⛓️

Seonghwa didn't know how to react once he read through the small piece of paper that'd been attached to the lollipop. Was this supposed to be a joke?

He couldn't stop his eyes from drifting over to Hongjoong, a bit of agitation brewing within him when the shorter -- once again -- wasn't looking his way. At this point, it was clear Hongjoong was probably ignoring him.

"Ooh, a lollipop," Mingi remarked next to him. Seonghwa crushed the note with more force than necessary. He didn't know why he felt so...angry, he just was.

Mingi sat beside him, swaying a little on his swivel chair. He reached out for the lollipop only for Seonghwa to grab it. "Okay -- it's yours. Got it."

Seonghwa sighed, his body aching with fatigue. "Sorry... You can have it."

"I was kidding." Mingi grinned, playfully jabbing Seonghwa at the side. "It was on your table, so."

Seonghwa shoved the lollipop to one corner of his table, not wanting to seem all eager for it although he suddenly craved for it, for whatever reason.

He shook the feeling off, however. There was no way he'd allow Hongjoong and his stupid lollipop get in the way of him maintaining his A average in Biology.

If only it wasn't easier said than done.

⛓️

Seonghwa stared out the window of his AP calculus classroom, watching droplets of rain haphazardly race down the surface, connecting and separating like opposite sided magnets. Since Mingi wasn't around, the seat next to him had been occupied by a short haired girl that was fortunately as quiet as him, which meant he didn't get disturbed.

All of his notes had been copied down and the equations solved, which left room for those invasive thoughts about a certain boy with a mullet.

Seonghwa felt inside his pocket and pulled out that lollipop and note, wondering what the heck Hongjoong had meant when he said it'd 'make him feel better'.

He kept thinking and thinking about it, igniting the attention of the stern, unlikeable calculus teacher, Mrs Shim. She'd asked him to answer a question, which normally Seonghwa wouldn't have had any problems with if he'd actually been paying attention.

Nonetheless, it left him with a detention slip and even more anger directed towards the boy that'd caused it all in the first place.

⛓️

Lollipop clenched in his fist and lips pursed, Seonghwa met Hongjoong for the second time that day at the stairs that led to the lab rooms.

Hongjoong looked up once Seonghwa appeared, staring the dark haired boy down with amused eyes. Under this lighting, his eyes appeared a lot more faded, like distilled caramel.

Why are you thinking about that? Seonghwa's mind scolded. He cleared his throat, trying his best not to stare too much at Hongjoong's pants, or at that half skirt thing he had going on.

"Hello," Hongjoong spoke, painted fingers playing with his necklaces.

Seonghwa was now reminded of last night and the craziness that took place at that primary school. He gulped, hurling the lollipop at Hongjoong who hastily caught it.

For the first time, the shorter looked surprised. But it didn't last long.

"I don't want it," Seonghwa spoke, his voice coming out as a pathetic rasp.

Hongjoong's face hardened, his smile a lot more serious. "Huh. You need it, though."

"I don't fucking need a piece of candy."

Hongjoong's smile diminished. "Anyone ever tell you how rude you are?"

"Being rude is better than being a murderer." Seonghwa kept his expression levelled as he uttered those words, but the way Hongjoong's eyes continuously surveyed him sent goosebumps rising over his arms.

Hongjoong stood up then, his entire demeanour horrifyingly intimidating despite his smaller size. He stepped so close to Seonghwa that their noses almost touched.

"Listen here, punk," Hongjoong spat, his tone nothing less than vicious, "this is your last chance to take that lollipop I'm offering you out of the goodness of my heart." His yellow eyes flashed more vividly, trapping Seonghwa's gaze even when his entire being was panicking. "It's your choice if you want it or if you wanna regret it later. And trust me, you'll beg for it."

Seonghwa took a shaky step back. His fists clenched. "I-I won't. What the fuck is up with you?"

Hongjoong twirled the lollipop in his dainty fingers that hardly revealed just how strong they really were. Seonghwa remembered how he'd ripped his hoodie apart yesterday night.

Hongjoong only tsked, before unwrapping the lollipop and pushing it into his mouth. "Sure. Suit yourself."

"Hwa?"

Seonghwa blinked, and then Hongjoong was gone. Mingi's face appeared in his line of sight, the taller's hands encasing around his arms.

"I was looking all over for you. I thought you'd be at the cafeteria already, but turns out you're here. Have you eaten?"

Seonghwa's eyes darted everywhere, trying to figure out where Hongjoong could've went at that split second all to no avail. Nothing was making sense, but before Seonghwa could start to overthink again, he quickly shook his head.

"Fuck..." He whispered, glancing at Mingi's expectant face. "Uh, I haven't eaten yet."

"Then let's go get you something."

"Sure..."

⛓️

The sun was at its highest that late afternoon, all signs of rain obliterated except for the little puddles of murky water at a few parts of the field. It was p.e period, and Seonghwa's class was doing athletics this time around.

"I swear, the sun is killing me today," sighed the exasperated looking boy next to him. Seonghwa knew him as Choi San, one of the few people at school he talked to at times.

Seonghwa let out a small smile, only to grimace when he saw the huge gulp of water Mingi'd taken out of his bottle. "We haven't even began running."

"Not every one is as athletically gifted as you are," Mingi deadpanned, only for Seonghwa to roll his eyes.

He swore the heat was getting to him. Despite the thin white shirt and navy blue shorts he had on, a sheen of sweat still glistened on top his skin and got the base of his hair all damp. To make matters worse, his nose was still stuffy.

"Mings, pass the bottle," San was saying, running his hand through his head of longish black hair.

"Where's yours?"

"I forgot it."

"Then drink from the taps."

"That shit's nasty, bruh."

Mingi opened his mouth to say something, but Seonghwa never got to find out what it was because Hongjoong had now stepped out of the boys' dressing room, water bottle in hand. His cartilage piercings brightly shone in the light, causing Seonghwa to wince.

Idiot, why are you even watching him in the first place?

Hongjoong, just like always, caught his gaze at the nick of time. This time though, instead of a smirk or even a smile, he just looked away, heading over to the students seated at the benches.

Seonghwa didn't know why that annoyed him.

"Gather up, students!" The coach suddenly shouted. "Let's take attendance and start with the stretches..."

The stretches took place without any problems, but it was when the running started that the ache the size of a bud in Seonghwa's head seemed to have magnified tenfold.

It pounded in Seonghwa's brain, tight and constricting and making the sun a million times brighter. He felt like his body was starting to roast, a bunch of sweat dribbling down his back in rivulets. Even his bones and joints weren't working as well as they should've, feeling stiff and heavier than ever.

It irritated Seonghwa, because what was happening? He usually did good at running, so why were his peers starting to pass him by?

The back of his head felt as hot as magma, strands of his hair sticking to his forehead. He wiped them off, cringing at the pulsing warmth of his skin.

Seonghwa's lungs ached for him to stop moving, but he didn't want to. He wanted to keep moving, because he was good at this, wasn't he? He was getting graded so he had to do his best. He just had to.

Something collided with him. He lost his footing, resulting in his face scraping across the coarse grass.

People were talking, but they all faded into background noise in Seonghwa's head. A pair of sneakers were next to him, some kind of wilted flower drawn on the sides of one of them. And there was a small red mirror that wasn't reflective but opaque, snapping shut before Seonghwa could even blink.

Black swarmed his vision, and soon enough, he lost consciousness.

⛓️

a/n: thoughts?