~~~

4:21 PM

“So, in 1590…”

Jongin inwardly groans as he rests his head on his desk. In normal circumstances, he’d be sitting upright in his chair and listening enthusiastically to whatever his teacher has to say (given that he’s a Literature nerd after all), but today his brain (and body, for that matter) just isn’t having it. He’s certain whatever his teacher is currently explaining about Shakespeare’s first plays is highly interesting, but then again, his brain feels like mush and concentrating is proven to be a downright impossible task when he looks up and attempts to fixate his gaze on the tiny scribbles on the whiteboard, only for his mind to go numb for the nth time since class started. Jongin figures he’ll have to deal with the consequences later on. Not paying attention once won’t do anything, he thinks to himself as he plays with the eraser on his pencil.

To his left, Jongin sees Jongdae, who is furiously scribbling something in his notebook, and Baekhyun, who is attempting to hide his phone under the table from the teacher’s gaze. Jongin applauds them for getting any work done because his brain, no matter how hard he tries to write something on the lines, flat out refuses to cooperate. With a sigh, he figures the least he can do is try to make it seem like he’s interested so he grabs his unused pencil, only for his fingers to go slack, the pencil slipping out of his grip and hitting his notebook with a soft thud. Damn it.

It’s not until he shifts in his seat, as a result of his legs having gone numb, that Jongin realizes he never checked his phone after he felt it buzz an hour or so ago in the cafeteria. Not wanting to risk getting caught, he bites his lip and opts to wait another ten minutes since he’d much rather prefer not to have his phone confiscated right before going home.

Every time Jongin closes his eyes to avoid the harsh, bright lights of the classroom, he sees Sehun; his broad shoulders, his perfect hair, his beautiful eyes, his luscious lips and his defined jawline, and every time Jongin filters out the sound of his classmates murmuring around him, he hears Sehun’s voice - an enchanting melody, enough to make every capillary in his body shrivel up at its sweetness. It’s times like this when Jongin is harshly reminded of just how much he likes Sehun - the handsome, raven-haired, football-loving stranger, and it makes his gut churn uncontrollably. He does his best to shove any Sehun-related thoughts away and attempts to focus on whether or not he’ll finally be able to make a successful slapshot when he gets home - he’s been working on it for weeks now, but every attempt so far has been a failure. It’s proven to be useless, though, when all of a sudden, Sehun’s face pops up in his head, seemingly out of nowhere. Jongin inwardly screams. .

“Kim Jongin!”

Jongin’s eyes snap open and he fights the urge to hiss when the bright lights hit him square in the eye, and he makes a mental note to open his eyes slower next time. Blinking repeatedly, he looks around and sees just about every single person staring at him, including Baekhyun and Jongdae, who are doing their best to stifle their laughter and Jongin hates them both a bit more, if that's even possible.

Blinking again, Jongin clears his throat when he averts his gaze and sees the stern look on the teacher’s face. “Uh.”

“That’s the fourth time I’ve called on you,” she says harshly, a marker in her hand. “Do you know the answer or not?”

Jongin swallows. For a brief moment he doesn’t even remember what class he’s sitting in. “Um. I, uh. Sorry, could you take that one more time?” he asks sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. In the sea of giggles that soon erupt in all directions, he somehow manages to distinguish Baekhyun and Jongdae’s unattractive, stifled cackles and Jongin makes a mental note to dunk them both in the nearest trash can as soon as the lesson is over. “I wasn’t paying attention.”

“You don’t say,” Jongdae murmurs from six feet away. Jongin hates him a little bit more, than Baekhyun at least.

“What was Shakespeare’s first play called and where is the Gloucester’s Garden from?”

Jongin bites his lip. He knows this, he knows this. Come on, this is basic stuff! Swallowing, he clears his throat. “His first play is titled Henry VI and the Gloucester’s Garden is from the second part,” he mumbles and nearly collapses in relief when the teacher nods before walking back to the front of the room. Thank God.

Balling his hands into fists, Jongin grits his teeth when his mind, for the nth time that day, is oh-so-kindly supplied with the image of no one else but Sehun and his neatly groomed raven hair, and Jongin fights the urge to slap himself in the face. Focus, idiot! he thinks to himself. He only said thirteen words, and they weren’t even directed at you!

“Kim Jongin!”

Jongin nearly jumps out of his skin and nearly falls off his chair in the process. Clinging onto his desk, he stares at the teacher, who has a less than friendly expression on her face, with wide eyes. “Huh?”

“Answer the question!”

. Ignoring the sounds of Baekhyun and Jongdae’s snickering to his right, Jongin raises an eyebrow before regaining his composure. During the split nanosecond that he, strangely and somehow, manages to shove all thoughts of Sehun out of his head, he’s finally able to think logically. Racking his brain, he clears his throat. “Uh, Gloucester’s Garden is part of scene 4 and the first act,” he murmurs and swallows in relief when his answer is proven to be correct.

As soon as the teacher turns her back to him, every Sehun-related thought suddenly crashes down on Jongin like a freight train and he fights the urge to grunt under the nonexistent weight. Looking up, he breathes out a sigh of relief when he sees there’s only five minutes left of the lesson. He really needs to stand up and stretch his long limbs, not to mention go outside and take a breath of well deserved fresh air.

The bell finally rings four minutes later and Jongin is out of his chair and out the door in a matter of seconds; slinging his backpack over his shoulder before running a hand through his hair. Standing in the hallway, for some reason, makes him feel a lot less anxious and he leans against the wall while he waits for Baekhyun and Jongdae to finish packing up. Given that his best friends are, in fact, slow as snails, Jongin figures he might as well watch a few videos on YouTube on how to master the perfect slapshot.

Jongin is so quick to pull his phone out of his pocket that he ultimately forgets the fact that it had buzzed earlier, so the shock that surges through his entire body as soon as he presses the Home button and sees the words on the screen, which nearly make him drop his phone, comes as absolutely no surprise.

Oh Sehun has accepted your friend request.

It takes Jongin five whole minutes to realize Baekhyun is shaking him and when he snaps out of his mini trance, he instantly feels his face heat up and he quickly moves to put his phone away, but, of course, Baekhyun (being blessed with lightning quick reflexes and all) swoops in and grabs the brunet’s arm.

“Damn,” Baekhyun says an impressed tone before looking at Jongdae, who walks over and takes a look at Jongin’s screen. “I’d say we’re doing a pretty swell job so far, wouldn’t you say?” he adds before letting go of Jongin’s arm and shooting the latter a bright smile.

Still recovering from the shock, Jongin blinks before swallowing and putting his phone away. “What the...what?”

“Now you can stalk him as much as you like,” Jongdae sniggers, adjusting his collar. “Just make sure not to accidentally like his posts from like, five years ago. Seriously, that ’s awkward as .”

Jongin stands nailed to the floor. It’s not until a girl walks past them - the scent of her sweet perfume strong enough to make his eyes water - that the adrenaline instantly fades and Jongin lets out an inhuman noise before proceeding to flail his arms around, missing Baekhyun’s face by an inch. “Whythedidyoudothat!”

Baekhyun blinks innocently. “Do what?”

“This!” Jongin nearly yells, ripping his phone out of his pocket and pointing to the words on the screen. “The hell’d you do that for! Now I’m gonna look even more desperate!” he grits in agony and irritation before shoving his phone back in his pocket. “God damn you, Baek.” He makes a mental note not to let Baekhyun use his phone. Ever.

Baekhyun’s mouth falls open in false hurt. “Excuse you? If anything, you should thank me. Now you’re one step closer to getting to know him!” he squeals. “Hey, speaking of which, you should message him!” When Jongin remains glued to the floor, he huffs before attempting to press the ‘Messenger’ icon at the bottom of the screen, only for Jongin to move his phone away at lightning speed.

“Get away,” Jongin hisses, holding his phone above his head. He’s never really paid much attention to his and Baekhyun’s height difference, and he’s sort of surprised he hasn’t given that he’s at least two inches taller than the latter, but he’s thankful now, though, since Baekhyun can’t reach and therefore steal his phone and text Sehun a ton of embarrassing stuff that will most likely haunt Jongin to the grave.

“You should message him, though,” Jongdae says, watching in amusement as Baekhyun attempts to grab Jongin’s phone with no success. “I mean, it’s your big chance, y’know? For you to get to know him a bit better. Especially since he’s single and all. Seriously though, a good friendship is the best foundation to healthy relationships.”

Jongin rolls his eyes and shoves Baekhyun aside. “We’re not a couple, Dae. Besides, I can’t message him two frikkin' hours after getting my request accepted, that’s just...creepy. I doubt I’ll message him but if I choose to, I’ll wait a week or two.”

“A week or two?” Baekhyun echoes, eyes widening. “No way, that’s way too long!”

“Why wait that long, anyway?” Jongdae adds, scratching the back of his head. “It’s not like he knows who you are.”

“Which is exactly why I need to wait a little bit,” Jongin says with an eyeroll. “If we’ve never talked before and I text him for the first time ever, two hours after he accepts my friend request, he might get suspicious.”

“Why would he be suspicious?” Baekhyun asks, eyebrows furrowing.

Jongin shrugs. He honestly doesn’t know. “I dunno, it’s just...I don’t want to seem desperate.”

“But you are desperate, though,” Jongdae cackles and yelps when Jongin slugs him in the arm. “It’s true!”

With a sigh of defeat, Jongin curses under his breath before successfully managing to shove his phone in his pocket, out of Baekhyun’s reach. The latter is staring at him with a -eating grin and Jongin wants nothing more than to walk over and slap it right off of his face.

“But you are going to message him,” Jongdae says, almost factually, much to Jongin’s dislike, “aren’t you?” He grabs Baekhyun’s collar when the latter makes a move to swipe Jongin’s phone a second time, and for once the brunet is thankful he has Jongdae as a best friend. As a matter of fact, he even goes as far as to hating him a little less.

Jongin shrugs for the nth time that day. “I...gue-” His sentence is abruptly cut short when Baekhyun suddenly, out of nowhere, whacks him on the back, effectively making him splutter. “What the he-”

“Bull, you are and you know it damn good and well,” Baekhyun says, almost in an irritated tone. “Don’t lie to yourself, Kim Jongin.”

Fighting the urge to drag a hand down his face, Jongin mumbles a barely coherent ‘whatever’ before turning on his heel and heading down the hallway, towards the exit. His fingers itch to pick up a hockey stick and he’d rather focus his attention on anything but...this, right now, a task that’s proven to be extremely difficult when, out of nowhere, Sehun face pops up in his head and the next thing Jongin knows, a sharp sense of pain is surging through his entire forehead and he doubles over in agony. .

“, man,” Jongdae chuckles, although Jongin senses a hint of concern in his voice, before he rushes over and kneels beside the brunet. “You alright?”

“Just like the whole tack-on-the-teacher’s-chair thing,” Baekhyun says, standing off to the side, “the whole walking-into-things-because-you’re-too-busy-daydreaming-of-your-crush thing isn’t something you see everyday.” He puts his index and middle finger on his chin, pretending to look deep in thought (although Jongin thinks he looks rather dumb). “This must mean something.”

Jongin growls in irritation from his position on the floor, tenderly rubbing the sore spot on his forehead as a result of having walked into a wide open door just seconds earlier. He’s eternally thankful for the fact that it’s nearly half past three because at this hour, at least 80% of the students are long gone and most likely at home. Ignoring the throbbing in his head, he gingerly stands up before clearing his throat. He doesn’t even have to turn around to know that Baekhyun and Jongdae are doing their absolute best to stifle their strings of (unattractive) guffaws and Jongin fights the urge to throw them both out the nearest window. Desperately trying to calm the blush that’s creeping up his neck and threatening to spread all across his face, he clears his throat again while walking forward. . Why.

“So what were you thinking of just now, eh?” Baekhyun says, jogging to catch up with the brunet. “Lemme guess, Sehun, right?” He snorts before shaking his head in disbelief, struggling to catch up with Jongin’s long strides.

“Hey, what about Sehun were you thinking of?” Jongdae asks with a sly grin. He speaks up before he even gives Jongin a chance to reply. “Lemme guess, his dic-” He barely even gets to finish uttering the last word when he lets out a yelp, hands scrambling to grab onto a thick lock of his hair in which Jongin’s got in an iron grip. “Let go, let go! I was kidding! Can’t you take a joke?”

“And even if he doesn’t like you,” Baekhyun says, seemingly unfazed, while pulling on the door, “which he does, that’s even more reason for you to message him right this instant.” Skipping down the few steps leading to the school building, he takes a deep breath of air. “Jesus, kinda makes you realize just how stuffy the goddamn classrooms are.”

“Exactly, it’s a good way to grab his attention,” adds Jongdae.

Jongin sighs before kicking a rock in the middle of the path. He stares at the phone in his hand, Sehun’s Facebook profile staring back at him. Jongin isn’t even sure if he’s got the Messenger app downloaded on his phone but he figures it doesn’t matter - he’s most likely not going to message Sehun anyway. Clearing his head, Jongin clears his throat before stuffing his phone in his jacket pocket and turning his attention to his best friends. “Yeah, I...guess.”

“Speaking of which, you owe me bubble tea,” Baekhyun says, thumping Jongin on the back and letting out a snort when the latter chokes on his own spit. “Strawberry, please."

Thumping his chest, Jongin lets out a loud cough. “Why the fu-”

“Because, thanks to me, you’re one step closer to getting Prince Charming,” Baekhyun says simply before skipping down the narrow path.

Jongin only shoots Jongdae a look, to which the latter only replies with a sly grin and a shrug. The brunet fights the urge to facepalm. I really, truly do need better friends.

~~~

Might continue this 'till the end... XD o(≧▽≦)o