It was quiet in the room, the only sounds cutting through the stillness were the subtle of a pen across a well-worn notebook, and the odd click or so of a laptop mouse pad. Two bodies lay parallel to each other on a cramped bed, the standard twin-sized mattress just big enough to keep the slender teen on the outermost edge from tumbling off the side. Said teen glanced up from the blue light of his laptop screen, eyes squinting as he tried to re-focus on the face on the opposite side of the bed. He watched as his friend continued to diligently work on whatever new composition he had brewing in his mind, every so often biting into his lower lip as he scratched out a certain word or phrase to replace it with something else. After a couple of minutes of letting this prolonged silence linger on, the teen reached up and brushed some of his blond fringe out of his face, absentmindedly thinking of how he really should have some hair clips on him at all times (but never remembers to bring them no matter how many times he encounters this problem). 

     Kibum rolled his eyes, using the heel of his foot to once again push at Jonghyun's shoulder, this time a bit harder just to be a brat. Jonghyun chuckled and shoved Kibum's foot off with the palm of his hand, setting his notepad and pen down on the desk beside him with his free hand. The two continued on messing with each other like this for a few minutes, the mini-war coming to an end with a decisive victory for Jonghyun when he managed to pin Kibum down and tickle his sides (Kibum's weak spot) to the point where the blond was laughing hard enough for tears to start streaming down his cheeks. Jonghyun relented once Kibum slapped him hard on his thigh, finally tapping out and admitting defeat. Kibum had barely gotten his breath back when it was once again squished out of him, as Jonghyun suddenly decided to flop down on top of him with a devious grin on his face.  

     "So do you prefer the quiet?" Jonghyun asked with an air of superiority, his previous win amping up his pride a bit. Kibum snapped back with a simple "No", pouting slightly as Jonghyun refused to move despite Kibum wiggling around in discomfort. Normally, this sort of closeness was no big deal. Ever since they became friends in middle school, when Jonghyun was 13 and Kibum only 11, Jonghyun has always been very open with his keenness for skinship. And 8 years later Kibum was still cool with that, honestly. In fact, while not as open about it as Jonghyun might have been, he loved being attached to the hip with Jonghyun as well. However, he began to notice that over the past few months, the innocent banter and play between best friends had taken on a subtle undertone of...something else. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, and he wasn't sure if he really wanted to anyways (even though a nagging voice in the back of his consciousness had already deduced the inevitable a few years back). Regardless, the topic hadn't been brought up by Jonghyun either, so he assumed it must've been himself overanalyzing something that wasn't there to begin with.  

     No more than a minute later, Jonghyun took the hint and rolled off to the side, letting Kibum's lungs fully expand once more. Kibum twisted his head to the side, looking his best friend directly in the eyes and offering him a playful smile. 8 years was certainly a long time, but in some ways it had seemed to have passed so quickly. Jonghyun had gone from a small, string bean of a kid with eyes too big for his face to an admittedly still small man with big puppy dog-eyes, but considerably more muscular after years of Jonghyun putting himself through rigorous training. Kibum couldn't help but think that Jonghyun looked good even before all the exercising, though he never said anything to take away from Jonghyun's hard work and diligence; instead he just made sure to be there for his friend whenever he felt down about his appearance, always managing to cheer him up with kind words and anime marathons on Kibum's Netflix account. Over the years, they learned to take solace in each other when the rest of the world seemed to be against them, and now they were almost inseparable. 

     "Whatcha thinkin' about?" Jonghyun asked quietly, blinking up at Kibum from where he was nestled up against his side.  

You, Kibum wanted to say, almost said. Shaking the thought from his mind, he merely shrugged and glanced up at the pale blue of the ceiling.  

     "Nothing much," he answered instead. Jonghyun hummed softly in response, not pushing the subject farther. Kibum closed his eyes, hyper-aware of where Jonghyun's body pressed up against his side. He tried his best to convince himself that he didn't care about how nice it felt, or how some part of him wanted to edge just a little bit closer.  

Friends don't think about each other this way... 

No one was really surprised when Kibum came out. 

In fact, his own mother had begun speculating the uality of her son when he was only six years old, noticing that he had a particular affinity for being the wife when it came to playing House. Of course, portraying "gender norms" that are usually pinned on females is not the deciding factor of a person's uality, so Kibum's mother stepped back and watched the energetic boy find himself as he grew up, deciding it was better that Kibum discover his own path rather than having her try and figure it out by being nosy. Needless to say, when the trembling 13 year old boy came up to her after school one day with tears in his eyes, asking for acceptance, she took him in her arms and made sure he understood that her love was unconditional. After that fateful afternoon, Kibum had begun gaining confidence in his own identity. While he never outrightly proclaimed his ual preference (which would have been an apt way of committing social suicide at the time), he always told people the truth if they came up and asked him. He wasn't in hiding by any means, but he just wanted to be treated normally. 

Jonghyun helped make the first few years easier for him. The older boy was always by Kibum's side when the school bullies would come around to pick on the younger, ready to throw a quick punch or two if the situation ever escalated (somehow, it never did). Even when they were separated the first year, with Jonghyun beginning his freshman year in highschool and Kibum in his last year of middle school, Jonghyun would keep his phone on him just in case Kibum needed him if he got himself into a tight spot. There was only one instance in which Jonghyun wasn't there to save Kibum.  

Kibum still remembers the pack of boys who began following him home from school every other day in freshman year, shouting out disgusting slurs and provocative implications from 20 feet behind him until Kibum got to his front porch. He wasn't sure how or why it began, but he remembers this harassment continued on for several weeks, and every time it happened it left Kibum feeling sick to his stomach. At the time, he was only 14, and he didn't want to bother Jonghyun with his issues, he wanted to handle the boys on his own. He had resolved to sticking up for himself, without having to rely on his "saving grace" every time someone had treated Kibum badly.  

Kibum had taken his time going home one particular day, the boys once again adhering to their usual schedule and leisurely following behind him. Kibum had gone over the possibilities hundreds of times in his head the previous week, working out how he would fare if he actually decided to stand up against the gaggle of idiots. Best scenario, he speaks his mind and verbally destroys their pride until they learn to respect his space. Worst case scenario, he speaks his mind and ends up in a bloody ball on the side of the road. After walking a few more blocks, the petite boy had gathered enough courage to stop in his tracks and turn around, facing the boys head-on. His eyes were narrowed into slits, nose up haughtily in the air; a perfect expression of faux superiority. Unfortunately for Kibum, despite his best acting skills, when it was 5 against 1 he stood no chance at swaying their minds. In fact, when he finally managed to stutter out a few words, they rushed him and had their way with him, punching, pulling, and kicking the poor boy until he was dry-heaving onto the worn pavement of the road.  

Kibum sat there for quite a while, his torso racked with quiet sobs as the bruises began to appear along his arms and face. Luckily, other than some minor scratches on his palms from where he stopped himself from falling face-first into the cement, there was no blood. Still, the emotional pain far outweighed any physical one, and soon he couldn't even find the strength to keep sitting up anymore, opting instead to roll gently on his side so that he was lying in soft grass instead of on the pavement. Staring up at the sky, Kibum lied there and simply waited. It wasn't as though there was anyone who would expect him to be in this neighborhood anyways, he never went this way on his route to and from school. So he wasn't quite sure who or what he was waiting for. He knew he should be trying to stand up, do the right thing and get home as soon as possible so his mother could fix him up and rub his back gently as he cried away the shock that was still bottled up tightly in his chest. Instead he just watched as the wind danced through the limbs of the oak trees that lined the street, blowing leaves and twigs across the street until something snagged them and kept them grounded. It was peaceful, blocking out the physical pain and focusing on the world around him. Eventually, he went numb and the world went dark. 

Even to this day, Kibum isn't sure who came by and carried his unconscious form home. He had the slightest inkling that it might've been Lee Jinki, who at the time was his Senior friend in high school. However, when Kibum shyly brought up the subject to the older boy during a tutoring meet-up one afternoon, Jinki had simply shrugged and claimed that he had no idea who had saved him that day. If it wasn't for the knowing look in Jinki's eyes every time Kibum avoided the gaggle of bullies during the school day, he might've believed his feigned ignorance. Jonghyun was never told of what happened that day; Kibum knew that if he had told him the truth, Jonghyun would've stupidly taken on all 5 boys the first chance he got and he didn't want his best friend to get beaten to a pulp as well just because Kibum was weak.  

Kibum wanted nothing more than to prove to Jonghyun that he was strong, and so he kept his mouth shut and head held high.  

     "I like him, Woohyun. Oh god, I like him so much." Kibum whined and lolled his head to the side, nursing his champagne glass close to his chest as if it were a precious child. That night, Kibum had gone out to a bar with one of his closest childhood friends, Woohyun, in order to get his advice on how to best handle this growing affection towards Jonghyun.  

     Woohyun chuckled and gently coaxed the drink out of Kibum's grasp, knowing from experience that the boy had finally reached his alcohol limit. He was a lightweight, always the first one to get tipsy at any party, and Woohyun had learned to his eye on his friend whenever he got into these kind of social situations, a nagging worry in the back of his mind that someone would try to take advantage of Kibum while he was inebriated.  

     "Have you confessed to him yet?" Woohyun asked, watching carefully as Kibum began to pout and shake his head sadly. 

     "I can't just confess, Jonghyun is straight...I'm pretty sure anyways. Even if he wasn't, we're so close that he probably only thinks of me as a little brother, if anything." Kibum whined again, a little more muffled this time, as he suddenly crossed his arms on the tabletop in front of him and buried his head in the crook of his right arm. Woohyun grinned and idly played with a few stray blond strands of Kibum's hair, which were throughoughly mussed. Normally Kibum would've swatted his hands away from his head by now, but the boy was so out of it that he didn't do more than partially lift his head up to shoot Woohyun a half-hearted glare.  

     "You're awful at consoling me. Why are we friends again?" Kibum mused, resting his chin on his forearm now so he could breathe easier.  

     "Because I'm the only one, other than Jonghyun-hyung, who can handle drunk-you and give you amazing advice, all at once. Speaking of advice, how about you make an account on Pegr? Heechul-hyung uses it, mostly for fun, but it's a good way to meet guys according to him. Maybe that'll help get your mind off of Jonghyun, at least until you can figure out if you really want to pursue him or not."  

          And that's how Kibum found himself in his present state, questioning his choice of friends and his own sanity as he weighs his options as to whether or not he should try chatting with a stranger online. The thought was a little unsettling, because as extroverted as Kibum tried to present himself, the idea of potentially trying to flirt with a faceless anon over the internet was something he never pictured himself doing when he was an adult. A barely-legal one at that.  

     Flipping over to the other side so he could see the screen of his laptop, still showing the homepage of his newly made account, Kibum wondered if this was even going to work. The relationship he had with Jonghyun, and the consequential feelings that came along with it, were much more substantial than some detached chatter over the internet. But maybe Woohyun was right; after all, he only planned on using it until he worked up the courage to lay his heart bare to his closest friend (which was a terrifying prospect that he chose not to dwell on too much in the present time).  Kibum eyed the website from the safety of his blanket, looking over the basic design of his home page. It was simple, straight to the point, and not hard to navigate really. He had set up his profile picture to display an image of his favorite painting by Dalí, deciding not to risk using an actual picture of his face in case someone recognized him and attempted to stalk him. He had filled out a short bio section, stating some of his favorite songs, foods, etc., basic getting-to-know-you information. At the bottom of his bio, he had made sure to highlight a few important words in bold: 

Not looking for a , just chatting.  
 
     Kibum hoped that maybe this would deter the more unfathomable users on the site, but he had a feeling that even this wouldn't stop those who were more...determined.  

     After several minutes of debating whether or not he should delete his profile and forget about Woohyun's idiotic suggestion, Kibum closed his laptop and set it on the nightstand by the head of his bed, deciding to let the profile stay up but not wanting to bother with it for the rest of the day. Kibum let out a soft sigh as he glanced over at his phone lying next to him, shoulders slumping as he realized that his Humanities class started in an hour.  

"God help me, I'll never be able to rest." 

     Later that evening, once Kibum had managed to pry Taemin from his side (the boy kept pestering him to watch this new swimming anime, but Kibum refuses), the blond dropped his school stuff on the little school-provided desk in the corner and flopped onto his mattress. Letting his body sink into the soft blankets he always swaddled himself in, he reached off to the side to grab his laptop, intending on catching up on any emails he might've missed while he was out that day. Once he ran out of things to distract himself with, he let curiosity get the better of him and he logged back into Pegr, wondering if anyone had tried matching with him yet. 

     "Blue Night.." Kibum muttered, surprised to see the notification that someone had actually shown interest in him, despite his lackluster profile. He clicked on the guy's username, automatically noticing that he didn't put up a profile picture either. Instead, a full moon against a blue-black gradient background took its place. Immediately Kibum's thoughts began to race. Maybe the man was like him and didn't want to actually start a relationship on here, or maybe he was secretly a e, and didn't want to put his face online for complete anonymity. Maybe, maybe, maybe....Stop. Breathe. 

     The blond took several steadying breaths, glancing towards the window on the adjacent wall from his bed, watching as the last few rays of sunlight filtered in through the blinds and cascaded onto the carpet flooring below. Kibum knew he shouldn't worry about starting up a chat with this guy, it wasn't like he was going to give out his private information or anything. Plus, this was just a distraction until he worked up the courage to go after the silly, lovely boy he was in love with.  

     And so, Kibum trained his attention back on his laptop and with a few short keystrokes he had secured his decision. 

Commedesgarcon: Hey~ 

     Kibum smiled to himself and closed his laptop, starting up his nightly routine to get ready for bed so he could get a good night's sleep before classes started the next day. Before he did set his alarm however, he decided to download Pegr's phone app to his cell, just in case Blue Night decided to chat back when he didn't have a computer.  

     As Kibum snuggled down into his comforter a few minutes later, he couldn't help the small giggle that rose in his chest at the thought of the online forum.  

     "Amazing. I've been reduced to seeking comfort through a screen," he whispered aloud, turning over to his side and finally drifting off into slumber.  

     A month later, Kibum knew he was playing with fire.  

     Blue Night turned out to be something of an enigma for the younger boy (apparently he was born in 1990, which made him a year older than himself), and it was beginning to worry Kibum. Blue Night was a musician, funny, sporadic, an insomniac, and a romanticist at heart, according to himself at least. In fact, he was pursuing Music in University (although he always evaded answering which Uni he actually attended, but Kibum never pressed it further). The pair were constantly exchanging witty conversation, even during Kibum's classes which he at first hesitated to do so, but he found this Blue Night character intriguing and impossible to pull away from. They were quickly becoming friends, exchanging tidbits of their lives here and there, nothing too revealing or personal but enough to keep the conversation going. Honestly, and Kibum hated to admit it, but maybe Woohyun had given him some good advice for once. In a way, Kibum felt that the anonymity of having an internet friend was something of a safe zone. He could direct what happened next, if anything at all, and what he would divulge. He never felt like he had to second guess what he would say to Blue Night because in the end, who cares? They didn't know each other, nor would they ever. And because of that, maybe Kibum was starting to get worried. Because he felt a little too comfortable with someone he had only began talking to a month prior.  

Blue Night: Comme, did you see Beyoncé's new album? 

     Kibum looked down at his phone on the table, quickly peeking up at the professor at the front of the classroom. Mrs.Young seemed entranced in her lesson on the history of socioeconomics however, so he figured it'd be safe to chat.  

Commedesgarcon: Yessssss, it was so good. I watched all of Lemonade. You? 

Blue Night: Haven't gotten the chance to yet. Can you send me a link? 

Commesdesgarcon: Sure, but later. Rn I'm in the middle of class. 

Blue Night: Ooooo naughty ;) Talking to me instead of paying attention? I thought you were more studious than that. 

Commesdesgarcon: Fine I'll leave then 

Blue Night: Noooooo comme pls don't go, I was only teasing 

Blue Night: Comme? 

Blue Night: Commeeeeee pleaseeeeee come backkkkkkk 

Blue Night: Im sorryyyyyyyyyyy 

Blue Night: What if I gave you fdoo 

Blue Night: food* 

Blue Night: COMMEEEEEEEE PLSSSSSSS 

Commedesgarcon: stop this 

Blue Night: You're back :D 

Blue Night: I missed u 

Commesdesgarcon: You're ridiculous 

Blue Night: Ridiculously caught up in you maybe ;D 

     And this was another thing that had been worrying Kibum. As easily as the conversation flowed, so did the flirtatious comments. He knew it was silly, that there wasn't any real substance behind that words, but the small nagging feeling of guilt kept gnawing at his insides every time he felt himself blush at something Blue Night said. He was supposed to only act that way with Jonghyun, not some random stranger through the internet that he had never even seen before. 

Blue Night: Hey, when do you get out of class? 

Commesdesgarcon: Uh, 20 minutes. 

Commesdesgarcon: why? 

Blue Night: Secret :D 

     Kibum felt someone nudge into his side lightly then, rolling his eyes when he saw Taemin's curious gaze flickering between him and the cell phone.  

     "Is that the dude from the dating site?" Taemin whispered, nestling himself comfortably on Kibum's shoulder to peer over at the screen. Kibum clicked his tongue and lightly batted the younger boy's cheek for being nosy, quickly turning off his phone and turning it upside down on the table so his private messages could no longer be read by the little sneak.  

     "Don't say dating site, that makes me sound so tacky. And yes it is Blue Night." Taemin pouted and let out a quiet huff, annoyed that his chances to pry were effectively shut down. 

     "You are a little tacky..." The younger muttered under his breath, settling back properly into his own seat. Kibum scoffed and turned to face him, this time smacking him on his thigh. 

     "I'm not tacky!" He said shrilly, only realizing afterwards that he had just blurted that out in the middle of lecture. Kibum turned to face the front with a solemn look on his face as he heard his teacher clear , seeing her stare him down through her horn-rimmed glasses, a steely look on her face. 

     "Mr. Kim. Mr. Lee. Since you two clearly can't concentrate during this lecture, please see your way out so we can carry on without interruption. Or are you willing to stay quiet for the rest of class?"  

     Kibum and Taemin glanced briefly at each other and shrugged, apologizing quietly for disrupting the class and stayed seated silently for the rest of the (boring) lecture. After class, the two quickly bolted from their seats, giggling amongst themselves as they felt the glare of Mrs.Young on their backs as the exited the room.  

     It was on their way to the nearby café on campus that Kibum felt his phone buzz briefly in his back pocket, a small grin making its way onto his face as recognized the familiar vibration.  

     "He sent you a picture of roses? See, I told you the whole site is tacky." Kibum rolled his eyes and shoved Taemin away, slightly annoyed that the younger had managed to read over his shoulder again.  

     "Can't you just stop being nosy for once?" Kibum shot back, trying to ignore the way he felt a little flustered (and maybe just a little bit flattered) at the sweet gesture Blue Night sent him.  

Blue Night: I may not know what you look like, but not even the prettiest roses compare to how special you are. 

     "By the way, have you talked to Jonghyun hyung lately? You used to be all over him, before this Blue Night showed up." 

     Kibum sighed, setting his backpack down on one of the small outside tables of the café once they got there. The blond settled into the metal chair and set his favorite jean jacket across the back since it wasn't cold enough out in the early afternoon to need the extra layer quite yet.  

     "We hung out last weekend to get ice cream and catch up. We've both been really busy with school though. Jonghyun has a big music festival coming up as well that he's going to be performing in actually, so he's been preparing for that lately." Taemin nodded and gave him a weak smile in return, gently folding his hands together in his lap as he watched Kibum glance over the menu the waitress had given them when they walked up. Something was off with Kibum, but he didn't know what it was. He just wished he could fix it. Whether that solution included Jonghyun however...that much he wasn't sure of anymore. 

     The waitress came back to take down their orders and collect the menus, before leaving with a quick nod and the promise of being back soon with their drinks.  

     "You know," Taemin said off-handedly, watching college students meander by along the street to and fro. "Blue Night reminds me of Jonghyun. Just a bit." 

     Kibum sat up straight, caught off guard at Taemin's sudden statement. In truth, he had noticed the similarities himself. In fact he was hoping that maybe it was a sign that he should go after Jonghyun after all, even though it seemed somewhat silly in a logical sense. 

     "Maybe. I suppose there are certain similar aspects." 

     Taemin rolled his eyes in exasperation, shaking his head at Kibum's reluctance to admit he was right. 

     "Anyways. I think you're using this Blue Night as a crutch. Distracting yourself from going after who you really like. I think it might be best if you just...stopped talking to Blue Night. You need to come down from whatever fantasy world you've been living in and take the risk to go after Jonghyun. You owe yourself that much to at least try."  

     The pair fell into a tense silence, Taemin's words leaving the whole conversation feeling relatively awkward. Taemin stood up once their drinks arrived, quickly paying for both of them and heading out with a simple, "Think about it, Kibum. Goodnight." 

     Kibum stared at the retreating back of his friend, still stunned into silence. He felt hurt, a little scared, and quite a bit confused as to what he should do. He knew Taemin was right, and he knew he was being unfair to himself and Jonghyun by ignoring the real problem. He hadn't hung out with Jonghyun like they used to in so long, that was true. But it wasn't completely because of their workload. He felt guilty about Blue Night, and any plan he could conjure up as to how to confess to Jonghyun was riddled with doubt. He just didn't want to lose his best friend. 
 

     Later that night, Kibum sat in the middle of his mattress facing his window, silently mulling over what to do. It was relaxing to be alone in the dark, only the dim light of the street lamps outside offering a source of familiarity within the shadows. He could faintly hear the cicadas that seemed to come alive at this time of night, remembering how he used to leave his window open all night long when he was younger during the summer, enjoying the chorus of nighttime critters as he slipped off into sleep. Now he was wishing he was young again, tucked away in the safety of his Grandmother's house in his old hometown of Daegu. At least back then, he could turn to Jonghyun whenever he couldn't work out what to do. Now Jonghyun was the problem, and he didn’t know who to seek out for advice. Or maybe he did.  

    Without thinking much about it, he grabbed for his phone that was lying next to his thigh, quickly swiping open his chat with Blue Night and typing out what he knew would mean the beginning of the end for their online tryst. But, as is life, all good things must come to an end.  

Commedesgarcon: BN? 

Blue Night: yes comme? 

Commesdesgarcon: How should you confess to someone? 

     Kibum waited nervously as Blue Night took several minutes to respond, making him wonder if he had somehow overstepped a silent boundary that he wasn't aware had been established. Luckily, he didn't have to wait long before his friend messaged him back. 

Blue Night: I dunno comme. Just tell him you like him, that's the best thing to do. Be upfront about it. 

Commesdesgarcon: Okay. Thanks BN~ 

Blue Night: Of course Comme. Goodnight :) 

Commesdesgarcon: Goodnight! 

     A week later and Kibum was seated in a packed auditorium at the college's main campus, brushing his fringe (really, he needs to get it cut or remember to bring those damn clips) out of his eyes so he could see the stage clearly. The room was filled with nonsensical chatter, impatient young adults all intending on socializing until the last possible second when social norms dictated that they all shut up to pay attention respectfully to the performers on stage. Kibum knew that somewhere backstage a bright-eyed, nervous Jonghyun was re-tuning his guitar for the nth time in a row, pacing back and forth while he waited for his name to be called. According to the pamphlet that was lying upside down in Kibum's lap, his best friend was lined up to go first as the opening act for the night's performances.  

     Somewhere in the back of auditorium Woohyun and his new boy-toy Sungkyu were probably being grossly affectionate with each other, but after the horror of having to watch them inhale each other's faces the other night when the three went out to see a movie together, Kibum was adamant about avoiding another situation like that one. Despite that, some part of Kibum wished Woohyun was sitting near him, because he desperately wanted someone to talk down his nerves that had been slowly rising all day. See, tonight wasn't only special because it was the night that Jonghyun was opening for the festival and would finally be able to show off his natural talent to the entirety of the student body; no, Kibum, for whatever reason, decided that he absolutely had to confess to Jonghyun tonight or he might implode from the pent up anxiety.  

     Looking up from where his hands were nervously wringing together, Kibum noticed the lights in the room suddenly grow dim as the stage lights were brightened, casting the stage in a bright yellow-orange hue. The previously chattering voices dimmed likewise, bringing the room to a polite standstill as the Music Director for the college gave a brief intro about the festival and introduced the first act.  

     "And without further ado, here to open our festival night we have Kim Jonghyun with an original composition!" 

     The director exited the stage as the curtains opened, revealing Jonghyun in a beige sweater and black jeans with his guitar strapped across his front, a blinding grin on his face. The usual introductory round of applause ensued, with Kibum possibly cheering a little too enthusiastically than really necessary. But he couldn't help it, he was practically buzzing with nervous energy as he waited for Jonghyun to speak and begin his piece.  

Jonghyun stepped forward towards the mic, taking it smoothly from the stand and into his hand. The stage lights were glinting off his Auburn hair, showing off the newly dyed highlights that Jonghyun had gushed to him about over Snapchat when he first got it done a few weeks ago.  

    "Hello everyone! My name is Kim Jonghyun, and I'm a Music Education major. This is a new piece that I quickly hashed together last weekend—" Kibum tried to keep the look of surprise off his face at this information. Usually Jonghyun would prepare weeks in advance preparing a song for a performance like this. "—but I was feeling inspired. See, I made a new friend. Well, kinda. And his quirks just make me smile. I'll stop blabbering and get to it then. Here is U&I." 

     Jonghyun placed the mic back in its stand, carefully placing his hands on the rights strings with practiced ease. The singer cleared his throat and quickly glanced over to where Kibum was sitting, giving him a knowing smirk (and perhaps stopping his heart, just briefly) before he began to strum the opening chord and start singing.  

"You, you and I 
Oh, you and I can't be apart 
You (you you), you and I 
I'm always waiting for your story 
 
I'm so exhausted 
And having a real hard time 
It's a day where sighing once is hard 
So how was your day? 
You're smiling, you must be in a good mood 
That's nice to see, can you tell me your story?" 

     The next morning Kibum woke up to something repeatedly poking his cheek, making the sleep-hazed blond scrunch up his nose in annoyance and snuggle further down into his comforter to avoid the intruder. Several moments passed by before Kibum's eyes shot open in alarm and he sat up, immediately jumping back with an alarmed screech and pressing himself up against the wall to see who the hell decided to break into his room. 

     "Who the fu-" Kibum paused as he finally noticed who was in his room. Jonghyun was kneeling awkwardly at the side of his bed, clad in that ugly print tee that Kibum had on multiple occasions attempted to throw out, claiming the article was an offensive atrocity to the name of fashion. Kibum deflated a bit as he relaxed, no longer worried that a random stranger had broken in; Jonghyun must've used the spare key that Kibum had given him. However Kibum still didn't relax completely, eyeing Jonghyun warily since he didn't know where they currently stood in their friendship. 

     "So," Kibum said quietly. "Blue Night?" 

     Jonghyun shifted forward, leaning his forearms on the younger's bed to make himself more comfortable. "Yeah," he answered with a slight nod.  

     "How long did you know?" 

     Jonghyun shrugged and looked off to the side, feeling a little guilty seeing how uncomfortable he's made Kibum.  "The...entire time, to be honest. Woohyun set this whole thing up. I knew I shouldn't have done it, I should have just been straightforward with you, but I wanted to be sure." Kibum scoffed, taking a mental note to give Woohyun a nice little talk about meddling behind people's backs once he met up with him for lunch this weekend. Maybe that's where Taemin got his nosiness from, he needed to stop having the two boys hang out together. 

     "Sure about what?" Kibum spat out, feeling a little defensive and more than a little insecure. He pulled his blankets closer to his chest, the small cocoon giving him momentary comfort.  

     Jonghyun froze, looking unsure about what to say, but before Kibum could question why Jonghyun was acting so weird all of a sudden, something warm and soft was pressing against his lips. It was fleeting, and Kibum didn't even have the chance to really take in what happened before Jonghyun had already pulled away, staring up at him with the same big eyes that had looked at Kibum the first time they had ever met. Kibum's brain seemed to short circuit; did Jonghyun just...kiss him? Oh god please don't be hallucinating.  

     Jonghyun seemed to panic as the seconds ticked by without a response from the younger, worried that he had misread the entire situation. The apology was poised on the tip of his tongue and he had begun to scoot back to give Kibum space, when the blond leaned forward and returned the quick peck. It was innocent and sweet, but it put a smile on both of their faces nonetheless. 

     "You're ridiculous," Kibum muttered, grabbing Jonghyun by the wrist and pulling him up onto his bed to snuggle into his side, just like they've always done. 

     "Ridiculously caught up in you, maybe." Jonghyun shot back, his voice light and teasing as he wrapped his arms around Kibum and pulled him closer. Kibum chuckled and rolled his eyes, biting back the snippy retort he so badly wanted to use. For now he would let Jonghyun be a romanticist, and keep his usual comments at bay.  

     "Yeah, whatever. We cool?" Kibum tilted his head back to look up at the older, wanting to reassure that despite this change, they were still as they always were. 

     "Mhm. Just no more talking to guys on Pegr please." 

     Kibum laughed a little harder than he probably should have, but sue him, he felt elated.  

     "Agreed." 

A/N: So yeah, there it is, this monster of a one shot. I hope you all enjoyed <3