Title: Between The Shelves 
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Sehun/Jongin 
Word count: 8600~
Summary:  ‘John Green? Really?’ Is written on the note and at that moment, Sehun wants nothing but the ground to swallow him whole becauseoh my god someone saw me reading a John Green book my whole life is ruined there goes my reputation I’m sorry parents I’ve brought dishonour onto the family, Sehun thinks with increasing alarm and horror.
Warning: spoilers for John Green's Paper Towns and Markus Zusak's The Book Thief

Sehun is thoroughly engrossed in a John Green novel (Paper Towns, to be exact), hunched over the  desk and eyes moving rapidly, practically drinking up the words as he reads them. He’s sitting at a table tucked away in the far corner of the library because people make him nervous (and he would definitely prefer not to be caught reading a book that’s mainly written for teenage girls). Aside from the occasional cough or sneeze, it’s completely silent. Just the way Sehun prefers it to be.

A quick glance at his watch tells him that it’s 10.30 pm, or in other words, time to go home. So, he reads even quicker because he will find out if Margo goes back with Quentin, he will. His eyes practically race across the page and when he reaches the end of the book, his mouth hangs open in shock because oh my god what kind of ending was that?! He flips through the book again, looking for an explanation because why Margo didn’t go back with Quentin. But after skim-reading the last 3 chapters multiple times, Sehun gives up and sits back in his chair with a huff of frustration.

Taking a few moments to collect his thoughts, Sehun takes his phone out and decides that he’s going to angrily tweet John Green because who better to vent his frustrations at than the author himself right, Sehun muses. Mad English skills finally being of use, Sehun quickly types up a tweet, and after making sure he’s used proper grammar and correct spelling, he taps Tweet with a flick of his wrist. That’ll teach him for giving us false hope, Sehun smugly thinks.

After that whole debacle is over, Sehun is completely ready to walk back to his dorm and collapse onto his bed as soon as he enters the room, until he realises that he needs to pee very badly. A second of internally debating with himself is all it takes for Sehun to full-on sprint towards the library bathroom, legs pressed together, making a very convincing imitation of a penguin.

Bladder finally relieved, Sehun walks out of the bathroom with a pleased smile on his face and he makes his way back to his table. He packs up his things; phone and earphones (he’d taken them out before the book got all intense), haphazardly shoving them into his worn, canvas backpack. Picking up Paper Towns, Sehun slings his backpack on his shoulders and pads over to the bookshelf he took it from. However, he somehow manages to trip over his own feet and ends up dropping the book when his arms flail around wildly in an attempt to keep his balance.

Miraculously, Sehun manages to steady himself and not totally faceplant on the carpeted floor. He looks around quickly to make sure no one saw him and his frantic arm-flailing, brushing off non-existent dust from his shoulders. Sehun clears his throat so he looks extra casual (and not like his face was two seconds from being super best friends with the floor) and picks the book up, after checking one last time, to see if anyone was around.   

Too busy trying to act casual, Sehun almost misses the piece of paper when it flutters out of the book and onto the floor. When he notices it, Sehun’s confused. I’m pretty sure there wasn’t a note in there before, he suspiciously thinks, bending down to pick the note up.

John Green? Really? Is written on the note and at that moment, Sehun wants nothing but the ground to swallow him whole because oh my god someone saw me reading a John Green novel my whole life is ruined there goes my reputation I’m sorry parents I’ve brought dishonour onto the family, Sehun thinks with increasing alarm and horror.

Cheeks coloured in a flaming red, Sehun whips his head in either direction in an attempt to find the person that left the note. When he sees no one at all, Sehun takes a deep breath, calming himself down and tries to force down the blush on his face, but to no avail. Looking very much like a tomato, Sehun shoves the note into his jean pocket and continues on his way to the Fiction section to put the book back. After what seems like forever, Sehun eventually reaches the bookcase and hurriedly puts the book back into a random empty spot, not bothering to see if it’s even the right place. He brisk-walks to the exit, head bowed down to avoid any eye contact whatsoever and he breathes a sigh of relief when the cool air of the autumn night greets him, finally out of the library.

Panting like he’d just run a marathon, Sehun takes a moment to compose himself and puts in all of his effort to not die right then and there. After approximately 4 minutes and 38 seconds of internally screaming someone saw me reading a John Green book oh my god and other variations of it, Sehun mentally gives himself a pep talk.

He steps onto the sidewalk and thinks, It was probably just some random person, deliberately stepping on every dry leaf on the concrete pavement, definitely not anyone I know. 

I mean, it’s a huge campus and there are loads of students right? Sehun reasons to himself, enjoying the satisfying crunch of the leaves beneath his shoes. What are the odds of that person even finding me ever again? And by then, Sehun has pretty much pushed down any embarrassment he felt before and looking back at it, someone seeing him read a John Green book isn’t that bad anyway. At least no one found him watching My Little Pony on one of the library computers or something (coughchanyeolcough).
Feeling better and a lot less like he wanted to hide under a rock and never come out, Sehun continues on his way home. The air is cool, but not too cool, there isn’t anyone else on the sidewalk and when he gets back to the dorm, he can just change into his most comfortable pyjamas and sleep. Sounds like the perfect night to me, Sehun happily hums to himself.

A 15 minute walk and plenty of leave-stepping later, Sehun opens the door of his dorm and is greeted with the sight of his (presumably drunk and) passed out roommate, Chanyeol. Sehun shakes his head, sighing as he carefully shuts the door, because an awake and drunk Chanyeol isn’t something Sehun wants to deal with on a Tuesday night.

Glancing at Chanyeol, who’s still fully dressed with his shoes on, lying on his bed facedown and a wet spot of saliva just beside his face, Sehun quietly changes out of his clothes, into his best pyjamas (a pair of worn shorts and a t-shirt with a faded “I <3 New York” on the front) and promptly collapses onto his bed, comfortably burrowing into his covers.
```
The next morning, Sehun wakes to the sound of Chanyeol loudly groaning from his bed, completely covered by his blanket to block out the sunlight that’s streaming in through the windows. Eyes still crusted with sleep and breath tasting like death, Sehun only feels a little bit sorry for Chanyeol, because really, it’s his own fault that he decided to get drunk on a week night. Sehun decides not to get out of bed just yet and instead, tries to will himself to sleep again. It’s a Wednesday and fortunately, he hasn’t got any classes so what better way to spend his morning than with some much needed sleep, is what Sehun thinks.

However, after approximately 7 minutes of trying to go back to sleep, the sound of Chanyeol continuously groaning and whining annoys Sehun too much. So, with a huff of frustration, Sehun reluctantly pulls his covers off and pads over to the bathroom, ignoring the fact that his legs are practically freezing. He rifles through the cabinet above the sink and manages to find a few painkillers. Sehun grabs a bottle of water from off his table and walks over to Chanyeol’s bed, tip-toeing over the various clothes and books littered on the floor.

Holding the bottle and the pills, Sehun whips the covers right off Chanyeol’s body, completely ignoring his surprised shout.

“Here,” Sehun says, shoving the pills right in Chanyeol’s face. Chanyeol looks up at Sehun, eyes squinted and nose scrunched up in irritation but still, he sits up, wincing at the glare of the sunlight and gingerly grabs the painkillers from Sehun’s hands, swallowing them with a swig of water. Flopping back down onto the bed, Chanyeol throws a hand over his eyes with a slightly less agitated sigh and says, “I love you.”

“I know,” Sehun simply replies.
~~~
“Okay, it’s been 5 hours. It’s already 2 pm and I do not want to waste our one free day in the week stuck in this room just because you’re hungover.” Sehun forcefully tugs on Chanyeol’s limp arm, mustering all the strength he has in his gangly arms to pull his dumb roommate up. Chanyeol groans but gets up anyway, hair sticking up in odd angles and a small line of dry drool on his face that makes Sehun recoil in disgust.

Chanyeol reluctantly swings his legs over onto the floor and drags himself to the bathroom, Sehun smiling widely at his retreating back. “Don’t take too long! I want to leave in half an hour!” Sehun shouts through the door once Chanyeol enters the bathroom, making sure his voice is clearly heard over the sound of water pelting the floor of their shower.

After around 20 minutes in the bathroom, Chanyeol emerges looking only slightly less disgusting than he did before. It only takes another 5 minutes, and the two boys are walking (Chanyeol doing more of a zombie-trudge than actual walking, really) down the corridor towards the exit of the building.

Once they’re outside, Chanyeol with his arms crossed in front of his chest and sunglasses resting on his nose bridge to block the sun from worsening his headache, asks, “Cool. We’re outside. Can we go back in now?” He furrows his eyebrows and says it in a tone that suggests that he really would rather be anywhere but outside.  

Sehun stares at Chanyeol, disgruntled, but suddenly lights up and exclaims, “Let’s go visit Jongdae at the café!” Reluctantly, Chanyeol agrees with a sullen, “Fine,” and with a bounce in his step, Sehun says, “Great. Let’s go then!” with a wave of a hand in the general direction they’re supposed to go in.

Sehun trods along the sidewalk, cheerfully commenting on the “pretty leaves” and the “nice temperature” and Chanyeol walks behind him, hands deep in his pockets and shoulders slumped as he mutters, “What kind of pills has he been taking. Geez.”
~~
The bell above the door tinkles, signalling the duo’s entrance and Sehun waves at Jongdae, who’s standing at the cashier, taking the order of the customer in front of him. However, he still greets Sehun and Chanyeol with a loud “Welcome to Steamy Beans!” The both of them line up and once they reach the front of line, Jongdae says, “So, what brings you to my humble workplace?” with his thin lips curled up into a smirk that always him look a little feline.

“No classes today,” Sehun cheerfully replies, taking a look at the menu board.

“Lucky,” Jongdae grumbles. Grudgingly, he asks, “So what do you two s want to order?”

“I’ll have an iced green tea latte, please,” Sehun says after a few moments of consideration.

“Iced green tea latte, it is,” Jongdae says, punching the order in on the screen.

"Chanyeol,” Jongdae starts to say without looking up from the screen “what do y-“ He lifts his head and stops when he notices just how bad Chanyeol looks.

“Wow, you look like ,” Jongdae unsympathetically notes, mirth glittering in his eyes.

“I know,” Chanyeol grumbles, taking his sunglasses off and rubbing his sore eyes.

Jongdae only cackles and punches in an order for a long black coffee. Double shot.
~~
Sehun and Chanyeol manage to squeeze themselves in a corner of the café amongst the throngs of fellow students hanging around for their daily dose of caffeine. As soon as they seat themselves, Jongdae places their drinks on the table and whirls away without another word, too busy handling all the other customers to talk to the duo. The both of them sip their drinks in silence, snippets of conversation around them more than enough to keep them entertained.

Chanyeol has taken his phone out, probably in the midst of another Crossy Road session, eyebrows furrowed into a look of intense concentration. Sehun ignores him and looks around at the other customers of the café. Surprisingly, his eyes land on a particular guy (Sanghyuk or something?) who just happens to be in the same History class as him. The dude is typing words into his laptop almost frantically and there are about 2 empty mugs in front of him, and a third one half empty.

“Wonder what he’s so stressed about,” Sehun muses to himself, taking another sip of his green tea latte.

Sehun takes a better look at the guy’s books that seem to cover 90% of the tabletop and attempts to read one of the titles. He reads “World War” on one of them, but that’s all he manages to see because suddenly, Jongdae is standing in front of him with a chair that he must’ve taken from another table and he plunks himself on the chair with a heavy sigh.

“Ugh, it’s been super hectic today.” Jongdae says, rubbing his face tiredly. “And freaking Luhan didn’t even come to work today. Apparently, he’s ‘studying’,” Jongdae makes quotation marks in the air with his fingers when he says the last word, which Sehun laughs at. Jongdae has this irrational hate for Luhan that Sehun suspects is just Jongdae aggressively denying his attraction to the other male.

Jongdae continues ranting about Luhan, saying how he’s a “lazy with the flattest I’ve ever seen” but Sehun just drowns him out, having heard this too many times to count. He looks over Jongdae’s shoulder at his classmate who looks like he might break his laptop’s keyboard with his borderline violent typing. Sehun looks at the book title that he didn’t get to see earlier and reads it properly. On the cover, the words “World War II: A History” are splayed in bright red and Sehun thinks, hmm, strange, I don’t remember getting any History assignments.

But a split second later Sehun remembers; eyes wide and an expression of true horror on his face, that yes, they did in fact get an assignment and oh , I totally forgot about it I’m going to die. Sehun looks at the time on his phone and it’s 4:15 pm. He looks at Chanyeol, who’s nodding his head at whatever Jongdae’s saying, but his eyes are still glued to his phone screen.

“-came into work wearing ing ripped skinny jeans. Like who the hell does he think he is?”

“Yeah, what’s wrong with him,” Chanyeol comments half-heartedly, just saying whatever will please Jongdae.

“Right?!” Jongdae huffs, crossing his arms in front of his chest, scowling deeply.

“I mean, the least he could do is wear normal jeans, with no holes in them, like a normal person but no. He just does whate-“
It’s at that moment that Sehun stands up abruptly, slamming his hands on the table which manages to startle both Chanyeol and Jongdae, who both look at Sehun in surprised confusion.

“What the-“ Jongdae starts to say, but Sehun doesn’t hear him because he’s already frantically running towards the entrance of the café and within a few seconds, he’s out the door.  

Jongdae and Chanyeol look at each other then back at the now closed café door, and Sehun comes rushing into the café again, making a bee-line to their table. He grabs Chanyeol by the wrist and says a quick “See you, Jongdae,” before exiting the café once again, towing a very confused Chanyeol behind him.
~~
“Why are we running?!” shouts a panting Chanyeol (he really needs to start working out).

“I forgot all about this History essay that I’m supposed to do it’s due tomorrow and I haven’t done anything at all,” Sehun says, all in one breath, not even slowing his pace.

“Oh oka- wait, then why did you drag me with you?” Chanyeol replies, “I don’t even take History, you idiot!” tripping over his own feet but not falling over thanks to the tight grip that Sehun has on his wrist.

“I need someone to help me get the information from the textbooks,” Sehun says, “If you’re helping me read all those books, I can get this essay done even quicker.”

“But-“

“Shut up, you’re gonna help me.”
~~
After a quick sprint back to the dorm to get Sehun’s backpack and laptop, Sehun and Chanyeol rush over to the library and burst into there with Sehun ordering Chanyeol to “find a table and get my laptop out” while he darts to the History section in search of textbooks related to World War II.

It doesn’t take him long to find books that he needs but when he gets to the table, Chanyeol is once again playing Crossy Road, sitting slouched on the cushioned chair. Sehun snatches the phone out of Chanyeol’s hand and completely ignores Chanyeol’s give that back, . Sehun precariously balances the stack of books on one arm while his free hand holds the phone away from Chanyeol’s reach.

“Chanyeol, if you do this for me, I promise I won’t complain when you’re awake at o’ clock playing the guitar or rapping or whatever. For the rest of the year.”

Chanyeol doesn’t look very convinced so Sehun reluctantly adds, “I’ll even do your laundry.” As soon as the words leave his mouth, Sehun regrets it, already dreading the extra time he’ll have to take out of his Saturday mornings to do the dumb laundry.

Chanyeol agrees readily, as expected, smiling widely in the way that makes him look like a psychopath and Sehun gives Chanyeol an I-detest-you-with-my-entire-being look that Chanyeol grins wider at. Dumping the tower of books in front of Chanyeol, Sehun miserably plonks himself down on the chair next to Chanyeol and grabs one of the textbooks, opening it to the index page.

“Now that we’ve got that out of the way,” Sehun says, still pouting, “Let’s start by looking for everything related to Germany’s conquests.”
~~
 Approximately 6 hours later, Sehun types the last word in his essay and sags into his chair with immense relief. At some point in those 6 hours, Chanyeol had gone to the convenience store to get a few drinks and some snacks (even though, technically, they aren’t allowed to eat in the library) which they both had gobbled down, without a second thought. On the table sits a mess of highlighters, papers, books and food wrappers and beside Sehun, a tired Chanyeol sits slumped against the chair, eating a packet of honey butter chips and listening to music on his phone.

Sehun hits Chanyeol on the shoulder and he startles, pulling one earphone out of his ear. “Huh, what? Did something happen?” Chanyeol asks.

“I finished the essay!” Sehun says excitedly.

“ing finally,” Chanyeol grumbles as he stands up, stretching his arm and back. “Let’s get out of here, man, I’m exhausted.”

Sehun stands as well and starts cleaning the table. He pushes his things to one side and grabs his backpack, carelessly throwing his things into it.

“I’m gonna go to the toilet.” Chanyeol says.

“Sure,” Sehun replies without looking up from where he’s stacking the textbooks into a manageable pile so he can put them back where they should be.

Chanyeol makes his way to the toilet while Sehun heads in the other direction, towards the bookshelves. Sehun meticulously makes sure that all the textbooks are exactly where he found them and returns to the table once he’s finished with that. When he’s within 20 feet of the table, he notices that there’s a book on it. 

“Did I miss one?” Sehun thinks, puzzled.

Sehun nears the table and when his eyes land on the book cover, he reads “The Book Thief” and the only thought that flits through his mind is what. He tentatively picks up the book and opens it to the first page only to find a piece of paper in it. Immediately, Sehun remembers the note that he got the night before and blushes, the embarrassment still fresh in his mind. The writing on this note seems very similar to the one he got before and Sehun’s cheeks turn even redder at the thought that this might be the same exact person that saw him reading a John Green book.

“Hair the colour of lemons”
Try this. 

At the bottom of the paper, there’s a drawing of a boy sitting at a table with his messy head of hair bent and coloured in with a yellow highlighter. Sehun consciously runs his hands through his own bleached blonde hair and can’t help but think that the drawing looks awfully similar to himself.

Before he has time to explore the thought, Chanyeol shows up at the table, grumbling to himself.

“Someone left a ing banana peel on the toilet floor,” Chanyeol says, rubbing his gingerly, “Like who the hell even does that?!”

Sehun tries to shove the paper into his jeans pocket before Chanyeol can see and possibly ask him about it but he’s too late. 

Chanyeol has seen it. “What’s that?” Chanyeol asks, curiosity colouring his voice, hand still on his sore .

“Um, nothing. It’s nothing.” Sehun coughs, trying to be as casual as he can possibly be. But of course, Chanyeol being as perceptive as he is and with Sehun being a ty liar, Chanyeol sees right through him.

Chanyeol holds out his hand, expectant look on his face as he motions for the paper and Sehun slowly gives the paper to him, reluctant. Chanyeol grabs the paper and Sehun watches as his eyebrows raise in surprise and then he smirks, side-eyeing Sehun knowingly.

“Is there something you want to tell me, Sehun?” Chanyeol asks, dangling the paper between his fingers.

“It’s just a random note,” Sehun mumbles, not making eye contact with Chanyeol as he picks up his backpack and slings it on his shoulders. “Doesn’t look random to me,” Chanyeol says, taking a closer look at the drawing on the note. Sehun rolls his eyes and snatches the note right from under Chanyeol’s nose. “Can we just go now?” Sehun asks.

Not bothering to wait for Chanyeol, Sehun just walks away, but of course, it doesn’t take much for Chanyeol to quickly catch up with him. “Hey, don’t avoid my questions, dude,” an exasperated Chanyeol says, “The note said ‘Try this’ so I’m assuming you’ve exchanged notes before.”

“I’ve only gotten one note from them before,” Sehun replies, looking slightly uncomfortable at Chanyeol’s persistence. “You did? And you didn’t tell me?” Chanyeol asks, scandalised, “I thought we had something special man,” he adds, shaking his head in disappointment.

“It was last night and it was just a short little note. Look, it’s really not a big deal,” Sehun says, shrugging nonchalantly. He stops walking and turns to Chanyeol, “They’re probably just messing with me or something.”

“You might be right but why would they draw you, decently, if they were messing with you?”

“I don’t know. Maybe that’s their way of messing with people?” Sehun tries to reason, but he doesn’t look too convinced by his own argument either.

“Why don’t you try looking for whoever this is?” Chanyeol says, looking at Sehun expectantly. “I mean, it doesn’t really matter who it is right?”

Sehun hesitates. “I guess… you have a point,” he mutters, looking physically pained that he’s actually admitting that Chanyeol’s right.

“Of course I do.” Chanyeol smiles, pleased, “I’ll even help you, dude. I mean, really, it could literally be anyone. It could even be that random dude over there.” He says, and suddenly, like he’s just made a huge revelation, Chanyeol’s eyes widen, “Holy , it could actually be that dude.”

Chanyeol jogs in the direction of the said male, to Sehun’s absolute horror. Sehun rushes after Chanyeol, desperately trying to stop his dumb best friend before he does anything that could possibly ruin Sehun’s life forever. But he isn’t quick enough (stupid Chanyeol and his abnormally long legs).  Chanyeol taps on the guy’s shoulder and Sehun takes that as his cue to frantically run and hide behind the nearest bookshelf because while he thinks he might actually die from the embarrassment, he still sort of wants to listen in on the conversation.

“Hey, I’m Chanyeol,” Chanyeol greets the shocked stranger.

“Oh hi, Chanyeol. I’m um Kyungsoo,” the guy says, confused. Chanyeol evidently has no tact whatsoever and just says to Kyungsoo straight up, without any preamble. I’ll make him think I genuinely suspect that he sent the note and if he really did, he’ll probably freak out. Nice. “Listen, I know you did it.”

If it’s even possible, Kyungsoo’s eyes widen even more, and his plump lips part in shock. He seems to gather himself after a few seconds, turning in his chair to face Chanyeol completely and says, “I’m really sorry don’t beat me up please I just-“

Jackpot. “Dude it’s fine. No harm done-”

“-thought that putting a banana peel on the floor would be funny.”

“It’s just a little note anyw-“ Chanyeol says nonchalantly before he realises what Kyungsoo really said,” wait YOU DID THAT?!”

“Yeah,” Kyungsoo nods his head guiltily, looking down at the carpeted floor.

“I freaking fell on my because of that, man,” Chanyeol exclaims. “Not cool, dude.” He shakes his head, disgruntled. It was a pretty clever prank, though. Why didn’t I think of it? Chanyeol thinks grudgingly, a little impressed.

“I’m sorry,” Kyungsoo mumbles, face screwed up in shame and a slight terror because who knows what this Chanyeol person could do to him? Kyungsoo fearfully thinks to himself, hesitantly chancing a look at the other guy’s face.

From behind his Very Inconspicuous hiding place, Sehun watches as Chanyeol’s expression morphs into one of shock and disbelief while the dude (Kyungsoo or something like that if Sehun heard correctly) looks slightly sorry and a tad bit embarrassed after revealing the fact that he was the one that put the banana peel on the bathroom floor. Sehun snorts when Kyungsoo looks up at Chanyeol with a fearful expression because honestly, despite his intimidating height, Chanyeol’s about as scary as a litter of kittens. And the closest thing he could get to being violent or frightening is when he’s playing Cooking Mama (but that’s a story for another day).

Sehun continues eavesdropping on their conversation, not really catching all the words but hearing enough to actually understand what’s going on. When someone taps him on the shoulder, Sehun yelps, jumping a foot in the air and almost knocking over the bookshelf. He whirls around and places himself into a default “fight me” pose, hands up in a classic karate position, ready for possible kidnappers. He looks at the offending person with wide eyes and the guy puts his hands up in surrender, holding a book in his hand.

“Woah, there.’ He says, “Didn’t mean to scare you.” He continues sheepishly, scratching the back of his head.

he’s really hot, Sehun thinks morosely. He tries to school his face into a friendly one and he hopes to any and all the gods up there that it comes out as he wants it to (possibly also with the added effect of cherry blossoms and sparkles flying around his face, 
with background music of ‘Almost Paradise’) and not like he’s severely constipated.

“Oh it’s fine.” Sehun says, leaning an elbow on the bookshelf, trying to act all cool and suave. He stays like that for a while, openly staring at the stranger when he clears his throat. “I sort of need to put this book back.” The stranger’s sentence trails off at the end and Sehun mentally hits himself.

Of course! That’s why he tapped me on the shoulder god damn it. 

Sehun blushes for what seems to be the hundredth time that night and hurriedly tries to get out of the stranger’s way but not again , Sehun thinks as he trips over his feet for the second time that week alone and falls right onto the stranger’s chest.

The guy manages to stop both of them tumbling to the ground with his secure grip around Sehun’s upper arms.

Just kill me now I have nothing left to live for my life is a joke.
Sehun picks himself off the stranger’s chest, thinking, he smells like heaven how can someone smell so good, but absolutely mortified because wow I just fell on a complete stranger’s chest nice one Oh Sehun real smooth.

“I am so sorry,” Sehun says in a horrified whisper. The stranger simply chuckles and at that moment, Sehun swears the light of heaven actually physically shines on this stranger and he swears he can hear an actual choir singing.

He steps around the dude and stands there awkwardly as the guy puts the book away. Sehun stares at the back of the stranger’s plain black long-sleeved shirt and when the guy turns around, Sehun quickly looks away, pretending to be looking somewhere else.

“Yeah so I’m just gonna go now you know it’s getting late-“ And he remembers that Chanyeol is actually still in the library, “Oh there’s my friend. Bye, nice meeting you.” Sehun says without pausing, brisk walking away before the stranger replies.

He walks up to Chanyeol, completely ignoring the fact that his friend is in fact talking to someone. They’re laughing and continue to do so, totally ignoring Sehun’s presence. Still chuckling, Chanyeol grabs Sehun by the shoulder, comfortably slinging an arm around and he says, “Sehun, man, I have to introduce you to, Do Kyungsoo.” And Sehun thinks just a few minutes ago they really didn’t look like they were going to get along so what the hell happened as he plasters a grimace slash smile, greeting Chanyeol’s new BFF.

“He’s the one that put the banana peel on the floor!” Chanyeol practically shouts into Sehun’s ear. “What a genius.” Kyungsoo vibrates with laughter. And they once again start laughing and Sehun stands there, trying to make sense of the entire situation.

Suddenly, he feels a tap on his shoulder and whirls around to see the same stranger from before.

What have I done to deserve this, god. I promise I won’t litter anymore,  I’ll even start recycling.

“Hey, you left before I could introduce myself,” he says, pouting a little which Sehun most definitely does not find extremely adorable nope not at all. “I’m Jongin, by the way,” He smiles and reaches a hand out to shake Sehun’s.

Sehun takes it, albeit hesitantly and mentally pats himself on the back because yeah, his knees might be wobbly but he hasn’t collapsed to the ground good job Oh Sehun.

“There you are Kyungsoo. Didn’t think you’d actually wait for me.” Jongin says teasingly.

“I am a good person and an even better friend. Of course I waited for you.” Kyungsoo deadpans. Jongin simply replies with a laugh.

“Hey aren’t you in my music class?” Chanyeol asks Jongin, suddenly.

“Hmm, I think I might be.” Jongin replies,” You have Mrs. Yoo? Monday, 11:30 am?”

“Yep, that’s the one. You’re-” Chanyeol’s face scrunches up into concentration. After a few moments he shouts, “Aha! It’s Kim Jongin, right?”

“That’s me,” Jongin replies, a charming grin on his lips. Chanyeol slings his free arm around Jongin’s shoulder like they’ve been friends forever and recounts the story of the banana peel to Jongin. Jongin’s laugh choruses to the library as he listens to Chanyeol eagerly retell the story. Meanwhile Kyungsoo sits there torn between feeling proud of himself and feeling embarrassed. Sehun accidentally makes eye contact with Jongin, too late to turn away from where he was staring at the length of Jongin’s neck as he laughed.

Once his laugh dies to down to a chuckle, Jongin asks Sehun, “So, what’s your name?” 

“Me? Oh, Sehun. My name’s Oh Sehun.” Sehun coughs.

Jongin smiles, eyes curving up into pretty crescents. “Hello there, Oh Sehun.” Jongin laughs. Deciding it’d probably be better to talk to Sehun without Chanyeol between them, Jongin ducks under Chanyeol’s arm and turns to Sehun while Chanyeol sits himself down opposite Kyungsoo and starts babbling animatedly about something. Probably something totally random, but Kyungsoo doesn’t look disturbed. He actually looks like he’s enjoying Chanyeol’s endless chatter, Sehun thinks with horror.

His train of thought is interrupted when Jongin asks a question. “So, what do you major in?”

“Oh, I, uh, major in History.” Sehun replies, not meeting Jongin’s eyes because he’s an awkward little turtle. “And minor in Economics.”

Jongin’s eyes widen in surprise and a smile spreads on his face. “Hey, I take Economics too! “I’m really bad at it though.” Jongin pouts. “I was just thinking of finding a tutor or something, actually.”

After a few moments of hesitation, Sehun says, “I-“ He clears his throat, “I could help you if you’d like.”

“Wait, really? You’d do that?” Jongin asks, bewildered.

“Yeah, sure. I mean, only if you’re okay with it, you know.” Sehun practically stops breathing for a while, waiting for Jongin’s answer.

“Are you kidding? I’m so close to failing this class. You are an angel.” The moment Jongin says that last sentence, Sehun has to fight to keep his cool. Don’t lose your chill in front of a cute boy that you barely know, Sehun. Keep it together.

Sehun gathers his scattered thoughts caused by Jongin’s comment and replies, making sure to keep his voice carefully level so he doesn’t betray the fact that the inner teenage girl in him is bawling his eyes out in happiness. “No problem at all. Really.” Sehun smiles.

“Nice.” Jongin grins. “How about we start this Saturday? Is that okay with you?”

“Yeah, definitely. I’m pretty sure I’m free all day so whatever time that’s good for you is good for me.”

“I have dance from 10 am to 12 pm. So how does 1:30 pm sound?”

“Great!” Sehun clears his throat, mentally telling his excitement to take a ing seat, god damn. “I mean, yeah sure, cool, that’s fine.”

Jongin looks at Sehun with mirth twinkling in his eyes. “It’s a date then.” He says, teasingly, almost as if he knows just how to make Sehun blush.

Sehun practically chokes on his spit, brain short-circuiting at the word “date”. With his cheeks coloured a particularly flaming shade of red, Sehun manages to sputter out a reply after taking a few seconds to reboot his brain. “Date?” Sehun mumbles nervously.

“Yep. Date,” Jongin replies, smiling widely, the perfect picture of casual.

Sehun swallows. “Date. Okay.” He musters up all the courage he has and looks Jongin right in the eyes. “See you on Saturday, then.”

Chanyeol then appears and Sehun swears that at that moment, he’s never been so glad to have Chanyeol and his disruptive self as his best friend. “We kind of have to leave now, Sehun.” Chanyeol jerks his head towards the librarian tidying up the last of the tables. 

“Right, of course.” Sehun hikes his backpack further up his shoulder. “I guess, we’ll be going then,” he says to Jongin.

“You and Kyungsoo wanna walk out with us?” Chanyeol asks, hopeful. Jongin tilts his body to the side, hands in his jean pockets, to see around Sehun at Kyungsoo who’s packing his stuff up. Sighing, he says, “Kyungsoo takes literal ages to pack his things up. So, you guys go on ahead without us.” Jongin beams at the pair.

“Fair enough.” Chanyeol shrugs. “See you soon, then!”

The pair turn around and exit the library but not before Jongin hollers out a “Don’t forget Saturday, Oh Sehun.”
Chanyeol wiggles his eyebrows at Sehun, “Already made plans, eh? I see how it is.” which earns him an embarrassed, hissed retort of shut the up from the other boy.

Jongin watches from far as Sehun’s fair complexion turns a wonderful shade of pink and thinks, “Cute.”
He walks over to Kyungsoo, who’s putting the last book back into his backpack. “Sehun’s adorable,” he comments offhandedly. “I wonder if he took the book.”

Jongin opens his mouth to say something else but Kyungsoo stops him with a finger to his lips. “You’re my best friend, Jongin. But stop right there.” Jongin’s eyes go cross-eyed looking at Kyungsoo’s finger, and he jerks his head away, dislodging the offending finger.

“But-“

“Nope. Stop.” Kyungsoo walks away, ignoring a profusely pouting Jongin.

“You’re a horrible best friend.” Jongin whines, dejectedly walking after Kyungsoo.
~~~
The alarm on his phone rings and Sehun blearily opens his eyes, blindly reaching out for his phone and he sighs in relief when he manages to switch it off. I hate Thursdays, Sehun thinks, burying his face in his pillow, unwilling to face the busy day ahead of him. Reluctantly, he picks himself up, thinking, I’m a strong independent man. I can do this. And with that, Sehun begins his day.
The entire day, Sehun alternates between classes and Jongdae’s café for an occasional pick-me-up. In the midst of packing his things away during his last class of the day, a few of his books fall out of his backpack and Sehun bends down, swearing softly. He gathers the books up but stops in his tracks when he sees The Book Thief among them.

I totally forgot about this, he thinks as he stands up.

Shrugging to himself, maybe I’ll read it tonight.

And that’s exactly what he does that night. And even the night after that. Until on Friday night, he finally finishes the book and is reduced into a puddle of tears because why did Rudy have to die like that? His pillow case is wet with his tears as he hugs the book tightly to his chest, whimpering “Liesel didn’t even get to say goodbye”.

At that moment, Chanyeol walks in with Kyungsoo, both laughing.

Noticing Sehun curled into a fetal position on his bed, Chanyeol tentatively asks, “Sehun, are you okay?”

Sehun manages to whisper through his soft sniffling, “The Book Thief.”

“Are you crying over a book? Again?”

Sehun replies with a choked sob, fresh tears trailing down his cheek.

Chanyeol says to Kyungsoo, “Just ignore him. He gets way too emotional when he reads books.”

Kyungsoo waves a hand dismissively. “I’m used to it. Jongin actually read that book not too long ago and he was even worse. He was literally on the floor, crying,” Kyungsoo replies, “For a solid three hours.”

And then Chanyeol says something that Sehun barely catches. Something along the lines of “they were made for each other.” And they both burst into laughter, continuing to talk about whatever they were talking about before.
Sehun falls asleep to Kyungsoo and Chanyeol’s murmured conversation and the next morning, (or afternoon), he wakes up and he can barely open his eyes, too swollen from all the crying he did. He takes his phone and sees that he’d gotten a text while he was sleeping.

“Are we still on for tomorrow? 1:30 pm? ^_^ -Jongin”

And Sehun frantically scrambles out of bed because holy it’s already 1:35 pm.

He haphazardly pulls on a random t-shirt and a pair of jeans (but not before giving them a little sniff). And after splashing cold water on his face to de-puff his tear-swollen eyes and aggressively brushing his teeth, Sehun is out the door and on his way to the library.
At 1:45 pm, he bursts into the library, panting and earning him a few weird looks from other students sitting in tables nearby. He searches for Jongin and rushes over to the other boy once he spots him. “I am so sorry I’m late.” Sehun apologises once he reaches the table, making Jongin look up at him from where he’s using his phone in surprise. A smile spreads across his face at the sight of a flustered Sehun, hair a mess and clothes askew. He reassures Sehun. “No, it’s fine. I only just got here, anyway.” Jongin grins at him and Sehun sits down.

“I’m still really sorry, though.” He guiltily replies.

 “It’s fine.” Jongin says, “Really.”

Sehun still seems like he wants to apologise more but nevertheless, he takes his economics textbook out along with a notebook and a pen. “So, what do you need help with?”

Jongin pulls a face and mumbles. “That’s kind of a big question.”

Sehun laughs softly as flips his textbook open. “We’ll just have to start right away then.”
A few hours past, and when Sehun takes a look at the time on his phone, he’s surprised to see that it’s already 4:30 pm. Jongin is hard at work, diligently doing a few questions that Sehun had asked him to do for practice, scribbling on the paper and fiddling with his pen as he thinks about a question. Sehun does a bit of his own studying while waiting for Jongin to finish and startles when he finally does.

“Done!” Jongin says, pleased.

Sehun leans over the table to look at Jongin’s answers and skims them to make sure they’re all correct. “Good job!” Sehun smiles. 

“They’re all correct. I told you you could do it. You just needed that little push.” He teases a bashful Jongin.

“Well, I wouldn’t have been able to do it without an amazing teacher.” Jongin replies, beaming.

Flustered, Sehun ducks his head and accepts the compliment with a soft, “Thanks.”

They both stay quiet for a while when suddenly, Sehun’s phone vibrates, surprising both of them. He takes his phone out and freaks out a little when he sees that it’s his mum calling. He excuses himself, nodding to Jongin when the other boy tells him that he’ll be going to the toilet. Sehun steps outside the library and answers the call.

After briefly explaining to his mum that mum, you just have to type in your e-mail address and password and you’ll be able to access your e-mails, Sehun says goodbye to his mum, but not before she says “Take care of yourself, Sehun-ah. Don’t overwork yourself and make sure you don’t forget to eat. I love you.” And Sehun replies with a mumbled, “Love you too, mum” before he hangs up the phone with a promise to visit home soon.

Sehun walks back into the library and when he notices yet another note on the table, he feels a sense of déjà vu wash over him. Jongin hasn’t come back from the toilet so with hesitation, Sehun picks up the note.

You look cute when you’re studying. 

And below it is, again, a drawing of himself sitting at a table with a book open in front of him and a focused expression on his face, eyebrows furrowed and mouth set into a thin line. The writing seems almost identical to the previous note and Sehun flushes. He shoves the note into his jean pocket and starts packing up his things while thoughts of who could be sending him these notes runs through his mind. Distracted, Sehun accidentally drops his pen on Jongin’s paper and stops mid-way from picking up his pen when he sees Jongin’s writing.

It looks exactly like the one in the notes.

Sehun takes the crumpled note out of his pocket and quickly checks that Jongin isn’t anywhere near, before putting the note beside Jongin’s writing, comparing the two. He almost faints on the spot when he literally can’t find a single difference between the two.
On the inside, Sehun starts to hyperventilate. DOES THIS MEAN JONGIN’S BEEN SENDING ME THESE NOTES DOES THIS MEAN HE LIKES ME.

And at that moment, over the sound of his pounding heart, Sehun hears footsteps approach from behind and hurriedly crumples the note into his bag, trying his best to calm his racing heartbeat.

“Sorry I took so long.” Jongin says, “I got distracted by the vending machine.” He smiles sheepishly, sipping on his newly-bought green tea.

Sehun hopes that he doesn’t look as flustered as he feels when he replies, “Oh, it’s totally fine. I’m not in a rush or anything.”

“Great,” Jongin grins, “I’ll just pack up my things then we can walk out together.”

Once Jongin’s got all his books neatly packed into his bag, he slings it on his shoulders, one hand clutching the bottle of green tea and says, “I’m all set!” They both then make their way out of the library, Jongin humming softly to himself, completely unaware that beside him, Sehun is two seconds from having a mental breakdown.

“So, do you wanna go-“ Jongin begins to say but Sehun interjects.

“Silly me, I just remembered.” He suddenly blurts out. “Chanyeol needs me to, um,” He struggles to come up with a reasonable sounding excuse and just says the first thing that comes to mind. “He has a rash and I need to buy him ointment.”  rash, really Sehun???

”Yeah. It’s pretty severe, you know, wouldn’t want to keep him waiting. Who knows what could happen if he doesn’t get the ointment, right?” Sehun awkwardly laughs.

Jongin looks confused as he scratches the back of his head. “I guess? I could follow you if y-“

“NO! I mean, no, it’s fine. Chanyeol’d probably cry or something if he found out that you knew. So, it’s totally fine, I’ll just get it myself.” Sehun takes a deep breath. “Anyways, I’m just gonna go now. I had a great time today though! We should do it again sometime.” And promptly walks away, saying one last goodbye to Jongin, who looks lonely and sad standing in front of the library entrance.

Sehun rushes back to the dorm and flings the door open, startling Chanyeol who’s lying on his bed, playing Mario Kart on his DS. “I HAVE AN EMERGENCY.” Sehun shouts at a dejected Chanyeol, plonking himself down on Chanyeol’s bed causing on-screen Luigi to swerve off Rainbow Road and fall into the dark abyss beneath it. Sehun totally ignores Chanyeol’s anguished cry of “Luigi, noooo” and launches into his story. Pouting, Chanyeol switches off his DS and sits up, paying his attention to Sehun.

“-writing is exactly the same so I think Jongin might be the one who’s been sending me the notes.” And that makes Chanyeol straighten up. A knowing smirk spreads across his face that Sehun totally misses, too busy lamenting his fate.

“He’s so cute,” Sehun whines. “And he has really shiny hair.”

Sehun turns to Chanyeol, looking like a pitiful child. “You know how I feel about people with nice hair, Chanyeol.”

“Do you know for sure it’s him?” Chanyeol asks, raising an eyebrow.

“Well,” Sehun finally replies, fiddling with Chanyeol’s duvet, “technically, I don’t know that it’s definitely him so…”

“Then you should find out if it is!” Chanyeol says excitedly. Sehun opens his mouth to say something but Chanyeol shuts him up with a finger to his lips.

“No. Listen to me.” Sehun sags and relents, nodding for Chanyeol to continue.

“Okay, so first, you should ask him if he wants to have another study date.”
~~~
“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Sehun asks Chanyeol for the umpteenth time as he paces back and forth in front of the library entrance.

“Yes, I’m 100% sure, Sehun.” Chanyeol reassures his best friend, slightly exasperated.

“So, I just pretend to go to the toilet but actually hide behind a bookshelf, and if Jongin puts another note then, I confront him about it. Sound right?” Sehun looks at Chanyeol with worry in his eyes.

“Perfect.” Chanyeol gives him a soft pat on the . “Now get in there and find out if he’s your man.”
Sehun takes a long, deep breath and takes one last look at Chanyeol, who nods his head in encouragement. And with that, he enters the library.

 “Hey, Jongin.” Sehun nervously smiles as he greets Jongin.

“Oh, hey!” Jongin replies, taking his earphones out.

They exchange a little small talk like “How was your week?” and “Any other plans for the weekend?”. Sehun almost starts sweating because Jongin is looking at him right in the eyes, which Sehun would find pretty damn flattering any other time but definitely not right now. Especially when he’s gonna find out if Jongin has indeed been the one that’s been sending him these notes. 

They get straight to the economics studying after that, with Sehun patiently teaching and explaining anything that Jongin doesn’t understand. Once they’re 20 minutes into the session, just like how he’d discussed with Chanyeol the night before, Sehun tells Jongin that he has to “go to the toilet” and that he’ll “be back in a minute”. Sehun walks away, taking slow, measured steps but once he’s turned the corner and is safely out of Jongin’s sight, he runs behind a bookshelf and watches Jongin, Very Discreetly.

For a few minutes, nothing happens and Sehun almost considers abandoning this dumb plan.

Probably isn’t him anyway, Sehun thinks, dejected.

But suddenly, Jongin rips a page from his notebook and slides it underneath Sehun’s textbook. Sehun’s jaw drops open in surprise and disbelief because oh my god did he actually just do that. Sehun leans to take a better look, but somehow slips even though the floor is carpeted and lands on the ground chin-first with a loud “oof”.

Jongin whips his head up and stares at Sehun with alarm, frozen like a deer caught in headlights. Sehun groans, hitting his head on the carpeted floor lightly. Oh Sehun, you’ve messed up, he scolds himself.

With immense reluctance, he picks himself off the ground and slowly makes his way back to Jongin.

“So,” Sehun begins, wringing his hands together, “You’ve been giving me those notes?”

After a pause, Jongin takes a deep breath. “Yeah, I have.”

“D-does that mean you like me?” Sehun asks tentatively, after mustering all the courage he has.

“Yeah, I guess I do,” is Jongin’s reply and Sehun’s heart threatens to leap out of his chest.

“It’s fine if you don’t… feel the same way I’ll unders-“

Sehun panics because Jongin actually thinks I don’t like him??? “NO! No, of course I like you,” Sehun blushes and the look on Jongin’s face visibly brightens, a small smile now on his lips.

“I mean, I’m surprised you haven’t realised just how much I blush around you and I’m just starting to get to know you too,” Sehun continues, a little embarrassed.

“I’ve realised,” Jongin admits, “But I didn’t want to say anything because you looked way too cute.”

Sehun swears he stops breathing for a while, his heart actually stuttering to a split-second stop because of how sweet cheesy Kim Jongin is.

“What happens now?” Sehun asks, after he’s managed to level out his breathing.

“Well, ideally, I’d like to take you out on a date. Only if you’d like to, of course.”

“I-I’d like that.” Sehun breathes out, bashful.

“It’s a date, then.” Jongin says, repeating what he’d said the first time they’d met.

Sehun smiles widely, unable to mask the immense joy he’s feeling and nods, "It's a date."