Having arrived at school extra early Thursday morning, Jeno didn't know what to do with himself. He hadn't really made any new friends at his high school, all he'd had was Renjun, but now that they were broken up Jeno had no idea what to do with himself. Sitting outside or inside the classroom might make him look pathetic, plus he didn't want to bother anyone in his little cloud of sadness. He'd been taken over by that cloud ever since he found out that Renjun was cheating, and he didn't want to make anyone else experience that cloud either. 

But just as Jeno was going to it up and sit alone in the classroom, the slight sensation of sparks alerted Jeno to Jaemin's presence beside him. They'd been texting for the past few days, but neither had the time (or energy, on Jeno's part) to hang out. But Jeno was really grateful for Jaemin's presence because he immediately felt better. 

"Hey Jeno! How's it going?" Jaemin asked, leaning against the locker beside Jeno's and caressing his arm. Immediately, jarring sparks crawled up Jeno's bicep, but the touch was also soothing too. Jeno shut his locker and attempted to give Jaemin a smile. 

"It's okay," Jeno simply responded, leaning against his own locker. 

Jaemin gave him a look. "You don't seem okay," he sadly responded. Jeno sighed. 

"You're right. I'm a ing disaster," Jeno admitted with a unhappy chuckle. Jaemin rubbed Jeno's shoulder again and gave him his sympathetic gaze, closely listening to Jeno. Jeno sighed and continued. "It's just...it's been lonely, alright? Renjun wasn't just my boyfriend, he was my best friend...and only friend, at that." 

Jaemin worriedly furrowed his brows. "I can't imagine how lonely you must feel," Jaemin said softly. Jeno nodded and held back a pout for fear of looking ridiculous. "You know, me and my friends are hanging out tonight, and I think it would be really fun if you came along. They've been dying to meet you, plus you can get out a bit!" 

"I dunno, I feel like I'm just making everyone else around me sad," Jeno spoke. 

"No way. My friends are your friends! You can start getting back on your feet," Jaemin responded. 

"You really want me there?" Jeno asked genuinely, finally looking back up at Jaemin. He was wearing a sweet and genuine smile, and if Jeno wasn't hurting so bad he knew he would've fallen hard for that grin. 

"Of course I do," Jaemin responded. Jeno managed a more sincere smile and sat up. 

"Then I'll come!" He responded. Just then, the bell rang, and with sweet goodbyes they ran off to class. 

~~~~~~~~~~

After his first class of the day, Mark was taking books out of his locker for English. The English class he shared with Donghyuck, of course. But somehow, he didn't find himself dreading it. 

Donghyuck had given him a lot to think about last time they'd had a real conversation. Mark had been mulling it over in his mind ever since, even though he and Donghyuck hadn't interacted much. They sat next to each other now in English, which made sure they didn't get sick, but they still didn't act like real soulmates. 

After his meeting with the Christian Club the day before, Mark finally decided it was time to give Donghyuck a real chance. How he'd go about it, he didn't really know. 

But the opportunity presented itself when Mark slammed his locker to find Donghyuck leaning right behind him, looking at Mark with a small smile. 

"Holy sh-- Donghyuck, stop scaring me like that!" Mark whined loudly. Donghyuck just chuckled and smiled bigger, the sincerity behind it making Mark blush. 

"Hey," Donghyuck simply replied, ignoring Mark's statement. Mark rolled his eyes but couldn't stop himself from smiling. 

"What are you doing here?" Mark whined, trying to sound like he wasn't desperately craving Donghyuck's presence just moments before. 

"Cutie, we haven't talked outside of class in forever. I miss you," Donghyuck admitted, as if it was the most casual thing in the world. Mark wasn't sure if he liked or hated that Donghyuck had just called him 'cutie', but he definitely knew he wanted to bang his head against his locker because of it. 

Mark could only stammer in response, not quite sure what to say. When Donghyuck realized he wouldn't get a proper response, he cleared his throat and decided to speak instead. "Anyways, me and my friends are hanging out tonight, and I wanted you to come. Are you free?" Donghyuck asked. 

"Yes," Mark responded immediately, not even thinking about if he was busy or not. He cursed himself internally; since when was he so into Donghyuck? 

He isn't even that cute, Mark thought to himself, stopping in his tracks immediately after looking Donghyuck over. God, he was ing gorgeous. Mark grimaced at his own thoughts and shook his head, trying to clear it. 

Donghyuck, of course, to Mark's chagrin, recognized his eagerness and smirked at him. "So we are getting somewhere," he said confidently. Mark could only mutter angrily and unintelligibly under his breath. Donghyuck only chuckled at him and threw him a wink, looking down at his watch. 

"Can I walk you to class?" He asked Mark. 

"You better," Mark responded, and the two walked down the hall side by side.

~~~~~~~~~~

Yukhei felt as though he was at death's door. 

It had been approximately a week since he'd even seen Jungwoo, let alone spoken to him or touched him. Yukhei had heard about the side effects from going so long without your soulmate: sleepiness, fevers, occasional nausea. Yukhei knew he had those side effects, but because he hadn't seen Jungwoo they'd become even more extreme: exhaustion, fevers that almost kept him home from school, and a few times he'd even thrown up. But as much as his mom wanted to keep him home, Yukhei couldn't do it. His only chance to see Jungwoo was at school, and Yukhei had to take every opportunity he could. 

But he couldn't ing take it any more. His ears were ringing and his limbs felt like jelly, and every bone in Yukhei's body was telling him to 'get out, get out, get out', so Yukhei stumbled out of the classroom. 

Bumping into the walls like a drunk person, Yukhei slowly managed to make his way down to the locker room. Yukhei didn't know where else to go, and his fumbled brain told him maybe he could take a nap in the showers while no classes where there. 

Yukhei was about to pass out until he heard a loud noise, sitting up in a panic. He hoped it wasn't a teacher so bad, he really didn't want to get in trouble. Anyways, it was time the universe cut him some slack. 

But when Yukhei saw who it was, he thought his eyes were playing tricks on him. It was Jungwoo, who quickly collapsed on top of Yukhei, crying tears into his broad chest. 

Yukhei breathed heavily, staring down at Jungwoo's beauty in shock. Already his body felt much better, just from the slight contact with the boy, and with a trembling hand he began to carress Jungwoo's (very soft) hair. Yukhei had many questions, but all of them were quelled from just having Jungwoo finally in his arms. 

For many long moments they sat together on the floor of the shower, Jungwoo's head buried in Yukhei's chest while Yukhei gently carressed him. Finally, Jungwoo looked up at Yukhei, and Yukhei in a breath. Somehow, he looked even more sickly than Yukhei, on top of his tear streaked face. Yukhei's heart hammered and dropped in his chest at the sight. 

"O-oh my god," Yukhei managed to breath out, cupping Jungwoo's face. But Jungwoo quickly jerked away and Yukhei put his hand back on Jungwoo's back. 

"I-I tried to find you," Yukhei spoke, stumbling over his words as he tried to hold back his own tears. 

Jungwoo softly sniffled, shaking his head. "I'm so confused," he responded. "Everything is so wrong." 

"What do you mean?" Yukhei asked, tracing infinity signs over Jungwoo's hoodie. 

"I-I can't-- It's wrong-- I'm wrong-- I'm not--" Jungwoo spoke, desperately trying to find his words. "B-boys aren't supposed to like boys. God said it was wrong," Jungwoo spoke softly. 

Yukhei swallowed thickly and sighed. Yukhei had theorized that Jungwoo grew up in a repressed Christian household and that was the reason why he ran away that first day, but Yukhei didn't actually believe he'd be right. 

Yukhei wasn't sure how he could possibly change Jungwoo's mind. 

"I-it's not wrong," Yukhei stuttered. "We're together for a reason, right? So it's not wrong." 

Jungwoo simply shook his head, placing in back down on Yukhei's chest. Yukhei sighed, knowing his words wouldn't have much of an effect, and continued to gently carress Jungwoo, doing his absolute best to make him feel better. 

"I know you're not comfortable with this...thing," Yukhei spoke. "But I really, really don't like seeing you so sick. It...it makes me hurt. So...we don't have to be anything if you really can't but please, at least don't avoid me any more," Lucas begged. 

"I-I....don't if I can do that," Jungwoo slowly responded, his words muffled into Yukhei's t-shirt. Yukhei sighed haggardly, holding back his own tears before pulling Jungwoo closer to him. He had no idea when the next time they'd be together, so he made sure to take in every detail: Jungwoo's hands gripping onto him, the warmth of his frame, the softness of his hair, the intense sparks running through his whole body. He stared down at Jungwoo, his smaller body, plush lips, gentle eyes, perfect little nose that Yukhei could only dream of placing little pecks on. But those would only be dreams, Yukhei forced himself to understand. He couldn't hope for anything more than this. 

Just then, the bell rang for the next class, and both Yukhei and Jungwoo jerked up. A PE class would probably come in soon, and neither of them wanted to get in trouble. 

"Uh-uh...ba bye," Jungwoo said in his gentle voice, brushing off his clothes and looking up at Yukhei sadly. He gave him a sad wave before running off. Yukhei could only watch him go. 

~~~~~~~~~~

"Bye honey!" Mark's mom yelled out of the window as she drove away from Chenle's house. Mark gave her a nervous wave before staring at Donghyuck's front door, finally gaining the courage to ring the doorbell. Mark's fears came from having absolutely no idea how this night was going to go, and it was finally beginning. Mark sighed, preparing himself for the worst as he heard footsteps rushing the stairs. 

Chenle threw open the door and gave Mark a big grin. "Omg you actually showed up! Come in," Chenle said excitedly, ushering Mark inside. Mark barely had a moment to look over the humungous foyer when Chenle was ushering him up some stairs. 

"Donghyuck is going to be so excited," Mark spoke softly as they walked up not one but two set of stairs, rushing down a large hallway to finally enter Chenle's room. 

His room was bigger than half of Mark's entire house, with a giant, four poster bed, a fancy vanity, and walls decorated with posters of Rupaul and various teen idols. All of his friends, plus Jeno (Mark's acquaintance) were seated by the TV, eating snacks and talking. They all looked up and smiled when Mark got inside, and despite how nervous he was, their kindness made him feel welcome. 

"Heyo," Jisung said quietly. Mark shyly waved back to him and sat down between Jeno and Donghyuck, still keeping himself a few inches away from both of them. Jaemin was resting his head on Jeno's shoulder, and Mark figured they were soulmates. 

The others continued their conversation as Donghyuck turned to Mark with a grin. 

"I'm really glad you came," he spoke sincerely, and Mark just chuckled and nodded shyly. Donghyuck noticed Mark's nerves and rubbed his knee, sending sparks over Mark's leg. "Don't be shy. They're gonna like you a lot." 

Mark nodded, feeling a little bit better as he looked around. A box of pizza and chips and sodas were resting on the floor, and Mark picked up a slice for himself. The TV was playing some show Mark had never seen before. 

"So...what's up?" Mark awkwardly asked the group. 

"We're just chillin, watching Rupaul's Drag Race," Chenle responded. 

"Oh, so this is Rupaul's Drag Race!" Mark said, finally understanding what these guys were literally always talking about. Other than Jeno, the rest of the group looked shocked. 

"You've never seen it before?" Jaemin asked. 

"Uh...no?" Mark responded. 

"Oh my god," Jisung mumbled under his breath. 

"Pay attention then!" Chenle exclaimed jokingly. 

"What's going on?" Mark asked. 

"Well, this is the makeover challenge, where the drag queens have to turn not drag queens into drag queens. This season they're making over youtubers," Donghyuck explained. 

"If Eureka doesn't ing go home..." Jaemin grumbled. 

"If Cracker doesn't win this challenge...I might die," Donghyuck responded. 

Mark chuckled. "I...don't know what that means," he admitted. 

"All of you guys are fans of the show, right?" Jeno asked the others as Jaemin comfortingly rubbed his thigh. "Is that how you guys met?"

"Well...me, Jaemin, and Chenle have been friends since sixth grade. We were all sort of the class clowns and we united together," Donghyuck explained. 

"I discovered the show in seventh grade and got the rest of them into it," Chenle explained. 

"We became friends with Jisung in eighth grade. He didn't have that many friends in middle school," Jaemin started. 

Jisung chuckled sort of sadly. "I actually sorta got bullied a lot, since I'm a bit shy." 

"Yeah, and we were always afraid we'd scare him so we didn't approach him. But then...Jisung, why don't you tell the story?"

"Alright," Jisung responded with a grin. "So at the end of eighth grade, at the final dance, I wanted to get back at my bullies. Since I was really into Rupaul's Drag Race, I thought it would be fun to get into drag and trick my bully. So I did, and I looked really pretty and hot because I added pads and everything. When I walked into the dance, everyone's jaw dropped and everyone wanted to dance with me. But I danced with my bully, and it seemed like he wanted to kiss, so I went for it. He was really ing pleased with himself, until I took wiped off my makeup. Then everyone saw who I really was, and my bully was super grossed out." 

"Okay, we were really impressed by this, right? Because not only was it genius but Jisung was really good at drag...so after that went down we started talking to Jisung, realized he liked drag race, and became our best friend too," Donghyuck said. 

"And that's how we all became friends," Chenle said. 

"That's actually...surprisingly sweet," Mark said softly as Donghyuck surrepticiously s an arm around Mark's waist. Mark didn't mind though, and to Donghyuck's surprise, he just scooted in even closer. 

"Thanks Mark!" Jaemin responded as Donghyuck grinned to himself, rubbing circles on Mark's waist with his thumb. 

As the night went on, everything just got easier and easier. Mark sort of figured out what was going on in the show, he felt more comfortable with Donghyuck's friends, and he was more and more touchy with Donghyuck himself. It felt so nice to be so near him, their hands curled together, hips and thighs touching, sparks resonating from each of their bodies. 

"Hey Donghyuck," Chenle suddenly pointedly spoke, with Jisung, Jaemin, and Jeno giggling behind him. 

"What?" Donghyuck asked seriously. 

"I think you should go show Mark the guest room. It's a nice guest room, isn't it?" Chenle asked rhetorically, and Jisung, Jaemin, and Jeno suspiciously nodded and smiled. 

Suddenly, Donghyuck gave a smile of understanding, and Mark was even more confused. "Are you sure now is the right time?" He asked. 

"Oh definitely. Mark would love to see the guest room. Wouldn't you Mark?" Chenle asked, and Mark just stammered. Donghyuck looked over at Mark, smiled, then stood up. 

"Alright then. Come on, Mark, let me show you the guest room." He held out his hand and Mark took it, leading him across the hall and into a different bedroom. It wasn't decorated, but still large and very nice. 

Donghyuck shut the door behind him and nervously stood in the middle of the room. 

"What the hell is going on?" Mark asked, sort of angrily. Donghyuck started laughing. 

"Oh, it's this old idea we invented in middle school. They wanted us to kiss but they also wanted to give us our privacy," Donghyuck admitted with a smile. Mark looked up in surprise and immediately blushed hard. Donghyuck played with his fingers, his breaths shallow and frequent. 

"Uh...do you...want to kiss me?" Donghyuck asked softly, his fingers shaking nervously. Mark's heart melted at how nervous Donghyuck was. Donghyuck was almost never nervous, so clearly this meant a lot to him. 

Mark stepped in closer to Donghyuck and looked at the floor. "Y-yeah," he stuttered, unable to form more words out of nerves. Donghyuck closed the distance between them and before Mark could even think, Donghyuck's lips were on his. 

A shudder of joy flashed over Mark's whole body as Donghyuck kissed him, passionate yet gentle. His hands reached up to cup the back of his neck and the side of his waist, holding him steady (Mark was grateful for it, he probably would've fallen over if not). It was overwhelming, too much, wonderful, and perfect all rolled into one. 

They both pulled away smiling, foreheads pressed together, Donghyuck's hand carding through Mark's hair. 

"Do that again," Mark breathed out against Donghyuck's lips. 

"Gladly," Donghyuck muttered, and leaned back in. 

~~~~~~~~~~

When Donghyuck and Mark came back into Chenle's room, hand and hand and giddy and wearing chapped lips, they saw all of their friends sitting on the floor looking disappointed. 

"What's wrong?" Mark asked. 

"Well, while you guys were gone..." Jisung trailed off sadly. Jaemin sighed. 

"They sent Monet home," he spoke. Donghyuck's jaw dropped to the floor. 

"THEY SENT MONET HOME?" He yelled, his expression angry. The others just looked on sadly and nodded. 

"God damn it," Donghyuck spoke, sitting back down on the ground. "Now come cuddle me, Mark. I need to be cheered up." 

"Will do," Mark softly responded, leaning against Donghyuck and softly smiling. Maybe this whole thing wouldn't be so bad after all.