If only there was a way to get the ground to swallow him whole...

Jisoo was completely frantic, trying to think of a way out of this mess without being too obvious (some part of him wondered if Jeonghan remained oblivious to his panicked wheezing - after all, it sounded painfully loud to his own ears - but maybe it wasn't as noticeable as he thought it was.)

Thank the heavens.

Still, even if he could feign calm (which he decidedly couldn't), the crux of the matter remained unresolved.

He didn't know a thing about basketball. Not a single thing.

Even if he watched countless games of his brother (which the elder forcibly dragged him to, but that was beside the point), Jisoo developed neither interest nor aptitude in the said sport.

Seungcheol even tried teaching him once, but at the end of their little practice session, with Jisoo lying face-down on the court, his shoulders practically shaking from exhaustion, the elder jokingly said the only thing remotely athletic about Jisoo was his balance.

Balance! The boy's overworked brain latched desperately onto the concept. Maybe Jisoo could pretend to be off-balance, to trip somehow, and end up getting injured and avoiding this tryout altogether, maybe even spend some days (or weeks) recuperating at home so he wouldn't have to see this beautiful blonde boy again...

...okay, that solution was a touch dramatic, but still Jisoo filed it away as his last minute resort.

Jeonghan wondered if he should express his concern - Joshua's breathing was getting somewhat rapid - but then again he didn't know him well enough and the other might take offense at the comment. Some athletes were touchy that way.

"Okay." Jeonghan clapped his hands together, smiling brightly at the other boy, hoping he could settle his nerves somewhat with exuberance. "Before we start, maybe you can tell me a little bit about yourself?" He tilted his head as he regarded him, eyes filled with curiosity. No, it wasn't standard protocol in most of his tryouts, but who could blame him for being interested in his extraordinarily talented (read: cute) new recruit?

Joshua, still adorably flushed at that point, glanced up at him with wide eyes before he nodded. There was still some apprehension in his eyes, Jeonghan couldn't help noticing, but at least he stopped fiddling with his fingers.

"Uhm...I'm Choi Joshua, though you probably already know that." The other boy laughed nervously. "Uhm...I recently moved here from L.A. with my family. Just my mom, dad, my older brother and me." Joshua wanted to end it there, Jeonghan could tell, but still he plowed on, his next statement startling Jeonghan into a laugh.

"Uhm...I like chocolate?" Joshua ended his statement on a questioning note, his expression filled with uncertainty, and Jeonghan had to resist the impulse to reach out and squeeze his cheeks.

Good lord but he was adorable.

"Oooohh, that's nice. I'll file that away for future reference." Jeonghan spoke teasingly, his lips quirking slightly in the corners when Joshua's blush deepened. "But I was asking more along the lines of your experience in basketball?" A duh seemed in order at this point, but then again they'd only just met. Maybe when they got to know each other better.

A lot better.

"Oh, right right. Duh. I'm so stupid. Of course you are." Joshua's voice had once again transposed to a higher pitch, which amused Jeonghan to no end. "Uhm...I've been playing for most of my life, so it's hard to remember the exact number of years, if I'm being honest." Jeonghan nodded encouragingly. "I used to be on my middle school and high school team. I was the point guard." Joshua scrunched his nose as he said this, and Jeonghan wondered how he'd get through this afternoon when he noticed every endearing expression this boy did.

"Not only point guard - MVP too, for several years running." Jeonghan supplied, smiling slightly at the boy's shocked look. Yes, he'd heard the rumors, and he wasn't hesitant to share his admiration for his accomplishments. "Modest one, aren't you?" He flashed his teeth in a grin. "That's good. We'll have no problem then." Jeonghan spoke easily.

He watched Joshua smile and shoulders relax somewhat, as if he had somehow put him at ease. Jeonghan couldn't fathom why exactly that mere thought made him so happy, but it did.

"Alright, shall we get to the meat of it, then?" Jeonghan gestured towards the court, beaming smile still in place...

...it was soon replaced however with a barely suppressed groan, when he saw the other boy's deer-in-the-headlights look.

No not again.

Now, how rude would it be if he just bolted?

Seungcheol eyed the doorway as Jihoon had his back turned - he could do it, he was certainly fast enough, but two things kept his feet bolted to the floor.

One, strangely enough, was Jisoo's voice in his head, saying that yes, it would be extremely impolite (damn his brother's insistence on good and proper manners - he should have a stern talking to later on with his mental Jisoo.)

The other, and far more compelling reason however, was the soft glow of the other boy's pink locks when the light hit it just right.

How the hell that was mesmerizing to him, he couldn't understand.

"S. Coups, right?" Jihoon suddenly spoke up, and Seungcheol didn't even care if he heard some irritation in his voice - any expression, whether positive or negative, looked good on the smaller boy. Or at least Seungcheol figured.

"Are you just going to stand there all day gaping, or shall we get this show on the road?" Well, that certainly snapped him out of his daze. Suddenly reminded of the reason he was here in the first place, Seungcheol felt an unfamiliar emotion take over him, but he recognized it enough in his brother to know what it was.

Panic.

"Now? Play the guitar now?" Did he just squeak? Good lord, he might have just did. "Uhm...maybe we can start to get to know each other first? For instance, did you know..."

"While the prospect of idle chit chat is quite promising-" Jihoon interrupted, voice tight. "-I have to get home soon, so I'd rather get this over with. If you don't mind." The last statement was said through gritted teeth, a last throw at being polite, and it seemed Jihoon took his frozen silence for acceptance because he crossed the room and picked up a guitar leaning next to the bench.

"Alright, S. Coups, let's see what you got."

"Oh, you didn't bring any clothes with you?" Jisoo nodded eagerly, hoping that would convince Jeonghan that they needed to reschedule the entire thing. After all, he could hardly run in his uniform - he wouldn't be able to show the full extent of his skills, or so he reasoned out loud to the other boy.

It was an utterly brilliant plan, if Jisoo did say so himself.

"No worries." The blonde said easily. "I have extra clothes you can borrow. You are more slender than I am-" Jisoo flushed, somehow feeling the blonde's gaze as he studied his frame. "-but it should fit well enough." Jeonghan smiled brightly.

Jisoo could tell he was in deep, deep trouble when that smile alone made him forget for a moment his slow and impending doom.

Seungcheol didn't know how he grasped the guitar in his hands, since he seemed to loose all feeling in them the moment Jihoon held out the instrument to him.

Now, he's seen Jisoo countless of times hold and play one before (once, long ago, the guitar was practically glued to his brother's hip), but he'd never been allowed to touch it after that incident - a day involving too much cake, a petulant Seungcheol, and an unfortunate lack of nearby cutlery.

But that was a story for another time.

Still, at the very least he knew to position it, though it did feel somewhat awkward and bulky in his arms (now, where exactly should his elbows go?) In the end, he was just mimicking the image of his brother in his head as he hesitantly ran his fingers down the strings, strumming a single chord.

Hey, that didn't sound half bad! Seungcheol grinned to himself, looking up to Jihoon for approval, but all he was met with was a blank stare.

Right. Pretending to be a prodigious guitarist here.

"Do you have a song prepared for me?" Jihoon asked, deciding not to comment on the fact it looked like this so-called musical prodigy seemed unused to holding a guitar. Maybe it was one of those genius quirks? "Or would you prefer to play a piece? I'm assuming, of course, you can sight read." He walked over to one of the stands, picking up a slim folder of sheet music before heading back towards the other boy. "Here - you can choose." Jihoon offered, rather generously if you asked him.

Jihoon didn't even try to stop himself this time, groaning out loud when he was met with another frozen-faced expression.

Well, .

"Well, doesn't that suit you?" Jeonghan exclaimed, clasping his hands together when the brunette finally emerged from the dressing room, shuffling his feet in a decidedly shy manner.

The blonde couldn't help but notice that his spare uniform almost dwarfed the other boy's more slender frame, which made him wonder - a natural progression of thought, or so he deluded himself into thinking - how he'd look in Jeonghan's regular clothes...

Jeonghan shook his head, flushing slightly when he caught Joshua looking at him, and he casted a prayer to the heavens thanking them for the fact he couldn't hear his thoughts.

"Alright. What if we start with a few drills? To warm ourselves up?" Jeonghan suggested, going to pick up the ball he was playing with earlier, scooping it up and spinning it effortlessly in his hands.

"Catch, Joshua-ssi!" He called out, tossing the ball into the air towards the brunette, its trajectory a near-perfect arc through the air. Joshua held out his arms to catch it, his knees bending instinctively, brow furrowed in absolute concentration...

...Then Jeonghan yet out a startled yelp, the sound echoing throughout the gym, when the ball beaned the brunette squarely on the forehead with a loud, wince-inducing smack.

.

Seungcheol stared at the notes in front of him, up at Jihoon's arched brow, the back at the notes again. He tilted his head to the right, squinting his eyes a bit, as if that alone would grant him some measure of insight, of understanding.

Nope. None at all.

He was screwed.

"Is there a problem?" Jihoon enunciated each word carefully, the tip of his polished shoe tapping an impatient beat on the tile, and Seungcheol's throat bobbed nervously as he shook his head no. He may have seemed outwardly calm, but with each succeeding heartbeat his grip on the guitar tightened further, to the point he thought, in a hysterical part of his mind, that he'd somehow possibly break it...

...Seungcheol's brow shot up as the idea occurred to him - what if he accidentally dropped the instrument? Stand up a bit, find himself slipping on the incredibly smooth flooring and loosening his hold somewhat-

-he immediately dismissed the notion when Jihoon's laser-like gaze seemed to burn holes into his incredibly vulnerable forehead.

"Wait!" His exclamation may have come out a touch desperate, but he was already too far gone to care. "I just remembered...I brought one of my own pieces!" Seungcheol stood up suddenly and handed Jihoon the guitar, the younger accepting it in mute surprise. "It's just over there in my bag!"

Now, some may think that he meant to do it on purpose, and a large part of him was indeed thankful afterwards that it happened, but it was through no forethought or planning on his own that as Seungcheol spun around in his haste to go and retrieve his things...

...he found himself accidentally tripping over the stool he just vacated, his entire body falling forward-

(to Jihoon's horrified eyes, it all seemed to run in torturous slow motion.)

-only to land in a twisted heap on the floor, face-first.

"Oh, it all."

Jisoo groaned as he came to, blinking his gritty eyes blearily.

What had happened to him?

He tried to take stock of his surroundings, his mind running in circles as he attempted to summon up the memory, any memory, of how he got here (wherever here was) in the first place. His hand unconsciously moved to his forehead, gingerly touching the sore spot there - now how did he get that...

...Jisoo's eyes popped open fully, the realization startling a strangled moan out of him.

He did not just faint from getting hit on the head by a ball. He did not just faint in the middle of pretending to be a brilliant star athlete. He did not just faint in front of a certain long-haired blonde boy whose smile made him feel like how he did whenever he played his guitar on stage-

-stomach all aflutter, but as if he belonged no where else.

A sudden sound to his right jerked him out of his thoughts, and (secretly grateful for the distraction), he tried to peer through the curtains to catch the occupant of the other bed. He was about to give up until he heard an intimately familiar voice, raised in a pain-filled keen, that had him scrambling off the mattress in clear haste.

"Seungcheol?" He parted the curtain with a swift pull, his eyes wide with panic, dreading what he'd see on the other side.

There, lying down with one arm draped his eyes, was his brother, the sheets twisted messily around him as if he'd just woken from a restless dream. The only injury Jisoo could see was the signs of a dark bruise forming on Seungcheol's right cheek, but his heart wouldn't rest until he was absolutely sure the rest of him was alright.

"Seungcheol, what happened?" Jisoo asked urgently, rushing to his side, grabbing the other boy's shoulder. "Are you ok? How did you get here?"

"Jisoo?" Seungcheol's eyes flew to his brother, shock evident in his own features. "What are you doing here? Are you hurt?" He sat up quickly and grasped Jisoo's face between his hands, his gaze zeroing in on the discoloration in the center of his forehead. "Who did this?" He growled low in his throat, as if he didn't have his own set of injuries to worry about. "I'll kill them."

"Don't be dramatic, Cheol." Jisoo said, exasperated, before his expression once more turned accusing. "And if we're going to be talking about anyone's injuries, I'd rather talk about yours. Did you get into another fight again?" His face may have been fierce, but the worry he felt inside was clear in his eyes. In the way his grip tightened, almost painfully, on his brother's arms.

Seungcheol's own gaze softened.

"I just fell down, Jisoo." He grinned lightly, trying to reassure his brother. "Though...I may have lost consciousness for just a bit-" He held up his hands to stave off Jisoo's glare. "-which is why I don't remember getting here in the first place. But overall I feel fine."

Then, the elder's eyes narrowed. "Now, it's your turn."

Jisoo felt his body slump forward, his forehead - the uninjured part at least - falling against Seungcheol's shoulder, a soft sigh escaping his lips. He felt his brother startle - he'd probably expected more of a fight from him - but without another thought he felt Seungcheol wrap his arms around him, comforting, nonsensical sounds escaping from his throat.

"I messed up, Cheol." Jisoo confessed in a soft wail. "You won't believe what I just did. Seriously, it was so stupid I can't even."

Same, Seungcheol couldn't help but think as he hugged his brother, the image of blush pink hair vivid in his mind. Same.

"-mom, my bruise is acting up. Maybe I can stay home for today?"

"-me too mama it's making me dizzy maybe I need to lie down..."

"-yah, if Jisoo's allowed to stay behind I should be allowed to stay too..."

"-Cheol, stop it. I'm the younger one I should be prioritized here..."

"BOTH OF YOU STOP RIGHT NOW AND GET GOING, OR I SWEAR-"

Summarily kicked out by their rather irate mother (they should have known better though than to annoy her so early in the morning), Jisoo and Seungcheol exchanged worried glances before shouldering their bags and trudging half-heartedly to school.

"Just avoid the gym at all costs!" Seungcheol suggested, which was met by a rather loud snort from Jisoo.

"Ok. And how about all the other places Jeonghan could possibly be? He's not limited to the gym only, Seungcheol." The younger spoke dryly.

"Well, I'm definitely not passing by the music room-" Seungcheol declared "-so at least there's one less place for me to run into Jihoon."

"Maybe we should just explain things to them." Jisoo spoke anxiously, twisting his fingers into knots - a nervous tick of his Seungcheol hadn't seen in a while. "Surely, they'd understand-"

"-understand what, Jisoo? They'd understand us lying to them for an entire afternoon? Pretending to be someone who we're not, thereby wasting their time? I don't know about you and Jeonghan, but if you saw Jihoon's angry face at least once you'd get where I'm coming from." Seungcheol shuddered, the memory vivid in his mind. "I don't want to get on his bad side."

He was not ready to admit to Jisoo all the reasons that compelled him to stay on Jihoon's good side. At least, not yet.

"So what? Our only options are to come clean, to continue pretending we're each other, or to avoid them altogether!" Jisoo cried, tugging on his brother's sleeve. "And the last one isn't even a viable course of action, since we can't possibly do it forever!"

He was not ready to admit to Seungcheol all the reasons why the last option didn't appeal to him at all. At least, not yet.

"We'll come up with a plan!" Seungcheol spoke confidently, ignoring the doubtful look Jisoo threw his way. "For now, let's just get through the day by maintaining a low profile! Nothing else can go wrong if we do that!" The elder clapped his hands decisively, as if he could dictate fate through sheer determination alone.

Jisoo, on the other hand, could already think of a hundred things that could go wrong, but he gave in to his brother's optimism for now.

"If you say so, Cheol. If you say so."

"Joshua-ssi!"

Well, so much for keeping a low profile.

He was going to kill his brother.

"Joshua-ssi, wait up please!"

At the word please, Jisoo couldn't help but ground to a halt, unable to deny the politely-phrased request (or the one who requested it, but he wasn't ready to explore that notion yet.)

"Whoo, I almost thought I wouldn't catch you." Despite his words, Jeonghan looked hardly out of breath as he jogged up to him, a grin on his face. "I'm glad I saw you though. I wanted to check up on you-" His eyes flickered to the bruise on his forehead, his mouth pinching slightly in the corners. "-after yesterday's incident. I'd brought you to the infirmary and would have waited till you woke up but the nurse insisted that I get home before it got dark." Jisoo could see the regret easily in his eyes. "I'm sorry."

"Oh gosh no don't be sorry!" Jisoo exclaimed, flipping between mortification that he'd made Jeonghan bring him to the nurse's office (he didn't even want to think about the possibility that the other boy had to carry him to do so) or the strange, fluttery feeling in his stomach that he did.

"I'm the one who should apologize, fainting on you like that, it's just that it's been a while since I played and I guess I was nervous-" Oh gosh, he was babbling. He couldn't believe he was babbling. "-and my eyesight has been acting up lately so I might want to have that checked since that would definitely put a damper on all the things I have to do, which would be bad of course and I-"

He didn't know if Jeonghan did it without thought or if he'd truly felt comfortable enough with him, as the other boy lifted two fingers and pressed it against his lips to silence him, his eyes twinkling in mirth.

"In conclusion, we're both extremely sorry, and I'm assuming we'd both like to make it up to each other? Perhaps over a meal?" Jeonghan tilted his head as he looked at him, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth, and Jisoo felt his throat dry up at the action that he could only nod, mutely.

Jeonghan's smile was the kind that transformed his entire face, eyes crinkling and cheeks puffing out and Jisoo drank in every change, every subtle nuance.

"So...It's a date then!"

Jisoo figured his expression of shock must have been terribly, terribly comical, as Jeonghan let out a bright peal of laughter, the sound echoing throughout the hallway.

"S. Coups-ssi."

Seungcheol froze.

"S. Coups-ssi." No he wasn't hallucinating things - he'd recognize that irritated tone anywhere.

"Yah, I'm glad I caught up with you." Seungcheol mentally questioned that statement, since the smaller boy didn't look happy, not one bit as he walked up to him, the strain in his expression clear.

"How are you? I'm sorry about leaving you at the infirmary last night, but like I said I had to go home soon." Jihoon shrugged lightly, as if brushing off the matter, but Seungcheol swore he could detect a glimmer of sincerity, of true concern in his eyes...

...or perhaps he was simply deluding himself (it wouldn't be the first time.)

"No, I'm the one who should be sorry." Seungcheol cried out, tone abashed, turning to face him fully. "I guess I was just really nervous, and clumsy, and my eyesight isn't certainly getting better with age-" He would have continued on with his string of increasingly absurd excuses, if Jihoon didn't reach up and touch him lightly on his arm, that single point of contact effectively closing off his throat.

"No, it was all on me. I didn't handle things well yesterday. I guess you could say I was in a mood, but then again my friends tell me that's my usual state of being." Jihoon tried for a smile, and any attempt to convince Seungcheol that it wasn't the sweetest thing he'd ever witnessed would be met with an unyielding, resounding no.

"So...they've convinced me that I needed to make it up to you-" Seungcheol changed his mind - awkwardly fidgeting Jihoon was the sweetest thing he'd ever seen. "-so I was wondering if you'd like to grab a cup of coffee or something after school? My treat." The words left him in a rush, as if he wanted to get it over with as soon as possible.

Jihoon braced himself for ultimate rejection - surely, no fool would want to hang out with someone who'd been so purposely mean to him - then the other boy finally replied.

"So...is it a date, then?"

Jihoon gaped openly at the sly grin the taller boy threw his way, for once at a complete loss for words.