"You're in love." 

"What?!”  

Your best friend gives you a coy once over as she traces her fingertips against the smooth grain of the desk. "Love, adoration, extreme affection. Whatever you'd like to call it." You scoff lightly and twirl your pencil around your fingertips as you try to focus on the over under motion rather than your hands around her neck. If you had to hear about "love" one more time…

"You can just tell when you looks at your eyes; they're all sparkly and glazed like you're far off thinking about you-know-who, which, you are, I mean, it's blatantly obvious. Anyone could tell that you're head over heels. But that's not the point. The point is that you're in love and I’m going to prove it." You roll your eyes and open your mouth to protest but she clucks her tongue impatiently. 

"Don't you dare try to give me that stupid argument you always try to throw out when the L word comes out.’It’s just infatuation, there's no such thing as love,'" she mimes, badly to say the least. 

"You know you’re mad because it's true. Love is just a made up concept to make books and movies seem more interesting. Everyone blows mild interest out of proportion until it becomes a full out obsession and then it's just…weird." She raises an eyebrow and smirks. 

"Really? So you're telling me you're interested in someone?” You nearly choke on the shocked gasp caught in your throat and it takes a few claps on the back to get it cleared. It takes all of your willpower not to leap out of your seat and snatch her by the collar of her uniform.

"That's not what I meant at all!" You stutter out, feeling embarrassment creep along your spine as a heated flush spreads across your cheeks. She grins. 

"Okay, okay, whatever. I'll just pretend that I haven't noticed those not so secret glances you've been giving Ahn Jaehyo." 

Oh god. 

"Glances? W-What are you talking about?" She leans close to your ear and loops an arm over your shoulder, giving the seat a few rows over where he sits a few furtive nods.

 "Oh you know...glances." There's a scattered bout of laughter as Jaehyo shifts in his seat beside a few of his friends, that smooth, effortless smile splaying across his face. 
Not that you were…watching or anything. Definitely not.

"I don't blame you. That boy is definitely a fine piece of work. But when you profess your undying love for him, be sure to mention the fact that you're a bit stubborn and hotheaded and you tend to blush like crazy when someone even mentions something remotely-" 

"Shut. Up." Your voice comes out in a hiss more vicious than you had intended and she holds her hands up in mock defense, her knowing grin never leaving her face. 

"No need to get so feisty! I'm just doing what best friends do." She winks at you as the teacher steps into the room with a stack of textbooks in her arms and slips back into her seat two rows in front of yours. 

You frown at the back of her navy blue uniform and cross your arms over your chest with a frustrated huff. What right did she have to say that you were in "love"? There's no way you could be in something that didn't even exist. She was delusional. Insane. 

Your eyes glance over towards Jaehyo despite your firm orders for them to stay put. You can't help but notice the firm arch of his spine, the soft slope of his shoulders, the way his eyes crinkle when he smiles or the pleasant tone his voice takes on when he’s talking about something he particularly enjoys.

It was infatuation, nothing more. Just simple interest. Right?

You manage to convince yourself of this until your arms brush in the hallway. It sends your pulse skyrocketing and you have to duck your head to hide the steadily growing blush. It’s just a simple touch but it unravels you completely.

“Okay,” you say quietly as you take your seat beside your friend. You cross your arms over your chest as she looks up in surprise. “Fine, you were right, I admit it.”

She shuts her textbook and leans in close to you, a smirk on her face. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”

“Listen, before you even-”

“Oh my god, I was right!” She jumps up and lets out a cry of victory as the few students already gathered in the room give her strange looks. You slap a hand over your eyes and exhale a frustrated sigh.

“Please, please just sit down.” She obeys but there’s a knowing smile stretched across her face, her arms crossed over her chest.

‘I can’t believe I was right, this is so great.” She casts a cursory glance over to where Jaehyo sits and quirks an eyebrow. She jumps out of her seat and you scramble to try and hold her back, knowing that this could only end badly, only to have her slip through your grasp. You try to shrink in your seat as she makes her way to Jaehyo.

You watch her lips move slowly through your fingers and he nods once, a smile stretching across his face. She flicks her gaze towards you and you scramble to sit up in your seat and seem normal. As she walks away, Jaehyo glances over his shoulder. He gives you a tiny wave and the most heart melting smile you’ve ever seen.

You return his smile weakly with a small wave and pray that the pounding of your heart will stop echoing in your ears. As your friend sits down with a satisfied smile and informs you that you’ll be sitting with Ahn Jaehyo at lunch, your pulse only picks up the pace to a dangerous speed.

If this was love, you weren’t so sure that it was a bad thing.