a/n: Jae and Brian's cover of Bette Midler's "The Rose" kept playing in my head while I wrote this :")

It took Brian another hour to reach the dorm. By then, he was gasping for air.  Not just because he ran whenever the situation allowed him to, but also because the closer he got to Jae, the more difficult it became to breathe like a normal human being.

But he didn’t let himself hesitate for even a second. He pulled out the dorm key from his pocket, steadying his fingers so they wouldn’t shake.

He unlocked the door and let it swing open.

“Jae—” he began, then stopped.

The main room was empty.

Okay, Brian told himself. Jae is probably in our room or in the bathroom or something. Calm down.

After a moment of consideration, he decided to check the room first. He tried to be as quiet as possible, not wanting to surprise Jae and risk another accident. He even closed the door very, very slowly. Glancing at the clock on the wall, Brian saw that there were still four hours until Dowoon came home with Sungjin and Wonpil.

Tick tock. Tick tock.

The dorm was so quiet. So unusually quiet. Living in a room with four other boys was not easy and was definitely not the most peaceful way of living. On a normal day he would have appreciated the lack of sound, but now it only made him feel even more nervous.

As he walked, his eyes roamed the main room. The television was turned off, the floor was clear of any random clothes (Sungjin would always nag at them whenever the room was a mess), and a pair of Dowoon’s drumsticks could be seen on the dining table. He continued looking at random and various objects until his eyes landed on something that caused his heart to drop to his stomach.

He was a few meters away from it, but he could see it clearly.

On the black sofa in front of the television, there lay a certain square-shaped object. It was small. Small enough to put in his pocket. He didn’t even need to take a closer look to know what it was, because he already spent hours looking at it, at that certain picture.

It was the photo of him kissing Jae in the haunted house. And he had no idea what it was doing on the sofa.

Brian’s hand automatically made its way to the front left pocket of his jeans. Then to the right pocket. The photo wasn’t there. How? How did it find its way to the sofa? Did it slip out of his pocket when he wrote the note to Jae that morning? Did he accidentally drop it?

Whatever the reason was, he needed to grab and hide it as quickly as he could. He took long strides towards the photo, his hands shaking, heart banging against his chest. He could only hope that Jae hadn’t seen it yet—

“Brian?”

He froze.

.

Jae was standing in the doorway of their room, hair messy and glasses nowhere to be seen, wearing a simple white t-shirt and shorts that just reached his knees.

Their eyes connected, and Brian wondered if he looked just as horrified as Jae.

“I thought you wouldn’t be home for a few more hours,” Jae continued, voice shaking.

Oh, now Jae was talking to him.

.

Brian cleared his throat. “I—” He hoped he didn’t look guilty as he moved a little bit to the left, trying to block the photo from his friend’s view. “I, er, thought I’d go home a little earlier. I’m feeling a little sleepy.”

“Y-yeah.”

“Why don’t you get some sleep first? You were the one that got knocked out last night.”

Get your back in the room so I can grab this freaking photograph, Brian inwardly screamed.

“You look more tired than I do, Brian.”

“Jae, I insist.”

They both stood still, not moving a muscle.

Brian decided he would take the risk. He would have to retrieve the photo as quickly and as inconspicuously as possible. He walked slowly towards the sofa, still facing Jae. “All right, I’ll go sleep,” he said, trying to draw his friend’s attention to the conversation. “I can ask Dowoon to buy some dinner for us.”

“Uh-huh,” Jae said distractedly, suspiciously eyeing Brian’s every movement.

“What do you want to eat?” Brian said, trying to keep his tone as casual as possible. “Pizza?” He took another step closer. It looked like the color drained from Jae’s face. “Chicken?” Then Brian put a hand behind his back, reaching for the photo.

Jae lunged forward.

Brian’s fingers had just wrapped themselves around the photo when his tall friend crashed into him.

“Nooooooo!” Jae wailed as they both fell onto the floor. Brian cursed loudly under his breath, Jae sprawled all over him.

Brian tried to stuff the photo into his pocket, but his friend reacted quickly. Jae’s long arm shot forward, grabbing the bassist by the wrist and using his other hand to grab at the photo.

Brian wouldn’t let him. He got his knee under Jae’s stomach and pushed him off. It worked, somehow. Gasping for breath, Brian attempted to stand up—

And got tackled by Jae again.

They fell onto the floor for the second time that day.

Jae had Brian pinned underneath him, who was thrashing underneath his full weight. Brian was shorter but had a lot more muscle, and Jae was freaking light. But no matter how light he was, it was hard to shake him off. His knees were on both sides of Brian’s waist, limiting any movement. None of them had the upper hand.

“What the , Jae?” Brian yelled, attempting to push Jae off of him with one hand. His other hand protected the photo, clutching it to his chest.

Jae didn’t say anything, but his face showed the look of absolute panic. Again, he was grabbing desperately for the photo, but it was impossible to pry off Brian’s fingers that were wrapped around it. “Let go,” he finally said, voice pleading. “Let go.”

“No—” Brian gritted his teeth. He stretched his hand above his head as much as he could, away from Jae’s reach. Why is Jae freaking out so much? Did he already see the photo?

It was a dumb move. Jae had longer arms and used them to his advantage. Soon Brian found both of Jae’s hands clamped around his own, trying to unravel the mess of fingers that held the photo.

You’re stronger than him, Brian told himself. Don’t let go. Don’t let go and everything will be okay.

“Let go, Brian, please!”

Okay, I’m bullting myself. How can this be okay, how do I even get out of this, how do I—

“OKAY BRIAN, I’M SORRY. I BOUGHT THE PHOTO, I’M SORRY.”

Wait... what?

Brian’s iron grip on the photo slackened a bit as he stared at his friend hovering above him.

What?

“I bought the photo from the haunted house!” Jae bawled, his cheeks red, pure guilt in his eyes. “I don’t know what came over me but I just had to! I’m sorry, dude, I’m sorry!”

“What...?” This time Brian said it out loud.

Jae continued, the volume of his voice getting higher and higher with each sentence. “Of course I didn’t plan on telling you. It was just for myself. I thought of throwing it away many times but I couldn’t. I swear I bought it on pure impulse. I swear. I accidentally left it on the sofa. You must think I’m such a ing creep right now—”

“This... This isn’t mine...?”

Now it was Jae’s turn to freeze. “Wh... What do you mean this isn’t yours?”

They stared at each other, confusion painted all over their faces.

A couple of seconds passed before the realization came crashing down on Brian.

Oh, he thought.

And then.

OHHHHHHHHHHHHH, he screamed in his mind. WHAT THE F—

“Brian, don’t tell me you bought one too?”

—UUUUUUUUUCK.

“I,” Brian stuttered. “I— Well, yes.”

So. They both bought the photo. Brian tried to wrap his head around the surprising fact, and it seemed like Jae was doing the same. The tallest of them shook his head, disbelief clearly on his face. Then he finally released Brian’s wrist.

“What the hell,” Jae muttered under his breath, finally rolling off of his friend. He did so until they were both lying side to side. “What the hell.”

Jae’s weight finally gone from his chest, Brian coughed and gulped in as much air as he could. Jae’s arm had been on his windpipe. He coughed and coughed until he finally got a hold of himself. Then he turned to look at Jae, whose face was just a couple inches away from his.

Jae wasn’t looking at him, though. His eyes were fixed on the ceiling.

Brian decided to do the same. He looked up, mind churning.

They could hear the sound of the wall clock filling in the silence.

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.

“Jae.”

Tick.

“Yeah, Brian?”

Tock.

“What happened to us?”

Tick. Tock.

“I dunno, Brian. A lot of things.”

“Hm. That’s very specific.”

“I dunno, man.” Jae sounded tired. “I thought it was nothing at first. You know. You kissing me and all that.” He cleared his throat, clearly feeling awkward to finally touch the subject of their moment in the haunted house. “I was the one who asked you for it in the first place. After that we acted as if nothing happened.”

“Yeah, you clung onto me pretty tightly on the Viking ride,” Brian commented.

Jae let out a small, soft laugh. Brian never knew how much he missed hearing it. “Yeah, I did, didn’t I?”

The bassist grinned. “Yeah.”

Then the laugh was gone again as Jae continued. “I really thought I could pretend as if nothing happened. Trust me, I really did. But then when we were in the car to head back to the hotel. And... the farther away we got from that amusement park, the more I thought about it. And the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I could not pretend as if nothing happened.”

Brian stayed silent.

“And by the time we reached the hotel, I felt that I couldn’t even look at you anymore. If I looked at you, I’d feel all weird again.  I don’t really know how to define this ‘weird’ feeling, but it just made me uncomfortable, you know?” Jae paused as he seemed to realize how his words sounded. “N-no, it’s not the feeling of falling in love or anything, dude, really! It’s just... weird. , how do I explain this...”

Brian wanted so badly to look at Jae’s face. But from the corner of his eye, he could see that Jae’s gaze was still fixed on the ceiling.

“It was so comfortable being your friend. Your bro. But after the haunted house, it felt like something could get in the way of that comfort. Do you get what I mean?”

Brian thought about it. He slowly nodded. It sounds like you’re afraid of the possibility of falling in love with me or something, he wanted to say.

But instead, he replied, “I think I get the gist of it.”

“I like us being bros,” Jae said hurriedly.

“Yeah.”

“I’m sorry, I just—”

“Jae, calm down.” Brian’s tone was firm, causing Jae to close his mouth in a heartbeat. The younger of the two sighed, shaking his head. “I kissed you because you asked me to, so that you would stop freaking out, so that we could quickly get the out of that haunted house.” Now he was looking at Jae, and Jae was looking at him. Brian couldn’t read his friend’s face. It was a mixture of emotions that he couldn’t quite pinpoint but... Jae looked a little... vulnerable? “I didn’t kiss you because I was in love with you or anything,” he finished. “So why are you so worried?”

Jae didn’t answer him. He just kept staring, unblinking.

Brian let out another sigh. “I really thought we both could look at it as nothing. It was just an action done to get out of a haunted house in an amusement park. A lot of crazy things happen in amusement parks. We were both chill with it. I even teased you for a bit. It could have been something to even laugh about in the future. But it turns out you didn’t think it was nothing. You started avoiding me. It was funny at first, but then you kept on doing it. And it wasn’t so funny anymore.” He paused. “It should have been nothing.”

It felt like minutes passed for the words to sink in. Jae had returned his gaze the ceiling, and Brian wanted to say ‘See you’re even avoiding me now’, but he kept his mouth shut.

Finally Jae turned to look at him straight in the eyes again. But it wasn’t determination that Brian saw on his face. It was uncertainty. “Can we...?” Jae began.

Brian waited.

“Can we pretend that I never avoided you? That I never freaked out or anything?” Jae seemed to gain a little bit of confidence with every word. “Let’s pretend that I was chill about it the entire time. It really should have been nothing. Let’s... Let’s go back to normal, to how we used to be.”

To how we used to be.

“Yeah,” Brian said, without a moment’s hesitation. “Let’s.” Then he grinned, though he felt a bit strange. “There we go. Thanks, Jae.”

Jae smiled, relief evident on his face. “Yup. Thanks, man.” Then he stared at the ceiling again, and Brian did the same, both of them smiling contently.

Seconds passed.

“Brian.”

“Yeah, Jae?”

“I wanna try something.”

“Hm? Try what?”

“Something. I just wanna make sure. Wanna make sure it’s really nothing.”

Brian was taken aback by the determination in Jae’s voice. The bassist furrowed his brow as he stared at the lights on the ceiling. “Try what?”

“Just be quiet.”

“Huh—?”

Then he felt soft hands cup his face, and Brian’s words were cut off when he realized that Jae was on top of him again. He opened his mouth to ask what the hell was going on—

—when he suddenly felt Jae’s lips against his, and the question died in his throat.

The kiss was so sudden (and not so gentle) that Brian instinctively shut his eyes. 

He couldn’t think. He didn’t know what to feel. It was as if all of the emotions that was possible for a human being to have were churning in one huge cauldron, producing the final concoction that was Brian’s messy feelings in that one single moment.

Just when his mind was processing the fact that his close friend was kissing him (and how he should respond to it), it ended.

Jae pulled away, and Brian opened his eyes to see his friend’s face still hovering above his.

A few seconds passed while they just stared at each other, unmoving.

“See?” Jae said. Then he smiled. “Confirmed. It really is nothing.”

“Yeah,” Brian said, trying to keep his voice steady. He wondered what his face looked like. What kind of expression he had on because he could barely feel his face. “Confirmed.”

Jae’s smile grew wider. Then for the second time that day, he rolled off of Brian and they lay side by side once more. “Confirmed,” he said, one last time. He then let out a sigh and closed his eyes. “I feel so relieved now.”

Brian nodded. “Me too,” he lied. He stared at his friend’s calm face. It looked like Jae could have fallen asleep right there.

No wait, it wasn’t that calm. When observed closely, Brian could see— very faintly but surely— the hint of pink on Jae’s face.

Looks like you’re blushing, Brian wanted to say. But he decided against saying anything. Not when things seemed like they were finally going back to normal.

It sounds like you’re afraid of the possibility of falling in love.

Brian had mentally said that to his friend a few minutes ago. But now, as Jae lay peacefully beside him, he wondered if it applied to himself as well.

Tick tock tick tock.

After years of lyric writing for Day6’s songs, Brian had developed a sort of knack for poetry. As cheesy as it sounded, at that moment, he wondered if his relationship with Jae was like the clock hanging on the wall.  The clock: running on batteries to activate its gears, ticking by at a slow but steady pace.

What happened in the haunted house seemed to have set the gears into motion of whatever relationship he was going to have with Jae. Perhaps they would always remain friends. Perhaps more. Perhaps the haunted house simply accelerated whatever would have inevitably happen. Or perhaps it was all thanks to the haunted house that the possibility of them being more than friends appeared. Without it, perhaps they never would have considered more than a close friendship between them.

He didn’t know. But what he knew with certainty was that they couldn’t go back. At least not him.

“My dear Brian Kang, only time will tell,” Bernard had said. And Brian now understood. Or at least a little.

What’s going on in Jae’s mind? Brian wondered. He wanted to try to read his friend’s face. Wanted to see if he could get any more clues. But when he turned his head to examine the person laying next to him, he saw that Jae had really fallen asleep.

“Idiot,” Brian muttered. He couldn’t help but smile. “Park Jaehyung, you idiot.” Brian’s then felt his left hand hurting, and it was then that he realized that he was still holding onto Jae's haunted house photo. He shook his head in disbelief. The photo was all crumpled up now. He tried to straighten it, but knew that the wrinkles wouldn’t disappear no matter how hard he tried.

He stared at his and Jae’s faces in the photo. What will happen next? he thought. Should I be scared? Or should I be excited? Or both?

Minutes passed when he decided to send a message to Dowoon. A huge thank you message. He reached into the back pocket of his jeans—

—and found his haunted house photo in said pocket, tucked next to his phone. In his panic upon discovering the photo on the sofa, he didn’t even check his back pockets.

He groaned inwardly. “Brian Kang,” he muttered to himself. “You idiot.”

Jae snored in agreement.

a/n again:

Thanks so much for reading till the end! ^_^ comments would be lovely~ I'd love to know what you think of the story! :3

 I honestly thought I'd end the story here, but... some ideas are popping up in my head. I think I might continue it :) We'll see!

_________

bonus:
(because why not)

Jae and Brian's cover of Bette Midler's "The Rose"

Lyrics:

Some say love, it is a river
That drowns the tender reed.
Some say love, it is a razor
That leaves your soul to bleed.

Some say love, it is a hunger,
An endless aching need.
I say love, it is a flower,
And you, baby, its only seed.

When the night has been too lonely
And the road has been too long,
And you think that love is only
For the lucky and the strong.

Just remember in the winter
Far beneath the bitter snows
Lies the seed that with the sun's love
In the spring becomes the rose.