Respiration

13

Jinyoung woke up the next morning and quickly got ready for school. He wasn't gonna hide it; he was excited to see Jackson today. That's why he rushed out of his apartment on time and nearly tumbled down the stairs trying to get out to the front of the building. He was panting as he ran out to the curb, slowing down as his eyes scanned the street. The excited grin on his face dropped as he looked for the red convertible that wasn't there.

He waited around for a few minutes, checking his phone to see if Jackson had contacted him. His phone was dry, and the street was still empty. He let out a sigh. He'd thought things were okay between them from their call last night. He'd told Jackson personally that he wanted to see him. Why didn't he show up?

Jinyoung stayed for a bit longer to see if Jackson was possibly late. Still nothing. He ended up having to take the bus to school again, his mood dreary the entire morning. He didn't know if Jackson was upset with him, or was still avoiding him, or if something bad happened. He didn't know what to think. His only hope left was seeing Jackson after class, but he didn't really keep faith in that thought.

Jinyoung found himself distracted by Jackson in class but only this time he was worrying about the latter rather than happily daydreaming about him. All Jinyoung wanted was to see him. Even if it were only for five minutes, he just wanted to see him.

Jinyoung's final class ended, and though he didn't expect to see Jackson in their usual meet up spot, he still kept his fingers crossed. Jinyoung thought he'd be disappointed again with Jackson's disappearance, but when he stepped out of the building he immediately spotted that red convertible. His eyes lit up, searching for the owner of the car who was at a nearby water fountain. Jackson turned his head as Jinyoung exited the building, that blinding smile climbing to his face as he waved.

Jinyoung was initially ecstatic to see Jackson again, three days and a few hours without seeing that face in person was definitely too long. Though his smile faded into a frown when he noticed Jackson's hand wrapped up in a dirty bandage, and another band aid decorating his cheek. He had a small split on his lip, a cut near his eyebrow, and another bruise near his eye. It should be impossible for someone so beat up to still look perfectly good, but Jackson looked as ethereal as ever even with his wounds.

Jinyoung wasn't focused on his good looks though, he was more startled by how bruised and battered he was, immediately breaking into a run towards him. "Jackson! Oh my god what happened to you?"

"Oh, this?" Jackson asked as he raised his wrapped hand, acting as if he forgot it even existed. "It's just... nothing..."

Jinyoung frowned, immediately grabbing Jackson's hand to examine it. "Don't tell me it's nothing, are you okay?"

"I'm fine! Just a little accident is all, don't worry." Jackson stated, quickly pulling his hand away from Jinyoung to throw his other arm around his shoulders.

"Car accident?" Jinyoung assumed as Jackson led him towards the car. It was the only type of 'accident' Jinyoung could think of that would have Jackson's face and hand all messed up.

"Uh, y-yeah...." Jackson mumbled out, looking over at Jinyoung who's attention was drawn to his car. Jackson followed Jinyoung's gaze to the car which for being in a car accident, looked totally fine. Jinyoung shot Jackson a puzzled look, the latter immediately explaining the lack of damage on his car. "Oh but, not in my car though! My friend's car. We crashed and I took most of the impact so... ouch."

Jinyoung looked back at the pristine condition of Jackson's car, chewing on his bottom lip as he felt something didn't exactly add up. He wasn't sure what, since Jackson's explanation did make sense, so he just ignored the weird feeling and brushed it off. "Well, if you need anything I'll gladly help. Want me to carry your bag?"

"No, no, no, I'm good. Let's just head somewhere to hang for a while. Sound good?" Jackson asked, seeming just as excited to see Jinyoung as Jinyoung was to see him.

Jinyoung's lips curled into a smile. He was so glad to be with Jackson again, being apart for more than a day really was just too long. He needed his daily fill of Jackson caffeine. "Sure."

"Come on!" Jackson squealed as he quickly made his way over to the driver's side of the car, grinning widely at Jinyoung who followed along.

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(*Double update today because why not*)