Chapter 31.

Slowly, then all at once.
A single loose thread,
And it all comes undone.

Jaehyun woke up with Taeyong in his arms, the other sleeping soundly breathing in and out in a calm rhythm. Jaehyun liked the way the light came through the curtains and fell lightly upon Taeyong’s features, his lips was full and slightly plump after a night’s abuse. His eyelashes looked dark and feathery against his cheeks and his hair was tousled falling gracefully over the white pillow. Jaehyun remembered how Taeyong had moaned beneath him, how he had touched him and Jaehyun noticed that they were still , only having the comforter to cover them.

Jaehyun’s hand was on Taeyong’s hip, thumb caressing the soft skin. He went through the night while enjoying the way Taeyong inched closer in his sleep. Jaehyun leaned in, pressing a kiss to the corner of Taeyong’s mouth and the other stirred.

  “Jaehyun?” Taeyong said in a groggy, small voice and Jaehyun smiled.

  “Morning.” Jaehyun greeted the other feeling butterflies in his stomach when Taeyong reached out for him, fingers tangling into Jaehyun’s hair and tugging him closer so that Taeyong could kiss the other’s lips.

  “How do you feel?” He asked and Taeyong smiled, eyes closed.

  “Good, really.” He assured the other. “One thing though…” He started and Jaehyun ran his fingers up Taeyong’s side as the other sleepily spoke. “Maybe I should top, next time?” He asked and Jaehyun couldn’t help but laugh. He took himself in imagining Taeyong preparing him, the other leaning in over him as he into him and Jaehyun swallowed thickly.

Taeyong poked Jaehyun’s nose, his eyes still closed. “Now don’t get again.”

  “I-I’m not.” Jaehyun stuttered and Taeyong laughed. Jaehyun felt so grateful, so incredibly grateful to be able to just hold someone he loved in his arms, and to be able to be intimate with someone he wanted. Jaehyun was in too deep and there was no turning back now.

Jaehyun’s father had prepared breakfast for them, he eyed Taeyong who wore one of Jaehyun’s hoodies and they gathered around the sofa table.

  “Bean sprout soup?” Jaehyun asked. “For hangovers?”

Jaehyun’s father looked up from the food. “Well, didn’t you drink last night?”

Taeyong looked at Jaehyun and it was if Jaehyun could see the flashes of Jaehyun confessing to Taeyong and the two together and exploring each other’s bodies. Jaehyun blushed. “Yeah, that’s right.” He just found himself saying and Taeyong’s hand found its way to Jaehyun’s thigh. The three of them ate, Taeyong and Jaehyun’s father small talked while Jaehyun found himself swirling the soup in his bowl around, rice barely touched. He frowned lightly, trying to find the courage to eat.

Taeyong looked at him and Jaehyun lifted his head, wearing a small smile. Taeyong glanced at his food. “Aren’t you going to eat?” He asked and Jaehyun felt guilty.

  “I’m not that hungry.” He said and put down his spoon. “Let’s save it for later, then I’ll eat it when I get hungry.”

Jaehyun’s father hummed thoughtfully. “Did you drink a lot last night?” He asked.

Jaehyun shook his head. “Not really, don’t worry about me. You know I take good care of myself.” He smiled and the two nodded.

  “I’ll save it for later, it’ll be in the fridge.” His father said in an assuring voice and Jaehyun smiled gratefully.

Taeyong and Jaehyun lied in bed all day. Watching movies and talking. When Taeyong had to return home, Jaehyun couldn’t help but feel as if time froze when they kissed. They kissed goodbye and would see each other in school again soon. Still that moment seemed to etch itself into Jaehyun’s heart. The way Taeyong’s lips felt against his, the way Taeyong’s arms were around his neck tugging him down for another kiss when Jaehyun leaned away. “I love you.” Taeyong said and Jaehyun pulled Taeyong closer by his waist; hugging the other.

  “I love you too.” He replied and the two laughed, staring into each other’s eyes and seeing a world of their own. With only the two of them in it. Together.

Jaehyun went into the kitchen, opening the fridge and looking at the food. He shook his head lightly before taking a glass of water and returning to his room.

There was that feeling in Jaehyun’s stomach. Well, apart from the ache of throwing up. There was that feeling as if something bad had happened or was going to happen. Jaehyun felt on edge all morning, Taeyong sensed it.

  “Are you okay?” He asked as they sat in the bus Monday morning and Jaehyun turned towards him and nodded exaggeratedly before sinking lower into his seat.

  “Maybe I cannot drink alcohol anymore. My stomach doesn’t like it.” He whined and Taeyong placed his hand on Jaehyun’s stomach. Jaehyun cocked a brow at him. Taeyong just looked at him worriedly.

  “Do you need medicine?” He asked and Jaehyun chuckled, taking Taeyong’s hand in his instead.

  “I just need to let my stomach relax and then I’ll be back to eating twice as much as you.” He said with a playful smile and Taeyong nodded with a grin.

  “That’s good to hear.” He smiled and Jaehyun leaned closer to Taeyong, closing his eyes and hoping this uneasy feeling would go away.

Ten sat in his seat, books already out and when Jaehyun sat down by the window the smaller spun around to face him. “Spit it out.” He demanded and Jaehyun stared at him with wide eyes.

  “Spit what out? I don’t have gum.”

Ten stared at him incredulously. “You two left the party quite early.” He said and Jaehyun gasped. “Yeah! And you’re lucky Johnny’s parents invited me for a field trip or else I had been at your door to hear all the details!”

Jaehyun grimaced. “Ew!” He said and slapped Ten’s shoulder. “I never ask about you and Johnny.”

Ten wiggled his brows. “Do you want to know?”

Jaehyun looked mortified. “No!” He almost shouted but then kept his voice down. “Can’t I tell you later?”

Ten shook his head. “Did you do it?”

Jaehyun hissed at his best friend. He couldn’t believe him. “We did. We did okay? Now shut up!”

Ten raised his fists in victory. Then he leaned closer to Jaehyun to whisper something. “Jaehyun. Now we won’t die s!” He whispered with a silly laugh following his words and Jaehyun couldn’t help but chuckle.

  “You’re incredible.” He laughed. Ten looked rather proud of himself as he leaned back in his seat.

  “Someone has to be.” Ten joked and Jaehyun broke at the middle; falling forwards and laughing while shaking Ten who snorted at his own joke. When the teacher came in the two of them had to choke down their giggles, but still they high fived each other. Class begun.

Mark was seen laughing with Eunhye in the hallway. Jaehyun smiled at the younger, feeling happy to see him laughing. The young couple was cute, too innocent for this world. He thought as he took his lunch with him to the gym. Johnny tugged Ten beneath his arm when Jaehyun and Ten found Johnny and Hansol already seated. Johnny immediately shared what he had for lunch with Ten and Jaehyun leaned towards Hansol to let the other ruffle his hair. Hansol told a story of something he had experienced in the weekend and Jaehyun listened closely. He ate slowly and noticed Sehun, Jongin and Jaemin walk together that day. Mark came later and Taeil sat with them as well.

  “There’s not long until we graduate.” Johnny then said and looked at Hansol who groaned.

  “Don’t remind me!” He whined.

Ten pouted. “What will we do without you?” He asked. “What if your college lies far away?”

Johnny’s face broke into a smile. “Don’t worry, we’ll still play basketball often, and then after 1 year we could maybe end up at the same college, who knows?”

  “But we’ll stay together right?” Jaemin asked with hopeful eyes. “Never forget the time we had.”

Mark shook his head. “Never.” He said and then looked around at the older students. “It’s so sad to remember that you’ll all leave soon and we have so many years ahead of us.”

Jaehyun smiled. “Don’t worry. You’ll grow up to be great seniors, protecting the younger students just like us.” He noticed Mark smile sheepishly and the two shared a gaze. “Maybe you’ll become the next captain of the Tigers who knows?”

Johnny laughed. “Oh no, who will take my role?” He asked and Ten hummed to himself.

  “Probably me or Jaehyun.” He said and then looked at Jaehyun. “Well, Jaehyun wouldn’t be a bad captain.” He wondered and the others nodded. Jaehyun huffed.

  “I would be terrible!” He stated and Ten laughed.

There was a moment where Jaehyun once again felt time slow down. He couldn’t help but wonder what it was his heart wanted to tell him, but he couldn’t help but remember every tone of Ten’s laugh and the way Johnny leaned back when he laughed. Jaemin and Mark had so much to live for, the two boys was laughing so hard Mark couldn’t breathe. Hansol was chuckling being the source of the joke, and he hit Jaehyun’s shoulder and Jaehyun chuckled, but he had to close his eyes and just take it all in. Let this memory sink into his whole being so that on a day far from this he could come back and sit here with his friends once again.

His phone buzzed and Jaehyun had to excuse himself from the group, going down the stairs and walking towards the hall leading to the changing rooms. He stopped in the entrance, already having pressed the green button. Taeyong was on the display and Jaehyun turned around to face his group of friends; watching them fondly while placing the phone to his ear. The other line was silent. Jaehyun wondered for a small moment what it could be, he looked ahead again and the laughter seemed to distance itself as Taeyong’s voice filled his mind.

  “Jaehyun…”

He said and the tone in his voice made time seem to go even slower, he could hear his heart beat harder against his ribcage and he could hear Taeyong breathe in shakily. “What is it, Taeyong?” He asked.

How was it that he just knew? He just knew it…

  “Jaehyun…” Taeyong said again almost pleading the other. Jaehyun remembered to breathe in and he grabbed the phone with both hands.

  “Tell me.” He whispered.

Taeyong exhaled before speaking in a tone that sounded like it was caught in disbelief and wonder.

“Doyoung is dead.”

A/N:

Guess who's in Connecticut? Yup, that's me! 
It's gonna take some time to get used to it, but I'm loving it here, it's so beautiful!

Now I won't say much about this chapter. You'll get an update sometime next week <3

Love,
Emma <3