‘It isn’t going to be that bad, Jongin,’ Luhan promises in a soothing tone. ‘You trust me, right?’

Luhan and Jongin are pushing their bikes along the sidewalk on the morning of Jongin’s first day in middle school. Jongin’s eyes are still puffy from crying and lack of sleep, having spent the previous night tossing and turning in bed, unable to unfurl the knots of anxiety building in his gut. Luhan glances over at Jongin, whose eyes are trained on the ground, feet reluctantly carrying him forward. Although Luhan is perhaps the only person he trusts more than anyone else, the younger boy stays silent.

Luhan sighs, ‘Middle school isn’t the easiest thing to get through, but look at me; I’m already halfway done. You can do it!’

Jongin isn’t so sure. He had always found it hard to fit in, never really establishing genuine relationships with his classmates. Elementary school had just been one long haul of uncomfortable situations, Jongin always feeling too self-conscious, too self-contained. After six long years and finally settling down into some sense of familiarity, here he was being dumped into an entirely foreign environment with new people. Jongin isn’t an especially cynical or morbid person, no, not at all, but he would much rather have his body thrown into a tank of numbingly cold ice water and be left to drown than to start attending middle school.

Luhan slings an arm over Jongin’s narrow shoulders, Jongin’s smaller frame fitting under it snugly. He squeezes Jongin’s shoulder encouragingly, turning to smile at Jongin’s glum pout, ‘It’ll be okay. If you think about it, we’ll be attending the same school again! You can come find me inbetween classes or call me with that new phone your parents got you whenever you want, and if our schedules match up, let’s eat lunch together.’

Jongin peeks through his fringe to look at the taller boy’s promising grin, heart swelling with gratitude, knowing he has such unfaltering support from someone as thoughtful as Luhan. Thinking about the prospects of middle school with Luhan by his side puts a skip in his step. He had missed the times he got to see Luhan when they were both still in elementary school, perhaps this new school would turn out to be a positive development after all.

‘You’d do that?’ Jongin asks, feeling guilty that he might be a burden on Luhan.

Luhan only laughs, and Jongin’s doubts melt away.

‘Sure, and maybe if your lazy starts getting up on time, I’ll walk you to school every morning too,’ Luhan offers, putting a smile on Jongin’s face.