Oubliette

dancing for him
dancing for her
king of the hill
queen of the world

The tall boy sings under his breath, walking down the street, oversized leather bag flying throungh the air as he moves his arms in time with his footsteps under the dying glow of summer. He nods to an older women in her front yard, deadheading the flowers before winter.

"Good afternoon!" His voice is cheerful. She looks up from plucking off a dried white flower from its stalk and smiles. Good afternoon she signs, her fingertips stained with green.

A bus pulls up to the bus stop and disgorges a gaggle of giggling teens; his classmates apparently.

"Hi Jongin!" A tall girl with gorgeous legs peeking, stretching out of black shorts sees him first.

"Hi Soojung," Jongin waves with one hand, the other holding the handles of the bag. It's quite heavy.

"Why'd you skip class today?" A tall boy with blond hair that's a little too long but still too short to tie back asks him, the corners of his mouth turned down in a frown.

"I was a little...occupied." Jongin shrugs, the shoulders of his plaid blazer rising slightly. A tendril of brown hair falls into his eyes; he flicks it back with a long finger.

"Dance practice again?" A shorter, black-haired boy looks up from his book. His expression might be sympathetic, but it could also be a leftover expression from the passage he's reading. Japanese murder mysteries have that kind of effect on Kyungsoo.

Jongin shrugs again, and eyes the cover of the book. "That's a good one."

"It's okay," Kyungsoo says, frowning. "I prefer the ones where the murderer gets away." He shuts the book with a sharp snap and grins unexpectedly. "Do you want to go to a movie this weekend? They're showing Let the Right One In and Let Me In back to back."

"That's the one where she tears the body into pieces, right? Can I join?" Sehun asks, then eyes Soojung suspiciously.

"Don't worry," she flips her hair dramatically over one shoulder. "I'm too busy for boring dismemberment. I have a manipedi booked."

Sehun sticks out his tongue and the three wander off down the street. Soojung looks over her shoulder at Jongin, walking a few steps back.

"Do you want to the library with us? We're going for French food after." She looks at him expectantly and both Sehun and Kyungsoo slow, waiting for Jongin's answer.

"I'm a little busy still," he replies, "but I'll join you for French of course."

"Ugh, you and your beef tartare," Sehun grimaces. "That's so gross."

"Shut up," Kyungsoo says, wacking the blond with his book. It's a hardcover, and the resulting sound is loud.

"Ouch!" Sehun stops and rubs his head, glaring at the shorter boy.

"Oh, do you think Zitao will want to come to the salon on Saturday with me?" Soojung asks. "I was going to ask him today but he wasn't in class."

Jongin flicks his eyes down at his hand, leather straps pressing lines into the skin of his palm. "I think he might be a little tied up,"  he says.

"Oh okay." She looks a little disappointed, while Kyungsoo looks at Jongin, a calculating expression on his face.

"Don't be late."

Jongin nods, and the three walk ahead of him up the road into the dying sun.