I hope this chapter is refreshing. (Is it almost drabble?) It's a lot shorter too. Phew

Thank you for everything!!! <3

“Jongin, I still don’t get why you did that for me. You’re the best boyfriend… person… ever, I swear to god.  I still can’t believe someone like you could like someone like me. I mean, that was the best thing anyone has ever done for me. You know that, right? Why do you love me? What did I do?”

“Why do I love you?” Jongin finished scribbling the last word to one of his applications, dropped the pencil onto the paper and slightly shook his now cramping hand.

“Maybe it’s your support, maybe it’s your laugh. Maybe I never thought anyone would see me the way you do, but I think it’s because you saved me, so now I’m saving you.”

And so ends August, the hottest of all months, and the most stressful.

~~

The first day of school begrudgingly arrived.

There’s a certain feeling of dominance after graduating any grade. Taemin now saw the sophomores as confused and snobby, and Jongin viewed the juniors as wanna-be seniors—besides Taemin, of course. The incoming freshman wandered around the empty halls, obviously scared and lost. It touched a small part of Jongin’s heart, so he took about ten minutes to direct them to their homerooms, and give detailed directions to their later classes. The freshman gawked at the “cool senior”, and the petite girls giggled to themselves, eyes and smiles beaming with cute boys and gossip.

After he finished, he made his way to the now cleared out tables outside of the front office where schedules were being passed out. He didn’t notice Taemin’s crooked smile which was directed towards the overall adorableness of Kim Jongin. After telling the staff their last and first names, they received the list of their classes. Taemin began bouncing on his toes and peered over to read Jongin’s schedule.

“Hey, hey, what classes did you get?”

Jongin put his fingers to his lips, compared, and contemplated. He then noticed a malfunction and pointed to his second period, then to Taemin’s fifth period.

“Oi, our Speech classes are at different times.”

Taemin yanked his schedule free from Jongin’s hand to see the horrible news for himself. He looked up to Jongin, and they both frowned a little dramatically. “This will ruin my semester.” Jongin agreed.

“No worries. Jongin to the rescue.” He strolled over the table outside of the office and directly went to the most official looking worker.

“Good morning. I was wondering if perhaps my friend and I could change some of our classes?”

The lady peered out from the rims of her glasses. “Is there a problem?”

“No, ma’am. But it would be very…,” he gazed into the distance briefly, thinking of the perfect word, “beneficial for both my friend and myself to be in Advanced Debate together. We were representatives last year together, so it’s necessary for us to stay together. We’re a team. I’m surprised the teacher did not say anything… Ah, here he is now!”

Taemin cautiously stepped a little closer to them, half hidden behind Jongin. He had to admit, Jongin was a skilled liar. Jongin lazily wrapped his arm around Taemin, bringing them side by side, and continued with slight mockery and cockiness.

“We are inseparable, you see.”

“Shutup, Jongin!” Taemin elbowed him in the ribs.

Jongin laughed, a very cute giggle, and the lady marked them down for the same class after asking their names again, which ultimately changed their entire schedule. He waved goodbye to Taemin, and followed the now impatiently waiting Sehun to his first elective. He’s so dumb… Taemin lustfully gawked after him, still feeling like the overanalyzing sophomore he was last year, except with more luck.

~~

Compared to the quick paced days of summer vacation, school time progressed unbearably slow. The tight desks and inflexible chairs were not missed, and neither were the unmoving clocks.

The beginning to each of Taemin’s new classes all began with an into-lecture on just what the class would be like. As if the kids couldn’t already figure it out for themselves. The new classrooms with prison accented walls were no different from last year, but knowing that Jongin had these exact classes made it a little more exciting. Actually, in one of Taemin’s classes, he was greeted by a little message written on his desk.

“Luhan and Kai were here.” And another message that looked more like Jongin’s handwriting: “Luhan smells bad.” A few offensive words were scribbled besides it. Taemin had to wrap his hand over his mouth to muffle his laughter. He felt more uplifted. He hadn’t completely noticed, but Jongin had dissolved his negativity and instead replaced it with a more loving perspective on life. It was a truly beautiful thing, and Taemin would do anything to grasp on to it forever.

Fifth period eventually arrived; the only class Taemin had with Jongin. The same classroom, the same lazy teacher; just a different elective for the higher class. First and sixth were regular classes, second and fifth were for advanced and third and fourth were the highest level.

The door opened to the familiar room, some new faces, but mostly old. A few people Taemin had argued with the year before peered upwards to donate a sneer in his direction. It was amusing, if anything.

Jongin hadn’t arrived yet, and his empty seat rushed memories of unrequited love and butterflies. Jonghyun was there however, and he made that very clear as he waved his arms in the air with undying enthusiasm. “Taeminieeeee!” Taemin shook his head a little, but smiled all the same and sat next to him in the same seats as the year prior. It was like an unsaid assigned seat; the first chair one picks will forever hold a special meaning and comfort for each siting.

The kids finally settled themselves, and Jongin walked in precisely as the bell rang. It was a wonder how he managed to have such perfect timing. Though there were many indescribably perfect things about Jongin. His hair had grown a little longer leaving it more vulnerable to flow as he walked and bounce when he turned his head, and the silkiness of it reflected off of any nearby light source. His torn backpack hung over one shoulder, though he still walked with natural balance and grace. He smiled a little towards Taemin as he sat in his seat, and Taemin could already feel his head spinning and his palms dampening. Sure, he might’ve calmed down enough to be comfortable around Jongin, but some things just never change.

The introductory class began. The teacher droned on about the requirements for that certain class and the rigorousness of it compared to the year before. Jonghyun yawned a little, Taemin stared out the window, but Jongin sat in a decently polite manner and seemed to be paying good attention. The teacher then pulled the same get-out-of-jail-free card as he did last year and left a topic dangling so the kids could discuss and he could relax.

The topic was a little boring and irrelevant to an actual life situation. Jongin rested his head into his hand; he seemed to think this too. After around five minutes, he sighed heavily and turned to face Taemin. He winked, and Taemin froze. Taemin finally winked back, but embarrassed himself which caused him to immediately break their eye contact and look elsewhere with bright cheeks. When Taemin turned to casually glance over at him again, Jongin had already turned his head forward again, flashing his famous crooked smile.

If the year ahead was going to be this torturous, Taemin may not survive.

~~

As fall neared, the leaves warned each other of the upcoming weather and quickly turned a shade of sunset. A few of them began to trickle down to earth in an escape from the constraint of a dead branch.  The seasons always remained so constant, yet Taemin’s mind seemed to change so much. Taemin spoke of this to Jongin one day; explaining that although there is sadness, the birds will still chirp in the mornings and the sun will still rise.

School progressed along with the amount of sweaters and cardigans being bought and worn. On an unexpectedly cold day, Taemin dressed in only a t-shirt and jeans. Jongin wrapped his jacket around Taemin shoulders, and ignored his protests; even though Jongin shivered afterwards.

They weren’t able to see each other as much as they did in the summer. The change was drastic; neither was used to the absence of the other. They sometimes met at Jongin’s house (when given the chance) to work on homework, or lose themselves in each other’s unattended need for attention.

One brisk, Saturday evening, the two sat in the depths of Jongin’s room vigorously trying to finish their growing stacks of homework. Taemin sped through the sheets of work at such an impressive pace, until he began English. Luckily, Jongin spoke English rather decently, so he tried his best to explain the basics and the alphabet, along with the combinations.

“Wait, Jongin. You’re saying this is an ‘A’?”

“Yes.”

“What’s that one then?”

“That’s an ‘S’.”

“No that’s ‘Z.’”

Jongin laughed a little. “I got those confused at first too.”

Jongin watched as the lightbulbs inside Taemin’s mind flickered on, and smiled at Taemin’s random yelps of understanding. This continued for around forty-five minutes or so, until Taemin felt Jongin’s gaze. He looked up a little, but was already met with Jongin’s lips. They kissed for quite some time, until Jongin moved his lips from Taemin’s, and grazed them along his jaw until he reached Taemin’s ear. Taemin shuddered a little at the warm breath, but immeasurably enjoyed and allowed it (voicing his enjoyment as well), until Jongin’s hand began to roam a little further south. Taemin instinctively pulled away.

“No.”

Jongin groaned, sincerely disappointed. “Please can we....”

“No!” Taemin began to get up from the bed, but Jongin latched on to the corner of Taemin’s shirt.

“Tae… you’re making me so… ually frustrated.”

Taemin had to grasp onto the bed to support himself as he just about died of laughter. He spoke through burst of cackles and wiped his damp eyes. “Why don’t you go take care of that in the bathroom?”

Jongin showed a small smile, yet focused his expression again. “I’m serious. I want you.”

“Who doesn’t?”

Jongin sighed and returned back to his work. Taemin actually felt a little bad, and Jongin being so understanding and yielding made it worse. He wished Jongin knew how precious those words meant to him; to know their wanting was mutual. He wished there was something he could do to temporarily make up for it; such as take it off Jongin’s mind.

Taemin suddenly closed Jongin’s English book and threw it to the other side of the bed to purposely annoy him. He kissed Jongin in such a way, any receiver would beg for more. This was exactly what Taemin had planned, for as he began running off and laughing, Jongin came chasing close behind.

In a nutshell, there was never much to be said, for what was never spoken truly meant the most.

~~

Taemin dragged himself through his classes. He zoned out in math, had a staring contest with Jonghyun in history, and slept in English. Therefore, it was outstanding how well he was able to perk up at fifth period.

The kids talked and laughed with one another; as though they hadn’t seen each other in years. Jongin wasn’t there yet, though Taemin learned he would arrive just seconds too late. And he did.

Class began as usual: Taemin blushed, Jonghyun groaned, and Jongin listened. The teacher began the lesson.

“An article featured on New York Times Magazine titled “The Singer Solution to World Poverty” is an idea of wealth by this man Singer. He believes that if we took the wealthy’s excess money and donated it to organizations or families in need, there would be no more poverty. Please share your opinions.”

Taemin was bursting with something to say, though some girl spoke up first.

“That’s idiotic. The families that were poor probably deserve that because they don’t work as hard as the wealthy do. Case closed—that’s an ironic idea.”

Taemin wanted to scream at her, but he calmed his voice. “How can you say that? What the hell do you know about poverty? Some people don’t even have access to an opportunity for jobs. Some were born into suffering. There are children around the world working twice as hard as an average lawyer trying to feed their family.”

“What, you’re saying the wealthy don’t deserve what they get?”

“I’m saying even if they gave excess money, they wouldn’t even notice it was gone. There shouldn’t ever be this extreme imbalance between dying of starvation and prospering in luxuries. The money spent on unnecessary items could save thousands of lives. It’s a beautiful idea, yes. But I will agree that it wouldn’t work.”

Some other kid piped up. “Are you contradicting yourself?”

“No. Do you really think rich and hot headed people would give up their videogame consoles or their marble floorings or their yachts? Not to generalize, but pretty much all of them wouldn’t think twice about risking their diamond chandeliers or Mercedes to some organization that would in no way benefit them. If they did, it would solve a lot of problems. In a fantasy world, that would happen. In reality, it wouldn’t.”

Another other kid half laughed and spoke quietly. “Maybe the poor should just die anyway.”

“I ing hope you’re joking.”

There was a silence.

“You’ve got a big voice for a small body. It’s too bad you’re too much of an idiot to see that—“

“Don’t talk to Taemin like that.” Jongin spoke up. The usual sleepiness of his voice had disappeared, and he now sounded almost intimidating.

The teacher waved his hands in the air. “Yah everybody calm down. We’ll do a reading instead.”

The first wise statement the teacher has made all year. Taemin looked over to Jongin, and they both smiled at each other. Days like these reminded Taemin of his dislike for humanity, but just a smile from his source of hope could alter his opinion within seconds. Perhaps if he kept believing it, he could eventually catch some of Jongin’s wisdom.

The bell rang, and the kids piled out in an excited pack for the last period of the day. As Taemin stepped out of the doorway, he was pulled by his arm into the corner of the hallway. Jongin tightly wrapped his arms around Taemin as Taemin rested his head into Jongin’s chest.

“I’m worried you’re gonna get beat up one day.”

“Eh, maybe. I can fight back.”

Jongin held a little tighter and smiled into Taemin’s hair. “You scare me sometimes.”

Taemin coughed a little. “Aish Jongin you’re squishing me.”

“Until I can feel your heartbeat, I’m not close enough.”

“Oh please.”

Though maybe he was right. Maybe they both needed that small reassurance of the other’s existence and well-being, which calmed them both—which made them smile to themselves throughout the day and give themselves the satisfaction they needed to complete the day without each other.

Until the cycle repeats itself again.