Namjoon lives next door to you. The two of you have been friends for as long as you can remember.
No smut.
—
My friend always asks for music suggestions when she reads so I made you a little list of song recommendations for this story in case you like that too 🖤
Saturday Nights - Khalid
When We Were Young - Lost Kings
Dusk and Summer - Dashboard Confessional
Countless - SHINee
Below My Feet - Mumford & Sons
goodnight n go - Ariana Grande
Us - Regina Spektor
—
You sat at the desk in your bedroom facing the window that looked toward your neighbor's house, working on your math homework. God, you hated math. You stared at the equation on the page and didn't have the first idea on how to start it. You tapped the paper with the eraser of your pencil, resting your head against your hand. The walkie talkie on the desk next to you crackled and you grabbed it, holding it up to your face and raising your eyes to the distant window at the house next door.
You could make out a boy's face there, a matching walkie talkie in his hand. "Why are you scowling, Red?" He asked through the speaker, tilting his head and smiling at you.
You relaxed back into your chair, his contagious smile reaching your face as well. You pushed the button on the walkie talkie to speak. "Algebra," you complained, making a face.
"Want help with it?" He asked.
"Please. Treehouse?"
"See you in ten, over and out," he said, disappearing from the window. You grinned and grabbed your backpack, tossing your Algebra book and notebook into it and grabbing your Chemistry homework as well before pounding down the stairs. You stopped by the pantry and grabbed a pack of starburst candy before rushing out to the big tree at the back of your neighbor's yard.
You scurried up the ladder and crawled in through the door, plopping onto one of the big cushions on the floor of the wooden structure, tossing the candy down and digging out your homework. A short moment later you heard movement below and Namjoon came crawling into the treehouse, grinning at you.
"Took you long enough," you said with a smile as he sat himself on a cushion and set down his own homework, pulling a bag of hot fries out of his backpack and tossing them down next to the starburst before grabbing your Algebra homework from you.
"I said ten minutes," he huffed, breathing deeply. "You were *gasp* early," he said, swallowing and trying to catch his breath.
You frowned at him. "Did you bring your inhaler?" You asked. He shook his head.
"I'm - fine," he said but you fished his spare inhaler out of your bag and tossed it to him anyway. He caught it and took two quick puffs before passing it back to you, his face a bit flushed. He cleared his throat. "Thanks," he mumbled. You shoved the inhaler back into your bag.
"No problem wheezy," you teased, grabbing the hot fries and ripping them open. You scooted closer to him to look over his shoulder as he did the first problem on your Algebra homework, explaining as he went.
—
You were lying in bed scrolling through your phone in the dim summer twilight hours when you heard the walkie talkie crackle on your bedside table. You snatched it up, listening but nothing came through.
"You there Joon?" You asked in a low voice.
"Yeah," you heard him mutter. During the short time that he had pressed the button to answer you could hear distant shouting from elsewhere in his house. "Treehouse?" He asked, his voice soft and tentative. "Please?"
"Be right there. Over and out," you said quickly, tossing the walkie talkie down. It was late and you knew you might get in trouble for being out but you scrambled out of bed, pulling on a light jacket and sneaking down the stairs. You grabbed a bag of starburst and shoved them in your pocket before hurrying out the door and crossing the yard to the tree house. The fireflies twinkled throughout the yard and the grass was damp with dew in the early evening so you left your wet sandals at the bottom of the ladder and climbed it quickly, getting comfortable and opening the candy. You dumped a small pile on the floor of the treehouse and sorted through them, separating them by color. You pushed all the pink ones toward Namjoon's cushion and opened a yellow one for yourself, popping it into your mouth while you waited.
You were lounging on your stomach and opening your third yellow starburst when Namjoon finally crawled up the ladder and into the treehouse, a flashlight clutched in his hand. He sat it on the floor with the light pointing up to cast a dim illumination over the walls and lay down on his stomach as well, sighing deeply. He opened a candy and the two of you lay facing each other in silence.
You and Namjoon had always been comfortable in the quiet of each other's presence. You had been best friends for as long as you could remember, ever since your parents had moved into this house and you had learned the next door neighbors had a son your age. You searched his tense face with your eyes, his soft skin relaxed into a near frown, the happy dimples that appeared when he smiled nowhere to be seen tonight.
"Are they fighting again?" You whispered into the dark.
"Yeah," he whispered back. You dropped your head onto your shoulder and slid your hand across the floor to him. He mirrored you, relaxing his own head to the side and reaching to cover your hand with his larger one. Your hands automatically curled and clasped into thumb war position and you absentmindedly pressed your thumbs together, not really paying attention to the struggle.
"Wanna play a game?" you asked.
"What do you want to play?" He replied, sounding sad and disinterested.
"Rummy?" You suggested, glancing at the deck of cards in the corner. He shrugged, briefly pinning your thumb before you pulled it back out, pressing down on his in turn. "War?" You asked. He shrugged again. "Just wanna do this?" You asked softly. He nodded, watching your hands as you continued to absentmindedly play. "Okay."
You looked his face over sadly. You could stare at his handsome features for hours. His hair falling across his forehead and his pretty eyes blinking slowly. His skin always looked so soft and smooth and-
You blinked hard, turning your attention to your hands and concentrating more now on the thumb war, pushing the other thoughts from your head.
—
It was a Saturday evening and you were lying on your bed feeling bored, your window open to allow in the warm breeze from the final dregs of summer.
"You there Red?" Came Namjoon's voice over the walkie talkie. You flipped onto your stomach and grabbed it, quickly responding.
"Yep what's up?"
"I'm bored," he whined through the speaker. You smiled to yourself.
"Me too."
"Wanna go for a walk?"
"Kay!" You hopped out of bed and pulled on your sneakers, thumping down the stairs and out the front door. You stood in your driveway and waited for him, glaring up at his window when he took too long.
"You didn't say over and out, I thought you were still up there," he said as he came through the door, wearing comfortable shorts and an old T-shirt, a baseball cap tugged down backward on his head.
"Sorry I was excited to get out of the house," you said, flashing him a smile as the two of you started off down the sidewalk, walking next to each other at a comfortable pace.
"It's not like we're doing anything fun, you know I can't leave the neighborhood without permission," he said, chuckling.
You shrugged, bumping his shoulder lightly with your own. "More fun than sitting in my room by myself," you said, glancing up at him.
"If you say so," he said, smirking down at you.
The two of you walked together, just talking. Talking about everything. Talking about nothing in particular. You could say anything to him. Anything except the way your heart sometimes leaped into your chest when he laughed and smiled at you, his dark eyes crinkling and his huge grin taking up his whole face, the melodic sound of his deep chuckle floating through the humid summer air. You swallowed hard and looked at the sidewalk.
The backs of your hands brushed together. Twice. You had circled the neighborhood and were approaching your houses.
"Wanna do another lap?" He asked.
"Yeah," you nodded.
—
You were standing at school and laughing with another of your guy friends at his locker, talking about the quiz you had in science that day. You could not get over how cute this guy had gotten over the summer, and he had been talking to you all week. You were giggling at something he said when Namjoon came running up to the pair of you. He towered over you both having grown at least three inches that summer and you smiled up at him as he gasped for breath.
"Red," he choked out before breaking into a brief coughing fit. Your face furrowed in concern as you waited for it to pass.
"Red?" Asked the other boy, glancing at you.
"It's what he calls me. Joon, what's up?" You asked, tilting your head at him. He was still coughing hard, having trouble catching his breath. He finally fumbled in his pocket and pulled out his inhaler.
"What the fuck is wrong with you man?" The boy asked. "You sound like you're dying."
"He's good, he just sucks at breathing," you said, waving him away. Namjoon took a couple deep breaths before flashing you a grin, his big smile showing off his dimples, his honey colored skin shining in the sunlight.
"It's true, I suck at breathing. Kim Namjoon," he said, holding his hand out to the boy.
"Park Jimin," he replied, grasping his hand briefly.
"So what did you want to tell me wheezy?" You asked impatiently.
"Dude! Jennie spoke to me!" He said, grinning hugely. You blinked in surprise. The Jennie? The Jennie that Namjoon had had a crush on ever since she moved here in the seventh grade?
"She...really? What did she say?" You asked.
"She said 'hi Namjoon'," he said, the huge smile still plastered over his face. "She knows my name!" He said excitedly, grabbing your hand and bouncing in place. You chuckled at his excitement and nodded happily.
"Of course she does, you're awesome," you said. He flashed you a final grin before heading off.
—
"And she-"
"Oh my god, Namjoon can we PLEASE talk about literally ANYTHING but Jennie," you grumbled, running your fingers through your hair in annoyance.
He scowled. "Why are you being such a bitch about this? I'm sorry for being happy," he grumbled, glaring at you.
"I'm being a bitch? Jennie is all you ever talk about, I'm sick of it," you spat, sitting up.
"We're not as bad as you and Jimin, making out against the lockers where everyone can see, it's disgusting," he accused, glaring back at you.
"Jennie only talks to you so you'll do her homework," you said, voice raising in annoyance.
"And Jimin only talks to you to get in your pants," he retorted quickly, his face looking momentarily hurt before he covered it with anger.
"Fuck you," you spat, leaving the treehouse in a huff.
An hour later you were lying in bed, your pillow clutched to your stomach. You stared at the walkie talkie. You slowly reached out a finger and pressed the button, long enough to make the match in Namjoon's bedroom crackle.
"Here," you heard his voice, still sounding a little angry on the other end. You picked it up and held it close to your face for a moment, taking a deep breath.
"I'm sorry. You're right," you said softly into the walkie talkie.
"I'm sorry too," you heard his quiet reply.
"Okay. Goodnight wheezy," you said, smiling a little sadly.
"Goodnight Red. Over and out," he replied. You set the walkie talkie down and rolled over, falling asleep quickly.
—
Jimin had agreed to take you to prom when you had mentioned it but hadn't seemed all that thrilled about it. He had been a little more distant lately, not texting you back as much and not waiting at your locker as often. You sighed at the end of the day as you gathered your things to head home. Namjoon skipped up to your locker and you glanced at him.
"Hey," you said.
"Hey," he replied happily.
"What are you so excited about?" You asked, chuckling.
He hesitated, rubbing the back of his neck and glancing away. "I...uh,"
"It's fine Joon, tell me about her," you said, shutting your locker and looking up at him with a smile.
"I asked her to prom," he said quickly.
"And?" You asked, just as Jimin sauntered up and draped an arm over your shoulder.
"Ay, what up wheezy," he said, grinning at Namjoon. He reeked of smoke and when you glanced at him his lips were a bit red and flushed. You shrugged his arm off your shoulder.
"Fuck off Jimin, you can't call him that," you said.
"You call him that," Jimin replied, shrugging.
"I'm allowed, nobody else is," you said, glaring.
"It-it's fine - she said yeah!" Namjoon cut in excitedly.
"That's awesome!" You said, beaming up at him.
"Whoopdifuckindo," Jimin sighed. "I gotta go, c'mere," he growled, tugging you against him. You couldn't help but let out a giggle as you crashed into his solid chest and let him kiss you sloppily. When he pulled back his sultry eyes burned into yours and your breath caught in your throat. He winked at you, licking his full lips. "See ya babe," he said before leaving.
"That dude is such a douche," Namjoon said when he was gone. You didn't respond, because you knew he was right.
—
Jimin stormed out of your house, slamming the front door behind him, leaving you sobbing in your bedroom. You grabbed the walkie talkie, pressing the button several times and cradling it to your chest as you sat on the floor, crying loudly. Namjoon responded quickly.
"Red? You there? I just saw Jimin leave-" he said, sounding curious.
"T-tree house," you sobbed out, tears streaming down your face as you pulled your knees to your chest.
"Meet you there, over and out," Namjoon said quickly and you stumbled out of your room and outside, crawling up into the tree house to find him already there, his face a mask of worry.
"J-Joon," you sobbed, launching yourself at him. He shushed you and pulled you into his lap, his forehead creased with worry as you cried onto his shoulder, your tears soaking his old T-shirt as he pressed his cheek to your forehead.
"What happened?" He asked softly, petting your hair gently as you cried.
"I-I said n-no," you whispered, your sobs quieting to gasping breaths now, your eyes dry. "And h-he said he would get it from someone else then," you ended, breaking into new sobs at the memory.
"Oh, Red, I'm so sorry," he said, squeezing you tighter. "I told you he was a douchebag. Can I kick his ass? I'm bigger than him," He said, frowning down at you.
A tiny smile crossed your lips. "I don't think you could kick his ass Joonie. You're too soft," you teased quietly, a few final tears escaping. He softly wiped them away and smiled down at you sweetly.
"His stupid loss. You're pretty and funny and smart and amazing and-" he cut himself off, his eyes searching yours. He swallowed hard and patted your back and you climbed off his lap to sit on a cushion. "He's an idiot."
"Thanks Joonie. You're the best," you said, glancing down at your lap. It was dark and you weren't looking so you missed the blush that was creeping up his face when he cleared his throat awkwardly.
—
You were curled on the couch with a tub of ice cream, watching reruns of your favorite show in your sweatpants and an old T-shirt.
"Isn't prom tonight?" Your mom asked, picking up her purse and putting her shoes on.
"Yeah," you mumbled around a bite of ice cream.
"Why aren't you there?" She asked, her lips pursing as she frowned at you.
"Boys suck," you replied, glaring into the ice cream and setting it aside.
"Don't I know it," she chuckled as your dad came down the stairs. "I thought you would go with Namjoon."
"Why would I go to prom with Namjoon?" You asked.
She shrugged. "I just always thought the two of you would end up together."
"He's going with Jennie," you sighed.
"What are we talking about?" He asked.
"Nothing dear. Goodnight sweetheart, we'll be late," she called as they headed out.
"Bye," you sighed sadly, pulling a blanket into your lap.
You stayed there for a couple hours and then got up to head to bed. You were about to start up the stairs when you glanced into the kitchen and saw there was a flashlight in the tree house through the window. You frowned and crossed the kitchen, peering out into the darkness. You went out the back door cautiously, a little afraid of what you would find in the tree. You crossed the yard and stood below it, looking up.
"Joon?" You asked softly.
"Yeah," you heard a sad voice reply, so you quickly climbed the ladder. There he was, sitting cross legged on the floor of the treehouse, still wearing his suit, his red tie undone and hanging around his neck. His hair that had been perfectly styled earlier fell forward across his forehead now, his face was empty and disappointed.
"Why are you here?" You asked, mirroring him to sit cross legged facing him.
"Prom sucked," he said, looking at his lap.
"Why?"
"Jennie danced with somebody else all night, she only danced with me once," he said softly. "I don't think she really wanted to go with me," he said in a whisper, a single dear dropping from his eye to his lap. He sniffed then, swiping at his face with the back of his hand.
You just looked at him, a terrible feeling of helplessness bubbling in your stomach. You wanted to tell him that of course she had wanted to go with him, but you didn't know if that was true. You wanted to tell him it was okay, but you knew it wasn't. You wanted to tell him that you liked him...but he was your best friend.
"I'm sorry Joon. That sucks," you said softly.
He cleared his throat and shook his head, plastering a smile to his face. It didn't reach his eyes. "Don't worry about it. How was your night?" He asked. You looked down at your old sweatpants and then back up at him, raising an eyebrow. "Oh, shit, I'm sorry," he said, dropping his head again.
You chuckled a little, reaching out to playfully shove his shoulder. He tugged his jacket off and tossed it aside, falling onto his back and sighing. You lay on your back next to him as well, the two of you looking up at the ceiling of the tree house together in silence. "Did the whole thing suck?" You asked.
He considered for a moment. "The music was kinda cool. I saw a girl dump her drink on Jimin," he said, snickering. You burst out laughing at that.
"Good, honestly, that guy sucks," you giggled, covering your mouth.
"He does. I still think I could have kicked his ass," he said, sounding annoyed. You chuckled again as you dropped your hand from your face to let it rest at your side. It landed next to his, the backs of your hands touching lightly. He slowly and carefully covered your hand with his, entwining your fingers in the silent, dark night air. Your breath caught in your throat, your heart racing at his touch.
Neither of you moved or said a word for a moment, afraid to break the spell.
Then you heard the sound of his lips parting as he inhaled, trying to speak but failing. He tried again after a moment. "I should have just asked you instead. We would have had fun. I'm sorry," he whispered to the ceiling.
"If I wasn't hung up on Jimin's dumb ass I would have suggested it. I'm sorry too," you replied, also in a whisper.
"Okay," he said softly, beginning to trace light circles on the back of your hand with his thumb. The treehouse was silent for another moment. "Red?" He asked quietly.
"Yes?" You replied.
"Will we always be friends? Forever?"
"Don't you think so?"
"Just friends though?"
You sat up to look down at him but he sat up as well, meeting your eyes and not letting go of your hand.
"What do you mean?" You asked.
"I just mean..." he trailed off, a pink blush creeping across his cheeks as he looked down at your hand in his. "I like being friends with you but I..." You removed your hand from his and pressed yourself up onto your knees, leaning slowly in toward him.
His eyes snapped up just in time to see your face so close to his and he gasped in surprise before leaning forward the last inch to connect your lips together softly. You felt his large hand come up to cup your cheek gently as he pressed his lips against yours, moving his mouth slowly and carefully as you tasted each other for the first time. You both breathed softly through your noses, the dark treehouse was quiet and comfortable, the only sounds that of your lips softly touching, your breathing, and distant night sounds of crickets and cars on the road.
You felt yourself melting against him as the two of you kissed, the kernel of a spark in your heart bursting into flame as his plush lips moved against yours. You finally pulled away and sat back, the two of you sitting cross legged facing each other once again, your knees touching as you breathed heavily. His lips were parted slightly and he looked surprised, his eyes wide as he blinked at you. You looked at each other in silence for a moment.
"I don't think I want to be just friends. Is what I'm saying," he finally breathed into the still night. A grin broke over your face at his words and he returned it, smiling happily at you, his dimples showing and his eyes crinkling adorably.
"I think I can agree to that," you said, feeling happy.
—
The walkie talkie crackled and Namjoon's deep voice came through it.
"What are you doing Red?" He asked. "I see you digging in your closet."
You whirled around and flipped him off, closing your curtains and grabbing the walkie talkie. "I'm trying to decide what to wear for our stupid date tomorrow," you snapped into it.
You could hear him laughing as he held the button. "Treehouse. Now," he chuckled.
You rolled your eyes. "Over and out." You trudged down the stairs and grabbed a bag of starburst, clambering into the tree and ripping the packet open. You sorted through them, making a pile of the pink ones for him and fishing out the yellow ones for yourself, tossing the half full pack back down as you opened a yellow one.
You heard a rustling and then Namjoon was climbing into the treehouse and plopping down across from you. He grabbed one of his pink starburst and swapped it for one of your yellow ones. You looked at him questioningly.
"I know you like the pink ones too dummy. You only give them to me cause I said they were my favorite," he chuckled. He opened it and pushed it into your mouth, making you gasp in protest and then scowl at him as you chewed while he smiled and opened one for himself. "Will it be weird?" He asked.
"What be weird?" You replied, scooting over to lean against the wall of the treehouse.
"Going on a date."
"It will be super weird, yeah," you replied, glancing at him as he scooted to sit next to you.
"Let's not do it then," he said, shrugging.
"What do you mean?" You asked.
"I mean we can do it if you want, but why bother. We can get dinner but let's not call it a date and make it weird. We're best friends, we already know everything there is to know about each other."
You sat in silence for a moment, considering what he had said. Then you leaned over and rested your head against his shoulder. "I'm in," you said. He smiled. You smiled too.
—
You walked out of Chemistry and to your locker to find Namjoon leaning against it, watching you as you walked toward him. "Move it wheeze," you teased, smacking his hip lightly.
"Not until I receive compensation," he said, raising an eyebrow and looking down at you with a smirk.
You stood on your toes and kissed his cheek, making him blush and step to the side quickly. "Such cheap fare these days," you teased, poking him in the side.
"What does that mean?" He asked, slipping his hand over yours to walk you to your next class.
"Demand a real kiss next time," you chuckled.
"In the hallway?" He asked. The two of you already drew glances when you were seen together holding hands or otherwise.
"Yep. Who cares," you said, letting go of his hand and giving a little wave as you headed in to class.
—
The walkie talkie crackled. You were lying in bed. You grabbed it.
"What?" You whispered.
"Treehouse?"
"It's eleven o'clock on a Thursday Joon are you trying to get me killed?" You hissed.
"I just...I want to kiss you is all," he replied in a whisper. You smiled.
"Over and out," you said, sneaking down the stairs. You slipped up into the treehouse and were closely followed by Namjoon. He sat and tugged you onto his lap and you giggled as you settled against him and he leaned down to kiss you, softly and slowly and your hands slipped up to run through his hair.
"Can we stay like this forever?" He asked softly against your lips.
"Sounds good to me," you replied, snuggling into his arms and returning to kiss him more.
—
I sent this pic to my favorite Namjoon stan, DiStUrBeD_31 and she said it had "boy next door vibes" and I was like well I gotta write that now and that is the story of how this story came to be thank you for reading uwu ily 🖤🖤