Jaemin almost always fell asleep in his first class of the morning. With no friends in the class, and the early morning sleepiness setting in, Jaemin couldn't possibly stay awake. 

Today was no exception, his eyelids fluttering shut as he rested his head on the desk. His soft arms became his pillow, and he smiled softly as he let himself slip into dreamland. Jaemin was lucky that his teacher was oblivious (at least most of the time); he barely even knew what the class was about, and didn't know anyone's names either. All he knew was that he was in freshman history, and the person who sat in front of him was tall and had dark hair. 

"Na Jaemin!" His teacher suddenly called, and Jaemin sat up in a hurry. He blushed when he realized every pair of eyes in the class was directed towards him, cringing and slumping back in his seat. 

"Yes, Ms. Kim?" Jaemin sleepily responded, rubbing his eyes softly. 

"Now, it's important to pay attention, because this information concerns your next essay. I'm passing back your rubrics now," Ms. Kim said. But Jaemin was already very distracted. 

All of the sudden, Jaemin wished he had been paying more attention in class. This incredibly cute guy was staring directly at Jaemin. He was probably doing it because Jaemin had been called out by his teacher, but now the guy had a soft blush to his cheeks. He sat directly in front of Jaemin; and Jaemin wished he'd noticed him more closely before. His gentle mouth, fluffy dark hair, and freaking adorable nose were just absolutely perfect to Jaemin. 

This gorgeous kid finally whipped his head around in embarrassment, staring pointedly at his paper with a stern expression. God, he was cute. Jaemin wondered if he was in the closet or just shy. 

The rubrics began to get passed back and finally the kid had the papers in his hand. Jaemin began to take the stack from his hand, their finger's suddenly brushing together. 

Immediately, Jaemin froze. It felt as though intense electricity was crawling up his veins, electrifying every sense of his being. His heart pounded in his chest as his breath rate only climbed, having to grip his desk just to stay stable. It was overwhelming, definitely too much, but Jaemin didn't find himself hating this feeling. He mostly just needed to see and touch this boy who was apparently his soulmate. 

The kid looked back at Jaemin for a second before immediately facing his desk again. Jaemin couldn't hold back the smile on his face; this guy was so freaking adorable. Jaemin really felt lucky. 

Sadly, class was only halfway over, so Jaemin was stuck tapping his feet and flicking his pencil in a desperate attempt to stay calm and patient for when he could finally talk to this boy, let alone touch him. The craving for physical contact was overwhelming. It wasn't ual at all, just the need to be near him, almost like an itch. At least now he was completely awake; it was as if those electric sparks had shocked him awake. He could still feel the little bit of electricity on his fingertips, even if it was slowly fading. 

When the bell finally rang Jaemin stuffed all of his things into his bag in a frantic daze, ready to introduce himself to this guy he'd never even spoken before. But Jaemin felt like he was ready; and he was pretty excited too. He didn't know what would happen from here, as he was the first of his friends to meet his soulmate, but he deeply believed everything would work out in his favor. 

"Uh-um...wanna talk out in the hallway?" The boy asked, his fingers trembling. Jaemin could tell he was really nervous. 

"Sure!" Jaemin responded with an excited smile. They walked out of the classroom, leaning against a wall indentation that was somehow empty (usually, every spare nook and cranny was filled with a soulmate couple making out by this point). 

The leaned against opposite sides of the wall. Suddenly, Jaemin chuckled, sort of uncomfortably. 

"This is so weird," he said, looking over the boy more closely. He was quite tall and posessed a very chiseled jawline. Jaemin bit his lip; this guy was gorgeous. The kid chuckled back awkwardly, and Jaemin found himself enjoying this kid's nervous shyness. He couldn't tell if that was Jeno's real personality, or if it was just because of the situation. Either way, Jaemin found it adorable, and he couldn't help but think about how lucky he was again. 

"We should probably introduce ourselves. Um, I'm Jeno," the kid introduced, holding out his hand. 

"Jaemin," he responded, gripping his hand. The spark feeling came back, and both boys pulled away and giggled. They shook out their hands, still feeling that electricity. 

"I forgot," Jeno responded softly, and Jaemin smiled. Jeno smiled back at him, and Jaemin felt as if his heart was melt. His smile was so bright and Jaemin already found himself falling for the way Jeno's eyes morphed into adorable little crescents. Jeno was so cute and attractive!

"There's something I have to tell you though," Jeno spoke, his smile immediately fading away. Jaemin's smile disappeared too and he felt his heart pounding in his chest again. Jeno sounded serious, and Jaemin didn't want something to go wrong. 

"Well... uh-uh..." He stuttered, clearly nervous to find the right words to say. Jaemin listened patiently, an act very unusual for him to do. Jeno grimaced before speaking again. "I-I'm in a relationship," he finally breathed out. "And after the soulmate thing happened I promised him we'd stay together even through this, and as hard as that is I just can't betray him, I'm so sorry--" 

"It's okay," Jaemin interrupted, silencing a nervous and panicked Jeno. "Don't worry. I get it." 

"R-really?" Jeno stuttered, and Jaemin simply nodded back. Even though he was heartbroken, this was clearly worse for Jeno, so he tried his best to seem neutral. "You're the best, Jaemin. I hope you and I can...uh...see each other around," Jeno responded, rubbing Jaemin's arm softly before walking away. 

Jaemin simply watched him walk down the halls before moving out of sight. Jaemin buried his head in his books and walked down to his next class, trying his best not to cry. 

~~~~~~~~~~

"Hello, would you all like to learn about our lord and savior, Jesus Christ? His wisdom can help you through this difficult time we are all facing," Sicheng asked the bitter old lady brigade, flanked by Jungwoo. Mark groaned and hid his head on the lunch table, Taeil didn't even hear (as he was too busy furiously texting Johnny), Doyoung rolled his eyes, Kun wasn't even at school that day (he'd skipped to hang out with his soulmate) and Yuta smirked. 

"My offer about the date still stands," Yuta repeated, and Jungwoo gave Yuta a disgust look. Sicheng just stood frozen in shock, unable to quite comprehend what was going on (most kids at the school didn't really have the courage to ask him out, so he wasn't used to it at all). 

"Just give him a ing pamplet and he'll leave you alone," Mark mumbled with embarrassment. Yes, he was in the Christian Club with Sicheng and Jungwoo, but he absolutely despised when they interacted with his friend group. It always ended up being cringey as hell. 

"Uh...okay," Sicheng responded to Mark in his deep voice, reaching into his backpack with a trembling hand to give Yuta one of his pamphlets. Yuta watched on with a smirk as Sicheng practically shoved the paper towards him. 

Their hands brushed as Yuta plucked the paper out of Sicheng's hands, and Sicheng's pink cheeks suddenly turned bright red. 

"Eep!" He squeaked, jumping a bit back as Yuta's eyes just kept widening and widening and widening. 

Doyoung turned and watched the pair. "No ing way," he mumbled under his breath before he started to laugh. Mark sat up and Taeil put away his phone, and they too started to laugh. 

"You guys are soulmates?" Mark asked, still laughing.

"Lucky for Yuta, but Sicheng is kind of the loser in this situation," Taeil spoke quietly. 

"What the ," Yuta simply mumbled under his breath, staring at his hands in shock. Sicheng just stared at the floor, his entire face turned bright red. Suddenly, the bell rang for class, and lunch was over. 

"Catch you later," Taeil spoke, patting Yuta on the back before walking to his class. Yuta and Sicheng were still both frozen in surprise, but Yuta finally stood up. 

"Uh, well," he spoke with an awkward chuckle. "Do you want to meet up after school?" Yuta asked. 

"S-s-sure," Sicheng barely managed to stutter out, his eyes still glued to the floor. Yuta smiled. 

"Meet me in the parking lot, babe," Yuta said, his confidence already returned. He threw Sicheng a greasy wink before walking to his class. After he was finally gone, Sicheng looked around. He was alone in the cafeteria; Jungwoo had already disappeared. Still in a daze, he slowly treaded his way to class. 

~~~~~~~~~~

After school, Sicheng found Yuta leaning against a car in the parking lot. Yuta grinned as soon as he noticed Sicheng, beckoning him closer. Sicheng walked over and hopped inside Yuta's car. 

Finding out Yuta was his soulmate seemed like Sicheng's kiss of death. Yuta seemed to him like a very ual guy, and Sicheng was strict about keeping his ity until marriage. Yuta was so flirty and Sicheng had no idea what to make of it. 

"I'm not having until marriage, you know," Sicheng said firmly, staring out of the front window and clutching his books to his chest.

Yuta hummed, and Sicheng was to surprised to notice he didn't seem too disappointed. "I was already planning on proposing as soon as you graduated high school. Doesn't change anything," Yuta responded. Sicheng blushed at the blatant flirtation, but also smiled to himself. It was sort of sweet of Yuta to say. 

", maybe Taeil was right. I really did luck out, you're the cutest guy ever. I'm not much of a catch," Yuta spoke. "At least I'm not a boring nerd like the rest of my friends though," he added, and Sicheng just clutched his books. He wasn't quite sure how to feel about Yuta just yet himself. On the one hand, he was quite suspicious of the guy. On the other, his soulmate feelings were working to make him like Yuta a lot, plus the close proximity was making Sicheng feel a little heated. 

"So what are you into?" Yuta asked after a few moments, sighing and leaning back in the driver's seat of the car. "Other than Jesus and stuff." 

"I-I do traditional Chinese dance. I practice it quite a lot," Sicheng responded, still unable to look over at Yuta. 

"I bet you're really good. You're very determined so I'm sure you practice hard," Yuta said. Sicheng blushed at the sincere compliment. 

"Th-thanks," he stuttered. "What about you? What are you into?"

Yuta laughed. "Honestly...not much. I watch a lot of anime." He laughed again. "Wait, , I sound like a nerd! I swear my friends are nerdier than me. I'm cool." 

Sicheng couldn't stop himself from laughing. Yuta was really, really funny, in his own special way. 

"What are you supposed to be doing now?" Yuta asked. 

"Homework," Sicheng said sadly. Part of him knew he needed to get down to work, but part of him kind of wanted to stay with Yuta. 

Yuta sighed. "I'll give you a ride home then." 

Sicheng's house was really, really close to school, so it was pretty much only a five minute drive until Sicheng was home. When he pulled into Sicheng's driveway, Yuta turned towards him. 

"I promise I'll treat you well. I don't think I could treat you any other way," Yuta spoke, and Sicheng looked up at him for the first time that whole afternoon. Immediately, he blushed; Yuta looked very sweet wearing a gentle smile instead of his usual overbearing smirk. His eyes were bright and Sicheng could see the affection towards himself, and maybe, just maybe, things with Yuta could be good. 

"W-well thank you...for that, and for the ride," Sicheng said politely. Yuta smiled at him and rubbed his arm, trailing his fingers down to squeeze Sicheng's hand affectionately. 

"Thank you," Yuta simply responded, and Sicheng blushed again as the sparks flowed up and down his arm where Yuta had touched. "See you tomorrow?"

"See you tomorrow," Sicheng responded, giving Yuta a smile and a nod before heading inside with undeniable joy. 

~~~~~~~~~~

The only way Ten could explain how he felt was weak. Mentally, physically, and emotionally. 

His mind was a complete wreak. Despite the pain his apparent 'soulmate' had inflicted on him, Ten still couldn't get Taeyong off of his mind. Being near Taeyong occupied almost all of Ten's thoughts. Physically, Ten's body was not reacting well to the situation. They hadn't spoken and had barely seen each other in the few days since they realized, and Ten's body was getting sicker and sicker by the day. He was headachey, nauseous, and feverish, could barely sleep at night, and he knew it was because he and Taeyong hadn't been in contact. His emotions were in the worst state though. He was torn between these hormones and the reality of his situation. Part of him despised Taeyong, and part of him cared for him deeply. The part of Ten that cared for Taeyong wasn't from his actual heart though, so Ten could just hate himself for feeling that way and go on disliking Taeyong. Ten had made the effort a few times to approach Taeyong at school, but Taeyong brushed him off every time without a second thought. 

That's why, when Ten was walking home from school and Taeyong's car drove by, Ten's first reaction was to flip him off. He raised his middle finger at the car as it drove by, giving Taeyong a death glare from where he walked. It was the least revenge he could get for being treated so cruelly by Taeyong. At this point, he was too sick and strung out to care about the consequences. 

Immediately, Taeyong's car started to back up, until he reached where Ten was. 

"Hey!" Taeyong shouted angrily. Taeyong looked pretty bad himself; there were huge purple bags under his eyes and his skin looked palor. As much as it tugged on Ten's heart strings, he didn't want to care, so he continued to walk away. 

"The ? You can't just walk away after that!" Taeyong yelled. Ten rolled his eyes and stomped back over to Taeyong's car. 

"Sure as hell I can. It's exactly what you did to me," Ten responded. "You deserve it. I did absolutely nothing to you, and you treat me like trash. You said some pretty ing awful things to me, and you pretend I don't exist. You treat me like I'm not a human being!" 

Taeyong released a haggard breath and gripped his steering wheel. "It hurts. It hurts not being with you, Ten," Taeyong admitted in the smallest of whispers. 

Ten shook his head and chuckled out of anger. "Well, that's on you. I've tried my best, but you've only pushed me away." He stared pointedly at Taeyong and gripped the edge of his window. "You don't think it hurts me too? It hurts me so bad! You haven't said a single nice thing to me and yet my body is still calling out for you! You hurt? You hurt? Shut the up!" Ten screamed, uncharacteristically angry. 

Suddenly, Taeyong began to push his way out of the car, and Ten backed up. Taeyong slammed the door behind him and stood over Ten, their height difference fairly obvious in the situation. 

Ten began to feel waves of attraction push over him, and he tried to shove them down. But god did Taeyong look gorgeous standing over him like these, his face aggressive and his stance angry, his fists clenched and his thick brows furrowed. Despite his hatred, Ten couldn't deny that Taeyong was beautiful. Ten's heart raced in his chest and he could only pant and stare up at Taeyong, unsure of what was to come next. 

Apparently Taeyong had been feeling the same way as Ten because before Ten knew it, his back was pressed against the side of the car and he was kissing Taeyong. Taeyong's lips pressed against his, one hand carding through his hair and the other gripping his waist. 

If Ten thought that the soulmate sparks were strong when they bumped shoulders, this was beyond intense. Electricity turned into overwhelming fire, Ten's thoughts almost incomprehensible as pure feeling took over every single one of his senses. All Ten could think was 'Taeyong, Taeyong, Taeyong', like his lips had become the center of his being, well, wherever he was connected to Taeyong was the center of his being. It was too ing much and Ten's mind was abuzz but he couldn't stop, he was addicted, he wanted more. 

Taeyong opened up the backseat door and pushed both of them inside, locking the car doors behind him. Ten knew what was coming next, neither of them were pathetic s, if they had anything in common. And god did Ten want it bad. 

~~~~~~~~~~

After it was all over, Ten's mind was in more confusion than when he began. Sitting in the back of Taeyong's car, he felt almost ashamed. Taeyong wouldn't look him in the eye, but it wasn't like Ten would be comfortable with that kind of contact anyways. Mostly he just felt drained, every inch of his skin still sparkling like a firework where Taeyong had touched him. At least his body's desire for physical touch from Taeyong would be satiated, at least for the time being. 

The was good, really good, but now they were at an impass. Taeyong was in the back seat too, covering his junk and staring out the window to avoid Ten's gaze. They weren't yelling, screaming, mad anymore, but the had solved nothing. Maybe it had just made things worse. 

"You should go," Taeyong simply spoke. Ten immediately began to put on his clothes. 

"Yeah, I should," Ten responded, getting dressed and leaving without another word.