Chapter 11.

Who, who are you really? And where, where are you going? I've got nothing left to prove, cause I've got nothing left to lose. 

Jaehyun was mostly dry when he reached the camp and managed to run through the place to his hut and storm through the living room and up the stairs while crying furiously. Ten and Johnny who had waited for him on the couch immediately got up and followed the boy.

Jaehyun ended up in his room and found himself alone for a second. He knew he had to change clothes since it was disgusting and smelled of dirt. Ten and Johnny entered the room like parents would enter the room of their raging teenager.

  “Jaehyun, how did it go?” Ten asked hesitantly and Jaehyun who was pulling on a shirt stomped through the room.

  “WE FELL INTO A RIVER!” He yelled and pulled on a pair of shorts. “A RIVER!”

Johnny and Ten just looked at him with dropped jaws. Then Ten got through the shock. “Oh my god, are you okay?!” He asked and sat down beside Jaehyun and cupped the other’s face with his hands.

Jaehyun couldn’t stop himself, he was still crying. “We got out… walked for more than an hour to get here.” He cried and then looked up at them then he shook his head. He didn’t even dare to tell them what Taeyong had done.

  “Did you talk?” Johnny asked cautiously and Jaehyun really tried to not think of the kiss. Ten wore a frown when he looked at him, eyes squinted.

  “Something happened.” Ten said and it wasn’t a question. “What did he do?”

Jaehyun decided to let it out and dropping his hands to his lap he cried out: “He kissed me!”

Ten and Johnny were completely silent. Then Ten stood. “Where is he?” He asked hands curling into fists.

Jaehyun blinked. “I ran.”

  “You ran?” Johnny asked. Jaehyun nodded, biting down on his lip.

Ten walked over to the window. “I’m gonna kick him in the face.” He said and Jaehyun stood.

  “I said I was first in line!”

Mark entered at that point. “Oh.” He said and looked at them. Jaehyun’s cheeks were still wet and his eyes red from crying. “What family meeting am I interrupting?”

  “We’re planning how to get away with murder.” Johnny explained and Mark nodded with an ‘ah’. Then he casually went over to his bag to find something.

Jaehyun dropped down again and hid his face in his hands. “We were actually having a nice talk.” He said and Mark raised his head.

  “Nice?” Mark repeated. “With Taeyong? Taeyong is anything but.”

  “He did save me from drowning.” Jaehyun defended the other but then hit his own thigh, feeling like he had just betrayed himself. “Why am I defending him?”

Ten looked at Jaehyun pointedly. “Feelings.” He just said and Jaehyun looked up to stop fresh tears from forming.

  “Them feelings though.” Mark added and took seat on Sehun’s bed. The boys sat in silence while Jaehyun silently sobbed, wiping his tears away but new ones came as quickly as he had dried his cheeks. Ten went over and snuggled into Jaehyun’s neck. The other smiled a little.

Johnny had his elbows prodded on his thighs, chin resting in his hands thoughtfully. None of them really knew what to do. None could imagine themselves in such a situation and Jaehyun was too emotional to even think of a logic solution. Every ounce of him wanted nothing more than to just leave, just flee from everything, but he would be lying to himself if he said the kiss didn’t make his heart leap. He wanted to give in to Taeyong but he wouldn’t let himself. Not until he knew enough.

  “You never know with love.” Mark said wisely and the other three nodded. “Love is learning.” He then added and Jaehyun and Johnny cooed ‘oooh’ at Mark’s wise words. Mark just laughed shyly. “I’m serious.” He said and Jaehyun nodded, letting Mark finish talking. “We can’t know what Taeyong feels, for now it’s just analyzing his actions and words and you can analyze it all wrong.”

  “But every time I ask he gives these coded answers.”

  “He’s clearly trying to get through with something.” Ten said.

  “But what?” Jaehyun asked a little hopelessly.

None of them could answer. Ten placed a hand on Jaehyun’s thigh. “How do you feel?”

Jaehyun closed his eyes. “I don’t want to admit it.”

  “You don’t have to.” Said Johnny and patted Jaehyun’s back.

Mark snapped his fingers. “Maybe Taeyong doesn’t want to admit it either?”

The other three looked at him questioningly. Ten looked disapproving. “You actually think Taeyong likes Jaehyun? After what he has put him through? Who would do that to their crush?”

Jaehyun couldn’t help but huff. “I broke his nose.” He muttered..

Mark seemed like he wanted to take it back. “Nevermind, see, analyzing isn’t always a great solution.”

  “Forget him.” Ten said and Jaehyun looked at him. “Focus on having fun with your friends. Let’s ignore the Rivers and their problems.”

  “But first.” Johnny said. “Are you sure you’re okay, you aren’t hurt from falling into the river?”

Jaehyun ran a hand through his hair. “I’m exhausted.”

  “Rest.” Ten said and kissed the top of Jaehyun’s head before getting up. Johnny looked at Ten with a look of envy. Jaehyun blinked.

  “Wait you haven’t?” He whispered to Johnny. The taller shook his head, pausing for a bit as if thinking. Then Johnny stood and took Ten’s hand in his which made the smaller look up at him with wide eyes.

  “Let’s go for a walk.” Johnny beamed and Ten looked like he was trying not to blush.

  “No rivers.”

Johnny shook his head and Ten’s gaze moved to Jaehyun’s. Jaehyun thought back to the mornings he woke up beside Ten, the sun bathing Ten in its bright light and Ten squinting his eyes as he woke up. Jaehyun could still feel the other’s touches as if it was yesterday, but he didn’t feel like he needed them anymore. They were memories. They had moved on. Jaehyun gave a nod and a small smile and Ten then nodded and went with Johnny. Mark watched Jaehyun crawl up into his bed with small groans of exhaustion and then he dropped down on the mattress. Mark didn’t seem like he was leaving. Jaehyun noticed that the sun was shining outside and thought it was odd. The sky had been cloudy when Taeyong and Jaehyun went for a walk, but now Johnny and Ten went for a walk and the sun was shining. He closed his eyes and then heard the sound of someone scribbling with a pen. Mark moved over to sit in his own bed and Jaehyun was happy to have someone watching over him.

Mark woke him up when it was time for dinner. They went downstairs and ate and Jaehyun heard Sehun gossip about Taeyong coming home with bruises and almost passing out. Jaehyun immediately put down his utensils thinking back to Taeyong’s state when he left him. Maybe he hadn’t been in his right mind when he kissed Jaehyun? That could be right. Taeyong didn’t like Jaehyun he was just affected by the near-death experience.

Jaehyun picked up his utensils and started eating again. He’ll get over the one-sided love. Jaehyun looked around, speaking of love, Johnny and Ten had come in late for dinner and they were sitting at the other end of the table. Jaehyun leaned forward and eyed the two, Ten was putting vegetables on Johnny’s rice for him to eat, smiling brightly and Johnny looked like a shy school girl. Jaehyun sat back and sulked while looking at his rice. Of course Ten deserved this kind of love. Jaehyun sighed. What had he done in his past life that made him suffer like this?

Mark put a few carrots on his rice when he had noticed that Jaehyun had stopped eating. “Eat.” He said. “You need strength.”

Jaehyun smiled and felt grateful for having Mark as a friend. You could really learn from people who were younger than you, and even if Mark was younger he seemed like a wise kid who learned quickly. Jaehyun noticed Jaemin put down his chopsticks. He pouted at Mark who looked at the other with a startled expression. Mark then quickly picked out a side-dish and put that on top of Jaemin’s rice and he beamed at Mark while chewing. Mark laughed awkwardly.
Jaehyun, as much as he wanted to check on Taeyong, couldn’t go to the bonfire after Ten and Johnny had told Soohyun of what had happened. Soohyun immediately checked if Jaehyun had any bruises before telling him to rest. Jaehyun was grateful though, he was tired and now he had an excuse for not facing the other team.

Still it would seem that even when he were alone and didn’t have to listen to ’s snoring, he couldn’t fall asleep. He decided to sneak over to the window to see what the others were doing. When he counted the other team he noticed that there was one missing. He could only think of one person. Jaehyun sighed and went back to bed. What would tomorrow bring? He hoped it would finally bring him something good.

Jaehyun woke up feeling more refreshed. He had gotten lots of sleep and he noticed Mark below him were awake too when he leaned over the small railing of the bed. Mark moved his head to the edge of the bed so that they could see each other. “Slept well?” Mark asked and Jaehyun nodded.

Ten started turning in the other bed with a small moan. He was beginning to wake up.

  “What did I miss at the campfire?” He asked.

  “Jongsuk explained that Taeyong had said you two met each other on the bridge and the railing collapsed and you fell in.”

  “How did the other boys react?” Jaehyun couldn’t help but think of Doyoung and he also wondered what Taeyong had meant by ‘meeting’ on the bridge. It sounded like… it sounded like a secret meeting or something. Jaehyun groaned would others begin to think they were a couple now?

  “Yuta looked absolutely furious. Saying that it was probably Taeyong being nice covering up that you pushed him into the river.” Mark said and he looked enraged. “I swear Doyoung was sitting and whispering things to Jinyoung that were disturbing and even Soohyun decided to cut off the conversation at that point.” Mark turned his head when Ten sat up, rubbing his eyes. “Oh and I caught Johnny and Ten kissing in the hallway last night.” He said with a grin and Ten’s eyes widened, immediately looking at Jaehyun. Jaehyun just smiled and pointed a finger at Ten.

  “So his little walk was successful?” He asked and Ten was blushing furiously.

  “I just woke up!” He shrieked and Sehun startled awake.

  “Will you guys?” He asked and covered his ears with his pillow. Mark pointed towards the hallway and the two started getting ready while Ten was burying his face into his pillow.

 

  “Hey the water tank is emptying isn’t it?” Jaehyun asked Soohyun when the coach exited his room. Soohyun looked up at him with a startled expression, then he looked out the window while thinking.

  “You can fill it later.” He then said with a wide smile. “Have you regained your strength?” He asked and Jaehyun nodded, trying to seem as if he was much better so he didn’t worry Soohyun too much. Soohyun looked relieved. “The kid from the other team was really exhausted too; he didn’t meet up at the bond fire. Are you two okay?”

Jaehyun just nodded, because he noticed Ten walking into the living room and Johnny came rushing down right after, pulling Ten into his arms playfully. Soohyun was fixing some papers in his hands. “Good because you’re on the same team.”

Jaehyun’s expression froze in a smile. He turned around to face Soohyun. “We’re what?”

  “We’re having a relay with mixed teams. Jongsuk asked Taeyong if he wanted to be on any teams and he chose your team.”

  “My team?”

  “Your team.”

  “My team?” Jaehyun repeated while pressing his lips into a thin line, eyes wide. Soohyun nodded and his expression grew nervous at Jaehyun’s reaction. Jaehyun glanced at the papers. “What are the teams exactly?”

  “Oh don’t worry I-”

  “You do a terrible job at teaming.” Sehun said as soon as he entered. “I’m not on the same team as Jongin am I?”

  “Actually.” Soohyun said and raised his chin a little. “Your team captain Johnny helped making the teams.”

Sehun stopped in mid-step. “Are we then?”

Johnny who was seated on the couch with Mark and Ten lying with their heads in his lap nodded. “I’m tired of hearing you whining over not being on the same team as your best friend.”

Sehun squealed. “Jong-jong, we’re on the same team!” He said in a girly voice as he attacked his team mate who was in the kitchen.

Jaehyun almost grabbed the papers from Soohyun’s hand. “What are the teams you say?”

Jaehyun, Taeyong, Yuta and of all luck Hansol. Johnny wrapped an arm around Jaehyun’s shoulders as they went outside to meet up with their teams. “I thought you needed a big guy on the team to kick Taeyong’s if he tries anything.” He said and Jaehyun chuckled.

  “Thanks for the concern.” Jaehyun said and noticed Taeyong standing with his hands gathered behind him and he was wearing a cap. Yuta had one arm around him and he was whispering something to Taeyong. Taeyong reached up to scratch his forehead when his eyes went to Jaehyun’s and the two seemed to be stuck in the moment. Hansol put his hands on Jaehyun’s back and forced him to move. Jaehyun immediately looked up at the taller not noticing that he had stopped walking. Taeyong didn’t look away from Jaehyun when the other stopped beside Yuta, keeping a short distance between him and the two. Hansol decided to step in between and Taeyong narrowed his eyes on the taller.

Jaehyun glanced at the other teams and saw Mark look like he was either suffering beneath the sun or Jaemin’s presence. Jinyoung and Sicheng stood behind him and Mark really looked like he wanted to just bury himself.

Ten and Johnny were already bickering with Doyoung and it seemed as if Kun was more interested in Ten’s earrings than Johnny threatening Doyoung. Jaehyun felt an odd feeling of unity as if this was making the teams closer, what would be the odds? These teams were as different as day and night they needed something separating them like Soohyun and Jongsuk who worked as dusk and dawn.

Jaehyun felt like Taeyong’s stare would create holes in the back of his head and he dared to glance in the other’s direction. Taeyong didn’t look away. Jaehyun had to, though, because even after everything the other still left him breathless. As if he was drowning. Taeyong really was a river after all, pulling him in and tossing him around, pulling him down and drowning him and letting him back up again. Only this time Jaehyun wouldn’t get out of the river. He would surely drown.

Soohyun explained their mission. Around in the forest hung different colored envelopes; each of them had a riddle in them to be solved and when they had solved them; they could go home. Besides the riddles there would be something they’d need to find, like a flower or something else. Jaehyun’s team was blue, much to his dismay of that being the Rivers’ color. They could find three envelopes; the team winning would earn a special prize of eating out in a restaurant of the village nearby and also having a day off when the other teams would practice at the basketball courts the next two days. Soohyun handed Jaehyun a map of which way to go and a compass, Taeyong stepped closer and Jaehyun had to act as if breathing was a thing he mastered while standing so close to him. Hansol and Yuta circled around Jaehyun too, to get a good view.

Jaehyun’s jaw scooted forward in an annoyed expression and he heard Johnny say something about why he had to be captain when it meant he’d have to be on the same team as Doyoung. Taeyong pointed to the path he and Jaehyun had taken before.

  “This one will take us to where we need to go.” He said and looked up at Jaehyun who just casually nodded with a smile as if this path didn’t bring up memories of yesterday. Taeyong gulped and then turned his attention to the map. “After crossing the bridge we will go North, the first envelope won’t be hard to reach."

  “Alright guys, now remember this is about teamwork, we can’t have you coming home bruised and beaten after getting into a fight. You’ll be mature for once in your life and get things done. Now get going, the day is long but time passes fast!” Soohyun said and Jaehyun’s team who had now gotten blue ribbons on their left arm looked up.

On Soohyun’s cue, blowing into a whistle that made birds in the trees flee the area, Jaehyun watched Johnny and Doyoung’s team run and he decided to get going too, feeling Taeyong never leaving his side.

This would be a long day.

A/N:

Friends! Thank you for all the nice comments, I'm so happy to hear that you all like the story! <3
 - So this chapter is a little bit long because I needed to find a good place to cut it, and now you know what they're going to do in the next chapter. They're going to do a relay and none other than Jaehyun and Taeyong is on the same team :iii (But also Yuta and Hansol - we need more Hansol ehehe) 

As I've mentioned to some of you I'm writing chapter 23-24 right now so I'm way ahead. This is going to be much longer than it's cousin Running Water. It also has the water theme like this one, (I'm afraid of deep waters so that's why I always use it in my stories lol. The last thing I'll do is drown - but why not torture myself by writing about it.) Running Water ended at chapter 22 and I'm not near the ending yet. 
 - Also just passed 100+ word pages with Knowing! *screams*

I'm thinking of creating a horror story with NCT, since horror stories are kind of my thing. But I'll see how it goes, I'm using the monster I'm most scared of so I'm feeling amazing while writing it :))))) *dies*

Comments are always very appreciated, thank you for the upvotes too! I'll be back soon <3

Love,
Emma. <3