"This is awesome!” Nari yells.

Her voice carries over the music and the cheers directed at Day6 on the Catharsis stage. Squeezing Nari’s shoulders, I giggle as our latest band obsession says their final thanks and packs up their instruments.

“I know we’re supposed to be here for Namjoon’s birthday, but I’m so sorry I don’t care about Rap Monster!” Nari says, clutching my arm so tight I won’t be surprised if it bruises tomorrow. “Go, Brian! I love you!”

“I know we’re supposed to be Youngjae’s best friends but I don’t care he’s going on stage tonight either, this is so awesome! Jae, you’re awesome!”

Startled, Brian and Jae awkwardly wave at us from the stage. Nari and I squeal like we’ve been hit by defibrillators on full charge.

“You guys are embarrassing, I’m never taking you anywhere,” Youngjae says from behind us. “These are my friends. Can you not fangirl over my friends that are normal people?”

As it turns out, Youngjae knows members from Day6 because music school kids in the area run in a smallish circle. Day6’s drummer and keyboardist go to an arts school, while the rest of the band know Jaebeom and Jinyoung from way back.

“You need fangirls,” Nari replies wryly, “otherwise, how are people going to know you all are awesome?”

“Uhm, they’ll see us on stage?”

“Oh, Youngjae,” I say, “you’re too precious for your own good.”

“These guys aren’t normal people,” Nari adds. “They’re in a band. That makes them super cool.”

“Does the super cool status extend to GOT7?” Youngjae asks.

“What kind of name is GOT7 anyway?” Nari shoots back, “and why do you have that Bambam kid with you? He’s so weird?”

Speaking of weird, for some reason, Jaebeom and Jinyoung thought it was a good idea to bring in Mark to their dance crew because apparently, he could do all these flying stunts. I’m not even sure how or when that happened, but they’re debuting their shiniest new member tonight and I’m not sure how I feel about that. But at least everyone’s making new friends, even if it’s nearing the end of their time in high school together. Jein says make the most out of it, but really, there isn’t any other way we’d go about it.

“You’ll never be super cool in our eyes,” I say, “we know you too much. But sure, you’re super cool too, Youngjae.”

From the other side of the dance pit, I see the boy scouts coming in in a rabble of laughter and teasing. Seokjin seems to be trying to get Taehyung and Hoseok off of Jungkook, but Jimin swoops in to help only to for them to tumble into a pile of limbs on the floor. Namjoon tiptoes around the boys, but fails to escape and ends up falling and taking down with him the rest of the boys who’ve barely made it upright. Yoongi steps over them, lazy expression on his face, and ambles on towards a barstool to continue to frown at the noise inside the club.

Jaebeom and Jinyoung come in from the back room from behind the bar counter and join the rest of Bangtan in their little circle.

“Let’s go over there,” I tell Nari and Youngjae.

“Glad to see you enjoying yourself,” Seokjin says to me. “The guys are going on stage in a bit.”

“Happy birthday!” Yugyeom cheers from behind. He’s carrying a big birthday cake with unlit candles. “Sorry, boss says she doesn’t trust us to light up candles so this is it.”

The rest of the cheering drowns out the would be complaints and it’s as if there’s no one else in the club but us. A simple hi and hello was all it took for these guys to get together, and it’s been the most surreal week I’ve had in my life.

“Thanks for the present,” Namjoon says, taking me aside while the other boys went to war for a piece of cake. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“Of course, I did.” This time I made my present specially for Namjoon and delivered to him explicitly stating it’s for him. “I had to make it up to you.”

“You didn’t have to. But thanks. I love it.” To make it up to him, I knitted a new scarf, in black this time, just for him. It was only right, after all the trouble I’ve caused.

“Are you sure you don’t want cake?” I asked. But his answer has to wait because Jackson and Mark just arrived.

Nari nudges me with her elbow. “That’s still the weirdest thing. Ever.”

That, being Jackson and Namjoon’s newfound best-friendship. I can no more explain how this happened than I can explain how the laws of the universe bent and conspired for the world to be as we currently know it. Mark spots me from across the room, and he smiles the slightest when he acknowledges me with a nod.

“Tell me he’s your boy now,” Nari asks, poking my sides.

“It’s not like that…” I think, waving a hi back to Mark. “It’s only been a week?”

She rolls her eyes. “Yeah right. He’s friends with Jackson again. Rap Monster is friends with Jackson. I heard Jaebeom and Jinyoung are recruiting Jackson into GOT7 next and we’re all one big happy family. So, what’s up? I thought he confessed? There’s nothing in your way now.”

Sort of? “He really didn’t say that? It’s more like…not a confession?”

I really don’t know where Mark and I stand, but we’ve been continuing conversations, and he’s been acting…well more like a normal person and he’s been shrugging a little bit less than before. I, on the other hand, have no idea how I’m supposed to act around him now. Before, I could just be normal because I decided I didn’t need to impress him since my chances with him have gone down the gutter. But now?

“Did you return the gesture?”

“What gesture?” I ask.

“Did you go, ‘I got you too’ or something to that effect?”

For one, I didn’t even know what exactly Mark meant when he said that so it’s not like I could say it back because what if we were thinking two completely different things? Imagine the horror. I already confessed that I liked him. Past tense. And that I didn’t know what my current feelings are, but did that count as a returned gesture? I’d ask Nari, but she’s easily distracted by all the music, the lights, and the party.

It’s not like I haven’t thought about it this entire week. I did. More obsessively than ever before. I just didn’t want to act on it because we’re all in a good place for a change. Things are finally going back to a better version of normal, and well…me doing stupid things is what gets the universe all up in a stir.

Somewhere by midnight, the boy scouts make their leave to continue the rest of their party somewhere. I heard Taehyung talking about bringing out the fireworks and the sparkly sticks, and I sincerely hope no one bursts into fire from all the stunts these guys are pulling off. The boys of GOT7 make their leave as well—what with parents and all that, even if it is a weekend, one call and the whole lot of us are turning off our party modes.

Nari and Youngjae, together with the rest of the people on their side of the road break off with good nights, and I’m left by the curb. I’m not technically the only one going my direction, but it seems like everyone had the idea that it’s best I’m left with Mark.

“Hi,” he says.

“Hi back.” It’s still surreal. Being around Mark like this. It always feels like the first time.

We head off together, side by side. The silence now is comfortable. After the loud music at the club, my ears are thanking me for the cool night air as the background to this conversation.

“You did amazing tonight,” I say. “All those backflips and things. I didn’t even know you could do that.” I have all the videos, too. Now I just need to fend off all the would-be fangirls.

He laughs nervously. “I don’t even know how JB knew I could do all that. Just that one day, he’s at my spot asking me to help him land his kick-flip and then, yeah. All that happened.”

“Still not any weirder than Namjoon and Jackson.”

“Actually, that kind of makes sense?”

I laugh. “Maybe in your world? I thought they wanted to kill each other.”

“Nah, maybe at first. But then, I don’t know. You know Jackson, he’s a really nice guy deep down inside. Turns out he and Namjoon have stuff in common. Weird stuff, but Jackson’s been sticking to him like a leech. It’s funny.”

“I’m glad you and Jackson made up. I thought he’d stay mad at you.”

“I told you, don’t worry about that. We just…had a conversation.”

The short version I heard from Jinyoung was that Mark and Jackson were forced to work together on a project and that lead to a lot of time together and eventually one big conversation that may or may not have involved a punch or two. But it ended with both of them laughing and hugging. The next day, they were best friends again. Boys are so weird.

“I’m just glad no sabres were involved.”

Silence descends upon us for the rest of the walk home. As we turn the corner, the back of my hand brushes against his, and I shudder from the contact.

“Your hands are cold,” Mark points out. Slowly, his fingers cover mine and my hand is engulfed in his warm hand. “Is this okay?”

It’s even better than my imagination. I nod. “Yes, this is…this is okay.” More than okay. I have to calm down so I don’t freak him out.

“So…”

I can’t even look at him directly with my face burning and my heart pounding in my ears. “So…?”

“I guess…now that everything’s sorted out…” he starts.

“Yeah?”

“We could, uhm…”

I stifle a giggle. “Maybe we could work some more on the conversation thing.”

“We should definitely do that.”

“Because you know, there’s a lot of stuff we haven’t covered yet. Like, I don’t even know what kind of stuff you’re really into. Like music. I always go see street busking bands with Nari and I think, you know, based on last summer, maybe we’d get along? Kind of?”

“Sure. If Nari doesn’t mind that I come with.”

“No, I meant…just you and me?”

“Ah. I like that idea. And maybe we could go see a movie?”

“We could do that. And I could go see you practice with the others?”

“Or maybe we could just meet up after.”

“That sounds like a plan.”

Mark walks me all the way to my front door, but neither of us let go of each other’s hand just yet. I like this. I’ve liked the idea of it, but what I like more is the reality of it. Looking back, I can’t believe that every crazy thing that happened in my life would ever lead to this one moment. It’s so simple, really. Mark and I standing under the streetlight, hands together and shyly looking into each other’s eyes.

“What you said last week…when you said ‘You got me’…”

“Mhm?”

“I still can’t believe that after all this, I got you.”

Under the lights, his ears are even more pink than ever. “You’ve always had. That’s why I was…kind of mean to you over the summer. Because I thought you liked Jackson and Jackson didn’t really know yet how he felt about you.”

I laugh. “You weren’t that mean. Just really annoying. Wait, what?”

He grins. “I said you’ve always had me. You got me real bad.”

“You got me, too.”

And the rest, as they say, is history.

THE END