bird on the windowsill

He’s a vampire. That’s the only way to explain it – he’s not actually human, he’s just a vampire.

Why else would an otherwise normal senior student be shimmering and glowing in all of his stupidly perfectly glory? No mortal human could ever achieve such flawless skin, such an alluring smile, such bright and soulful eyes but still have such an air of mystery, such a conservative yet friendly aura but he still manages to have so many friends and be so popular and beloved and talented at everything—

“Hey! Hey, Jinyoung, snap out of it. What are you staring at?”

The force of Jackson’s hand on the back of his head is, of course, underestimated. Jinyoung is flung forward into his desk, but Jackson just laughs at him, completely disregarding the loud bang as his forehead makes contact with the table.

“Just kidding! I already know what you’re staring at.”

“,” Jinyoung mutters, lifting his face from the table and rubbing the point of contact. “That hurt.”

“Dude,” Jackson hisses, sliding into the seat next to his friend and leaning against him. “You’re making it so obvious that you like him.”

“Shut up. I—I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You were staring at—”

“Alright, seniors, out of the room. Time for class.” He knows Jackson is watching, but it doesn’t stop Jinyoung from staring at his gorgeous crush. His muscles flex as he pushes himself from the table, his perfectly pearl-white teeth gleaming, everything moving in slow motion as he tosses his head and flips his perfectly smooth charcoal-black hair from his crinkled eyes…

“—Im Jaebum.”

“He’s perfect,” Jinyoung breathes, leaning his chin into his palm and watching him slide off the desk he’s seated on and walk out of the room. Jackson rolls his eyes and punches Jinyoung’s elbow, sending the boy lurching forward and snapping him back into reality.

“Wow. And I was convinced it was just a guy-crush.”

Jinyoung grumbles in dissatisfaction and pulls his books towards him, ignoring Jackson’s smug grin. Now that he’s sure Jinyoung is at least a little bit infatuated with the senior student, he’s never going to let it go – especially since Im Jaebum happens to be the most sought after guy to ever walk the school campus.

“I know some of his friends,” Jackson whispers. “I can get a good word in for you.”

“Don’t you dare; you piece of—”

“Park Jinyoung, stop distracting the other students.”

“Yes, ma’am. Sorry, ma’am.” He makes sure to kick Jackson’s shins hard enough to make him squeak in pain before turning back to his notes.

~

Jaebum would never go after someone like him, not when he’s sitting at a lunch table with the obnoxious idiots he’s ashamed to call his friends.

Of course, being one of the most beloved seniors of the school, Jaebum sits at an eight-person table with twelve other attractive seniors, crammed between the members of their superior clique that worked so hard to make their way to the top of the food chain. Jinyoung, unfortunately, resides at a lonely table of the same size, only he’s got much more space and much less friends.

“Six? Do you think I can get six?” Jackson yells, shakily bringing another spoon closer to his face. He’s already managed to balance five on his nose and cheeks, God knows how, and apparently Yugyeom has never seen anything so hilarious because his laughter reverberates across the entire lunch hall. Jinyoung lowers his head, gripping his utensils until his knuckles go white, ready to bash the both of them over the head.

“Jinyoung, look!” Yugyeom giggles, nudging his arm gently. Jinyoung immediately turns and holds up a fist, ready to strike Yugyeom, and the timid boy recoils in fear.

“Don’t touch me.”

“Damn it!” Jackson squeals, eyes bulging as he watches a spoon fall from the side of his face. He slowly crawls his hand across the table to retrieve it, but two more spoons fall, and he grumbles in defeat and shakes the rest off. The spoons are noisy as they clang against the table, but Jinyoung appears to be the only one that cares how many looks they receive. To Jinyoung’s mortification, Jaebum is among the pairs of eyes that glance over, and their gazes meet for a brief second before Jinyoung stares at the floor, hoping his cheeks aren’t as fiery red as they feel.

“Shut up,” Jinyoung growls, squeezing his eyes shut. “Jackson, I swear to ing—”

“Why are you blushing?” Jackson cries, leaning over the table and poking Jinyoung’s cheeks, to which he immediately reacts by seizing Jackson’s finger and twisting it backwards until his friend screams. He lifts his head and takes one glimpse over at Jaebum’s table, ashamed to find that Jaebum is still watching them, this time with a small smirk on his lips. He twists Jackson’s finger just a little further out of spite – he’s already made an idiot of himself, so there’s not much to lose, anyway.

“Let go!” Jackson wails, “let go, that hurts, let go!”

Jinyoung releases him and leans back in his seat, pursing his lips in a sulk. Jaebum would never want to approach someone associated with Jackson. “I hate being friends with you.”

“What about me?” Yugyeom chirrups, leaning towards his friend hopefully, and Jinyoung presses his hand against Yugyeom’s face and shoves him back.

“Don’t push your luck, worm.”

~

Jinyoung’s favourite class is Economics for two reasons: partly because his annoying friends don’t take it, so it’s an opportunity for him to be alone, but mostly because his seat is right beside the window that looks into a classroom in the adjacent building, which just happens to be Jaebum’s class every fifth period on a Thursday.

He’s a good student, really, but he always dedicates fifth-period Economics every Thursday to gazing out the window and admiring Im Jaebum. It’s the only opportunity he has to daydream without Jackson interrupting him, and he can always catch up on whatever he missed in class later.

Jinyoung props his chin in his hand and sighs softly as Jaebum turns his head away from the window, exposing his sharp and prominent jawline. He slings an arm around his best friend (whom Jinyoung has developed a petty hatred for) and throws his head back as he laughs, plump lips stretching out into his beautiful smile that Jinyoung has memorised so well. Jinyoung’s heart soars seeing Jaebum’s eyes turn to crescents and disappear into the creases of his smile – he gulps and looks down at his desk, taking a break to catch his breath. Jaebum is so mesmerising.

When he raises his head once more he finds that Jaebum himself is staring out the window, ignoring his teacher, and Jinyoung quickly diverts his gaze in case Jaebum spots him out of the corner of his eye. Heart hammering childishly, he glances as subtly as he can out the window, eyes flickering back and forth between the babbling teacher and the angel across the building.

“Park Jinyoung!” Jinyoung jolts, startled, and quickly sits up straight, looking to the teacher. “Were you listening to me?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Stop staring out the window and wasting time.” The teacher turns away and continues lecturing about whatever’s on the board, and Jinyoung sinks into his seat sheepishly. Was it really that obvious he wasn’t focusing?

The teacher faces his back to Jinyoung, so he takes the opportunity to sneak a look out the window one last time, and his heart catches in his throat. Jaebum is looking at him.

Jinyoung stares at the front of the classroom, cheeks burning, and doesn’t look away until the class is over. The last he sees of Jaebum is his smiling face turning away from the window – he could almost swear that, even for a second, their eyes had met.

~

“But it’s not the same without you!” Jackson wails. “I don’t want to be left alone with Yugyeom, he’ll bother me!”

“I don’t care,” Jinyoung deadpans, slamming his locker shut, arms heavy with books. “I’ve got work to do.”

Jackson’s shoulders slump and he trails at Jinyoung’s feet as they walk to the library. “Please?”

“No.”

“I’ll buy—”

“No.”

“Guys, don’t leave without me!” Yugyeom cries, hurriedly shoving his books into his backpack and running after them.

“Can’t you—”

“No. See you tomorrow.” Jinyoung doesn’t even turn around to farewell his friends, walking into the library and leaving Jackson to brood over his rejection like the baby he is. He’s pissed when he goes to his usual secluded spot in the corner and finds someone else sitting there studying, and is forced to set up his work on a larger table in a more frequented section of the library. Evidently, he’s not the social type, and studying around other people is just an annoyance.

Unless those other people include Jaebum.

“Hey, do you mind if I sit here?”

Jinyoung looks up from his work, frowning – it took him a good fifteen minutes to enter the mental ‘study zone’, and he won’t be seeing it again anytime soon with other people near him – but the colour drains from his face once he notices who’s there, and he immediately brightens up despite the apprehension that’s suddenly swamped him.

“Um, sure,” Jinyoung squeaks, grabbing his books splayed across the table and shoving them out of the way. Jaebum smiles at him gently as he sits down and Jinyoung feels his throat go dry. The table seats six and Jaebum could have picked any of the seats further away from him, but he chose the seat directly next to Jinyoung and he’s probably come to make fun of him for having such embarrassing friends or for staring at him every fifth period on Thursdays or—

Gulping, Jinyoung buries himself back in his Economics work that he didn’t finish (because he was too busy thinking about a certain someone sitting beside him) and hopes to every god he doesn’t believe in that Jaebum won’t totally break him down.

Fortunately – or rather unfortunately, as Jinyoung’s imaginative mind was left disappointed – his wonderful crush doesn’t speak any more, and is far too absorbed in his studying to notice Jinyoung watching him. Eventually the silence becomes suffocating and Jinyoung collects his books and stands up to leave, and Jaebum finally looks up from his books, lifting his hand to wave a small goodbye. Dumbstruck, Jinyoung grins awkwardly and waves back, and stiffly hurries out of the library. He gasps for breath and slumps against the wall once he’s out of sight, crumpling to the floor in a heap.

It wasn’t much, but whatever that was, it definitely beat hanging out with his idiot friends. It’s almost as if he has a chance.

~

“You’re not being very subtle about your crush,” Jackson comments loudly, interrupting Jinyoung’s train of thought and hence receiving a well-deserved kick in the shins.

“What? I’m just trying to help.”

Yugyeom leans over slightly towards Jinyoung, following his line of sight, and softly taps his friend on the shoulder. Jinyoung looks over and glares, hoping he’ll get rid of him, but Yugyeom doesn’t back away.

“Are you staring at Jaebum?” he whispers gently, and Jinyoung grabs his fork, holding it directly in front of Yugyeom’s eyes.

“I’ll gouge them out.”

“But I just—”

“Move back, worm.”

Yugyeom pouts bitterly, but obediently moves away, grabbing his own utensils and turning back to his lunch. Once Jinyoung is satisfied that his two friends are terrified into silence, he returns to resting his chin in his palms and staring dreamily across the lunch hall.

“Don’t worry,” Jackson whispers, leaning over the table to pat Yugyeom’s arm. “We’ll get him back when he’s not looking.”

It’s been five days since the library incident, and every passing moment makes Jinyoung realise how stupid he was for thinking Jaebum took any interest in him by sitting beside him. He was hoping for another glance, another smile, acknowledgement of any kind to confirm that Jaebum recognises his existence, but nothing has surfaced so far.

At least he thinks I’m worthy enough to sit next to. Jinyoung sighs and bites his lip – who is he kidding? Jaebum would sit beside anyone, he’s so kind – he probably just saw the vacant seat and took it without any thought.

Jinyoung can’t stop himself from overthinking – his infatuation has definitely gotten out of hand. He’s got no chance of forming any kind of bond with the senior, but something inside of him refuses to quash his hope. He watches Jaebum lean over and whisper into the ear of his attractive best friend, and Jinyoung balls his fist. Maybe he’d get the same attention if he dyed his hair blonde, too.

“Do you think I’d look good with blonde hair?” Jinyoung asks suddenly, and Jackson and Yugyeom immediately stop giggling like high school girls and look over.

“No,” Yugyeom says flatly.

“What, are you jealous of Mark?” Jackson snickers, noticing Jinyoung’s eyes haven’t moved away from Jaebum.

“Mark?” Jinyoung snaps, finally facing his friend. “Who’s Mark?”

“Mark Tuan.” Jackson looks over his shoulder and gestures towards the friend of Jaebum that Jinyoung has grown to despise so much. “You know. The hot, blonde one.”

“I’m not jealous of him,” Jinyoung spits. “Why would I be jealous of someone that ugly?”

“That’s not nice,” Yugyeom complains. “He’s not ugly.”

Jackson shakes his head in disappointment. “You’re definitely jealous. And you’d look awful with blonde hair.”

Jinyoung’s eyes trace Mark’s movement, eyebrows lowering as he moves closer to Jaebum. It makes him seethe to think that the demon he’s built Mark up to be in his head has a better chance at winning Jaebum’s heart than Jinyoung himself does.

“They’re not dating, by the way,” Jackson adds, before he returns to playing footsies under the table with Yugyeom. Jinyoung pretends not to care, but there’s an undoubtable wave of relief that overcomes him knowing that Jaebum is still available. He watches Mark poke Jaebum’s cheek and make him laugh, before huffing and finally forcing himself to look away – not like it would have mattered, anyway.

~

“Don’t sit next to me,” Jinyoung demands immediately. Yugyeom freezes, halfway between placing his books down next to Jinyoung, and slumps his shoulders.

“Where am I supposed to sit?” he whines. “We have to work together on this.”

“Sit across from me. I don’t want to smell you while I work.” Yugyeom’s face contorts in mortification and he immediately lifts his armpit to smell himself.

“I don’t smell,” he says bitterly. Jinyoung points to the seat opposite him, raising an eyebrow, and Yugyeom sighs and trundles around the table obediently.

Despite his playful tendencies Yugyeom is a hard worker, and Jinyoung finds himself growing frustrated at his inability to absorb himself in their partnered assignment when Yugyeom has no trouble getting straight to work. He finds himself constantly searching for Jaebum’s face in the crowded library, hoping the senior will appear beside him and strike up a conversation – which would also pose as a valid excuse as to why he’s done barely any work for the last thirty minutes.

“We can do this another time, if you’d like,” Yugyeom suggests out of nowhere. Jinyoung quickly turns away from staring at the library entrance, eyes wide, and stares in confusion.

“What?”

“You’re distracted.”

“I’m not distracted,” Jinyoung scoffs defensively. He’s about to turn back to his work when Yugyeom lifts his hand and waves in his direction, smiling. Jinyoung frowns in confusion and looks over his shoulder, almost choking once he sees that Jaebum is waving back at him.

Jaebum! Waving at someone like Yugyeom – but what for?

Jinyoung quickly turns back around before Jaebum catches his eye, breathing hard, and finds that Yugyeom is watching him.

“What the ,” Jinyoung whispers, ducking his head and burying himself into his book. “What, the, .”

Tempted by the bewilderment on Jinyoung’s face, Yugyeom leans over the table to whisper to him. “Jaebum is—”

“Shut up!” Jinyoung hisses. “He’s going to hear you, idiot.”

“But—”

“I said,” Jinyoung growls, seizing Yugyeom’s collar, “shut the up. Worm.”

Yugyeom’s face creases into a scowl and he slumps back in his seat once Jinyoung releases him, lips pursed shut. He’s silent until Jinyoung leaves.

~

Next Thursday comes around and Jinyoung finds himself smiling for the first time all day, thinking about his upcoming Economics class. He almost skips to the classroom once he’s ridded himself of Jackson, and slides into his seat ten minutes early so he has enough time to prepare for the work he won’t do and watch out for Jaebum. Even when Jinyoung arrives early, he always finds that Jaebum is in his class before anyone else – but, for once, the classroom in the opposite building is completely empty. His heart sinks at the thought that they may have relocated for the day.

Yet to his relief, a couple of minutes pass and Jaebum’s figure finally comes through the doorway, and Jinyoung angles his head quickly to face away from the window. He watches Jaebum approach his desk from the corner of his eyes, suffocated by his pounding heart, and chokes up once he realises Jaebum is looking in his direction.

There’s nobody else in the classroom – he couldn’t be watching him, could he?

A few painfully still seconds later, Jinyoung casually leans his chin in his palm and glances out the window as if he’s bored, and he’s disappointed to find that Jaebum isn’t watching him. But he’s staring suspiciously intently at the front of the classroom – which is still empty – and Jinyoung wonders if he’d purposely turned away so he wouldn’t be caught staring…probably a little far-fetched.

Jaebum does eventually look stiffly towards the window, and Jinyoung trains his gaze on a passing cloud, unprepared to make eye contact. He’s so sure that Jaebum is looking directly at him but he can’t tell, he’s so tempted to look in his direction…

Okay, so Jaebum is looking directly at him, and he’s looking directly at Jaebum.

They make eye contact for the briefest (and, in Jinyoung’s mind, most romantic) moment, and Jaebum smiles at him, before another senior bounds into the classroom and playfully grabs Jaebum from behind. His attention is stolen away, and Jinyoung takes the opportunity to slam his head on the table and gasp for breath like a fish out of water. His hands are trembling and his cheeks are burning, but it’s the best he’s felt in a long time.

~

“I’ve really got to run,” Yugyeom pleads, clinging to the door of Jinyoung’s locker. “Can’t you just check your—”

“I’ll take as much time as I want,” Jinyoung sings, slowly placing his books in his backpack, not letting the annoying kid beside him ruin his good mood. He’s still cheerful after yesterday’s eye-contact incident with Jaebum, and even Yugyeom’s pestering can’t seem to taint his uncharacteristic positivity.

“You’re normally free on Thursdays,” Yugyeom insists. “Can we work on the assignment—”

“Busy.”

He shuts his locker door and flashes a phoney smile at his friend – a rare occurrence, despite being fake – and Yugyeom pouts impatiently.

“We have to meet up at some point next week to finish the assignment. Please?”

Jinyoung leans against the lockers and purses his lips in thought, intentionally taking his time just to drive Yugyeom insane. He’s hopping from one foot to the other as if he’s desperate to go to the bathroom, a satisfying sight of revenge in Jinyoung’s eyes.

“Well, I might be able to on…”

Jinyoung’s voice drains to nothing and he tenses up quite quickly, straightening up and turning away from the hallway. Yugyeom looks over his shoulder, puzzled, and smiles at the student walking past them that’s turned Jinyoung silent.

“Hey, Yugyeom,” Jaebum says in his painfully smooth voice, and Jinyoung’s head snaps up in horror, baffled that Yugyeom’s name is coming out of Jaebum’s perfect lips. “I’ll see you in the library, yeah?”

“Sure. Won’t be a minute,” Yugyeom responds, lifting his hand in a short wave. Jaebum returns the gesture, glancing at Jinyoung for just a fraction of a second before continuing down the hallway towards the library. Jinyoung only realises his jaw has gone slack when the gorgeous senior disappears from sight.

A few seconds of tense silence passes between them, before Jinyoung swivels around and seizes Yugyeom’s collar, slamming him against the locker hard enough to make him cry out in pain. His eyes bulge in terror, and Jinyoung shoves him harder against the metal, baring his teeth.

“Explain,” he growls, “now.”

Yugyeom gasps for breath, Jinyoung’s fists suffocating him, and struggles against him in a fight for his life. Realising he won’t get an explanation if Yugyeom is dead, Jinyoung slackens his grip slightly, and Yugyeom grabs his wrists to make sure he doesn’t murder him.

“Please let go,” he whimpers, which Jinyoung agrees to do if Yugyeom clarifies his relationship with Jaebum.

“He’s my tutor,” Yugyeom implores. “I’m not dating him, Jinyoung, I don’t like boys!”

“Tutor?” Jinyoung scoffs, shoving Yugyeom against the locker again and eliciting a pained whimper from him. “Since when? Why did you never tell me this, you little worm?”

Yugyeom whines and finally shoves Jinyoung away from him, folding his arms and cowering into a corner protectively. “I kept trying to tell you, but you always cut me off, so I couldn’t!”

“How long?”

“I don’t know…two months?”

“Two months?” Jinyoung roars. “Two months with Jaebum and you didn’t even put a good word in for me?” He moves as if he’s about to swing a punch and Yugyeom covers his face protectively, terrified.

“Alright! I’ll—I’ll tell him you’re…I’ll…”

“You’ll what?” Jinyoung snarls, moving forward.

“I’ll say you’re…you’re single, and, and, not a total , and…I—I’ve got to go! Bye!” Yugyeom almost trips over himself as he takes off down the hallway, footsteps echoing noisily, and Jinyoung almost chases him until he realises dismembering Yugyeom’s body won’t get him any closer to Jaebum and he’s better off letting him live for now.

Still suspicious, however, he ventures towards the library a couple of minutes later and sneaks a glance into the study area – thankfully, the sight is just as Yugyeom promised. Jinyoung feels a slight burn of jealousy seeing his idiot friend sitting so close to Jaebum, but it’s obvious they’re talking about homework, and both of them appear heavily focused on the paper in front of them rather than each other.

Jinyoung almost reconsiders his ill-treatment of Yugyeom, considering it may impact the likelihood of him actually mentioning Jinyoung’s relationship status to the senior, but Yugyeom says something that makes Jaebum smile and he storms out of the school grounds, mentally formulating ways to torture the kid once he gets the chance.

~

Jackson’s eyes practically fill with tears when Jinyoung grabs Yugyeom’s wrist and pulls him into the seat beside him.

“How come I can’t sit next to you?” Jackson wails, ignoring Jinyoung kicking him under the table to make him shut up. “How come Yugyeom can sit next to you today but I can’t, I didn’t do anything wrong, you’re so weird and moody on Mondays—”

“What did you say to him?” Jinyoung murmurs threateningly, leaning into Yugyeom’s ear and eyeing Jaebum from across the lunch hall. Yugyeom savours the rare moment of closeness between them, mentally begging Jackson to get the hint and take a photo, before turning and replying gently (he’s still in fear of his life).

“I…I didn’t really get a chance to—” he yelps as Jinyoung grabs his ear, wincing in pain. “Wait! I still mentioned you!”

“What did you say, worm?”

Yugyeom exhales deeply and waits until Jinyoung releases him, frustrated that he’s succumbing to Jinyoung’s threats when he doesn’t really deserve the favour – what kind of friend acts like such a bully all the time?

“Well, I…he didn’t say anything, so when we were done I said I was sorry for being late and that I was talking to you about personal stuff but he didn’t really seem to care…” Yugyeom trembles seeing the look of disapproval on Jinyoung’s face, knowing he’s not impressed. “Look, I didn’t want to push or it would have been suspicious, okay?”

“Tell him I want to be tutored as well,” Jinyoung says immediately, releasing Yugyeom and shuffling away in disgust. “When are you seeing him again?”

“This Friday.”

“Tell him before that. I’m joining you this Friday.”

“But…you don’t even do Chemistry—”

“This,” Jinyoung whispers, placing his hand on Yugyeom’s arm and digging his fingernails into the skin, “Friday.”

Yugyeom huffs and moves to sit next to Jackson, who’s distracted himself by balancing spoons on his nose. He kind of wants to get revenge on Jinyoung and tell Jaebum all of his bad qualities, but he knows he’s going to buckle and be a good friend despite Jinyoung being undeserving of it.

He won’t admit that, though – Yugyeom’s tender heart considers that to be cruel enough.

~

Jinyoung finds himself stuck in the library that Thursday afternoon, once more swamped with Economics work that he easily could have finished in class if he wasn’t so busy wondering how the tutoring session would go down tomorrow. Yugyeom assured him Jaebum was enthusiastic about having another student join them, but Jinyoung has no idea how he’s going to pretend he actually does Chemistry without making a fool of himself.

He powers through his work, motivated by the fact that he needs to get some “Chemistry homework” together for tomorrow, and is close to finishing when someone quietly slips into the seat beside him, resting their chin in their hands and staring directly at him.

Jinyoung quickly looks up, bitter about the student’s heavy gaze disturbing him, but stops himself from scolding them once he realises it’s Jaebum. Again.

Lost for words, Jinyoung gapes at the senior, from his dreamy eyes to his cheeky smile to the way he stares so intensely at him.

“Hey,” Jaebum says casually, snapping Jinyoung out of his trance and causing him to turn away in embarrassment.

“Hi,” Jinyoung squeaks, knuckles white around his pen. He stares down at his unfinished homework, unsure of where to look or what to say, and he only raises his head once Jaebum speaks again.

“It’s Jinyoung, right?” Jinyoung looks up from under his eyelashes, heart hammering, and nods stupidly. His name sounds ethereal coming from Jaebum’s lips.

“Yugyeom mentioned you the other day,” he says, his tone impossibly smooth and relaxed. “I thought I’d come say hi.”

“Oh,” Jinyoung chokes. “Um. Okay.” He pauses for a second, melting as Jaebum’s smile widens. “What—what did Yugyeom, um, say?”

“I don’t think you’d want to know,” Jaebum says, a hint of amusement in his voice. Jinyoung’s heart plummets and he assumes the worst, terrified that Jaebum is mocking him, terrified that Yugyeom has revealed his true feelings out of revenge for his mistreatment. He doesn’t respond out of pure terror, and Jaebum’s gaze remains locked on the younger student.

“I see you in class from the opposite building every Thursday. Fifth period. I’m not sure if you notice me, though,” Jaebum says, finally breaking the silence between them. Jinyoung feels his throat constricting – so Jaebum was looking at him this whole time, he wasn’t just imagining it!

“I do,” Jinyoung says softly, placing his pen down once he realises it’s revealing how much his hands are trembling. Jaebum’s curious smile softens, and he shuffles his chair a little closer, chin still cupped in his palm.

“So you watch me too?”

Jinyoung breaks eye contact out of shame, unsure whether or not Jaebum is making fun of him, but his tone of voice isn’t taunting and something in Jinyoung’s mind tells him that this might just be everything he’s ever dreamed of.

“Don’t kill him or anything,” Jaebum says quietly, “but Yugyeom told me you might just have a crush on me.” Jinyoung feels the world collapse at his feet, and he grows lightheaded, fearing he might faint from the shock of the sudden confrontation. “Is that true?”

Afraid he’ll begin to cry if he speaks, Jinyoung presses his lips together in silence, praying that this will all just blow over, that Jaebum and his perfectly popular self will brush off Jinyoung’s crush because he’s obviously dealt with unrequited feelings before, and he’ll never have to face the senior again and Yugyeom will get hit by a bus on his way home.

“Jinyoung?”

“Yeah. It’s true.” Jinyoung swallows thickly and studies the jumble of words of his homework fixedly, afraid of facing the leering smirk that’s probably lining Jaebum’s beautiful features that will never be his. He’s tense, anticipating words of rejection – 
“I don’t feel the same way” or “that’s disgusting” or “don’t ever associate yourself with me again” – but instead he feels Jaebum move closer, and closer, until their chairs are pressed together and he can hear him breathing.

“I’ve never dated anyone before, you know…” Jaebum murmurs. His voice sends shivers through Jinyoung’s spine – they’re close, so unbearably close – “…because I wasn’t sure how everyone would react. You know, to knowing I’m attracted to guys.”

At that, Jinyoung finally looks up, holding his breath in anticipation. Jaebum, watching him from another building, sitting next to him out of nowhere, and suddenly coming out to him as gay?...

Jaebum places a hand on Jinyoung’s arm, completely uncaring of the people around them and the fact that they’re in view of every student in the library, and he leans in with a shy smile.

“Can I kiss you?” he asks gently, locking gazes with Jinyoung’s bulging, terrified eyes. Jinyoung only manages a gentle nod after a good five seconds of letting the words sink in, and Jaebum presses his tempting lips against Jinyoung’s cheek softly, delicately, experimentally. It only lasts a second, but it sends Jinyoung’s heart close to bursting.

Jaebum distances himself considerably after that, his smile wide and pleased, and he allows Jinyoung a moment to catch his breath and relax. He can see that the boy is shaking, and is obviously much more nervous than himself.

“We should catch up sometime,” Jaebum says. “You know. Outside of school. Is that okay?”

“Yeah,” Jinyoung breathes, a disbelieving smile finally blooming on his lips. “Yeah. That would—that would be cool.”

“Okay,” Jaebum concludes, taking his hand off Jinyoung and standing up, smile unfaltering. “I’ll see you around, then.”

“See you,” Jinyoung rasps, watching Jaebum turn and leave, mind still in a daze.

“Oh, by the way—” Jaebum pauses to glance over his shoulder, and Jinyoung jolts in surprise, “—Yugyeom told me you don’t do Chemistry, so you don’t have to come tomorrow. But, well, I’d like to see you there anyway. If you want.”

Jinyoung grins as Jaebum leaves the library, his head held high despite the numerous stares from students that obviously witnessed their little moment, and rests his head on the table, exhausted by the adrenaline rush of everything.

For the first time, ever, he might just love Yugyeom.

~

Yugyeom is stunned when Jinyoung greets him the next morning with a rough, but still affectionate, hug, squeezing him around the waist tight enough to crush his ribs.

“I ing hate you,” Jinyoung says, voice muffled by his face being pressed against Yugyeom’s chest. “You’re the worst ing friend ever. You’re such a stupid ing worm.”

“Um,” Yugyeom responds.

“You could have ing ruined my life, you worm, you stupid brat.” Jinyoung pushes away from Yugyeom and kicks him, hard. Normally Yugyeom is prepared for this, but he almost had hope that Jinyoung had turned over a new leaf, so the violence takes him by surprise and he yelps in pain. “Why would you do that, ? Why would you tell him?”

Finally realising what’s happened, Yugyeom beams in delight, and clasps his hands together.

“He confessed to you, didn’t he?”

“Answer my question!”

“I—I just, I don’t know, I couldn’t help it. He was so interested when I told him about the tutoring, and he asked if you were single – just out of nowhere! – and I just told him. I told him you liked him and I begged him not to say anything but he said he liked you back—”

“He said that?” Jinyoung, having dwelled over the moment all afternoon and night, came to the realisation that Jaebum never actually confessed any feelings to him, but hearing the confirmation in words is indescribably reassuring. Yugyeom nods, and bounds up and down in delight seeing Jinyoung smile so wide.

“Does this mean we’re friends now?” he cries. “You won’t call me worm anymore?”

“No,” Jinyoung deadpans, immediately returning to his usual unimpressed state. “Don’t push your luck and spoil my good mood. Worm.”

He still hugs Yugyeom when his face falls in disappointment, though – at least the kid deserves that much.

~

Three Months Later

It took about two months for Jaebum to pluck up the courage and ask Jinyoung to be his (official) boyfriend, after spending every afternoon with the junior, getting to know him as more than just the cute guy with loud friends that glances in his direction every fifth period on Thursdays. A couple of weeks later he broke the news to his friends – which, of course, travelled around the whole school within hours, seeing as Jaebum is one of the most romantically sought after students and girls have been trying at him for years.

Going public about his ual orientation and relationship status didn’t affect Jinyoung nearly as much as it affected Jaebum, who lost a good handful of homophobic friends and obsessive admirers. The only thing that’s changed is the occasional glare Jinyoung will receive from kids he doesn’t know nor care about, and that when he stares lovingly at Jaebum from across the hallway, Jaebum stares back, too.

Having Jaebum in his life has changed Jinyoung for the better – his bitterness is still present but much less prevalent, and he’s warmed up to Yugyeom considerably, now treating him equally as rudely as Jackson. Not much of an improvement, but an improvement nonetheless.

“Good morning,” Jaebum whispers, stopping behind Jinyoung and sliding his arms around his waist. Jinyoung stops, releasing Jackson from a “playful” chokehold, and turns to embrace his boyfriend warmly, his frustration over Jackson’s irritating antics forgotten.

“Morning,” Jinyoung chirps, returning Jaebum’s bright and toothy smile. Jackson rubs his neck in pain and meets eyes with Jaebum’s senior friend, Mark, standing behind them (whom he admittedly knows much more about than he should) and blushes red, shuffling ever so slightly closer.

“You know, he called you ugly, once,” Jackson murmurs, gesturing towards Jinyoung. “Before they started dating.” Mark raises an eyebrow, as if to silently ask why anyone would find him unattractive (it’s damn obvious that he’s attractive), and Jackson decides he’d be better off shutting up and not trying to impress the guy.

“I’ve got to head off,” Jaebum murmurs, pressing his nose against Jinyoung’s, “but I just wanted to remind you that I love you.”

Jinyoung lowers his head, feeling flames erupt in his cheeks, and he quietly whispers “I love you, too” in response before Jaebum pecks his forehead and leaves with a wave.

“Man,” Jackson sighs, once the seniors are out of sight, “you’ve got to put in a good word for me. Mark is so dreamy.”

“Shut up, worm.”

Both Jackson and silently observing Yugyeom turn to him with gaping mouths, and Jackson screams in horror. Meanwhile, Yugyeom throws down his books and whoops like he’s just won the lottery.

“No!” Jackson wails, collapsing to his knees and slamming his fists on the ground. “No! I can’t be the worm! I’ve sunk to wormhood, my dignity, all of my dignity is gone…”

“I knew you’d come around,” Yugyeom chirps, tossing an arm around Jinyoung’s shoulders that’s quickly shoved off. “I’m obviously the better friend here.”

“Don’t test my patience, kid.”

✏ { a/n } ok well this is rly stupid and pointless and it's too fast-paced and unrealistic and stupid and its just rly stupid but it doesnt matter i wrote it anyway on a whim when i was sobbing over how perfect jjp are together and i thought it would be appropriate to post it around now since it's their 4 year anniversary of marriage so yea happy 4 years with jj project n congratulations on giving birth to 5 thots you did well boys anyway i was joking about the not commenting thing pls comment im lonely ok bye

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