Since they're still high school students, and high school students tend to have tonnes of homework to do in one day, coupled with a lot of unfinished chores left at home, Kyungsoo and Jongin couldn't meet up for their coffee break straight away after school. 

"I need to feed Jongdae's stupid goldfish." Kyungsoo deadpans, wishing it would just flush itself down the toilet or something. "I really don't get the fact that he needs to have a pet fish when he's rarely at home during the daytime. What? Do I look like I have nothing else better to do in life except to watch over his fat goldfish?"

Jongin bursts out laughing at his remark, amused to see sassy Kyungsoo coming out from his shell. 

"I think he needs to reconsider his life plans. Goldfish should definitely be crossed out from the list. I'd rather have a pet cat, don't you think?"

"I'm a dog person."

"Nini is too far away right now, but I'll bring him here one day," Kyungsoo says, smiling warmly. "Then we get to lie around in the grass all day, while Nini turns into a makeshif pillow under us. He's a golden retriever, by the way. HUGE!" He stretches his arms wide, to show how big his dog is.

"Yeah, that's what she says." Jongin replies, giving Kyungsoo the sly grin.

"ert."

"W-what? But that's what you said last time and I allowed you."

"I told you that I wasn't thinking about anything bad. It just came out that way because it's a habit. You know, like how you always use your pinky to dig off dry snot and stuck it under your table when the teacher's not looking. Habits. It just happens."

Jongin's quiet for a second before the sly grin is back. "You've been watching me, Kyungsoo."

"W-what?! Don't be ridiculous. Stop accusing me on baseless presumptions. I saw nothing. Nothing."

"You're so cute, you know. Anyway, I'll see you in the evening." Jongin has some chores to do at home, so they promise to meet up a little later. Kyungsoo, on the other hand, has a goldfish to feed. There isn't any homework to complete anytime soon, so he's basically doing nothing until 7. Most probably he'll just hang around school first, maybe read a book in the library before heading back to the dorm.

Prom is fast approaching, exactly seven days left, and he still doesn't have a date to go with him. He doesn't think it's a big deal to worry about that anymore, since Jongin and him are sort of... buddies now. Wait, that doesn't sound right. Buddies do not kiss each other on the cheeks, nor do they 'accidentally' lock lips in the bathroom, if Kyungsoo could term it as that.

Also, buddies do not reveal sentimental lovestruck feelings to one another. Although Jongin has yet to say it outright, it doesn't take a genius to figure him out. The tanned male has been losing all sense of sublety lately; openly flirting with Kyungsoo in the dance club practice room in front of the other members, eagerly greeting the smaller male in the hallway even though eyes are constantly watching him, and not to mention talking to Kyungsoo in the middle of an open field with three hundred students hanging around like a pack of wolves itching for some gossip materials.

Kyungsoo couldn't help but smile, because even though his heart is pounding hard against his ribcage, his armpit may smell oddly like a dying rat after standing under the sun too long, his eyes couldn't even see past a 100m radius, and his feet itches inside his shoes, he still feels like he's floating in the clouds. It seems that his plans may have changed a little over the past three weeks. 

Jongin will soon be his. 

__________________

Eventually, Kyungso gets tired of waiting until 7 so after taking a long shower and making sure the dorm looks neat and tidy before he leaves, he then makes his way over to Jongin's house, already knowing the way by heart. He'll probably make up some excuse later, in case Jongin asked how he knew the way so well. He's also contemplating about telling the tanned male all about his stalking escapade for the last few months, but decided against it in the end because he doesn't want to scare Jongin on their first date.

First date!

Does that mean they're boyfriends now? Kyungsoo could feel butterflies fluttering in his stomach when the memory of this morning replayed in his mind. Jongin didn't say no to him, nor did he ignore Kyungsoo after the smaller male outwardly blurted out date. It's a miracle, really.

Before he rings the doorbell though, he does the usual thing he would do everytime he comes over to stalk. He would look in through the living room window first, looking for Jongin. Said male is cleaning out the ceiling fan in the living room, a disgusted look on his face when dust keeps getting on him. Kyungsoo still thinks he's cute, despite the raggedy clothes he's wearing - a torn tank top that has seen better days and ripped jeans. From the window, Kyungsoo could also see Jongin's sisters in the background, helping out their mother in the kitchen.

Jongin's niece is nowhere to be seen, so is his father. They're probably upstairs somewhere, staying away from the living room while Jongin's still cleaning. Instead of waiting for the lanky male to finish, Kyungsoo goes over to the door, spruce up his looks a bit, making sure his leather jacket doesn't have any crease on it, before ringing the doorbell. He feels handsome that night - wearing his lucky jeans that accentuates his buttocks a little, a white round-collared T-shirt with Beatles on the front, and a black leather jacket which was a gift from his dad before coming to Seoul.

The one who opens the door is Mr Kim, Jongin's father. "Good evening, Mr Kim. I'm Do Kyungsoo, Jongin's classmate."

Mr Kim raises an eyebrow but his expression is not an unfriendly one. "Jongin didn't tell us you were coming, or were you two planning to go out later?"

"We planned to hang out for a while. Is Jongin busy?"

Jongin pops out from the living room a second later, surprised to see Kyungsoo at the doorway. "Soo, you're here?"

"In the flesh. Hey, sorry I didn't inform you earlier. If you're busy right now, I could just wait out somewhere until you turn up?" Kyungsoo suggests. He expects Jongin to agree, but Mr Kim speaks up instead.

"Why don't you stay for dinner, Kyungsoo? My wife is making curry tonight and I'm sure she'll love for you to join us." He says, all friendly and whatnot, giving Jongin's back a fatherly pat. "Plus, you could save up your allowance since you're planning to get a new phone, son."

Both Jongin and Kyungsoo couldn't argue against his logic, so the latter ends up staying for dinner. It's really noisy at the dining table, when food could potentially fly from one end to the other, Jongin's sisters arguing about everything under the sun, their mother occasionally chiming in to give a quick remark here and there, though she's mostly focused on Kyungsoo and causing Jongin to die of embarassment whenever she tells Kyungsoo about her son's childhood, Jongin's father trying to eat his meal in peace but he gets annoyed everytime his children are too loud so he'll just put in a scolding or two, and little Rahee - Jongin's niece - constantly tugging onto Kyungsoo's sleeve to get his attention. She's grown quite fond of him after he spent some time playing with her while Jongin cleaned off the fan.

It's all very... rowdy. Yet, Kyungsoo loves it a lot. He misses his family, misses his dog Nini, his bedroom filled with posters of everything TVXQ, his CD collection of Metallica, Bon Jovi, Led Zeppelin, ACDC , Guns&Roses, and Queen, his books and movies collection, all his to-die-for anime figurines and DVDs, and most of all, his guitar. The last time he played it was... almost a year ago.

Once dinner ends, Jongin whisks him off upstairs in a hurry, probably to avoid his mother because she's been babbling the whole time about Jongin's childhood that Kyungsoo could literally hear the lanky male dying inside. He would have felt the same thing if his mother talks about his past, so he doesn't complain when Jongin practically shoves him into the room and slams the door shut, locking it right after.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry you had to sit through all that. I didn't expect you to turn up here, Soo. How did you know where my house is?"

Kyungsoo's got an answer planned out in his head. "I heard from somewhere."

Jongin gives him a look. "I never told anyone where I lived."

That remark instantly raises the red flag inside Kyungsoo's head and suddenly he wished he could have thought of a better answer. It's difficult to think when one has to plan out an outfit to impress one's crush. "Uh... the school has your address, yanno. I guess that someone must have seen it, probably one of your fangirls or something, and yeah... I heard them gossiping."

"Oh really?" Jongin has that goddamn smirk again.

"Really. Now, what are we supposed to do now?"

Jongin simply shrugs, lying down on the bed. "Since my dad just indirectly says I can't go out, I guess we'll just have to hang out here. What do you wanna do, babe?"

Kyungsoo ignores the blatant use of the word 'babe' though he couldn't stop his cheeks from turning red. Jongin notices this, of course, but does not comment on it. Instead, he waits for Kyungsoo to tell him what the shorter male plan to do for the next few hours. He's got a few ideas up his sleeve, but he doesn't know if the latter would enjoy watching movies all night. Kyungsoo doesn't seem like the type to kick back and spend a few hours just watching old movies. Then again, it's not like Jongin knows him very well yet. There's still a lot about Kyungsoo that remain a mystery to him.

The shorter male then discovers a shelf filled with movies and his expression immediately changes. "You watch romance chick flicks?!"

Jongin mistakes this as Kyungsoo making fun of him, so he quickly thinks of a way to defend him. "They're my sisters' stuff. Had to keep those here because their rooms are too small." He's lying, of course. His eldest sister has the second biggest room because she's got Rahee. Since she only stay overs during the weekend, her room is mostly used to store boxes of unused things these days. Jongin doesn't have the heart to store away all his old movies, so his mum buys a three-storey shelf for him to keep them. He gazes at Kyungsoo warily, waiting for the laughter to come, but it doesn't.

Instead, he's surprised to see the shorter male taking out a few, browsing the titles before choosing three out of the stack. "I used to watch these before I started high school. My mum is a fan of cheesy romance flicks, so I'm okay with it. I prefer anime though." The words come out in a rush, because he's too excited to filter them out. So when he realizes what he just revealed to Jongin, he blanches, eyes becoming wide and cheeks turning pale.

"Are you a nerd?" Jongin asks, mildly surprised. At least he learns something new about Kyungsoo that day. The shorter male seems to be greatly embarassed about it, but Jongin doesn't mean to make it sound like a bad thing. He quickly apologizes for the misunderstanding. "W-what I mean is that, it's not wrong to be one. I mean, I'm a nerd too, I guess. I don't watch so many animes, but I know a few. If it makes you feel better, I still watch Pororo sometimes."

Kyungsoo couldn't help but smile, because yeah, that's kind of funny. A 16-year-old watching Pororo.

It's also cute.

"C-could we watch Pororo then?" Kyungsoo suggests, putting away the DVDs in his hands. He thinks it'll be a nice change to the usual mecha animes and action movies he usually watch these days. Jongin simply nods his head before bringing his laptop over to the bed. Kyungsoo joins him on the bed too, snuggling under the blanket while Jongin fixes up the cartoon. It doesn't take very long and then both boys are comfortably snuggled up side by side on the bed, lights dimmed and speakers on loud as they watch the cartoon together.

Kyungsoo would definitely say that it was the best first date he'd ever experienced thus far.

_______________

A day later, Jongin comes over to the dorm again, and this time, Kyungsoo doesn't want to stall anymore. Jongdae and Yixing are still in school, so it's the perfect time to ask Jongin to be his prom partner. While the tanned male is complaning about the lack of good treasure items in the game, Kyungsoo places his controller down, closing his eyes for a moment to take a deep breath.

He can do this. He can totally ask Jongin. They've had their first date. And they've kissed. Jongin would surely say yes to him, right?

When he opens his eyes, he surprised to see Jongin staring back so intently at him, though there's a flash of concern as if he thinks that Kyungsoo is sick again. "I'm not sick, Jongin." He assures the tanned male before Jongin could ask, giving a small smile to prove it. Jongin doesn't look convinced though.

"Tell me what you're thinking about?" He asks, putting the controller down next to cross his arms.

Alright, this is it. This is what he's been yearning to ask Jongin for a long time. Be out with it, Do Kyungsoo!

Deep breaths now. Huuuuu~ haaaaa~ ok, here goes. "JonginIlikeyousocouldyougotothepromwithme?" The words come out in a flurry, so sudden and swift that Jongin couldn't really understand what he said until it clicks in his head - like the sound of someone stepping on a twig - and his almond eyes widen considerably.

Is Kyungsoo asking me to the prom?

"Uh... are you sure you wanna go with me?" He asks back, just to be sure if what he heard was right.

Kyungsoo is blushing ten shades of red by then, head hanging low because he couldn't meet Jongin's eyes. He gives a small nod and then he hears a short gasp. Deep deep down inside (not so deep though), he thinks that Jongin's about to reject him because who in their right mind would want to go to prom with Do Kyungsoo? The boy who constantly stumbles over and embarasses himself in front of his crush, the one who says all the wrong things and gets into bad timing half of the time, the nerd who watches anime and occasionally romance movies because he misses his mummy and those kind of movies remind him of her, the sassy little prick who stalks on his crush, yet couldn't even hold a proper conversation without feeling sick in the stomach (and head).

"Yes, I'd love to." Kyungsoo's head snaps up in an instant, shocked to hear Jongin's reply. "I wanted to ask you first but I guess you beat me to it. Yixing hyung's right when he says I don't have the balls to act first. I'm such a coward, aren't I?"

Kyungsoo couldn't even think straight at that point. Jongin just said yes to him.

They're going to the prom together! "Do you like me too, Jongin?" The sudden outburst may have been because he's just to excited to filter out his words by then.

Jongin begins to blush. "Uh... y-yeah, I guess. Omigosh, why are you so bold?"

"I'm just... surprised. Happy, no doubt, but mostly surprised. You have no idea how long I wanted to ask you to go with me, but I always chickened out in the end."

"Wait, you've been trying to ask to prom? How long has it been?" Now is Jongin's turn to be surprised.

"Well, I didn't plan on going at first, but I don't know what gave me the courage in the end. I guess it's because I felt like I already know you so well eventhough we haven't started talking yet at the time. I know that you don't like crowds because you're always running away from one, so I knew there's a high chance you wouldn't want to go for prom." Jongin remains silent, watching Kyungsoo do all the talking. His heart, however, isn't so much at peace. It's beating too hard, too fast right now, fingers twitching in a weird way as if he's ready to pull Kyungsoo into his arms . "But I also know that you're not exactly what everybody thinks you are, and you told me that youself a few nights back when I was down with food poisoning. So I thought, why not give it a try? Why not try asking Jongin out, because even if you end up rejecting me, at least I know why you'd do it. You're not the kind of person who mingles much with strangers, despite your appearance and status in school. I also noticed that during Yixing's party. I mean, you look like a statue on the couch while those girls harassed you." Kyungsoo chuckles, combing back his hair with his fingers. "I may have gotten a little jealous when I saw what they did to you there. Just a little."

"A little." Jongin repeats bluntly. His heart is hammering into dangerous territory by then.

"Yeah, a little. Ok, maybe a bit more than a little. I'm just a very sensitive teenager inside, alright. I mean, I watch romantic movies because I just miss my mum lately, I'm a nerd, I've embarassed myself so many times in front of you... now, I don't even know why I'm blabbering about myself. I'm straying from the point here. What I'm trying to say is that, I may not have been sure about you accepting my request when I eventually ask you to prom, but I know that somehow... you would? It's a bit weird to put in one context right now. I'm not good with words. You're the one who read inspirational life books, not me." He snorts, and then realizing what he said.

. No one is supposed to know that because Jongin is never seen with those books in school.

"H-how did you know that?!"

There's no coming out of this one. Since he's already blurting out all his sentimental thoughts and feelings, he might as well tell the truth. "I've been stalking you for some time. Not in a bad way nooooo~ in a good way. I... uh, I wanted to get to know you better but I was afraid to talk first. So yeah, I uh, I did some following... I hope you're not mad."

Jongin couldn't even be mad, not when Kyungsoo looks so damn shy. "Then all these time... I wasn't hallucinating? That was really you outside my house? I thought I might have gone crazy because I could have sworn there are days when I see someone standing outside my room window and that's on the second floor."

"There's a tree outside your window, you know. I could climb it." Kyungsoo says simply.

"You did what?! Are you crazy? What if you fell and end up hurting yourself? Geezus, Kyungsoo, don't be so stupid next time."

Kyungsoo blinks, unsure about how to reply back. He's suprised that Jongin's not mad about his stalking escapades all these while, but he's mad about Kyungsoo climbing the tree. "Sorry, Jongin. I won't do it again." Apology is the best way to cool down Jongin's anger, and as he expects, the tanned male gradually goes back to normal, eventhough now his eyes are filled with only concern.

"Just promise not to do it again, okay. I don't know what I'd do if you got hurt." His heart might as well jump out from his ribcage by then. This is probably the first time he's blatantly showing his feelings towards Kyungsoo.The shorter male has already (sort of) expressed his own feelings - at the time when Kyungsoo had food poisoning. Then earlier, when he asked Jongin to be his prom, he also included a quick confession there, so it's only right for Jongin to be truthful to his own feelings.

Because lately, he could see rainbow over his head whenever Kyungsoo's near him. "I like you too, Soo. Just want you to know that in case you didn't understand what I meant earlier."

Kyungsoo freezes, mouth gaping slightly. There's just too many suprises to take in one day that his brain may have gone cuckoo at some point and died on him. Jongin's confession is taking too long for him to register it into his thick skull. When he doesn eventually realize that Jongin just confessed to him, the both of them just end up being stuttering messes on Kyungsoo's bed. Staring at each other, but not quite too since they're too damn shy for their own good. Kyungsoo's not even supposed to be the shy one. Jongin is.

Kyungsoo could feel his sassy inner coolness slowly slipping away.

"So uh, does this mean we're boyfriends now?" Jongin asks.

That basically puts the final blow on Kyungsoo's brain. First Jongin accepts his prom invitation, then he openly says that he likes Kyungsoo too, and now boyfriends?! Well, hell yeah!

Yet, it also seems too fast, too soon for them to becomes boyfriends. They've only kissed once, sort of. Kyungsoo blurts out about liking Jongin in the middle of a stomach crisis, so could that even count as a confession? He blurts it out again while he asked Jongin to the prom, but it was too fast. It's not romantic enough for him. So far, Jongin's confession happens to be the best. They've also had one date, in Jongin's room, watching Pororo until midnight.

Prom's in six days. And Kyungsoo hasn't gotten a suit for it yet.

It's just too soon to commit to something as important and special as 'boyfriends'.

"Not yet, Jongin. I think I wanna date first before we, uh... become official. I guess. It's just that I don't it to seem like we're rushing, you know."

Jongin somehow understands, so he simply agrees to the notion. It's already getting late by then, and Jongdae should be back soon. Plus, his mum would also want to come back before dinner in case she needs help around the kitchen. He tells Kyungsoo that he needs to leave and the shorter male look conflicted for a moment.

"Hey, could I ask you one thing before you go?"

"What is it?"

"Could I, uh... k-kiss you?" He stutters cutely, not meeting Jongin's eyes once more, and the tanned male thinks that his classmate is just too adorable for his own good. He leans down until their faces are just inches away from each other and Kyungsoo shuts his eyes tight, waiting for those plump, red lips to descend upon his.

The kiss is sweet and short, no tongues involved, leaving butterflies in both of their tummies when Jongin eventually pulls back. "I'll see you in the morning then." Jongin says. "Good night, Soo. Don't sleep too late."

"Yeah you too." Kyungsoo doesn't see Jongin to the door because the tanned male knows where it is. When Jongin finally leaves the dorm, he takes the biggest pillow on his bed and squeals into it.

"Whoa there, little squish, you might wanna hold on your hormones a little. I could smell it all the way from the door." Jongdae's back. "Oh by the way, I just saw Jongin leave. He looks a little red there. Did both of you kiss or something?"

"Shut up, hyung. And get out of my room. Can't you see I'm having a moment?"

"I'm gonna go tell Yixing." And then Jongdae's gone, definitely off to tell his boyfriend. Kyungsoo's too happy to care right then. Let the world know. Jongin is finally his! (sort of, since they're not exactly boyfriends yet)

______________

LONG LONG LOOOOOOOONG update! My EXAMS ARE OVER! It's OVER, everyone. Which means I'll be updating this tomorrow. Sorry for any mistakes.