Following the rather intense incident, Sehun decided to act as if nothing happened literally the day after. He flipped from one hundred to zero really quick and it took a lot of comprehension on Bambi's part to get a grip of the weird turn of events. Clearly, she was expecting some sort of teasing, but he was so breezy the entire morning, you'd think that she came onto him and not vice versa.

 

Though he appeared as cool as a cat about it, Sehun actually spent the entire previous night thinking about what had happened. And even if generally her reaction was supposed to be seen as a positive thing, he couldn't help but feel disappointed. He never believed she could possibly like him back, but now that it's right in front of him, he's left with negative emotions.

 

Several questions ran through his mind. Why is she that afraid to acknowledge her feelings? Does she not trust him? Or does she just not like him enough? Is HE not enough for her?

 

He was out of it for most of the next day, which led to a night of drunken bliss with his friends. Jongin tried to stop him, feeling that something was off with his best friend, but to no avail. Sehun deeply wanted to avoid the cold and pessimistic voice in his brain. The one that consistently nagged and dragged him down despite his conscious effort to shake it off. Eventually, it ran away until all he could hear was a mix of muffled gibberish.

 

Meanwhile, just as Bambi is about to turn in for bed, the doorbell resonates within the loft. While hesitating on whether to answer the call or not, she stares at the door with a mix of suspicion and fear. It's nearly 4 a.m. and she has no idea who would be visiting her at such an ungodly hour. Surely, it isn't her roommate. He wouldn't be stupid enough to ring the bell instead of using his own keys to let himself in.

 

After a brief mental debate, she chooses to make her way to the entrance cautiously and peek through the peephole.

 

She immediately gasps at the sight and opens the door hastily. “Oh my God! What happened??”

 

“Got a little too carried away with the tequila shots,” Jongin replies, holding up a nearly passed out Sehun.

 

She groans and shakes her head at the catastrophe in front of her as she helps him bring her loftmate to his room.

 

“Well, thanks for bringing him home safely,” She says when they finally get Sehun on the bed.

 

“Not a worry. Best friend duties.” He shrugs, sharing a small smile.

 

She returns his smile as her eyes linger to a sleeping and drooling Sehun.

 

“You'll be alright, right?” Jongin asks, snapping her attention back to him.

 

“As long as he doesn't suddenly vomit all over the place, we should be fine,” Bambi answers in a slightly humorous tone.

 

“He's already done that so...”

 

She snorts at the visual of her roommate hurling all over the bathroom floor of whatever club they've come from.

 

“Okay then. No choice but to take care of this giant baby,” She states as both their eyes fall upon Sehun. They then exchange looks and instantly burst into laughter. “See you around, Jongin!”

 

“Yup!” He waves briefly before leaving the bedroom.

 

As soon as he's out of sight, Bambi lets out a long sigh and sits on the little space Sehun hasn't hogged on the bed. “What am I gonna do with you?”

 

He suddenly mumbles, “No, you.”

 

“What??” She makes a face and peers at him. “Are you awake?”

 

“RIGHT!” He springs up to seat himself properly and continues in a slur, “And I'm sober as a hat too!!”

 

She wrinkles her nose at the stench of alcohol coming from his mouth. “NOPE. You need to go back to sleep,” She commands while attempting to push him back to lie down.

 

In an instant, her plan becomes futile for he ends up pulling her with him and finding themselves in an awkward position. With Bambi on top, hands on his shoulders and his legs between hers, they stare at each other in tense silence.

 

“Well, I quite like this. Don't you?” He wiggles his eyebrows with a drunken smirk.

 

“UGH!” She screams annoyed and quickly gets off of him. “You're such a moron.”

 

Just as she's about to walk away, he pulls her yet again with all his strength. “We're not done yet.”

 

“STOP. GO TO SLEEP,” She warns with fiery eyes.

 

“No!” He pouts childishly and continues to whine, “I want you to answer me!!”

 

“You never ASKED me ANYTHING,” She points out, trying to get away from him again, but he instantly pulls her back to the bed.

 

“Why can't you see me???” He says with an evident frown and genuine sadness in his eyes. “Why can't you see how I feel???”

 

She chooses not to respond, knowing that this is the alcohol talking; or at least that's what she's convincing herself to believe.

 

“Matter of fact, why can't you see how YOU feel??? I know you like me too. I know you do. I'm not going to pretend that you don't feel the same way,” He continues in an accusatory tone, “Here you are all high and mighty about honesty when you can't even be real about your own feelings.”

 

“That's enough, Sehun,” She whispers, avoiding any eye contact.

 

“Why don't you want to be with me?????? Is it because I'm not good enough for you?! Do you think I'm not good enough? Why can't you just tell me? Why can't you just let go?! Think about all that I've done for you, Bambi!!! Why can't you do this one thing for yourself!”

 

“Because I'm scared!” She blurts out in a shout before he can ramble on about anything else. As she holds back tears from falling, she continues, “I'm scared less. And I know it's stupid and petty, but can you really blame me? What if—what if I lose myself again? What if I get so consumed by whatever this is and come crashing down at the end of it all? I've never felt this way before, not even with Aaron and I—I don't want to lose control.”

 

This time, it is he who chooses not to say anything.

 

“But okay, fine. I admit it. I like you. I ing like you. Are you happy? I like you so much that it hurts. How dare you march into my heart and ruin things for me. I promised myself that I would never ever let myself hurt anymore, because of something as stupid as falling for someone. EVER.” She looks away, not wanting to see his reaction. “Maybe that's why it never worked out with Wongeun. Because I could never bring myself to open up to him. But you... you ed things up for me.” Her eyes find its way back to him and all he does is slowly blink, looking like he's about to pass out again anytime soon.

 

“Saying things like I'm beautiful and worthy more than I think and... understanding every bit of ugly in me. Me wanting to tell you anything and everything at the end of the day, because I know I won't be judged in the slightest. Feeling like there's something missing when you don't annoy the out of me with all that teasing, and even worse, secretly liking our epic banter exchanges. Laughing until I feel abs forming on my stomach at the tiniest silly things you do and the weird stuff only we find funny. Blushing like mad with my heart pounding like crazy at even the little surprise bits of affection you show me.” She bites back a small smile as she reminisces on those moments. “Just the way that we're 100% comfortable with each other as if we've known one another for more than half of our lives. The way that you're the best friend I never knew I needed and beyond.”

 

A deep sigh escapes as she gazes at him with utmost adoration. “You're monumentally drunk anyway, so it's not like you're gonna remember this, but at least I said it. I finally said it. I like you, you wonderful nuisance.”

 

“Wow. That sounded real for once,” He giggles before dropping on his back and passing out as she expected.

 

She sighs yet again and studies his face closely. Tracing each feature with her eyes, she can't help but crack a vague smile. As if on repeat, memories from the moment they met, up until the one that she's living in right now play in her mind with a beautiful soundtrack to match. What was she so afraid of again? Even if it's brief, she gets lost in an ethereal haze of pink positivity and daydreams.

 

Regretfully, in a matter of seconds, she snaps out her daze, feeling like some sort of creep and exits his room in a hurry.

 

Wanting to get rid of all the mushiness and affection surging through her, she proceeds to step outside of the apartment. She then leans on the warm painted wall, about to relax and rid her head of any sort of emotion; when suddenly the door across the hall opens to reveal Jongdae.

 

“Hey, neighbor. You look tired,” He greets with his cat-like grin.

 

She lets out a sigh and instinctively pulls him in for a hug.

 

“That bad?” He chuckles.

 

“Mmm.” She pouts even if he can't see her face.

 

Their embrace lasts for awhile, but Bambi immediately lets go as soon as she feels tiny specks of tears wanting to escape her eyes.

 

“How about you? Life treating you well?” She starts in the most casual tone she can muster.

 

Jongdae shrugs while recalling the past few days. “So-so. In and out. Up and down.”

 

“Are you attempting to sing a really bad pop song?” She jokes.

 

They both instantly fall into fits of laughter. For a moment, not caring if they're causing a lot of noise in the hall.

 

But as they gradually quiet down, he decides to reveal, “Look, I know about the whole Sehun having the hots for you and more situation.”

 

He admits he can be little dense sometimes, but her acting strangely affectionate is worrying him. For some reason, his gut's telling him that it directly involves Sehun too.

 

She shoots him look of confusion, trying her hardest to feign ignorance.

 

“Yeah, it's pretty obvious,” He points out. “It took me awhile to get on with the program, but it's SO obvious.”

 

She gives up and decides to give him a look that's clearly sassing, 'Are you kidding me?'

 

“Okay it took me a LOOOONG while. But hey, at least I'm here now,” He says defensively.

 

A smile pops on as she holds back a laugh.

 

“Well? Do you like him too?” He questions, wanting to get at the bottom of the subject.

 

Her smile turns forced as her eyes tear up. At this point, she doesn't really care about any of her friends knowing about her feelings, since it was doomed from the start. “Way more than you can imagine.”

 

“I know you're scared,” He gently states and continues, “But you also have to know that it's selfish. You don't mind being selfish. Well aware. But he likes you, genuinely likes you. He's not some chump like Aaron. They're two entirely different stories. Aaron tried to get in your pants the minute he moved in. And what happened?”

 

“He did after the first night.” She looks down, rather ashamed of the memory.

 

“Exactly.”

 

She fakes a front of arrogance and counters, “But does it really matter? Does it matter if it's after the first night or a year of.. nights?”

 

“That's how you know he's for real,” He interjects, “I don't exactly know what goes on in his mind, but Sehun did have to deal with his own and move on. It just so happened that along the way, he fell for you. Because you're always there and you guys just... clicked. It's rare to find someone like that.” A chuckle escapes his mouth as he continues, “I mean, look at you and me. We could've been a couple...”

 

Their eyes meet as they blurt out simultaneously, “But we're not.”

 

“We'd make a weird couple, so I'm glad that first date didn't work out as we thought it would,” Jongdae confesses, slightly shuddering.

 

“Yeah,” Bambi agrees, sharing a small smile.

 

“Just keep that in mind.” He shoots her a knowing look. “I have no idea what the four-one-one is with you two now, but just remember what I told you. You trust him, don't you?”

 

“Of course.”

 

“Then, isn't that enough of a reason to take that one brave step towards him?”

 

She lets out a sharp exhale and clarifies, “It's not him I don't trust. It's me. I can't trust myself.”

 

“Oh, Bambarooni...” He tilts his head and looks at her with odd fondness. “You've come so far since Aaron. So far that now, the only thing that's holding you back is you. Don't let Sehun be a lesson learned.”

 

“But how do I know that--”

 

“You don't,” He cuts her off before she can finish her question. “You never do with love. You always have to take that chance, that leap. You're never gonna know for sure, because that isn't the point. The point is if the person in front of you is worth it.” He explains further, hoping he could get her to understand somehow, “If they're worth the heartache, the tears, the misunderstandings, the arguments and...if they're worth trusting yourself to love once again.”

 

She gapes at him, shocked at every word he's just said. Is this really Jongdae I'm talking to? Jesus Christ, this must be some kind of dream. She thinks as she stares into nothing and ponders about the wisdom she's been handed.

 

“You're weirdly wise this time of the morning, aren't you?” She blurts out in a slightly humorous tone.

 

“It only happens once in a blue moon, so cherish it,” He retorts, making a face.

 

“I will very much so.” She chortles and continues softly, “Night, Dae.”

 

“Night, Bambs,” He replies in the same manner as he initiates a hug before they both go back inside their respective homes.

 

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AN: 

Errthang's finally out in the open. What's gonna happen next?!?!?! Tune in on the thrilling saga. Hahaha jk. Hope you guys are doing well! Thanks to everyone who reads, comments, subscribed, upvoted, and all that shebang! You deserve everything that's good in this world~ xxx