Part 9.

  “Taeil,” Johnny said as the two said goodbye to Ten in the hallway. Ten had given Johnny one long look before he smiled at them and waved goodbye. Taeil hummed in reply while settling down his laptop and books. He was organizing his desk when Johnny continued. “Why is Ten acting so differently? Did I do something weird at the party?” He asked sounding rather timid and Taeil thought Johnny sounded so insecure for a moment. 

  “What weird thing would you do to Ten?” Taeil decided to ask and Johnny’s eyes widened a little.

  “Well, when people drink they do odd things, and Ten is just looking at me in this weird way.” 

Taeil chuckled. “Jaehyun carried you home and Ten helped me with getting you to bed…” Taeil’s voice started fading as he wondered if he should speak the truth. “You called out for your mom and Ten froze.” Taeil frowned and decided to give him half the truth. “I just told Ten that you were separated with your mom when you were younger nothing more.”

Johnny froze. “You what?” He asked in disbelief.

Taeil fiddled with his shirt. “He’s not stupid, he wouldn’t have believed me if I said it was only because you missed your mom.”

Johnny looked at him. He looked like he was in disbelief, but his hands were shaking. “Don’t you ever talk about my childhood with any of the others again.” Taeil flinched at the look in Johnny’s eyes. “I can’t trust anyone.” Johnny muttered and turned away. "I couldn't even trust you."

Taeil watched Johnny as he grabbed his things and left, leaving Taeil to regret what he had done.

Taeyong found Ten in the opposite direction of where Taeil’s body had been buried. He followed the steps in the sand and found Ten sitting at the edge of the water, the sun was throwing its last rays upon the sky and the moon would soon bath them in its eerie light. There were taller cliffs rising up at this beach. Behind Ten they even reached as far as into the sea. Ten had stopped wandering when he realized he had to crawl over them and Taeyong was happy Ten had always been like that. Grief couldn’t drag him as far as to do something completely stupid. 

Taeyong sat down beside Ten, the other had sensed him coming, because he didn’t even blink. Taeyong waited with talking and tried to find whatever Ten was looking at. He guessed it was just the horizon. 

Taeyong rested his head on his arm that was drawn over his knees. Ten had circled his arms around his legs. There was a kind of empty look in his eyes. 

  “Remember…” Taeyong noticed Ten’s eyes flicker in his direction. “Remember the time you and Johnny fought? It was really bad, you ended up screaming at him and Johnny avoided us for weeks.” 

Ten nodded and Taeyong was surprised that he had caught the other’s attention. “How could I not remember?” Ten asked and looked at the waves a distant look taking over his face as he thought back.

Taeil was so anxious he didn’t even touch a drop of alcohol at that party. Johnny had determinedly gotten ready for the party and told Taeil that he “wanted” to go. Something was off about it. Taeil trailed behind the taller all the time, watching him with worry. 

They settled down on couches and Taeil focused on the way Johnny’s gaze was trained on Ten for such a long time until he finally looked at the floor. The group conversed as usual and Taeil did manage to participate even with his anxiety level being so high. 

Yuta leaned forwards with a smile. “So I told him that if he wanted her back, he could’ve thought of her needs more than his own. And you know what Hanna did? When he looked at her to make sure what I said wasn't right, she was nodding as if agreeing with me. He was speechless!” 

  “He sounded like such a douche!” Ten exclaimed and Yuta agreed with him loudly. 

Johnny groaned and got up. Taeil reached out for him but Johnny shook him off and walked towards the hallway. Ten who sat close to it got up too and stopped him before he could vanish. Taeil watched it with his breath caught in his throat. 

Ten had reached up a hand to softly squeeze Johnny’s shoulder when Johnny said something that was clearly laced with anger. Ten took a step back before he charged forwards and gripped Johnny’s shirt; even tearing it. Taeyong and Jaehyun stood up while Yuta gawped in shock. Taeil almost couldn’t look. 

  “How dare you?!” Ten asked in disbelief and Johnny looked bewildered. “Yes he told me! And if you want ing pity let me give it to you. But don’t think you’re the only who’s hurting! You’re not the only one who lost a mother!” Ten raised a fist and hit Johnny on the chest. Hard. Johnny stumbled back with wide eyes before he pushed Ten away. 

  “And so you’re trying to bond over that?” He shot back. “I don’t need anyone!” He yelled. “So stop looking at me like I’m a ing kid!” 

Taeil covered his mouth as he noticed Hansol step in between but Ten pushed Hansol away so hard that the other fell into a table with a small lamp on it and the light went out, leaving the two in deeper shadows. Ten was caught between wanting to help and wanting to claw Johnny’s face off. So he stepped towards Hansol before looking at Johnny. “Don’t ever talk to me again! Seems like as soon as you notice that somebody cares about you you’d rather push them away. Then do so! I won’t stop you!” Johnny just kept standing there before Ten went forward and gave him a push again. “Just ing leave like you always do!” He cried and then helped Hansol who stepped away from Ten. He looked frightened of Ten. The smaller fled the scene; crying into his hands and Taeyong was quick to run after him with Jaehyun right behind him. Taeil got up and followed Johnny to make sure the taller went home safely. 

Instead he watched the taller cry sitting against a tree in the park for at least an hour.

  “I thought to myself that night.” Taeyong started after both of them had taken some time to recall the night. “That this kid would never be able to love someone.” Taeyong noticed that Ten turned his head towards Taeyong out of the corner of his eye. Taeyong couldn’t help but laugh. “And especially I never thought you two could ever become close…”

Ten looked away.

Taeyong looked at Ten. “He told me that he likes you.” Taeyong said it with disbelief in his voice. “He risked his life for you, Ten.” 

Ten wiped his cheeks and pinched the inner corner of his eyes. “I know.”

Taeyong went in front of Ten. “You know? Then why aren’t you beside him right now? Why are you hiding?”

The smaller looked up at Taeyong. “I don’t want him to risk his life for me, Taeyong? I want to him survive this island, because he is the one that can and deserves it. He deserves to live much more than I do.” Taeyong shook his head, but Ten continued. “If I go back there… he’ll risk his life again. Who knows if he will survive it?”

  “So you’ll… stay here by yourself?” Taeyong asked. “Dude you’ll never last without the others.”

  “I just…” Ten shook his head. “I just needed time to think.”

Taeyong nodded before gently squeezing Ten’s shoulder. “It’s okay.” Taeyong smiled. “I’ll go back first. Johnny asked for you… so come back, okay? We got all the time in the world to think on this god damn island.”

Ten wasn’t there in the morning when they woke up. Taeyong was trying to bake some kind of bread from the corn field and with eggs he had stolen from birds. As he was experimenting Jaehyun was checking up on Johnny who was breathing in shallow breaths. 

  “Are you sure that he will make it?” Jaehyun asked in a whisper as he sat down beside Taeyong near the fire. Taeyong turned to look back at Johnny’s weak form. 

  “He has to.” He said and then placed a stone close to the fire with the help of Jaehyun. They had dug down and made a smaller fire beneath it and raised up the stone on four others. They were using this stone as a pan. Taeyong put on the batter and watched the progress with Jaehyun carefully. A groan disturbed them and Jaehyun turned around to see Johnny turn his head. 

  “Did he come back?” Johnny asked eyes looking around for Ten’s figure. Jaehyun looked at the other before softly shaking his head. Johnny closed his eyes. “He’s probably dead.”

Taeyong came over with the flat cornbread in hand. “You can’t be sure of that, Johnny.” He said before breaking off a piece and feeding it to Johnny. “What do you think?” He asked and Johnny chewed on it before eyeing Taeyong.

  “It’s ing good. As close to bread as we can get.” 

Jaehyun sighed. “I miss bread.” 

Taeyong smiled at the two’s reactions. “Remember the bakery we always went to?” Johnny smiled and nodded. Jaehyun sighed once again. 

  “I’m drooling just thinking about it!” 

Taeyong chuckled and Johnny smiled, but his smile didn’t stay for long. Taeyong knew why.

Taeil met with Ten at the harbor, it was a week after that party. Ten had not really spoken to anyone in the group. Johnny avoided Taeil and everything just seemed as if it had shattered. Taeil felt as if he was kneeling in front of a broken vase that he could never put together again. He had asked Ten if he wanted to go for a walk and they found themselves sitting on the group’s favorite spot at the harbor, overlooking pale boats with high white sails. The sun was warm and Ten was enjoying it with closed eyes. Taeil was looking at his feet that dangled over the edge. 

  “It’s my fault.” Taeil sighed and watched the waves reflect the sun’s light. “It was not my story to tell.”

Ten looked up at the sky. “I shouldn’t have asked.” He said and patted Taeil’s thigh. “Yet this still doesn’t make Johnny less of an idiot.” 

Taeil merely nodded as he saw Ten push Johnny away at the party. He never expected those two to fight like that. He hadn’t imagined anyone in the group to fight like that. He looked at one of the boats in the harbor that belonged to Yuta’s dad. 

  “Yuta spoke about that boat trip again…” He said as he watched the boat rock from side to side. 

Ten frowned. “What boat trip?” 

  “After Johnny and I finish college we go on the boat trip… sail the seas and just relax before goes down. Then you guys will follow along soon enough.”

  “ that is jobs and adulthood.” Ten laughed and Taeil nodded. They sat in silence for a while. Watching seagulls fly around and boats sailing past them, two men were preparing their boat for a trip as they went back and forth between their car and the boat. Ten frowned. “Isn’t he one year younger than you?” He asked and Taeil turned to look at Ten.

  “Who?”

Ten rolled his eyes. “Johnny!” He said and Taeil laughed.

  “Of course… yes he is. But since he’s smart he is a grade ahead.”

  “Smart-.”

  “I know, right?” The two chuckled. Taeil looked down at his feet again and Ten was kicking his feet back and forth. Taeil sighed. “He still hasn’t spoken to me.”

Ten looked up and then turned towards Taeil. “You’ll figure it out.” He assured Taeil. “Just don’t expect me to ever talk to that idiot.”

Taeil sighed. “He’s clearly doing this because he’s… troubled.” 

  “Gives him no right to treat me like that.”

Taeil sat up straight. “What did he say?” He asked as he saw the image of Johnny leaning in, eyes full of anger and then Ten had exploded. 

Ten shook his head. “Enough.” He said as he stared ahead. “He said enough.” 

Johnny was pushed down by Taeyong when he tried to sit up. “Dude you got smashed by a ing gorilla. What the hell do you think you’re doing?” 
Jaehyun was out looking for Ten and Johnny was crying. Crying. In front of Taeyong. The smaller really had to get used to seeing Johnny like this. He was being brave, emotional and caring. All the things he had never shown himself to be. Johnny gripped Taeyong’s shoulder. “He has to be alive. Please.”

Taeyong sighed and sat down beside Johnny. “Is it the first time?” He asked and Johnny looked up at Taeyong with questioning eyes. “That you’re in love?” 

Johnny grimaced. “In love.” He said with disgust in his voice and Taeyong smiled. This was the old Johnny. “Well… I guess.” He then said. “I’ve never let anyone in. I let Taeil in and he betrayed me. Since then I never let anyone come close again.”  A silence fell over them at the mention of Taeil.

  “That time was ed up.” Taeyong whispered. “But you did get over it, right?”

  “It wasn’t really the same…” Johnny admitted. “I shouldn’t have treated Taeil like that… I shouldn’t have been like that to Ten. I just… I don’t know better.” 

Taeyong blinked and sat up straight. “Dude, I never expected talking to you like this.” He said and Johnny chuckled.

  “Do you see what I mean?” 

Taeyong nodded. The two sat in silence when Jaehyun came back running. His bare chest glistened in the sun and Johnny eyed Taeyong that was gawping at the sight. 

  “Close your mouth, Loverboy. You’re drooling.” He teased and Taeyong hit Johnny’s shoulder only to apologize when Johnny cried out in pain. Jaehyun dropped down beside the others.

  “Got more mangos. I love them so much.” He said and Johnny remembered him and Ten finding the mango and then Ten confessing to him. He looked away from Taeyong and Jaehyun who were looking at each other with loving expressions and he saw Ten’s figure walking towards him. He sighed. Now he’s even seeing Ten. Did Kong also harm his head? 

Jaehyun looked up and Johnny looked at what the other two were doing when he noticed Jaehyun’s eyes widened. Johnny turned his gaze back to the figure of Ten. 

The boy was carrying fruit and coconuts in his arms. “Who do you love?” He asked and Johnny couldn’t stop himself from smiling. Ten dropped the food on the sail Jaehyun had spread out before he went over to Johnny. Taeyong purposely took Jaehyun’s hand and dragged him away to give them some space. 

Johnny looked up at Ten’s hair that had grown quite a bit just in the time being there. The boy who always was the brave and fierce one. The one he had been the most annoyed with, maybe because he had always wanted to get to know Ten better. He felt guilty for the stuff he had put Ten through but… right now he was just happy to see the other. 

Ten took Johnny’s hand in his. “Thank you for saving my life.” He said with a sniffle and Johnny used his free hand to caress Ten’s cheek. 

  “Thank you for saving mine.” He said back and Ten chuckled through his tears.

  “In what way?” He asked and Johnny smiled.

  “You aren’t really living if you can’t love.” He said and waited for Ten to get it. Ten frowned.

  “Wh-what are you saying?” 

Johnny smirked. “That is all I’m gonna say.” He said and looked up. Ten threw his head back with a whine.

  “Why are you always like this?” 

  “What is a love-story without a little suspense?” Johnny chuckled and Ten laughed before lying down beside Johnny.

  “So this is a love-story?” He asked with a smile and Johnny hummed.

  “Every story has love in it… But it could be nice if the main worry we had was each other and not the imminent death that is awaiting.”

  “Always so positive.” Ten said and snuggled closer to Johnny who complained about Ten hurting him and Ten ended up just lying beside Johnny, holding onto his hand.

A/N: Sorry I ended up being busier than I expected. If you're in for more Johnten, I'm beta-ing this story called Bad Blood. It's so goooood! Do check it out! <3