“So how are you enjoying the party?” Ricky enquired as he slumped into a seat beside L. Joe on the lounge. The older boy sent a slight smile to his friend, before glaring at the boys cackling insanely around the room.

“It's alright.” L. Joe commented uncomfortably, looking around himself. He actually felt really left out at the moment. Ricky must've been paying at least a little attention to him throughout the evening, because he promptly stated, “Well you'd enjoy it more if you were drinking too.”

“Would that I could.” L. Joe stated ruefully. Eyeing the drink in Ricky's hand jealously. “What's that supposed to mean? You're legal, why couldn't you drink, if you want to?” Ricky demanded confused.

“Chunji won't let me.” L. Joe supplied, sending a resentful little glare over to the other male, who was currently pretty tipsy, having drunk a fair bit of alcohol on his own. “Oh he's doing that again is he?” Ricky enquired, chuckling to himself. At L. Joe's questioning look, Ricky went on to explain “He always used to try and stop the rest of us from drinking, because he said we weren't old enough. He even tried to restrict CAP's drinking too, saying that he was old enough to know better. It took him ages to realise it wasn't working.”

“You know he was right. You guys shouldn't be drinking.” L. Joe commented, idly. “Of course. Chunji usually is. But it isn't actually illegal for us to drink, you know.” Ricky agreed. “But that isn't the point here.” “If Chunji's so prim and proper about everything then how come he's drinking himself into a stupor as we speak?” L. Jo enquired looking at the other boy, sending him another glare, although this one was more half-hearted.

“My guess, he's upset about something. CAP told him to just go crazy whenever he's upset about something: to just let it all go for a little while. So now, whenever he gets upset about something, this is what he does. But Chunji just can't bring himself to share his problems with the rest of us. He just considers it part of his burden or whatever. I swear, as much as I love Chunji, he is such a martyr.” Ricky commented, with a sigh.

“So he's going to get wasted, on CAP's advice?” L. Joe questioned, doubtfully. Chunji had instructed him not to follow CAP's advice. He'd told him plenty of times that CAP was really only interested in himself, and that he gave bad advice. So why would Chunji be the one following his advice when he knew that it was bad?

Maybe CAP's advice wasn't as bad as Chunji made out. After all, Chunji was a very smart guy. If he thought CAP's advice was a good idea, then shouldn't L. Joe follow his example?

“Pretty much. Normally he wouldn't drink anything so he can keep a good eye on the rest of us, and because he doesn't think drinking should be such a big deal to us. Today must be an exception.” Ricky stated.

“If he's so tipsy then how is he still so damn good at making sure I don't get any?” L. Joe questioned, harshly, his glare getting darker at the reminder. “How many times has he stopped you thus far?” Ricky questioned, amused.

“About 6 or 7 times.” L. Joe responded his glare darkening even further as Ricky let out a loud guffaw at the other boy's expense. “Sorry. Sorry. He's good isn't he?” he questioned. Watching the other boy stagger around drunkenly, waiting for the best opportunity. “Want to try again?” Ricky offered, passing his drink over to the other boy.

A grateful grin overtook L. Joe's features, but before he could get even a drop into his mouth, Chunji had managed to pry the drink from between L. Joe's tightly clenched fingers. “What are you doing? I know you don't believe me right now, but trust me when I say that this is for your own good.” Chunji slurred, struggling to keep his gaze focused on L. Joe's face as he swayed.

“But it's not fair! All you guys are drinking, so I'm the only one left out.” L. Joe pouted, making Chunji smile distractedly, before his words fully sank in. “Who else is drinking?” Chunji questioned, confused, his gaze turning sharply to fall on Ricky beside him, “Ricky? Are you drinking? Is that what he's talking about?” Chunji demanded, sounding surprisingly sober despite the amount of alcohol he'd already consumed.

“I'm sorry Chunji, but Changjo's been doing it too and Niel.” Ricky blubbered immediately, trying to forestall one of Chunji's lectures on alcohol consumption. His flustered explanations did nothing to calm the annoyed boy standing before him. “What is wrong with you? You're far too young to be having alcohol: it'll give you brain damage! If it wasn't okay for L. Joe to have any, what makes you think it's alright for you?” Chunji demanded irately.

“Chill, Chunji. It's not like this is the first time we've had anything to drink, and we've all been drinking in moderation, which won't cause brain damage. It's not going to do any harm for him to have one drink.” Niel reasoned, lightly wrapping his arm around the older boy's shoulder. Chunji coldly knocked his arm away, turning his glare on him instead. “Not helping.” Ricky sighed, knowing that no one heard him, besides L. Joe.

“Don't even get me started about you. You should be ashamed of yourself saying things like that!You're a terrible influence on them. I'll bet it was you who gave them alcohol in the first place!” Chunji argued. Niel shrugged, disinterestedly, “It was.” crossing his arms in front of his chest, as he settled onto the arm of the lounge, knocking L. Joe's arm down into his own lap.

“When are you going to realise that your actions have consequences? Treating alcohol as a harmless necessity for a good time, will come back on you, you know?” Chunji accused, pointedly, his glare quickly snapping over his shoulder in time to catch Changjo trying to sneak another drink out of the fridge. At the look Chunji gave him, he put his hands up in defeat, pacing back over to the other side of the room.

“We know, Chunji. We don't need to have alcohol to have a good time, do we Ricky?” Niel asked, pointedly, a mischievous glint in his eye as he flicked his head in L. Joe's direction. L. Joe looked between the two boys bewildered, trying to work out what Niel had just instructed the younger boy to do, but he couldn't decipher it.

Ricky looked equally lost, until Niel gave a more exaggerated nod in L. Joe's direction. L. Joe's gaze slid to Chunji trying to work out if the other boy had the slightest clue what they were going on about, but Chunji looked even more lost than he did.

Finally the look clicked in Ricky's mind, and an equally devious grin spread across his lips. “Of course we don't. L. Joe and I can have a plenty fun time without any alcohol, right L. Joe?” Ricky chirped, cuddling the other boy's arm close against him, his head resting against L. Joe's shoulder. L. Joe was confused by the sudden comment, completely ignoring the other boy's closeness, long since having gotten used to Ricky's love of hugs and general skinship. “Sure, I guess.” he sighed, knowing that Chunji had no plans of revoking his alcohol ban any time soon.

His comment was greeted by chuckles from Niel, directed towards the boy before them. L. Joe noticed a frown marring Chunji's features as another one of those cute little pouts formed on his lips. L. Joe couldn't help but wonder what caused the saddened look, but he couldn't bring himself to ask. Feeling uncomfortable he tried to shake the younger boy off his arm, but Ricky refused to let go, only pressing in closer with every attempt L. Joe made to get rid of him.

“Stop it! Leave him alone!” Chunji whined, stamping his feet childishly at the display, making Niel cackle harder. L. Joe wasn't sure why but he was pretty sure his cheeks had darkened considerably hearing Chunji's complaint. “I can't help it. L. Joe's just so huggable don't you think? He's so soft and warm, I don't want to let him go!” Ricky teased, his own little pout forming as he spoke, trying to win Chunji over.

Clearly recognising that he was being teased, Chunji stormed off, flopping onto a lounge across the other side of the room, poking his tongue out at the small group, even as he drained another bottle, spitefully.

Niel and Ricky were cackling on either side of him, but still L. Joe's eyes remained firmly fixed on the boy opposite him, wanting to be sure he was okay. Chunji seemed to brood to himself for a few moments before getting swept up in a conversation with CAP, turning on his side to be able to continue their conversation more comfortably.

“Sorry L. Joe.” Ricky murmured, shuffling away from him again, once he was sure that Chunji was no longer watching them. L. Joe wanted to be able to say that it was okay, but he still wasn't a hundred percent convinced that it was. “I only did it because Niel told me to.” he explained, pushing any potential blame onto the older boy's shoulders.

Niel shrugged, apparently not caring one way or the other, about what Ricky had said. “That was brilliant.” Niel exclaimed, his smile not fading, even though his laughter had died down. L. Joe frowned, finding himself a little annoyed by the two boys beside him, all of a sudden. They involved him in their little game, to annoy Chunji. Despite his success, he wasn't even sure why their little game had annoyed Chunji as much as it had.

Detecting the negative turn of L. Joe's thoughts, Niel was quick to lean down and explain himself. “Sorry L. Joe, but we couldn't resist. Chunji's just too cute when he gets all possessive. Even cuter when he's sulking.” L. Joe considered Niel's explanation, his eyes drifting over to the other boy, as he considered what he'd said. “He did look pretty cute.” he agreed, still he felt a little uncomfortable about the whole thing. It felt cruel to tease Chunji, when he knew how much the older boy did for them.

But then, L. Joe always thought Chunji looked cute.

- -

Silence aded the dark room, making L. Joe feel even more uncomfortable with the situation. The room was pitch black, after Chunji had turned off the lights a few minutes ago. He knew it was late, and that he should get some rest, but L. Joe felt too restless to sleep, knowing that Chunji was laying only a few centimetres away from himself.

He could literally feel the heat rolling off the other boy.

They were in Chunji's bed. They'd spent a few hours dancing around to music, chatting all while intermittently watching a movie before they'd decided to break up for bed. From what L. Joe could gather, it was just accepted that Niel would be sleeping in CAP's room. Dazedly, he'd found himself drawn into a game of rock, paper, scissors, which he won.

Ricky pouted, and Changjo shrugged the matter off like it was nothing, both boys retreating to one of the lounges the boys had occupied for most of the evening, as L. Joe was dragged into Chunji's room.

Apparently they'd been playing for the bed.

So now, L. Joe found himself lying there, almost unforgivably close to the older boy, who he assumed was sleeping soundly. He wasn't used to being so close to Chunji, and he'd never been there when the other boy was asleep before. It felt strange to know that he could do something to the other boy right now, and he would never know. His earlier thoughts about Chunji being cute, and his more common reflections on Chunji being the most attractive member of their little troupe, now came back to bite him. Hard.

“You should try to fall asleep ASAP. If you're not asleep within ten minutes of lights out, you'll be awake for at least another hour.” Chunji advised, his tone sounding only marginally more sleepy than L. Joe's own.

Apparently, Chunji was still awake too.

“You say that, and yet you're still awake too.” L. Joe pointed out, lightly, puzzled over Chunji's advice. “It would've been selfish of me to fall asleep before I gave you that little tidbit of advice.” Chunji countered, his words closely followed by a yawn.

“Why won't I be able to go to slee—” L. Joe began only to be interrupted by the sound of a low moan that rumbled through the apartment, and made his cheeks flush darkly in an instant. “That's why.” Chunji answered, with a soft snicker, L. Joe knew was at his own expense. Chunji must've been able to feel his awkwardness or something.

Another moan vibrated throughout the place, this one much deeper than the last, but something told L. Joe that they would soon get pretty intermingled.

If L. Joe felt uncomfortable before, that awkwardness had quadrupled now. There was no mistaking the sound of coming from the room across the hall: the noises reverberating around their small room, and echoing in L. Joe's own ears.

It was all he could hear, the silence providing nothing to muffle the sounds coming from nearby. He didn't need the names to know who was who, and the thought of what his new friends must've been doing to one another to extract those noises, only made him feel more flustered. He couldn't decide whether it was because he was uncomfortable with thinking about his friend's lives, or because he was getting a little aroused by the sounds himself.

He sincerely hoped it was the former. He wasn't sure what he could say to excuse the latter.

The soft rustle of the sheets, telling him that Chunji had turned to face him, only made L. Joe want to run and hide, from his own embarrassment. Despite knowing the other boy couldn't see his face and thus wouldn't know for certain whether L. Joe was embarrassed or not, he still felt unnaturally exposed to the other boy's scrutiny.

“Sorry about this. The two of them kind of have this thing.... You just sort of get used to it after a while, and just pretend it never happens. Unless.... Does this bother you, L. Joe?” Chunji asked, concerned.

L. Joe wasn't a hundred percent certain how he was supposed to respond to a question like that. He had a feeling that his answer would apply to more than just this incident, whatever he chose to say. The thought worried him. “Apart from the fact that they're stopping me from going to sleep, and are incredibly noisy, no it doesn't bother me.” L. Joe stated, making sure to raise his voice when he called them noisy, in the vain hope that they would hear what he said, and quieten down.

Chunji chuckled, sounding relieved. “You should feel lucky: this is their version of being quiet.” Chunji snickered, sensing L. Joe's horror, rather than seeing or hearing it. “I'm so used to it, I completely forgot that they'd do this when I invited you. I was a little worried it'd made you uncomfortable.” he confessed.

“It does, but not in the way I think you were referring to.” L. Joe commented lightly, feeling a little more comfortable now that they were speaking to one another again. He found that he could block out the sounds of lovemaking coming from the other side of their bedroom door, when they were speaking to one another. It didn't completely solve the problem, but it certainly made things a little bit more comfortable for him.

“Oh?” Chunji questioned, sounding amused. “Yeah. It's uncomfortable in that it makes you intensely aware of the fact that your friends are having . It's only a tiny bit better than that moment when you realise that your parents had to have to be able to make you.” L. Joe explained, shuddering slightly at the image. “Not in that whole, two guys kind of way.” L. Joe murmured softly, kind of hoping that Chunji wouldn't hear him, but feeling like it needed to be said all the same.

As their conversation drifted away, the sounds of lovemaking from next door intensified, making both boys feel more uncomfortable now that they were facing one another. Scrambling for something to say, that would drown out the noise, his earlier conversation with Ricky came back to his mind, and he found the words tumbling from his lips before he had time to question whether he should ask or not. “Is there something wrong? Is something bothering you?”

He had a feeling Chunji was looking at him intensely. It made him want to return the look, but he couldn't figure out where the other boy's face was in the darkness. He told himself he shouldn't expect anything in return for his question. Ricky had said that Chunji refused to talk about his problems with the rest of them: that he kept everything to himself. True enough, none of the guys seemed to have any idea what was bothering Chunji, even if his behaviour had told them that something was indeed wrong.

A darker part of himself, wondered if any of them had even cared enough to try finding out what was wrong with Chunji, or if they just assumed that Chunji wouldn't tell them and so there was no point in even asking.

After a moment's hesitation, Chunji seemed to have reached his decision regarding what he planned to do about L. Joe's question. “Were you planning on meeting up with CAP the other week, without telling me?” he asked, his voice hushed as though he didn't really want to ask, but hadn't been able to bring himself to keep quiet either.

A small part of L. Joe wanted to feel a little angry at Chunji's question irked by the implication that he needed Chunji's permission to hang out with CAP. That he was just a little kid, whose every movement had to be recorded.

But for the most part it made him feel conflicted. Part of him was elated to know that Chunji cared enough to be interested in him, and what he was doing. Part of him was just worried that he might've angered the other boy: that he'd done something wrong by agreeing to hang out with CAP. Despite how much he'd wanted to have some private time with CAP, the thought that Chunji might not approve, made him feel guilty.

Chunji was his best friend, after all.

His mouth felt dry as he owned up to what he'd been planning. He felt like he was confessing to a crime, but the thought still seemed ludicrous. Why would Chunji remain friends with someone, he thought it criminal for anyone to befriend? “Yes I was. We made plans to meet up the other week.” he answered, feeling like he couldn't breathe as he waited to hear what Chunji's response would be.

“I see. I figured as much.” Chunji murmured, but L. Joe was pretty sure he could hear disappointment in Chunji's voice. It made his heart hammer painfully in his chest: he never wanted to be a disappointment, especially not to Chunji. He'd always made out that there was nothing L. Joe could do to make him regret befriending him: why did it seem as though making an attempt to make friends with CAP seemed to ruin that?

“But don't worry: our plans fell through and we have not made any plans to reschedule.” he stated, hesitantly, trying to console the older boy in the hopes that he might suspend any rebukes Chunji might have in store for him. It kind of annoyed him to think that he felt so guilty for something that theoretically wasn't even a bad thing.

Unless Chunji thought he was only being nice to him so that he could use him to get to CAP. The thought made his heart seize painfully, his hand subconsciously drifting to rest on his chest. Yes, he'd been aware that Chunji was CAP's best friend when he'd started talking to him, and he'd been almost obsessively in love with his idol, but the thought had never occurred to him to use Chunji like that. He'd never dared dream that Chunji would befriend him, or would plan on introducing him to his other idols, once he did so. He'd always seen Chunji as his own person: even when he was one of the idols. He'd always had his own personality, that L. Joe had enjoyed, he hadn't faked anything with Chunji.

But the knowledge that he had no way of making Chunji believe him about that, if he ever doubted him, left him feeling helpless.

“I'm glad.” Chunji mumbled, knowing that L. Joe would be able to hear him, despite the increasing noises coming from the other couple. At leas they'd be done soon, so he and L. Joe could go to sleep.

“I hate being left out of the loop about things. Everyone expects me to clean up their mess for them, but I can't do that unless I know what's going on. CAP's the worst of them all. I've told you before how self-absorbed he is: he never thinks about other people or the consequences of his words and actions. He leaves nothing but loose ends wherever he goes. I don't want you to be one of them.” Chunji revealed, with a sigh.

L. Joe felt touched by the concern for him, his sympathy for his friend doubling at the tone of his voice when he spoke. He sounded so tired: so worn out from taking care of everyone else. It only made him feel a little more wary about CAP in general. The more he heard Chunji speak about the other boy, the more his idolised radiance seemed to dull. But he was still awe inspiring to him.

“While I'm grateful for the concern, you don't have to worry about me. I can take care of myself.” he assured the other boy.

“Yeah.” Chunji mumbled, telling L. Joe that he didn't believe him in the slightest, but he didn't have the heart to argue with him over the matter. Chunji spent all his time worrying about other people: looking after other people, of course he was going to think that. “So what were you guys supposed to do, anyway?” he questioned, tiredly.

L. Joe couldn't resist the teasing grin that made it's way to his tired lips, making his cheeks ache at the reminder of how much he'd been smiling earlier, despite knowing the other boy couldn't see it. “Oh, you mean you don't already know? I would've thought that with all your secret spy techniques, you'd already found out everything there is to know about the whole thing.” he teased.

“I don't have secret spy techniques.” Chunji scoffed, but L. Joe could tell he'd made the other boy smile too. “You must. How else did you know about the meeting I was going to have with CAP? I mean, no offence or anything, but it was supposed to be a secret, especially from you.” he pointed out, intrigued.

“Nobody can keep secrets from me. It's my job to know everyone's secrets.” Chunji huffed, defensively, pausing as though he had no intentions of elaborating on his methods, until a particularly loud moan from Niel filled the gap he'd left. Immediately after that he started speaking again, and L. Joe found himself wondering if the other boy was blushing. “I just pick up on things that's all. Subtle things. Looks, odd comments, sudden reactions that sort of thing. Your mood picked up, and you kept looking at CAP a lot more than usual, then you were so down after Friday, I had a feeling something had happened, that's all. But I can't read minds or anything.” Chunji explained hastily.

L. Joe rubbed his face, a little disappointed to know that he was so easy to read for the other boy. But then again. With how much practice he'd gotten, he supposed he shouldn't be surprised. He had a feeling that getting things out of CAP or Niel would be like pulling teeth out, but Chunji seemed to manage. Compared to that, he was probably easy to read. Feeling like he owed it to the other boy to explain, since Chunji had answered his own question, he managed to pull the words together. “He found me messing around on my laptop after class, and invited me to come round and help him put together a song.” he explained, feeling self conscious at the thought of what Chunji might think of him and his little revelation.

“And then he forgot all about you?” Chunji questioned, as though he already knew exactly what had happened: as though he'd been there himself. “Yeah. How did you guess?” L. Joe asked, kind of wanting to smack himself when he thought about what he'd said. Of course Chunji would know all about CAP's habits. “Easy. He's forgotten all about me plenty of times when he was supposed to come get me from various places. Invariably, I ended up walking home. Now I just drive myself, so everyone gets me to come get them. They know I won't forget about them. That's why I was going to get Changjo that day I gave you a lift home.” Chunji explained.

“So, what were you doing with your laptop that caught CAP's attention?” Chunji enquired, curious. “I was just messing around on my music maker program. Nothing special.” L. Joe answered, nervously. “Have you made any songs or anything, that you've kept?” Chunji asked, softly, sounding hopeful.

“Yeah sure. I've got a few.” L. Joe answered instinctively. He was lying, he had heaps. In various stages of completion to be sure, but there were a lot more than his words implied. “Could I maybe, listen to them sometime?” Chunji asked, sounding nervous, as though he were convinced that L. Joe was going to say no, or rebuke him for being weird or something.

“Sure” he responded bashfully, feeling a little embarrassed by the thought that Chunji would be listening to his music. But at the same time, he couldn't help but grin, excited by the prospect of getting the other boy's opinion of his work.