#cameo by kim seungmin the sweet little snarkmaster

[straykidsscribbles]

A Little More than Just Lab Partners

Jeongin- High School AU, as part of Jeongin’s Birthday Week Stuff. It’s a little early….

@straykiddosmom ummm hi this is for you… I’m a huge fan!

1.

You quickly pace up the hallway, rushing to your last class of the day. Why is this such a long walk our campus is too big! You thought as your slip in the door and stare at the seating chart prominently displayed on the projector screen. Shoot, I forgot we were switching seats. I hope I haven’t moved much. Your eyes scan the rows of desks, looking for your name and finding it at the side of the room. You walk over to your new seat and dump your bag on the floor, ready for Chemistry to be over so that you could go home and sleep.

The chair next to you creaked as it was pulled out. You look up. Boy were you lucky this semester.

Your new lab partner? Only the boy you’d been admiring from afar for the past six months or so. Yang Jeongin.

Now all I have to do is avoid making things awkward and acting like a total idiot around him.

This is going to be the best semester ever. This is also going to be the worst semester ever.

2.

“Okay so I’ll lift off the lid from the calorimeter, you stick the thermometer in, and then I’ll start the data recorder” you order as Jeongin leaned around you to grab the cord. You had another half an hour to finish the lab and you really just wanted to finish it so you wouldn’t have homework.

“One, two, three!” Jeongin counted, and you lifted off the lid.

The two of you began coughing and sputtering like idiots. You quickly shoved the lid back on the styrofoam container and leaned over the lab table, trying to get all the gas out of your lungs.

“That was the worst idea we’ve ever had.”

“You think?”

“Oh my god my throat is burning I hate ammonia whyyyyyy”

Your teacher chose that exact moment to shout over the hubbub in the classroom, “Make sure you open the calorimeter underneath the fume hood in the corner when you react the ammonium hydroxide and hydrochloric acid reaction.”

You and Jeongin exchange an exasperated look. Now she tells us.

3.

“Come on ____, let’s time ourselves and see how fast we can clean up!”

“Okay fine, we might as well. It’s not like we have anything better to do.”

“Ready, set, go!” You immediately grabbed the glassware sitting on the table and began rinsing it out in the sink. Jeongin gathered up the small bottles of different compounds and stacks them inside the basket. He rushed to the supply cart and slid the basket into place. Meanwhile you arranged the beakers in the drawer and tucked away the scales you’d used earlier. The two of you slammed shut the drawers on either side of the table at almost the exact same second.

“Aaaannnddd, 2 minutes 47 seconds! New record!” You smirk and hop back onto your lab stool.

“Now we get to relax, and watch other people freak out over not finishing,” you smile as Jeongin pulls out the chair next to you. And you both proceed to do just that over the last minutes of the period, laughing and joking with each other as you make fun of group two tables down, who have just set their cork pad on fire.

4.

You slumped over on the desk. Finally, I’m done with the test and I can forget everything I have ever learned about intermolecular forces. You slowly drifted off, the warm sun shining through the open doorway lulling you into a daze even with the cold air conditioning in the room. You felt warm, cozy, safe…

A few soft whispers broke into your thoughts. One of Jeongin’s friends, Seungmin, who was a senior, was standing next to your table. The bell must have run already, I think I actually fell asleep. You were just about to lift your head, when you heard your name in their conversation.

“Jeongin-ah, why don’t you just tell _____ that you like her? You’ve been pining for almost three months, get a grip and go for it!” You tried to stifle your gasp, but something must have given you away.

“Thanks Seungmin-hyung, she heard. Now this is going to be extremely, supremely awkward for the rest of the year. And she’ll probably never want to talk to me outside of class ever again.” You lifted your head just as Jeongin shoved in his stool and grabbed his bag, storming out the door.

You sat up, noticing something sliding off your back. Turning, you picked Jeongin’s cardigan off the floor and looked at Seungmin. “Were you joking right now?”

He rolled his eyes, smirking at your eager expression. “Wasn’t it obvious? You two are ridiculously oblivious, honestly. He’s been pining almost as long as you have.”

You shove your pencils and eraser into your bag and picked up the worksheet on your way out the door, not even stopping to put it inside your bag.

“Hey, make sure you two name your first kid after me okay?” Seungmin’s laughter echoes down the hallway as you rush towards Jeongin’s locker, hoping to catch him there.

Just as you rounded the corner, a flash of pumpkin-colored sweater disappeared out of view. You’d only just missed him.

+1.

You steeled your nerves as you walked up the steps to Jeongin’s house. At least I have the excuse of returning his cardigan. This is going to be so awkward I should just leave it on the bench and go. Before your nerves could get the better of you, you reached up and rang the doorbell. Too late to go back now.

The door opened, and a kindly looking lady with Jeongin’s smile peeked out at you. “Hello! Are you the one who called asking to return Jeongin’s sweater?”

You nodded and felt your cheeks get warm even as she invited you in. His house is very cute and homey, I like it. “Jeonginnie is upstairs alright dear? Just go up he knows you’re coming.” You clambered up the stairs and knocked on the door his mum had indicated.

“Come in~” his voice rang out. Jeongin’s back was turned to you as you slowly pushed open the door. He turned around and his eyes widened a little as he took in your slightly disheveled appearance from the brisk wind outside.

“Ummm, hi? I just wanted to say thank you for lending me your sweater you didn’t have to.”

“No, it was my pleasure” the silence grew more and more awkward as you pad over to the bed and lay the sweater on it.

“I-” “You-” The two of you spoke at once, then slowly cracked a grin.

“You first,” Jeongin said.

You took a deep breath. “I’m sorry for overhearing your conversation with Seungmin, but at the same time I’m glad I did. I’ve had a crush on you for a while now too. In fact, I was ecstatic when we were made lab partners but I was also really scared I would mess things up between us. So yeah. And, ummm, I-, I really like you.” By now your hands were trembling, and you couldn’t help but try and hide your face behind your hair.

Jeongin’s face broke out into a huge grin. He sprang up from his chair and pulled you into a hug. You breathed in his scent, one that had been haunting you ever since you’d woken up that day.

“I guess I’ll have to thank Seungmin later. He did me a favor. And since I never got a chance to say it, well, I like you too.”

You smile up at him. And you couldn’t help but think that being made lab partners and all those shenanigans had definitely been worth it. 

A/N: So the chemistry experiences are inspired by stupid stuff my lab group and I did in AP Chemistry as idiotic juniors, when we were Jeongin’s age. Though luckily I never got partnered with anyone I had a crush on.

Also ammonia gas sucks and if you ever do anything with bleach and vinegar together just DO NOT MIX THE TWO YOU WILL INHALE AMMONIA GAS AND IT IS DISGUSTING IT MAKES YOUR LUNGS BURN FOR HOURS.