~~~

“Jongin, where are you guys going, didn’t you get my text?” Baekhyun hollers, jogging down the hallway and placing a hand on Jongin’s shoulder. The latter fights the urge to shrug him off.

“Forgot to check my phone,” Jongin grits through his teeth, feeling Sehun relax a little. “What are you guys-”

Jongdae comes up behind Baekhyun. “He waited for me, that kind- sonuva,” he mumbles and cackles when Baekhyun punches him in the stomach.

Jongin clenches his jaw. Normally, he’d appreciate having Baekhyun around but today, on this day in particular, there’s something about the redhead that makes him want to punch the nearest wall.

“We were just leaving,” Jongin mumbles, attempting to pull Sehun down the hallway.

“Hey, Sehun?” Jongin hears Baekhyun ask. The brunet briefly sees red.

Sehun turns around, shooting Baekhyun a friendly smile. “Yeah?”

“Can I ask you something?” Baekhyun asks and Jongin swallows.

“Go ahead,” Sehun says, leaning against the wall. Jongin doesn’t even dare look up at him in fear of seeing him staring at the redhead.

Baekhyun beams. “So, at lunch, Jongdae did this really cool thing where he-”

“Tossed a tissue into a trash can?” Sehun chuckles before nodding. “Yeah, I saw. What about it?”

“Well, uh,” Baekhyun says and Jongin hopes to God he isn’t blushing, “Jongin said you did something similar a couple of days ago and I’d like to see it for myself, if it isn’t too much to ask.”

Fighting the urge to kick Baekhyun in the shin, Jongin tugs on Sehun’s shoulder slightly. “Sehun, can we-”

“Do you have something similar on you right now?” Sehun asks, a curious glint in his eyes.

Pressing his lips together, Baekhyun reaches into his pockets and pulls out an eraser. “I’ve only got this,” he says before handing it to Sehun. Jongin bites his lip when their hands touch.

“Are you seriously gonna make it?” Jongdae asks in a disbelieving tone, eyeing the trash can in the other end of the hallway, a good twenty or so feet away. “No freaking wa-” His sentence ends in an surprised squawk when Sehun, out of nowhere, swings his arm forward, sending the eraser gliding through the air before it comes to a complete stop at the bottom of the trash can. “How in the actual fu-”

Mouth hanging open in astonishment, Baekhyun jumps up and down before rushing over and flailing his limbs everywhere. “That was so freaking cool!” he exclaims and he’s got such a starstruck glint in his eyes that Jongin almost retches. “Hey, could you teach me?”

Jongin tugs on Sehun’s sleeve. “Sehun, can we g-”

“Only if you get over there and fetch it,” Sehun chuckles and he watches as Baekhyun squawks in protest before the latter runs over and rummages through the trash can, quickly retrieving the eraser and running back. “Right,” he says, gently prying Jongin’s hand off his arm and walking over to Baekhyun.

Swallowing the lump in his throat, Jongin watches as Sehun stands behind Baekhyun before grabbing the latter’s arms in an attempt to help him throw straighter, only for the redhead to fail (miserably) and for Sehun to, in turn, ruffle his hair. Jongin forces himself to look away.

When Baekhyun smacks Sehun’s chest in a playful manner after failing a second time, Jongin’s legs seem to move of their own accord and he rushes over and practically shoves Baekhyun aside before grabbing Sehun’s wrist possessively.

The redhead doesn’t seem fazed in the slightest and he bends down and picks up his eraser off the floor. “Jesus, do I at this,” he mumbles before tossing it at Jongdae, who fails to catch it.

Noticing the stressed look in the brunet’s eyes (and on his face, for that matter), Jongdae takes a step forward and pulls Baekhyun aside when the latter moves to smack Sehun’s chest a second time. “Baek, our bus leaves in ten, we’d better leave,” he says and Jongin visibly relaxes.

“But I was just starting to get good at this,” Baekhyun whines in protest but he allows himself to be dragged away by Jongdae, anyway. “See ya both tomorrow!” he hollers when Jongdae drags him around the corner until they’re out of sight.

Once Baekhyun and Jongdae are out of sight, Sehun chuckles low in his throat before shaking his head in amusement. “Jesus,” he mumbles, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Is he energetic." His smile falters when he sees Jongin’s crestfallen expression. “Hey, what’s the matter?”

Swallowing thickly, Jongin shakes his head. “Nothing, I’m just tired,” he mutters, resuming his short walk down the rest of the hallway. He makes a mental note to remember to take a nap the second he gets home because the effect the lack of sleep he’s been getting lately is having on his emotions is starting to drive him crazy.

Sehun jogs over to Jongin, who has already turned the corner, and he grabs the latter’s shoulder when he looks around to make sure nobody is around. “Hey, come on, what’s wrong?” he asks, eyebrows furrowed, before he spins Jongin around so they’re looking at each other. “Talk to me, what is it?”

Jongin doesn’t know what it is about Sehun’s stare that makes him feel absolutely weak in the knees and make him forget everything from his worries to his first name, but he feels himself blush under the taller’s gaze and he runs a hand through his hair. “I’m just tired, it’s nothing special,” he says, surprised at how wavery his voice is. “No seriously, it’s nothing,” he repeats when Sehun raises a disbelieving eyebrow.

Sehun continues to stare at Jongin until he nods and lets go of the latter’s shoulder. “Okay,” he says before swinging the door open, letting Jongin walk out first before stepping out into the cold air and letting the door slam shut behind them. “I didn’t even know there was a door there,” he chuckles, mainly to himself, before shoving his hands in his pockets.

“You mean you’ve been a student at this godforsaken place for three whole years and you didn’t know that,” Jongin chuckles, immediately feeling his mood lighten when Sehun lets out a loud laugh. “Hell, even I knew that,” he adds before scanning his surroundings. They’re behind the school building and he recognizes it as their meeting place whenver a (fake) fire drill would start up.

It’s not until they’re fifty feet away from the building, and Jongin is in the middle of thinking the thought that there isn’t a single person in sight anywhere, that the brunet feels Sehun reach down and grab his hand and he promptly feels all his worries disappear without a trace.

“Thanks for letting me stay over,” Sehun says, zipping his jacket with his free hand. “I still hate your room, though,” he mumbles, rubbing his forehead at the memory.

“No problem,” Jongin chuckles. “I do, too, so we’re even,” he hums absentmindedly. He suddenly realizes that Sehun hasn’t got his sports bag with him and he blinks. “Haven’t you got training today?” he asks.

“Nope,” Sehun says, popping the ‘p’. “I mean yeah, I do, but I chose to skip it today since my arm hurts like hell,” he adds, rubbing his right bicep.

Jongin opens his mouth to speak but instead of words coming out of his mouth, he ends up emitting a loud squawk of surprise when he accidentally trips over a log lying in the middle of the path. Now that he thinks about it, he hadn’t even noticed they’d walked into a forest until now.

He’s halfway through wondering why his cranium hasn’t been split down the middle when he registers a strong arm, which is securely wrapped around his waist, and he blushes before scrambling to get on his feet again.

“Careful,” Sehun says, trying his best to stifle a laugh as he helps Jongin stand upright. “It’s a good thing to watch where you’re putting your feet in places like this,” he adds, easily kicking the large log out of the way.

Killer reflexes and calf muscles? Talk about jackpot, Jongin thinks before clearing his throat. “Why are we even in a forest?” he asks, furrowing his eyebrows and shuddering when a gust of wind passes and he seriously wonders how it can be freezing cold despite the sun being out. “I don’t see the bus stop anywhere,” he adds, grabbing Sehun’s hand and keeping his eyes focused on the path below, careful not to trip over anything else.

“I actually have no idea,” Sehun says, looking around. Only trees as far as the eye can see. He suddenly blinks. “I thought you knew,” he exclaims, pointing at Jongin, who blinks, too.

“What?” Jongin squawks. “I was following you!” he babbles, flailing his arms around, nearly whacking Sehun in the face. “You mean you don’t know where on Earth we are?” he adds, dragging a hand down his face. As much as he’d wanted to get as far away from Jongdae and Baekhyun, the redhead especially, he’ll admit getting lost in a forest wasn’t part of his plan. At all.

“You’ve been behind the school before, I haven’t,” Sehun retorts, sighing in exasperation. “Jesus, what are we gonna do.” He runs a hand through his hair before his eyes light up. “Hey, over there, I think that’s a path over there!”

Jongin follows Sehun’s gaze and blinks when he sees what looks like a meadow in the distance. “Worth a shot,” he mumbles before dragging Sehun towards it, the latter nearly tripping over a rock in the process. “Watch where you’re going, .”

~

After five minutes of running, they end up in a deserted area with dead trees everywhere. At first, the brunet nearly cries since there didn’t seem to be a road or a path anywhere in sight but after Sehun proves him wrong, he exhales in relief. The sun is beating down on him and he promptly removes his jacket.

“Now where are we?” Jongin asks in desperation, running a hand through his hair. A car drives past them and he momentarily wonders if hitchhiking home is their only option of survival. In fact, he turns around and is just about to ask Sehun if he’s got any good hitchhiking tips when he sees the latter shooting him a smile. “What?”

“You look perfect,” is all Sehun says and Jongin doesn’t know if he should walk over and give him a hug or cry. "Give me your phone and do something cool!"

Briefly forgetting the fact that they’re in the middle of nowhere, Jongin suddenly feels extremely self conscious about his attire; a colorful, but mostly red, sweatshirt his Grandma made for him three years ago that he chose to put on in a hurry this morning. In fact, now that Jongin thinks about it, it looks a lot like a Christmas sweater which makes him that much more self conscious because it’s a giant contrast to Sehun’s posh, navy blue shirt that looks crisp and brand new despite the fact that Sehun wore it yesterday, too. Damn it.

“What’s that got to with literally anything?” Jongin asks, handing Sehun his cell phone. Not knowing what to do, he opts to squat down and place two fingers by his chin. He feels like a straight up fool but in his defense, he's confused and has no idea what to do. 

“It hasn’t got anything to do with anything,” Sehun chuckles, taking a picture before walking over and Jongin’s cheek. “I just wanted to point it out,” he adds, pressing a kiss on the brunet’s scalp and Jongin would’ve found the words and gesture quite romantic if only they weren’t stuck in the middle of unknown territories. "Look at how adorable you look!"

Another car drives past and Jongin fights back the blush that creeps up his neck, and he snatches his phone out of Sehun's hand. God, do I look awful. Why does my hair look so freaking black. “Shut up and help me think,” he mumbles, deliberately avoiding Sehun’s eyes. “What do you think we should d-”

“Okay, we can go now,” Sehun chirps, grabbing Jongin’s arm and dragging the latter in the same direction they came from.

“What,” Jongin squawks, trying to pull away. “What are you doing,” he adds when Sehun doesn’t even spare him a glance. He’s in the middle of wondering if Sehun’s in the midst of suffering from heatstroke when the latter turns around. “Hey, what are you do-”

“Are you for real?” Sehun asks in exasperation, but there’s no bite in his voice. In fact, Jongin thinks he sounds amused. He sighs when the brunet doesn’t say anything. “We aren’t lost, silly, the bus stop’s right over there." He points somewhere behind him. Jongin doesn't see anything.

Jongin blinks before he yanks his hand away. “Wait, what? We’re not?” he asks dumbly, massaging his temples. He honestly doesn’t know if he should feel even more confused or relieved.

“Of course not, I know this place like the back of my hand,” Sehun laughs before ruffling Jongin’s hair.

“Wait, so you purposefully misguided us?” Jongin asks, staring at Sehun like he’s grown a second head. “Why the ?” he exclaims when the taller nods sheepishly.

Sehun shrugs. “I dunno, I wanted an excuse to tell you how nice you look,” he says simply and lets out a cackle when Jongin emits a distressed ‘oh my God!’. “What? Is that illegal?” he adds in false hurt, placing a hand on his chest for dramatic effect.

“So let me get this straight; you dragged us into this...terrain, just to tell me I look nice?” Jongin asks, pinching the bridge of his nose. As much as he wants to walk over and strangle Sehun, he doesn’t, and he ends up rushing forward and shoving the latter instead. “God, I hate you,” he mumbles, watching as Sehun stumbles backwards and nearly trips.

“You’re such a buzzkill,” Sehun mumbles, poking Jongin’s sides, making him yelp. “Now come along, our bus’ll be here any minute!” He grabs Jongin’s wrist and pulls him towards the direction of the bus stop, ignoring the latter’s consistent strings of ‘I hate you, Sehun’.

5:09 PM

“Has anybody told you how gorgeous you look in that shirt?” Sehun asks, crossing his legs and leaning against the backrest of the bench.

“Yeah, you did, less than two minutes ago,” Jongin mumbles in embarrassment, half of his sentence getting reduced to a muffled, incoherent mumble when he proceeds to nuzzle his face in Sehun’s chest. “Moron.”

Checking his watch, Sehun shrugs casually. They’ve been sitting by the bus stop for twenty minutes now as a result of missing their bus by ten seconds earlier (seriously, Jongin practically beat Sehun to death upon finding out that they needed to wait forty minutes ‘because of his stupid cheesiness’.). “Just thought you should know,” he chuckles, running a hand through Jongin’s chestnut locks. “No seriously, thanks for letting me stay the night, it was nice of you.”

“I already said no problem,” Jongin whines, wrapping his arms around Sehun’s waist when a cold gust of wind passes and promptly messes up his hair. “Hey, by the way, how’d you get my number? I mean, you gave me yours but-”

“I gave you yours last week but you never texted me so I had to improvise to get yours,” Sehun hums into Jongin’s hair, carding his fingers through it.

Jongin blinks. “Really? How’d you do it?”

“I asked for it,” Sehun replies, turning his face away to let out a cough when the smell of chemicals shoots up his nose.

“Who’d you ask?” Jongin asks, closing his eyes. He swears to God he could lie on Sehun’s torso and use the latter’s chest as a pillow every day for the rest of his life.

Stretching, Sehun checks his watch. “Baekhyun,” he says simply and blinks when Jongin tenses. “I mean, I have no idea how he managed to find out I was looking for your number but yeah, he messaged it to me yesterday,” he adds.

Swallowing the newly formed lump in his throat, Jongin bites his lip. “He did?” he asks, subconsciously tightening his grip around Sehun’s waist.

“Yeah, he did,” Sehun replies, eyebrows still knitted together. “What’s the matter?”

Jongin clears his throat before loosening his grip significantly. “Nothing, I’m...tired,” he says before changing the subject. “Where’d you go this morning? It not waking up next to you,” he mumbles into Sehun’s chest. 

“I had a lesson, I had to go and didn’t wanna wake you,” Sehun says apologetically, rubbing Jongin’s neck with his hand. “I folded up your shirt, so don’t worry,” he adds with a small chuckle. “I got really worried that your Dad would come barging in after we made it to your room, if I’m gonna be honest.”

“Nah, he wouldn’t do that,” Jongin says tiredly. “He cares, but not that much,” he adds with a tired exhale before lifting his head slightly to look up at Sehun. “Hey, did you meet any of them this morning before you left?”

Sehun nearly chuckles in adoration at Jongin’s doe-like expression. “What do you mean?” he asks before dipping his head down and pecking Jongin’s lips, effectively reducing the latter to a garbled, incoherent mess in his lap.

“My sister and my Father, ,” Jongin practically wails into Sehun’s chest, blushing furiously. “Jesus Christ, at least give me a warning,” he mumbles, gently whacking Sehun’s arm. His lips tingle and he runs his tongue across his bottom lip.

Briefly tensing, Sehun bites his cheek. “Didn’t see any of them,” he says and pats Jongin’s back when he sees the bus come into view.

“That’s weird, Jungah’s always up before any of us,” Jongin mumbles before lifting his head off Sehun’s lap and proceeding to stand up. He stares at Sehun expectantly when the latter doesn’t even make a move to get off the bench.

“Meeting with Coach,” Sehun says sheepishly, rubbing his neck. He stands up and sends Jongin an apologetic glance when the latter’s face falls. “Jeez, I feel so bad for making you wait now, but I promise I’ll stay the night tomorrow if you want me to, alright?” he asks, kissing Jongin’s forehead.

Hearing the bus approaching, Jongin bites his lip before scrambling to wrap his arms around Sehun’s waist. He feels a lot like he’s in some awful, sappy soap opera but he’s beyond caring at this point.

“I’ll hate you if you don’t,” Jongin mumbles into the crook of Sehun’s neck (he figures if he can’t be with Sehun for the evening, he figures he’ll have to deal with having the scent of Sehun’s perfume locked in his head instead). He slowly, and reluctantly, lets go when the bus pulls up and he reaches into his pocket for his bus card.

Sehun watches the doors to the bus swing open before Jongin proceeds to get on. “Call me,” he says, holding his thumb near his ear and his pinky pointed at his mouth.

“So cheesy, Sehun,” Jongin whines, but he nods estatically before the doors close behind him.

9:09 PM

That’s another formula I’ll never use in my goddamn life, Jongin thinks before slamming his textbook shut. He’s been attempting to study for his Chemistry exam next week only to not have absorbed a single word and he promptly gives up on trying to learn any of the material, shoving his textbook aside and watching as it collides with his pencil holder, which falls over.

In Jongin’s defense, he figures he can’t be blamed for not bothering to learn any of the material needed for the exam. His brain is and has been filled to the brim with other things for the past few hours; not Chemistry formulas and equations, to say the least, but a certain redheaded person whom Jongin just so happens to sort of despise at the moment.

Baekhyun’s behavior around Sehun lately has reduced Jongin’s head to a non stop, reeling mess, and even though the brunet knows he’s probably overreacting, he can’t help but wonder how the situation is between them. In his world, Sehun and Baekhyun have always been just friends, but Jongin wonders what it’s like in the real world, and the thought makes him shiver.

It’s not until the image from when Sehun moved to stand behind Baekhyun, as he guided the latter’s arms forward to pass properly, pops into Jongin’s head that the latter quickly scrambles to pick up his phone. Not that the thought bothers him, it’s just that he remembers what Sehun told him at the bus stop before he boarded the bus. Or so he tries to convince himself, as he scrolls through his contacts list.

Sehun picks up after the first ring. “Hello?”

Jongin immediately relaxes upon hearing Sehun’s (equally calm) voice. “Hey.”

“I was like, literally just about to call you,” Sehun chuckles and Jongin hears the sound of rustling in the background. “Y’know, since you took for-freaking-ever to call,” he adds smugly.

Jongin squawks. “I was busy studying!” he retorts, gesturing at the pile of papers messily strewn across his desk, even though he’s aware Sehun can’t see them. Chemistry long forgotten, he gets up off his chair before sitting on his bed. “Anyway, what are you up to?” he asks, playing with the same loose thread on his pillow.

“Just got home,” Sehun replies with a small sigh. “Longest meeting of my frickin’ life, I swear.”

Gripping his phone tighter when his eyes roam over to the empty side of the bed, Jongin slowly scooches over so he’s sitting smack in the middle. “What do you guys even talk about?”

“On any normal day we just go through the usual; we review our performances during the last match and or game and give each other tips and tricks on how to improve,” Sehun says with a low hum. “But since I didn’t play on Friday, he went through what went down then. What I’d missed, basically,” he adds. “Hey, I should take you there sometime.”

Jongin blinks. In all honesty, he’s more absolved in the melodic sound of Sehun’s voice than what the latter is actually saying. “Where? The meetings?” he asks in confusion, scratching the back of his head. Sounds...interesting.

“No, no, silly,” Sehun chuckles. “I meant where I train. You know, the sports hall, the changing rooms, the fields and the hills and so on, would you like that?”

Biting his lip, Jongin nods and curses inwardly when he realizes Sehun can’t see it. “Yeah,” he blurts out, “that sounds nice.” A feeling of longing engulfs him and he hugs the pillow close to his chest.

“Cool,” Sehun chirps. “How about Thursday at 10:30 PM?”

Jongin blinks. “Your training starts that freaking late?”

Sehun is silent for a brief moment. “Yeah.”

Not wanting to question Sehun any further in fear of coming off as annoying, Jongin bites his cheek. He’s already looking forward to it. “That sounds really cool,” he hums, leaning back against the wall. “Hey, could I try on your uniform?” he asks, eyes glimmering.

“My uniform?” Sehun squawks. “I’m pretty sure you’re only talking about my shoulder pads, right?” he snickers.

Jongin raises an eyebrow. “Huh?”

“People tend to think football uniforms solely consist of shoulder pads,” Sehun chuckles. “Well, those and a helmet, of course. But sure, why not,” he hums.

“Are they heavy?” Jongin asks and he’s briefly struck with the thought of whether or not Sehun’s uniform reeks of the latter’s fragrance but he quickly dismisses it, not wanting to distract himself.

Sehun chuckles. “A little, yeah,” he mumbles. “By the way, did you talk about the same things at your meetings?”

Blinking at the subject change, Jongin presses his lips together. “I...honestly don’t recall, but I’m pretty sure we did, yeah,” he says. He suddenly thinks of something. “Hey, can I ask you something?”

Sehun is silent for a minute. “Go ahead.”

“This might sound really stupid, but,” Jongin starts, contemplating whether or not he really should ask Sehun or not, “how’d you even notice me?” he asks and blinks when Sehun doesn’t say anything. “I mean, , uh, like, I mean, I noticed you and knew who you were since you were pretty much everywhere and everyone kept talking about you wherever I went, but I mean, I’m not really on your level, so,” he babbles before promptly shutting his mouth and blushing a little. “Nevermind.”

“Well, I got an eye full of you every day while walking to class,” Sehun snickers. “You know, the glass case with the catalogue in it,” he adds with a small laugh. “Not to mention I recognized you when I stopped by your table two weeks ago.”

Jongin blinks and he has to rack his brain for any memories from two weeks ago. “Uh, you mean-”

“When I asked for the shaker, yeah,” Sehun chuckles. “I mean, at first glance I didn’t know it was you but it wasn’t until I walked past the case and saw your face in the catalogue afterwards that I knew it was you, and from that day on I kind of...observed you,” he adds sheepishly. “Don’t get freaked out now, it wasn’t-”

“That’s so creepy, Sehun, Christ,” Jongin moans, burying his face in his hands. “Although I’ll admit I’d be lying if I said I didn’t observe you, too, but probably not as much as you did,” he adds and he’s thankful he and Sehun aren’t talking face to face because he figures Sehun would no doubt to hell and back for his tomato colored face.

“Man, I really miss seeing your face,” Sehun says casually, way too casually for Jongin’s liking, which definitely doesn’t make the latter’s blush fade any quicker. “What are you doing right now besides studying, by the way?”

Jongin swallows. “I’m just...lying in bed,” he mumbles. And wishing you were lying right here next to me. “How about you?”

“Stopped by the store after I left school and picked up a strawberry cupcake,” Sehun says and come to think of it, Jongin swears he hears munching sounds in the background. “After you left, I, for some reason, thought of your hair which in turn lead me to think of when it smelled like strawberry shortcake,” he adds between chews.

Jongin nearly cries. “Are you serious,” he wails into the receiver. “Wait, I thought you didn’t even like-”

“You piqued my curiosity,” Sehun chuckles, icing off his fingers. “First cupcake in like, four years,” he adds with a small laugh. “Don’t get used to it, though.”

“You ,” Jongin mumbles but there’s no bite in his voice. He suddenly craves something sweet, specifically, a strawberry cupcake, and it takes everything in his power not to get off the bed and go buy one at the convenience store down the block.

“I and I miss you,” Sehun hums and chuckles when Jongin lets out a squawk of surprise. “Hey, do you miss me?”

Jongin blinks. It’s like freaking kindergarten all over again, he thinks before clearing his throat. His room has gotten significantly darker since he called Sehun less than twenty minutes ago and he gets off his bed before walking over to the wall, turning on the light.

“Yeah,” Jongin says quietly, a blush creeping up his neck, and hisses when the bright lights hit him right in the eyes.

“Do you really?”

Feeling a shiver crawl up his spine, Jongin bites his lip. “Um, yeah, I...do.” He scratches the back of his neck sheepishly. “As a matter of fact, I wish you were here with me right this second,” he adds and instantly regrets it when Sehun goes silent for an alarmingly long time. . “Oh God, sorry, was that too wei-”

“Is that really how you feel?” Sehun asks. His tone hasn’t changed at all and Jongin feels himself panic even more.

Leaning against the wall, Jongin grips the phone tighter in his hand, afraid of what Sehun might say (or do, for that matter) next. “Yes,” he says, voice surprisingly shaky, and he wholeheartedly expects Sehun to hang up until he, thankfully, hears the latter’s voice again.

“Go to your window,” is all Sehun says, much to Jongin’s surprise, because he definitely hadn’t been expecting to hear that, much less anything at all.

Furrowing his eyebrows, Jongin decides it’s probably best not to question before he slowly trudges over to his window, pulling back the curtain, and is ultimately greeted with the sight of his back yard, which he can only see parts of due to his, and the light’s, reflection. He’s suddenly reminded of the sappy scenes you’d usually see in soap operas, where the girl looks out her window only to see her boyfriend standing in her yard, and he chuckles (and shivers) at the thought of possibly seeing Sehun standing behind the gate.

When he continues to look out the window, only to see nothing out of the ordinary, Jongin blinks in confusion and it suddenly hits him that Sehun hasn’t said anything for more than fifteen seconds (yes, he counted). Thinking Sehun has hung up, Jongin panics slightly and nearly collapses in relief when he hears the latter speak.

“Look up.”

Doing just that, Jongin bites his lip in confusion when he sees nothing but the sky and a few telephone cords and he has to walk over and turn off the light when his reflection obscures 90% of the view outside the window.

He walks back to his window and leans against the windowsill, keeping his gaze fixated on a streetlamp fifty feet away. As much as he appreciates hearing Sehun speak, he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t at least a tad bit confused right now.

“Uh, I’m looking up,” Jongin mumbles, keeping his eyes peeled for a U.F.O of some sort. “What do you-”

“See that?” Sehun asks, a hint of absent mindedness in his voice, at least according to Jongin.

Confusion only doubling, Jongin raises an eyebrow. Apart from the telephone cords hanging high above the ground as well as the trees swaying in the wind, all he sees is the dark blue, nearly black, sky, and he’s about to ask Sehun what on Earth he’s been smoking when the latter speaks.

“Now there’s no need to worry.”

“Sehun, what on Earth are you ta-” Jongin promptly cuts himself off when he stares even harder and, after a few seconds, notices a handful of twinkling orbs in the sky. Two in particular stick out, and they’re both brighter than the rest. Upon closer inspection, Jongin notices they’re so close together that one could easily mistake them for one single star, and Jongin mentally slaps himself for wondering how on Earth he could’ve missed them, a feeling of closeness swelling in his chest.

Sehun’s little speech about couples and stars hit Jongin like a freight train and he has to grab onto the edge of the windowsill to stop himself from yelling at the top of his lungs. He figures that doing so would certainly make Sehun hang up, if anything. “Sehun-”

“Tell me what you see.”

Biting the inside of his cheek, Jongin keeps his gaze fixated on the stars above and doesn’t dare avert his gaze in fear of the orbs, somehow, disappearing forever. “Like, ten stars,” he mumbles, swallowing thickly. “Two are uh, really bright compared to the others.” He bites his lip. “They’re really close,” he adds and he feels his breath hitch in his throat when one of the stairs, the one closest to the right, suddenly seems to flash. “I-”

“It just flickered,” Sehun says, and once again, Jongin hears a rustling sound in the background. “That one’s you,” he adds after a moment.

Ignoring the overly cheesy remark, Jongin suddenly furrows his eyebrows. “How...how do you know?” he asks, feeling every nerve in his body buzzing. After a few seconds of thinking, it finally dawns on him and he nearly drops his phone in surprise. “Wait, are you-”

“I’m watching them right now,” Sehun chuckles before his voice turns serious, although Jongin can sense a hint of mellowness in it. “So next time you’re feeling lonely, just look out your window because even if we aren’t by each other’s side down here on Earth, we are up there,” he adds. “Always.”

ing hell. Jongin runs a hand through his hair, his brain struggling to catch up with Sehun’s words as he tries to shove the mental image of the latter stargazing out of his mind. Except it doesn’t work, and before he gets a chance to stop himself, Jongin is busy thinking about Sehun; the latter sitting on a rock outside his house in peace and serenity, phone against his ear as they gaze up at the same sky and the same stars. It sends a feeling of warmth soaring down Jongin’s spine and all of a sudden, he doesn’t feel nearly as lonely as he did an hour ago. In fact, he’s convinced he can smell Sehun’s perfume in the air, but he quickly dismisses the thought, his lips curling upwards as he (subconsciously) presses his phone closer against his ear.

“We’re aligning,” Sehun says in the same, mellow tone as usual.

“Yeah.” Jongin's heart is racing so fast and his brain is spinning at such an alarming rate that it takes him an embarrassingly long time to realize Sehun has spoken again.

“Huh?” Jongin blurts out dumbly, mind too foggy to think straight.

“Which one is the closest?” Sehun asks and Jongin tries to regain his train of thought.

Jongin blinks. Despite being an expert on stars since this morning, Sehun’s words have reduced his insides to a muddled, fuzzy mess and he momentarily forgets what a star even is. “They...they all look the same,” he mumbles and blushes when Sehun lets out a small, but friendly, laugh.

“Let me rephrase that,” Sehun chuckles. “Which one’s the brightest, apart from yours and mine?”

Furrowing his eyebrows together, Jongin leans in closer to his window and proceeds to inspect every single twinkling orb in the sky. Quite frankly, he’s been so busy focusing on the two brightest stars in the middle that he quickly forgot about the ones surrounding them.

Every star, apart from his and Sehun’s, look as dull as ever, and Jongin is seconds away from giving up when he suddenly spots one; it isn’t as bright as his and Sehun’s, but it’s brighter than the others and he smiles a little. “I think I found it,” he says and blinks. “What do you mean by th-”

“That one’s me,” Sehun says. “Again. Watching over you while you sleep tonight,” he adds and there’s so much sincerity in his voice that Jongin almost cries. “So if you’re still feeling lonely tonight, or any night, go up to your window and look for that star and know that I’m there watching you, okay?” A gust of wind passes, briefly distorting his voice.

Chuckling lightly, Jongin momentarily tears his gaze away from the sky to take a (surprisingly shaky) breath. Normally, he’d find what Sehun just said extremely creepy and unsettling, but this is Sehun, and there’s something about the way the latter had spoken just now that makes Jongin's skin crawl with what he can only describe as adoration, and he doesn’t care abotu the fact that it feels like he’s one of the main characters in the world’s sappiest soap opera (in fact, the thought only makes him feel that much happier). He chuckles again because if Baekhyun and Jongdae were here, standing next to him, they’d definitely call him ‘lovestruck’. ‘Mr. Lovestruck’, to be exact. And on any normal day, Jongin would beat his best friends to a pulp for calling him that, but as of right now, he would only nod his head in agreement.

Fixating his eyes on the stars again, in fear of them disappearing during the short time he looked away, for whatever reason, Jongin exhales shakily before fidgeting with one of the curtains.

“I...I thought you already claimed a star?” Jongin asks with a small laugh. “You can’t just claim two stars, that’s unfair,” he adds and he honestly couldn’t care less about how childish he sounds.

“Hey,” Sehun squawks, “I need two stars - how am I supposed to protect and watch over you otherwise?” He mumbles under his breath. “One star for you in star form four lightyears away and one for you in human form down here on Earth,” he adds. “Makes sense if you ask me.”

As much as Jongin would like to listen to Sehun’s voice for hours on end, he also wishes the latter would stop talking and hang up because the longer Jongin hears Sehun’s speak, the stronger the urge to see and hug the taller gets, and Jongin has to grip the curtain impossibly tight to squash the feeling that coils in his gut. Even though Sehun is miles away, Jongin somehow feels so, so much closer and he feels his heart skip a beat.

“I...I guess,” Jongin mumbles, clearing his throat and running a hand through his hair. “Hey, you should go inside, it’s too cold out to be sitting outside on a freaking rock,” he chuckles. The last thing he wants is for Sehun to catch a cold, even though he knows colds aren’t directly caused by cold air.

Sehun groans. “You’re such a freaking buzzkill,” he groans and Jongin hears the sound of rustling clothes as he stands up. “Fine, fine, as your majesty wishes,” he says sarcastically. “It’s starting to rain so I should probably go inside anyway before I end up slipping and tumbling down the hill and breaking my neck.”

Jongin squawks in surprise and terror. “A hill? By your house?”

“Yup,” Sehun says way too casually for Jongin’s liking. “Like, right by the rock I sit on. No big deal, though,” he adds when Jongin doesn’t say anything.

Hearing a door shutting on the other end of the line, Jongin breathes out a sigh of relief at the thought of Sehun being safe and sound inside his house, because the thought of the latter possibly slipping and, as quoted by Sehun, breaking his neck, makes Jongin’s skin crawl. He’s about to open his mouth to speak when he suddenly hears a dog barking loudly, causing him to flinch a bit, closely followed by a harsh ‘quiet, Vivi!’.

“Sorry about that,” Sehun says apologetically. “He’s almost as hyper and feisty as Baekhyun,” he adds with a chuckle that quickly fades when Jongin goes completely silent. “Hey, you still there?”

For some reason, the brunet has developed a certain automatic reaction to hearing the redhead’s name for the past couple of days and he clenches his jaw. “Yeah, sorry, I think the connection screwed itself,” he mumbles, swallowing thickly.

“Didn’t you tell me on Messenger like, ten billion years ago that you love dogs?” Sehun asks.

Jongin blinks. Damn, talk about elephant memory. “Uh, yeah, that’s true,” he says and curses when the feeling of anguish refuses to leave his gut.

“You should come over someday, I think you’d love Vivi,” Sehun says excitedly. “And I’m certain he’d love you, too,” he adds smugly and Jongin almost screeches.

Come on, please, Jongin thinks, please don’t-

“But not as much as I love you.”

“I knew it,” Jongin groans, dragging a hand down his face. Jesus, does he even think before speaking? he thinks before taking a deep breath, trying to stop himself from blushing and failing. “Sehun, damn it.”

Sehun mumbles a ‘meh, it’s true’ before Jongin hears Vivi barking again. “Hey, I’m gonna go take him for a walk,” he says apologetically. “He’s already halfway through biting the hem of my jeans into shreds.”

Pouting slightly, Jongin grabs the nearest pillow and hugs it so tight he worries it might burst at the seams. “Okay,” he mumbles into the fabric and jumps a little when he hears the booming sound of Vivi’s barkings ring through the air, and it’s so loud he has to hold the phone a couple of inches away from his ear.

“I’m sorry,” Sehun says, genuine guilt lacing his words. “I mean, I’d love to continue talking but y’know how dogs are when you don’t walk ‘em at the same time every day of the year,” he mumbles under his breath, and Jongin smiles a little because he definitely relates.

Listening to what he assumes is Sehun grabbing a plastic bag, Jongin presses his lips together. “I get it,” he hums, burying his face in the pillow. “I should hit the books, anyway,” he adds, shooting his textbook a quick glance and he almost chuckles because he knows for a fact that he isn’t going to be touching that for the rest of the day. “If I don’t accidentally hit the hay before I get a chance to, that is.”

“Like you did yesterday?” Sehun chuckles and Jongin groans. “Seriously, dude, you were out like a light in less than three seconds, it was pretty impressive,” he adds with another chuckle. “God, you were so cute, you have no idea.”

Jongin swallows and seriously wishes Sehun would stop talking about last night when they spent the night together (he honestly doesn’t know how else to word it), because it makes him miss Sehun that much more and he subconsciously hugs the pillow even closer to his chest. “I was tired as hell, it wasn’t my fault,” he whines and jumps a little when he hears the front door close, closely followed by Jungah’s high-pitched ‘I’m home!’. “Jungah just got home, she’ll probably want to talk to me, I should go, too.”

“I see,” Sehun says. “Remember to talk to her whenever you get the chance, alright?” he asks and coughs when Jongin goes silent. “Hey, what’s with the silence? Is everything alright between the two of you? Jongin? Hello?”

“I don’t want you to hang up,” Jongin whines, leaning against the wall behind him. He hears Jungah coming up the stairs and sighs in defeat. “Okay, I take it back, I’m gonna have to,” he huffs.

Sensing Jongin’s dismay, Sehun hums in understanding. “Hey, I’ll see you tomorrow, alright? And I’ll be staying the night, so hold on until then, okay?” he says with a low chuckle but his voice turns serious when Jongin doesn’t say much. “Hey, I’ll still be there, you know that.”

Jongin bites his lip. “Hm?”

“Look out your window, I’m still there, aren’t I?” Sehun asks.

Craning his neck so he’s looking beyond the window pane, Jongin quickly spots the second brightest star in the same spot as before, and he instantly feels a tiny bit better on the inside. “Yeah.”

“I’ll be there throughout the night, so there’s no need to feel lonely,” Sehun says. “I promise I’ll do a good job at watching over you and protecting you from Annabelle and possessed spirits,” he adds with a chuckle. “I’ve got you watching over me, as well, so I shouldn’t have to worry about anybody emerging from the bushes and attacking me and Vivi later.”

“But what if I’m still feeling lonely?” Jongin asks, unable to stop himself. He spots the same pillow Sehun used last night and quickly grabs it before giving it a squeeze. Sure enough, it smells just like him and Jongin feels his mood lighten by a significant amount.

“Then feel free to fire me,” Sehun laughs before Jongin hears a door opening in the background. “See you tomorrow, love you,” he says, voice laced with a whole new sense of  sincerity and Jongin almost cries.

Swallowing thickly, Jongin listens to the sound of footsteps outside his room as Jungah approaches his door. “Love you, too,” he manages to say before she opens the door, and he hangs up a split second later. “Hey.”

Jungah blinks when she sees Jongin, the latter sitting curled up on his bed while hugging one of his pillows for dear life. “Hey. Uh, what on God’s green Earth are you doing?” she asks in amusement and sits down on the edge of Jongin’s bed when the latter mumbles a low ‘nothing’. “Hey, wanna hear about what happened at my ballet recital today?”

Wanting to shake his head, since all he wants is to get some sleep, Jongin finds himself nodding and he curses under his breath. “Sure,” he mumbles, pulling out his phone and opening Facebook, all while not letting go of the pillow in his hold.

“Okay, cool,” Jungah squeals. “Okay, so, you know that guy who constantly thinks he’s the , right? Y’know, the only guy in the entire class?”

Barely paying attention, Jongin scrolls down his feed and nearly chokes on his own spit.

Oh Sehun

10:54 PM

😴 😴 when the lighting in your room makes waking up look like a photoshoot 😴 

LIKE - COMMENT  |  463 Likes  •  299 Comments

Averting his gaze, Jongin’s eyes widen in both awe and envy when he sees a total of 463 likes on Sehun’s photo. In his defense, he figures anybody would be jealous if their boyfriend got over 400 likes, from girls, in less than five minutes. Christ. He doesn't even bother skimming through the 200 comments, either, and he actually finds himself avoiding them for reasons unknown. 

A part of Jongin feels happy, though, because if he remembers correctly, this is the first photo Sehun has posted (of himself) in what feels like forever, and he's about to hit the ‘Like’ button when his eyes land on a few words that send his head into a frantic spin all over again.

 Liked by Byun Baekhyun.

~~~