Bright golden sunlight streamed through the windows of Classroom 3C, casting the silhouette of the dragon skeleton against the far wall. What would it be like to ride a dragon? Not that he'd ever want to, even if he were given a once in a lifetime opportunity to do so... Minho probably would like to, now that he'd thought of it.

"Hey," he said, turning his head and resting it back down on his crossed arms as he looked up at Minho, who raised his eyebrows in interest."You're taking Advanced Flying next year right?"

"That's the plan." The door to O'Neely's office opened, drawing everyone's attention. "Why?" Minho whispered as O'Neely started down the stairs.

"Just curious."

"I hope you're all packed." Scattered chuckles sounded around the room. "Or close to it, at least." He flashed them all a dazzling grin. "Did you finally get caught up on your sleep last night?" Kibum glanced over at Minho for a second. Last night the Slytherins and Hufflepuffs stayed up way too late and ate too much junk food from Honeydukes. For Kibum's part, the kiss he had gotten from Minho definitely kept him up longer than he probably should have been. It was a wonder that any of them were functioning right now. “Probably not. I remember what it was like to be in your shoes. Also, how anxious you must be to be getting these.”

He held up a stack of envelopes, and everyone in the room fell silent.

“You’ve all done very well on your O.W.L.s, I think, but still, there are some class schedules for next year that need to be rearranged, according to your grades. Please check for a red dot on your envelope. If you have one, please stay in your seats, and if you don’t, you may go immediately. Get a head start on the way to Hogsmeade,” he added with a smile. “Alright, please come get your report card when I call your name. Abbott?” Chloe stood, smoothing her skirt before she met O’Neely at the front. She glanced at her envelope, front and back, before she made her way out the door.

O’Neely called out last names, a handful staying behind while the majority left the room. When Minho’s name was called, Kibum watched him walk up to O’Neely. Minho immediately found him after he finished looking over his envelope, giving him a tiny smile before he made his way for the door. Kibum tapped his fingers on the desktop, impatient to hear O’Neely say --

“Kim?”

He shot out of his seat and hurried up to the front, quickly scanning the front and back of the envelope. No red dot. “Have a good summer, Professor,” he said before he walked away.

“You too, Mr. Kim.”

Kibum tore into his envelope as he walked out the door, taking his report card out to see how bad he did.

Kim Kibum -- 5th year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry -- has succeeded in getting these grades for his classes this 2007-2008 term.

Astronomy -- Exceeds Expectations

Charms -- Outstanding

Defense Against the Dark Arts -- Exceeds Expectations

Divination -- Acceptable

Herbology -- Exceeds Expectations

History of Magic -- Exceeds Expectations

Muggle Studies -- Outstanding

Potions -- Outstanding

Transfiguration -- Outstanding

“How’d you do?”

Kibum jumped at the sound of Minho’s voice. He hadn’t even noticed he was there. Too wrapped up in his grades.“Pretty good. What about you?”

Minho passed him his report card, and Kibum passed him his so he could see.

Choi Minho -- 5th year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry -- has succeeded in getting these grades for his classes this 2007-2008 term.

Arithmancy -- Exceeds Expectations

Astronomy -- Exceeds Expectations

Charms -- Outstanding

Defense Against the Dark Arts -- Outstanding

Divination -- Exceeds Expectations

Herbology -- Outstanding

History of Magic -- Acceptable

Potions -- Exceeds Expectations

Transfiguration -- Outstanding

“Not bad,” he said, smiling. He handed Minho his report card back, expecting to get his in return. Instead, Minho wrapped him in a tight hug, crinkling their report cards between them.

“We survived,” he said, his chest heaving against Kibum’s as he sighed.

“We did.”

Kibum patted Minho’s back before he leaned away, smoothing out his report card before he slipped it back into the envelope. “Are you all packed?”

“Mhm.”

“Me too.” They started walking toward the staircase. “Wanna head to Hogsmeade early?”

“What for?”

Kibum shrugged, grabbing onto the banister when the staircase moved. “Just because. I thought I might check to see if Tomes and Scrolls has those notebooks that Jjong and I use.”

Minho’s brow furrowed and he looked away when the staircase stopped moving. “Did you guys run out of paper or something?”

Kibum scoffed. “What? No, I was wanting to get a pair for us. So we don’t have to worry about your parents seeing our owls.”

“Oh!” His expression brightened as he started down the stairs again. “That’s smart.”

“Uh, obviously. You don’t get an Acceptable in Divination without this brain power, I’m just saying.” Minho pushed Kibum away as his laughter filled the main floor corridor. “I’m right and you know it.”

“Of course.”

They made their way downstairs, Minho splitting off from him to go get his luggage. Kibum did a quick check to make sure he didn’t miss anything in his packing this morning. Once he was sure he got everything, he used the Levitation Charm to carry his trunk up the stairs to the courtyard, where he found Minho already waiting by one of the thestral-drawn carriages.

Wow, he forgot how scary they looked. However, now that he knew what they were, they weren’t so bad. He could feel Minho’s gaze as he approached the carriage, but he was too focused on the fog-white eyes of the thestral. He held a trembling hand out to its muzzle, his breath catching when it let out a warm puff of breath against his skin before it touched its nose to his palm. He its muzzle, and its eyes closed as it let out a low whinny.

Thestrals probably didn’t get touched very often, huh…

“You okay?” Minho asked, his voice a bit strained.

Kibum looked up, taking his hand away from the thestral’s muzzle. He was probably worried about him. “Yeah,” he said, smiling. He finished loading up his trunk and settled across the carriage from Minho. The thestral started plodding along once Kibum was sitting.

Summer was in full swing, now, with the sky blue as far as the eye could see. A warm breeze swept through the carriage and tousled Minho's soft-looking hair. Kibum tried not to think about it too much.

The thestral took them to the edge of the Forbidden Forest, where it came to an abrupt halt. Kibum caught his balance by grabbing Minho's knee. "Sorry," he said, letting go as he made to stand.

"It's okay."

They took their luggage to the platform first, where the Hogwarts Express was already waiting. Some older students were already waiting there, mostly seventh years, it looked like. Minho dug through his duffle bag for his Galleons, pocketing them. Together, they headed back into the village, weaving through the crowd to make it to Tomes and Scrolls.

“Where do you think they’d be?” Minho asked as he started to peruse the shelves.

“No time for that.” Kibum walked up to the counter, ringing the little bell.

A stout woman -- the shopkeeper, probably -- came from the back room and set a pile of books on the counter. “How can I help you lads?”

“We were wondering if you have any of those...uh, notebooks? That are, like, magically connected to each other?”

She smiled, nodded, and motioned for them to follow her. “Just got a new shipment of them last week. Almost always sell out of them by the end of the year.”

“That makes sense.”

She gestured to a shelf. There were bundles of notebooks, dual-colored with the different House colors. Thank Merlin, there was a Slytherin/Hufflepuff combination left. “That one, please,” he said, pointing to it, and she took it off the shelf and started back to the counter.

“That’ll be three Galleons.”

Minho set them on the counter and she passed the notebooks to them with a cheery “Enjoy your summer, lads!”

Kibum had them out of the packaging before they left the store. “Which one do you want?”

“Green.”

“So, yeah, just write whenever you want to and I can write back! It’s really simple.”

“I know, you use it with Jonghyun all the time.”

“Right.”

Kibum frowned as Minho picked up the pace a little, surging ahead and reaching the platform before him. What was with him lately? Probably nothing, now that he thought about it. The stress of exams and lack of sleep were enough to make anyone snippier than usual. Kibum followed him onto the fifth car and they settled into their usual compartment, Minho slumping into his seat across from him. He eyed him for a second before he opened his mustard-yellow notebook and took up the self-inking quill that came with it. He drew a little snake with a speech bubble that said “Hello~” and closed the notebook.

The pages of Minho’s notebook fluttered and he blinked himself out of his daze, looking down at it. His brow furrowed with confusion when he looked back at Kibum, who simply smiled. Minho snorted when he opened the notebook, and Kibum’s smile grew. He grabbed his quill from his pocket, his head cocked to the side as he sketched something as well, only to snap his book closed a moment later. Kibum opened his notebook before the pages could even flutter. A cute badger appeared and it said “Hi!~” in return.

Kibum smiled to himself as he closed the notebook and set it aside. He glanced at the door as other students streamed past, half expecting his roommates or Minho’s to pop in and make themselves at home in their compartment. Danny walked past then quickly reappeared in the window, his eyes bright and hopeful.

“Hey, Min.” He looked up from his notebook. “I sorta promised Danny that he could sit with us on the way home. Is that okay?”

He looked over at the window, giving Danny a smile. “Yeah, of course!” He waved him in, and Danny bounded over to Kibum, sitting beside him. “How’d you do on your exams?”

“Really good!”

Analecia and Gilbert joined them before Danny finished his long-winded explanation of how his exams went, and Callum and Aaron took up the rest of the seats by the time the train started to move. Danny fell silent after that, his eyes wide as the fifth...well, now sixth...years talked about their plans for the summer. Minho, as well as the others, much to Kibum delight, made sure to include Danny in the conversation.

When the train stopped at Platform 9¾, they all waited until the stream of students leaving the car ebbed before they deboarded themselves. Danny gave Kibum a hug before he ran off to find his luggage, and Analecia hugged Kibum, Minho, Callum, and Aaron before she and Gilbert split off to talk. “She’s heading to Spain this summer with her family, so she won’t see him again until September,” Kibum said to Minho as they walked over to where the luggage was being unloaded.

“That for them.”

What also was that he wasn’t going to be able to see Minho until September either, because of his own stupidity. But they weren’t dating, so...it wasn’t the same. “Yeah,” he said, grabbing Nutmeg’s cage and cooing at him before he set him on the cart with his trunk. “It’s just three months, though.”

Minho hefted his duffle bag over his shoulder. “True.” He dug through his jeans pockets. “When does our train leave?”

Aaron slipped his hand into his pocket, grabbing his ticket. “1:15.”

“Oh, .” Kibum looked over at the clock. It read 1:12. “Bye, Bummie,” Minho said, wrapping Kibum in a half-hug before bolting after Aaron and disappearing through the brick wall. Kibum sighed as soon as he vanished into the Muggle world, an ache settling into his chest.

With a grunt, Kibum pushed his cart toward the exit, making his way through the Muggles to where the Knight Bus would be waiting. By the time he reached the pavement outside, he noticed the sound of fluttering pages. Quickly, he flipped open his notebook.

Sorry I couldn’t say bye properly. There was something that was scratched out, but Kibum couldn’t figure out what it was supposed to have said. We’re on our way now. I’ll let you know when I get home.

Kibum glanced up to make sure that the Knight Bus hadn’t shown up yet. We can chat the whole way, if you want. Just don’t be rude to Aaron, he scribbled quickly as the tell-tale screeching of the Knight Bus breaks sounded.

Haha okay

For a second, he thought about replying, but Stan stepped down from the bus to get his -- and the other waiting students’ -- luggage, so Kibum tucked his notebook into his waistband and hurried to help him load everything up.

* * * * * * * * * *

Breaking News: Chloe is still snoring like my Grandma's old cat.

Minho covered his mouth as he laughed quietly before he grabbed his pen. I thought you went to the upper deck?

I ing did! I can't escape from it!

Minho laughed out loud then, ignoring the annoyed glares of the Muggles around him. The call that they were approaching Piccadilly Station rang out over the intercom, and Minho looked up at the speaker before he turned back to his and Kibum's conversation. How close are you to home?

Probably got another hour. You?

Like five minutes

Oh wow, that was fast

Minho flipped his forest green notebook closed, sticking it under his thigh as he made sure he had everything in order for his exit of the train. Just as he was about to pull it out again, the train pulled into Piccadilly Station and he got swept up in the crowd making their way to Manchester. He searched for his parents throughout the station, but only spotted his father near the exit.

“Dad!”

He looked up from his phone, his expression brightening as Minho hurried over to him. Minho dropped his duffle bag before giving him a tight hug. “Ready to be home?” he asked, patting Minho’s back before he pulled away.

Minho gave him a tight-lipped smile. “Yeah.”

“Let’s hurry. Mom’s cooking your favorite.”

Dad picked up his duffle bag and Minho grabbed Geum-nan’s cage as he led him out to where he parked. Minho set Geum-nan in the back seat before he strapped himself into the front seat while Dad stuffed his bag in the trunk. Geum-nan hooted when Dad slid into the driver’s seat, the sound startling him. “Learn anything interesting this year?” he asked as he shifted the car into gear and they puttered out of the parking lot.

He glanced over at Dad, hoping that his incredulity wasn’t obvious. The things he would deem to be interesting and his dad would consider to be interesting differed greatly. Minho cleared his throat. “I’m gonna be the captain of my Quidditch team next year. Which is kinda cool…”

“Captain?” Dad glanced over at him as the light turned green. “I might have to come see what it’s all about then.”

Minho’s eyes widened and he fought the urge to stare at his father. “I...I’ll ask one of the professors about how we can make that work.” O’Neely would know what to do when it came to Muggle and wizard interactions, right?

Thankfully, he was able to shift the conversation from school to catching up on what had happened since he had been away, which segued into an overly detailed explanation of Minseok’s army training and how well he’s doing. A small reprieve. When they were finally home, Mom greeted him with open arms and a warm hug that Minho melted into.

“Go ahead and get washed up, hon,” she said, patting his cheek. “Dinner is almost ready.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He took his luggage upstairs, closing his bedroom door behind him and opening the window before letting Geum-nan out of her cage. She flew up to the sill and looked back at him. “Go ahead.” With that, she flew off into the twilight. Minho sighed as he sat back on his heels, rolling his neck. It was good to be home and back with his family, but... He leaned over digging through the side pocket of his duffle to find his notebook and flipped to the page he and Kibum left off on.

Oh wow, that was fast.

I swear to Merlin himself that Ern needs to ing learn how to drive. Usually I’m fine but holy . Maybe it’s because I’m higher up than usual.

I’m assuming you’re with your family now. Go ahead. Abandon me in my time of need. See if I care.

Don’t worry, I’m just kidding. Minho snorted. “Bum, I know how to read your sarcasm.” Whatever he wrote next was unintelligible. A jagged line of ink cut through the page.  okay that was an abrupt stop.

“Minho? Dinner!”

“Coming, Mom!”

Minho turned the page, skipping to the end of Kibum’s meandering thoughts. Just wanted to let you know that I’m home now. I hope you’ll be off the bus soon, for your own sake haha. I’ll talk to you later~ He snapped the book closed and stuffed it under his pillow before clambering down the stairs.

Dinner went by as smoothly as it could, given that he had to edit his stories from school. Mom told him all of the same stories about Minseok that Dad did on the drive home while they cleaned up from dinner. She also suggested that he apply for the summer lifeguard position at the same pool that Minseok worked at.

After he finished with the dishes, he ran upstairs to shower the day of travel off, then scooped up Ember and carried her downstairs to finish watching the movie his dad started. Once Ember grew tired of his lap, she climbed up to the back of the couch and curled up behind him, her tail lightly smacking the side of his head.

Dad took his glasses off as the credits started to roll, and he looked over at Minho, who hid his yawn behind his hand. "You're probably exhausted."

"A bit."

"Do you want to come with me to practice tomorrow?"

Minho's eyebrows shot up. Had he really just… "Yeah, of course!"

"I'm leaving pretty early, so you probably want to get as much sleep as you can."

He shot off the couch, grinning at his dad. "Okay! Good night!"

Dad chuckled. "Good night, Minho."

Minho bolted to his room and closed the door behind himself, flicking the light off. The glow-in-the-dark stars lit the way to his bed and he grabbed his phone, turning on the screen as he took out his notebook again.

He read through Kibum's messages, up until they stopped when he got home. Glad you survived the Knight Bus. Seemed a bit touch-and-go there for a while, he wrote with a small smile before he set the notebook on the other side of his pillow. The pages fluttered as he sighed and rested his head on his pillow.

To be honest, he wasn't sure if these notebooks were going to make the summer better or worse. Sure, the constant, quick communication would be better than writing letters back and forth, but in no way did it compare to actually being there. With him. Beside him. Seeing his subtle shifts in expression or voice when he was being sarcastic or funny or... Minho sighed again, rubbing his hand over his heart when an aching void settled there.

A flicker of movement caught his eyes, and Minho sat up, turning his screen on again. Hey. I was wondering when you'd write back

Sorry, I had to eat and then Dad and I watched a movie.

How dare you spend time with your family that you haven't seen for 9 months rather than talk to me who you saw just this afternoon

Minho laughed quietly. I know, I'm terrible.

At least you're aware.

How's your mom?

Good! She told me all about her recent trip to Thailand. Made me want to go with her.

I mean, it'd be cool!

I think she said she's going to New Zealand next

Minho gasped aloud before he scribbled, That's where they filmed Lord of the Rings!

What's that?

Minho facepalmed. We'll have to watch it next time you... He stopped writing, then scratched it out. That definitely wasn't happening, unfortunately. When does Jjong get back? he asked, hoping Kibum wouldn't mind the subject change.

It took a minute for Kibum to respond. Tomorrow, actually! I'm excited to see him again

I bet. Minho clenched his jaw and relaxed it as he sighed. Dad wants me to come to practice with him so I won't be around much.

Again, there was a slight hesitation. Good to know.

Kibum took a while to say anything else. So long, in fact, that Minho fell asleep, pen in hand. He woke to Dad pounding on his door.

"Are you ready?"

He sat up groggily, the words slowly registering in Minho's mind. Once they did, he hid his notebook and threw on a pair of jeans and burst out the door to find Dad starting down the stairs. "I'm up!"

"Eat your breakfast on the way."

"Yes, sir!"

He spent most of the days in the following weeks with his dad, accompanying him to football practice, bringing his notebook along to jot down helpful notes for his coming reign as captain, and learning trick passes from his dad's players when his back was turned.

The days he didn't spend with Dad, he was down at the pool, getting his training with the other lifeguards. It would be open to the public sometime next week, once they were all competently trained.

That was, until the arrival of the book list from Hogwarts.

"You can't come tomorrow," Dad said, stirring his japchae. "You're taking him to the market, right?" he asked Mom.

"Diagon Alley?"

Dad's eyebrow rose instead of responding to him. Mom cleared . "That's the plan. Then we're stocking up on groceries for him."

"Wait, why do I need groceries?" Minho glanced between them when Mom looked across the table to Dad. "I'm not coming with to see Minseok, am I."

"No, honey, I'm sorry." Minho set his chopsticks aside, staring at his bowl of rice. "We tried to get you tickets with us but the plane was fully booked. At least you'll have your life-guarding to look forward to while we're gone."

Seriously? that stupid summer job. "When do you guys fly out?" he asked, barely able to keep his voice level.

"Saturday." In two ing days? They couldn't tell him any sooner? "We'll be gone until the 27th, so we'll get you as stocked up on food as we can before we leave. Also, we'll leave you some cash for food, if you need it." Minho nodded mutely. Two full weeks without them, while they got to see Minseok. He picked up his chopsticks again as tears started to well in his eyes. "We're really s -- "

"It's fine," he said before she could finish, perhaps a little too harshly.

"We'll be sure to give Minseok your love."

How ing thoughtful. "Thanks." He set his chopsticks aside again, his hunger deserting him.

"You can get something extra tomorrow when we go to Diagon Alley, how does that sound?"

Minho gulped. "Okay. I'm gonna go shower."

"What about dishes?" Dad asked as his chair legs scraped against the linoleum.

"I'll do them after."

He left the room, the kitchen door swinging shut behind him before either of his parents could say anything else. Minho bounded up the stairs and went straight to his room. He found the notebook in its hiding spot behind his nightstand and grabbed his pen. Hey

He stared at the practically empty page, waiting for Kibum's familiar handwriting to appear below his. Heeeey~ someone who definitely wasn't Kibum eventually wrote. Minho froze, waiting until Kibum wrote, Sorry, Jjong ing took my pen. He's spending the night and he's about to get kicked out of my room if he doesn't behave

Ah okay The tears he had withheld until now broke free, spilling down his cheeks. He could picture them, cuddled together on Kibum's twin-sized bed, play-fighting over the pen. His chin quivered as he tried to suppress the thought of them kissing...again. I didn't mean to bother you guys. Sorry.

What? You're never a bother. What's wrong?

My parents couldn't get me a ticket.

Oh

Yeah

A long pause. Maybe Kibum was explaining his plight to Jonghyun. How long are they gonna be gone for?

Two whole weeks, starting Saturday. There was another long pause. Minho squeezed his fist around his pen before he wrote, Sorry for unloading on you like this. I gotta go shower.

He closed the book before Kibum had any time to reply and stuffed it back behind his nightstand, then grabbed his pajamas on his way to the door. He showered quickly, heading downstairs to finish cleaning up from dinner, only to hear the dishes being done. Minho stopped outside the closed kitchen door, listening..

"I told you we should have just bought a ticket for him when we bought ours," Mom said. Something splashed in the dishwater.

Bowls clattered together. "Yeah, well, we couldn't be sure if he'd actually want to come home this summer. You know how he is about that boy." Mom hummed in agreement, and Minho's heart sank. "And, this way, we don't have to find someone to watch Ember."

Minho's jaw tightened as he turned away from the door. "I guess that's true," Mom said just before he slipped out of earshot.

He closed his door behind himself, flicking off the light and climbing into bed before the tears hit. It wasn't fair. He hadn't given them any indication that he was wanting to stay over the summer...and even if he had, they could have asked him if he wanted to see his brother. He would have said yes. He…

Minho rolled over onto his other side, curling into himself. Momentarily, the sound of Kibum's waiting reply distracted him from crying, but then he remembered that he was with Jonghyun.

Tonight was just going ing perfectly.

He slipped his head under his pillow and squeezed his eyes shut, hoping that sleep would come to claim him soon.

It did.

When he woke, Dad was already at work. Minho quietly slipped downstairs, avoiding Mom's eyes as she looked up at him from the table. "Will you be ready to go soon?" Minho shrugged and nodded, grabbing a carton of orange juice from the fridge. "Get a glass," she said when Minho unscrewed the cap.

"Yes, ma'am."

"We'll head out when you've finished breakfast."

"Okay."

The trip to London was quiet. Mom napped most of the way and Minho nodded in and out, fully rousing when the call for King’s Cross rang over the intercom. He glanced toward Platform 9¾ out of habit on their way outside and he waited by Mom while she hailed a taxi to The Leaky Cauldron. They made their way through the pub, getting caught up in the bustle of the Alley.

Their first stop was Gringott’s, and after they exchanged the Muggle money for galleons, Mom took him to Madam Malkin’s, where he got fitted for new robes. After an hour of poking, prodding, and pinning, they went over to Flourish and Blotts to get his new textbooks. It took way too long to find Quintessence: A Quest and Confronting the Faceless. Minho ended up finding them in the deepest corner of the shop. After Mom paid for it, they made their way back to the main street.

“Where to next?” Mom asked, looking around at the plethora of shops.

“Uh…” Minho glanced around as well, trying to decide where he wanted to go to get his extra thing. She had said that he was allowed to, after all, so he might as well --

Oh.

Kibum was there. Across the street. Sitting across from Jonghyun at Fortescue's with a bowl of ice cream between them. Smiling shyly at whatever Jonghyun was laughing about. His mouth went dry as he forced himself to look away. “Let’s just go home.”

“Are you sure?” Minho nodded, glancing down at her as he led her back toward The Leaky Cauldron. “Then you can have the rest of the galleons for school, then,” she said, passing the coin purse to him.

When he got home from grocery shopping, there were waiting messages from Kibum, but Minho wasn’t in the mood to read them. Instead, he showered, helped Mom with dinner, and cleaned up while they went upstairs to figure out what all they needed to pack for their upcoming journey overseas.

When Minho woke on Saturday, he stared blankly at the stars on his ceiling. This was shaping up to be the worst summer. Ever.

He pried himself out of bed, knowing that his mom was no doubt waiting for him to get ready so she could take him to his first real day of work. Groaning, he pulled on the white t-shirt and the red shorts that made up his lifeguard uniform and slipped his whistle and his visor into his back pocket. He traipsed down the stairs, ignoring the open door and the dwindled pile of luggage by it.

Mom was in the kitchen, packing up a lunch for him. “What time do you have to be there?”

Minho glanced at the clock on the stove. “Fifteen minutes.”

“Oh, okay.” She stuffed the last few things into his lunch box and passed it to him. “Are you ready to go?” He nodded. “Go help your father load up the car, then.”

Wordlessly, Minho turned, grabbing one of the suitcases on his way outside. The car was mostly loaded, but Dad was taking his time figuring out how to Tetris all of the suitcases into the back. Maybe if they didn’t have two full suitcases that were basically care packages for Minseok, they wouldn’t be having this problem. “Thanks. Can you grab the other one for me?”

He nodded mutely and once he brought it out, he slipped into the backseat, staring past the trees of Prism Lane at the clear blue sky. . He should have put on sunscreen today. The backdoor of the car slammed shut, jostling him, and the front door of the house did as well a few seconds later.

“Here,” Mom said, passing her set of keys to him after she buckled up and Dad pulled out of the driveway. “No driving while we’re gone. I know we haven’t taught you yet but my car is in the garage, so, no. Walk to the grocery store if you need to, I left the money on the fridge for you.” Minho nodded "No parties. No -- “

“No parties...Mom, who would I have over?”

“Your lifeguard friends? I don’t know.”

“Don’t talk back, Minho,” Dad said, and Minho leaned his head against the window, sighing.

Whatever else they said didn’t quite reach Minho’s ears. He stared at the neighborhood as they zoomed past, his shoulders sinking when they reached the pool. They all piled out of the car, Mom giving him a hug and a kiss on the cheek, then Dad giving him a hug, and Mom wrapping him in another hug before they sent him on his way.

He set his keys inside his locker and put on his visor, taking a deep breath to steel himself for his first shift.

Lifeguarding turned out to be okay. He didn’t have to jump in after any drowning children, which was a relief, but he did have to blow his whistle a few times to stop kids from rough-housing so close to the water. During his lunch break, he thought he might have heard the haunting screech of the Knight Bus breaks, but he decided against the idea. There was a busy round-about close by and dumb drivers abounded.

When his shift replacement arrived, Minho gathered his things and headed out. It wasn’t a long walk back home, but the way the summer sun beat down made it seem a whole lot longer. He squinted, glaring up at the sky. Tomorrow he’d have to raid Minseok’s room to find one of his pairs of sunglasses.

When he rounded the corner to Prism Lane, he dug into his pocket for Mom’s keys, finding the right one as he walked up the driveway. He looked up, stopping in his tracks.

Kibum.

Kibum was there.

He was sitting on the front porch step, his trunk by the front door behind him, his smile growing as Minho continued to stand there in open-mouthed surprise.

“Hey,” he said with a cheeky, dimpled grin.

“H-hey.”

"Did you miss me?”