Doyoung, Mark, Kun, and Yuta were already waiting at Taeil's locker when Taeil walked into school on Monday morning. But the boys barely even recognized him for a good minute: he was smiling. In the morning. And he didn't even have coffee! They could barely believe it was even Taeil himself. 

"Hey guys!" Taeil said cheerfully, smiling at his friends. The four boys just stared back at him incredulously. 

"A-are you okay?" Mark asked. 

"Dude, you're ing glowing. What happened?" Yuta responded. Taeil smiled again and his cheeks flushed, and Doyoung and Mark had to share a confused and surprised look when Taeil released a giggle. 

But Taeil didn't even have to explain because at that moment, Johnny captured Taeil in a back hug. 

"Hi Taeil," he mumbled into Taeil's neck, his big arms wrapping around Taeil's small frame. Taeil relaxed into his touch and giggled again. 

"Hi Johnny," Taeil shyly but happily responded, holding onto Johnny's big, muscular arms. Taeil's friends stood and watched this scene play out with their mouths agape. 

"I gotta head to class but I'll catch you later, right?" Johnny asked Taeil in a soft, comforting voice. 

"Of course," Taeil responded, like he meant it. Johnny kissed Taeil's cheek before squeezing his hand and walking away. 

Taeil stood and blushed and made faces at the floor while his friends watched him, speechless. 

"Wh-what the was that?" Mark finally stuttered. 

"Well...Johnny took me out to a drive in movie Friday night, and he was just so sweet to me. I-I even let him have my first kiss and it was really nice! We hung out a little this weekend too, plus we've been texting non stop," Taeil spoke proudly and excitedly. 

"Oh my god congrats dude! Your first kiss!" Mark said excitedly. 

"I know!" Taeil practically squealed back. 

"Who knew that ing Johnny Seo would be the one to make Taeil less bitter?" Yuta asked. 

"H-he's just been so wonderful," Taeil admitted, and all of the boys cooed at him. 

"Honestly, I'm so proud of you," Kun spoke. "I mean, I never wanted to say it, but you all were so ridiculous with the way you dissed our classmates so much! I'm glad at least you've realized the error of your ways." 

"I was never like that!" Yuta cried. 

"Well, you have other issues," Doyoung responded. 

"But seriously, how is it with you and Sicheng?" Kun asked. 

"I mean...to be honest, we don't really ever meet up, other than our first date and I wouldn't even count that as a date. Sometimes we talk when we see each other or after school if we're both heading the same way. I think he's still a little bit afraid of me. It hurts not seeing him much, you know? It's the soulmate chemicals, plus I really think he's special," Yuta admitted, sighing sadly. For once, all the other boys sort of felt bad for him. 

"What about you, Mark?" Kun asked. 

Mark sighed. "Donghyuck has...given me a lot to think about," he responded with no other explanation. 

Kun nodded at both of them. "Well Yuta, as greasy as you are, underneath all of that is a really great person. I'm sure Sicheng will come around soon. As for you Mark...you definitely should be nicer to Donghyuck. Yes, he's sorta greasy too, but he's been nothing but nice to you, and I've overheard you say some pretty ty things to him to his face," Kun spoke. Yuta nodded hopefully and Mark hung his head with sort of shame. "But like I said, I'm proud of you Taeil, for giving Johnny a chance. And look how happy you are now!" 

"I'm so happy," Taeil responded. "But what about you Kun? How are you and your girl?"

"We're great," Kun said. "We're really close now, although I know all of this school skipping is affecting our grades." 

"We should go on a double date!" Taeil spoke excitedly. 

"For sure," Kun responded with a grin. 

"But Doyoung, how are you and Jaehyun?" Yuta asked. "I mean, that's the weirdest combo of the century." The others nodded and hummed in agreement. 

Doyoung thought for a moment, trying to explain his weird relationship with Jaehyun. "It's been...so weird. We spend all our time together during choir and student council, and he's just so nice to me! He really does treat me like I'm his boyfriend and acts like we're a couple. He's always holding my hand and saying nice things to me. It's just.... suspicious. After our years long rivalry, I can't help but think that this is all some sort of act. I find myself believing less and less in this rivalry, but I'm sure he's doing this on purpose to break my heart." 

"Speak of the devil..." Mark mumbled, staring wide eyed at the figure behind Doyoung. Doyoung whipped around to see Jaehyun looking at him with a giant teddy bear in his arms. 

"Hey Doyoung," Jaehyun said happily. 

"Uh...hey," Doyoung responded with an uncomfortable chuckle, but Jaehyun didn't seem to notice. 

"For you," he said, passing along the humongous stuffed bear, his fur auburn brown with a gentle button nose and a soft, sewen on smile. Even Doyoung couldn't stop himself from smiling at the very sweet gesture, and all of his friends cooed at him. Doyoung took the bear and held it tight in his arms. 

"Thanks," Doyoung responded, feeling himself blush at the gesture. He hated how Jaehyun managed to do this to him; even if Doyoung knew it was all just a trick he couldn't stop himself from falling for Jaehyun. It was gestures like this that just made it even harder. 

"Can I walk you to class?" Jaehyun asked. Doyoung nodded and smiled, waving goodbye to his friends and following Jaehyun after him. Doyoung couldn't decide if he was grateful or not that Doyoung needed to hold the bear with both hands, making sure Jaehyun couldn't hold onto him. 

They got to Doyoung's class fairly quickly, and he was very early for class. Doyoung stared at the floor, expecting Jaehyun to just make conversation. 

"Can you come with me?" Jaehyun asked shyly. Doyoung nodded and followed after him with confusion. Usually, Jaehyun wasn't shy at all. 

Jaehyun brought them to a little indentation in the lockers, mostly hidden from the eyes of their classmates. Doyoung put the teddy bear at his feet so he could give his arms a rest, but before he even knew it Jaehyun was practically pressed up against him. 

In another half a second Jaehyun was close enough for Doyoung to feel the sparks, even though they weren't quite touching yet, his whole body shivering from the intensity as Jaehyun rested one hand on Doyoung's waist and the other on his face. 

Doyoung didn't stop Jaehyun as he finally leaned in for that first kiss, his lips against Doyoung's sending shockwaves directly down his spine. Jaehyun's lips weren't soft but they weren't chapped either and he tasted like sugary cereal and it was so Jaehyun, the charming boy next door Doyoung knew he could never be. Doyoung's heart thumped in his chest and his soul warmed from the inside, finally letting himself kiss Jaehyun back. Jaehyun rubbed his hands over Doyoung's skin as they kissed, soft and oh so gentle, and Doyoung was afraid he'd literally melt into a puddle right then and there. 

Doyoung had to admit that he couldn't think of a happier moment in his life, watching Jaehyun pull away with brightest smile on his face. But a strike of fear hit Doyoung's heart. This had to be too good to be true, Jaehyun couldn't actually care about Doyoung, right? What about hating each other, they'd never even addressed it. Jaehyun had to be playing some sort of sick game with Doyoung, drawing him out until he fell and then crushing his heart. No, Doyoung couldn't let that happen to him, and he was almost too deep already. He had to get out of this before there was no turning back. 

He started shaking his head and finally looked up at Jaehyun was a solemn, stern expression. Jaehyun looked worried sick and Doyoung was satisfied. I've caught him, he thought. 

"I know what you're doing, and I'm not letting it happen. You're not going to get to me or break my heart. I don't believe this act you're putting on; there's no way you actually care about me. We've been rivals ever since we met, I know you haven't forgotten it and I haven't either. So cut the crap and stop this game your playing. Just...don't talk to me, alright?" Doyoung sighed. 

Jaehyun stared at Doyoung in utter shock, his entire body trembling as he heard the words Doyoung spoke. 

"I-I," Jaehyun stuttered, barely managing to choke out anything. 

"Take this," Doyoung said, passing Jaehyun back the bear. "And please, don't talk to me." 

Jaehyun furiously shook his head, tears already trailing down his cheek. 

"N-no," Jaehyun insisted through his crying. "I-it's a gift f-for you." Jaehyun left the bear at Doyoung's feet and ran off down the hall, hiding his very teary face in his hands. 

Doyoung felt a heaviness in his heart, but he just shook it off and told himself it was all a part of Jaehyun's act, dragging that damn bear into class with him. 

~~~~~~~~~~

For Jeno, the past days had been...weird, to say the least. 

Being without Jaemin was very, very physically painful. In the beginning though, of course it had been all worth it: he'd had Renjun's arms to run into when he needed comfort through it all. He hadn't told Renjun about Jaemin, but he didn't need to. Things, at first, were as perfect as they could be. But lately, Renjun had grown distant. He was acting as empty as Jeno felt, ignoring his texts, and he began to see less and less of Renjun. 

Which is why Jeno was so looking forward to his date after school with Renjun. It would be a chance for them to catch up and for Jeno to relieve some of the stress from being without his real soulmate. Yes, Renjun had never responded to his text about meeting up at school, but Jeno had figured Renjun just saw it and didn't get a chance to respond. 

Like Jeno had said in his text, he walked down to the parking lot to meet up with Renjun immediately after class ended. Jeno checked his phone, but Renjun still hadn't responded. It was okay; Jeno would see him soon. 

Five minutes passed, then ten, and Renjun was still not there. Jeno figured his teacher had held him up or something, and out of boredom he decided to circle the parking lot. 

A lot of the cars had already left school grounds, and of the few that remained almost all were empty except for one. Jeno figured those cars belonged to the kids who had after school clubs. 

The one occupied car had a couple inside, making out heavily. It wasn't a disturbing or even unusual sight to see anymore; at this point Jeno saw soulmate couples making out almost all day every day. He wished he could be like that wish Renjun, forced Jaemin's face from his mind, and treaded closer to the car. 

Only because he was aboely bored out of his mind did he decide to peek inside. Normally he wouldn't have cared, but now he had literally nothing to do but wait. Maybe he'd catch a couple that had tried to stay secret and have some juicy gossip to share with Renjun. 

As he stepped closer, he noticed that one of the people in the car was a girl, the junior captain of the cheerleading squad, a fairly beautiful and  popular girl. The other person in there with her was definitely a guy. 

His hair is kinda like Renjun's, Jeno mused, already missing his sweet boyfriend even more. 

But at that moment, Jeno saw. His hair wasn't just like Renjun's, it was Renjun's. And so was his nose, and his shut eyes, and his lips, and his tongue halfway down another girl's throat. 

Jeno's heart dropped completely out of his chest and his mouth fell open, stumbling a little, barely able to hold himself up. He trembled in his place, his heart rate going faster and faster and faster and his breathing shallower and harder and louder and his mind empty with pain. He couldn't stop staring and it just hurt. 

The girl in the car finally turned her head, grimacing at Jeno before Renjun turned his head too. A look of guilt washed over Renjun's face as he sat up uncomfortably, exciting the car to stand just outside of it, distanced from Jeno. 

Jeno sniffled and a few tears escaped from his eyes. All Renjun could do was stare. 

"I-I'm sorry you had to see that," Renjun spoke. 

Jeno rubbed his eyes. "Me too," he responded, his voice shakey. They were silent for a few beats before Jeno broke. 

"We promised each other that we would get through this together! We promised we would make it work!" Jeno yelled in between sobs. Renjun just looked at the floor and shook his head. 

"God, Jeno, it was just so much harder than I thought it would be, to resist. She's my soulmate, you know," Renjun said, as if that made it any better. 

"You don't think I met mine?" Jeno spoke. "I did! I met him days ago and it hurts me to be without him but I did it for you. I felt sick to my stomach but I kept our interactions to just talking during class and waving in the hallways. Why? Because I care about you! Because I didn't want to hurt you!" 

Renjun just shook his head again. "If you didn't think you could try why didn't you just break up with me! How long have you two been seeing each other?" Jeno asked. 

"Two days," Renjun responded. "We started seeing each other two days after the news broke." 

Jeno sobbed loudly. "That was over a week ago! And I didn't even matter enough to you to break things off?" 

"I-I wanted to make things work," Renjun spoke, leaving Jeno disturbed by how calm he was. 

Jeno shook his head finally, staring at Renjun whereas Renjun couldn't even look him in the eye. "No, you didn't. It's over," Jeno said finally. He turned back onto school grounds, and Renjun just watched him go. 

Once Jeno was back into the school he immediately started to cry again, rushing into the boys bathroom and collapsing onto the floor. All of his love, energy, affection, time, care...all for nothing, Jeno thought, crying into his hands. 

But suddenly another boy ran into the bathroom after him, sitting down beside him and rubbing his backs. Sparks, Jeno thought. 

"J-Jaemin?" Jeno stuttered, looking up at his soulmate through teary eyes. 

"Oh my god, are you okay?" Jaemin asked, looking at Jeno with deep concern. 

"Wh-why are you here?" Jeno stuttered. 

"I-I don't know..." Jaemin admitted. "I somehow knew you were in pain though. Me and my friends were about to leave school but I just felt you being hurt, and I knew I needed to come and find you...my heart sort of guided me here," Jaemin responded. He looked down at the ground. "If you want, I can leave," he mumbled sadly. 

"No, please stay," Jeno sorely choked out, and Jaemin breathed a sigh of relief. 

"Now, what happened?" Jaemin asked. 

Jeno sobbed again. "Renjun cheated on me! He cheated on me with his soulmate and he has been ever since they met," Jeno cried. "H-he is my boyfriend," he explained. "Well, was." 

With that he started crying again, and Jaemin looked at the bathroom floor angrily. 

"I can't ing believe he did this to you," Jaemin growled, his hand still rubbing circles in Jeno's back, the only thing tying him to sanity. 

"I-I'm sorry," Jeno spoke through his tears. 

"No please, you have every right to be upset. Just cry, I'm here for you," Jaemin said, and it came out heartbreakingly sincere. 

Jeno's pain was just beginning to morph into anger. He couldn't believe Renjun had done that, after all the lofty promises he'd made. Plus, Jeno himself had made some mistakes too: he trusted Renjun in the first place, and he even let himself leave behind a lovely guy like Jaemin just to stay with Renjun. Jeno sighed, still unable to stop the tears from falling. 

Finally, once Jeno calmed down Jaemin led him to his friend's mom's car. Luckily, no one paid him any mind except to comfort him, and Chenle's mom gave him a ride home. Jaemin held him the whole way there, and those sparks went from feeling jarring to the only thing that could make Jeno feel safe. 

As he was finally dropped off he could barely bare to be parted from Jaemin. 

"You're going to make it. I know you're strong," Jaemin said quietly, slipping a piece of paper into Jeno's hand. "But if you ever need me, you can call me here." 

Jeno sniffled and frowned. "I don't deserve you," he spoke. 

"Don't say things like that," Jaemin responded, rubbing Jeno's shoulder. "Now go inside. I'll be here for you whenever you need." 

With one final hug, Jeno went into his house to just collapse onto the bed. He smoothed out that little paper though. Even though he'd lost trust after Renjun, Jaemin made him feel like he didn't have anything to fear with him. He stuck his head out of the window to watch Chenle's mom drive away. 

"I'm going to kill that ing !" Jeno heard Jaemin shout. Even through his pain, Jeno managed a smile. And suddenly, he knew that with Jaemin by his side, Jeno could get through this. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: hey my beautiful subscribers! how do you like the story so far? anything you want to see more of? Sorry about the angst overload in this chapter (also, I really do love Renjun a lot, DON'T ATTACK ME, just had to make him the villian for storyline purposes)...anyways, thank you for reading, upvoting, and commenting on my story! It's all very much appreciated. I promise I'll update quickly!