Strawberry Milk - Jeonglix

37

A month passed. It was the most tedious month of Felix's life. Being apart from Jeongin was worse than when they were apart for exams this time. He knew he wouldn't be able to see him at the end of a certain period. Most days, Felix stayed in bed until the sun started to set outside and then he'd stay up all night playing video-games, a drastic change from how he spent the start of the year.

Sometimes he went to the skatepark, but he never did any skating. He sat there, hoping Jeongin would turn up, but he never did. Sometimes he went to Chan, Hyunjin and Minho's house and occasionally they'd get drunk together, but it usually ended with Hyunjin and Minho making out and almost fucking in front of the other two, so that became a less frequent thing. Most of the time, Felix was alone but he didn't spend hours crying anymore, if anything, he felt numb. He hadn't touched his guitar or skateboard in a while and he imagined his skills were dwindling but he couldn't find it within him to care.

It was another late night, or rather, early morning. He was sat on his bed, multiple blankets wrapped around his shoulders as the TV screen lit up his face. A game controller was in his hand and he was playing an online game with a group of Americans. None of his British friends were awake at 3 am, or at least, not playing video games. The only different thing about Felix, despite the change to his sleeping schedule and social life, was that his previously blond hair had been dyed by Chan one afternoon. It was now a bright orange. Chan said it looked adorable, especially with his freckles. Felix wished it was Jeongin who told him that. He missed Jeongin counting the dots dusting his cheeks. Felix realised his mind had started to wander after his game character died for the third time in ten minutes.

He felt his gaming skills were dwindling along with his music and skateboarding ones. He pulled off his headset, groaning. It was only then he heard a strange sound coming from outside his window. It was a quiet noise, like a small object hitting something repeatedly. When Felix threw the blankets off his shoulders and walked over, he saw something that made his breath hitch.

A small rock hit the window before the boy outside dropped the remaining ones he had to the ground. Felix pushed open his window, unable to take his eyess off the person in his front garden. "Jeongin?" He asked, watching as the boy gave him a small wave. "Wh-what on earth are you doing here?"

"I wanted to see you," Jeongin said, a smile on his lips, "can I come in?"

"Yeah, of course, one second," Felix nodded, pulling his window closed. He wondered if he was imagining things as he walked towards his bedroom door, smoothing down his hair and checking the clothes he was wearing. A three sizes too big band t-shirt and some shorts that weren't visible underneath. It was his usual pyjama look. It certainly wasn't an impressive outfit but it was the middle of the night. He doubted Jeongin expected him to be dressed up.

He had to creep down the stairs, careful not to wake his parents but luckily they were deep sleepers. He reached the bottom step and started sprinting to the door. His hands fumbled around with the key for a moment before he took a deep breath to calm himself and inserted it into the lock. When he pulled open the door, he saw Jeongin standing on his porch, a small smile on his face as if it had only been a day since they parted. He looked no different, the same black hair and usual plain clothes.

"Hi," Jeongin said, voice barely a whisper.

"Hi," Felix responded, moving to the side to let Jeongin passed. Jeongin took off his shoes and when he turned back to look at Felix, he noticed him staring as if he was in disbelief.

"I'm sorry. I'll explain everything."

"Ok," Felix nodded, closing the door and making sure he locked it before dropping the keys onto the side table. "We, um...we'll have to be quiet. My parents are asleep," he explained, making his way to the stairs and Jeongin nodded, following behind him. Felix wished they could have walked up holding hands like they usually did, but it didn't feel natural anymore. It had been so long and Felix had no idea where they stood.