Did You Hear?
Pairing: girl!Baekhyun/girl!Kai
Rating: G
Warnings: none
Summary: Byun Baekhyun always has the last word, but this time is a lot sweeter than usual.
Word Count: 3995
This is crossposted from here!
Monday; 3:30pm; Main Hallway
“Hey, Baekhyun! Are you coming to my party this weekend?”
Chanyeol’s voice is loud and it cracks halfway through his sentence, but he either doesn’t notice or doesn’t care as he pinwheels his arms in the middle of the hall to get his best friend’s attention. Despite being the captain of the basketball team and highly skilled on the court, he doesn’t seem to put much effort into controlling his limbs off the court and students around him duck to get passed, used to this kind of thing now that they’re halfway through the school year. Baekhyun tucks a strand of hair behind her ear and hikes her backpack up on her shoulders before adjusting her knee length skirt.
She strides closer to her friend and grabs his wrists to still him before answering with a smile.
“Sorry, Yeol, but I can’t come. I told you at the beginning of the month I’d be busy every Saturday working on my senior music project with Jongin. She’s not a senior yet and is only helping me as a favor so I really need to respect her time.”
“That’s Saturdays, my party is this Friday. You can totally make it! I’ll pick you up and everything. I’m the basketball captain, you’re head cheerleader and my best friend; we run the social life at this school together, but recently I’ve been flying solo.” Chanyeol leaned down to pout directly in Baekhyun’s face; ten years ago the sight of his large watery puppy dog eyes would have had her doing anything, but they’re 16 now, and Baekhyun manages to stand firm. Only just barely, though.
“No, Chanyeol. You throw great parties, and I know that I’ll end up there all night and then I won’t wake up in time on Saturday, and even if I do I’ll be hungover.” She pushes Chanyeol’s face away and turns away, sticking her hand out behind her, confident he’ll grab hold as they walk out to their bus.
Chanyeol grabs her hand alright, but he doesn’t follow along like she wants. Baekhyun feels her arm jerk as he holds her in place like an anchor and whines. Chanyeol lets her push him around so often she genuinely forgets sometimes that he is much bigger and stronger than her, and she doesn’t like being reminded either. She whips around to glare at him and is stopped by the look growing on his face. Baekhyun scowls at the way his eyes are lighting up like he finally understands some amazing secret.
“Holy shit, Baek.”
“Chanyeol, come on we’re going to miss the bus. Save whatever internal epiphany you’re having for later, because we really gotta-”
“Byun Baekhyun, are you honestly making an effort to be awake, on time, and not a hungover mess on a Saturday morning because of Jongin?”
Baekhyun wants to smack him upside the head. So she does. The fact that she had to jump to do so makes it a little less impactful than she was hoping for but it gets her point across just fine. Unfortunately, Chanyeol’s skull is irritatingly thick, metaphorically and literally, and he keeps on grinning. With long strides he takes off for the school’s double doors, swinging her arm as he goes.
“You are, you totally are!” he crows, “You’re making an effort to be as cleaned up and pleasant as possible for little Jonginnie! My best friend wouldn’t happen to have a crush, would she?”
Baekhyun wants to be irritated at the scene he’s causing, but the ridiculous way his face scrunches up when he tries to waggle his eyebrows makes that hard. Even if she isn’t actually mad, people are starting to stare, and Baekhyun needs to get the upper hand back quickly. After all, she has a reputation to maintain. She jerks her hand out of his and smoothes down the front pf her skirt once more before patting his cheek and giving him a bright eyesmile.
“If it was only a crush and I didn’t try to be at least sober for our meetings, then that would make me the world’s worst girlfriend, and Jongin deserves better than that. Honestly, Chanyeol, have a little faith in me. Of course I do my best to treat my lady right.”
She’s out the front doors and halfway down the stairs before the hallway erupts into sound again, and she doesn’t look back.
Inside, Chanyeol jerks into motion and follows her. He’d already known she was bisexual, but he hadn’t known that Jongin liked girls, or that the two were even into each other. It’s just like Baekhyun to drop something like that on him randomly just to have the last word. As he heads after her, he can’t help but wonder what the school rumor mill is going to do with the information that their resident empress and ruler had an empress of her own, but isn’t overly concerned. He was sure that by the time his party ended, he would find out.
Tuesday; 9:00am; Calculus II Classroom
Kyungsoo is sitting at her desk, carefully organizing her notebook and pens for the day’s notes. Carefully, she lines them up so they all point the same way and flips the notebook open to a fresh sheet, ready for the day. Her face doesn’t change from its serene expression when a body that could only be her best friend Jongdae slides up and hip checks her desk, sending the pens sprawling. She looks up, face blank and eyes frigid and Jongdae continues to grin but moves to her own seat, putting the back of her chair and Kyungsoo’s desk in between the two of them.
“You rolled your skirt up again.”
“I did,” Jongdae leers, “like what you see?”
“What I would like, is for you to fix my desk.”
Kneeling backwards in her seat, Jongdae leans in to reorganize Kyungsoo’s workspace, chattering about Chanyeol’s upcoming party as she goes. The room hushes; Jongdae looks over her shoulder, Kyungsoo focuses on long, elegant, thin fingers handling the pen she normally chews, and then the room erupts into low buzzing.
“Soo! Baekhyun just walked in!”
Kyungsoo grunts at the mention of Jongdae’s long time crush, “You always talk about her but you never talk to her. If you want her attention go over there and leave me be.”
Kyungsoo can feel Jongdae’s eyes wide on her and she looks up only to be surprised by how concerned Jongdae seems. The two girls never talk out their heart to heart moments, both better with thoughtful actions and snarky words, but she’s thinking this time might be different when Jongdae’s face splits into a wide grin.
“Soo, are you jealous? You know I love you the most; I could never abandon you! If I did, who would show the student body that you aren’t a stoic ice queen ax murderer?”
To anyone else it would be callous, but with soft hands gripping her own, Kyungsoo knows that Jongdae’s really attempting to console her. She’s about to snatch her hand away and scoff like she’s sure Jongdae expects of her when the other girl drops her hand and flops dramatically on the desk, messing up her pens and notebook for the second time.
“Besides! My chance is gone; that ship has sailed. I always hoped I would be the one to catch the cute, popular, cheerleader but alas a sophomore has beaten me to it.” And then Jongdae is sitting up, reorganizing the desk and leaning closer to whisper, “Did you hear? Yesterday right before she left Baekhyun announced that she was dating Kim Jongin. Honestly, I don’t know who I’m more jealous of. Of course, Jongin gets to date the fire of my loins, but to be the girl that gets Jongin under her.”
Kyungsoo lets loose a soft sigh, “She got Jongin, huh?”
Jongdae hums the affirmative, toying with the pens again. Kyungsoo doesn’t respond and when Jongdae looks up all she sees are glazed over eyes and pursed lips.
“Um, earth to Do Kyungsoo, come in Do Kyungsoo. Please remember that while we both have eyes and we both have crushes and talk freely about our crushes, we also have a sworn pact to never have erotic thoughts about said crushes while together.”
Jongdae bites her lip to hold back a smile. She doesn’t want her face to give away how cute she thinks Kyungsoo is, trying to keep a straight face with her flushed cheeks. Jongdae watches her girlfriend tilt forward, letting her bangs hide her face, and fist pumps inside. Kyungsoo hardly ever really lets Jongdae take charge of her in the bedroom, but something about how embarrassed and apologetic the small girl in front of her appears tells Jongdae that she’ll be getting a reward tonight. The teacher walks in just then and Jongdae turns around to sit properly in her seat just in time to see Jongin slink out of the room waving goodbye to Baekhyun. She shakes her head, pigtails bobbing; it must really be true.
Wednesday; 5:00pm; Boys Locker Room
Ten young men drape themselves over the benches, bodies exhausted and limbs sore.
“I want to shower, but everything hurts. The very idea of moving hurts. Ideas hurt.”
“Chanyeol, as our captain, I feel like you should be a bit more motivational.”
“Junmyeon, I try my best to lead you all on the court and off, and if there’s one thing I pride myself on,” Chanyeol grunts as he pushes himself to sit up, one hand wiping at his face, “it’s being honest. But if it’s motivation you want, it’s motivation you’ll have, so. Everything hurts, but we had a great practice; power through until you can get home and rest and tomorrow we’ll be back at it, better than ever.”
By the time Chanyeol finishes, he’s standing and half undressed ready to go shower himself. The team gives a lackluster response to his pep talk and he makes sure to snap each of them on the thighs with a towel as he heads to the shower himself. As he rounds the corner he hears one of the showers running and hollers back over his shoulder, “Up and at ‘em you guys, we have to clear out before 5:40 this time. Be more like Sehun here, getting stuff done.”
When he finally steps into the community shower though, sounds of the team coming alive behind him, what he finds is not Sehun getting stuff done, but rather Sehun staring blankly at the chipping tile soap in hand.
“Dude, are you alright?”
“I have known Jongin my whole life, and the entire time she bossed me around. “Stand up straight, girls don’t like guys who slouch, at this rate I’ll get a girlfriend before you.” “Do your homework properly, girls don’t like guys who don’t try, if you don’t do better I’ll get a girlfriend before you.” “Eat your vegetables or girls will walk right past you to date me.”” Sehun seems to get smaller right before Chanyeol’s eyes. “All this time I thought she was just trying to goad me into trying harder. What if she was trying to tell me? What if she thinks I was being dismissive? I swear I didn’t know! What if she-”
“Whoa pal, what if you just chill out there for a minute,” Chanyeol approaches his younger teammate slowly, like an animal that might run off if he moved too quickly, and stops when he can rest a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “What if none of that is true, and she understands?”
“If she knows I’m fine with her liking whoever then why did I found out my best friend was in a relationship in the main hallway of the school like it was some second-hand gossip?”
Chanyeol’s got no answer for that, so he shrugs and squeezes the bony shoulder under his palm. “Maybe you should ask Jongin that. But really, calm down. She clearly is still your friend, so even if you did screw up a sincere apology for being boneheaded is all you need.”
Sehun nods once and grins up at his team captain, “Thanks a lot, Chanyeol.”
The rest of the team finally filters in around them and Chanyeol lets his hand slide away from Sehun. The younger boy moves to finish cleaning himself and Chanyeol robotically does the same, glad that he was able to actually be of some help.
Thursday; Noon; Film Club Room
Yixing slows to a stop just outside the classroom door and adjusts herself in the reflection till she doesn’t look like she’d just run all the way from the cafeteria. Finally satisfied that her bangs were artfully tousled enough and her curls were neatly placed, she pulled open the door to the room carefully and stuck her head in. Standing in front of the windows in the back of the room, next to the door to the dark room, was exactly girl she’d been looking for. Yixing slips in, shuts the door gently behind her, and crosses the room slowly, careful not to create a draft that would disturb the various photographs laid about.
“Hiya, Jongin! What are you developing?”
Yixing’s younger friend looks back over her shoulder with a soft smile.
“Hey, Xing. I’m just working on a couple nature shots for the portfolio project we’ve got coming up.”
“You’re always working ahead. I’m sure you could use a break; maybe to go to Chanyeol’s party tomorrow?”
Jongin turns to peer at Yixing, brow furrowed in confusion. The hair gathered at the crown of her head in a half ponytail bobs as she shakes her head in confusion; the photos of her backyard hang forgotten in her fingers.
“Yixing, I never go to Chanyeol’s parties. We’re meeting tomorrow at your house for movie night, like we do every Friday. Just this morning you fussed at Tao and I to bring popcorn and extra hair scrunchies because you were tired of sharing.” Jongin’s nose wrinkles, her own confusion starting to fluster her.
“Oh, I know.” Yixing steps forward and rescues the pictures dangling precariously in Jongin’s hands and setting them on the table. “I just needed an easy segway, so I created one for myself. Ahem. Speaking of Chanyeol, his best friend is Baekhyun. Are you going to ever tell me that you’re dating her or are we going to pretend she didn’t say it in front of the entire student body?”
The question brings an immediate flush to Jongin’s cheeks; Yixing watches her try to fight down a grin and wishes she was holding a camera good enough to capture the warm natural sunlight and the blush in Jongin’s face.
“Well, you already know. Do I still have to say it?”
It’s enough confirmation for Yixing, and moments later she’s pulled Jongin to sit at an empty table.
“How did this happen, tell me everything.”
Jongin feels like her face is on fire, and her cheeks ache because she can’t stop smiling even though she’s trying.
“There’s not much to tell, Xing, honestly. We’ve been friends for a while, since we worked that bake sale together. We just, I dunno, started to like each other.” Jongin glances at her friend; Yixing is unimpressed and her fingers are twitching on the table.
“I will tickle you.”
“Okay, okay,” Jongin rushes the words out, leaning backwards to get out of arm’s reach, “Last Saturday we met up at her place like usual to work through her senior project and as I was packing up my violin she asked if she could kiss me; I said yes, we kissed, she asked me out, I said I needed time, she sent me home. That’s it, that’s all I swear!”
Everything freezes for a second, air tense with Yixing still poised to jump at the younger girl, and then Yixing relaxes with a smile.
“Oh, that’s cute. When did you say yes?”
Jongin heaves a sigh of relief and glares fondly. “You’re such a pain. I told her on Monday, after lunch. I texted her “yes” and she knew what I meant.” Pouting at the memory, she continues, “I purposely sent it while she was in calculus so I could avoid an explosion of gossip, but within minutes of seeing my message she barged into the library and kissed me in the middle of free study. No one really saw, and I didn’t mind, but still. I'm not sure how she even managed to get out of class.”
“Sounds like she really likes you.” Yixing stands and smiles, ready to head to her next class. “Lunch is almost over, so I’m gonna head out. Thank you for telling me about your girlfriend, even though I had to persuade you to use real words and not just blush and giggle.” She dodges that playful swat Jongin sends towards her shoulder and walks to the door with a laugh. “You’re too violent to the people in your life. Honestly, Sehun deserves a medal if this is how you treat him all the time. Poor Baekhyun, doesn’t even know what she’s getting into.”
Jongin doesn’t hear the door shut behind Yixing, too focused on the vague unease curling in her gut. She hasn’t told Sehun, and if not being told bothered someone as mild-mannered as Xing… She rushes through gathering her photos together, not nearly careful enough handling the test shots, and pushes everything into her bag before speeding out the clubroom door. She’s got ten minutes till class starts to find her best friend.
Thursday; 3:52pm; Holding Street
Things have never been this awkward between Jongin and Sehun before, and its throwing the both of them off. Jongin had completely missed Sehun after lunch, and though she’d meant to go find him during her free study Baekhyun had surprised her with a pass to go off campus. Jongin had gone to get ice cream (their first official outing as girlfriends- she flushed just thinking about it) and decided to talk to Sehun on the walk home. She wanted to work up the nerve to say something, but her best friend senses were tingling. The way Sehun kept fidgeting with his backpack straps told her he had something he wanted to talk about too. Sehun never wanted to talk about feelings unless it was serious.
Sehun glanced at Jongin out of the corner of his eye, snapping his vision forward when she looked at him. The two had been next door neighbors since they were six, and he could see their side by side houses coming into view. Jongin kept pulling at her ponytail, a sure sign she wanted to say something but wasn’t sure how. He’d been holding off since they left school to give her a chance to share first, but time was running out. It was their junior year of high school, and once they split up to do homework for the night, they likely wouldn’t speak again until the next morning. The idea of Jongin going to bed thinking he was a dismissive ass weighed heavy in his chest; he had to tell her. He stopped walking abruptly and waited for Jongin to notice and stop as well.
“Sehun, what is it?”
“I’m really, really, really, really, honestly, seriously sorry if you ever tried to tell me about your sexuality and I brushed it off as a joke.”
Jongin stared at him with wide eyes, “Wait, Sehun, what?”
He scuffed the sidewalk with his toe and stared her awkwardly in the eye.
“Ya know, like, all those times you told me to straighten up or you’d get a girlfriend before me, and I just laughed. If that was your way of sharing, I’m sorry for not taking you seriously.”
Sehun waited for a response, but instead he got tackled in a hug.
“Sehun, what the hell, is that why you’ve been so antsy?”
“Um, yes? Whoa, wait, are you crying; please don’t cry.”
Jongin laughed into his shoulder, “They’re happy tears, you butt.” Stepping back to look at him properly, she grinned. “I never thought you were rejecting me, but thank you for being so accepting and I appreciate that you wanted to apologize. Also, I’m sorry for not telling you about Baekhyun. I just… didn’t think it would mean so much that I wasn’t talking about it, but as my best friend I guess you oughta know. Sehun, I’m dating Byun Baekhyun.”
Sehun smiled in relief.
“Well, I’m happy for you.”
The two continued down towards their homes, the atmosphere much lighter. Just as they separated, Jongin called out.
“Hey, Sehun.”
“Yeah?”
“Told you I’d get a girlfriend before you.”
Saturday; 8:00am; Baekhyun’s Room
Jongin lounged against Baekhyun’s headboard, fingers carding through the petite girl’s long messy hair.
“Baek, we really gotta get started on your composition. The second movement is still clunky and awkward.”
“Mmm, or we could stay in bed and cuddle.”
“Baekhyun, we have to be productive.”
Baekhyun looked up at her girlfriend, and then rolled to the opposite side of the bed towards her end table. Jongin watched curiously as she unplugged her tablet and rolled back.
“You want productive, Nini? How’s looking through all of our friends’ Instagram and Facebook posts to see how the party went for productive?”
Jongin wanted to protest, to say that wasn’t productive at all, but somewhere around the cute nickname her tongue had fallen numb in her mouth and she couldn’t quite get herself to speak. She whined and wriggled about; it wasn’t fair, Baekhyun knew petnames were her weakness. All she got for her efforts was a pat to the thigh.
“Shh, I know Nini, I can’t wait to see how drunk everyone got too.”
Resigned to the fact that they wouldn’t be getting any work done for at least the next two hours, Jongin settled into the pillows around her and relaxed. She closed her eyes, ready to doze, when Baekhyun yelped and then descended into giggles, effectively rousing her.
“Baek, what in the world?”
“All these posts say the same thing. Everyone is bummed we didn’t come last night because no one believes we’re dating. They were hoping we’d show up and like, make out of Chanyeol’s couch or something.”
The flush in Jongin’s cheeks was immediate and intense, and Baekhyun couldn’t help but coo.
“Chanyeol, Sehun, Yixing, and two of Yixing’s friends, Jongdae and Kyungsoo are all defending us online. They sound like fanboys and fangirls, declaring our love is real and citing random moments to prove it, but no one believes them.” Baekhyun’s laugh sounded like bells, and Jongin groaned inside because she knew that whatever Baekhyun suggested she’d end up going along with. “I think we should give them all the proof they want, don’t you, Nini?”
Jongin slumped to the side with a whine.
“Why are our friends like this? Why is our school like this? Why are you like this? Why is my life like this?”
She didn’t get an answer, but she did feel Baekhyun crawl up beside her and plant a soft kiss on her temple. Arms reaching blindly, she pulled Baekhyun in closer until she was cuddled into Jongin’s side.
“Nini, sweetheart. Open your eyes.”
Jongin opened her eyes, and blinked a few times to focus only to see Baekhyun’s arm extended, cell phone in hand and front camera on.
“Say, cheese! No! Say, girlfriends!”
Jongin sighed in fond exasperation and waited until Baekhyun had a picture she liked to upload to all of her social platforms.
“Nini, go change your facebook to say in a relationship with me!”
Baekhyun pushed her cell phone into her hands and bounced on the bed excitedly.
“Alright, but after this we get to work.”
“Oh, I can get to work alright.”
They gross way Baekhyun’s eyebrows waggled as she leered shouldn’t have been attractive at all, but Jongin was starting to understand that as long as she was with Baekhyun, nothing would be quite predictable.
Rating: G
Warnings: none
Summary: Byun Baekhyun always has the last word, but this time is a lot sweeter than usual.
Word Count: 3995
This is crossposted from here!
Monday; 3:30pm; Main Hallway
“Hey, Baekhyun! Are you coming to my party this weekend?”
Chanyeol’s voice is loud and it cracks halfway through his sentence, but he either doesn’t notice or doesn’t care as he pinwheels his arms in the middle of the hall to get his best friend’s attention. Despite being the captain of the basketball team and highly skilled on the court, he doesn’t seem to put much effort into controlling his limbs off the court and students around him duck to get passed, used to this kind of thing now that they’re halfway through the school year. Baekhyun tucks a strand of hair behind her ear and hikes her backpack up on her shoulders before adjusting her knee length skirt.
She strides closer to her friend and grabs his wrists to still him before answering with a smile.
“Sorry, Yeol, but I can’t come. I told you at the beginning of the month I’d be busy every Saturday working on my senior music project with Jongin. She’s not a senior yet and is only helping me as a favor so I really need to respect her time.”
“That’s Saturdays, my party is this Friday. You can totally make it! I’ll pick you up and everything. I’m the basketball captain, you’re head cheerleader and my best friend; we run the social life at this school together, but recently I’ve been flying solo.” Chanyeol leaned down to pout directly in Baekhyun’s face; ten years ago the sight of his large watery puppy dog eyes would have had her doing anything, but they’re 16 now, and Baekhyun manages to stand firm. Only just barely, though.
“No, Chanyeol. You throw great parties, and I know that I’ll end up there all night and then I won’t wake up in time on Saturday, and even if I do I’ll be hungover.” She pushes Chanyeol’s face away and turns away, sticking her hand out behind her, confident he’ll grab hold as they walk out to their bus.
Chanyeol grabs her hand alright, but he doesn’t follow along like she wants. Baekhyun feels her arm jerk as he holds her in place like an anchor and whines. Chanyeol lets her push him around so often she genuinely forgets sometimes that he is much bigger and stronger than her, and she doesn’t like being reminded either. She whips around to glare at him and is stopped by the look growing on his face. Baekhyun scowls at the way his eyes are lighting up like he finally understands some amazing secret.
“Holy shit, Baek.”
“Chanyeol, come on we’re going to miss the bus. Save whatever internal epiphany you’re having for later, because we really gotta-”
“Byun Baekhyun, are you honestly making an effort to be awake, on time, and not a hungover mess on a Saturday morning because of Jongin?”
Baekhyun wants to smack him upside the head. So she does. The fact that she had to jump to do so makes it a little less impactful than she was hoping for but it gets her point across just fine. Unfortunately, Chanyeol’s skull is irritatingly thick, metaphorically and literally, and he keeps on grinning. With long strides he takes off for the school’s double doors, swinging her arm as he goes.
“You are, you totally are!” he crows, “You’re making an effort to be as cleaned up and pleasant as possible for little Jonginnie! My best friend wouldn’t happen to have a crush, would she?”
Baekhyun wants to be irritated at the scene he’s causing, but the ridiculous way his face scrunches up when he tries to waggle his eyebrows makes that hard. Even if she isn’t actually mad, people are starting to stare, and Baekhyun needs to get the upper hand back quickly. After all, she has a reputation to maintain. She jerks her hand out of his and smoothes down the front pf her skirt once more before patting his cheek and giving him a bright eyesmile.
“If it was only a crush and I didn’t try to be at least sober for our meetings, then that would make me the world’s worst girlfriend, and Jongin deserves better than that. Honestly, Chanyeol, have a little faith in me. Of course I do my best to treat my lady right.”
She’s out the front doors and halfway down the stairs before the hallway erupts into sound again, and she doesn’t look back.
Inside, Chanyeol jerks into motion and follows her. He’d already known she was bisexual, but he hadn’t known that Jongin liked girls, or that the two were even into each other. It’s just like Baekhyun to drop something like that on him randomly just to have the last word. As he heads after her, he can’t help but wonder what the school rumor mill is going to do with the information that their resident empress and ruler had an empress of her own, but isn’t overly concerned. He was sure that by the time his party ended, he would find out.
Tuesday; 9:00am; Calculus II Classroom
Kyungsoo is sitting at her desk, carefully organizing her notebook and pens for the day’s notes. Carefully, she lines them up so they all point the same way and flips the notebook open to a fresh sheet, ready for the day. Her face doesn’t change from its serene expression when a body that could only be her best friend Jongdae slides up and hip checks her desk, sending the pens sprawling. She looks up, face blank and eyes frigid and Jongdae continues to grin but moves to her own seat, putting the back of her chair and Kyungsoo’s desk in between the two of them.
“You rolled your skirt up again.”
“I did,” Jongdae leers, “like what you see?”
“What I would like, is for you to fix my desk.”
Kneeling backwards in her seat, Jongdae leans in to reorganize Kyungsoo’s workspace, chattering about Chanyeol’s upcoming party as she goes. The room hushes; Jongdae looks over her shoulder, Kyungsoo focuses on long, elegant, thin fingers handling the pen she normally chews, and then the room erupts into low buzzing.
“Soo! Baekhyun just walked in!”
Kyungsoo grunts at the mention of Jongdae’s long time crush, “You always talk about her but you never talk to her. If you want her attention go over there and leave me be.”
Kyungsoo can feel Jongdae’s eyes wide on her and she looks up only to be surprised by how concerned Jongdae seems. The two girls never talk out their heart to heart moments, both better with thoughtful actions and snarky words, but she’s thinking this time might be different when Jongdae’s face splits into a wide grin.
“Soo, are you jealous? You know I love you the most; I could never abandon you! If I did, who would show the student body that you aren’t a stoic ice queen ax murderer?”
To anyone else it would be callous, but with soft hands gripping her own, Kyungsoo knows that Jongdae’s really attempting to console her. She’s about to snatch her hand away and scoff like she’s sure Jongdae expects of her when the other girl drops her hand and flops dramatically on the desk, messing up her pens and notebook for the second time.
“Besides! My chance is gone; that ship has sailed. I always hoped I would be the one to catch the cute, popular, cheerleader but alas a sophomore has beaten me to it.” And then Jongdae is sitting up, reorganizing the desk and leaning closer to whisper, “Did you hear? Yesterday right before she left Baekhyun announced that she was dating Kim Jongin. Honestly, I don’t know who I’m more jealous of. Of course, Jongin gets to date the fire of my loins, but to be the girl that gets Jongin under her.”
Kyungsoo lets loose a soft sigh, “She got Jongin, huh?”
Jongdae hums the affirmative, toying with the pens again. Kyungsoo doesn’t respond and when Jongdae looks up all she sees are glazed over eyes and pursed lips.
“Um, earth to Do Kyungsoo, come in Do Kyungsoo. Please remember that while we both have eyes and we both have crushes and talk freely about our crushes, we also have a sworn pact to never have erotic thoughts about said crushes while together.”
Jongdae bites her lip to hold back a smile. She doesn’t want her face to give away how cute she thinks Kyungsoo is, trying to keep a straight face with her flushed cheeks. Jongdae watches her girlfriend tilt forward, letting her bangs hide her face, and fist pumps inside. Kyungsoo hardly ever really lets Jongdae take charge of her in the bedroom, but something about how embarrassed and apologetic the small girl in front of her appears tells Jongdae that she’ll be getting a reward tonight. The teacher walks in just then and Jongdae turns around to sit properly in her seat just in time to see Jongin slink out of the room waving goodbye to Baekhyun. She shakes her head, pigtails bobbing; it must really be true.
Wednesday; 5:00pm; Boys Locker Room
Ten young men drape themselves over the benches, bodies exhausted and limbs sore.
“I want to shower, but everything hurts. The very idea of moving hurts. Ideas hurt.”
“Chanyeol, as our captain, I feel like you should be a bit more motivational.”
“Junmyeon, I try my best to lead you all on the court and off, and if there’s one thing I pride myself on,” Chanyeol grunts as he pushes himself to sit up, one hand wiping at his face, “it’s being honest. But if it’s motivation you want, it’s motivation you’ll have, so. Everything hurts, but we had a great practice; power through until you can get home and rest and tomorrow we’ll be back at it, better than ever.”
By the time Chanyeol finishes, he’s standing and half undressed ready to go shower himself. The team gives a lackluster response to his pep talk and he makes sure to snap each of them on the thighs with a towel as he heads to the shower himself. As he rounds the corner he hears one of the showers running and hollers back over his shoulder, “Up and at ‘em you guys, we have to clear out before 5:40 this time. Be more like Sehun here, getting stuff done.”
When he finally steps into the community shower though, sounds of the team coming alive behind him, what he finds is not Sehun getting stuff done, but rather Sehun staring blankly at the chipping tile soap in hand.
“Dude, are you alright?”
“I have known Jongin my whole life, and the entire time she bossed me around. “Stand up straight, girls don’t like guys who slouch, at this rate I’ll get a girlfriend before you.” “Do your homework properly, girls don’t like guys who don’t try, if you don’t do better I’ll get a girlfriend before you.” “Eat your vegetables or girls will walk right past you to date me.”” Sehun seems to get smaller right before Chanyeol’s eyes. “All this time I thought she was just trying to goad me into trying harder. What if she was trying to tell me? What if she thinks I was being dismissive? I swear I didn’t know! What if she-”
“Whoa pal, what if you just chill out there for a minute,” Chanyeol approaches his younger teammate slowly, like an animal that might run off if he moved too quickly, and stops when he can rest a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “What if none of that is true, and she understands?”
“If she knows I’m fine with her liking whoever then why did I found out my best friend was in a relationship in the main hallway of the school like it was some second-hand gossip?”
Chanyeol’s got no answer for that, so he shrugs and squeezes the bony shoulder under his palm. “Maybe you should ask Jongin that. But really, calm down. She clearly is still your friend, so even if you did screw up a sincere apology for being boneheaded is all you need.”
Sehun nods once and grins up at his team captain, “Thanks a lot, Chanyeol.”
The rest of the team finally filters in around them and Chanyeol lets his hand slide away from Sehun. The younger boy moves to finish cleaning himself and Chanyeol robotically does the same, glad that he was able to actually be of some help.
Thursday; Noon; Film Club Room
Yixing slows to a stop just outside the classroom door and adjusts herself in the reflection till she doesn’t look like she’d just run all the way from the cafeteria. Finally satisfied that her bangs were artfully tousled enough and her curls were neatly placed, she pulled open the door to the room carefully and stuck her head in. Standing in front of the windows in the back of the room, next to the door to the dark room, was exactly girl she’d been looking for. Yixing slips in, shuts the door gently behind her, and crosses the room slowly, careful not to create a draft that would disturb the various photographs laid about.
“Hiya, Jongin! What are you developing?”
Yixing’s younger friend looks back over her shoulder with a soft smile.
“Hey, Xing. I’m just working on a couple nature shots for the portfolio project we’ve got coming up.”
“You’re always working ahead. I’m sure you could use a break; maybe to go to Chanyeol’s party tomorrow?”
Jongin turns to peer at Yixing, brow furrowed in confusion. The hair gathered at the crown of her head in a half ponytail bobs as she shakes her head in confusion; the photos of her backyard hang forgotten in her fingers.
“Yixing, I never go to Chanyeol’s parties. We’re meeting tomorrow at your house for movie night, like we do every Friday. Just this morning you fussed at Tao and I to bring popcorn and extra hair scrunchies because you were tired of sharing.” Jongin’s nose wrinkles, her own confusion starting to fluster her.
“Oh, I know.” Yixing steps forward and rescues the pictures dangling precariously in Jongin’s hands and setting them on the table. “I just needed an easy segway, so I created one for myself. Ahem. Speaking of Chanyeol, his best friend is Baekhyun. Are you going to ever tell me that you’re dating her or are we going to pretend she didn’t say it in front of the entire student body?”
The question brings an immediate flush to Jongin’s cheeks; Yixing watches her try to fight down a grin and wishes she was holding a camera good enough to capture the warm natural sunlight and the blush in Jongin’s face.
“Well, you already know. Do I still have to say it?”
It’s enough confirmation for Yixing, and moments later she’s pulled Jongin to sit at an empty table.
“How did this happen, tell me everything.”
Jongin feels like her face is on fire, and her cheeks ache because she can’t stop smiling even though she’s trying.
“There’s not much to tell, Xing, honestly. We’ve been friends for a while, since we worked that bake sale together. We just, I dunno, started to like each other.” Jongin glances at her friend; Yixing is unimpressed and her fingers are twitching on the table.
“I will tickle you.”
“Okay, okay,” Jongin rushes the words out, leaning backwards to get out of arm’s reach, “Last Saturday we met up at her place like usual to work through her senior project and as I was packing up my violin she asked if she could kiss me; I said yes, we kissed, she asked me out, I said I needed time, she sent me home. That’s it, that’s all I swear!”
Everything freezes for a second, air tense with Yixing still poised to jump at the younger girl, and then Yixing relaxes with a smile.
“Oh, that’s cute. When did you say yes?”
Jongin heaves a sigh of relief and glares fondly. “You’re such a pain. I told her on Monday, after lunch. I texted her “yes” and she knew what I meant.” Pouting at the memory, she continues, “I purposely sent it while she was in calculus so I could avoid an explosion of gossip, but within minutes of seeing my message she barged into the library and kissed me in the middle of free study. No one really saw, and I didn’t mind, but still. I'm not sure how she even managed to get out of class.”
“Sounds like she really likes you.” Yixing stands and smiles, ready to head to her next class. “Lunch is almost over, so I’m gonna head out. Thank you for telling me about your girlfriend, even though I had to persuade you to use real words and not just blush and giggle.” She dodges that playful swat Jongin sends towards her shoulder and walks to the door with a laugh. “You’re too violent to the people in your life. Honestly, Sehun deserves a medal if this is how you treat him all the time. Poor Baekhyun, doesn’t even know what she’s getting into.”
Jongin doesn’t hear the door shut behind Yixing, too focused on the vague unease curling in her gut. She hasn’t told Sehun, and if not being told bothered someone as mild-mannered as Xing… She rushes through gathering her photos together, not nearly careful enough handling the test shots, and pushes everything into her bag before speeding out the clubroom door. She’s got ten minutes till class starts to find her best friend.
Thursday; 3:52pm; Holding Street
Things have never been this awkward between Jongin and Sehun before, and its throwing the both of them off. Jongin had completely missed Sehun after lunch, and though she’d meant to go find him during her free study Baekhyun had surprised her with a pass to go off campus. Jongin had gone to get ice cream (their first official outing as girlfriends- she flushed just thinking about it) and decided to talk to Sehun on the walk home. She wanted to work up the nerve to say something, but her best friend senses were tingling. The way Sehun kept fidgeting with his backpack straps told her he had something he wanted to talk about too. Sehun never wanted to talk about feelings unless it was serious.
Sehun glanced at Jongin out of the corner of his eye, snapping his vision forward when she looked at him. The two had been next door neighbors since they were six, and he could see their side by side houses coming into view. Jongin kept pulling at her ponytail, a sure sign she wanted to say something but wasn’t sure how. He’d been holding off since they left school to give her a chance to share first, but time was running out. It was their junior year of high school, and once they split up to do homework for the night, they likely wouldn’t speak again until the next morning. The idea of Jongin going to bed thinking he was a dismissive ass weighed heavy in his chest; he had to tell her. He stopped walking abruptly and waited for Jongin to notice and stop as well.
“Sehun, what is it?”
“I’m really, really, really, really, honestly, seriously sorry if you ever tried to tell me about your sexuality and I brushed it off as a joke.”
Jongin stared at him with wide eyes, “Wait, Sehun, what?”
He scuffed the sidewalk with his toe and stared her awkwardly in the eye.
“Ya know, like, all those times you told me to straighten up or you’d get a girlfriend before me, and I just laughed. If that was your way of sharing, I’m sorry for not taking you seriously.”
Sehun waited for a response, but instead he got tackled in a hug.
“Sehun, what the hell, is that why you’ve been so antsy?”
“Um, yes? Whoa, wait, are you crying; please don’t cry.”
Jongin laughed into his shoulder, “They’re happy tears, you butt.” Stepping back to look at him properly, she grinned. “I never thought you were rejecting me, but thank you for being so accepting and I appreciate that you wanted to apologize. Also, I’m sorry for not telling you about Baekhyun. I just… didn’t think it would mean so much that I wasn’t talking about it, but as my best friend I guess you oughta know. Sehun, I’m dating Byun Baekhyun.”
Sehun smiled in relief.
“Well, I’m happy for you.”
The two continued down towards their homes, the atmosphere much lighter. Just as they separated, Jongin called out.
“Hey, Sehun.”
“Yeah?”
“Told you I’d get a girlfriend before you.”
Saturday; 8:00am; Baekhyun’s Room
Jongin lounged against Baekhyun’s headboard, fingers carding through the petite girl’s long messy hair.
“Baek, we really gotta get started on your composition. The second movement is still clunky and awkward.”
“Mmm, or we could stay in bed and cuddle.”
“Baekhyun, we have to be productive.”
Baekhyun looked up at her girlfriend, and then rolled to the opposite side of the bed towards her end table. Jongin watched curiously as she unplugged her tablet and rolled back.
“You want productive, Nini? How’s looking through all of our friends’ Instagram and Facebook posts to see how the party went for productive?”
Jongin wanted to protest, to say that wasn’t productive at all, but somewhere around the cute nickname her tongue had fallen numb in her mouth and she couldn’t quite get herself to speak. She whined and wriggled about; it wasn’t fair, Baekhyun knew petnames were her weakness. All she got for her efforts was a pat to the thigh.
“Shh, I know Nini, I can’t wait to see how drunk everyone got too.”
Resigned to the fact that they wouldn’t be getting any work done for at least the next two hours, Jongin settled into the pillows around her and relaxed. She closed her eyes, ready to doze, when Baekhyun yelped and then descended into giggles, effectively rousing her.
“Baek, what in the world?”
“All these posts say the same thing. Everyone is bummed we didn’t come last night because no one believes we’re dating. They were hoping we’d show up and like, make out of Chanyeol’s couch or something.”
The flush in Jongin’s cheeks was immediate and intense, and Baekhyun couldn’t help but coo.
“Chanyeol, Sehun, Yixing, and two of Yixing’s friends, Jongdae and Kyungsoo are all defending us online. They sound like fanboys and fangirls, declaring our love is real and citing random moments to prove it, but no one believes them.” Baekhyun’s laugh sounded like bells, and Jongin groaned inside because she knew that whatever Baekhyun suggested she’d end up going along with. “I think we should give them all the proof they want, don’t you, Nini?”
Jongin slumped to the side with a whine.
“Why are our friends like this? Why is our school like this? Why are you like this? Why is my life like this?”
She didn’t get an answer, but she did feel Baekhyun crawl up beside her and plant a soft kiss on her temple. Arms reaching blindly, she pulled Baekhyun in closer until she was cuddled into Jongin’s side.
“Nini, sweetheart. Open your eyes.”
Jongin opened her eyes, and blinked a few times to focus only to see Baekhyun’s arm extended, cell phone in hand and front camera on.
“Say, cheese! No! Say, girlfriends!”
Jongin sighed in fond exasperation and waited until Baekhyun had a picture she liked to upload to all of her social platforms.
“Nini, go change your facebook to say in a relationship with me!”
Baekhyun pushed her cell phone into her hands and bounced on the bed excitedly.
“Alright, but after this we get to work.”
“Oh, I can get to work alright.”
They gross way Baekhyun’s eyebrows waggled as she leered shouldn’t have been attractive at all, but Jongin was starting to understand that as long as she was with Baekhyun, nothing would be quite predictable.