dontstoplafiesta

[dontstoplafiesta]

rivals on pause | 💖 | z.cl

Warnings: stalking (?)

Words: 4.5k

Pairing: Zhong Chenle x OC

Tags: enemies to lovers, high school rivals, university age

When she finds herself in a scary situation, Minji goes to the person everyone least expects for comfort; her former high school rival Chenle.

        ˖ ݁𖥔.☁︎.𖥔 ݁ ˖

Minji was point five seconds away from breaking out into a full-on sprint but she wasn't sure if that would actually provide her an escape or if it would only let the man following her know she caught onto his actions and force him to take more drastic measures.

All she ever wanted was to put on a brave face and go on with her life as if nothing ever bothered her.

Of course walking home from class at night wasn't ideal, but she was a big girl university student. She wasn't the first to miss the late bus and it definitely wasn't going to be the last time. Although she would tell herself not to going forward.

Honestly she was so terrified in this particular moment that all she could think about was any way out.

Her apartment was still a good 15 minute walk away and all the big stores were closed. There were some other people on the streets but mostly night dwellers whom she didn't really want anything to do with.

She racked her brain for anywhere nearby she could hideout for a bit, at least until the coast was clear. She drew a blank until a familiar intersection came up. And one name popped into her head:

Zhong Chenle.

Okay, so maybe hiding out in her former high school rival, current frenemy's house wasn't the girl's favorite idea but it was the best one she had.

So she pulled out her phone, went to the contact with a big red 'X' on it, and reluctantly pressed the call button all while she started to quicken her pace to a light jog. It rung a few times before he picked up.

"Ugh, what do you want? I just died because of you." Clearly he was in the middle of some game when she called, not that Minji was — or ever would be — in a mood to care.

"Are you home right now?"

"What?"

"No, like are you home or is- is there someone at your house right now?"

She tried her best to seem calm and collected but the wavering in her voice revealed her panic like a confession caught on tape.

"Minji, what's going on?" He could tell by the way she was speaking this wasn't a joke, something was very wrong.

"It's just-" she let out a short quick breath, "I think I'm being followed. Can you meet me in front of your house in like a couple minutes?"

"Sure," he replied, although he felt anything but. Then the call suddenly ended. 'Shit' he thought to himself before heading to the select point of encounter.

The last stretch to Chenle's house felt like a mad chase. The girl couldn't even tell if the man had still been following her, once she caught a glimpse of the boy in his typical hoodie and sweats her only concern was reaching that exact spot where he stood by any means necessary.

He saw her coming from at least 50 meters away but it didn't surprise him any less when the girl he barely got along with flung herself into his arms.

"Okay, okay," Chenle said, unsure what to do with his hands so he just awkwardly patted her back. "It's okay."

He tried to maneuver the two of them inside the gate so that his mother could close it. He used those few remaining seconds with it open to take a quick surveillance of the area.

There seemed to be no one else around.

"Is she there with you?" A soft feminine voice called from the house.

"Yeah, I got her," he looked down at the girl clinging onto him for dear life, "she's fine! Okay let's go inside now, it's cold out here."

He carefully pried off her arms from his body before leading her into the house where his mother waited at the door.

"Oh my goodness, dear. Are you alright? That's an awfully scary situation to find yourself in."

Usually, Minji would smile at such caring behavior but the words spoken by the elder woman only confirmed that her worst fears about the incident were valid.

She had been lucky.

Tears began to form in her eyes just at the thought causing her arms to wrap around her body as some sort of comfort.

"Oh she's fine, Mom. You can stop worrying now."

The woman chose to ignore her son, keeping all of her attention on the girl.

"Come inside, you must be freezing. Chenle go grab her a blanket from upstairs," the woman ushered Minji inside.

The moment she stepped foot into their house a sudden loud bark startled her enough to gasp. "Sorry," she apologized before absentmindedly removing her shoes.

"Daegal, down!" Chenle said sternly, trying to stop the small white dog from jumping up on the already frightened girl.

It didn't seem to work as the little dog had a mind of her own.

Before she knew it Minji was sat down on one of the couches in the family room, bag set off to the side somewhere.

"Can I get you some tea, dear?" The girl nodded her head even though the question never fully registered in her brain. And then she was by herself, left to her own clouded thoughts.

Though she had only been to the Zhong household a handful of times she could tell they had changed around a lot of the furniture since the first time she was there.

It was during high school, Chenle was still new to the school and the two of them were paired up for the baby project where they were tasked to take care of a baby doll for two weeks.

The couch she was sitting on had been on the other side of the room at the time. She remembered because that's where Chenle had shown her that if you spun around the doll by its leg it would stop crying.

The girl knew from that moment on that this was a boy she would never get along with. He was childish and couldn't take anything seriously and as someone who lived and died by her academic record, having him as a project partner had been a nightmare.

Their competitive and opposite natures quickly garnered them a rivalry that became known across the school. Everything from choir practice to the science fair, from gym class to math finals, from the class presidential race to the prom royal court, even who got in the lunch line first; everything and anything was a competition to them.

To the misfortune of both, their constant crossing of paths in high school didn't end at graduation. Instead they found themselves at a much closer proximity when their individual friend groups in college merged into one. Now they have game nights together every week.

It wasn't that Minji was bothered by Chenle's friends — she actually found them to be a lot of fun — but having the boy around just brought out the worst in her. Although, her other friends never minded. In fact, they were always amused at how the two could bicker and argue about whatever the situation entailed.

The girl began to think about her friends, how much she loved to be around them, and how something like what almost happened just 10 minutes earlier could have taken all that away.

Her eyes watered as her emotions quietly churned.

Meanwhile, upstairs, Chenle searched through the guest room for a blanket but quickly realized he had no idea where they were. In his defense, he never actually spent time in the guest room and his house was always being reorganized.

While sifting through a closet he heard the scampering of tiny paws into the room followed by a couple of alarmed barks.

"Yes, I know, I know," he responded to Daegal in an irritated yet calm manner, "someone new's in the house."

However, just as he said it he reminded himself that that wasn't entirely true.

A few weeks back, Haechan, Jisung, and Minji had come inside for a brief moment before all four headed to Hyewon and Yunjin's for game night.

While the two boys comfortably made themselves at home, the girl sat awkwardly on one of the kitchen stools as the small white dog pawed at her legs. She had leant down and started petting and playing with the dog much to the surprising amusement of Chenle, who was finding himself having difficulty concentrating on whatever Haechan had been saying.

He didn't understand why seeing the stern and bossy girl he argued with so much simply enjoy herself by just messing around with his dog had been so captivating.

Maybe because she generally had a disdain for his existence or that Daegal was a part of his family and therefore an extension of himself. And if she was content with a small part of him that might just mean that she doesn't think he's all bad.

Whatever the case, that night unknowingly sparked something in him. And now after seeing the genuine fear on her face...

He looked at the small dog for a second.

"Go keep her company," he said softly, mind already lost in thought.

Chenle cleared his throat and shook his head. "Downstairs. Go." He ushered the dog out the room, deciding that it was better to grab a blanket from his room since he was taking too long.

This time when Daegal approached the girl she didn't bark, instead clambering onto Minji's lap.

The girl removed her hands from her face once she felt the cold, wet nose of a dog sniffing at her chin. Paws pressed up against her shoulders for the dog to keep herself up on her hind legs.

Tear-stained cheeks became visible as well as a meager attempt at a smile.

Her hands went to pat Daegal only for the small creature to whine quietly. As if she could tell something was wrong with the girl.

Heavy steps were heard coming down the stairs and Minji quickly turned away from the approaching boy so that he wouldn't see her in more of a vulnerable state than before. Hair covering her face.

"Here," Chenle said curtly, tossing her the blanket. It landed haphazardly onto her body and she didn't do anything to fix it.

He sat on one of the chairs across from her, itching to go on his phone or anything that would take him out of this awkward situation.

Daegal started to paw at his leg, soft whines coming from the pup. Happy for the distraction, Chenle went to go pick her up into his embrace but she immediately climbed out of his arms back onto the floor.

He just stared at her weirdly, wondering what she wanted apart from his attention.

The dog looked at him and then at the girl curled up in the corner of the couch. Back at him, then again at Minji.

This continued for a few more seconds before Chenle finally understood what Daegal was trying to tell him.

"No," he mouthed while shaking his head.

The pup started to whine louder, finally letting out a suppressed bark causing the girl to jump slightly.

"Stop it," Chenle said, sitting up in the chair.

Daegal took that as a cue to run to the girl, easily climbing onto her lap once again and trying to sniff her face.

"Daegal," it came out in a low serious tone, the boy now standing up fully and making his way over to the couch to remove the dog from the girl's personal space.

But the second he caught a glimpse of Minji's face with teary eyes and a trembling lip, he froze.

His dog slowly walked to the opposite side of the couch as the girl, lying down in a way so that the only spot available was next to Minji.

Swallowing his pride, he actually — surprisingly — sat down in the empty spot, full attention on the girl next to him.

"Hey, are you okay?" He asked softly, automatically thinking it was the dumbest thing he could have said in that moment.

She didn't respond but now paying closer attention Chenle could hear the quiet sniffling coming from the person sat next to him.

"Minji-ah," he tried to use the most delicate voice he could manage, hardly above a whisper.

The girl felt at a loss for many reasons. Her high school rival comforting her in an oddly soothing tone — when he more than often was yelling for some godforsaken reason — threw her off the most.

She felt a hand graze her shoulder lightly before trying to turn her around.

To avoid him seeing her emotion stricken face she whipped around in a sudden motion and placed her head in the crook of his neck. The rest of her body cautiously pressed up against his side.

Unlike the hug earlier, Chenle didn't hesitate to wrap an arm around the girl.

It was quiet. Neither opting to say anything since they couldn't think of anything to say. A rising whistle sound from what must be a kettle could be heard coming from the other room.

Minji unconsciously wrung her hands together, her fingers occasionally pulling and poking at the fabric of the boy's hoodie. Getting closer and closer to his chest, slowly driving him insane.

In one swift motion Chenle went to grab onto her wrist. He felt like the girl could hear his heart beating since she was so close. She shook at his hand so that he would release her from his hold but he only loosened his grip.

With her free hand she gently pulled at his own wrist to let her go. However, her hands didn't move from his. Instead they began to mess with his fingers, running a thumb over a small cut on the back of his hand, and, ultimately, pressed her palm against his, letting each of her fingers trace up and down his own.

He unknowingly let out a quiet shaky sigh when her fingers began to lace with his. Only for her to realign them again.

And again. And again. And again.

Lace. Realign. Lace. Realign. Lace. Realign.

Chenle had enough. Terrified or not — traumatized or not — this girl was messing with him and he couldn't stand when people messed with him especially when he himself wasn't in the mood.

The next time she went to lace her fingers with his he bent his fingers down, holding her hand firmly.

Minji was caught off guard by this action, her breath halting for a moment, but she kept her cool. Her forehead pressing closer to his neck.

Just as Chenle's head was about to rest on top of the girl's his mom walked in with a tray prepared for tea.

The two pulled apart quickly from each other, Minji carefully wiping away at her eyes with her sleeve so she wouldn't look like she just had a breakdown and Chenle apologizing to Daegal for almost accidentally crushing her.

"Did you call someone, dear? How are you getting home?" The woman asked while setting down the tray.

"I, uh, sent a message to my roommate Rina and she's going to see if our neighbor can lend her his car."

She started preparing her tea how she liked. Even though she didn't really want any, she felt bad that the woman went through the trouble of setting this all up just for her.

"Oh, she doesn't have to do that. Chenle can drive you home."

"Mm?" The aforementioned boy looked up from petting his dog with alarmed eyes.

"It's okay Mrs. Zhong, Rina's got this under control. I wouldn't want to trouble either of you more than I already have."

The boy nodded along to what the girl was saying. He was still trying to process what had happened moments earlier and didn't think being around Minji was helping him process correctly.

"It's alright, I'm sure Chenle doesn't mind," she said in that stern motherly voice, aiming the comment more to her son than the girl, "and besides, it's not safe for a young girl to be driving by herself this late at night."

Oh, but it's okay to send your precious son, the boy thought.

After a bit more of a polite back and forth Minji finally conceded, agreeing to the ride. She walked around the corner into another room to call her roommate, leaving the mother and son alone. The woman sat down next to him.

"She's the smart one from high school, right?" She asked.

"Mhm," her son responded minimally while continuing to pet Daegal.

"She's pretty," she says in a prying tone.

He looked up at her with somewhat of a dead stare. "Uh huh," he replied dryly.

The woman gently smacked his shoulder in a display of disapproval of his attitude. Chenle just chuckled softly to himself.

"Go get ready."

And so he did. Next thing he knew he was driving a car with Hwang Minji in the passenger seat. The image of the girl saying goodbye to his dog still fresh on his mind, among others.

A tense, awkward vibe immediately took over the vehicle as neither bothered to talk.

That is, until the boy sped through a yellow light as he was prone to do.

"Jesus fucking Christ Chenle! Can't you slow down during a yellow like any normal person?" He reveled in the girl's outburst, this was a lot more comfortable for him.

"I'm sorry, between the two of us who passed their drivers test and who failed five times?"

Minji threw her hands up, "that was you! I just couldn't parallel park, you couldn't pass the written test even if your life depended on it."

"The written test doesn't count," he replied coolly.

"The department of motor vehicles would disagree."

He's so cocky, she thought to herself. Her eyes rolling to the side, looking towards the window.

"The only reason you passed was because your peer instructor was into you."

He scoffed, "whatever, I passed didn't I? And now you got a ride home so maybe show a little more appreciation."

"Stupid," she muttered, arms crossed. She remembered how the older girl fawned over Chenle at the time. Laughing at all of his dumb jokes, linking her arm with his when walking to the car. She was a popular senior girl that had no reason to be acting so foolishly and yet Chenle ate it all up.

"Seduce your way to a drivers license, yeah that's something to be real proud of."

It was just a low, sarcastic comment but her word choice captured the boy's attention. Did she really think he was capable of 'seducing' someone? He turned his head to glance at her for a brief second to see if she was serious.

"You think I seduced her?"

"No, I think she hit her head before your test and had a concussion. She wasn't thinking straight and, honestly, that alone should be grounds to revoke your license. It was a faulty test."

Minji looked over at him, eyes meeting for a moment. The boy smiled, falling into an amused laughter that also took over the girl.

This was normal, this was easy.

"You know she's the one that nominated you for Prom King," Chenle hummed in interest, "Mari told me at our graduation party."

"Really? I always thought it was Jisung because he made a joke about you being nominated and how it was only a matter of time before someone put my name down on the list."

"Yep. People were so obsessed with us winning. It's like I get it but also I don't get it. Like it was some sort of cruel joke on us and everybody was in on it. I mean it wasn't like I could have actually won Prom Queen on my own."

As usual, she didn't see things the same way he did.

"You? You were 'top-of-the-class nice girl', everyone liked you."

"Yeah, but I wasn't really popular. You were popular. Like, 'star of the basketball team' popular." She looked down at her hands, "I was just the other half of the joke."

This time the light turned red before Chenle could make it through the intersection, the car coming to a halt. He took the chance to take a good look at her, she was serious this time.

"No, you were 'my Prom Queen'," he said exaggerating the phrase to lighten the mood.

Minji made a sound of disgust. "Would you stop calling me that! I fucking hate it, eugh."

He bursted out in a boisterous fit of laughter.

"You don't think I feel disgusted saying it? I think years of my life shave off every single time."

"Then why do you?" She asked pointedly, now fully facing him.

"Because it makes you mad." He kept his eyes directly on hers.

Nothing could stop the rush of warmth that ran to the girl's cheeks, especially once the boy's little smirk grew into a full-blown grin.

Green light.

There was a reason why Minji disliked Chenle. Well, actually there were many. The primary reason being his childish need to push her limits, poke fun at her until she couldn't take it anymore.

He almost never took things seriously unless it was a competition.

Chenle continued driving and Minji felt an intense need to change the topic before her mind got more scrambled than it already was. Moments like these were too genuine for her.

"I think I recognized the man who was following me," she said quietly.

The boy's eyebrows furrowed together in confusion as he reeled from the sudden switch up in conversation.

"Really? Who?"

She didn't get along with him because he was prideful, always thinking that he's right. She never met a guy so sure of himself, that could talk on and on about all he's done in his life, every good moment he had ever experienced. She begrudgingly heard it all.

"I'm not sure but, well, I guess I'm pretty sure—"

"Who?"

Add impatient to the list.

"I think he lives in my complex bu—"

"Oh for fuck's sake Minji! Where are we going right now?" He asked facetiously. His raised tone shocking her.

"To my apartment but it's in a diff—"

"We're going back to my house," he said, getting ready to turn the car around.

"No, we're not. You're taking me home."

He was sassy at inappropriate times.

"Yes, we are. What am I supposed to tell my mom, hm? She's going to be worried sick about you. And you would let that happen to a poor older woman like her?"

"Just don't tell her anything then."

"Yeah, but I'll..." he trailed off, not wanting to finish his thought.

"Chenle, please. I just want to go home." She pleaded candidly.

The car went back to silence for a few seconds, only the clicking of the turn signal could be heard. His hands still on the wheel ready to turn.

The boy recognized the sincerity in her voice and sighed before reciprocating it.

"Okay." Slightly nodding his head, voice almost too quiet to be heard.

The rest of the drive was completely silent and once they arrived to her complex not much else was said either. Chenle walked her up to her apartment wordlessly, just an oddly protective presence trailing behind her.

But maybe the main reason she couldn't bring herself to get along with him was that deep down she knew; a guy like him would never want to actually be with someone like her.

"You know, if anything happens you can always come over. My mom will be more than happy to help as you saw," he said with a light tone after they had been standing at her door for a few prolonged seconds.

He would never give her that look. That tender look one person gives to someone they adore, someone they care for deeply. The look that says "of all the billions of people in the world that I could be looking at right at this exact moment, I am choosing to look at you."

The look she saw in his eyes as he stood right there in the middle of the hallway next to her, peering down at the girl.

"Plus Daegal will miss you. Sometimes I feel like she misses everyone apart from me."

He was rambling but Minji was too lost in thought to notice. Instead she was staring up at him as if she was seeing him for the first time.

It made Chenle uneasy, and with nothing else to do or say he decided to make his leave.

"Alright then, I guess I'll go now. Um, stay safe. Goodnight."

Before he could even take a step the girl grabbed his hand.

"Wait!"

He just stared back at her expectantly, wondering what she was thinking of with that expression on her face. Her grip on his hand gentle but firm.

Standing there frozen in his spot as she slowly approached him, getting closer and closer. So close that if she moved another inch or two she'd be stepping on his feet.

Another hand rested on his shoulder with a delicate touch.

One glance from his cheek to his lips and that hand began to tremble, along with the other one that still had his in her grasp.

Minji balanced herself on her tippy toes and they were completely face to face. Heavy breaths intermingling.

She searched his face for any negative reaction, any signs of rejection, something she particularly couldn't handle at the moment.

Apart from his eyes growing more surprised with each passing second he didn't show much of any kind of reaction.

She wondered if his heart was pounding as much as hers was. If he felt the same electric pulses running through his veins, an anxious and bewildering excitement that just couldn't be controlled.

After contemplating for what felt like an eternity she finally leaned in to connect their lips. Every bit of anxiety evaporated from her body as she melted into the warm sensation.

His free hand quickly began alternating between her elbow and upper back before settling on the latter, unconsciously bringing her closer.

Chenle was too far gone to make sense of what was happening.

The last thing he remembered was the girl in front of his face staring at his lips. His eyes widening in shock before shutting closed once her lips touched his.

Then things got blurry. He didn't even realize that he kissed her back until he noticed she had to use some effort to break apart from his lips.

"Goodnight, Chenle," she said softly before pulling herself away from him, hands lingering for just a second longer.

He stared down at her with glossed over eyes, his mind in a haze and fingertips tingling from the loss of her touch.

And with that the two parted ways. One entering her apartment to a bombardment of questions from her roommate and the other sat in his car in silence before driving away into the night.

˖ ݁𖥔.☁︎.𖥔 ݁ ˖

[dontstoplafiesta]

Welcome✨

Hello, my name is Kay. :)

Thank you so much for checking out my account!

I’m a veteran fanfic writer (mostly Wattpad) looking to switch over to this platform.

Posting schedule will probably be inconsistent tbh because I’m currently studying in college, but I’ll make my stories/imagines worth the wait.

I promise😭.

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