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archived-mononokeland · 3 years

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ask : Hi! I just read the Levi Hanahaki story and I loved it, but the ending made me sad. Would you maybe be interested in writing a part 2 where he or another brother visits to see why she didn’t go back to the exchange program, and he finds her coughing up flowers? Thank you!

sorry for taking so long, here it is! the good ending to patch up after the last one. i didn’t write it until what i wanted to be the end, but you know the feeling when you’ve written until 2000+ words and you still don’t know what you’re doing and you want it to end? yeah. please enjoy, though!

warning: blood, hanahaki

“ i’m here. “

“You’ve been here a while now, Leviathan.”

The words of Diavolo hooked the demon back to reality. Emitting a small, slightly uncomfortable hum, he looked away, “Sorry, you probably don’t want a yucky otaku like me around. . .”

The Demon King laughs, booming the otherwise empty room. “Nonsense, I quite enjoy your company. I’m very invested in the human culture you’ve became a fan of.”

Levi’s mouth opened to a retort, only to freeze and opt to grumble to the side instead. Silence pass, as every now and then Levi checks his D.D.D. and his foot taps in rhythmic beats onto the floor.

Slowly, a small groan sounded from him, “Ugh, seriously, how long is the human gonna take?”

He turned his head to Diavolo, who seems slightly more serious than usual. The latter held back a sigh, “Perhaps you should go back to the House of Lamentation. Your brothers’ve already left, so you should too. I’ll tell Lucifer of any news regarding them.”

Despite worded like a suggestion, Leviathan knew it was more or less an order. With a soft puff of air, the demon pocketed his D.D.D. “. . .Alright, I will. Uhm—thanks, I guess.”

The easygoing smile morphed its way to Diavolo’s face once again, “It’s not a problem. Goodnight, Leviathan.”

“G’night. . .”

The steps of the demon brother soon faded outside the room, until it wasn’t heard. The smile on Diavolo’s face fell in an instant. With a sigh and ever so slightly narrowed eyes, he took out his own D.D.D.

Diavolo: Barbatos.

Barbatos: Yes, my lord?

Diavolo: Trace back the invite letter sent to the human.

Barbatos: Of course.

And with that, he shut back his device and pocketed it. Unreadable eyes looked out the balcony of the student council room. Devildom—the land he’d supposedly rule—spread with flickering lights, all swishing underneath Diavolo.

It’s a sight you’d wish to see, really.

[ ❀ ]

It’s been two days since Leviathan waited until the hour of midnight for you. On the downside, you still haven’t showed up. On the bright side, a council meeting was called, and there’s a little ray of hope that the topic was you.

But—

“They have decided not to join this year’s exchange program.”

The council room, the one that all the demons’ve familiarized themselves for quite some time, suddenly seemed quite cold. As if a heavy blanket fell upon them at once. For a few moments, none spoke.

“. . .Huh. . ? Why?” Levi was the first one to speak up, brash, but there’s a trace of self-restraint, “Why didn’t they come this year?”

The air hung over once more, before Diavolo hummed lowly, a serious expression on his face, “It was at a short notice, but they informed us that they won’t be joining. Personal problems.”

Perhaps it was covered expertly, but the Demon King himself seemed off-put by his own statement. True—you sent a message through your D.D.D. when he asked of you. Barbatos’ expression is perfectly clear as well, but the tension was present as ever.

“. . .I assume that is all.” Lucifer said, once more breaking the silence. Even if his words sounded unfazed, the noticeable crease on his brows was evident. With a heavy breath, Diavolo nodded, and called the meeting over.

No one said a word walking home.

The tense air followed the brothers, even later until dinner, The suffocating aura was insufferable, and somehow decreased just a bit as Levi lightly slammed on the table with a groan, “I don’t get it, why didn’t they go back?!”

And just with that, he spoke everyone’s thoughts.

Yes, they all knew they had to respect your wishes. And they did try. But, it’d be a lie to say that they aren’t and can’t be selfish at this moment—being demons just adds to the equation a bit. But they were still very close to you, how could they not?

All clanking of utensils on plates stopped. Lucifer opened his mouth to explain, but shut it back up once realized he couldn’t say anything. But, even so. . . “Leviathan. . .” What came out was a sympathetic croak, though he tried to hide it with a cough.

Dinner went by in a fly.

The third brother groaned as he entered his room, immediately making a zip-line to his computer. None of his games had any events, so he had free time to himself, if not grinding or anything like that. Of all the times. . .

He reached for his D.D.D. and opened the chat. His fingers tapped away mindlessly to yours and his—almost by reflex. A part of him scolded himself for expecting maybe, just maybe, a new text from you saying it was a joke and that you’d come tomorrow.

But of course it never came.

Even just looking at your past texts—it stirs something he can’t name inside him. His stomach is now a blackhole, the rhythmic beats of his heart increases, and he felt. . .bittersweet happiness.

His mind racked up a storm filled with emotions—emotions he felt too tired and confused to deal with. It could’ve been minutes, it could’ve been hours, but Levi finally snapped himself out of it, and opened the brothers’ chatroom.

He can’t take it, he can’t take it, he can’t—

Leviathan: I srsly can’t take it anymore..!

Leviathan: istg I need to see the human and ask everything!!

The fingers tapped away on its own, and he knew there’s a chance of consequences with his words. But that didn’t matter; not a lot did at the moment. Soon, dots appeared from his other brothers. . .

Beelzebub: Levi. . .

Lucifer: . . .I understand the turmoil you must be going through right now, but. . .

Lucifer: . . .I don’t think I can permit that.

Satan: You’re too rough.

He watched the texts go by, caring little to none as his own attention drifts away. No doubt Lucifer won’t let me go to the human world, he thought, absentmindedly opening a game on his computer, but maybe. . .I can just. . .

He mulls over the possibility in his mind. Maybe this stunt was a bit too much compared to the others—but he’d be willing to take the punishment. Eyes finally focusing, they turn attention back to the D.D.D., the chat.

Beelzebub: Levi? You there?

Leviathan: . . .

Leviathan: Yeah. I’m fine, sorry, forget all of this.

It’s very selfish and foolish of him—but there’s a reason he’s a demon.

[ ❀ ]

He didn’t miss the occasional glances directed at him next breakfast.

The air was almost as miserable as yesterday. Almost, because the time set apart since the day before made somewhat of a difference. Even so, breakfast didn’t resume with its normal banter; mostly just a sentence exchanged or two.

Despite that, deep inside Leviathan was a secret flame of hope and determination. It’s small—perhaps just a match, but it was enough.

Levi’s mind only came to attention nearing the end of the student council meeting. There wasn’t much to discuss—and he wouldn’t have been there had it not been for his plan—but that was to be expected. It was the beginning of the year, but thankfully, Diavolo’s token the measure to ease in their work due to the recent news.

While the meeting was reaching to its end, Levi still continued to play his games on his D.D.D., as he has for a while now. The words from Diavolo saying the meeting ended, Leviathan feigned a sigh and shut his device off, and set it on the table. Then, pretending to be clueless, leaves the room with everyone else.

He’s not certain if everyone didn’t notice. After all, he isn’t the slickest demon—and with a brother like Satan and Lucifer, he won’t put it past them. Well, if they did, they didn’t say anything. But now, he’ll play a game of pretend.

He spent a few dozen minutes in the cafeteria. Not to eat, but to just sit down and play his games on another device. It’s a pain to not be having his D.D.D., but the ends justify the means.

Then, he slid it back to his pocket and made his way back to the student council room, and hoped that Lucifer wasn’t unexpectedly still there (he was on cooking duty, if Levi recalled correctly). Fortunately, when he opened the door, he wasn’t, and only Diavolo stood there, sorting some papers.

“’M sorry,” even if he did plan all this out, his pretend-apology didn’t go farther than a mumble, “Left my D.D.D. here. . .”

Diavolo merely laughed and waved a dismissive hand at him, “It’s quite fine. Go ahead.”

With slow, antsy steps, he made his way to his chair with the device in front of it. Even though he had time, he’s still mulling over what he could possibly word it to Diavolo as. Maybe this was a bad idea—

“You want to go to the human world, don’t you.”

The question brought heaps of confusion and bafflement to Leviathan. Yes, he was standing there for maybe long enough, but Diavolo just guessed it? He pocketed his D.D.D. with a gulp, “Uhm. . .”

Words escape him, currently, but Diavolo soon cut off whatever he wanted to say in his head by turning around and meeting his gaze. His face is unreadable, both showing good nor bad reactions, and his usual friendly smile long gone.

“And I assume this was without Lucifer’s permission?”

“. . .Yes.”

The silence seems to stretch at cruelty’s will, twisting and churning at his guts. Diavolo’s eyes remained a mystery, until a laugh erupted from him. But not in an actual, comedic sense; more of languid than anything.

“You’re determined, aren’t you?”

“O-Of course. . .”

And the silence continues. Leviathan’s darting eyes to the other demon told him that he was studying him, observing him. As if there was a reaction, an attidude, action to indicate to him. . .something. Something he doesn’t know. And suddenly, the eyes felt heavy upon him.

“. . .How curious. Very well,” Diavolo broke the ringing quiet with a low mumble, barely audible, along with the tapping of his nails on the table, “I’ll allow you.”

“. . .Huh?”

“I’ll allow you to go to the human world.”

The words—so did everything else—seemed like buzzing for a moment, before it all cleared.Emotions rushed through the floodgates; relief, confusion, shock, all the likes. “But—wh-why would. . .”

He decided not to push his luck by asking.

Diavolo remained unwavered and certain, a smile now pulling his lips by anything than genuine emotions it feels. “Don’t tell Lucifer. I’ll open the portal soon, Levi.”

Reality was fuzzy and unbelievable. But even so, Levi tried to hold his ground and remain still as the demon king set up the transport to the human world above. He’s going to see you! Anxiety and relief peacefully clashed in himself on which he feels more, but—he did his best to ignore it.

Once the portal was up, all it took was a flicker, and he’s gone.

[ ❀ ]

Oh how you loathed it.

Spitting and choking metal-flavored flowers weren’t your ideal schedulings—and you’d really prefer if it wasn’t. They make for pretty decorations if one were to put it in a pot, if the person was able to ignore the origins and how it was, more or less, what they’d call memento mori.

You hope they’ll live after you die; despite how much you despise the fluttering petals.

A bitter reminder, really, that you litter your house with vases filled with them. Your estate smelled a mix of several scents, and also painted with their colors. Maybe this was your last highlight of life in the current time.

But all that beauty didn’t make up for you, curling up in the middle of the hallway, using your clutches to the wall as your only support. Blood didn’t even wash up from your previous shirts—you’d guessed.

And one by one, the floral beauty fell.

The world, your house, blurred. Your hearing’s long gone, replaced by constant, grating ringing. It didn’t matter anymore, not when they were blotches of colors and screeches, fading in and out from darkness. Maybe, if you just—

“——!”

Your body trembled, the bones in your body feeling brittle enough to crumble. Who’s that. . .? A savior? Maybe an angel, seeing your soul off? The next-door neighbor who heard something?

Your mind scrambled to scream, beg, for any kind of help to pull you out of the ripping gash in your throat. Whether it came out as you wanted, or just a gravel of a groan came out, you never knew.

You never knew, for the world darkened.

[ ❀ ]

Beeping.

Incessant rhythmic beeps were muffled out, but faintly audible. Labored breaths filled the room, as a hand held yours. Warm. It felt warm, and nice, and safe, despite you walking your way slowly to death’s door.

The human body was weak, and Leviathan cursed at it for being so. Even if he did know any healing magic, he’d been too paranoid to tinker with the workings of your health. And so, the two of you were sent to a hospital.

It’s been about almost a day. He hopes anyone back in Devildom didn’t search for him—for the reveal of his whereabouts would cause trouble. And with the state of his mental mind. . .he felt he’d go insane.

But slowly, your eyes broke open a crack.

A low croaky groan was what drew the demon’s attention, clutching tighter at your hand as his head darted to look over you. He called your name desperately, weakly, hoping it to be a mantra that ensured you were alive.

“—! Are you okay. .?!”

Another groan resurfaced, and finally, you’re back to the land of the living. But to your side, you found, Leviathan.

You shove the flowers down for a moment.

“L-Lev. . .?”

Your voice felt fresh and unused. But for now, you vaguely squeezed your hand in his. You’re fine, you’re okay, you’re here; that’s what he needed to know. The fact if you actually were or not came second.

“Where. . .are we. . .?”

Your vision blurred in and out of being visible for you to actually discern anything. But for now, you could see mostly white.

“We’re in a human hospital.”

Hospital. Passing out. . .Right.

“And why. . .are you h-here?”

You couldn’t see it—he hoped you didn’t, at that—but Levi’s expression wavered, as his body became more awkward and stern. He tossed his glances to the side, “I. . .I c-came to see you, o-of course. I can’t just let you curl up and. . .die, for all I know.”

You pursed your lips.

“. . .Did the doctors diagnose me with anything?” Fear washed over you as your voice drops to a whisper; a shaky, wavering, quiet whisper.

If he found out. . .that he was a part of the cause. . . what would. . .?

Levi took a deep breath and his eyes shifted to the side. Then to you. “Yeah.” He replied, “. . .It was hard to find out cause there weren’t many cases, but. . . Hanahaki, r-right?”

. . .Oh.

“Did they,” you gulped the lump in your throat, “Did they tell you what that means. .?”

“. . .Yes.” The black hole in your stomach dug deeper and deeper in— “Why didn’t you tell me? A-Am I. . .unreliable to you. . .?”

His voice was only a whisper, but it echoed through your heart until it broke. “N-No, of course you’re reliable. . .! I just. . .” Your eyes shifted away to your hands, which clutched at the sheets of your bed, “. . .I didn’t want to worry you.”

“You were dying, for goodness sake! Worrying me shouldn’t—sh-shouldn’t. . .” his voice died like a flame, as his pitiful eyes spoke to you instead. “. . .Who’s the person?”

“Huh?”

“Who’s the person you. . . had f-feelings for?”

You took a sharp, silent breath. He didn’t know; and you weren’t sure if he should know. But. . .being here, with Leviathan in front of you made you feel vulnerable so any lie you told would just feel useless. But—he’d think it was his fault. His fault for not returning your feelings. Technically speaking, it was, but it’s not like he could help it—force love would hurt you more than anything.

“. . .” You spent your time, fading out of reality to weigh your options in silence. Levi kept silent as well, patient in hearing your answer. “. . .Y-You. . .”

You almost wished he didn’t hear that right after it came out your mouth—maybe your voice was soft enough so he didn’t hear it. But the quiet gasp heard, the way his eyes widened in utter bafflement, the way his face paled a thousand shades, it all betrayed your wish.

“I. . .I—“

“It’s not your fault. . .!” You said before the thoughts in him spiral down. Your hand flew from the bed sheets to his hand, squeezing it tightly despite how much your heart churned at the action, “It’s. . .It can never be your fault. I couldn’t. . .just wish for you to fall for me like that. And I didn’t want to ruin our friendship. . .”

And once again, silence ruled the room.

You couldn’t bare to look into his eyes—not after the hurt overflowing them. A part of you silently wished that he didn’t come into your house at that moment—and just let you decay like the flowers you racked up. But then again, it’s selfish, for you to deny him seeing you again. It’s selfish, for you to give the cold treatment you had, only for him to find out you were dead.

You wondered who’d hurt more.

“. . .” You finally looked up at Leviathan’s eyes, barely visible from his hair as his head was angled down. Silent, deep in thought. You were about to shift your gaze back, until— “. . .Actually, I. . .have a confession m-myself. . .”

A respond never came, you just looked longingly for his continuation.

“I d-don’t know what love feels like; I’m not Asmo. All I’ve seen are, u-uhm, romance and harem animes. But. . .” He took a deep breath, “Ever since you left, I feel. . .overwhelmingly sad. A-And it’s not a friend thing—I don’t think, but—when I look back at everything, it. . .it makes me happy beyond belief. I want to be there with you, b-by your side, a-and. . .a-and. . .”

“I think. . .I love you.”

The moment those words got out his tongue, a deep, bellowing gasp of air ripped itself from your lungs—as if you’ve been underwater and finally got a breath of air. Your chest, your heart, your throat—the weigh on them ever since the flowers sprouted all lifted and wilted, one by one by one—until it was all gone.

“—?!”

Your name said on Levi’s tongue was foreign to you—for a second. Until with one last gasp of air, your breathing normalized and slowed. With glossy vision, you looked over at the panicked demon beside you, shooting a gentle, calming smile, “I. . .I’m fine, Lev.”

“Are you. . .?! You could be—“

“Lev.” Your soft calling of his name stopped him. “I think. . .I’m cured.”

#tw blood #hanahaki #obey me leviathan #obey me #shall we date #obey me levi #obey me scenarios #angst

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missinghan · 4 years

Text

radiant ⤖ han jisung

❖ genre : college!au ; love-hate relationship!au ; frenemies to lovers!au ; fluff

❖ word count : 10k.

❖ warning : explicit language & mentions of alcohol

❖ summary : you've made a mental note to yourself never to make dumb bets with J.One again because who knows you'll fall for Han Jisung over two cups of boba?

one.

College.

That specific morifying seven-letter word can literally make someone jump off a cliff. Like straight up, Lucifer would rather drink and bathe himself in holy water than to join one of the world's most traumatizing systems. Where knowledge is being drilled into people's mind like a tattoo, and it's not even a cute one, one that you most likely will regret later.

Man, what a life.

After highschool, most people thought they were ready, physically and mentally. That's not true. Did you really think that you're ready for monotonous lectures, for back-to-back assignments with ridiculous deadlines, for cramming forty slides of the PowerPoint presentation from your professor the night before an exam just because your brain cells decided to say 'fuck it' in the middle of the lecture ?

No one's ever ready for living to torture themselves.

Not even Hwang Hyunjin. Hyunjin, the boy you grew up having him right by your window. Hyunjin, that one kid in class who would always hand people his homework whenever they asked for it. He's too kind for this world, for his own good, you often say that to yourself but Hyunjin isn't really all that great.

He too takes pain in turning in assignments to the T.A and dreads his 9am classes tremendously. But, since he's got a rich ass uncle who has some spare apartments lying somewhat near college ( as long as he preserves the place and invites someone over to help paying the bills ), he doesn't have to deal with the struggles of living on campus.

And you, just happen to have the honor to live with him. Well, more like temporarily to see how things will work out later. You despise living on campus anyway.

"What's with the long face ? Did Minho ramble about his cats again instead of working ?" Hyunjin walks into the living room before dropping his keys into the gold-accent bowl that he previously purchased from a garage sale. It's quite convenient, actually, the keys never end up under the couch or some random drawers again.

You look up from your laptop screen, sparing him a glare and focusing back on your assignment. Being a media major is equivalent to taking lots of notes and a shit ton of reading which is a pain in the ass. Meanwhile, a theatre kid like your roommate has his midterms and finals as setting up plays for school's events. Pfft, privileged people.

You don't hate-hate the idea of going to school like some people, in fact, you genuinely love learning, but you're in desperate need of another word for 'child labour' to be applied to this ... situation.

"Ohoho.. It's way worse, trust me, you don't wanna know." You lean your head sideways on one of the pillows, words slightly slurred with your cheek being pressed against the soft surface.

Hyunjin raises his voice from the kitchen area. "Did he confess his love for you or something ?"

"Jesus no ! You know he's not into me like that." You almost screech and sit straight up. "We were supposed to finish our project that's due this Friday. And guess who else was there ? Another chick showed up ! I swear that I wasn't hallucinating, he brought a new one home every other day. She said she was just 'a friend'." You make the quote-on-quote sign with your fingers to emphasize.

You pull on your own hair dramatically with all your might, hissing under your breath just by recalling it. "And whenever we had a twenty-minute break every hour and a half or so, she keeps brushing herself against him, acting all innocent about it. I was deadass pissed off—"

"Woah woah, I don't think it's that—"

You throw your hands in the air helplessly, suppressing the urge to throw a tantrum. "It is that bad, Hyunjin ! The chick doesn't know how to take a fucking hint !" Whatever, Hyunjin is probably too tired to wait for you to finish complaining about some random classmate drooling over Minho because they do that all the time anyway.

"Damn." He sips on his apple juice. "I should come over next time. Might be a not-so-shitty, watered-down version of 'Fifty Shades of Grey'."

You shoot him a glare, closing your laptop shut. "I instantly regret moving in with you."

"Why ?" Hyunjin pouts and plops himself next to you on the beige-colored couch. He reaches for the remote on the coffee table while obnoxiously sipping on the box of juice.

"Because apparently, you love weird, gross, mushy noises as much as Minho does." You answer flatly, burying yourself deeper into the white fuzzy blanket. Actually, no. Living with Hyunjin isn't as bad as you're trying to make it sound.

He might not cook, but he knows some decent restaurant with reasonable prices. He might be all over the place sometimes while panicking over an upcoming exam but at least he keeps his space organized ( unlike Han Jisung, whose closet is a perfect resemblance of World War III ).

Hyunjin throws his apple juice into the nearby bin while scrolling through the 'Romance' section briefly. And sharing the same Netflix account is probably the best decision you two have ever made. "What's worth-hating here ? No smelly kids, no not-having-enough-personal-space problem. There's good food, a cute, quirky roommate which naturally equals good company. You're living your best life right now. The only downside to this is that you have to deal with my questionable sleeping habits."

Fine. Hwang Hyunjin is cute, and a total heartthrob to the entire school. You won't be surprised if every single male student hates him with a passion ( which they do ). Not to mention, all of your female classmates would be more than happy to finish all of your assignments within two days as long as you hand over his number. Although they might want to reconsider due to the fact that this good-looking boy is also that person who records his alarm by yelling at the top of his lungs into his phone speaker.

But, a good friend wouldn't do that, because even God doesn't know what those creepy girls would do once they had their hands on his phone number. This is also why you always get dirty looks from everyone just because you just happen to be his plus-one for everything.

And Hwang Hyunjin only needs a plus-one when Seungmin decides to hate him on that day ( which is almost everyday ). So there goes your reputation. You're probably nothing but a mediocre girl who just doesn't know when not to be all over her hot best friend in the people's eyes.

Hyunjin snaps his head towards the front door when the bell rings then proceeds to turn back to his roommate, showing those ridiculously adorable puppy that naturally implies as 'Get the door for me, will ya ?'. And although all you want to do is to slap him with your laptop, you still stand up nonetheless. You undo the chains and slides the lock over before swinging the door open.

"Hyunjin, I was wondering if you wanna come see us perform this Saturday. You know, at the school's mini music festival. 8p.m. Got two tickets to spare. You can get yourself a plus-one or something." And before you - with an obnoxiously loud tone, the leather jacket and Balenciaga cap - is Changbin, who sassily brushes past you and makes a beeline towards the couch, where Hyunjin is man-spreading, wrapped up securely in his white fluffy blanket.

He lazily sits up from his previous position, receiving the tickets with half-open eyes. "I'll go. As long as 'Wow' is on schedule." 'Wow' is 3racha's first and most definitely last attempt of a love song but somehow, it's managed to get itself a special place in Hyunjin's heart. Well, more accurately, everyone's heart.

Changbin cocks an eyebrow. "It's first on the list actually." He then turns to you with a smirk spread across his lips. "Whatcha say, Y/N ? We all know your favorite line is 'Excuse me noona, do you have a boyfriend ?' from the lovely J.One." He refers to one of Jisung's lines in a love song which he wrote at the age of 16, Changbin wasn’t even 18 himself then. Good times. And now literally every girl is more than ready to throw themselves at him anytime, anywhere. Chan really didn't lie when he proclaimed 3racha as 'hot'.

You shake your head with a timid smile tugged on your lips. "I don't think so Bin, I'm having midterms on Monday, J.One can be saved later as my midnight snack whenever I wanna grill his ass for pestering me during the golden hour aka 3a.m."

Midterms sound good enough for an excuse because everyone would literally kill keep their A-s on those report cards. But unfortunately, you can't just play on the infamous SpearB that easily because apparently, being roommates with Hyunjin has absolutely nothing to do with improving your awful acting skills.

Just then, the most inappropriate, insufferable, infuriating, and other synonyms for 'annoying' clapback clicks inside Changbin's brain when an imaginary lightbulb pops up at the top of his head. "Man, you two are really out there banging each other in secret—"

And out the door he goes before you feel the need to personally stitch up his lips with your terrible sewing skills from elementary school. You close your eyes and takes in a deep breath, shutting the door behind your back while Hyunjin is too busy laughing his ass off on the couch.

This is getting to the point where you don't even need Han Jisung to be here to have the urge to strangle him, because his trash friends are no help at all.

two.

You step onto the bus with your earbuds on, right hand dropping the bus ticket into the glass box that's neatly placed right beside the driver's seat. Another day, another 4 hours of lectures and 2 continuous shifts which is another 5 hours at the café on campus, in which, sucks. But, what makes it even suckier comes right in three, two, one..

"Two people please !" A disturbingly obnoxious voice chirps right behind you. Just then, a figure dashes through the couple who are currently throwing daggers at him with their eyes. Not this again. You groans to yourself before sliding an extra ticket into the box because you definitely know better than to mess with a cranky bus driver. That boy over there really gotta pay for that shit.

Then, you take a seat beside the window, deciding to ignore the pest who just made you spend an extra ticket for his ride. You really should have taken another bus instead of the 325. Suddenly, a hand reaches towards one of your earbuds and pulls it out quickly. A puff of air hits your left eardrums like a rush of electricity, causing you to jump a bit.

"Can you stay still for a good span of 10 fucking seconds ?" You deadpan and and snap your head around. And before you - with slightly damp fringe covering his warm brown orbs, cute button nose and peachy lips ( gross ) - is Han Jisung. More accurately, the bane of your existence.

Jisung chuckles loudly at the big scowl on your face as he angles his head to take a proper look at you. You look like you just rolled out of bed, literally, not even metaphorically. Sweatpants, flannels and sneakers are the way to go if you're gonna be on your feet all day running around to serve sleep-deprived students and professors. Of course you look like a complete bum, it's 9a.m. What did he expect ?

"Aw." He pouts. "Where's the fun in that then, little cub ?"

And when Jisung reaches a hand out to pat your head, you frowns at his particularly ridiculous nickname for you and slaps his hand away. He watched the new remake of 'The Lion King' before the new semester started and cried like a total baby when Mufasa fell off the cliff, said Felix. Honestly, you wouldn't blame him because those devastating thirty seconds remain to be the most heartbreaking scene that Disney has ever invented. But still, the nickname is painfully unoriginal.

"Man, I hope you bombed your midterms or something." You speak up flatly, a slightly better retort lingering at the tip of your tongue but you're far too tired to argue with him anyway. And not to mention, your previous statement is completely useless because if Hwang Hyunjin is that kid who works his ass off to get good grades then Jisung is the complete opposite of that. He can sleep through ten lectures and still get a minimum of 90% on his exams. The perks of being a prodigy since newborn, can't relate.

Jisung feigns a painful expression, scrunching his nose up in fake agony. "How supportive of you, so incredibly validating." He cocks his head upwards carelessly, giving you a full view of his side profile.

Okay. Despite his annoying personality and questionable nicknames for everyone then Han Jisung is kinda attractive. You get it, you get it, Hwang Hyunjin is attractive but this prick is another kind of attractive.

Whenever he screams his heart out at the mic on stage, there are literal silver and gold specks floating in his eyes like an explosion of stardust scattered across the whole universe. And the way he conveys his emotions into his lyrics to perform an entire song on stage is just tremendously remarkable. No wonder all the girls always come rushing in when J.One is on stage.

Wait, were you thinking about Han Jisung or J.One ? But no, Han Jisung is J.One. It's just that J.One is slightly cooler than Jisung because he doesn't pester people until they have a cardiac arrest. Whatever, your brain is already yelling for retirement.

"You are coming to watch my performance right ?" Jisung suddenly leans over, your noses almost touching. Being the idiotic person that you are, your body immediately locks itself in place, hissing slightly at the current proximity. Great, now what ?

"Ooh." A low whistle escapes his lips. "You were too busy checking me out. It's okay, that's understandable. Not everyone can have a close-up of J.One's out-of-this-world visual." He flips his imaginary long hair and you make a gagging noise.

"I was not !" You exclaim upon embarrassment, cheeks turning into a bright shade of coral. "There's just something in your teeth."

"Uh huh, I doubt it." Yeah, he would never buy that. Jisung smiles at you cheekily and once again, Han Jisung has proved that he's the kind of guy who has the particular type of smile that makes you want to knock their teeth out. Although you can't help but fall for it nonetheless. Very typical of you. "So, are you coming or nah ?"

Your heart tingles a bit, and you feel like you can just pass out right here right now on this stupid bus in the middle of this stupid conversation with his stupid boy and his stupid smile. "No, I have my midterms on Monday. Guess who's pulling all nighters again ?" You push his face away because if not, you might as well just explode and make a fool of yourself.

"Ahhhh, why not ?" Jisung whines as if there's no tomorrow. "It's not like you enjoy drowning yourself in Kang's 40 slides of 'History of Media 101' anyway." Now, for once in a fairly long time, the bastard finally said something that wasn't complete bullshit. And you're starting to reconsider your decision because although Han Jisung is undeniably insufferable, J.One can make it up with his dope performances. But then again, you really just don't want to see his face on Saturdays.

Suddenly he rolls himself over again, his lips drawing a devilish smile. You can tell already from the dangerous look in his eyes, it's not going to end well.

"Are you in for a bet ? If I win, you'll have to go. But if you win, I'll do whatever you want me to, for an entire week. You're basically the privileged one here, don't even deny it."

three.

Changbin wakes up from his long nap to find Chan having his eyes glued to the laptop's screen as if his life depends on it. It makes him wonder how long his friend has been working on the rearrangement of all their songs for this Saturday's music festival.

"I see that you're making quite the progress." He grunts slightly before sitting up straight. The small faux leather couch that their school has in the band practice room isn't exactly the most comfortable thing to sleep on. But after what seems like an eternity in the lecture hall, tolerating the professor's rant then Changbin wouldn't even mind sleeping on the floor.

Chan slowly peels his eyes away from the screen and blinks numerous times so that he won't potentially go blind. He looks over at Changbin's slouch figure on the couch, tapping away on his phone and smiles dumbly at some memes that Minho just DM-ed to their group chat.

"Damn right, I just finished chopping up the bits of back-up vocals. I feel like my back is so fragile that it might break in half if I stand up." He runs a hand through his mop of black hair that's nowhere near the definition of 'doable' and yawns into his other palm.

He peeks over his shoulder to see Hyunjin and Felix sleeping while leaning against the mirror, Minho laying on top of Jeongin as he chuckles creepily at his phone. And Woojin is too busy singing his heart out with his guitar in the corner to notice Seungmin capturing everyone in their greatest glory, meaning when they're all a hot mess.

Changbin swings his legs over and slips into his black Adidas slides, walking over to Chan in a sluggish manner. He crouches down a bit while squinting his eyes to take a proper look at the laptop screen. Chan indeed has finished most of it, no wonder he looks ( and probably smells ) like trash. "I'll give you a hand, just send these over to me after when you got home." He says, giving his friend a pat on his back.

"Yeah sure," Chan puts a hand over his mouth to cover up another yawn. "By the way, where the fuck is Jisung ? He hasn't been answering my texts all morning."

Changbin gives him an indifferent shrug. "He said he would be on campus all day on Thursdays since he has classes and work right after- hold on he's texting me."

[ 5:23pm ]

piece of shit : where are you guys ?

baby changbin : band room, clearly you never listened.

[ 5:24pm ]

piece of shit : yeesh, I was busy you ass. texting y/n and all.

baby changbin : it was fucking 3a.m. !

[ 5:25pm ]

piece of shit : whatever, we'll be there in two.

He pauses for a while and lets the words sink in. Why "we" and not "I" ? Since when this was a plural thing ? Did all of those lectures and serving sleep-deprived students fuck up his brain cells ?

Wow, now Changbin feels bold to assume that Han Jisung even own brain cells. And before he can show the texts to the rest of his friends to make fun of Jisung while he's not here, the glass door swings open. Hyunjin and Felix jolt up in surprise at the same time, almost bumping their heads together at the creaking sound.

"We got you kids boba, wake up wake up hurry hurry SCHNELL !" Jisung screeches loudly when he pushes himself through the front door, accidentally making you bump your forehead into the dull glass surface.

You follows him inside with a big scowl on your face, quickly passing Changbin the plastic bags. Yes, you can hear the polar bears crying in the distance loud and clear but unluckily you only have two hands for ten cups of boba.

"Why boba all of a sudden ?" Minho looks up from his phone in boredom as Jeongin is utterly dying underneath, slapping his palm repeatedly against the floor in exhaustion.

Minho feels ( kinda ) bad for him and decides to roll himself over, setting Jeongin free from his miserable state. "Did you two go on a date or something ?" The youngest one's features morph into a frown, eyeing the two up and down in caution when he crosses his legs together.

You make an unimpressed face and glares at Jisung, who's currently hogging the entire black couch on his own. "Who the fuck would make their date carry everything then ? You tell me Jeongin."

Woojin stands up after craning his neck and shakes his head in disapproval. "My greatest disappointment, Han Jisung, would do that unfortunately." He walks over to Felix and Hyunjin to get himself a cup from the bag.

"Let's be honest, you'd still date him even if he does that anyway. I haven never seen any other girl who has the courage to personally rummage through his disastrous closet just to steal a hoodie." He takes a sip and smirks at the black hoodie that you're wearing. Woojin thinks you should definitely give yourself more credit because personally, he can't be bothered to step into Jisung's room, much less his closet.

You're still slightly confused for a moment there but quickly look down and almost gasp in realization. "I can explain—"

"Don't worry Y/N, if he ever mistreats you, you best believe that he's not gonna see tomorrow's daylight." Felix supplies unhelpfully over a mouthful of boba. Since when did he become such a nuisance ? But he's not entirely wrong because if no one volunteers to skin Jisung alive when he leaves you with a broken heart then Hyunjin will literally disown him. He doesn't care if it's legal or not because even a law student like Woojin would be on his side in this.

You hold up your hand defeatedly. "The jerk purposely left it on my couch back at the apartment. And Hyunjin didn't want to return nor wash it so I was obligated to do that myself. Eventually, the hoodie just ended up on a hanger right behind my bedroom door. Not to mention, I was running late earlier and had nothing to wear." You finish your sentence, realizing that your roommate has been giving you a 'wtf' face all his time.

"Out of reasons already ?" Chan chirps, raising a dark brow.

Okay.

In your defense, it's a goddamn good hoodie. The material is actually really nice that you might accidentally fall asleep if you wear this to class. You didn't mind the design on it either, kinda boyish but very funky, almost hippie looking. And last but not least, the smell of it is intoxicating, leaving you yearning for more. That's also equivalent to Jisung smells nice ( ew ) and your cheeks automatically heat up at the thought of feeling like he's hugging you whenever you wear it.

You frantically try to explain with expressive hands. "Look, guys—"

"You're going this Saturday !!" Jisung's voice suddenly booms behind your back as he declares loudly like it's the most worth-knowing thing in the whole wide world. The guys trade confused look with each other, not knowing what nonsense their friend is babbling about. Whatever, they don't have to either way. "You're going, you're going, you're going !"

You look over at Hyunjin's cup in disbelief, completely full and untouched. Meanwhile, Felix has already finished his drink in between the 15-minute conversation. You blinks and quickly comprehends the new amount of information, you lost the bet. Which means...

Screw midterms.

four.

Screw the music festival, you’re not going anywhere.

“How’s this ?” Hyunjin steps out from his room with a white dress shirt tucked inside his skinny jeans. And you hate him even more now because your roommate looks totally #boyfriendmaterial in every outfit that he’s been trying for the past half an hour. Really, Hyunjin should give himself more credit for his looks because you bet girls would still throw themselves at him even if he showed up to school looking homeless and all.

You look up from your phone in boredom. “Looks good to me.”

Upon your flat reply, Hyunjin shoots you a glare. “Good ? It only stops there at ‘good’ ? Then which item in my closet appeals to you as ‘spectacular’ or ‘breathtaking’ ? Should I just hire a personal stylist or something ?” He wants to snap at you but ends up whining like a elementary school kid that’s not allowed to drink his favorite soda from the vending machine.

“Dude, eat a chill pill.” You frown slightly at his particularly dramatic ass ( tsk, drama majors ) and decide to put your phone down. “You’re going to a music festival, at uni. Not attending some kind of award shows for celebrities.”

Hyunjin snickers before clicking his tongue. “And you’re planning on wearing that ?”

Your roommate is stressing himself over being overdressed for an event. You, on the other hand, haven’t even made up your mind about an outfit yet and your plus-one is picking you up in less than 30 minutes. And you’re still here, on the couch, in your pyjamas. Call it madness but personally, you wouldn’t mind wearing this to the music festival. Music is technically art in some kind of shape or form and only uncultured swines judge those who prefer being comfy over fashionable.

Come on, it’s art. Your pyjamas can express yourself in some sort of way right ?

“Stop shitting on my Mickey Mouse sweatpants as if it’s something straight out of the 1910s.” You protest, urging to throw the jar filled with gummy bear on the coffee table at his precious face. Mickey is definitely not going anywhere since you guys have been bonding since middle school.

Hyunjin pauses in the middle of his track going back into his room. Suddenly he turns around and smiles at you creepily. “It’s Jisung, isn’t it ?”

Yeah, no. Most definitely not. Still not him. Nuh uh. Okay… Maybe it’s because you don’t want to embarrass your plus-one because he’s also a total heartthrob. Maybe, it could be something about the fact that you’re afraid you’re not gonna look as good as your roommate. Or maybe it’s something inside the can of Redbull that you downed last night while rewatching the last episode of ‘Goblin’. You don’t even like Redbull.

Shit, you’re running out of excuses already.

“Actually, I was thinking that it’d be better if I didn’t show up.” You confess timidly, scared to meet Hyunjin’s confused expression.

When you gather enough courage to look up, he looks absolutely unimpressed and partially disappointed. “And you’re just gonna rain-check on Choi Yeonjun like that ? Changbin’s not letting this slide, I’ll tell you that.” He shakes his head in disapproval, this time turning on his heels to walk towards his bedroom door.

Something inside your stomach is tickling, as if it’s trying to tell you that you’re about to commit some kind of unforgivable sin if you don’t go to the festival. And just when you’re about to ignore it and wrap yourself up warmly on the L-shaped couch like the lazy bum that you are, your phone buzzes.

[ 4:24pm ]

yeonjun | I’ll be there in five.

five.

Only losers go to a music festival without a plus-one.

Hyunjin is one lucky bastard because Seungmin is tolerating his ass for the day. Meanwhile, Woojin is too busy pestering Felix to let him sneak into backstage looking for Changbin. And by now, everyone probably knows that Minho is secretly obsessed with Jeongin since he's decided to stick himself to the youngest like the spoiled parasite that he is. But that's not the point. Point is : you're terrible at navigation so you're obligated to get yourself a plus-one.

And he just happens to be Choi Yeonjun, that one business major who's secretly a dancer that left everyone's wig flying to Africa during last year's prom. You two have walked past each other before between periods and since he's an acquaintance of Changbin, he'd always wave back at you with the sweetest smile. You see him as a fun person to be around, kinda like a sunshine.

But what you didn't know is that, if your group of friend's chaotic energy is 3000, then Yeonjun alone is already on another level.

"Why the long face Y/N ? Enjoy the music, relax, let the night set you free !" Yeonjun chuckles at the frown on your face as he swings an arm over your shoulder. You can already tell that he's getting a bit tipsy from his tinted red cheeks and his breath smells like beer. Never knew the guy couldn't go heavy with his alcohol. Much like your roommate himself.

You peel the red plastic cup away from his hand to abandon it on some random table, dragging him away from the bar before his friend - Beomgyu, offers him some kind of sketchy looking drink. The kid is only a freshman and you feel like you should strangle the person who permitted him to be the bartender for the night.

"Alright, that's enough beer for you." You tell him mild-seriously, partially because you don't want him to end up knocked out in the middle of nowhere and partially because you can't contain someone who's drunk, not even yourself. "Let's find Soobin, I bet he's running around campus looking for your ass."

"What do you mean he's looking for my ass ? He's at home playing stupid boardgames with stupid Taehyun." Yeonjun slurs, shaking the haziness away furiously before fluttering his eyes upwards. "Look !" He squeals a little bit too loudly for anyone's liking. "It's your boyfriend !"

You abruptly put your index finger on his lips. "Shh shhh ! Han Jisung is not my boyfriend ! Watch your mouth, please, I beg." You hush him and glance around to look for any signs of Hyunjin or Felix popping out from a random bush to make fun of you. "We're barely friends, why would you think that we're dating ?!" You cry dramatically, cheeks burning with a bright shade of pink.

The blue haired boy makes a thinking face, which you think it's undeniably cute, before pointing towards the stage. "Because he's looking at you ?" He says cluelessly, giggling while clapping happily like a seal.

You unconsciously lift your head to eye the stage. Time seems to stop when you realize Jisung has been staring at you all this time. His expression is unfathomable. Your heart starts thundering loudly inside your rib cage, so loud that it overcomes the loud EDM music in the background, so loud that you're afraid he might hear it even when he's so far away.

In this light, in the middle of your chaos, there is Jisung. And he's absolutely otherworldly, radiant, dazzling, coruscating. Gosh, you can go on forever if your brain cells allow you to.

The moment he breaks eye contact, that's when you're pondering over who is it that your heart is beating for. Han Jisung ? Or is it just J.One ? Because you've seen Jisung as a total pest who never takes things seriously, who always makes you pay an extra ticket for his ride to uni, who spontaneously sends you derp pictures of him in the middle of a lecture. But no matter where you go, he would constantly pop up inside your mind out of nowhere. Like a phantom.

Suddenly, Chan's voice booms through the speaker, making you jump. "The performance of 3racha will be delayed due to technical errors. We apologize for this inconvenience." You stand there dumbly, blinking numerous times for his words to sink in. The question here isn't really 'what?' but 'why?'. 3racha take music very seriously and they're not the type to slack off any performances even if it's just for a school's small event.

You snap your head back to the stage, Chan and Changbin are talking to a technical staff, an apologetic smile blooming on their faces. But wait, where the fuck is Jisung ?

"Told ya !" Yeonjun hiccups into your ear. "What kind of non-boyfriend will cancel a performance just to come and see you like this ?" You should have gone with Hyunjin, you really should.. You bet he's not even half as drunk a Yeonjun right now since all Seungmin drinks is kombucha.

Unexpectedly, and also expectedly, you find yourself staring at Jisung, who's speed-walking towards your direction, like a complete dumbass. There's fire flickering at the back of his irises, burning intensely onto you. His brows are knitted together, his jacket hanging slightly over his shoulder, teasing you with a flash of his biceps. You also notice how the microphone is still there, in his hand.

Did he fucking leave the stage just to see you ?

Jisung breathes out a puff of smoke from the chilly air. "Y/N, got you."

Your heart actually feels like it’s hanging on the edges when your name rolls off his tongue so tenderly. "And you are ?" He looks over at Yeonjun with an almost disgusted expression, his hand instinctively reaching for yours. You don't blame him either way because Yeonjun looks like he just made it out of one of the world's most traumatizing lunatic asylum with shitty security. And Jisung wouldn't let you walk around with a crazy guy attached to you like a total creep. Not when he's monitoring.

“Y/N’s plus-one ?”

“Well that makes two of us.”

Yeonjun holds his hands up as if he's being held at gunpoint. "Easy, dude, I'm leaving. I'm leaving. She's all yours." He laughs, sounding almost too nervous to be true because Jisung is somewhat scary whenever someone gets on his bad side. Just ask Highschool Hyunjin.

"You're wasted as fuck, what makes you think that I'll let you go home alone like this ?" You say, flinching slightly when you feel Jisung tightens his grip on your hand. He cocks a brow as if he's testing you.

"Nah, I'm not going anywhere. Just gonna swing by the bar, Beomgyu probably came up with something to knock me out." Without a proper goodbye nor a hug like his normally playful self usually does, the blue haired boy turns on his heels to walk away from the scene. And you exhale deeply out of relief, not because you hated Yeonjun's company, you might actually hang out with him again. Just not where there's alcohol.

Jisung still hasn't let go of your hand yet, and surprisingly, you don't want him to. "I take that as you two aren't dating ?" He questions, studying your features more closely. You're really pretty, he thinks. Jisung has never once hesitant about using the word 'pretty' for you and he's not afraid to show it either. It's just that you never bothered to notice.

"No ? Hyunjin decided to ditch me for Seungmin and Yeonjun's a mutual friend through Changbin so we texted, and he picked me up after when Hyunjin left." You give him a weird look, confused by how pissed off he looks right now. "And I take that as you're jealous ?"

Jisung laughs humorously, his voice doused in dry sarcasm. "Huh, funny. Last time I checked, you were supposed to be backstage with me since you lost the bet, not clinging yourself onto some hot guy from Changbin's Biochem 101." Of course Jisung is pissed off. How could he not when you're all smiling and laughing with another guy, when he has an arm over your shoulder, holding you so lovingly, so tightly ? Another guy that's not him.

You widen your eyes at how ridiculous he sounds, almost in disbelief. "Excuse you ? Since when 'being backstage with you' was even a thing in our bet ?" Yeah, completely unheard of. "And I was not clinging onto him, I'll have you know that he chugged on a bottle of Hennie and ended up wobbling around like a fucking toddler !"

Your voice is getting louder and louder by the second, chest heaving up and down in anger because he is in fact, being extra insufferable tonight. You haven’t seen him acting like this since he officially declared cold war with Hyunjin back in junior year highschool.

"Oh yeah ? Then what ? You liked that ? It makes me sick to the stomach seeing you giggling at one of his stupid jokes. You seemed so fucking comfortable even when he's this close ?" Jisung tugs in your arm to pull you closer, his cool breath fanning your forehead. Your cheeks unknowingly feel hot, but you're not going to admit it to his face. "You're completely okay with this ?"

You grimace a stiff smile. "Of course I am." Oh boy were you wrong.

"Even now ?" He places his hands over your shoulder to bend down, angling his face so that the tip of his nose is brushing over yours. His gaze pierces right through you, leaving you completely stripped and vulnerable. And you hate every single part of this. You hate how you heart is swelling, how his touches burn like fire, how much effect he has on you with such minimal effort.

Jisung says with a devilish smirk blooming on his lips. "Hmm ? I don't know Y/N, you look pretty burnt up to me."

"It's because of the heat—" You instantly regret what you said when it starts to rain. Droplets of water repeatedly tap against your skin like clear champagne. A cloud shadows over you two and another splatter of rain comes along. Goosebumps rise on your skin at the cool sensation as your limbs lock themselves in place. Jisung has never broken eye contact with yours since then, specks of good and silver floating in his eyes like a brilliant explosion of a supernova.

Just when you thought your lips was gonna collide, something unexpected happens. Jisung takes off his jacket and swings it over your shoulders. He gently holds you by the waist as he hurries you inside, your gaze never once leaves his features. He's saying something but you can't quite catch it, it's hard to concentrate when he's being all affectionate and sweet to you like this.

You are far too busy telling your heart not to explode.

six.

Felix stomps over to your table and slams his tray of food down aggressively. Everyone peels their eyes off what they’re doing for the time being, throwing a weird look towards him. With a satisfied smile on his face, Felix drops his notebook onto the table. Changbin glances at him with an expressionless face, almost yawned in boredom. “And how did it go again ?” He drawls tiredly as if he has heard the same joke over and over for an entire week.

“You know that feeling when you feel like you’re completely detached from your own body and just stare at yourself from above ? I was up there, mind blank while my mouth couldn’t stop blabbering about what ever the fuck was on those slides. I ditched my Flashcards, completely untouched, 5 minutes has never flown by so quick. Boom, the professor didn’t even think twice about giving me an A.” Felix leans back on his chair comfortably after wrapping up his story.

Seungmin scrunches his nose at his friend. “Yeah sure, it’s an A. Big fucking deal.” Kim Seungmin basically has a full scholarship straight to college in the middle of his senior highschool year, you can say that he has the right to be unimpressed.

Minho shrugs indifferently, scrolling through his feed to kill some time. “It is for Yongbok apparently, give him a break. You know he hardly gets any when his brain only consists of Seo Changbin and Fortnite.”

Felix hisses at the older boy like a cat when you accidentally step on its tail, threatening to gouge out one of his eyes with the plastic fork on his hand. Minho being on his ass 24/7 just makes college that much more of a hellhole. He can’t help but roll his eyes in annoyance because no one is even trying to spare a ‘Good job’ or ‘Good for you’. He might actually need new friends, Felix ponders.

But wait, something’s missing.

Jisung didn’t even try to make fun of him. And he never missed a single chance to pester him or call him out every time he’s all giddy over good grades. In other words, his secret life as a potential nerd has been foiled thanks to Han Jisung. But apparently, girls find it hot when a nerd is secretly a dancer.

He looks over to his friend and frowns furiously. A hood thrown over his head, eyes glued to his laptop screen, Jisung looks extra antisocial today and Felix can feel something’s off because he would be jumping around, yelling into your ears by now, not making a PowerPoint presentation. “What’s wrong with you two ?” He asks, noticing how you’re also acting strange.

You’re mindlessly scrolling through Twitter, and stop abruptly at a new post from @j.one. It’s a picture of Jisung grinning while gripping on a microphone followed by a caption “Always have so much fun performing w/ my bros, @spearB & @cb97 - photo by @princehwang #SocialSaturday”.

You almost snickered, feeling the need to change it into “#TBT”. Not only because this photo was taken months ago for a summer music festival nearby Uni, but also because this bright side of Han Jisung no longer exists. He hardly talked to you since Saturday, ignored you when you made eye-contact with him on the hallways, didn’t even ask you to pay for his ride.

Basically, he’s making a fuss out of nothing. But you wouldn’t say that it feels good not having him call you ‘little cub’ 50 times a day or send you random messages during a lecture like ‘go out with me ?’. You never take them seriously anyway because he can’t like you just like that, right ? “Ask him, not me.” You raise a brow towards Jisung, earning a glare from him as a reply. “I’m not the one who’s being petty over me going to a music festival with Choi Yeonjun.”

Jisung sighs dramatically and shuts his laptop close. “Is that all you got ?” He inquires sarcastically as if he’s gonna set you on fire if you dare to try him.

“That’s what I said the first time we played Mario Kart together, isn’t it ? I totally kicked your ass, to the curb.” You protest as the blood running through your veins slowly boils. If it weren’t for Hyunjin to hold your shoulders in place, you would have thrown hands at Jisung.

Jisung slams his hands onto the surface of the table harshly, almost knocked the whole table over. “Yeah, that’s why Chan never lets you drive because you’re exactly the reason for all of our wild turbulence. Because you suck at driving !”

You feel like you’re being held in a chokehold, literally and metaphorically because you can’t even drag Jisung down to the very bottom of Hell when you’re fully capable of doing that. Not before you kill him with your bare hands.

“I mean one of us had to have the guts to drive everyone back after a party where y’all got fucking wasted. College parties are so lit, they say. Who the fuck does three keg stands in a row just to run around the neighborhood shirtless later on ?!” You clatter loudly, earning a ‘wtf’ look from the students at the opposite table.

“Who wants another milkshake ? It’s on me.” Woojin interrupts the two of you, already pulling out his wallet in a rush.

Jisung’s ears automatically turn red, and you smirk at the sight of his pink cheeks upon both embarrassment and anger. “What did you just say ?”

“Ten milkshakes it is.” Chan drags Woojin out of his seat and the two of them helplessly walk towards the canteen cashier from across your table. He’s already given up, you can tell. Because if not, he would just personally hang Jisung upside down on a tree ( his natural habitat ) so that he can cool down before he said something he’d definitely regret later.

You push Hyunjin away and stand up right, staring at Jisung dead in the eye. “What’s wrong ? Cat got your tongue ?” Are you finally getting back at him ? Is this how victory taste like ?

“Say that again and I’m gonna— ugh ! Christ, I hate you !” Jisung sounds like he’s on the verge of exploding and you’re absolutely enjoying every single moment of this.

You mock him in amusement. “You’re gonna what ?”

“I’m gonna fucking kiss—“

Before Jisung could finish his sentence, Minho pulls his friend backwards and Jisung once again lands on his bottom, onto the wooden bench. “Okay, I don’t wanna ruin the heat but at least spare some of your sanity for the sake of publicity, yeah ? You know, if you guys wanna make out that bad, there’s always a restroom.”

Sanity ? For the sake of publicity ? Well, that changes everything. “WE’RE NOT GONNA MAKE OUT LEE MINHO YOU FUCKING BASTARD ! DON’T MAKE ME KNOCK KNOCK UPSIDE YOUR HEAD, YOU FILTHY PIECE OF SH-“ You’ve come to a decision that if Han Jisung doesn’t end up somewhere six feet under the ground, then Lee Minho - aka his best friend - is taking his bullet for today.

“Woah woah, Y/N, easy girl, easy.” Hyunjin holds you back with both hands. Okay, he gets why Jeongin doesn’t want to come over whenever you and Jisung are breathing in the same room now.

Jeongin scrunches his nose as he obnoxiously chews on his tuna sandwich. “Yeah, you guys need to cool down a little bit. You know, just chill out. That’s enough for your ‘friendly banter’, let the others enjoy their lunch in peace, will you ?”

You and Jisung continuously give each other death stares for the rest of your lunch break. Even when Chan and Woojin come rushing back with five cups of milkshakes each, even when it’s your favorite flavor in the entire world, it can never put out the fire of wrath that’s burning furiously deep inside. All you want to do is to have Han Jisung down on his knees and beg you for his life like how King Stefan did to Maleficent. The only difference is that Jisung actually doesn’t have a daughter.

Is that too much to ask for ?

seven.

[ 2:35pm ]

yeonjun | hey, I need to talk to you…

yeonjun | nearby café after school ? I can just wait if you’re getting out late.

You read the message on your way out of the lecture hall and widen your eyes. The hour displayed on your screen reads ‘3:45pm’. You immediately push your way through the crowd of sweaty students and run down the hallway like a psychopath. God, Yeonjun has been sitting alone at the café like a complete fool just because of you. Now you feel like a terrible human being.

“Woah, where are you going in such a hurry ?” Hyunjin yells at you loudly when you brush past him and Jeongin.

You hastily shout back at him before continuing to run. “Don’t wait for me ! Just spare me some left over !”

When you arrive at the café, you feel like you should give yourself a pat on the shoulder because you don't think you’ve ever run that fast before in your entire life. Not even for the marathon competitions during middle school.

And the café looks somewhat different today, something smells weird too, you notice. Then you realize that they just repainted the whole thing, replacing the old teal blue color into a warmer brownish color. The walls and windows are decorated with fairy lights, like a cherry on a sundae, it’s perfect for the upcoming winter break. Because students aren’t just gonna come here for the caffeine, they’re gonna hog this place for themselves sooner or later to get at least one aesthetic photo for the holiday.

You quickly spot Yeonjun sitting alone in the color while having his headphones on, slowly dozing off to the music. His cup of iced macchiato remains untouched with water dipping on the sides. A pang of guilt hits you almost instantly when you start walking towards his direction. As you sit down on the opposite seat, Yeonjun suddenly startles and shakes his sleepiness away.

“Hey, I’m so sorry, my phone was off all day.” You say with an apologetic smile on your face, feeling the guilt keeps piling onto your shoulders. “You could just leave or something, I wouldn’t be mad.”

Yeonjun removes his headphones and laughs slightly, scratching the nape of his neck. “It’s fine,” He waves his hands at you to tell you that everything’s okay. “I really need that short nap after all. God, I was dreading my neuroscience assignment all day. But hey, I really need to talk to you, that’s why I was so determined to wait.”

“Don’t even, Yeonjun. You could have just gone home and rest.” You shake your head at him in defeat. You swear to God, he’s too kind. “What’s so important that you wanted to talk to me so badly ?” You ask while flipping through the menu. The weather has been pretty chilly lately, it might be nice to have a hot chocolate.

Yeonjun’s ears turn red at your words and he starts to dart his eyes around, scared to meet your eyes. “I— uhm, look, I just—“ He stammers with tinted pink cheeks, which you find ridiculously adorable. “I just wanted to say sorry for what happened on Saturday.” He manages to squeak out and you have to hold back the urge to laugh. “I shouldn't have drunk that much beer, right ? You should feel lucky that I left you with your boyfriend because I may or may not have thrown up all over Beomgyu. He almost kicked me off a cliff, I’m not overexaggerating, I swear.”

That’s not true. Yeonjun should be the one who needs to feel lucky because not only didn’t Beomgyu leave him on some random sidewalks, he personally called Taehyun to bring him extra clothes and had an Uber to get them three back home before midnight. He knows Beomgyu is too utterly soft for him to murder him in his sleep anyway.

You smile at him before waving the waiter boy over to punch in your order. “Choi Yeonjun, it’s fine, really. You’re so much fun to hang around. But next time, no more beer for you, get it ?” Upon your teasing, he lets out a nervous chuckle. And little did you know, he’s planning on telling you something much, much more horrendous. “And how many times do I need to tell you that Jisung is not my boyfriend ?”

“Just not yet.” He corrects you, and you’re stuck between the ideas of strangling Han Jisung and throwing Choi Yeonjun off a cliff. Or maybe both. “You guys caused quite the scene during lunch break. You two bickered like an old married couple. Not to mention, you’ve probably ended up on everyone’s social medial by now.”

Your eyes widen in terror. A tape of you, and Han Jisung yelling at each other at the top of your lungs is on the Internet. Since a young age, you’ve come to realize that nothing on the internet ever really goes away. And that thought scares you shitless. Great, now everyone will think of you two as that one loud couple who always argue over stupid things. “I’m so fucking screwed— give me a sec, someone’s texting me.”

[ 4:12 pm ]

han | where are you ?

y/n | why would that matter ?

han | you’re on a date right ? with him.

y/n | han jisung are you watching me ? wtf you creep !?

[ 4:13pm ]

han | do you like him ?

han | just answer me honestly for once.

y/n | so you ARE jealous. hah, busted.

But wait, why would he be jealous ? That makes no sense.

[ 4:14pm ]

han | so what if i’m jealous ?

Your heart stops as a small ‘huh?’ escapes your lips. Yeonjun looks at you with a confused expression, almost develops a mild interest in what made you so flustered. But he guessed it either way because it’s too obvious who’s the only person that has this kind of effect on you.

han | i was the one who asked you out first, it’s not fair !

y/n | ...

y/n | hey, are you drunk ?

[ 4:15pm ]

han | i’m as sober as i can be, enjoy your pretty little date y/n.

When everything’s already a mess, when you’re at a loss for words, Hyunjin’s abrupt call is something else more than just fuel to the fire. “Y/N ! Have you seen Jisung ?” Your roommate sounds alarmed on the other end and your stomach automatically twists into a knot.

“No, I haven’t seen him since lunch… why ?” The uneasy feeling has been ghosting your gut since you received the questionable texts from Jisung, and you’re afraid to hear what Hyunjin’s gonna say next. “What’s wrong ? What happened to him ?” You bombard him with questions after questions, fiddling your fingers nervously in fear.

Yeonjun quickly senses something’s off and reaches his hand outwards. He places his hand over yours gently, rubbing little circles to remind you to calm down. There are a thousand bad scenarios running through your mind like lightning of what could have happened to Jisung. What if he’s about to do something stupid ? What if he’s hurting, and no one ever asked ? What if… it’s all because of you ?

“Hyunjin, just fucking answer me !” You almost snapped, finding the silence on the other line extremely disturbing.

He replies breathlessly, as if he’s already given up. “He’s gone.”

“What do you mean he’s gone ?” You can’t believe your own ears at this point.

Hyunjin sounds like he’s about to have a mental breakdown. “Changbin said he hadn’t been home when his shift was supposed to end at 3. Chan said he wasn’t on campus either, nor the band room. We’ve checked everywhere, not his house, not the usual boba place, not even his favorite get-away spots. He ran away, Y/N, no one knows why. And I’m scared..” Your heart instantly drops to the pit of your stomach.

Not even his favorite get-away spots.. We’ve checked everywhere.

But Jisung would never tell them about all of his get-away spots.

eight.

Jisung unlocks his phone and sees several missed calls from his group of friends along with endless texts but his eyes only linger on some particular ones.

[ 7:23pm ]

y/n | can we just talk this out ?

y/n | this is so fucking childish of you.

y/n | I don’t care if you want to kick me out of your life.

y/n | I’m coming for you.

Jisung doesn’t know whether he should be crying or laughing. Basically, he’s emotionally restrained.

Because apparently, life is preposterous. One moment you’re laughing while being pissed off when he annoys the heck out of you. Then later you would ditch him to have yourself wrapped around another guy’s arms. Hours ago, you were on the edge of pushing his limits into the unknown and now you’re being all concerned and worried about him. He feels mildly exasperated partially because you’re playing with his heart, and partially because he allows you to do that.

He has been watching you from behind all this time. He always has so much on his mind that keeps him awake at nights but never really knows how to convey his feelings for you into words. Maybe that’s why J.One can only write love songs in vain. So being the genius person that he is, he thought ( and still think ) that the only way to approach you was to make fun of you. He can only call you questionable nicknames all day because he doesn’t have the heart to actually call you ‘babe’ in a genuine way. He would always end up spitting out something less than appropriate or stick his nose into your business because he can never fathom the courage to say a simple ‘I love you’. Yes, Jisung knows that he’s a coward for making such excuses but the thought of putting his heart into someone else’s hand scares him shitless. Not that he has never gone through a heartbreak before but the scars never really go away.

Honestly, Jisung has never thought that he would end up liking you this much. He still vividly remembers the day that you two met for the first time. It was freshman year highschool, he got signed up for a role in the drama club at the time being thanks to Hyunjin and suddenly he saw you sitting alone in a corner, struggling over a piece of prop for the set.

Even when it’s the awkward phase, you took his breath right away like ‘whoosh’, leaving him utterly speechless when your eyes collide. From then on, you’re the ‘nothing’ that people ask him about whenever he looks like he’s spacing out. You’re the only thing that keeps lingering in his mind, impossible to forget. He finally understands why people are always so giddy about their crush because once you like someone, everything changes. Like how your smile seems to be even brighter than the Sun, how your goofy laugh feels like music to his ears, or how every little thing that you do affects him way too damn much. Woah, he understands why his group of friends said that he’s so whipped for you now.

Jisung doesn’t know what to think or what to feel anymore. He really doesn’t. He hates how you keep switching between ‘the Y/N who hates Jisung with passion’ and ‘the Y/N who genuinely worries about Jisung’. It drives him nuts not knowing how you really feel about him. Jisung swipes his index finger upwards and presses the ‘Airplane Mode’ button from the Control Center settings. He can’t afford having Chan or Minho screaming directly at his ears after when he ran away like that. Maybe he is childish after all.

“Han Jisung !”

Jisung snaps his head backwards to find you standing there, disheveled hair, hands supporting on your knees with a glint of fierceness in your eyes. With the dim source of light from the Moon, you’re glowing under all of the sentimental glory that leaves him completely flustered. He’s really predictable, he thinks. Of course you’d know that he would end up choosing the park where he used to hang out with Seungmin since kindergarten. It’s also where he bawled his eyes out after his first breakup, having you rub little circles on his back and tell him that everything’s gonna be alright.

“What are you doing here ?” He asks soullessly although his heart his yelling at him to fall into your embrace.

“I told you, didn’t I ?” You say, breaths growing more even by the seconds. “I’m coming for you, I don’t care if you’re gonna kick me out of your life because I’m not allowing that.”

Jisung snickers, clicking his tongue in annoyance. “You rain-checked on Choi Yeonjun just like that ? Aren’t you afraid that he’s gonna break up with you tomorrow after finding you that you’re rummaging through the entire city to look for me, an absolute bastard who never leaves well enough alone ?”

You shoot him a stern look, brows slightly furrowed. “You didn’t let me finish, how rude. I’m trying to prove a point, don’t you see ? If I really didn’t give two fucks about you then why would I be here ? If I was really dating Choi Yeonjun then I could have just stayed at home and cuddled with him until Hyunjin kicked him out of our apartment. It’s been almost three hours, Jisung. Three fucking hours. I was running from place to place like a psychopath, got lost on some random streets, just to find you. Yes, just for you.”

He squints his eyes at you skeptically. “And your point is ?”

“I care about you.” You don’t even need to consider anything at this point and that has Jisung’s jaw dropped to the ground. “I could never hate you, even if I do, I can’t hate you for the rest of my life for my own good. Even when you call me ‘little cub’ fifty times a day, even when you make me pay for your ride, even when we almost threw hands at each other during lunch break, my feelings for you never change. Not even one bit.” You state confidently, taking long strides towards him.

Jisung looks at you with a blank expression, his lips pressed into a thin line. “I don’t know Y/N. You’re a fucking hot mess. For all I know, you second-guessed most of your decisions in life. What if you decided to pull—“ That’s it, you’re not enduring his ‘what if’-s bullshit any longer.

Without a word, you grab Jisung by the collar and pull him flush against you. When your lips collide with his, it feels like you’re being sent to the Moon and back continuously. Sparks of joy, lust, and mixed emotions ignite inside his heart when you trace your tongue over his then it explodes like a firework that lights up the eerie darkness effortlessly. Jisung slowly gives in and melts into the kiss, his hands snaking around your waist to hold you closer, feeling your warmth radiating off on his flannels. You’re the first one to pull away, hands trailing behind the nape of his neck. “I can say that giving away my first kiss is enough to prove that the only thing I’ve never second-guessed was liking you.” You say breathlessly, trying to ignore the rouge on your cheeks.

“I am your first kiss ?” He widens his eyes slightly.

You scoff at him while trying to act casual. “Be grateful at least you brat.” Jisung chuckles softly at you, slightly taken aback at your bold action as the feeling of your lips on his chills him to the bones. “Point taken.” At that moment, you quickly realize how his warm brown eyes hold their own galaxy with the stars shining so brightly that makes your heart swell. At that moment, you also realize that Jisung is your Sun because his smile alone can light up the whole celestial sphere. Meanwhile you’re his Moon because no matter what happens, you’ll always be here to brighten him up on the darkest of days.

And you both know that as long as you have each other, you will forever be radiant.

933 notes · View notes

robinrunsfiction · 5 years

Note

Can I request literally anything fluffy with ray? There is such a lack of Ray fics and that makes me sad.

Boy Next Door

Pairing: Ray Toro x Gender Neutral ReaderRating: GeneralRequested By: AnonWord Count: ~2,200Author’s Note: I had been working on this one for a few days now, and since today seems to be a bit of a Ray Toro appreciation day over on my main, I got this finished and I’m posting it today! Yay for more Ray! In this house we love and respect adorable musical geniuses! Also I think I managed to keep it pretty gender neutral, I hope everyone enjoys!

You pulled the last box out of the back of your car andhauled it inside with frustrated sigh. You had just moved out of your apartmentthat you had shared with your ex, and back into your parents’ home. To say youwere frustrated and disappointed with the turn your life took was andunderstatement.

When you moved in with your significant other, you hoped itwould help your relationship because you had trouble communicating. Sadly,things turned from not great to insufferable quickly and you moved out as soonas the lease was up. Adding insult to injury, the only place you could go was back toyour parents house for the first place in years.

“I still think its too bad you couldn’t have just bought thehouse next door,” your mom said as you sat the box on the table. “But I’ll haveto introduce you to the young man who did purchase it, he’s verynice.”

“Mom, moving back in at my age is bad enough, buying thehouse next door would not have been much better.”

“Don’t worry sweetie, we’ll get your life back on track soonenough,” your mom said rubbing your arms.

“I didn’t realize I was that far off track,” you mutteredbefore retreating to your room.

A few weeks later you had settled into a routine thatquickly felt like a combination of who you were since moving out and being anadult, and who you were years before when you were a teenager. For the mostpart living with your parents again wasn’t too bad since you never had to cook,and your laundry was done before you even realized that it needed washing. Thedownside was you couldn’t stay out late without it being an issue, but youweren’t going out much, having sworn off dating for a while.

On a particularly sunny and warm Saturday, you were sittingout in your bathing suit when you heard your mom talking to someone.

“(YN), come here a moment,” she called. You rolled your eyesand slid on your sandals before joining her at the fence. “Ray, this is (YN), (YN), this is our new neighbor Ray.”

“Nice to meet you (YN),” he said as he extended his handover the fence in greeting. He was so cute and your parents hadn’t told you!You pushed your sunglasses back to the top of your head and smiled as you shookhis hand.

‘No, no, you’re notdating for three months, besides you don’t even know his deal,’ you scoldedyourself. “Nice to meet you too,” you replied.

“(YN) just moved back in after a breakup,” your momexplained rather unnecessarily.

“Thanks mom,” you said rolling your eyes. She smiled andwalked away. “Well that was awkward,” you said with a laugh.

“That’s moms for ya,” he laughed. “So, what do you do?”

You chatted about your job for a little bit before askingabout his work.

“Oh, I’m a musician, I play guitar.”

You tried not to gasp audibly as your eyes went wide. Eitheryour parents didn’t know, or they were holding out that knowledge from you. They knew your type included musicians.

“Oh wow,” you murmured.‘What part of three months of you not understand?!’ your brain screamed.

“Yea, it’s what I’ve always loved to do. Actually I gottaget going, I have a rehearsal soon, but I’ll see you around.”

“Yea, nice to meet you.”

Ray turned to leave, but then turned back. “Hey, (YN), sorryif this is really forward, but would you like to go out sometime?”

“Three months.” The words tumbled out of your mouth beforeyou could even stop to think.

“What?” he asked, confused.

“Sorry,” you said shaking your head. “I swore I wouldn’tdate for 3 months from the day I moved back here. Just to make sure I wasn’tjust jumping into something too soon.”

“Oh, ok, I understand,” he smiled.

“Thanks,” you replied. He waved and headed back into hishouse.

From then on, you spent as much time as you could outside inhopes of running into Ray, which you did quite a bit. You found you weregetting to know him and you were really starting to like him for more thanbeing cute and a guitarist. The next thing you knew, it was the end of summer and youwere enjoying some of the last warm weather while reading outside.

“Hey, (YN),” Ray waved as he headed out his back door,guitar in hand.

You set down your book and went over to the fence. “Hey,where you off to today?”

“We got a gig tonight,” he said with a smile.

“Oh cool,” you smiled.

“Hey, I was, umm, I hope you don’t think this is weird, butit’s been three months and one day, and I was wondering if you’d maybe like togo out some time?”

You grinned. You could hardly believe that he actually kepttrack of the time since you moved in and knew you were off your dating hiatus. “Yea,I think I’m ready now,” you nodded.

“Wanna grab a drink tonight?”

“Sure, text me and I’ll meet up with you,” you replied.

“I don’t have your number,” he replied shyly.

“Oh duh,” you laughed as he pulled out his phone and youtyped in your number.

“Ok, I’ll see ya tonight,” he smiled.

“Can’t wait,” you replied.

That night you had gotten ready and were hoping your parentswouldn’t notice you slipping out of the house.

“Where are you headed (YN)?” Your dad asked just before youmade it out the front door.

You groaned internally. “Meeting up with a friend for adrink, I won’t be late,” you replied quickly.

“Make good choices, be safe,” he called as you hurried outthe door.

You got to the bar and from outside you could hear livemusic. When you got inside you found it was Ray playing with a band. Yougrabbed a stool at the bar and ordered your drink. The band played one more song before packing up and Rayspotted you.

“Hey, you guys are awesome. I didn’t realize you wereplaying here, or I would have come over sooner!”

“I didn’t know if you’d be into our music and I didn’t want youto feel like you had to check us out,” he replied sitting down.

“I’d love to check out a whole show sometime,” you replied.

“Really? I’ll let you know when we have our next one comingup.”

You and Ray chatted for quite a while. You really felt likeyou were clicking with him and almost regretting giving yourself that three-monthbreak from dating. You decided to make a move, putting your hand on his as yousmiled back at him.

“Thanks for waiting for me and asking me out again. I justdidn’t want to get into a rebound situation, ya know?”

“I understand,” he replied with a smile. “I’m just glad itwasn’t a long-term plan to blow me off.”

You laughed. “No, I would have said yes right then, but,”you shrugged. “I’d like to go out again if you would too?”

Ray turned his hand over, so he was holding yours. “Yea I’dreally like that.”

He picked up his guitar with his free hand and you both walkedout the door hand in hand to your car. “So I guess, I’ll see you around then,” he said.

“I’m looking forward to it,” you replied. Ray pulled yourhand to his lips and gently placed a kiss. You had to keep from audibly gasping,a shiver running up and down your spine as a smile grew even larger on yourface.

“Goodnight (YN),” he said as he walked back toward his car.You slipped into the driver seat and squealed.

The following weekend you again met Ray for a date, thistime for dinner and a movie. As you sat in the darkness of the theater, Ray tentativelyput his arm around your shoulder, and you settled against him. You smiled andthought about how glad you were to be here, but then a thought dawned on you. Yourealized that your parents would likely catch on soon to the fact that you andRay were seeing each other. How many times would you be able to both arrivehome at the same time before they put it together? Wouldn’t Ray want to hang out at his house some time too,and its not like they wouldn’t notice you just walking next door. You didn’teven notice when the movie ended, completely lost in your thoughts.

“Did you like the movie?” You heard Ray ask, snapping youback to reality.

“Oh, yea, sorry I kinda spaced out a little.”

“Oh, ok,” he seemed dejected and a pang of guilt struckthrough you.

“No, I was just thinking about how my parents are going to notice us going outsoon. They’re nosey to say the least,” you explained as the credits of the movieplayed behind you.

“Yea, I noticed from the line of questioning they’d give meevery time they saw me when I first moved in,” he laughed.

“I just don’t want you to get scared off by them,” you saidearnestly, looking him in the eye.

“(YN), I really like you. And I met your parents before Imet you, I know what I’m signing up for,” he said with a sweet smile. Yousmiled back and suddenly you were leaning together as the cinematic overture played. Your lips met for the first time as the song reached its climax.His lips were soft and gentle against yours as he reached up and held yourcheek in his large hands. In the moment you didn’t want it to ever end. You wanted the scene to fade to black like a movie, your happily ever after.

Over the next few weeks you were careful about sneakingaround with Ray. He didn’t really care if your parents knew you were dating ornot, but you did. You were still struggling with the fact that you were an adultliving back at home and dating the guy next door didn’t help matters any.

In the meantime, you had developed a habit of staying outlate enough that your parents were already in bed by the time you snuck in. It wasautumn now, and you and Ray had been going out for months. You were a little nervous youwere falling too quickly, but he was so much better in every way than anyoneelse you had ever dated. He made you feel safe and cared for, plus he was so cute,you always had so much fun, and his musical talent made you melt.

One Friday night you had met up with Ray right after workand had another great date. When you arrived back at your parents’ house, yousaw all the lights were out, but you didn’t think twice about it.

“Can I walk you home?” Ray said getting out of his car inhis driveway as you got out of yours parked on the street. You grinned at him ashe made his way over to you.

“You just can’t get enough of me, can you?” You grinned.

“You know that’s true,” he said as he wrapped his armsaround your waist, and you draped your arms over his shoulders. He leaned inand kissed you with the passion and warmth that you had grown to love. When youpulled back and looked into his eyes, your breath forming clouds above yourheads. He kept his arm around your waist as you walked up to the front stepswhere you sat down, gazing at what stars you could see above you, the citylights dimming them out.

“I’m so glad you’re mine,” Ray said softly, and you lookedover at him. “(YN), I love you.”

“I love you too,” you replied nodding and smiling. You grabbedhis face and pulled him into a passionate kiss. Suddenly headlights from a car illuminatedyou and you pulled back shocked to see your parents pulling into the garage.You gave Ray a horrified look, but he was laughing.

“Well at least they know now!” he said between laughter.

“Ugh, there’s going to be no living with them now,” youreplied letting you head rest against his shoulder. Then you heard the dooropen behind you. You glanced up at your parents staring down at you both.

“I suspected this for weeks now! I’m so happy for you kids,”she grinned before going back into the house.

“Make good choices,” your dad imparted before following yourmom.

“Welcome to the family,” you said with a shrug.

“I said it before, I know what I was signing up for,” hesmiled before leaning in for another quick kiss. “And I wouldn’t change it forthe world.”

Masterlist

#ray toro x reader #Anon #ray toro fan fic #ray toro imagines #ray toro fan fiction #my chemical romance fan fiction #my chemical romance fan fic #my chemical romance imagines #fluff #requested

63 notes · View notes

jsteneil · 6 years

Text

white sleeves

read on ao3

It was Nicky who forced them all in the car on an apparently random Saturday, with empty threats, a good deal of supplication, and endless streaks of “Neil. Neil. Neil. Neil.” which got on everyone nerves, even his own.

Neil managed to outlast Nicky the fifth time he did it by turning on the shower, choosing to wash his hair for the second time in as many days just so the water would flow over his ears.

“What the fuck are you doing?” was the first thing he heard when he stepped out of the stall, almost relaxed. The voices were right outside the bathroom door but Neil pretended he was alone in the world as he dried and dressed as slowly as possible.

“Neil—I’m ensuring you have a good Christmas, Aaron Joseph Minyard, and if you had one sentimental bone in your body you’d be right there with me—Neil—”

“I’m going to Katelyn’s for Christmas,” Aaron answered. “That’s really not your doing.”

“Aw, you are sentimental!”

“Fuck off.”

Neil bit on his tongue and tugged on his armbands under his shirt just as Nicky called, “Wait, help me convince him, please!”

“Alright,” he said, opening the door right in Nicky’s face. “What do you want?”

“I’ve literally talked about nothing else in the past two days,” Nicky said. “there’s a Christmas market in town.”

“You’re going back to Germany in two days.”

“So?”

“So, the Christmas markets are way better over there than in the middle of South Carolina, everyone knows that,” Aaron said from the nearby kitchen, voicing Neil’s thoughts.

“Oh, come on,” Nicky said. “If I don’t force you to do your Christmas shopping now no one of you will have presents for the Secret Santa when we get back. Don’t roll your eyes, you know I’m right.” Nicky gestured to the living room, where they could hear the sounds of an old exy rerun. “Even Kevin drew a name, and he’ll spend his break with Abby and Coach, when will he have time to shop?”

“You do know that Amazon exists, don’t you,” Aaron said.

For once, Neil was glad for Aaron and his dislike of any activities that forced him to spend too much time sober and out of the court with the rest of the Foxes. He didn’t even have to prepare counter-arguments for Nicky’s ridiculous propositions.

“Oh, come on,” Nicky said, with a frustrated gesture. “I want to go, I think it could be fun, and I don’t wanna spend the first day of my vacation holed up in the house. Why can’t we decide to consider it instead of fighting my ideas all the time?”

Aaron didn’t say anything. Kevin’s head disappeared back into the living room. Neil looked at Nicky and weighted pros and cons, then threw logic out of the window.

“I’ve never been to a Christmas market when I was in Germany,” he said.

Nicky beamed.

Once Neil was on board, the others were too: Aaron because he didn’t want to stay alone with Andrew, and Kevin because he claimed he had nothing else to do. Neil glanced at the TV when he passed into the den: it was an old rerun of UPenn being slaughtered by the Ravens. He wondered how Kevin had held twenty-three minutes before bursting, then he grudgingly upped Dobson one step on his mental esteem scale. Kevin had still been struggling with Riko’s death and the fall of the Ravens at the beginning of the semester: but the therapist Dobson had recommended and Kevin forced himself to see seemed to be doing her job.

Neil went upstairs to let Andrew know they were going while the others looked around for their coats and money. He knocked on the bedroom’s closed door but knew he would come bearing old news: noise from downstairs floated clearly into Andrew’s room, even with a closed door.

“We’re going,” Neil said anyway, stepping up to the bed where Andrew laid, eyes on his phone. “I don’t suppose I can ask you to accompany us?”

Andrew leveled him with a flat look but scooted up the bed when Neil sat down, giving him some room.

“What are you doing?” Neil asked, forgetting for a moment that the others were waiting downstairs. He never saw Andrew on his phone: he was almost the only person Andrew ever messaged, and his calls were always brief and to the point.

“Playing,” Andrew said, and held up the phone. There was a sound almost immediately and the screen flashed with the usual message: “Game over! Click to try again.”

Andrew pressed a button, then sat up on his elbow and inclined the phone so Neil could see the screen. A little line started moving across the screen, turning left or right with Andrew’s command. He recognized the game as a mind-numbing pastime he’d played for a short time as a child, before his mother beat the message into him that phones were for emergencies only. He watched as Andrew narrowly avoided colliding the two extremities of the snake that had progressively grown longer. The other Foxes would have a fit if they saw it: they moaned about Neil’s old dinosaur phone enough.

Andrew held out the phone to Neil when he lost, almost a full minute later. Neil clicked as per the instructions on the screen, but he lasted almost no time at all. He blinked at the screen, watching his snake eat its own tail with surprising disappointment.

“Do you think it’s on my phone too?” he asked, because he’d been working on processing through his most mundane thoughts and desires.

“Yes,” Andrew said. He took back the phone but didn’t load another game, placing it closed on the bed next to him.

Neil realized Andrew was still half-sitting up, looking up at Neil with that slow, intense look he got sometimes. Because he wanted to, Neil leaned down and stopped a hair-width away from Andrew’s mouth, waiting for him to close the distance. Andrew’s lips were slightly chapped but soft against Neil’s mouth. He leaned away when he heard Aaron trudging up the stairs and pass their door on the way to his room.

“You should drink more water,” he said, looking at the empty chocolate mug on the bedside table.

“You should leave before Nicky bursts in and I have to kill him,” Andrew said, settling back against his pillow. He snagged Neil’s and used it to prop his own with a pointed look.

“He wouldn’t dare,” Neil said. “I’ll bring you back something to eat.”

“Donuts.”

Neil hummed. “Glazing?”

“Powdered sugar.”

Nicky didn’t comment on Neil’s lateness as he stepped outside well after the others and took his time adjusting the driver’s seat, but he was back to chatting a mile a minute as soon as they drove out of their neighborhood. He directed Neil with imprecise indications and once forced Neil to brake so hard he almost hit his nose on Kevin’s headrest.

“You might want to park in a side street,” Nicky said as they approached the square the market was held in.

There was bumper-to-bumper traffic and barriers to create a car-free space in the streets around it, with traffic agents in reflective vests. The sight of them made Neil scowl from habit and he slipped into a side street as soon as he could, snatching up a parking spot from a family van.

“Meet back here at six?” Neil suggested as they stepped under the white wooden arch covered in fake-snow that marked the entrance.

Nicky rolled his eyes. “Neil, we all have phones here. Can yours even call?”

“It’s the only thing it can do,” Aaron said. He’d gotten the latest phone from a classmate a few weeks earlier and been insufferable about it since then. Neil had only grown more possessive of his old sturdy phone. He’d chucked it across the room or swiped it down from Andrew’s top bunk enough time to be glad the screen was small and hidden, unlike his classmates’.

“Ooh, here’s a German bakery stand,” Nicky said. “C’mon, we’ll find something for the Millers. Go shop you two!”

He left half-dragging Aaron behind him and shooing away Kevin and Neil towards the other stalls. Neil looked around. There was a decent crowd milling around, but considerably less children than he’d seen at the mall these past weeks, and the open air and small wooden kiosks gave it a more welcoming air.

“It doesn’t look too bad,” he said; Kevin threw him an almost pitying look and left towards the first stand.

Neil followed. Since he was there, he had better do what Nicky suggested and buy presents for Christmas. The problem was, Neil had never celebrated Christmas or any occasion that could have provided him with useful gift-giving skills, and he had no idea where to start.

Since the team had grown, the Foxes had opted for Secret Santa this year, and gathered money for presents for Wymack and Abby. That reduced the number of gifts Neil actually had to put thought into, but the downside of it was that he had no idea what to get Dan.

He strolled the alleys leisurely, looking at the objects displayed with curiosity spurred by boredom. He discarded the slipper stall without approaching it, stayed behind to look at the wood-carving one, and spotted the diverse food-related booths to be sure to stop by before they left.

At some point he grew cold and bought a too-sweet hot chocolate from a talkative man who tried to sell him half of his stack of chocolate. Neil refused first, then took a sip of his chocolate, almost gagging on it. He took out a twenty and left with a bulging bag of chocolate in all its state: bars, candies, irregular little rocks with nuts in them, and a can of powder for cocoa mixes.

Presents were easy, in the end, Neil thought as he continued strolling.

He saw Aaron stopped at a jewelry stand, looking at rings, and he slipped away before he could be seen, only to bump into Nicky at the honey stall.

“Neil, you’ve bought something!” he said. He already had three bags looped around his arm. “Can I see? Unless it’s for me.”

He was peering in before Neil could say no and let out a small laugh.

“Oh, Neil, you big sap,” Nicky said. He ruffled his hair and disappeared back into the crowd.

“Alright,” Neil muttered under his breath. He checked the time only to see he had a little under an hour before going back. He didn’t have a present for Dan and he was growing tired of the crowd, even though it had thinned since night had fallen. He sat down on a bench to finish his chocolate, leaving the dregs of powder at the bottom, and chucked the paper cup into the nearest bin.

Neil saw the exy racquets stuck above the kiosk’s slanted roof first, then Kevin’s coat. Neil blinked once: it wasn’t the kind of booth he’d expected to see at a Christmas market, but he guessed it made sense, since Columbia had its own collegiate and pro teams. Still, seeing Kevin engrossed with the woman at the till was just too familiar a sight that Neil wondered for a brief moment if Kevin’s presence had conjured the stall into existence. He huffed and joined Kevin at the glove shelf.

“Unless you drew my name, that’s not where you’ll find a Christmas gift.”

Kevin didn’t even jump, although he was absorbed in a big tag sewn onto one of the gloves. Neil didn’t fault him for seeking familiarity: he’d had almost as few occasions for holidays celebrations as Neil in his life.

“I got Allison,” he said.

“Then you really need to find another booth.”

“I’ve already got a present for her,” Kevin snapped. “Did you think I was there all this time?”

“Yes.”

Kevin didn’t roll his eyes, but it looked like a near-thing.

“I’m looking for Thea.”

Neil glanced around at the gear spread in display. It wasn’t particularly impressive, but there was quality brands and original designs, which Neil supposed could appeal to some people.

“It’s not very romantic,” he said after a while, because he thought that it was something Allison and her relationship advice would say. Or maybe not. He wasn’t very good at this.

“What did you get Andrew?”

“His weight in chocolate,” Neil answered, holding up the bag though he knew Kevin would disapprove. Sure enough, the frown on Kevin’s forehead deepened. “He likes chocolate.”

“Thea likes exy.”

There was no arguing with that kind of logic, so Neil admired a pile of exy-shaped stress balls in leather, noting the irregularities and the little tag that said they were handmade. He’d turned on keyrings when Kevin finally brought a pair of gloves to the till, taking in the astronomical price without blinking.

The gloves weren’t functional, not fitting any of the ERC’s regulations on color and design, but Neil thought maybe that wasn’t the point. Kevin was very gentle when he slid the wrapped present into a bag, smoothing down the awkward bulk of it.

“Find me a donut stand,” Neil told Kevin as they slipped back into the market’s crowd.

Kevin sighed but did as he was told, using his height to point Neil into the right direction, and didn’t say anything as they watched the donut deep fry before them.

“So who did you draw?” Kevin asked. It was only a quarter to six, so they loitered close to the entrance.

“Dan,” Neil said. “And no, I’m not buying her something exy-related.”

“I was going to say Foxes, not exy,” Kevin protested.

“She’s always taking pictures,” Neil thought out loud. “Maybe a camera?”

He looked around, hoping to conjure an electronics stand the same way he’d thought Kevin had done with the exy stall, but the market mostly sold hand-crafted pieces.

“That’s above budget,” Kevin said. “But I can tell you where to look.”

Neil was surprised for the second it took him to remember Kevin’s old room at Evermore, the postcards and the labelled pictures on the shelves above his bed. He hadn’t seen a camera there, but it could have been hidden, or destroyed. Why hadn’t Kevin still gotten a new one? He’d replaced most of the history books he’d left. But PSU wasn’t an ideal photographic destination; Kevin had mostly taken photos of his travels with Riko and his different teams, historical landmarks. Neil remembered Greek ruins and the bitter thought that their experience of Greece must have been a very different one.

“You should get a new camera,” he said.

Kevin glanced at him. His surprise was obvious, but misplaced.

“After,” he said. It sounded repeated, like a mantra or a promise.

He was scanning the crowd for Nicky or Aaron when he saw a woman with her daughter, stopped a few paces away from Kevin and Neil so the mother could check her phone. Neil waited until she looked up, then approached her.

“Excuse me,” he said, watching her watch him. He repressed the urge to turn away and hide from the stares; his burns looked old by now, but the scars were still unsettling for most people. Then, because he knew what he looked like and understood a mother’s protectiveness, he added: “Did you buy those slippers here?”

The woman was taken aback, but she pointed him towards the slippers stall he had dismissed earlier and left as soon as Neil turned away.

“You managed the gear orders with Coach last year,” Neil said to Kevin as soon as he was within earshot. “What shoe size is Dan?”

“Seven.” Then, satisfied, “and I told you to go for foxes.”

Neil batted a hand at him and hurried to the stall. It was blessedly empty, and Neil wasted no time in spotting the pair of padded fox-shaped slippers he’d seen in the little girl’s bags. Dan had been complaining about their cold dorms since November: apparently heat was more or less broken in the girls’ dorm. He bought the pair in the right size, checked that it was in good condition, and jogged back the entrance arch, where he could see Aaron’s blonde hair and Nicky’s yellow scarf glow under the streetlights.

“There you are!” Nicky said as he joined them. He had three more bags in his hand. Neil was pretty sure Erik’s family wasn’t that big and wondered if he would have to go back and get Nicky a gift, too. “And you’ve got new bags, too! Honestly, I thought you’d be the first one to be done with this.”

“I was,” Neil said, but Nicky was already chattering away, opening his bags to show him what he’d bought Erik’s family.

Neil was impressed despite himself: he’d seen each stall three times, but he hadn’t realized how many random little objects they held until Nicky was fishing them out of his bag one by one. Where Neil had seen mugs and keyrings, Nicky found unique pieces and explained in great detail why it would make the perfect gift. Neil began to rethink his previous belief that the warm coat Nicky had given him last year had been a coincidence with the fact he hadn’t had anything warmer than a hoodie in his wardrobe.

Aaron had to physically lead Nicky out of the way of a pole at one point, but they made their way to the car without major incident and all of Nicky’s purchases safely inside his overflowing bags. They stashed their bags in the trunk of the car and quickly got in, relishing the gradually warmer air blowing from the vents. Perhaps Nicky had gotten Neil gloves this year: he hadn’t thought of buying any and he’d gotten used to South Carolina’s mellow winters.

Neil took out his phone when he felt it vibrate in his pocket, unsurprised when he saw it was from Andrew. There were only two words, but Neil smiled when he read them: I’m hungry.

Back in ten, he sent back, and checked to make sure Kevin was holding the donut bag so it didn’t open and roll around the car; he’d promised Andrew, after all.

#aftg #all for the game #tfc #the foxhole court #neil josten #kevin day #andreil #honestly idk what this is #just take it away from me #my writing

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