iv.

Jongin wakes up from his dream, drenched in cold sweat and panting heavily.

He had been dreaming about Luhan.

"I keep taking his jokes seriously," he grumbles as he gets out of bed and heads to the bathroom. He splashes cold water on his face and stares at his reflection in the mirror. Even his face looked weird right now, he muses, as he changes into his school uniform and gets ready to head out.

Jongin doesn't know how he's supposed to face Luhan.

He hasn't felt like this in a long time.

He was so lost in his thoughts that he almost didn't notice Luhan sneaking up behind him. "Hi."

"Hi," Jongin murmurs back as they step into the train. The train doors seal shut, amidst all the hustle and bustle of the morning rush, and a cool female voice announces the next station. He leans back against the wall and grips the handlebars.

Luhan eyes him curiously. "What's with your face?"

"Huh? Is it weird?"

"I don't know," Luhan shrugs. "You were acting normal yesterday when you called me so why are you so quiet now?" Before Jongin could muster a reply, he tilts his head to the side and eyes Jongin cheekily. "Oh, and you better not try anything like a morning kiss or something."

He eyes Jongin playfully. "Yesterday was an accident. And it was all your fault."

Jongin blinks at him.

A slow smirk forms on the corners of his lips. "It wasn't an accident," he declares, meeting Luhan's bright gaze. "It was a trap."

Luhan flushes and looks away, just when the train comes to a stop.

Jongin doesn't know why, but he finds himself at the corner of an empty corridor with Luhan during lunch. The entire corridor was deserted, and he leans against a clear windowpane, trying to ignore the harsh piercing sunlight being reflected in.

"Damn, I'm sleepy." Luhan yawns as he folds his arms at the back of his head and leans back, curling up his legs and closing his eyes- like a sleepy little kitten.

"Why not take a nap? We still have half an hour left before fifth period."

Luhan is quiet for a while, before he glances over at Jongin. "You know, I fell asleep last time during the movie too."

Jongin shrugs. "I don't mind."

Luhan stills for a while, his jaw clenching and unclenching, before he squares his shoulders and straightens up, apparently having made a decision. He grins at Jongin and scoots over. "Okay, lend me your lap then." He snuggles into Jongin's lap and curls his legs up again. "I'm gonna use it as a pillow."

Jongin widens his eyes in shock. He silently watches as Luhan burrows even further into his lap and makes an unsatisfied noise. "Ugh, you're all made up of muscle. It's not comfortable."

"I'm not a girl, you know."

"I guess that's true. Can't expect you to have nice soft thighs." Luhan pauses for a while, before closing his eyes. "I guess this is alright, though."

Alright for you, maybe. Jongin thinks as he tries not to shift uncomfortably. Luhan's weight felt so warm and familiar against his thigh that he had to struggle to hold back any further intentions. Luhan is quiet for a while, before he speaks up again. "Do you stay in contact with anyone that you've dated?"

"No," Jongin replies flatly. "I don't."

Luhan sits back up. "But some of them call you, don't they?"

"I wouldn't know," Jongin mumbles. "I don't accept calls from unknown numbers."

He doesn't miss the way Luhan tenses, nor the way his fingers clench and unclench. "So you just delete their numbers and their email addresses? Just like that? No more contact again? Isn't it kind of cold?"

Jongin sighs. "Could you stand it if the person that you were dating kept getting calls from someone that they used to date?"

Luhan shakes his head. "I guess not." He looks away and swallows. "In other words, by this time next week, you'll delete my number too."

Jongin stares at him. He doesn't know what to say.

"Ah, that's right," Luhan smiles as he looks back up. "We're not even like that, so it's okay, right? It's not like we were actually dating in the first place." He lets out a sad chuckle and shakes his head. "Oh, I just remembered," he suddenly mumbles as he quickly stands back up. "I have to go to class early. I'll see you later."

He runs away and Jongin is left staring at the remnants of the shadow that Luhan had left behind.

Luhan avoids him at archery practice later, and he is still silent when Jongin walks home with him afterwards- their hands bumping but never touching. Jongin resists the urge to peek at the resplendent boy beside him and fidgets with the straps of his backpack. He doesn't know what to say, but then again, Jongin had never been good with words.

"I'm sorry about what happened at lunch," Luhan suddenly bursts out, startling Jongin out of his reverie. "I don't know what happened to me. I don't even know why I suddenly got so upset." He takes a deep breath and looks up at Jongin. "I'm sorry."

Relief sinks into Jongin and he breaks into a little smile. "You don't have to apologize."

He leans in and whispers into Luhan's ear- breaching their carefully constructed distance. "I'm... the type that likes being tied down, I think."

Luhan blushes furiously and takes a step back, clumsily tripping over his own feet. He quickly steadies himself and mumbles "You're such a masochist" before looking away and hurriedly bustling ahead, ignoring the sound of Jongin chuckling behind his back.

Jongin lets out a huge smile and chases after Luhan.

The setting sun lights up their figures. It illuminates them and draws their shadows behind- colouring them iridescent in the orange glow.