Taekwoon sneezed, lifting his arm to bury his face in the crook of his elbow.

He hated getting stuck cleaning the classroom. Cleaning up the desks and the floor wasn’t bad, but wiping down the chalkboard brought on the endless sneezing. He just wanted to go home and get away from this misery.

The door of the classroom jerked open suddenly, startling Taekwoon and causing him to drop the wash cloth he was holding. “Did someone need me?”

None other Cha Hakyeon stood in front of the door, hair a little tousled, as though he had run there.

Taekwoon froze, and simply gaped at the other boy, not even registering that he had spoken. His heart was throbbing so loudly in his own ears, he was almost sure Hakyeon could hear it.

“Someone told me that I was needed in here immediately…Lee Jaehwan. A junior I think?”

Just after Hakyeon spoke, the door slammed behind him and the click of the lock was painfully loud in the silence afterwards. “Hey!” Hakyeon shouted, turning around and banging on the door. “What the hell!?”

Lee Jaehwan was so dead. Taekwoon was going to kill him. He was going to track him down and make him suffer through a horrible, painful, torturous death.

Hakyeon gave up on the door, and turned back around with an irritated huff. “Well, it looks like we’re the victims of a childish prank. Do you have a phone with you?”

Taekwoon shook his head mutely, still unable to get his tongue to work. He couldn’t quite get over the fact that Cha Hakyeon was speaking to him.

“Damn it…I left mine in my bag…” Hakyeon began to approach him and he thought he was going to have a heart attack right then and there. “Well it looks like we’re stuck here until they decide to let us out. You’re on cleaning duty, right? I could help you finish.”

“Y- You don’t have to,” he managed to finally speak, but his voice came out so low and quiet, he isn’t sure if Hakyeon even heard him.

Hakyeon gave a bright smile, and leaned down to pick up the wash cloth that Taekwoon had dropped. He picked up another one from the teacher’s desk. “I don’t mind.”

Hakyeon offered the wash cloth to him, and when their hands brushed as he took it, he jerked his hand away so fast that Hakyeon looked a little startled.

“Thank you,” he mumbled, turning back to the chalkboard to hide his flushed cheeks.

“Jung Taekwoon, right?” Hakyeon asked as he began to wipe down the chalkboard.

He turned to Hakyeon, eyes going wide. “Yes.” Hakyeon knew his name. Hakyeon actually knew his name.

“I’m Cha Hakyeon,” Hakyeon gave a bright grin and all Taekwoon could think was that his smile was even more beautiful up close. Taekwoon could only nod, too dazed by Hakyeon dazzling smile to say anything.

Hakyeon had always been so bright, like a sun that Taekwoon couldn’t possibly ever get close to. Taekwoon was the opposite of everything that Hakyeon was.

It was strange standing so close to him like this. The smell of Hakyeon’s shampoo - was that strawberry? - overpowered the smell of the chalk, and all of sudden, Taekwoon stopped sneezing.

Hakyeon chattered on about minuscule things, not fazed by his silence at all. It usually made people people uncomfortable, because they didn’t quite know how to read his reactions to their words, but Hakyeon just kept talking, and glancing at him from time to time.

Taekwoon was content with listening to his voice. Cleaning the classroom had become both a much easier and much more difficult task with Hakyeon there. The sound of Hakyeon’s voice was a nice replacement for the silence, but Taekwoon couldn’t stop his heart from racing.

“We should probably straighten up the desks too,” Hakyeon suggested as they finished cleaning the chalkboard.

He simply nodded again. He felt Hakyeon’s eyes on him, and he glanced over when he heard the other boy begin to laugh softly. “You have chalk in your hair.” Before he could even register what was happening, Hakyeon lifted a hand to brush the chalk from his fringe and then walked over to the students desks as though Taekwoon wasn’t standing there on the verge of exploding.

Hakyeon had touched him. Hakyeon’s pretty, slender fingers were in his hair.

Taekwoon took a deep breath in an attempt to calm his racing heart, and hurried over to the desks. Hakyeon was already pushing the chairs in and straightening the desks, so Taekwoon joined him.

“You’re very quiet,” Hakyeon commented.

“I- uh- sorry?” He sputtered.

Hakyeon laughed again. “Oh no, I didn’t mean it was a bad thing. I just talk so much, I hope it doesn’t bother you. All my friends get a little annoyed with me after a while.”

“N- No!” He said a little too quickly. He looked away from Hakyeon started expression, and down at the desk they were moving, feeling mortified. “I mean- um- I don’t mind it.”

“Okay!” And Hakyeon was back to grinning at him. He continued talking as they shifted around the room, moving everything back in it’s place.
Taekwoon began to think that they could get through the rest of the afternoon without anything more embarrassing happening, but he was, of course, wrong. Just as they finished up, Hakyeon tripped over the leg of a chair, and Taekwoon was right in his path. They both fell to the floor in a heap of flailing limbs and pained grunts. He had mostly cushioned Hakyeon’s fall, his elbow banging against a desk on the way down and his back hitting the floor just before Hakyeon landed right on top of him. As soon as the shock of pain passed, he was all too aware of how close they were. He heard Hakyeon groan right next to his ear, and could feel the warmth of his body. They were pressed chest to chest, with their legs tangled together. Hakyeon’s slim form felt just as heavenly as he had imagined it would. He fit so perfectly against Taekwoon’s own broad chest and shoulders. Taekwoon could completely ignore the bruise forming on his back with Hakyeon pressed against him like this.

“I’m so sorry!” Hakyeon placed hands on either side of his head and lifted his face to glance down at him apologetically. Within such close proximity, Taekwoon could see the pretty shade of brown that Hakyeon’s eyes were, and how smooth his skin looked. He wanted to know what it would feel like under his fingertips.

He could feel his cheeks growing red with embarrassment as Hakyeon continued to stare down at him with his piercing eyes. The realization of their situation was just beginning to dawn on him when the sound of the lock on the door clicked loudly in the silence.

“Was that the lock?” Hakyeon scrambled off of him and glanced toward the door.

Taekwoon was up on his feet faster than he thought he was able to move. Hakyeon followed suit but Taekwoon hurried over to the door before he could take one step.

He breathed a sigh of relief when he felt the knob turn. With his gaze glued to the floor he turned around to face Hakyeon, “Thank you for the help,” he muttered.

“Ah- um- it’s no problem!” Hakyeon said, startled by how abrupt Taekwoon was. “I’ll see you in class, Taekwoon!” Hakyeon called after him when he hurried out the door. He tried not to trip over his feet at the sound of Hakyeon saying his name.

When he got to the end of the hall, he turned the corner and leaned back against the wall, taking a deep breath as he rested a hand over his heart.

“So how’d it go?”

Jaehwan’s voice caused him to jump, effectively ruining his attempt at calming his racing heart. He looked over to see the other boy wearing a toothy grin. “Did you guys have hot on the teacher’s desk?”

He let his anger simmer for a moment, and simply glared at the other boy in silence. He walked away without answering, but not before giving a slap to the back of Jaehwan’s head.

“Ow! Hey! Don’t walk away! I need details!”