enhashoney - Tumblr blog

enhashoney · 3 years

Text

“break your heart right back”

pairing: bestfriend!Jay x fem!reader

synopsis: That's it, you were done crying over your good for nothing ex! You were done wallowing in self-pity for the embarrassment your ex put your through. Now you want revenge, and what’s more perfect than aiming at his pride and shattering it once and for all? Enter your best friend Park Jongseong (affectionately dubbed as Jay) who was the perfect candidate for carrying out your revenge plan. After all, it's one way to piss off your ex with the guy he absolutely loathed.

includes: college au (not really mentioned though), friends to lovers, fake dating and ungodly amounts of fluff (crack-ish?)

warnings: cursing, mentions of alcohol, kind of underage-drinking, light angst, excessive (?) use of pet-names (babe, princess), a little suggestive at some points but nothing too risque and cheating (not Jay)

word count: a whopping 8k (im so sorry)

a/n: the title is misleading yes. basically I listened to ariana grande's song "break your heart right back" and got inspiration from one line in it lmfao

You sniffle for what probably was the hundredth time today, finding solace in the thick duvet that’s currently cocooning your body and the mountain of pillows you decided to pile behind to give you the needed support in your binge-watching endeavors.

The reason for your constant sniffling from the result of your almost never-ending tears was simple really: your ex-boyfriend cheated on you, and has been for the past three months, as he confirmed with no traces of remorse while his side-chick hung onto his arm with a sickly sweet smile as if she had done nothing wrong. It took every ounce of patience you had in you to not jump the girl in broad daylight.

Then again, you would never stoop that low.

Your own morals and values would never let you solve anything with violence��well, unless the situation calls for it, but with the whole cheating situation (in public no less), you settled on being firm, holding back the tears that threatened to spill from your glistening eyes as you called things off with the good-for-nothing, poor excuse of a man.

A week had already passed since that shitshow and still, it hurt like a bitch and it seems that the weather decided to sympathize with you just this once.

The pitter-patter of the rain melded with the sounds coming from your TV that is currently playing one of those cliché k-dramas you thought to watch instead of wallowing in self-pity. Though it seems that it’s only making you bitter as each second passed, as it’s currently showing the lovey-dovey couple being sickeningly sweet that it honestly made you want to vomit.

Grimacing, you threw a crumpled tissue towards the direction of the TV, “disgusting.” You say with all the bitterness that has accumulated in you for the past seven hours and counting as the tissue hit the screen. Despite your palpable aversion to the romance series, you still pushed through with your marathon; anything to get your mind off the… incident.

All sense of time was lost as you continued to lay in the comfort of your bed, the cheesy romantic k-drama now replaced with a more interesting, action-packed movie that involved giant monster-fighting robots and something about its two to three potential pilots being compatible as an important detail to successfully pilot said robots.

The whole premise of it was interesting to you as you sat there absorbing every detail you could. It wasn’t a movie focused on the lowkey developing romance some would probably recognize, but more on the understanding between two individuals who were different, but also similar in a handful of ways. Maybe that’s why it didn’t work out better than you hoped with your exes, now that you think about it as they always seem to be the exact opposite of you.

However, just as you were on the cusp of taking a deeper dive into your impromptu session of self-reflection, your phone goes off with that ridiculous ringtone your best friend himself has set for his contact number.

Now, you’d usually ignore calls whenever you were in a mood, but since it was your best friend shaking up your peaceful afternoon, you answer right away.

“Jay, hi.” You softly greet with a small smile, quickly pressing pause with the remote as you lean comfortably against your pillows.

“Y/N, hey,” you take note of the muffled noises on Jay’s end; he was probably out at the moment. “You busy right now?”

You hum, gaze shifting towards the window where you can see that the rain has started to lighten, “not really? I’m at home, why?”

“Great! You wanna go out and eat somewhere? My treat!” You snort, he obviously knew how to tempt you—that, and it’s his own way of saying that he really wants to hang out with you.

But even if that was a swell bargain, you really weren’t up to doing anything right now since you were clearly still trying to get over your shitty break with your equally shitty ex. “I don’t know Jay…” you trail off, lips pursed in guilt of having to say no to Jay, of all people. “I’m… kind not feeling up to anything right now.”

“Hang on—are you okay? You sound kinda… stuffy.” He pauses for a brief moment as you wince. Trust him to figure out things that quick. “Have you been crying?”

A sigh went past your lips, looking down at your lap, “would you believe me if I said I wasn’t?”

“Nope.” He answered that too quickly. You scowl. “Change of plans, I’m coming over.”

“What? No!” You practically yell, earning a disapproving noise from Jay which is usually a tell-tale of him about to scold you. “No,” you say softly this time, “No, you really don’t have to.”

“Oh, c’mon, Y/N. I know you better than anyone else. You obviously want—no, need my company right now.” And he was firm with his statement too, but you obviously won’t admit it even if it was true.

You roll your eyes, “alright, you narcissist.” You completely ignore his onslaught of reasons why he wasn’t and that he was only being a good friend, cutting him off, “do what you want. You’ve got a key to my apartment.”

“Of course I do,” you could practically hear him roll his eyes. “It’s just as important as the keys to my bike.”

“You’re not riding your motorcycle in this weather right?” You take a quick look at the drizzling skyline, concerned, “I’d rather have you in one piece, Jay.”

Jay scoffs, “‘course not. I’m not an idiot.”

“Debatable.”

“You know what? I’m letting you off this time since you’re probably not in the mood.”

“Yeah, sorry.” This time, you laugh softly at his compliance, “stay safe, okay?”

His laugh brings a grin to your face, “anything for you. See you soon, bye!”

“Bye-bye.”

“Bye-bye, Y/N-ie~” and he hangs up before you even get the chance to make fun of his out of nowhere cuteness.

Giggling, you take a quick glance at his silly contact photo before locking your phone, “Dork.” You say with fondness as you press play, eager to resume the movie.

* * *

“What a douchebag.”

“That’s your third time saying it, but yeah, he is.”

Jay arrived at your humble abode about thirty minutes prior to you spilling everything that had happened to your week of radio silence, barging into your apartment as if he owned the place (as Jay usually would) and pointing out how you look like shit which you promptly swatted his arm for, telling him he didn’t look any better being dampened by the rain.

Another ten minutes go by and Jay had changed into a clean pair of clothes he had left behind the last time he stayed over, now the two of you are squeezed together on your bed, the same movie from before playing idly as you both talk about your shitty week.

“Oh but I really mean it this time,” Jay says with clear distaste all the while gesturing wildly to prove his point, making you snort. “He’s been seeing someone else behind your back for what—3 months? How long were you guys together again?”

You make a face upon realization while counting in your head, “6 months? More or less…”

“What the fuck…” Jay says, laughing in a mix of disbelief and anger that was mostly directed at your ex. “Half of your time with him? What an asshole.”

“Now that’s your second time saying that.”

“Never mind the technicalities!” He waves you off, “Are you okay?” He asks, now gazing at you intently as if to gauge whether you’d spit out a lie or not.

Shrugging, you sigh and rest your head against his arm, “I cried a week's worth of tears, I think I’m getting there.”

“Oh c’mere,” a yelp flies past your lips as you find yourself getting a face-full of Jay's chest and an arm thrown around your shoulders. “I told you time and time again that boys are stupid and they stink.”

You roll your eyes, melting into his embrace anyway. “Except you?” You chuckle as you throw an arm around his waist, nuzzling your cheek against his chest.

His grip around your frame tightens as he hums in confirmation, “except me. I’m a special case.” Laughter then pours from your lips, earning a chuckle in return. “Good riddance. You deserve better than your shitty ex anyways.”

“I know. You’ve told me plenty of times…” you trail off, your fingers playing with the edge of his shirt as your mind briefly wanders to the many times you’ve received his scolding in the past; whether it’d be simply for skipping a meal or for falling for the wrong person (again), you’re pretty sure you’ve endured every reason for a scolding out there—hell, he might have scolded you more than your parents ever did.

“Thanks for being here, Jay.”

He snorts softly, his fingers gently carding through your hair which instantly granted him a pleased sigh, “well, someone’s got to check whether you're alive or not,” he teases, giggling when you try to tickle him in retaliation, “but you’re welcome,” you look up right as he plants a soft peck against your temple, “anything for my best girl.” He coos, smiling down at you for a brief moment before moving his attention towards the screen.

Now you were well aware of Jay’s moments of heart-warming sweetness, similar to that moment a few seconds prior, so you were very much used to his random acts of brazen affection, but you can’t deny the small fluttering sensation you felt in your belly every time he had his moments.

You’d rather take that secret to the grave instead of admitting to it or admitting it to Jay himself.

Despite having Jay over for company, your mind is a traitorous thing that no matter how interesting the new movie your best friend picked out, you can’t help but to think about the incident that almost cost you your dignity if you had chosen a different route in confronting your cheating ex.

What the hell did the bastard have to look smug for? Humiliating you? Figuratively grabbing your heart out, throwing it to the ground and stepping on it? His other girl you’d understand because she had quite literally snatched him right under your nose. Did your ex get that much satisfaction from seeing you in distress? If only murder was legal—though you probably won’t be able to stomach it.

Good thing there were other options for you to choose from to enact your revenge on the asshole and what’s more perfect than aiming at his pride and shattering it once and for all?

“Hey Jay?”

“Yeah?”

“On a scale of 1-10, how psyched would you be if you were to do something ridiculous with me?”

His hand that was combing through your hair stills, his chest rumbling with a thoughtful hum. “depends… What do I get out of it?”

“The loving touch of a woman, maybe?”

You erupt into peals of laughter as soon as he starts sputtering and tripping over his words, trying to form a reply. You were laughing so hard in fact that you didn't even notice that he had left you in a heap on the bed, struggling to breath.

“You’re an idiot, did you know that?” Even if he did look like a disapproving parent—hands on hips, scowl and all—still, you can’t help but snicker when he lifts an eyebrow, prompting you for an explanation of your embarrassing statement.

“I’m sorry,” you finally say after your fit of giggles, “that was a joke, but I’m serious about doing something with me—now come back here...” you drag out the last word of your sentence, complete with your arms stretched towards him while you made grabby-hands.

Jay shakes his head with a heavy sigh, but relents anyway as his back meets the plush surface of your bed. “Now what’s going on through that mind of yours?”

“Be my fake boyfriend.”

And as expected, you were met with silence.

The look on Jay’s face was absolutely priceless and you would have laughed if you weren't being serious. “You’ve finally lost it.” He deadpans, sitting up-right, “You’ve actually—no, that’s a stupid plan what… No.” He snaps as soon as he catches the twitch in your lips, a sign that you were about to whine to get your way. “Is this your fucked up way of moving on?” Harsh as his question may sound, he still held that look of nonchalance, but no doubt expecting a sensible answer from you.

You wince, “okay, that does sound bad but no; I’d like to call it petty revenge.”

Jay blinks once, twice, three times before he scoffs and mutters under his breath, most likely about what crime he did in his past life to be stuck with you in this situation; though you could tell that there’s a smile threatening to break through that ‘no nonsense’ facade of his. “This is probably your stupidest idea yet. Congratulations.” He says as he claps, offering you a sarcastic smile. You scowl in return.

“Hey, no it isn’t! Listen, this is my ex’s pride we’re aiming for! Knowing him, it’d probably hurt his ego too when he sees that I’ve ‘moved on’,” Jay snorts at your air quotations, “that fast, and let’s not forget he’ll be seeing me with you. He’s always hated you for some reason.” And that was a fact that you still find funny until now.

Your recent ex wasn’t the only one who shared the same sentiments when it came to Jay; even your past exes held some sort of contempt for your best friend, which was already ridiculous in and of itself seeing Jay was honest to God one of the nicest people you’ve ever had the pleasure of befriending and not once did he even provoke any of them. You’ve always brought this up with Jay—who obviously did not care—only to get a knowing smile in return as he tells you to “not to worry about it. It’s just stupid guy stuff.”

Even with the reasoning behind your outrageous plan, Jay still held firm in his stern front which prompted you to launch into a different tactic: stroking his ego.

“C’mon! It makes sense, I mean—” here we go, “you’re handsome, a good student,” you internally roll your eyes when his lip twitched, “you can cook and—oh, let’s not forget you’re rich as all fuck, being the son of a CEO, you’re literally the walking epitome of ‘boyfriend material’! Imagine how much it’ll break him to see me with the supposedly elusive Park Jongseong!”

With pursed lips, Jay scrutinizes you with narrowed eyes, “well, when you put it like that,” and that’s when you know you’ve got him. “Keep talking and maybe I’ll consider.” Okay, maybe not.

“You’re just fishing for compliments at this point.” You say drily.

“Hey! You rarely talk about my good points, at least let me get an ego boost!”

“Didn’t I already? I called you perfect of all things.” And he does look rather pleased when you repeat the compliment, earning him another one of your eyerolls. “C’mon, it'd be fun! Then you’ll finally get to experience what it’s like!”

Jay lets out an exasperated sigh, “I’ve had plenty of experience, thank you.” He takes off his glasses to pinch his nose bridge for a few moments, probably regaining his patience for you. “But since you’re so desperate—”

You immediately protest, “no I’m not!”

He ignores you, “desperate,” he repeats, pinning you with a pointed glare. “I’ll agree with your stupid plan—but, we’re doing it on my terms.”

Your elation then slowly dwindles when he eyes you with a smirk, “okay… should I be worried?”

He scoffs, poking your side. “No. Just remember you asked for a boyfriend out of me and you’re damn well getting one.” You didn’t even have the heart to correct him.

Somehow, that sounded vaguely threatening, even if things were in your favor. You know Jay had his own stubborn streak, particularly when his determination to prove himself was driving him head-first into things. One could only hope this won’t turn out to be another shit show if he decides to go overboard. You don’t even know what to expect from someone you had little to no idea of what Jay being a boyfriend is like, considering he usually kept his love affairs private and would only tell you bits and pieces when you persisted.

So your paranoia that spiked up a few days down the line of radio silence from Jay wasn’t at all baseless. Just what was he planning for you both? You never did talk about his terms, only getting a “let me handle it” before he left your apartment the following day of his visit.

It’s when you wake up from your deep slumber, the best sleep you’ve ever had after a week of wallowing in self-pity after your nasty break up when you get a call at nine in the morning, your phone blaring with Jay’s ridiculous set ringtone.

You answer almost immediately, even if it was a struggle to open your eyes. “Where the fuck were you?”

“Good morning to you too, princess.” A hand raises up to massage your temple to quell your upcoming headache as soon as his laugh resounds front the other line. “And if you must know, I’ve been planning. Did I wake you?”

“Okay, that doesn’t bode well,” snorting at his whinging, you continue on, “and yeah, you did. It’s so early, what gives?”

“Just thought it’d be nice to tell you about our date later. Wouldn’t want to scare you.”

What.

“Hang on—a date?” That has you sitting up real quick, throwing the thick covers off of yourself in the process as you get onto your feet. “You never said anything about a date?! As a matter of fact, you never said anything!” You hissed, whipping around to look desperately at your closet, hopeful that you at least had something decent left in there to wear. “Where were you the last few days anyway?” You ask him again.

“Planning, duh? What else? If I’m going to be your boyfriend, then I have to do this right.”

You raise an eyebrow, but decide to humor him anyway, “and this... date we’re going on?”

“—Is something I thought of so we could at least know what we’re working with. If you want to get back at your ex, the least we could do is to make it believable for everyone. Wouldn’t want your awkwardness to ruin this revenge plan of yours.” Well, he wasn’t wrong. The dynamic you had with Jay was strictly platonic and you may or may have not thought about the possibility of crossing the line between platonic and romantic if you really want to put on a show.

The thought alone made your face warm. You’ve only shared hugs and occasional pecks on the forehead, temple and cheeks… what if you had to kiss Jay on the lips too? To prove to everyone (mainly your ex) that you’ve truly moved on? Oh lord.. What if you end up liking it?

“—Hellooo? Y/N? Are you still there or have you fallen asleep?”

Jay’s calls snapped you out of your stupor. “Sorry! Yes, I’m still here. I was just… uh, thinking.” You mumble, shaking your head. “So what time is our date?”

“Well, I’m picking you up, so around 1-ish? If that’s okay with you.”

“Yeah, 1 is fine. I don’t have much to do today anyway,” you say, taking a peek at the barely filled to-do list pinned to your cork board. “I’ll make sure to look extra pretty for you.” You sing-songed as a joke, poking fun at Jay’s insistence to dress to the nines whenever the opportunity arises and obviously you didn’t want to be upstaged by him.

“What do you mean? You always look pretty to me.” Jay affirms, voice taking a softer tone from what you can tell as you stood there with your mouth slightly agape, not really expecting the compliment.

“W-what—”

“Anyways, see you later. Bye-bye, Y/N-ie~” and he hangs up before you even get to speak.

You pull your phone back from your ear to stare at the screen in disbelief as his voice replays in your mind over and over again like a broken record.

You always look pretty to me.

The phone falls to the plush surface of your duvet as your hands automatically fly to your face to hide your embarrassment even if there was no one to witness it.

“Idiot.” You whine, shaking your head as you rush out of your room to get started on your day and mentally prepare yourself on what Jay has planned for you both.

* * *

True to his words, Jay arrived on the dot, pushing you into a slight panic when you received a string of messages saying he was right outside of your apartment. With one last look at yourself in the mirror, you rush to get everything you need before slamming the door close behind you, nodding to yourself when you hear the lock click in place.

“There she is!” Is the first thing you hear as soon as you step out of your apartment building. “Took you long enough. Thought I was waiting for a turtle.”

“Can you be quiet? I can’t help that it takes three minutes to use the—” You stop in your tracks, eyes widening at the sight that greets you the very moment your feet hit the pavement, “—stairs.”

There, just a few paces away, stood Jay with a helmet in your favorite color under his arm, while his own in a sleek black rested idly on the seat of his motorcycle. Of course you had already expected him to dress to the nines, but seeing him like this, waiting for you right outside of your apartment like an actual boyfriend would, dressed to the nines made something stir in your chest the longer you drink up the sight set in front of you.

Jay, noticing your sudden silence quirks up one eyebrow, “you okay?” He asks, lightly touching the one side of his head where his hair was slicked back.

You cough awkwardly, squaring your shoulders as you slowly make your way towards him, “Just peachy,” you reply with a crooked smile then shift your attention to the helmet. “I’m guessing that’s mine then?”

Jay makes a noise of realization, quickly brandishing the helmet with a proud smile. “Yeah! Made sure I got it in your favorite color too.”

Your heart flutters at his thoughtfulness, “you didn’t have to.”

“Don’t be silly. My bike is a constant presence like you are so might as well get you one when I take you to places.” He shrugs.

And your traitorous heart skips a beat, causing you to click your tongue and look off to the side, “who says I’m getting on that death trap with you?”

Jay rolls his eyes, “don’t be dramatic. Don’t you trust me?”

“Of course I do but—”

“Then that’s all you need to do. C’mere,” he motions with his head for you to come closer, “I’ll put this on for you.”

You could have argued that you were more than capable of putting it on your own and it didn’t help that Jay was someone who did these acts of servitude to those he really cares for, but before you could even get a word out to decline, Jay had already lifted the helmet just a few inches above your head, a gentle smile playing along his lips.

“You may want to make sure your hair’s fixed in place before I squeeze this onto you.”

You stick your tongue out at him, but do as you’re told anyway, “I knew that.” You mumble, then let him do as he pleases.

A yelp flies past your lips when he all but shoves the helmet onto your head, pouting when you hear his muffled laughter as he continues to adjust the fit. “You could have been more gentle!”

“Now where’s the fun in that?” He tuts, smirking at you now as he lifts the visor, “‘this fit okay?”

You nod, “snug as a bug.”

Jay snorts, “nerd. Okay, I’ll adjust the straps here—“ and the rest is now lost to you when you take in his appearance.

There was no room for disappointment when it came to Jay’s looks and paired with his immaculate fashion sense, it would be a crime if one had missed the chance to ogle at your best friend who clearly stood out from everyone else and obviously you wouldn’t miss out on your chance while he was busy.

“You look really good today.” You say, eyeing the necklace around his neck in mild interest before meeting his eyes.

“Yeah?” He clicks the buckle underneath your chin in place. “You don’t look bad yourself, princess.” He muses, smirking when he catches the warmth coating your cheeks from the compliment—was that even considered as one?—before flipping the visor back down as he turned around to put on his own.

“Jerk.” You grouched.

Once the buckle to Jay’s helmet clicks into place, he swings a leg over his motorcycle, kicking up the kickstand in the process while looking at you expectantly through his visor, “you need help getting on too?”

“No!” You say a little too quickly, “I can do it on my own.” And to spite him, you make sure to dig your fingertips into his shoulders as hard as you can when using them as leverage to get on behind him. However, it doesn’t seem like he felt your little scheme, instead it was you who felt something and that something was the hard muscle underneath his well-loved leather jacket.

To make matters worse, your touch had lingered a second too long and that was enough for your mind to conjure a series of images that would have left you running for the hills in mortification if Jay had gotten the chance to peek into your brain.

“Better hold on tightly, Y/N. My shoulders are a good start, but you’ll be safer with your arms around my waist.”

You swear your cheeks might melt off from how hot they’re starting to feel, “in your dreams.” Though you quickly retract your statement and do end up migrating your hold from his shoulders to his waist when he jostled his motorbike to get comfortable as he revved it up.

You could only hope that Jay doesn’t notice how tight you were actually clinging onto him and if he does, he doesn’t acknowledge it.

* * *

“Should we hold hands or something?” You wonder aloud as Jay leads you through the aquarium he decided to bring you to today.

“Do you really have to ask that when you’re already doing it?” He says, lifting your already intertwined hands for show.

You look at your joined hands, blink and then peer up at Jay with wide eyes, “oh…”

Jay lets out a soft laugh, “I didn’t say it was a bad thing,” he smiles at you, giving your hand a reassuring squeeze, “if anything, it’s really cute.” His smile only widens when you grow even more flustered by the second.

“Shut up.”

He doesn’t listen. Instead, he pulls you along with him as he starts walking again, talking to himself as if you weren’t there. “Ah, Y/N is so cute,” he takes a quick glance at you over his shoulder, “thinking I can’t tell how much she likes being called as such—ah really.”

“Jay…” you whine, quickly falling into step with him.

“Yes, princess?”

You narrow your eyes, “you’re doing too good of a job being my fake boyfriend.”

“Yeah? I just know you too well,” he shrugs, pulling you closer by hand, “and I’ve been told I’d make a perfect boyfriend so you’re only getting what you asked me for.” He winks.

And he gives you exactly that.

He’s taken you out to more “dates” after that, whether they were carefully planned for the weekends or spontaneous after class ones during the weekdays, they were still dates that you find yourself enjoying. At least the one perk that has proven to be beneficial from this fake-dating thing was Jay coming to pick you up from your classes.

It became the norm for you to receive Jay’s early morning texts asking if you wanted him to pick you up after classes (with you saying yes every time). It became the norm for you to reason that your helmet needs to be used since it was a gift from your best friend. It became the norm for you to anticipate whatever Jay has planned for both of you to enjoy and…

It became the norm for you to feel butterflies fluttering in your chest and stomach whenever Jay gives you a smile so soft and sweet that there were times where it scared just how much you wanted to see his face light up with said smile.

You weren’t being selfish with this whole revenge against your ex right? Jay seemed to be in great spirits whenever you were together and not once did he ever complain.

Sure there were times where he did look mildly irked when you were being a little difficult for him to handle, but it would usually fade as if it wasn’t there as soon as you apologize and that at least gave you the reassurance that he wasn’t at all regretting the fake dating you both got going on.

You on the other hand, were starting to regret asking Jay of all people to be your fake boyfriend.

None of your friends knew this was just all for show. You both agreed to not let anyone else in on your whole revenge plan in case word got out to your ex that this wasn’t at all real.

(Well, it was mostly Jake and Sunoo who were the problem. They can’t for the life of them keep their mouths shut)

But to you, it felt all too real.

It felt real when Jay made sure the helmet he gave you was put on right when he picked you up every single morning to take you to school, when he made sure he was the one walking the closest to the road while having a protective arm around your shoulders as he chatted about his day with you and it absolutely felt real when he kissed your knuckles goodbye every time he took you home while you watch him drive away on his motorbike, wondering why you suddenly felt empty inside.

That realization came a few days later when you were scrolling through your camera roll, smiling and laughing at each selca you and Jay took to commemorate each date you guys have been on (yes, even the spontaneous ones) that is until your thumb tapped on the photo of you and Jay from your very first date, the one at the aquarium.

Looking at the photo, you looked happier, at ease judging by the way you smiled brightly at the camera and that was a common theme from each selca you took with Jay: you looked the happiest you have ever been, being with Jay.

And from there on out, you can’t imagine a life without him by your side.

* * *

Jay [3:34PM]: hey babe 😗

Jay [3:34PM]: u busy tonight?

You [3:35PM]: 🤨 not really why?

Jay [3:35PM]: perfect. I’ll be over at 6 we’re going to Heeseung’s party 🥳

You [3:35PM]: ,, is this another date of ours?

Jay [3:36PM]: depends on how you look at it. Ur ex is gonna be there btw 👀

You [3:36PM]: @#%$#% AND YOU KNOW THIS HOW?

Jay [3:36PM]: Sunoo duh. He’s up everybody’s business 🤣🤣

Jay [3:37PM]: anyways see you princess!

Jay [3:37PM]: oh and I have something for you too lol

You [3:38PM]: WHAT?? WHAT IS IT THIS TIME JAY IS2G

You [3:39PM]: DONT LEAVE ME ON READ WTF??? 🤬

* * *

“Oh my God, Jay you didn’t have to get me a new dress!” You exclaim as you watch the man pull the said dress from a box that looked far too luxurious to your liking. “You’re my fake boyfriend, not my sugar daddy!”

Jay gives you an unimpressed look. “Never call me that again,” He says drily as he lays the dress onto your bed. “Besides, boyfriends can still buy stuff for their significant other, right?” He raises a sharp eyebrow at you as if daring you to prove him wrong and if he notices the warmth coating your cheeks, he doesn’t comment on it. Instead, he continues to gaze at you with hawk-like eyes, foot tapping impatiently against the wooden floors with his arms folded against his chest.

“I mean, I guess but—c’mon, this must have cost you a lot or something.” You reason, “you could have just picked something out from my wardrobe…” You say while pointing to your closet that had some articles of clothing that would have tickled Jay’s fancy.

But he only shrugs, giving it a quick glance. “Sure, I could’ve done that. But I did say we’d be putting on a show tonight, yeah?” He grins, eyes twinkling with mischief and you would be lying if you didn’t find that look on him the least bit attractive. “Imagine how wounded his ego will be once he sees you in this expensive dress that I was able to buy for you—as the perfect boyfriend should.” Though Jay was at least trying his best not to sound smug, the way his chest had puffed out slightly as he stood taller was already an indication that he too would enjoy the possible outcome of this stunt.

“Okay, you got me there.” You resign, eyeing the dress with mild interest, “thanks, I guess.”

Jay beams, clapping his hands once, appearing satisfied by your gratitude. “You’re welcome, princess.” He snickers when you make a face at his newfound fixation on the ridiculous pet name, “now get ready. I’ll be waiting in the living room, okay?”

You hum in affirmation.

He smiles. “Good girl.”

“Get out.”

Jay bursts into laughter, “I’m going, I’m going!”

As soon as the door clicks shut behind him, you panic, pacing around the room all the while keeping an eye on the dress spread innocently on your bed, then you realize that you were being ridiculous about all this. Wasn’t it your idea for petty revenge? Why are you so nervous? It’s just Jay… you’re ridiculously handsome best friend who is equally ridiculous as you are for agreeing to your stupid revenge plan that has come back to bite you in the ass.

Yeah, you were definitely aware of how slow you are when it comes to your own feelings and you can only hope that if you were to admit to harboring a rapidly growing crush on him, you would hope that Jay would at least hear you out.

You leave your en-suite an hour later decked only in your bathrobe, hair and makeup already done and all that’s left is to put on the absurdly expensive dress your fake boyfriend decided to buy for you. You’ve got to admit, his reason for spending on you (again) made sense, so you’ll let his impulsivity slide just this once. Besides, you know it would be worth seeing the look on your ex’s face.

Only, there was one problem, you couldn’t for the life of you get the zipper sitting innocently on top of your tailbone to budge.

You really did try your best to pull and pull, but for a dress that was so meticulously made, it sure made your life harder than it already is.

A huff escapes your lips as you look at yourself in the mirror with disdain, hair that was once neat already mussed up from your constant fidgeting and you can see the makeup around your nose lifting from working up a sweat: all in all, you were not having a fun time, even if the dress looked gorgeous.

“Right.” You mumble, hands clutching the front of the dress for dear life as you trudge towards your door, totally ignoring your racing heart as you crack the door open to peak your head out.

“Jay?” Your voice is meek as you eye your best friend seated on an armchair with a book you had left on your coffee table in hand. His leather jacket is thrown on the back of the loveseat to expose the button-down shirt and his toned arms and as much as you want to stare at the glorious sight, the cool air brushing against your bare back snapped you out of your stupor.

It’s on the second call of his name when he looks up and he immediately snaps the books close when he meets your gaze. “Babe? What’s wrong?” He’s quick on his feet, rushing towards you with concern written all over his face.

“It’s the dress,” you mumble, an embarrassed blush rising to your cheeks, “I can’t zip it up. It’s like it’s stuck or something.”

Your cheeks warms even further when a soft laugh flies past his lips, “is that it? I thought it was an emergency.” He teases, pushing your door further open so he can make his way inside.

“It is though!” You argue, walking backwards until you stood in front of your mirror. “And I’m not gonna risk destroying this dress!”

Jay snickers, shaking his head fondly. “Alright, princess, calm down.” He says and you watch him get behind you in the mirror. “Right, I’m just gonna…” Goosebumps rise on your skin when you feel his fingers brush your neck when he moves your hair to rest on one shoulder, exposing the bare skin of your back. “Wouldn’t want that in the way, yeah?”

“Y-yeah…” You gulp, tensing when he places a hand on your waist.

“Why are you so skittish? It’s just me.” And that’s exactly the problem.

Up until your… awakening, he was just Jay, your over-the-top best friend who loved to barge into your home unannounced as if he owned the place and now looking at him through your mirror, he became Jay; your best friend who you may or may not have developed feelings for throughout weeks of him being your fake boyfriend. So no one can really blame you when your breath hitches as he starts to pull the zipper up the length of your back, his breath occasionally hitting the nape of your neck and you almost, almost gasp out loud when the blunt nail of his thumb grazes your skin.

“There we go,” Jay murmurs, voice lower than usual as both of his hands brushed down your sides to rid the dress of any wrinkles. “You look really good.”

That prompts you to look at yourself in the mirror once more, “you think so?”

“I know so.” He affirms, gently squeezing your waist.

You smile at the compliment, tilting your neck to peer up at Jay who’s already looking at you, a pleased smile playing on his lips. “Thank you.”

“I’m only telling the truth.” He shrugs, “now hurry up, we’ve got an ex to upstage.” Jay presses a quick kiss to your temple, giving your waist a last squeeze before he’s heading out of your room, leaving you to process everything that just happened with an erratically beating heart.

“Well, I’m fucked.”

* * *

The party is in full swing when you and Jay arrive at Heeseung’s home, however the host himself was nowhere to be found. At least Sunoo, Jake and Sunghoon were easy to find, albeit in different locations but still, both you and Jay managed.

You now stood close to the living area, where it became an impromptu dance floor as you and Jay each nursed a solo cup of whatever alcoholic beverage you chose as you talked—well, shouting is much more appropriate considering the music was extra loud and Jay made sure to keep an eye out for your ex too with you having to snap him out of it when he gets a little too into his ‘sentry’ duty.

It’s when you were in the middle of telling Jay about an eventful Wednesday morning does his posture stiffen, eyebrows narrowed as his eyes zeroed in on something behind you. “I see your ex.” He says, placing his hand on the small of your back to push him closer to you. “He’s with some girl.”

“Oh, shit—now?” Fuck. You almost forgot why you were here in the first place.

“Hey, calm down.” Jay says, running his hand up and down your back to placate your nerves, “now here’s what you’re gonna do: you’re going to pull me onto the dance floor, smile pretty for me and pull onto my belt loop, yeah? Then I’ll take it from there.”

You look over your shoulder, recognizing the familiar mop of hair of your ex that is also making his way to the dance floor with the same girl you caught him with then looking back at Jay with pursed lips. “Okay.”

Jay smiles, the same mischievous twinkle alight in his dark eyes, “alright. Show time.” Then you watch him tip back his head to down his drink in one go, your eyes trailing down to gaze at his adam's apple bobbing up and down. He looks at you again, licking his lips for any remnants of the drink before a smirk graces his lips. “Go on, I’ll be right behind you.” He reassures you, tucking a loose strand of hair behind your ear.

The dance floor is packed, you note, the temperature increased significantly too due to the amount of bodies you had to weave your way through while pulling Jay along until you found a spot spacious enough for both of you to move freely and when you knew all eyes were on both of you, especially Jay taking his reputation into account, you set the plan in motion.

You just hope your ex was looking at the two of you.

With a sudden rush of confidence, you turn on your heel, keeping in mind to keep your movements smooth and measured as you faced Jay with that sweet and sultry smile you promised him. Your teeth sunk into the plushness of your lower lip as you did for a full effect as your finger curled around one of his belt loops to pull him into you.

Hands resting on his chest, you lean into his ear, close enough that your lips almost brush against it. “How’s that?”

Jay hums, “perfect. Never thought you had that in you if I’m being honest, so I’m pleasantly surprised.”

You pull back just to give him a cheeky grin, “guess I’m just full of surprises.”

“That you are, princess,” he says, voice low as his eyes bore into yours, “that you are—now,” you feel his hands place themselves on your hips. “Dance with me.” You didn’t need to be told twice, already swaying to the beat of the song with your hands trailing up Jay’s chest to rest behind his neck, fingers loosely playing with the hair there.

It’s lost how long exactly you spent dancing on the still crowded dance floor as your mind could only focus on the delicious smell of Jay’s perfume, how devastatingly handsome he looked in the lowlight and how incredible it made you feel when he watched you as if you were the only one worthy of his undivided attention and God you could definitely get used to that look on his face.

Your ex is long forgotten at this point. Who cares about what he thinks? What everybody thinks? You couldn’t give two fucks even if you tried, not when your senses were filled with Jay Jay Jay, and the way his arms felt around you; you could only wish this could last forever. Although, your momentary pining gets interrupted when the familiar beats of the next song sounded.

“Oh!” You exclaim when you recognize the song playing at the moment, “I love this song!”

“Yeah?” Jay chuckles, running a hand up and down your back as you began singing along.

“My baby loves me, my baby loves me—“

“I really do.”

“Yeah—wait what?”

The chance of replying to the sudden confession wasn’t part of the options anymore, not when Jay has his lips against yours with one of his hands cupping your jaw. It’s a shame you don’t get to respond however, as he already pulled back, but his hand still held your jaw. His thumb gently stroked your skin as his eyes filled with so much adoration for you and you alone looked into your widened pair.

You would have expected him to shy away from your gaze, considering you were absolutely speechless at the moment but Jay stood rooted to the ground as he smiled gently at you. He doesn’t look afraid, if anything, he looked pretty calm, far too calm for someone who just admitted to being in love with their best friend for—

“How—how long?” You stammer, cheeks absolutely aflame as Jay swayed you both to Ariana Grande’s voice. “How long have you—“

“Have I loved you?” Jay continues for you, “far too long that I immediately jumped at the chance of being your fake boyfriend.” Now he looks a tad sheepish from the revelation. Nonetheless, he still stood tall, confidence unwavering. “My timing is always shit when it comes to you, did you know? Every single fucking time I was about to ask you out on a date, someone always beats me to it. I always claim it was bad timing, but Sunoo would counter that with me just being a coward.” He makes a face, “well, he wasn’t wrong, but it was mostly timing.”

“I almost lost hope, but then you asked me to be your fake boyfriend and I obviously took that as a chance to show you what I could be like as a boyfriend to you.” Jay muses, “and it also pissed me off that you seem to always find the assholes. I know this isn’t what you were expecting from all of this and I know that you might not feel the same but—“

“Jay?”

“Yeah?”

“Just shut up and kiss me again before I change my mind.”

You weren’t entirely sure if you were there yet, love that is; but you knew you felt something more for the man who kissed you like you were the most precious thing to ever walk the earth and the more his lips moved against yours, the more he showed how much he wanted you to be his and his alone. He poured his everything into it, only for you to grow more and more certain that you’ll have no problems falling in love with your best friend in no time.

Besides, you always thought Jay would probably make it easy for anyone to fall for him. He just had that aura, never mind his initial cold front. It’s what comes after when you get to know him better in the long run.

Jay pulls away, resting his forehead against yours, “Wanna get out of here?”

“Thought you’d never ask.”

It’s when you wake up in his arms the next morning were you convinced that maybe, just maybe you have loved Jay since the beginning, but you were just too busy looking for love somewhere else to pay attention to what was right there all along.

At least now you have Jay to remind you, after all, it’s hard to forget about him when he’s currently peppering your face with gentle kisses and there was no place you’d rather be than where you are now.

* * *

a/n: I can't believe I wrote 8k words from hearing "my baby loves me" over and over again help

taglist (permanent): @13isacoolnumber @shine-your-light @viscoolreal @enhypenisnotforsale @youreverydayzebra @envirae @ac-ewow @ferxanda @yut0s @luvelyxp @cha-raena @kpopwrld @mitsuyen @lvpersona

2K notes · View notes

enhashoney · 3 years

Text

notoriously yours | jay park

✰ summary: jay park is a rich kid. it’s safe to say he has everything every broke college student on his campus could dream of and more. but the one thing he doesn’t have, which money definitely can’t buy, is a girlfriend. and his friends won’t see of it. literally.

so what happens when his friends bet him to date someone for more than three months? what happens when jay decides that fake-dating someone would be easier than actual dating (because god forbid Jay–the campus’ notoriously known fuckboy–decides to commit to something once in his life)?

and what happens when that someone is you, his childhood best friend he hasn’t spoken to in years..who has absolutely no interest in being in his life anymore?

✰ pairing: jay park x y/n [ft. members of enha]

✰ genre: fluff, comedy, angst | fakedating!au, college!au, childhoodbestfriends!au, (kinda) e2l!au

✰ warnings: cursing, nothing suggestive but jay's a fuckboy so slightly suggestive themes, mentions of parental neglect/leaving, it's hella long (and i thought my last fic was long)

✰ wc: 14.7k (how did i get it this long oh lord)

✰ author's note: picture creds go to original owners/editors! peep that edit of jay that lowkey inspired this entire fic 👀also this took me so, so long bc i lost motivation half way thru and bc college is a thing,,,so i honestly don't know how to feel abt it so pls bare with me :')))) ALSO the dividers are weird bc idk how to add more than 10 pics for the dividers so pls excuse those ٩(× ×)۶i hope u guys enjoy!! <333

⸺ ⸺ ⸺ ⸺ ⸺ ⸺ ⸺ ⸺ ⸺ ⸺ ⸺

Jay Park is a rich kid.

Jay Park has enough to buy every textbook he needs for his courses without having to look up the free versions online. Jay Park has enough to bribe his professors to let him pass every class with a perfect 4.0 GPA (but because the boy has morals, he doesn't). Jay Park has enough to afford a car to drive to his furthest class from his dorm building instead of walk or bike like every other college student, meaning he also has enough to afford a parking spot on campus (those things aren't cheap!).

Jay Park walks around your school's campus like he owns the place (and considering the amount of money his family has donated to the school, he practically does), looking like he just walked out of your local coffee shop's newest fashion magazine. His blonde hair is never seen untouched, his attire usually consisting of an undoubtedly high-end all-black fit, accessorized with multiple earrings and rings that probably cost more than all the overpriced textbooks you had to rent out this semester. It's safe to say that everyone knows Jay Park.

Bottom line is, Jay Park has everything.

Well, his friends beg to differ.

In their eyes, Jay Park has everything but a simple factor in the equation of love (or whatever love is to the minds of a couple of 19 year olds): commitment.

So yes, it's safe to say that everyone knows Jay Park. Because everyone knows he's the campus' rich fuckboy. (What's a college fanfic campus without one anyways?)

Jay doesn't go unreminded of this by his friends, to the boy's annoyance.

Jay is aware of this on a Sunday afternoon, in his dorm building's first floor lounge, where he and his said friends are having a study session.

They're doing anything but studying.

In fact, no one has any books out or anything. Not a single laptop in site.

"You don't think it's the slightly bit concerning?" Jake's words are muffled as he continues munching on the fried chicken that he spent majority of this study session debating if he should have it delivered through UberEats or not.

"I really don't, no," Jay shrugs as he continues mindlessly scrolling through his Instagram feed. They're having the same argument conversation that they've revisited multiple times over the course of their friendship, one that Jay has been lectured on too many times for his own good. He thinks his friends could become his new parents if they really tried.

"Look at it this way, okay. You're about to graduate college in a couple of years, into the big world. Like the actual, adult world. And that means you'll have to settle down. Which you can't do when you. have. no. commitment!" Jake punctuates each word with a single clap of his hands, desperate to get his point across.

Jay simply rolls his eyes. He looks over to Sunghoon, who's minding his own business, not bothered by the same topic he's heard over and over again. His eyes tell Jay you're on your own, in response to his blonde-haired friend's look of despair.

Jay thinks that maybe he should get new friends. Yes, that's the only solution here.

"My love life," Jay reaches across the table for a drumstick from the greasy tub seated in Jake's lap until Jake swats his hand away, "is none of your business. Also, ouch."

"Uh, it kinda is. Because of you and your reputation around campus, it kinda affects us, your best friends. How do you think we look, hanging out with the guy who's known to ghost every girl in existence after one night with them? No offense to you," Jake deadpans to him. Jay mentally reconsiders the term best friends.

Tough love. Jay tells himself it's tough love.

"Yes, because every girl totally hates Jake Sim, the teacher assistant of a physics class who volunteers at the pet shelter every Sunday and brings their pet golden retriever to campus every two weeks," Jay rolls his eyes at his Australian friend.

Jake sighs. "Okay, then I'm coming from a place of worry for you."

Jay groans. "Again, none of your business!" This doesn't stop Jake. He comes from good intentions, really, but Jay wants nothing more than to stuff the kid's mouth with some of that chicken to shut him up.

"What are you gonna do if one day you meet someone you like, genuinely like, and you screw yourself over because you've never been in an actual relationship before? A real, committed one. Like one that lasts at least three months."

"You don't think I can last three months in a relationship?" Jay questions the boy currently taunting him.

"Honestly? No. What's the longest relationship you've been in?" Jake cocks an eyebrow at his friend across from him.

One month and two weeks. But Jay's smart enough to not say that out loud.

"I can so last over three months," Jay mutters more to himself than Jake.

Jake laughs at that, pausing to take another bite of the drumstick in his hand. "Jay, I am willing to actually bet you. Bet that you wouldn't be able to." He leans back on the couch, the ball now in Jay's court.

Jay freezes, looking up from his phone, narrowing his eyes at Jake.

"Forget it, Jake. He's not gonna agree even if you offered him money," Sunghoon finally perches from beside him. Well he's not wrong. It's not like Jay is exactly in need of more money, per say.

"What kind of bet are we talking here?"

Sunghoon's right. Jay doesn't need the money, but he does hate being wrong. Even if it's over something as stupid as this matter.

Caught off guard by the blonde's answer, Jake blinks blankly at him and takes a second to think.

"Hmm..what about...what about if you can date someone for at least three months, and I mean an actual, committed relationship, then I'll do all of your physics homework next semester."

Jay's eyes sparkle at that. If there's anything he despises more than commitment, it's physics.

"And if I win, you have to buy all of my textbooks," Jake sits back from the edge of his seat with a smirk lying on his face.

Jay pauses to think about it. I mean, what does he have to lose? A couple hundred dollars over college textbooks? No. Because he just simply won't lose.

And maybe he'll learn what it'll be like to actually be in a committed relationship for once. Maybe he'll finally learn what it's like to actually devote yourself to someone, open up to them. He shivers at the thought. Never mind. He'll warm up to it. Baby steps.

Nonetheless, what could go wrong? Even if he does lose, at least his money would be going somewhere productive––towards his friend's education. Jay was probably gonna use that money on something useless like a blanket that resembles a tortilla (a burrito blanket, he calls it)––something he doesn't necessarily need, but must have, he would argue.

"Fine. Whatever, okay. Deal," he grabs Jake's extended hand in front of him and shakes on it.

Jake's impressively smiling at the boy as Sunghoon lets out a sigh, in disbelief with the two guys he calls his best friends.

Jay concludes that this will be easier than his Introduction to Photography 101 course he took his freshman year. How hard is it to find someone to date the Jay Park? Surely, everyone will be lining up once Jay switches his FaceBook relationship status from "it's complicated" to "single".

Turns out, it's not as easy as his class where all Jay had to do was take pictures of a pretty sunset, slap a VSCO filter on, and call it a day.

He comes to this realization on a Wednesday evening, as he's seated at one of the many study tables lined in the middle of the campus' library, staring down at his phone's dry iMessage app, with his laptop and blank sheets of scratch paper scrambled across the entire table, as an attempt to look half as studious as the other students studying in the facility.

Turns out, being known as the campus' fuckboy who ghosts every girl on campus isn't a good thing when it comes to wanting to find a real relationship.

He comes to this realization after failing to receive a single text back to the many ones he sent out throughout the first half of his day. The ghoster gets ghosted. Oh how the turn tables.

Jay groans dramatically as he tosses his phone on the hard surface of the table, earning himself a harsh shush from the librarian filing books in the aisle beside him.

He sheepishly smiles back as an apology, directing his attention back to his open laptop screen, where his untouched calculus homework stares back at him––his mind preoccupied with the looming threat of Jake's bet. Not that it was threatening in any way, per say, but Jay just hates losing. And from the looks of things, it's safe to say that Jay won't be celebrating any victories anytime soon.

Jay thinks he should just change his identity and just transfer to some boarding school in Switzerland. Yes, that's a much better solution than admitting defeat to Jake.

Jay sighs as he lies his head on the table, figuring he might as well just write the check for Jake's textbooks now. He wonders how he got here in the first place. Not how he got into the bet, and definitely not how he's sitting in the middle of the library, having yet to start his calculus homework due at 11:59PM tonight (he should really start that).

But no, he wonders how he gained the reputation as the campus' playboy. To be fair, his friends (mainly Jake), are constantly reminding him of his notorious habits. But how did they come a habit in the first place?

The idea of being in a relationship is nice, sure, but the commitment that comes with it? The idea of being dependent on someone? It's scary, vulnerable, and one that Jay can't picture for himself.

Maybe some people just aren't meant to be paired. Maybe some people, like Jay, like being independent and are meant to stay that way.

But Jay also likes affection. He likes the fleeting, warm feeling he gets every time he finds himself under someone's sheets. He likes the short-lived comfort he receives from someone else's touch, even though he knows it's going to cease to exist the second he steps out of those bedroom's doors. He just likes affection, simple as that.

That and he's a 19 year old teenage boy with needs, what did you expect?

And so what if he likes the idea of affection minus commitment? Is that so bad? Apparently it is, to people like his friends and the entirety of his school's campus, at least.

At this rate, he might as well pay someone to date him.

Wait. Jay lifts his head off the table's surface in realization.

He might as well pay someone to date him.

There's no harm in that, is there?

He wouldn't have to endure through an endless amount of dates to find someone he clicks with, then continue going on dates with said clicked person, all while trying to develop an actual, serious relationship.

He'll win the bet, get his physics homework done for an entire semester, and some lucky girl out there will be making profit for the small price of hanging out with Jay Park for three months.

And lucky for him, Jay knows the perfect candidate for this scheme.

Simple as that.

Just as long as said perfect candidate says yes.

And as long as Jake and Sunghoon don't find out. Or else Jay might really have to move to Switzerland after all.

You love your friends, you do.

Hana and Heeseung have been there for you when others haven't––they were by your side when you knew no one entering high school, and they were still by your side when you were all graduating said high school. Needless to say, you're eternally grateful for friends like them.

But right now, in this moment––with you seated in the middle of the campus' library, trying to write your essay, as your two friends blabber on and on about the most recent gossip across from you––your two friends could be your villain origin story.

But again, you love your friends, you do. So you don't have the heart to tell them to leave. You've managed to naturally tune out most of the conversation, anyways, for this––your friends coming to hang out while you're trying to study––is no rare occurrence by any means.

"Oh yeah, Jay Park texted me last night."

You hate how your brain's filter suddenly turns off at Hana's words.

You hate how your ears catch the sudden mention of Jay Park's name.

You hate how the thought of Jay Park gets to even occupy a single brain cell of yours.

You hate how you even know who Jay Park is. Well, knew.

Past tense. Because up until eighth grade––when Jay decided to just suddenly pretend you didn't exist––he was attached to you like a koala to a eucalyptus tree.

And if you had asked past Y/N, ideally, Jay would've never left your side. Ideally, he would've never left you to fend for yourself when entering high school. Ideally, he would've stayed your best friend through out all four years of high school and ideally, you would've eventually told him how you really felt about him after growing up with him all your life. And maybe it would've lead to a completely different story. But for the sake of this fic, we don't live in an ideal world.

So yes, if it wasn't for his attendance at the very same university as you, you would've forgotten about the boy who brought you the painful memories of your childhood.

And since the universe clearly doesn't work in your favor, avoiding Jay Park's existence like he's the plague would have to suffice. And it works.

For the most part.

Until some people, bring him up uninvited into your conversation. Like now, for example.

"When was the last time you guys talked anyways?" Heeseung mindlessly asks as he reaches across the table to grab one of the many snacks you usually bring to your study sessions.

"Uh..like a few weeks ago. Give or take. Whenever you threw your house party. Can't say there was much talking involved however," she teasingly says with a giggle and wiggle of her brows.

Heeseung's rolling his eyes as you scoff and chuck a nearby crumpled piece of paper that was once one of your many essay drafts at her.

She bats it away right as it's about to hit her face as she laughs. "Doesn't matter anyways. He ghosted me the next morning, as he does with everyone else. Telling you this now," she extends a finger right at you, "stay away from Jay Park. That kid's just bad news."

You nod in response, mentally telling her she has nothing to worry about.

Been there, done that.

College. Ah yes, the very concept of spending four years of your life imprisoned on a campus where you'll be tearing your hair out from stress and spending all your life's savings just for a laminated sheet of paper with a golden stamp at the end of it all. We live in a society.

Because of said college, and all the weight that comes along with it, you had adapted a strict daily schedule in order to not completely lose your mind. It's a simple schedule really, one of a typical college student who's just trying to get by everyday with as little mental breakdowns as possible.

Wake up, get ready, go to class, go to the library to do your homework, walk all the way across campus to get back to your dorm, shower, then sleep. Oh and eat, of course. And maybe if time permits, be an actual social being and socialize.

It's gotten you this far into the college life without dropping out so, you conclude, you must be doing something right.

Sometimes, if you're feeling nice to yourself, you'll tweak the schedule a bit to fit in some exceptions. Maybe squeeze in a little trip to the bubble tea shop that's on the other side of campus, or maybe get dinner at that one dining hall that you don't usually go to because of the unncessarily long lines (but because they serve ice cream, you go anyways). It doesn't matter what the exception is, you still plan it out to fit into your schedule somehow. Everything is planned out.

Sometimes, however, the universe disagrees with your schedule, to your demise. Such as today, for example.

Because what you didn't expect for today was for a particular blonde-haired boy who you haven't spoken to in almost six years (but who's counting?) to approach your table in the library––a table you were sure no one could find you at, as it was quietly tucked away in the back corner, right next to the Astrophysics shelves. Because who browses the Astrophysics aisle for fun? Actually, maybe Jake Sim would. Anyways.

You definitely didn't anticipate a visit from the boy you've been actively avoiding, so you definitely didn't expect the first words coming out of his mouth when he sees you for the first time in six years to be:

"Fake date me."

You blink up at him.

Yeah, definitely not expected.

But you only let it phase you for a split second, until you feel a slight annoyance beginning to bubble up deep inside of you.

"Wow, hello to you too Jay! It's been what––half a decade? Yeah I've been pretty good, thanks for asking!" The sarcasm is practically dripping off your tongue.

You don't know what runs through Jay's mind, but apparently it isn't common sense––or the ability to read the room. Because next thing you know, he's sliding the chair across from you out from underneath the table and making himself at home.

And he's smiling right at you.

Curse him and his smile.

But no, you're not giving into it.

Not yet, at least.

"What do you want?" You deadpan at him when he makes no sign of making the next move.

"A girlfriend," he deadpans right back at you, as if he was casually telling you what he wanted for dinner. As if you two were close-knit friends that could approach one another without any proper greeting. As if you two had kept your friendship all these years. As if you two even had a role in each other's lives.

"Can't help you there," you scoff, deciding to not even question his lack of manners on top of his uninvited presence.

"Aren't you gonna ask me why?"

"Well gee, seeing that the first few words you decided to say to my face for the first time in forever were a demand, a demand to date you no less, then....no," your monotone voice says as you keep your eyes focused on your laptop screen, not daring to look at the boy across from you.

In the Introduction to Sociology course you took your freshmen year, you had learned of one important term: interactional vandalism. Textbook definition being: "ignoring signals of disinterest in a conversation, leading it to an offense."

Your definition being: "are you oblivious or just plan dumb, read the room!"

This was interactional vandalism, alright. Whether Jay's truly oblivious or just trying to annoy you until your head explodes (it's really the former, but you're convinced it's the latter), he takes your signals of disinterest and tosses it right out of his head to continue the conversation.

"I'm stuck in this stupid bet with Jake--do you remember him? He bet me that I couldn't date someone for more than three months and I figured having someone fake date me would be easier than actually dating someone, right? That's where you come into the equation," he proposes as he leans back in his chair, as if he had just finished a sales pitch to a prospective customer looking to buy a car.

You couldn't believe this. You're 98% sure this has got to be a prank. You're mentally preparing for a camera crew to jump out from in-between the library's aisles any moment now and scream into your ears that you've just been punk'd!

The remaining 2% of you, however, wouldn't put it past the two boys to get themselves in such a situation. The last memory you had of Jay and his friends were pretty much their childish selves back in middle school. And by looking at the current scene unfolding in front of you...it's needless to say they haven't changed much.

"Again, can't help you there. Ask one of the many girlfriends I thought you had." Ouch.

"But Y/N, you've known me all your life--"

"Up until you dropped me a few years ago but sure, let's call it that."

"--and convincing other people is gonna make me look--"

"--desperate? Yeah."

"C'mon, Y/N. What do you have to lose anyways?"

"Uh..my dignity? Pride? Self-respect? Sorry Jay, not happening," you turn your attention back to your unwritten essay in front of you, mentally checking out of this conversation. This would be a good time for that camera crew to jump out now.

"Look, no one else is gonna do it, Y/N." Jay has always been stubborn, you suppose. But so are you.

"Yeah, because you've managed to push every being of the opposite gender away from you. You gave yourself this reputation in the first place," you give it to him straight. It's not like you had a relationship with him to uphold anyways––Jay himself broke that friendship years ago.

Jay hates that you're right.

You're always right. He remembers how he used to always go to you for advice and clarity on the world's biggest problems. Granted, the world's biggest problems to him at the time equated to what he should dress up as for the fifth grade Halloween party, but still. A tough decision, for the mind of a ten-year-old.

You abruptly stop typing and begin putting your laptop and textbooks away as you huff in frustration. There's no point in trying to get your work done now. The longer you stay arguing with Jay, the bigger your headache gets. The longer he continues to occupy any part of your brain, the bigger your headache gets.

Getting up from your seat, packed and ready to slam your head into your pillow, you turn to the blonde one last time.

"Look Jay. We went on our separate ways years ago. If you weren't so notoriously known around campus and my friends would stop talking about you, I would've long forgotten you. I'm sorry you're in this situation, really. If I were you, I'd just tell Jake I can't do it. Or don't, I can't tell you what to do. Just don't get some innocent girl involved in whatever stunt of yours this is."

Jay stares at you, mouth agape, as you find your way out of the library and through the main doors. By the time he comes back to his senses, he realizes how he looks plain stupid––standing in the middle of the library, the look on his face screaming befuddlement, to say the least. Jay quickly makes his way out of the building, in hopes of convincing you one last time.

Jay catches sight of your figure already half-way down the walkway that connects the library to the main quad of your school's campus. Geez, you walk fast.

Not fast enough to outrun Jay's legs, however. If Jay running after you through the middle of campus in order to convince you to fake date him doesn't show how desperate he is to win this bet, I don't know what will.

"Wait, Y/N!"

You groan to yourself before turning to face the boy who can't seem to take a hint and leave you alone. You stare at his out-of-breath state as he heaves up and down from the slight jog he had to endure to get to where you are. If you're humored by him chasing after you, you do a good job of hiding it.

He meets your unimpressed state before stating his final proposition: "I'll pay you. Five hundred dollars."

You nearly stop breathing.

Now this catches your attention––after all, you're but a broke college student who's just trying to survive. And preferably not by feeding yourself instant ramen cups every night.

And so, naturally, you begin rethinking about the opportunity presented in front of you. You narrow your eyes at the boy as you weigh your options.

The first problem being, it's Jay Park––the bane of your very existence. You spent the last few years of your life pretending he didn't exist...for good reason. Not only did he do you dirty when you were merely a couple of 13-year-olds, but you just didn't want to be involved with someone like him. Someone known for his nature, someone who left your own current best friend ghosted. And not that Hana herself would care, for she has called herself the "female Jay Park", but you're sure this would be breaking some rule in the girl code handbook. Plus, if you agree to this, you'd be betraying 13-year-old Y/N, the one who decided to never speak to nor think of Jay Park again––which by now you've failed, but you get the gist.

Second problem being, three months is a long time. Three months is practically the rest of this semester, and did you really want to spend the rest of the semester tied down to the label of being Jay Park's girlfriend? There would have to be some negative connotations that came along with that title, right? No offense to Jay, but being his first girlfriend since, what, high school could make you come off as..naive, for lack of a better term. As if the only person you could settle for was Jay Park. As if you barely had any standards for yourself. Again, no offense to Jay.

Needless to say, if your school's debate club had to argue on why you shouldn't be doing this, you're sure the negating side could win with these two reasons alone.

But before you're rejecting the boy currently standing in front of you one last time, you find yourself mentally listing rebuttals.

First of all, you'd be getting paid. And again, you're merely but a college student living the stereotypical broke college student life––burdened by the costs of tuition, textbooks, and midnight McDonalds runs for when you're out of aforementioned instant ramen cups. Five hundred dollars could provide you with more than enough chicken McNuggets to last you the semester, and maybe some more to treat yourself to an online shopping spree.

Second of all, it's not like you were going to do anything better with your next three months anyways. It's safe to say you were too busy being a diligent student to actually look for anyone to date, per say. And if anything, having a fake boyfriend might actually be helpful in your case. Your mom would be off your ass about how you're still single, for one. And two, your friends (though it's really just Heeseung) would stop trying to hook you up on blind dates with guys that you would choose Jay Park over any day (and that really says something).

Third of all, it's Jay Park. As much as you despise the kid, you still know him. He's not a complete stranger to you, no matter how much you try to deny it. It could be worse, it could be a complete rando asking you to date him. At least you two have some sort of history, which would take care of the typical small talk and getting to know each other bit of this equation. And truth be told, you'd be lying to yourself if you said you weren't a tad bit satisfied by the fact that Jay chose you, of all people, to pull off this stunt with him. You don't know if it's the nostalgia of your childhood memories rushing back to you, but it reminds you of the endless schemes you two used to plan behind your parents' backs all the time. Granted, your childhood schemes––such as the both of you faking sickness so you could skip school together––don't even fall close to being in a fake relationship with one another, but still. It's the thought that counts.

All of those reasons plus, Jay isn't the worst to look at. He may have a spoiled reputation, but at least he has his looks going for him, you'll give him that (you're still secretly wondering when and how did he get his glow up, but don't tell him that).

And so by the guidelines of a college student's logic that states the pros outweigh the cons, you come to the overarching conclusion that maybe, this won't be so awful after all.

"Five hundred?" You ask, just for clarification. Jay's immediately nodding at your words. You continue to ponder on your thoughts as he stares at you hopefully.

The silent atmosphere of your campus heightens the tension so much, you swear you're in one of those overdramatic pausing scenes that occur too many times in k-dramas.

You sigh, then nod.

"Okay," you're internally praying that you won't regret this decision. "I'm in."

The next time you see Jay is at 12:17PM on a Friday afternoon, as you're exiting the doors of the lecture building that's home to your awfully long Capitalism in the Western World class.

You're going down the steps of the building, mentally deciding where and what you're going to treat yourself to for lunch––as the three hour lecture you had just attended drained all the life and energy out of you––when you hear the slight call of your name.

Turning to the source, you're met with a waving Jay, leaning against the passenger's side of his car, parked in front of the lecture hall building you were currently leaving.

Great.

You walk over to where he's casually waiting––he's unaware of all the stares he's attracted from fellow students leaving the same lecture as you. Can you blame them? It's not everyday you see a sleek, black BMW that probably cost more than your tuition pull up in front of your Friday afternoon lecture. It's not everyday you see Jay Park waiting for anyone outside of his said sleek, black BMW that probably cost more than your tuition.

"Hi," you simply let out as you plant yourself in front of him, not sure whether or not to question him why are you here? Surely, he wasn't waiting for you?

"Hi," he smiles down at you. There's a beat of silence. "I was waiting for you."

Bingo.

"Oh. What are you, my chauffeur?" You raise an eyebrow, unimpressed.

"Maybe. I am your boyfriend, after all," he says into the air, loud and clear, as if he wanted people to hear. Well that is the point, you suppose.

But still, all you want to do is smack the smirk right off his face.

Before you have time to put your next question into words, he answers it for you.

"I'm taking you out for lunch," he declares as if you have nothing else planned for the day. Well, to be fair, you didn't have anything else planned for the day. Except for your usual library run. But you figure the library could wait.

"Oh, like on a date?" You raise your eyebrows teasingly at him as you get into the car, Jay holding the door wide open for you. "Is Jay Park treating me to lunch as a date?"

Jay fights the scowl (or is that a smile?) growing on his face as he bends down to meet your eye level from inside the car. "Don't flatter yourself, princess. We've got fake lives to live."

"Call me princess one more time and you won't have a real life to live," you flash him a sarcastic smile and slam the door in his face.

Jay meets his own shocked reflection on the passenger's side window.

Cute.

"When you said you were taking me out to lunch, I expected like...I don't know...the diner on campus. Not whatever this is," you mutter to Jay as the two of you are brought to your table by a waitress at an upscale sushi restaurant, one that is undoubtedly out of your usual budget, but for sure an upgrade from your dining hall's pizza you were planning to have. You should've figured as much, the drive here was a little more than out of the way from campus, and who are you kidding, it's Jay Park you're eating with.

You stare down at your current outfit, which consisted of a hoodie you've owned since your junior year of high school and leggings that you threw on without second thought this morning––because you didn't exactly wake up and decide I'm going to go to a fancy sushi bar for lunch today!

"Why are we here anyways?" You ask him when you're both settled in your seats and the waitress walks away after listing the chef's specials for the day.

"Oh, they have killer dragon rolls here, you have to try it," Jay tells you nonchalantly as his eyes rake the menu in front of him, blocking your view of him.

How dense can one be? Your hand snatches his menu as you stare into his unamused eyes.

"No, Jay. I mean, why are we here? It's not like anyone's around to see us put on a show anyways."

"Oh. I figured," Jay's quick to grab the menu back from out of your hands as he continues, "that we should sit down and establish how exactly we're going to deliver this performance. After all, you're stuck with me for the next three months."

Again, smacking the smirk currently resting on his face would satisfy you beyond relief. Just once.

"If I drop out halfway through, do I still get $250?" You tease, leaning back.

"Ha ha. Funny. No," he narrows his eyes at you from across the table. "It's all or nothing."

You dramatically huff to make a show just for his annoyance.

"Worth a try. But sure, let's solidify this. What's the game plan?" You sit up in your seat, leaning over the table as if the two of you were hosting a secret meeting.

"It's simple really," Jay mirrors your actions, face leaning in close to where yours is hovering over the table. "Just pretend to be deeply in love with me for three months, and try not to actually be charmed by my cunning looks."

If someone gave you five dollars for every time you've already rolled your eyes at him today, you wouldn't even need to be in this deal for the five hundred dollars.

"Wow, smooth. Can I just remind you you're the one paying a girl to be in a fake relationship with you because you're just not competent enough to find an actual girlfriend?" You lean back, arms crossing over your figure.

Jay, unfazed, laughs, tongue briefly hitting the inside of his cheek. "Touché."

Your eyes go back to the menu in front of you as a silence falls over the table. Because you're not a loaded trust fund baby who comes to fancy five-star sushi restaurants for lunch on a daily, you don't recognize half of the entree names on the menu. You spot the dragon roll Jay suggested, but seeing that a basic California roll is less expensive, your natural broke-college-student-instincts figure the California roll shall do.

"Okay, in all seriousness," Jay begins as he puts his menu down. "It's simple really. We'll just go on weekly dates and post cute pictures of each other once in a while and a little after three months, I'll just say it didn't work out. I'll give you the five hundo and boom, we move on with our lives."

It's clear Jay's put some thought into this. Safe to say he's put more effort planning this out than the amount of work he's been putting into his classes. Someone's got their priorities straight.

You're impressed to say the least––you figured Jay would just be the kind to go with the flow and wait for the situation to unfold on its own and maybe blow up into flames. But seeing as he was just as serious about winning this bet as you were with making five hundred dollars, your doubts about this entire situation were slowly withering away.

Don't get it wrong, though, you still despise him. To an extent, at least.

"And don't worry about the dates. I'll pay on your behalf, as the loving, doting boyfriend I am," Jay finishes with a wide, cheesy smile you can't help but return a growing smile back at.

"Well then, as the loving, doting girlfriend I am, I shall gift you coffee, breakfast, all that fun couple stuff, whenever you please. Or maybe unannounced, if I'm feeling nice," you figure you should pitch in as much if he's paying for all your dates. And deep down, you find the idea kinda cute. But don't tell anyone that.

"Wow, look at us. We should become Dispatch's couple of the year already!" Jay exclaims, earning himself a small giggle from you, which pleases him to say the least. He thinks that maybe when this is all over, he'll hopefully make a good friend (well, for the second time) out of it.

And you're thinking that maybe the next three months won't be as bad as you initially had thought.

As the two of you delve deep into a debate about who would be the better significant other to each other, the waitress comes over to take your orders.

And because you're laughing and Jay's brightly smiling at you from across the table, you order the dragon roll.

The second time Jay takes you out––this time he gives you a heads up to get ready––it's at a, once again, high-class steakhouse.

The third time, you insist on the on-campus diner that's popular amongst the student population. Partially because you feel bad for the amount of money he's spent on you (even though he couldn't care less), but mostly because if you have to put on another fancy dress to just eat an overpriced meal that doesn't even fully satisfy your hunger, you might lose your mind.

And by this third time, Jake is aware of this newly blossomed relationship.

"Three dates! I didn't know you had it in you, going on three dates with the same girl!" Jake excitedly exclaims as he jumps into the empty spot on Jay's dorm bed and shoves his phone's screen into Jay's face.

The smaller screen displays Jay's most recent Instagram post: an image of you sitting behind your too-small-to-be-this-expensive-steak and smiling right into Jay's camera––a memory that brings a smile to his face:

~ ~ ~

"C'mon! We said Instagram posts would be a part of the deal! How else can we convince people we're dating?" A pout rests on Jay's face as he stares at you from across the table in the middle of the extravagantly decorated restaurant he picked out for your second date. You remember your eyes bulging out of their own sockets when you saw the "$$$$$" rating Yelp gave the place when you searched it up earlier.

"Okay, okay! One picture," you give in, already slightly annoyed that you were here instead of the comfort of your own bed, where you could be rewatching your favorite Netflix show for the third time. But because you made a deal and because you're desperate for money, you had to follow through––so here you were.

You flash an unconvincing smile to Jay's camera, which doesn't satisfy him, to say the least. "At least pretend you're somewhat enjoying this date," he frowns at you.

You sigh, until a thought crosses your mind and a smile grows on your face. "Only if you get me boba afterwards."

He narrows his eyes at you, but then meets your smile. "Sure, whatever you want. But only because I've been craving some mango milk tea lately."

"You're a fruit milk tea kind of guy? Sorry, but I might have to fake break-up with you," you tease as you take a sip of your overpriced drink to go with your overpriced meal.

Jay scoffs, feigning hurt by placing his hand over his heart. "Ouch. But before you break up with me, let me get this Instagram post in."

"Wow. Your priorities are so straight," you roll your eyes at him, eliciting a cheeky smile from him as he watches you through his held up phone screen.

"3,2,1."

"Hey, I wasn't ready! That was like mid-laugh!" You reach over the table to grab the phone, but not quick enough for him to put his phone back into his pants' pocket.

"Nope, nuh uh," he laughs as you quickly sit back down into your seat, not wanting to cause a scene in an establishment as proper as this one.

"It's fine. It's a good picture, you look cute," he casually lets out, unaware of the blush rising to the surface of your cheeks, thanks to the fact that you were suddenly interested in playing with the left-over food on your plate.

"Jay! Delete it, I'll let you take another one," you whine from your seat, imagining just how bad a candid picture of you could be.

"Ugh, fine. Ever so picky." He playfully rolls his eyes at you as he takes his phone out and opens the camera app as you prepare yourself.

"Okay, how's this?" Jay turns the phone screen to you after he takes a few snaps on his phone.

"I approve," you grin at him as he goes through the pictures himself, unaware of the smile growing on his face.

"Okay now delete the first one," you point your finger at him, narrowing your eyes at him.

"Okay, okay! Bossy," he laughs as he raises in hands in surrender.

When Jay gets home that night, he recovers the image from his Recently Deleted folder, telling himself it's for the sake of the memory.

Obviously.

~ ~ ~

"It's not that big of a deal," Jay mutters from his spot as his eyes go from the Instagram post to his Exile and Belonging in Modern Literature reading that's due tomorrow, bright yellow highlighter in hand. Typically, you'd find the reading buried deep at the bottom of his school backpack. But because Jay ran into you this morning and because he complained to you about the amount of work he's fallen behind on and because you had threatened him to do his work or else you're not going on another date––a fake date that is––with him, he figured he should at least get one reading done and annotated, despite his strong dislike for highlighters (they hurt his eyes, okay?)

What he doesn't know, however, is how your threat was completely full of bluff––but don't tell him that.

"It is so a big deal, for you at least!" Jake hops off the bed and lands on the wooden floors of Jay's dorm room so hard, Jay winces and sends a mental apology to the poor person who lives below him.

Jake suddenly gasps. "I have to meet her, Jay! As your best friend, it's practically mandatory that I meet her."

Jay opens his mouth to protest, but not before Jake interrupts him once again. "Oh! We can bring Sunghoon too, it'll be so fun! The best friends meet the girlfriend."

Jay can't think of anything worst. Jay imagines that bringing you to meet his best friends would just intimidate you out of dating him––fake dating him, that is. Obviously.

He stares at his friend in agony then back at the reading in front of him––the one Jake said he'd come over to help annotate, but the intention completely left Jake's head the second he heard about Jay's recent dating life.

"You don't have to meet her," Jay says pointedly. "Plus, you already know her."

Jake frowns at his friend's excuse. "Yeah, but that was in middle school! This is different."

Jay's hands shuffle through the reading's pages in front of him as he realizes there's no way the two of them are going to finish the assignment at this point. He supposes he'll have to save death by blindness from highlighters for another day and hope you still agree to go out with him.

Jake suddenly gasps in realization.

"Oh my gosh! Childhood best friends turned college sweethearts," Jake says so dreamily, he might as well plaster heart eyes on. Hopeless romantic, this one.

Before Jay can argue, the piercing sound of three loud knocks echo through the small room, followed with a:

"Jay, are you in? It's me!"

Jay stills at the sound of your sweet voice. He whips his head to Jake, who is also frozen in place.

But the widened-eye boy is quick to come to his senses––unfortunately quicker than Jay himself––because the next thing Jay knows, Jake's eyes are lighting up and he's running to the door, ignoring Jay's screaming whispers through this seething teeth that were somewhere along the lines of Jake––stop, I swear to god if you open that door I'm gonna fucking--

"Y/N!" Jake swings the door wide open, revealing an overly excited him and a frozen Jay half-way to the door, as if he was about to grab the very boy welcoming you in. It's as if we're living in a Sims game and the player clicked pause on this very moment.

Jake's eyes are wildly going back and forth between you and your supposed boyfriend, as if he was waiting for Jay to run over and smother you in hugs and kisses...or something couple-y like that. Jay wouldn't know.

"Uh––hi," you're awkwardly standing inside the room now, a relatively large paper brown bag resting in your palms as you look around for a surface to place it on. Jay makes his way to you without a second thought, quickly taking the bag out of your hold.

"You seemed stressed out earlier, so I figured I could bring you some food as a little pick me up. I didn't know what you liked, so I kinda just got a little of everything from the dining hall. Nothing fancy," you're rambling, but smiling so excitedly at him, Jay doesn't know what to say.

Instead, his mouth slightly drops open as he stares at you in awe, mostly because he's not used to being on the receiving end of such spontaneously generous actions––all while Jake's still excitedly looking back and forth between the two of you, as if he was expecting a marriage proposal to come next.

"Oh wow. Thank you. Really," Jay, still touched by your simple act of kindness, softly says as he places the bag on the limited amount of empty space on his desk surface––the rest of it is covered with his untouched textbooks and unfinished assignments. He wonders if you did this out of playing your role or just because you wanted to. He internally hopes it's the latter. "Seriously, you didn't have to do."

"Nah, don't worry. I wanted to," you shrug with such a genuine smile that Jay realizes he actually missed your smile.

Despite having seen you during your brief run-in this morning when you were fetching your morning coffee, Jay realizes he missed you. The two of you haven't been seeing each other recently because of your busy schedule and if Jay didn't realize it before, he's now sure he missed your company and presence around.

Weird.

"Well, you two have fun! Sunghoon needs me for something," Jake suddenly chirps from his place near the front door, halfway through with putting his shoes on already, breaking the comforting silence that fell between the two of you.

Jay frowns. "But you said you were free all da––"

"SUNGHOON IS CALLING BYE!" And before Jay can even register what's happening, Jake's out the door without another word.

"Er..sorry about him, he's...weird," Jay scratches the back of his neck as he returns to his spot on his bed, mentally setting a reminder to yell at Jake later for leaving the two of you alone. Jay doesn't know exactly why, but he's nervous at the fact that you're here in his room. It's not like you two are complete strangers––or whatever you guys were before––anymore. "Good job on your part, though. How'd you know Jake was here?"

"Oh uh, I didn't"," you let out an awkward laugh. "I just felt like doing it."

Heat rushes to Jay's cheeks and he's not sure 1) what this newfound feeling is and 2) how to respond, yet again.

Having expecting you to leave after dropping the food off, Jay's taken by surprise when you take your shoes off and come over to his bed to look at the pile of work he's spread out.

"Is this everything you have to do?" You question the stressed-out boy as you flip through the various assignments, readings, and essays he put off in the past week.

"More or less," he groans. This is no rare occurrence by any means––Jay being behind in his work––but this time, Jay realizes he may actually be in deep shit, considering he has no idea where to begin.

Right as Jay's expecting a scolding from you, he looks up to meet a look of sympathy on your face. "Well, I mean, I'm pretty much done with my day. I can try to help, I recognize some of these readings from last semester."

Jay thinks to himself that the universe has sent him an angel through the form of you.

"Really? Wow, you were't kidding when you said you'd be a good girlfriend," he sends you a surprised look.

"I'm just being nice, Jay. A concept I'm sure you're not familiar with," you remark back at him, causing his forming smile to grow into a laugh.

"I can too be nice! Need I remind you of who's paying you $500, covering all of our dates AND giving you rides to class everyday?" He remarks pointedly at you, a teasing look resting in his eyes as you're reminded of the first of many times he's come to pick you up before class:

~ ~ ~

You're late.

This never happens.

But then again, your life's been a series of unexpected occurrences lately. Such as the fact that you're currently known as Jay Park's girlfriend, for one.

You're scrambling out of bed once you take one look at your phone and realize shit, you're already late for class. Throwing on whatever articles of clothing your eyes land on first, you're already mentally groaning at the fact that you'll have to skip breakfast and run across your campus to get to said class.

Curse your professor for hosting her lecture at the furthest possible building away from your dorm. Curse the architect who decided to make your campus so large.

You're running down the steps outside of your dorm building's doors when you're abruptly stopped by a familiar sounding cough. You look up from trying to gather all your belongings together at once to meet the gaze of the source of the sound––Jay.

"Wow, you're a mess," he smirks as he gets up from the spot on his car he was leaning against to make his way over to you.

"Gee, thanks! Good morning to you too," you flash him a sarcastic smile before your default frown quickly makes it way back onto your face.

"Aren't you gonna ask me why I'm here?" He grins as he grabs hold of your backpack to sling it across his own back as the two of you walk towards his car.

"Why are you here, Jay?" you sigh, your sarcastic tone hard to miss.

"To give you a ride to class, of course!" He's beaming at you, as if he's a pre-pubescent teen who just won their first girlfriend a prize from the arcade's claw machine.

Oh. That explains the car, you figure. Deep down inside, you're relieved that you'll no longer be bursting through the lecture hall's doors as a sweaty mess––a result of having to run across campus to get to class.

Determined to not let your satisfaction completely show, you resort with a little smile directed towards Jay as he opens the passenger door for you.

The second your enter Jay's car, the strong scent of coffee hits you, and your attention is targeted at the two small cups of coffee sitting in the cupholders of the car.

"Breakfast?" Jay asks as he enters through the driver's side and reaches into the backseat to whip out a small pastry bag. A small, deliciously smelling, pastry bag.

Okay, well. You suppose you could drop the annoyed act now.

Your eyes widen with joy as you grab the bag from him and open it to reveal your favorite breakfast sandwich. He's been taking notes, you'll give him that point.

"Okay, you win. Thank you," you grace him with a soft smile before taking a bite into the glorious gift in your hands.

"Of course, I was just feeling nice," he grins at you as he starts his car. "But don't get used to it." His tone is serious, but his smile directed towards you says differently.

And the fact that he still showed up to drive you to class the next morning.

And the next.

~ ~ ~

"And need I remind you who has to date your dumb ass for the $500 in question?" Your eyes narrow at the boy who can't seem to get that damn smile off his face.

Jay sticks his tongue out at you, ending the conversation. Really Jay? What are you, five? Well, mentally––probably.

You're looking around his minuscule dorm room for a place to sit down, and Jay can't help but feel embarrassed now that you're here, in his messy single studio room that pretty much reflects how Jay treats every other responsibility of his oh so hard life: neglected.

"Uh...here, you can sit on my bed," Jay immediately offers as he moves to the side to make room for your presence––and it isn't much, considering the university only provided him a twin XL bed which is definitely not built for two grown college-aged kids.

If you told yourself a few weeks ago that you'd be shoulder to shoulder on a bed belonging to the guy you cringed at the very thought of, you wouldn't have believed yourself. You wouldn't have believed yourself if you said you were actually glad Jay let you stay instead of kicking you out after delivering the food. Huh.

Weird.

"You know, this kinda reminds me of when we were kids. I always carried us through those horrible multiplication tests in the fifth grade," you wink at him as you settle in the spot next to him, hands grabbing hold of the papers in his lap.

Jay let out a laugh, nudging your shoulder with his. "Hey! The twelve times table is hard, okay?"

You roll your eyes at him––a habit of yours he's noticed whenever the two of you are together, but more recently, he thinks it's been more out of fun than annoyance.

He wonders why.

When Jay had first brought up the idea of bringing you as his date to his father's company dinner, you had expected a fairly fancy five-star restaurant with a formal dress code––for you've become accustomed to Jay's lifestyle. Turns out, your expectations can continue to be exceeded. Because what you had expected to be a simple dinner with a few other business men and women turned out to be an entire party, hosted in a hotel whose interior resembled something close to a castle (Or what you assume a castle looks like, as you've never personally been into a castle yourself, but this hotel is close enough).

Your eyes sparkle at the extravagant columns and diamond chandeliers hanging high above you, and Jay smiles at the expression on your face; like a little girl being brought to the amusement park for the first time ever.

"Wow, this is...wow," you mutter as you drink in the scene in front of you: people dressed in formal attire likewise to yours and Jay's, mingling and drinking what you imagine to be beverages that cost more than your entire life's worth.

Jay laughs from behind you, "Yeah the company goes a little...extra when it comes to these company dinners."

You scoff as you look up at him. "Oh really, you don't say?" You look around and you're suddenly aware of the many people surrounding the two of you and the attention you've acquired ever since entering the building.

"Jay, people are staring." You shuffle closer to him, your voice lowering down to a whisper.

"Well, it's not everyday the son of the company's CEO brings his girlfriend with him, so...looks like we'll be the talk of the party tonight. Smiles on," he winks at you, and you just know he's loving the attention the two of you are receiving right now.

"Jay Park? Is that you?" You hear a warm voice call out from behind the two of you.

The two of you turn around to meet the owner of the voice, a middle-aged woman dressed in an evening gown that matches the pattern of high-end brands you've been recognizing ever since arriving.

"Mrs. Lee! It's so nice seeing you again," Jay cheerily addresses the woman as the two of you bow in greeting.

You internally giggle at the thought of your Jay being so picture-perfect in the eyes of his father's co-workers.

"This is Y/N," he continues, his hand finding its way to your back, protectively resting it there as you go to introduce yourself. "My girlfriend."

You swear you feel goosebumps rise from where he's lightly touching you, and more so when he introduces you as his girlfriend.

You tell yourself it's just your nerves. Yes, that's it, you're just nervous. I mean, you're in a room filled with people who could easily pay off all your college loans with just a snap of their fingers, who wouldn't be nervous? Right? Right.

"Y/N! It's a pleasure to finally meet you, I've heard so much about you!" Mrs. Lee excitedly exclaims as you turn to Jay with a slightly confused look plastered on your face. He mirrors your expression as he shrugs, moving to stand behind you completely, bringing his hands to rest lowly at your hips.

His hands feel like feathers on the thin fabric of your evening gown, so light, so delicate, as if he's unsure if he's crossing a line. It leaves you wanting more, wanting to naturally lean against him and his warmth. You quick to shake the thought of your head as Mrs. Lee chirps up again.

"Jay's father is always talking about how you've been keeping Jay pleasantly busy nowadays! Good thing too, about time this poor boy settle down for someone as beautiful as you," the woman rambles on as you feel a blush creep up on your cheeks at the thought of Jay talking about you to his dad. If only they knew.

"We should probably go find our seats, I think the dinner is beginning soon," Jay says from behind you, saving the two of you from having to listen to Mrs. Lee's story of how she's known Jay ever since he was five years old and seeing him grow into this mature, loving, young man is so amazing. Oh look! I have baby pictures.

Yeah, he was more so saving himself from embarrassment.

The two of you bid your goodbyes before Jay gently uses the hand on your back to maneuver you through the crowd of socializing business moguls.

"She's not wrong, you know," you feel Jay dip his head so he's speaking near your ear, his warm breath tickling your earlobe, as the two of you make your way through the large foyer room.

"Hm?" You hum in question, turning your head up just enough to be able to make eye contact with him as he responds to your look of confusion.

"You look beautiful tonight," he says, eye contact not breaking once. You freeze in your steps.

You stare back at him in silence. Oh.

Your mind is panicking as it flips through your mental book of responses, unsure of what to say back. But because your mind is cloudy from staring at a put-together Jay in a dark navy suit to match your dress (mixed with the nervous butterflies in your stomach––have they always been there?), the only sound that's able to leave your lips is the small stutter of a:

"Huh?"

Wow Y/N, you had one job. A simple "thank you" could've sufficed! And you went with "Huh"?

You felt like a fifth grader who just learned from a friend of a friend of a friend that their crush likes them back.

"U-um. Mrs. Lee. What she said about you. You look good, really," somehow your nervousness made its way over to Jay now––his eyes flickering from yours to anywhere, anything, else in the room––the awkward tension growing tenfold each second.

Goddamnit Y/N, this is just Jay you're talking to, get a grip.

You're knocked back into reality when he slightly nudges your back to continue making your way to the main ball room, where the dinner is being held.

"Is that a compliment from the Jay Park?" Your smirk can't be seen by Jay, since he's still trailing behind you, but he can definitely hear it through your tone.

"Don't make me take it back," he chuckles, his words felt against your neck, leaving behind a tingly sensation you're not sure why you're feeling. You're glad he's behind you, so he isn't able to see the blush creeping onto your face for the second time tonight.

Jay gives a small nod to the people behind the check-in desk stationed at the entrance as the two of you waltz right into a large ball room lined with countless circular dining tables. So much for a small business dinner.

As the two of you approach one of the tables placed at the front of the room, you notice a familiar figure seated next to the seats reserved for you and Jay.

"Y/N!" Jake exclaims as he gets up from his seat to greet the both of you. "I'm so glad you made it, Jay was so excited to bring you tonight. Deadass would not stop talking about it."

Jay lets out a noise that falls somewhere between a cough and a goose being strangled, his widened eyes warning his talkative friend to just shut up. He's silently cursing the company for always seating his and Jake's family at the same table for these events.

"Aw, is that so? He's lucky he's cute or else I wouldn't have agreed," you grin, winking at your assumed boyfriend sitting next to you.

"Hey, YOU were the one excited to come! I recall a certain someone's face lighting up when I suggested we go shopping for tonight," Jay immediately retorts.

"Only because you were buying," you giggle, causing Jake to laugh as well.

"Damn, Jay. Tough," Jake jokingly adds as you laugh alongside him. The scowl sitting on Jay's face expresses the opposite of what he's feeling right now: warmth filling him up from the sound of your laughter and the image of you getting along so well with his best friend.

"I'm gonna get us some drinks, you two have fun making fun of me," Jay narrows his eyes at the two of you as he gets up from his seat. You bid him off with a smile before turning back to Jake.

"No but really though, this boy would not stop talking about you coming tonight. Then again, he doesn't really ever stop talking about you," Jake nonchalantly says, not knowing how much he was exposing his friend to you right now.

You raise an eyebrow up in response, "Oh really?"

"Seriously! I don't know what you did to him, Y/N, but this Jay I've been seeing recently is new. He complains a lot less about life nowadays, especially on the days he sees you," he leans back in his chair as his comment brings a smile to your face. Little does he know.

You stretch your neck up to find the boy in question and spot him right as he's returning to your shared table, two drinks in hand. You lock eyes with him from across the room and without a second thought, you're giving him a genuine smile that he's immediately returning.

Your heart beats faster at the view.

You wonder why.

It's 3:07AM when you hear the first ding.

You're not 100% sure as of why you're awake at this hour on a Tuesday night––perhaps a combination of your restless thoughts and feelings not letting you sleep plus the typical stress that comes hand-in-hand with the life of a college student.

It's 3:09AM when you hear the second ding, and you brush it off, assuming it was just Heeseung spamming you with memes again––something he does often when he also can't sleep (you found this out the hard way).

It's still 3:09AM when you hear the third ding, and at 3:10AM , you finally reach over and decide to acknowledge the being who's bothering you at this godforsaken hour.

Jay [3:07AM]: Y/N

Jay [3:09AM]: hi

Jay [3:09AM]: r u awake rn

Y/N [3:10AM]: unfortunately so

Y/N [3:11AM]: why are you up

Jay [3:11AM]: come outside

Y/N [3:13AM: jay it's 3am

Jay [3:13AM]: ye and? don't tell me ur a college student with a curfew

Jay [3:14AM]: plus im alrdy waiting for u outside so u have no choice

Jay [3:15AM]: :)

You groan at your bright phone screen currently illuminating your dark dorm room.

You ponder the consequences you may have to suffer tomorrow if you stay up any later than you already have. But considering the fact that you're probably just going to stay awake lying in bed for god knows how long anyways, why not?

(And you would like to point out that this decision has nothing to do with the fact that you haven't seen Jay in a few days and that maybe a tiny, tiny, tiny, part of you may have missed his presence. Nothing.)

And since that logic is obviously valid (you really gotta work on justifying your life choices), you're suddenly grabbing a hoodie from your closet and hoping it'll be enough to keep you, who's merely in an old band t-shirt from high-school and pajama shorts, warm.

The breeze hits your skin the second you open the doors to your dorm's building, and you're met with the view of Jay's sleek, black BMW that probably costs more than your tuition. He waves at you from the driver's seat, motioning for you to get in.

"To what do I owe you the pleasure at this hour," you deadpan at him with a stone-cold voice as you enter through the passenger's side door, hoping your tone was enough to hide the fact that you're giddy at the fact he invited you out at 3AM in the morning. Like a high-school girl sneaking out of her house to meet up with her bad-boy boyfriend that her parents dislike.

The second you enter his car, you're instantly comforted by the warm air blasting through his vents and his playlist softly playing in the background. Jay's pajama pants and messy hair give you more than enough information to know that he probably just rolled out of his own bed as well. You don't know why, but your view: Jay in his oversized hoodie with his unkept hair in front of your dorm building at 3AM on a Tuesday night, gives you comfort in weird ways you can't explain even if you tried.

But it's obviously just your cloudy, 3AM mind not thinking straight. Obviously.

"When I can't sleep, I go on drives around campus. It helps clear my mind," he says, looking over at you to give you a quick smile before starting his car. "Plus, SnapMap said you were still awake, so...figured you'd wanna join."

"Oh so what, you're my stalker now? You're not driving to the woods to kill me now, are you?" You tease, an eyebrow brought up. Jay lets out a laugh from beside you as he begins to drive further into your campus.

"Guess you'll just have to wait and see," he throws you a wink before reverting his gaze back to the road, mindlessly driving to wherever the road decides to take him.

A comfortable silence falls in between the two of you as Jay continues to drive endless routes around your campus. You look over to the boy driving next to you and take in his features––you don't know what changed, but you no longer feel the same anger or annoyance bubbling within you when you're around him. You're not sure when this changed, but you figure it's just the effect of desensitization. After all, you've been spending so much time with him, you're bound to get used to it. Right?

"Why were you up?" Jay finally asks after a few minutes of just the two of you silently basking in each other's presences.

"Ah, you know. The usual. Endless thoughts running through my mind, stress from school, nothing new," you sign, giving him a soft smile followed with a shrug.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

You answer him with silence as you search your head for the answer.

"I don't know. This is kinda weird, isn't it?" You don't know why you get a sudden surge of confidence, but before you can stop yourself, you find yourself rambling on. "If you had told me a month ago that I'd be here driving around with you when it's nearly 4AM, I would've laughed in your face."

Jay doesn't know whether to laugh or scoff. "Is the idea of hanging out with me that unappealing to you?"

You give him a serious look back. "I mean, up until a month ago when you needed me for whatever this game is, you literally pretended I didn't exist."

Oh. Awkward.

You freeze at your own words, mentally screaming at yourself for letting the words leave your mouth. Why, why, why.

"Y/N..." Jay says after clearing his throat after a few seconds of silence.

"No it's fine, it was a joke," you awkwardly cough and direct your attention to anything else around you right now. The view of your campus' buildings zooming by. The clicking of Jay's blinker when he switches lanes. The quiet roaring of his car's engine. The nervous tapping of his fingers against the steering wheel.

The rest of the ride is excruciatingly silent as he exits the main road and into an empty parking lot of some administration building made out of glass that has too many floors for you to count.

You don't know why you feel your heart beating in your throat as Jay puts the car into park––why you feel uneasy. You slightly turn towards him in your seat, hoping to pick up any sign of well...anything from him.

You don't know why you feel a twinge of guilt––it's not like what you said was necessarily wrong. If you were being honest, you were slightly bothered by how the two of you seemed to silently agree not to mention your past all this time. You were always one to seek answers, to seek closure. You couldn't help but bring it up––Jay was your best friend during those years. For him to just wake up one day and pretend you were nothing to him hurt you, and you couldn't help but still wonder what in the world you did to initiate his actions.

"I'm sor–" You're interrupted with his timid voice, as if he was almost afraid to speak.

"I'm not good with people." He's nibbling on his bottom lip, fingers nervously picking at a spot on the steering wheel.

You're opening and closing your mouth, unsure how to respond. You're 100% positive you look like a fish right now. Good for you.

"I don't know why. Jake calls it commitment issues but in order to have commitment, people have to stay in my life. And people just...don't. They're all bound to leave at some point. So what's the point of putting in effort into relationships if they're just going to leave you at the end?"

You're stunned by his sudden confession, not having been prepared for such a heavy topic to arise between the two of you. Up until tonight, your interactions had always been light-hearted and easy––you guys got along well. You didn't know this is how he felt all along.

But you knew where he was coming from.

You knew what Jay had gone through as a child––his mother having left him and his dad when he was young. You remember when your parents had told you the news at the young age of 13, and you remember the pain and sorrow you felt for your then friend. All you wanted to do was go to him and comfort him, but he had already cut you out from his life by then.

"Or maybe I'm the problem. My dad barely acknowledges my existence because he thinks giving me an allowance is all the parenting I need, my friends probably only stick around because they feel bad for me, you wouldn't even be here if it weren't for the bet, and, fuck, I'm literally known as the campus' fuckboy," Jay continues, falling deeper and deeper into the hole he dug himself.

He hates this, he hates opening up and feeling vulnerable, so he doesn't know why he's doing it now. He doesn't know why he feels comfortable voicing out his fears and worries when he's around you. But he does know it's a new feeling––one he doesn't know how to deal with.

"Jay," you lace your voice with as much comfort as you can provide. None of this is his fault, you want to tell him. "I'm sorry."

"Why are you sorry? You didn't do anything," he says with a hint of bitterness and you can't tell if it's directed towards you or the topic at hand.

You're completely turned in your seat now to face him––despite the fact that he refuses to meet your gaze, afraid that looking at you is gonna bring out the most vulnerable in him. "You can talk to me. Talking about it makes it a lot easier. I'll always be here for you, as a friend."

Jay doesn't know what it is or why, but something in him snaps at the sound of a certain word falling out of your lips. Friend. Friend.

Friends don't make his heart beat nervously whenever he's around them. Friends don't keep him up at 3AM in the morning, pondering about his feelings for them. Friends don't provide him with this new, warm comfort he's become accustomed to whenever he's around you.

Deep down, Jay knows you didn't mean to add fuel to the fire. But because he's strong-headed, stubborn, and hates how vulnerable he feels next to you, he unleashes his emotions without thinking about the destruction coming along.

"It's none of your business, Y/N. Forget I said anything. You're just a toy for this stupid game and when it's all over we can go back to our own lives and forget this ever happened."

His sudden words cut deep, but they hurt him more than you. The second the words tumble out of his mouth, he's hit with the feeling of instant regret washing over him, and the lump forming in his throat restricts him from finding the right words to take them back.

The silence that falls between the two of you this time is different. It's a cold silence. A loud silence.

Jay feels his walls coming back up around him––the ones you managed to get through––and all he wants to do is apologize but he's terrified. Terrified of seeing your reaction, terrified of losing you again. For the second time.

You tell yourself he doesn't mean it. You tell yourself that he's just enduring more pain that one should ever receive.

But you also tell yourself that this wouldn't be the first time Jay leaves you in the dust.

You tell yourself that you're foolish for ever believing a friendship, or more, could come out of this act at the end. That you're so naive for feeling those stupid, stupid butterflies you've started to notice in your stomach whenever you see, or even think of, him.

"Okay," you begin with a firm tone. You're hurt, but you refuse to show it. You won't let him hurt you for a second time. Not again.

"Just...find me when you need me. As your fake girlfriend or just...me. I'm still here for you," is the last thing you say before un-clicking your seatbelt and leaving his car, beginning your walk back to your dorm hall.

Jay is unsure about many things in life. He's unsure about what he wants to do in the future, he's unsure of where he's going to settle in life, heck, he's unsure about what to have for lunch tomorrow. But he's sure about one thing.

That he's wearing his heart on his sleeve right now, and it's all because of you.

That you've become this new lifeline and he has to choose between holding onto you or drowning.

When Jay wakes up the next morning, his first gut instinct is to get ready to pick you up for class. But today's different. Jay doesn't know where the two of you stand now, especially after last night.

Jay doesn't know how to deal with this combination of unknown emotions he's been feeling lately. They didn't come out of no where, by any means, he realizes. They've been slowly growing over the past month of seeing you so often––like a plant he's been watering overtime, not expecting it to bloom into a flower so suddenly––but he figured it was nothing more than just enjoying the company of a friend.

Until he realizes that the term friend just doesn't suite you anymore––not to him, at least. And that scares him. It scares him that you've made him genuinely smile more in this past month than he ever has in his 19 years of living. It scares him that when he's around you he can't comprehend his own thoughts, his feelings. It scares him that you make him vulnerable, that you've changed him. That you've managed to make the walls that he's spent so long building and polishing to crumble with a simple tap of your finger.

In a perfect world, Jay would have already told you all this––he would be unafraid of how you would react, unafraid of your rejection, unafraid of losing this growing relationship with you. But alas, we don't live in a perfect world. And so when Jay drives to class that day, he drives right past your dorm building.

"Where's Y/N?" is the first thing Jake questions when he enters Jay's car that morning, confused by your absence, having been used to you being in the front seat every morning when Jay goes to give Jake rides to class as well.

"I don't know," Jay mutters, unemotional eyes focused on the road in front of him, not interested in continuing a conversation that involves thinking about you.

Jake hesitates as curiosity gets the best of him. "Did you guys get into a fight or something?"

Jay's hands tighten around the steering wheel of his car. "Or something. Let's just leave it at that."

There are a few beats of silence before Jake speaks up again.

"Well, I guess this works out because I wanted to talk to you about something."

Jay continues to stare straight ahead of him, focusing on just trying to get by without mentally beating himself up at the simple thought of you.

The simple thought of you and your smile. Your witty remarks. Your stupid eye rolls. Your laughter. Your kindness. So much for not thinking about you.

"I'm calling it off," Jake's words catch Jay off guard.

"Huh? Calling what off?"

"The bet. I'm calling it off. I don't care about the textbook fees I'll have to pay next semester. Look, fight or not, you and Y/N are good for each other, everyone can see it. And I really don't want this to end up being one of those messed up teen TV shows where the girlfriend finds out the entire relationship was based off of a stupid game and then they break up and the boyfriend falls into eternal sadness and regret. And I don't wanna see you sad, dude. So yeah! Congrats," although he's admitting defeat, Jake's beaming widely, just content with the fact that his best friend has finally found happiness through the form of you. "You win."

But Jay feels like the opposite of a winner. Because even though his only intention coming into this was simply winning the bet, his life isn't as simple as it was a month ago. Because he discovered something much more valuable than some stupid textbook fees or five hundred dollars or getting his physics homework done for an entire semester.

Something he's scared he's already lost.

You.

⸺ ⸺ ⸺ ⸺ ⸺ ⸺ ⸺ ⸺ ⸺ ⸺ ⸺

The next time you see Jay is at the same time and place as when he first ever appeared to pick you up––at 12:17PM on a Friday afternoon, as you're exiting the doors of the lecture building home to your awfully long Capitalism in World History class. This time, however it's different.

Because this time, it's one month later, and Jay Park is no longer a forgotten side character in the story of your life. This time, you're frustrated because it's been three days since you've last heard from Jay. And because it's been three days since you've last heard from him, you can't focus on anything else, and because you can't focus on anything else, you're falling behind on every other aspect in your life. Jay's somehow managed to become the center of your life without even having to be present.

Well, up until now. Up until you go down the steps of your lecture hall's entrance and look up to be met with a figure leaning on a car you're far too familiar with. You freeze in your steps as you make eye contact with the boy you've been thinking about non-stop for the past month three days.

Your mind tells you to walk away, to just follow your flight instinct instead of fight, to just go back to your normal life. But here's the thing. Ever since Jay's made his way back to your life, it's been far from normal.

And if you're being honest, you had no interest in going back to your normal life. Normal's overrated anyways. You find your legs bringing yourself over to him, your heart leading the way.

"Hi," you simply say, planting yourself right in front of him.

"Hi."

"What are you doing here?" You already know the answer, but you want to hear him say it.

"Waiting for you," Jay doesn't hesitate in answering you. This time will be different, he tells himself.

"I can walk myself home, thanks," you state, but your actions tell differently, as you make no sign of moving from your spot in front of him.

Jay's mind contemplates telling you everything. About how he regrets that friendship-breaking decision he made that one fateful day in the eighth grade, about his true feelings, about how he first suspected these feelings when he was 11 years old and saw you in your fancy get-up for the sixth grade dance but put it off as a little crush, and about how the same feelings grew into something so, so much more in the present. But seeing that putting all these thoughts into words would involve more than one functioning brain cell (which is all he's convinced he has in the moment, for the view of you staring up at him, looking like that, has his brain short-circuiting), he settles with:

"He called it off. It's over. The bet."

"Oh."

Silence.

Okay, Jay. This is your chance. Say it.

"Is that it?" You lift an eyebrow, awaiting for more explanation. When it doesn't come, you slightly nod and start backing away. "I'll see you around then."

Is that it? Do the two of you just go back to your respective lives now? How can Jay do that, when he doesn't even recall what his life was like before you entered it––and especially when he has absolutely no interest in going back to that life?

Fuck it.

"Y/N!" He stands up straight, a newfound confidence taking over. This time will be different, he tells himself. Because now, he knows what he wants. For sure.

You turn towards him, to see him already making his way towards you, stopping in his steps when he finds himself close enough to you that he can't concentrate anymore.

"I'm sorry for ditching you in the eighth grade. I'm sorry for ignoring you since then. I'm sorry for dragging you into this stupid mess and for pushing you away and I'm sorry for calling you a toy. Because it's far from truth. I like you. A lot. And––and I'm scared. I'm scared of what this means for us, because I just keep messing things up and all I know is that I don't wanna wake up tomorrow and realize you're not in my life anymore and––"

"Woah, woah, Jay. Slow down," you look up at him, the corners of your lips threatening to curve up into a smile. "You're an idiot, you know."

Jay's never really confessed his feelings to anyone before, per say, so he doesn't really know what to expect. But he's watched enough Netflix rom-coms in this lifetime (which is still not that many) to know that hearing the words "you're an idiot" isn't what you're supposed to hear after pouring your heart and soul out. Surely not, right?

"I––I'm not sure how to respond to that," he quietly says, searching your eyes for a sign, for anything. You giggle at his sudden shyness as you grab both his arms and look at him right in the eyes.

"It's okay. I get it, if anything, I'm also scared. But you somehow got me wrapped around your stupid finger, and I hate it," you smirk at him, your hands slowly making their way up his arms to circle around his neck.

Jay's hands naturally fall at your waist as he lets out a breathe he didn't even know he was holding as he returns your smirk. "Well, I could say the same about you. And I also hate it, for your information."

"Hmm, is that so? I guess it cancels out then, right?" You smile at him as he's pulling you in so close, your head turns cloudy.

Jay grins at you, his eyes holding so much joy and endearment as they quickly flicker down to your lips before returning to your own eyes. "I guess this only means one thing then."

"Mm, and what's that?"

And before Jay can answer––and because your life's been anything but normal lately––you make the first move this time, moving your head up to close the small gap between the two of you.

His arms instinctively tighten around you as you capture his lips with your very own, and Jay swears he's about to lift off into space right now. He's on cloud nine, and he makes no plans to touch the ground ever again.

The kiss quickly becomes fervent, all the pent-up tension that the two of you had for one another finally finding its way out, all the words that were previously left unsaid finally expressing themselves. You don't even care if you're being judged by the conservative faculty members of your school right now, or by the looks of fellow students walking past the two of you.

You try your best to keep yourself from smiling as he continues to press his lips against yours, his hand moving to hold your chin, guiding your mouth with his.

Before you find yourself getting carried away, you step back to take a breath, resting your forehead against his chest as his hands rest against your back. He smiles at the sound of you giggling against him.

Jay takes a step back to take one look at you and realizes, in this moment, that change can be good. And he's willing to undergo this change. As long as it's with you.

⸺ ⸺ ⸺ ⸺ ⸺ ⸺ ⸺ ⸺ ⸺ ⸺ ⸺

The next morning, you bounce down the steps of your dorm building's entrance to meet the wide, bright smile of your ex-childhood-bestfriend-turned-fake-boyfriend-turned-real-boyfriend waiting for you in front of his car, small pastry bag in hand. You smile back at him.

Jay drives you to class that day.

And everyday after that.

. ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ .. ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ :

✰ let me know what you think! if u made it til the end, mwah :') <3

4K notes · View notes