Jeno was walking out of his class with Hyuck, who had warmed back up to him again finally. He didn’t know if you spoke to him or what, but he was glad to have his friend back.

“Hyuck, I just wanna say again that I’m sorry and-“

“Just stop apologizing to me, dude. I don’t need your apologies.”

Jeno’s phone vibrated in his hand, and he the screen to see a message from an unknown number. He froze and unlocked his phone with a shaky hand to see a picture of the clock fountain.

He bolted before Hyuck could even ask him what was going on.

--

The area around the clock fountain was busy at that hour. You knew this and used the crowd to your advantage, hiding between them, trying to see if Jeno got the hint.

And soon enough, you saw him jogging up to the fountain, looking around and breathing heavily.

“That was fast,” you said quietly before disappearing into the crowd.

He brought his phone up and sent a text to you, waiting for an answer.

Jeno:

Where are you?

(unknown number)

Gone.

He gripped his phone in frustration and ran a hand through his hair. This was a test. This had to be a test. A test that he was going to pass, even if it killed him.

Throughout the week, you sent him various pictures of places when you knew he was out of class and waited to see how long it would take him to get there.

Jeno always delivered, always out of breath when he got to his destination. He looked around the crowd frantically, trying to find someone, anyone that caught his eye.

And when he didn’t, he would look down to see the same message: 

Gone.

--

“Rumor has it that you’ve been running all over campus for an unknown reason,” Hyuck said as they warmed up for the game. It was one of the last games of the season, and they had a perfect record.

“It’s a test. I know it is. I can’t afford to fail it,” Jeno said in a daze as he automatically brought his glove up to catch the ball Jaemin threw to him.

Jaemin cast a quizzical look at Hyuck who also shrugged, they looked at Mark who gave them a look that plainly said “how the would I know?” but without the because Mark never swore.

--

Hyuck jogged out onto the field and turned to look back like he always did to the spot you always sat in and waved to you. You waved back to him excitedly. He was glad to see you back to your old self again. Maybe you were having a little too much fun leading Jeno out on a wild goose chase for a week.

When it was Jaemin’s turn, he did the same thing, except he jogged backwards and shot hearts in your direction. The crowd screamed, and you let them, knowing those hearts were probably for you.

Even Mark looked back and gave you a small wave before heading out to 2nd base.

Jeno looked up into the crowd from the pitcher’s mound, but his eyes swept over a crowd of people that all blended in together. There were too many people screaming his name and clapping and cheering.

He shook his head, eyeing the batter on the opposing team. He needed to clear his mind and concentrate. Ghostie was probably watching him from the crowd somewhere, and he didn’t want to disappoint.

--

The next picture he got from her was a screenshot of one of her photos, and of course, it was the only one Jeno hadn’t figured out yet.

He had no idea where that was, and he’d been searching since the beginning of baseball season.

Days passed without any word, and Jeno was about to give up hope. He wandered down the aisle of the library towards your usual table and stopped short. He was a little earlier than usual, and it seemed like you were always there early.

He watched you pull your books out, but most importantly, he heard the song you were humming, and it sounded familiar.

He walked up slowly, singing the words to the song, making you look up at him with a surprised expression on your face that turned to confusion as he dropped his backpack on the floor.

“Where’d you hear that song?”

“Hyuck was singing it one day in the locker room,” Jeno said in a daze. Then he felt like time slowed as he turned his head to the bookcase behind him.

There it was.

“Forgotten, but not missed,” he said out loud.

You froze in your seat.

He turned back around, eyes widening.

“It’s you. You’re her. She’s you. It’s you. I- You- This makes so much sense now. How could I have been so stupid?” he whispered. 

You swallowed under his scrutiny. It was like Jeno was seeing you for the first time in his life.

Everything made so much sense. Why Hyuck was so angry with him. You were one of his best friends, and he’d promised to protect you always.

“I’m sorry if I’m disappointing but-“

Jeno held up a hand to silence you.

“How long have you known me, exactly?”

“Um… I’ve known of you since I started going to Hyuck’s little league games when we were little. He found me trying to hit a ball by myself and took me in.”

Jeno blinked a few times and rephrased his question.

“How long have you liked me?”

Your cheeks turned pink as you looked down resolutely at the table.

“High school?” he asked, remembering what Jaemin and Mark had said. “Why didn’t you ever say anything? Why didn’t you ever introduce yourself?”

You let out a breath of air you were holding before biting your lip. You looked up to see Jeno staring at you with an expression you couldn’t understand.

“I was scared. Guys like you don’t notice girls like me. Hyuck introduced me to you once, during junior year. You said hello to me once, and that was it.”

Jeno shook his head. He couldn’t remember it. He was surrounded by so many people in high school.

“It was okay, though. I was okay with supporting you from the sidelines. You were so passionate about baseball. I went to every game to support Hyuck, but I also liked to watch you play. Anyone with an eyeball could tell how much you loved it. And I guess I kind of fell in love with that.”

There you were, sitting right in front of him the whole time, once a week, every week. The more he thought about it, the worse he felt, until he realized-

“You even comforted me that day. The day after I stood you up. You had a smile on your face and everything, like nothing was wrong because I was beating myself up about it. You were comforting me, when it should’ve been me, apologizing to you and comforting you. I’m so sorry. For everything. For being an , for not noticing you sooner. I’m such an idiot. I’m sorry.”

You stared at him for a moment until a small smile appeared on your face.

Jeno was in disbelief. How could you still smile at him like that? He didn’t deserve this. He didn’t deserve you. You, who had watched him from a distance and saw only him, and him, who never knew you existed until you needed a tutor, and even then, he still didn’t really notice you.

“Jeno, you’re gonna be late for practice if you don’t leave now.”

“I’m not going to practice,” he said in a daze.

“You should. The championship game is this week. I’ve passed all my physics exams. I made a B in the class, thanks to you and your hard work.”

Jeno stood up carefully, keeping his eyes on you, making you laugh. “I’m not going anywhere, Jeno. You’ll see me again.”

--

He knows.

Hyuck stared at the text message he got from you and sighed, showing it to Jaemin and Mark.

“Well, that’s that. Is that why he’s late to practice?”

Jeno came running into the locker room, throwing his things into his locker, and dressing out as fast as he could. Coach Minho was counting down the seconds before practice officially started and watched as Jeno skidded onto the field.

“Well, now that your team captain has decided to join us…”

Jeno was distracted during practice, and you could tell as you watched from your usual spot in the bleachers. He was making small mistakes he would never usually make, and Coach Minho was getting frustrated.

Suddenly, he looked up, and you snapped a picture of him. He stood there and stared at you for a moment until you lowered your camera and took off Hyuck’s hat, waving to him before putting the hat back on and raising your camera again.

“She’s always been there,” Hyuck said as Jeno sat down next to him in the dugout, downing some water. “She’s been your biggest silent supporter for years. Been to nearly every game. Seen your wins, your losses.”

Hyuck leaned forward onto his legs with a sigh. “I didn’t like the way she was silently pining over you, so I tried to get her to confess to you, so you could reject her, and she could move on with her life.”

That comment startled Jeno.

“She was my best friend long before I met you guys. And even when we all became friends, I didn’t introduce her to you guys because I wanted to keep her for myself. She’s my best friend. That’s why I was so ing pissed when I found out you stood her up.”

They sat in silence for a moment, watching the other boys.

“I’m not taking her from you, if that’s what you’re worried about.” Hyuck cocked his head at Jeno. Did he reject your feelings after all?

“It’s clear she views your relationship the same way. Those two pictures of you on her portfolio website say everything. I could never replace you.”

Hyuck scoffed. “Not in a million years.”

--

Jeno:

Where are you?

When practice was over and Jeno looked up into the stands, you were nowhere to be seen.

You replied with a picture of the clock fountain, and he bolted out of the baseball stadium, blowing past his friends without another word.

You heard him running up long before you actually saw him. You were staring at the clock, and when Jeno plopped down next to you out of breath, you handed him a water bottle which he chugged in less than a minute.

“You’re here.”

“Yeah,” you said, “not gone. Ask away. You said you had questions.”

Instead, Jeno stood up and gently cupped your face with his hands.

He stared at you for a moment before he spoke. “I just wanted to meet the person that saw through the crowd of people around me to look at me. I wanted to meet the person that knew me better than I even know myself probably without ever speaking to me.”

Then he leaned in and planted a soft kiss on your forehead, making you blush deeply. You could see the tips of his ears turning red as he let go of your face and cleared his throat. You smiled at him and stood up, propping your camera up in the same spot as your previous picture and setting the timer before pressing the button and moving over to him, pulling him over closer to the clock and to you.

“You have five seconds to decide what this picture is going to look like.”

And Jeno leaned in and kissed you as the shutter went off, and when you kissed him back, he wrapped his arms around you so you were right up next to him and broke the kiss for air, pressing your foreheads together with a smile on his face.

“Wear my jersey for the championship game?”

You leaned in and kissed him again.

“Is that a yes?”

Another kiss.

“I could get used to this.”

--

When your boys took the field, the crowd went wild. You were at the bottom of the bleachers right next to the fence, ignoring the pointed looks you were getting from the other girls in the crowd. Jeno’s jersey was a little bit too big for you, but Jeno thought it was the cutest thing, and he didn’t want to leave you to go warm up before the game.

Hyuck turned around and saw you in Jeno’s jersey and shook his head, still waving at you and throwing hearts. Jaemin turned and blew kisses at you while Mark rolled his eyes and waved like a normal person.

When Jeno took the field, he walked backwards slowly, eyes immediately snapping to you. He didn’t know how he could’ve missed you all these years. The happiness on your face while you cheered was more than anything he ever deserved in life.

He made the motion with his hands of watching you before blowing you a kiss, and this time, you knew that was aimed at you.

--

It seemed like the most cliché moment in history. The bottom of the nineth, the batter with two strikes. Jeno just had to throw one more ball, one more strike, and he was out, and they would win.

The crowd was chanting his name, but as he began his pitching ritual, everything was drowned out, and time slowed down for him. Once, twice, three times. He dug his other foot into the mound behind him once, twice.

He took in a deep breath, then broke his routine and glanced into the stands at you, watching him with wide eyes, holding your breath. His eyes moved back to the batter, and as he wound up his pitch, he breathed out.

“STRIKE!”

“Yes!” Jeno fist pumped, a huge smile on his face as his teammates flooded to field to congratulate him. He saw you in the stands, cheering and nearly in tears. Jaemin and Hyuck noticed, immediately carrying Jeno over to where you were and hoisted him up, just so the two of you could reach each other, and Jeno kissed you with a gigantic smile on your face because right then and there, you were the only one he could see.

--

“It’s nice that things turned out well for her,” Mark said, watching as Jeno squeezed you tight while they walked behind you.

“Yeah…” That makes one of us, Hyuck thought with a small sigh. Mark trailed behind him for a moment, and Hyuck was about to turn and ask him what he wanted to eat, but Mark grabbed his hand and pulled him back.

“Ow, Mark, what the , I need that-“

And Mark kissed him. Hyuck’s eyes widened as Mark broke the kiss, and stared at him, trying to gauge his reaction.

“I. Mark. You.” For the first time in his life, Hyuck was actually speechless.

“You’ve drunk confessed to me loads of times,” Mark admitted. “I wanted to see if you would confess to me when you were sober too, or if it was just something you did when you were drunk.”

Mark laughed at the expression on Hyuck’s face and planted another kiss on his cheek. “Come on. I know you’re hungry. Pizza?”

“It’s like you read my mind,” Hyuck said in a daze.