[ ✓ ] 𝐂𝐎𝐋𝐎𝐑 𝐌𝐄 𝐁𝐋𝐔𝐄 , taewin .

TWENTY FOUR

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TWENTY FOUR.

❝ used to see you high,
now you're only low. ❞
— BLUE ; TROYE SIVAN.

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It was in fourth hour when Taeil decided last-minute to ask me to prom. He didn't do it in an extravagant way, though, like most couples do. Maybe because he knew we weren't a couple. Just buddies. With benefits.

He put the neon-green sticky note in the pocket of my jacket. It simply said, prom registration packets are due tomorrow. We should go.

I sent it back to him by shoving the paper in his hoodie. He noticed it had fallen out as he went to stand up. The bell continues to drone through the halls, signaling the end of class. Taeil frowned when he read the giant NO I had written on the back. I gave him a smirk as he glared at me with a deadly gaze.

While he was off the walls about renting a tux and corsage, I couldn't care less. Everyday, he asked me about our plan for the magical night, and I would tell him what I know he wanted to hear. But all he seemed to want was to make me happy, but I couldn't make that happen, not when I knew I was hurting him. He wanted me, and I was somewhere far away.

Taeil shows up to my house already dressed and ready, holding the corsages for us in a plastic container. His mom stands behind him, holding a rather large and professional-looking camera in her hands. He has a big smile plastered on his face. He looks utterly handsome standing there in the doorway, the sunlight beaming behind him.

"Why aren't you dressed?" he asks as he sets the container on the kitchen table. I grimace as Taeil puts his hands on my shoulders. "Come on, let's get you ready."

We go upstairs into my bedroom, where the tuxedo is hung up on the back of the door. Taeil grins as he takes it off the hook, disassembling the blazer from the shirt and the tie. I undress, and he helps button up the shirt as I try to figure out the tie. He moves his gaze up to me every second or so, and he's always smiling. Eyes sparkling. I try and ask myself if I'm making a mistake by letting him go, not loving him back.

"Taeil," I say, breaking the silence in the air. He looks at me with concern as he fixes my vest. "When you said that this...us...meant nothing, did you really mean that?"

Taeil stays quiet for a long moment. I know he's thinking. He's trying to come up with an answer that won't hurt me, and won't hurt him. He purses his lips before going on. "I want you to feel comfortable. I don't know where your heart is. But you should know that whatever you decide, I still love you. Even just as friends."

I take in a deep breath.

"I think we should keep things...you know," I begin. He fixes the cuffs of the jacket as I think hard about what comes out of my mouth next. "Normal."