A/N: I'm really sorry for the delayed update guys! I know I said that I would update yesterday, but that was a lie. I only just finished chapter three, but here it is! (:

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“We should sing together,” Junmyeon says one day when he and Jongdae are walking out of class.

 

“W-what?” Jongdae sputters, stopping in his tracks.

 

“I’m serious,” the other muses, taking a moment to look outside the school’s window towards the gardens. “I bet our voices would harmonize perfectly.” Junmyeon resists the urge to poke fun at Jongdae’s blush and continues walking down the winding hallway.

 

As they continue towards the lunch room, Jongdae says something along the lines of “they’ll harmonize my ,” but his retorts fall on deaf ears as Junmyeon happily walks towards the table. He immediately recognizes Yixing, who waves them over, but he sees two faces he has never seen before ever since his arrival two weeks ago.

 

Must be the two Yixing and Jongdae talked about earlier… what were their names?

 

“Ah, Baekhyun, Yifan, you guys decided to join us today!” Jongdae exclaims, beaming at the two sitting across from Yixing.

 

“Yeah, there wasn’t anything for us to do today, so we thought we’d come down here for lunch,” Yifan replies.

 

“But nevermind that,” Baekhyun suddenly interrupts, turning to Junmyeon. “Looks like we’ve got a new face here. I’m Baekhyun! And this guy here is Yifan.” Junmyeon finds himself face-to-face with Baekhyun’s outstretched hand, but nonetheless Junmyeon gives it a firm shake.

 

“Junmyeon, nice to meet you two. Jongdae and Yixing have told me quite a bit about you two,” Junmyeon says back as he goes to shake Yifan’s hand.

 

“I bet,” Yifan chuckles.”We’ve heard a lot about you as well.”

 

Junmyeon raises his eyebrows at the comment. “Really now? What exactly did these two say about me?”

 

“Well…” Baekhyun starts eagerly, and the five of them chatter excitedly amongst themselves for the rest of the lunch period.

“By the way,” Baekhyun whispers, leaning in towards his friends. “It’s not official yet, but stuco is planning on hosting a ball soon!”

 

“Baekhyun!” Yifan exclaims. “That’s not supposed to be released information yet,” he scolds, eyebrows furrowing in concern.

 

“Psh, please Yifan, it’s just these three we’re telling.” Baekhyun rolls his eyes dramatically, eliciting a laugh from everyone at the table. “Y’all better be there. It’s going to be the event of the year!”

 

Junmyeon steals a glance at Jongdae, only to find the latter staring back. Jongdae’s eyes widen for a fraction of a second before he turns away, completely embarrassed at being caught staring. Junmyeon stifles the laughter bubbling up in his stomach before turning back towards Baekhyun and Yifan.

 

“So,” he says, drawing the attention of everyone else at the table. “Do we need a date or are we supposed to catch one there?” Baekhyun’s eyes light up immediately and Yifan just groans at Baekhyun’s excitement.

 

“You definitely need a date! You won’t be able to enter without one,” Baekhyun teases, and Junmyeon realizes that Baekhyun must’ve seen their short interaction just a few seconds ago.

 

Junmyeon’s suspicions are confirmed when Junmyeon is at his locker after lunch.

 

“You totally like Jongdae, don’t you?” He hears Baekhyun say and Junmyeon is so surprised he ends up slamming his locker door.

 

“Baekhyun!” He gives a nervous smile, waiting until the attention his clamor had attracted died off. “What are you talking about?”

 

“You know exactly what I’m talking about,” he huffs. “You can’t hide it from me,” and Junmyeon glares at Baekhyun’s waving finger. “I used to look at him like that too, you know.”

 

“W-what?” Junmyeon asks, completely taken aback at Baekhyun’s confession. “You mean…”

 

Baekhyun laughs and nods. “Yup, I used to like him. Waay back in middle school though.”

 

“But I thought…”

 

“Oh, yeah. Even though Jongdae’s part of the middle class, he’s gone to all prestigious schools since grade school,” Baekhyun explains, and Junmyeon finds himself in awe. Jongdae must be extremely smart to have maintained his top-grade reputation.

 

“But anyways, don’t try to change the topic!” Baekhyun states firmly. “It’s pretty obvious to me that you like him.”

 

“What of it?” Junmyeon gives in, and Baekhyun cracks a cheshire grin.

 

“Nothing,” Baekhyun sings, “I’m just here to cheer you on and wish you luck!” And the energetic boy skips away, leaving Junmyeon gaping at his back.

 

Junmyeon makes a mental note to stop making his staring so obvious.

--

“I can’t believe we’re stuck with this stupid project,” Jongdae sighs. He collapses on Junmyeon’s bed before taking out his notes from his bag.

 

“At least we get to work together,” Junmyeon laughs, going into the kitchen to make himself some coffee. It’s been a week since Baekhyun figured out Junmyeon’s secret, but Jongdae hasn’t been acting any different, so Baekhyun must’ve kept it to himself.

Junmyeon finds himself extremely grateful for Baekhyun’s secrecy. “Want some coffee?” He asks.

 

“Nah, I’m good.” Jongdae says, a bit of playfulness laced into his tone.

 

Junmyeon wonders what could possibly be so funny until he reaches for the sugar.

 

“Jongdae,” Junmyeon drawls out, eyeing the boy suspiciously.

 

“Yes?” Jongdae asks, looking up at the other with innocent eyes.

 

“Nice try,” is all Junmyeon says, putting down the sugar jar. It’s not the first time Jongdae’s showed his mischievous side to Junmyeon. After having Jongdae and Baekhyun play pranks on him almost daily, he’s gotten used to spotting Jongdae’s tricks.

 

“Aw, it would’ve been funny to see you drink salty coffee,” Jongdae teases. “But, how exactly are we supposed to get this project done?”

 

The duo spend most of their day finishing up their project, and much to Junmyeon’s relief, it’s finished before the sun sets.

 

“Finally,” Jongdae groans. “If we had to work on that stupid thing for another minute, I’m sure I would’ve fainted.”

 

“That’s too bad,” Junmyeon snickers, while dodging a pillow thrown his way. “I wonder where Yixing could be, it’s already past the time class ends.”

 

“He’s probably staying behind to practice for his audition,” Jongdae muses. “He also has that performance for the ball this week.”

 

Junmyeon’s ears perk up at the mention of the ball. “Speaking of the ball…” He starts, grinning at Jongdae. “Have you got a date yet?”

 

The other gapes at Junmyeon for a second before crossing his arms across his chest. “No, not yet.”

 

Junmyeon chuckles at his friend’s childish reply before getting up to sit next to him. “Well,” he whispers into the shell of Jongdae’s ear, and Junmyeon grins wickedly when the boy next to him shivers involuntarily. “How about you be my date?”

 

Jongdae puts his hands on Junmyeon’s chest, and for a second Junmyeon thinks he’s finally got him, but he’s gently shoved aside. Jongdae sputters for a few seconds before finding his voice.

“N-no! I mean, yes, I’ll be your date. But only ‘cause we need one!” Jongdae huffs, his face flushed.

 

Junmyeon laughs before straightening himself up. “Okay okay, I hear you.”

 

“Wow, I would say get a room, but I’m sure Baekhyun would kick you out of their room if you went to Jongdae’s.”

 

Junmyeon finds Yixing at the door, smirking at the duo sitting on Junmyeon’s bed.

 

“What the heck are you talking about?” Jongdae exclaims, scrambling off the bed and moving towards the kitchen.

 

“Hey Yixing,” Junmyeon calls out happily. Jongdae shoots him a glare and Yixing just laughs at the scene unfolding in front of him. “How was dance?”

 

Yixing immediately brightens, and both Junmyeon and Jongdae raises their eyebrows at the dancer’s sudden excitement.

 

“It was a lot of fun,” Yixing starts, and he rambles on about the dance routine while the other two listen thoughtfully, sipping on hot chocolate and coffee. “And then Minseok took the solo, it was soo cool,” he drawls on.

 

“That’s great Yixing, but are you sure there isn’t something else that happened?” Jongdae presses, and Junmyeon looks at the two in confusion.

 

“What?” Junmyeon asks, completely lost as to why Jongdae is snickering and Yixing is glaring at Jongdae.

 

“I’ve known Yixing for a while,” Jongdae explains. “I know when he’s hiding something.”

 

“I can’t get anything past you, can I?” Yixing groans, grabbing a nearby pillow to bury his face in.

 

“Spill it!” Junmyeon and Jongdae say at the same time.

 

“Someone asked me to the ball…” Yixing grumbles, fighting the obvious blush coloring his pale skin.

 

“What?!” Junmyeon exclaims.

 

“Who is it?” Jongdae asks excitedly, practically bouncing up in his seat.

 

Yixing mumbles a syllable or two, but Jongdae and Junmyeon both just lean in to hear their embarrassed friend.

 

“It,” Yixing starts. “It was Jongin! He asked me right after practice,” he finishes nervously, shrinking under the surprised looks of the other two.

 

“Jongin asked you?!” Junmyeon asks.

 

“Wow, I did not see that coming,” Jongdae laughs. “You said yes, right?”

 

“Yeah,” Yixing murmurs, letting a small smile settle on his face. “But nevermind that! You two are going together, right?”

 

“Yeah-”

“No!”

Junmyeon glares at Jongdae, who gives him a cocky smirk before continuing.

“-we’re going together,”

“He wishes,” Jongdae laughs, earning a playful shove from Junmyeon.

 

“Cute,” Yixing says. “I think Yifan’s going with the prez, Krystal, and Baekhyun’s probably taking Yoona or Kyungsoo. Or both. So we’re all going to see each other there!”

 

“Of course, since you’re going with Jongin, you’ll probably have to deal with Sehun. Both you and your date,” Jongdae laughs.

 

“Sehun’ll probably flip out once he sees you two together,” Junmyeon states. “It’d be pretty funny, to be honest.”

 

Yixing cracks a grin at his friends’ comments. “Well, I’ll be looking forward to it then. You two should be too!”

 

Junmyeon steals a glance at Jongdae, and he finds Jongdae already staring at him.

Junmyeon feels a sense of déjà vu overwhelm him, but he cracks a smile anyways.

 

“Ugh, will you two get a room already?” Yixing groans, chucking another pillow at the two. Junmyeon laughs and Jongdae is left sputtering excuses once again.

 

“I think it’s time for me to go,” Jongdae states, gathering his things before heading towards the door.

 

“Let me walk you back to your dorm,” Junmyeon says, following the younger one out the door.

 

“Gross!” Yixing calls out behind them. “His dorm is literally a floor away, you sappy idiots!”

 

Junmyeon only chuckles before catching up to Jongdae. “Don’t listen to Yixing,” Junmyeon starts, worried that Jongdae is put off by Yixing’s comments.

 

“It’s fine,” Jongdae says, looking up to smile at the other.

 

Junmyeon realizes that he really likes Jongdae’s smile, and swears to make it happen more often.

 

They walk in silence towards the elevator, and Junmyeon thinks back to when Jongdae denied that he was going to the ball with him. He knows it was just a joke, but from Jongdae’s silence, Junmyeon worries that Jongdae might actually feel uncomfortable with it.

So despite all of his advances, he nervously clears his throat in the elevator, catching the attention of the smaller boy.

 

“Jongdae,” he says, turning to face him. He sees Jongdae’s eyes widen. “I need to ask you something,” he continues, as they walk out of the elevator and into the hallway. It’s completely empty, Junmyeon notices, so he sees no harm in asking him out in the open.

“Do you really want to go with me to the ball?” He finally asks, leaning against the wall. “You shouldn’t have to go with me if you’re uncomfortable with it.” He furrows his eyebrows, watching Jongdae intently.

 

The singer seems taken aback by Junmyeon’s question, and he’s silent for a few seconds, deep in thought. Junmyeon takes it as a no, and pushes himself off of the wall, snapping Jongdae out of his thoughts.

“It’s okay,” Junmyeon says, flashing Jongdae a gentle smile. “Let’s just get you back to your dorm,” he continues before walking towards the dorm.

 

For a second, Junmyeon feels a lump grow in his throat.

I really screwed this one up this time, didn’t I?

 

“Wait.” Junmyeon feels Jongdae close his fingers around his wrist and turn him around. He stares at Jongdae dumbfounded and confused, unable to say anything.

 

“I do want to go with you to the ball,” Jongdae murmurs, shyly rubbing his thumb against Junmyeon’s wrist. “I-I’m sorry if I seemed uncomfortable. It just took me by surprise, is all.” He offers a small smile and Junmyeon stares at Jongdae in disbelief for a few seconds before feeling his excitement flare up inside him and bring Jongdae up in a crushing hug.

 

“Junmyeon!” Jongdae cries, letting out a small laugh. “You’re suffocating me,” he jokes, but returns the embrace. “But,” he says, releasing the other, “don’t think this means anything!” Jongdae strolls past Junmyeon, his arms crossed.

 

Junmyeon laughs, following Jongdae up until they reach his dorm room. Jongdae moves to grip the doorknob, and Junmyeon takes it as a chance to wrap his arms around him in a friendly back hug. He feels Jongdae immediately flush, but he makes no move to shove the other off, much to Junmyeon’s delight.

 

“You say it doesn’t mean anything,” Junmyeon says, tightening his hold on Jongdae’s waist, smirking when the other squirms slightly. “But it means the world to me,” Junmyeon finishes before letting go of Jongdae, and the latter opens the door hastily and stumbles into the room.

 

“Tell Baekhyun I said hi!” Junmyeon calls cheerily, and openly laughs when Jongdae flips him off in return.

 

“Good night, Junmyeon,” Jongdae says with a smile, and Junmyeon feels himself, for the first time, flush a beet red color.

 

“Good night, Jongdae,” Junmyeon replies, giving an equally dazzling smile back, one that would surely leave Jongdae breathless.

And with that, Junmyeon heads back to his shared dorm, his thoughts filled with the owner of, what could be, the most beautiful smile he has seen in his whole life.

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I hope you liked this chapter! ^^ And yes, I squeezed some Baekchen and Kaixing in here cause I can. uvu. 

I'm starting the next chapter as we speak, so look forward to another update soon! As always, your subscriptions and votes and comments are the things that really make my day <3