Kyungsoo doesn’t fall asleep right away, or even after he assumes that Jongin is asleep next to him, judging by his deep, even breathing.  He mentally replays their conversation a hundred times, but he can’t figure out what went through his mind when he chose to continue to lie instead of revealing his identity.  He no longer knows what he’s trying to prove by hiding it. Before, he had been convinced that Jongin wouldn’t like the real him, but now it’s not so clear which “him” is the real one.  He thinks it’s possible that D.O. is closer to who the real Kyungsoo is than Kyungsoo.  He’s so consumed by these thoughts that by the time the sun peeks over the horizon, he isn’t sure whether he managed to doze off for a while or not.

He checks the clock on his phone and calculates quickly how much extra time he thinks they would need for Jongin to get ready and to drive him to the apartment to get his things in order for them both to get to school on time.  He isn’t sure whether Jongin set an alarm or anything, but it’s already getting close to when he thinks they should leave.  “Jongin,” he tries, but he doesn’t stir.  “Jongin,” he says a little louder, touching his shoulder gently.

This time the taller boy turns onto his back and drags a hand through his hair before opening his eyes slowly.  He gazes at Kyungsoo with a sleepy expression that tugs at something inside his chest and makes it hard to breathe.  “Good morning.”

Kyungsoo swallows, trying to get rid of the constricted feeling in his throat.  It doesn’t work.  “Sorry to wake you up...I just don’t want either of us to be late,” he says quietly.

“It’s okay.  I’ll get ready for school quickly and then drive you back, ok?  Help yourself to anything you want from the kitchen, or anywhere, really.”  He smiles, but it’s not the same smile that Kyungsoo saw the night before.  It’s missing the hint of mischief that he didn’t realize had become so familiar to him until now.  He slides off the bed and leaves the room, leaving Kyungsoo alone with his thoughts again.  He peers out the window at the slowly rising sun, wishing he wasn’t such a coward, caught in his own web of lies.  Jongin would probably think less of him if he found out the truth, but if he keeps the secret, it looks like he’s going to lose him, anyway.

He contemplates for a moment whether he should stay where he is or go downstairs to wait for Jongin, and seemingly the next moment, he feels a hand on his arm and his eyes snap open to see Jongin standing over him next to the bed, wearing his school uniform.  “You awake?”

Kyungsoo blinks and sits up.  “Wow, sorry, I guess I fell asleep,” he points out needlessly.

“It’s ok,” Jongin assures him, slowly taking his hand back.  “Let’s go get your stuff.”

The car ride is silent, save for Kyungsoo giving occasional directions to where his friends live.  “This is it,” he points out the correct door and Jongin pulls over in front of the complex as Kyungsoo pulls out his phone.

It takes about 5 rings before Chanyeol answers, obviously awakened by the phone call.  “Kyungsoo?  Where are you?  God, what time is it?”

“Hi hyung...I’m outside your apartment.  Could you let me in?  Sorry.  I left my uniform and all my stuff here last night.”

“Oh, right,” Chanyeol says after a moment’s hesitation.  “Yeah.  I’m coming down, hold on.”  He hangs up the phone and Kyungsoo looks over at Jongin, who’s fiddling with the end of his tie as if it’s worthy of every ounce of his attention.

“Hey, thanks for driving me,” Kyungsoo says, as sincerely as he can. “And inviting me over, and everything.”

“It’s nothing,” Jongin replies, still looking down as he folds and unfolds the tip of his tie.

Kyungsoo chews his bottom lip, wondering if he should say something else or even just blurt out the whole truth right now.  He looks through the windshield and sees a very tired looking Chanyeol walk outside, clad in a t-shirt and sweats with his hair sticking up in random places and he feels bad for waking him up and then making him wait there, so he just unbuckles his seatbelt.  “Bye,” he says to Jongin, lingering just a moment longer than necessary.

“Bye,” says Jongin with a tiny, almost sad smile.  There’s no mention of the next time they might see each other and Kyungsoo feels weighed down with guilt as he climbs out of the car.  He watches Jongin drive away, puzzling dejectedly over how it had worked out that his “social experiment” had both succeeded and failed more thoroughly than he ever thought possible.

“So,” Chanyeol says, looking livelier as they make their way up the stairs to the second floor of the building.  “Is the Dancing Machine as good in the bedroom as he is in on the dance floor?”

Kyungsoo feels his cheeks start to burn.  “Hyung, stop.  We didn’t do anything.”

“Oh, really now?  You didn’t do anything?” Chanyeol presses as they enter his apartment.

“We played Starcraft.”

“Well, I have to say that’s a rather creative innuendo--”

Kyungsoo stays standing still in front of the door after he closes it.  “Hyung! I mean we literally played Starcraft.  He has a demo version of Heart of the--”

“Alright alright, you don’t want to kiss and tell, got it,” Chanyeol dismisses him as he flops onto the couch and Kyungsoo sighs in resignation.  Baekhyun comes out of his room with Kyungsoo’s things and he thanks him before hurrying to shower and change.

“Would one of you mind bringing me to school?” he asks when he returns.  “It’s getting late.”

Baekhyun and Chanyeol both stand up at the same time.  “I will,” Baekhyun says first.

“But my car...I just switched the seat and the mirrors back to the way I like them!”

Baekhyun smirks.  “Nothing I can do about that.  I’ll play Starcraft with you later. Goodbye.” He practically yanks Kyungsoo out into the hallway and shuts the door behind them.

“So--”

“We weren’t having !” Kyungsoo cuts Baekhyun off before he can find out how he would choose to phrase the question and follows him outside.

“That’s not what I was going to ask about, but okay.”

“Oh. I'm sorry I snapped at you.”

“I’m just kidding.  I was going to ask about that.”  Baekhyun bursts out laughing as they get in Chanyeol’s car.

Kyungsoo smacks his arm, then turns solemn.  “Well, it doesn’t matter because he’s never going to talk to me again.”

Baekhyun’s eyebrows knit together as he merges onto the street.  “What makes you say that?”

Kyungsoo repeats the conversation that had taken place after Jongin told him his real name and Baekhyun listens without comment until he finishes.  “Well, I don’t want to say I--”

“I know that you told me so.  And I know I was an idiot for thinking I could even keep this up...I don’t know why I couldn’t tell him,” Kyungsoo replies, turning to look out the window.  “It was like...D.O. is who I am and Do Kyungsoo is just a placeholder for the school’s highest GPA.”

Baekhyun smiles gently as he pulls into the high school’s parking lot.  “I don’t think that’s true.  But it’s up to you to figure it out, I guess.  I just do the makeup.”

Kyungsoo manages to return the smile as he thanks Baekhyun for the ride and heads to his first class.

*

Kyungsoo pulls out his research paper outline again during his study period, about halfway through the school day.  He reads it over for what will probably be the last time for a while. He's supposed to hand it in to his teacher in his last period class to be approved and graded before he can start writing the full paper.  He looks through the sources he used, all attached to the back of the outline.  There are so many pages that he had needed to use an extra large stapler to even accomplish this.

He’s about to determine that it’s as good as it’s going to get when he realizes with a sinking feeling that the last page of one of his sources is missing.  He checks again and again and searches through his backpack as well, but is eventually forced to conclude that it's not there.  Kyungsoo sits back in his chair, mulling over his options before he decides to get up and head to the library.  He was going to have to make another photocopy of the page of the book that he got the information from or risk losing points for not including all the sources.  That requirement is a giant waste of paper, in Kyungsoo’s opinion, but a requirement, nonetheless.

He drags his feet to the front of the room and starts down the hallway after the teacher signs his pass.  In the library, he first checks to see if he can spot Tao anywhere, but he’s not in any of their usual areas.  He heads to the section where he found the book before and scans through the many, nearly identical volumes packed tightly together on the shelf.  He reaches the space where the one he’s looking for, Volume 8, should be, but instead, volumes 7 and 9 are next to each other.

Kyungsoo positions his glasses higher on the bridge of his nose as he heads to the front desk and asks the librarian if she knows where Volume 8 might be.  She glares at him as though it’s not part of her job to answer such questions.  “Someone probably reshelved it incorrectly.  You kids--”

Kyungsoo doesn’t have the patience for this.  “Would you mind looking to see if anyone has it checked out?”  If it wasn’t even in the library, he would prefer to know that first before he combs through every shelf.

She glares at him for another moment, but turns to her computer screen and begins typing.  She looks back up at him after a minute.  “My mistake.  Volume 8 was checked out earlier this week and is due back on Monday.  You may come back then.”  She starts to get up from her seat at the computer.

“Could you tell me the name of the student who has it?” Kyungsoo asks desperately.  It’s a long-shot that he would even recognize the name of whoever it is, let alone be able to track down him or her before the end of the day, but it’s his only chance of getting full credit for the outline.  “I actually really need it before last period today.”

The librarian’s lips almost disappear as she presses them together tightly.  “You should have thought of that before you procrastinated--”

“But...I...” Kyungsoo cuts her off again, then realizes it’s probably useless to try to explain.  “Please?”

She sighs, returning to the computer.  “It appears that the student you are looking for is Kim Jongin,” she says.  “However, you are on your own with that search because this is a library, not a missing persons investigation bureau.”  She stands up and turns to the opposite side of the desk with a flourish.

“,” Kyungsoo mutters under his breath, leaving the library with his heart hammering against the inside of his chest.  Fate would have it that Jongin has the book he needs.  Other than talking to him without embarrassing himself, the only challenge is that he has to find him, with less than half a school day to do it, and Kyungsoo has no idea where to start.

He leans against the wall and pulls out his phone to send a text to Tao. “Do you have any clue how I might go about finding Jongin sometime before last period?”

Tao’s response comes almost instantaneously. “Are you gonna tell him who you are? Now??”

Kyungsoo exhales shortly as he types his reply. “No. He has a book I need. I don’t even know why I’m asking you but I guess you’re the only resource I have. Do you by any chance have any idea at all where he might be?”

“As a matter of fact, I know exactly where he is.  But, you know, you never did tell me whether he has any single friends...”

Kyungsoo’s heart leaps into his throat as he presses the keys on his phone screen harshly. “Tao!”

“Ok ok, just come to room 204. He has a free period right now in the same classroom that I do.”

Kyungsoo starts walking briskly toward the staircase, thumbs moving across his phone with a speed that seems to improve the angrier he is: “And you never told me this??”

“I don’t think I need to remind you of all the things YOU haven’t told people, Kyungsoo.”

He shoves the phone back into his pocket as he takes the stairs two at a time.  He pauses for a minute at the top, trying to catch his breath before he continues, then locates room 204 down the hallway.  He peers around the open door, eyes landing almost immediately on Jongin, who’s sitting quietly at a desk near the back of the room and writing something in his notebook.  He can see Tao sitting in the last row with his ipod earphones in, eyes closed and tapping his foot to the beat only he can hear.

Kyungsoo takes a breath and steps into the room, largely unnoticed.  He weaves through the rows of chattering students and approaches the side of Jongin’s desk, shaking a little even though he has no idea what he’s so worried about.  “Jongin?” he says, sounding as though he’s unsure if it’s really him.

Jongin looks up from his notebook, unable to hide the surprise in his expression.  There’s silence for a moment as they just stare at each other and Kyungsoo feels like he should state his purpose but he can’t quite get the words out.  “Um...”

“Kyungsoo, right?” Jongin says, and Kyungsoo’s heartbeat speeds up to what feels like a dangerous level until he remembers that day in the library when he had told Jongin his name.  Something like warmth spreads over his body at the thought that Jongin remembered him, even if he had looked sort of ridiculous at the time.  He nods, still feeling like something is squeezing his vocal cords together.

“Um...I’m really sorry but...the librarian said that you have it, so do you by any chance...have Volume 8 of um...” he forgets the title of the book and trails off, re-adjusting his glasses even though they weren’t sliding down.

“Oh, this?” Jongin reaches into his backpack and pulls out a thick book.  “Wait, that’s not it, sorry...” He lets it drop back into the depths of his bag as he searches around a little.  “I think I know which one you’re talking about, though.  Why?”

“Well...I sort of need to make a new copy of a page I used as a source for my research paper and I only have until the end of the day today.”

Jongin looks up at him again, smiling slightly.  “Luckily for you, I think I have it in my locker. If you want to follow me...”

“Thank you,” Kyungsoo manages to say as Jongin stands up and crosses the room.  Kyungsoo follows and they slip out the door, completely bypassing the teacher, who’s engrossed in grading papers at his desk.  Jongin’s locker is only a few paces down the hallway from the classroom.

Kyungsoo shifts his weight from foot to foot while Jongin turns the lock.  “This the one you need?” Jongin asks, holding out the book after sifting through his belongings.

“Yeah, thanks,” Kyungsoo says, taking it.  “How should I give this back to you?” he asks after another pause.

Jong shrugs.  “There’s still some time before the bell rings...you just need to copy a page or two, right?  If you want to do it right now, I’ll wait.”

“Oh...ok...sure,” Kyungsoo replies, not having expected to be going back to the library with Jongin following at his heels.

Kyungsoo returns to the copy machine, lifting the lid without breaking it this time and placing the book underneath.  He senses Jongin watching and Kyungsoo worries over every little movement he makes, imagining what he looks like through the other boy’s eyes.

“So what happened to the first copy you made?” Jongin asks.

“I don’t know,” Kyungsoo says as he retrieves the new photocopy and closes the book.  “I guess I lost it.”

There’s another silence that seems longer than it should and Kyungsoo realizes exactly how close to him Jongin is.  There’s no reason for him to be standing that close, in fact, but neither of them make to move away, even when Kyungsoo gives Jongin the book back.  “Thanks,” he says again.  “You just saved my grade on my outline,” he adds as they walk out of the library and Jongin swings the book back and forth as he goes.

“It was nothing.  Maybe you can do me a favor, sometime,” he jokes.  Kyungsoo smiles, surprised by how easy Jongin is to talk to, even if he doesn’t know he’s talking to D.O.

“You name it,” Kyungsoo tries to joke back, and then wishes he hadn’t gotten so overconfident because it comes out sounding completely serious and he wants to break into the nearest locker and hide in it.

What happens next sends all of Kyungsoo’s thoughts whirling into chaos because he finds himself pressed up against a row of lockers, Jongin still holding onto the book which is the only barrier in between them, and suddenly Jongin is kissing him.  Kyungsoo thinks wildly of pinching himself, because Jongin is kissing Do Kyungsoo, not D.O., and there’s no way this can be real.  It all happens in less than two seconds, as Jongin’s lips barely touch his own before Jongin moves away, straightening out his uniform like nothing happened.

Kyungsoo stays frozen against the wall of lockers, wondering if he had just imagined that whole thing, but the next time Jongin looks at him, Kyungsoo can see that his expression is almost the same as it was when they had kissed in his bedroom.  It’s nothing like the confident aura that Kai exudes when he dances.  Instead, it’s searching and unsure with almost a Kyungsoo-esque nervousness.

All Kyungsoo can do is stare back in shock.  “I’m sorry,” Jongin blurts out after a beat of silence.  “I don’t know what I was thinking...god...I’m really sorry, I...I’m just going to go...” He turns and walks back to the classroom.

Kyungsoo wants to tell him to wait, or to kiss him again, or to tell him who he is and explain the whole insane situation, or to ask him why he did what he just did and not let up until he answers in full detail, but as usual, the words feel stuck in his throat and all Kyungsoo does is stare after him as he returns to the classroom and disappears from view.

*

D.O. enters the club eyelinerless for the first time since the night of the dance battle, having chosen to go alone to make his long overdue confession of this whole pretense to Jongin.  Chanyeol and Baekhyun had offered to go with him, thrilled that he had finally decided to tell the truth, but he thought it would be easier if they weren’t there.  They hadn’t questioned him too much, but he wanted to avoid explaining what had occurred yesterday in the hallway.  He doubted whether they’d have any better explanation for it than he did, and it didn’t seem like Jongin would want anyone else to know that it had happened.  He probably wanted to erase it from his own memory, too, which Kyungsoo couldn’t say he didn’t understand, but it still hurt a little to admit.

He’s become accustomed enough to the routine that he now hardly minds the loud music, the mass of people, or even the sticky floor.  His senses are so attuned to looking for Kai that he can tell he isn’t there almost as soon as he walks in, but he takes a lap around anyway that only proves what he already knew.  He begins to wonder why he’s even here, since when he remembers the way he left things with Jongin, it hadn’t seemed likely that he would return anytime soon.

He finds a place to sit at the bar even though he doesn’t feel like drinking or even really like alcohol to begin with.  Out of the corner of his eye, he catches a glimpse of red hair as someone sits down next to him.  He turns to the side and his suspicion is confirmed when Taemin smiles at him and greets him with, “Hey, fancy seeing you here.”

Kyungsoo replies with as friendly of a “Hey!” as he can muster.

“If you’re looking for Kai, he’s not here,” Taemin says as he orders two drinks.  Kyungsoo supposes that this should be awkward in theory--Jongin’s ex-boyfriend and best friend sitting and having a drink with Jongin’s...whatever it was that D.O. slash Kyungsoo was to Jongin, but with Taemin, it’s somehow comfortable.  “He said he had some big, important school assignment to work on...seems pretty unlike him to choose homework over dancing on a Saturday night, but I guess he did just switch schools,” he adds, taking a sip of his drink.

“Ah, I see.”  Kyungsoo swishes his own drink around in the glass and takes a tiny sip.

“Where are his replacements tonight?” Taemin asks, obviously referring to Baekhyun and Chanyeol.

“Those dorks?  Probably at home playing Starcraft,” Kyungsoo answers, and Taemin laughs with him.  He’s thankful that he doesn’t ask any further questions, since he wouldn’t be able to even begin to explain to Taemin his purpose for being there alone.

“You know, you’re pretty cool, D.O. And I’m sorry I said you looked uncoordinated at first sight.  You really are a good dancer.  I can see why Kai likes you so much,” he says.  Kyungsoo thanks him, focusing his eyes back on the glass and forcing a small smile even though he doesn’t feel like he deserves the sudden compliment.

“Well, I told the DJ I would be right back, so I guess I should go over there.  It was good to see you.”

“You, too,” Kyungsoo says. Taemin smiles as he gets up and heads across the room.

Kyungsoo stands up not long after, leaving his alcohol mostly untouched.  It looked like his big reveal would have to wait another night.

*

On the following Monday morning, Kyungsoo takes D.O.’s wig with him before he leaves his house and stuffs it in his bag alongside his class notes.  He had originally wanted to tell Jongin about the alter ego while he was D.O., but he doesn’t suppose it makes much difference now.  He spends half the school day mentally preparing, imagining every possible scenario he can think of for how Jongin would react when he tells him.

When his 6th period study arrives, he doesn’t even sit down before he gets permission to leave, then heads straight to room 204.  Tao sees him enter the classroom and flashes him a thumbs up with the hand that isn’t occupied with some kind of cell phone game.

Kyungsoo makes his way to Jongin’s desk again, the same one he was sitting at last time.  This time he looks up from his homework right away as Kyungsoo approaches.  He looks like he’s about to say something, but for once, Kyungsoo beats him to the punch.  “Can we talk?” he asks quietly.

Jongin nods and they slip out into the hallway.  "I need to tell you something,” Kyungsoo says right away, but Jongin barely seems to have heard him.

"I'm really sorry, again,” he says, his features arranged into a strangely cold expression quite unlike the embarrassment Kyungsoo would expect someone to feel in this situation, but he assumes that immunity to appearing too flustered comes with the territory of being Kai.  “About...the other day...I just...well, I assumed something I shouldn’t have assumed...and I’m sorry.”

"Look at me, Jongin,” Kyungsoo says, all but ignoring the vague apology.

"I am looking at you."

"I mean…really…look at me."  Kyungsoo slowly reaches up and removes his glasses, swinging his backpack off his shoulders and sticking them inside it.  He crouches down next to it, digging around briefly before he finds D.O.’s wig and tugs it on over his head the best he can without a mirror, trying to coax the bangs to fall over his eyebrow the way they normally do.  He straightens up and looks directly at Jongin.  “Normally I wear eyeliner, too, but...look familiar?” He’s suddenly glad that they’re standing close enough to the wall to steady himself with one hand on it because his heart is beating so wildly and he feels so dizzy that he’s slightly worried he might collapse on the floor if it wasn’t there to hold him up.

Jongin looks back at him, expression completely blank and unreadable.

"You…don't look surprised,” Kyungsoo tries.

Jongin still says nothing, his gaze gradually lowering to the floor.

"You knew?" Kyungsoo guesses.

Jongin swallows, closing his eyes.  "Yeah, I've…known for a while."

"For how long?" Kyungsoo asks in shock.

“Since that night you came over...it was actually...I noticed your shoes.  They were the same ones you were wearing the day before in the library and I thought it could be a coincidence since a lot of people wear black converse, but I figured it was unlikely for the scuff marks to be in exactly the same places...and...then I looked at you a little more closely...” Jongin smiles a little.  “I don’t think I would have figured it out, otherwise.  It’s a pretty good disguise.”

Kyungsoo takes his hand off the wall and stretches his wrist.  He had expected to be doing most of the talking in explaining the whole situation while Jongin listened, dumbfounded, but it was ending up the other way around.  “Why didn’t you tell me?” he asks weakly.

Jongin takes a breath.  “When I realized it, I...honestly, it...it kind of hurt that you didn’t trust me enough to tell me who you were.  So...I thought that if I kissed you…as…Kyungsoo…you would tell me.  But you didn't.”  He pauses, biting his lip.  “I didn’t know what to think after that.”

“I’m sorry,” Kyungsoo says in a hushed voice.  “I don’t know why I didn’t tell you my real name that first night.  And I definitely meant to when I saw you at school, but then...” Kyungsoo trails off, trying to gauge Jongin’s reaction, but his expression is as unreadable as ever.  “I...didn’t feel like myself when I danced with you.”  Kyungsoo nervously rubs his eyebrow.  This is all so embarrassing to say.  “I didn’t think you’d like me if you knew who I actually was.”

“That’s not true,” Jongin says, just as quietly.

“It sort of is,” Kyungsoo argues.  “You probably would never have noticed me otherwise.”

“Maybe,” Jongin concedes. “But don’t you know why I picked you that first night?” he asks.

Kyungsoo shakes his head, thrown off by the sudden change in topic.

“If you started dancing in this hallway right now, the way you’re capable of, people would take notice, I promise you.  Including me.  As it turns out, you’re also very smart...so I’m not sure why you couldn’t figure that out yourself.” Jongin smiles again.  “I saw your talent before I ever saw your face, or knew your name, or anything else about you.  I have to say though, your face isn’t bad, either.”

Kyungsoo laughs a little as Jongin reaches up and pulls the wig off again, letting it land next to the rest of his belongings.  “Jongin, I--” There are a lot of things he wants to say, but they all feel jumbled together in his brain and he can’t untangle any of them in time to voice them before Jongin is kissing Kyungsoo again, one hand pulling him forward by his tie, the other on the back of his head.

"I mean, you look…great, when you're being D.O.," Jongin says when he pulls away, a faint blush tinging his cheeks as he stares at the ground.  "But I like you this way, too."  He lifts his eyes up to Kyungsoo's and smiles.  His heart does a jump in his chest and Kyungsoo does something he's never done, even as D.O.  He leans in to kiss Jongin first.

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

Wow, thank you so much for the amazingly positive response to this story! I'm truly overwhelmed and so thankful to all of you who subscribed and commented. If you liked this fic, do check out (if you haven't yet) my offshoot story, Nonpolar, set in the same AU and focused on Suchen--with mentions of the Kaisoo and Baekyeol from Social Experiment :)