Mingyu walked out of his last class in sort of a hurry, stopping by Seongcheols class to pick him up. As they headed straight to the lockers, Hoshi was already exiting with his basketball sweats on. His eyebrows cocked at them as they passed by, his loud voice booming. 

 

"Ready to play boys?"

 

Mingyu held the door open to the lockers for Seongcheol and gave Hoshi a high five in response. He then raced into the room, the steamy atmosphere clogging the pores on his nose, quickly unlocking his locker and changing out of his uniform. 

 

"Did you invite Wonwoo?"

 

Seongcheol asked as he slipped a sweatband on to his head, styling his hair with some hair gel. Mingyu stripped of his buttoned up shirt, tan skin exposed to the humid air. He sighed, his heart beating wildly at the thought of the jet black hair. 

 

"Yea. I also invited some of his friends so it wouldn't look like I just invited him."

 

Seongcheol let out a 'hmm' in response, too busy fixing his hair in a small mirror to even look at Mingyu. The tall boy scoffed in his direction, slipping on a loose tee shirt and grabbing his basketball shoes before exiting the stuffy room. As he walked to the courts, Seongcheol following behind him, Mingyu let his eyes wander around the area for black hair. He spotted Woozi right away, his pink hair glaring under the sun. Next to him were Hoshi, Jeunghan and Dino. He smiled towards them, heading to the bleachers to put his bag down. There, Mingyus eyes lit up as Wonwoo sat, slouching under the suns radiant heat. A duffle bag and clear water bottle already half way empty stood next to his feet. Minguyu slid down next to him, letting his bag fall to the floor. 

 

"Hey, you made it."

 

Wonwoos head turned to his right, throat drying as their eyes locked. Mingyu flashed a smile at the boy, his body becoming rigid. Wonwoo gave a small smile back, his fingers messing with the hem of his basketball shorts. As Mingyu tied his black shoelaces into a knot, he spoke quietly to the boy, afraid his loud voice might break him. 

 

"You play basketball before?"

 

Mingyu watched as Wonwoo shook his head, hair swaying side to side on his forehead. Before the timid boy could speak, they both heard his name being called. Mingyu looked up to see a brown haired boy heading towards them. He walked like he had pride, swag, in each step. His whole body bobbed up and down as each foot hit the ground. Mingyu noticed his face was foreign and different, not your average Korean boy face. As he neared, Mingyu stood up, noticing he was a bit taller than the foreigner. 

 

"Sup, I'm Vernon."

 

His Korean had such a strong accent to it, Mingyus eyebrows knitted together at the sound of his voice. But he smiled, introduced himself politely, wanting to make a good impression in front of Wonwoo. 

 

"You play basketball?"

 

Vernon sat as Mingyu asked the question, his heavy duffle bag crashing to the floor. 

 

"Yea. Back in America I played. You play too?"

 

Mingyu crossed his arms as he watched him slip a pair of white Jordan's onto his feet, the suns glare bouncing off the bright leather. 

 

"Yea, a little. Not that great though."

 

Vernon stood up again, facing Mingyu as he did. 

 

"Well, we'll see about that."

 

Vernon swerved around Mingyu, the boy in awe as he stood. 

 

"Did he just-"

 

Mingyu felt a bubble of anger rise in him, his face growing wildly hot, fists crumpling tightly. Before he could charge off, he felt a small hand on his shoulder. He turned to see Wonwoo standing, their bodies so close to each other. 

 

"Don't mind him, he always wants to get into trouble."

 

Wonwoo's deep voice rang in Mingyu's ears, shivers running down his body. His frown stayed on his face as he looked at Wonwoo, then back at Vernon. He felt the fiery anger inside him cease, letting out a shaky sigh. 

 

"Mingyu, come on!"

 

Seongcheols voice was loud from across the court from where he was standing, right next to Jeonghan. It looks as if they've been talking and Mingyu, his anger now gone, shot him a double thumbs up, receiving a nasty glare in response. Mingyu laughed to himself, turning back to Wonwoo. 

 

"You coming?"

 

Wonwoo smiled shyly and got up, jogging behind him to the courts.  He fixed his hair as Hoshi began to set up teams, smoothing the  jet black locks out of his vision. 

 

"Alright guys, we're gonna make two teams. Let's choose a captain for each then they can choose their members."

 

Mingyu looked at the boys around him, thinking of a good leader. As his head turned to look straight at Seongcheol, the boy was already raising his hand, nominating himself as a captain.

 

"I choose myself as a captain."

 

Seongcheols tall, built frame was excentuated even more as he raised his arm up. His muscly arms swung from the arm holes of his white tank, his tan skin noticeable to everyone. Wonwoo caught Jeonghan staring at his arms, then to his surprise saw his arm extend into the air. 

 

"Me too. I want to be captain." 

 

The long haired boy smirked up at Seongcheols bewildered expression, flashing him a quick smile before following Hoshi to the center of the court. 

 

"Alright, captains. Choose your teammates."

 

Seongcheols voice boomed loudly across the courts as he called individual names. 

 

"Kim Mingyu."

 

Jeunghan scoffed in his direction as Mingyu bounced his way towards them, highfiving Seongcheol in the process. 

 

"Jeon Wonwoo."

 

Wonwoo looked up at the call of his name. Mingyu was smiling brightly and pointed towards Jeunghan. He slowly made his way over to his captain, giving him an awkward side hug before standing behind him away from others. 

 

They went on like that, picking boys until there were none left. Seongcheols team consisted of Mingyu, Dino and Woozi and the opposing team had Jeunghan, Wonwoo, Vernon and Hoshi. The players got into position on their sides of the court, Mingyu spotting Wonwoo at the very end of the court next to the tall hoop. His muscles looked tense under his loose clothing as he awkwardly stood alone, watching the other courts that were filled with students. Mingyu smiled to himself before standing a small distance behind Seongcheol, eyes glued to the striped ball. Jeunghan faced Seongcheol in the middle of the court, Hoshi in between the two with a ball in both hands and a shiny whistle stuffed between his lips. 

 

At the loud shriek of the metal, the ball went flying, all eyes watching its every motion. Then it came hurtling to the ground as Seongcheols hand came in contact with it, flicking his wrist as the ball came flying back towards Mingyu. He quickly moved on his feet as he caught the ball and dribbled across the court, wind rapidly flowing through his brown locks. 

 

All the boys followed where the ball went, one side of the court full of commotion. As he neared the opposite end of the court, Mingyu turned and threw the ball towards Seongcheol and he jumped high up, arms extended up above his head as the ball twisted through the air, swishing right through the white ropes of the hoop. A chorus of cheering erupted immediately from all over the court as Seongcheol rounded up his small team, cheering even louder for themselves. Mingyu was smiling so hard, his cheeks burned on his face. Happiness exploded in him as the game continued. 

 

Hoshi blew the whistle again and the game went on, him hurriedly passing the ball to Vernon who swiftly dodged Mingyus block, running fast to their end of the court. Mingyu growled to himself before running after the boy. While running, Mingyu caught sight of jet black hair in the corner of his eye and turned his head to see Wonwoo across the court, running towards their hoop. Mingyu bit his lip then s his way across the court, bumping up next to Wonwoo. 

 

"Oh, sorry, didn't see you there."

 

Mingyu challengingly smirked down at Wonwoo, the boy huffing towards his direction. 

 

"Vernon-ah! I'm open!"

 

Wonwoos deep voice bounced across the court as he playingly hit Mingyu in the chest before sprinting off towards Vernon. Mingyu watched in awe as the wind swept through his hair, his pale forehead shimmering from sweat as the sun's harsh rays of light made his upper face glow. Mingyu lightly shook his head and ran after the boy but was too late as he made a basket, the ball easily falling through the hoop. 

 

"And I thought you said you couldn't play?"

 

-------------------------------------------------------------------

 

The boys cleared the court as they stopped for a quick water break. Seongcheols team ended up loosing, Wonwoo scoring the most points for his team. It was evening now; the group of boys smelled of sweat and their clothes drenched in water as the Suns heat poured down onto their worn out bodies. Wonwoo smiled as a water bottle met his lips, Adam's apple bobbing up and down as the cold refreshment made its way into his dehydrated body. Mingyu gulped before averting his eyes to the clear heat wave over the courts black surface. 

 

Mingyu observed the other boys, their breaths audible as they sat and rested, sweat glistening all over their exposed limbs and sweaty faces. Towards the middle of the bleachers, he saw as Seongcheol lean over and whisper secretively into Jeunghan's ear, the boy blushing and laughing quietly before doing the same to him. Mingyu smiled a little to himself, silently rejoicing inside. His thoughts were interrupted as a voice spoke loudly into his ear. 

 

"Hey, one on one?"

 

The strong accent made Mingyu turn around to see a sweaty Vernon holding a basketball up to him, the y look resting on his face. Mingyu sighed quietly under his breath before nodding his head once, lips in a flat line. 

 

"Sure."

 

He followed Vernon onto the dirty court, the sound of the balls bounce echoing across the other empty courts. The sun was now low in the sky, the heat slowly evaporating from the air. Mingyu stood in front of Vernon as he bounced the ball between both hands, casually switching it underneath his legs. Mingyu scoffed and bent over, waiting for him to start. Then Vernon quickly zoomed to his right, Mingyus late reaction failing him as he bumped right into the boy, his body losing balance. Mingyu jumped back before his could touch the ground, looking up just in time to see the ball swoosh through the hoop quietly, it falling back to the ground and bouncing back in between Vernon's long legs. 

 

"Thought you said you played basketball, pretty boy. "

 

Mingyu had to bite down onto his tongue to hold in his rising anger. He wanted to slap the look off of his perfect face but resisted the urge to move and instead, slowly stood up and faced him again. Vernon accepted the challenge, bouncing the ball casually again. He then moved to his left, Mingyu paying full attention now, forcefully pushing the ball out of his grasp, doing a 360 turn before shooting the ball. 

 

As it easily spiraled through the rope, Mingyu his lips and looked over at the bleachers. Wonwoo was watching them intently, elbows on his knees as his palms held his head up. He smiled at Mingyu, teeth all bright and pretty against the courts lights. Mingyu smiled back before turning his attention to Vernon again. 

 

They went against each other like that, Hoshi or Dino joining in before complaining they were tired and leaving the court together. Seongcheol called out to Mingyu while he was playing, saying he was leaving. 

 

"Yah, Mingyu-ah! I'm going now ok? Taking Jeunghan with me. See you tomorrow ok?"

 

Mingyu let out a random noise in response as his attention was on Woozi, jumping up to block his shot but missed, the ball hitting the backboard before coming back down, right into Mingyus hands. He waved to Seongcheol, Jeunghan standing next to him with his bags, before watching the two walk off. 

 

One by one, the boys began to leave, the sun no where to be seen, until it was just Vernon, Mingyu and Wonwoo left. Wonwoo continued to sit and watch the boys, yawning quietly and blinking away his tired tears. 

 

After one last shot by Vernon, he fell to the ground, body exhausted from the day's play. He lazily sat up, Mingyu casually bouncing the ball next to his feet. 

 

"Man it's so late. I gotta go home, my body's hella tired."

 

As he got up, Mingyu followed Vernon to the bleachers, plopping down next to Wonwoo. Vernon packed his things, roughly putting on a snapback before picking up his large duffle bag. He pushed back his sweaty hair, exposing his pale forehead.

 

"Well, today was fun. Catch y'all later."

 

He waved towards the two before shuffling away, leaving the two boys in silence. They watched as the sun set behind the large buildings of their school, night creeping up to them. Mingyu sat as the cool air slowly cooled him off. He then turned to Wonwoo, cold sweat dripping from his hair. 

 

"How long have you known Vernon for?"

 

Mingyu took a small towel and began to wipe his face and neck, sweat drenching the white fabric. The question alarmed Wonwoo as he blinked silently at Mingyu before slowly answering him. 

 

"Uhm, well, our moms are like really good friends, ever since before we were born and... I guess you could say we were born friends?"

 

Mingyu chuckled softly at Wonwoos expression: eye brows furrowed, baggy clothes hanging loosely across his shoulders. He looked so cute and cuddly, Mingyu felt his heart skip a beat. He cleared his throat loudly, stuffing the towel into his small drawstring. 

 

"What about you and Seongcheol?"

 

Wonwoo rested his head onto his palms, his muscles relaxing as he looked up at Mingyu. His flawless, tan skin shown under the lights, no blemishes or spots to be seen. Wonwoo let his eyes travel down to his neck, so brown and smooth looking he wanted to reach out and feel it. He turned his attention back to Mingyus face, feeling himself getting distracted. 

 

"I've known Seongcheol since kindergarten. I told off one of his bullies and ever since we kinda just...stuck."

 

Wonwoo nodded his head, no longer feeling awkward in the silence. He felt almost comfortable around Mingyu, the thought surprising him a little. He forced a smile down as he felt one creep up his face. He sniffled his nose, changing the subject. 

 

"Hey, I couldn't help but notice Seongcheol and Jeunghan today. Were they normally this close before or...?"

 

Mingyu laughed loudly, the sound echoing through the empty courts. Wonwoo felt shivers run down his spine, ears peeking up at the noise. 

 

"See the thing is...Seongcheol actually likes him."

 

Mingyu searched Wonwoos face for any reaction but to no surprise received a dead pan look as always. Mingyu sighed before continuing. 

 

"You don't really have any reactions do you? Like, to anything."

 

Wonwoo looked up at him, then looked back to the ground, feeling the childishness he always tries to push away come back. He gulped a little before shrugging his shoulders slightly. In a small voice he answered, 

 

"I react to you."

 

Mingyu sat blinking for a moment before comprehending what Wonwoo had just said. He his lips as they were as dry as a desert and tried to calm down his racing heart. Wonwoo peered up at Mingyu through his black bangs to see his face slightly red under the dim court lights. He smiled a little to himself, feeling accomplished inside, Mingyus red face a type reward to him. Then he felt Mingyu stand up from the blachers and watched as he stretched in front of him, his crumpled shirt rising up just enough to expose a strip of tan skin on his toned stomach. Wonwoo in a small breath before turning his attention to his own shoes. 

 

As Mingyu picked up his bag he looked down at Wonwoo expectantly, the boy gazing up at him. He reached out a hand down to him and said with a smile on his face. 

 

"Come on, I want to take you somewhere."

 

Wonwoo shyly stood up, following Mingyu off the courts and into the dark streets. 

 

 

WILL BE DOUBLE POSTING TONIGHT BC I LOVE YOU GUYS!!!! <333