Mortal Masks

Chapter Six

"Okay, okay..." Sungchan giggles over the rim of his glass, hiccupping as he cradles the sugary drink in his hand, "two truths and a lie!"

Immediately, Jeno and Mark groan is disagreement. However, the edges of their lips are upturned into a permanent smile, stomachs still aching from Donghyuck's terrible dragon impersonations as the film credits for How To Train Your Dragon roll quietly in the background.

"Or we could play truth or dare..." Shotaro suggests, and as Donghyuck's eyes go wide and Mark's laugh deepens at whatever memory is triggered by the mention of the game, Jaemin watches on eagerly, eyes sparkling as Donghyuck is quick to object.

"Absolutely not!" He cries, fighting the urge to rise onto his feet to stand his ground, "The last time you made us play, I ended up with a twisted ankle and a new fear of human pyramids, so no, sorry, there's no chance in hell!"

Jaemin lets slip a quiet laugh as he watches some of the boys dissolve into tears, clearly remembering what had gone down that day.

Rolling his eyes half in amusement, Donghyuck lets out a dramatic huff as he slouches against Mark, his head finding its home on Mark's shoulder and hands busying themselves with the hem of Mark's shirt.

"I guess we're doing two truths and a lie then" Jeno states, still breathless from his friend's antics.

"Can't we just watch another film?" Mark interjects, keeping himself as still as possible as not to disturb the boy latched onto his side, "Besides, don't we all know each other too well for this?"

Donghyuck hums in agreement and Jaemin can't stop his gaze from lingering on the pair as they exchange whispers, like they're in their own world.

As Jaemin looked over at them both, he noted how Mark kept his shoulders dropped so that Donghyuck's head could rest upon them. Even though his position looked a little uncomfortable, as Mark's hand worked gently and diligently to brush stray strands of Donghyuck's hair from his eyes, Mark didn't look like he minded one bit. Whatever Donghyuck had said about them being too different or about how it would never work out between them, looking at them now, Jaemin didn't see how it couldn't.

But then again, he reminded himself of his limited knowledge of both boys and instead turned his head away.

"I'm sure we all still have some deep dark secrets that need uncovering" Jeno murmurs, something in his eyes that causes some of the boys to shake their heads in amusement, almost like they shared a secret.

"Plus we've got a new addition to the group!" Sungchan cheers as he extends his hand out towards Jaemin, beaming brightly, "Jaemin, you in?"

And although Jaemin wasn't sure about the game itself, he found it rather hard to say no to the group of friend around him.

— • —

"Fine, fine!" Donghyuck huffs, his hands up in the air as if in defence, "Stop asking, stop asking, fine, I'll go, I'll go!"

Jaemin can't help but grin as Mark rolls his eyes, no one having asked for Donghyuck to begin, and yet they all make themselves comfortable, sitting in a circle, and Jaemin finds himself highly anticipating his new friends' go.

"Uhh, okay so, when I was younger, I used to compete in chess competitions," He starts, and whether it was the truth or not, Jaemin couldn't imagine a smaller Donghyuck sitting studying a chess board, "I also used to swallow mouthwash just because the bottle told me not to... And I once got drunk and cried because everything went black when I closed my eyes, and I thought I was going blind."

At the last one, both Shotaro and Jeno let out a howl as they grip their stomachs, almost doubling over as Shotaro whispers through almost tears, "I... I remember that"