The next morning was horrible.
Jun had woken up at the crack of dawn so as not to have to face his roommate. He hurriedly got dressed and bolted out of the room, almost slamming the door in his haste.
Joshua lay on his bed, his eyes open. He had heard Jun's alarm go off and at first wondered by Jun was leaving so quickly. But Joshua wasn't stupid. He realized it had to do with himself, and the thought hurt a lot more than he'd expected.

"Morning Jun," Joshua said weakly, trying to seem normal. He'd followed after Jun a while later, much to the other's chagrin.
"Yeah, morning." Jun replied, not meeting Joshua's eyes. 
Jun knew he was being ridiculous. It doesn't take a genius to figure that out. But he couldn't help himself.
Because who knows what he would've done to Joshua otherwise.
Joshua doesn't like you, idiot, Jun reminded himself for the umpteenth time. He just sees you as a friend. So give up on him.
Unfortunately, that attempt at persuasion was always unsuccessful.
He watched Joshua trail away with a disheartened look on his expression. It made Jun feel like the tiest person in existence, but at least it meant that Joshua didn't have to see the side of Jun he was trying desperately to keep under wraps.
Then he saw Joshua talking to S. Coups and Jeonghan and he felt his irritation level rise.
Jesus, make up your damn mind Jun.
He suddenly grabbed the person sitting next to him, Minghao, and tackled him into a headlock.
"Ow-what the hell Jun-!"
Jun ignored him, ruffling the younger boy's hair, oblivious to his protests. Finally, he released a slightly more traumatized and wary Minghao.
"Do that again and I'll kill you in your sleep," he threatened, rubbing his head.
"Sorry, you just looked really adorable." Unlike with Joshua, Jun had no problen saying those words to Minghao, who raised his eyebrows.
"So you do want to die an early death."
Jun laughed and let himself get hit by Minghao. Whatever. He'd just have to distract himself from Joshua for now.

"Joshua? You're trying to cut your pancakes with a spoon."
"And you're trying to eat them with a knife."
Joshua looked up at his friends, startled. They were right. He quickly switched utensils, his face heating up.
"Still half asleep I guess," he muttered as they chuckled.
In truth, he was wide alert.
He'd seen Jun and Minghao messing around, no big deal. But what bothered him...just slightly...was the fact that Jun had called him adorable.
Joshua facepalmed internally. Why did that even matter anyway? He clenched his fists.
Big mistake.
He'd been pouring maple syrup over his pancakes and the sudden pressure on the bottle caused an enormous splurge of syrup to crash down onto the stack, overflowing over the sides of the plate and onto the table.
He sat there, his eyes widening in realization.
"Shua!"
"What the-"
Joshua hastily put the bottle down, his face on fire. He bolted out of his seat to go find paper towels. 
Jun had heard the commotion, only to turn and see Joshua running like someone was after his life and a pool of maple syrup on his plate.
Uh oh.
Jun immediately felt a surge of guilt. He knew it might not be his fault, but deep down he thought maybe Joshua had really been hurt by Jun's actions the day before.
Crap. I need to talk to him. Screw avoiding and all that . I can't let Joshua be upset because of me.
He got up too and followed after Joshua.

"Joshua-hyung!" Jun called out breathlessly as he finally spotted Joshua in a restroom, snatching paper towels like crazy.
"Woah-dude do you need help?" Jun rushed to help Joshua who was fumbling with the stack.
Joshua didn't respond, but let Jun take some of the napkins. Jun stared at him awkwardly, unsure of what to say. Joshua turned away, but of course he had to sneeze, causing paper towels to fly everywhere.
Jun couldn't help but smile. "Jeez, you're a mess today," he remarked, helping Joshua discard the napkins on the now littered floor.
"And whose fault is that?" Joshua muttered quietly, not expecting Jun to hear.
Well, he'd heard all right.
"What?" Jun said, taken aback. Shoot, he really is mad.
"Nothing," Joshua dismissed hurriedly. But Jun wasn't going to back off that easily.
"Um-Joshua-hyung...I-uh...I'm sorry about yesterday...actually I was just a bit tired-um..so don't take it personally or anything, okay?" Jun knew that he sounded like a moron, but he needed to let Joshua know.
Joshua nodded in acknowledgment but didn't say anything. 
"I..understand if you're mad at me..." Jun offered.
Joshua finally met Jun's eyes.
"I'm not mad."
"Yes you are."
"No I'm not."
"You are."
"I'm really not!"
He strode up to Jun, irritated.
"I'm just...confused!"
"About what?"
"You!"
"Why?" Jun found that he was slowly backing away while Joshua advanced.
"I don't know!"
"So what am I supposed to do?"
Joshua paused, breathing heavily. What the heck am I saying? he thought in dismay. I look and sound like I've lost my mind. He looked up at Jun, who was both confused and...was that amusement on his face? Suddenly Joshua realized he'd backed Jun up against a wall. Oops. He started to move back.
Jun didn't think (as usual). He just grabbed Joshua's arms and pulled him closer.
"You didn't answer my question," he breathed. Joshua's face heated up once more, and Jun smirked.
"So tell me, what am I supposed to do?"
"I-"
They were interrupted by the bathroom door swinging open, as S. Coups entered. Joshua broke away from Jun in a heartbeat. 
"There you are! I thought you'd just ran away and ditched us! What's taking so long?" He then eyed Jun and the mess of napkins on the floor and he shook his head.
"Really?"
Joshua coughed in embarrassment. "Uh, sorry...we started messing around, I'll go clean it up." He then dashed out of the restroom, paper towels in hand, leaving Jun to pick up the mess and an annoyed S. Coups to follow.

Joshua's heart was still racing, and he wasn't sure what to do. But he knew that Jun was definitely a threat to his...what? Emotions? Joshua had started off the day sad, then a bit annoyed, then full out irritated, and now he was blushing like a lunatic.
Why am I like this around Jun? he wondered, feeling troubled. I want to be near him...but when I do...
Maybe you like him.
He stopped short.
Come on, Joshua. You're not brain dead. Think for a second. Why else would you get like this? Your emotions become a mess. Isn't that what crushes do to people?
Joshua dismissed the thought, feeling his face reheat.
But he knew, deep down, that it was right.