. “He can go freeze to death, for all I care.”
Snow banks taller than Kyungsoo frame both sides of the road, and Kyungsoo looks out the window at the frozen world outside. “You don’t mean that.”
“I…” Baekhyun sighs. “No, I don’t. But that doesn’t make him any less of an asshole. And I’m still not picking him up.”
They drive in silence for the next few minutes, and when they get to the street that Jongdae and Chanyeol live on, it’s horrible for Kyungsoo to have to see Jongdae remain standing at the bus stop.
“...You sure you’re not going to pick Jongdae up?” Chanyeol asks hesitantly. “Babe, I know you’re ticked, but he’s still your friend.”
Chanyeol’s too nice, Kyungsoo decides. Chanyeol makes things harder for Jongdae, because it’s difficult to hate someone who really didn’t deserve to be hated.
“He told me not to pick him up, so I’m not going to pick him up,” Baekhyun says bluntly, looking at the lone figure standing at the bus stop. Jongdae’s pointedly not looking at Baekhyun’s car, and that just seems to solidify Baekhyun’s choice.
He drives straight past the bus stop. Kyungsoo watches as Jongdae disappears from the rearview mirror, and sadly wonders how things were falling apart so fast.
A gloomy cloud settles over the car. No one says anything, and Kyungsoo stares at the way Baekhyun chews on his lip viciously. When blood begins to bubble up, he reaches into the foot compartment for a tissue. Kyungsoo hands it to Baekhyun, who takes it gratefully.
“Thanks.” Baekhyun’s voice is clipped and unhappy. Chanyeol flinches when he sees the blood from Baekhyun’s lip stain the tissue.
“You okay?”
“I’m fine.” Baekhyun’s voice cracks, sounding anything but fine.
The arrival at school is less than glamorous, but Kyungsoo thanks Baekhyun again anyways. He grabs his bag and walks out of the car.
A yellow bus pulls up at the school, and Jongdae steps off, eyebrows furrowed and hands jammed deep in his pocket. He looks at the cars in the parking lot, recognizes Baekhyun’s, and immediately walks away.
“Jongdae!” Kyungsoo calls. “Jongdae, over here!”
Jongdae turns his head, and sees Kyungsoo. He almost goes over to Kyungsoo, but when he’s twenty meters away, he stops, shakes his head, and goes inside the school.
Kyungsoo turns around, and Baekhyun is walking towards him, hand-in-hand with Chanyeol. Baekhyun’s eyes are redder than before, and the tear stains on Chanyeol’s jacket are freezing.
“See? He won’t answer to us at all,” Baekhyun says. “What the fuck did I do?”
Chanyeol rests his head on Baekhyun’s head, and the brunet calms. He closes his eyes, and breathes in deeply.
Kyungsoo’s mouth tastes of silicon.
🎈🎈🎈
Kyungsoo’s there before Jongin this time, tapping his pencil on the table and waiting for the sophomore to come.
Around four minutes later, Jongin comes rushing through the library doors, clutching a bag in his hands. His school backpack is wide open, and a few papers flutter out. Jongin groans, and stoops over to grab them.
Kyungsoo stands up and walks over to where Jongin is scrambling for his papers. He helps sort them into a somewhat neat pile.
“Thanks,” Jongin pants. “I- I just got back from dance, and- hah… I ran from the studio…”
Amused, Kyungsoo takes the bag from Jongin’s hand, and helps him put it down on the table. Jongin smiles appreciatively and sinks down into a chair. Kyungsoo breathes deeply, trying not to be too affected by Jongin and failing miserably.
They sit together and study, and the practice Jongin’s been doing really shows. He’s getting question after question right, and when Kyungsoo finishes teaching him the last part of chapter seven, Jongin’s grinning really hard.
“You think I actually have a chance at passing this exam?” Jongin asks as Kyungsoo packs up. He’s left a lot of review problems from chapters one through seven, but Jongin swears that he can finish them.
“I’m pretty confident that you will.” Kyungsoo smiles back at him and Jongin sighs happily. “The test is only on the first seven chapters, right? You’ve gotten most of the seven down already, why wouldn’t you pass?”
“Walk home with me? I think you live closer than me, but it should be in the same direction.” Jongin jerks his head in the direction of the library door, and begins walking.
“Uh, sure.” Kyungsoo shakes his head, and sneaks a look at Jongin. His heart thuds wildly in his chest.
They leave the library together, the last two people walking through the doors before the librarian on duty locked up for the night. Streetlights light up the town at night, and the steady flow of cars slows to a trickle.
Snow crunches beneath their boots as they make their way back home. It’s been at least two weeks since the last snowstorm, but the weather hasn’t gotten warm enough for much to melt.
“Hey, Kyungsoo?” Jongin’s breath puffs into a billow of white mist in front of his face.
“Yeah?” A similar cloud of white appears near Kyungsoo’s mouth before vanishing quickly into the chilly air.
“Would it be too forward- if I just- if I…” Jongin pauses, and stops walking. His face is flushed red, but Kyungsoo doesn’t know if it’s from the cold or from embarrassment. Kyungsoo stops too.
“If you…?”
“Do you like me?” Jongin blurts abruptly, and immediately slaps a hand over his mouth. His cheeks turn even redder, and Kyungsoo’s left speechless.
“I- uh, what--” he stammers. Apologizing, Jongin lowers his hand, backing away and leaving an uncomfortably large distance between them.
“I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking; please, I’m sorry I made it awkward-”
Does he like Jongin, though? Kyungsoo certainly finds him attractive, but that isn’t such a good excuse to say that you like someone. He doesn’t know Jongin well enough, doesn’t know his personality-
He works hard, he’s kind, and he’s funny; his mind supplies helpfully. Jongin was sweet and funny when he first helped Kyungsoo off of the floor, and he’s still that way right now.
“It’s just- uh, I just…I’ve liked you since early last year, when I saw you receive that award for outstanding academic expression or something-- I really did need tutoring, though, it wasn’t just for that-- I mean, I wanted to see you, but--” Jongin’s really flustered; his arms sweep around in grand, slightly awkward motions as he tries to explain.
“I like you too,” Kyungsoo whispers, and Jongin looks up at him disbelievingly. It feels extremely childish, but it’s sweet nonetheless, and a shy smile blooms on his face.
“So- uh, next Friday, after school and student councils, my dance team is having a performance, you wanna come? You don’t have too, I don’t want to force you or anything, but, uh, if you’re interested-”
Kyungsoo gently grabs Jongin’s hand, cutting him off.
“Okay,” he says.
“What- you’re… you’re okay with it? You sure?” Although his voice is dubious, Jongin doesn’t let go of Kyungsoo’s hand, though. The sophomore simply readjusts his grip so it’s more comfortable for both of them.
“Yeah. I’m okay with it.” Kyungsoo swings their linked arms back and forth, and starts walking again. His heart is literally beating out of his chest, and his breaths are a little shallower than normal. “I just- why me?”
Jongin’s turned to stare at him, lips quirking upwards with barely-contained happiness, and Kyungsoo’s struck again about how good-looking he is. Jongin cocks his head at Kyungsoo.
“What do you mean?”
“You’re-- you, and I’m… me.” Kyungsoo winces. “It’s just... you’re so good-looking, and I’m average on a good day.”
Jongin snorts.
“Like hell you are. You? Average? Please. At worst… you’d be a solid nine point nine,” Jongin says, bumping his elbow into Kyungsoo’s side. “But thank you for calling me good-looking, glad to know that my panic attack before this study session worked. I spent at least half an hour trying to figure what I was going to wear.”
Jongin had stressed out over what he was going to wear. Jongin had worried about it. Jongin had been excited to see him.
“So, uh, what kind of dance do you do?”
“Oh, there’s a lot! I’ve been doing, uh, ballet since I was five, but I’ve recently gotten really interested in hip-hop. For Friday, we’re doing the hip-hop we won nationals with, but…” Jongin rattles on.
Kyungsoo’s too caught up in listening to Jongin (and totally not staring at his face), and he doesn’t look where he steps. His foot sinks straight into at least half a foot of slush, and he yelps when cold snow trickles into his boot.
“Smooth, Kyungsoo!” Jongin remarks, but he’s already got his arms looped under Kyungsoo’s.
With a forceful pull, Kyungsoo’s free of the slush-- not that he was stuck in the first place, but he isn’t going to complain about Jongin tugging him out.
“Uh, thanks,” Kyungsoo says. They let go of each other quickly, but Jongin’s smiling stupidly and Kyungsoo’s pretty sure that he is too. He’s still kind of in shock about it all, but no amount of pinching is going to change the fact that Jongin’s next to him.
They keep walking for a couple more minutes in total silence. Kyungsoo isn’t in any mood to talk, too busy biting his lip and trying to calm his heartbeat down. When they reach Kyungsoo’s house, he turns to Jongin and tries to say something.
“I just- yeah. Yeah.” Kyungsoo feels pretty idiotic, but Jongin doesn’t seem to mind. The sophomore stuffs his hands into his pockets, and the smile on his face could literally melt all the snow on Kyungsoo’s front lawn.
“Friday? It’s just at the dance studio down the street. Meet up at the cafeteria, and we’ll walk down together? Wow, I’m a sucky date.” Jongin grins sheepishly. “Will you still go?”
“Of course!” Kyungsoo says.
“Then…See you on Friday, or around in school?”
Kyungsoo pinches himself one last time, for good measure. Nothing happens.
“Yeah. See you.” Kyungsoo’s eyes practically shine in the moonlight.
( part 2 )
❊ title: make a wish
❊ pairings: kai/d.o, baekhyun/chen, slight!suho/lay
❊ rating: pg
❊ word count: ~20k
❊ summary: It's almost funny to think-- none of this would have ever happened had Baekhyun not forced Kyungsoo to let go of a balloon that day. High School!AU
❊ a/n: to my recipient: your prompts were so awesome! i had a hard time choosing between them, and i really hope that i did this one justice. enjoy! to my beta: <3 ily
🎈🎈🎈
It is December 26, the day after Christmas. The magical mood in the air after the holidays has barely begun to dissipate, and traces of the yuletide spirit still whisk around, trying to make as many miracles happen before Christmas has to leave for good.
Do Kyungsoo stands in the parking lot of an empty, closed school, next to his best friends. Each seventh-grade boy, with flushed cheeks and red noses, holds a balloon in their hand. Permanent marker is written on each balloon, a wish from their respective owners. There’s a frozen permanent marker sitting on the snow beneath them, cap thrown to the side.
They’ve each written down a wish.
“Not your deepest desire, just something small that you’ve always wanted. It had better be selfish- we’re not accepting anything else, Kyungsoo!” Baekhyun had said, before grinning and flashing his sharp canines at the hesitant expression on Kyungsoo’s face.
Jongdae had agreed easily.
“C’mon, it’ll be fun! It’s nothing serious- Baekhyun saw something like it in a girls’ magazine recently and just wanted to try it-”
“Did not!”
Kyungsoo hadn’t been too on board with the plan at first, deeming wishes as frivolous and a waste of time, but now even he has to admit that a tiny bit of him is enchanted with the idea.
“O- On three, okay?” Baekhyun says through chattering teeth, shivering even though his heavy coat Is buttoned up to his chin. Jongdae pulls off his scarf, and drapes it around Baekhyun’s shoulders, before agreeing with a sharp, “Aye!”, and Kyungsoo nods, smiling.
I wish that I’ll find someone who I can love.
“Three…”
There’s an intense feeling of happiness rushing through Kyungsoo as his friends begin to count down. Baekhyun’s lips are just slightly tinged with blue, and Kyungsoo knows they’ll have to head back soon.
“Two…”
Baekhyun grabs Kyungsoo’s hand, and then Jongdae’s.
But as Jongdae says the last number, there’s a slight pause right before any of them release their balloons from their gloved hands. Time freezes for just a second, and the wind nipping at their noses suddenly feels warm and comforting instead of cold.
Kyungsoo’s breath hitches in his throat, as he tries to ask what’s going on, but just as fast as it came, the moment leaves.
A red, a yellow, and a blue balloon (Baekhyun, Jongdae, and Kyungsoo, respectively) soar up into the winter sky. Kyungsoo cranes his neck skywards, trying to stare at his balloon as long as possible.
Minutes pass.
“Guys, I’m really, really, really cold.” Baekhyun whispers, as to not disturb the peaceful atmosphere. He doesn’t succeed, and laughing, Kyungsoo and Jongdae pull him back towards the direction of Kyungsoo’s house.
Exhilaration and happiness mix together in Kyungsoo’s heart, and he runs alongside his friends back home. The wind nips at his ears, and Baekhyun yanks his hat down further.
Softly, it begins to snow.
🎈🎈🎈
At some point, (junior year, Kyungsoo thinks,) Kyungsoo finally comes to a sad conclusion.
His wish won’t come true.
It’s been four years, and every year around Christmas, he foolishly hopes that something will happen. Nothing magical ever happens, and this year is no different.
Kyungsoo is in the school parking lot, scuffing his shoes and waiting for his ride to come.
Baekhyun’s the only one out of the three who has gotten a license, and had kindly offered to pick up Kyungsoo whenever he stayed late to study in the library.
Before junior year, Kyungsoo would have just walked to Jongdae’s house, but Jongdae had moved, and now lives on the opposite side of town.
The wind howls, making Kyungsoo shiver. He pulls out his phone, and texts Baekhyun to please hurry up because it’s cold and i don’t have a jacket.
There’s still a light dusting of snow on the ground, and Kyungsoo groans as the wind doesn’t stop. He feels the beginning of a stomachache settling in, and goosebumps raise on both arms.
In an attempt to stay warm, Kyungsoo squats down in the middle of the parking lot, takes his backpack off, and sits on it. He wraps his arms around himself, shivering and wishing that he’d brought a thicker jacket.
Water begins seeping through the front of Kyungsoo’s bag, and Kyungsoo jolts up, swearing and praying that his research paper wouldn’t be ruined. Luckily for him, only the front of the bag is wet, but Kyungsoo decides not to take any more chances.
As he stands up, a burst of yellow against the white snow catches his eye, and Kyungsoo turns around to inspect it.
It’s a popped balloon, dirtied and old, but the writing on it is still legible.
Kyungsoo’s breath hitches as he recognizes Jongdae’s balloon, with his wish written on it.
Every fiber of Kyungsoo screams at him to not touch it, to respect Jongdae’s privacy, but his curiosity crushes his morals, and Kyungsoo bends over to grab it.
The sharpie has bled a little, and it’s pretty hard to read what it says. There’s one word in the middle, with most of the ink still intact, and Kyungsoo looks intently at it.
It’s capitalized, decently long, and has an ‘h’, what looks like a ‘k’, and a ‘y’. There’s a list of words running through Kyungsoo’s mind, and when it finally hits him, he feels stupid.
The word is Baekhyun. For some reason or the other, Baekhyun’s name is written on Jongdae’s balloon.
A car pulls into the school parking lot, and Kyungsoo sees Baekhyun’s brunet head behind the wheel. Hastily, Kyungsoo crams the balloon into the side pocket of his bag, and gets into Baekhyun’s car.
“Chanyeol asked me out.” Baekhyun’s eyes are wide, and he’s smiling.
Kyungsoo shifts. “Did you accept?”
“Yeah! He’s so… nice. And he’s got a great sense of humor. And he’s kind of really, really hot,” Baekhyun laughs. When Kyungsoo doesn’t join in, he frowns and looks at him.
“Anyway, it’s Friday before break. What the heck are you doing still at school?” Baekhyun teases, trying to get a smile out of Kyungsoo. It works, unfortunately.
“Student council sucks, okay? Thanks for coming to pick me up, though. I wish our meetings could still be at the public library. Then I wouldn’t need to bug you,” Kyungsoo says sheepishly.
Baekhyun grins. “No, don’t worry about it! That’s what friends are for. Besides, you got me out of detention just last week. Which Jongdae got me into, but…”
Kyungsoo doesn’t say anything.
Baekhyun adjusts his rearview mirror, and turns to look at Kyungsoo. “Speaking of Jongdae… Can I ask you a question? What’s up with Jongdae? I’ve texted him a few times, asking about a movie, Mario Kart night, the works. Haven’t gotten a single text back. You know anything?”
Kyungsoo raises an eyebrow.
“Jongdae loves Mario Kart night. He isn’t responding to your texts? Um… Have you tried calling him?”
Baekhyun nods, nibbling on his lip. “Five, six times. It’s not that his phone’s not on him. He’s just hanging up on me. Chanyeol even tried knocking on his door.”
Kyungsoo stills, the gears in his mind clicking together. “When did Chanyeol ask you out?”
“Uh, right before the normal kids-- a.k.a, not over-worked student council members, -- left for home. He stopped me on my way to my car, and asked.” Baekhyun grins as he makes a right turn.
He pulls into Kyungsoo’s driveway, and turns to look at Kyungsoo again.
“Hey, you okay? Are you going to ignore me too?” Baekhyun’s eyes look genuinely hurt and confused, and Kyungsoo feels bad.
“Of course not, Baek. I’m sure Jongdae will get over it soon. See you when winter break ends?” Kyungsoo bluffs, stepping out of the car.
Baekhyun smiles gratefully and nods.
“See you, Kyungsoo!”
🎈🎈🎈
On Monday morning, Kyungsoo wakes up nice and early to go to the library for studying. If Baekhyun had been there, he would have laughed and forced Kyungsoo back into bed. If Jongdae had been there, he would have barricaded Kyungsoo into his house, and then laughed.
But neither of them are here. Baekhyun is out with Chanyeol, and Jongdae is probably hiding somewhere.
And so, Kyungsoo is easily able to go to the library. He walks slowly, not enjoying the freezing morning air but not willing to run and fall on the ice. Kyungsoo thinks he’s clumsy enough, thank you very much.
He’s never been a very vocal person, always unable to tell people exactly what he’s thinking. Kyungsoo talks, sure, but he often goes around and around his main point, without ever actually saying what he wants to say.
Baekhyun’s always been better at that than both Kyungsoo and Jongdae. Loud, rash, but kind Baekhyun, who isn’t afraid of sharing his opinion. Jongdae’s very loud too, but he hides secrets behind that mask of jokes and casual banter.
The library has just opened when Kyungsoo arrives, and he settles happily into his normal seat at the fifth table on the second floor. He types away on a small laptop, totally intent on finishing the lab report for chemistry.
However, an hour of polishing his lab report later, Kyungsoo’s thoughts turn to Baekhyun and Jongdae. The more he thinks about it, the worse it seems. He’s nearly nauseous, and when he goes to put the chemistry book back, his knees give out.
Embarrassed, Kyungsoo stands back up, itching his neck and hoping no one saw. After all, it isn’t even his problem, it’s Jongdae’s… right?
“Hey, you okay?” A voice interrupts Kyungsoo’s inner turmoil, and Kyungsoo, surprised, looks up.
“Oh, uh, yeah. Just--” Kyungsoo’s voice dies in his throat as he stares at the stranger standing in front of him.
If Kyungsoo had flipped open a dictionary to the word, “flawless”, the boy standing in front of him would be right there in the definition.
To say he was gorgeous would be a gross understatement.
“--fell.” Kyungsoo coughs. “Yeah, I just fell.”
The boy’s much taller than Kyungsoo, but despite that, his face seems younger, especially as he smiles.
Suddenly, it’s much too hot under Kyungsoo’s collar, and the shorter swallows uncomfortably.
“Well, then don’t fall again!” the boy jokingly admonishes, eyes crinkling into sunny crescents. “You’d think that a library would be a very safe place, you know?”
Without pausing, he sticks out his hand. Kyungsoo stares at it.
“I’m Kim Jongin, sophomore and also newly-elected president of the Helping-People-Stand-Up-In-Libraries club, or HPSUIL for short.” Jongin grins, and Kyungsoo feels like melting. The sophomore pronounces the club name as “hup-sue-eel”, and it’s kind of super adorable to Kyungsoo.
He takes Jongin’s outstretched hand and shakes it.
“I’m Do Kyungsoo, junior.” He smiles back at Jongin.
“You’re- You’re the guy who’s offering tutoring in Algebra 2, right? I- I really need help…” Jongin says sheepishly, and pulls out a messy binder.
“Uh, yeah. Nice to meet you.” Kyungsoo gulps, and walks back to the table where he had been sitting. Kyungsoo pushes his stuff aside to make room for Jongin. “What do you need help with?”
“So, I’ve got this major exam I need to take a week after break ends. It’s on the first six chapters of my textbook, and I know exactly one chapter of that.” Jongin scratches his head sheepishly.
“You want me to go over them with you?” Kyungsoo motions for Jongin to hand the book over, and he puts a purple-covered textbook on the table. Kyungsoo flips the cover open and raises an eyebrow at the names written on the inside cover.
Kyungsoo’s own name is printed neatly into the inside cover. Right underneath it is a messy scrawl, and when Kyungsoo squints, he realizes it says Jongin’s name.
“You- you got my textbook,” he says, going for suave and cool but landing somewhere between excited and creepy.
“Uh, yeah, that’s kind of funny,” Jongin laughs weakly. “What a coincidence.”
A beat of silence passes as Kyungsoo tries to collect himself, and not weird Jongin out too much. The sophomore begins (very attractively, he notes) pulling out pencils and notebooks from his bag. Kyungsoo wants to hit himself in the face, but that would probably fall under the “mental problems” category in Jongin’s eyes.
“So, um, second chapter?” Kyungsoo finally says.
“Yeah. That’d be great.” Jongin grins.
Kyungsoo launches right into the details of the chapter to avoid any more awkward conversation. Jongin picks things up quickly, and they work well together.
“Think that’s enough for this week?” Kyungsoo asks, setting down his pencil and looking at Jongin. He’s staring at the paper intensely, as if trying to burn a hole into it. Jongin’s ridiculously handsome, and Kyungsoo swallows thickly as the sophomore looks straight into his eyes.
“Yeah. Good amount! Thank you so much, Kyungsoo!” Jongin smiles, and his eyes crinkle.
Kyungsoo feels alarms going off in his head-- WARNING: You’re developing a crush! Stop! Stop!.
“Bye,” he says, waving.
Jongin waves back, and Kyungsoo’s heart skips a beat.
He silences the alarms in his head, and tries to hold his smile back for the rest of the time in his library.
🎈🎈🎈
His phone buzzes with a new notification, and Kyungsoo checks it with a swipe of his finger.
Jongdae’s name flickers at the top of the screen, and then the text pops up.
meet me @ the cafe in 10?? it reads, and Kyungsoo sends a quick sure before slipping on his coat and shoes.
His mom shoots him a strange look as he heads out so soon after coming back, but Mrs. Do doesn’t say anything except a quick, “Be back for dinner, okay?”.
Kyungsoo nods, kisses his mother on the cheek, and breezes out the door.
The cafe’s less than a ten minute walk away from Kyungsoo’s house, but it’s a solid twenty minute drive from Jongdae’s. And so, when Jongdae greets him at the cafe, Kyungsoo’s a bit shocked.
“When did you get here?” He asks, pulling his jacket off and flinging it onto the seat next to him.
Jongdae smiles, but it doesn’t quite reach his eyes. Kyungsoo notes that he has heavy eyebags.
“Around four hours ago,” Jongdae says, absentmindedly opening a bag of sugar and dumping it into his coffee. Kyungsoo gapes at Jongdae.
“What- why? Why didn’t you text me earlier?”
Jongdae shrugs.
“I don’t know.”
Kyungsoo shifts uneasily, remembering the recent events.
“Well… You okay?” Kyungsoo says carefully, gently taking the coffee from Jongdae. Just as he expects, it’s ice-cold and saturated with the contents of at least seven or eight sugar bags.
“I mean, I called you over, didn’t I?” Jongdae leans back in his chair, and there’s an air of uncomfortableness that Kyungsoo never felt with Jongdae before. It twists viciously in his stomach before curling up his throat and making it hard to talk.
“Anything- anything you want to say, you can tell me,” Kyungsoo manages, accepting the fresh coffee that the waiter sets down on their table gratefully.
“I love Baekhyun,” Jongdae says plainly, looking Kyungsoo in the eye for the first time. “I love him so much, and he’s dating Chanyeol.”
“I- I’m sorry,” Kyungsoo stammers. He’s not supposed to be shocked, but the hurt in Jongdae’s voice is still sharp and startling. Kyungsoo clenches his hands into the fabric of his pants.
“I know it sounds childish, but I really, really love him?” Jongdae runs a hand through his hair, breathing heavily. “I thought- I just thought- you know, after so long… Maybe he’d feel the same way.”
“Love…?” Kyungsoo asks gently. “Or like?”
“Love,” Jongdae says. His mouth sets into a hard line, and his eyes seem to wander into a world Kyungsoo can’t see. “It’s definitely love.”
Kyungsoo sips at his coffee, just to make up for the lack of words that he could say. It scalds his tongue, but he drinks it anyway. The coffee’s horribly bitter.
“If you’d asked me four years ago, the answer would have been less sure,” Jongdae continues, “But now, it can’t be anything else. I always thought I’d get over it, but...”
“The balloon- was that, was it-”
“You found it?” Jongdae raises an eyebrow, and Kyungsoo flushes.
“I just… I found it in the school parking lot, and I saw Baekhyun’s name on it…” Kyungsoo explains. “But is it about... this?
Jongdae nods, lacing his fingers and letting his head rest on his knuckles.
“That old thing… That wish never did me any good, eh?”
“Why didn’t you ever tell anyone?” Kyungsoo presses. His phone buzzes again, and Kyungsoo glances at it. It’s a text from Jongin. Quickly, he silences it, but makes a mental note to check it later.
“I… I was afraid… That he didn’t like me back? I regret not telling you guys, though… It’s much worse this way. Now I don’t have a chance at all.”
Wordlessly, Kyungsoo rises from his seat and wraps Jongdae in a gentle hug. Jongdae shifts a little, but ultimately returns the hug and buries his face into the fabric of Kyungsoo’s clothes.
“Anything else you want to tell me?” he asks as he pushes his own hot coffee in front of Jongdae.
Jongdae stares at the coffee, and when he talks, it’s almost like he’s talking to the paper cup instead of Kyungsoo.
“No, not really. I’m just mad at the world right now.” And Baekhyun, Kyungsoo knows, even if Jongdae didn’t say it out loud. “I haven’t talked to him- Baekhyun, I mean-, in a while I can’t look in him the face at all.”
“You really should,” Kyungsoo says, “I know you don’t want to, but-”
“But what the hell do I say? Oh yeah, it’s me, your childhood friend who casually loves you! Please break up with your boyfriend because I want to be him!” Jongdae nearly yells in frustration, scaring a nearby waitress.
“Just- whatever we used to talk about before, like- like the comic series that you two tried to get me obsessed with, wasn’t there a new update?” Kyungsoo tries.
Jongdae laughs bitterly.
“Yeah, that’ll work real well. I can’t even say hi to him without feeling like shooting myself in the chest, but a comic strip about an alien and a cow? Sure, no problem!”
Kyungsoo opens and closes his mouth. Jongdae’s just being mean, Kyungsoo can tell, but only to hide the sense of desperation that tinges every one of his words. He isn’t the one having issues, but the heavy eye bags under Jongdae’s eyes made Kyungsoo almost wish that he was.
“Listen, Kyungsoo… I know you’re just trying to help.” Jongdae smiles weakly. “Honestly, though, I got myself into this mess, and there’s no way out. Give me another week and I’ll stop being a jerk.”
“Anything I can do? At all?” Kyungsoo asks, watching the way Jongdae’s smile wobbled.
“If you could magically make Baekhyun love me back, it’d be lovely. Actually, it’d be fabulous, but I’m guessing you can’t.” Jongdae swallows the last of the coffee in a gulp. “Kyungsoo… I’m gonna go. Take care. I- I’ll see you after break ends.”
Without anything more than a casual wave, Jongdae rises from the table and leaves. Kyungsoo stares intently at his retreating back and stirs sullenly at his coffee.
His phone buzzes again. Reluctantly, Kyungsoo pulls it out of his jacket pocket to check it. Jongin’s name flickers on the screen, and Kyungsoo opens the texts.
The sophomore wants to set up another study session on Monday, and Kyungsoo quickly checks through his calendar. When nothing comes up, Kyungsoo fires back a next monday @ 6.00 is fine for me.
Jongin responds with a cute Japanese emoticon, and Kyungsoo smiles before he can stop himself.
🎈🎈🎈
Coming back to school after winter break is always a miserable affair, and Kyungsoo feels the heavy weight of exhaustion the second he gets up.
“I… hate… this…” he grumbles, standing at the bus stop in the freezing cold. The end of winter break did not mean the end of winter, and Kyungsoo swears he can feel his fingers beginning to fall off.
He brings his hands up, trying to scrunch up five or six layers to see his watch. After forcefully tugging up the sleeve of his winter jacket, Kyungsoo spies the time. The bus is late by a solid fifteen minutes, and Kyungsoo is probably going to freeze to death before it comes.
A rumbling sound comes from the right side of the road, where the bus usually comes from. Kyungsoo picks his head up, praying that it’s the bus, miraculously coming early.
Unfortunately, it’s not a bus but a car, and Kyungsoo sadly burrows his head back into zipped-up top of his jacket. However, the car begins to slow in front of him, and Kyungsoo squints at the driver’s seat.
The silver car looks familiar.
Baekhyun waves from the driver’s side, and Kyungsoo nearly sobs with relief. He runs as fast as he can through the snow, tugging on the passenger’s side seat door. It opens with a slight creak, and Kyungsoo climbs in gratefully.
“Byun Baekhyun, I love you so much right now,” Kyungsoo pants, rubbing his hands to try and get the circulation back. Baekhyun tosses him an easy grin, before driving out of Kyungsoo’s street. Kyungsoo doesn’t recognize the way he’s going.
“Picking up Jongdae, right?” Kyungsoo asks.
Baekhyun shifts uncomfortably as he stops for a red light.
“Actually… I’m picking up Chanyeol. They live on the same street.” Baekhyun chews his lips, shooting quick looks at Kyungsoo to judge how he reacts.
“Aren’t you going to pick up Jongdae, too?”
The light goes green, and Baekhyun floors the gas pedal a little harder than necessary. His eyebrows are furrowed on his face, and Kyungsoo wonders if Baekhyun knows a little more than what Jongdae gives him credit for.
“Jongdae… hasn’t been talking to me for the past week and a half. I’ve texted him a lot, but I think he’s pissed at me for some reason or the other. I’ve been giving him some space, and I don’t know if he’ll appreciate getting picked up.” Baekhyun makes a left down a small street, and Kyungsoo finally remembers Jongdae’s new street.
“Baekhyun, it’s freezing cold and the buses are late. You sure you want to leave him out there?” Kyungsoo reasons. Both him and Baekhyun know that Jongdae now takes the bus in the morning, with one of the longest routes and earliest pick-up times. If Kyungsoo’s bus had been late by fifteen minutes, Jongdae would have been out there for twenty-five, at least.
Additionally, Jongdae and Chanyeol are at the same stop. If Baekhyun comes and only takes Chanyeol with him...
Two figures stand in the distance, and Kyungsoo points them out to Baekhyun, who nods and drives forward.
Jongdae recognizes Baekhyun’s car almost immediately, face lighting up quickly. However, the second he looks to his left and sees Chanyeol, the smile melts off his face. Kyungsoo sighs sadly, and jumps out of the car to invite both in.
“C’mon, Baekhyun’s driving us,” Kyungsoo yells over to them, and the two share a quick glance before tearing across the street to the car.
Chanyeol makes it there first, having longer legs and the advantage of being on the school basketball team. He holds the door open for Jongdae, who grudgingly thanks him and gets into the car.
The four people in the car sit in absolute silence, and Kyungsoo hates it. Jongdae and Baekhyun used to never shut up, but neither of them even open their mouth right now.
“Uh,” Chanyeol tries, clearing his throat. “So, how was everyone’s break?”
“Good!” Kyungsoo says immediately. He doesn’t miss the grateful look that Chanyeol shoots him, and the horrible sensation of uncomfortableness comes pooling back into his stomach.
“You should have gone sledding with us,” Baekhyun says. It’s directed towards Kyungsoo, but Chanyeol’s the one who Baekhyun looks at.
They make small talk, trying to make the air in the car feel less hostile. They can’t even talk about the same thing for two minutes before the conversation trails off. It’s barely even a conversation, though, feeling fake and superficial to Kyungsoo.
He can’t help but think that it’s Chanyeol’s fault that Jongdae and Baekhyun aren’t bouncing in their seats with energy and blabbing on and on about anything and everything. Baekhyun’s talking still, but there’s no excitement behind it like usual.
“I haven’t really been up to much. Baekbeom visited; Chanyeol, you met him, right?” Baekhyun says, and Jongdae lifts his head up at the mention of Baekhyun’s brother. Kyungsoo twists his head around to look at him.
“Yeah, I did! He didn’t really talk to me, though, so…” Chanyeol laughs sheepishly.
Jongdae knows Baekbeom pretty well. In fact, it had been Baekbeom who’d introduced Jongdae to Baekhyun.
“Jongdae, how was your break?” Chanyeol asks, trying to force Jongdae into the conversation.
It’s impossible not to see the baleful glare that Jongdae sends his way. He hasn’t said a single word throughout the entire car ride, and he isn’t planning to start now.
“Jongdae?” Chanyeol presses.
“It was fine,” Jongdae nearly spits, turning around quickly and seemingly burning a hole into the car window.
“Jeez, Jongdae. Chanyeol just asked you a question. No need to get so snippy,” Baekhyun scolds. “I don’t know what’s gotten into you recently.”
They pull up at the school, and Jongdae doesn’t even say thank you before he leaps out of the car. No one but Kyungsoo sees the tears brimming in his eyes.
🎈🎈🎈
Kyungsoo stands in front of the mirror, the contents of his closet a mess on his bed. It’s stupid, but Kyungsoo really wants to look good for Jongin.
Get a grip, he chides himself. It’s only tutoring. Still, he slips on at least three more sweaters, taking each one off because they make him look frumpy and uptight.
He texts Baekhyun about it, because Kyungsoo doesn’t think Jongdae’s in any mood to give fashion advice. Unfortunately, Baekhyun doesn’t respond, and Kyungsoo is forced to actually try to match clothes.
Eventually, he gives up, rinses his mouth out with Scope twice, and leaves for the library. When he finally gets there, he checks his reflection in the glass of the library door. Kyungsoo’s hair is a mess, and the more he tries to comb it with his glove, the more it stands up from static electricity.
Kyungsoo gives up.
He takes three deep breaths, and walks into the library.
“Hello, Kyungsoo!” Jongin waves energetically over the stack of books surrounding him, eyes bright and a pencil tucked behind his ear. He resembles an over-eager puppy so much that Kyungsoo has to physically restrain himself from ruffling the sophomore’s hair.
It would probably be nice to ruffle Jongin’s hair, Kyungsoo muses dazedly. It looks so fluffy and dark, framing the younger’s face so nicely… He doesn’t even realize he’s staring until Jongin gets out of his chair and waves a hand in Kyungsoo’s face.
“You okay?”
“Uh, yeah. I’m just a little out of it, nothing major,” Kyungsoo says, before hastily taking out his books and changing the subject back to school work. “You worked over winter break?”
Jongin nods.
“How much stuff did you get done?” Kyungsoo asks.
Jongin itches his neck and flips his notebook to the first page.
“I got through the first four chapters, but parabolas…” Jongin trails off, staring blankly at Kyungsoo as the other flipped through the textbook.
“Ah, graphing quadratics? No worries, we’ll get through this in no time flat, if you’ve got graphing linear equations and quadratics down.” Kyungsoo plops down next to him, and pulls out a couple sheets of graph paper.
“You sure? I just--”
“Don’t worry about it,” Kyungsoo says, taking a look at the problems in the book and quickly writing out the equation on the piece of paper. “Tell me, what’s a graph?”
“A graph is the connection between all the solutions to an equation…?” Jongin says, almost questioningly.
“Correct. So, a parabola would be a graph of all the solutions to a quadratic equations. They also either open up or down…” Kyungsoo begins, explaining the chapter carefully to Jongin.
Jongin’s eyes light up with understanding, and slowly, Kyungsoo leads him through a few problems until Jongin’s able to solve them on his own.
“See, if you alter it by one or two, the parabola will move by one or two. It’s that simple, really.”
Nearly two hours later, they’ve covered the second half of the chapter and majority of chapter six too. Kyungsoo has probably never tutored a more hard-working student, and he can’t help but ask as they’re putting the textbooks away.
“Why are you so behind in school? You’re smart, you pick up the lessons quickly, and your perseverance and working skills are incredible,” Kyungsoo says, grabbing the nearest math textbook.
Jongin grimaces. “I dance, and this year, we went to competition for nationals. My team got third in the end, but we missed around two months of school. The rest of my classes have been okay, because I’ve got a pretty good hold on everything except math.”
Kyungsoo nods, before groaning in dismay when he realizes that the book he needs to put away is supposed to go on the top shelf. He can barely touch the edge of the second shelf.
Jumping, Kyungsoo tries to slot the book onto the shelf. It doesn’t work, and Kyungsoo tries until he can hear Jongin laughing behind him.
“Shut up,” he says, embarrassed. “Make yourself useful and put the book away for me.”
Jongin gently takes the textbook from Kyungsoo’s hands and easily puts it away. It’s ridiculous how much taller Jongin is than him, and he grumbles about it every time Jongin puts a book away on the top or second shelf.
Kyungsoo slips on his coat, buttoning it all the way up to his chin. Jongin is still laughing at him, and Kyungsoo glowers at him over the collar of his jacket.
“Why’re you still laughing?” Kyungsoo mumbles, face growing unbearably hot. It’s unfortunate for him that Jongin has a very nice laugh. “Stop it.”
Jongin steps forwards, and tucks a lock of hair behind Kyungsoo’s ear.
Kyungsoo freezes.
“You’re so cute, I can’t help it…” Jongin says, seemingly unaware of Kyungsoo’s state of petrification. He pulls his own coat on, zips it up, and slings his bag over his shoulders. “I have to go now, I have dance early tomorrow morning.”
“On a Tuesday morning?!” Kyungsoo yelps in surprise, snapping out of his reverie. “School starts at seven forty-five-- when do you have the time to dance?”
“I get there at five-thirty; I have two hours and fifteen minutes to choreograph and practice. It’s only a few minutes from the school.” Jongin scratches his head. “I think I’ve finished all my homework, but there’s always room for me to lose it.”
Kyungsoo stands, jaw slightly slack with awe. Jongin looks up curiously at him. “You okay?”
“Just… Five-thirty just for dance?” Kyungsoo says.
“Mm-hmm.” Jongin shifts his backpack straps to a more comfortable position. “Tomorrow at the same time?”
“Sure.”
Jongin points at the door. “Oh, look. My ride’s here..”
A tall, lanky kid with bleached-white hair swings car keys around his fingers, and Jongin walks to his side
“Didn’t know you could drive, Sehun,” Jongin says dubiously. “When I called you up for a ride, I thought you’d get Minseok.”
Sehun smirks, and easily wraps an arm around Jongin’s shoulders. Watching quietly, Kyungsoo decides he doesn’t like the kid. For underage driving, not because he’s touching Jongin. Even though Kyungsoo kind of wants to hug Jongin.
“Well, I didn’t get Minseok himself, but he gave me his car keys.” Sehun says, his voice slow and nearly a drawl.
“Uh, Kyungsoo, meet Sehun. He’s in my dance group. Sehun, meet Kyungsoo. This is the person stopping me from failing algebra.” Jongin smiles, and Kyungsoo’s heart feels like bursting out his chest. Jongin’s smile is practically blinding, and his eyes crinkle up in the most adorable way.
“So, this is the famous Do Kyungsoo.” A smile twitches at the edges of Sehun’s mouth, and Kyungsoo finds it uncomfortable.
“Yeah, I-I’m Kyungsoo,” he responds. Sehun grins, and elbows Jongin in the ribs, making the latter cough. “Is there something weird about that?” Kyungsoo asks carefully.
“No, nothing at all,” Jongin hisses, slapping Sehun on the arm. “Sehun, shut up.” His cheeks are flaming red, and he tugs on Sehun’s sleeve.
Kyungsoo waves confusedly as Jongin leaves. Not a minute passes before he begins walking home himself, shivering in the cold air.
🎈🎈🎈
Tuesday morning comes around with sub-zero temperatures again, and Baekhyun’s waiting again at Kyungsoo’s driveway. Kyungsoo smiles gratefully as he slides once more into the passenger seat.
“Seriously, how will I ever repay you for this?” he jokes, knowing that Baekhyun would never really ask for a price.
But for some reason, the corners of Baekhyun’s mouth don’t lift, and instead, the brunet wordlessly backs out of the driveway and veers down the street. Kyungsoo hasn’t even gotten his seatbelt on yet, and he collides into the dashboard.
“Sorry.” Baekhyun pulls over, waiting for Kyungsoo.
“Baekhyun- Are you okay?” Kyungsoo scrambles back onto his seat, hurriedly clicking his seat belt into place. When Baekhyun turns his head to finally look at Kyungsoo, his eyes are red, as if he had been crying.
“What did I do wrong?” he whispers, asking Kyungsoo.
“What?”
“Jongdae. What did I do wrong with Jongdae?” Baekhyun says again, louder this time. “He’s- was- one of my best friends, and now, he won’t even look at me anymore.”
“What happened?” Kyungsoo asks, though in his mind he’s already gotten an idea of what happened.
“He… After we got to school yesterday, Chanyeol felt bad because he thought he’d made Jongdae uncomfortable. I talked to Jongdae about it, and he told me not to pick him up. I tried to say more, but he totally ignored me, and pushed me out of the way.” Baekhyun massaged his forehead.
“Did you try again later?” Kyungsoo says quietly, praying that Jongdae had at least apologized later.
“Yeah, I did. Remember how during lunch, you went to student council? Jongdae didn’t sit at our table, and so I went to look for him. Found him in the back of the computer lab. He’d rather eat with the eighty-year-old technology teacher than Chanyeol and I.” Baekhyun slams his hands on the dashboard, startling Kyungsoo. “And the worst part? When Chanyeol went to ask him to come back, he didn’t even look at Chanyeol. Like he couldn’t hear him.”
“Why didn’t you ask him yourself?” Kyungsoo unconsciously moves his bag closer to him. He can see the bulge in the side pocket where Jongdae’s balloon is hidden, and it feels like someone’s cramming the yellow plastic down his throat.
“I was so pissed at him, if I’d gone to ask him-- and I was going to!-- I would have smashed his head into the computer desk he was sitting at.” Baekhyun yells. He shakes his head, and then gets back on the road. “In any case, I’m not picking him up today.”
“Baekhyun, it’s cold…”
Baekhyun snorts. “He can go freeze to death, for all I care.”
Snow banks taller than Kyungsoo frame both sides of the road, and Kyungsoo looks out the window at the frozen world outside. “You don’t mean that.”
“I…” Baekhyun sighs. “No, I don’t. But that doesn’t make him any less of an asshole. And I’m still not picking him up.”
They drive in silence for the next few minutes, and when they get to the street that Jongdae and Chanyeol live on, it’s horrible for Kyungsoo to have to see Jongdae remain standing at the bus stop.
“...You sure you’re not going to pick Jongdae up?” Chanyeol asks hesitantly. “Babe, I know you’re ticked, but he’s still your friend.”
Chanyeol’s too nice, Kyungsoo decides. Chanyeol makes things harder for Jongdae, because it’s difficult to hate someone who really didn’t deserve to be hated.
“He told me not to pick him up, so I’m not going to pick him up,” Baekhyun says bluntly, looking at the lone figure standing at the bus stop. Jongdae’s pointedly not looking at Baekhyun’s car, and that just seems to solidify Baekhyun’s choice.
He drives straight past the bus stop. Kyungsoo watches as Jongdae disappears from the rearview mirror, and sadly wonders how things were falling apart so fast.
A gloomy cloud settles over the car. No one says anything, and Kyungsoo stares at the way Baekhyun chews on his lip viciously. When blood begins to bubble up, he reaches into the foot compartment for a tissue. Kyungsoo hands it to Baekhyun, who takes it gratefully.
“Thanks.” Baekhyun’s voice is clipped and unhappy. Chanyeol flinches when he sees the blood from Baekhyun’s lip stain the tissue.
“You okay?”
“I’m fine.” Baekhyun’s voice cracks, sounding anything but fine.
The arrival at school is less than glamorous, but Kyungsoo thanks Baekhyun again anyways. He grabs his bag and walks out of the car.
A yellow bus pulls up at the school, and Jongdae steps off, eyebrows furrowed and hands jammed deep in his pocket. He looks at the cars in the parking lot, recognizes Baekhyun’s, and immediately walks away.
“Jongdae!” Kyungsoo calls. “Jongdae, over here!”
Jongdae turns his head, and sees Kyungsoo. He almost goes over to Kyungsoo, but when he’s twenty meters away, he stops, shakes his head, and goes inside the school.
Kyungsoo turns around, and Baekhyun is walking towards him, hand-in-hand with Chanyeol. Baekhyun’s eyes are redder than before, and the tear stains on Chanyeol’s jacket are freezing.
“See? He won’t answer to us at all,” Baekhyun says. “What the fuck did I do?”
Chanyeol rests his head on Baekhyun’s head, and the brunet calms. He closes his eyes, and breathes in deeply.
Kyungsoo’s mouth tastes of silicon.
🎈🎈🎈
Kyungsoo’s there before Jongin this time, tapping his pencil on the table and waiting for the sophomore to come.
Around four minutes later, Jongin comes rushing through the library doors, clutching a bag in his hands. His school backpack is wide open, and a few papers flutter out. Jongin groans, and stoops over to grab them.
Kyungsoo stands up and walks over to where Jongin is scrambling for his papers. He helps sort them into a somewhat neat pile.
“Thanks,” Jongin pants. “I- I just got back from dance, and- hah… I ran from the studio…”
Amused, Kyungsoo takes the bag from Jongin’s hand, and helps him put it down on the table. Jongin smiles appreciatively and sinks down into a chair. Kyungsoo breathes deeply, trying not to be too affected by Jongin and failing miserably.
They sit together and study, and the practice Jongin’s been doing really shows. He’s getting question after question right, and when Kyungsoo finishes teaching him the last part of chapter seven, Jongin’s grinning really hard.
“You think I actually have a chance at passing this exam?” Jongin asks as Kyungsoo packs up. He’s left a lot of review problems from chapters one through seven, but Jongin swears that he can finish them.
“I’m pretty confident that you will.” Kyungsoo smiles back at him and Jongin sighs happily. “The test is only on the first seven chapters, right? You’ve gotten most of the seven down already, why wouldn’t you pass?”
“Walk home with me? I think you live closer than me, but it should be in the same direction.” Jongin jerks his head in the direction of the library door, and begins walking.
“Uh, sure.” Kyungsoo shakes his head, and sneaks a look at Jongin. His heart thuds wildly in his chest.
They leave the library together, the last two people walking through the doors before the librarian on duty locked up for the night. Streetlights light up the town at night, and the steady flow of cars slows to a trickle.
Snow crunches beneath their boots as they make their way back home. It’s been at least two weeks since the last snowstorm, but the weather hasn’t gotten warm enough for much to melt.
“Hey, Kyungsoo?” Jongin’s breath puffs into a billow of white mist in front of his face.
“Yeah?” A similar cloud of white appears near Kyungsoo’s mouth before vanishing quickly into the chilly air.
“Would it be too forward- if I just- if I…” Jongin pauses, and stops walking. His face is flushed red, but Kyungsoo doesn’t know if it’s from the cold or from embarrassment. Kyungsoo stops too.
“If you…?”
“Do you like me?” Jongin blurts abruptly, and immediately slaps a hand over his mouth. His cheeks turn even redder, and Kyungsoo’s left speechless.
“I- uh, what--” he stammers. Apologizing, Jongin lowers his hand, backing away and leaving an uncomfortably large distance between them.
“I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking; please, I’m sorry I made it awkward-”
Does he like Jongin, though? Kyungsoo certainly finds him attractive, but that isn’t such a good excuse to say that you like someone. He doesn’t know Jongin well enough, doesn’t know his personality-
He works hard, he’s kind, and he’s funny; his mind supplies helpfully. Jongin was sweet and funny when he first helped Kyungsoo off of the floor, and he’s still that way right now.
“It’s just- uh, I just…I’ve liked you since early last year, when I saw you receive that award for outstanding academic expression or something-- I really did need tutoring, though, it wasn’t just for that-- I mean, I wanted to see you, but--” Jongin’s really flustered; his arms sweep around in grand, slightly awkward motions as he tries to explain.
“I like you too,” Kyungsoo whispers, and Jongin looks up at him disbelievingly. It feels extremely childish, but it’s sweet nonetheless, and a shy smile blooms on his face.
“So- uh, next Friday, after school and student councils, my dance team is having a performance, you wanna come? You don’t have too, I don’t want to force you or anything, but, uh, if you’re interested-”
Kyungsoo gently grabs Jongin’s hand, cutting him off.
“Okay,” he says.
“What- you’re… you’re okay with it? You sure?” Although his voice is dubious, Jongin doesn’t let go of Kyungsoo’s hand, though. The sophomore simply readjusts his grip so it’s more comfortable for both of them.
“Yeah. I’m okay with it.” Kyungsoo swings their linked arms back and forth, and starts walking again. His heart is literally beating out of his chest, and his breaths are a little shallower than normal. “I just- why me?”
Jongin’s turned to stare at him, lips quirking upwards with barely-contained happiness, and Kyungsoo’s struck again about how good-looking he is. Jongin cocks his head at Kyungsoo.
“What do you mean?”
“You’re-- you, and I’m… me.” Kyungsoo winces. “It’s just... you’re so good-looking, and I’m average on a good day.”
Jongin snorts.
“Like hell you are. You? Average? Please. At worst… you’d be a solid nine point nine,” Jongin says, bumping his elbow into Kyungsoo’s side. “But thank you for calling me good-looking, glad to know that my panic attack before this study session worked. I spent at least half an hour trying to figure what I was going to wear.”
Jongin had stressed out over what he was going to wear. Jongin had worried about it. Jongin had been excited to see him.
“So, uh, what kind of dance do you do?”
“Oh, there’s a lot! I’ve been doing, uh, ballet since I was five, but I’ve recently gotten really interested in hip-hop. For Friday, we’re doing the hip-hop we won nationals with, but…” Jongin rattles on.
Kyungsoo’s too caught up in listening to Jongin (and totally not staring at his face), and he doesn’t look where he steps. His foot sinks straight into at least half a foot of slush, and he yelps when cold snow trickles into his boot.
“Smooth, Kyungsoo!” Jongin remarks, but he’s already got his arms looped under Kyungsoo’s.
With a forceful pull, Kyungsoo’s free of the slush-- not that he was stuck in the first place, but he isn’t going to complain about Jongin tugging him out.
“Uh, thanks,” Kyungsoo says. They let go of each other quickly, but Jongin’s smiling stupidly and Kyungsoo’s pretty sure that he is too. He’s still kind of in shock about it all, but no amount of pinching is going to change the fact that Jongin’s next to him.
They keep walking for a couple more minutes in total silence. Kyungsoo isn’t in any mood to talk, too busy biting his lip and trying to calm his heartbeat down. When they reach Kyungsoo’s house, he turns to Jongin and tries to say something.
“I just- yeah. Yeah.” Kyungsoo feels pretty idiotic, but Jongin doesn’t seem to mind. The sophomore stuffs his hands into his pockets, and the smile on his face could literally melt all the snow on Kyungsoo’s front lawn.
“Friday? It’s just at the dance studio down the street. Meet up at the cafeteria, and we’ll walk down together? Wow, I’m a sucky date.” Jongin grins sheepishly. “Will you still go?”
“Of course!” Kyungsoo says.
“Then…See you on Friday, or around in school?”
Kyungsoo pinches himself one last time, for good measure. Nothing happens.
“Yeah. See you.” Kyungsoo’s eyes practically shine in the moonlight.
( part 2 )