Word Count: 1919

—

It’s not working
So stop fronting
I know you want me
Let’s start talking

“Dude,” Jackson leans over the table and stage whispers. “Don’t look now, but she’s staring at you again!”

You bring your English textbook in front of your face in an attempt to look inconspicuous, glancing over the top of the book towards the group of girls across the library. 

“I know, Jackson, I know.”

“What are you waiting for? She’s hot, go ask her out! Stop with the staring game!” Jackson whispers again, but with the silence in the library, he might as well have yelled it out for the world to hear. Several kids working at the tables beside you glance up at your group and you really want to shove Jackson back into his seat. Or gag him. Whatever shuts him up.

Thankfully, Mark, who has proven himself to be a excellent friend, jabs Jackson in the ribs and shoves him into his chair, pushing some books in front of Jackson’s face just as the girls across the room looked their way.

“Owwwwww!” Jackson whines, slapping Mark’s shoulder. “That was so rude and unnecessary!”

“Shut up, Jackson,” is the reply he gets. “You’re a ert and an idiot.”

As Jackson whines and grumbles again about how Mark was a terrible friend and that if he was going to be treated like this, he should have just studied with the maknaes instead, Mark redirects his attention back to you.

“Junior, as much as it pains me to agree with Jackson (Heyyyyyyyy!), the staring game is really strong between you two. We all know she likes you, why don’t you ask her out? (That’s what I said!) You should think about it.”

As you turn away from Mark with a noncommittal noise, you eyes wander back to her and her friends. Mark is right (Mark is almost always right). You know she likes you, and you like her back. But you’re not sure about talking to her. You’d rather lie low and sneak glances at her from time to time, like she’s doing with you.

And you like the way she flushes and looks away when your eyes meet.

A~ I already know everything so why are you hiding
It’s written all over your face that you like me

A~ why do you look away
I know everything

You’re in English class with Mark’s notes after the study period (because really, how can you study with her across the room and JACKSON sitting in front of you? Impossible.) when you feel eyes on your back. You turn around, and there she is. She catches your eye and drops her gaze immediately, looking flustered. 

It happens everyday like clockwork.

You stare at her some more, ignoring the looks you’re attracting from the others in the classroom.

Her hair is messy, ruffled and windblown like she’s just run a race. (You know, however, that it’s a study habit - she runs her hands through her hair when she’s nervous or concentrating.) She bites her lip and taps her friend on the shoulder, then points to something on the page. The other girl pulls out a notebook and hands it over, tapping on some of the lines with a shrug, a “don’t ask me, I’m just as confused as you are” look. She flips through the book, her nose scrunched up in a look of confusion.

It’s really cute.

You’re only cut off from your musings when Jaebum slides into the seat next to yours, waving his hands in front of your face.

“Stop staring, you’re getting weird looks, and also close your mouth before you swallow a fly.”

You’re debating the pros and cons of pushing him off his chair when the teacher enters (they really have the worst timing in the history of timing, goddamnit), dropping a load of work on her desk.

(You flip him off instead, hissing a curse at his smug face and stepping on his foot.)

“Girls at the back, please come up and help me hand this work back to the class. We’ll have a review period today before the test tomorrow and I want to see everyone studying. Keep the noise down please. Understood?” The teacher hands work to her and her group of girls and they walk around the classroom, handing back materials. The class is silent, aside from the rustling of papers and a couple of kids reciting their notes from memory.

She’s the one to hand your work back, and you can see the way she’s trying not to look at you. Her eyes are cast down under her lashes, and her cheeks are pink.

You’re fairly sure yours are too.

The rest of the period is spent checking your work with Mark’s notes and cursing yourself for not paying attention in class. (was it possible for a human being to make so many grammatical mistakes in one paragraph? Mark would have killed him.) Beside you comes Jaebum’s soft snores and you snort under your breath. Typical.

You stretch out your arms with a sigh and lean back in your chair, mentally spent and catch a glimpse of her behind you. You turn around and her eyes are there.

Every time you turn around. It was like clockwork.

When I feel you looking at me
You’re always there when I turn around (Hey Girl)
Even though I look a couple of times
Even though I pretend not to be surprised
I know why you always are around me

Hey I already know everything so why are you hiding
It’s written all over your face that you like me

Hey why do you look away
I know everything

You always eat lunch inside the cafeteria with the guys. It’s become an unspoken agreement that lunch time was the time to share (steal) food, talk, tease and just be loud and rambunctious in general. 

But today you were ditching.

You’re not sure why, and you certainly don’t like to disappear for the fun of it (that’s for Jackson and Mark and occasionally the maknaes), but today you’re just not feeling up to an hour of teasing and loudness in the cafeteria. (And the food. Half cooked pasta and watery sauce is not your style.)

So here you were in a supermarket a few minutes away from the school, contemplating whether you should get a tuna or beef sandwich.

(It’s hard. Food choices are always the hardest choices to make.)

After a solid 5 minutes of internal debating, you decide on the beef. As you walk out to the cashier, you catch a glimpse of her familiar hair and your attention is piqued. 

Your brain later tells you that it’s fate.

You follow her (in a totally not stalker-like way, of course, that did not involve hiding behind shelfs and displays whatsoever) into the hair products aisle. She’s holding up two different types of shampoo and frowning at them, seemingly indecisive about which one to get. 

You know her shampoo brand. It smells light and fresh and like apples on a sunny day.

You walk over to her, pluck the shampoo - her shampoo off the shelf and hands it to her.

“Here, this one. Isn’t this the one you usually get?”

She stares up at you, eyes wide and mouth forming a little “o” and that’s when you realize that what you’d just said didn’t sound exactly normal.

“I mean, that’s the shampoo you usually smell like and I would know because you smell like that everyday and it’s distracting and…” your voice trails off. In the back of your head, a voice that sounds like Jaebum scoffs “you’re digging yourself into a deeper hole, bro”.

You’re sure your face flushes, and hers does too.

“J-Junior-ssi, what…?” she stammers, and she looks like she would like the ground to open up and swallow her whole. You would find it adorable if you hadn’t been feeling the same way.

“I mean, you’re really pretty and you look at me a lot and I also look at you a lot and I assure you I’m not a stalker but you’re really noticeable and my friends said that you look like you like me and I also like you too so I notice you a lot and that’s why I know which shampoo you use?”

You’re not sure what you’re saying at the end, but the word vomit comes out sounding like a question, and you’re ready to bolt if it comes to it.

It doesn’t.

And even if you didn’t know what you were saying, she catches the words.

“You know I like you?”

The words are so full of surprise that you can’t hold back a laugh.

You thought that I wouldn’t know that you liked me
That was cute of you (So Cute)
I want to pretend that I don’t know
But I can’t stand it anymore
I know everything come over here
Don’t avoid me anymore

Hey I already know everything so why are you hiding
It’s written all over your face that you like me

Hey why do you look away
I know everything

It’s obvious that she has no clue that she’s been looking at you like a lost puppy, and you find it too cute to break it to her. Instead, you smile at her and take her hand.

“I know you like me, and I know I like you too.”

She looks up at you from under her eyelashes, and you mentally disintegrate into a pile of mush.

“I’m dreaming.” she says and laughs disbelievingly, shaking her head.

“Dreams do come true, you know,” you smile, putting an arm around her shoulders.

She laughs again and the sound reminds you of tiny tinkling bells.

“Don’t quote Disney at me, Junior-ssi.”

“I’ll quote Disney, because Disney is magic, and so are you.”

“You’re awfully cheesy for a dream, you know.”

“I know, I know.”

Now don’t avoid me anymore and come with me
Look at me don’t be so shy
Don’t be scared even though I’m not good at this either
I think we’ll be a hot couple

You and her walk in together with your hands intwined, and your friends, being the annoying, observant little s they are, zero in on their target immediately.

“Oh ho,” Jackson says as soon as you reach their table. “Look at that. Prince Charming’s finally found his princess!” He has a Cheshire Cat grin on, and the snickers around the table don’t help at all.

“Yep. Looks like Junior finally grew a pair and asked our princess out!”

She laughs, eyes crinkling in an eyesmile at the boys and you groan and steal Jaebum’s bottle of Coke.

That also turned out to be a bad idea - Yugyeom raises his Coke up in the air and gives you a -eating grin.

“Cheers to the first day for Prince Charming and his princess!”

Let’s make our first day today
I want to hold your hand and walk around
We’re wasting time what do you want to do
Until when are you going to run from me, huh?

Hey I already know everything so why are you hiding
It’s written all over your face that you like me

Hey why do you look away
I know everything

“Since when have you known that I liked you?”

“Since the day I liked you back.”

“PARK JINYOUNG THAT’S NOT AN ANSWER!”

It’s not working
So stop fronting
I know you want me
(Let’s start talking)