~~~

8:58 PM

"Christ," Yixing says, slamming the door to the changing room shut. He wobbles over to the bench, practically collapsing on to it before proceeding to untie his skates. "That was..."

"Crazy," Minseok mumbles, staring at Jongin, who enters the room two seconds later. "Seriously, holy ." 

Undoing the straps to his helmet, in a bit of a rush since it feels like his entire head is drowning in sweat, Jongin runs a hand through his hair after removing his helmet. A bead of sweat trickles down his neck and his chest is still heaving up and down, but mainly in excitement and not so much exhaustion (even though he feels like he's about to collapse any second). He wastes no time in bending down and unlocking his locker, all while trying to stay upright on the blades, and checks his phone. , the last four and a half hours really flew by.

"Welllllllll?" Yixing exclaims, flailing his hands everywhere. He's staring at Jongin like the latter is a creature from outer space. "Jongin, dude!"

Jongin turns around and stares at Yixing. "What?"

"Sixteen motherfrickin' wins in a damn row," Yixing hollers, his voice echoing in the not so spacious room. "How did you- What. I'm so confused. Holy . Wow," he mumbles, mainly to himself as if he's trying to convince himself that what he's saying is true, as he removes his skates. ", man."

"Yeah, damn, didn't know you had that much game still left in you," Minseok chuckles, although his tone is rather friendly. He walks over and pats Jongin on the back. The latter reeks of sweat and rubber. "Good going! You might save our asses on the 10th," he adds only half jokingly before walking back to the bench Yixing is sitting on and undoing the straps to his helmet.

Shrugging sheepishly, Jongin takes a few deep breaths to calm his heart rate before sliding his jersey, which is so damp that his fingers instantly become slippery upon touching it, over his head. In all honesty, he doesn't even know how many times he won (on the other hand, Minseok and Yixing nearly high fiving him right in the face on sixteen different occasions should tip him off, but still), and he honestly doesn't care. What he does care about is the immense rush that erupted in every single one of his capillaries and refused to leave until their coach blew the last whistle, a feeling that gradually grew stronger after stepping foot in the rink.

At first, Jongin admits that he was nearing a mental breakdown while approaching the big, white, icy surface, and he recalls wondering whether or not he should tell Minseok that he just can't do it, but he never got a chance to because the next thing he knew, he was being shoved from behind, towards the small opening on the side, and the last thing Jongin really remembers (clearly, that is) before his mind seemed to blank out; with excitement, he hopes, is his right skate coming in contact with the scratched ice beneath him. Since then, everything is just a blur and Jongin is honestly surprised at just how much he remembers. He initially thought he'd end up looking (and acting) like Bambi on ice as soon as he started playing, but he clearly remembers staying vertical throughout the entire session as he "effortlessly" (or so Minseok keeps telling him) glided across the ice. He might've accidentally fallen over once or twice but then again, Jongin's brain has reduced the last four and a half hours to a complete blank and he doesn't even bother trying to remember every single detail; he figures the buzzing in his nerves is enough.

Jongin vaguely recalls watching a nature documentary a few months ago about some animal getting released back into its natural habitat after several years in captivity, and he finds himself chuckling to himself because he has never related to a cheetah (or was it a tiger? He isn't quite sure) so much in his entire life. At the rink, it was almost as if time entered a no-passing zone and it almost felt as if Jongin were in eighth grade again, playing for the very first time. On a side note, Jongin sure is glad he didn't end up falling flat on his face and thus end up getting his fingers sliced off by a careless teammate.

"It's not fair," Yixing mumbles, removing his jersey and shoulder pads before placing them in his duffel bag. "Like, you disappeared off the face of the planet for three goddamn years only to rear your head again and beat your own personal record," he adds with a pointed look at Jongin, who only shrugs in amusement. "It's not fair!"

"Shut it, Yixing, and gimme back my shin pad before you end up making it disappear for the sixth time this term," Minseok interjects after removing his helmet, snatching the shin pad out of Yixing's hand the moment the latter undoes the velcro straps. "Anyway, you did just fine, don't get your in a twist."

Jongin strips himself of his entire uniform until he's wearing nothing but his underwear, and he carefully packs everything in his hockey bag, including his stick, before sitting down on the bench. The surface is ice cold and his teeth almost chatter. "You need to stop with the clipping, by the way, before you end up putting some other unfortunate soul's leg in a cast, as well," he adds, his shin trembling at his own words.

"Shut up or I'll deck you in the shin on purpose next time," Yixing mumbles before standing up and sliding his T-shirt over his head. After removing his hockey pants and cup, he stuffs them both in his bag before sliding on his jeans. "Christ, man, don't come back after three years and start attacking me like this, it ain't fai-" He promptly cuts himself off when he averts his gaze. "...What's that?"

Jongin blinks. "Huh?" He blinks again when Minseok turns to look at him, too, only for the latter's eyes to widen slightly. "What is it?" he asks, suddenly feeling extremely self conscious and he fights the urge to cover his torso with, well, anything (not that he's uncomfortable in his own skin, so to say, it's just that having your friends, whom are fully clad, ogle you and thus your exposed body doesn't sit right with him at all).

Minseok furrows his eyebrows before he slowly points. "What's that?" he asks, squinting a little. When the brunet blinks in confusion, he speaks again. "On your shoulders."

"Are those bruises or some kind of skin condition?" Yixing asks, standing up and walking a few feet to Jongin, who clears his throat and instinctively rubs at the (surprisingly sore) spot above his collarbones. "The hell is that?" he adds when he gets close enough to see the blu-ish marks scattered across the brunet's skin.

Shrugging nonchalantly, Jongin mumbles something along the lines of 'It's fine' before he turns around and scrambles to put on his regular clothes. He nearly sighs when the clean (and dry) fabric brushes against his damp skin. However, the relief is short lived and is quickly replaced with a mild feeling of irritation when he feels Yixing and Minseok's gazes burning holes in his now clothed back. "I said it's fine!"

"Okay, whatever you say," Minseok mumbles, putting his hands up in defense. He looks at Yixing, who is now fully clad and in the process of putting on his coat. "Why aren't you showering? Pig."

"Gee, I'm awfully sorry that my house happens to be situated on the other side of the planet which causes me to miss my bus 99% of the time," Yixing huffs and Jongin nearly chuckles because his attempts at humor are as awful as always. Thankfully. "I'll start showering the day I buy an apartment located a few inches from the building, how does that sound?" he adds sourly, rolling his eyes as he slings his bag over his shoulder. 

Minseok shakes his head in disbelief (and amusement, Jongin can tell). "Fine, fine," he says simply before walking back to the bench and removing his jersey, which is so damp with sweat that it's turned a shade of light gray. "When does your bus leave?"

Checking his phone, Yixing runs a hand through his matted hair. "In ten, so I better go," he mumbles before shoving his phone in his pocket. Before he heads for the door, he shoots Jongin a bright smile. "T'was nice seeing your pretty little face again! You've got my number, right?"

Jongin blinks. The rush coarsing through his veins, which has yet to go away, is preventing him from thinking clearly and he has to clear his throat to snap out of it. "Uh, yeah, I think so," he mumbles, ping his duffel bag and raiding it to the very bottom in search of his phone. When he finds it, he unlocks it and quickly scrolls through his contacts list. To his surprise, Yixing isn't on the list. "I take it back."

"Oh, Kim Jongin," Yixing tuts under his breath before grabbing Jongin's phone and adding himself as a contact. "There ya go, don't wear it out," he adds, handing the brunet his phone before turning to face Minseok. "Tomorrow, same time?"

"Do I even have to answer?" Minseok mumbles, retrieving a small bottle of shampoo, conditioner and deodorant from his toiletry bag.

Yixing walks towards the door with hurried steps. "So salty," he grumbles before saluting Jongin and opening the door. It closes behind him with a bang that lingers in the air for a good two minutes.

Minseok carefully places all his equipment on the bench, making sure none of it gets squashed before standing up and removing his undershirt (Jongin has to look away because as much as Minseok hasn't changed a bit on the inside, he's changed a lot on the outside. In a good way, that is). "Bless his heart," he chuckles, folding it up and placing it on the bench along with his other things. "Are you gonna shower, by the way?"

"He hasn't changed a thing, thank ing God," Jongin laughs before he shakes his head and removes his neck guard. "I just realized I left my Science textbook in my locker, so I need to go fetch it before the janitors leave," he adds, putting the guard in his bag, whilst mentally cursing himself for not only being awkward all the time, but forgetful, too. Damn it.

Nodding in understanding, Minseok picks up the bottles of hair product before nodding a little. "You're leaving now, I persume?" he asks, letting out a squawk of surprise when he nearly drops one of the bottles in his hands. 

Jongin is about to nod when a thought strikes him and he furrows his eyebrows. "Yeah, but wait." He blinks. "Since you never got a chance to tell me, why did uh, why exactly did Lu Han quit?" he asks, hoping he doesn't sound all too awkward and nosey, and he inwardly panics when Minseok visibly tenses. "I mean, you know, since he was, no offense, the best player we had and he was awesome and I just don't understand why he'd le-"

"I'll make this quick," Minseok starts, eyes fixated on the labels on one of the bottles. "Since I'd rather not waste my breath talking about that son of a ," he adds rather unapologetically and Jongin's jaw nearly hits the floor in surprise. He seems to contemplate the bottle in his hands for a considerable amount of time before he finally speaks again. "I don't know if anyone's told you, which they probably haven't since I never told anyone myself, but."

Jongin is practically bouncing up and down on the bench in anticipation. He hopes he doesn't look too into it, although in his defense, he always thought Minseok and Lu Han were tight. Very tight. At least from what he remembers. "Tell me!"

"We were together," Minseok continues and chuckles when Jongin emits an inhuman noise. "Yup, voilá." He clears his throat. "We became a...thing, I guess, like four months after you left. And uh, well, to make a long, complicated story short, I finally found out he was taking advantage of me for my brains. Y'know, since he was a total nuthead himself," he adds with a humorless chuckle. He's clenching the bottles so hard the brunet prays they don't shatter. "Y'know what the worst part is, though? Turns out he only joined the goddamn team to get closer to me since 'a little birdie told him I was one of the smartest kids at the school'. in' lowlife," he spits. "Not to mention he never even bothered to actually go out of his way and talk to me except for when he needed help with his homework."

Mind reeling, Jongin fights the urge to scream because as much as he got shady vibes from Lu Han, he never, ever imagined the latter would go as far as to do that. In fear of coming off as annoying or nosey, he opts to nod in understanding while biting his lip. ", that , dude. I mean...you seemed to close and...Jesus Christ." He scratches the back of his neck. " on his part, though, I mean, he had frikkin' potential, that guy."

Minseok nods and chuckles when he sees the horrified expression on Jongin's face. "Hey now, don't worry, I'm over it," he hums, bending down and removing a loose thread from his boxers. "I mean it , you know? You meet someone whom you're convinced is your soulmate and automatically allow yourself to be pushed around, used and treated like dog ," he hums, apparently still reading the label on the bottle. "And what really is that you don't realize you're worth less than a piece of wood to them until it's way too late." He shakes his head in disbelief before taking a deep breath and shooting Jongin a smile. "It's not a total loss, though, cause you know what I learned from this whole ordeal?"

Ignoring the tingling in his gut, Jongin somehow brings himself to nod before swallowing. "...What?"

"That love is, indeed, blind," Minseok says before shrugging. "But in my opinion, you just need to learn how to see again," he adds, missing the way Jongin visibly swallows again. "Anyway, he's a goddamn tool and I'm over it and him. Sorry to turn this into a lesson in philosphy, by the way," he adds sheepishly.

Swallowing again, Jongin clears his throat, hoping his mouth isn't too dry. "What...what did you do when you uh, when you found out?" he asks quietly in fear of his voice possibly cracking. "If you wanna tell me, that is."

Minseok smiles. "No, it's fine." He shifts his weight onto his right foot. "I basically called him up, told him I hated his guts and that I'd rather have my bottom impaled on a giant cactus than exchange pleasantries with his dumb self ever again." He shrugs when Jongin visibly shudders. "Great imagery, huh?" he chuckles, shaking his head in amusement, although the brunet can tell he's doing his best not to break out into a series of profanities. "Anyway, yeah. There you have it."

Trying to rid his brain of the graphic images, which have been burned into his mind, Jongin scratches the back of his ear. He isn't even looking at Minseok anymore; on the floor, to be exact, and he bites the inside of his cheek before he starts counting the dust bunnies scattered all around the tiles. For some reason, his heart is racing and his head is threatening to explode, and not from adrenaline rush this time, and he honestly doesn't know if he should ask another question. However, he promtly beats up the voice in his head that's telling him to stay quiet and the next thing he knows, he's opening his mouth to speak. "Hey."

Minseok shifts his weight onto the other foot. "Yeah?"

"Just a question," Jongin says, trying to sound as casual as he possibly can (and probably failing big time). "But uh, what if...like...you know...I know what he did was idiotic, but...I mean...have you ever thought about what you did to him? Like, you told him you hated him and such, have you ever uh, felt bad about that? Just, you know, a smidge guilty?" he asks, biting his tongue. "Like, if there exists a possiblity, even the tiniest one, that he still loves you and secretely wants you back..." He quickly loses his train of thought and has to close his mouth to stop himself from screaming at the top of his lungs and thus giving Minseok a heart attack. "Yeah...um. Yeah."

Minseok is silent for a while. "I don't feel bad, and I don't think I should, either," he says simply. "Sure, I might have been a little harsh, but come on, the er deserved it, you can't deny it. It's facts over feelings, you know, if he won't even bring himself to let me know he's still out there, I don't see a reason to dwell on it anymore. Lu hasn't called or texted since the day he quit so I don't see a reason to hit him up and ask him out for coffee, y'know? It's wasted effort." He chuckles dryly before clearing his throat. "Point is, if somebody truly loves you, they'll go out of their way to show it no matter what."

Trying to squash the heavy feeling in his chest, Jongin fidgets with the bottom of his shirt. "I mean..." he starts but quickly closes his mouth when he realizes that he has no idea what to say. "Nevermind." He turns around and picks up his duffel and stick bag before closing his locker, because he really needs some fresh air. 

"I mean, look," Minseok continues, clearly sensing Jongin's confusion. "Imagine this. You're dating somebody whom you think you instantly click with, alright?" He makes sure Jongin is listening before continuing. "They're the best thing you've ever had and you don't think you could be happier than you are right now. After a while, you start noticing strange things about them but you're so blinded at this point that you simply choose to be an idiot and dismiss everything, only to wake up on the cold, hard ground sometime later after realizing that they never actually loved you and used you for their own personal benefit. As in, they manipulated you to no goddamn end, which in turn makes you feel like utter for months on end afterwards, especially since you gave them your everything, and you enter a state in which you constantly question yourself and how you possibly could have been so foolish. I don't know about you, but in my humble opinion, I think they'd be more than deserving of a simple hate based phone call. Wouldn't you think?" he says all in one breath and he has to stop to take a deep breath. He scans Jongin's eyes for any signs of understanding. "Wouldn't you?"

Jongin stands glued to the floor for what feels like a century, his mind is spinning so much that he comes dangerously close to passing out on the floor. He doesn't, thankfully, but he holds onto the door handle anyway just in case. "So..." he mumbles, and he mentally beats himself up for even uttering a word, because talking makes the pain in his heart grow even stronger, but he can't bring himself to stay quiet. "What you're saying is...it'll never get better and that you should just give up?"

Minseok shrugs nonchalantly. "Not really, I guess, it's just that...well, if somebody makes it clear that they don't want a single thing to do with you, what's the point of holding on? Based on personal experience, it hurts like hell because in reality, you're essentially holding onto what you think is reality, but what is actually empty hopes and mindless fantasies. Lu left and hasn't made any effort to keep in touch since then, so what good will it do on my part, y'know? I mean, I know it sounds kinda -ish but it's the truth," he says before shrugging again. "I mean look, every person is different, but in reality, humans aren't all that freaking complex - if we want somebody out of our lives, we'll happily go out of our way to make sure it happens, and if we want somebody back in our lives, we'll happily go out of our way to make sure it happens." He presses his lips together and nods a little, although his eyebrows furrow when he sees the blank look on Jongin's face. "You alright?"

It takes Jongin two whole minutes to pull himself together and when he does, he attempts his best smile, a feather-y sensation settling in his gut. "Yeah, I'm fine, just a little tired," he mumbles before reaching for the door handle. "Nice to see you again, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Sorry to end it on such a cheesy note, but yeah, I hope you get it," Minseok says sheepishly, blushing a little. "But some people aren't worth waiting for," he adds and smiles when Jongin nods. "And yup! Same time as today, don't forget! I know you have my number so we'll keep in touch!"

Jongin nods before throwing the door open, too scared to utter a single word in fear of yelling right out. He figures it would scar Minseok for dear life.

9:32 PM

Opening the doors, Jongin shivers when he sees just how deserted the school is. There isn't a soul in sight and the only thing he hears is the sound of his footsteps echoing through the hallway as he walks forward. Even though he hates horror movies and hasn't watched a single one (save for the one he watched with Sehun), the mental images that pop up in Jongin's head upon turning the corner, only to be met with the creepiest, darkest and downright ghostly hallway he's ever seen in his life, is enough to make him rush forward and towards his locker like his behind is on fire. He inwardly curses himself for being so forgetful and makes a mental note to bring all his study supplies with him to practice from now on.

Jongin reaches his locker less than two seconds later and he breathes out a sigh of relief upon placing his hand on the padlock. He quickly fishes out the key from inside his pocket and unlocks his locker, and it's so dark that Jongin barely manages to avoid being hit in the face as it swings open. He reaches inside and instantly locates his Science textbook before grabbing it and carelessly stuffing it inside his duffel bag, not caring about if some pages end up getting bent in the process, because, in all honesty, all he wants to do right now is to get out of the building before the janitors accidentally lock him inside.

Zipping his bag shut, Jongin slings his bag over his shoulder, grunting a little under the added weight, which subsequently makes his shoulder protest in pain, but he's so focused on high-tailing it out of the school that he pays it little mind, and the way the strap presses down on the bruises on his shoulder promptly makes him forget all about Minseok's words, which have plagued Jongin's mind since he left the changing rooms a little while ago. 

Jongin clicks the padlock into place, shuddering when he realizes that Jungah is over at a friend's house tonight, and his Father left for a business trip early this morning, just like his Mother, which means that the house will be equally as dark and creepy as where he is right now, and Jongin unconsciously swallows in discomfort before turning on his heel.

He wonders what creepy unpleasantries await him when he walks through the door later. A serial killer? One of those creepy clowns from "IT"? A zombie dog? That creepy ghost girl from "The Ring"? A zombie baby? A possessed doll? Heck, maybe even a-

"Hey."

Jongin doesn't even register what happens for the next ten seconds, given that his brain was promptly tossed into a state of blind terror, which in turn made him blank out completely, and it takes Jongin an embarrassingly long time to come back down. He doesn't think his heart has ever raced this much in his life, and the thought of a possessed porcelain doll lying in wait for him back at home is doing nothing to help the frantic trembling in his entire body. Come to think of it, at least Jongin is facing his locker, which means he won't have the displeasure of needing to look his killer in the face as he's violently bludgeoned to death and dismembered.

However, Jongin feels the adrenaline disappear from his system when something hits him, and it's that the voice he just heard sounds rather familiar. He automatically clenches his jaw in anger at the thought of it being Jongdae or, God forbid, Baekhyun, or even Sehun for that matter, and Jongin grits his teeth before turning around, fully ready to confront either of them for deciding to play a prank on him at this ungodly hour. 

"Honestly, what the is wrong with you, I thought I never wanted to see your stupid goddamn face ever again, you little sh-" Jongin's words instantly die in his throat when his eyes adjust properly to the darkness, and he quickly closes his mouth because that is definitely not Jongdae, Baekhyun or Sehun.

~~~