Seongcheol didn’t really text Jeonghan at all for the rest of the weekend, instead catching up on homework he’d missed while he’d been partying. It wasn’t fun but he had to do it so he stayed home, focusing on that over much of anything else.

When he got to school on Monday he was greeted with congratulations and smiles, Seongcheol taking it all in with an easy grin. He loved seeing all the happy reactions around the school, and it just made him want to get ready for the next game.

Humming to himself, Seongcheol jotted down a few notes while his history teacher lectured at them. He was distracted, though, doodling little pictures in the margins of his paper and spending more than half of the class shading them in and making them something a bit more than just scribbles. He grinned at his handiwork, about to start taking notes again when he noticed the hairband still around his wrist.

Seongcheol had completely forgotten to give it back to Jeonghan, a problem that could easily be fixed at the end of class. Looking over, he caught sight of his classmate, watching him for a moment. About to look away, Seongcheol started to turn when he saw Jeonghan push his hair behind his ear, pursing his lips at something on his paper.

Seongcheol just stared.

Absently a thought drifted through his mind about how nice Jeonghan looked, especially with his hair like that and he must have been smiling because a moment later Jeonghan looked at him, blinking before smiling back. Seongcheol chuckled at himself, looking down at his paper and shaking his head at himself.

“Alright, as a final part of today’s class, I’m assigning a group project,” the teacher said, Seongcheol immediately looking up at the front of the classroom. Jeonghan turned and looked as well, pulling his gaze from Seongcheol across the room. “I’m going to let you choose your own groups, so when I say go, get into groups of four. And… Go.”

It seemed like everything happened quickly, and Seongcheol wasn’t even really thinking. He made it across the room to Jeonghan faster than anyone, grabbing his hand as Jeonghan looked at him with wide eyes. Mingyu nearly ran into Seongcheol a moment later, and a boy that Seongcheol didn’t know joined them a moment later. Looking between the three people in front of him, Seongcheol eventually let his sight rest on Jeonghan, who was looking at him with a little bit of a smile. After an awkward moment of silence while the rest of the groups were formed, Jeonghan turned to the boy Seongcheol didn’t know.

“This is Joshua. He’s a friend of mine,” he said, Joshua smiling at the three of them. Mingyu waved, Seongcheol waving after and shooting Joshua a smile.

“Nice to meet you, man,” he said, not realizing he was still holding Jeonghan’s hand. Jeonghan didn’t seem to notice either but Mingyu did, glancing down and raising a brow but saying nothing. They sat down in the seats around Jeonghan, talking amongst themselves while everyone else got settled as well. Then they turned to the front, Seongcheol finally dropping Jeonghan’s hand.

“You’ll have one week from today to complete this assignment. It’s one that you won’t be able to do the night before,” he said, Mingyu chuckling.

“Yeah, we’ll see about that,” he muttered, both Jeonghan and Seongcheol laughing in response. Their teacher looked over at them, eyes narrowed.

“I have a paper that I’m going to pass out that explains the whole project’s outline. Take one and pass it around,” he said, setting a large stack of paper on the desk nearest to him. The papers were soon passed around, Seongcheol reading it and nodding to himself. “If you have any questions don’t be afraid to ask me,” he added, smiling at the group of students. Their teacher opened his mouth, about to continue when the bell rang.

The students didn’t even seem to care that their teacher was still trying to talk and all started packing up, the teacher eventually seeming to give up. Seongcheol turned to the three around him, leaning back in his seat.

“My house is pretty big and not far, if you guys want to work on this after school or something,” he offered, the three looking between each other before nodding. Joshua and Jeonghan both turned back to him, frowning a bit.

“I don’t have a car,” Joshua said, Jeonghan nodding. “If I can get a ride with someone, I can make it. I don’t live far either.” Mingyu just gave him a nod, leaning on his hand.

“I got you, don’t worry about it,” he replied, Joshua smiling. Seongcheol glanced at Jeonghan.

“I can get you so Mingyu doesn’t have to drop off both of you,” he offered with a little smile, Jeonghan looking at him and nodding. “Cool. Let’s just meet up after school sometime this week. Best days?”

“Thursday’s the best for me,” Jeonghan said, Joshua and Mingyu both nodding in agreement. Seongcheol shrugged.

“Then Thursday it is,” he said, the four of them standing. Mingyu and Joshua both grabbed their bags, heading outside and chatting about a few ideas they had for the project. Seongcheol turned to leave as well until he paused, looking back at Jeonghan and watching as the other threw his bag over his shoulder. He walked back over, pulling the hairband off of his wrist and slipping it around Jeonghan’s wrist.

“I held it over the weekend,” he said, Jeonghan looking down at it and laughing. He raised a brow before looking back at Seongcheol.

“It’s a hairband,” he said through a chuckle. “You didn’t have to keep it safe for me.” Seongcheol joined into the laughter, the two of them walking out of the room and into the hallway and choosing to ignore the small group of girls that was following them. “But thanks. You never know when I can use one of these. I break them a lot.”

The two of them laughed, walking toward the garage. Jeonghan paused when he got to the bike rack, unlocking his and simply walking alongside it.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” Seongcheol said, getting to the garage and turning to Jeonghan. Jeonghan just nodded with a little smile.

“Yeah. Drive safe,” he replied with a little grin, jumping onto his bike and riding off. Seongcheol just watched him with a smile, leaning against his car and letting out a soft sigh. He drove home in near silence, deciding to try to clear his mind and get some of his work done that night.

The next day went relatively the same, Seongcheol simply going through the day like normal and heading home when the day ended. He could hear the talk in the hallway, talk about how it was sweet that he and Jeonghan were friends now and how nice they looked. No one said anything to him directly though so he didn’t respond. The next day went pretty much the same way, though at the end of the day Seongcheol decided to take a detour, stopping at the football field and walking around it.

After a short time he grabbed a football, tossing it up and into the air absently to catch it.

He came out here specifically to let his mind wander, and usually it let him clear his head. It was relaxing, the large expanse of grass and empty bleachers around him, and it let him focus on whatever he needed to focus on. Usually it was school, sometimes parents, and very rarely it was his friends. Today his mind kept wandering to Jeonghan, and he couldn’t help but smile.

Jeonghan was nice - he was a good friend, someone that Seongcheol felt that he could actually talk to. In a way he reminded him of Mingyu, Hansol, Wonwoo, and the rest of the team, but there was something distinctly different about him. It was refreshing.

When Seongcheol heard a voice nearby he glanced over, the football nearly hitting him in the head as it dropped back down from his toss. It fell to the ground, Seongcheol catching sight of Jeonghan walking toward him. He couldn’t help but smile, jogging toward the other student with a little wave after he picked up the football.

“What’s up? I thought you left already?” he asked, Jeonghan shaking his head.

“I had a little meeting with the guidance counselor about some stuff,” he replied, shrugging. Seongcheol cocked his head, about to ask what it had been about when Jeonghan shook his head. “It’s no big deal, just some personal stuff. I was bringing my bike over this way to head home when I saw you.” There was a long pause, Seongcheol clearly still focusing on his curiosity before Jeonghan reached out, hand on the other’s shoulder. “You okay? I know there’s not practice today. Why aren’t you heading home?”

“I came out here to think, you know?” he asked in response, Jeonghan nodding in understanding before looking at the football in Seongcheol’s hand. Seongcheol followed his gaze, grinning and flicking his sight back up to Jeonghan. “What? You wanna stay out here with me?” he asked, Jeonghan shrugging with a little smile. “You know how to throw a football, right?” he asked, clearly teasing. Jeonghan just narrowed his eyes, flicking his bangs out of his face and grabbing the football from Seongcheol. Then he threw it, much farther than Seongcheol was expecting him to, and Seongcheol just smiled.

“I’m not an idiot,” he said, Seongcheol looking back at him. Jeonghan was smiling, and Seongcheol couldn’t help but grin back, biting his lip just a bit. “I know how to throw a football. I took gym.” Nodding to himself, Seongcheol ran to get the ball and picked it up, tossing it back to Jeonghan with an easy throw.

“I assumed I’d have to teach you,” Seoncheol shouted, Jeonghan laughing as he caught the football. He tossed it in his hands a couple of times, shaking his head before throwing it back to Seongcheol.

“Yeah? Well you should stop assuming things,” he replied through a laugh, Seongcheol almost missing the ball. He was distracted, simply enjoying the sight of the other laughing in front of him. He managed to catch it - barely - and looked down at it.

“You should come over sometime,” Seongcheol said, eyes trained down at the ball until he actually let it go. Jeonghan caught it with a little smile, raising his brow.

“I’ll be over tomorrow,” he responded, Seongcheol blinking a few times as he thought. “For the project. With Mingyu and Joshua.”

At that Seongcheol nodded, humming to himself and catching the ball when it was thrown to him. There was a pause, Seongcheol debating whether to say he had meant that he wanted Jeonghan over by himself.

“But that still sounds nice,” Jeonghan said, Seongcheol looking up. “Maybe one day I can come over and we can play that basketball game you promised me.”

Jeonghan winked and Seongcheol couldn’t help but blush just a bit, looking back down at the ball as he laughed to himself. He nodded, not even noticing that Jeonghan had started walking toward him. When he saw the other’s feet Seongcheol looked back up, Jeonghan giving him a little smile and hitting his shoulder just a bit. Seongcheol chuckled.

“What? Are you over here getting embarrassed?” Jeonghan asked, Seongcheol opening his mouth to speak before closing it.

In all honesty, he was less embarrassed and more than a little nervous and Seongcheol wasn’t positive why. So eventually he smiled, shaking his head.

“Nope. Just trying to think of ways to destroy you on the court,” he teased, Jeonghan laughing and pushing him away. Seongcheol stumbled back, pushing his hair back off of his forehead and rolling his eyes. He glanced at his phone, frowning a bit. “I should get home,” he mumbled, scrolling through the missed messages from his mother. He texted her that he’d been held up at school, dropping his phone back into his pocket. Jeonghan nodded in understanding, turning toward the school.

“I’ll walk you to your car.”

The two walked in easy conversation, Jeonghan walking with his bike alongside him like he had two days before. Seongcheol smiled to himself, turning to Jeonghan once he got to the garage.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said with a little wave, Jeonghan nodding.

“Yeah. I’ll see you in class.”

After that there was a pause, both of them almost expecting the other to say or do something else, but nothing happened. So Seongcheol turned and walked toward his car after an awkward smile, Jeonghan riding off and leaving Seongcheol alone with thoughts he wasn’t even sure of.

The next day seemed to move by slowly, and it wasn’t until he got to history that Seongcheol noticed the day was almost over. He got there earlier than usual, glancing around and smiling at Jeonghan. Sitting down in the seat next to the other, he tossed his bag under the seat and grinning as Jeonghan cocked his head at him.

“Don’t you usually sit over there?” he asked, pointing at Seongcheol’s normal seat. Seongcheol just shrugged.

“They’re not assigned. It was time for a change,” he replied, Jeonghan looking at him blankly for a moment before he grinned, settling in his seat. He didn’t say anything, just smiled at his paper, and that made Seongcheol smile as well.

They both ignored the confused little whispers around them.

When class finally ended the four of them walked to the garage, Seongcheol in the lead and talking about ideas he’d had for the project. Jeonghan stopped to get his bike, setting it in the trunk of Mingyu’s car so that he didn’t have to ride it to Seongcheol’s house. Joshua settled easily into Mingyu’s truck, Jeonghan getting into the passenger seat of Seongcheol’s car and humming along to the song playing on the radio.

Seongcheol glanced over while they were at a red light, smiling a bit before looking back at the road.

“You have a really nice voice,” he said suddenly, Jeonghan turning to look at him, eyes wide.

“Really? You think so?” he asked, Seongcheol laughing to himself and nodding.

“Yeah. You’re really good,” he replied. not seeing the smile that had taken over the other’s face or the slight hint of red in his cheeks. For a while Jeonghan was silent, still thinking about the compliment until he started singing again, quietly.

Seongcheol couldn’t stop smiling.

When the two got to Seongcheol’s house Mingyu and Joshua were waiting in the driveway, Jeonghan’s bike already down from the bed of the truck. He grabbed it, Seongcheol opening the garage and letting him roll it in for the time that they were studying. As they walked in Seongcheol waved to his mother, peeking into the kitchen.

“Hey mom,” he said, the other three peeking in behind him. “This is Joshua, and this is Jeonghan,” he continued, looking at Jeonghan with a soft smile. “And you already know Mingyu.”

“Hey,” Mingyu greeted, waving.

“Hello to all of you,” she said, smiling at them before turning back to Seongcheol. “If you need anything, let me know. There’s snacks and plenty to drink.”

“Thanks,” he replied easily, leading the other three up to his room and closing the door behind them. He locked it, the three of them all looking at him in confusion before he shrugged. “If I don’t lock it, my sister will try to get in. It’ll just be a huge mess. I’d rather lock it.” All of them let out an understanding sigh, Mingyu and Joshua sitting on the bed and Jeonghan and Seongcheol sitting on the floor, Seongcheol’s laptop between them.

For a while the four of them actually tried to work, coming up with a plan and an outline and Seongcheol typing it all up. They tried to be productive, but after a while Seongcheol started to get distracted.

It wasn’t because he hated the work - in fact, the project was almost interesting. He just kept looking over at Jeonghan, listening to him talk and watching his reactions. He really was beautiful, and Seongcheol didn’t even mind that he was calling him that. Any other person that knew Jeonghan would have immediately agreed with him. Seongcheol just nodded in agreement to whatever the other was saying, leaning back on his hands and biting the inside of his lip. Mingyu was paying attention to what Jeonghan was saying so he didn’t notice, but Joshua was staring at him brow raised. There was a pause when Jeonghan finished talking, the room silent until Joshua spoke.

“... Are you okay, Seongcheol?” he asked, Seongcheol pulling his gaze from Jeonghan and turning to Joshua. He nodded.

“What? Yeah, I’m fine. Why?” he replied, Joshua looking between Seongcheol and Jeonghan before shaking his head. He fidgeted in his seat for a moment, glancing down at one of the papers on his lap.

“Nevermind, I guess,” he mumbled, Mingyu turning to look at him. He furrowed his brows, leaning over and talking softly as the other two started a little conversation between themselves.

“Hey, what’s up? You look kinda… uncomfortable,” he mumbled, Joshua looking up at him before gesturing toward Seongcheol and Jeonghan.

“Do you feel like we’re… interrupting something?” he asked, Mingyu raising his brow. He opened his mouth to answer but Joshua just shook his head. “It’s weird. I can’t explain it,” he continued, sighing a bit. “We did a lot, though. I think we could call it a day. I need to get home anyway.” Mingyu watched Joshua for a moment, noting how he was acting before he nodded, giving Joshua’s knee a pat.

“Hey Seongcheol,” Mingyu started, both Seongcheol and Jeonghan looking at the two sitting on the bed. “Me and Mingyu are gonna head home. We’ll see you at school tomorrow,” he added, Seongcheol staring at him for a second before nodding in understanding.

“Yeah, sure,” he replied, smiling and pushing himself up so he was standing. Jeonghan followed suit, all four of them walking downstairs. Jeonghan and Seongcheol stopped at the door, waving to the two of them as they drove off. Seongcheol was silent until Mingyu’s truck was out of sight, sighing before he turned to Jeonghan. “I really don’t want to drive. Do you want to just crash here?” he asked, Jeonghan’s eyes widening before he simply shrugged, pulling out his phone.

“Let me call my parents. I’m sure it’d be fine,” he said, Seongcheol grinning.

“Just tell them we’re studying,” he teased, Jeonghan’s eyes narrowing at him before he laughed.

“All night?” he asked, Seongcheol shrugging before pulling Jeonghan back inside.

“We have a guest bedroom so you can sleep in there. And you can borrow some of my pajamas,” Seongcheol said, not even minding that he was talking while Jeonghan was on the phone. He leaned his chin on Jeonghan’s shoulder as the other spoke, Jeonghan turning to look at him and stifling a laugh. “Hi, Jeonghan’s mom,” he said suddenly, Jeonghan laughing out loud. Seongcheol was sure he could even hear the other’s mom laughing on the other end of the line and he smiled smugly to himself, staying quiet for the rest of the conversation.

The moment Jeonghan’s mother said it was alright Seongcheol smiled wide, jogging into the kitchen to find his mother. With her it was an easy answer, immediately saying it was alright and even offering to wash Jeonghan’s uniform if he needed it. Seongcheol smiled, going back to tell Jeonghan and almost running into him as he turned the corner.

“All good. You’re welcome to use my shower and change if you want. I’ll go after,” he said, Jeonghan nodding and the two running upstairs. Seongcheol dug through his drawers for a moment, grabbing a pair of pajama pants and a tank top and handing it to Jeonghan. “Those should fit pretty well. My bathroom’s over there. I’ll just chill while you get cleaned up.”

Seongcheol threw himself onto his bed while Jeonghan showered, putting on his television to a random show. It had something to do with cars but he wasn’t really paying attention, his mind wandering to how Jeonghan was going to look in his pajamas. He hadn’t ever seen the other in anything other than a uniform, so this was a fun thought.

By the time he finally finished imagining it he heard footsteps and he looked up from the program he was mostly ignoring, Jeonghan walking in with damp hair and in his clothes. Seongcheol looked him up and down, smiling to himself and pursing his lips in thought.

“They look good on you,” he said, words almost a tease but not quite. Jeonghan was slim but, while Seongcheol had been expecting a very feminine figure, he actually had some muscle on him. Seongcheol couldn’t help the little smile, Jeonghan rolling his eyes and walking over to the bed. He laid down, hands behind his head as he looked to Seongcheol expectantly.

“Your turn,” he said with a smirk, Seongcheol unable to help himself as he his lips. It was quick, something Jeonghan didn’t notice as he had looked away, but there was something about the way he’d smirked that had gotten Seongcheol to pause. He shook himself out of it, pushing himself off the bed and grabbing his own set of pajamas before slipping into the bathroom.

He took a quick shower, drying off and running their uniforms down to his mother with a quick ‘thank you’ before bounding back up the stairs. He even skipped steps, hopping onto the bed with Jeonghan when he got back.

“Do you just want to watch a movie?” he asked, Jeonghan turning to him and shrugging.

“Whatever. It’s your house,” he replied, Seongcheol rolling his eyes and groaning.

“But you’re the guest,” he sighed, Jeonghan laughing. “I’ll put on a movie,” he said in a groan, clearly not minding if the smile on his face was any indication of how he felt.

For a while the two simply watched the movie, propped up against the pillows and getting lost in easy conversation every once in awhile. It stayed that way for a long time until Seongcheol noticed the door open a crack and someone peeking in. He leaned forward, squinting to see better.

“Who is that hiding out there?” he asked, the door opening more and his sister slipping in. She smiled, waving and walking over to the bed. “We’re about to go to bed,” he continued, raising a brow, “which is where you should be.” She just shrugged, pointing at Jeonghan.

“Who’s that?” she asked, Seongcheol looking to Jeonghan. He grinned.

“This is Jeonghan. Jeonghan, this is Seungah, my little sister.” Jeonghan smiled to her, waving gently.

“Hello,” he greeted, Seungah’s eyes going wide.

“You’re a boy? You’re so pretty,” she said, Jeonghan’s cheeks going pink. Seongcheol looked over at him, chuckling a bit but not saying anything. “How come you’re doing that?” she continued, and Seongcheol looked back at her. She was pointing and he followed what she was pointing at, his cheeks tinted in red when he noticed that their hands were on top of each other, fingers nearly linked together. Jeonghan looked down as well, both of them staring at their hands before pulling them away from each other. Then they looked up, both of their cheeks covered in an obvious blush.

They hadn’t even realized they were doing it.

After a moment Seongcheol looked back at his sister, smiling at her and standing up from the bed and picking her up.

“I think it’s time for you to go back to bed, missy,” he said, Seongah smiling at him. “We’ll see you in the morning.”

“Okay!” she exclaimed, leaning out of Seongcheol’s grip a bit so she could wave to Jeonghan. “Goodnight, pretty Jeonghan!” she said, Jeonghan waving back at her and smiling before Seongcheol carried her to her own room. When he got back he sat down on the bed, sitting straight up for a moment before biting his lip and turning to Jeonghan.

“Sorry… About that,” he said, Jeonghan shaking his head.

“No, it’s okay,” he murmured in response, smiling to himself and looking down. There was a long silence between the two before Jeonghan looked up. “Where’s the guest bedroom?” he asked, Seongcheol nodding and standing.

“Down the hall. And here, I have an extra phone charger you can use,” he said, grabbing the cord and tossing it to Jeonghan. He caught it, the two walking down the hall in the dark.

Seongcheol was walking slowly so they didn’t wake anyone up, but he paused halfway there and looked at Jeonghan. He wasn’t sure what made him do it but he reached down, fingers slipping between Jeonghan’s as he took his hand and led him the rest of the way.

He didn’t see Jeonghan smiling.

When they got to the room Seongcheol opened the door, stepping in just a bit and Jeonghan following him. He turned to the other, speaking in a hushed voice.

“My sister’s room is right across the hall so be careful with loud noises,” he said, Jeonghan nodding. “If you need to use the bathroom, there’s one down the hall or one attached to my room, so whichever you want to use, you can use. And if you want to brush your teeth, there’s probably an extra in that bathroom,” he said, pointing to the bathroom down the hall. Once again Jeonghan nodded, opening his mouth to say something but not sure what he was planning. Instead he took in a quick breath and looked down at their hands, still linked. Seongcheol looked down as well, both staring for a moment before looking back up.

There was an awkward moment between the two, neither sure what to say and so both deciding to say nothing. Seongcheol bit his lip, clenching his free hand into a fist before letting his gaze drop to Jeonghan’s lips for just a second. Then he looked back up, pulling away with an almost smooth smile.

“If you need anything, let me know,” he said, Jeonghan staring at him before simply nodding again. He smiled as well, Seongcheol taking a step out of the room, his hand on the door handle. “Goodnight, Jeonghan,” he said, Jeonghan smiling at him.

“Goodnight, Seongcheol,” he replied, both of them grinning at each other in silence. Seongcheol stared, not even sure what he was doing and finally closing the door. He walked down the hall to his room silently, closing the door and flopping down into his bed. Curling under the covers, he couldn’t seem to get the happy smile off of his face and he had to put on music to even begin to fall asleep.

Eventually he drifted off, almost forgetting to set his alarm and thankful that he’d thought of that before he’d fallen asleep. He was looking forward to the next day and despite being tired, he still fell asleep with a grin on his face.