It’s the night before winter break and Kyungsoo feels like a zombie, half-awake and half-asleep. He’s trying to get in some last minute studying, but he’s been staring at the same list of ingredients for the past ten minutes and doesn’t even remember what potion they’re for. His focus has been horrible the entire week.

Baekhyun pokes Kyungsoo’s cheek with a finger. “Are you in there?”

Kyungsoo sighs. “Yeah. Sorry. I didn’t sleep that well last night.” Or the night before. Or the one before it.

“What’s up?” Baekhyun asks. “You’ve been acting strange.”

Strange is a word for it. “I’m fine.”

“You haven’t been mean to me or anyone else in a while,” Baekhyun says. “You’re not fine.”

“I’m just,” a huge yawn interrupts his sentence, “really focusing on school work. I won’t be able to do much over break.” That’s only half true.

Baekhyun closes his Potions book and stretches. “You going back home tomorrow?”

Kyungsoo nods.

“I’m going to stay with Yeol,” Baekhyun says. “You should come visit us.”

“I’ll study even less with you guys.”

Baekhyun laughs. “That’s the point. Too much studying has messed you up. You need to unwind.”

Only the reason for him being so out of sorts isn’t school. It’s a person. And Kyungsoo doesn’t think that a few days with the boisterous duo is going to solve anything.

Kyungsoo yawns wide again. “Okay, I give up. I’m going to sleep.”

“’Night dude. If you decide to visit, send us an owl.” Baekhyun shoos him away and then goes to sit with Chanyeol, who is playing chess by himself on a nearby table.

Kyungsoo picks up his things and heads upstairs.

Up in his room, sleep evades him for the longest time. He would talk to his roommate if he could, but Sehun never comes in and the room stays too quiet. The thoughts come unbidden as they always do, and he lets them run wild for once.

Jongin bloodied up after defending Magnus and Hellfire. Jongin looking lost and alone while Magnus recuperated. Jongin feeding Magnus as well as Hellfire when she had dropped by his table the other day.

It seems the Hufflepuff will no longer fight with Kyungsoo about their pets. There will be no reason for them to interact, at all. But the thing is Kyungsoo wants to. He wants to get to know Jongin, because Kyungsoo—might, maybe, sort of, probably—likes him. And this unexpected truth has been eating away at him.

By Merli