unedited. So expect mistakes. lots of it. *huff*

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Kyungsoo doesn't want to wash the shirt that night. Instead, he lets the blood dry on the front, but the back side of the shirt is clean. It smells like sweat and aftershave, a bit of some mild perfume that Jongin usually wears but Kyungsoo could never guess the scent. Jongdae eventually forces him to wash the damn shirt the next day because Jongin needs it for sports day. The tanned male is joining the high jump category and also the 100m sprint. He can't wear another person's shirt. It's school policy to have the student's name printed at the back to avoid shirt theft.

"Fine." Kyungsoo huffs, marching into the bathroom where there's a washing machine, and hopefully enough fabric soap to wash off the stain. He might need to break into Jongin's house one of these days to sneak out some shirts for his own pleasure. Call him creepy; he doesn't care anymore.  

"Don't be sad. I'm sure Jongin will let you borrow it again if you ask politely."

Kyungsoo groans back, vowing to kill his roommate later. 

The next day, all classes are cancelled because the whole school is involved with the event. Kyungsoo and Jongdae pull out from the race last minute since Kyungsoo's body is still recovering from his injuries. The both of them cheer for Yixing from the sideline, who is participating in the 100m sprint. Jongin's there too, beside Sehun, Tao and Taemin, the other three freshmen from the class next door. Kyungsoo could see excited Jongin is. He doesn't approach the lanky male until Jongin's three friends disappear for a while. 

"Your shirt, Jongin. Sorry for uh... causing you so much trouble."

Jongin looks a little worried. "How's your head, Kyungsoo?" He touches the bandage that Jongdae has placed on Kyungsoo's right temple this morning, a small Pororo bandage that Kyungsoo thinks is a transparent one. Jongin flinches his fingers back after touching it. The sight of blood dripping down Kyungsoo's face and staining his shirt is still quite strong in his memory. 

"I'm fine, really." Kyungsoo says. "It must have been hard for you to see so much blood. Jongdae hyung told me you're afraid of blood. So uh, sorry again. Gosh, I keep embarassing myself in front you. I hope I looked cool when I fell, at least..." He lets out an airy laugh, rubbing his left elbow in a nervous manner.

"I didn't... really see how you fell, uh... I was just passing by when you were already on the ground." Jongin mutters softly.

"Eh? But Jongdae told me you were sitting on the bleachers that time."

"Oh, did he?" Jongin looks down at his feet, chuckling slightly. It's making Kyungsoo extremely puzzled, because now he's not sure who's lying to him. "Anyway, I gotta go. The race is about to start. Yixing hyung is participating too, right?"

"Yeah. Just so you know, I'm cheering for him. Don't put your hopes up..." Jongin's expression falters slightly, and then brightening up considerably when Kyungsoo adds, "... unless you win." 

"I never lose a race in my life. I was a champ back in middle school." Jongin says, "So make sure you cheer for me when I win. You promise, right?"

Kyungsoo couldn't even believe they're actually having this conversation right now; one where he wouldn't suddenly burp into Jongin's face or fall face first against the ground. So, quashing down the excitement bubbling inside him, he flashes Jongin a great big smile when he nods his head. It's unfortunate that he doesn't see the slight blush on Jongin's cheeks. "Fighting, Kim Jongin!"

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Sir DImples stands at the starting line, with the cutest smile he could muster, causing all the girls (and guys) at the sideline to coo over him. Jongdae gives his boyfriend a pointed look, because he's obviously jealous that everyone else wants a piece of his Xing Xing too. Kyungsoo's eyes are only trained on Jongin. The runners are getting ready now, some of them warming up. Jongin's standing beside Yixing, the sleeves of gym shirt pulled up to reveal his ripped biceps. He casually flexes them to the general eyes of the public when he stretches his arms forward, rolling his shoulders to release the tense muscles there. His shorts only cover up to his thighs so Kyungsoo could see his knees and and the lower part of his legs.

Kyungsoo thinks that Jongin has the iest calves in the world. Almost as y as his biceps. 

"Are you drooling over his legs, little squish?" Jongdae teases him suddenly.

"Are you staring at Xing hyung's again?"

"You bet I am."

The referee then tells the runners to get ready. The flag is raised up, and then with the blow of a whistle, the runners sprint across the field, while the audience cheer at them from both sides. Jongdae and Kyungsoo are yelling out Yixing's name loudly, but their voices are drowned out by the maniacal screams of three hundred other students in the field, mostly from the bleachers.

Yixing and Jongin are the only two runners leading the race, but the final touch of the ribbon belongs to Yixing, who surpasses Jongin by a second.

Jongdae and Kyungsoo then rush over to celebrate Yixing's victory, though it doesn't last very long. There's still two more rounds to win, so the runners have to return to the starting line a minute later. From the same place Kyungsoo had stood earlier, he could see how tense Jongin has become, while Yixing looks pretty laidback. Instead of wishing his Chinese friend good luck, he yells out to Jongin, "Don't give up, Jongin!" much to Jongdae's and Yixing's surprise.

Some girls who are also rooting for Jongin suddenly turn their attention to Kyungsoo, muttering loudly among themselves. Jongin, on the other hand, simply freezes in his spot, looking directly at Kyungsoo now.

"You traitor!" Yixing calls out in a joking manner. "So now you choose loverboy over me?!"

Kyungsoo could feel his face getting hot. "I-I'm not!" He couldn't believe that Yixing had just refered to Jongin as Kyungsoo's loverboy when the tanned male is literally standing two feet away from him. Jongin looks shell-shocked.

"That's what you get for accosting with the enemy, Do Kyungsoo." Jongdae then adds. "Chill, little squish. My Yixing never loses a race. He was crowned champion for last year's event, despite being a freshmen."

The second race is won by Jongin, a millisecond away from Yixing, so it riles up the crowd even more when the competitiveness between those two are obviously very strong. Yet, Yixing doesn't really treat Jongin as a rival. He met the younger male in the school's dance club for the first time months back and got closer as they spent every consecutive Tuesdays and Thursdays together ever since, as both are really good dancers. Kyungsoo's probably the only ones who doesn't know that yet, but most of the students in school have already known about their friendship, despite Yixing being Jongin's senior by a year. 

"I hope you win the next one, Jongin." Yixing says, just before the third round commence.

"Aren't you gonna try hard to beat me, hyung?"

"I thought that maybe you could use this opportunity to impress Kyungsoo. I know how much you want to impress him."

"I really don't need you to handicap me, hyung. I think I can win the race just fine." Jongin chuckles. "Anyway, why would you think I wanna impress him?"

"Because I can see the way you look at him. It's the same way Jongdae had looked at me for the past one year. The only difference between you two is that one grew balls to fess up. The other one is still being a for not asking his crush to the prom yet. Are you planning to wait for Kyungsoo to ask you or something?"

"I'm sure he will never ask. I don't think he likes me like that. I don't think he even likes guys to begin with." Jongin says, words being drowned out by the loud cheering around them as the referee tells them to get ready again. The whistle is blown and five men sprint across the field in an instant, leaving dust trails in their wake. As expected, Jongin and Yixing are leading the run again. Everyone bets on Yixing, knowing that he's the champion for last year's sprint, but Kyungsoo doesn't realize that he's actually rooting for Jongin instead. 

A few seconds before the race ends, he holds his breath, waiting... and in the end, the tanned male takes the prize as this year's gold medalist for the 100m sprint, with Yixing following second, taking the silver. Jongdae looks a bit disappointed, but he still runs over to his boyfriend with a huge grin on his face, pulling the Chinese male into his arms. 

Kyungsoo tries to reach out for Jongin, but somehow retreats in the end, taking a few steps back from the main field. Female students are crowding the school's greek god from all around, not allowing space for anyone to approach him. It's not like Kyungsoo wants to approach the taller male anyway. Wouldn't it be too obvious? Too abnormal for him to suddenly reach out for a guy who has never noticed him for the past few months; a nobody like him would probably embarass somebody like Jongin, despite knowing that Jongin wouldn't be the type to care about such things. Yet, society's judgmental views always seem to get the best out of him, making him forget that Jongin's just another human too, with feelings. He decides to wait out in the locker room or something, because at least it wouldn't seem so weird to converse with the guy. 

He silents exits the field where no one could see him leave, not even bothered to inform Yixing and Jongdae about it. They have other sports to participate in anyway, so both of them may be too busy to notice a missing friend.