"i hate you." // jaeyong

XIX. partner

"really?" jaehyun asked, smiling wide.

taeyong nodded. he ran a hand through his black locks.

"yeah, i'd love to be your partner. we can meet up whenever you want. i bet we can get it done fairly quick as the two smartest students in the class," taeyong said and lightly elbowed jae's arm, a bashful smile on display.

jaehyun laughed at the boy's actions. he loved that the two were able to act like such friends in a casual way, it was natural to the both of them by now. yet, the sentence still stuck in jae's head:

'i'd love to be your partner.'

"taeyong!" a small nakamoto yuta called from down the hallway. he ran up to the two and threw an arm around tae's shoulders.

"oh, am i interrupting something?" yuta said. jaehyun quirked an eyebrow, confused at the smaller's comment. only then did he realize what the boy was talking about, face erupting into a deep red:

jaehyun and taeyong were still holding hands. jae's right hand in the other's left, on display for the entire hallway to stare at. a small "oh," had left taeyong's lips as he had also just discovered their hands. neither made any effort to move. yuta stared at both boys in wonder, trying to figure something out. he grinned.

"well, come on, taeyong, we have another lecture in a couple minutes. we should head over there." yuta said. taeyong nodded his head and began to turn away from jaehyun, his fingers leaving the warmth of the other's palm. it was almost in slow motion, this scenario. taeyong turned away from jaehyun and their eye contact shattered.

he stared as taeyong walked down the hallway. his hand suddenly felt cold.

.

taeyong

it was in just a flash. one second, taeyong and his best friend yuta were walking down the hallway on the way to their class, when suddenly yuta grabbed him and threw him into a vacant bathroom, right against the wall. taeyong stared at the boy in surprise.

yuta looked under all of the stalls in the room to make sure the two were alone then locked the door to the bathroom.

"what the hell was that?" yuta asked taeyong, slightly bouncing as he did so.

"what was what?" taeyong asked back. yuta stared straight at taeyong, giving him a look that could only say 'really?'

"you and captain of the basketball team. holding hands. blushing. taeyong, oh my god, why didn't you tell me about your boyfriend!" yuta said and squealed and started hopping in place. taeyong was taken aback.

"what do you mean? he's just jaehyun, and we're just friends. that's all." taeyong said, trying to reassure the man who had apparently been jumping to conclusions. literally.

"lee taeyong. i can literally see it in your face," yuta started, "i saw you in that hallway back there, you looked so in love. in all of the years i've been your best friend i've never seen you look at anything that way. and the hands! the hands, taeyong! friends don't do that. taeyong, why didn't you tell me you were gay-"

"because i'm not!" a now angry taeyong spat back at yuta.

or, at least he didn't think he was gay. jaehyun was a guy. he didn't like jaehyun that way, he couldn't. he just...

he couldn't.

oh, the number of conflicted thoughts that have gone through taeyong's head these last few days, he was truly going insane over jaehyun. he was the first guy he's ever had these 'feelings' for and taeyong had no idea how to react. were they even feelings? jae would just never leave taeyong's thoughts, no matter how hard he tried. his smile, his luscious hair, his amazingly mature yet hilarious personality...

was taeyong falling for him? 

"i don't like jaehyun, we're just friends and that's all we'll ever be. so, give up on whatever fantasy you're thinking of. i don't like guys and you can leave me alone." taeyong deadpanned and left the bathroom.

.

it was almost time.

earlier, jaehyun and taeyong had texted to meet in the evening at his own apartment to work on the project. jaehyun, after basketball practice, and taeyong, scrambling to tidy up his bare apartment for the guest visiting. he made sure everything was picked up off the floor and wiped down clean shining and sparkling, fit for his neatly tendencies. he was wearing a white t-shirt that was slightly oversized and a pair of black fitted sweats. did he look okay?

he began to feel anxious. the boy causing him all of this trouble was coming over. to taeyong's own apartment. he would see all of taeyong's things. what if it wasn't clean enough? what if he didn't really want to work with taeyong? why did he choose him as a partner anyway? what did he think of holding hands-

ding! the doorbell.

taeyong's eyes went wide. he looked over at the clock.

'6:30' it read. jaehyun was here already?

taeyong took the longest inhale, exhaling after the few seconds he had held his breath. he walked over to his front door and hesitantly placed his hand on the handle. he slowly swung the object open and stood behold the tall jung jaehyun. taeyong let out a shaky breath.

his brown hair was slightly wet, most likely from showering after basketball practice, some strands stuck together. he wore a loose gray hoodie and a pair of sweats, exactly matching taeyong's. it was odd how many outfits they have almost matched. nonetheless, he looked good. really good.

he smiled wide, resting an arm against the doorway. he eyed taeyong up and down.

"we seem to always have matching clothes, huh?" jaehyun said, his voice sounding slightly husky.

taeyong blushed.

he could already tell this was going to be a long night.

~

are y'all ready? -beigeminhos 🔆