listen to slip by elliot moss, it inspired this chapter!!
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The thing about time is that sometimes it slips away from you.
Yugyeom had heard that there wasn't any time in space, since there was no sun to change the sky from day to night. Space was an endless, limitless, timeless, empty place.
Time was slipping away from Yugyeom at that moment, just like it would in space.
The lights of the city blazed ahead of them. The windows were down, wind pushing Yugyeom's bangs into his eyes. He was squeezed next to a boy named Youngjae in the backseat of Jackson's car. Said man was driving, Jinyoung next to him in the passenger seat. Jaebum, Mark, Bambam, Youngjae, and Yugyeom had to share the tiny backseat, piled on top of each other dangerously. Jaebum, or Dr. Im as Yugyeom insisted on calling him, hadn't been too fond of the idea, but the prospect of getting a night off and some alcohol in him was too great to turn down.
After Yugyeom had called Jaebum 'Dr. Im', and Jaebum had told him to 'just call him Jaebum', Jinyoung has pointed out that, he too, was a doctor and should be called as such, earning nothing but loud wheezes from the rest of the group with the exception of Bambam and Yugyeom. Bambam had stood silent for the entire interaction, completely out of character for him.
Back to time. Time was slipping away from Yugyeom for two reasons. One was this: the city that lay just before him, burning with lights and noise and possibility. He had been in the city just weeks ago, and yet his heart still pumped with adrenaline at the sight of it. There was something about the towering buildings that set him on fire.
The second reason was Bambam.
They finally exited the bridge, the sound of overlapping voices filling the car as the five men discussed their plans for the night. Yugyeom hadn't been aware that they would be going to a bar when he'd agreed to follow Jackson to the garage, but he was 19. It was time to live a little.
They parked outside a bustling club, the five in the backseat practically falling out of the car as they opened the door.
"Wait, how old are you?", Jackson asked, turning to Yugyeom and Bambam.
"Uh, nineteen?", Yugyeom answered. Jinyoung turned a burning glare on Jackson.
"You brought children to a club?", he hissed. Jackson chuckled awkwardly.
"I thought they were older."
"It's okay, they can stay with me. I'll buy them drinks", Mark said. He hadn't spoken much since Yugyeom had met him, but he seemed nice enough.
"No, we should take them back", Jinyoung retorted. Jackson groaned.
"But then we'd have to go back too!"
"If NOVA finds out they came here with us, we'd all be expulsed!", Jinyoung hissed. Youngjae shrugged simply.
"I guess we'll just have to make sure they don't find out", he said, and walked off into the club. Jaebum shrugged as well and followed him.
"It's okay Jinyoung", Mark assured the younger. "I'll keep an eye on them."
"Fine", he muttered and walked off with Jackson. The shorter slung an arm around his shoulder, quickly managing to bring a smile to his handsome features. Mark turned to the two youngest boys, standing silently with a couple feet of distance between them.
"Let's go", he said, gesturing behind himself.
—-
The second reason for Yugyeom's time slip was starting to get on his nerves.
He had been avoiding him ever since they'd arrived, twisting through the crowds any time he saw Yugyeom, conveniently disappearing every time the taller made an attempt to speak to him.
It turned out that alcohol made time slip even more than any city or boy.
He had no idea where Mark was, but he didn't really care. Whenever he wanted a drink, he would go dance with some guy and they would buy him one. It was so, so easy.
And yet, he still couldn't get his mind off of the boy he still hoped to call his best friend.
He was dancing, the room blurry around him, not seeing faces or hearing words, but instead feeling bodies and the beats pulsing through the floor. Some guy was trying to talk to him, but he wasn't listening. His mind was spinning almost as much as he was.
His eyes somehow managed to catch on a sliver of dark hair and plump lips. He narrowed his eyes, slowing down his dancing to focus on it.
Bambam was standing at the edge of the dance floor, leaning on a pillar with his arms crossed over his chest. Some guy had his hand on Bambam's shoulder, trying to whisper things in his ear. Bambam was obviously annoyed, and maybe even a bit uncomfortable. The sight made Yugyeom's body fill with anger.
He didn't know it, but he was walking across the dance floor now, making his way to Bambam and the man. Bambam's eyes widened when he saw Yugyeom, but he didn't make any attempt to run away. Instead, he stood there, waiting for Yugyeom to come save him.
"Hey!". The words came out much more slurred and unconfident than Yugyeom meant them to, but they still caught the guy's attention. He turned to Yugyeom, raising an eyebrow.
"What?", he asked impatiently, hand still gripping Bambam's shoulder.
"Go away", Yugyeom slurred, pointing a finger at the other. The man simply laughed, pushing his finger away.
"Why don't you go find someone else to fight with?", he said, flashing a burning grin. Yugyeom's eyes narrowed.
"This is my friend!", he shouted, catching a few peoples' attention. "Leave him alone."
"You know him?", the man asked, turning to Bambam. Bambam was silent for a second before nodding and removing himself from his grasp.
"Yeah."
That was all Bambam said, and then he grabbed Yugyeom's wrist and dashed off, running away from the man before he could say or do anything else. Yugyeom stumbled as Bambam led him away and away.
The cold air blasted across Yugyeom's face as they ran out a side door. The chill sent shivers down his spine, and added with the sensation of Bambam's callused fingers wrapped around his wrist, he was practically shaking.
Something was different about Bambam that night. Yugyeom's head was spinning. Why couldn't he stop looking at Bambam's lips?
"Are you okay?" The words stumbled out of his mouth awkwardly. What he secretly wanted to say was left unsaid.
"Yeah. Thanks." Bambam was out of breath, the words stressed and heavy breaths filling in the gaps between words. He glanced up at Yugyeom's face, meeting his eyes for a second. Yugyeom's heart jolted.
"Who was he?", Yugyeom asked. Bambam shrugged.
"I don't know. He wouldn't leave me alone." Then, he glanced back up at Yugyeom with a worried look. "How drunk are you?"
Now it was Yugyeom's turn to shrug. Bambam chuckled and time nearly fell away completely.
"Does this mean you forgive me?", Yugyeom blurted out. Bambam flushed a bit, turning away from Yugyeom and walking to the metal railing of the small back porch they were standing on.
"I don't know."
Yugyeom moved next to Bambam, leaning against the railing as well and watching Bambam gaze at the city.
"I don't understand why you're so mad about this", Yugyeom whispered. He didn't say it in a defensive or rude away. Rather, he said it softly and full of confusion. "Like, I know that you hate Micah, and you had reason to. He's an ass and I don't know why I ever dated him. But...I didn't think it was bad enough to completely freeze me out." Yugyeom finished, eyes trained on Bambam, watching his hair wave slightly in the wind and tracing the sharpness of his jaw.
"Maybe one day you'll understand", Bambam whispered.
"I love you more than I've ever loved the stars in the sky."
Time fell away.
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pls read asl??? by Green-Tea-Mochi it's a changlix twitter chatfic and it's super cute already!! i helped them pick the title so 😎😎😎