"I like you too, Joshua Hong."

Those six simple words never left Joshua's head as he continued to sit with Jeonghan on the sidewalk outside the school.  They had sat there for the rest of the evening, Jeonghan's coat gradually gravitating to cover the both of them since it was such a cold winter night.

After the pair's confessions, they sat in silence, taking in the sound of nervous breaths and beating hearts. 

"What...did you just say?"  Joshua finally choked out.  He didn't want to believe those words.  He had to be dreaming.

"I said that I like you.  And not just as a friend.  What I mean is I want to hold your hand and have it mean something too."  Jeonghan replied.  He never looked at Joshua, but very slowly, as if time was going in reverse, he placed his hand on top of Joshua's that had been brushing up against him the entire time.  Almost immediately Joshua responded by interlocking their fingers.

It was a perfect fit, and they didn't let go for the entire night.

"Does it mean something now?"  Joshua asked in nearly a whisper.  Jeonghan's cheeks flourished red.  True, in the past the pair had held hands but it had only been brief and it didn't have any significance; to help the other up after falling or to pull the other along in the halls.  But never with fingers locked tightly, and never with love.

"It does to me...does it to you?"  Jeonghan breathed.  It was a stupid question; of course it meant something to Joshua.

"Yes."  He said.  He turned to look at Jeonghan for the first time since he had come outside.  The street lights above them and the pale blue night sky illuminated Jeonghan like a diamond and he glowed like every star in the galaxy.  Joshua let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

"You're beautiful."  

"What?  Sorry."  Jeonghan turned to look back at Joshua and when he saw how close his face was, his cheeks grew an ever deeper shade of red.  Joshua had the kindest eyes, and with his bangs pushed up, Jeonghan could take in all of his gorgeous face.

"I said: it's a beautiful night."  Joshua replied, turning away.  Jeonghan chuckled softly.

"Let's go in."  He suggested.  He stood up and pulled Joshua up with him.  Before heading inside, Jeonghan hugged him, and Joshua smiled deeply into his shoulder.  He was so happy he could die right then and there.

As the two approached the school, they noticed a few groups of people already leaving.  The dance was over and they didn't realize how much time they had actually spent outside.  As more people left, Joshua never spotted Hayeon and he laughed bitterly both with victory that she wouldn't bother Jeonghan again, and with disgust because she had practically abandoned him for the whole dance.  Eventually they saw Seungcheol and Jaeyun approaching them, and Seungcheol got near Joshua, speaking in a low voice.

"Are you ok??  I was really worried and I was going to come out here to check on you but I didn't want to overwhelm you.  But then Jeonghan told me he'd go talk to you I thought it would be alright."  Seungcheol asked looking quite distraught.

Joshua just nodded sweetly, a smile still on his face.  "Yes I'm ok thank you for being so concerned.  I do have a ton to tell you about later though."  He added.  Seungcheol backed away, eyeing him suspiciously.  He noticed the tension between Joshua and Jeonghan and  finally he looked down to see their hands together, and when the lightbulb finally went off he reacted by smashing a snowball into Joshua's chest.

"I can't believe you Hong Jisoo!!"  He exclaimed, laughing wildly.  The three of them, including Jaeyun, then engaged in a heartfelt game of playing in the snow, and all was right in the world.

The following weeks were awkward but full of butterflies.  Now that Joshua and Jeonghan's feelings were out in the open, they had no more reason to be embarrassed around the other, even though the air was still filled with shy laughter and rosy cheeks.  The weeks contained hands accidentally brushing up against each other, sometimes stumbling into fingers locking together, and they were full of heads laying on top of hearts, registering every beat.

The weeks turned into months.  Joshua would come to Jeonghan's house to "study" but those afternoons always turned into the two boys laying together on the floor, holding hands, staring at the ceiling talking about how crazy life is.

They really, really liked each other.

Joshua liked how open-minded, and bright Jeonghan was.  How he always tried to see the world from a view different than everyone else's.  He liked how he was patient and kind and gentle.  He liked his smile.  And he liked how he would cling to Joshua for comfort.

And Jeonghan liked how considerate and polite Joshua was.  He liked his straightforward and responsible nature.  He liked his eyes and the way his nose crinkled when he laughed.

The two had an unspoken relationship of "he's mine" but nothing official had ever been set in place.  They just knew where they were with each other and nothing more really needed to be said.  Even Seungcheol urged them to officially say they were dating, but the two never really had a yes or no answer.  They were just Joshua and Jeonghan and that's all anybody really needed to know.

"Want to know something crazy?"  Jeonghan asked Joshua one day.  They were sitting on the steps on Joshua's front porch, enjoying the spring weather.

"What's that?"  Joshua hummed in response.

"I was going to ask you to the winter formal forever ago, did you know that?"  Jeonghan asked, resting his head against Joshua's.  Inside, Joshua's stomach flipped.  Jeonghan had known about his crush for months now but the situation with the dance still made him nervous and he wasn't sure why.

"...Why didn't you?"  Joshua hesitated, and Jeonghan sighed.

Jeonghan took a deep breath before answering, "because, I was nervous obviously. Even though I had a hunch you might like me back, I was still worried that if I told you my feelings it would ruin everything.  Honestly I only asked Hayeon to the dance because we talked a lot in class so I knew her, and I didn't want to go alone and be nervous in front of you.  She even told me she didn't really like me but she wanted to have a date so that's why she kept abandoning me.  Listen Joshua, I really wanted to ask you.  I do like girls, Ii's just, I like guys too and well...you're the dork I fell for."  Jeonghan chuckled at the last part, burying his head in his knees.

After Jeonghan was done talking Joshua smiled to himself.  They had both been nervous for nothing; funny how things work out that way.

Joshua absent mindedly traced patterns on the back of Jeonghan's jacket before resting his arm around his shoulders.  He ran his fingers through the other's hair; he had decied to grow it out and now it was reaching his shoulders.  Joshua thought it was different and cute, just like Jeonghan.

"You're the dork for just now telling me this."  Joshua laughed.  

Yeah, all was definitely right in the world.

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Hey everyone!

Sorry if this update felt a little late I've been very very busy!  But I was pretty happy with how this chapter turned out, and I hope you all are too; I hope it was worth the wait!

OK SO SOME NEWS IF YOU'RE INTERESTED:

I got my Boys Be album recently and OH MY GOSH!!! I got the Seek version and I'm super super happy with everything and I GOT JUN'S PHOTO CARD AND HE'S MY BIAS, AHH!!

I looove the dance practices that Seventeen uploaded recently and the Seek version is really helping me learn the Mansae dance!

Anyway, I'll stop rambling, have a wonderful day, see you in the next chapter~