~~~

10:40 PM

Closing his textbook, Jongin stretches in his chair as he lets out a yawn. His head is filled to the brim with Chemistry formulas and atomic numbers and has been for the past hour (Hamlet's life just wouldn't sit), but every single newly learned piece of information instantly disappears into thin air the very moment he lays his eyes on his phone (so much for intense studying, he thinks), still lying on his bed where he left it two hours ago. Dismissing the realization that he’s managed to repress every thought of Sehun for a whole hour, the familiar feeling of both curiosity and dread bubbles in his gut once again as he keeps his gaze fixated on the black screen. Jongin fidgets with the eraser in his hand. It’s half past ten, he must’ve replied by now!

Jongin gets out of his chair and inches closer to his bed, plopping down onto it and landing on his stomach. He reaches for his phone but his hand stops in mid air, seemingly out of hesitation. Despite the dread he’s feeling, curiosity gets the best of him and he presses down on the Home button, only to feel a sense of disappointment (and relief, if he does say so himself) wash over him when his wallpaper pops up on the screen. He shakes his head in disbelief. What else was I expecting.

In desperate need of distraction, Jongin rolls over onto his back and turns his head to the side, eyeing his yellow hockey stick leaning against the wall in the far left corner of his room, only an inch away from his closet, in which his red ice skates are. The tip of the stick is so scratched from frequent hits and whacking (and slapshots) that he can barely make out the writing at the bottom, and the color has almost completely faded at this point. He used to own his very own customized hockey puck but he lost it when his family moved to the other side of town. Jongin remembers just how devastated he’d felt after he’d unboxed every single object, only for his beloved hockey puck not to be found anywhere. He chuckles to himself - he can’t remember how many times he’s won with that thing.

One thought leads to another, and before Jongin knows it, his brain is displaying images from when he (accidentally, as Jongin constantly reminds himself) struck Sehun in the crotch with his hockey puck two years ago. Despite the fact that it was an accident as well as the fact that it was a little over two years ago, Jongin is still paranoid as to whether or not Sehun knows about it. That’s definitely not how I want him to remember me, that’s for goddamn sure. On the bright side, they were both standing roughly 60 feet away from each other and Sehun wasn’t even on the rink, and Jongin had managed to escape (all while slipping and tripping over his own skates more than once in the process) in the nick of time before Sehun could finish rolling around on the ground in pain and get up and chase after him. And despite the fact that Jongin would take every chance he gets to spend time with Sehun, getting chased by the latter after having struck him in the groin two minutes prior does not sit well with the brunet. At all. Well, either that or Sehun’s alarmingly large group of friends would probably end up coming after him instead. Either way, it sends a chill down Jongin’s spine.

Shaking his head in an attempt to clear it, Jongin scrambles for his phone again and quickly dials Jongdae’s number before pressing the phone to his ear. He waits for what feels like years and curses under his breath when Jongdae doesn’t pick up, so he calls Baekhyun who, inevitably, picks up after the first ring.

“Jongin, it’s nearly eleven,” Baekhyun groans, voice a tad bit raspy. “If you’re gonna call me at this hour you better have a good frickin’ reason to do so.”

“He hasn’t replied,” Jongin groans and is instantly embarrassed at how whiney his voice sounds. He sighs when Baekhyun emits a low chuckle. “What?”

“Patience, my friend,” Baekhyun sing-songs. “He’s probably the type to not check his phone every ten seconds, like Dae, just relax. Besides, he had what, over a thousand friends? Hey, he probably has to deal with the handful of girls spamming his inbox first,” he adds and clears his throat when Jongin goes silent. “Okay, sorry. But you heard me.”

“He probably does, though,” Jongin sighs to himself and grimaces when he realizes just how dry his mouth is. Getting off the bed, he makes his way to the bathroom and places his phone on the sink while he reaches for his toothbrush. He squeezes an adequate amount of toothpaste onto it before placing it in his mouth and activating the speakerphone. “God, Baek,” he says, although it comes out sounding like a garbled mess, after putting the toothbrush in his mouth. “What have I done.” He blinks when he hears a slurping sound on the other end of the line. "What are you doing?"

Baekhyun sighs. “Relax,” he says, “it’ll be fine. What’s got you so worked up anyway? What's the matter; I mean, besides the obvious, of course." He chuckles. "And I'm eating ramen," he slurps and squawks when Jongin groans. "What; the sandwiches they sold at the library were like, rock in' hard and cost a ton, it ain't my fault! Besides, I gotta eat if I'm expected to complete this boring- Science project by tomorrow afternoon, anyway."

“Nothing's the matter,” Jongin mumbles (or rather, garbles) before spitting into the sink. “Nothing, I’m just tired.” He dries his hands on the nearest towel and wipes his mouth. “But Baek,” he adds with a rather dramatic, at least according to Baekhyun, whine, “it’s been one and a half hours, he should've replied by now.” With a pout, he trudges back to his room.

“For the kabillionth time,” Baekhyun says in an exasperated tone, emitting yet another (loud, very loud) slurp, “it could be his schedule, you know that. Or, like I said, he isn’t the type to constantly check his phone. Now stop whining and go focus on Hamlet or something. And if you don't feel like doing that, help me with my research; what would you say is the main reason for global warming?”

“Or he’s hanging out with his girlfriend and doesn’t want anything to do with me whatsoever,” Jongin says with a pout, completely ignoring Baekhyun's request, as he throws his phone onto the bed and rummages through his closet for his pyjama shirt. Retrieving it, he pulls his hoodie and shirt over his head. Something dawns on him and he swallows the lump in his throat. Pyjama shirt halfway over his head, he (blindly) scrambles for his phone. “Baek, , do you think I came on too strong?”

Baekhyun nearly cries. “How on Earth does one possibly get ‘I like you, please go out with me’ from ‘hey, how’re you doing’?” he exclaims. “No, I don’t think you came on too goddamn strong, I mean you could’ve toned it down on the emojis but that’s another story, now go meditate or practice one of your choreos or something before I fall the asleep. You’ll most likely see him tomorrow at school anyway so you’ll have all day to check him out and stalk him. And he doesn’t have a girlfriend, for hell’s sake, I thought we’d already established that.”

“Yeah, but you don’t know for sure,” Jongin grunts in irritation as he attempts to pull his shirt over his head. After a brief struggle, he finally manages and crawls under the covers. “So stop acting like you do,” he adds, teeth chattering as the coldness of both the air as well as his blanket engulfs him. He looks up and curses when he sees he’s forgotten to close the window. Damn it. Not even gonna bother doing that.

“You alright?” Baekhyun snorts. “Why’d your voice waver like that? You havin’ a seizure or something? And for God’s sake, Jongin, no, I don’t know, but, I think the chances of him having a girlfriend, much less a partner, are pretty goddamn slim, wouldn’t you say? I mean, no relationship status despite having hundreds of girls chasing after him on the daily and no reported sightings of him with some girl; I mean come on. And I’m saying this as someone who doesn’t know jack about him, and I know even less about him than you do. Oh, and don’t think I’m saying this to get your hopes up ‘cause I’m not - if I’d known or heard rumors about him plowing some random chick, you’d be the first person I’d tell, trust me.”

Jongin shivers slightly at the last part before he rolls his eyes. “It’s cold as hell in my room, that’s all,” he says, desperately trying to stop his teeth from chattering and potentially shattering. He raises an eyebrow when Baekhyun coos. “Huh?”

“You wish you had Sehun there next to you, don’t you,” Baekhyun says in a smug yet knowing tone. Jongin fights the urge to hang up on him. “To keep you warm and hold you and protect you from the monsters under your bed and in your closet.” When Jongin doesn’t say anything, he emits yet another cackle. “I knew it.”

“Shut up, you moron,” Jongin seethes, but he can’t help the feeling that swells in his chest at the thought of Sehun lying next to him, the latter’s arm wrapped securely around his waist. Come to think of it, Jongin wonders how Sehun smells - he figures Sehun smells like manliness mixed with a hint of warm milk. One thought automatically, and unfortunately, leads to another and before he knows it, Jongin is deep in thought as he thinks about inhaling Sehun’s scent as the latter cuddles him in his arms. It’s not until Baekhyun literally yells into the receiver that Jongin nearly gets the living daylights scared out of him.

The latter blinks, the feeling of warmth instantly disappearing as his best friend’s voice fills his ears. “What?” he growls, ignoring the sense of deflation in his chest.

“Earth to Mr. Lovestruck,” Baekhyun cackles, and Jongin fights the urge to punch his best friend through the phone. “Jesus, I thought you died of a or something; what happened? You were completely silent for five minutes straight, what’s wrong with you?” he asks innocently, although the knowingness in his voice gives him away and Jongin suddenly hates Baekhyun a little bit more, if that's even remotely possible.

Crawling deeper under the covers, Jongin rolls his eyes. “Nothing you need to know about,” he grumbles as he runs his hand across the sheets, shivering a little under its touch. “Why hasn’t he replied yet, Baek, I don’t-”

“If you ask me that one more goddamn time, I’ll tape your mouth shut and tie you to a chair and have you stare at a piece of paper with the word ‘PATIENCE’ written on it until you understand that not everyone’s like you - he probably doesn’t check his phone every two seconds - and he probably has his reasons,” Baekhyun says all in one breath. He sighs in frustration. “Honestly, stop freaking out so much and just sit back and wait, all your questions will be answered when he gets to your message, I promise.”

“Or he’s with his gi-”

“Shut up.”

“I’m serious!”

“Jongin, shut the hell up!”

“What,” Jongin exclaims, sitting up a little, “so you’re saying-”

“No,” Baekhyun interrupts, seemingly having read Jongin’s mind, “I’m definitely not denying that there might be teeny, weeny chance of him possibly having a girlfriend, like I said, I don’t know anything about him. However, what I am trying to say is that you’re overthinking the hell out of this before it’s even begun; at least wait until he drops a reply; you’ll know if he’s interested in being your friend based on his reply, trust me.”

Jongin blinks. “'Friend'?”

“Well yeah, lunkhead,” Baekhyun huffs. “Are you seriously planning on jumping straight into the relationship stage the very moment he replies? Sorry kiddo, you’re gonna have to build up a friendship before you do anything else. And before you ask why, that’s just the way love works.”

“That’s easy for you to say; you’re the only one out of me and Dae who’s ever had a boyfriend.” With a pout, Jongin tugs on a loose strand of his hair. “What do I do if he doesn’t wanna be my friend, then?”

“You’re acting like he’s the last living male on the planet,” Baekhyun snorts. “There’s tons of attractive dudes out there, not just in school, you know. And before you ask, I'd know. I’d say go after them if this ends up flopping but I won’t since I’m well aware of how much you love and want Prince Charming only,” he adds with a chuckle. “I know it’s a little early to say this, but if I were you I’d go all in since I’m pretty sure Prince Charming is Dae’s type, don’t take my word for it, though.”

Jongin squawks. “What? Are you serious? And stop calling him Pr-”

“-By the way, what you said wasn’t true - Dae had a boyfriend last year; it didn’t last very long but still, how could you forget? And yup, now that I think about it, Sehun looks nearly exactly like that ex of Dae’s so you better hurry and claim Prince Charming before Dae beats you to it,” Baekhyun cackles. “I kid, I kid. But seriously, just wait and see what happens.”

Clearing his throat, Jongin pulls the covers up to his chin. The thought of Jongdae dating Sehun is enough to make him cringe. Sehun’d never be able to put up with Dae, ever, Jongin thinks before letting out a yawn. Baekhyun only chuckles.

“I gotta go, too,” Baekhyun says, emitting a yawn of his own. “Project’s due tomorrow, y’know, Dae’s gonna kill me if I turn up in class tomorrow without any material.”

“Don’t stay up too late,” Jongin chuckles, a wave of fatigue washing over him. Man, is he tired. He blames it on Hamlet.

“ you, I’m gonna have to since I’ve been forced to listen to your griping for two hours straight,” Baekhyun spits but there’s no bite in his voice. In fact, Jongin thinks he sounds rather...amused. “I kid. M’gonna have to say the same for you; I don’t want you to stay up all night and freak out over questions you already know the answers to. Alright?”

Jongin chuckles before reaching over and plugging his charger into his phone. “I promise. I most likely won’t be freaking out anyway since I’m way too tired,” he half jokingly says before turning off the speakerphone and pressing the phone to his ear. He blinks at the sudden silence that fills the room when Baekhyun’s loud voice doesn’t echo off the walls every three seconds. “See you tomorrow.”

“Will do, we'll talk about everything at lunch, don't worry,” Baekhyun says in a chirpy tone. “That is, if this project doesn’t end up killing me. I’ll say farewell right now just in case it does,” he adds, only half jokingly. "No seriously, if this kills me, promise me you'll sit by my grave and regularly update me about what's going on between you and Prince Charming, 'kay?"

Jongin lets out a loud laugh. He’s suddenly reminded of why he chose Baekhyun to be his best friend. “Farewell buddy, t’was nice knowing you,” he says in the saddest voice he can muster and giggles when Baekhyun emits a loud laugh. “I’ll take care of Dae for you and keep you updated, don’t worry.”

“Aye,” Baekhyun says, a hint of fatigue in his voice. “Alright, I seriously gotta go, wish me luck! Have fun dreaming about Prince Charming tonight, by the way!”

“I will, and good luck,” Jongin says before the line cuts off. Mind a little dazed from his unexpectedly long conversation with Baekhyun, he momentarily forgets about his message to Sehun, but the relief is short lived when reality hits him and he reluctantly opens his Messenger app, only to let out a loud sigh when his (single) message fills the screen. Upon closer inspection, Jongin sees Sehun’s icon hasn’t appeared next to the message and he bites his lip. At least he isn’t ignoring me, Jongin thinks and swallows the growing lump in his throat, placing his phone on the bedside table.

He falls asleep that night to the thought of black hair, broad shoulders and a contagious smile.

~~~

For those of you who are wondering, THIS is a hockey slapshot (the story title will probably make more sense if you understand what a slapshot is...XD)!

っゝω・)っ～☆