~~~

10:00 PM

"So who're you asking to prom?" Kyungsoo asks for the fifth time, jabbing Junmyeon in the leg, apparently forgetting the fact that he already knows the answer. "Come on, tell me!"

Junmyeon shakes Kyungsoo off and slams his locker shut. "You know who," he mumbles before turning to face Sehun. "Where's Yeol?" 

Shrugging, Sehun caresses his sore sides. "No idea," he replies as he slides on his jacket and zips it up to his chin. He contemplated calling Jongin before practice started but never got a chance to, so to say that he's sort of really buzzed would be an understatement. "And would you stop yammering about prom already? It's not that big a deal, you know," he adds with a huff.

"You just gotta find yourself a date, it's not hard," Kyungsoo retorts, pointing an accusing finger at Sehun, who rolls his eyes. "I mean, you've only got like, three hundred kabillion ladies to choose from," he cackles, rightfully earning him a punch in the ribs from Junmyeon. " you man, I was just joking!"

"You're not ing funny," Junmyeon spits, clicking the padlock to his locker into place before brushing his hands together. He shoots Sehun a look as if to say 'You haven't forgotten, have you?', to which the latter replies with a firm nod. "My bus leaves in two, I'm gonna go," he mumbles before lazily waving and walking towards the door.

Despite his waist feeling like it's going to implode any second, repeatedly reminding him himself to keep his head in the game, just like Junmyeon had told him to, paid off because Sehun's team (or rather, group) ended up winning every single set, much to Chanyeol's fury, and Sehun closes his eyes before leaning back and resting his head against the lockers. He hears the door slam shut and exhales slowly. His head has been a mess since this morning, from getting an eye full of the brunet every time he looked up, and he desperately wants to clear his mind right now, and Kyungsoo's eternal whining about how girls never notice him isn't doing anything to help. 

"You sure you don't have anybody to ask to prom?" Kyungsoo asks, snapping Sehun out of his thoughts. He eyes the latter intently. "I mean, I know you do, but I just don't get why you're being so...you know, weird about it since you know damn good and well any girl would die for you!" he adds in frustration, running a hand through his hair. "Jeez, the things I'd do to be in your place, you have no idea."

Sehun nearly chuckles. As clueless as ever, Soo, he thinks before shrugging. "I don't like girls," he blurts out and it takes him a good ten seconds to realize what he said. When he does, he feels his eyes widen in both surprise and dread. Across from him, Kyungsoo isn't saying anything which only makes a pang of dread shoot up his spine.

The thing is, Kyungsoo isn't a judgemental person, at all, so Sehun finds himself relaxing ever so slightly. However, he's well aware of the fact that even the most open minded people can, in some cases, turn out to be the exact opposite, so Sehun subconsciously swallows and keeps his gaze locked on the dirty tiles beneath his feet. A droplet of sweat trickles down the back of his neck and he doesn't know if it's a result of his head being crammed inside a helmet for four hours straight or something else.

When they sit in silence for another minute, Sehun whole heartedly expects Kyungsoo to storm out of the room while muttering something along the lines of 'Weirdo', which is why the words that momentarily leave the latter's mouth makes Sehun wince in surprise. Or rather, not the words, but the loud squeal. 

"Yes!" Kyungsoo bursts out, nearly scaring Sehun half to death, as he stands up and fist pumps the air. He mumbles something under his breath before pulling himself together and sitting back down, chuckling a bit as he runs a hand through his hair. Sehun is about to question the former's sanity before he speaks. "Thanks, now Yeol owes me pizza and takeout!" 

Sehun blinks, still trying to catch up. "Um...what?"

"I in' knew it, man, I'm so good," Kyungsoo babbles, still fist pumping the air. When he notices Sehun's questioning look, he puts his hands on his hips. "See, earlier this year I asked Yeol if you were gay and he said that if I turned out to be right, he'd buy me pizza and Chinese," he says proudly, smiling in triumph. "He probably doesn't remember but you can bet your I'll remind him the very second I see him."

Still trying to catch up with Kyungsoo's exhilarated voice, Sehun's mouth falls open a bit. He knows he should probably be feeling something close to dread and pure agony at the moment, but for some reason, he doesn't. He figures it's because nothing can top the surprise he felt yesterday during his little talk with Junmyeon, and the thought makes a wave of relief wash over him. Watching Kyungsoo fist pump the air across the room makes Sehun chuckle low in his throat and the latter wonders why he even worried in the first place, seeing as the first thing Kyungsoo said to him when he admitted to stealing a pack of ramen noodles from a corner store was if he hurt himself while biking away in a panicked frenzy. The memory, as well as Kyungsoo's concerned expression at the time, makes Sehun laugh out loud.

Kyungsoo promptly stops fist pumping to look at Sehun with a weirded out look. "Stop laughing, you nitwit, Yeol genuinely thought I'd be wrong," he mumbles before sitting back down and his lips. "Free pizza, goodness gracious, this must be my lucky day," he hums before taking a deep breath to calm himself down, presumably to take his mind off of food. "So wait, I'm right, right?"

Sehun blinks before nodding slowly. "You...are," he says sheepishly. "I mean-"

"Wohoo," Kyungsoo blurts out and he stands up, only to sit back down again when he hears their coach pounding on the door for him to cut it out. "Jesus, my gaydar is just on point, isn't it?" he adds unapologetically, shaking his head proudly, but his voice quickly turns serious. "I mean, you're not-"

Sehun puts his hands up. The last thing is for Kyungsoo to go back to his usual, serious self, and he chuckles a bit. "I'm not mad, if that's what you're wondering," he says in an honest tone before nodding. Even though he won't admit it, there's a sense of relief bubbling in his gut and he smiles a bit, the feeling briefly making him forget about the pain in his waist.

"Good," Kyungsoo says, equally relieved before stretching. "I mean, this sounds dumb, but I always thought you were since you never seemed to look at...nevermind." He scratches the back of his head. "Anyway, I think you get it." He shoots Sehun a bright smile. "So, how's your love life going?"

Blinking at the sudden subject change, Sehun shrugs, a big, dark cloud suddenly hovering above his head. Normally, he'd be extremely reluctant to tell anybody about anything love related (save for Junmyeon, sort of), but this is Kyungsoo, his favorite, and Sehun exhales slowly before opening his mouth.

"It's been better," Sehun says simply, apparently forgetting the fact that he doesn't have anything to compare with it. When Kyungsoo keeps staring at him expectantly, he clears his throat, crossing his legs. "I had this one guy but uh, yeah, we sort of...broke it off recently," he adds, subconsciously swallowing. 

Nodding in understanding, Kyungsoo rests his head on his hand. "That ," he says without an ounce of sarcasm or humor. "What happened?"

Sehun shrugs. "We kinda...misunderstood each other, so to say, big time," he says, hoping Kyungsoo will leave it at that. The latter doesn't, however, and he quickly realizes that there's no turning back. "He- It's a he, by the way, obviously- He didn't really, I mean, I never really got to tell him about...myself, you know? So he kind of...misinterpreted it and...yeah."

Kyungsoo makes sure that Sehun is finished before he speaks. "Wait, so he left you because he didn't know you were gay?" he asks, clearly confused, and he scratches his temple in confusion. "That's...what. What."

"No, I meant," Sehun starts, chuckling, "that I...well...didn't want anybody to find out about us, or him, since I was, y'know, worried? Since I'd never told anybody before. And the whole Nationals thing didn't really make better, and it just...kind of fell apart." He bites his lip and nods slowly. He'd happily tell Kyungsoo every little detail but he doesn't think he could bring himself to do so, no matter how trustworthy Kyungsoo may be.

"Hm," Kyungsoo hums, clearly intruiged. "First of all, you're an idiot," he says with a chuckle. "I always sort of really knew you liked dudes, it's just that I never bothered asking you about it, but damn, I should've." He curses under his breath. "And second of all, since you've told me, why not just talk to him? How many have you told, by the way?"

Sehun clears his throat. "You and Myeon," he says quietly, fiddling with a lock of his hair. "I mean, I'd tell Yeol, too, but-"

"Chanyeol knows," Kyungsoo interrupts and chuckles when Sehun blinks. "Yup. In fact, I think he's known for quite a while, it's just that, y'know, just like me, he didn't have the guts to ask you about it since, well, yeah. But trust me when I say that he knows," he adds with a bright smile. "Anyway, are you gonna talk to this dude? I mean, you only ended it because he misunderstood everything, right?"

Sehun nods. "Pretty much, yeah."

"And not to sound like a douchenozzle, but you still love him, right?" Kyungsoo asks, swinging his legs back and forth. 

Fighting the urge to scream out 'With all my goddamn heart', Sehun opts for a casual 'Yes' before sighing a little. He hears people talking on the other side of the wall. Probably the basketballers, he thinks before turning his attention back to Kyungsoo. 

"Then what's the problem? Just talk it out and you'll be fine!" Kyungsoo beams. "And I know he was in the wrong and all, but this is your big chance, y'know? You could prove to him how much you love him so he'll come back!" he adds and Sehun nearly facepalms. "What? It's a good freaking idea, shut up. And by prove, I obviously meant go out of your way to show him you still care about him, guys and girls love that equally, believe me."

Sehun sighs. He honestly does not want to do any of that, but he figures he has to since he's running low on options right now. "Fine, fine." He hears a door opening outside, probably one of the basketballers, again, and makes out what he thinks are two muffled voices. He can't bring himself to care, probably because he's never been a fan of basketball, so he checks his watch. "Are-"

"Hey, here's an idea!" Kyungsoo continues, obviously exhilarated. "Show him you care by asking him out to prom! Isn't that a genius idea? Think of how appreciated you'll make him feel! Not to mention just about anyone would jump at the chance of getting asked to prom by Oh ing Sehun anyway! Nothing says 'Love' more than 'Hey, we've had a rough time but here I am again, will you go to prom with me?'" He stares at Sehun expectantly. "Well?"

Sehun nods slowly. One half of him really does not want to ask Jongin to prom because for one, he has no idea when or how to do it, and second of all, he doesn't think he'd be able to handle all the girls who will be present (and who will only be there in the first place because he'll be going, Sehun is sure of it), not to mention he won't be able to handle the girls staring at or, in worst case, doing something to the brunet. "I...I don't know. I'll...think about it."

Kyungsoo nods before his voice turns serious. "You know, next time, don't be so goddamn worried. I mean, I'm actually pretty offended that you'd ever think that I'd be pissed or whatever at you liking dudes, how stupid isn't that?" He shakes his head in disappointment. "Have I really failed my job as the most awesomest friend ever or what? Seriously, I thought we could tell each other everything!" 

"Soo, that's not a word," Sehun mumbles, zipping his duffel bag shut. 

"Heck, you even told Myeon before me," Kyungsoo squawks, flailing his hands everywhere. "Before me! How pesky isn't that! And I guess Myeon took it well, since you're still alive and in one piece?" he adds, barely joking.

Sehun presses his lips together. "Well actually, he asked me about it," he says simply and stretches. "Where's Yifan? I haven't seen him since practice ended."

"That mongrel keeps disappearing like a damn ghost lately," Kyungsoo says with an eyeroll. "Hey, maybe he's busy asking people-"

"I don't care about prom!" Sehun exclaims in exasperation, hearing a door close outside the room. "Why can't you understand that!" he adds in frustration before shaking his head. Checking his watch again, he stands up. "I gotta put away the first year's equipment so your will be all alone on the bus tonight. The equpiment room's unlocked, right?".

Kyungsoo nods. "Coach gave you the key, right?"

Muttering a low 'Yes', Sehun lazily salutes Kyungsoo before walking towards the back door.

---

"Seriously, what part of 'Stop ing clipping all the time before you end up breaking some innocent fellow's ing leg' don't you understand?" Minseok huffs, packing away his things. "One more time and I'm gonna send in a replacement! Seriously," he adds for emphasis which, inevitably, Yixing isn't fazed by.

Yixing rolls his eyes as he places his skates inside his duffel bag. "Excuse me, it's not my fault I was stressed out as a mofo," he mumbles before pointing to Jongin, who squawks. "Since, y'know, we were one man less today." He gives the brunet the evil eye before zipping his bag shut and pulling out his phone. "It's always my fault around here, isn't it."

"Yeah, actually," Minseok says in agreement and for once, Yixing is thankful for the former's existence. "Why didn't you just tell me that you didn't have your things with you? Coach could've sent in a replacement," he adds, folding up his jersey and carefully putting it inside his bag. 

Jongin presses his lips together. Despite only having trained once in a long time, it still feels strange not having his duffel bag next to him on the bench, or his skates weighing down on his feet. He shrugs in guilt when Minseok sends him a stern glance but, in his defense, Jongin is pretty sure that he made the right decision to not tell the former about the whereabouts of his duffel (and stick) bag because he's at least 100% that Minseok would make him walk right up to Yifan and demand he gives the brunet his things back. 

Speaking of which, Jongin has absolutely no idea how to even get his equipment back in the first place because not only does he not know where Yifan currently is, he has absolutely no idea how to contact Yifan, at all. But Jongin figures that he should probably find some way to make it happen since he knows for a fact that Minseok won't be happy if he ends up missing a handful of practice sessions in the near future because he couldn't muster the courage to talk to Yifan. 

There has been a feeling of wonder deep inside Jongin's chest since he opened his eyes this morning. He doesn't know how to make it go away but, truthfully, he isn't really sure if he wants to, because it's a good feeling; a nice feeling, and the brunet wants to cherish it for as long as he can. He clearly remembers waking up to a deep singing voice inside his head, which ultimately lead to the brunet playing the infamous ballad on repeat on his way to school earlier. It's been a while since he listened to the song, but as of right now he knows every single lyric by heart.

Now that Jongin thinks about it, he's actually thankful that he managed to, stupidly enough, forget his entire duffel bag and stick in Yifan's car because he's pretty sure that if he did play, his group would end up losing anyway, since Jongin is at least 100% sure that he'd end up getting distracted to the point that he'd probably either slapshot the puck into his own team's goal or pull a Yixing and clip every single person on the rink with his stick. As drastic as it sounds, Jongin is far more frightened by the latter option.

"Bring your stuff tomorrow or you're toast," Minseok says sternly, slinging his bag over his shoulder. "Anyway, I gotta stay behind today and assist Coach with the cleaning," he adds in extreme dislike. "But I'll see you tomorrow, good game." He salutes both Yixing and Jongin before walking over to the back door and swinging it open. Jongin briefly catches a glimpse of the (empty) ice rink before it slams closed again.

Yixing blinks. "Why was he in such a bad mood today?" he asks, leaning back and putting on his sneakers. "He's probably pissed 'cause he didn't get the girl he wanted to go to prom with him," he snickers and grunts a little when his finger gets stuck between the back of his shoe and his ankle. "I mean Jesus, it's not like older girls go for younger guys anyway."

Jongin snaps his head up, a newfound feeling shooting up his spine. "What did you say?"

"It's true," Yixing repeats in a weirded out tone. "Women tend to fancy older guys. Don't look at me, I don't make the goddamn rules," he mumbles before giving his sneaker his complete and undivided attention again.

"No, not that," Jongin chuckles, crossing his legs before he furrows his eyebrows. "I meant prom." He stares at Yixing with an unreadable look. "That's what you said, right?"

Yixing nods. "Good boy, so observant," he hums while grabbing his other shoe.

Jongin blinks. Last time he checked, which was quite a few months ago, he clearly recalls the Principal informing everybody about the fact that they had chosen to cancel the annual prom that year due to reasons Jongin can't remember right now, so to say that he's feeling both confused and surprised at the same time would be an understatement. "Wait, really?"

"Yes boy," Yixing says, ignoring the brunet's squawk of 'Stop calling me that!' before he ties a double knot and standing up. "Anyway, all the youngsters are probably wetting their pants over the seniors choosing them to go with them," he adds, shaking his head in amusement. "Prepare for a ton of fake  Facebook relationship updates."

Quite frankly, Jongin has never been one to care about prom or anything of the sort, and he's convinced that he still isn't. However, there's something about the excited buzzing in his chest that makes him shiver with anticipation. His excitement is short lived, though, when a certain face pops up in his head, one he would rather not see or think about as of right now, and he subconsciously swallows. He doesn't know if prom is obligatory; heck, he doesn't even know if it's as glammed up as it tends to be in those typical sappy, teenage chick flicks, but he still finds himself intruigued, nevertheless.

Even if he chooses to go, be it for fun or for other reasons, Jongin is pretty sure he would find himself standing awkwardly over in the corner while he watches unknown "couples" swallowing each other's faces for hours on end, and he doesn't find the idea very appealing. If it turns out that prom is, in fact, obligatory, Jongin prays that either Yixing or Minseok ends up getting asked by any of the seniors so that he can tag along with them, as a friend, of course, because even though the thought of not having a date to the prom makes Jongin feel awfully sullen, he's never actually experienced such a big event himself, and he'd be lying if he said he wasn't feeling it in the least.

"Do you know any seniors?" Yixing asks, nearly scaring Jongin half to death. "'Cause, y'know, in that case tell 'em to hit me up," he adds and the brunet nearly cackles.

Jongin clears his throat. "Yeah, so?" He looks at Yixing and blinks when the latter emits an inhuman cry.

"Dude, who are they? I need to know," Yixing garbles, rushing up to Jongin and plopping down onto the bench, and the latter immediately regrets saying yes.

"Well." Jongin scratches the back of his neck. As much as he would like to tell Yixing the truth, he can't bring himself to do so for reasons he can't explain. "You wouldn't, uh...it's not use, they're uh...I mean, they're guys."

Yixing throws his hands in the air. "So?" he hollers in despair. "I'm down to impress just about anybody at this point. And think, getting asked to prom by a senior's so frigging cool!" he adds, apparently forgetting the fact that he's only one year short of being a senior himself. He looks at Jongin in excitement. "Do you think anybody's gonna ask you out?"

Thankful that Yixing chose to change the subject, Jongin chuckles before shrugging. He honestly doesn't know if he's on any senior's list of potential prom dates as of right now, and he doesn't know how to feel about that. "No idea, honestly," he says simply and sighs when Yixing keeps beating him down with his gaze. "I mean, I'm more interested in the music and-"

"Bull," Yixing blurts out, whacking Jongin in the shoulder so forcefully that the latter briefly loses his balance. "You're interested in ogling all the hot dudes and nothing else," he cackles, rightfully earning him a punch in the arm from Jongin. "You may have been gone for three years, but I still remember how often you'd get caught gawking at this one dude throughout all of eighth grade." He furrows his eyebrows. "Wait, that guy's a senior now, isn't he?"

Jongin blinks, his throat gradually closing up. "What do you mean?"

"I forgot his name," Yixing says in frustration, "but he was tall, had blond hair and was sort of really popular? I mean , I'm probably just pulling out of my but yeah, don't blame me, t'was four years ago." He chuckles a little. "But yeah, I clearly remember you pining over him for a whole year, and I especially remember Seok telling you to just 'Talk to him already', don't you remember?"

Jongin swallows. Oh yes, all too freaking well. "Must've slipped my mind," he says simply before standing up. "I'm gonna go home and look for my bag before Seok burns me at the stake," he mumbles only half jokingly as he shoves his hands in his pockets. He's lying and he knows it, but truthfully, he'd rather lie than tell Yixing about his bag's whereabouts any day. 

"You better find it, or you can bet your Seok will have it replaced in less than 24 hours," Yixing says bluntly before slinging his bags over his shoulder and walking towards the door to the rink. "I'm gonna go help him out since I'm the bestest best friend there is! I'll begin my quest for getting noticed by some hot senior afterwards, you should be, too!" he yells over his shoulder before kicking the door open with his foot.

Jongin doesn't even hear the sound of the door closing. In fact, it takes him a whole ten minutes to even realize that Yixing is no longer inside the room and, when he does, he buries his face in his hands because dear God does his head hurt. He doesn't know if it's because of Yixing's annoyingly loud nature or the fact that prom, which is, as he's calculated, less than one week away, is drawing alarmingly close and he doesn't know what to do. Knowing Minseok and Yixing, Jongin figures that the two are guaranteed to get dates to the dance, but him? Jongin bites his lip because in all honesty, he doesn't know if he's really prom material or not. It's nothing personal or anything, he's just never viewed himself as a party person, despite his passion for dancing.

Lifting his head fifteen minutes later, Jongin exhales deeply as he tries to recollect his thoughts. Half of him wants to go but the other half of him doesn't, partially because he'll most likely look awkward if he doesn't end up getting asked out, which he probably won't.

And mostly because he knows that Sehun will most definitely be there.

. Jongin slides deeper into his seat and runs his hands down his face. He's been so caught up with rejoining the team and catching up with Minseok and Yixing for the past couple of days that he's totally forgotten about Sehun, and the topic of prom sure as heck isn't making Jongin feel any better. In fact, all it's doing is guarantee that he doesn't go and stays home instead, because Jongin is at least 100% sure that when he steps foot onto the dance floor in a week, he'll instantly be greeted with the sight of Sehun with God knows how many girls lining up in front of him, and the thought makes Jongin sick to his stomach.

Jongin wants to see Sehun; to touch him, to talk to him, to hang out with him all over again, but he knows that those days are gone, and there's nothing he can do about it. He sort of hates himself for being so harsh on Sehun over the phone all those days ago, and he knows he shouldn't feel bad, but he does anyway, and Jongin isn't sure how to feel about that. Since Minseok has been through roughly the same thing, Jongin doesn't feel too bad, but that doesn't stop the heavy feeling that's threatening to weigh down on his chest, and he has to stand up in order to prevent his ribs from getting crushed.

A minute later, Jongin takes a few deep breaths to calm himself, figuring he's just wound up from the match earlier, and he momentarily tells himself to stop being such a wuss before making his way towards the door. His head is hurting and he figures he might as well look for his duffel bag tomorrow morning at the front desk.

Jongin is so wrapped up in his own thoughts that he doesn't realize he's walked into what feels like a stone wall until minutes later.

"Jesus, that took long," Yifan chuckles, ruffling Jongin's hair before the latter takes a dazed step back. "And I believe this is yours," he adds, holding up a familiar looking bag (or rather, bags) in front of the brunet's face.

It takes Jongin a minute to register the fact that the bag dangling in front of his eyes is, indeed, his and he scrambles to grab it, muttering a quick 'Thanks' under his breath. Upon looking up, he realizes that Yifan looks the same as yesterday - as kind eyed and laid back as usual, and the brunet feels the heavy feeling briefly leave his chest. There's still a dark cloud hovering above his head but he does his best to get it to go away, with little success.

Shoving the mental image of a certain somebody out of his head, Jongin clears his throat after slinging his bag over his shoulder. Yifan is staring at him so fondly he doesn't know if he should scream and run away or laugh nervously. Jesus, how long has he been standing here? "So...?"

"How was practice?" Yifan asks, leaning against the wall.

Jongin shrugs. Normally, he'd be feeling extremely excited over having Yifan standing beside him, but today, he isn't quite feeling the spark for reasons he can't explain, and Yifan's piercing gaze is doing nothing to help. "Fine."

"Are you tired?" Yifan chuckles, patting Jongin's head. The latter fights the urge to flinch. "I thought I could give you a ride home," he adds and misses the way the brunet tenses. "Would you like that?"

Fighting the urge to rush past Yifan and out the door, Jongin stands unmoving. He desperately wants to say no and leave it at that, but he finds himself shrugging nonchalantly and momentarily curses himself. Normally, Jongin would have absolutely nothing against getting a ride home from Yifan, in fact, Jongin would happily jump at the offer, but he's just not feeling it right now, and he sincerely hopes Yifan can sense it. The latter can't, obviously, much to the brunet's irritation.

"Great," Yifan says happily before shoving his hands in his pockets. "But first, I need to swing by the equipment room since I lost my keys in there a few hours ago, wanna tag along?" he asks, smiling brightly. Jongin can do little except nod dumbly.

Jongin clears his throat before blindly following after Yifan as the latter enters the changing room; the one next to the hockey players' room, and quickly walks through it until he stops at the back door. He swings it open and Jongin is immediately greeted with what looks like a typical (but humongous) sports hall that you'd normally see in movies; blue and yellow painted floor, basketball hoops on every wall and a big, big door to the far left, fifty feet away, supposedly where all the equipment is stored. The room smells like burnt rubber and the brunet fights the urge to gag.

"Right over there," Yifan says, pointing, and he motions for Jongin to walk with him, to which the latter, for some reason, obeys. 

---

Dumping a handful of mostly deflated footballs into a tall basket, Sehun hums under his breath before wheeling it over to the far right corner of the room. He's been in the stuffy room for what feels like three years and his arms ache from carrying a ton's worth of jerseys, footballs, helmets and benches and moving them around the room. He's working in complete darkness but Sehun doesn't really mind, considering the fact that he knows the entire room like the back of his hand. It's a tough job, but he figures it's worth it, since he's doing the first years a favor and all. A captain's gotta do what a captain's gotta do.

When Sehun finishes assorting the baseball bats (it's not part of the task, but he figures he might as well be a good sport and do it anyway) into their respective baskets, he brushes his hands together before exhaling. He's about to walk towards the doors when his phone buzzes, nearly scaring him half to death.

From: Yeol

dude im gonna ask jongdae to prom im waiting outside his classroom im so in nervous oh my GOOOOOD help

Normally, Sehun would be jumping for joy but he can't bring himself to this time, because Chanyeol's text ultimately reminds him of prom, which is in less than a week from today, and he swallows before shoving his phone back in his pocket. He promptly curses Chanyeol for reminding him, since Sehun mainly chose to fulfill his duty in a vain attempt to forget about everything. Guess that didn't work.

Sehun wonders if Jongin will be going to the dance. Sehun wonders if Jongin will be asked, or, even worse, will ask somebody, to the dance, and Sehun has to stop for a minute and grab onto one of the floorball sticks to prevent himself from falling over. He sort of hates that the equipment room is so silent and so spacious because he really doesn't like being left alone with his thoughts like this. At all. 

Once he's certain that he can stand on his own, Sehun exhales deeply. He remembers what Junmyeon said; that Jongin couldn't possibly have found himself somebody new in so little time, and as much as he wants to believe every word of it, Sehun can't bring himself to do so, and he huffs in irritation before a wave of fatigue hits him, reminding him of the fact that he hasn't slept in nearly a week. The thought of whether or not Jongin will end up asking Coffee Bean to prom hits Sehun and the latter feels his gut churn in both anger and despair.

His hands still tingle from when he had forcibly shoved Jongin less than a week ago; a feeling that has refused to go away since that day, and Sehun clearly recalls nearly dropping the footballs he had been carrying earlier in surprise at the sensation.

Sehun doesn't want to go to prom, even though he knows Chanyeol, Kyungsoo, Yifan and maybe even Junmyeon will beat him up over it. But he just doesn't care, and he doesn't see a reason to go, either, because he'll either end up sitting by himself in a corner while watching his friends (and strangers) make out with their dates and soon to be lovers, or he'll end up being forced to watch Jongin dance and make out with Coffee Bean all night, and Sehun has to choke back a sob at the second alternative. Another reason not to go to the damn thing, he thinks angrily, ignoring the way his gut churns.

As relieved as Sehun is that he managed to sort things out with Kyungsoo and Junmyeon, a part of him feels a great amount of dread because this means that Kyungsoo and Junmyeon, and Chanyeol and the others, for that matter, are expecting him to do something; to make a move, and the stress is doing nothing to calm Sehun's nerves.

Even though he doesn't want to think about it, because doing so makes him feel crappy, to say the least, Sehun misses Jongin in ways he didn't think were possible. In fact, Sehun ended up failing two out of three exams yesterday and today since his head was filled to the brim with the mental image of the most beautiful smile he's ever had the pleasure of seeing in his entire life, and he's been waking up at ungodly hours during the nights for no particular reason, even though he has a pretty good guess as to why. Point is, he can practically feel his life slipping through his fingers with each day that he doesn't see Jongin's face, or hear his voice, or hear him laugh, and Sehun has to growl low in his throat to distrcact himself. Except it doesn't work, and before he has a chance to process what he's doing, he's holding his phone in his hand and dialling Jongin's number.

His hand shakes as his thumb hovers above the 'Call' button and Sehun subconsciously swallows. He's been meaning to call Jongin since Friday but he found himself chickening out every time up until now. Half of him doesn't want to do it because Sehun doesn't think he'll be able to handle Jongin yelling at him a second time, but Sehun promptly ignores that because in all honesty, he doesn't care what obscenities Jongin might send his way through the receiver, because as long as he gets to hear the brunet's voice, Sehun figures he'd be more than willing to get verbally torn to shreds, and he shreds himself of the last ounce of dignity he has left before he presses the button and puts the phone by his ear. Jongin's words to him last week still haunt Sehun in his sleep but, be that as it may, he just doesn't care anymore. He doesn't want much, and he's not asking for it, either. 

His voice. I just need to hear his voice. 

Sehun expected a lot of things. For instance, Jongin telling him to off before hastily hanging up, or the latter boasting to him about his new boyfriend, or even the brunet threatening to send another puck into his groin the first chance he gets; anything of the sort, really. What Sehun definitely does not expect, however, is to hear the faint, yet oh so clear, sound of a phone ringing somewhere inside the room.

~~~