They found themselves at a bowling alley just off campus. Minho immediately went to set up the names on the computer, and Taemin and Kai followed him. Jinki, Key, and Jonghyun got the bowling shoes, and picked their own balls. Once everyone was settled, they started to play. There was a tension between everyone. Jonghyun was trying to stay away from Minho, but it was getting hard.

Bowling in the future wasn’t like bowling in the past. Everything was digital. You didn’t have to throw the weight of the ball, or line up the pins in the same way. There weren’t “power ups” or guides to help you. Jonghyun and Jinki were lost, and Minho kept wanting to help. After seeing Jonghyun struggle with the ball, he put arm around Jonghyun and helped him with the weight of the ball, his hand cradling Jonghyun’s in his own. Jonghyun felt his face grow hot, and immediately pulled away, “I got it,” he murmured angrily to the boy behind him.

Minho was confused by his reaction, and sat back down. Kai was next to him in an instant, trying to talk about Taemin, but Minho was ignoring him. He was too distracted by the fact that Jonghyun chose to sit next to Key when he was finished failing at hitting the pins. Jonghyun just ignored the glare from Minho, and talked with Key about arbitrary things, feeling Kai keeping an eye on him.

It was Jinki’s turn to bowl, and he was having a much harder time than Jonghyun. At his first attempt he threw the ball so slowly, it stopped in the middle of the lane. Jonghyun noticed his struggle and started to poke and prod at Key. “Go help him,” Jonghyun suggested.

Key turned up his nose at the idea, “no, I’m actually good at bowling, and I don’t want to tell him my secrets.”

Jonghyun scoffed, “Key, he didn’t even make the ball across the lane.” Jinki tried again, but this time he threw it a little too hard, and it went straight for a gutter. “My point exactly,” he added watching the next failed attempt, and Key just crossed his arms.

Jinki came up and sat next to Jonghyun, “what’s going on between you and Minho,” he whispered as the taller boy went to take his turn.

“It’s nothing, there’s nothing between the two of us,” Jonghyun said very bluntly. He wasn’t exactly lying. All of the trouble he was having was between him and Kai. The blonde wasn’t even sure if Taemin was aware of how Kai was treating him. Taemin seemed like a sweet boy, and it’s what made Jonghyun back down. He also knew that he couldn’t stay there forever. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, Taemin and Minho were probably a good match, and eventually he had to go home right? so there was no point in him staying to stir up the pot. Jonghyun felt dejected, and Jinki backed down, feeling his unease.

The next time Jonghyun went up to bowl he asked Key to help him. “I just can’t get it right,” he said to Key once they got up to the lane.

“Come on, with a little practice you’ll get it!” Key encouraged, placing his hand on Jonghyun’s, supporting the bowling ball. Key and Jonghyun were surprisingly close, but would never think of each other romantically. They would just end up annoy each other too much, and they could tell. There just wasn’t chemistry there. Minho, however wasn’t aware of this fact, and was getting more and more jealous watching them.

Jonghyun looked Key in the eyes, “no, not that. I don’t care about that. I just feel like I should go home.”

“Kim Jonghyun, don’t say that,” Key warned, “let’s just bowl, and we can talk about this later.”

Jonghyun nodded, biting back tears. The two bowled together, Key giving pointers along the way. “It’s like you’re trying to kill the person you hate,” Key explained, “and that person is sitting right in between those two corners on the side. Right now, the person sitting there is Onew, notice how I’ve gotten a strike every time?”

“So like Kai?” Jonghyun asked.

Key grinned, “exactly, like Kai.”

The two boys laughed, and Jonghyun attempted by himself, seeing Kai’s face right where Key told him to. He knocked down every pin the second time, getting him a spare. Key and Jonghyun started jumping in excitement, holding each other close. Key was glad that he could make Jonghyun happy again. The two turned and were greeted by some not so happy faces. Minho looked like he was ready to kill the next person he saw, Jinki looked so sad and awkward, Jonghyun swore he was going to disappear, Taemin had the same blank expression on his face, and Kai looked happier than ever. It was as if you could feel the air out of the room. Minho got up to leave, Key followed him, and Jinki just sat looking defeated.

Jonghyun went to Jinki, “Jinki, , Onew?” he tried to get the boy to look him in the face. “We’re just friends, I swear to god.”

Jinki shook his head, “why doesn’t he like me, I tried at the festival, I really did.” Jinki looked up at him with tear filled eyes, “lets just go home.”

Jonghyun had been playing with the idea of going home all afternoon, but now that he was posed with it, wasn’t exactly inclined to just get up and leave. There were too many loose ends here, he couldn’t just go.

Meanwhile Key was trying to talk Minho out of strangling him in the bathroom. “Minho, Minho, listen to me.”

“Why should I listen to you? You know I like him, right?” Minho was fuming, “what do you think I’ve been doing all this time.”

“It’s hard to tell with you!” Key admitted, “but really, we’re just friends, and we will only be friends. I cannot imagine dating Jonghyun. You two would be so perfect, why would I even bother?”

“Then why has Jonghyun been avoiding me this whole time? why does he go to you instead?”

Key didn’t know what he could tell Minho. Jonghyun hadn’t exactly said what was going on with him. There were snippets of details, feeling unnecessary, feeling in the way, wanting to go home, but none of this was enough to go on. “Just,” Key started, “Just try to show him how much you care about him.”

“How am I supposed to do that when he avoids me,” Minho sniffled.

“You,” he couldn’t just say ‘get rid of Taemin and Kai’ because he knew that wouldn’t go over well, and even with the two of them gone, what ever Kai said would still be stuck with Jonghyun. “Do you like Taemin?” he suddenly blurted out, and Minho looked at him confused. “Liked would you ever see a future with him?”

Minho was surprised by the question, “Um, no?” He didn’t even have to think about it because his answer was so obvious. “I barely know anything about the kid. I mean he’s cute and all, but more in a little brother type of way. Key, you know I like Jonghyun, why would I be interested in Taemin?”

“I have reason to believe that Taemin is flirting with you,” Key offered.

“What the hell are you talking about? the boy barely talks!” Minho was shocked.

Key groaned, “Ugh, you’re so dense! let me explain this to you. Kai is working as Taemin’s wingman because lets be honest, he’s not exactly the best at.. well, talking. It’s so obvious, it’s been making Jonghyun awkward.” He lied a little bit at the end, but it was enough to open Minho’s eyes.

“What?!” Minho was taken aback by the whole situation. How could he have not noticed this? “Are you serious? How long has this been going on?”

“Probably since the day you met Taemin and Kai, please just prove to Jonghyun that you’re not swayed by them, but also don’t be rude to them. Remember, this is exactly the situation they would have wanted, so don’t give up on Jonghyun.” Key was satisfied with how much he had talked Minho down, and decided they should go back and pick up the pieces.

When they got back, Taemin and Kai were still there, but Jinki and Jonghyun were no where to be seen.

“They said something about going home,” Kai said, noticing their confusion, “it’s better this way if you ask me.”

Minho was ready to punch Kai in the face, but Key held him back. “Don’t listen to him, let’s just go find them.” Key was just as worried about Jinki and Minho was worried about Jonghyun. For as much as the older boy annoyed him, he didn’t want to lose him when they were just getting to know each other.

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Author's Note: Hey guys! I'm so sorry this got all angsty :( people are getting all mad and stuff, and I just want to go back to fluff, but Taemin is getting in the way, and Jonghyun feels bad. They all needed to sort out their mess..

Let me know what you think of this chapter. I'm not sure if it's very good or not.. I may just scratch it and re-write it :/ So let me know if I should in the comments below!