MONDAY

7:02 AM

Jongin awakens the next morning and, with the fog clogging his brain, it takes him five whole minutes to realize that he somehow managed to turn himself around in his sleep. The mere thought of math being his first lesson of the day is enough to make Jongin want to shove his face in his pillow and sleep the rest of the day away, but the subtle buzzing in his chest has him dragging himself out of bed before he has a chance to process what he's doing. The curtains are still undrawn, and despite the dim sunlight seeping into the room, Jongin decides against drawing them when his feet hit the floor. It's not until he stands up straight that he realizes just how silent the house is, which Jongin figures must explain the anxious fluttering in his gut as he slides his shirt over his head.

The cold air hits his bare chest, which in turn has Jongin mentally slapping himself for forgetting his jacket at Baekhyun's house last night. Since he would rather stay home (and thus risk his teacher breaking into his house and beating him to a pulp), Jongin opts to call Baekhyun to ask if he could stop by real quick to hand it over. After locating his phone beneath the duvets, something shoots up Jongin's spine when he lays his eyes on Baekhyun's contact photo, but he dismisses it when he puts his phone by his ear.

His call goes straight to voicemail, which Jongin finds strange, given that Baekhyun usually wakes up at the slightest noise, but Jongin doesn't question as he puts his phone on his desk. Figuring Baekhyun must still be asleep after their movie watching session last night (little of which Jongin actually remembers, so he makes a mental note to ask Baekhyun to fill him later), Jongin gets dressed faster than he's ever gotten dressed before, and it's not until he enters the bathroom and actually takes a look at himself that he ogles the smudged kohl and glitter all over his face (and hair, which he doesn't even want to think about). The subsequent fluttering in his chest only reminds Jongin of Sehun's comment about his makeup last night, which has him gripping the edge of the sink until his knuckles turn white. Come to think of it, Jongin can still make out the faint taste of tobacco when he runs his tongue across his bottom lip, and he has to distract himself by splashing ice cold water all over his face. Despite the heaviness in his gut, Jongin feels his head clearing up by the second after he swipes Taemin's eye makeup remover and proceeds to wipe his cheeks with it. 

Despite the lump in his gut (and the painful realization that he's definitely late), Jongin finds himself making his way downstairs one step a minute. It doesn't take him long to realize that Taemin has polished off the rest of the cereal, as well as the milk, which has Jongin's urge to launch his roommate into outer space skyrocketing when he closes the fridge door. Jongin figures that he's sort of lucky, though, considering Mondays are their shorter days, meaning that he could ask Baekhyun to join him for lunch somewhere in town (since Jongin knows that Baekhyun will cave the second he sees what's on today's menu at school). Ignoring his growling stomach, Jongin runs a hand through his hair, which has been reduced to a tangled, sticky mess overnight, before he trudges towards the hallway. Jongin glances at his backpack, still containing unfinished worksheets from God knows how many weeks ago, and he mentally prepares himself for another verbal beating. Jongin is lucky, though, because the low buzzing in his veins has him freaking out perhaps slightly less than he should be, but he forgets all about it when he kicks the front door open and steps outside.

The first thing Jongin realizes is that he's in desperate need of a spare jacket, which becomes clear after he steps outside and practically freezes to death before he's even stepped off the patio. The second thing he realizes is that Baekhyun must still be asleep, given that the latter doesn't reply when he calls him for the fifth time to remind him about bringing his jacket. A part of Jongin sort of wants to march over to Baekhyun's house and pound on his bedroom window - a (highly effective) tactic they would use to get each other out of bed back in eighth grade, but he dismisses it when the thought of his math teacher  pops into his head. To say that Jongin promptly forgets all about the biting cold as he subsequently flies down the road would be a vast understatement.

9:56 AM

Slamming his backpack on his desk, Jongin stifles a yawn (and a groan of agony) when he hears the sound of papers shuffling around him. Despite arriving just a minute after the warning bell, Jongin found himself dying on the inside the moment he rounded the corner to get to class, only to be met with the sight of his math teacher glaring at him by the door (which only proves his theory of her being out to get him no matter what). Jongin doesn't recall what she proceeded to yell at him for, but what he vividly recalls is the buzzing in his head that crept into his head at some point during her loud rambling, which in turn resulted in him slapping a hand over his mouth after he went on to retort with something he doesn't even want to think about. Jongin sort of wants to cry when he recalls her immediately sentencing him to three hours of detention, and to say that Jongin came dangerously close to leaving the building when she forced him to sit up front would be an understatement. Alas, Jongin keeps his head low when she proceeds to dump a pile of blank worksheets on his desk, making him to flinch in his seat. 

In a sense, Jongin figures that it should be illegal to force somebody to fill out a thousand worksheets, as well as a quiz, at the same time, but he knows that protesting is already out the window when he picks up his pencil. Jongin mentally slaps himself forgetting all about their upcoming math quiz (which he's pretty sure he heard Baekhyun mention last Thursday), and he internally screams when he feels his brain twisting itself into knots upon seeing the first problem. Despite wanting the floor to swallow him up, it's nothing compared to the agony that spread across Jongin's whole body when his teacher went on to say something about him needing to take his quiz in the same room as the engineering students, which had Jongin internally dying. Jongin fights the urge to roll his eyes when he hears the sound of pencils scurrying across paper after she tells them to begin. At least he and Baekhyun will have something to laugh about during lunch, Jongin figures, before he (in)discreetly proceeds to text Taemin under the table.

she's keeping me again T T  be home at around 5 ish  //j

The reply is nearly instant, but Jongin doesn't get a chance to respond to Taemin calling him a 'goddamn math loser' when the loud sound of a ruler smacking the edge of his desk nearly has him jumping through the ceiling in surprise. While he assures himself that he hasn't died of cardiac arrest, Jongin contemplates texting Taemin that he'll be home at around eight, after she adds another three hours to his session, but he decides against it before he picks up his pencil.

---

Jongin doesn't think he could have gotten out of the classroom any faster, since he doesn't think he would have survived another minute alone with his teacher staring at him like a hawk, and he slings his backpack over his shoulder as he makes his way down the darkening hallway. For some reason, he hasn't received a single text or call from Baekhyun, but Jongin refuses to believe that Baekhyun chose to stay home to avoid taking the quiz, so he opts to stop by Baekhyun's locker and wait him out. If he's lucky, Baekhyun remembered to bring his jacket, which Jongin hopes after he takes one look at the pitch black sky outside. Now that Jongin thinks about it, Sehun hasn't texted him all day, either, which has him pouting slightly, but he dismisses the thought when his stomach growls. Jongin barely gets a chance to think about how he's pretty much starving to death until he spots a couple engaging in a passionate lip lock near the restrooms, and he nearly drops his textbooks on his foot when he subsequently feels like he's been kicked in the chest.

At first, Jongin tries to act as casually as possible, which is proven to be a difficult task when his entire body feels like it's been engulfed in flames, effectively wiping his mind until nothing but the feeling of Sehun's lips against his own fills his head. Jongin ends up gripping his Physics textbook impossibly tight when his right hip tingles like it's been electrocuted, and he doesn't even notice his math teacher belittling him for blocking the hallway (despite the fact that he's standing off to the side, and leaning against the wall to avoid toppling over) until she brushes past him. Her strong perfume is enough to make Jongin scramble down the corridor, but he doesn't make it very far before he forces himself to take a seat on one of the chairs lining the walls. Jongin ends up sitting glued in place, watching the endless stream of students rushing back and forth, until he's certain that he'll be able to stand up without his knees caving in. Amidst the flickering in his head, Jongin thinks he spots a familiar mop of bright red hair rushing past among the crowd, but he finds himself unable to open his mouth in fear of screaming at the top of his lungs instead. Somebody stumbles over his foot, but Jongin barely notices as he tries to stop the harsh pounding in his chest.

Baekhyun didn't see anything.

It's not until Jongin notices that his back is as stiff as cardboard that he finally stands up, and he's pretty sure he hears his math teacher calling his name from across the hallway, which has him fighting the urge to bang his head against the nearest wall. As he makes his way towards the detention room, Jongin feels the thought pinballing inside his head almost painfully, but he eventually calms himself down by assuring himself that, given that all three of them were practically drowning in darkness, there's little to no way that Baekhyun could possibly have seen anything. Not to mention that Jongin knows that he barely even kissed Sehun to begin with, considering the fact that he was up and out of Baekhyun's house before he could count to five. Nevertheless, Jongin shoves the thought aside when he reaches the doorway, and he makes a mental note to call Baekhyun about his jacket as he mentally prepares himself for six hours of brain melting boredom.

He couldn't have.

5:30 PM

Slinging his backpack, which is now five pounds lighter, over his shoulder, Jongin nearly forgets to open the door on his way out of the detention room. A handful of the other students brush past him as he fishes his phone out to call Baekhyun, since he knows for a fact that he'll die of hypothermia if he attempts to walk home without a jacket. It's not until Baekhyun's voicemail goes off, for the nth time, that Jongin finds himself sighing internally, only to scramble down the hallway when he hears his math teacher approaching. Despite wanting nothing more than to punch the nearest wall over having to endure the six most excrutiating hours of his life, Jongin would be lying if he said that he wasn't at least somewhat relieved, considering he managed to complete every single one of his worksheets. However, Jongin figures that he probably shouldn't give himself too much credit, since there's only so much one can do when their phone is taken away from them, but he can't help the grin that spreads across his face when he stuffs his textbooks in his locker and slams it shut. Next to him, Baekhyun's locker is securely locked and Jongin gives up on trying to peek through the vents when he fails to make out anything.

At first, Jongin opts to wait Baekhyun out, but it soon hits him that Baekhyun might have headed home, given their upcoming math exam on Thursday, so Jongin walks off while contemplating calling Baekhyun instead. He soon decides against it, since Baekhyun is most likely studying (which always puts him in a state in which he's wholly oblivious of his phone's existence), and Jongin figures that he'll just have to it up and walk without his jacket, even though he's aware of the fact that he's risking not making it home alive. The darkening hallways are enough to make Jongin head for the doors and, surely enough, he nearly turns around and runs right back inside the building when an ice cold gust of wind slaps him in the face. However, Jongin scurries down the few steps at the thought of his math teacher possibly spying on him from one of the windows. The biting cold has Jongin pouting to himself, because he sort of wishes that he was sitting in the passenger seat of Sehun's car right now, and the thought makes a pang of heat ignite in his chest to the point that he barely notices his hair blowing in his eyes. A second later, he receives a text from Krystal asking him where they should perform next, but Jongin barely makes it past the first five words before he shoves his phone back in his pocket.

Despite the fiery sensation in his chest threatening to break him out in a sweat, Jongin figures that it's most likely due to the fact that he's probably on the brink of freezing to death, and the thought is enough for him to pick up his feet as he makes his way down the road. It's not until he passes the park behind Baekhyun's house that Jongin feels himself grinning at the sight of the large oak tree in the middle of the orangey area. Its leaves are tinted a dazzling red, and Jongin vividly recalls staring up at the green, leafy mass while he sat hidden behind the trunk, mere minutes after egging Baekhyun's house. Jongin finds himself so wrapped up with reminiscing Baekhyun's subsequent squawk of surprise that he doesn't notice that he's absently wandered into the bike lane, and Jongin hurriedly scrambles back into his lane when a handful of cyclists loudly curse at him. Jongin tries to ignore the faint taste of tobacco making his lips tingle when he runs his tongue across his lips, leaving them brittle when another gust of wind passes.

Jongin shudders when he walks up the steps to Baekhyun's patio, hoping his hair isn't all too messy as he rings the doorbell (thrice, given that his joints are all frozen solid at this point). At first, Jongin wants to groan, since he figures Baekhyun must be studying with earphones in his ears when the door doesn't open. Raising a fist to knock instead, Jongin contemplates waving his arms outside Baekhyun's bedroom window to get his attention, but he dismisses it as he knocks ever so slightly. However, it's not until he hears nothing on the other side of the door that Jongin momentarily considers finding a rock to smash the hallway window with, since he legitimately worries he might freeze to death if Baekhyun doesn't give him his jacket in two seconds.

To Jongin's utter relief, Baekhyun opens the door a crack after what feels like a hundred years. For a second, he only stares at Jongin through his red locks, and it's not until Jongin opens his mouth to speak that Baekhyun briefly disappears from view. Even though he doesn't make a move to open the door all the way, Jongin knows that they've been friends long enough to enter each other's houses without a warning, considering they've done it at least a million times for the past six years. Surely enough, Jongin ends up doing just that, and he nearly cries in relief when the familiar warmth of Baekhyun's hallway engulfs his body like a warm, fuzzy blanket.

Wiping his shoes on the welcome mat, Jongin sees Baekhyun wordlessly looting through the hallway wardrobe, and he figures that he would say something if it wasn't for the fact that his lips are frozen together, so he keeps his mouth closed as he opts to stare at Baekhyun's unbrushed locks. It's not until Jongin catches a glimpse of the fridge door hanging open in the kitchen that he feels his stomach growl, but he doesn't get a chance to ask Baekhyun for a snack when something hits him square in the face.

It takes Jongin a minute to figure out what's going on, and he only blinks when he sees his jacket in his hands. Stomach growling embarrassingly loud, Jongin is about to open his mouth to ask if he can have a sandwich when Baekhyun wordlessly turns on his heel and disappears from view. Jongin ends up standing by the door for what feels like hours until he wonders if he must have interrupted one of Baekhyun's intense homework sessions, since Baekhyun hasn't said a word since he walked in the door. Jongin only blinks when he looks up to see Baekhyun returning from the kitchen, presumably after tending to the fridge door, which is now closed. 

They fall into brief silence until Jongin chuckles under his breath. "I called like a hundred times, didn't you hear?" He bends down to remove his sneakers, only to halt when Baekhyun shakes his head. In a sense, Jongin figures that it's a good thing that he walked in on Baekhyun studying, since he could really use some help cramming for their exam. However, he doesn't even get a chance to reach for his backpack when Baekhyun speaks.

"Must have missed that," Baekhyun mutters, running a hand through his hair. He momentarily makes a move to disappear down the hallway again, but he seems to change his mind as he leans against the wall and crosses his arms across his chest. "Shouldn't you be in detention?" he asks with a pointed look in Jongin's direction.

Jongin blinks. Even though he wants to chuck his shoes off, since his toes are pretty much frozen solid, he finds himself bolted to the floor. The welcome mat rustles when he shifts ever so slightly. "Not anymore-- I mean, I was, yeah," he chuckles sheepishly. "She made me sit with the engineering majors earlier," he adds with a loud chuckle, only to clamp his mouth shut when Baekhyun sends him a glare so dark that he nearly flinches. 

Shrugging, Baekhyun loudly closes the door to the wardrobe. "Serves you right," he says, to which Jongin responds by raising an eyebrow, before he crosses his arms over his chest again. "You look like absolute , by the way, when was the last time you showered?" The lack of sarcasm in his voice has a certain chill traveling up Jongin's spine.

"I didn't have time to fix it," Jongin blurts out as he automatically runs a hand through his hair, which is pretty much stiff as cardboard at this point. Worrying he might starve to death if he doesn't eat soon, he goes on to remove his shoes, but he barely makes it past the first lace when Baekhyun sends him a cold look. "Thanks for inviting-- I mean, I had fun yesterday," Jongin says after a moment of silence as he feels a certain dullness tugging at his gut.

Baekhyun is silent for a minute. "I'm sure you did," he says dryly.

Shivering when he hears the wind howling outside, Jongin keeps his eyes fixated on the cracks in the wall until he blinks. He's sort of surprised that Baekhyun hasn't asked him about Taemin, like usual, and Jongin makes sure to fill Baekhyun in as he goes on to spill the details on his roommate's (annoying) antics. Now, Jongin doesn't know if he's got the icy autumn weather numbing his brain, or simply his hunger, to blame, but he finds himself huffing in exasperation when Baekhyun only continues to stare him down like a hawk. "I'm sorry for disturbing, okay? I didn't know you were busy-- Why're you acting like such a goddamn--" Jongin nearly jumps five feet in the air when Baekhyun growls low in his throat.

"You're one to ing talk," Baekhyun scoffs, effectively making Jongin clamp his mouth shut. "I gave you your , now get out of my goddamn-"

"I'm sorry," Jongin blurts out and absently tightens his grip around his jacket when Baekhyun simply sends him a look. Oh. It's not until Baekhyun goes on to gesture at the door that Jongin suddenly feels like he's been kicked in the chest, and he soon finds himself staring at his untied laces when Baekhyun's glare makes his entire head blank out. "Okay, yeah-- About that--" Jongin scratches the back of his head. "Like, it's-- I didn't see-- I mean, I saw him, but it was super dark and--" He cuts himself off when a clap of thunder nearly makes the walls vibrate, which nearly has him jumping out of his own skin (as opposed to Baekhyun, who remains eerily motionless from his spot across the hallway). "I didn't even know you were-- I don't even know what I-"

"Is that supposed to make this better???" Baekhyun interrupts, glaring at Jongin like he's grown a second head. The sound of rain harshly pitter-pattering against the roof is the only thing preventing them from falling into complete silence while Baekhyun runs a tired hand down his face. "You know what the you did, don't-"

"I know what I did," Jongin exclaims and blinks when he subsequently hears his own loud voice echoing through the house. In fact, he sort of wishes that Baekhyun would move just a bit closer, since Jongin worries his knees might give in if he raises his voice again. "I'm just saying that he-- I mean, everything happened all at once and it just got so weird and--" He swallows the lump in his throat, all while he fights the urge to rip his sweater off before he dies of heatstroke. "I'm just saying that it's more complicated than--" Jongin's voice dies in his throat when Baekhyun emits a noise that sounds like a mix between a scoff and a growl. The rain is coming down so hard at this point that Jongin genuinely worries the roof might give in, but he dismisses it when Baekhyun sends him a look.

Baekhyun shakes his head, gaze so foreign amid his otherwise soft features that Jongin wants to look away. "You tried ing my boyfriend while my back was turned," he spits, running a hand down his face in time to miss the way Jongin visibly flinches from his spot by the door. "It doesn't get any less complicated than that, don't you understand?" One of his red locks falls in his face when he glares at Jongin again, but he doesn't give the latter a chance to respond before he chuckles. "I know you're at some things and all, but I know for a fact that you've got enough brains left to know exactly what the you did wrong-"

"I already said sorry," Jongin huffs, feeling his cheeks heat up in agitation. Despite wanting nothing more than to curl up on the floor and scream at the top of his lungs, Jongin finds himself unable to keep his mouth shut as Baekhyun continues to glare at him with a look that just makes something in his chest ignite. "And how do you think I feel constantly trailing behind you two like some dog?" Jongin blurts out, not even realizing that he just said it out loud until Baekhyun raises an eyebrow. Even though his brain is screaming at him to just keep his mouth shut, Jongin figures that the seven whole hours of being locked in detention must be taking its toll, and ends up doing the polar opposite when he throws his hands in the air. "We barely even talk anymore, we hardly ever hang out since you and Sehun got-- Not to mention all those times you promised you'd watch me practice at the studio, and you expect me to be okay with you never even showing your face, even though you never even bothered letting telling me why--" Jongin cuts himself off to take a breath, opting to keep his eyes glued on his shoes when the incoming head rush nearly has him toppling over. The buzzing in his veins is preventing him from thinking straight, but Jongin can't bring himself to keep his mouth shut when he hears the fierce pounding in his ears. "How do you think I feel after a year of-"

"I'm sorry," Baekhyun scoffs, "have I offended you-"

"This isn't even about Sehun," Jongin retorts, trying to squash the lump traveling up his throat the moment Sehun's name leaves his lips. "This-"

"This is about you realizing that this friendship is over and getting the out of my house," Baekhyun sighs in exasperation as he runs a hand through his now matted hair. He mutters something incoherent in sync with the subsequent clap of thunder, which masks Jongin's growl of irritation.

"You really think that's gonna make things any better?" Jongin squawks, fighting the urge to chuckle as he runs a hand through his hair in agitation. "And I'm the stupid one-"

"I never ing said-"

"If anything, you should be grateful," Jongin blurts out before he can stop himself, but the frustration bubbling in his chest prevents him from turning around, opening the door and walking out. "I mean, it's-- I don't know what the 's been going on between you lately but I've watched you two for the past month, barely speaking a word to each other and whatnot, so if I were you, I'd get off that ing high horse before I fall off-"

"Speak for yourself-"

"-since it's obvious that you need me to make whatever the you have left work out." Jongin has to bite down on his lower lip to the point of drawing blood when he feels his head threaten to split down the middle, but there's something about the way Baekhyun rolls his eyes that has him clenching his jaw in frustration. "If you'd just let me ing tell you-"

"I don't care what you have to tell me, don't you understand?" Baekhyun exclaims, tugging at his red locks in frustration as he kicks one of his sneakers across the floor, and Jongin prays he doesn't end up picking it up and tossing it right at him when his eyes flash with fury. "Don't you ing dare lecture me about Sehun-"

"I mean, I have to, since you clearly never loved him," Jongin blurts out, only to clamp his mouth shut the moment the last word leaves his lips, and he finds himself biting his lip hard enough to draw blood when Baekhyun blinks. The entire house falls into silence, save for the rain coming down above them, and Jongin fights the urge to lean back against the door when he feels his knees starting to give in. Despite the fact that his cheeks must be the same shade as Baekhyun's hair, Jongin can't bring himself to cover his face as he stares at his own sneakers, both of which are still soaked to the brim. "I mean, I figured you wanted an apology-"

"Yeah, well, you ing at apologies, so there's that," Baekhyun spits and Jongin can practically see the black cloud hovering above his head when he emits a long, drawn out sigh. "Go ahead and add that to the list of things you're absolute  at," he tiredly says before he swallows. Baekhyun opens and closes his mouth, seemingly contemplating his next words, before he chuckles under his breath. "I mean, you're free to assume whatever you like, but don't you ing dare stand under my roof and lecture me about my love life when you can barely even get yours together." They fall into silence again, and it's not until Jongin tightens his grip around his jacket that Baekhyun gestures at the door. "Can't you get a hint? Get out already-"

"Why can't we just forget that this whole thing ever happened and just move on?" Jongin huffs, not even bothering processing his words as he stares at a large crack in the wall next to him. "I already said-- I mean, I honestly thought you'd be, y'know, a little more accepting since I'm your best friend and all-"

"So you're expecting me to embrace you with open arms after all this?" Baekhyun deadpans as he stares at Jongin like he's grown a second head. He mutters something incoherent under his breath before he shakes his head. "You're a ing -"

"But I am," Jongin exclaims, only to clear his throat when Baekhyun glares at him. "Your best friend, that is--" He inhales a shaky breath. "I mean, I always thought you wouldn't be so...you know, since you're my--" He half-assedly gestures at Baekhyun, who raises an eyebrow. Jongin opens his mouth, but his words abruptly die on his tongue, so he opts to keep silent as he hears the rain hitting the porch on the other side of the door. Ten feet away, Baekhyun remains unmoving with an unreadable expression, and it's not until Jongin feels his heart beating nearly painfully in his chest that he eventually attempts a smile, but it immediately melts off his face when Baekhyun looks at him.

Baekhyun is silent for a full minute until he scoffs. "That's your excuse?" he asks, mainly himself, not even giving Jongin a chance to respond before he shakes his head. "You don't seem to ing get it, do you? None of this--" He gestures in the air. "--would have happened in the first place if you'd simply kept your goddamn hands to yourself and didn't try to my boyfriend as soon as I needed to take a call-"

"I promise not to do anything," Jongin blurts out, only to bite down on his own tongue when Baekhyun laughs out loud. "I-"

"Gee," Baekhyun chuckles, mostly to himself, as he seemingly inspects his fingertips, "why am I having such a hard ing time believing that-"

"You're impossible, you know that?" Jongin exclaims in exasperation, wishing his legs would move, since his brain is screaming at him to scramble outside right this second. The loud clap of thunder makes him choke on his words, and he doesn't even bother continuing when he feels the buzzing in his veins gradually being drained from his system. Baekhyun's intense gaze certainly isn't helping matters, and Jongin nearly cries in relief when Baekhyun's phone rings five seconds later. Jongin is glad that Baekhyun proceeds to turn around, since all he really needs right now is a few seconds with his own thoughts, all of which seem to have been drained from his head at this point. It's not until a low, muffled voice fills the air that Jongin fights the urge to cling to the wall before he can pass out from lightheadedness. Even though he can't decipher who it belongs to, the static in his head would have made it impossible, anyway, and Jongin opts to awkwardly stand by the front door as he watches Baekhyun's tense shoulders relax ever so slightly.

It's not until another clap of thunder threatens to shake the whole house that Jongin fights the urge to tear his jacket to shreds. The mere thought of Baekhyun possibly telling Sehun everything, right in front of him, is enough to make Jongin fight an impulse to walk over to Baekhyun and smack the phone out of his hand. However, with his feet feeling like bricks, Jongin opts to stay exactly where he is, and it's not until he hears Baekhyun chuckle low in his throat that he throws his hands in the air. "I know it's my ing fault, okay?" he hisses, not even bothering to keep his voice down as he squashes the sob traveling up his throat. Jongin is relieved that Taemin isn't here right now, because he knows for a fact that Taemin would have beat him up about the warm tear rolling down his cheek and staining his lips. It's not until Baekhyun turns around that Jongin scrambles to wipe it away, but he doesn't get a chance to reach for the door handle when Baekhyun speaks.

"Don't do that--" Baekhyun curses while he runs a hand through his hair. He clenches his jaw, clearly making no move to continue when he resumes his phone call. They end up falling into thick silence for nearly two minutes, and Jongin fights the urge to burst into tears when Baekhyun turns around and sends him a blank look. "Can you please just get out of my house already," he deadpans, phone in hand, before he turns back around, just in time to miss the way Jongin stumbles over his own shoelaces twice as he scrambles outside.

6:20 PM

The rain blurring his vision has Jongin missing the keyhole nearly four times, and he hears himself cursing when he finally swings the door open. Simply watching as it slams against the wall, Jongin barely pays the familiar silence of the house any thought as he steps inside and tosses his backpack on one of the chairs lining the walls. It slips off and lands on the carpet with a dull thud, which Jongin barely even registers as he trudges towards the kitchen. Despite every square inch of his body feeling oddly empty, his stomach most certainly isn't, and Jongin doesn't even realize how tightly he's clenching his jaw when he retrieves a box of frozen lasagna from the freezer. Even though his brain is struggling to catch up, Jongin wastes no time in ripping the plastic off before practically tossing it in the microwave. It's not until he's finished setting the timer that Jongin picks up on the faint sound of strumming in the distance. Eyes automatically flickering to Taemin's closed bedroom door across the kitchen, Jongin hears himself exhaling ever so slowly, because despite his chest being on the verge of combusting, he would be lying if he said that the melodic, nearly romantic tune wasn't doing wonders for his pounding head.

Even though he initially swore that he would never admit to Taemin being right, Jongin finds himself rolling up his drenched sleeves as his eyes roam around the dimly lit kitchen. It's not until a certain spark ignites in his chest that Jongin wants to cry, because not only has he never come to Taemin for advice of his own accord, but he knows for a fact that doing so would be worthless, considering Taemin will definitely laugh and slam the door right in his face (not to mention Jongin knows better than to disturb Taemin while he's got his guitar out, anyway). The rhythmic sound of his plate spinning around has Jongin wanting to scream, and he barely even registers what he's doing when he reaches into his pocket and retrieves his damp phone. Momentarily, Taemin's strumming comes to a halt, which has Jongin feeling like he's been kicked in the chest as he hurriedly scrolls through his contact list.

 Taemin's rhythmic seems to come to an abrupt halt when Baekhyun's voicemail fills Jongin's ears, and Jongin tunes out Baekhyun telling him to leave a message after the beep as he swallows the lump in his throat. A thought hits him, and it's not until Taemin's strumming grows louder that Jongin fights the urge to march into Taemin's room, swipe his guitar and toss it out the window. Jongin remains bolted to the floor, though, and he manages to tune Taemin out when he stares at his phone in his hand. The incoming flash of lightning, which briefly illuminates the entire kitchen, has Jongin scrolling through his pretty much nonexistent contact list again until his thumb hovers above Sehun's name. However, it's not until Jongin comes to the realization that Sehun doesn't want to talk to him right now, and probably ever again, that he places his phone on the counter and stares at his feet, which are nearly swallowed up by the darkness. Jongin wants to slap himself when he feels his throat closing up, which is closely followed by Baekhyun's blurred words filling his head, and Jongin doesn't even realize that's he's fished his phone out again until Sehun's voicemail fills his ears.

Taemin's soft strumming is the only thing Jongin hears as he flies up the stairs five at a time, and he barely registers the soft duvets hitting his face when he throws himself onto his bed. Feeling his gut coil, Jongin simply buries his head in the duvets, since he would much rather die of his splitting headache than risk his life by interrupting Taemin's practice session to ask Taemin for advice. Exhaling into the soft material, Jongin looks up, eyes immediately landing on the absolute mess on the sink in the bathroom, which Taemin seemingly hasn't bothered to clean up. It's not until Jongin spots the pot of silver eyeshadow near the edge that he shoves his face back in the duvets and emits a muffled groan. . 

Not even the hail coming down is enough to distract Jongin the can feeling of Sehun shifting underneath him hits him like a tidal wave. One thought quickly leads to another, and Jongin doesn't even bother cursing himself when he reminisces Sehun's body heat enveloping him like a warm blanket while their lips moved against each other's in unison. Jongin has to focus on the fact that he's literally lying in a puddle of rain water when he can practically feel Sehun's hand on his hip, which has his entire torso feeling like it's been set aflame. With the wind howling outside, Jongin remains unmoving as he feels the familiar spark ignite deep inside of him, and it's not until he goes on to imagine Sehun hardening underneath him (which definitely has him cursing himself) that he scrambles off the bed.

The entire house reeks of microwaved lasagna, but Jongin doesn't even bother warning Taemin not to eat his food as he tiptoes into the bathroom. Jongin makes sure to conceal the small, black box underneath his arm as he makes his way back to his room and closes the door. The only thought that flickers inside Jongin's head is the look of utter astonishment on Sehun's face after he answered the door while wearing nothing but a towel (less than ten minutes after ing to the thought of Sehun's body heat enveloping him in the shower). Even though the mere thought makes Jongin want to bang his head against a wall, he finds himself scrambling for the opened box when he worries he might actually die of heatstroke. 

Jongin's thoughts all seem to blur as he feels his pulse quicken by the second, and the next thing he knows, he's staring up at the ceiling, chest heaving, seconds after mewling Sehun's name into his pillow. For a solid minute, all Jongin hears is the pounding in his ears, and he's seconds away from curling up and burying his face in the duvets when his bedroom door suddenly swings open.