Uncontrolled

           Yixing walked into the classroom with Mina on his heels. Both furrowed their eyebrows when they met a lonesome Jongin with an annoyed expression staring out of the low windows that looked over the entrance of the school. Mina scanned the room and caught some students reading through their notes and chatting with one another, but no Jaemi. Yixing had already left the girl and was approaching Jongin with a forced smile on his lips.              “Good morning to you, sunshine,” he tried to joke playfully and hit the back of his hand against Jongin’s shoulder, only to flinch a moment later because of the spark that went over.              Jongin grumbled some incoherent words in acknowledgement but kept his gaze out of the window. Yixing leaned against a table next to Jongin’s and crossed his arms when Mina came to stand next to him after she had placed her bag on her table in the middle row.              “Morning,” she greeted him softly. Again, Jongin just made some noises seemingly still not fully conscious of their presence. Yixing and Mina exchanged looks, Yixing shrugging at her because he didn’t know what was up.              “Have you seen Jae?” Mina began after a last glare at Yixing and looked around the classroom again. “Her bag is there but no sign of her,” she continued as she switched her attention to Jongin again. Yixing saw the corner of the latter’s eye twitch and expected an answer, but Jongin surprised them both when he mumbled that he didn’t know before the boy turned to Yixing and glared intensely at him.              Yixing caught his drift and narrowed his eyes at him just as threatening as the other. “How come you don’t know?” he asked, “you walked to school together right?”              Jongin squared his jaw and folded his arms in front of his chest. “Does that mean I’m able to know where she is every other second of the day?”              “Just work the old memorizer, I’m sure you’ll find her.”              Mina kept switching her attention to either one of the boys during their weird little showdown of snide comments and felt that there was some unfinished business between them that didn’t exactly help their case now.              “Okay!” she interrupted in a high voice that meant to show her annoyance of their interaction. “I’ll just go look for her myself,” Mina glared at the both of them before she left the classroom in search for her friend. Only one place came to mind at this early point of the day so Mina didn’t hesitate when she made way to one of the girls restrooms on the first level.    
             She could beat herself up for what had happened this morning. The whole fluffy feeling that hung around her yesterday and when she walked with Jongin hand in hand was replaced by a heavy feeling that felt like a tightening belt around her heart.              Jaemi had no idea why that name slipped from her lips; it just happened. When they were in that intimate position in their classroom, her dream came back to mind and it somehow triggered her speech. She was still confused of the whole dream thing, why Jongin was there, why it all felt so trusted and why she just let him do his thing.              Sighing, Jaemi propped her legs up and wrapped her arms around them, resting her chin on her knees. She clutched the sides of her head and closed her eyes in pain when she felt a thudding sensation press against her skull, signaling an upcoming headache. It was all becoming a little too much, especially with the stress that came with this morning’s activities.              “Jae?” a familiar voice echoed through the hollow girl’s restroom. Footsteps could be heard against the tile floor until Mina appeared from behind the bathroom stalls. Her worried expression softened when she saw Jaemi sitting on the cold floor with her legs propped up in front of her chest with her head in her hands. In her position, Mina couldn’t see her facial expression but it probably wasn’t a happy one. She sighed and walked over to sit down next to her. Mina chose to stay silent for the time being, until Jaemi felt ready to talk to her. A few minutes went by in silence until the first bell went, signaling that the students should go to their appointed classrooms before the second bell.              Slowly, Jaemi moved her head out of her arms and glanced sideways at Mina who sat against the wall with her legs crossed at the ankles and her eyes closed. Feeling that someone was watching her, Mina squinted through her lashes and saw that Jaemi was looking at her wordlessly. Mina opened both her eyes and stared back at her friend with a small smile.              “You gonna tell me why you’re sitting here?” she began softly and watched her friend’s expression change into one of hesitation. Mina pulled her legs up to her chest, just like Jaemi. “Does it have anything to do with Jongin?”              Hearing this, Jaemi instantly averted her gaze and looked down at her feet, avoiding Mina’s concerned eyes. The girl sighed but before she could ask more, Jaemi interrupted her with a forced smile. “It’s just another headache,” she tried convincing her friend and moved to stand up, staggering a little because she indeed had a headache and it didn’t feel like it was planning on leaving anytime soon. Mina followed suit and dusted her skirt, followed by some stretches.              “You sure?” she asked and tilted her head a little. Jaemi bit her lower lip before nodding as confident as she could. Mina eyed her for another second, not completely believing her words because the sight of an angry Jongin was definitely a first and since Jaemi was the only one he truly felt comfortable with, it was a given that she would know what was wrong. Maybe something had happened somewhere during the weekend? Mina hadn’t heard from her ever since Friday so it could be a plausible timeslot.              Mina couldn’t think more of it, for she was interrupted by the second bell. Jaemi pulled Mina by her arm, relieved that they were interrupted, out of the bathroom and hurriedly made their way over to their class. Jaemi threw Mina a small smile, saying that she really was okay, but Mina still didn’t believe her and this got only clearer when they entered the classroom and she saw her and Jongin lock eyes for a moment, before the male turned away from Jaemi to look at the front again. The two girls bowed a few times at the teacher, who dismissed them and told them to take their seats.              For the rest of the hour, Mina kept an eye on her friend who sat in front of her and noticed that the latter kept looking to her left, taking nervous glances at Jongin who kept his sight to the front but Mina was sure he noticed. Indicating from the way his brow twitched and his leg kept wobbling, Jongin was nervous too.              Soon the hour was over and more classes came and went until they had their first break. Jongin had told them that he wouldn’t join, saying he still had some homework for their next class and wanted to go to the school library to finish it. They all told him it was fine, with Jaemi staying silent in the back. The three friends sat silently at their table, each of them picking at their food until Yixing broke into a sighing fit. Mina and Jaemi looked at him weirdly, surprised by his sudden movements. Yixing raised his eyebrows and nodded at Jaemi.              “That was an imitation of what you have been doing for the past ten minutes,” he said rather annoyed and took an angry bite from his sandwich.              Mina harshly nudged the male with her elbow, earning a low groan from him and a glare. “No need to stab me with your pointy elbow, Mina,” he said and switched to Jaemi again, missing the piercing glare Mina sent him after his comment. “It’s annoying so stop it or tell us what is wrong because I’m not going to pull it out of you.”              He really didn’t want to act like that towards her but she left him no choice. Leaving two of her closest friends in the dark like that hurt and it worried them. Jaemi averted her eyes and placed her fork next to her plate before sighing again, earning a dramatic eye-roll from the male at their table.              “I—I sort of got into a fight with... Jongin,” she finally answered softly but managed to look up from her plate at her friends.              “Yeah, we got that much but what exactly happened because it seems like Jongin is avoiding you like the plague and –”              “She knows that, Yixing,” Mina interrupted and pinched his thigh to shut him up. Jaemi averted her eyes again and started fidgeting in her spot. Mina saw her restless self and sighed. “Jae, maybe you guys just need to talk it out? I’m sure it’s not that super serious that he’ll never talk to you again.”              This made Jaemi snap her head up into her friend’s direction with widened eyes. What if it was that serious? What if Jongin was so angry he never wanted to see her again? He seemed like a total different person that moment in the classroom and it scared Jaemi thinking this negatively.              Mina saw Jaemi’s change in expression and reached over the table to hold her hand, rubbing soothing circles over her cold skin. “Go,” she said softly and showed Jaemi an encouraging smile. The latter drew a deep shaky breath and gave her a small nod before she stood up and felt the warmth that was Mina’s hand slip away from