Stuck with nothing to do and no one to talk to - since all his friends had agreed there was no point in spending time with him anymore - Taemin found himself at a loss as to what he could do to pass the time. His boyfriend had bailed on him, and even though it wasn't the first time this happened, he still felt equally as disappointed as he had the first time. He was only a junior, just fresh out of the freshman year, and that meant he had never really experienced love until it came to him in the form of Kim Kibum.

Lee Taemin hadn't given much thought as to what his uality was. He didn't have the dilemma of swaying between liking two genders, nor did he have the confusion of it all. He just woke up one day, found out that he liked both girls and boys (after some signs of course), and didn't question it. If that's how he felt, then to hell with everyone who didn't like it - his feelings mattered, his opinion mattered, and his preferences mattered. He knew that.
He hadn't come out to his parents yet simply because they were a bit too religious to take the news well; they would never have thought their precious son liked boys.
No one really noticed Taemin's change in uality (albeit a small change) except for one senior in particular - Kibum, the school's most prominent diva. It was obvious the first time Taemin had seen him that Kibum was gay; just his feminine ways gave it away pretty easily. The diva had taken the younger brunette under his wing for his freshman year and since then they had been friends - after some outings and even some dates, it was quite obvious that both of them liked one another and they both agreed it would be good to date. Nothing romantic or special, really. Or, not to Kibum anyway. For Taemin, it was the best thing that could've ever happened to him and his heart; he had never fallen in love until then, and he liked the unfamiliar butterflies that came with it. Maybe it was a bad idea for someone so innocent in love like Taemin to be dating someone like Kibum, but neither of them thought too much about it.

Will I get to see you soon, hyung? Could we maybe go on a date sometime? [18:28]

It was a desperate attempt at seeing his boyfriend, but Taemin had to try. Kibum never really answered his texts since he was often busy with something else, but Taemin could wait. The younger one would do anything to make the older one happy with him.
There was almost an instant reply.

I'll see if I have some spare time, babe. Sorry I had to cancel tonight. I'll make up for it, promise. xoxo [18:30]

Maybe the brunette found it a little unfair that he was willing to give up so much time for Kibum when he couldn't get the same treatment. Maybe he felt resentful at times that he gave up all his friends for Kibum when the older one could never do the same. But he knew in his heart that the diva loved him...or at least, that's what he had convinced himself to believe. He always felt bad when he doubted the senior's feelings for him, but how could he not when he was often left eating alone in the cafeteria when Kibum decided he wanted to be with his friends? Weren't people in love supposed to be together all the time? Maybe that was only the junior's ideaology, but he was too stubborn to admit it.

He chucked his phone on the bed in front of him. There was no point in answering that text since he knew the diva wouldn't reply until tomorrow morning or even afternoon. It was sad really, but there was nothing Taemin could do about it.
Suddenly, there was a ping from his phone. Could it be Kibum buzzing him to answer? Did the older one maybe have a few minutes to spare? Taemin suddenly felt his heart soar and he grabbed his smartphone at the speed of light, only to have his face fall in disappointment when he saw who the message was from.

Hey! You busy? :) [18:37]

It was Jinki, one of Taemin's senior friends. He usually had time, so why didn't Kibum? The only thing Kibum had to do after school was the occasional drama club rehearsals whereas Jinki had some more things to do such as tutoring other students and helping Jonghyun, one of their mutual friends, with some articles for the school newspaper. If he had such a busy life and he still texted Taemin and hung out with him often, then why couldn't the brunette's own boyfriend do that? It just didn't seem fair, and just the thought put Taemin in a sour mood.

Not really...why? [18:40]

Maybe we could go to that new chicken place that opened up just down the road. Yeah? [18:41]

Taemin wanted to cuss out his friend for thinking of eating some chicken right now when the junior felt so low, but Taemin also knew the older male didn't know much about Taemin and Kibum's relationship. The younger brunette just felt more comfortable with their relationship's inside jokes or secrets or fights not being known by everyone. Therefore, Jinki didn't really know how busy Kibum was and how he didn't have much time for the junior.

Sure. I'll meet you there in 5. [18:45]

The brunette pulled his clothes on rather lazily as he prepared himself mentally to meet up with a friend - he had only hung out with Kibum for the most part, so not meeting him felt weird. But Taemin was sure even something as small as this would cheer him up a little, so he didn't want to say no. Jinki was like an infectious disease of happiness; he didn't really have to do much with or for someone for them to feel cheered up when they were around him. It was something Taemin needed right now.
He fixed his long sleeved grey shirt and his sweatpants with his sneakers before he went downstairs. He still stayed with his parents, and vowed he would move out as soon as he reached college, so he had to be quiet as he exited the house.
The wind was cold as it lashed against his cheeks, turning them a rosy red color. His brown hair got thrown around wildly without remourse, but he didn't try to fix it. He was only going to meet Jinki, so he didn't need to look perfect. Not like he would for Kibum, anyway.

The junior was somewhat happy this new chicken diner was open 24 hours a day, unlike most places around here. Taemin lived in a neighbourhood where most stores closed around 5 PM, which was hardly any fun when he wanted to go on some late night adventures when Kibum was up for it. The only place they could really go was to Taemin's house and spend the night there, though they couldn't do much with the junior's parents always checking in on them. It wasn't that Taemin's parents suspected anything, it was just that he didn't want them finding out somehow. He wanted to tell them in his own time, when he felt ready enough to do so.

He stepped into the warm chicken place, and sniffed appreciatively at the smell of crispy chicken. Even the way it crackled when it got dipped in oil made his insides tingly; he had a special love for chicken due to Jinki. It tasted good, it looked even better, and it smelled fantastic too. There was just no way a person could go wrong with this type of meat.

He sat down at the table where he saw Jinki was.

“I'm here,” He chimed out, and the older one smiled that killer smile. He never failed to make Taemin feel happy (or at least better in this situation) with that grin.
“So quick,” He was being sarcastic now, and Taemin gave a deft sarcastic “haha” but smiled anyway. It was hard to be angry at such a happy soul.
“I called to make sure you're okay,” Jinki said. He wanted to know Taemin had friends, even without Kibum being around that often. Even when the junior dumped all his friends, Jinki wanted to make sure the younger one knew he had options.
“Okay? Why?” The brunette asked with a tilt of his head, just a little confused as to why his hyung called him out here for a therapy session.
A waitress stopped by to take their orders, very obviously flirting with Jinki (though he didn't take note of it much, either because he was slow or maybe just not interested), and then disappeared.
“Well, I know Kibum canceled on you and...” The older one was wondering if it was a good idea telling his friend this, but he had already opened his mouth so why not carry on?
“And?” Taemin pressed. Did Jinki know something?
“And I know you don't have that many friends to turn to. So I wanted to know if you were okay,” Jinki quickly finished and then smiled at the waitress who dropped off their two milkshakes. Chocolate for Jinki, and banana for the younger male.
“Thanks,” The brunette muttered - being reminded of the fact that he wasn't wanted around his friends made his heart sting, but he understood it was his own fault. He was the one that pushed them away, so...
“I mean that in the nicest way possible,” The senior added on the end, just to clarify that he wasn't mocking or blaming Taemin for anything.
“I know,” Was the answer. The junior truly did know Jinki was just trying to be nice, and he appreciated it a lot.

But there was something else bothering the older one, Taemin just had a knack for noticing it, and he sighed while nibbling his straw.
“What's wrong, hyung? I can see something's on your mind,” He said and Jinki internally wanted to hit himself. Damn him and his easily noticeable emotions!
“Just school. It's tough being a senior,” It truly was one of his stresses, but another one was just breaking his heart. To see Taemin being used in such an awful way, it really just ripped Jinki apart inside not to tell him. But could the younger one handle the truth? He was so in love with Kibum, how would he take that kind of news? Jinki didn't know.
“I hear you,” The younger one answered and stirred his milkshake with his straw. High school really was a stressor, even for the junior.

There was silence. Jinki was beating himself up over the fact of whether or not he should just tell Taemin what was going on, and Taemin was worrying about his school year. His grades weren't low at all, but that didn't mean that didn't worry him.
“Do you think Kibum's proud of me for doing so well?” The brunette had to ask, and Jinki almost wanted to dry heave. He hated the love talk about the younger one who didn't even deserve the love he was given.
“I guess,” The black haired one grumbled and took a long gulp of his milkshake. The coldness of it against his throat made his eyes water, but he didn't care.
“Why do you like him so much, anyway? He's pure poison, Taemin,” The older one sounded bitter even to himself, and the younger one furrowed his eyebrows. Seeing Jinki like this was rare, and it was alarming.
“Why do you say that? Kibummie isn't poison,” Didn't Jinki know how much the diva loved Taemin? He would never do anything to hurt the brunette. So why did the older one look as if he ate something bad the moment Taemin said those words?
“You don't know him like-” Jinki's voice was suddenly loud, and he took a breath to calm himself, “you don't know him as well as you think you do,”
The senior had concluded that it was best to tell Taemin just of what Kibum was doing behind his back, but the brunette had suddenly grown angry. Angry enough not to want to hear what his friend had to say. There was no one on this earth that would be able to change Taemin's feelings for his Kibum, and he wouldn't let anyone try either.
“No! I won't listen to you!” He said almost like a brat, and then stood up angrily before the food could even come. His milkshake wasn't even half finished (and it was good, he somewhat regretted he had to leave it), but he didn't care. Jinki could pay for it.

He stomped out of the diner before his hyung could say another word. Everyone thought Kibum was bad for him, like some kind of harmful drug, but they just didn't know how good the diva could treat the brunette. No one understood how good they were together. They were meant to be together! They were soulmates! Taemin was sure of it.
So why was Jinki so adamant on telling the younger one something bad about Kibum? Taemin knew from experience that the senior wasn't someone who would purposely try to hurt others, so why would he make up lies just to split Kibum and the junior up? It didn't make sense.
Unless...
Unless Kibum was really doing something that Jinki knew about. But the senior wouldn't do anything to hurt Taemin, he knew it.
Or did he?

“Taemin-ah! Wait!” Jinki had to tell Taemin just what Kibum was getting up to, but the younger man was almost sprinting back to his home. He didn't know what to believe, what to do. It somehow made sense that Jinki wanted to protect him, but at the same time, it didn't. Kibum loved Taemin, what bad could he possibly do?
“Leave me alone! You're just trying to split us up, aren't you? So you can have him all to yourself!” The brunette was facing Jinki again, and the older one caught up pretty quickly now that the junior had stopped his escape.
“Why would I do that? You know I don't see him that way!” Jinki tried to explain. Taemin looked as if he was about to break down into sobs, and he didn't even really know why. There were so many reasons. Was Kibum really doing something bad? Was Jinki trying to get rid of Taemin? Did he just want to help, or did he really want Kibum all to himself? Would he lie like that? Was Jinki capable of that?
“No, no...you want me to leave. You want him. That's it. You want him,” It was the only thing that made sense, and that was all Taemin could mumble out. Half to make Jinki confess, and half to convince himself of it.
“I don't want him! This is crazy!” The older one could feel his feelings coming out, and he didn't want it. The brunette was just so innocent, so pure, and so in love, that Jinki couldn't handle the fact that he was being toyed with. He was just a kid, for God's sake! Kibum knew Taemin had never been exposed to love, yet he was pulling and pushing the brunette away all the time.
“You don't know him. You think you do, but he's only showing you a side he wants you to see so you'll stay with him. Can't you see? Why would I want him? He's a snake, he's lying to you, Taemin! He always has been!” The older one placed his hands on Taemin's shoulders and looked into the other one's eyes, “you have to believe me!”
“No!” The brunette yelled out. Everything was just too confusing.
“When last have you two gone on a date?! He's playing you! You're so in love with him when he only wants you around sometimes,” Jinki's eyes closed slightly from the sadness he suddenly felt. Taemin was so stubborn, and he was so convinced Kibum was this pure angel...but he hadn't seen what Jinki had seen that one night.
“Shut up, shut up! I don't believe you! You're lying to me!” Taemin sounded like a madman, even to his own ears, but he couldn't help it. He didn't want to listen anymore. He wanted to curl up in his boyfriend's arms and have Kibum tell him everything would turn out okay. To have his hair , to hear those loving words. There was no way Kibum was doing something bad, he just loved the younger one too much.

Jinki couldn't take the despair wrenched in his heart anymore, and before he could even control himself, his lips were planted on the younger one's.
He wasn't sure when he had fallen for Taemin - during one of their study sessions, or during one of their late night chats? During the times when Jinki would have time to spend break time with Taemin at school and Kibum wasn't around? - but all he knew now was that he wanted to protect the brunette from the harm Kibum would bring him and his precious heart.
The junior didn't know how to react; the only person he had ever kissed was Kibum, and even then, it wasn't often. He had little to no experience in this, but he knew a kiss wasn't meant to be this hard. It made his lips hurt, sting, and he didn't like it one bit. Kibum's kisses were always soft, always warm, not like this. Taemin didn't want it.
He whimpered out eventually as he stood frozen, just letting his hyung's lips ravage his own. The cold around them had intensified, and now the junior's cheeks were red not from embarrassment or shyness, but really just from the wind. It even whipped his long brown hair around crazily, like a psycho was tugging on his strands from all directions. He wondered if a person could get blown away by the wind.

Jinki pulled away. How long had he been kissing the younger one? Taemin's lips were red and swollen now, but he hadn't kissed back for even a second. What had possessed the older one, really? Did he really think this was a good idea? It obviously wasn't.

“You...” Taemin was at a loss for words. They were best friends, right? So why had the senior kissed him?
“Why did you do that?” He finally croaked out, and his hands tightened into fists by his sides. His knuckles turned white as he fought back the angry tears.
“I don't...I don't know. I'm sorry,” The older one couldn't really say anything else except sorry. He had never forced anything on someone before, yet he just forced a kiss on the object of his affection. He felt wickedly guilty about it in retrospect, and he almost wanted to run just like Taemin wanted to before.
“This is why you're trying to make Kibum look bad? Because you like me?” It made sense now, it really did. Jinki was making up lies about the senior so he could get with Taemin. He wasn't looking out for the younger man, he was being selfish! And this was like a date to him too, probably! It made Taemin even more furious.
“N-no! That's not it at all! I'm trying to protect you, and let you know you're not alone in this! You isolated yourself from everyone for him, when you shouldn't have. But I'm still here for you, and I'm sure Minho and Jonghyun are too,” That was the main point of tonight, to let Taemin know he wasn't alone, and now everything turned weird.
“Liar!” The brunette cried out and disappeared before Jinki could even think of catching up.

It took all of the junior's self control not to slam any doors when he got home since his parents were probably deep in dreamland now. He collapsed on his bed and thrashed about like a child throwing a tantrum as the angry tears leaked out. How could Jinki betray him like this? Jinki knew how much Kibum meant to Taemin, yet he did this. How long did he like the younger one? Even though the brunette knew he was supposed to be flattered that someone liked him, he just felt odd. Especially that it was his close friend. Was their friendship a lie?
He didn't know. But he was somewhat glad they all were still there for him. Minho, Jonghyun...they were nice, Taemin liked them. But he missed his old friends too, like Jongin, and Lucas and Mark. They had been quick to ditch Taemin when he refused to give them a lot of time. It hurt, and Taemin blamed them at first, but he soon got over it. It was his fault anyway, even if he didn't want to admit it.

“Kibum?” A sniff, “Kibum hyung, it's me,”
He decided to call his boyfriend when his little temper tantrum was done. He had to tell his boyfriend of what just happened; it would be a crime if he didn't. What if Jinki somehow changed the story around to make it seem like Taemin was the one who kissed him? Even though the older one didn't seem like the type of person to do that, he also didn't seem like the person to like someone like Taemin.
“Baby? What's wrong?” Kibum sounded breathless, and Taemin was almost completely sure he heard a grunt in the background.
“I-I went out with Jinki, and then...then he said you were doing something bad...” It all made the junior choke up again, and he gulped down the tears as he heard some rustling in the background. “What are you doing, hyung? Are you with someone?”
“What? No. What happened?” The senior replied quickly, and there was silence.
“He kissed me,” Taemin whimpered out, “he kissed me, hyung. I didn't want it,”
“Did he tell you what this ‘bad thing’ was?” Kibum didn't even seem to be so interested in the fact that his boyfriend got kissed by someone else, and it made Taemin somewhat angry.
“No,” He replied curtly, and then gritted his teeth, “do you even care that he kissed me?”
“Of course I do. But I just wanted to hear what kind of nonsense he's trying to put into your head so I could talk to him about it. He's trying to split us up, baby, you see? You know I'd never hurt you,” Kibum's voice was like dripping honey, so warm and sweet that it made the junior melt immediately.
“Of course, Kibummie hyung. I'm sorry that I bothered you. It could've waited until tomorrow,” The brunette nodded somberly, happy that Kibum seemed worried about him.
“No, no, thank you for calling to tell me. I'll fix this, don't you worry,” He said, and Taemin sighed from relief. “Thank you,”
“You need to rest now, please,” The older one said and Taemin nodded, falling into the blissful thoughts of what they could do when they were together again. The younger one really wanted to kiss his boyfriend again.
“Sure, hyung. Good night,” He ended the call and rolled up in his sheets with a smile - just the little bit of concern he got from his boyfriend made him feel giddy. How could he ever doubt the older one? Kibum obviously loved him.

And that was all he needed to know.

𝙃𝙞𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙧 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙪𝙘𝙞𝙛𝙚𝙧.