Jongin smiled and chuckled to himself as he maneuvered his way through the crowded living to where Key and his fiancé were sitting. Jonghyun looked slightly uneasy the closer Jongin got to him, but the younger knew it was just because of why Sehun was telling him about earlier that day.

 

"Hey, Key. Hey, Jonghyun," Jongin greeted chirpily. "What did you want?"

 

"Jonghyunnie thinks you're ignoring him. Tell him he's stupid and that's not true," Key responded, gripping Jonghyun's wrist tighter. The latter looked a bit embarrassed, but Key did have a way of making people feel that way when it came to confrontations... Or even just breathing.

 

"Ah, hyung, I'm not ignoring you. I still love you," Jongin consoled as he plopped down next to the elder and wrapped his arm around his neck to pull him in and rub his head teasingly. "How could I ever not like this whiny puppy?" Key giggled as he watched Jonghyun's hair go flat while he yelled for Jongin to stop.

 

"Aish, still so childish you are," Jonghyun said when he was finally able to push the younger away from him. "But it's good to know I still have your love and approval."

 

"I don't know why you would think I hate you," Jongin responded with a shrug to which Jonghyun just shook his head with a small smile plastered across his face. "Yah, Key. Did you see where Sehun snuck off to?"

 

Key simply shrugged then took a swig out of his cup. "Probably went to the kitchen for a beer. He's been drinking a bit more lately." Jongin nodded then said his goodbyes before slipping through the crowd to find his best friend.

 

Key was right. Sehun was leaning against the kitchen counter with a blue plastic cup in his hand and a solemn look upon his face. He had his focus set on someone, but Jongin couldn't quite pinpoint who it was due to the many faces in that direction.

 

"Got your sights set on someone?" Jongin asked lowly as he stood next to Sehun. The younger seemed unfazed by Jongin's sudden appearance. "Who is it?" he asked as he tried to follow his gaze closely, but no such luck was on his side.

 

"Do you think Hyeri will ever notice me?" Sehun finally blurted out. Jongin was taken aback by the name and the melancholic tone in his voice. Sehun never mentioned Hyeri before, but maybe he did before the accident and Jongin couldn't recollect that moment.

 

"Why don't you ask her out? You've never been one to pout over a girl from a distance," Jongin pointed out.

 

"It's not that easy. We've know. Her since daycare days... I can't just approach her now and ruin years of friendship..."

 

Jongin nodded and went on to pour himself juice, he was going to need something to calm him if he was going play matchmaker for two of his closest friends and juice was the perfect thing since he wasn't one to drink alcohol. "You wouldn't ruin the friendship. You know her better than that, you know she would be flattered and keep things the same even if she wasn't interested." Sehun sighed heavily before taking another drink. "Key said you've been drinking more. Is she the reason why?"

 

"I can't speak to her without getting nervous. The alcohol has been keeping my anxiety at bay," Sehun admitted. "I just want to make her happy..."

 

"Then go for it. I'm sure she feels the same way. Remember back when we had our first year dance? Remember how you were the only guy she would dance with? Ever notice that she doesn't speak of other guys like Seolhyun does and she sticks close by you when we all hang out? Maybe it's the little things, but they all add up to the bigger picture."

 

"Dude, when did you become all philosophical? Is Yixing teaching you things we don't know about?" the younger teased with a smile on his face. Jongin had gotten through to him, he could tell. "Maybe I should tell her."

 

"Nike, son. Nike," Jongin encouraged with a pat on the back. Sehun laughed, put his empty cup down, then made his way through the crowd to where Hyeri was warding off the drunk boys she didn't care for.

 

Jongin watched from a far as Sehun pulled her away from the crowd. He had his back turned as he guided them, but Jongin saw the way her eyes lit up. All was going to be alright between them.

 

"You're really close with him aren't you?" Kyungsoo asked as he took Jongin's cup to take a sip of his beverage. "Like Hyunsik and I."

 

Jongin nodded, keeping his guard up and his expression neutral. Whatever game he was playing, he didn't want to be in the middle of him and Yixing. The younger kept his gaze out towards the crowd as Kyungsoo placed his cup on the counter behind him, grazing against his bare arm. A jolt ran down Jongin's spine for the simple touch, but he felt Kyungsoo linger a bit too long for it to be an accident. Jongin ignored it and continued to give him cold shoulder until Kyungsoo admitted something to him at least.

 

The silence between them became deafening in the booming mansion. The tension between them built up more and more as seconds ticked by achingly slow. Jongin could feel Kyungsoo's stare, but he refused to turn and look at him. When it all became too much, Jongin decided to flee. "I'm gonna go," was all he said before slipping away swiftly. It was winter outside, too cold for him to sit outside and enjoy the quiet, but he still tried to head that way since it was his only escape.

 

The crowd swallowed him whole, hiding him from Kyungsoo. Or so he thought. A warm hand grabbed his wrist and dragged him down a hall and into a vacant room where the door was locked behind them and the two were alone once again. Jongin looked at the red haired boy and felt his stomach flip with an excitement.

 

"What do you want, Kyungsoo," Jongin almost pleaded as the elder began moving closer to him. "If you want for me to remember, I can't do that on cue."

 

"Close your eyes," he commanded softly as smirked at the younger. Jongin raised an eyebrow and took a step back. The back of his legs were met with the edge of the bed unexpectedly and he fell with a small bounce. Kyungsoo progressed forward, hovering over the younger with his palms pressed onto the bed on either side of his hips. "Close them and relax," Kyungsoo cooed as he moved his body closer, resulting in Jongin moving further down onto the bed until his back came in contact with the mattress.

 

"Whatever angle you're playing at, I don't want any part of it," Jongin warned as he looked Kyungsoo dead in the eyes. The elder moved his legs up onto the bed and was now straddled over the younger with his palms on either side of his head. "I don't want to play any games with you or Doctor Zhang."

 

"Your doctor has nothing to do with us. It's just all you and me," Kyungsoo responded with a sharp tone. "Now, close your eyes. I won't hurt you," he purred in a sweeter tone. Jongin felt his heart race as he peered into Kyungsoo's eyes one last time. Finally giving in, Jongin let his eyes flutter shut and waited.

 

"It was a fall night. This same house but on the back porch. A man sat in a seat on the back porch and propped his feet up on the railing as he pulled out a pack of cigarettes. You dropped your can of coke and got the guy's attention. A conversation was started at the moment," Kyungsoo whispered into his ear. Jongin saw the images flash in black and white behind his closed eyes. "'There's a difference between a crowd and an overpopulated area'." Suddenly, colors came to the images and he began to remember.

 

Jongin began to replay that moment from the beginning to the end. Every little detail he swore to keep began to reveal itself and all the pieces fell into place. Kyungsoo pulled back and watched Jongin's face switch from scared to content and back to scared. Not only did he remember Kyungsoo, he remembered Kyungsoo and all the emotions he felt for him. All the butterflies erupted and suddenly he wanted to run away because he was close as hell to his crush.

 

"Jongin, you can open your eyes now," Kyungsoo cooed as he hovered over the younger with a smile on his face. Jongin squeezed his eyes shut and turned his head to the side. There was no way in hell he was going to open his eyes and be face-to-face with the cute lunch boy he had a major crush on. "Jongin?" he called as he moved his hand to run across the younger's jaw, sending a shiver down Jongin's spine. "You remember don't you?"

 

"Um... Yeah," he whispered as he began to squirm around to try and get away from Kyungsoo. They were too close and Jongin remembered that Kyungsoo most definitely was not gay.

 

"What's wrong?" Kyungsoo demanded as he gripped the younger's wrists and pinned them above his head as he placed some of his body weight on him to keep him from slipping away. "Did you not want to remember me?"

 

"Kyungsoo, I told you that night that I'm gay, didn't I?" Jongin replied, remembering that their last conversation was the last one he would ever have before blacking out.

 

"Yes, I remember," he answered smoothly. Jongin felt his heart stop for a second before racing around like crazy. He opened his eyes and looked up at the elder, shocked. He was taken aback when he saw the clouded look in Kyungsoo's eyes and the flush of pink across his cheeks. He hadn't noticed that the elder was breathing heavily either until he saw the way his chest moved. "I regret that night every single day."

 

"W... Why?" he croaked out. His gut feeling began to tell him that he knew why, but he wanted to hear Kyungsoo saw it out loud to ease his state of mind.

 

"I didn't want you to stay to be my wingman... In fact there were no girls I was interested in that night. I feel so stupid thinking back on it..."

 

"What do you mean?"

 

"I lied. I didn't know if you were gay or not so I lied, hoping you would stay longer and maybe I could..." Kyungsoo shook his head then let it drop in shame. "I think if I had just asked you to stay maybe you wouldn't have lost your memory."

 

"Are you... Are you biual?" Jongin asked.

 

"I've only ever told Hyunsik. When I met you that night back in the fall, I couldn't keep it a secret from people at school anymore. Leeteuk had told me you were gay, but I was still skeptical because you seemed uninterested in almost everyone, I thought maybe he was just joking around with me, so I pulled that stunt and in the end, I wound up losing you," he finally admitted.

 

"You're not to blame, Kyungsoo. It wasn't you who was driving drunk," Jongin consoled. Kyungsoo nodded and leaned his forehead down to press against the younger's. Jongin felt Kyungsoo loosen his grip around his wrists to shift around and intertwine their hands together. He was nervous, but the way his body reacted and the way Kyungsoo touched him made his world slow. Something felt right between them, Kyungsoo seemed to notice it too.

 

"Jongin," Kyungsoo whispered huskily. "I still want only you." The clouding in his eyes came back, but Jongin felt his own eyes begin to grow heavy.

 

Jongin released one of his hands to grasp the back of the elder's neck and pull him down l. "I want you too," he admitted before letting all his senses go as he kissed Kyungsoo.

 

"I couldn't stop thinking about you," Kyungsoo huffed out when he pulled away. He began leaving trails of kisses along Jongin's jaw. "Ever since I first talked to you." Jongin's back arched off the bed when Kyungsoo bit down on his neck, nibbling and until a dark spot appeared. "Beautiful," Kyungsoo mumbled when he looked at his work. He placed another kiss on it then dived back down for Jongin's lips.

 

The temperature began to climb higher and higher between them until finally they began to sweat lightly. Jongin moved both of his hand to slip underneath Kyungsoo's shirt and claw at the bare skin of his back. "I don't want to go any further than this," Jongin rushed out when he felt Kyugsoo involuntarily grind down.

 

"I don't want to either. This is only the beginning," Kyungsoo retorted quickly before returning to making out with Jongin. Kyungsoo tugged at Jongin's bottom lip, causing the younger to moan lightly then suddenly the lights went out. The two stopped and looked up at the ceiling. Voices outside the door began to raise, people began to get a little more anxious.

 

A loud bang on the door caused the boys to jump and separate a bit as they looked at the door. "Yah! The electricity is out. The weather is getting bad out, you should go home," a voice shouted through the barricade. The two looked back at each other, slightly worried.

 

"I rode my motorcycle here. If the weather is bad then I can't get home unless Hyunsik is still here. What about you?" the elder asked as he got off of the younger and helped him to his feet.

 

"Taemin drove me here. He should still be here," he responded as he began moving towards the door, but Kyungsoo stopped him short by placing a hand on his chest. He puckered his lips and kissed Jongin once more then held his hand and guided them towards the crowd.

 

"Jongin!" Sehun called once he reached the living room. "I can't find Taemin or Key," he stated. "Where do you think they are?"

 

"Taemin usually hangs out upstairs in the pool room. Key probably left with Jonghyun awhile ago," he replied. Kyungsoo stood close by as he looked around for Hyunsik. Once he spotted him he whispered his goodbyes to Jongin and kissed his cheek quickly then left before Sehun could even see a thing.

 

"Jongin!" Taemin called from the staircase to his left. "Come on, let's go before the weather gets worse." Jongin and Sehun made their way through why was left of the party and made a getaway for home with Taemin.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"The weather isn't getting better," Taemin said as he looked outside his bedroom window. Jongin sat on his hyung's bed playing a video game. It was Sunday and they had been stuck inside since the weather wasn't letting up. "Damn weather channel lied to us again."

 

"Yah, umma will hear you. You know she hears everything," Jongin warned him as he paused the game to look outside the window as well. "I'm sure the weather will be fine by tomorrow. It always gets better when school it's a school day."

 

"Hey, what's that on your neck?" Taemin questioned as he finally noticed the dark spot Jongin had been hiding for the past two days.

 

"Nothing," he replied as nonchalantly as he could, trying vainly to deter Taemin from asking more questions or causing a fuss.

 

"Is that a hickey?!"

 

Of course though, no such luck was on his side.