#bc he only wanted choir students in the show

[jasmancer]

I’d love to do community theater just for funsies but my limited theater experience has taught me that it’s soooo demanding to do a show even when ur director is a sweet middle school choir teacher lmao

[milkcos]

lemonade mouth/band au! more notes under the cut

lemonade as in like the disney movie! so there are a couple like clear comparisons but mostly it's the bad kids get stuck in detention together except they form a band instead of an adventuring party

fabian > no equivalent (olivia vibes)

the most popular kid at school who is both in dance and on the football team. somehow gets decent grades as well. no close friends, but a lot of people who know him and want to get on his good side. kind of depressed, and his dad's currently in prison. he started playing the guitar as a way to show off and then genuinely started enjoying it

adaine > mo

she's a concert violist (playing the viola) always an accompaniment for her sister and is striking it out on her own for the first time. her family is very upset about this, and consistently puts her down so she'll go along with they want her to do. also she recently transitioned to going to public school for the first time, making her the new girl.

kristen > no equivalent

she's recently ex mormon, got out of her parents house (currently living in her car) and without all of her former friends stuck in a student president position that she got when she was still with the religion. questioning her sexuality after one too many encounters with the soccer team captain, tracker. used to be on the church choir, was a bit too enthusiastic about it.

gorgug > no equivalent (charlie vibes)

he's got like one or two kinda friends (mainly fig). extremely busy with his classes and with marching band and self isolating as a result. he's stressed out about living up to his parent's name (they run a very successful electric engineering company). signed up to work as a sound tech for the theatre department bc one of the female stage managers is very cute (zelda) and then discovered that he rlly like it.

riz > no equivalent

no friends! (other than maybe the AV club + penny) too used to burying himself in work at both his part time gig and with his insane amount of extracurriculars. started playing the piano bc he heard it helps with memory retention and overall cognitive ability.

fig > stella/wen

she's the cool loner skater kid who is the floater friend mostly? she's got a maybe relationship with ayda, who she loves to annoy at the school library. very interested in making her own music not very interested in school. freaking out over her parents getting remarried. her mom enrolled her in music lessons when she was younger, and it's one of the only things she can talk about with her mom these days.

[dissectedgrrl]

okay so a while ago i mentioned a the good place rtc au

n so i finally made one :D

keep in mind this is j kind of a rough idea thing so not every detail is there but here are my ideas !! this also includes some headcanons for the characters so dont mind certain parts

------------------------

so it kind of follows the same plot as the show

karnak is like michael and he tells the choir where they are, what happened, etc

he got their names right + the fact that they were the choir n referred to as "the six saints" in the news

but he got their personalities mixed up with other students

he thinks they volunteered, helped out a lot of people, etc.

he doesnt know about mischa stealing wine, ocean bullying literally everyone, etc

but the choir knows its all wrong n have to find out what went wrong, how to get out, etc (just everything eleanor went thru)

------------------------

cast of characters :

Ocean O'Connell Rosenburg

she/her , lesbiaB, learning 2 languages, can speak 5

Ocean is in COMPLETE denial that she doesnt belong in the good place. i mean why wouldn't she ? shes ocean o'connell rosenburg. shes perfect. shes supposed to be here.

she tries to remain as perfect as possible while in the good place

she keeps calling karnak "god" no matter how many times he tells her there is no god in the good place. sometimes she does it on accident

the soulmate she got matched up with is constance

^ when she was told that she blurted out "WHAT ? WE ONLY KISSED ONCE !!!!" and everyone just kind of . . . . stared at her

most likely says the "all neutral people should go to Cincinnati" joke

Constance Blackwood

she/her, bilingual and bisexual

Constance doesn't want to leave the good place but she knows it isnt right for her to stay

she loves ocean, but being her soulmate takes a lot of patience (that constance sometimes doesnt have)

she got SO excited about the free froyo flavors

"mmm . . . . warm laundry flavor 😍"

when ocean said the kissing thing constance was j kinda like "🧍"

Savannah

("jane doe")

she/they/it, pan demisexual demiromantic (i swear im not projecting 😭 /srs)

i have a lot to say abt her 💀

since she doesnt know who she really is she tries to learn as much as she can in the good place

^ she always has a "why" to ask n gets frustrated if she cant figure something out

^ it LOVES learning

^ whenever something interests them they get really excited

karnak gave them their doll n when they asked why all he said was "shes nice"

^ ever since then shes LOVED dolls n just toys in general

its favorite thing to learn about is toys

it has a lot of toys n keep all of them in a toy chest

when she learned she could eat food she just didnt stop 😭

^ they LOVE food but their cooking skills arent the best . . . .

^ its favorite savory food is pizza. dont ask why they just like it . . . . all kinds of pizza too

she really really likes music as well

^ favorite artists are frank sinatra and edith piaf !!

its soulmate is ricky

^ she LOVES him like theyre so close (i havent decided if theyre gonna be platonic, romantic, or both, but for now lets j say theyre best friends !!)

^ her and rickys relationship kind of confuses her bc all the other souldmates kiss n hold hands n what not but her n ricky just kind of . . . . watch star trek and talk about their interests together

they HATE being photographed and recorded, the smell of smoke, big rollercoasters, and anything people use to smoke (weed especially)

it hates being called creepy and having people afraid of her

shes really nice and smart but no one (expect ricky n the rest of the choir) rlly gives them a chance :/

Mischa Bachinski

he/him, bi, speaks same languages as he does in canon universe

soulmate is noel

he loves music (we all know this) and listens to any recommendation he gets

has to try and keep calm while in the good place so no one gets suspicious

his weakness is animals . . . . show him a rabbit n he will cry istg

^ hes a dog person but tries to hid it bc noel prefers cats

he doesnt rlly like sweets but hes okay w the free froyo (only SPECIFIC flavors tho)

he asked karnak if his mom was also in the good place, but didnt get a straight answer, but karnak hinted at a yes

^ his goal is to find his mom while he has time in the good place

^ hes doing everything he can to find her and is convinced he gets closer every day

Noel Gruber

he/she, gay (and maybe bigender or genderfluid ? idk yet), speaks english n french

he rlly likes black coffee like . . . . a lot

^ mischa says he hates coffee, but hes never tried it so noel is determined to make him drink it

noel sees the good place as a second chance at life

^ she hopes to get to live out her monique dreams here

secretly hates mischa's music taste 💀

noel introduced jane to edith piaf !

Ricky Potts

he/they, pan + trans demiboy, can speak english n pig latin (when jane asked why he just said "itsyay ustjay oremay unfay anthay englishyay !")

he loves living with jane because he gets to ramble n he gets to hear her ramble as well

^ him n jane have cats ! :D

^ every other saturday night ricky n jane watch spiderman movies while eating pizza. they look forward to that saturday every week !

he actually CAN cook

he claims he doesnt have a favorite cat but Captain Butterscotch is always with him . . . . suspicious

one of their favorite pastimes is looking out the telescope thats in their backyard at night

^ he likes to name stars (even if they already have names)

------------------------

okay thats all i got so far ! if you have any suggestions or anything feel free to tell me ! srry if there are any spelling errors i wrote this down so fast bc i had to get these idea out or else i would implode 💔

[pepperonidk]

seventeen as high school activities

pairing: none, just ot13 genre: high school!au wordcount: i’ll check tomorrow, i’m on mobile warnings: none!

a/n: these are very much american high school based, since that’s all i’ve ever known

seungcheol: captain of the varsity football team

this is kind of self explanatory, s coups has major jock himbo energy and he reminds me of the nice football players i knew in high school. he would always ask you for answers on last night’s statistics homework but 100% always repays you with a pastry and iced coffee every morning as gratitude. takes his classes pretty seriously and makes sure his teammates do too bc coach says if they fail a class they’re gonna get benched. probably also organizes team bonding activities on weekends. goes to IHOP after every game. (secretly thinks theatre kids are misunderstood… wants to sing at said IHOP)

jeonghan: student medic

ok i hope this wasn’t specific to my high school, but tell me you don’t see jeonghan as a student medic. :| any time someone (mingyu) gets injured he’s there to take care of them. the only person the football team trusts to treat them, and they say he has an angel’s touch. he always gets such a bad rap for being chaotic but we all know he’s such a caring person and i promise i only thought about this concept a normal amount. i definitely did not sob over how soft jeonghan is.

joshua: choir boy (exclusively show choir. not to be confused with glee club)

my high school had this thing where choir members would perform with a band and they would do pop songs and it was definitely the least cringey way to perform said pop songs. i think since joshua plays guitar he was an automatic shoo-in for the group. he adamantly fought against joining until they told him he could perform sunday morning by maroon 5. it is now a condition that he plays it at every concert. most of the freshmen start believing he wrote that song and they praise him for his songwriting abilities.

jun: colorguard

in this house we respect the flag. aka the sparkly glittery flag that jun tosses around the football field like a badass. he gets all of the dramatic solos in every marching band show because he’s the colorguard captain’s favorite member. insanely acrobatic and artful. rumor has it he made the head drum major cry once at a football game. every year the band director tries to recruit him to stay and learn an instrument but every year jun refuses and no one hears from him again for the rest of the school year until the next football season. there’s a rumor being spread that he doesn’t even go here. but he does.

soonyoung: colorguard captain

honestly, he joined by mistake. he thought colorguard was a sport, played like capture the flag. but once he realized it was basically dance but you can throw things and wear pretty costumes, he was hooked. he also recruited his friend jun to join and they both loved it. one time the band played eye of the tiger and soonyoung fought for his life to wear a tiger costume rather than the costumes they were supposed to wear. when the director said no, he did it anyway. he didn’t get in trouble. in fact the director decided to integrate it into the program.

wonwoo: football team… but also esports club

yes he’s in the football team during the fall semester but as soon as football season is done, his after school hours are spent with the esports team at the local gaming cafe. i hate to say it besties but he probably plays league of legends. /: but during football season, he serves as seungcheol’s second in command, mostly helping him to plan out smaller events like study nights for the team and even helps his teammates with their college applications. the resident football team tutor. he really is just a nerd in disguise and i have to say he is my ideal man.

jihoon: head drum major

this is so obvious y’all. as a Former Band Kid™️ myself (unfortunately), i can attest to this idea that jihoon would be THE best drum major. he’s somehow both insanely threatening and scary to freshmen but also the kindest and most helpful person in the band. he started out doing percussion but he has a very solid understanding of music theory in general and likes to help people out with the music. one time a freshman joked a little too loudly that he was too short to be drum major and jihoon made him run 20 laps with the metronome on. no one ever said anything again. wears aviator sunglasses to every practice and carries extra chalk in a little pouch for people to mark spots.

minghao: head of the yearbook committee

if minghao is the head of the yearbook committee you can bet your ASS that every page will be thoroughly inspected for spelling errors, grammar errors, and aesthetic errors. not a single page goes unchecked by him, and if it doesn’t fit the theme of that year’s yearbook, you’re starting over. the yearbook is so popular every year that he gets dozens of applications to join the staff but he only ever selects 1-2 people a year. his yearbook staff is for the elite. it’s a finely tuned process that he has earned the right to brag about creating. no deadlines are missed. not here. he’s so intense about it that he’s also somehow become insanely popular for it. every year he gets so many requests to sign yearbooks that he just bought a stamp with his signature on it.

mingyu: ex-football team, current nerd (affectionate)

mingyu is a jock-turned-nerd. he was co-captain of the football team until his last year when he suddenly decided to quit football and take as many AP classes as possible to boost his gpa. the football team still considers him an honorary member… since he never left the group chat and no one had the heart to kick him out. but they don’t mind since he brings fresh cooked meals that he makes in class to the football teams practices. he delivers the food and sits on the bleachers and does homework while watching them practice. assists wonwoo in tutoring their teammates. he specializes in math. likes to host charcuterie parties at his house.

seokmin: theatre boy, and writer for the newspaper

hehe he’s a theatre kid and i’m obsessed with the idea of it. idk why theatre kids get such a bad rap, they’re so talented?? anyway i digress. seokmin is a front runner for the male lead in every production. the sharpay evans of his high school. the choir teacher has been recruiting him for years but he doesn’t want to be in choir. he will however sing backup for joshua. he also writes a review for the school paper where he reviews local pizza chains every week. he does it anonymously however, and goes by the name pizzaboi but mostly everyone knows it’s him.

seungkwan: choir boy, student medic

he was recruited into both of these activities by joshua and jeonghan respectively, but he’s glad they did. at first the two had placed a bet on which of their organizations he would join, and when he found out about it, he joined both and made them split the profit with him. they both knew then… he was perfect. he’s being raised to lead both organizations and knowing seungkwan, he can handle the challenge. at every choir concert he picks a different beyoncé song and people started calling him boo-yoncé. he says it’s not getting to his head, but it definitely is. joshua calls him thomas to humble him.

vernon: photographer for the yearbook

if you see vernon near you with a camera, you know you’re in for a blast. turns every picture into something artsy. minghao says it’s camp. he could be there to photograph the mock trial team for the mock trial post but on the final cut of the yearbook you’ll see a skeleton photoshopped into a picture of one of the mock trial members asleep on the bus, and everyone will wonder why they had never gotten the metaphor. truth does sleep on justice. vernon doesn’t know how to tell everyone that he’s just seeing how far he can go before someone says his photographs are just random things he turned into minghao. he tried to tell minghao but he didn’t believe him. everyone thinks he’s a poetic genius. one teacher tried to submit his work for a Pulitzer prize. the reply said “this is an onion holding up a trash can… just because it’s black and white doesn’t make it art”

chan: youngest member of varsity football

he made it onto varsity his freshman year because he was so talented at the sport. by sophomore year he was the starting quarterback. truly believes he’s going to make history one day (he probably will), but the older members on the team tease him about it all the time. they call him the baby dinosaur because he’s the youngest, but he’s fierce on the field. the school hasn’t lost a single game since he’s been on the team. (except that one time he got benched for failing a physics test). seungcheol gave him hell for that and he never failed another test. he’s spent the most time in tutoring with wonwoo and mingyu.

[pinkandgreenarepurpleandyellow]

Furnace kids as theatre/theatre-associated kids bc fuck it:

Alex: Asshole student choreographer. He's nice during the rehearsals but also like he's canonically stolen from people so make of that what you will.

Zee: Oficial videographer. Refuses to go onstage ever again but hangs out with the tech crew a lot. Convinced them that they should let Alex eat lunch with them as well sometimes. Has an irritating amount of trivia about each show.

Donovan: Choir teen who keeps being roped into helping the musical kids because the teachers like his singing and he feels awkward saying no. Crashes non-musical show rehearsals and heckles/gives advice. Refuses to acknowledge that half his friend group is theatre kids and that he's a theatre kid by association at this point.

Toby: Newest actor. Super shy and still learning about how to act, but he's nice and shows up to optional build calls. Is pretty much the only person who actually listens to Zee's massive trivia info dumps.

Simon: Breaks into rehearsals to get a free show and catch up with his friends. Will intentionally play dumb but sometimes drops the cleverest ideas about blocking and costume choices.

Monty: Mostly here as an assistant to the props person if they need food. Sometimes makes food for the long rehearsals so people can actually eat. Knows maybe half of the shows being put on but is also the only person who can have a full conversation with Zee about past stagings of said shows.

Kevin: Only doing the fall play because there's a performing arts requirement, stop asking him about it. No one wants him there. Area Man will not stop mixing up stage left and right, forgetting his script, and sneaking out to smoke.

Gary: Also doing the fall play because of the performing arts requirement. He's a great actor when he actually gets into the moment, but liable to snap at anyone who fucks up the scene, annoys him, or just breathes in his general direction. Great memory for stage directions and words, terrible ability to show vulnerability onstage. Usually gets put into 'asshole' roles.

Bodie: Technically not formally signed up but he's the only one who can keep Gary and Kevin from fighting every two seconds so here he is. Has a rapport with Donovan wherein they make rude comments about actors to each other. Upon being told he's not allowed to be there if he's not formally signed up, bullies a crew kid of their position and takes over it instead.

Oli: Hair and makeup. Either dump a can of hairspray on your head or prepare to be scalped by two thousand bobby pins. He's a little gentler with the gang kids but it's unavoidable.

Lucy: The only first-aid presence on the grounds, they're legally required to have someone like that but it doesn't need to be an adult. She and Simon talk smack about almost everyone behind their backs, unless it's Zee and Alex, in which case she roasts them to their faces.

[ceilingfan5]

mmm for the au asks, what about taakitz as high school teacher (krav as the band director, taako as the theatre teacher maybe?)

im picturing a small high school like the one i went to and im thinking taako's one of those english teachers that does like. just one or two sections of theater. and maybe poor krav does band and choir instead of being split between the hs and the ms but that's hanging on by a thread bc funding for the arts are a joke listen i could rant about this for a very long time but i wont.

hot dog i wanna hear that boy sing.

fuck yeah okay *cracks knuckles*

1) the band room is kind of slapped onto the building which means it's the farthest away from anything and krav often just hangs there instead of, you know, talking to the other teachers, often eats lunch in his lil office and pretends he's chill with it, you know

taako pretends he's a loner but eats lunch with like. carey and killian (econ/govt and PE) and magnus (shop) and merle (history but also the greenhouse/FFA) [yeah i went to hs in a small fucking town in nowhereville i know i know but he knows all the types of dirt and what to feed your cow and,] like. on the daily, and will run into kravitz at like. staff meetings or in the copy room like. i literally always forget you work here

2) one time taako's sick of the boner squad's nonsense and sits by krav at a staff meeting or like. a huge back to school meeting (long and boring and also long, but especially boring) and props his chin on the table and watches him take notes and he's like. you know what we could do. krav, nervous: what

taako: a MUSICAL

krav: oh lord

3) but here's the thing. krav loves music. he loves giving his students opportunities. he loves hokey bullshit. and also he is gay and taako is the most gorgeous guy he has ever laid eyes on and it gets hard to talk when he's around and all he wants to do is impress taako like. he finds himself FLIRTING??? HE DOESNT *FLIRT*

so he. agrees. to put on. a musical.

and they decide to go out (bc it's summer institute and the school year hasnt started yet) they go out to lunch together. because this is the highlight of summer institute is you get like an hour to go eat real food and bitch with the other teachers rock on. and krav is like IS THIS A DATE? this can't be a date. BUT IT'S JUST US?? two coworkers on a casual luncheon. it's professional. BUT IT'S JUST US???

4) and they hash out ALL the details and pick the musical. god what musical even. ill leave that to your imagination but it's either WAY dark or WAY cheesy. maybe les mis bc krav gets carried away abt it and taakos like (dreamy sigh) w/e you want my man. ill fuckin build you a chair barrier. chairrier. hows that show go again. so they get everything approved and theyre both like??? are we doing this??? we're DOING THIS and they just grin at each other so wildly

5) and boom the school year starts and they do tryouts and fuck it's a little messy bc taako's only done small plays before but they work together on it and taako swoons when krav plays the piano and they spend a lot of time together before and after school and during practices and all the high school kids are like.

👀👀👀👀

it becomes a whole thing to try and get them together. this goes great as im sure you can expect.

[thecelestial-art]

ok but like, here me out,,,,, avatar high school au but its just me projecting my personality and trauma

my instagram

Aang

Freshman

He's trying his gosh darn hardest

The group baby

Appa is a therapy dog so he spends the day with gyatso in his classroom :)

Hes a saint bernard 

The best man

Despite katara being the ‘mom friend’ he runs the god damn show

Momo is a shit head sphinx cat 

The gang dropped movie nights for “knitting nights” so they could all learn to knit him sweaters

Hes very fashionable

he hates it

sokkas best friend

Aang makes costumes so when halloween comes around momo is very scary as dorothy 

Track and field babey

Does not curse

He has a hard time keeping up with world events

Straight (i'm not wrong)

he and toph have an ongoing tradition of going in full dress to waffle house before school dances. 

it got to the point where now all the workers know them by name

they also accidentally crashed a white lotus meeting and just kept going

Azula

Band kid

Sophomore

Rich girl with 2 friends

Pre eng

i know most schools dont have this program, but mine did and holy shit. those were some overachievers 

The most annoying mf on the planet

Not a single teacher likes her

The know it all that will fight if you don't agree with the facts

She was the ww2 kid

Capitalist in the worst fucking way

Closeted lesbian, when she figures that shit out she gets a lil better

The one who can drive

Mai

Bisexual

She's really good at math?? Like shes the gay who can do math

But cannot drive, bitch failed her permit more times than she can count

She nearly went to an all girls boarding school at one point

Sophomore

Colorguard!!

She has beat the shit out of people she's walked in on making out in the bathroom

Genuine friends with the faculty??

She takes programming/coding as a filler class but she's pretty good and continues to pursue it.

Her tumblr looks sick as hell

has caused a teacher to cry

Ty lee

Bisexual

Lesbian earings actin mf

Sophomore

Cheerleader

She is the nicest mother fucker and everyone loves her

Despite acting like an airhead she's really science orientated

When she takes biology she passes with flying colors

Very invested in social justice

She would never hurt a fly but she will fuck you up

The one with a healthy relationship with her father

has comforted a teacher she found crying in the parking lot

Iroh

Now runs the jasmine dragon where zuko works after school w/ katara 

Knows every single kid who comes in and tries his hardest to make sure everyone feels appreciated

Former war criminal

In a book club

The white lotus? Yeah this is the white lotus

Idk if it would be the same as the show, or if its just an old person shit talking group

Zuko

Junior

His dad got full custody of him and his sister when he divorced their mom

But at 13 he got kicked out for another bullshit reason and ever since Iroh has had custody of both of the siblings

But bitch boy ozai has visitation rights but only wants to see azula

Theatre kid!!

I mean he was gonna join jrotc to appease his dad but he figured his shit out before he really joined

A republican turned leftist

Hes queer he just doesnt know which label to use

Himbo rights

He and katara are best friends idgaf about ships but they are bros

orchestra kid! (yes this is me self projecting bc we have similar trauma) 

Violist 

Teachers have no idea what to do with him bc on one hand he's very reclusive and on the other his sister has the worst opinions so they don't know

Katara

Sophomore 

Still the mom friend but this time she goes to therapy

Bc she literally raised her brother after her mother died?? And then became a parental figure to her FRIENDS???

Biggest political activist, genuinely does her best at educating herself and others about civil injustices

Also really obsessed with cults and true crime

Choir kid

She takes AP history, english, and second language classes

Is trying her hardest in math and sciences

Huge stuffed animal collection

Student council vice president

she originally ran for president but jets gang voted him in as a joke

The teachers pet

Swim team bitches

Best friends with the school janitors

This is my au so fuck off she and zuko are chaotic friendgroup parents and annoying best friends i love them

and maybe something more???

 who fucking knows theres a betting pool in the white lotus and so far aang is winning 

Sokka

Junior

Bisexual

Gym and History teachers LOVE him

On the swim team and the fishing team

Started crying when he took his drivers test

Goes to gsa w/ toph and loses his fucking mind

He's the reason suki’s car is disgusting

In all advanced/ap classes in math and science

Was the kid who carries a portable speaker around until suki put him in his place

Still has to use his hands to figure out left and right

Yue

Technically she doesn't go to school with them she goes to a nearby private school

She met the gang at a football game and has been invited to every group outing since

Junior!!

Very invested in world politics

When she joins the group at school events she ends up making friends with all the staff

Debate team kid!!!

She's not a rule breaker she just knows their limitations ;)

at one point missed school for like 2 months and everyone thought she died

turns out it was just fucking pneumonia and sokka is one dirty liar

Suki

oh? you mean yue’s best friend bc we dont respect pitting women against each other in this household?

Junior

Bisexual icon!!!

Oh god what sport would she do??

Probably basketball??

Or she would just do martial arts outside of school

And have a ‘female empowerment’ club or somethin

100% believes in self government in society and that the current gov exists purely on the theory that all humans are inherently evil

Bitch for bernie

Her car is DISGUSTING

She asks if she can hit peoples juul and then throws it in the trash

The gym coaches really like her but she fucking hates them

Is very close with her school counselor??

She never wants to run but she keeps getting elected to homecoming court

Toph

Freshman 

Former homeschool bitch

Joined the wrestling team and the fishing team??

She doesn't even like fishing she just thinks it's hilarious 

Very good a pottery and that's her arts credit

She and iroh have lunch together every thursday

If she catches wind of you putting gum on desks they will find your body in a ditch

She makes sokka and suki take her to prom 

She hates it she just likes to fuck with people at prom

Sometimes she just tells people she doesn't believe in something bc she cant see it

has been wearing the same sandles for the past 3 years bc “they’re reliable”

Cryptid hunter

Goes to gsa bc its better than any fucking reality tv show

Has nearly burnt the house down making ramen

[briars-glenn]

Get to know me better, I guess?

rules: answer the questions and tag 20 blogs you are contractually obligated to know better!

tagged by @ocheeva

nickname:

Briar, which seems a bit redundant but eh

pronouns:

she/they

star sign:

Libra, as I’m sure many could “guess” (whenever someone asks they usually go “that’s what I thought”)

height:

5′3 aka 161cm

time currently:

6:50 pm PST

birthday:

10/10, that’s right I was born perfect

favorite bands/groups:

Ok, listen, I love music and I could go on and on so I’ll just list my last few played.

1975, Mother Mother, Fall Out Boy, Nothing But Thieves, Panic! At The Disco, 5 Seconds of Summer, Paramore, Hey Violet, BTS (No I don’t stan, I just like their music), BLACKPINK.

favorite solo artists:

Really? Ok you asked:

Etta James, Louis Armstrong, Cab Calloway, Lizzo, Beyonce, Ariana Grande, Halsey, Megan Thee Stallion, Estelle, Erykah Badu, Mitski, Jessi, Ke$ha, Cardi B, Doja Cat, P!nk.

you thought I was joking didn’t you?

song stuck in your head:

none rn, but just wait 10 min

last movie watched:

Strange Magic (2015) its so good, y’all should watch it fr

last show you binged:

Peaky Blinders (honestly I’m only watching for Alfie, I’m so glad he came back 😍)

when you created your blog:

May 10th will be 8 years (Holy shit!!) on this hellsite (affectionate).

last thing you googled:

the year Strange Magic came out

other blogs:

I have a blog to chronicle my 2014 trip to Europe as a 16yo high-schooler @briars-europe​

why you chose your url:

this is my glen where I curate my online experience, and the proper glen was taken at the time so theres 2 n’s cause I’m not creative

do you get asks:

no bc I am smol and any anons get eaten by the code immediately

how many people are you following:

470, but like half are inactive now and I’m too lazy to weed them out.

how many followers do you have:

like two-hundr.....417???? Where the fuck did all of you come from??

average hours of sleep:

*presses my palms together in front of my mouth* sooo, anywhere between 4 min hours and 10 hours? idk man I’ve got so many things that fuck with that on top of being a senior uni student.

lucky number:

??? Idk, 10? Evens tend to treat me well

instruments:

Absolutely none! i have -190/10 hand-eye coordination, so yeah. I did “sing“ in choir though. (I say “sing” bc I can’t read music well and only ever copied/”mockingbird-ed”)

what I’m currently wearing:

legit? a Seattle sweatshirt from an old roommie, grey joggers, gay (rainbow) socks and my blue-light glasses cause I’ve been in class for-fucking-ever today

dream job:

Can I get paid to just travel? Like I just go around the world and just like talk to people and experience perspectives that are different to mine and maybe focus on history/the food systems of a place? Idk what you’d call that job but I want it.

dream trip:

I’d visit my grandmother’s ancestral home(s) in Ireland with her. (somewhere in County Kerry or Cork I think, in the south)

favorite food:

Chocolate, specifically milk/semi-sweet

favorite song:

I thought we’d talked about this

top 3 fictional universes you’d like to live in:

Oooh, this is gonna be hard to pick,

Doctor Who (It’s so similar so its a easier transition), Sherlock Holmes universe (ACD version or maybe the Jeremy Brett style, NOT Bendifart Cuccumbersnatch’s as much as I enjoyed watching it with Jet), and finally, I gotta circle around to Strange Magic, just cause I wanna be a fae with pretty wings too.

TAGGING:  Listen, I’m tagging 5 people and that's it. @erdsthenerds @the--queen-of-hell @biisalvatore @aconissa​ @achievebisexuality​ @superbcandyangel

[snapedefender]

One thing that people doesn't always get about the name Albus Severus is that it's not only Harry who named his son, Ginny was ok with the name, so she has also aknowledge Snape's bravery and the fact that he has saved saved a lot of students.

god you’re really preaching to the choir here dude. i feel like every single person who whines about albus severus’s name is a) forgetting that harry, more than anyone, is not actually snape’s biggest fan and b) that ginny is not a doormat. 

a) matters because they somehow seem to think that all it takes for harry to forgive and “forget” about snape is that snape loved lily. and they really parse that down into “snape loved my mom therefore he was good” which isn’t really harry’s thought process. if he really did think snape was good bc of lily, he could have said as much to albus severus, you know? or it would have come up in that conversation. harry has no reason to like or trust snape and pretending that he could be so easily swayed seems mightily out of character for him. he’s not a character who changes his mind about people easily! that’s one of his defining characteristics! saying that it’s as simple as harry seeing that snape loved his mom (and for a lot of people, they simplify it even further into the murky waters of “snape just wanted to fuck lily” which is not really true & not really something we the reader can even make a case for) and then just doing a complete 180 on his character is full of bullshit. harry would have named albus severus what he did even if snape had loved someone else. the point was not that snape loved harry’s mom, specifically - it was a plot point to explain why snape cared about harry at all. the point was always that snape loving someone, caring enough about someone to change sides, and then all the continuous work he does as a spy that changes harry’s mind. harry respects courage - that’s why snape is one of the bravest men he knew and not just that guy who loved his mom.

and b) matters bc people pretend that harry is out here naming his kids by himself! hello, it’s a two-person process and ginny has proven more than once that she can push back against harry’s bullshit. she is not just some doormat meekly accepting the names harry gives her, you know! and yes, all of their kids are named after dead loved ones of harry’s - but that’s probably bc harry just has that many more dead loved ones, y’all. ginny does have fred but we already know that george names his kid after fred so like... my thought is likely that in the family it was probably agreed that george would get “dibs” on that name. and i think ginny is compassionate and kind enough to recognize why harry might want to name his kids after all of these lost loved ones. i don’t think anyone who looks at that as “well harry just named his kids and ginny had to put up with it” is reading their dynamic correctly. i do think they had a conversation about it and i think harry made his case. ginny’s feelings about her kids’ names are obviously a mystery but we can try to make a headcanon based on what we know of her character and there’s zero characterizations i’ve ever seen that can paint the fandom picture of the long-suffering wife who’s just putting up with her husband’s terrible name choices. 

look. albus severus was obviously a polarizing name choice but i maintain that it is actually very in character for harry to choose that name, that that name has way less to do with dumbledore and snape’s actions as people (both good and terrible!) and more to do with harry’s ultimate choice to forgive them and to honor them bc he knows that he is probably the only person who really can. and harry choosing to do that is very much a harry potter thing to do - and having that speech and having him speak on behalf of the bravery of slytherins is a great full-circle move for his character that just would not land with any other slytherin character... bc we really haven’t seen him shift his worldview so entirely for any other slytherin character. like that scene does not land if albus severus is actually named albus regulus bc harry had no fuckin personal connection with regulus. and the point of the scene is to reassure albus severus about getting sorted into slytherin and to show harry’s growth as a person since that 11yo who begged not to be sorted there and honestly i just wish people would think critically about fiction for like 2s!!! for my peace of mind!!

[thecncitygirls]

I had this saved in my drafts for months 😅

CJ, aka Gloria Glory aka Columbia Junior, was the little sister of All American Hero Major Glory. You see, from the time they were little ldear older brother took his role very proudly but as they grew up, CJ wanted to follow in his footsteps as a superhero. Big Brother denied her the chance. In his eyes she was still young, still innocent. He couldn't lose his only sibling to the big bad ugly bad guys out there, or have her soul corrupted by the more...seductive ones like HIM. So every time she brought up the subject he'd shoot her down with the excuse that she didn't have what it takes. That girls need to stay and learn to become perfect housewives, play with dollies, shop, fashion, whatever normal teen girls liked to do.

That pissed her off. Storming off to her room and slammed the door.

The Major didn't mean to come off as sexist he truly had CJ's best interests at heart. But the world was dangerous, he was just being honest.

The younger Glory sulked in her room. That jackass! After everything she did to help him further his career he had the nerve to deny her a chance to pursue one of her own?! In her anger the cogs of her mind turned as a lightbulb appeared over head. Hmph! Who needs him? She had the money and talent she could create her own Hero Persona on her own! But where to start, she wondered.

Everything came into motion by the time the third AWSM assembly took place.

"There it is," she whispered. "My future."

CJ scratched her long wig as the bus bumped over the rocky road towards the mountain range. Flying would've been easier but she didn't want to risk being caught by the supers least of all her brother. She hoped no one was able to recognize her in her Valkyrie get up. She wasn't the only one: the whole bus were filled with Rock-God cosplayers hoping to catch Val Hallen's attention. She met him a few times, even thought of asking him out but her brother put a veto on that.

The bus stopped at the visitor center and everyone got off. The hidden redhead whistled at the sight of the grand mountain.

She saw where people were alresdy climbing up the stairs. She groused noting the number of steps. "Ugh this will take all day! The meetings probably gonna be over before I make it halfway!"

She could fly just a little but that still would draw attention. Sighing, she began her trek up the flight.

"Yes!"

***

In the district of Odaiba, Japan, a young woman and a much older man was sparring inside their dojo. The woman hollered as she tried to strike him only for him to side step. She struck again, bamboo sticks clacking loudly as he countered the blow. A few seconds and she finally managed to swipe him off his feet!

She began to do a little wiggle happy to have finally beat her master at something!

Before she knew it she was on the floor in a daze. What...just happened???

"You must always keep an eye out for your opponent Sakurako" the old man chided. She huffed but allowed him to pull her up.

After washing and getting dressed she went into the living room, put on the TV and went to the fridge to grab a drink. The reporter was talking about some big meeting, the camera zoomed up high showing a big white monument where multiple supers flown into.

***

Sakura shrugged. Who need all that glitz and glamor to fight crime? Besides she was pretty sure having a giant palace smack dab on top of a mountain wasn't the best idea. Her father came into the room stopping briefly to glance at the TV. "Maybe you will be up there on day," he mused.

"All those heroes and not a single woman up there," she scoffed. "They'd probably kick me out."

Back in the states, sunday school was in session at Townsville Baptist Church. Children stood on the benches singing their hearts out as a Black woman in purple and gold robes led them.

"Sing for me! Higher! Higher!" The instructor, a petite rotund woman named Goss instructed them. The altos rose their voices to an glass-shattering rate, holding the note before silencing, gasping for breath. Goss clapped her hands in satisfaction. "Wonderful babies! Massive improvement from last time," she complimented them. She looked at her watch. "Y'all have a few minutes to relax in the dining room before your parents pick you up! You've earned it!"

All the kids cheered (elated to not bear a single other moment of singing) and scurried out the room. Sighing Goss began picking up their papers off the floor. Competitive choir was no laughing matter. Being the proud teacher that she is she wanted every student to be in tip top shape for when they head to the Big Leagues. As she gazed around her sanctuary making note of every scratch and chip, she sighed. They need the money to save this church she can't let it go after it been in her family for generations. Sighing again she went into the dining room for a bite. There her students were huddled around the tv.

"Maybe we'll get to see Major Glory!"

"Glory is boring Krunk's where it's at!"

Their chatter died down as the announcer began introducing the Heroes. Goss watched with interest - that Nordic rock god was pretty cute - as she began thinking. Maybe she could do something that? Working with superheroes, she knew a lot of them had wealth hidden on the side. Not to sound like a gold digger, but she was willing to work another job if competitive singing didn't work out.

But how would she convince one of them to consider?

AN: OOOOK so first up we have our three main OCs: CJ, Sakura, and Gospelle. As much as I liked Members Only I disliked how OOC they made M.G. and Val for the sole purpose of making the PPG look better (something of a pet peeve of mine in crossovers). So I want to rewrite the episode so they'd act more in character, replace that ridiculous "Girls Are Better Than Boys" with something more in line with feminism/equality, and also Krunk will be there bc where the shell was he in that episode??

[taelme]

Don’t Need Your Love Club - Recruiting Now! (Welcome, Lee Donghyuck)

genre: high school!au, student council member!donghyuck, friends-to-lovers!au (fluff, angst with a happy ending, kind of mutual pining?) 

pairing/s: Haechan / Reader (ft dreamies and some other Kpop 00 line boys, and Gugudan Mina) 

word count: 17k+ 

tw: none! 

a/n: after the long wait...the final part is up!! thank u guys for being patient lol I hope this chapter was satisfactory,, so please enjoy~~ also none of my works are beta read sorry so feedback is very much appreciated heh under the cut bc its pretty long! 

Lee Donghyuck was a selfish being. He was someone that joined the student council for the sake of being able to bend the rules, someone that had a way with words that managed to manipulate people into doing things for his convenience. And someone that never felt bad about guilt tripping somebody for his own gain. Even if that somebody was you. 

lee donghyuck 11:15am -r u coming for my match later- 

You rolled your eyes, sinking further down in your seat as you typed out a reply with one hand, hiding your phone under the table as you nodded along with whatever your teacher was saying. 

11:15am -you've asked me this already im trying to pay attention- 

You glanced over at Donghyuck's seat at the other end of the classroom, the teachers having separated your desks at the start of the term since the both of you were always distracted if you were seated near each other. Not that you weren’t still distracted when he was all the way at the other side of the classroom, clearly.

He was sitting with his body angled towards you, leaning against the wall with his head supported by his elbow on the table, his hair mussed up as he kept his gaze on the board while typing his reply to you. 

lee donghyuck 11:16am - wtv - 11:16am - was just checking if u rmb... - 11:16am - anyway r u buying me flowers- 

You cast a glance at him, seeing that his position had shifted now as he hunched over his desk, fiddling with his tie. Looking over to you, he'd met your gaze, quirking his eyebrows ever so quickly as he gestured discreetly at his phone, a small smirk on his face. 

11:16am -it's not like its a choir performance... i see u play all the time-

You swore you'd heard Donghyuck stop himself from whining, smiling sweetly at your teacher before he typed his reply to you. 

lee donghyuck 11:17am - but jisung said u were getting him flowers!! >:( - 

You pressed your lips firmly together in your attempt to suppress your smile, twirling your pen with one hand. 

11:17am - 1. thats bc jisung is my brother 11:17am -2. the flowers are from my mom bc its his first game.- 11:17am -from what i know, u r both not my brother n not playing ur first game = no flowers for u - 

lee donghyuck 11:17am - :(!!!!! - 

11:18am - what time do you have to leave? - 

lee donghyuck 11:18am – in 2 minutes -

11:18am - ok have a good practice see u later - 

You watched out of boredom as he'd already begun to pack his things, blatantly disregarding that the lesson was still going on (you were sure he'd ask you for the notes the following week). 

"Lee Donghyuck, you need to be dismissed, am I right?" your head turned sharply towards your teacher as her voice raised slightly. She never did try to hide her annoyance at Donghyuck having to skip lessons all the time because of volleyball matches or student council events. 

Donghyuck looked up from his bag, nodding with a smile as he zipped it up, slinging it over his shoulder. It didn’t help the teacher that Donghyuck simply loved to piss her off. 

"Alright, go," she waved him off. 

Bending down to hook his shoe bag and water bottle on his finger, Donghyuck turned to you to nod his head goodbye before he'd strolled leisurely out of the class. 

=== 

You'd retrieved the (awfully large) bouquet of flowers from your locker after school ended before heading to Donghyuck's volleyball match, having hitched a ride with Chenle so you could split the cab fare, despite Chenle's insistence that he could have paid for the both of you. 

"Is that for Jisung?" 

You gestured with your gaze towards the bag he was holding in his hand, earning a nod from him. Looking closer, you realised that it was a cup of Jisung's ever-so-specific drink order from the bubble tea shop near your school. 

"He seemed pretty nervous for today, thought it'd be nice to get him something small as a reward." 

The corner of your lips lifted into a smirk, a huff of amusement leaving you, "are you sure it won't be diluted by the end of the game?" 

Chenle's eyes widened, glancing between you and the drink as his lips parted, making you shake your head, ruffling his hair affectionately. 

"Don't worry, Jisung will probably still drink it anyway," you laughed. 

"Did you get those for Donghyuck, too?" He nodded with his head towards the bag you were holding.

You raised an eyebrow, following his gaze to realise he was gesturing to your bag containing Jisung's bouquet, almost forgetting you were carrying it. 

You shook your head.

"Nope, my mom got these for Jisung..." you trailed off, your mind wandering back to how Donghyuck was pestering you to get flowers for him, a strange feeling of guilt creeping up on you if you were to decide not to get him anything. 

Staring out of the car window, you tried to recall how much spending money you had left for the rest of the week.

"Chenle, do you remember if they have a florist near the venue?" 

You wanted to scoff at yourself. What was the special occasion anyway? 

It was just any other one of Donghyuck’s matches, yet you were only feeling extremely guilty now about not buying him flowers of all things to show your support. 

Chenle's lips pursed, shaking his head before taking his phone and keying in something. 

"Oh! There is! Says here that it's at the mall next to the stadium," your eyes widened, eyebrows furrowing slightly as you tried to read the details on the shop location on his phone. 

Chenle narrowed his eyes at you, "are you gonna get something for Donghyuck?" 

You scoffed at the way he was smiling at you, waving him off, "I'll see if it's within my budget." 

Finding the florist took you and Chenle long enough, the dainty shop having been tucked away at a far end of the mall, but picking out a flower took even longer. 

"What about this one?" Chenle pointed at a similar bouquet as to what you had for Jisung, a pretty bouquet of yellow and pink tulips. 

"Too expensive," you whispered just soft enough that the shop owner wouldn't hear, skimming over the bouquet and letting your gaze travel towards the bright sunflower bouquets. 

"And plus, Donghyuck likes sunflowers." 

"This one?" you asked Chenle, pointing at a small simple bouquet of a sunflower and baby's breath. 

Chenle let out a hum in approval, "oh, this is cute, yeah, sure you should get this!" he told you, nodding. 

You bid the thirty-over dollars in your wallet goodbye, mentally cursing Donghyuck for managing to guilt trip you into buying flowers for him. 

Grabbing the bouquet and shoving it into the same bag as Jisung's before practically jogging to the venue with Chenle, the both of you running late from spending so long at the mall. 

Struggling to keep up with Chenle, you saw him turn to you, waving his phone, "Jeno says they saved a seat for us!" 

You nodded, already out of breath as you let him lead you into the stands closer to where your school's team would be seated, spotting them doing warm-ups at the bleachers. 

Greeting Donghyuck’s friends, you’d seated yourself in between Chenle and Renjun, stretching your neck to look over the banners that the girls seated in front of you were holding, trying to find Donghyuck in the crowd of black volleyball jerseys. 

Jisung seemed to have spotted you, calling the said boy and pointing at your direction. Looking up in confusion, Donghyuck’s eyes searched the crowd before spotting you and his friends, the group of you waving enthusiastically (not to mention the girls in front of you as well who had immediately squealed when Donghyuck had smiled in their direction). 

Walking over to Jisung, the two had partnered each other for warm-ups, Donghyuck starting to get into his more serious mood as he would during his games. 

“Damn, look at Donghyuck. He’s just stretching but he looks so good,” your eyes widened when you heard the girl in front of you lean over to divulge to her friend. 

Chenle turned to you with raised eyebrows, not-so-secretly pointing at the girl with an expectant look on his face. 

“What?” You scoffed. 

“You’ve got some competitors,” he told you, erupting into a burst of laughter causing the girls to turn around, eyeing Chenle in shock. 

Nodding apologetically to them, (though you weren’t all that sorry), you leant over to Chenle slightly and dropped your voice to a murmur. 

“They can have him. I’m sure his ego would explode.”

Renjun turned to you, seemingly interested in your conversation.

“What are you guys talking about?”

Chenle butt in quickly, “I’m telling Y/N to claim her man!”

Your eyes widened, shooting Chenle a warning glare.

Renjun’s lips formed a thoughtful pout, “Donghyuck?” 

You scoffed, “I don’t know what you guys are talking about, Donghyuck and I are just friends.” 

You grimaced at the thought of you and Donghyuck ever dating, the thought itself enough to make your insides stir. 

Was it supposed to do that? Maybe you were having indigestion. 

Chenle made a face, trying hard but not doing a very good job to hide his scepticism, seeming to disagree with you. 

“Ouch, hope Donghyuck never has to hear that,” Renjun laughed, seeming to distrust your words as well. 

Rolling your eyes, you kicked the bag of flowers under your seat, not wishing to see them and let your thoughts wander even more. 

Shaking your head, you’d tried to focus on the game as much as you could despite the incessant commentary coming from in front of you of ‘oh Donghyuck’s this, Donghyuck’s that’. As much as you were glad that he had people who liked him instead of hating him, you couldn’t help but wish you could shield Donghyuck from their view, their drooling over him growing distracting as time passed. 

You tried your best, for Donghyuck’s sake, to look past your annoyance and focus on the game, even though you couldn’t say you knew what was happening, having not paid much attention when Donghyuck had tried explaining the different roles of his team members to you on countless occasions. 

To you, you would cheer when the girls sitting in front of you cheered. That was safest. 

Aside from cheering, you would never fail to return the little proud smile Donghyuck would give you after a shot he was particularly proud of, something inside of you feeling heavy with the memory of Renjun and Chenle’s previous words, wondering if it was normal to feel so enamoured when you were looking at your friend smile at you from the court like that. 

You were starting to grow anxious as the game neared its end, your leg starting to bounce as you saw the girls in front of you starting to prepare their gifts, reminding you that you had a gift for Donghyuck too. 

You wanted to scoff at yourself. You weren’t sure where all your anxiousness was coming from. It wasn’t as if you guys weren’t close. You’d given him plenty of gifts, so what made the flowers so different? 

Friends give each other flowers all the time. Yeah, whatever, maybe that’s just my love language, you assured yourself, despite knowing very well that it wasn’t true. 

Startling in your seat when you heard the crowd erupt in cheers, you tore your gaze away from the girls in front of you, cursing inwardly when you realised the game had ended and you’d basically missed the final sequence. 

“Did you see that?” Chenle turned excitedly to you, beaming. 

Laughing nervously, you nodded, surprised he couldn’t tell you were lying with how blatant you were being about it. 

“Now we wait,” you heard Renjun sigh, leaning back in his seat with his hands in his lap just as the girls in front of you had stood up, practically running downstairs to head over to the lobby to wait for Donghyuck. 

“I wish they could just mail them to his house or something,” you yawned, bending over to pull the bag of flowers out from underneath your seat. 

Peeping in the box to check if any of the flowers were damaged, you nodded in satisfaction when you found that they were all still in good condition. 

“I can’t wait, I’ve gotta go meet my girlfriend,” Jeno confessed, a sheepish smile on his face, warranting much teasing from the boys. 

“I’m hitching a ride with him, what about you Renjun?” Jaemin added, slinging his bag over his shoulder, the two of them giving Renjun an expectant look. 

Renjun looked almost contemplative, casting Chenle a glance before shaking his head, “nah, you guys go ahead, I can wait with them.” 

You walked with them along to the entrance of the venue, gripping the bag in your hands tightly, switching between holding Jisung’s bouquet in your hands and shoving it into the bag together with Donghyuck’s in your indecision. 

You watched as Chenle took a sip of the drink he bought for Jisung, an impressed pout on his lips as he nodded in approval. 

“Wow, I should give this place a good review, it still tastes pretty good even after all the waiting.” 

You shook your head with a huff, not being able to help the smile from your face, yet at the same time you were thankful Chenle was so calm while waiting, serving to help you calm your nerves as well. 

Renjun, however, was the opposite. Leaning against the wall you stood at, he shook his fringe away from his eyes as he let out a loud sigh, his features pinched in annoyance. 

“What’s taking him so long?!”

You laughed, “they’re probably still taking group pictures.” 

You could already imagine it, the way Donghyuck would pose ridiculously with his teammates, anticipating the shots he would show you later on. 

You tried to ignore the way the girls who had sat in front of you were now anxiously fixing their hair while waiting for Donghyuck, practically squealing in their giddy anticipation. 

Soon enough, (and thankfully before Chenle could drink too much of Jisung’s drink), you’d watched the double doors open, Donghyuck’s teammates walking out, your eyes widening when you saw who was next to him. 

Chenle had summoned Jisung over quickly, giving you a chance to calm down your racing heart that Hyunjin and Donghyuck were beginning to approach Renjun. 

Your excitement was short-lived, the girls having ambushed him before he could reach Renjun, holding out their small presents for him. 

“Donghyuck you were so cool today! You played so well!” 

“Yeah! You look really cool when you play!” You heard another girl chime in. 

Suppressing your feelings of annoyance, you decided to ignore them for the time being, tuning out their words as you tried to focus on your task at hand. 

“Here,” you shoved the flowers to Jisung, his eyes wide as he sipped on the drink Chenle got him, a surprised smile making its way on his face. 

“You bought these?” He mumbled through his mouthful of tapioca pearls, shaking his head to arrange his hair, though it didn’t do much since it was already messy from playing, sticking out at strange places. 

Rolling your eyes, you ignored the way Donghyuck was tugging on your hand, asking for your attention. 

“No, they’re from mom,” you shook your head, “anyway, are you two going out after this?” 

Chenle gave you a pleading smile, making you scrunch your nose up with a smile. You were never one to say no to Chenle. 

“Alright, go, just remember to tell mom you’ll be late, okay?” You reminded, watching as Jisung’s mouth fell agape in realisation, nodding appreciatively at you before he started to walk off with Chenle. 

Trying to keep your tone steady, you’d finally turned around to face Renjun, Hyunjin and Donghyuck. 

Your breath hitched at the sight of Hyunjin, whose stoic expression changed to a smile to greet you, bringing a hand up to wave at you. 

“Hey,” he huffed. 

“Hi,” you cursed yourself at how breathless you sounded, raising your hand despite Donghyuck’s fingers gripping tightly on the sleeve of your school sweater. 

You missed the offence in Donghyuck’s glare, said boy unable to believe that you were paying more attention to Hyunjin than you were to him at the moment. 

Like you said, Donghyuck was selfish, and he couldn’t stand the fact that Hyunjin was getting more attention from you than he was. 

What was this, a smiling contest? 

Donghyuck wanted to scoff, tightening his grip on your sleeve, though it didn’t seem to bother you, your mood seeming to have lifted just from seeing Hyunjin. 

Renjun seemed to have sensed Donghyuck’s tension, trying his best as he tried to divert your attention back to Donghyuck, trying to signal to Hyunjin that it would be better to leave the two of you alone. 

“Hey, yeah so you were telling me about that thing just now?” Renjun interrupted whatever strange exchange you were having with Hyunjin. 

His sudden question made Hyunjin’s eyebrows lower in confusion, earning a desperate look from Renjun (which you’d missed while you were busy looking at the pretty earrings Hyunjin was wearing). 

Donghyuck caught on quickly to Renjun’s intentions, the latter discreetly waving his hand in a silent plead for him to go ahead. 

“Right, okay, we’ll be off now. Bye!” Donghyuck beamed, his grip moving to your wrist before pulling you out of the venue. 

“Why’d you leave so quick? I was having a great time,” you scoffed, stumbling once he’d let you go, regaining your balance ungracefully, dropping the bag of flowers with a gasp. 

Donghyuck rolled his eyes, straightening out his jersey as if you’d gotten it messed up when he’d dragged you out from the venue. 

“Yeah, I could tell. I could see your heart eyes for Hyunjin from a mile away,” he scoffed, “actually, now that I’m thinking about it...” he helped you up, looking elsewhere as he pretended to be upset at you. 

You dusted off the bag, flinching away when Donghyuck had turned abruptly to face you. 

“Do you just come for my games as an excuse to drool over Hyunjin?” 

You grit your teeth, huffing as you shoved the bag containing his bouquet towards him, hitting him in the chest with your fist as you did so. Letting out a dramatic whine in feigned hurt, his eyes widened at the sight of the bag, his hand wrapping around yours and tugging the bag out of your grip. 

“What’s this? For me?” His smile grew, holding his shoe bag between his elbow and his waist, opening the bag and pulling out the bouquet with a slow gasp, his expression abruptly dropping, “please tell me these weren’t from your mom.” 

You groaned, walking ahead of him, “they weren’t. I bought them.” 

Donghyuck’s lips pressed against each other firmly, poorly concealing his smile, taking his phone out and holding it out as if about to take a selfie, beckoning you over with the bouquet. 

“Come here, I need evidence that this happened.” 

You tried to maintain your glare, though you couldn’t help the smile from your face, reaching over to take his shoe bag and water bottle from him, carrying it behind your back so it wasn’t visible in the picture. Taking the picture quickly, Donghyuck smiled at his handiwork. 

“You’re an ass, you know that? I spent the rest of my week’s allowance on your stupid flowers,” you laughed, swinging his shoe bag as you walked, turning to him with a smile, not being able to stay annoyed at him with how happy he looked. 

Maybe you weren’t so upset about spending your money on the flowers anymore. 

Donghyuck brought the flowers beneath his nose, inhaling and letting out a sigh of contentment, glancing at you before looking back down, pulling his phone out in his attempt to appear as nonchalant as possible. 

“Thanks,” he murmured. 

“Whatever. You played really well today,” you told him, “well, not that I understood what was happening during the game, but the girls just now seemed to have thought so too,” you shrugged, turning to him with a playful grin on your face. 

Clearing your throat, you tried your best impression of the girls that had approached him just now, “oh Donghyuck! You’re so cool when you play! You look so hot when you’re serious!” 

Donghyuck scoffed, trying to hide his blush by pretending to act busy booking a car for the both of you. 

“They never said that second part,” he scoffed. 

You shrugged, “yeah, well you didn’t hear them during the game. I never knew till now that you had so many girls thirsting over you,” you crouched down next to him, tired from standing. 

“Yeah, like how you thirst over Hyunjin?” He shot back, “anyway, the car’s coming in 5 minutes.” 

“Okay,” you acknowledged, “and by the way, I don’t thirst over Hyunjin.”

Donghyuck made an obnoxious sound to imitate you, folding his arms before he used his knee to nudge you, making you lose your balance and fall onto your bum. 

“Yeah, sure,” he drawled, a smug smirk on his face. 

The both of you sat in a fatigued silence until the car had arrived, Donghyuck having entered before you, setting the flowers carefully on his lap, fiddling with the packaging of the bouquet. 

You watched as he brought his phone up to check the time, swiping accidentally and revealing his reminders, one of them being ’29 days to my birthday!’ not being able to help the smile from your face.

“Are you having a party this year?” You asked, seeing him nod, yawning loudly as he shoved his phone back into his pocket, making you cast a worried glance towards the driver to see if Donghyuck’s volume had annoyed him. 

“Yeah, on the day itself. It’s a Sunday. Can you make it?” You frowned. 

“I was supposed to go visit my grandma that week, but I have to check with you again,” you told him, seeing his features pull into a frown. 

“Can grandma wait a few days more?” He sulked, and you turned your gaze away from the window to look at him in both disbelief and amusement, almost knowing he would have said that. 

You saw him leaning closer to rest his head on your shoulder, pulling his phone back out to change the subject, not wishing to let himself feel upset at the thought that you might not be able to make it for his birthday party. 

“Look, I came out really well in the pictures we took just now,” Donghyuck showed you the group picture of his volleyball team, making you zoom into where he was, conveniently standing next to Hyunjin. 

Donghyuck seemed to have realised this, swiping the picture so you were only able to see him in the photo, making you laugh, shoving his phone away. 

“Have you figured out what you wanted for your birthday?” You asked, trying to turn your head in an attempt to see his face better but not doing a very good job, giving up and settling on looking at his fingers which were touching the sunflower petals gently. 

Donghyuck thought off of the top of his head, wanting to slap himself when his first thought was that he’d wanted a kiss from you. He was definitely spending too much time with Jaemin. 

“No, I’m not sure yet,” he yawned, snuggling more into you, and you’d relaxed your shoulder in your hopes to make him feel more comfortable. 

You nodded, “think about it, okay? Let me know so I can get it for you.” 

You were thankful that you were already reaching your house, since Donghyuck was already beginning to doze off after a short period of silence, his head slowly sliding down your shoulder before he would jerk back awake and resume his previous position. 

Eventually, he’d pulled his head away from your shoulder, bringing his hand up to push his hair away from his forehead haphazardly.

“I’m so tired.” 

“Maybe you should try to sleep early today, you don’t have to wake up early tomorrow, do you?” 

He sighed, pausing before groaning, possibly with more anguish than his sigh, “I do. I’ve got some stupid student council thing tomorrow that I’ve got to be in school early for.” 

You gave him your best look of pity, “on a Saturday?” 

He nodded gravely, “we’re hosting the student council members from other schools too. I wouldn’t go if I had a choice but they’re giving me credits for attending, and you and I both know I need all the credits I can get,” he sighed, sinking down in his seat. 

Donghyuck noticed how you’d begun to gather your things, a part of him wishing he hadn’t fallen asleep so he could’ve talked to you more. 

Feeling the car start to slow down, he’d given you a tired smile, “bye.” 

You nodded, waving him goodbye before exiting the car. 

=== 

The next time you’d met Donghyuck was during lunch in school the next Monday, you were seated with your friends at your usual table in the cafeteria, away from the crowd so it wouldn’t feel stuffy but also in a position where you would have a direct view of almost everyone in the cafeteria. 

“Can you come for my finals match?” was the first thing he’d asked you upon squeezing himself next to you on the bench, your eyes falling onto his absence of his badge above his breast pocket. 

“Name tag,” you reminded out of habit, seeing him glance down at his chest before fumbling in his pocket to pull out his name tag, pinning it onto his shirt with haste. 

“It’s next week,” he told you, “on a Friday,” he added as an afterthought. 

You nodded, “I don’t think I have anything planned that day, for now.” 

“Okay, great. Text you later,” he beamed, about to leave when you’d grabbed his wrist before he could. 

“Are you not eating?” 

Donghyuck paused to process what you were asking, momentarily thrown off by your hand on his forearm, not to mention the way he’d almost let his heart flutter at your concern, shaking his head a little belatedly. 

“No, yeah. I’m eating with the dnyl guys,” you nodded slowly, letting go of his arm before waving him off. 

“Bye,” he left quickly, strangely excited after receiving the news that you would be able to go for his match, especially since it was his final match for your national competition among the different schools. 

Jogging over to the empty classroom he’d opened for the dnyl club to meet, he’d barged into the class, shocking Renjun with his loud entrance. 

“Oh my God, I thought you were a teacher,” his hand flew to cover his chest where his heart was, glaring at Donghyuck. 

The boy remained unapologetic, taking a seat at one of the tables they’d pushed together to form a misshapen circle. 

Pulling his phone from his pocket, he’d set it on the table. 

“So, did you ask them about your match?” Jaemin asked, tearing open the packaging of his bun. 

“Yep,” Donghyuck smiled. 

“Are you referring to Y/N?” Jeno asked, setting his phone down when it was still open on one of his battleground rounds, his interests clearly not being in his match anymore. 

“Yeah,” Donghyuck murmured, reaching over to grab a bun from the bag on Jaemin’s table. 

“How’s things going with her?” Jeno continued, making Donghyuck shrug, suddenly focused on getting the packet of bread open, 

“What do you mean?” 

Donghyuck sighed, at the difficulty of tearing the packaging open or at the topic, he wasn’t too sure. 

“You know, didn’t you have this whole plan to win her over by your birthday?” Jaemin chimed in, sensing Jeno’s confusion. 

Renjun eyed Donghyuck carefully as he saw his phone light up with notifications, Donghyuck glancing at his phone briefly before looking away almost in disappointment. 

“Who’s texting you?” Renjun murmured, earning confused looks from Jeno and Jaemin for changing the topic so quickly. 

Donghyuck managed to tear an opening in the packet with his teeth, taking a bite out of his bun, “oh, this girl I met on Saturday that was helping out at the student council event.” 

“Oh, do you guys have to do like a project together or something?” Renjun asked, though he knew better than to think Donghyuck actually did things for the student council. 

Donghyuck shook his head. 

“Nope, we’re just like..talking. She’s pretty nice, and like, fun I guess. She’s pretty popular too” he shrugged. 

Jaemin’s mouth fell open, looking almost offended, “what about Y/N?” 

Donghyuck shrugged, “what about her?” 

Jeno gave Renjun a surprised look, the both of them glancing back at Jaemin quickly to see what Jaemin would respond with. 

The latter scoffed, not seeming to understand Donghyuck’s logic this time. 

“Oh, well, maybe because if I were you and I really liked someone, I wouldn’t be hitting on other girls?” 

Donghyuck rolled his eyes. 

“I’m not...hitting on her, we’re just talking, that’s all there is to it.” 

Renjun let out a low whistle, the discomfort of the tension between Jaemin and Donghyuck feeling heavy in the room. 

“Whatever you say, man.” 

“Look, I do like Y/N. I really really do. But how am I supposed to know if things are gonna work in my favour in the end? I mean, I know I can try but, I’m putting myself up to get hurt too, you know?” 

Once again, Donghyuck proved that he was selfish, afraid to wear his heart on his sleeve like how Renjun did. Protecting it was first priority, especially when he still wasn’t clear on how you felt. 

Jeno pursed his lips, nodding slowly, huffing. 

“Well, I guess that’s what we’re here for. Think about it, you’re the only one out of the four of us that doesn’t have a girlfriend yet. If anything, our advice would be for your benefit, not the other way around.” 

Donghyuck wanted to groan. He wanted to believe them, he really did. But a part of him couldn’t shake the way even Hyunjin seemed to have more odds in winning you over than he did, the feeling of fighting a losing battle. 

But ultimately, Donghyuck nodded, dismissing the topic, “yeah, whatever. I don’t need love, right? That’s the whole reason Harvey made me join this stupid club anyway.” 

In other words, the only reason why Donghyuck joined the club was because he realised that seeing your stupid smile went from feeling familiar to feeling unfamiliar, and it was the kind of unfamiliar that Donghyuck knew was akin to the heart-pounding, time- slowing love that movie protagonists always went on about. 

And he figured he’d might as well surround himself with stories of unfortunate love lives, because he knew his was screwed. 

The boys exchanged knowing looks with each other, choosing to brush the topic off for Donghyuck’s sake. 

“So, how’s preparation for your match been going?” 

=== 

“I still can’t believe mom asked you to tag along,” you huffed, pushing the shopping cart with your body as you strolled past the cereal aisle, Jisung dumping several boxes into the cart. 

“Yeah, well, it’s not like I wanted to spend my night getting groceries with the both of you,” he glanced at the list on his phone your mom had sent him. 

Donghyuck was ahead of the both of you, looking at the party items in the other aisle. 

“Why’s he buying his birthday stuff so early, anyway?” Jisung asked, making you smile. 

“He’s excited. It’s best to leave him be.” You glanced down at Donghyuck’s phone, reading the list and checking off the items you already had. 

“How many people are you planning on hosting?” You called, getting Donghyuck’s attention successfully as you strolled over towards where he was in the supermarket. 

Donghyuck hummed, holding a long bag of plastic cups in his hand as he did his mental calculations. 

“Well, there’s the volleyball team, there’s some people from the student council, the guys and their girlfriends...some classmates—” 

You pulled out another bag of cups, handing it over to Donghyuck, “just get two to be safe.” 

“Does that mean I get to drink too?” Jisung asked, his eyebrows raising. 

You shot him a look, making him raise his hands in surrender.

“Forget I asked.” 

“So...if your volleyball team’s going, does that mean Hyunjin’s going too?” You asked, already anticipating Donghyuck’s reaction, not being able to help your giggle when you saw him look at you blankly. 

“If you keep this up, it’s gonna be the volleyball team minus Hyunjin.” 

You scoffed, “hey, I’ve gotta have something to look forward to, right?” 

Donghyuck pulled the end of the shopping cart towards another section, “is it not enough to look forward to the fact that it’s a celebration of my entering into this world?” 

Rolling your eyes, you looked back at the list of items on Donghyuck’s phone, about to retort with something witty when you saw an unfamiliar contact appear on the phone, frowning before reluctantly holding the phone out for Donghyuck to take. Mina? 

“Someone’s calling you,” you told him, Jisung bending over to read the contact name before giving you a confused look, expecting you to know who they were. 

There was a sinking feeling in you when you saw the way Donghyuck’s demeanour had changed upon reading the contact, taking the phone from you roughly and answering it, the tone of his ‘hello’ already making you question just who this person was that Donghyuck was so quick to answer. 

“Hey," he murmured, smiling at something whoever it was on the phone was saying to him. 

"Who is it?" Jisung whispered, making you shrug. 

"How would I know?" you shrugged, trying to listen in on the conversation but not being very successful. 

"Yeah, no I'm alright to talk," you heard him say, "nothing, I'm just out with my friends." 

You pretended to be occupied with the items in the shopping cart, oblivious to the way Jisung was eyeing the both of you. 

"Yeah, actually it's for my birthday party. Do you wanna come? It's on the 6th," he murmured, fiddling with the disposable plates he'd just picked up. 

Was he blushing? You couldn't believe the feelings of annoyance that were building in you at the sight of him. 

Since when was Lee Donghyuck so shy talking to his friends on the phone? 

You scoffed, getting Donghyuck's attention unintentionally, the boy looking at you expectantly. You chose to ignore his look, much to Jisung's shock. 

Jisung whipped his phone out discreetly, deciding that desperate times called for desperate measures. 

7:08pm -do u know anything abt this person called mina?- 

chenle 7:08pm -jeno says its the girl donghyuck's talking to- 

7:08pm -but doesnt he like y/n?- 

chenle 7:08pm -yeah he does but jeno says hes being a wuss... n personally i think y/n's in denial too- 

7:08pm - sure seems like it.. donghyuck's on a phonecall with her now n y/n looks more than pissed- 

chenle 7:09pm -maybe u shld ask y/n abt it later n see what she says- 

Shoving his phone back into his pocket, Jisung watched silently as Donghyuck ended his phone call, his smile lingering on his face a little too long for your liking. 

"Who was that?" you asked, hoping the edge in your voice wasn't too obvious. 

Unfortunately, it was, and Donghyuck couldn't help but let his smile grow at the thought of you possibly being jealous that he was talking to her.

"Oh, just this girl I've been talking to. Met her at the student council event that day." 

You scrunched up your nose, letting out a small sigh, "cool...so she's going for your party too?" 

Donghyuck narrowed his eyes at you, a small smirk playing at his lips. 

"Uh-huh. Why? Is there an issue?" he drawled, leaning over the side of the trolley to bring his face closer to yours. 

Yes, there was an issue. 

Although Donghyuck may be unapologetically selfish at times, you, for one, were not. You didn't think it was very supportive of you to be so possessive over Donghyuck. I mean, it's a good thing that he's meeting people, isn't it? It's not like we're dating, there's nothing to be jealous about. 

"No issue," you rolled your eyes, pushing the cart past him to head to the cashier. 

"What's up with her?" Donghyuck laughed, hoping Jisung would give him some insight on your feelings. 

Jisung gave Donghyuck a look of sheer disbelief. 

"What's up with you!" Jisung whispered harshly, confused as to what Donghyuck's intentions were. 

"Oh, so you're gonna shit on me for it too?" 

Jisung gave him a look, "not without reason.”

"Look, trust me. I got it covered. The last thing I would want is to fight with Y/N, alright?" 

Jisung glanced at you while you sulkily scanned your items at a self-checkout register, directing his gaze back to Donghyuck with a sigh. 

"I know, just....be careful." 

Later on that night, (or morning), Jisung had gone downstairs to grab a snack from the fridge, spotting you lounging on the sofa, practically glaring at the television. 

"What's up?" Jisung's voice snapped you out of your annoyed state, after being told that this Mina girl he was talking to was not only awfully pretty and sporty by your friends who knew her, but that her personality meshed well with Donghyuck's. 

"Nothing," you sighed, seeing Jisung raise his eyebrows, thinking back to what Chenle had told him and figuring now would be a good time to ask you. 

"Are you sure? You looked kind of upset since Donghyuck picked up that call." 

Your eyes widened, not realising your feelings had been so obvious. Shrugging, you'd fiddled with your phone. 

"What are you trying to say?" 

Jisung averted his gaze, sitting on the sofa next to you, hugging one of his knees to his chest. 

"Do you like Donghyuck?" 

You scoffed, almost choking on your saliva, looking at him with wide eyes. Opening your mouth, you closed it back again for lack of a good response. 

"'Cause....you know, it's kind of obvious that he likes you.”

You shook your head, huffing in amusement, "I don't know what you're talking about." 

"No, like really. The volleyball guys all think so, and so do his dnyl guys," you furrowed your eyebrows. 

"Volleyball guys? So Hyunjin knows this too?" you asked, wondering how ridiculous it would've seemed that you were so smiley towards him even when Donghyuck was right there. That is, if what Jisung was saying was correct. 

Jisung rolled his eyes. 

"Yes, I'm pretty sure he knows." 

You gasped lightly, "how many people even know about this? Okay, but, whatever that’s kind of beside the point. What makes you so sure?" 

Jisung contemplated telling you about just how much he mentions you or asks about you in their conversations, or how Donghyuck was visibly more affectionate whenever you were involved. Even how Donghyuck had been trying different ways to get your attention, particularly through inviting you to his games (but that didn't seem to be working out with how little you paid attention during the last one). 

Eventually, he figured it would be better if he didn't put ideas in your head, deeming it better that you figure it out on your own. 

"I'm just sure, okay? Maybe you should try just observing and seeing how much he does for you.” 

Jisung shrugged, getting up from the sofa, "maybe then you'll realise you like him too," he snickered, running up the stairs before you could respond. 

You rolled your eyes, going back to glaring at the television. Except this time, your gaze kept wandering to your phone. Curse Jisung for making you curious. 

Almost as if on cue, you’d received a text from Donghyuck. 

lee donghyuck 12:34am -u awake?- 

You had a few options in your head. Firstly, to ignore him and pretend you were asleep. Secondly, to reply him and bring up what Jisung had said as a joke. Thirdly, to just act like everything was normal yet not normal and that you weren’t totally scared that he was going to fall in love with Mina. 

The temptation to be selfish was there, of course, to just ignore the situation for the sake of your sanity and leave Donghyuck hanging. But you knew that your worry for him overrode all sorts of selfishness you could possibly give in to. 

For now, you’d chosen option three. 

12:35am -yeah, what’s up?- 

lee donghyuck 12:35am -can I call you?- 

You didn’t respond, choosing to find his contact on your own and dial his number. 

“Hey,” you sighed, hearing muffled sounds on his side before a small grunt and a thud, almost being able to picture Donghyuck

lying on his bed and talking to you, something about the mental image feeling endearing. 

“Hey.”

“What happened?” You asked, the question catching Donghyuck off-guard. 

Despite the countless number of times you’d called each other in the night like this, you’d never asked why, frankly not deeming it to be anything other than Donghyuck’s or your boredom. Only now, you were beginning to wonder if there were more to unfold behind these phone calls, and you were hoping Donghyuck would give you the answers. 

“Nothing, nothing happened, I just...like, you know...couldn’t sleep...and stuff.” 

You huffed, “you never sleep this early.” 

Donghyuck sighed, not knowing what came over him when he’d said his next words. 

“Do you want me to say I wanted to hear your voice for a while?” 

You fell silent, expecting to hear him follow up with a ‘kidding’ or a ‘because that isn’t why I called’, yourself growing anxious the more you didn’t hear anything else from him. 

Shifting on the sofa, you’d lay down and put Donghyuck on speaker, setting your phone next to your head. 

“Hello?” You heard him murmur, making you clear your throat. 

“Have you decided on what you wanted for your birthday?” You changed the subject quickly, trying to steady the beating of your heart. 

You heard him huff, his voice sounding tired.

“Yeah. I decided that...” Donghyuck caught himself before he could slip up like before, shaking his head quickly, “I want a plant.” 

Your eyebrows furrowed. 

“A plant?” 

“Yeah, like get me those, I don’t know like a plant I can take care of or something,” he panicked, “with a flower, like an orchid or something.” 

You frowned, nodding slowly as you tried to understand his sudden request. Meanwhile, Donghyuck couldn’t help the regret that washed over him that he’d wasted his birthday wish like that. 

“Okay, yeah. I’m feeling better now, goodnight.” 

Donghyuck hung up quickly, kicking his blanket in frustration, rolling over and burying his face into the pillow. 

Got it covered? Please. 

=== 

After much observation, you were starting to realise that Donghyuck meant many things to you, and you didn’t like how it took you a situation like this to figure it out. 

Firstly, with all his match preparations, Donghyuck was kept busy, but that didn’t mean that you wouldn’t receive all sorts of updates on him from Jisung at home. You were starting to wonder if he was a part of Donghyuck’s fan club as well. 

You were having your science lesson in the lab, Donghyuck being your lab partner (fortunately and unfortunately for you), the said boy looking more tired today than ever. 

“Are you alright? You look like shit,” you offered, pretending to be focused on removing your test tube from your beaker. 

“Feel like it too,” he brought his hand up to run it through his hair, “stayed up late last night to help Mina with this proposal she had to write up.” 

You scoffed, “you? Help her?” 

In your annoyance, you’d applied too much force on your tweezers, practically cutting your specimen before you could place it down. 

Donghyuck smiled, glancing at your annoyed expression after what happened to your leaf. 

“Yeah, what’s so shocking about that? I kind of owed her.” 

You stopped yourself from responding, deciding you shouldn’t be too bitter about their relationship. Shrugging, you shook your head in dismissal. 

“Nothing. I guess it’s nice that you guys can help each other out.” 

Donghyuck’s lips formed a surprised pout, his eyebrows raising slightly, not having expected you to be so gracious about it. 

“So, uh...have you told your grandma to postpone your visit?” He brought up later on when you were on your way back to class. 

You nodded, “yeah, I’m visiting her this weekend instead.” 

Donghyuck couldn’t help the smile from his face, looking elsewhere as he relished in the way the sun shone in through the corridors, the warmth mirroring what he’d felt building in his chest. 

“Nice.” 

You felt it too. The way his smile was like that of the sun rays he enjoyed so much, how it made you feel scared. Scared that you were so used to seeing him smile like that until now. 

You looked away quickly, hugging your books closer to your chest, accidentally brushing your finger against the paper, hissing when you’d felt a sting. 

Pulling your hand away from your books, you’d groaned at the sight of blood on your finger, making Donghyuck turn to you with wide eyes, his gaze falling onto your source of distress. 

The displeased sound that had left Donghyuck was even more obvious to you now, the way he’d gone to grab your wrist when you brought your hand to your mouth in your attempt to stop the bleeding. 

“You should be more careful,” he chided, making you nudge his arm away, his concern putting you on the spot even more now that you were getting confused over your feelings towards him. 

“It’s fine, it’s just a small paper cut.” 

Donghyuck furrowed his eyebrows, leading you back into the classroom and sitting you down on your seat, scuffling over to his desk and rummaging through his bag, pulling out a small pouch and making his way back to you. 

“I got these from Jaemin,” he grinned, squatting next to your desk as you turned to face him, watching closely as he pulled out a bright coloured, kid’s band-aid with Pororo the penguin printed on it. 

You lightly thumped him on the head, uncomfortable with the stares you were getting from the people sitting around you, wondering if they too thought that Donghyuck was interested in you. A part of you wishing now that Jisung hadn’t shed light on Donghyuck’s (possible) feelings for the sake of your sanity. 

“You’re being so dramatic, I don’t need a band-aid.” 

Donghyuck sucked in a sharp breath, his expression stern and unwavering, “shut up, just hold still.” 

He’d opened the band-aid, wrapping it carefully around your cut, leaning back with a satisfied smile to admire his handiwork. 

“All better,” he beamed. 

“Lee Donghyuck, please go back to your own seat,” you’d startled, your heartbeat audible in your ears, having barely noticed your teacher entering the classroom. 

Shoving Donghyuck away quickly and turning to face the front, your hands went up to press against your cheeks as Donghyuck calmly strolled back to his seat, giving your teacher a slow nod as he walked past her. 

Donghyuck had bid you goodbye before his training that day, telling you that he would call you that night because he had something to tell you. 

So you waited, you’d waited even though you knew that the volleyball team had gone out for drinks despite their game being the next day, running later than he’d estimated, and you waited until you ended up falling asleep with your phone in hand. 

Meanwhile, Donghyuck had gone home in a daze, partially giddy from excitement for his finals but also at the thought of what had happened earlier in the morning with you and your paper cut, not knowing that the small gesture was enough to send him reeling. 

Grabbing his volleyball, he’d flopped on his back onto his bed, tossing the volleyball in the air and catching it absently, thinking about what the volleyball team had brought up during dinner. 

“Y/N’s coming tomorrow for sure right?” Hyunjin had asked Jisung, a playful smirk on his face. This made Donghyuck narrow his eyes at Hyunjin, chewing on his noodles harshly. 

Jisung nodded, “yeah, I’m pretty sure.” 

“Why does it seem like her coming is so important to you?” Bomin laughed, making Donghyuck nod in agreement, nodding his head at Hyunjin in a challenging manner. 

“Isn’t it obvious? For Donghyuck’s sake,” Hyunjin smiled, his eyes forming small crescents as he did so. 

The sight would’ve been absolutely endearing for you, however, Donghyuck couldn’t help but scoff. 

“What do you mean ‘for my sake?’” Donghyuck huffed, narrowing his eyes at Jisung who had seemed to agree with Hyunjin as well. 

“You probably haven’t noticed, but...you play a lot better when she’s around.” 

Donghyuck sighed, laughing at the sheer absurdity of the situation. 

No amount of texts, calls or face-times with Mina would be enough to make Donghyuck change the way he felt about you, and it was a shame to him that he could only step out of his denial at this point of time. 

Yet, there was still a nagging fear of the possible awkwardness and tension that could arise if you didn’t reciprocate his feelings like how he assumed you did. A vicious cycle, really. 

Turning in his bed, he’d discarded the volleyball elsewhere in his room, taking his phone and unlocking it, his finger hovering over the phone app as he let his gaze fall on his wallpaper, the picture the both of you had taken on the day of his last match. The flowers were still on his tabletop, at this point, dried and ready to be displayed in his room however he wanted. 

Trying his luck, he’d called you, the ringing having woken you up from your slumber, picking up the phone call hurriedly. 

“Hello?” he huffed, already smiling without noticing. 

You hummed in response, too tired to form a coherent response. 

“Did I wake you?” 

“Uh-huh.” 

Donghyuck let out a small sigh, “sorry, just wanted to tell you to meet me tomorrow after my match ends.” 

You groaned, “you couldn’t have waited until tomorrow morning to tell me that?” 

Donghyuck had to stop himself from giggling at the sound of your voice, even if it was when you were annoyed at him. 

“No, I couldn’t. Goodnight,” he murmured, pulling his blanket up on his chest to hug it, closing his eyes in anticipation. 

“I hate you, goodnight.” 

Donghyuck shrugged, he figured he could live with that for now. His (rather irritable) lucky charm. 

=== 

You were running late. After Donghyuck had called the previous night, you struggled to fall back asleep due to your racing thoughts on possible things Donghyuck could have wanted to tell you. If anything, you’d probably only slept a few hours that night. 

Which was what landed you in this situation now, trying to get a cab from where you were at the bus terminal since you’d dozed off on the bus, even in spite of all the energetic music you were playing in your attempts to stay awake. 

Donghyuck should have seen it coming when you hadn’t answered his texts when he’d reached the venue. The match was already about to start and Donghyuck still couldn’t seem to spot you in the crowd. 

He’d stood up, looking frantically in the direction of where Chenle, Jeno, Renjun and Jaemin sat, mouthing with big movements, ‘where is y/n?’. A part of him growing even more anxious when he was met with shrugs and head shakes. 

“Lee Donghyuck, what are you doing? Go! The match is starting,” his coach’s voice rang in his ears, making him dismiss his feelings of anxiousness, trying to focus his thoughts on the game at hand. 

You were receiving many texts from the guys, all asking where you were, making you even more anxious that the cab driver wasn’t going any faster. 

As if that wasn’t bad enough, you’d met with bad traffic once you’d neared the venue, seeing as it was about time people were getting off work now, which only meant that you’d be close to missing the entirety of Donghyuck’s match, a horrible feeling of guilt stirring in you. 

You were sure Donghyuck would be mad at you, knowing how petty he was when it came to things like these. The last time you hadn’t been for his match, he’d never let you live it down, claiming he was so upset you hadn’t shown up and couldn’t focus on his playing properly. 

Little did you know, the same thing was happening now, Donghyuck was trying his best to not let his feelings interfere with his performance. 

After a particularly successful top-spin serve that had caught the other team off guard, since he’d usually played it safe, he’d turned on instinct to the direction his friends were seated at, expecting to see you there with a smile, his smile falling when he’d realised you still hadn’t arrived. 

You were barely reaching the venue when you’d gotten a text from Chenle. 

Chenle 6:11pm - are you still showing up? The match just ended - 

Looking out the window, your heart sank when you saw some people you recognised to be from your school walking on the pavement next to where you were, your attention diverted back to your phone when you heard another chime from your phone. 

Jisung 6:11pm -hey, where r u? Donghyuck said he’d wait for u at the back entrance. Me n the guys r leaving for dinner cause he told us to head over first- 

Your leg started to bounce in anxiousness once again, gritting your teeth before deciding that you couldn’t afford to waste any more time. 

“Uh, sir? I’ll just get off here,” you murmured, “can you unlock the doors, please?” You blurted. 

The man looked at you curiously, “are you sure? It’s quite a far walk.” 

“It’s alright! Thank you anyway,” you smiled politely, waiting for him to unlock the doors, immediately shoving the door open once he did and exiting, slinging your bag around your shoulder and running to the back entrance. 

Spotting him from afar, relief washed over you that he was still waiting. 

Running up to him, you almost hadn’t seen the girl standing in front of him, stopping yourself where you were, not wanting to interrupt them. 

Mina was currently standing in front of Donghyuck, asking him a question he frankly wasn’t paying attention to after having spotted you running from the entrance gate. 

“So....do you like me?” 

Donghyuck’s gaze was still on you, tearing his stare away from you reluctantly to look at Mina, his mouth moving before his head could process the situation. 

“Uhhh...yes?” 

Donghyuck immediately regretted his words, especially when he saw the smile Mina had given him, also because she didn't have to look twice to know he wasn't paying attention. 

Only when he'd agreed, Donghyuck knew that something about his decision didn't feel quite right, deciding that he'd explain his situation in more detail to Mina the next time they met so she wouldn't get the wrong idea. 

"So... I'll see you Saturday night then?" Donghyuck nodded. 

Bidding him goodbye, Mina had turned her head to look at you, bowing her head slightly in a greeting before walking off, leaving you standing there dumbfounded as Donghyuck made his way towards you. 

Glancing at the serious look he had on his face, you were expecting him to scold you, to tell you how upset he was that you hadn't shown up, not expecting him to give you a shy smile, bringing his hand up to smooth your hair down, after it having gotten dishevelled while you were running. 

"Was that Mina?" was all you could ask.

Donghyuck huffed, feigning hurt, "no ‘hello Donghyuck how was your match?’" 

"Hi," you added after his prompting, "what did uh..." your tongue wet your lips that were feeling awfully dry all of a sudden, "are you...mad at me?” 

Donghyuck shook his head, a small smile on his face, shocking you at how gracious he was being all of a sudden. 

“What did uh, you know, what did Mina ask you?” you cleared your throat. 

Donghyuck's hands were still cupping the sides of your head, "she asked me out." 

Your eyes widened, knowing his hands on your head hadn’t prevented you from hearing him loud and clear, a part of you dreading the answer to your next question but knowing you had to ask anyway, "did you say yes?" 

Donghyuck looked at you, taking the side of his lower lip between his teeth gently and letting go immediately after. Was he being selfish? 

Donghyuck nodded. 

His response seemed to have triggered a stream of thoughts in you, ranging from feeling sad to hating why you were sad at the news to desperately trying to suppress your emotions because Donghyuck was your friend and you should be happy for him, right? 

You pursed your lips, nodding slowly as you gave him a small smile, bringing your hands up to pull his hands off of your head. 

"That's great. I'm...really happy for you, she seems like a great girl." 

Donghyuck's eyebrows raised slightly, surprised at your reaction, having obviously expected you to react how you usually did, with passive aggressive comments and subtle hostility in your gaze. But none of that could be seen from you now, if anything, you looked almost....sad? 

"I think uh.. I'll skip out on dinner today, you and the guys can go ahead," you told him, "I kind of wanna go home and rest." 

Donghyuck nodded, not wanting to prod you more, a part of him feeling that you weren't in the mood for it today. 

He'd pulled his phone out while you walked to the front entrance, "I got you a driver, he's coming in 10." 

You heard your phone chime, taking it out to see the details of the driver Donghyuck had sent you. 

"How much do I owe you?" you asked, earning a disgruntled sound from him, shaking his head. 

"You don't owe me, consider it...compensation. For having to rush over here just now just to meet me." 

That reminded you.

"Right, I almost forgot. What was it you wanted to meet me to tell me?" 

Donghyuck swung his shoe bag, kicking the ground absently before he looked back at you, shaking his head with a small smile. 

"It's alright, forget about it," he waved you off in dismissal, "It's not important.”

You frowned. Not important? Lee Donghyuck, kept me worried all night just for something that's suddenly not important? 

You scoffed, folding your arms and looking elsewhere, your grip tight on your phone, making your knuckles almost turn white with how tight your hold was. 

"Go, you're gonna be late for the dinner," you told him, not being able to handle the sight of him with how mixed your feelings were. 

Donghyuck was hesitant, the slight raise of his eyebrows seeming almost disbelieving. 

"You sure?" 

You paused, not knowing why you even bothered giving this thought, decidedly nodding your head. 

"I'm sure." 

=== 

"Are you sure that's gonna work? Like....she won't be mad at you when she finds out or anything?" 

Donghyuck shrugged, sipping on his drink calmly. 

"Well, that's kind of the point. She wouldn't be getting mad unless she liked me," Donghyuck brought a finger to his temple, looking at Mina with a playful glint in his eye, internally claiming himself to be a genius for this idea. 

"So...your plan is to get her so mad that she confronts you?" 

Donghyuck nodded, grinning widely in the hopes that his optimism would convince Mina. 

Mina tilted her head hesitantly, looking down at her drink, "and you're sure this'll work." 

He nodded again, earning a resigned sigh from Mina. 

"Okay, fine. I'll do it. But only because you really like her, and I don't think I can handle seeing you silently pine over her any longer." 

Donghyuck's grin grew wider if that were even possible, clasping his hands together triumphantly, already feeling as though half of the battle was won. 

Pulling out his phone, he'd gone to his Instagram, because yes, Donghyuck wanted to make sure you would've seen it even when you were all the way at your grandma's house. 

Taking a picture of Mina and posting it, he'd chosen an intentionally ambiguous caption in the form of emojis just to push your buttons (knowing you would be frustrating yourself while trying to figure out what it means). 

"What's this?" Mina asked. 

Donghyuck wriggled happily in his seat, satisfied with his post once he was done, “phase one." 

And sure enough, Jisung never heard the end of your monologue called 'they should just get married while they’re at it but you know what I’ll just be happy for them: no big deal' 

=== 

After that day, you'd gone days without speaking to Donghyuck. And though that wasn't anything out of the ordinary, since your relationship was at a stage where you could go ages without seeing each other but still remain just as close, contacting each other often. 

However, this time it was different for you, knowing that the reason behind his packed schedule was his frequent meetups and study dates with Mina. 

As if Lee Donghyuck ever cared about studying. 

Donghyuck was currently laying on the floor of the school gym, having finished a particularly tiring training session with some of the guys from the volleyball team. 

“Are the rumours about you and that girl true?” Bomin asked, earning a loud groan of protest from Jisung. 

“Yeah, speaking of which,” he sat up from the floor with a grunt, his towel draped over his head as he pointed a finger at Donghyuck, “I’ve got a bone to pick with you. Are you dating Mina?” 

Donghyuck rolled his eyes.

“What if I said I was?”

Hyunjin frowned, his eyes narrowing in confusion, “didn’t you say you liked Y/N?” 

Donghyuck nodded, “I do.” He shrugged, fiddling with his shoelaces as his lower lip jut out in a pout unconsciously. 

“Then what’s going on with Mina?” Jisung’s tone was exasperated, not understanding how you could like someone as frustrating as Donghyuck. 

“It’s fake,” Donghyuck laughed, amused at how seriously everyone around him was acting, wondering if you were feeling equally as serious. 

Jisung fell silent, his mouth agape and his finger hanging in the air, not quite understanding the situation at hand. Hyunjin on the other hand, was quick to understand Donghyuck’s intentions, raising his eyebrows in surprise. 

“Is this to make her jealous?” He asked, earning a feigned look of uncertainty from Donghyuck. 

“Well, that’s the plan.” 

Jisung let his back fall back against the floor, kicking his legs and punching at the air with his arms as a sad whimper left his lips. 

“I hate you, Lee Donghyuck. I really do. It’s your fault I’ve been getting an earful from her recently,” he whined, getting up abruptly, draping his towel around his neck. 

Donghyuck’s eyes widened, “good. Hang in there a little more. It’ll be a matter of time before everything falls into place,” he reached over to pat Jisung on the shoulder, a sweet smile on his face. 

Hyunjin took his lower lip between his teeth, pursing his lips as he averted his gaze from Donghyuck, finally speaking. 

“I don’t think this is a good idea.” 

Donghyuck sighed, “You too? Just trust me, okay? I’ve known her for like...a long while now. And knowing her, she’d be crazy jealous if the guy she liked was doing this. And she wouldn’t be quiet about it either.” 

“You can’t just tell her you like her like a sensible person?” 

Donghyuck hummed, “I will, okay? Don’t worry about me, I’ve got it covered.” 

Jisung huffed, “yeah, right.” 

Sighing, Donghyuck had stood up, sighing as he bunched his towel up in his hands, beginning to walk over to his backpack. 

“I’ll be heading back now, gonna meet Mina to...discuss,” he waved, slinging his backpack over his shoulder and leisurely exiting the gym. 

9:48pm -hey, wanna come over to hang?- 

Donghyuck received your text while he was with Mina, hesitating before replying you. 

lee donghyuck 9:48pm -alright, you can pick ill be there soon- 

Figuring you shouldn’t jump to conclusions as to why he was still out even though Jisung had returned from the gym, you’d lounged on the couch, scrolling absently through social media while you waited for him to reply. 

Deciding to play some music while you waited, you’d begun to doze off when Donghyuck had arrived, the boy entering the house anxiously only to spot your head lolling around as you tried to fight your drowsiness. 

Walking over to where you were as carefully as he could, he leaned over, letting out a breathy giggle out of sheer affection, reaching out a hand slowly as he deliberated on whether he should wake you, feeling as though it would be selfish of him if he did just because he wanted to spend time with you. 

Unfortunately for him, Donghyuck had stepped on a pillow you'd pushed onto the floor previously, letting out a small yelp as he tried regaining his balance. 

You'd startled awake, looking up with wide-eyes at Donghyuck who had his hands stretched out beside him as he'd managed to stop himself from falling, looking at you with a sheepish smile. 

"Hey," he straightened up, his hands flopping down to his sides, letting out a small sigh. 

Funnily enough, it took you more than a few moments to realise you weren't dreaming. 

The sight of Donghyuck in his pyjama pants and a simple black t-shirt indicating that he’d showered before coming over, the way he’d smelled of his shampoo and looked ready for sleep had you in a daze, wondering how you’d let yourself get to the point where just looking at him was enough to send you spiralling with your thoughts. 

Shaking your head, you spoke, voice slightly hoarse, “sorry, kind of fell asleep while I was waiting," you brought your hands up to rub at your eyes with your palms, letting out a small yawn. 

Reaching over to grab your phone, you’d turned your music off as you regained your composure. 

Donghyuck took a seat next to you, shifting his body so he could face you more, one of his hands resting on the back of the sofa comfortably. 

“Are you tired? Do you want me to come over another time?” He murmured, earning a firm shake of the head from you. 

“It’s fine,” you dismissed the thought quickly, not adding the part where you had missed him. 

Donghyuck nodded, leaning back so his head was resting on the plush armrest of the sofa comfortably, reaching over for the remote control and turning the television on, turning on a movie the both of you had probably watched a million times but never gotten sick of. 

“Did you go anywhere before this? I was wondering what was taking you so long when Jisung came home earlier,” you mumbled out of curiosity, leaning back comfortably on the sofa in a position that mirrored Donghyuck’s, your legs bent at the knees and leant against the sofa next to his, which were stretched out fully. 

You’d felt one of his hands rest just above your knee comfortably, his thumb rubbing your leg gently. 

Donghyuck glanced briefly at you before directing his gaze back to the television, “oh, you know, just went to meet Mina for dinner.” 

You nodded slowly, a low hum leaving you, “oh...cool.” 

He seemed happy. You didn’t want to make him feel bad about being with Mina just because you had a problem with it. You’d never even thought much about him at first, it wouldn’t have been fair if you just claimed him as yours when he was already in a relationship with Mina, you figured. 

Donghyuck sighed, his hands stretching out in a force of habit gesture he would use to beckon you to cuddle with him, only now realising that that may not have been all that appropriate considering he was supposed to be pretending to date Mina. 

“That’s nice. I’m really happy for you that you found someone like her,” you mustered with a small smile on your face. 

You’d sensed his reservation too, feeling as though you were both being banished to either end of the sofa, not allowed to go any closer. 

Donghyuck frowned, your reaction seeming to have been unsatisfactory for him. 

“Really? You’re not like...mad or anything?” he prompted, making you laugh. 

“You sound like you want me to be mad,” you huffed, flustering Donghyuck into opening and closing his mouth, fumbling with his words. 

“I mean like, no, like, you are entitled to feeling however you want about it, like...” he stopped himself, “you’re really not mad?” 

You sighed, turning away from the television to look at Donghyuck, who was already looking at you bewildered. 

“Look, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t bothered by the fact that you’re a lot busier now, but what kind of friend would I be if I couldn’t even support you when you’re happy with her?” 

Donghyuck shut his lips tightly, not knowing how to react to your statement, wondering if he was wrong to assume that you had feelings for him. 

You hummed, letting your legs rest over his slightly as you turned your body to face the television. 

Donghyuck inhaled deeply, debating on whether or not now would be a good time to tell you, but knowing that it would put you in a tight spot since he hadn’t ended things with Mina yet. 

Today, Donghyuck figured he shouldn’t be selfish. 

Choosing not to pursue the topic more, Donghyuck had let you continue to watch the movie. Though as you did so, laughing and cooing at the happy and sad parts of the movie, Donghyuck couldn’t keep his gaze from wandering to you from time to time. As if it was second nature for him to gauge your reaction during the comedic parts just to make sure you were enjoying yourself. 

Or maybe, it was just an excuse to look at you, the line had blurred a long time ago for him. 

Only later on in the movie, Donghyuck couldn’t help but let his thoughts wander to how you felt towards his (fake) relationship, picking up his phone to distract himself only to see the many texts that had flooded in from the dnyl chat group. 

renjun 12:59am - donghyuck what is this about you and mina - 

jeno 12:59am – yeah! I heard from chenle abt it...- 

renjun 1:00am - I think this is possibly the worst idea you’ve ever had - 

jaemin 1:00am – I don’t want to lie to y/n >:( 1:00am – - im gonna tell Harvey -

jeno 1:02am – same! n btw chenle said she felt rly bad about missing ur match –

renjun 1:02am – jeno idk how that’s relevant but sure we’ll take it –

jaemin 1:03am – a part of me is kind of curious how this would play out at hyuck’s party though – 

jeno 1:03am - oh right, isn’t it this weekend? - 

renjun 1:03am - yeah it is - 

jeno 1:04 am – how are u guys getting there? are we helping Donghyuck set up? – 

jaemin 1:04am – I’m cool w that - 

Donghyuck typed out his reply discreetly enough without you noticing, too distracted by the movie. 

1:20am -trust me I have a plan- 

Setting his phone down on the coffee table, he’d looked at you, debating on whether or not to ask you what was weighing on his mind, catching him off guard when you had turned to look at him, eyebrows raising curiously. 

“What’s wrong? The movie’s over” 

Donghyuck paused, turning to realise that the movie was indeed over and he hadn’t paid attention at all for the last bit. 

“Nothing. I was like...was wondering if you were gonna come early this weekend to help me set up for the party.” 

You felt a tinge of disappointment, hoping it hadn’t shown too much in your expression as you gave him a delayed nod, letting out a small sigh that you masked to be because you were tired. 

“Yeah, of course,” you huffed. 

Donghyuck nodded, getting up abruptly, “I should probably be heading back now, you should get some rest.” 

You frowned, but nodded nonetheless, “okay,” you stood up, walking closely behind him. 

Donghyuck contemplated asking if he could stay over, almost forgetting his entire plan for a second (and then wondering if he even had a legitimate plan in the first place), his hesitation causing his body to function faster than he could process, turning around abruptly without warning. 

His sudden halt making you yelp, almost colliding into him and stopping yourself just in time, Donghyuck reacting quickly and reaching his hand out to grab your arm in an attempt to steady you. 

Something about the air had thickened with tension then. Donghyuck blamed it on his prior racing thoughts, because looking at you now, he definitely did not have a plan. 

You, on the other hand, blamed it on the way you weren’t even focused on the movie to begin with, too occupied with hating the feeling of pining after somebody that was already taken. But whatever it was, you knew that you didn’t have much of a plan either. 

This was too close. You should’ve stuck to whatever 2 metre radius you had on the sofa just now, because if you were already distracted by his presence then, it was definitely a lot worse now. 

You could smell the fabric softener of his shirt, feeling him squeeze your arm gently as you dared yourself to look up at him, your breath hitching at the way he was looking at you. 

Maybe you were just imagining things. 

Like how you were ‘imagining’ the way he seemed to be leaning closer to you, his gaze flickering between your features to ultimately end up on your lips, almost as if he was gravitating towards you. 

Donghyuck scoffed. The universe was basically begging me to kiss my close friend.

Just as you’d felt yourself leaning closer as well, you’d begun to process what was happening, stepping back quickly and averting your gaze, suddenly interested in what was in your kitchen. 

“I should go.”

You huffed nervously, “yeah, you should.” 

Donghyuck nodded, wordlessly leaving your house, shutting the door behind him as he left, the only sound left being the trailer for whatever movie was on the television sounding throughout your living room. 

=== You were sure this was going to be a very long day. 

You’d just bought your present for Donghyuck from the florist, packing it carefully in a nice bag before you headed over to his house, only to have arrived at Donghyuck’s house to see him and Mina busy with preparing snacks. 

You’d entered the kitchen to be met with a laughing Donghyuck and a squealing Mina, joking around as they prepared the various food and snacks. 

“Oh, hey, you’re here! Is that a gift? If it is you can put it up in Donghyuck’s room,” she smiled at you. 

You’d returned her smile out of politeness, ignoring the way Donghyuck was looking at you as though he was searching your face for any emotions that were out of the ordinary. You hoped you weren’t being too obvious with your forced smile, turning quickly so you could let your smile drop, wanting to roll your eyes. 

What was this? Their housewarming party? 

Huffing, you’d left the kitchen, meeting Hyunjin and Jisung on the way upstairs, Jisung nudging you as a greeting as he continued down the stairs. 

Hyunjin reacted quickly, calling out to Jisung, “hey, I’ll meet you downstairs later,” he called, turning around and accompanying you upstairs. 

“Hey, how’ve you been?” he asked, earning a shrug from you, opening the door to Donghyuck’s room as you took the plant out of the bag. 

“I’ve been good, I guess. You?” you spoke as you walked over to his balcony to place the small potted flower on the small table he had there, admiring the way it looked. 

“Uh... good too...I guess,” he huffed in amusement, bringing his hand up to the back of his neck, fiddling with his collar. 

Hyunjin figured he’d might as well try to distract you from paying too much attention to Donghyuck and Mina. 

“D’you wanna help Jisung and I with the decorations?” he offered, earning a nod from you. 

“Yeah, sure. Not like I have anything better to do here,” you shrugged, letting him lead you downstairs to the living room where you saw Jisung and Jeno sitting on the floor at the coffee table, focused on cutting something to decorate the makeshift backdrop Donghyuck had where the photos would be taken later on. 

“Where’s the rest?” Hyunjin asked, making Jisung and Jeno look up. 

Jeno gave you a smile in greeting, beckoning you over to sit with him.

“Jaemin and Renjun went to collect the balloons. Chenle....” he looked at Jisung in the hopes that he would know where his friend was. 

“In the kitchen spying on Donghyuck and Mina.” 

You scoffed, not being able to help the laugh from bubbling out of you. 

“He should leave them alone, wouldn’t want to spoil their alone time.” 

Hyunjin gave you a surprised look as Jisung scoffed, “please, as if they don’t get plenty of alone time as it is.” 

You’d made a displeased sound, knowing you agreed with him but not wanting to be sulky about it. 

“Yeah, well,” you’d cut a piece of tape to hand to Jeno, “It’s not like I can tell him who to spend his time with, can I?” 

Jeno perked up at the statement, “yes, you can. You totally can. You should definitely do that.” 

Assuming they were joking with how quick Hyunjin and Jisung were to agree, you’d let out a chuckle, shaking your head. 

“Y/N, can you follow me to go hang these up?” Hyunjin asked, holding up the many streamers he had hooked onto his fingers, earning a nod from you. 

Holding his arm out for you to take, you couldn’t help but wonder why you weren’t feeling as excited as you usually would be if a situation involved Hyunjin. Choosing to ponder over the thought, you followed him over to the backdrop setup. 

Sitting on the table where the cake was supposed to be, you’d pre-cut various pieces of tape, pasting them on your arm, holding it out for Hyunjin to access it more easily as he hung up the decorations, your gaze constantly wandering over to the kitchen where you could see Donghyuck whispering something to Mina, earning a giggle from her. 

“Does it bother you?”

Your attention was directed towards Hyunjin, making you frown. 

“Huh?” You did a once-over of the decorations, shaking your head, “nah, I think what you did was fine. Maybe move that one a little to the left.” 

Hyunjin burst into laughter, shocking you at the sudden outburst as he shook his head, speaking as he calmed down. 

“No, I was talking about those people in the kitchen,” he told you pointedly, making you look back at the kitchen to realise who he was referring to. 

You shrugged, letting out a sigh instead, unsure how to reply Hyunjin.

“I figured. You’d been staring at them ever since we came here.”

You scoffed. “I wasn’t!... okay maybe I was, but it doesn’t mean anything, I swear.” 

Hyunjin huffed, “I thought Jisung was a bad liar but... I’d say you’re a lot worse.” 

“Maybe it runs in the family,” you sighed. 

You’d averted your gaze quickly when you saw Donghyuck exiting the kitchen, making his way over to where you and Hyunjin were, your presence together with him clearly having struck a nerve with him. 

“Hey,” he murmured, standing next to where you sat on the table, so close that your legs were touching his hips. 

“Careful now, wouldn’t want your girlfriend getting jealous.” 

Only then did Donghyuck register your words, not having given it a single thought when he’d approached you, the only thing in his head having been to make sure Hyunjin wasn’t trying to hit on you. Little did he know, you wouldn’t have noticed even if he was, your head preoccupied with thoughts about Donghyuck. 

Taking the tiniest of steps away from you, he glanced over in Mina’s direction, seeing her prompt him to carry out what they’d discussed. 

“Not much of a girlfriend, if you asked me,” Donghyuck shrugged, making your eyebrows knit in confusion, a small pout appearing on your lips. 

“Really? Thought you guys seemed to be getting along pretty well,” you murmured. 

Hyunjin was trying his best to eavesdrop, taking particularly long to hang up each streamer. 

“That’s kind of the thing...” he began, your conversation interrupted when the doorbell rang, making him halt your conversation to go and answer the door, leaving you hanging. 

Hyunjin turned around, a scandalised look on his face. 

“What was that!” he whispered harshly. 

You handed him the last piece of tape on your arm with a wide-eyed look, shrugging, “beats me.” 

You’d seen Donghyuck walking back into the room, with Chenle, Jaemin and Renjun following behind him, before parting ways and walking over to where you and Hyunjin were, Jaemin and Renjun beginning to display the balloons. Or more accurately, Renjun displayed them while Jaemin gave him compliments. 

Jaemin stood next to where you sat, leaning on the table, his arms folded in front of him. 

“I trust their artistic direction,” he gestured to them, “the last time they did the banners for the school’s valentine’s day fair I ended up with a girlfriend.” 

Renjun scoffed, “speaking of which, where are they?”

Jaemin shook his head, “nope, couldn’t make it cause they’ve got some family dinner.” 

You nodded in understanding, seeming a little uninvested in the conversation, but Jaemin figured he knew why, being able to sense that you were a little preoccupied with your continuous glances cast towards Donghyuck and Mina’s direction. 

“Who knows, maybe their weird art magic will help you get a boyfriend too,” Jaemin nudged you. 

This had only caused your frown to deepen when you’d immediately visualised Donghyuck as your boyfriend, shaking your head in dismissal. 

Mina had noticed you staring, leaning over to Donghyuck, “I don’t think your plan is working very much.” 

Donghyuck sighed, “I know. I’m honestly close to giving up, but I just need a chance to talk to her alone later, I swear I’ll tell her everything then.” 

Mina narrowed her eyes at him, “okay. I’ll try to create an opportunity, but you’d better make sure you tell her. I can’t bear seeing her look so sad,” she scolded, mustering a smile before she’d left to talk to the other guests Donghyuck had invited. 

Soon enough (thankfully), the decorations were done and Donghyuck had started to play music in the house, bringing out the snacks and food for everyone to eat. You’d taken your seat next to Hyunjin and Jisung since Donghyuck seemed to be a little preoccupied with Mina. 

Which, of course, you had to lie to yourself again and say you didn’t mind. 

You were thankful for Hyunjin and Jisung’s presence, of course, since it had managed to distract you from being sad over seeing Donghyuck being happy with Mina and taking food for her or how she would brush his hair back for no reason and oh, how much you wished you were Mina. 

You were about a hundred percent sure you liked Donghyuck, in the least best-friend way possible. 

Somewhere along the way, when people had brought out the drinks and everyone had been lounging and using their phones for a while, you’d heard someone call for everyone to gather so you could play games. You figured you were up for it, since you were never one to refuse board games, so you didn’t mind when Donghyuck had brought out his ‘Jenga’ set. 

You decided to play in teams since there were so many of you, and you’d teamed up with Hyunjin since Chenle had teamed up with Jisung, while Jaemin preferred to be the (arguably unnecessary) ‘referee’. 

Somehow or another, you were stuck in a difficult position, having to bend your hand awkwardly to get the piece you had chosen out, and in trying to get into a favourable position, you’d somehow ended up having to squeeze yourself between where Donghyuck sat and the coffee table, trying not to let yourself lean against him. 

“Don’t choose that one, choose that one,” you’d almost jumped at his hand that had gone next to yours, grabbing your hand and directing it to the piece he was referring to, your breath hitching as he did so. 

Your heartbeat was beginning to pick up speed, as you tried your best to do so, unappreciative of the commentary Donghyuck was giving from behind you, even to the extent of leaning over so his head was mere inches away from your ear as he directed you calmly. 

It wasn’t as if you were the only one feeling tense, Donghyuck’s gesture had warranted many stares and wide eyes from the people in the circle, making you eager to get this over with.

Unable to take it, you’d barely moved the piece when you raised your hand abruptly, “Hyunjin, you do it. I can’t.” 

Donghyuck backed away quickly, raising an eyebrow at you as if he didn’t know why you’d given up, making Mina roll her eyes at Donghyuck, “now that’s just cheating,” she told him. 

Hyunjin had taken over for you, and for many more turns afterwards. You were thankful when Jisung had lost since you decided you had enough of this game. Proposing another game, you had hoped they had another board game prepared, since you were sure Donghyuck had more than a few in his storeroom. 

Unfortunately for you, they seemed to have other plans, with Mina (you were too distracted by what the game was to pay attention to who said it) proposing a game of ‘Truth or Dare’. 

As if you hadn’t been put on the spot enough today already. 

The first few questions were simple, typical of the game. Simple questions of this or that whenever people chose truth, everyone seeming too afraid to start choosing dare. 

Soon enough, it was Jaemin’s turn to ask a question, humming in thought as he scanned the circle. 

“I pick Hyunjin.” 

You weren’t paying much attention, glaring at the coffee table after you saw Donghyuck slinging his arm around Mina’s shoulder, letting her rest her head on his chest as if it was second nature to them. 

Hyunjin scoffed, “truth,” he answered without missing a beat. 

Jaemin stuck his tongue out at Hyunjin teasingly, “If you could date anyone in our school who would it be?” 

“Y/N?” Hyunjin answered, earning a glare from Donghyuck (and many low sounds of surprise from the rest). 

Donghyuck searched your gaze for a reaction, something stirring in him when he didn’t spot the look that he usually saw you wear whenever you saw Hyunjin. Strangely, this time you looked as though you didn’t care much for his answer. 

“Would you ask her out?” 

Donghyuck scoffed, standing up abruptly, making everyone’s heads turn to face him, amused at what would have triggered his outburst since he’d been so willingly upholding whatever happy-couple façade he had with Mina. 

“This game is boring. Let’s play something else,” he blurted, making you scoff. 

What was he doing getting so riled up over a question that wasn’t even for him? 

Donghyuck’s outburst had caused the crowd to dissipate, the boys gathering at the sofa to play video games on Donghyuck’s console, everybody seeming to have returned to their state before you started playing games. 

Mina nudged Donghyuck, “now’s your chance, go and talk to her. I’ll make sure no one interrupts you guys.” 

Donghyuck heaved a heavy sigh, nodding slowly, his confidence from before seeming to have returned as he stood up, making his way over to where you were, laughing at something Hyunjin had said. 

“Hey,” you heard Donghyuck’s voice, looking up to spot him standing with his hands shoved in his pockets, his body language a contrast to what he was feeling. 

“Hey?” you answered, unsure what he was approaching you so aggressively for, but slightly thankful that you were getting some sort of attention from him today. 

“Can we talk? Like..upstairs,” he gestured with his head in the direction of the stairs, making you nod slowly, growing nervous at his sudden request, your thoughts having immediately wandered back to what he’d said just now about Mina, wondering if that was what he’d wanted to talk to you about. 

Hyunjin gave you an encouraging nod, wanting you to go up with Donghyuck, prompting you to do so. Letting him lead you upstairs, you reminded yourself repeatedly to keep calm, that this was your close friend you were going to be talking to. Your close friend that had a girlfriend. Your close friend that you really really liked that had a girlfriend. 

Entering Donghyuck’s room, he shut the door behind you, walking over to the balcony, and leaning against the railing, shutting his eyes as the breeze grazed his cheeks, finding that he would much prefer your touch on his cheeks. 

“So, uh,” you began, “what did you wanna talk to me about?” 

“Don’t date Hyunjin.” 

You frowned, leaning with your back against the railing so you could look at him, your arms folded across your chest, “what?” 

“I don’t think he’d be a good match for you,” Donghyuck shrugged, going completely off course from how he’d initially planned on approaching the topic of his feelings. 

Scoffing, you glanced at the orchid flower sitting on his balcony table, rolling your shoulders back before speaking. Friendship, new beginnings, you remembered the florist telling you when you’d asked for what the flower symbolised. 

“That’s what you wanted to talk to me up here about?” 

“Well, no but—” 

“Since when did it matter to you?” 

Donghyuck looked down at the small view he had of the neighbourhood, his voice coming out firmly, “it always mattered to me. You just never noticed.” 

You weren’t sure what he was getting at. His words were doing nothing to help your feelings for him, if anything, it made you even more confused. 

“What if I was going to date Hyunjin? Does that mean you’d tell me I couldn’t?” 

“Are you going to date Hyunjin?”

“What does it matter to you if I date him? You’re already with Mina.”

Donghyuck scoffed, “It matters because I don’t like it.” 

You groaned in frustration, your hands going up to brush your hair back harshly, “so what? Just because you don’t like Hyunjin means that I have to give him up?” 

Donghyuck turned to you, nodding as if it was his legal right to dictate your love life. “Fine, so go downstairs and ask him out, then.” 

“I’m not doing that.” 

“Well, why not?” 

“Because I don’t wanna ask him out,” you shot back. 

“Then there shouldn’t be a problem with me telling you what I think, right?” 

You scoffed, not wanting to let him manipulate you into confessing your feelings for him. Blinded by frustration, you’d let yourself slip, “well if that’s the case then I can say that I don’t like you dating Mina either! Does it mean that you’re gonna break up with her?” 

“I will if you want me to.”

You fell silent at that, unsure how to interpret what he’d said. 

“This isn’t how it’s supposed to be, Donghyuck. I’m supposed to support you as your friend, and you’re supposed to support me. You look happy with Mina, so I’m supporting you. Shouldn’t you want me to be happy too?” 

Donghyuck narrowed his eyes at you, tipping his head back in frustration before he’d made his way in front of where you stood, his hands going on either side of the railing next to you, caging you on the spot. 

“Then can you say for yourself that you’d be happy dating Hyunjin?” You hesitated.

“... No,” you murmured, averting your gaze anywhere except for him. 

“Then who would you be happy with? Tell me, and I’ll tell you what I think.” 

“I don’t care what you think—” 

“Tell me who, Y/N.” 

You rolled your eyes, upset that he was putting you on the spot like this, deciding to look him in the eyes, despite the warmth you felt pricking at your eyes, “you’re being mean.” 

“Just tell me,” Donghyuck insisted. 

“Okay, fine. It’s you, okay? Are you happy now?” you scoffed, “look, you’re perfectly happy with Mina and as your friend I should respect that—” 

“We’re not just friends and you know it.”

Donghyuck groaned in frustration, his grip tightening on the railing as he kept his gaze on you. 

Just for a moment, Donghyuck had managed to make you forget about hesitating. The way he was looking at you, it’d almost made you believe that he wasn’t with Mina, that everything else could wait but in this moment, he’d wanted it to just be you and him. 

“That doesn’t make sense...” you murmured, though that hadn’t stopped you from staring at his face, trying to get a sensing of just what it was that he wanted from you. 

Donghyuck had a few options, to tell you now about the fake relationship and risk you getting mad at him. To stop himself and tell you about how he’d been planning on breaking up with Mina. 

But his last option, the most selfish of all, was to just let himself have this moment with you, and deal with the repercussions of it later on. 

Donghyuck chose to be selfish. 

Leaning closer to you, you’d found yourself looking up as well, his gaze replaced by a more determined, decisive one, as he glanced at your lips, inching closer so your lips were barely touching. 

Not being able to handle the tension any longer, you chose to be selfish too. 

Apologising to Mina in your head, you’d brought your hands up to cup his face, bringing him closer to you to meet your lips with his, hearing him sigh as he kissed you back. 

Donghyuck wasn’t sorry, not at all, especially when he’d removed his hands from the railing to grasp at your waist, his other hand moving from your waist to cup the side of your face, holding you firmly as if he was telling you that he wasn’t going to let go first. 

Coming to your senses, you’d stopped yourself just as he tried to deepen the kiss, pulling back breathless with your chest heaving, your hands dropping from his face as if they’d been burned. Donghyuck tore his gaze reluctantly from your lips, soft breaths leaving him as he bit his lip, trying to process what had happened. 

You shook your head, instantly feeling horrible that you’d kissed him but the worst part being that you knew you made the choice on your own. 

“I’m not supposed to be doing this with you. How could you let me do that, you have a girlfriend!” you gasped, your hands flying up to cover your mouth, staring at him scandalised. 

Donghyuck stood dumbfounded, “wait, let me explain. It’ll all make sense.”

You shook your head, pushing his arms off of you as you took a step back from him. 

“Settle your shit with Mina before you talk to me. You can’t just assume you can go behind her back like this and that we’ll both be okay with it,” you scoffed. 

“That’s not how it works. It’s not the same as saying you love both your mom and your dad. I need you to make a clear decision and not put me through this anymore,” you blurted, your words coming out a mile a minute with how flustered you were. 

“I’m sorry, I’m leaving. Happy birthday.” 

Donghyuck parted with the feeling of your hands cupping his face, now met with the cold breeze once again. 

=== 

It wasn’t as if you wouldn’t see Donghyuck in school. You did, except he hadn’t made a move to reach out to you first, since he figured you still needed some time to collect your thoughts. 

You’d only heard halfway through the week that he’d broken up with Mina (much to Jisung’s relief), though strangely, he didn’t seem very different to you. 

Not that your information gathered through furtive glances in his direction during lessons were of any indication. 

He’d surprised you on Friday morning, when you’d been freezing in the classroom because your school sweater was still in the wash, looking stupid as the only student that hadn’t brought a worn the sweater. 

Only upon returning after a trip to the washroom in between lessons to try to warm up your body with a walk, you’d spotted the presence of a school sweater on your desk, and the lack thereof on Donghyuck, who fiddled with his tie nonchalantly, supporting his head on his arm which was on his desk. 

Lifting the sweater, you were about to hang it on your chair, stubbornly not wanting to give him the satisfaction of you putting it on, only to reveal the big scrawl on your notebook that you could only identify as Donghyuck’s handwriting, reading : ‘don’t be stubborn and wear it. You’ll freeze if you don’t’. 

Huffing, you’d reluctantly put on the sweater, your fingers grazing lightly over the small student council pin near the collar, not wanting to make it too obvious that the comfort and warmth of the sweater was absolutely needed, simply looking down at your notebook and flipping the page. 

You’d stayed behind in school that day to get some work done in the library, not expecting to have spotted Jisung and Chenle there, the group approaching you to greet you. 

Chenle’s eyebrows raised in surprise. 

“I’m guessing you and Donghyuck have made up already? God, it was so hard keeping all that fake relationship nonsense he had with Mina a secret from you—” Chenle stopped himself once he saw your expression, instantly regretting opening his mouth. 

“I’m sorry, his what?”

Chenle directed his gaze elsewhere, shrugging, nudging Jisung with his foot in his panic, making Jisung shrug, “uh..what? I didn’t hear anything, did you?” 

“Where is he now?” you spoke, not sure whether you were happy or angry that the situation turned out this way. All you knew was that you needed to see Donghyuck and give him a piece of your mind. 

“He’s uh...he’s in the council room with the dnyl guys.” 

You stood up, gathering your things quickly and bidding Jisung and Chenle goodbye, Chenle pulling out his phone to text Donghyuck. 

chenle 7:19pm -y/n just found out n shes super mad at you prepare yourself- 

Donghyuck had pulled his phone out, not being able to help the giddy feeling in him from arising.

“Why? What’s got you looking so happy?” Renjun asked. 

“Y/N found out.” 

Renjun frowned, not knowing how Donghyuck could be so happy about his impending scolding, leaning over to Jaemin and Jeno to murmur, “I think he’s lost it.” 

You weren’t even sure what you’d wanted to tell him as you were storming towards the council room. I mean, you knew you needed to confront him, yet you couldn’t quite phrase your words in your head, all of them seeming to do no justice to your true thoughts and emotions. 

But before you knew it, you were already in front of the council room door, with no prepared speech whatsoever, shoving the door open and glaring at a smiling Donghyuck. 

“Lee Donghyuck, we need to talk. Now.” 

You’d left the room, waiting impatiently until the doors opened again, Donghyuck walking out calmly, his hands in his pockets like before. 

“Hey,” he breathed. 

“Hey? Hey? You lie to me about something so big and kiss me to confuse me and now all you can say is hey?” you scoffed, hating the way he was smiling at you because whatever it was, it was making it harder for you to stay mad at him. 

Donghyuck didn’t care, he was happy. He didn’t care if you were mad at him, or if you were gonna nag him until your voice went hoarse. He didn’t care about whatever you could possibly throw at him because he was so happy that you were finally telling him truthfully about all the emotions you were feeling. 

“You’re wearing my sweater,” he pointed out calmly, as if you hadn’t just showed up to the council room fuming. 

You flushed, trying to ignore the way you’d felt somewhat shy under his gaze, choosing to cover it up for the sake of your pride. 

“I didn’t come here to play spot the difference, Donghyuck.” 

Donghyuck let out an amused huff, “I know. Look, I’m sorry I lied to you,” he said, letting out a breathy laugh. “My initial plan was to just make you so jealous that you would crack and admit your feelings for me. But that didn’t seem to be working very well.” 

You scoffed, “oh, it worked. It worked very well. I was so jealous I couldn’t even think straight. I should’ve known it was fake, this is so like you.” 

“Well then why didn’t you show it?” he pouted. 

You gave him a look of disbelief, “because that was how much I liked you! I didn’t want you to feel bad just because you liked someone that wasn’t me. I’ll have you know, I was trying very hard to be supportive.” 

He grinned, his hands coming out of his pockets to fold his arms across his chest calmly, scrunching his nose up cutely. 

“I know, Jisung told me.”

You rolled your eyes. The anger you were feeling from before dying down, now being overtaken by the giddiness from the thought that this meant that Donghyuck reciprocated your feelings, and there was essentially nothing stopping the both of you from pursuing these feelings. 

Donghyuck gave you a soft smile, stepping forward to wrap his arms around you, resting his chin comfortably on your shoulder, “are you still mad?” 

“You’re really manipulative, you know that? It’s so hard for me to stay mad at you.” Donghyuck laughed, his hands rubbing your back soothingly, “good.” 

“Now...because the last one didn’t end very well, can I have a second try?” Donghyuck pulled away from you, his hands on your shoulders as he leant back to gauge your expression. 

“At what?”

“Trust me, close your eyes.” 

You frowned at him, but obliged, not being able to hide your smile when you’d felt his hand cup the side of your neck, instantly knowing what he was about to do, feeling the confirmation of his lips press against yours not long after. 

Watching from the inside of the room, Jaemin let out a relieved sigh. “Awfully dysfunctional dynamic, but I’m glad it worked out for them.” 

Jeno hummed in agreement, “maybe Jaemin was right about your weird art magic, Renjun.” 

Jaemin scoffed, “of course I’m right,” he let out a gasp, “wait...but doesn’t that mean we won’t necessarily be needing the club anymore? Since all of us are kind of...you know, taken?” 

“I vote we keep the club,” Jeno suggested, earning a low impressed sound from Renjun.

“Thought you were the one that said this club was stupid, huh?” 

Jeno shrugged, “guess Harvey was right...about what exactly, I’m not very sure but just...right.” 

“Speaking of Harvey, we should probably tell him about this...development.” 

Donghyuck pulled away from you, burying his head in your shoulder shyly, “I don’t think this is appropriate to be doing on school grounds.” 

“Oh so now you want to be a rule-abiding council member?” Donghyuck huffed, maybe being selfish wasn’t such a bad thing after all, especially when it came to you. 

Donghyuck scrunched up his nose, letting out a thoughtful hum, “... on second thought, maybe we should head out of school so we can continue this in peace.” 

[kulluto]

lol ur theater theater sounded cringe. my school went thru a wacky history of theater teachers (one had to leave bc the choir teacher was her husband and he did some statutory shit and then our next teacher was fired because he was a racist fuck.) Then our current teacher is finally better, but the point im getting at here was she told me that directors in schools should never make students perform in plays with heavy topics (trauma as such) and that should only be left to adult performances bc Adults can consent to reenact trauma but kids dont and should not

my high school theater was cringe enough that i ended up dropping theatre after i graduated. your current teacher is right though i think having a group of 15-17 year olds perform a high school play about super heavy subjects is not a good move like ik it really messed with some of my classmates at the time and nobody seemed to care they just wanted to put on this stupid show that wasn’t even fun to watch -_- theatre teachers are very hit or miss i think especially in your case 😭

[locria-writes]

Which high school tropes/cliches would MC, the ROs and any other characters you want to include (like Doradeira, Yunning, etc.) be in that High School AU?

i feel like as much as we love a good high school au, it’s probably super difficult to actually translate abea into it without everyone suddenly being uber creepy to poor mc (/‿＼✿)

mc

the new grade 12 transfer student who fits the ‘sick lonely rich kid’ trope

channels that “i’m so tired of everything pls let me graduate and move on with my life” vibe 1000% of the time, and is always so confused about everything like why is everyone so intense all the time????

childhood friends with lulu, and probably only really ever talks with him or ouren bc even though they’re weird, they’re a normal kind of weird. more or less adopted by doradeira as her new best friend tho, and azorius is just kinda,,,,,there??

doesn’t really fit into any ‘clique’, but bc she has friends in “high places” (lulu and doradeira), nobody really picks on her

either in art club (art focus), choir (charm focus), science olympiad (scholar focus), or archery club (war focus)

probably has a secret club of simps fawning after her that lulu fights off idk and she probably never gets it when he confesses to her lol

launcelin

the history teacher who’s waaay too overqualified for his position bc he has a phd in history, despite only being in his late twenties

super intense in class bc he gets really passionate about history lol. his tests and assignments are probably really hard, but he’s always willing to give extra help and extensions

disowned and disinherited by his dad, and has honestly never been happier -- especially since he took in ouren as a ward/adopted son, and now has most of his life together

has terrible taste in women and an awful dating history, so he’s just happy to be single and literally doesn’t get why so many of his female students (and some male) are so interested in his love life

supervises a bunch of weird and obscure clubs bc his students asked him to, and doesn’t really get any of it, but happily supports them

has a soft spot for mc since she’s his best friend’s little sister, and honestly, he identifies with her confused and tired energy

vezian

a grade 12 jock who’s also the heir to this massive business, and boy does he have the arrogance to show for it

has the exact personality you think -- arrogant, conceited, but surprisingly charismatic, and does have a soft side every now and then (mostly regarding doradeira)

has a very strange and vitriolic rivalry with lulu bc the latter beat him at the elections; super popular otherwise, and bc he isn’t totally disrespectful most of the time, liked by a lot of teachers too, except for launcelin bc he constantly fights with his older half-brother (despite the latter ignoring him most of the time)

totally still a manwhore who probably has a new gf every month or so, but at least he doesn’t do anything cheesy like the “omg one month anniversary!!!” so almost tolerable??

probably does all kinds of sport, but i’m gonna say lacrosse, since it’s just snobby enough, and violent enough for him. probably also a student council member and spends most of the meetings arguing with lulu

has a list of girls he wants to “date” before graduation, and unfortunately, mc is at the top of it

lu’anyu

the grade 12 hustler who’s literally in so many clubs it’s not even funny and half the school is convinced he sells drugs on the side

lives off of red bull and whatever scraps mc feeds him at lunch and everyone swears that he sustains himself off of stress

likes taking the piss out of vezian, but in a very eloquent and passive-aggressive way; very popular otherwise bc he has a princely demeanour, but is a surly old man at heart

has a lot of admirers, but everyone is too intimidated to ask him out, and are now convinced he’s dating mc anyway

thrives off of stress -- student council president, wrestling, archery, science olympiad, debate -- nobody knows how tf he does it, not even the teachers

heart eyes only for mc; keeps confessing to her, except he doesn’t do it in a straightforward way, so mc never gets it lol

ouren

the accidental heartbreaker of grade 12, but everyone loves him anyway bc he’s just too nice and sweet (plus, he’s a great ‘in’ to get to launcelin)

literally always has something nice to say (or just polite if it’s launcelin), and some people swear they see a beam of sunlight when he smiles

one of those ‘popular’ kids who has a lot of friends, but very few close ones. vibes a lot with mc, and surprisingly doradeira, and gets along weirdly with lulu

an unintentional heartbreaker bc he’s so suave and charming, but he’s never intentionally flirting, and always tries to gently turn down confessions

lives in the art room most of the time; always has paint smears on his uniform and hands, and mostly does landscape paintings

has a crush on mc and is so confused??? too afraid to confess, so he’s just happy to be friends with her

doradeira

for the sake of a consistent timeline, is vezian’s twin, and queen bee of the school (inadvertently; she just couldn’t stand the last one lol)

kind of a bitch, but the good kind? literally couldn’t care less about what other people think, kind of petty, stands by her own morals, and won’t compromise them ever

as a queen bee, she has to be popular, but she is just really well-liked in general? a bit too outspoken, but generally isn’t really mean or unnecessarily petty, and is undeniably a fun person to be around; adopts mc as her new best friend bc why not

would love to dip her toes into the dating scene, except vezian keeps scaring away any guy who so much as looks at her wrong. she’s not very amused

i wanna go full on cliche and say she’s a cheerleader, but she also kind of gives off drama kid vibes (except drama kids will never be popular rip)??

azorius

a pretty average grade 12 kid, nothing insane or weird about him really

is really normal? he’s mostly polite and kind of shy, but not overly so in any way

just kinda exists in the social hierarchy. he’s not super popular, not unpopular, just smack dab in the middle. has friends, but no one really close, and doesn’t really have any enemies either

hasn’t really dated much, and doesn’t really intend to. he’s satisfied with being single for the next while anyway

probably more on the sporty side, so wrestling maybe? lacrosse? not a star player, but definitely better than average

just kinda goes *heart eyes* at mc on first sight. major simp what can i say

[yume-fanfare]

hi i am that anon from like 29th Dec (last dang year) who said i read ur tsuki no hime and loved it and that u understand Aizou. i have read more of ur stuff since then and now i NEED to ask you for writing advice, on both characterization and general writing tips since I didnt mention it before. Sorry about that! i just forgot i sent an ask and i do not get notifs at all (or does anon asks not get notifs?) Also, ART STUDENT! That's why the nice art and art leaning!! I feel smart for sensing it

oh yup, tumblr doesn't send notifs for anon asks! but i'm glad you did see the answer anyway

this post is hideously long, so answer under the cut!

so, on characterization: it is mostly a matter of what would they say, rather than what you want them to say. the joke about "the characters do what they want to" instead of what the writer wants is pretty much true if you want them to be in character lol (that's why sometimes a little bit of OoC isn't too bad)

checking the source material is the most important thing: look at prior similar interactions the characters have had and how they reacted

this is kind of hard with LIPxLIP, as there aren't that many translated texts about them but with honeyworks the most canon and reliable thing to use as reference are the mvs. the mvs are drawn in a way that can pretty much be understood even if you don't have the lyrics, and sometimes it's even better if you can't read them, to properly focus on the images better

look at their expressions closely: while aizou is always explosive in his anger, yuujirou often has a more indifferent expression. so, when they fight, aizou is probably the one to blow up first while yuujirou maintains his composure better. it's kind of the classic "this was only a brief passing panel but i am going to expand on it" www

but the thing about fanfiction is that it's always a bit of a character analysis in itself. you don't start writing having already a color-coded folder of possible situations and reactions a character would have for each setting. you just throw the characters in a scenario and then think from there onwards, and eventually you'll be able to have the folder of situations and what you think their reactions would be like. (though, this links back to the prior point, if the characters have gone through a similar situation in canon, use that as guide! plus, finding little references to canon when reading is always fun)

for general writing, i'm going to mostly talk about my own experiences and process! i'm in no way a professional though

the basic is reading a lot. not just books but also fanfic. in fact, since you're writing fanfic, i Encourage you to read fanfic. even if your story ends up novel length, the way of treating the story is different from that of an actual novel. for example, because you're working under the premise that everyone knows the characters already. the general style of fics is different as well.

in fact, the style is the main reason i'm saying this slfkslfkslkf

read a lot of stuff and find a style you like. think of it as sewing together pieces from here and there to make a frankenstein amalgamation: this person's metaphors, the comparisons from here, the descriptions from there

personally, i adore the "long one-shot with a long title formatted (like this)" fics that are mostly feelings and descriptions and as little dialogue as possible, and some that occasionally play with the "show don't tell" rule, and some months ago i read a book whose descriptions amazed me because you could feel what the character was focusing on the most, rather than being general descriptions of the situation (i actually have a lot of thoughts about descriptions but that's a post for another day). but also i really like dialogue and plot-driven stories, descriptions can get boring and before trying to break rules, you have to be really good at following them

but, let's go step by step: developing an idea

for this i'm going to mostly reference the multichap i finished a while ago as an example

i started with just a few vague concepts in mind: non-idol au with aizou who does some sport and likes music but is insecure about his singing and yuujirou who does some music related thing and encourages him to sing in a way that's somehow related to the hozier song to noisemaking (sing), because it's what inspired me to write in the first place

then, from then onwards i wrote down what would happen in the first chapter of the story bullet-point-list-style, including things like the roommates part or the clubs the boys were in (at first yuujirou was in the choir club lol the change was a last second decision that idk why i took) and then bits of dialogue here and there that would be The Turning Points. those first dialogues were for the fight at the end of ch 1, the apology-date in ch 3 and then some vaguely unused ones for the "yuujirou encourages aizou" part, as those were the first key moments i thought of

because, since it's enemies to friends to lovers, an important aspect was character development

not all fics have character development bc not all of them are long enough (if you're aiming for short and sweet then there's no need). but if they do, i recommend you write down how the character was at the beginning of the story and then how they were at the end and then fill in the middle later, think of what those key turning points that made the character change were (the more little things you add, the more gradual it'll be)

samishigariya illustrates this very nicely: the song starts and finishes with the same lines, but the ending ones feel more light-hearted. the beginning has pre-arisa ken and pre-getting-along-with-yuujirou aizou, when they were the lonely people the title mentioned, and the ending, when they're not lonely anymore. the in between can be seen in depth during the other songs: ken before arisa was a playboy who didn't take love seriously, but after meeting her he realized that games were not all there was to love; and aizou used to be quite cranky and high-key a loner, but then he "meets precious things and knows of love". i will not elaborate on that because this isn't an aiyuu post but Oh You Know

for the fic, aizou would go through that same process, more or less: someone who doesn't really form meaningful connections with people but who, in the end, would end up having quite a bunch of people who care about him as his relationship with yuujirou advances too

since the relationship was the main focus, i wrote a very simple outline for how it would develop throughout 5 hypothetical chapters that was just: 1. civil w each other but mostly bad > 2. bad > 3. half friends > 4. pining > 5. date

and then with that in mind and the bullet point list, the final basic outline ended up like this:

there were scraped ideas and ideas that made it in later, but i believe having a simple outline, a bare skeleton to add things to, is important. stories need continuity, development requires a prior buildup

it's especially important in multichapter fics where you post as you write, you need to have a more or less clear idea of what's going to happen because you can't ignore scenes you've already posted

shorter stories don't need it as much, you can think as you go, but it's still helpful to know where you're going with things to avoid getting stuck

and, on getting stuck: don't be afraid of deleting things. if you can't figure out how to continue things, then delete the situation and start again. it might feel like you'd be wasting time but in the end, it is so much better than being stuck on the same scene for weeks

in fact, you don't have to write in order. jump to the next scene and you'll figure it out later. you Can write the scene you want to write and then build everything else around it

it's normal to write a scene and then realize it would make more sense later in the story, or that it would be better if you added another scene earlier, or sometimes you just find it easier to jump from one part of the story to another. rely on your outline to keep track of what you've written, what you have left to write and what's the best way to arrange your story. make your story understandable

which bring us to editing

there's a lot of much better posts on editing stories, but yeah ctrl+f is your best friend: don't repeat yourself too much. and be sure to vary sentence and paragraph length, as well as sentence structure, to give dynamism to the writing

now, i've mentioned before the show, don't tell rule, but i'm going to talk a bit more about it because it's quite important

once again there's a lot of posts that explain more in depth what it is, so i'm not going to expand too much on that, but, very basically, try to avoid things like "then some time passed and they became friends". explain it: what happened exactly? how did they become friends? if it's important, show it to us, instead of summarizing

since things like these make the story longer, it also gives room for more development and proper explanation for things that happen

for example, the fic was originally going to start with them already in the room, and the whole situation would have been explained in a single paragraph somewhere, but by actually adding the scene where they first arrive to the dorms and argue with the lady at the main desk, the story flows better and it let me actually describe their first meeting

and uuuhhh i think that's all? this took super long to write i hope i didn't forget any super basic stuff lol

i want to add that for enemies to lovers i greatly recommend this post bc it's super good but yeah i think that's basically it, if you have any more specific questions just shoot me an ask

[yeocult]

ATEEZ as high school students

HONGJOONG the art kid

he’s that one kid who never pays attention during class but gets good grades anyways

you can find him in two places; in the art room painting away or sitting on that staircase that nobody takes making music

everyone loves him, all the teacher loves him, your mom loves him

fall asleep in class and when he’s caught he’ll be like “i was just thinking”

probably has a large following on insta

really hardworking though

knows exactly what he wants to do in life already

has questionable fashion sense but that’s what makes him unique and stand out

really friendly to everyone but lowkey two-faced lol

SEONGHWA the stressed one

ALWAYS stressed

please give him some rest

comes to class with coffee every morning

really smart and studies hard

tutors for a certain amount (mans gotta make money)

gets pissed at them when they don’t understand lol

has the best homemade lunch

everyone has a crush on him but he’s only open to his close friends

will be a kiss ass to the teacher if he needs to

definitely has that bad boy vibes but is really sweet

usually hangs out with hongjoong or yeosang

has aesthetic study inspo quality notes

probably majoring in respecting women after high school

YUNHO the teacher’s pet

all the teachers favorite him and it shows

gets average grades

type of friend to wait for you when you tie your shoelace or go to the washroom with you

very social but only sticks to his group of friends

knows all the tea and drama

probably gossiping with wooyoung

can be too nice :( even to people who don’t deserve it

will not hesitate to call someone out for littering/not recycling

we love a sweetheart who cares for the environment

type of say after school to help out different clubs even if he’s not in them (not in any club since he’s not committed enough)

YEOSANG the emo kid

wears black 8 days a week

quiet and brutal

whenever he opens his mouth it’s borderline offensive

can’t stand people who doesn’t get his humor or jokes  

always has earbuds in a beanie

(have you ever seen me without this stupid hat on? THAT’S WEIRD) (sorrynotsorry)

very introverted around people but just straight up weird around his friends

doesn’t socialize much but talk shit about him or his friends, you’ll get DESTROYED (keep in mind he’s the second strongest of ateez)

has the shittiest handwriting, it’s like trying to crack a code

but he’s really smart and is good at studying

bribes his teacher occasionally

SAN the church boy

try hard in school

asks seonghwa for help almost every day because he wants consistent grades

he’s really smart though, just insecure about his abilities :(

acts all gangsta at first but then his dimples show

big softie for his friends

respects women and his seniors

i feel like he’s in debate team (i mean just watch how defensive he got about correcting hwa about sliver power ranger)

definitely in choir (have y’all seen predebut church boy san??)

plays volleyball as well (he played libero)

is there anything he’s not good at??

gets so loud and annoying with woo and mingi

films all the dumb shit woo does

him + woo = 2 in 1 package

MINGI the slacker

doesn’t even try in school

but still manage to get decent grades

does projects last minute

uses short people as armrests

he’s a social butterfly

people will say they’re friends with him but he doesn’t even remember half the people he talks to

somehow blew up on tik tok and instagram and woo is jealous

you can hear his music through his earbuds (are his ears okay???)

if his friends do something embarrassing like trip, he’ll do the same so they won’t feel embarrassed

a sweet heart

steals everyone's food

confidence level 100000 (we love our leo king)

before every test he’s like “i’ve never failed a test since birth”

clings onto yunho, just two giants vibing

WOOYOUNG the class clown

everyone views him as a fukboi but he surprising is good at school (mostly bc hwa will give him shit for having bad grades)

always with san and together they are so ANNOYING

most likely to become a frat boy

loves organizing parties and surprising good at making ppl who usually don’t go attend his parties (aka yeosang)

everyone loves-hate him

really good looking and he KNOWS IT

his laugh is really contagious (it’s what gets him all the bitches

hwa always has to watch him or he’ll do some stupid shit

will not shut up for one second

probably has a big following on tik tok or some shit

“i’m here for a good time not a long time”

JONGHO the jock

in every sports team you can think of

in the rugby team? soccer team? archery???

he’s in all

always has some sort of injury tho

laid back

he’s just naturally good at everything including school

the designated driver at parties since he can hold acohol pretty well

the school’s treasure, won most of their medals

really mature for his age

always has his friend’s back

answers teacher’s questions correctly even if they think he wasn’t listening

he’ll just be like “hah you thought”

good at keeping everyone’s secrets

really nice and friendly with everyone

[donkey-hyuck]

Bus Ride Away

^^ song based off of Bryce Xavier

A/N- the lyrics are italicized, whether they are dialogue or included into the story separately. And in no way is this story based on the title (sorry) just based off of the lyrics and meaning. A lot of cursing! Lots of time skips

Word count- 6.9k

Genre- angst/ some fluff/ post breakup! Au/ college! Au (almost half of the story)

Characters/pairing- jung jaehyun X Fem! Reader (not really bc they don’t get back together, sorry if that’s not what you wanted but it’s my story lol😝)/ Johnny Seo/ mentions Mark and Taeyong/ original characters (Byeol, Hina)/ extras that aren’t prominent to the story.

Introducing- after three long years of loving him, your love died out. Jung Jaehyun had been your high school sweetheart and you wouldn’t have it any other way. From junior year in high school to your freshman year in university, you gave each other your all. After ending it on good terms, you moved on easily. While your ex lover had less luck with falling out of love with you. Years had passed by and Jung Jaehyun still had so much love for you, and when you received an email from “an old friend” you definitely weren’t expecting it to be him.

The lyrics of the song that are mentioned are NOT in order of how the song goes.

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾

Falling in love with Jung Jaehyun at sixteen was all you could ever ask for. He was the star athlete during all seasons, he had high marks when it came to academics, he was a part of the dance club, and he sang so well when auditioning for plays that the school held, getting the lead role almost instantly.

Falling in love with you at sixteen was all Jaehyun could ever ask for. You were a part of the tutoring service at school, captain of the girls volleyball team, head of the theatrics, a part of the student council, and was the lead singer during choir.

The two of you were the idol couple. Of course people were jealous of one or the other. Hell, students from across town admired the two of you. As a couple, you and Jaehyun had been a part of so much during school and extracurricular activities, helping students, teachers, and the community. There was just so much cheer whenever you two were around. And you remained as a couple through senior year graduation, making people think the two of you would last forever, for sure.

But somewhere during the first semester of your freshman year in university, your love for Jung Jaehyun had slowly dialed down. Too caught up in your music- theory and composition major and communications major, you had realized you didn’t have enough time for Jaehyun. The two majors you were enrolled in were quite opposite therefore, meaning that you didn’t have enough time to share with Jaehyun. It was upsetting because you loved the man so much, but you wanted to have a good job, and you wanted him to excel at life. Being in a relationship was something you had never seen in your life, always thinking it was a bit of a burden. So when Jung Jaehyun had asked you out, it took some time to respond and reciprocate his feelings. And when you agreed to go out with Jaehyun, he treated you like a small chinese porcelain doll. You meant everything to him.

“Can you meet me at the lake near campus? I need to tell you something.” It was so nerve wracking as your fingers moved across the keyboard on the screen. Contemplating on sending it, you acquired that it was bound to happen at some point. And now was that time. Walking toward the small lake you and Jaehyun would meet when you needed to relieve your stress, shivers had crawled down your spine and through your whole body.

“Hey, what did you want to talk about?” Asked Jaehyun from the little arched bridge. Nervousness filled you up again, you were not expecting him to be there first. You had wanted to reach the lake first in hopes you could practice, for the nth time, what you were going to say.

“Jaehyun…” you exhaled the breath you held in. “I didn’t know how to say this and I practiced saying this for a while. Just know that this is for the best and I love you so much.... But, I think we should call it off. University is getting to my head and I don’t want to cause any pain to you when seeing me stressed out about my life. I want the best for you and that’s not with me anymore. I’m incredibly sorry and I love you more than words can explain. You showed me what the statement high school sweethearts meant. I’m so appreciative of having someone like you in my life. You taught me how to live, you taught me how to be brave, you taught me how to love. But we have to move on now, our lives will only get more complicated from here. And from the bottom of my heart, I’ll always love you endlessly.” It was quiet for some time before Jaehyun looked up and smiled a bittersweet smile, with tears rimming his almond eyes you were sure you were going to miss. “I don’t want to, but I agree. This is for the best of us and I know that’s all you want for me. It’s sad, I definitely wasn’t expecting this when you asked to meet. But I know your feelings are genuine and I don’t want to keep you from achieving your dream. I’ll love you endlessly and when you release music, I’ll be your number one fan.” Tears dripped down his face as you both chuckled. Lifting your hand and wiping the tears you’d barely seen after three years, tears filled your eyes too. “Don’t cry, or else you’ll make me cry,” you whined and he laughed, resting his hand on yours that lied on his cheek. “I’ll love you until the end of time.” He closed his eyes, “I think you should go now, it’s getting pretty late. And I know you have work to do. We‘ll stay as friends, yeah?” Nodding. “Of course we will.”

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾

Four years. It had been four years since your breakup with Jung Jaehyun. It was funny, remembering to stay friends, but that never happened. While looking forward to seeing your new, old, friend it seemed that he didn’t want to be linked with you, which was weird since he was the one to suggest it. But you couldn’t blame him if he never wanted to see you again, you broke the guys heart. Moving on from Jung Jaehyun was easier than you had initially thought, considering he was your first true love, you’d taken the breakup better than you believed you would, and didn’t think much past that.

It was the night of your graduation. Your friends had begged you to attend the party since you’re no longer going to be in school, unless you wanted an associates or master’s degree. “Come on Y/N! You’ve been so cooped up in your apartment all these years. We’ve graduated and now we can get our lives situated,” said Byeol. “Ooh, okay! Fine… But I’m not drinking. And if anything happens I’m getting my ass out of that frat house.” Hina and Byeol screeched in joy. “Thank you! We love you so much.”

Arriving at Yuta’s apartment complex, Hina and Byeol practically dragged you to the roof, where the party was happening. Opening the door, people who attended your university greeted your popular and outgoing friends. “Y/N! I’m glad you could make it! Finally you’re out of your apartment for some fun!” Said Yuta— a Japanese transferee— with the iconic red plastic cup in his hand. Looking around you noticed Jaehyun, he was standing less than ten feet away and was chatting with Johnny Seo— tallest member of the basketball team and fellow communications peer. Surprisingly, when looking at your ex-lover, you had felt nothing but happiness for him. You were happy he moved on. And while at the event, guys had instantly approached you, aghast to see you leave your apartment at night, to attend a frat party.

Jealousy was the word to express what Jung Jaehyun was feeling. Seeing the attention towards you, Jaehyun was surprised to see you there. But overall, he was jealous. It wasn't your intention, gosh you hated to make people feel jealous, he knew you felt that way, but people were just dismayed to see you at a party. “Hey, Jae? What’s wrong?”

When you’re with your friends you try to pretend that you moved on but you can’t.

After your breakup, Jaehyun went straight to Johnny’s apartment and spit out everything that had happened. He was upset and sad at first, but claimed to say he was doing fine without you. After a while, Jaehyun did a pretty good job in telling Johnny he was over you. Either that or Johnny Seo was just too damn gullible.

Looking back to you, he saw you were the same person you were four years ago. It was insane that he still had so many feelings for you after all these years. He just didn’t have the guts to approach you. He was a coward after asking to be friends and flat out ignoring you; how selfish of him. He knew you didn’t want him hurting and dwelling on his feelings. If only you knew how much Jung Jaehyun missed you, but you would— probably— never know.

Approaching you, the cup in Jaehyun’s hand had been slightly quivering as his legs had a mind of its own. “Jae, long time no see.” he smiled, “Yeah…” , “So, how have you been these years? We haven’t seen each other in a while.” Seeing you smiling and not hurt almost healed Jaehyun’s single heart, only to have it crushed again once he realized you were no longer together, you hadn’t been together since 2013. “I’ve been okay. Academics are a pain in the ass but I get help from my friends here and there. What about you? How’ve you been?” , “I’ve been doing the same. You know, same old, same old. Picked up painting again, so I’ve been painting in my apartment to get rid of my stress.” Jaehyun remembered when he bought you a canvas and paint brushes, somehow forgetting the paint. But he loved to see you paint, the creativity from your mind flowing to the white canvas. Fuck, he missed it all.

“Y/N! I have someone I want you to meet!” Shouted yuta from the other side of the roof. “Sorry, duty calls,” you laughed, “Uh, it was good seeing you safe and happy. Maybe we can hang out, you know, as friends one day, only if you’d like.” , “I would like that, yes. And it was great seeing you too Y/N.” He always loved the sound of your laugh, it brought him so much joy. He always tried to make you laugh, but now he was only making things feel awkward because he was a douche that continuously ignored you.

The night was only eleven but Hina and Byeol were sensibly intoxicated by all the alcohol. “You got them Y/N?”, “Yeah, bye guys.” Throwing them in the car, you walked to the driver's seat and started to drive to your apartment which was, thankfully, not far from Yuta’s apartment. “Hey, Y/N…. you know… Hina and I…. Hina and I…. We were talking to the jackass that ignored you….. and you know what he said…? The idiot said he misses you, and still loves you!.... what a joke,” their words were slurred but you hit the brakes anyway. “What? Why would he say that?” The girls were unable to answer since they were just knocked out cold. “He still loves me?”

You would have been lying if you said you were still in love with Jung Jaehyun. You loved him, just not in the way you used to. You just loved him as a friend now, and only wished for the best, without you. Your feelings were easily sidetracked because of school and didn’t think much about your feelings towards him. Though, it was clear to you now that Jung Jaehyun had never got rid of his love for you; his romantic feelings.

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾ Jung Jaehyun

After Jaehyun talked to his first love, his feelings had been exploding out of his chest. He was overjoyed to see you doing fine, picking up old hobbies the two of you shared. Painting. Maybe he should pick up painting too, just to try to connect to you once more. But he knew it would only make his feelings get stronger, if that was even possible.

Oh it’s sad to love someone so much who you know doesn’t care enough.

Jaehyun knew you still cared about him. You could never not care about him. However, he knew you cared for him like a close friend, maybe not even close. Even so, it made him think that there could be a chance. There could be a possibility for the two of you to get back together again.

“You idiot! You lied to me after all these years?! How could you lie to me like that?” Yelled Johnny when Jaehyun confessed his true feelings about you. “I thought I was going to get over her, but I just can’t! We gave each other our all and loved each other infinitely, but we broke it off. It was mutual, but I tried to convince myself that I would feel the same as her. Shocker! I didn’t, and holy shit do I love her so much. But I’m a prissy loser that can’t and won’t do anything to confuse her, hurt her, upset her, or disappoint her. Believe me, I tried, I really did. But everything I did never worked out and I’m stuck with a one sided love.” Grumbled Jaehyun, downing the rest of the spiked liquid and harshly placing the cup onto the table. “You are….” started Johnny. “This is all on you…. It’s your decision what to do with everything going on. I’ll be here for moral support and advice to give but everything you end up doing is all decided by you.”

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾ Reader

Hina and Byeol woke up late the following morning. “Eat up while it’s still hot! Some drunk remedies for you alcoholics,” you joked, placing the bowl of soup in front of your friends. “Ugh I had the most horrible dream. I dreamt that we talked to that jerk-face Jaehyun and he revealed that he still loved you. It made my head hurt so bad, oh my gosh.” You dropped the other bowl of soup to the floor, shattering glass and boiling hot broth spilled on your feet; your face, expressionless, almost. “Woah! What’s gotten into you?!” Shouted Byeol. “Hina…. that wasn’t a dream. Last night, when I was driving home, you said Jaehyun missed me and he still loves me.” It was dead silent, the girls stopped wiping the floor. “What…? You broke up four years ago. How does he still have feelings after four damn years?” Emphasized Hina, standing up to throw away the paper towel and broken pieces of glass. “Never mind that! Do you feel the same way Y/N? Do you still love Jung Jaehyun?” Cleaning your soup stained feet, you walked to one of the stools. “.... I don’t, that’s why I’m so surprised. I thought he and I were at the same stage of being over each other. But I guess we’re not and he still has so much love for me…. When I don’t feel the same….” It was quite the predicament.

“Well, are you going to confront him?” , “..... I can’t. I already broke his heart once. I don’t love him like that anymore, no, but I still have emotions, and I’m a considerate human being. I can’t break his heart twice within a span of four years. I hoped that day was enough,” looking up to your friends who had confused looks on their faces. “I’ll just wait it out I suppose, we talked for a little last night and he seemed fine. But if he comes to me then I’ll let him down, again. If he doesn’t, it’s better for me not to see him sad, especially since his sadness is because of me.”

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾

“I can’t wait to meet you, girls!!! I have so much to tell you!!” The girls squealed over video chat while you were eating a small snack before bed. After a couple months of applying to different jobs, you had gotten accepted to work as a producer under SM Entertainment, it was truly rousing.

Hina and Byeol always wanted to keep in contact with you, they were your best friends, after all. And soon separating due to jobs, your small friend group was finally in Seoul at the same time. “I do too! The boutique is coming along so much better than last month's apparels!” Hina had pursued her career in the business and fashion game while Byeol was hired as a popular photographer for W Magazine.

“You will NOT believe who I had scheduled a shoot with the other day. Y/N you will lose your absolute shit when we see each other. I’ll tell you girls then, but for now I have to go shower and sleep. Tomorrow’s shoot is such a big deal for the magazine label. Bye! I love you both.” Subsequent to what Byeol had gossiped, curiosity spread in both you and Hina’s mind. “I wonder who she saw. And why she‘s acting like that.” Questioned Hina, scratching her head making you laugh. “Me too. I guess we’ll find out when we see each other on Wednesday. But I have to bathe Danbi. Can’t wait to see you! Love you Hina!” , “Okay, good luck with that. Love you too!” Closing your laptop, you shouted for Danbi, your year- and- a- half old nureongi dog. Whilst running the bath you couldn’t help but to wonder who Byeol previously worked with for her to tell you and freak out. “Who the hell could it be?”

The day of your meet, Wednesday. Waking up at around nine in the morning, you checked your emails that needed to be answered. Scrolling down, one email had caught your eye. From: An old friend, To: Y/N, Subject: ….Hi there :) “You’re absolutely kidding me.”

The restaurant Hina reserved, prior, was packed with people sitting in booths and waiting in line. “What the hell did you drag us into?” , “Relax, I had reservations set for us already.” The— quite attractive— waiter had brought you three to your table and did waiter things. “Okay, so…. my recent photo shoot was with…. Jung fucking Jaehyun, and Johnny Seo.” Hina, dramatically, choked while drinking her water. “Well, let me tell you… the same person emailed me at three in the morning, today.” Now both Byeol and Hina choked on their water. “You’re fucking with us!” , “I’m being dead serious. Look at my emails.”

“To the most lovely person, it’s Jaehyun. I know it’s been years upon years and I’m a prick that can’t stick to my words; but it’s been a while and I just wanted to reach out if we can actually hang out. As friends. I totally get why you wouldn’t want to catch up with me, and I totally understand if you don’t even respond. But I’d appreciate it if we could eventually meet up, even with our busy schedules. - Jung Jaehyun,” read Byeol with a traumatized look on her face and Hina with an even more traumatic expression on her‘s. “Look behind Y/N. Right now.” She was seated at the nearest end of the booth and she had seen the person that can’t get rid of his feelings, walk into the occupied restaurant.

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾ Jung Jaehyun

He’d been contemplating on writing a letter, texting you— if you still had the same number— or emailing you. “I’ll just email her,” he decided. Shakily opening his laptop in the midnight air, Jaehyun pressed the keys to your email address.

And it hurts, I wanna text so bad but you don’t want your best friend mad. ‘Cause they told you to walk away, but it’s hard and you’re feeling weak.

When Jaehyun called Johnny prior, he was upset but couldn’t control his best friend's romantic life. “Look, I don’t have a say in this but you shouldn’t text her by her number. You’d be crazy if you did that. Just email her I guess, but it’s been three years since you last saw her and it’s been seven whole years since you’ve been together. Jaehyun, I get that you love her but isn’t this a little crazy? And by a little I mean a lot crazy? What about her can’t you not forget? She’s clearly over you by now.” Jaehyun didn’t know either. He couldn’t answer Johnny’s questions because he didn’t have an answer. It was just difficult to think and talk about. And, of course, Jaehyun tried to get rid of his feelings for you. Going on blind dates, having one night stands, drinking his feelings away, but nothing helped, nothing cured him.

Jaehyun had been scouted as a model while working at some beat down cafe. It'd been about a year since his college graduation and he was pursuing his dream of being an architect. A not very known architect, at the time, but an architect nonetheless.

April 22, 2020 had been the schedule for his shoot with Johnny for W Magazine. While fitting into their Leonardo DiCaprio style clothes, they waited for the photographer they were to work with that day. Byeol had walked into the room, talking to a couple of the staff and when she turned to see her models, her face had dropped. The men had soon realized that their photographer was your best friend. Immediately going up to Byeol, Jaehyun had tried to talk to her about you. “It’s not for me to tell you how she is. Now get ready, I want this photo shoot done, pronto.”

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾

Looking to the table he had sat at, a girl was placed across him. “Wait! That’s Park Chaeyoung, she’s one of my models for this month's launch. What are they doing together?” , “What a two faced dickdead.” Scoffed Byeol, turning back to you and looking you in the eyes. “That wrench practically begged me to tell him how you’re doing and now he’s on a date with some model!? Quite the unbelievable person Jung Jaehyun is.”

Eating whatever you ordered, the girls just talked about how they were doing and scheduling your next get-together. Until Jaehyun walked by your table to get to the restroom. “Oh! I can talk to Chaeyoung now. I’ll inform you about what she says.”

Gliding across the room, Hina sat across Chaeyoung, catching her attention and smiling brightly. “Hi Hina! What brings you here? Did you just come here to talk about your launch? If so, I’m quite busy-” , “No, no. I’m here with my friends and we wanted to know why you’re here with, uh, Jung Jaehyun.” Her eyes virtually lit up at the mention of his name. “Oh, blind date. Our mutual friends set us up. He’s quite the guy! Super respectful, kind, and not to mention, incredibly good looking.”

Jaehyun had seen your face walking back from the restroom, and he paused in his steps, looking at the food-smiling you. He then looked back at Chaeyoung. The whole purpose of this blind date was to get over you, not see you. So, ignoring you, Jaehyun strided past, in small hopes you would notice that he was there; no luck. While looking ahead, he perceived his blind date to be talking to Hina, another one of your best friends. “Sorry, your date is back. But we’ll talk during the try-on. I’ll see you then, Chaeyoung.” , “Of course!” Hina glared at Jaehyun and purposefully bumped shoulders as she walked back to your table.

“They’re on a blind date. She seemed super interested in him. But I don’t know about the other story.” Byeol looked at the pair from her seat, making you laugh. “Guys it’s okay. It’s been seven years. I’m happy he’s finally going on dates. I appreciate it that you guys care, but I honestly don’t. Jaehyun is his own person and I am my own person. And we are separated, we have been separated for over six years now.”

Chatting away, your best friends couldn’t help but to look back at the table, only to see Jaehyun constantly glancing his way to yours. “Why do you guys keep looking back at their table?” You laughed at their faces but they just ignored your words and continued to stare down the blockhead that continually lied to you. “Maybe we should just go now… I think they’re a little uncomfortable. Plus, we don’t want them to ruin our plans for today, yeah?” They nodded and asked for a check. Walking out of the busy restaurant, Chaeyoung bid a goodbye to Hina and Jaehyun turned around only to see your back walking towards the exit.

If we ruled time and space and the Milky Way, would you reach me? Yeah, I know you wouldn’t reach me, but I hope that you think of me.

You had always thought of Jaehyun. After all, seven years had gone by so quickly and you had always wondered if he still had feelings or if he was still hurt. Whatever the reason was you were sincerely happy that he was moving on. And you were glad to see him more well-mannered and gentlemanly than he already was.

Jaehyun was glad to see you’d matured so well over the years he’d never seen you, but that made him miss you more everyday. Johnny had persistently been setting Jaehyun up on blind dates to get rid of his fondness for you, though to no avail and Johnny fails every time.

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾ Jung Jaehyun

It had been around four in the evening when Jaehyun went back to his shared apartment with Johnny. “Damnit Johnny I saw Y/N at that stupid restaurant. My affection for her is only getting stronger and I don’t know how to relieve them. This is taking such a big toll on me but it’s been seven fucking years. My heart aches for her so much and I don’t have a clue why!” He let out once more and Johnny just sighed, sitting on the couch next to his best friend. “Then just open up to her about it. She works under SM, yeah? Just ask around for her, you're doing a shoot with Wendy, right? Well, Y/N’s a producer for multiple artists under SM, just ask Wendy then.”

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾

It was the upcoming day and you were getting ready to work with Red Velvet and Super Junior. Opening the door and walking towards one of the receptionists, you had signed in and walked straight to one of the recording studios and greeted whoever tendered a good morning. “Morning Y/N!” Greeted Taeyong and Mark, a duo under SM but also a part of Super M, SM’s newest debut boy group. You’d worked together in the past, only on a couple of songs but they were really good friends with you. “Morning boys! You guys are quite hyper at this time in the morning. I’m almost done with my coffee and you guys have more energy than I do!” You played and pointed to the dark circles under your eyes, which you tried to conceal with makeup. They laughed and gave you a short hug. “What’s your schedule today, Y/N?” , “Just some stuff for Red Velvet and Suju. We don’t record until Sunday, though. What about you boys?”

“We have our choreo that we have to finish and then some try-on stuff for our promotions and music video.” , “I’m sad that we can’t work together this time. But good luck with that! I’ll be definitely checking out the album when it comes out! Bye Mark, bye Taeyong!”

You unlocked your office— which was basically just a recording studio— and went straight to the cafe on the ground floor since your manager had asked to grab him a cup of coffee.

“Hey. Weren’t expecting you down here.” The voice was so distinct. “I work here…?” It sounded like you were irritated but you really weren’t, just confused because you had thought he knew you worked under SM. “Oh- I know, it’s just, I uh….” He scratched his neck in embarrassment. “I just didn’t know what to say when I approached you. Plus you always used to have coffee at home.” You were surprised he remembered something as small as that. “I just came down here to get some breakfast and the coffee is for my partner. We’re working with Suju soon. Then we’re working with Red Velvet.” , “So am I! Well, just with Wendy, we have an SM Station coming up. Today’s just the shoot for it.”

“Y/N, your order!” , “Sorry. I didn’t expect to see you here, especially so early, since you’re not a morning person. But text me some time, yeah? I still have the same number so we can communicate whenever you’d like.” This made Jaehyun beyond exhilarated. Maybe there was hope after all; you remembered how he hated mornings and you offered him to text you. And he was stoked to finally see progress, though it was mostly his fault of the zero progress, anyways.

“Of course! I guess we’ll be seeing each other a little more for a while then.” , “Yeah. But I really gotta go. See you whenever Jae.” He was happy to finally be having a less awkward conversation with you. His emotions were exploding out of his heart but he was able to contain them. He was happy that you were calling him Jae again, no one ever really called him that besides Johnny. And at this moment, Jung Jaehyun was content with your interaction. This time, Jaehyun promised himself to buff up and get over everything because, as of now, you two were friends— or at least he’d hoped you were. Luck was on his side and now he didn’t have to ask Wendy about you. He barely even knew the girl.

While in the middle of their shoot, you had intruded to ask some staff how much longer it would take. “Maybe, thirty more minutes? This is the last outfit for the shoot then she’s all yours,” explained one of the makeup artists. “Can I sit here then? Just to wait, and only for ten minutes. I need to set up a little bit soon.” , “Of course you can!” So, scrolling through your phone and occasionally looking up Wendy and Jaehyun had a short five minute break. “Wendy!” , “Y/N!” She waved, getting her lipstick and hair retouched. “I’m about to go to my studio. I’ll see you and the girls then!”

“Sounds good! I’ll see you in about twenty. Bye Y/N!” Sauntering toward the exit, Jaehyun bid you a goodbye as well. “Bye, I hope we meet again soon!” You beckoned. There were no words to describe how Jaehyun was feeling. He had no idea where the sudden burst of confidence came from, but it came then and he was fortunate enough to experience it now. Better now than never, he thought.

The ensuing day, Jaehyun had texted you to eat and catch up over some brunch. “Only if you’re not busy. Which is totally fine if you are. We can reschedule!” You chuckled at the text, he was still the same shy and awkward high school boy from years ago. “I’m down. We can meet at the front of the building at 11:30. I have a meeting to attend first.” , “Great!”

Driving to the label, your routine had been the same as the days before and took the elevator up to the meeting room. Once the boring, yet, necessary meeting was over, you placed your binder of papers on the desk and walked back to the entrance of SM. You smiled when approaching Jaehyun. Tapping on his shoulder, he turned around and returned your smile. “Ready? I’m taking us to The Hideout. I don’t know if you remember but I really liked eating there.” Your smile only grew wider, and your eyes were squinted shut in happiness. “I do remember! We used to always get banana bread and french toast. Gosh, I missed that place! I haven’t been there since 2013.” , “You and me both,” he said on the quieter side, anticipating your ears weren’t able to catch what he had said. You did, but you wanted to convince yourself that this was all in good fun and you two were friends now. It was impossible that after the years that had passed, he still had some sort of romantic feelings for you. But oh boy, were you wrong. He just didn’t want to admit it to you, at least, not yet.

The car ride was exactly the opposite of what you’d thought it was going to be, thankfully. Jaehyun brought so many topics into the conversation during the ride and while you were eating. “We should definitely order the banana bread and french toast! It’s been a while since I had some good brunch food!”

And all of a sudden, after being in the café for a short while, the discussion had gotten more serious, “Look, Y/N. I know I was an ass in the past but I finally had the guts to ask to go out and not bail on you. And I’m incredibly sorry for always ignoring you and not sticking to my words. I’m a jerk that you shouldn't have forgiven but I’m so damn grateful you put up with me for almost a whole decade. Gosh, I’m such a fake person, but I’m here to make up for it. And I’m glad we’re here together, as friends.” Every word that exited Jaehyun’s lips were genuine and sincere. He was happy to finally reconnect with the one he used to call his love. Yet at the same time, he was sorrowful he wasn’t able to reconnect earlier, he was sorrowful that you and he were no longer together. But there was nothing he could do, it was your decision and you both talked it out.

“You’re completely fine! I mean, I get why you didn’t want to talk to me. I broke your heart and you weren’t ready for it. It’s my fault I suppose, I was the one to unexpectedly tell you what was going on. But I’m happy as well. I’m happy you’re doing fine, and I’m happy we’re here as friends. And I’m happy you went on that date with Chaeyoung, you really needed it, I could tell… Oh! Speaking of Chaeyoung I wanted to ask how you two were doing. If the both of you were no longer going out on blind dates.” Your eyes had lit up at the thought of him being in another relationship. “We’re not, unfortunately. She did divulge in her thoughts about me, I just didn’t feel the same, I guess. She was undoubtedly nice but something just didn’t click between the both of us.” The light in your eyes had now dropped down. “That sucks. I’m sorry for asking then.” , “Oh, no! You’re great, I don’t really like blind dates anyway.”

The next half hour had passed by quickly and your manager had called you to meet at the studio for another, abrupt, meeting. “Well let’s go, I don’t want you to be late for that!” Jaehyun was still as kindhearted and delightful as you remembered. It was one of the things you loved and admired about him.

“Maybe we can meet again some time..?” , “We sure can! Honestly, we can just meet at the café on the first floor while you’re working with Wendy. But if you have any other plans, definitely text me! Well, I’ll be off now. I hope you enjoy the rest of the day in SM. Bye Jae.” Turning toward the elevator, Jaehyun admired your figure, then Wendy taps his back, jolting his reflexes. “Woah. Jung Jaehyun, are you interested in L/N, Y/N.” He sighed, a shy and sly smile appeared on his dimpled face. “I am. And I have been for seven whole years. Well, almost seven.” , “Wait, what? What do you mean?”

“I mean that I’ve loved Y/N for that long.... We separated seven years ago and I’m still so damn in love with her. Our anniversary is on June fourth. I want to take her out then and reveal my care for her.” Wendy sighed, patting Jaehyun on his back. “Good luck with that but she doesn’t seem to feel the same way.” The dimples on his face disappeared, “I know… when she and I broke up, she seemed completely fine and I was suffering. And I was a douchebag because I ignored her for years. Now’s the time to recover the time I had missed.” , “Are you going to tell her?” She looked at the taller man who was still staring at the elevator you took to your office. “Eventually….. June fourth, I will. I have to let go of my feelings for her and I think telling her that I still love her will help. That or Johnny just sucks at giving advice.” She sighed, a little disappointed, in a way. “Well, good luck with that. But just don’t think about it now. June fourth is still a couple months away. Just spend more time together and confess to her then. Now, let’s go, they’re going to get mad that we’re late.”

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾

Meeting with Jaehyun over the past two months was very pleasurable. You did miss his old self, you missed hanging out with Jung Jaehyun more than anything. He was such good company once he opened up, it was also one of the things you loved about him.

“Oh my gosh did you remember when Mrs. Yoon caught us making out? Her face was honestly priceless. Man, I hated her being.” He laughed. Of course you remembered, how could you not? “Yeah, she never bothered us the rest of the semester!” Reminiscing you past, the two of you joked around. You fooled around so much that you caught strangers stares.

“Well, I had fun tonight Y/N. I’ll invite you to dinner again soon. But dress up, I think I’m going to reserve a fancy restaurant.” It was quite weird, but it was Jung Jaehyun. And he was a sucker for sentimental moments. “Okay. Thanks for today. I had fun, like always. I’ll see you then. And thanks for the ride, I totally could have drove there myself.” , “I wouldn’t let you do that though.” Standing on your toes, you hugged the man that used to own your heart. “Thank you, Jae.” He hugged back. “Don’t thank me. But I’ll see you soon, yeah?” You nodded and waved as he walked to his car.

While showering your face had dropped, thinking about Jaehyun. You’d hoped he didn’t get any ideas about you having feelings for him. “No, he can’t be into me, after seven years he still can't have the same feelings. That’s impossible.”

June 4, 2020. You vividly remembered the date of your anniversary with Jaehyun. And it was fishy he had texted you, the morning of, about going to Rich Table, a renewed fancy restaurant downtown. “What is this boy up to this time?” You’d thought while reading the text he’d sent you.

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾ Jung Jaehyun

Jaehyun looked in the mirror. Fixing his tie and gelling his hair down, he retold himself, “Just admit that you still love her but you didn’t want things to feel unwieldy. You got this Jung Jaehyun. She’s over you and you have to move on.”

And it breaks me inside, ‘cause I know that it’s been over now.

There were no words in the entirety of the universe to explain how he felt, and how guilty he was since he still loved you. Jaehyun knew you remembered your anniversary, and he felt so distressed about you remembering. He knew you must’ve thought something was wrong.

But you make excuses still, so there’s a reason not to kill every feeling you have for them.

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾

Eight P.M., Thursday June fourth. Like he promised, Jaehyun was at your door by eight sharp. The car ride, this time, had so much unknown tension. And while placing yourselves at the table, there was still absolute silence. It was quiet when you ordered and it continued to stay quiet as you ate, the both of you avoiding eye contact with each other.

“Y/N.... I know what you’re thinking. But I just wanted to take you out today to confess that I am still so in love with you.” You were silent, and looking straight at the table. “I’m sorry I was such a coward after not admitting it to you after years had gone by. But I wanted to find the perfect time to tell you, and I figured today was the right time. I already knew that you knew I had something planned. And I’m sure this wasn’t what you were expecting. I apologize a million times for being such a wuss and not saying anything at all. I thought that trying to meet with you would make every emotion that you taught me, go away. You’re probably mad as I say all this, but I don’t blame you. But those feelings have drifted away slowly…. You know, here and there. So, I wanted to tell you this as friends….. that if…. if you were only a bus ride away, would you see me?” It was hushed for a long moment, until you looked up at him with tears in your eyes. “Of course I would. We’re okay now. Why would you even ask that? And I couldn’t never stay mad at you. I’m not that kind of person, Jaehyun. Just know that we broke up and you were fine with it, and please know that I still have so much love for you in my heart.” He dryly laughed. “But not the same way I do. I missed us a lot, I missed you a fuck-ton. But most importantly, I wanted to say that I miss when you needed me.”