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wheresmymilliondollarman · 10 months

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please jealous Noah Shaw. I love him so much

goldrush

noah shaw x fem!reader

you never took your boyfriend as the jealous type, a little misunderstanding unveils a whole new side to noah.

a/n: omg im so happy to take a noah shaw request thx for this. and him jealous?? love ur mind bff. i havent read the confessions of noah shaw trilogy yet, so im basing info off the mara dyer trilogy - hope that's alright !! au ig bc no specific timeline??.

also ik this fc is italian and noah is british, but he is who i imagined the whole time while reading so let a girl dream <3

word count: 3.4k

warnings: i get a little too into backstory bc i can't help myself, noah getting a little handsy, suggestive tones, mara and jamie comedic duo, reader's style is specified

"oh my gosh, shut up!"

"yes, please shut up." noah mumbles to himself, his arms crossed in discontent. hearing your laugh usually was angelic music to his ears. but now it only sounded like a mocking melody created to provoke him.

noah watched as you, unknowing of his thoughts, stood in the kitchen immersed in conversation and light banter with daniel, mara's older brother. you laughed at whatever he was saying, playfully hitting the side of his arm. something soured inside noah the more he watched the interaction.

"dude, you keep looking at them as if you're trying to blow daniel's head up." jamie remarked, walking up next him with a can of soda in his hand.

if only, noah thought. but lucky for daniel, his gift only enabled him to heal people.

stella and the dyers were in the house's living room filled with various streamers and party decor, while you were in the kitchen with daniel, if that hadn't been clear enough. noah bitterly watched, leaning up against the wall of the hallway with a direct view of the interaction through the kitchen entrance. he was sure the scowl on his face hadn't moved since he started keeping his attention on you both.

your reason for even going in the kitchen had been to put candles and bring the cake out while mara's mother found a camera to record mara blowing out candles. it was daniel who got up by his own account from the couch and insisted he help you out. it was also him who started distracting you from the task by talking with you.

it started when you all gathered at mara's house in celebration of her birthday. her mother insisted she invited you all to the houses as a merit for mara's improvement with therapy, or at least tha's what she believed. jamie may have possibly fed her fibs involving mara's mental health with his compulsion.

your connection with the dyers had a long history, one noah was still learning. you befriended mara around the first grade after getting partnered up for a school project. you two hit it off, both having weird persoanlities of your own, but she was already friends with rachel at the time, so you remained solely school friends for years. you were also a very smart kid, which is how you also befriended daniel almost immediately after mara. weirdly enough, it wasn't through mara you both met - it was through the school's book club. later, you found out the two were related.

so, you started finding yourself at the dyer house a lot, but it was to hang out with daniel. you remained a common occurrence in mara's life, but couldn't seem to get closer than friend. you had invited her to hang out various times, but she always had the excuse of already having plans with rachel. you never took it personally, or let it wipe the smile off your face, you had other friends - that included daniel.

it wasn't until the arrival of claire and jude did your dynamic change. mara began getting excluded from claire and rachel's hangouts and found herself losing her closest friend. you took notice of mara's loneliness during school, and once again offered to hang out, and for the first time - mara accepted. she realized she really liked having you around, and you moved up from possibly last in her last to being somewhere on top.

mara still remained friends with claire and rachel, she wanted to include you in their hangouts, but you got the feeling the other girls didn't like you much, and claire's brother jude gave you a feeling of discomfort. out of courtesy you did accept an invite every now and then, but you liked it better when it was just the two of you and sometimes daniel.

on the night of the asylum, you were spending the night at mara's house, unaware and what was suppose to happen. when jude showed up, she explained then pleaded for you to join her. you were scared out of your mind, but still followed her out the window.

inside, rachel and claire dragged you away to give mara and jude alone time, but you knew something was off. you were right because jude had cornered mara when you returned. you immediately pushed jude off, and he, in retaliation, shoved you back. then, the asylum was brought down, later learned to be mara's doing, and you and her were the sole survivors. at least that was assumed at the time.

when mara's family announced their move, you pleaded with your parents for the same. you argued a new start was the best option, and it was better to be around someone that went through the same traumatic experience. by some miracle, your parents agreed and moved to miami.

you met noah through school and with your active involvement in mara's messes. at first, noah had highly doubted the two of you were friends, you were like opposite sides of the same coin. mara had bleak and ominous aura to her while you were upbeat and vibrant. in simple, mara was a black cat, and you, the orange cat.

unlike him and the majority of your friends, you weren't supernatural. at least not genetically. however, you were oddly immune to their abilities for a reason no one had an figured out yet.

your normalness is what drew noah to you at first, he thought it to be weird and admirable how despite not being supernatural, you went along and supported mara through the whole thing. as you grew closer, it extended to noah as well. he was never annoyed by your energetic attiude, your optomism, or your corny humor. he saw you as the sun that never saw the night sky. he wanted nothing more than to protect that brightness.

it took a while for you to accept his advances, the school rumors did nothing to help. you had genuinely assumed noah and mara were into each other, so you were a bit oblivious to his flirtations. noah had thought you were just uninterested, his pursing of you slowing dying. it was all cleared up when you offhandedly mentioned your assumption, and noah made sure you understood he had no romantic notions for mara. he kissed you for the first time that same day. eventually, it turned into a relationship.

noah was secure in his relationship with you. maybe he wasn't the best man, but he knew no one could love you like him. though he had serious issues of his own, he didn't have any doubts about how deep the two of you cared for each other.

he blames mara for bringing unwanted thoughts into his mind.

everyone was seated in the living room watching twilight new moon, in honor of mara turning eighteen. it had been suggested as a joke by you, but it ended up being played and invested in by the group. you were sat on noah's lap, his arm around your waist and your back to his chest. mara's mother had come in and asked you for the favor, so you stood up, gave noah a kiss on the cheek and walked off, daniel leaving a bit after. after daniel had followed you into the kitchen, mara shook her head and silently laughed, taking a sip of her drink.

noah noticing, raises a brow, "what are you laughing about?"

mara glances toward the kitchen and shakes her head, "nothing. it's just typical of daniel to do that." she says nonchalantly.

"typical of him to do what?" jamie, now invested in this conversation instead of the movie, asked.

mara shrugs, "he just always wants to help y/n, ever since we were kids. he would carry her backpack and books, help her do homework, and bandage any bruise or cut she got." she turns her head back to the tv, then smiles at a memory, "there was even a time when her date for the eighth-grade dance bailed, he stepped in. i think he does it subconsciously at this point."

noah had never thought about just how deep your friendship with daniel ran. he knew you were used to be closer to him, but he didn't think much of it because of how close you and mara were now. he had never actually seen you both interact much since he's known you.

noah glances around the room and sees the wall with various family photos. he begins to notice your involvement in a lot of photos, many which included daniel. in fact, there were more with daniel and you together rather than you and mara. he notes the photos of matching halloween costumes, birthday parties, and school events all involving the two of you, mara making a guest appearance in some. but the big picture was obvious - you had a long-lasting friendship with daniel.

jamie stuffs a handful of popcorn in his mouth, "sounds like he had a crush on her." noah's jaw clenches hearing that.

noah has known daniel since he's met mara. by this point, they were pretty good friends. he believes if daniel held any sort of affection toward you, he'd be able to see it. but then again, it wasn't as if the topic of you came up very frequently when the two hung out.

"i don't think-"

stella piped up with her input, having silently listened to the conversation, "yeah, my dad use to act like that around my mom before they got together. they were best friends for years before he finally confessed, and she even had a boyfriend at the time."

who even asked her?, noah thought.

"maybe, i wouldn't be surprised. my mom always wanted them to end up together, she already sees her as another daughter. i actually think he was her first kiss." mara responds, still focused on the film.

noah's senses sharpened at the mention of first kiss, "first kiss?"

mara realizing what she said tries to backtrack, "well, i mean, it's only a theory, but it's really nothing, noah."

noah can now feel stella and jamie cast their attention on his reaction. he leans back in his seat, uncaring, "doesn't bother me, past is the past."

that was enough for mara and the others to turn their heads back to the television. but, noah could no longer pay attention to bella and jacob on the screen.

jamie, the closest to noah on the coach, leans in to him, "personally, if that was me, i'd be overthinking this thing. i mean childhood friends is the gateway to lovers. but, hey, it's cool to see you're not that type of guy." then as if nothing, he goes back to stuffing his face with popcorn.

noah didn't know why a burning sensation began to build within him at the image of you two. he told himself it didn't matter that you were currently in the kitchen with him, alone.

noah excused himself to the bathroom, but his real intention was toward the kitchen. he told himself he wasn't jealous; he was just going to check on you like a good boyfriend. he was totally not jealous when he saw daniel close next to you, helping you place candles. nor did he feel an intense rage seeing your hands occasionally brush over each other. at least that's what he told himself.

it didn't help that you were the prettiest girl; your hair let loose, but still looked pristine, you wore a baby pink lace top with a small rose on the top middle, a gold chained necklace with a crystal heart, tiny gold hoops, on your bottom is a denim mini skirt accompanied by a sparkly belt, then to finish off you wore white knee high knitted socks with baby blue converse that had embroidered stars all over.

on the other side, noah just wore a plain gray tee and some loose-fitting black jeans. the only accessory he had on being a gold-chain necklace and a michael kors watch, both which you'd gifted him.

she's everything, he's just ken.

"why are we weirdly staring at y/n and daniel." mara had appeared out of nowhere and now joined the conversation. she had come with the purpose of informing her brother and best friend her mother was ready for them, but instead ran into jamie and noah in front of the kitchen entrance.

jamie shrugs, "i don't know, i found him like this."

noah, not paying attention to them, mutters, "since when does bringing a cake involve two fucking people."

mara looks at you and daniel in the kitchen then back at noah, "this isn't because of what i said right?" she asks noah.

"don't know what you mean." he denies.

jamie rolls his eyes, "de nile is a river in egypt. you are acting like a jealous boyfriend."

mara agrees, "seriously, you've got nothing to worry about. y/n is crazy about you, and daniel is into that new friend of his."

noah doesn't respond; he pushes himself from the wall he leaned on and waltzes into the kitchen.

jamie cackles, "this is gonna be great."

"shouldn't we do something?" mara questions feeling a bit guilty.

jamie gives mara a look, "c'mon, you can't say watching shaw feel threatened for once isn't the least bit entertaining."

mara shrugs, "fair enough."

noah walks into the kitchen, your back facing him as you talk to daniel. he doesn't say anything as he wraps his arms around his frame and fits his head in the crook of your neck. he gives a few small kisses on the side of your neck.

your conversation comes to a stop once noahs antics begin. you smile and move a hand to ruffle through his hair, "hey baby, what brings you in here?"

daniel also greets noah, but he ignores it. noah hums in contentment at your touch, "just wanted to let you know mara's mom is ready for you to bring out the cake."

daniel laughs, "right, that's what we come in here for. if only you hadn't sidetracked us with your horrible placement of candles."

you gasp, offended, dropping your hand from noah's hair, "hey! my placement was perfect, you're the on-"

"i think i hear mara calling us." noah interrupts. it was a lie, mara went back to being immersed in twilight new moon.

daniel nods and goes to carry the cake himself, and you're about to help him out, but noah hold you tight - stopping you. "let's go get seated before we sing happy birthday, i'm sure he has it covered here, don't you daniel?" noahs states with a passive aggressive tone.

you give noah a weird glance, and daniel either didn't pick up on the attitude or ignored it because he replied in his usual preppy tone, "yeah, i've got things handled over here, you guys go on ahead."

noah wastes no time in taking you to the dining room. you didn't comment on noah's attitude back there and brushed it off, thinking you might've read into things. you're blind to the glances exchanged between mara and jamie when you both return.

you go to take a seat next to noah, but he pulls up down onto his lap.

you frown, "but there's a seat right there."

"the leg is super wobbly on that one," noah then kicks one of the chair legs very hard, enough to make the once stable leg now unstable, "see? i wouldn't want my girl to hurt herself."

you kiss his cheek, "you're the best boyfriend," you tell him appreciatively.

"tell that to daniel." noah whispers.

"what was that?"

"hm? nothing."

everyone begins taking their seat at the table once daniel comes out with the cake. you inform mrs. dyer of the broken chair, which she was surprised to hear, commenting how it was fine that same morning.

everyone stands up as the happy birthday anthem begins, mara being sat in front of the cake, awkwardly waits for the singing to stop. you and jamie make sure to prolong the song as much as possible to annoy mara. she conveyed her appreciation by throwing gestures your way when he mom wasn't looking. when it does end, everyone sits down and gets a piece of cake. daniel takes a seat next too you and noah, and he notices you both sharing a chair.

being the gentleman he is, he offers his seat to you, "here, i'll stand and you can sit here-"

you grab his arm to stop him from standing, "no, no, it's alright i'm-"

noah doesn't let you finish, "she's fine here. she's used to being situated on my lap, in more way than one."

mara chokes on her drink, stella gives a disgusted look, and jamie is biting into the knuckles of his fist to stop a laugh from leaving him. daniel is visibly uncomfortable at his comment and mutters an ‘alright’ and sits back down. luckily for you, both of mara’s parents were busy handing out cake to tune into the conversation.

you turn to noah with an incredulous look, your face beginning to flush at his innuendo. noah gives you a shrug and feigns innocence, seeing no issue with his comment.

mara did you the favor of speaking up with a new topic to move past the awkward tension.

eventually, the others retreated to the living room, taking plates of cake with them. you took the chance to talk to noah privately.

you turn your head to the side and lower your voice to a whisper, “why would you say that?”

“what? it’s not like it isn’t true…” his words trails off as he leans down to kiss the crook of your neck. noah starts nibbling gently, but enough to leave faded marks on your skin.

you roll your eyes,"rather not have our friends gag before the cake." you assert.

"why? is it because you don't want dear old daniel to hear." noah mutters bitterly.

you turn your body in his lap to look at him. you furrow your brows, "why are you acting like this? i thought i was jumping to conclusions, but ever since daniel and i were in the kitchen-" noah jaw clenches at the mention of you and daniel.

"see, there you go again. anything daniel related, and you-" you cut your sentence short in realization. you should've seen it sooner, but it was the most obvious at this moment. noah was jealous.

your faces shift from confusion to amusement, and you let out a small laugh. noah was lost on the your change in demeanor, "what? why are you laughing?" he questions.

"you're jealous," your eyes widen in realization,"that's why you've been acting so weird."

he roll his eyes and shakes his head. "no, that's absurd."

"it's cute, really. i hadn't thought of you as the type." you coo at him, going as far as pinching his cheek a bit. noah retaliates and swats your hand away.

"i'm not the type," noah denies, "i've just come to the realization how annoying daniel is."

you nod, playing along, "right, the same daniel you hang out with every week. daniel. who you've called your best friend, and the one you saved from death."

"people's opinions change," noah defends, but you're still not buying into it.

"—and mara may or may not mentioned him possibly liking you at some point." noah adds in quickly.

your head snaps, "what? daniel doesn't like nor has he ever liked me."

"c'mon, you've been friends for so long and mara just happens to think he was your first kiss."

your eyebrows furrow, confused by noah words. ten, it hits you, and you can't help but snort as you remember.

"this is painfully embarrassing to admit, but that was a rumor we made up at school so people thought i'd kissed someone."you confess.

noah eyes narrow, "so you and daniel.."

"never kissed?" you finish for him,"nope, but my entire middle school class thought we did."

"perhaps, i acted a bit hastily before." your boyfriend grumbles.

"jealous." you correct in a fit of faux coughs.

noah groans in your shoulder, "i hate this feeling, make it stop."

you shrug, "it's not totally bad. it could mean you care about me so much, you hate the thought of losing me to someone else. which you won't, so you have nothing to worry about."

"promise?"

"cross my heart and hope to die." you recite heartily, drawing an x motion over your chest.

noah looks at you in adoration before leaning in to connect your lips. you hum contently, and weave a hand through his soft hair.

"unless it's my celebrity crush, then you should definitely start worrying."

"careful darling," he leans down to whisper in your ear, "i'd hate to have mara put her powers to use."

"noah i swear—"

#noah shaw #noah shaw x reader #noah shaw x female reader #x female reader #x reader #reader insert #x y/n #mara dyer #jamie roth #the unbecoming of mara dyer #mara dyer trilogy #the unbecoming of mara dyer imagine #reader imagine

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wonderlustlucas · 6 years

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honey - na jaemin

⇢ prompt Mara Dyer and Noah Shaw kind of love. ⇢ pairing jaemin x female reader ⇢ word count 3.9k ⇢ genre fluff ⇢ warnings an ungodly amount of fluff ⇢ summary Everyone knows Jaemin is a flirt, but only a few are lucky to truly know him. The luckiest have his love.—highschool!au ; unintentional noah shaw!au ⇢ a/n sorry for not posting anything for awhile! life’s been pretty crazy and prob will be for another month or so, but once school’s over i should be posting a lot more!! i have a lot of ideas & i would love to take requests just kno they won't be out for awhile lol:)) also i couldn't choose between these 2 gifs so i kept both hahahsahdjdfjdf ALSO PART 2 this is a late edit but,,,this is based off an american school system in case there’s confusion

moodboard

It didn't take a rocket scientist to know that Na Jaemin was an outright flirt.

Everything about him was charming in their own special way—from his very infamous beaming smile, to big brown eyes dazzling with mischief, gentle features but impeccably jovial personality, Jaemin broke hearts left and right simply by existing.

Just like the majority of those who found themselves in the unknowing hands of Jaemin, you brought it upon yourself. While you could have listened to the sensible part of your brain, telling you he was more than out of your league, something about Jaemin unexplainably drew you in and locked you there forever. And while it could have ended with a broken heart, one thing led to another and you couldn't help but feel as if it was meant to be.

Your first meeting with Jaemin was enough to have your curiosity peaked. It had been your second day at the new school, having recently moved and, evidently, needing to transfer. As if you weren't stressed enough, your locker wouldn't open.

You struggled in rushed aggravation, curling sweaty fingers around the knob and yanking as if, even after your past attempts, it would miraculously open. “I hate everything,” you hissed between breaths, twisting your wrist awkwardly in order to slip your fingertips through the cracks and somehow, someway, pop the door open.

You growled, slamming a first on the red metal with a thunderous bang because it was only your second day and you could not be late to a class for the fifth time.

You groaned obnoxiously, banging your forehead against the cold metal and accepting the fact that your life was just about worthless now—you contemplated just dropping out, giving up everything, and raising goats for the rest of your life.

“Are you alright?”

Every muscle of your body froze at the sudden voice, and when you glanced up in the direction you swallowed hard because wow, he was cute, but brushed it off and offered a weak smile. “My locker won't open,” you admitted, cringing at how pathetic the entirety of your predicament was.

However, the redhead replied with a beaming grin that reached his eyes and you nearly toppled over at just how gorgeous he was. Was it even allowed to be that attractive? You were stunned. “Lemme see,” he said, inching closer and you instinctively moved back in fear he would hear the rapid beating of your heart.

You ogled at him mindlessly as he fiddled with the shitty metal, rosebud lips pursed and defined eyebrows scrunched in concentration. Your gaze wandered to his hair, and you asked without thinking, “Are you naturally a ginger?”

He glanced up for a second, tearing his attention away from your locker and averting it to you, an impression of sweetness like vanilla pudding gracing his features. “No,” he chuckled, “it’s just dye.”

“Looks good,” you uttered back with red hotness burning up your neck, looking down at your feet even after he turned back around.

“C’mere,” he instructed seconds later, “put your knee here and push.” You did as he said, trying to sweep away the fact that he suddenly was incredibly close and instead focused on putting your weight against the metal where he pointed to.

With a strong bang against the top, Redhead managed to, somehow, pop the door open and you leaped back. “I would've never managed to do that,” you gushed, “thank you so much. I owe you one.”

“Don’t mention it,” said Redhead with a satisfied grin, and you spun around to fetch the books you came for in the first place, quietly aware of the fact that he hadn't walked away yet.

“What’s your name?” He asked suddenly and you jumped in surprise, completely and utterly flustered by his presence. There was something about him that you couldn't put a finger on, something luxurious and warm like hot tea in the dead of winter. You told him, of course, heart thumping so wildly you feared a heart attack was possible when yet another charming smile graced his face.

“I’m Jaemin,” he replied, “I guess you’re new?”

“Sadly, yes. It’s, uh, nice to meet you, despite the circumstances,” you said in hushed awkwardness, laughing quietly and mentally slapping yourself for being so cringey.

“Yeah, you too,” he smiled again, “are your fingers okay?”

“What?” You laughed shakily.

You watched in quiet admiration as he reached out and gently took hold of your free hand. “Oh,” you shrugged, forcing a smile when he pinched the crimson indent on the pad of your index finger, “that’s just from trying to get the locker open. It’ll go away.”

“Alright,” said Jaemin, big brown eyes twinkling, “I’ll see you around?”

“Sure—yeah,” you said, forcing your brain to start functioning once he let go of your hand like one would slap the television remote, “I’ll see you.”

You spun around abruptly and sped down the hall, clutching the textbook for dear life and a heavy sigh escaped your lips because holy shit. However, once you were at the end of the hallway, you made the mistake of turning around for a split second and glancing back.

The gorgeous locker-busting master was still standing there, a lazy smile displayed on his pretty face.

A few hours later, you found yourself sitting at a lunch table with a group of girls you hardly considered acquaintances, sluggishly loosening ramen in its cheap plastic cup.

“So, how’s your second day going so far?”

After a few seconds deemed way longer than necessary, you finally processed the words and realized they were meant for you. “Oh,” you coughed, shrugging and pausing your lazy ramen mixing to look up at the four girls, “it’s okay, I’m just tired.”

“Tell me about it,” said Hayley, the pretty brunette with lively hazel eyes you became especially fond of. “Have you met any more people?”

“Uh, yeah, actually,” you mumbled nonchalantly, “Jaemin’s, his name.”

All four suddenly looked at you with wide eyes and you shrunk back in your seat. “Jaemin?” They whispered in unison.

“Uh, yeah?”

They suddenly catapulted questions at you all at once, asking for a slew of details you, sadly, didn’t have. Once they calmed down, you told them of your brief encounter with the boy before asking, “Why’re you acting like it’s the end of the world?”

“He’s the cutest guy in our class.”

“In the school, you mean.”

“That’s a lie, Donghyuck is the cutest.”

“It doesn't matter! They’re all cute!”

“Jaemin is like, the cutest guy ever. And he’s such a sweetheart.”

“No way, he’s a total bad boy like the rest of them. Have you seen him at parties?”

A sigh of disinterest slipped past your lips and you went back to plopping kimchi into the steaming cup. “So, I’m assuming he’s a pretty big heartthrob around here?” You asked, slurping at the noodles and glancing back up at the girls.

“Oh, yeah. I don't know if he does it purposely, but he’s such a flirt. Everyone has been obsessed with Jaemin at one point,” the stout blonde, Daisy, said, “it’s kind of hard not to.”

You grunted in response. It’s not that you were disappointed—there was no reason to be—but hearing that the redhead’s overall beauty was already established throughout the school and that he wasn’t some shy, mysterious boy no one paid any mind to was more or less, well, disappointing.

Your second major interaction with Jaemin was puzzling in its own way. And the more you mulled over it, the more your brain became a spinning top. While you had seen him more than once during and in between classes offering quiet small talk, this was different, personal, special—no matter how long and hard you tried forgetting about it, something about the way he talked and acted was absolutely unforgettable and you couldn't stop thinking about him and that you may have stumbled upon a side of Jaemin no one else knew.

It was a Saturday night, you were home alone, glaring at the remaining boxes left in your room and discerning whether you wanted to unpack its contents. You had put it off for over a week, but the thought of having to do anything of that sort was incredibly unappealing.

Instead, you struggled into a pair of jeans and slipped on sneakers before making your way down to the garage, hopping on your bike, and speeding away with no specific destination in mind.

The bustling part of town was only ten minutes away and it didn’t take long to stumble into a shop that was still open and seemed somewhat interesting. The bookstore was small, wedged between two taller brick buildings, but warm and cozy in its own simple way. Leaving your bike locked outside, you pushed open the door and a bell jingled, notifying whoever was inside of your presence. Not surprisingly, it was empty from what you could see, and the few lights within the rosy-colored space showered the shelves with a pleasant glow that in some way made it feel like home.

It was almost eight-thirty, and you expected that the quaint store would be closing soon so you made a beeline for what you wanted. That is if they had it.

Fortunately, it didn’t take long, and you were incredibly excited that you may have, in fact, found your favorite place in this so far shitty town.

“A Separate Peace?”

You jumped, cold shivers racing down your spine at the inquiry and you spun in the direction. It was a sequel to your locker predicament, apparently, because the only redhead you had met so far was standing only a few feet away, hands deep in his pockets and looking gorgeous as always.

“You’ve read it?” You asked, ignoring the bugging curiosity within you to know whether he worked here or not and swallowing the lump of nervousness lodged in your throat.

“Have you?”

“Yeah, a few times,” you said, completely entranced with the way the warm glow of the lights made Jaemin look so incredibly unreal. “It’s a good one,” he commented, reaching for the novel in your hands and you reluctantly let him take it, “not my favorite, though.”

“What is?”

“I don’t know, honestly. I have too many,” Jaemin shrugged with a gentle smile, handing the book back to you, “how ‘bout you?”

“No, but I find myself going back to it,” you admitted, finally taking notice of the round, copper glasses sitting low on the bridge of his nose, “it has a really deep meaning that I like, I guess.”

“Have you ever read Lord of the Flies?” He asked suddenly.

“Of course. It’s a little depressing, don’t you think?”

Jaemin shrugged, “It’s realistic though. Our species is pretty shitty.” You pondered his statement and shrugged as well. “I think it was just because it was all boys,” you teased, grinning back at him when he rolled his eyes with a snicker. Without replying, Jaemin wrapped his hand around your wrist and led you to the back of the shop, the sudden act finally reminding you of just who you were talking to and an immediate blush burned its way up your cheeks.

Jaemin stopped at the back corner of the store, where an incredibly small wooden coffee table and two leather sofas, each embellished with small patches absent of leather and old pillows that reminded you of something you’d find at a yard sale, sat surrounded by more towering bookshelves. “Do you want hot chocolate?”

You finally glanced back to him, heart swelling in your chest at his kindness before nodding at his question. “What else have you read?” He asked, fidgeting with the Keurig machine hidden on the bottom shelf of the coffee table. “I don’t know, there’s a lot. Have you ever heard of the Mara Dyer trilogy?”

“I have not. Is that your favorite?”

“Yeah, that’s my favorite,” you replied, settling onto the couch and immediately moving your hand to pick at one of the tears in the leather, studying Jaemin with a certain curiosity as he searched through novels on the closest oak bookcase.

“What about this?” He asked suddenly, tossing the novel to you and luckily you were quick enough to catch it. Your mouth went slack once you realized it was the first book of Fifty Shades of Grey. “No. Have you ever read the Bible?” You fired back, blushing furiously but still glaring at him playfully.

This became a regular occurrence. At first you went in once a week just to buy a new book once you had, in fact, learned that he worked at the quiet store, but by the increasing number of visits every week it soon became clear that visiting the tiny store had more to do with the gorgeous boy working inside rather than the endless supply of novels. He’d wait to close the shop until you arrived late in the evening, hot chocolate already made and mind buzzing with thoughts about the newest book you had recommended.

The same went for you—it was an unspoken agreement to suggest new books to one another each week and return days later with thoughts about them. It had started when you caught him slipping The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer into his locker and flashed a knowing smile, which he rolled his eyes in return. A few days later, he noticed the covers of both The Great Gatsby and Wuthering Heights in your book bag and teased you nonstop.

You knew Jaemin for four months when he came into school one day with his hair dark brown, the color of espresso and chocolate and amounting to make him look much older and maturer than he had with the diluted strawberry brown. It was a surprise on that Monday morning—you hadn’t seen him at all that weekend, too preoccupied with a slew of homework to find any time to head downtown.

However, you had made it a point to call him and vent to him about your thoughts on Paper Towns, but he never mentioned the change of hair color during your hour call. And so, to see him so... so hot, even dressed in the preppy school uniform, made your skin crawl because Jaemin wasn't hot. Jaemin was cute and innocent and precious like a puppy. This.

This was different.

You were waiting at your locker, as usual, green tea in hand for him because Jaemin hated sociology first period, scrolling through Instagram with your free hand. It was the quiet hush of whispers followed by the obnoxious hoot from who you assumed are Jaemin’s friends that made you glance up, taking a slow sip of the tea just to annoy him. Lord knows, he did not like sharing his green tea or chocolate milk.

However, when he finally rounded the corner and came into full view, your heart literally, one hundred percent stopped and you suddenly forgot how to breathe. How was it that he always had to shock you? For a while, you had more or less became desensitized, say, to Jaemin’s perfection by becoming such good friends. Of course, it was impossible to not be attracted to him, but you had drilled it into your head that he was unarguably untouchable and settled that friends were better than nothing.

He sauntered his way over, running slender fingers through the new dark locks, completely oblivious to the stares he was getting before snatching the tea from your grip before you could steal another sip. “You dyed your hair,” was all you said.

“You bashed Paper Towns,” he fired back, inching closer but you barely noticed, too preoccupied fiddling with a strand of his hair in admiration. “I did not, I told you I liked it, I just wished Margo was included m—”

He kissed you.

It completely caught you off guard, you certainly weren't expecting it, having to swallow the rest of your sentence and drop your hands to grip at his fleece sweater because holy shit, he was kissing you.

Your brain short-circuited for a moment before kickstarting once more and you finally kissed him back, it was chaste and achingly raw and he pulled away before you could even process what you were doing.

You were embarrassed that your lips followed his, eager for his gentle touch and the softness of his velvet lips on yours again, but a bright grin from him settled your nerves and you were suddenly hit with the weight of your actions.

“You just kissed me,” you accused, jabbing a finger into his chest but snaking your other hand up to lay across his shoulders. “You were staring really hard, I thought it was a good opportunity,” he replied, a lackadaisical smile softening his pretty features.

“Okay,” you whispered, reaching up once more to touch his hair, “people are staring, you know.”

“Let them,” he grinned fully this time, dipping down again and pressing yet another quick kiss to your lips and you swore you never wanted to taste or feel anything else again.

The first bell rang obnoxiously and you winced, cursing the school for ruining the moment and having to keep yourself from frowning when Jaemin pulled away, even though his fingers were intertwined with yours. When did that happen?

“I’ll see you?” He asked, smiling in such a fond way you couldn’t help but smile back.

“Yeah, I’ll see you.”

The slew of questions hurled at you from both friends and strangers after that was expected, but what was more disappointing was that you didn't know.

Were the two of you dating? Talking? You didn’t know.

Since when was there something between the two of you? You didn’t know.

Was that kiss just a spur of the moment kind of thing? You didn’t know.

Or was it the beginning of something more? You didn’t know and it was starting to drive you insane. After a full week of school and no mention from either of you about whatever happened on that Monday morning, you found yourself lying in bed, wondering what the fuck was going on?

Jaemin acted as if nothing had ever happened and you hesitantly went on with it, hoping it would come up again but it never did. You didn’t go to the bookstore that week either, replying to his texts that you didn’t have time and he luckily didn't question it.

However, fate always had a way.

Saturday night, Hayley managed to get you to leave the house for some party you truly had no interest in. She claimed that you could use some drinks to get your mind off the entire situation no matter how hard you expressed to her that napping would have just the same effect.

The social event in itself reminded you of a dingy middle school basement party, fun for those who made the effort and impeccably boring for those who just watched and did not want to be there in the first place. The music was so loud it made your skin tingle and brain turn to mush, you could barely hear what Hayley whispered in your ear before she disappeared into the crowd jumping like Tic-Tacs being shaken in its container.

You sighed sadly, leaning into the counter and gazing over the multitude of drink options before loud laughter stole your attention and you glanced up. You were more than awestruck to see Jaemin decked out in white joggers and a white tee shirt, but what really shocked you was to witness his friends cheer him on as he chugged whatever liquor was in the glass bottle held to his lips.

I guess the rumors are true, you wondered, recalling all the times you heard of how hard Jaemin and his circle partied.

Jaemin suddenly pulled the bottle away with a grimace and shoved it into Jeno’s arms. Before he could walk away, Chenle grabbed him by the elbow and pulled him in close, and seconds later, Jaemin spun around and found you across the room, smiling brightly but it quickly fell because wow, since when did you wear tube tops? He was sauntering over in a blink of an eye, and it happened all too fast before you until Jaemin was standing just inches away.

“I didn’t realize you were such a skilled drinker,” you commented, raising a brow at his clouded expression. “I didn’t know you wore such revealing clothes,” he retorted, voice surprisingly clear and you presumed that was his first drink. “Shut up, Jaemin.”

“I never said I didn’t like it,” he grumbled, quieting for moment to fight an internal battle before finally caving in and reaching out to wrap his arms gently around your waist.

Needless-to-say, you were uncomfortable around Jaemin for the first time since you had met him.

The urge to kiss him was borderline unbearable, but the voices deep within you reminded you of just who it was and how he never once brought up your first kiss. And yet, here he was, the alcohol not fully in effect, pulling you into him and resting his forehead against yours.

“We should talk. About things,” you stammered out, heart beating sporadically and brain not fully functioning when he looked at you with all the wonder in the world within his big brown eyes. “Not tonight, but soon,” he sighed, lifting his head and instead tugging you into a hug, “I love you.”

Your heart stopped beating. The music stopped roaring. The students stopped dancing. The world stopped rotating. The universe and everything in it completely stopped.

He what?

“What?” You laughed shakily, leaning backward to look at his pretty face once more and finding not a trace of laughter. “You heard me. I love you,” he smiled softly.

“Jaemin, don’t say that. High school relationships are dumb, it’s all bullshit. Love is a very dangerous thing, you can't just throw that out there,” you stammered, not realizing you were holding onto his arms with an iron grip until he took your hands in his.

“Good thing we’ll be graduating and won’t be in high school much longer then, because I’m absolutely in love with you,” Jaemin whispered, you could feel the genuineness laced in his words and nearly toppled over. He loved you?

You stared at him silently, his confession seeping slowly into the confines of your brain and heart like molasses. It felt somewhat like a dream, like none of him was real and you were only imagining his sincerity and his beauty and his lips. It was soft and sweet like honey the way you kissed him, shutting out the rest of the world and focusing only on him because holy shit, “I love you,” you muttered, pulling him close again and he finally relaxed in your arms.

You loved him. More than you knew you had. Maybe it was when he had kissed you Monday morning in front of everyone you realized you loved him. Or maybe you fell in love with him the first Saturday night at the bookstore, when you drank hot chocolate and talked about novels even though he was a stranger. Or maybe you loved him the first time you met him when he went out of his way to pop open your doomed locker.

Whenever it was, you knew you loved Jaemin and he loved you. And even though humanity was pretty messed up like it is in Lord of the Flies and there should have been more about Margo in Paper Towns, maybe you would have a Mara Dyer and Noah Shaw kind of love forever.

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