Title: Fly Away
Rating: PG-13
Jongyu/748 Words
It's when Jinki finds out he can fly that everything changes.
Jinki takes a deep breath, closes his eyes, counts to ten, takes another breath and jumps off the school roof. His heart drops to his stomach as he is suddenly pushed up and then he's floating in the air, crossing his fingers, hoping he won't go crashing to the earth.
Jinki has flown before. He was sneaking out his window at night. It just so happened that he lost his footing. And this could've ended so many ways, so many bad, bad ways. But that's the thing, it didn't end.
And since that time Jinki's been itching to try it again. To feel the air through his hair again. He's dreamt of flying all his life and to have it actually happen, it's amazing. And he keeps hoping this isn't all a dream. That this isn't like those times that he wakes up only to be disappointed. This time it's real.
In the air, that's where Jinki first sees Jonghyun. And he doesn't know what to do. Think. Or say. So he hides in the clouds instead.
Jinki sees Jonghyun for the second time in his dreams. He wakes up panting, squeezing his eyes shut so hard they start hurting, bursts of color dancing behind his eyelids. Jinki groans, forcing himself to stand, he wonders how things managed to get this way.
The third time is a charm, Jinki never really understood that phrase until now. Jinki sees Jonghyun for the third time, he talks to him and learns his name and finds out a lot more than he ever thought he would know about the other. Jonghyun goes to the same school as Jinki but has absolutely no classes with him and a small part in Jinki's head whispers, Figures. He likes art but is in band instead. Jonghyun likes the sky and the clouds and dogs, he shows Jinki pictures of all of them, but he doesn't tell Jinki anything about flying. Not a word. Jinki understands that, he (hasn't) wouldn't tell anyone either.
The fourth time Jinki talks to Jonghyun is in the sky.
Jonghyun asks him to fly away with him, to go with him and travel the world. Because they can fly and go anywhere they have ever wanted to go, anywhere they will ever want to go. Jonghyun had nothing to lose, no one to worry about him here.
Jinki has everything. He has his family and school and friends. He can't just leave them.
Jinki smiles sadly. I can't go. He feels his throat close up. I can't.
Oh. Jonghyun says. The look on his face shatters Jinki's heart. Okay.
And just like that he's gone and Jinki's left alone.
Jinki goes to to school. He takes his seat, arms crossed in front of him, head laying on them and breathes out his nose. There's this damn thought stuck in his head, that if he had gone, he wouldn't be stuck here. He'd be gone and flying and in the air. Instead of spending a lousy monday morning here at school, he'd be gone. He could be somewhere else right now and he has to hammer down the thought that maybe, maybe it's not too late.
He looks around and sees people he knows, people he's talked to, but all he can think of is Jonghyun. He thinks of how it'd only been a year since he had met Jonghyun, only a year and look at him. Jinki's missing him so much already and the last time he had seen the shorter boy was just the night before.
Jinki sighs as the teacher walks in and everyone starts quieting down. Jonghyun really left, he thinks. He left me.
Jinki. Jinki, wake up!
He hears someone say and they're shaking his shoulder. Jinki tries to push the person's hand away but it doesn't budge. He means to say that he doesn't give a damn if a teacher sees him sleeping, because god dammit it fucking lunch and as long as he gets to his next class in time it's fine, but a weak 'what?' crawls out of his throat instead and dies once it leaves his mouth.
Jinki feels the person take a seat next to him, the blue table shifting with the weight. It's quiet and Jinki thinks he'll finally get some sleep after months and months of none at all. Jinki feels the person lean down, lips just above his ear, head tilted and it reminds him of someone.
I'm back. The person says and Jinki's eyes shoot open, stiffens and gets a small laugh in return.
Jonghyun looks at him and smiles, nodding slowly. I'm back.