GIVE LOVE

"Wow, can you be any more obvious?" Baekhyun says. Sehun has to kick him because he's been talking too loud. Chanyeol snickers at both Sehun and Baekhyun's misery. Baekhyun's that is the pain in his shin and Sehun's that is his unrequited love.

"More like wow, can Jongin be any more dense?" Chanyeol laughs and Sehun looks mortified because Chanyeol is even louder than Baekhyun. Loud enough for Jongin, who sits a table away, to hear.

"What about me?" He asks and blinks, and if Sehun was a girl in one of those shoujo manga he would be squealing at the sight. But no, he is not one of those shoujo manga protagonists though he could very well be. He is the poor, new transfer student who falls in love at first sight with the school's heart throb and if that is not very much shoujo manga material then he doesn't know either. Okay, he does know that it is not appropriate for shoujo since he is male, but he doesn't want to be put into the section because it's rather y he thinks. After all, he is just searching for some romance, out for the fluff and the cheese and the sappiness of a young love.

"Nothing," Sehun is quick to say. "Chanyeol's just being rude. Ignore him."

Both his friends snicker at his reply, but they have mercy with poor Sehun and simply wave at Jongin who loses interest quickly and turns towards his own group of friends. Zitao is telling a story with animated hand gestures while Yixing and Kyungsoo sit next to him with furrowed brows, not quite understanding it seems.

Sehun sighs and flops down on the table, face narrowly missing his plate of food. He is all mopey.

"I wonder why he doesn't notice," he mumbles. His two friends who are flanked at either side of him both pat his back, and although it should be a comforting gesture, he doesn't feel any better. If anything, he only feels worse because pity is the last thing he needs.

"Like I said," Chanyeol repeats his words, this time his voice is thankfully quiet. "He is dense. You have to tell him. Confess to him. And not silently stare at him and leave him small presents on his desk, especially not anonymously."

"But I don't even know if he is gay," Sehun mumbles, unhappy because his friends are right. He should be more active in courting Jongin, but he is so shy. He feels embarrassed, his cheeks always reddening when he has to talk to Jongin, for group projects, for example, and then he starts to stutter and he will look away and feel dumb because Jongin must think he's a freak. Which is why he doesn't talk to Jongin. Not anymore. Not after that one time he has embarrassed the hell out of himself.

"Well, kiddo, chances are you're not lucky. Jongin's only dated girls so far. That doesn't mean all hope is lost though. You could ask Soojung? She was his last girlfriend. Maybe he's dumped her for being too girlish and female, who knows. He might prefer guys now. Pretty guys like you. You could almost be a female, Jongin's new girlfriend so to say," Chanyeol says and winks.

Sehun would be offended if he paid attention to the latter part of his friend's speech - that is calling him girlish, but he has only processed the first few sentences.

"I will not ask Jung Soojung," Sehun says, horrified. If there is anyone Sehun avoids at all cost, that is Soojung. She is the most popular female in their year, and whenever she passes by, her stare is cold. She hates him, he knows it. The only thing she would do if he ever gathered the courage to ask her is to humiliate him further by telling everyone that he has a crush on Jongin.

"It's not like it's a big secret," Baekhyun shrugs. "I mean, I'm pretty sure everyone except for Jongin knows about your puppy love."

"It's not a puppy love!" Sehun protests, a bit too loudly. There are people staring at him now, Jongin included. He can feel his cheeks heating up. Sehun shrinks more into his seat and wails inwardly. He has never imagined his last year at high school to turn out like this.










To Sehun, it has always been clear that he likes boys. His parents aren't opposed to that, rather supportive with the private talks and the pieces of advice that are utterly embarrassing, but hey, at least he knows his parents still love him no matter what. Even if he can never compare to his older brother who is the most perfect son - good grades, good looks, good manners, nice and pretty girlfriend, you get the drill. Every family ought to have one that falls out of the norm though, and Sehun just happens to be the exception in his.

They have lived in a smaller city before moving to Seoul because Sehun's father was promoted after almost two decades of diligence and devotion to his company. It's a good thing, his parents have ensured. He wouldn't have to live in the dormitories when he enters university next year, and his brother is living with them again now, too. It means shared chores because there are more people to share housework with, and knowing Seyong, the younger brother will be spoiled by the older doing some of Sehun's chores, too.

Everything should be fine, more so when Seoul is said to be less conservative than the rural areas, though of course there are still prejudices against homouals. It is nothing grave though, Sehun has soon realized, because his school's hottest and most admired couple is in fact a couple of two boys, one prettier than the other. Luhan and Minseok are both equally popular as Soojung and Jongin, and now that the school's dream couple has broken up within the first week of the new school year, the new dream couple are Minlu as people call them. Sehun wonders briefly if people would be supportive of Jongin and him, too, if they ever dated, but he quickly shakes off that thought. After all, he doesn't know if Jongin is okay with boys, and as of now, he thinks Jongin is still straight. Totally straight. Jongin just checked out a girl, his gaze clearly hanging at her cleavage.










It's not easy to crush on a person as perfect as Jongin is. Jongin is doing okay at school (though not better than Sehun, but decent enough), Jongin is good at sports (he's a lot fitter than Sehun with his gangly limbs), and he looks handsome (too handsome for his own good, but also too handsome for Sehun's sanity to handle). And his imperfections, such as those stupid habits of slapping other people when he's laughing this loud, obnoxious laugh of his or yawning without a hand hiding his wide open mouth only make him look cute and even more perfect.

Sehun sighs dreamily as he stares at Jongin's back. He still can't believe his luck because he is seated right behind Jongin where Jongin can never catch him staring. Except for the times Jongin turns around to borrow a pen or an eraser, but even then Jongin doesn't catch on. Sehun doubts Jongin will ever realize that Sehun likes him a lot actually, and maybe it is better like that.

Admittedly, having your feelings returned is still the best, but if he can choose between uncertainty and a straight out rejection, then he will definitely go for uncertainty. That at least leaves space to dream and hope that maybe not here, but in another universe Jongin is biual and feels attracted to Sehun, too.

"Sehun, could you please answer the next question?"

Oh . He didn't listen, too occupied with thoughts of a nicer parallel universe where his love story has a happy ending, and now he doesn't even know what page they are on. He can feel his face heating up in embarrassment and wishes nothing more than to fall unconscious at exactly this moment. Never has he been anything but attentive in class. What is Jongin doing to him? Did he want to prove that Sehun is terribly in love with his classmate?

"143," Jongin whispers at him and Sehun repeats it, a bit dumbfounded. He doesn't think that could be the right answer because it's an odd number and a code for I love you and maybe it is just Jongin confessing to him in secret and not-

"Correct," the teacher says and Sehun flops down on his table. Okay, so that was just the answer to the question. Jongin has only wanted to help. Sehun's confidence has taken a blow and it hurts enough for him to forget thanking Jongin for saving his .










Lanky as Sehun is, he doesn't have much advantages in sports. He is rather clumsy with his limbs and is thus not the most wanted team mate for ball sports, but if there is anything he can pride himself with, then it is his reflexes and his speed. He is rather fast on his feet, thanks to his long legs, and with his quick reactions he does very well in this let's hide from Jongin game that he has been playing for a few weeks now.

After the incident in Maths Sehun has done his best to avoid his crush. Granted, it is only Sehun feeling embarrassed because surely Jongin cannot read minds, but he still feels that if he ever had to face Jongin, the other would miraculously realize how stupidly in love Sehun is because Sehun's face and ears will be redder than tomatoes, or, what might be worse, Sehun might just confess without a second thought. Trust Sehun to do that; he has found himself doodling and scribbling hearts with his and Jongin's initials in his notebooks, and from there it is not a big step to actually admit it verbally, especially when he feels like exploding with all the feelings he has for Jongin (Baekhyun has told him that yesterday when he came over to do homework together that Sehun kept mumbling Kim Jongin is so handsome and y and just perfect why are we not dating yet when spacing out; he hopes that will never happen in front of Jongin).

And to prevent that, today, too, Sehun is running from Jongin. He has spotted the other male approaching his table at lunch - he is not sure if Jongin really wants to sit with Chanyeol, Baekhyun and him, he might just be passing - but Jongin is taking a step in their direction and that is enough to set him into a panic mode that starts operation adios amigos I gotta save myself from major embarrassment.

Sehun leaves his lunch tray with his two best friends, only grabbing the sandwich and his box of milk chocolate. He can't go without food after all, not when there are three more classes later, meaning school will only end in 6 hours with not much time in between to eat. His steps are hurried when he rushes down the corridor, not daring to run properly because he might get caught by any prefects or teachers.

"Oh Sehun, wait a second!"

Oh . Sehun doesn't need to look to know it's Jongin. And scrap the risk of getting detention. He'd rather run than let Jongin get close and so he starts sprinting towards the main entrance, determination making him run faster than ever, but still he is no match for Jongin who plays soccer twice a week. Jongin has him cornered before he can push open the heavy doors to escape.

Gulping, Sehun turns around and gives a smile. He hopes looks innocent enough.

"Oh, hi, Jongin, didn't notice you," he says and chuckles, sounding terribly fake. Both Jongin and Sehun cringe at his higher than usual pitch.

"Hi Sehun," Jongin greets back and the intense stare he gives Sehun makes Sehun anxious. Did he do something wrong? Accidentally hurting Jongin? Accidentally causing any harm? He can't remember having done anything bad, but who knows. His presence alone might be a disturbance to the other.

"Uhm-" Sehun tries to retreat because Jongin is standing too close for comfort. His back is already pressed against the wall though and there is no way he can run now when Jongin has both hands on either side of Sehun's head. It is a compromising position and Sehun prays to God that no one is seeing them like this now, even if he secretly likes it. You know, shoujo manga and all. Or K-drama. This is a typical scenario in any high school romance story. Before his mind can drift off and create the most wonderful happy ending for the two of them, he is waken from his reverie by the sound of someone clearing his throat. Sehun blinks.

"I just have one question," Jongin starts then and Sehun nods eagerly, showing that he is willing to reply and get this over with quickly.

"I've noticed you running away from me. I mean, it is obvious you're avoiding me. Whenever I enter a room and walk towards you, you would immediately turn around and run. Like just now in the cafeteria," Jongin says. He pauses and that makes Sehun's anxiety flare up even more. Jongin’s just pausing for dramatic effect, right? Sehun can tolerate dramatic effects and pausing for emphasis, but only in movies, anime and drama. In real life it is actually horrible.

"Is there a reason for your behavior? I mean, did I somehow do you any wrong without knowing it? We're classmates so it would be cool if we got along. Not to mention that people are starting to say that I must have been bullying you," Jongin says. “I’m not a bully and I prefer not being labelled one.”

Sehun would really, really, really like to tell Jongin the truth about it all and help him, but that would mean confessing, and confessing does not seem like the optimal solution here. He is still dreading the moment Jongin learns about his crush because he is p