of pretentiousness and paint balling
good boysSanghyuk sat two rows from the front of the classroom and two rows from the back. He liked it there. It was far enough back that he could sneakily text beneath his desk but not so far back that he couldn't hear the lesson. He knew it was pretentious, but he found that it suited him. Sanghyuk partied, but left Sunday nights free for homework. Too many girls had his number saved under a vile name, though he was bad at texting because he indulged in reading for fun. Sanghyuk snuck out. He got good grades. He drank. He studied. He was the row two from the front and two from the back.
Sanghyuk didn't have any friends in that particular class. He liked that as well. It was English, his personal favourite. It fuelled his pretentiousness, which arguably didn't need any fuelling. Among breaking poor girls' hearts and binge drinking, reading angsty literature was Sanghyuk's preferred way to spend his time. It one reason why he was sitting in an English class of the grade above him.
"Sanghyuk," the teacher said loudly, hands on her hips. She interrupted Sanghyuk's thoughts on seating dynamics in high school. "If it's not a bother, could you answer the question?"
"The metaphor," Sanghyuk answered. "A mediocre metaphor, but a metaphor nonetheless."
"Always opinionated," the teacher said with a shake of her head and the hint of a smile. Sanghyuk was one of her favourite students. "Pay attention."
"Yes, ma'am."
Sanghyuk's eyes were captured before he could return to his notebook. A boy in the front row was smiling a brilliant dimpled smile and directing it to Sanghyuk. Hongbin, Sanghyuk remembered. How could he forget? Hongbin was the only student in the class with a better mark than him. Sanghyuk seemed to see Hongbin everywhere. He worked at Sanghyuk's go to mall, had a locker a few away from Sanghyuk's. Sanghyuk ran into him more than he did anyone else, but he only recently learned the boy's name.
Hongbin was cute, Sanghyuk decided. He wore his light brown hair parted off centre, sometimes
sweeping over his eyes. His clothing colour pallet consistently reminded Sanghyuk of Easter, all pastels and whites that looked pretty and always fit just right. Hongbin's hand was always flying over his page,
scrawling notes. Either that, or his nose was stuck in a book. He sat in the front row.
Sometime after they finished a novel study on a romantic book about star crossed lovers, Sanghyuk began entertaining fantasies about Hongbin. Sanghyuk imagined that he would be the type to bring flowers on the first date. Not roses. Maybe daisies or tulips. He would be a hand holder, Sanghyuk imagined. He'd never initiate a kiss, or anything else for that matter. Sanghyuk convinced himself that Hongbin smelled like strawberries.
He didn't have a crush, per say. At least not for the remaining twenty three hours of the day. Hongbin was too innocent seeming for Sanghyuk's taste.
"Hi."
Sanghyuk pulled his earphones out and closed his locker door. He was surprised to find Hongbin there, leaning against the locker next to Sanghyuk's. His eyes fluttered to his shoes when Sanghyuk gave him a confused look and greeted him back. Yeah, Hongbin was still really cute outside of the English classroom.
"I'm Hongbin."
Sanghyuk smiled crookedly. "I know."
"Right." He swept over his bangs, moving them away from his dark eyes. "Do you like paint balling?"
Sanghyuk blinked at him. "I've never been."
"Well, it's your lucky day then," Hongbin said.
Apparently he'd been expecting Sanghyuk to understand. He did not. "I'm not following."
"Yes, you are. You're following me. To my car. To go paint balling."
Sanghyuk's eyes didn't seem to want to stop blinking. Fantasy Hongbin was a lot of things, but spontaneous he was not. It came to Sanghyuk then that fantasy Hongbin didn't exist, but Hongbin did and he wanting to go paint balling. "What about class?"
"What about class?" Hongbin inquired.
Sanghyuk squinted at him disbelievingly. "You don't skip."
Hongbin did skip, often apparently. Though Sanghyuk didn't know if skipping was the right word for it since Hongbin was technically 18 and signed himself out of class. Sanghyuk, on the other hand, was not 18 and therefore he was truant in his world studies class.
"You're nervous," Hongbin observed after showing Sanghyuk how to use the paint ball gun and noticing his shaking fingers.
Sanghyuk cursed himself. This was not how everything was supposed to be going. He was supposed to be the cool and a little bratty younger classmate who swept the good, studious older man into adventure. He shrugged at Hongbin as he tied a red bandana around his arm to match the older's. "I've never just, you know, not gone to class."
Hongbin took over tying the knot that Sanghyuk was awkwardly fumbling with, securing it on the younger's bicep. "And here I was, hoping that I was making you blush."
Sanghyuk's cheeks coloured at that. He went about loading his gun up with bright pink paintballs. "You're peculiar."
"How so?"
"Well, for starters, you spoke to me for the first time an hour ago and you've convinced me to let you shoot paint at me." Sanghyuk let Hongbin finish loading his gun. He wasn't really grasping anything that was going on, down to the logistics of the bulky gun. Continuing was easier when Hongbin wasn't looking at him. "And you're the schools best behaved scholar but you're acting like a delinquent."
Hongbin choked on a laugh. "Have you been reading from the angsty teen section?"
"Maybe." He had been.
"I'll tell you a secret, Sanghyuk. But only because you're cute," said Hongbin. He's moved on to gearing himself up, not making an effort to be secretive at all. "If everyone thinks you're a good boy, nobody's looking at you. You'll get away with far more mischief, and mischief is so much fun."
"And you consider paint balling mischief?"
Hongbin shook his head, tousling his previously orderly hair. "No, but I think that ditching class to take a cute boy on a date almost counts."
Sanghyuk, despite himself, coloured pink again. "Date?"
"If that's alright with you," Hongbin said nonchalantly.
"That's perfectly alright with me," Sanghyuk said with a smile. The gun is his hands seemed to become lighter, as did Sanghyuk on his feet. He was on a date. He was on a date with Hongbin.
He was on a date with Hongbin, and he was treacherously bad at paint balling. After an hour he'd successfully been covered in neon paint. His body was sore, pain radiating from the places he'd been shot. It was fun, though. Hongbin giggled whenever Sanghyuk was shot which proved to be a temporary pain relief, and the adrenaline rush of sneaking around in dead silence while being both predator and prey was unmatchable.
Sanghyuk was exhausted by the last round. He dragged his body around the arena until he found a dark corner to catch his breath in, his gun held close and finger on the trigger. He gasped when a hand closed around his wrist and slammed his gun wielding arm against the wall behind him. Sanghyuk blinked a few times in the darkness, his eyes settling on the heavily shadowed image of Hongbin's face.
"We're surrounded," Hongbin whispered, his face and body breathtakingly close to Sanghyuk.
Sanghyuk swallowed. He cared far more about his proximity to Hongbin's lips than he did about his proximity to the other team. "What do we do?"
"We do what they do in the of all good action novels," Hongbin said. He was smiling, his eyes twinkling behind his protective goggles in what little light leaked into their corner. "We kiss passionately then go down shooting."
Hongbin didn't disappoint. He cupped Sanghyuk's face with his free hand, kissing him without hesitation. His lips pressed hard to Sanghyuk's, urging the younger to reciprocate just as heatedly. Sanghyuk did, and he almost dropped his weapon in the process. Hongbin kissed as passionately as he spoke. It didn't feel like a first kiss. It felt like a last kiss.
Hongbin was definitely blushing, Sanghyuk could feel it under his own touch, and his smile as brilliant as ever. "Ready?"
"No," Sanghyuk said distractedly.
Hongbin laughed, then lead the way out into battle after a final sweet kiss to Sanghyuk's cheek. Sanghyuk followed him on uncooperative feet, wondering just what he'd gotten himself into, pursuing the boy from the front row.
Sanghyuk didn't have any friends in that particular class. He liked that as well. It was English, his personal favourite. It fuelled his pretentiousness, which arguably didn't need any fuelling. Among breaking poor girls' hearts and binge drinking, reading angsty literature was Sanghyuk's preferred way to spend his time. It one reason why he was sitting in an English class of the grade above him.
"Sanghyuk," the teacher said loudly, hands on her hips. She interrupted Sanghyuk's thoughts on seating dynamics in high school. "If it's not a bother, could you answer the question?"
"The metaphor," Sanghyuk answered. "A mediocre metaphor, but a metaphor nonetheless."
"Always opinionated," the teacher said with a shake of her head and the hint of a smile. Sanghyuk was one of her favourite students. "Pay attention."
"Yes, ma'am."
Sanghyuk's eyes were captured before he could return to his notebook. A boy in the front row was smiling a brilliant dimpled smile and directing it to Sanghyuk. Hongbin, Sanghyuk remembered. How could he forget? Hongbin was the only student in the class with a better mark than him. Sanghyuk seemed to see Hongbin everywhere. He worked at Sanghyuk's go to mall, had a locker a few away from Sanghyuk's. Sanghyuk ran into him more than he did anyone else, but he only recently learned the boy's name.
Hongbin was cute, Sanghyuk decided. He wore his light brown hair parted off centre, sometimes
sweeping over his eyes. His clothing colour pallet consistently reminded Sanghyuk of Easter, all pastels and whites that looked pretty and always fit just right. Hongbin's hand was always flying over his page,
scrawling notes. Either that, or his nose was stuck in a book. He sat in the front row.
Sometime after they finished a novel study on a romantic book about star crossed lovers, Sanghyuk began entertaining fantasies about Hongbin. Sanghyuk imagined that he would be the type to bring flowers on the first date. Not roses. Maybe daisies or tulips. He would be a hand holder, Sanghyuk imagined. He'd never initiate a kiss, or anything else for that matter. Sanghyuk convinced himself that Hongbin smelled like strawberries.
He didn't have a crush, per say. At least not for the remaining twenty three hours of the day. Hongbin was too innocent seeming for Sanghyuk's taste.
"Hi."
Sanghyuk pulled his earphones out and closed his locker door. He was surprised to find Hongbin there, leaning against the locker next to Sanghyuk's. His eyes fluttered to his shoes when Sanghyuk gave him a confused look and greeted him back. Yeah, Hongbin was still really cute outside of the English classroom.
"I'm Hongbin."
Sanghyuk smiled crookedly. "I know."
"Right." He swept over his bangs, moving them away from his dark eyes. "Do you like paint balling?"
Sanghyuk blinked at him. "I've never been."
"Well, it's your lucky day then," Hongbin said.
Apparently he'd been expecting Sanghyuk to understand. He did not. "I'm not following."
"Yes, you are. You're following me. To my car. To go paint balling."
Sanghyuk's eyes didn't seem to want to stop blinking. Fantasy Hongbin was a lot of things, but spontaneous he was not. It came to Sanghyuk then that fantasy Hongbin didn't exist, but Hongbin did and he wanting to go paint balling. "What about class?"
"What about class?" Hongbin inquired.
Sanghyuk squinted at him disbelievingly. "You don't skip."
Hongbin did skip, often apparently. Though Sanghyuk didn't know if skipping was the right word for it since Hongbin was technically 18 and signed himself out of class. Sanghyuk, on the other hand, was not 18 and therefore he was truant in his world studies class.
"You're nervous," Hongbin observed after showing Sanghyuk how to use the paint ball gun and noticing his shaking fingers.
Sanghyuk cursed himself. This was not how everything was supposed to be going. He was supposed to be the cool and a little bratty younger classmate who swept the good, studious older man into adventure. He shrugged at Hongbin as he tied a red bandana around his arm to match the older's. "I've never just, you know, not gone to class."
Hongbin took over tying the knot that Sanghyuk was awkwardly fumbling with, securing it on the younger's bicep. "And here I was, hoping that I was making you blush."
Sanghyuk's cheeks coloured at that. He went about loading his gun up with bright pink paintballs. "You're peculiar."
"How so?"
"Well, for starters, you spoke to me for the first time an hour ago and you've convinced me to let you shoot paint at me." Sanghyuk let Hongbin finish loading his gun. He wasn't really grasping anything that was going on, down to the logistics of the bulky gun. Continuing was easier when Hongbin wasn't looking at him. "And you're the schools best behaved scholar but you're acting like a delinquent."
Hongbin choked on a laugh. "Have you been reading from the angsty teen section?"
"Maybe." He had been.
"I'll tell you a secret, Sanghyuk. But only because you're cute," said Hongbin. He's moved on to gearing himself up, not making an effort to be secretive at all. "If everyone thinks you're a good boy, nobody's looking at you. You'll get away with far more mischief, and mischief is so much fun."
"And you consider paint balling mischief?"
Hongbin shook his head, tousling his previously orderly hair. "No, but I think that ditching class to take a cute boy on a date almost counts."
Sanghyuk, despite himself, coloured pink again. "Date?"
"If that's alright with you," Hongbin said nonchalantly.
"That's perfectly alright with me," Sanghyuk said with a smile. The gun is his hands seemed to become lighter, as did Sanghyuk on his feet. He was on a date. He was on a date with Hongbin.
He was on a date with Hongbin, and he was treacherously bad at paint balling. After an hour he'd successfully been covered in neon paint. His body was sore, pain radiating from the places he'd been shot. It was fun, though. Hongbin giggled whenever Sanghyuk was shot which proved to be a temporary pain relief, and the adrenaline rush of sneaking around in dead silence while being both predator and prey was unmatchable.
Sanghyuk was exhausted by the last round. He dragged his body around the arena until he found a dark corner to catch his breath in, his gun held close and finger on the trigger. He gasped when a hand closed around his wrist and slammed his gun wielding arm against the wall behind him. Sanghyuk blinked a few times in the darkness, his eyes settling on the heavily shadowed image of Hongbin's face.
"We're surrounded," Hongbin whispered, his face and body breathtakingly close to Sanghyuk.
Sanghyuk swallowed. He cared far more about his proximity to Hongbin's lips than he did about his proximity to the other team. "What do we do?"
"We do what they do in the of all good action novels," Hongbin said. He was smiling, his eyes twinkling behind his protective goggles in what little light leaked into their corner. "We kiss passionately then go down shooting."
Hongbin didn't disappoint. He cupped Sanghyuk's face with his free hand, kissing him without hesitation. His lips pressed hard to Sanghyuk's, urging the younger to reciprocate just as heatedly. Sanghyuk did, and he almost dropped his weapon in the process. Hongbin kissed as passionately as he spoke. It didn't feel like a first kiss. It felt like a last kiss.
Hongbin was definitely blushing, Sanghyuk could feel it under his own touch, and his smile as brilliant as ever. "Ready?"
"No," Sanghyuk said distractedly.
Hongbin laughed, then lead the way out into battle after a final sweet kiss to Sanghyuk's cheek. Sanghyuk followed him on uncooperative feet, wondering just what he'd gotten himself into, pursuing the boy from the front row.
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