Hey! When are you free? I’m working all week but I finish at 4 pm everyday so I could drop by the bookstore? Maybe? If that’s ok with you…

Is the text Kyungsoo sends Jongin as soon as he wakes up. To be honest, he had dreamt about Jongin again. They recently  hung out a couple days prior, but he  already had the urge to see him again.

He finally receives  a text around 8:30 but the person responding is definitely not Jongin.

Why are u messaging Jongin so early? Are u da boy from Joonmyeon’s university? What do u want?

Minus the horrible spelling, Kyungsoo is convinced it cannot be Jongin by the way the person was answering him. Jongin would never talk to him like that. He didn’t need to be a genius to figure out who was replying either. Who else was present when Chanyeol and Jongin came to the university? That Sehun guy.  What really bothered him wasn’t the fact that Sehun was answering Jongin’s phone. It was the fact that he was answering Jongin’s phone very early in the morning  which meant he was at the boy’s place. Did he sleep there? Why? Were they that close? Did they sleep in the same bed? What were they?

Hmm, yeah, that’s me. Why are you answering Jongin’s phone?

I should ask u y UR texting my boyfriend

Boyfriend?!?! Damn! He remembers now! The way they linked arms at the party and at the university, it definitely meant more than being simple friends. Oh no… What did he get himself into this time? He was sure Jongin wanted something more between them. Something romantic. Not just friendship. He recalls that pink-haired boy never really gave him hints of wanting more though. ! He’s been blinded by his own desire. They should have talked about it beforehand. Made things clear before starting anything.

He buries his face in his pillow and lets out an angry scream. Not again! 

His breakdown is interrupted by his second alarm going off. Work! He quickly gets dressed and leaves for the restaurant. A gloomy expression on his face during the whole walk. His uniform isn’t even worn properly but he couldn’t care less at the moment. He’s so into mentally yelling at himself, he doesn’t notice the swift movements of his stalker following him close by. Closer than usual. If he paid any attention, he would have realized the shadow was happily trailing behind him. Which definitely wasn’t a good sign. But who could blame him? He was human after all.   

**

Kyungsoo is rushing from table to table. The rush of dinner time always being the most stressful part of his day. He’s about to take another order when he recognizes Baekhyun seated at a table. His friend looks terrible. Even worse than Kyungsoo could look if he tried.

-Baekhy-

-Give me your strongest alcohol.

Kyungsoo sighs in his head and says:

-It’s a family restaurant. We have Powerade, will that do?

-Okay.

-Blue or red?

-Red.

Kyungsoo wants to chuckle at his friend’s childishness.

-Do you want anything else?

-A steak. With fries.

-Okay, I’ll be back with your order. My break is in 15 minutes.

-I’m not going anywhere.

The red-head worriedly looks over his shoulder as he heads to put the order in. What could have put Baekhyun in such a bad mood? It was completely opposite from his normal attitude. A little voice in the back of his mind told him it had to do with a certain guy; Chanyeol. 

**

-So, he isn’t gay?

-No.

-But what about your dates and the skinship you told me about?

-He said he really liked me but just as a friend. Said I was cute too but he doesn’t like boys.

If there was something a person, not interested in Baekhyun, should never say, it was exactly that. Do not compliment a boy that already knows he’s cute when you don’t want to be more than friends with him. That’s like asking for the price of a dog but not buying it.

Kyungsoo felt bad for both sides. He knew Baekhyun was clingy and a little bit of a drama queen. Also, Chanyeol didn’t know his friend well enough to avoid making those mistakes. Baekhyun had been really gentle and sweet with Chanyeol. And after being his friend for a while, he knew that meant Baekhyun was very serious about this relationship and wanted it to work. He put in effort he never even bothered putting in with other people. That meant Chanyeol was special. It also meant his friend was extremely hurt. But could he really blame a straight boy for not wanting a gay one?

Could he blame Chanyeol for only wanting friendship with Baekhyun? Could he blame Jongin for only wanting friendship from him? They both made the mistake of not communicating with their ‘loved’ one. If they had, they wouldn’t be depressed over fries and Powerade right now.  Kyungsoo reaches for the glass and takes a sip a third time without Baekhyun noticing. Baekhyun was too lost killing a fry in ketchup to care.

-Stupid Chanyeol. He repeated over and over again. Only after the fifteenth time did his sentence change to ‘stupid me’. Kyungsoo could relate. 

-Jongin already has a boyfriend. He says spontaneously. He doesn’t mean to add fuel to the fire but he also needed to get everything off his chest. Baekhyun let his fry fall on the blood mess he made and stood to sit by Kyungsoo’s side. As soon as his touches the fabric of the booth, he reaches to side hug the red-head and Kyungsoo leans his head on the boy’s shoulder.

-I’m sorry, Soo. I really hoped it would work out for you. I know I acted like a and made fun of you but I really wished you two would end up dating.

-I know, Baek, I know.

From an outsider’s point of view, the whole scene looked absurd; two boys on the verge of crying, one leaning against the other while they shared a glass of Powerade. The black-haired boy was piling up fries on his plate and doused a ridiculous amount of ketchup on top of his tower.

A mess Kyungsoo’s boss would later question after the fry guy left.

-Did it taste that bad?

Kyungsoo shakes his head.

-No, I think he just needed to destroy something.

-Well as long as he pays for it, he can destroy all our fries.

As expected, his boss didn’t understand that what Baekhyun destroyed wasn’t his fries or the tower he made out of them, but his hopes.

The black-haired boy was starting to move on. Very slowly. 

Kyungsoo smiled in relief.

Baekhyun was going to be okay.

**

Kyungsoo is about to leave, his work being over, when he gets a call. He was going to let it go to voicemail but what makes him change his mind was that he had to act in a mature way. He made a mistake and had to own up to it.

-Hey Jongin.

-Kyungsoo! Thank you so much for answering. Is your offer still valid? The one about visiting the bookstore after work, I mean? I have to tell you something and I can’t imagine saying it over a call or in text. It’s not right. Kyungsoo notices the awkwardness and nervousness in Jongin’s voice but blames it on the fact that he must have seen the text exchange between Kyungsoo and his boyfriend. That’s it. Jongin was going to tell him he’s already dating someone. He thinks for a second and answers:

-…Yeah. I can pass by right now. Are you there?

-Yeah, I am! I’ll be waiting for you then!

-Ok, see you. He hangs up. He really doesn’t want this to happen.

Maybe he’s dreading the moment to come or maybe it’s just that there were more people on the street that day but Kyungsoo gets there later than he would have under normal circumstances.

Everything feels surreal. The moment he enters the shop. The bookstore itself. The employee jumping in surprise when the doorbell rings.

The atmosphere feels heavy and it takes all of his will not to turn back and run to his house.

Kyungsoo half-expects Jongin to run to him and apologize but he knows it isn’t his style. The pink-haired book-seller only looks up and slowly articulates:

-Thank you for coming.

The shorter one of the two gestures it’s nothing and the employee leads them toward the big chairs in the corner. They sit side by side and both wait for the other to start talking. It’s Jongin that breaks the ice. He turns to Kyungsoo, his face full of seriousness scaring the red-head even more.

Don’t say it. Don’t say it. Please don’t say it.

-Kyungsoo, I know you read Sehun’s text and I wanted to apologize for it.

There it is. The moment has come. Kyungsoo stares the opposite way at the selves full of books. He fakes concentrating on the book titles even though he couldn’t read from that distance.

-Sehun is…he’s pretty stupid and I feel like I need to apologize on his behalf.  

-Does your boyfriend know you call him stupid?

Jongin looks down and his lips.

-He knows he’s stupid, I tell him every day. He also knows we’re not dating.

-He lives with you Jongin! Are you kidding me? Kyungsoo snaps back.

-Yeah, because we are roommates! We’re best friends, nothing more. I swear. He thought it would be funny to provoke you. He wanted you to ‘fight for my ’ as he said. He didn’t think you would take it seriously. I can’t believe he thought you were the possessive type, stupid Sehun. The tall man rolls his eyes.  

Kyungsoo falls silent and the ground suddenly becomes very interesting. Is he being fooled by Jongin or was he fooled by Sehun?

-Call him. I want to hear it from him.

-No problem, I understand.

He quickly dials Sehun’s number and the boy answers as soon as it starts to ring.

-So! How did it go! Is he really mad?! Did you tell him I apologize!?

-Shut up, he’s still here and wants to hear it from your mouth.

-Kyungsoo! I’m so sorry! I swear, I would never date that disgusting nerd, Jongin.  I’m only best friends with him, sadly. Sometimes, I wish I wasn’t even friends with him at all. Anyway, that isn’t the point! I’m really sorry for playing a prank on you.  

-Why were you the one that answered Jongin’s phone? Kyungsoo asks seriously.

-I was eating breakfast and that brainless boy always leaves his phone on the table. So when it buzzed, I saw your message and  thought it would be funny to play around a little bit.

Jongin snorts.

-Oh, quit it Jongin! I’ve heard enough from you. Kyungsoo, you have no idea how mad that guy was at me. I really thought I would die this time.

He should have. Kyungsoo thinks but quickly changes his mind when he starts reflecting on the situation. It was only meant to be a stupid prank between roommates. Just like what happens every day, all around the world. Nothing to be taken seriously. Why was he reacting like that?

 He wants to slap himself in the face.

They weren’t even dating. Congratulations Kyungsoo! You just proved to Jongin how much of a jealous you are. Why did he stir up such drama? Kyungsoo rubs the bridge of his nose between his thumb and index finger for a while. He doesn’t dare to look at Jongin at the moment.

As if he could sense Kyungsoo’s thoughts, Jongin ends the phone call and rubs the shorter ones shoulder.

-Hey, it’s okay to feel mad at yourself but you have no reason to. You didn’t know. I’m sorry. Jongin says in such a sweet voice, Kyungsoo feels even more stupid for overreacting the way he did. He still finds the strength to smile weakly at the man embracing him.

-I’m sorry Jongin. I should have called and sorted things out with you instead of making assumptions on my own. Can you tell Sehun I apologize too?

-I accept your apology but I won’t relay the message to Sehun. What he did was stupid.

-Don’t be too hard on him.

-I won’t.

-I feel so stupid. Kyungsoo says in a humourless laugh.

-Don’t. I’m glad you showed that you cared about me. Jongin pats the back of the other boy’s head gently.

-So…we both agree that we are interested in each other. His voice almost cracks but he manages to finish his sentence in one shot.

Jongin bites his lip and nods, looking directly into his eyes. Kyungsoo can’t help the blush creeping on his face and the smile on his lips

**

a/n: Chapter 5 is here! ^^ I hope you like it and please leave comments if you do^^ Thanks for subcribing!

Chapter 6 should be post soon since I'm already done writing it. ><

proof reading cr: http://notsoclosetedfangirl.tumblr.com/  <3<3<3<3<3

So....did you imagine that? :P 

Don't be mad at me....

I never tagged Baekyeol.......

But I have cool stuff coming up for you. I think you'll like it <3