Yuta calls sick the next morning, texting Taeyong about this incredible cold he suddenly got Taeyong probably realized how fishy it was but didn’t argue back.

Yuta skips school 3 days in a row, and when he comes back he looks like a ghost, all pale, big dark circles around his eyes, bad, dehydrated skin.

“You look like , but unless you want to tell me I won’t push” Yuta nods at Taeyong, and the latter continues “Taeil has his contest, mind joining the audience?”

“What, it was today? Man I feel like , I completely forgot!”

“I’m sure he won’t mind, he was so damn stressed he looked all constipated, you’re coming ok, for support.”

“Yeah, of course I just wanted to get him something for the winning, he helps me so much.”

“How do you know he’s going to win?”

“Are you even doubting?”

Taeyong shrugs.

He says goodbye to Taeyong for the moment and he heads towards his class room, his heart beating so hard against his rib cage, his mouth runs dry and his stomach aches, with trembling hands he pulls himself to slide the door open.

Robotically he heads to his place, not looking left or right and to his luck the teacher enters soon too.

Yuta wants to hear something from Hansol, he doesn’t know exactly what but he just needs to, yet no gesture nothing comes from the other.

During the lunch break they share a table together with Johnny and Taeyong as Taeil is preparing for his contest but there’s no sound, no grimace no nothing from Hansol.

Taeyong and Johnny are too engaged in their conversation and they just eat and go.

Yuta doesn’t follow Hansol’s tracks as he would do once but goes back to the class but before entering the classroom Hansol takes his hand and drags him all the way to the rooftop.

And Yuta waits, as the wind blows into his face, ruffling his bangs, he waits for Hansol to say a word and that word never comes and there’s a knot forming in his throat and tears threatening to come out as he screams in despair.

“Hansol, please, please I can’t anymore!”

“Yuta…I-“

“Hansol, I can’t go like this anymore, if you don’t want to have anything to do with me then just” he heaves a breathe “leave me alone, you can’t take me to the heaven then drop me in hell and hope I like it, because it’s exactly how I feel.”

He looks away from Hansol’s big brown eyes, it is too painful to look into those eyes and can’t read a thing.

“What is that you want Yuta? Because I-I can’t give up on you.”

It comes unexpected, as always, Hansols words and actions never match and he doesn’t know how to read them, he doesn’t know how to react, how to act.

“I think it’s obvious at this point on me, so it’s all you, what you want Hansol, what?”

Hansol runs away from Yuta and the later props himself on the school wall, sliding down, hitting the ground. He doesn’t even try to stop his hearth from aching, he is over conscious it’s pointless.

He gathers himself as he can and walks towards their class, Hansol is not in the class but unlike in other times he feels relieved now that the other is ditching the class.

The teacher goes on with the lesson, he is unable to focus even in the least, but he doesn’t care now, he’ll ask one of the colleagues to pass him the notes. He feels guilty in a way, for telling Hansol what he did, because deep inside he already knows he’s too gone for him, but pretending he is fine with the things it’s even more wrong than this.

About in the middle of the lesson the door is sliding open and the brunette boy looks right to Yuta’s direction, he comes and grabs Yuta’s hand to drag him out of the class against the cries of the teacher.
 

He is dragged by Hansol to the rooftop but once they get there the older boy is just quiet, and the silence goes for over 5 minutes, but Yuta gives him time.

Hansol looks like somehow will clear a bit of the fog between him and Yuta, so he allows the other to put his thoughts in order.

“I’m sorry” he says after the long break.

“For?”

“For everything, for letting you down, for running away from this.”

“What this Hansol?”

“Yuta, you’re the only person that saw something good in me, and it’s you I went to the soccer club for, the teacher never advised soccer, I guess I always wanted to be around someone that would like me.” Hansol shyly pulls out something from his pocket, holding his fist well tighten he stretches the hand towards Yuta looking away as his cheeks show a faint of red.

“What is this” he says unfolding the piece of paper Hansol kept in his hand, paper warm from the other’s hand “an ice cream coupon!” he chuckles.

“Um- I-“ Hansol scratches the back of his head not knowing how to word it up.

“You are asking me out with an ice cream coupon” he says looking down to the tiny colored coupon, Hansol swallows thickly, eyes shut turning his face to Yuta ”Hansol this is really- I like you more than you can imagine” Yuta approaches him, leaving behind anything he said before because he simply can’t give up on Hansol.

“And I like you just as much and more, but I’m scared…” Hansol hugs him, burying his nose in Yuta’s hair, kissing the top of his head.

“Scared of?”

“Of losing you somehow, of you growing tired of me, of you falling out…”

“Come here big boy, give me that hand” he says taking Hansol’s hand and placing on the side his heart is at “if you feel this, it’s been this crazy ever since I first saw you and after all the push and pull, but it will stay like this if you keep it like this.”

Hansol cups his face, Yuta smiles, he’s eager for the other’s mouth on his, they move in the same time until they connect to each other, and it feels so right, now that both parts admit it, mostly to Yuta because he knows Hansol will not push him away and also because now he will be able to get as many kisses as he wishes, or that’s what he hopes for.

They should be returning to the class, but instead Yuta lets himself worn on a path that he actually remember, he didn’t bother to read on the coupon so far but when they got to the actual place Yuta stopped and took out the coupon to stare at it.

“You remember this place?” Hansol points on the coupon.

“Yeah, I’ve been here on a group da- oh, but don’t worry it wasn’t anything.“

“I hate this place…”

“Why?”

“It made me realize I’m gay for you.”

“WHAT?! YOU’VE BEEN LIKING ME FOR OVER 1 YEAR AND YOU TELL ME JUST LIKE THIS??!!” Yuta stops in his tracks, complaining like a toddler.

“Oh, ok, I didn’t think it was important.”

“That I’ve lost 1 year with you?”

“I’ll make up, I guess...” He scratches the back of his head

Their ice cream arrives and they scoop happily from it, Yuta feels all giddy and he wonders if Hansol has the same feeling going on.

“Do you think Taeyong will mind this?”

“What, us dating?” He asks, swallowing the ice cream already melted inside his mouth, and Hansol nods “Not in the least, if anything he will be happy I’m not mopping anymore.”

“But I took you out of the class” Hansol says in a guilty tone.

“Come on, I almost never skip, and you skipped maybe twice this new semester, we’ll not skip and everyone will be happy.”

“How will we meet, I have no idea how it should be.”

“We’ll just follow the instincts, I guess?”

***

The atmosphere is changed at their cafeteria table, weeks later when they all stand to eat, Taeil expresses his frustration about the current situation, where Yuta and Hansol eat like retards because they hold hands under the table and Taeyong is engrossed in a literature conversation with Johnny.

“Why do I feel like I’ve been 3rd wheeled from 2 directions, maybe because I am? You guys are an inch away from each other’s faces” he points towards Yuta and Hansol “and you are versating about the literature club, yey” he continues rolling his eyes.

“I’m sorry, we were having this controversy in regards to my speech theme and we just continued debating after the club” Taeyong apologizes.

“We should invite new people to our table” Taeil suggests.

“Come on, I’m sorry buddy, I know you’re stressed with the sat’s and math contest” Johnny rubs Taeil’s back.

“ that man I’m going crazy, better back to the literature topic.”

“OMG Taeil wait, your contest is like in two hours” Yuta deadpans.

“Yuta, you’re not helping at all with my anxiety, at all!”

“Gosh, you got him grumpy” Johnny moves to massaging Taeil’s shoulders.

“I am, you will all be in class, not that I wish you would be there and watch my downfall because I didn’t study lately and-“

“You’re like the God of Math, why are you even doubting yourself?” Taeyong throws out of nowhere and after a moment of silence the entire table hums in approval.

“Hey, why don’t we all go to the arcade after his contest?” Johnny suggests and all their faces lit up at the magic word, Taeil’s only half way as he is still stressed with the senior year trouble.

Yuta sneaks out of class again and tiptoes to the ground floor where he meets a pair sneaking eyes.

“Good, we’re all here, let’s find a way to break in without being noticed” Taeyong signals.

“I’m too tall to even consider such thing” Johnny cries.

“What can they do to us, kick us out and not letting us see Taeil’s perfo, but we’ll stand against, we’re his friends and he needs support!”

Taeyong inspected the teacher’s positions inside the room, the plan is to get inside one by one without being noticed and without creating major disruptions.

Once they’re safely inside they crawl to the improvised benches for the restricted public, you can see all the nerd elite students, which are smart enough to take notice of the intruders.

Not long after, the door opens again and a crawling figure approaches the three, Yuta gasps extending his hand to welcome Hansol, that keeps Yuta’s hand occupied longer and the latter has a silly smile on his face.

So far Taeil is leading in the contest.

“Did you see that, they don’t even finish the question and his hand is risen” Taeyong whispers to the others.

“Yeah, but when he keeps ‘aahh aaah ugggh uggh’ that means he’s nervous as , hope he doesn’t choke” Johnny chuckles along the others.

Yuta doesn’t comment, not that he didn’t hear what the two said, or that he doesn’t feel Johnny’s joke but he saw the people around them whispering and he minded to pay attention. He got tense and that took Hansol’s attention now listening around them too.


“Jeesh he’s gaying around with the school’s delinquent.”

“Heard he’s trying to turn good for this kid, what a joke, no rotten apple ever made back healthy, it’s just against nature.”

“But you know what’s worst, one rotten apple will make the entire fruit basket rot.”