-z.cl.-
Zhong Chenle is in a dilemma.
For the most part, all aspects of his life are currently great. His grades, his friends, his girlfriend, all of it. Superb.
Especially his love life. Chenle is happier and more content than he ever has been before. He's currently texting the girl he adores, and apparently she feels the same.
Everything is perfect.
Kind of.
As Chenle sits and waits for the lovely lady to type out her response as he lays in bed, his eyes leave the device and wander to a slighty dried yellow rose on his shelves. Though the thing is so dehydrated it threatens to shed petals if ever touched, he can't help but focus on it.
He's choosing to ignore that it's not only the rose he's incessantly thinking of. He can imagine the flowery smell, but there's another scent. A darker, taller, more handsome aroma he can't get off his mind.
Another text from his girl. A small-talk, 'what are you doing?"
Blinking away the immediate thoughts that tell him to type, "Thinking about Jisung", he lies, sending an appropriate message instead. "Missing you <3"
He's not sure what it is about his skyscraper of a best friend, but the Park sure bothers his girlfriend. He's picked up on that lately.
Especially the other afternoon when he had mentioned Jisung. It was only a story or two, it hadn't been that bad.
Still, the girlfriend snapped, the irritation clear on her small face. "If Jisung's so perfect, why don't you just date him instead?"
If Chenle thought about it, Jisung would be the perfect guy. They already knew everything about each other and got along wonderfully. Chenle's volume and Jisung's lack of complemented perfectly. Not to mention, the boy wasn't too bad in the looks department. There were times when they were together that the Zhong could just sit and admire the younger if he wanted to. If it weren't for his girlfriend-
That was when Chenle remembered there was someone else there watching him, observing as he rolled the idea around in his head.
"You're unbelievable." She had frowned, her eyes wide. "Were you actually thinking about it?"
"Of course not." A lie. Chenle needed an excuse desperately. "Jisung's my best friend, nothing else."
She gave up the subject, but Chenle's not sure she believed him. He's not even sure he believes himself.
Right now everything is just in this confusing, muddled state of weird. Chenle loves this girl, but he also can't help noticing every detail about another lanky individual.
In times like this, he'd usually turn to Jisung to spill all his problems, but what is he supposed to say?
'Hey? Those romantic fuzzy feelings I should be having with this girl? I'm getting them with you instead."
Park Jisung is many things, but an affectionate, loving person he is not. Chenle can only imagine how terribly awkward of a trainwreck that conversation would go.
Chenle's not even sure that is what is going on here. Maybe this whole Jisung fascination is misplaced anxiety about starting a new relationship with the girl he really does like. Maybe he's just underestimating how good of a friend the Park is to him. It could be anything.
It doesn't help the situation when his girlfriend sends a text alerting the Zhong that she's going to sleep, leaving him alone with his thoughts.
Then he lays there and suffers.
He doesn't know how long he was there, staring at his ceiling, but it feels like both seconds and eternity. The only stop to his existential crisis is the vibration of his phone he tossed aside on his bed.
Someone's calling him, and he assumes it to be his girlfriend changing her mind, but the caller I.D. shows someone else entirely.
His curiosity is piqued at the notice of the late hour, and he can't help but wonder if his mess of thoughts summoned the boy.
Intrigued, he answers, holding the device to his ear.
"Go to sleep." Jisung's low tone emerged on the other side, causing a small smile to form on Chenle's face.
"I'm trying." Is his reply, attempting to sound honest. "I was just dozing off, your call woke me up."
A scoff was heard, seeing through the boy's words. "I can see your light on through the window. Who are you trying to fool?"
One of the perks of living on the same street as your best friend: near constant supervision.
"Alright." Chenle huffed, both sitting and giving up. Dropping his defenses, he decided to be honest for once. "I can't sleep."
There was a moment of silence as Jisung pondered, forming a reply. When it came, it was soft, spoken almost as a question. "I can be ready in a few minutes."
While the statement was incomprehensible to anyone hearing it, Chenle knew just what the boy meant. The words brought a small smile to the Zhong's face, the idea appealing greatly to him. "Deal."
"Alright. I'll see you soon." Jisung breathed the statement, saying nothing else before he ended the call.
A sudden excitement filling him, Chenle moved to the closet, throwing on the first pair of shoes he could find, along with a thin jacket.
Checking the hallway, Chenle was pleased to find it void of any sound, assuming his parents had already gone to bed hours before. He should have been sleeping as well, but this offer was just too good to pass up.
Slinking down the stairs, the Zhong attempted to find his front door in the dark without injuring himself. Eventually he reached it, the rest of his house completely silent.
Knowing full well what horrors would face him if his parents found out he was sneaking out, Chenle disregarded them, closing the door softly behind him.
Jisung was already waiting out of the dark street, damp from an earlier rain. He gave his friend a nod, hands deep in his pockets.
Smiling at Chenle's plaid pajama pants, Jisung shook his head as the boy approached. "You sure you want to do this? You could stay home and sleep."
Chenle's tongue clicked, showing his disbelief. Joining the taller boy at his side, he gestured down the street. "Start walking, Park."
Years ago, due to Chenle's volume and the Park home's thin walls, late nights at Jisung's were forbidden. With their usual hang out off limits, they moved to Chenle's, but the Zhong's mother didn't trust two teen boys in her nice house late at night, afraid they'd break something.
Still enjoying the other's company but having nowhere to go, the two resorted to late night walks, journeying through the neighborhoods without a care.
The walk started off quiet, the only sounds being their plastic sneakers against the wet pavement.
The atmosphere was peaceful. Too peaceful. Chenle had to do something about it.
"Why do you hate my girlfriend?" He asked cheekily, loving Jisung's immediate frown.
"I'll never tell." The Park smiled back, returning the disrespect. Eyes ahead on the dark road, the boy strided ahead with his long legs.
"Please, Ji. You two are driving me crazy." Latching onto the younger's arm, Chenle refused to let go, making his voice as much of an obnoxious whine as he could.
Loving the contact but not the reason, Jisung just shook his head, attempting to shrug the boy off. A flurry of questions and pleadings followed, but the Park only waved them away with the flick of his wrist.
Irritated by the gesture, Chenle frowned, grabbing the younger's hand and holding on like his life depended on it. The motion surprised Jisung, who attempted to pull away, but the Zhong had their fingers interlocked tight.
"Answer my question." Chenle demanded, squeezing the life out of Jisung's hand, unsure of how he still managed to be holding on by the way his friend was struggling.
"Never." Jisung couldn't imagine the people they were waking up as they passed by houses with all their racket. Seeing as Chenle wasn't letting go, the Park gave up, letting his abducted hand lay at his side.
"You're so stubborn. You know that, right?" The Zhong sighed, refusing to let go of Jisung and the answer that he knew would come.
"I'm told that's one of my many charms." The giant of a boy sent an overly teasing wink in his friend's direction.
Though hand holding wasn't any of Jisung's top priorities, he couldn't help but admit he was enjoying this. Chenle's hand just fit so well in his own, and the warmth was a nice contrast from the chilled night air around them.
Chenle, on the other hand, was nothing but confused. He realized in surprise that they had walked a whole block without letting go, hardly even noticing anymore. Despite Jisung being one of his oldest friends, something about the soft contact felt odd to him.
He had held his girlfriend's hand many times before, but her clammy ones were so different from Jisung's. Despite his dark gray jacket and multiple layers, the Park's hands were icy. One would have thought that the temperature would be uncomfortable, but Chenle enjoyed the feel of them.
He couldn't help but observe the strong hand holding his, lost in his thoughts as they moved down the street. Jisung's fingers were long and slender, and they fit between his own quite well. Once every few moments, his thumb would brush against the skin on the back of Chenle's hand, making his insides fuzzy.
What was happening?
The Zhong almost felt guilty, wary of any eyes watching them from the dark homes they passed. No matter how many times he told himself that the two were simply friends, and nothing they were doing was wrong, it felt quite the opposite. Thoughts of his girlfriend filled his mind, along with doubts of his attachment to her.
"This is nice. Having your attention." Jisung's low tone stuck out from the silent road, pulling the Zhong from the swirling sea of his mind.
Shaking away his questions, Chenle stared at their interlaced hands, speaking with sincerity. "You always have my attention."
A lonely car drove by, Jisung waiting for it to pass before he spoke. "Not lately. Something has been different."
Chenle knew the younger boy was right, but he said nothing of it, sticking to the matter at hand. "We'll it's all on you now. Is that what you wanted?"
Nodding, the Park glanced to his best friend, eyes slightly covered by his stick-straight hair. "That's all I want, Chenle."
The unwavering gaze, the low tone, it did something to Chenle, his loyalties only being questioned further. Nodding, the boy attempted to swallow down the fluttering in his stomach, his thoughts filled with the lanky boy beside him.
"What about you, Chenle?" A sudden question from Jisung, the meaning unclear.
Looking up to his beautiful best friend, Chenle couldn't open his mouth, afraid of what secret praises would spill out. Brows furrowed, he attempted to decipher the Park's question.
Luckily for him, Jisung laid it out clear for him, asking a question that Chenle already knew the answer to well. Fingers laced together, Jisung's head tilted, tempting words leaving his mouth. "What do you want?"