"what is this?"

jamie pouted and mark giggled.

jisung and chenle sat in front of them, both super confused as renjun also sat with them, leaned back and amused.

the three js and lucas's apartment was set up as a stage for a seminar, donghyuck, jaemin, jeno, and mark all sat in chairs on the 'stage' as jamie introduced everything. a banner, that read 'why u should join sopa,' and hung from a clothing line jamie found and hung up.

"i think we should all join sopa," jamie stated, "chenle, you cant be homeschooled forever and sopa is full of famous people, no one would care if you were too. also, jisung, sopa has a way better dancing program than yongsan and we could all be in class together!"

"i'm down," chenle chirped, "i've always wanted to go to sopa but never had friends there and didn't want to make any."

"i'm not too convinced," jisung mumbled.

the celebrating of the boys that were supposed to give presentations on why sopa was a good option were stopped and they all whined.

one glare from jamie shut them all up.

"this is why we are here!" jamie chirped, "the transfer wouldn't most likely be until after graduation too."

chenle shrugged, a bright smile on his lips, "maybe i'll transfer earlier."

jisung didn't say anything so jamie went over to donghyuck and slapped his back, "you're up hyuck."

donghyuck got up, blank index cards in his hands that he pretended to read from, adjusting the glasses he had stole from mark.

mark had a stronger prescription, not as strong as jamie but certainly not weak, so donghyuck's head was pounding and everything was blurry, but he kept them on for the image and the clout.

"welcome students, thank you for taking the time to come see us today," donghyuck started, an authoritative tone to his voice making everyone else try not to laugh, "we are going to start with our arguments to get you all to join us. i am up first. my name is lee donghyuck and i am a third year. sopa is amazing, i've been there since freshman year and never had any troubles. i have many great friends and the sports teams are so much fun. thanks to jamie and jeno i have also joined the theatre club and i am in the debate club. i'm in the broadcasting arts department to pursue my dream of being apart of dispatch. i'm also captain of the football team."

donghyuck went to sit down but stumbled so jaemin, who was next, helped him to his seat before smiling bright at jisung and chenle.

"hi! i'm na jaemin and i'm in the practical dance department," jaemin beamed, "i'm the captain of the dance team and the badminton team. i love dancing and the practical dance department is amazing, i love it so much and so would you! i've improved so much since i've joined and i've made so many friends."

jaemin sat back down and jeno got up.

"i'm lee jeno and i'm apart of the acting art department," jeno gave one of his eye-smiles, "i'm also the president of the theatre club and i'm the student council president this year. i've learned a lot at sopa and know that when i leave i will be able to pursue a career of acting nicely."

he sat down, slightly embarrassed and jamie patted him on the back as mark got up.

"what's up, i'm mark lee," mark started, fiddling with the sleeves of his hoodie, "i'm an alum and i was apart of the practical music department. sopa helped me meet a bunch of great people who made me who i am today like that annoying brat donghyuck behind me."

donghyuck yelled and mark giggled.

"sopa is a great school and i hope you consider joining," mark beamed before sitting down.

jamie jumped up and happily stood in front of them, "hello my name is seo jimin and i am apart of the theatre film art department. i just joined sopa and couldn't be happier there! i've made a lot of friends in such a short time and am already in the theatre club, the students take action club, the taekwondo club, and the volleyball team. i think it would be awesome if you guys joined sopa and we could all graduate together!"

jamie sat back down and chenle clapped enthusiastically.

"you have my vote!" he laughed, making the group of sopa kids cheer.

they all looked at jisung expectantly.

"i'll ask my sister," he mumbled and they all continued to cheer.

"why am i here?" renjun asked, "as amusing as this was, i'm not changing schools in the middle of my senior year."

the group of sopa kids shrugged, "we wanted to include you so you weren't lonely or wouldn't bitch about not being invited."

renjun shrugged.

mark and jamie grinned at each other, giving a high-five. their plan was in action.

CHATS -

CHENLE (1)
DONGHYUCK
JAEHYUN (2)
JAEMIN (10)
JENO
JISUNG
LUCAS
MARK (2)
FUNKY TOWN (213)

YOU ARE NOW MESSAGING
CHENLE!

CHENLE
you are officially unblocked,
congratulations jamie!!

JAMIE
wow what an honor

JAMIE
i'd like to thank johnny
and jaehyun for raising me
and jaemin for always supporting
me when i needed it and mark
for being the best bf ever-

CHENLE
we're so proud 🤧

JAMIE
look i really am sorry
about jisung and i really
didn't mean it and can
understand completely
why you were upset with
me but i'm glad that we're
okay again bc i missed you

CHENLE
jamie 🥺 i missed you too

JAMIE
i'm sorry abt all those
ppl there were bullying
you abt being famous too

JAMIE
you don't deserve that

CHENLE
actually... can you
open your door and
let me in right now? please?

JAMIE
coming

"did jaemin tell you i'd just let you in if you showed up?"

chenle nodded, holding up the cookies in his hand, "i'm not empty handed though."

jamie let him in, "what bring you to my humble abode?"

chenle put the cookies down and took off his hoodie.

he had bruises on his arms and scratch marks and jamie noticed his blond hair was disheveled and cut in certain spots.

"some guys tried to get my autograph and my clothes and stuff i was holding," chenle frowned, "so i told them no and tried to walk away but they wouldn't leave me alone. they even cut my hair!"

"chenle," jamie gasped, holding one of his arms gently and looking at it up close, "this is terrible, you should've reported assault."

"my mom is trying to get me to take my bodyguard around with me again but i don't want to attract more attention to myself," chenle frowned.

"your lip is busted too," jamie mumbled, pulling his lightly to the bathroom, "come and sit down on the edge of the bath."

chenle did just that and let jamie take care of his wounds, talking about the guys that had attacked him, everything from how tall they were to the clothes they were wearing he remembered.

"jaehyun cuts my hair sometimes so if you want he can fix yours up for you," jamie offered, "he's in his room studying right now."

chenle nodded sheepishly, "if he doesn't mind."

"maybe i'll dye it too if you want, since your roots are showing," jamie mentioned and chenle nodded enthusiastically.

"i'd love to!"

jaehyun came in and took one look at chenle before turning to jamie, "what did you do to this poor kid?"

"nothing!" jamie defended, "just fix his hair please!"

jaehyun sent one last disapproving glance to jamie before going and fixing chenle's hair.

"your hair was getting too long anyway," jamie commented, leaning against the doorframe, "mullets shouldn't be a thing."

chenle pouted, "i likes my mullet."

jaehyun shook his head, "i agree, mullets don't look good."

"except on the8 from seventeen," jamie added, "he's the only one that can rock a mullet."

the two boys nodded in agreement.

after jaehyun had finished cutting chenle's hair, jamie started to rummage through their hair dye bins.

"i have purple, pink, blue, dark brown, and light brown, take your pick," jamie said.

"light brown!" chenle cheered.

jamie went to work, dying chenle's grown out blond hair to a light brown.

he looked so soft when she was done, she couldn't help but awe and fawn over him like he was younger than her.

he just giggled and let her, appreciating the attention.

"was your penpal the one that told everyone?" jamie asked softly after the two had made their way back into the living room and were eating the chocolates he had brought finally.

"yeah," chenle sighed, "i trusted her, but she just tried to exploit me... i thought everyone had forgotten."

"honestly i'm surprised you didn't already know," chenle laughed nervously, "jisung told me it was a big talk at the time and after i left."

jamie shrugged, "i thought it was a rumor, so i blocked it out. it seemed like an attention ploy at the time."

"she wanted the clout of being friends with a famous person," chenle buried his face in his hands, "to think i actually fell in love with her."

jamie's heart aches as she pulled the boy into a hug, "it's okay, people suck."

chenle nodded, taking a deep breath, "i thought i was over this."

"mental wounds take longer to heal than physical wounds," jamie mumbled, "but it's okay, take as long as you need, we're all here for you."

chenle stayed quiet and jamie didn't push him, silently sitting next to him.

"everything happens for a reason," jamie mumbled, "we just have to accept that and grow from it."

"that sound hard," chenle mumbled back.

"it is, but if you put your mind to it, you can and you will, i believe in you, jisung believes in you, everyone believes in you. don't feel pressured to do what we want you to because in the scheme of things, our opinions don't matter, no one's opinions matter, only your own."

"thank you."

"i'm happy to help."