jaeyong ✧ skindeep

Thirteen

Jaehyun received the ball from his shorter teammate before shortly dribbling it and shooting from the three point mark. The ball, unsurprisingly, went through the hoop causing Jaehyun to high-five his black haired teammate and receive a short applause from the coach.

Jaehyun headed over to the bench, sweat dripping off his forehead and muscles, tired pants leaving his parted lips. His eyes darted to the bleachers where Doyoung and Taeyong were casually conversing. Keeping his gaze fixated on the two, Jaehyun quaffed half the water inside of his glass bottle and tiredly exhaled when sitting back.

~~~~

Jaehyun slid his practice bag strap over his shoulder whilst strolling beside Taeyong,"Sorry I took longer; we're practicing for an upcoming tournament."

The other replied,"It's fine. How important is the tournament?"

As they approached the parking lot, the brunette fished for his keys in his pockets,"Important enough that we can get to nationals? I mean, depending on how important that is to a single person."

Taeyong softly hummed,"I hope you guys make it."

Both got into opposite sides of the cars, Jaehyun throwing his stuff in the back once seated,"What do you feel like eating tonight?"

"I'm fine with anything," he almost hesitantly and timidly answered.

Jaehyun delicately looked at the latter, his eyebrows softened while he redirected his gaze and started up the car,"You know tomorrow's the last day of school, right?"

Taeyong placed his phone on his lap,"Oh, I forgot."

Jaehyun contemplated about asking Taeyong if he was okay or if he was fine, as his counterpart seemed specifically depressed, but figuring it would possibly lead to a conversation the older would be uncomfortable with, he discarded his thoughts and instead began to drive home.

~~~~

"So, the thing is-," the aged male began,"Taeyong, let me be blunt with you: you're fired."

Taeyong didn't retort or even show much as a hint of anger or frustration on his face,"Why?"

"You're shifts are inconsistent and you only come in three times a week. There's other situations and circumstances but, it just seems best that we let you go."

Taeyong set his hands down by his pockets,"Is that the only thing you summoned me here for?"

The man nodded in response,"Oh, wait, I have your pay check for last week since it was delayed." He reached in the drawer below his half empty ashtray and pulled out a wrinkled, white envelope.

Taeyong took the envelope from the man before exchanging a stoic expression with him and exiting the cold room. Once outside, he exhaled sharply, his jaw tightly clenched as he listlessly looked up at the partly cloudy sky,"This isn't going to be enough for everything."

~~~~

Taeyong returned to Jaehyun's house, the brunette busy with cooking at the same time he had arrived. Jaehyun lowered the fire under one of the sizzling pans before turning to Taeyong,"How was your walk?"

Taeyong stuffed the envelope in his back pocket, not realizing he still had it out,"It was fine. I ran into an opossum and a mosquito bit my arm."

What seemed like an extensive staring contest occurred, both of them looking at the other without a word exchanged, neither sure what to say next to eliminate the silence that consumed.

Jaehyun removed the apron from over his head,"Uh, dinner will be ready in five minutes. So..."

"I'll just go change," the raven said in a seemingly choppy and robotic manner.

After a short period of time, here they were, sitting across from each other at the kitchen island. Taeyong remained rather silent, taking a swig of water after every other bite of food. Of course like almost always, Jaehyun acknowledged Taeyong's unusual silent state. Sure, he understood suddenly moving in with someone after knowing them for around two months was abnormal, but Taeyong not speaking or seeming the slightest bit sincerely happy felt off.

Jaehyun lowered his chopsticks from near his mouth, a concerning gaze painting his face while looking at the latter,"If you don't like it, you don't have to eat it."

Taeyong softly shook his head, strands of his hair partly covered his eyes,"No, it tastes fine."

Jaehyun, trying to change the overall mood, faintly smiled,"You don't have anything going on for the next two weeks, right?"

"No."

Jaehyun sipped his water,"Great."

The younger's response left Taeyong confused, yet he shrugged it off and continued eating.

~~~~

Taeyong hurriedly finished his final assignments and shoved them into his backpack, glad he was temporarily finished with homework until summer vacation, which began the following day, would end.

He ingested a 'Diurex' pill from the box he still had hidden in his backpack, afterwards going to the bathroom to take a shower.

Jaehyun remained downstairs, his hands busy with scrubbing the dishes and putting them away. Afterwards, he sat down at the island, fidgeting with his phone and eventually calling an unsaved number.

"Hello? Yes, this is Jaehyun. Regarding tomorrow, I'll be having my friend picking it up at about two p.m. His name'z Doyoung, just to not confuse anything. Okay, thank you. Bye."

Jaehyun hung up the phone and folded his arms over the marble counter, his head resting against his forearms. He tiredly blinked, a small yawn following while his eyes began to close,"This may not be the best idea after all."

Taeyong walked down the steps, his gaze directed at the polished wood. He walked towards the counter, his body only stopping when he saw Jaehyun slowly falling asleep on the counter.

"Jaehyun?"

The latter shot awake, his eyes slowly opening.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you, I just came to turn the lights off."

"No, it's fine. I'm just a little tired from practice. Plus, it's probably not the best for me to sleep on a hard surface." Jaehyun grasped his phone and slid off the chair. Before leaving the room, he switched off all the lights, Taeyong going back upstairs before him.

~~~~