~~~

10:32 PM

"Damn it Yeol, what the everloving is wrong with your stupid ," Junmyeon grits as he spits all over the floor. The bitter taste of cologne stings his taste buds and he feels his eyes water. He tries to kick Chanyeol in the shin and fails miserably, much to the latter's amusement.

Putting his cologne away, Chanyeol shrugs nonchalantly. "It was an accident," he says, putting his equipment away in his locker. "Get a sense of humor, pissbrain."

"How does spraying cologne in someone's mouth equate to an accident," Sehun deadpans as he buckles his belt. Grabbing his wet towel, he stuffs it inside his duffel bag before zipping it shut after making sure he hasn't forgotten anything on the bench(es). His hair still smells like shampoo and he curses upon realizing that he probably didn't wash it out properly. 

"Don't you get all smart on me now," Chanyeol scoffs, zipping his own bag shut. "Dad's giving me a ride today, isn't that great? Now I'll get to stay behind and talk to you lovely lot," he says excitedly and Sehun honestly doesn't know if he's being sarcastic or not. 

"Wohoo," Junmyeon says in the most agonized tone Sehun has ever heard in his life. "The joy," he adds even more sourly and coughs when he accidentally inhales some of Chanyeol's cologne, which is still lingering in his mouth. "ing , dude, I'll get you back for that someday, you just in' wait."

"Yeah, yeah," Chanyeol huffs, barely paying attention, as he crosses his legs, his gaze roaming around the room.

Listening to Junmyeon mumble (vulgar) incoherencies to himself, Sehun chuckles a little before slinging his bag over his shoulder. He really wants to go home and study, because he is in desperate need of distraction. Not only because his brain is dangerously overcrowded with God knows how many things right now, but also because, for the first time in a long, long time, he found himself zoning out for reasons he can't explain during all of practice earlier, which in turn caused him to get scolded by his coach (which never, ever happens on a regular basis). Sehun doesn't know if it's the humiliation of getting chewed out in front of the entire team for 'slacking off' that makes him want to run out of the building and hide under the covers later, but whatever the reason may be, he just wants to sleep the rest of the day away and recharge his batteries. In fact, he's just about to say his goodbyes to Chanyeol and Junmyeon, who both seem slightly...different, in a way, when Chanyeol suddenly emits a noise that causes both Sehun and Junmyeon to jump out of their skin.

Junmyeon blinks before grabbing his chest in surprise. When the adrenaline wears off, about three seconds later, he growls in irritation before whacking Chanyeol on the shoulder, which nearly makes the latter drop his phone. "You ! The 's wrong with you?!" he spits, clearly agitated. Sehun doesn't blame him.

Sehun shakes his head in disbelief (and amusement). Even though he may be looking calm and collected on the outside, he wouldn't be surprised if he might have soiled himself a little. He sincerely hopes he hasn't. "Yeah, what in God's name-"

"I didn't think they'd have it this year!" Chanyeol exclaims excitedly, waving his phone in the air. "Holy , am I happy," he adds with one his disgunstingly bright grins.

Junmyeon blinks, still trying to calm his racing heart. "What the are you ta-"

"Prom!" Chanyeol scoffs as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. He chuckles when Junmyeon raises an eyebrow. "How exciting!" His expression suddenly turns smug. "Say, Myeon, who're you gonna ask to go with you?"

Clearing his throat, Junmyeon's eyes seem to flash a little but he quickly regains his composure. "I dunno," he says casually before closing his locker. He sighs in exasperation when Chanyeol refuses to stop smiling. "What is it?"

"Can I take a guess?" Chanyeol asks, his voice dripping with knowingness. Junmyeon nearly punches him in the face.

"No," Junmyeon practically yells as he picks up his duffel bag and slings it over his shoulder. He doesn't make a move to leave, though, much to Sehun's surprise.

"Let me guess," Chanyeol snickers. "Is it-"

"What are y'all talking about?" Kyungsoo asks, throwing the door open with way more force than necessary before he runs into the room and dumps his bag on the bench next to Sehun. "What'd I miss?"

Exhaling in relief, Junmyeon shrugs carelessly. "Nothing," he says with a pointed, deadly look at Chanyeol, who doesn't seem to take the hint.

"Did you find your shoes?" Sehun asks, shoving his hands in his pockets and nodding at Kyungsoo. When the latter nods, he mutters something under his breath before leaning against his locker. Quite frankly, he isn't sure how to feel about the school board choosing to bring back the idea of prom at the last minute. He remembers it clearly; how the principal had announced a month ago that they wouldn't cancel the dance this year, like they did last year, only for the school to cancel it last week, much to pretty much everybody's disappointment.

In all honesty, back then, Sehun jumped for absolute joy at the announcement of prom being cancelled, because that meant no more ten inch thick piles of 'Prom?'-letters from female strangers cluttering up his locker on a daily basis. And, as a matter of fact, Sehun still wishes they would have chosen to keep it cancelled this year, too, because there is a sullen feeling coiling in his gut at the idea of dragging himself to the dance in a little over a week. And not because he's worried about receiving a thousand prom requests every day leading up the dance.

"Who're you asking to prom, Soo?" Chanyeol asks, ignoring Junmyeon's protests, as he stares at Kyungsoo intently. "I won't take 'Nobody' for an answer, by the way!" he adds for good measure, much to Junmyeon's disgust and Sehun's agony.

Kyungsoo, being the dramatic person he is, puts two fingers on his chin and pretends to descend deep into thought. After minutes of dramatic pondering, he smiles. "Well, there's this girl I kind of like, but I'm pretty sure she has a boyfriend, so I'm open for suggestions," he finally says, eyeing Sehun, Junmyeon and Chanyeol. "Who are you going to ask, by the way?"

"You should ask her, though!" Chanyeol says in a determined tone. His eyebrows suddenly furrow and his gaze seems to flicker to the foor. "I, uh...yeah. About that."

Kyungsoo's mouth falls open. "You don't like anyone? Or wait, you don't have anyone to go with?" he asks at once, cocking his head to the side. He suddenly beams. "Wait! I don't know if this is your area, to be exact, but there's this one kid whose locker is like, right next to mine. Y'know, by the cafeteria. You could ask him, he seems really cool!"

Chanyeol raises an eyebrow. "Elaborate."

"I don't know him, like, at all, but," Kyungsoo chuckles, putting his hands up, "he seems awesome, we greet each other sometimes. I don't know his name, but his hair is really frickin' cool!" he adds, pointing to his own head. "You should stop by my locker tomorrow morning, you might see him! Like I said, I don't know his name, but he's got locker number 43 and he's pretty short, like my height, and his hair is like, clown nose red, and he's really nice and polite. You should ask him!" He shoots Chanyeol an encouraging nod and blinks when Junmyeon suddenly squawks. "The hell is it?"

"Don't," Junmyeon blurts out, much to Kyungsoo's confusion and Chanyeol's knowingness, although the latter tries his best to hide it. He scratches the back of his neck when Kyungsoo and Sehun stare at him like he's grown a second head. "Uh...I...just don't think that's a good idea, that's all," he mumbles, nodding awkwardly. "...Yeah."

Sehun presses his lips together, his eyebrows furrowing. He's never seen Junmyeon acting so...strange before. "What...?"

"You got a better idea, then? Dude's got nobody to ask," Kyungsoo huffs, crossing his arms. 

Junmyeon is silent for a minute. "I...I don't know? I mean, there's so many other people you could- Um, I mean, how do you know he isn't taken or- Nevermind." He clears his throat and scoffs. "I said nevermind!"

Kyungsoo raises an eyebrow. "Okay?" he says before turning back to Chanyeol. "Anyway, make sure to hit him up quick since he seems perfect for you! Y'know, he's cheerful as hell and so are you, I think you'd click! Give it a shot! Hey, if you can't bring yourself to grow a pair in time, I'll ask him out for you!" He shoots Chanyeol a thumbs up before turning to Junmyeon. "So-"

"Leave me out of this," Junmyeon mumbles, shoving his hands in his jacket pockets. 

Kyungsoo rolls his eyes. "Bore." He faces Sehun with a bright grin. "You going with anybody?" he asks before bursting into laughter. "I mean, if we forget about 99% of the female population, that is." 

Sehun bites his lip. He honestly doesn't know what to say, because saying 'Yes', no matter how much he would like to, would be a complete and utter lie, and he swallows before shaking his head ever so slightly. He presses his lips together and keeps his gaze fixated on Chanyeol's shoes across from him, which are in desperate need of a makeover. When Kyungsoo doesn't say anything, Sehun clears his throat. "No."

"That ," Kyungsoo says sincerely before patting Sehun's shoulder. "You'll find someone, though, don't worry! Hey, if Yeol won't ask that cool, red-headed kid, you should! Again, if that's your area, that is, but what would I know."

Swallowing, Sehun is about to ask Kyungsoo why on Earth that would be 'his area' when something else hits him. "That kid?" he asks lowly, trying to piece two and two together. "Wait, you mean Bae-"

"Soo, when does your bus leave?" Junmyeon asks, a pointed glare at Kyungsoo. Chanyeol nearly rolls his eyes.

Kyungsoo checks his phone. "In a few, but prom is so much more interesting," he says simply before he grins. "Hey, I wonder who Yifan's gonna ask." He looks around the room for any signs of an answer. "Does anyone know if he's interested in anyone? Or if anyone likes him? Or who we should set him up with?"

"He's pretty open, he'd tell us, I think," Chanyeol says before flicking a leaf off his shoe. "And I dunno? I guess we'll check him him tomorrow," he adds before sitting upright and running a hand through his hair. "Speaking of which, where the hell even is Yifan?" he asks with furrowed eyebrows.

Sehun shrugs. "He seemed a little distant after practice so I guess he went home," he mumbles. "Hey, by the way." He scratches the back of his ear. "You...uh, you don't need to go to prom, right? I mean-"

"Are you kidding? You can't bail on prom!" Kyungsoo squawks, whacking Sehun in the shoulder. "What's wrong with you?"

Rubbing his shoulder, which has suffered enough blows for one day, Sehun bites his lip. "No, I mean...if you end up not being asked, isn't it kinda weird to-"

"Hold up, guys," Kyungsoo interrupts, putting both hands in the air dramatically. "I think Oh in' Sehun just said he doesn't think anyone's gonna ask him out to prom." He blinks repeatedly, as if he's still trying to process it, and shakes his head in dismay when Junmyeon mumbles a low 'Cut it out already'. "Sheesh."  

Sehun rolls his eyes. He'd rather spend prom night at home, cuddled up with Vivi than ask out a random girl he's never met before and in whom he probably wouldn't find anything out of the ordinary. Or remotely interesting, for that matter. "Why the hell'd they choose to have it right before the Chemistry lab?" he mumbles under his breath. "Seems kinda stupid to me," he adds before closing his eyes.

"Shut it, at least they didn't cancel it entirely," Chanyeol huffs. "Anyway, make sure you reach out to the apples of your eyes as soon as possible before they end up getting booked," he says boldly, putting his hands on his hips. "Soo, I think your bus-"

", you're right," Kyungsoo exclaims in horror before slinging his bag over his shoulder and standing up. "We'll talk about this nice and thoroughly tomorrow," he says hurriedly before waving lazily and opening the door. "See ya!"

When the door slams closed, Junmyeon buries his face in his hands. "Jeez, what a truckload to have around," he mumbles lowly before running a hand through his auburn locks. "What's so in' great about prom, anyway? It's just a waste of time." He shakes his head in irritation and is about to lean back against the lockers when he spots Chanyeol's glare. "What the is it?"

"Are you sure you don't have anybody to ask to prom," Chanyeol says slowly, sending Junmyeon less than subtle looks with every word. "I mean, let's say that I don't wanna ask this 'red headed, short dude' out, what would you do if I told you that, well, you could take the shot instead?" he adds when Junmyeon stays silent.

Closing his eyes in irritation, Junmyeon shoots Sehun a look that can only be interpreted as a 'Help me out, for 's sake'-look. "I...I dunno, alright? Look, when does your Dad get here-"

"Fine then," Chanyeol says surprisingly neutrally before leaning back against the locker. He pulls out his phone and proceeds to unlock it. "I'll ask Soo to ask him out for me, then," he mumbles and bites back a snicker when Junmyeon scrambles to grab his wrist before he has a chance to dial Kyungsoo's number. "Well, well."

Junmyeon clenches his jaw before slowly letting go of Chanyeol's arm. "Fine, I'll take the goddamn shot instead," he says quietly, and he waits until Chanyeol puts his phone away to sit back down. "You idiot."

Sehun blinks, unable to process what on Earth he's witnessing, as he presses his lips together. He knows for a fact that he won't be attending the dance, that's for sure, and he figures he'll have to fake being sick or simply find a way to slip out of it in the last minute. Because the idea of going to prom and being surrounded by lovey dovey couples and bright lights and overly loud music makes him want to vomit. Not only that, but because the thought of love makes him want to jump out the nearest window. Why? He honestly doesn't know, and he doesn't want to spare it a single thought.

Watching Junmyeon try to rip out Chanyeol's hair, Sehun clears his throat because it seems like Junmyeon and Chanyeol have forgotten he's in the same room as them, less than seven feet away. "I hate to interrupt, kids, but what was that all about?" he asks, raising an eyebrow.

Sitting back down, Junmyeon shrugs angrily. "The hell if I know."

"Simple," Chanyeol chuckles, smoothing his hair. "Myeon here just so happens to be in lov-" His sentence is abruptly cut off when the sound of a car honking outside fills the air (much to Junmyeon's uttermost relief), and he stands up and slings his bag over his shoulder. "Pop's here, gotta run, don't wanna hold him up, talk to y'all tomorrow!" he says hurriedly before rushing towards the door. Junmyeon follows him with his eyes, which are practically burning with hatred.

When the door closes, Sehun and Junmyeon sit in silence for what feels like forever, neither of them not saying a word, and Sehun doesn't know if he should stand up and walk out or wait for Junmyeon, because he's sure they're taking the same bus since it's Monday. As much as Sehun wants to wait, he feels the tension in the room growing even stronger and stronger until he's sure you could pluck it out of the air and bludgeon either of them to death with it. On the other hand, he can't bring himself to get to his feet for whatever reason, so Sehun opts to remain glued to the bench and fidget in his lap while occasionally sneaking glances at Junmyeon, who is in the midst of muttering vulgar incoherencies under his breath, much to Sehun's amusement (although he'll admit that the murderous glint in Junmyeon's eyes is starting to put him on edge).

Ten minutes later, though, the silence grows to a point where it nearly becomes suffocating and Sehun automatically opens his mouth to speak before he and Junmyeon, who also doesn't seem to want to leave, end up sitting in the changing rooms for a century. "I know."

Looking up, Junmyeon clears his throat. "Yeah. Sorry about him," he mumbles, a hint of hatred in his voice. He's about to say something else when he closes his mouth, his eyebrows furrowing. "...Wait, what?"

"I know," Sehun repeats, louder and clearer this time, and he watches as Junmyeon's expression shifts a little, but not much. 

Junmyeon stares at Sehun like the latter has grown a third leg. "The hell are you talking about," he says slowly, but Sehun doesn't miss the way his voice wavers.

"I can safely say that I doubt Yeol's gonna ask Baekhyun to prom," Sehun chuckles, still keeping his eyes on Junmyeon, who squirms a little. "So you can stop with the murderous glares in his direction because the shot has always been yours and you know it," he adds casually before crossing his right leg over the other. Across from him, Junmyeon is as unmoving as a statue and Sehun contemplates walking over and shaking him to make sure the former hasn't turned to stone.

Junmyeon is silent for a long, long time before he finally speaks, much to Sehun's relief. "Wait. What?"

"Just admit it already before Yeol ends up losing an arm and or a leg because of you," Sehun chuckles. "It's not difficult. And I mean, you probably should ask him since he might have a ton of people lining up behind him for all you know."

Scratching the back of his ear, Junmyeon crosses his legs. "Hun, I have no idea what you're ta-"

"You like Baekhyun," Sehun huffs and laughs a little when Junmyeon drags a hand down his face. "Come on, I've seen the way you look at him, don't be so dumb all the time," he adds, playing with the zipper to his duffel bag. 

Junmyeon opens his mouth to protest but he quickly closes it again before exhaling in defeat. "God," he mumbles under his breath, shoving his hands in his pockets, presumably in search for his cigarettes, Sehun assumes. "Listen, enough about...this, I actually wanted to ta-"

"Like, it's so stupid," Sehun continues, huffing in irritation. "I mean, no offense or anything, but like, what are you so afraid of? I don't get it." He scratches the back of his head. "Like, are you afraid of being judged or demeaned or what? Like, I don't know how Baekhyun feels but it kinda to see you trying to hard to avoid talking about him since I can tell how much you like him, you know? I mean , I should probably say this now, but you're my friend and I'd hate it if you remained forever alone for the rest of your life no matter who you ended up with." He shoots Junmyeon an encouraging smile.

Junmyeon blinks for a number of different reasons. "Uh. Yeah. Um. Anyway-"

"Jeez, you're a real idiot if you think I'm just gonna stand up and leave you for crushing on Baekhyun," Sehun chuckles, mainly to himself, as he shakes his head in amusement. "You don't have to feel the need to hide your true self in fear of what others might think, that's just...stupid," he adds, shrugging. "Hell, if anything, I'd say you and Baekhyun would make a cute couple. That's if you grow a pair and ask him, of course."

Again, Junmyeon blinks, apparently not having fully processed Sehun's words. He sits on the bench in silence before it hits him that he should probably say something. "Um," he starts, bewildered, "yeah...Um. I'll...do that, I...guess. Uh-"

"What, you don't think you and Baekhyun would make a cute couple?" Sehun asks, clearly amused.

"No, I do-" Junmyeon cuts himself off and blushes a little bit, "- It's just. I, uh. Okay look, that's actually what I wanted to talk to you about." He presses his lips together and stares Sehun square in the face.

Sehun raises an eyebrow. "You...wanted to talk to me about your crush on B-"

"No, no, no," Junmyeon squabbles, his cheeks tinted a rose shade of pink, much to Sehun's surprise and amusement. He takes a breath to pull himself together before continuing. "What I meant was, I wanted to you to talk about...well, this. The uh, the thing you just told me, actually."

Adjusting the straps of his duffel bag, Sehun nods in confusion. "Not following you."

With a sigh, Junmyeon puts his hands in the air. "The thing I tried talking to you about yesterday," he says and sighs again when Sehun's confusion visibly increases. "Okay, look, I'm gonna be straightforward 'cause this is bugging the crap outta me." He makes sure Sehun is listening before continuing. "You obviously don't think there's anything wrong with letting your friends know that you're gay, right?"

Sehun nods. "Of course not. Like I said, you don't deserve to be left just because you're in love with Baekhyun," he chuckles before he blinks. "So...you're gay?" he asks dumbly. Not that it doesn't surprise him, obviously, since he's been suspecting it since tenth grade. But still.

Junmyeon opens and closes his mouth before he sighs in defeat. " it, yes. I am," he mutters under his breath a couple of seconds later, purposefully avoiding Sehun's eyes. "Wasn't really planning on having you find out like this, though, but okay," he adds lowly before clearing his throat and looking up. "Anyway, this isn't just about me and- What's with your face?" He furrows his eyebrows. 

"Nothing, nothing," Sehun babbles, waving his hands in the air. "It's just...damn it, nevermind." He chuckles a little before nodding. "What were you saying?"

Eyeing Sehun in exasperation, Junmyeon rolls his eyes. "Anyway, you don't think people deserve to be abandoned by their friends for being gay, am I right?" he asks and nods when Sehun nods. "Okay. Now, what if I told you that I feel the same exact way?"

At first, Sehun has no idea what Junmyeon is talking about. It takes him a good while to process the latter's words and, when he finally does, he still doesn't fully understand. "What?"

"Don't play dumb with me, I know you're smarter than this," Junmyeon sighs. "Let me rephrase that. I wouldn't have a problem with any of my friends admitting to being gay or dating somebody of the same , either. Better?" He stares at Sehun intently and inwardly screams when the latter still looks like a question mark. "Damn it, Sehun!"

"What?" Sehun squawks, throwing his hands in the air. On a side note, he's extremely surprised to hear those words come out of Junmyeon's mouth. Not that he thinks the latter doesn't have a heart (sort of), it's just that hearing those particular from Junmyeon of all people, almost makes it feel special, in a sense. "I'm not following you!"

Cursing his entire existence, Junmyeon closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. Probably to stop himself from punching a hole in the wall, Sehun assumes. "Don't take me for a fool. And I'm not trying to act like what I'm saying is set in stone, but." He pauses for a dramatically long time. "Not to sound too straightforward, but I would never, ever judge you for being gay, Oh ing Sehun, who the actual hell do you think I am." He eyes Sehun sternly and growls low in his throat when the latter visibly stills. "Who the hell do you think I am."

Feeling his gut churn, Sehun feels his mind go blank. He isn't feeling anything at the moment and he doesn't really know why. "Uh-"

"I may be a goddamn ing jerk like, 99.9% of the time," Junmyeon says, his eyes not refusing to leave Sehun's, "but you're a goddamn ing idiot if you think I'd whack you across the face and leave you for going out with a man." There is so much sincerity lacing his words that Sehun feels himself tearing up a bit. "Hard to in' believe, I know, but trust me on this one, damn it!"

Sehun is extremely thankful that he's sitting and not standing, because he's convinced that if he wasn't bolted to the bench right now, he'd definitely fall over and lay there for eternity. A million different thoughts are circulating in his head, one of those being Junmyeon's (un)expected leap out of the closet, as well as the fact that he has no goddamn idea what to say. Even if Sehun knew what to say, he wouldn't say it, anyway, given the fact that his throat feels like it's on the brink of closing up. In front of him, Junmyeon is beating him down with his wide-eyed, expectant gaze and Sehun forces himself to face the other way because Junmyeon looks like he's on the verge of bursting into tears and, quite frankly, Sehun feels the same exact way.

When a couple of silence-filled moments pass, Junmyeon shakes his head. "You don't have to say it, but I know it's true," he says, voice seemingly void of any emotions, and Sehun doesn't know how to feel about that. "And, not to sound like a cheesy or anything, but I got you." He shoves his hands in his pockets and looksat Sehun with an empty, but oh so telling expression on his face. "And I know for a ing fact that Yeol, Soo, Yifan and the rest of the guys do, as well."

Running a hand through his dried hair, Sehun has to take three steady breaths in order to calm his buzzing nerves. His mind is still a blank slate, but for some reason, the agonizing churning in his gut is starting to disappear, much to his relief, and he finally starts to breathe a little easier. He's still avoiding Junmyeon's piercing eyes and, despite it not seeming like it, Sehun knows very well what Junmyeon is practically begging him to say, but he can't bring himself to, for some strange reason. Either because Sehun feels like it's completely useless, seeing as Junmyeon clearly already knows, or because his tongue, mouth and airways all feel like a piece of sandpaper. So he opts to stay quiet and hope that Junmyeon gets the hint.

Quite frankly, Sehun trusts Junmyeon, both on and off the field, and he's never doubted the shorter in the slightest during the three years they've known each other. However, no matter how much he trusts Junmyeon's usual words of wisdom (come to think of it, Sehun is once again reminded of the fact that Junmyeon would probably be much, much more fitted to be the captain and not him), Sehun can't help but furrow his eyebrows. "But...Yeol..."

"I didn't say that they already know," Junmyeon says sternly. "I said that they'll have your back, which I know damn good and well they will," he adds. "I know Yeol is all 'Sehun's girlfriend' this and 'Sehun's girlfriend' that 24/7, but deep down, I don't think he means it. And even if he does, it wouldn't frickin' matter, because he's your goddamn friend and you'd be lying out of your  if you said that Yeol would stick up his nose and ignore you for the rest of your life if you told him."

Sehun bites his lip. As annoying and downright painful Chanyeol can be sometimes, Sehun won't deny that the thought of Chanyeol ever ditching him for whatever reason is completely unthinkable. When he thinks even harder, Sehun clearly remembers Chanyeol choosing to stay behind and help him improve his passing skills back in tenth grade when both of them were still new to the team, along with a ton of other things Sehun can't remember off of the top of his head, but it's enough to make him choke back a sob, and he nods a little because Sehun knows very well that claiming that Chanyeol would leave his side for just about anything would, in fact, equate to talking out of his own .

"Stop making everything so pissing hard for yourself and everyone else," Junmyeon exclaims with a sigh. "It's so irritating to see you constantly feeling the need to shove the whole 'Straight-card' in our faces on a day to day basis, you know that? Just accept who you are and learn to live. I know it's easier said than done, but the truth is, nobody really cares." He looks at Sehun with a shrug. "I dunno if you think that's a good or bad thing, but yeah."

Sehun blinks. He wasn't aware that he'd been pulling out the so called 'Straight-card' lately. At all. "What-"

"The girls don't give a ," Junmyeon interrupts, cupping his hands around his mouth for emphasis. Sehun nearly covers his ears at the loudness of his voice. "No seriously, I don't think you know how girls work. Based on what I've seen and heard, they won't give a flying if their favorite...guy, I guess, turns out to be gay, they'll simply move on to the next attractive dude whom they hope isn't gay, especially if there's a ton of people to choose from. And like, 3/4 of the guys on our team are straight, so the hormonal pissbabies might as well move on to somebody who actually wants something to do with them," he adds all in one breath and he coughs into his fist. "Trust me."

Head reeling, Sehun sighs because just like a lot of times, Junmyeon is right. A hundred percent right, actually. On the other hand, he hadn't actually worried, so to speak, about what the girls would think, but he doesn't bother telling Junmyeon. "...Yeah. You're right." He furrows his eyebrows and brings himself to look at Junmyeon, who is still staring at him. "Wait, I mean, this is very, uh, helpful, but...why are you te-"

"Because I give a about you and the future of this motherin' team," Junmyeon hollers, his voice echoing in the small room. When he sees the rather horrified look on Sehun's face, he clears his throat and regains his composure. "Let me rephrase that. I care about you and the team. Better?"

Sehun bites the inside of his cheek. "What?" he asks, a warm feeling settling in his stomach. He doesn't know if it's because because he's never had somebody say those words to him before, or because Junmyeon is the one saying them. He figures it's a mix of both. 

"We're at our goddamn peak, Sehun," Junmyeon says slowly. "I don't want us hiding from each other and thus spawning random, stupid and utterly worthless grudges and arguments and whatnot. And yes, I know, that's coming from someone like me," he adds, placing a hand on his chest as if to say 'I'm aware, so don't point it out'. He suddenly blushes a bit and looks at the floor. "I mean , man, we're a great in' team, I'd hate it if we were to fall apart right before Nationals simply because our captain couldn't bring himself to tell us that he likes men," he adds quietly. It's so comical that Sehun nearly chuckles.

Clearing his throat, Sehun laughs a little. "Well put," he says honestly, but he's still a tad bit confused. "Wait, I still don't get it-"

"Get back with Jongin," Junmyeon blurts out and he mentally slaps himself when he realizes just how desperate that sounded. "Okay, okay, let me rephrase that," he says slowly. "He in' loves you, dude, and I know for a fact that you might even love him a little more, so what the actual are you doing, running around and breaking his fragile little heart? It's idiotic. And yes, before you ask, I do know his name. Don't ask."

If Sehun had been feeling happy and even a little amused a few seconds ago, it's quickly squashed when a sensation of dread explodes deep inside his chest. His mind is still blank, but for a different reason, and he visibly swallows before sliding down the bench a little. It seriously feels as if somebody has taken his heart and popped it with a needle and he fights the urge to scream. "I..."

"He cried his eyes out on the bus the other day," Junmyeon says through gritted teeth. "Like a little baby, behind me and Yeol. I probably should've done something but I didn't for whatever ing reason, but even so, he loves you," he adds, staring at Sehun intently. He sighs when the latter doesn't say anything. "We've already established that the girls probably won't give a flying and that the guys won't, either, so what's there left to be afraid of? Be a man and go get your man back, the hell do I know."

Closing his eyes, Sehun fights the urge to reach up and claw at his eyes. The thought of Jongin crying, like a little baby, immediately makes him think of when the brunet had cried in his arms a couple of days ago, also like a little baby, and he has to bite down on his lip so hard it draws blood to get the thought to leave his brain. Sehun can almost feel the weight of Jongin in his lap and the latter's tears on his soaked shirt and the former nearly cries. He doesn't reply in fear of his voice cracking, and Sehun hopes Junmyeon won't interpret his silence as ignorance.

Junmyeon, thankfully, does get the hint and he sighs before standing up and walking over to Sehun. "Look, I'm not gonna kick your for this if that's what you're thinking. I mean yeah, I might kick your for doing whatever you must've done to him, since it sounded like he'd seen his pet die in front of him, but other than that, I...sort of understand," he says, a hint of sympathy in his voice. "We all up, I mean hey, look at me," he adds with a humorless chuckle when Sehun only sighs. "But pussying out isn't the right frickin' thing to do. Come on, you're smarter than that, I know you are."

Sighing shakily, Sehun swallows. He hears his coach yelling something outside and tries blocking out his voice. "I don't...he doesn't-" He pauses and swallows the lump in his throat. "It's useless, dude. I ed up so badly, it's unreal-" He cuts himself off when he sees Junmyeon's glare in his peripheral.

"The hell'd you do exactly," Junmyeon says, a hint of dread seeping into his voice.

"I...well, may or may not have uh, pushed him, like, kind of really hard," Sehun says, and it comes out sounding more like a question than a statement. He nods at the spot a few feet away. "Over there, actually," he adds and fidgets in his lap when Junmyeon's mouth falls open in surprise. "...Yeah."

For a while, Junmyeon says absolutely nothing and Sehun worries he might've suffered a until the former covers his face with both hands. "Oh my ing- Why the - No wonder he was crying so much," he mumbles into his palms in agony. He shakes his head in disbelief before slowly removing his hands from his face and taking a deep breath. "Okay. Have you tried talking to him about it?"

"Yeah, and he was clear about never wanting to see or talk to me ever again," Sehun says, ignoring the way his heart trembles at the memory. The coldness in Jongin's voice will probably, he assumes, haunt him to the grave. ", Myeon, I.... This ," he groans, sliding even deeper into his seat and running a hand through his hair.

Junmyeon nods. "Well yeah, seeing as you ed up big time," he mumbles under his breath before looking at Sehun. "I wouldn't wanna see your ever again either," he adds and yelps when Sehun whacks him in the arm. "What? It's true! Anyway, since your world still seems to be revolving around him, I'd say you try talking to him about it, because I'm gonna go out on a limb here and assume that he got fed up of you ignoring the outta him in public, am I right?"

"Spot on, Einstein," Sehun mumbles.

"Since he doesn't know the truth, you have every right to explain it to him," Junmyeon says. "It'll be hard as a motherer but hey, do it in the name of love, am I right," he adds with a dry chuckle. He looks at Sehun expectantly. "Because I mean, you do still love him, right?"

Realizing there's no point in even trying to fight it anymore, Sehun nods, and he curses when he notices his vision getting blurry. He doesn't dare wipe at his eye in fear of Junmyeon noticing so he opts to hold it back as best as he can. He would happily spew out all the million things he loves about the brunet but he bites back his many words in fear of Junmyeon getting bored, so he opts to mumble a quiet 'I do' while keeping his gaze fixated on the tiles beneath their feet.

"I mean, that goes without saying, since you were distracted as a motherer earlier, but still," Junmyeon chuckles. "And hey, come on, you're the one who knows the truth, he doesn't, you've got nothing to lose. Sort of," he adds, obviously referring to the tear making its way down the taller's face.

Hastily wiping at his cheek, Sehun takes a deep breath. "He probably won't listen," he mumbles, his heart trembling at the honesty in his words. "I wouldn't blame him," he adds, internally screaming when another tear travels down the left side of his face. Damn it.

Patting Sehun's shoulder comfortingly, Junmyeon crosses his legs. "I hate to sound like a ty counselor, but the only way to get him to listen at this point is to talk it out and hope that he's at least got a bit of brains left to see your point. He's a nice kid, I think he'll understand," he says before pressing his lips together. "And hey, who knows, if you do it soon enough you might as well ask him to prom," he adds, patting Sehun's back. "That is, unless he hasn't found himself another man."

"Thanks, that's exactly what I wanna hear right now," Sehun says bitterly before rubbing his eyes. His palms instantly become soaked. "And , man, I don't even want to think about prom right now, Jesus," he adds, squeezing his eyes shut in agony. As if his brain hasn't suffered enough torment already. 

"I doubt he's found somebody else in such short time, by the way," Junmyeon says absentmindedly. "So you better set straight before it's too late, just saying." He pats Sehun on the back. "Oh, and I hope you're not pissed at me for saying 'man', by the way, it's just that, well, Jongin's got 'Gay' written all over him, please don't punch me," he adds with a small laugh. "Even more than Baekhyun, if that's even possible. Anyway, seriously, talk to him, I'm sure you'll figure it all out, okay?"

Sehun wipes at his eye. "How do you know he hasn't moved on and forgotten all about me?" he asks, his voice cracking at the last word, and he mentally screams because his heart is beating dangerously fast. "I mean, I would've."

"I...don't," Junmyeon says slowly. "But think rationally for a second, it's been what, 24 hours? 48? He couldn't possibly have found someone new in such little time, I refuse to believe it. Not to mention I'll still continue to believe that he still loves you 'til the day I frikkin die. But then again, you better hurry," he adds, nudging Sehun slightly. "Prom's drawing close and people tend to do stupid under the influence of heartbreak." He stands up and slings his bag over his shoulder. "Hey, why not call him right now?"

Sehun blinks. "Are you a moron?" he asks, shaking his head in disbelief. His head is already feeling like it's about to burst, he figures the very last thing he wants is to hear Jongin yell obscenities through the phone. As if last time wasn't traumatizing enough, he thinks before standing up and shoving his hands in his pockets. His eyes are still wet and he suddenly feels extremely awkward. "Uh, are we taking the same bus?"

Eyeing Sehun for a minute, Junmyeon nods slowly. He watches as Sehun runs a distressed hand through his hair before walking over and patting the latter's shoulder. "Don't beat yourself up over this," he says reassuringly. "Just don't get distracted and keep yourself together no matter what, alright?" He reaches into his pocket and pulls out his box of cigarettes. "And yup, that's if it hasn't already left."

Nodding a little, Sehun stands unmoving before walking past Junmyeon and throwing the door open. He quickly wipes his eyes with the back of his free hand before turning around in the doorway, raising an eyebrow when he sees the look on Junmyeon's face. "What?" he asks, suddenly worried that he might still have tears on his face.

Junmyeon is silent for a while. "Uh." He reaches up and rubs the back of his neck. "Not to sound moronic, but-" He pauses and clears his throat. "Do you...do you uh, do you think I'd have a chance with...well, you know who?" He looks at Sehun hopefully.

Sehun blinks. They've been talking about him and his (doomed) love life (or rather, love issues) that he'd forgotten all about Junmyeon's (hopeless) crush on the redhead. He pretends to look deep in thought, much to Junmyeon's worry, before smiling smugly. "Sure," he finally says, making Junmyeon visibly relax. "Although I doubt Baekhyun's gonna appreciate kissing a mouth that tastes like a moldy ashtray, but that's just me," he adds and cackles when Junmyeon forcefully shoves him out the door.

~~~