doyoung drags yuta and saori away as soon as the lunch bell rang. the two was unable to give a proper goodbye to the four because of that. (yuta didn't really give a damn since he wasn't friends with neither of them.)
"dude what the hell," yuta complains as they reach a corner of the building.
"what's that all about, dons?" saori whines.
"i should be the one asking you that, nakamoto." doyoung narrows his eyes at the girl.
"which nakamoto?" the male asks dumbly.
"who else?!" doyoung rubs his face in stress. "why'd you do that?! you know taeyong weirds me out!"
saori blinks owlishly. she did know that but she didn't know it's that serious!
"i didn't know he was that weird around you!" she counters a bit traumatized. she never knew she'd see a scene of doyoung getting fed by someone they were barely closed with. AND blushed at the same time.
"weird is an understatement," yuta comments, crossing his arms. "and what the hell is doyoungie? when i called you that you almost bashed my skull!"
"that's an exaggeration," doyoung denies the accusation. "and i also told him i hate being called doyoungie."
"well did you threaten him that you'd bash his skull?"
"no!"
"favoritism!" yuta accuses. "you're not even friends with taeyong!"
"i'm not!" doyoung rebuffs angrily. "he's mark's brother, okay? and you've seen the kid. i don't want to fight with his brother. it'll upset him."
both nakamotos silenced after that. it kinda made sense. mark was the type of kid who wanted everyone to get a long. so it made sense that doyoung went along with whatever taeyong wanted because well-
according to what yuta has seen during p.e. classes with him, he gets upset easily. (he's pretty sensitive.)
one time jaehyun and ten totally ignored him to compete with yuta in soccer, he refused to talk to them for the rest of the day. giving them a taste of their own medicine, he said.
"why's taeyong all over you though? when did this start?" yuta questions.
"i don't-well he started talking to me after we saw him at the mall? where we got ice cream?" doyoung recalls that day. it was also the day he and yuta threatened them about being wingmen for johnny.
"that long?" yuta can't believe he's only been hearing about this. his best friend found a new one? unacceptable.
"well, ugh." doyoung groans. he doesn't know where to start. "remember that formal event i had to buy a new suit for?"
the two nods and lets him continue patiently.
"well, that formal event happens to be an event for my brother. it's like a party for his achievements or whatever." doyoung scoffs at the memory of his parents boasting nonstop.
"turns out, hyung and taeyong's sister goes to the same college so they pretty much know each other.
"and, well, hyung made his sister bring him because he thought i'd be lonely being the only high schooler in his dumbass party..."
"so you spent the whole night with taeyong," yuta finishes for him, holding back his laughter.
doyoung rolls his eyes. "pretty much."
"whoa, taeyong in a suit." saori muses. "so you did end up going with taeyong despite not having a plus one."
"i hate you," he snarls. "but yeah, since then taeyong's been talking to me and asking me to hang-out. it doesn't help that i'm close with his brother."
"whoa, i didn't notice at all." yuta makes an amazed sound. "you're stealthy."
"no, you idiot. we were all just busy with the festival."
"guess you're right." saori agrees, nodding. "so you're like friends now?"
"no! i mean yes! ugh, i don't know!" doyoung runs a hand down on his face. "i just--he just makes me really awkward, you know? and i don't know if it's me, or is it really him?"
"taeyong doesn't make me feel awkward," saori says.
"i don't care enough to even feel things around him," yuta adds idly.
"ugh, whatever." doyoung releases a sigh. "maybe... maybe i'm not used to making friends without... fighting them."
the two agrees with a nod. that actually makes sense.
the first time yuta met doyoung, he accidentally hit him with a ball while playing soccer. they hated each other for weeks until they were stuck with cleaning duty and was forced to spend time together. same with saori, who had mistaken him that he was fighting yuta, and had accidentally told him off, not knowing doyoung was practicing for debate club.
"i think it's time to lay low the spite, dons," yuta advises.
"yeah. taeyong's a real sweetheart. you gotta be gentle with him, alright?" saori pats his friend's shoulder encouragingly.
"whatever." doyoung scoffs. "i guess i could tolerate him."
"alright, you go do that, dons. while i--" yuta checks his watch. since when did wear one?
"--i gotta meet with my teammates. i'll see you guys later." with that, he flees away.
saori raises an eyebrow but didn't question anything. doyoung curses to himself silently. that idiot better not be hiding things from us. he shoots saori a concerned look and immediately looks away when saori notices.
"let's go back to class." he ushers.
--
"hmm."
"hmm."
"hmm." saori makes a face when she realizes there's someone harmonizing with her hum. she thought she was the only one left in the classroom but she was surprised to see jackson leaning over her desk. "what're you doing?"
jackson blinks down at her, shaking his head. "joining a club, huh?" he muses.
"shouldn't you be at the dance club, jackson?" saori sits back on her chair.
"i'm on cleaning duty," he shrugs. "so scram. i'm wiping the tables and chairs."
saori clicks her tongue, and grabs her bag, getting up form her seat.
"good luck with your club, squirt~"
"stop calling me that!" saori yells at him, leaving the room.
she goes back to the list of clubs johnny's given her from earlier. there were a lot of interesting clubs but what caught her attention the most was the theater and debate club.
"maybe i should check them both?" she says to herself. "but they're so far from each other..."
she ends up going to the theater club first. yeri elated to see her there as she excitedly shows her around. she sees sooyoung there as well; who greeted her and was actually accommodating.
"what part are you auditioning for? for now, second years go for the second leads. oh, do you want to be the protagonist's best friend? it looks like her character suits you!" yeri was all over her, not letting her hand go the entire time.
"i'm just checking the club..." saori replies nervously. "but that sounds really fun, yeri!"
yeri pouts and exhorts her to join the club already. sooyoung separates the two before saori loses consciousness.
"don't force her into anything she isn't sure of," she scolds her junior. "go on, saori. check out the debate club first then decide which one you want to join."
saori wants to hug her then and there. "thanks, dons!" she says accidentally.
sooyoung cringes at the name. "who are you calling dons?"
"no one!" saori scampers out of there before she gets eaten alive. "that was close."
she then proceeds to the debate club. they were in a middle of a heated argument when she got there.
doyoung was debating with some freshman about politics. saori chooses not to specify because it might cause an uproar.
johnny spots her peeking from outside and excuses himself to go out.
"hey!" he seemed happy to see her here.
"hi. i was just-" saori gestures to the room. "-checking the clubs out. i didn't want to interrupt..."
"no, no it's okay! professor cho's okay with observers. come in." he urges, opening the door for her.
"thanks." she enters the room with johnny, who leads her to the other side of the room, behind doyoung.
"once again, to conclude to statement-"
"who's winning?" saori whispers over to johnny.
"surprisingly, donghyuck," he supplies.
"whoa, dons is losing to some freshman? nice!"
the two share a chuckle only to be shushed by a senior. "sorry." she quiet down.
saori was shocked to see ten waving at her from the other side. "what's ten doing here?"
"oh, he joined couple weeks ago," johnny answers. "he enjoys arguing with doyoung too much."
"wow. he's giving taeyong a run for his money over dons." saori wonders why are people flocking over her best friend. he's not anything special! and it's her job to obsess over him! that's what best friends are for!
"pfft, yeah. should've seen taeyong's face when doyoung and ten started bickering at lunch."
"dude, i saw that. i wanted to take a picture."
the two snicker again, getting scolded for the 2nd time. "so, you joining the debate club or...?"
"well, i'm supposed to pay attention to what the club is doing. i can't do that if you keep talking to me..."
"ouch. you don't like talking to me?"
"of course i do. just... not now." saori juts her chin to the ongoing discussion in the room. "i want to watch my best friend getting his ass handed to him."
"if you want to see that everyday i suggest you join the debate club." johnny's really convincing her to join.
"hmm, or i could join the theater club and watch yeri destroy sooyoung. she's basically a female version of him."
saori's completely torn between the two clubs. she wants to pick fairly and unbiased. if she were to pick with a bias, she'd pick the debate club because hello? she gets to see johnny and watch doyoung get dragged by his clubmates. win-win situation.
"if you're really not sure, you could join both you know," johnny suggests, his eyes trained to doyoung's angry rabbit face.
donghyuck's really got him under his skin.
"i can do that?"
"yeah. mark's doing it."
"that kid can do anything but sleep!" saori crouches in her spot, pouting.
johnny sneaks her a glance and coos at her pursed lips. "you know, if you think you can do it, you really can do it," he tells her.
she looks up at him.
"you know i was a real troublemaker back in middle-school? i didn't even imagine myself joining the council until taeil-hyung encouraged me. he said i could be a member of the council and i believed him.
"then i started telling that to myself and i believed it even more."
saori's taken aback by his sudden confession. she makes sure she shows him that she's really listening.
"so, i guess what i'm trying to say is... you can do it. you just have to believe it."
"did-did you just quote naruto?" saori can't help but ask. she was biting her lip so hard to prevent herself from laughing.
"n-no i wasn't!" johnny's face instantly flushes. "i was trying to be supportive!"
"i know i'm sorry." saori really can't laugh in her. not when doyoung looks like he's seconds to exploding.
she doubles over, clutching her stomach. johnny was pouting at her side.
"i was trying to be taeil-hyung," he mumbles.
"i'm so sorry." saori places a hand on his arm, still containing her laughter. "yuta-yuta does that all the time you see. quoting naruto. it's the reason why neither me and dons take him seriously. sometimes."
"i was being serious though..."
"i know, i'm really really sorry." saori wipes a tear. "and thank you. for believing in me."
she smiles softly at him. johnny feels his stomach churn as he looks away and coughs. "t-thanks," he harrumphs. "that's... that's the way of the ninja i guess."
this time, saori burst out in laughter, completely disrupting doyoung when he was about to counter an argument.
everyone in the room stares at them like they were martians. johnny sinks in his seat as he tries to poke saori into stopping.
once the girl simmers down, she feels the awkwardness. "guess it's the theater club for me..." she utters to herself when she sees doyoung glare at her.
this time, it was ten who topples over with laughter.
a/n: hello! to avoid confusion, here's the current classes of the characters:
Class A - Saori, Johnny, Jackson, Nayeon, Dowoon
Class B - Doyoung, Momo, Joy,
Class C - Taeyong, Jaehyun
Class D - Yuta, Ten
anyways thank you so much for reading! hope you like this chapter and tell me what you think! it really helps me to know what you guys think (if i should improve on something or is the ace too slow for you? ;w;) pls let me know!
again, thank you for reading and i hope you have a nice day/night! :)