When Jeonghan first meets Seungcheol and Jisoo, all three of them are first-year university students and Jeonghan is lowkey laughing at two losers who seem to have forgotten to bring umbrellas with them despite the heavy downpour.

Now, don't get him wrong: Yoon Jeonghan is an absolute sweetheart. But after an awful day in his required first-year chemistry class, he figures that there's nothing better than reveling in the misery of others to make himself feel a little better.

He’s not a bad person—he's just keeping it real.

The first guy he comes across looks kind of pitiful with his wide, drooping eyes and awkward, lanky frame. He's standing underneath the awning of the liberal arts building with a bag slung over his shoulder, clearly debating whether or not he should try to make a run for it. Jeonghan is almost willing to share his umbrella and maybe make his first friend since leaving home. Almost.

The other guy, Jeonghan’s seen before. Probably too often for his taste.

He’s Choi Seungcheol, sole heir of the biggest music company in South Korea. He’s also the occupant of the dorm neighboring Jeonghan’s and seems to have a penchant for ignoring everything else and living by his own rules.

Exhibit A: despite the university’s strict no-pets policy, Seungcheol lives with a golden retriever pup he apparently rescued from the street and dubbed “S. D'etat.” It’s a stupid name, but Seungcheol likes to introduce himself as “$. Coup$” to anyone who's willing to humor him. It’s pronounced as awfully as you would imagine it to be.

Exhibit B: Seungcheol’s a lucky guy who wasn't assigned a roommate, and so he likes to host get-togethers at two in the morning. He invites the entire floor to squish into his small room, orders a ridiculous amount of pizza, and sets up his retro GameCube in order to “wreck a few scrubs in Smash.” Seungcheol doesn't really seem to care that people (Jeonghan) are trying to sleep because people (Jeonghan) sometimes have to balance part-time jobs and maxed out schedules and he's honestly lucky that people (Jeonghan) are kind enough to not report him to the campus authorities (though Jeonghan’s convinced that they already know and just choose to turn a blind eye).

Which brings Jeonghan to Exhibit C: Seungcheol apparently doesn't understand how to take “no” for an answer. It seems like Seungcheol’s willing to do almost anything to get the slightly younger boy’s attention even though Jeonghan’s pretty sure that he's made it clear that he wants nothing to do with “$. Coup$” or “Seungcheol” or “the number one Smash player on the entire dormitory floor.” The guy just can't seem to take a hint—either that, or he just chooses not to, which is actually even more irritating.

Anyway, apparently S. D’etat escaped the confines of his dormitory cell while Seungcheol was sleeping and decided that it would be a good idea to frolic around the campus garden. His owner probably scrambled out of bed to chase him, as is obvious by his pair of Pokèball-printed boxers and Nike sliders. There’s mud plastered all over him and this tired expression on his face.

Jeonghan doesn't want to admit that his first thought is that Seungcheol totally deserves it, but that's when he realizes how much of an he's being and opts to instead pretend like he hasn't seen anything. It’s difficult to quell the smirk that’s threatening to unleash itself onto his features, but he likes to think that he manages. With that thought, he turns to sneak a glance at the other boy still hiding from the rain and figures that he’s probably going to have to share his umbrella with him to balance out his bad karma with some good. And so he changes direction to the liberal arts building, slowly realizing that wow, he has no idea how to properly introduce himself to a stranger.

Life, apparently, has other plans though.

The pitiful looking guy that had been staring out at the rain suddenly drops his bag to the ground and begins stripping.

Jeonghan stops immediately in his tracks because what the actual—

The stranger then proceeds to rush out into the rain in his tighty whities (and oh god, Jeonghan thinks, people still wear those at their age?), waving his arms frantically as he screams, “I can help!”

A split second later, and the poor guy’s fallen flat on his face in the mud.

Jeonghan’s still at a loss for words and isn't really sure what he should do because this seems like the sort of situation he really doesn't want to deal with at the moment.

Seungcheol, on the other hand, quickly slides to the stranger’s side on his knees, a frantic expression knitting his brows together. “Oh my god, are you alright?” The brunet grabs the other boy’s shoulders, turning him over as he attempts to let the other rest in his lap.

There's a high-pitched, incoherent noise that Jeonghan can't really understand, and then Seungcheol screeches, “Oh my god, your nose!”

Jeonghan cannot believe that this is his life.

He forces back an annoyed groan before walking towards the two mostly men. “Is everything okay here?”

At the sound of his voice, Seungcheol stands up in excitement, leaving the other boy to fall back to the ground with a squeak of surprise. “Jeonghan! You're finally talking to me!” Jeonghan winces on the stranger’s behalf and Seungcheol decides that—for some reason—it's a good idea to run towards Jeonghan.

He slips on the wet concrete, landing with a messy splash in front of Jeonghan and effectively drenching the taller boy in rain water and flecks of mud.

Jeonghan cannot believe that this is his life.

Seungcheol starts screaming in agony, almost matching that of the other boy’s panicked whining. Almost.

Jeonghan’s still debating whether or not it would be socially acceptable for him to walk away from the situation and pretend that he hadn't seen anything, but S. D’etat picks that very moment to tackle him to the ground.

Seungcheol’s screams come to a sudden stop as he turns on his side to beam at Jeonghan. His face is bloody and his nose is crooked. “Oh, look! Jeonghan, S. D’etat likes you!”

If the guy in the background didn't sound like a dying bird, Jeonghan would probably tell Seungcheol to shut up. But the guy in the background is shrieking at a pitch that Jeonghan’s pretty sure can shatter glass, so with a restrained sigh, he grabs S. D’etat by the collar and lifts him up into his arms. Trying to pretend that he isn't covered in dirt and is definitely going to be late for his job at the bookstore, Jeonghan turns his attention to Seungcheol. “Grab my umbrella and help the other guy up. I’ll take the two of you to the hospital.”

Seungcheol grins widely at him, but quickly adjusts his facial expression when he sees the warning look in Jeonghan’s eyes. It isn’t long before he gives up on trying to contain the smile on his face though, bouncing into a standing position and skipping over to Jeonghan’s side. “Okay, but I’ll carry your bag!”

Jeonghan cannot believe this is his life.

“It’s really okay. Your nose is broken, Seungcheol,” Jeonghan dismisses with a roll of his eyes. The mention of his bag reminds him of all the notes that are now soaked and probably unsalvageable. He tries to push the thought away.

The other boy just smiles his cheesy smile again, and Jeonghan has to resist the urge to cringe.

“Okay, but my back isn't.”

“Jesus Christ—”

The stranger in the tighty whities stops screaming at this point to look at Jeonghan with an expression of honest surprise. “Whoa, you know my name?”

Both Seungcheol and Jeonghan turn to shoot the boy a quizzical expression, and suddenly, all three of them look equally confused.

“Wait, you said ‘Jisoo,’ right? Because I'm Jisoo.”

“I said Jesus,” Jeonghan clarifies.

“Oh,” Jisoo frowns, sitting up from his position in order to stare at the other two boys. Jeonghan doesn't really expect him to say anything else, but it looks like Jisoo is sincerely struggling to come up with the proper words to say something. “I like Jesus, too.”

Before Jeonghan has the chance to try and process just how awkward this guy is, Seungcheol picks that moment to sling an arm around Jeonghan’s shoulders, his expression blindingly bright despite his disheveled features and broken nose. “If you call him Jesus, then do you think you could call me Daddy?”

Jeonghan cannot believe that this is his life.

Jisoo throws his head back in an honest laugh that sounds a bit distorted due to the state of his broken nose, and the sound seems to bring Seungcheol back to his senses. “Oh, hey, we should get you to a hospital, Jisoo! You’re all bloody!”

“Yeah, I'm kind of in a lot of pain,” the other boy admits rather sheepishly.

Seungcheol drops his jaw and Jeonghan isn't sure if he’s actually shocked or if he's just being really dramatic. “I couldn't even tell! You’re so brave!”

Jisoo blushes brightly. Jeonghan wants to gag.

With that, Seungcheol jogs over to Jisoo, hands the shorter boy the umbrella, and then proceeds to hoist the other onto his back.

He turns to wink at Jeonghan before jogging onward and Jeonghan is a million percent done because the idiot’s not even running in the right direction.

When they arrive at the hospital, Seungcheol is ushered away first, leaving Jeonghan and Jisoo together as they wait for someone to attend to them.

“Seungcheol’s a loser, you know. You're better off not getting involved with him.”

Jisoo blinks innocently, shivering underneath the thin blanket that Jeonghan had procured from his car. “Who’s Seungcheol? Do you mean $. Coup$?”

Jeonghan decides to ignore the pain he feels at the mention of that cursed self-produced nickname. “What were you thinking anyway? I was going to offer to share my umbrella with you, but then—”

“Y-You’d do that for me?” Jisoo interrupts, cheeks flushing a bright red as he meets Jeonghan’s gaze. The slightly older boy can’t help but stare at the other in surprise, trying to figure out if the glassiness in Jisoo’s eyes is due to the boy’s broken nose or if because he’s actually that touched by the idea of Jeonghan’s kindness. Before he can come up with a reply, Jisoo’s twiddling his fingers nervously and has broken their eye contact in favor of staring at his bare feet. “I mean, I guess I don’t really know anyone here. I just wanted to make friends.”

Jeonghan decides in that one moment that Hong Jisoo is probably the most helpless person out there. And though Jeonghan hates to admit it, he feels that his heart strings have been successfully tugged as he stares at the shivering boy.

Sometimes though, when Jeonghan’s having a bad day, he finds it difficult to filter his natural snark.

“Okay, but why did you have to do that ?”

Jisoo just stares at him incredulously. “I mean, I didn’t want to get sick.”

Jeonghan’s not even sure why he even bothered to ask, but he gives the younger boy his phone number all the same.

A few weeks later and Seungcheol literally won’t stop knocking on Jeonghan’s door. It probably has something to do with Jisoo’s firm belief that he, Seungcheol, and Jeonghan are destined to be best friends that’s encouraging Seungcheol this much—but Jeonghan doesn’t have the heart to blame Jisoo for anything.

Seungcheol, on the other hand, is a totally different story.

“It’s your BFF again,” Junhui drawls, drying his bleached hair with a towel. When Jeonghan doesn’t respond, his roommate turns to shoot him an annoyed look. “Can’t you at least talk to him? Like, just so that he stops making so much noise.”

“I have this really bad feeling though. Pretty sure that if I talk to him, it’ll just make things worse,” the older boy responds, not bothering to look up from his desk to face his roommate. “I bought you some earplugs while I was out yesterday—you can’t say that I’m not being courteous.”

Junhui grumbles something in annoyance, but the words are drowned out by another round of incessant knocking at the door.

A curse slips through Jeonghan’s lips absentmindedly, and as if on cue, his phone begins to vibrate with a conveniently-timed text message.

Don’t forget that you owe me 900 won for the swear jar!! ~ Jisoo ( •⌄• ू )✧      ⃛ヾ(๑❛ ▿ ◠๑ )

Jeonghan wants to say something about how he can’t believe that his life is real, but he’s well past that point now. He’s come to the conclusion that this is all just some cruel joke that the universe is playing on him because of that time he laughed at Seungcheol’s misery when he probably shouldn’t have.

(Goddammit though, why is everything Seungcheol’s fault?)

“He knows that it’s mid-terms week, right?” he manages through clenched teeth.

Junhui actually laughs at this. “Probably not.” Before Jeonghan can continue to angrily fume to himself though, Junhui slides into the empty space by Jeonghan’s desk, feigning disinterest as he begins to play with the multi-colored sticky notes in one of the drawers. “But he’s not all that bad, you know? He may be kind of annoying at times, but give the guy a shot—I’m pretty sure that the only reason why he comes off the way he does is because he cares.”

“What are you now, my therapist?”

“Please. I’m more like your life manager.”

Jeonghan rolls his eyes at this and discretely pushes all of his colorful pens to the opposite side of his desk. He’s pretty sure that Junhui has an unhealthy obsession with multicolored ink and Jeonghan’s not ready to replace yet another set of writing utensils when they “mysteriously” disappear. “I think that you’re being too optimistic here. The guy barely knows who I am, so there’s really no reason for him to care about me.”

It now sounds like someone is banging their fists on the door and Jeonghan’s this close to answering it, just to tell the other boy to leave him alone—for, like, the ninth time this week.

Junhui leans back in his chair to cross his arms and frown at his roommate.

Jeonghan narrows his eyes. “Don’t give me that look.”

“What look?”

“The one you give people whenever you think that you’re right and the other person’s wrong,” Jeonghan supplies. “You know that I’m right on this one.”

Junhui’s always had a more even temperament than Jeonghan, so he chooses not to reply back with negative attitude. “I’m not too sure about that. But what I do know is that Seungcheol has sincerely tried to befriend everyone that he encounters. I’ve talked to the guy three times total this semester, but he still goes out of his way to buy me a cup of coffee when he thinks I’m running late for class—he doesn’t even say anything, just smiles, hands me the coffee, and then continues on his merry way.” He pauses for a moment to look at his roommate expectantly. When the other doesn’t react, he adds, “Jeonghan, he knows my Starbucks order.”

This is enough to make Jeonghan blink in genuine surprise. “Your order literally takes a minute to recite,” he says bluntly.

“Yeah, I know,” Junhui replies, leaning forward in his chair. “Jeonghan, the second time I talked to Seungcheol was when we ran into each other at Starbucks. That was two months ago and he still remembers my order.”

Jeonghan doesn’t want to say that he’s impressed, but it’s hard not to be. “It’s kind of creepy though, isn’t it? Kind of makes him sound like a stalker.”

The banging on the door finally stops, and Jeonghan knows that he’s just being paranoid when he entertains the idea that maybe Seungcheol heard him say that, but he feels guilty all the same.

“There are at least twenty other guys on our floor,” Junhui cuts in with a look of disappointment directed at the other, “But he fusses over everyone as though they’re his own kid or something. You know that Soonyoung guy? Seungcheol waited three hours in line to get a ticket to this dance showcase for him because he knew that Soonyoung had class. And Jihoon? I heard that he had a nervous breakdown before his first vocal exam, and Seungcheol stayed up with him the entire night to try and calm him down. Remember that guy, Seokmin, who was having those intense self-confidence issues after a really bad break-up with his high school sweetheart? Seungcheol left him sticky notes all around his dorm to remind him of how talented and special he is, and made sure to always be a shoulder to cry on whenever he was having a tough time.” He stops once more to stare at Jeonghan with a thoughtful expression. “The guy just wants to see other people happy.”

It’s hard to really argue about Seungcheol when Junhui starts talking about him like that, but Jeonghan’s never been the kind of guy to say no to a challenge. “Okay, so why is he so obsessed with me?”

“Oh, let’s see,” Junhui begins, actually rolling his eyes at the question. “Out of all the twenty guys on the floor, there’s only one person who refuses to attend any of the dormitory socials, speak to anyone other than his roommate, and gets so wrapped up in his own responsibilities that he looks noticeably unhealthy—dark eyebags, abnormal weight loss, and don’t even get me started on how he’s let his hair go.” Jeonghan stiffens in his chair, eyes going wide at the accusation. Junhui doesn’t look as though he really cares though. “If you still don’t know who it is, then here’s an extra little hint: he constantly looks like he has a stick up his .”

Jeonghan huffs, slamming his textbook shut before crossing his arms and regarding his roommate with a look of restrained anger. “I’m not in the mood to be lectured and, in all honesty, you’re in no position to be lecturing me,” he begins, taking a breath in preparation to list all the problematic things he’s noticed about Junhui the past few months because Jeonghan is honestly feeling super attacked right now and, hey, he’s not a psychology major for nothing.

Before he gets the chance though, Junhui raises both hands in front of him in innocent surrender. “I’m just trying to say that maybe the reason why Seungcheol won’t leave you alone is because he’s worried that there’s something wrong and that you need a helping hand. Cut the guy some slack—the only thing bad thing he’s done to you is care too much.”

With that, the taller boy shrugs, picks up his bag, and begins to walk towards the door. “I’m heading out to dance practice now, so I’ll see you later.”

Jeonghan’s still trying to process Junhui’s words, but he’s sharp enough to stop the other before he leaves. “Hey, Jun?”

“What?”

“Give me back my pink pens.”

Junhui actually whines at this, slumping his shoulders and stomping his feet childishly. “But you have three! Can’t I just have one?”

“I'm pretty sure that I let you take one every day, and every day, you never fail to lose it and ask me for another,” Jeonghan deadpans. “You're literally sending me into debt over pens, Jun. Go buy your own.”

The younger boy huffs, mumbling something about Jeonghan over-exaggerating even though they both know it's the truth.

He walks over to drop the pens back onto the other’s desk, and as soon as he does so, Jeonghan’s phone vibrates with a new message from Jisoo: Seungcheol’s inviting us to hang out in his room tonight to eat pizza and play some video games! It's been so long since the three of us have hung out, so you HAVE to come! Please, please, please, please, PLEASE!

Jeonghan can't help but snort: the last time all three of them had “hung out” was in a hospital and he kind of likes to pretend that that whole fiasco was just a really weird dream.

Junhui’s already seen the message though and he shoots his roommate a knowing look.

With a roll of his eyes, Jeonghan gestures for the younger boy to leave the room. “I’ll think about it, okay?”

And that's probably the closest that Junhui will get to a “yes,” so he manages a toothy grin before heading out.

An hour later and Jeonghan finds himself in Seungcheol’s dorm watching the older boy and Jisoo play some game that seems to involve a lot of button mashing and Jisoo’s characters falling off cliffs.

“Are you sure you don’t want to play? There’s another controller,” Jisoo points out while cramming a handful of potato chips into his mouth.

Jeonghan just shakes his head from atop Seungcheol’s bed, a box of pizza in his lap and a two-liter bottle of soda in his arms. S. D’etat is sitting beside him, trying to nudge the food out of the way so that he can cuddle with the boy. Jeonghan has his priorities straight though. “No, I’m fine.”

“Yeah, you are!” Seungcheol yells excitedly with an exaggerated wink. Jeonghan just rolls his eyes. “I’m glad that you decided to come though. Are you still hungry? I can order something else if you’re up for it.”

Jeonghan can’t help but narrow his eyes in slight suspicion. “It’s almost twelve. Even the pizza places will be closing up soon.”

“I know a guy,” Seungcheol supplies with a wide grin.

The statement is kind of sketchy, so Jeonghan chooses to decline the offer. He still has half a box of pizza left anyway, and he figures that he and Jisoo will be leaving soon since it’s getting late.

He’s wrong.

At midnight, Jisoo wins his first match against Seungcheol. He doesn’t really win though, it’s more like Jeonghan mumbling something about being cold, which causes the oldest boy to drop his controller and dart to his closet to supply Jeonghan with at least four different types of blankets. Jisoo was too focused on the game to notice, but he’s so excited and proud of himself that neither Jeonghan nor Seungcheol can find it in them to correct him.  Instead, the latter declares that Jisoo is officially the best Smash player that he’s ever met in his entire life, which supposedly says a lot because Seungcheol once met Mango.

Both Jeonghan and Jisoo think that he’s referencing a fruit, which shocks Seungcheol, and so at around 12:15, they start watching a bunch of video game tournament footage. It’s basically a lot of cursing, nonsensical phrases, and excited yelling. All three of them are on a sugar rush from the Mountain Dew they’ve been drinking, so they find that they can’t stop laughing even though Seungcheol’s probably the only one who understands what’s actually going on.

At one in the morning, Jisoo correctly identifies that Mango is not a fruit reference, but is actually the gamertag of a world-famous video game player. Jeonghan thought that it was kind of obvious at that point, but Seungcheol won’t stop praising Jisoo for being a genius. The two decide that they are now going to be a tag-team and that Jeonghan will be their team mascot. Jeonghan tries to respectfully decline, but then Jisoo starts to whine and suddenly Seungcheol pulls out a horse mask from inside his closet and forces it over Jeonghan’s head.

Jeonghan faintly recalls declaring war on Seungcheol, so at around 1:17 there’s a pillow fight and then suddenly they’re singing along to these really cheesy love songs—except the really cheesy love songs are in English so it’s really more like Jisoo is singing along while Seungcheol repeats “la la la” over and over again and Jeonghan finally takes off the dumb mask to smile because wow, they’re such losers.

And then it’s three in the morning and Jisoo’s fallen asleep with his head in Seungcheol’s lap as the older boy plays with his hair. Jeonghan’s sitting across from them, resting his back against the wall as he S. D’etat’s fur, absentmindedly wondering if he can ask Seungcheol about that food guy that he apparently knows.

“Hey, uh, I’m sorry if I annoyed you too much earlier.” Jeonghan blinks at the words in surprise, raising his eyes curiously to regard Seungcheol who hasn’t looked up from Jisoo’s sleeping face. “I know that you don’t really like me, and I was willing to stop trying to be your friend until the whole nose thing happened.” He pauses to wince. “But Jisoo seems to really like the idea of the three of us being friends and I think that he really needs friends right now. I know that you only came here tonight because he asked you to, and I also know that he doesn’t realize how much of a sacrifice it was for you since he thinks we’re all friends. So I just wanted to thank you on his behalf.” The entire time Seungcheol’s spoken, he’s kept his eyes fixated on the youngest boy in the room, brushing the hair away from his face every so often, clearly thinking about something more serious than he’s letting on. “I can’t ask you to tag along to these things every time he asks, but Jisoo thinks you’re really cool, so at least hang out with him every once in a while.”

The random speech seems especially strange coming from Seungcheol’s lips, and Jeonghan has to actually pinch himself to prove that the words are actually real. He likes to think that he’s usually good at responding to these sorts of things, but in his defense, it’s three in the morning and he has an exam in a few hours that he’s barely studied for. “Only Jisoo thinks I’m cool?” he playfully huffs, looking away from Seungcheol just as the other boy raises his head to look at him. “Wow, Cheol. I think that I’m actually hurt.”

There’s a moment of brief silence until Seungcheol finally laughs—and the sound is soft and airy and there’s something so genuinely heartfelt laced between his breaths that makes Jeonghan’s lips twitch upwards in a smile. “I think that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me,” Seungcheol grins.

Jeonghan can’t help but raise a brow at this. “So you consider my pain to be a nice thing?”

“No,” he responds, eyes twinkling with mischief. “You talking to me without looking like you want to beat me up—that’s the nice thing.”

And before Jeonghan really knows what’s happening, he throws his head back to let out the most honest laugh he’s had in a while. It feels kind of strange, the way his chest constricts, the way he suddenly feels so light. But it’s a good kind of strange and now he can’t stop smiling.

Seungcheol quickly shushes him, gesturing frantically to the boy in his lap. “You’ll wake Jisoo!”

“It’ll be fine,” Jeonghan dismisses, “He looks like a heavy sleeper. Besides, shouldn’t you be getting to sleep soon?”

“Maybe,” the other replies. “But I’m kind of scared to.”

Jeonghan can’t help but laugh at that. “Afraid of the monsters under your bed?” When Seungcheol blushes, the color spreading all the way to the tips of his ears, Jeonghan feels something tug at his heart and oh god, he really is getting soft. “Don’t worry, I’m here. You can rest easy now since I’m the one on lookout—the monsters don’t stand a chance against me.”

“That’s not it,” Seungcheol frowns, the expression looking really out of place on the older boy’s features. “I’m scared of letting this moment go,” he explains, gesturing to Jisoo and to Jeonghan and to the feathers on the ground that are supposed to be in his pillows. He chuckles at his own silliness before continuing, “I’m going to wake up tomorrow and have to start thinking about responsibilities and grades and all that awful stuff again. But right now, in this moment, there’s nothing but you and me and Jisoo and you know what? It’s kind of really great.”

As soon as the words leave his lips, he clamps a hand over his mouth, face managing to turn an even brighter shade of red. “S-Sorry—that just slipped out. It’s kind of late, you know, and I just—”

“Go to sleep, Seungcheol,” Jeonghan interrupts, that small smile of his still dancing on his features. “Didn’t I tell you? I’m here. There’s nothing to be afraid of.”

The words seem to surprise Seungcheol just as much as they surprise Jeonghan, who can’t believe that he actually said something so cheesy. A part of him is kind of worried about how the older boy will respond, but Seungcheol casually lights up the room with another one of his trademark grins as he whispers “thank you” and drifts off to sleep.

By that point, it’s four in the morning and Jeonghan will probably never admit it, but staring at the two boys in front of him makes him realize that okay, maybe he had misjudged them during their first encounter. And if anyone asks, Jeonghan definitely wasn’t the one who grabbed the blankets from the floor before moving to cuddle with his newfound friends. When they wake up three hours later for class, it’s also totally Seungcheol who lets the grossest, most gaseous fart rip throughout the room. Jeonghan certainly has nothing to do with it and Jisoo is too innocent, too pure.

And so before Jeonghan really knows it, the three of them are inseparable.

a/n: so the goal was to get this out on scoups' birthday, and it's still the eighth over by me so i'm only slightly cheating LOL. i'm definitely going to have to come back to this later for some much-needed editing, but i'll worry about that some other time, haha. 

this chapter serves as a prologue of sorts, and the real action will begin will begin in the next chapter. there are a few serious moments in this installment, but that's mostly to just establish the trio's dynamic. i haven't really written in a while, so hopefully this was okay! thank you so much for reading. c: