Their winter break concludes with one more hangout for New Years - Jae offers to host, and he's currently freaking out because he's never had friends over for the countdown.

"Jae, honey, we have enough snacks," his mom says and she notices him pacing the kitchen.

"What if we run out?" 

"Then I'll run out and get some," his dad replies, 

"Do we have enough ice? Drinks?"

"Jaehyung," his mom interrupts, grabbing him by his face and smiling, 

"We have everything, just relax and wait for the boys." 

Jae exhales and smiles at his mom,

"I'm so excited to meet them, though!" she says, walking to the living room to sit with Jae's dad,

"Brian is the boy who introduced you to everyone, right?" 

"Yes, the vamire from Halloween,"

The Parks discuss how quickly the year went by, and they're on the topic of Jae's university applications when the doorbell rings.

"Oh my God, they're here," Jae says and his dad laughs,

"Jaehyung, they're your friends. Go answer the door," 

Jae walks up to the door, takes a deep breath and exhales and opens it to reveal the boys. 

"Hey!" Sungjin says first, followed by Wonpil, Junhyeok, Dowoon, and Jae greets each of them and the last one to enter is Brian.

"Hey," Brian says with that dashing smile and Jae almost stutters with his reply of,

"Hi," they look at each other until Jae's mom's voice greets the boys,

"Hello, welcome!" she says with a friendly smile and Brian notices it looks exactly like Jae's. The boys each introduce themselves accompanied by a hug from Jae's mom, and a handshake for Jae's dad.

"Thank you for having us," Sungjin says,

"Oh, thank you guys for coming! Jae was so excited about today, he couldn't stop-"

"Okay, thanks Mom," Jae interrupts, blushing in embarrassment but the boys know Jae's sentiment. 

They head down to the basement, all of them commenting on how nice Jae's house is which he accepts with a thank you. His basement is spacious, a pool table near the back with a shelf that has various board games and the TV situated with bean bags and a couch in front.

"Are you an only child?" Junhyeok asks,

"Yeah, but we would always host the family parties so we needed some entertainment," Jae explains the pool table and the board games.

Brian picks up a cue and twirls it in his hands,

"Do you play?" Brian asks and Jae shakes his head, 

"Barely," he replies,

"My dad does, though," and as if on cue, Jae's dad comes down the stairs with boxes of pizza,

"Oh, do you play, Brian?" 

"I'm not too bad," he answers and Jae knows his dad well enough to know a challenge is coming,

"How about we play a game?"

"Yes sir, anytime," and Jae's dad laughs at the title as he picks up his own cue,

"Oh, right now?" Brian says, surprised and the boys laugh. 

They surround the pool table, watching and placing fake bets as to who's going to win as Brian gets increasingly nervous yet determined.

Jae watches Brian the whole time. Every move he makes, the way his eyes are focused and narrowed, the way he positions his cue, his little smirk each time he sunk a ball in a pocket. It was like he couldn't look away despite Sungjin being right beside him. Not that Jae would ever admit that, of course.

The game ends with Jae's dad winning, just barely, and the boys tease Brian.

"Not too bad?" Jae's dad quotes, and Brian shows a bashful smile,

"I lost, didn't I?" he replies and Jae's dad laughs, patting Brian on the back as he returns the cue to its rack,

"Let's play again sometime," 

"Yes sir!" Brian replies, surprised at the invitation for a next time,

"Don't call me sir, 'Dad' is fine," he says and turns to face the boys with a fond smile,

"That goes for all of you," 

"I can't call you by your first name?" Jae jokes and his dad shakes his head with laughter. 

He goes upstairs at that and they decide to eat the pizza that's gotten slightly cold due to the match they watched.

There's a comedy movie playing in the background as they're indulged in a game of Monolopy. 

"Any New Years resolutions?" Wonpil asks the group, settling as they wait for Brian to roll the dice,

"Make more memories with you guys," Jae says, adding

"And maybe expand my horizons a bit, you know, make some more friends, try new things."

They nod and Sungjin jokes,

"Make new friends? Are we not enough for you?" and they just laugh because they know how much they mean to Jae - he's told them and reminds them. 

"How 'bout you, Kang?" Sungjin prompts and Brian just shrugs,

"Nothing in mind," he admits and they don't press further because his eyes didn't even leave the board when he answered.

Dowoon mentions he wants to practice drumming more, Junhyeok says he, too, wants to focus on music while Wonpil says he wants to begin to read more and Sungjin says he wants to try a new instrument. 

They spend the next few hours watching movies, playing video games, talking and laughing so loud that Jae's parents can hear them from their room on the 3rd floor, smiling because Jae is surrounded by good boys who include him, who want to welcome the new year with their son. 

"Have you guys ever had a New Year's kiss?" Jae asks, out of nowhere, and everyone turns to him with wide eyes,

"Yeah, every year" Dowoon answers casually,

"Excuse me, what?!" Junhyeok practically yells, and Dowoon has a mischievous smile as he elaborates,

"At midnight, I always kiss my dog," and Junhyeok groans before slapping him in the arm.

"Why did you get so worked up?" Brian teases with a knowing smile - the group knew they liked each other and was just waiting for the official announcement, it was obvious.

"I didn't get worked up," Junhyeok says and Jae laughs,

"Your cheeks say otherwise," Dowoon joins in and Junhyeok just pouts while Dowoon has a fond smile, poking Junhyeok's side an an attempt to make him laugh.

No one else answers Jae's question, and he doesn't even know why he asked in the first place - ignoring the fact that he wanted to hear not only Sungjin's answer, but Brian's too. 

It's approaching midnight, but the group is asleep. Except for Brian and Jae, who are conversing in a whisper about the movie whose volume has decreased and their whispers mingle with the soft snores.

"We should wake them up, the countdown is going to start," Jae says and Brian nods, going to gently shake Wonpil awake while Jae does the same to Sungjin.

"Guys, the countdown is soon," Brian says at a volume just above a whisper and there's a bunch of groans and Sungjin says,

"I don't care, I'm tired," 

"Me too, just wake me up after," Wonpil adds,

"If you don't care why did we agree to countdown as a group then!" Brian says with slight irritation,

"You guys are gonna miss the countdown." Jae says to the other 2 boys on the ground, but he already knows they're not getting up because Junhyeok looks too comfortable snuggled next to Dowoon with the boy's arm around him.

Dowoon and Junhyeok just hum in response, no one opening their eyes to even spare Jae and Brian a glance.

"You guys are the worst," Brian says before shaking his head with an amused smile and settling back down beside Jae on the couch.

"Guess we'll just let them be," Jae suggests, smiling at Brian.

The countdown is about to start and they waiting in comfortable quiet when Brian asks,

"Have you ever had a New Year's kiss?" which surprises Jae, but he shakes his head with flushed cheeks,

"No," he answers,

"You?" and Brian, too, shakes his head,

"Nope," 

"Really?" Jae says, and Brian scoffs,

"Is that so hard to believe?"

"Kind of, honestly."

"I've never dated, I don't date," Brian reminds,

"Yeah, I know. But kissing doesn't necessarily mean you're dating, right?" Jae responds, and it's only then that they notice the lack of distance between their faces.

They just stare at each other in silence,

"Right." Brian answers as the countdown on the TV starts. 

"10! 9! 8!" comes from the TV, and as the numbers get lower, the distance between them gets smaller. Jae doesn't move away, he's actually moving closer as he notices Brian doing the same, his eyes fixated on the other's lips. 

"3! 2! 1!" 

Brian's about to close the distance, but they hear footsteps run down the stairs and they instantly jump and pull apart. Jae's blushing furiously and Brian's doing the same, trying to cool himself by fanning his hand.

"Happy New Year!" Jae's mom says, excitedly and with a noisemaker in her hand, and the boys who were sleeping wake up.

"Happy New Year, Mrs. Park," they say, tired and groggy,

"Jaehyung, why didn't you wake the boys!" she scolds and Jae stutters on his answer, flustered and eyes unfocused,

"I tr- We tried! They didn't want to!" he says with a forced chuckle,

"Oh well... Happy New Year, boys!" 

"Happy New Year," they say again, and then again to each other once they finally sit up, Junhyeok stretching and falling back into Dowoon's arms, ignoring the teasing "aw"s that Sungjin and Wonpil say.

"Hey Jae, you okay?" Sungjin says as the rest of the boys are cleaning up their makeshift bed,

"Huh?" Jae's eyes refocus on Sungjin's concerned face - Right, I like Sungjin.

"Oh yeah, I'm okay!" he forces out a laugh and gets up from the couch that he didn't realize Brian left a while ago, moving to help Wonpil fold some blankets,

"Was just thinking about something," 

"You sure?" 

"Yeah, thanks," he assures with a small smile and Sungjin nods, going back to help Wonpil. 

When they finish cleaning up the floor, the boys pile back on to the couch, Jae and Brian on opposite ends with the rest in the middle.

"I can't believe you slept through the countdown," Brian says,

"To be fair, Jae's floor is really comfortable," Sungjin says, yawning, and Dowoon nods in agreement.

"Yeah but we agreed to hang out to welcome the new year together,"

"We did! We woke up right when Jae's mom came down. I didn't even hear you and Jae count down, I only heard his mom greeting us," Wonpil replies and Jae gets flustered again. 

They did countdown aloud, not loud enough to wake up the boys, but just loud enough so that they heard each other with each millimetre they grew closer and who knows what would've happened if they got to 0 without interruption.

They discuss other plans for New Years, and all of them dreading going back to school. Jae can't help but steal glances at Brian every now and again, wondering how he's talking like nothing happened - but then again, nothing happened. But Jae wonders what could have happened.

Considering the time, the boys decide it's time to clean everything up and head home, Junhyeok being their driver. Brian brings the pizza boxes upstairs, and Jae follows a few moments later with their glasses and notices Brian talking with his dad. Jae places the glasses in the sink and is about to start washing when Brian interrupts,

"I'll wash those," he offers and takes the gloves from Jae, and sudden closeness causing Jae to blush again,

"O-Okay," he walks away quickly, going back to the basement as the conversation between Brian and his dad resumes.

Jae scolds himself, wondering why he can't stop thinking about what just happened while Brian seems completely fine, why he blushes just being near Brian while Brian can just go up to him and wash the dishes like it's nothing. When Jae gets downstairs, he's muttering to himself as he cleans up the billiard table and doesn't even notice Sungjin watching him. 

Upstairs, Jae's dad has left Brian and now, Brian's mentally beating himself for even thinking he could kiss Jae - he likes Sungjin. But the thought of Jae moving in closer too and fluttering his eyes closed nags at Brian as he cleans the glass, furiously, getting soap suds everywhere. He thinks a string of curses and rinses the rest of the glasses before leaning on the kitchen counter for a bit, just thinking. Thinking about how everything is practically ruined because he couldn't keep it together for a countdown. He blames Jae's question of a New Years kiss, and Jae himself saying just because people kiss, it doesn't mean they're dating. He blames himself for agreeing and not restraining the urge to lean forward and kiss him. Then he thinks of Jae's mom, what she saw because she came down those stairs fast, and Brian concludes this is the worst start to the New Year.

He walks down to the basement, slowly, to find the boys collecting their things and getting ready to leave.

They're in the front foyer as Jae and his parents are sending them off, saying "Happy New Year"s, "thank you for having us" and "come back anytime!"s. The boys each hug Jae, and Jae smiles at the warm hug Sungjin gives but when it's Brian's turn, his heart races like crazy. 

They all pile into Junhyeok's car, when Brian realizes he forgot his keys and rushes back to the house and is about to doorbell when it swings open and he's met with Jae's face,

"Bri!-" he gets cut off in surprise, and once again their faces are close and Brian's thankful the front door can't be seen from the driveway.

"Thanks," Brian says, receiving the fox keychain from Jae and the latter just nods. 

"Happy New Year," Jae says as Brian goes to leave, and Brian gives his classic dashing smile back in response,

"Happy New Year, Jae..." he's walking to the car but Jae is still standing in the doorway, just watching, when Brian turns around and says,

"I'm sorry about earlier." and his eyes convey his sincerity, and Jae just nods awkwardly, not responding as Brian puts on a sad smile and walks back to the car.

Jae finds himself wondering what Brian's sorry about - is he sorry he moved in closer or is he sorry because he didn't close the distance?

Jae shuts the door, his heart thumping and he closes his eyes as he lets out a sigh. When he opens them he sees his mom, her eyes telling him they have something to talk about and Jae gets nervous.

"Jae, it's okay if you do," she comforts,

"I don't like Brian!" Jae says, hands up in defeat,

"I saw you two!" 

"That-he-" he stumbles on words, having no explanation for himself,

"I-I don't even know what that was, and I don't like him, and he doesn't like me," he says, thinking about the way Brian ran back for the keychain Seungmin gave him.

Jae and his parents have always been close, as he was the only child, and before this school year, he was never busy with friends.

"I like Sungjin, Mom!" he says, hoping that'll get them off the topic. But he sounds like he's trying to remind himself, reassure himself that his feelings are for Sungjin and not for the boy who's supposed to be helping him get with Sungjin.

"Oh," she says, genuinely surprised,

"So can we not talk about what you saw with Brian?"  

"Okay," and she gives him a warm hug,

"Sorry for pushing, Jaehyung-ah," and he hugs her back, 

"It's okay,"

"So you like Sungjin, huh?" she says with a smile and Jae rolls his eyes with a laugh,

"Good night, Mom," he says, already walking to the stairs and she laughs in reply and says,

"Happy New Year," and Jae echoes before walking up the stairs to his room.

He flops on to his bed and stares at the teddy bear Brian passed to him without thought at the fair. He keeps thinking about Brian, although he doesn't want to, but each time the image of Brian's face being so close pops up in his mind, he thrashes in his bed and lets out a groan. 

Brian's being kept awake as he keeps scolding himself, punching his pillow in frustration, muttering "why, why, why! stupid Brian" to himself. More than the fact that he leaned in for a kiss, Brian's fixated on the fact that Jae also got closer and didn't tell Brian to stop or move away. 

You cannot like Jae. 

He reminds himself of reasons more than just Jae liking Sungjin. Brian looks at the gift Jae had gotten him for Christmas, it's on his desk beside the card, and Brian smiles habitually at the books Jae got him. Brian mentioned sometime earlier in their friendship that he wanted to read more, to learn more from stories regardless of fiction or its counterpart. Jae got him 2 books along with new guitar strings, mentioning in his card that he wants to continue to hear Brian sing. 

When Jae is a person who pays attention to such details and remembers them, Brian wonders how he can't like him - and how Jae could be so oblivious to his feelings that he's gotten horrible at hiding.

After that incident, they don't text regularly and Brian doesn't reach out first because he blames himself for crossing the line in the first place. School starts up again and the boys hang out like usual, and when Dowoon and Junhyeok tell the group they're dating with shy smiles and almost no eye contact with the group, they go to Dowoon's convenience store despite the cold.

Even as the days pass and get warmer, Jae and Brian are still not back to how they were before.

Brian and Jae's relationship now consists of decent conversations and stolen glances that neither of them think the other notices. They hate it, but they don't know how to change it. Brian is frustrated with himself because he's supposed to be at Jae's side while he pursues Sungjin, and Jae's annoyed because he can't approach someone who he considers his best friend. It's gotten better since New Years, but Brian doesn't shove him playfully like he used to, and Jae doesn't text him daily. 

As if their tense situation wasn't a bad enough, Brian's sitting at his desk one night, doing an assignment, when his phone buzzes.

SungBro: Bri!!

KangBri: yeh?

SungBro: I have exciting news

SungBro: Gonna tell the group tomorrow but I wanna tell you first

Brian shifts in his seat, having a feeling of what Sungjin's about to say

Sungjin sends a photo of him and someone, that Brian can already guess, holding hands, accompanied by a shushing emoji.

SungBro: don't tell anyone yet!

And he wants to tell Jae so bad - to save him from what's going to hit him tomorrow, yet he types the reply,

KangBri: Oh wow

KangBri: happy for you!! 

KangBri: Don't worry, I won't tell anyone

Brian tosses his phone on his bed and buries his head in his arms, groaning and doesn't check his phone even when it sounds, notifying him of Sungjin's reply.

He's not on comfortable speaking terms with Jae after New Years, and now that they're official, Brian wonders if he should've told Jae when he saw the signs - when they were walking together at night, when Sungjin didn't answer his question, even when they fell asleep at Jae's house.

And once again, Brian's left alone with his worries, unable to tell anyone as he just waits for tomorrow. Will they announce it on the slope? At lunch in the music room? After school as it's Wonpil's turn to pick where they eat?

The next morning, the group walks up the slope like normal, and lunch goes by like it usually does. It's after school in the restaurant that Wonpil is a regular at when Brian tenses up as Sungjin says,

"Hey guys, I gotta tell you something."

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

*EDIT BECAUSE I WROTE THIS EARLIER. THE TEASERS TODAY Y'ALL.. FUUUDDGGEEE*

hi hello mydays! ♡ ah yes, things are happening :D yay for JaeBri progression because this is a JaeBri story afterall. guys, I post vocal covers on YouTube, if you guys could check out my channel and subscribe, I'd appreciate it! Just click the photo and it'll take you to my channel - one of my goals is to cover all of Day6's songs.. ambitious, I'm aware. LOL
  

also! you guys can message me on kakao @ zenaya or twitter/instagram @zenkrcovers! ^_^ I'll really friendly, I swear LOL anyway! please please please comment your thoughts on this chapter! subscribe to keep update and upvote if you're enjoying the story. I'll try to update soon, but until then, peace! - Zen