if you're wondering the songs above are what i listen to while writing the chapter

* * *

After school, San suggested that Wooyoung should walk home with him -- but only if he'd wanted to. After their bruising conversation in Mrs Kim's art room, Wooyoung had grown a lot more subdued, his shoulders hunched and his eyes glazed over as if he wasn't mentally there at the moment.

And San, naturally cared about it. He was worried, despite his thoughts split between continuing his friendship with the dark haired male, or distancing himself from him as much possible before anyone got hurt. And of course, the decision shouldn't have been this hard, as San normally would've chosen the latter option without a single hesitation. But now...

Now that the alluring boy named Jung Wooyoung had seamlessly etched his way into San's mind and heart, it had became increasingly more difficult to cut through the strings that bounded them together. Even if those strings were currently weak, their surface marred by the growing tension between them, they were still there, and they still held on.

"Seonghwa has an evening shift today..." San found himself muttering, his slightly shaking fingers tugging at his uneven hoodie drawstrings. "We could complete some homework together..."

At this, Wooyoung stopped what he'd been doing, which was zipping up his school bag, and then looked up, his expression inscrutable.

San, for utterly dumb reasons, feared he'd angered the other again. Wooyoung's words were still ringing in San's mind, scorching his very core. And to be honest, he didn't want to hear those words again.

"I mean, if you want! I just...thought that maybe you'd need a break from everything," San clarified. "But if your parents want you home quickly then that's totally fine."

The statement concerning Wooyoung somehow being caged inside his parents' grip sounded stupid, but San had lived the past four years of his life without his parents so he couldn't have an opinion in it, no matter how much it stung.

Wooyoung huffed a laugh, pulling his bag off the table. "It's funny," he commented, his tone lacking in versatility.

San blinked and forced his fingers to remain still. "W-What's funny?"

"That you think I come home when my parents want me to," Wooyoung replied. He looked up then, his eyes this dark pool of mischief.

And San gulped, because the other's gaze had always been intense, and now was one of those times he realized it more than ever.

"Okay." San cleared his throat. "Cool."

Wooyoung shoved his bag at San's chest, making the latter nearly stumble. "But you're holding my bag this time, Choi."

"But -- " San opened his mouth to protest, but Wooyoung had already marched out of the classroom.

* * *

The air had gotten a lot colder now -- it made sense since it was early March -- and the clouds were steadily darkening, so San and Wooyoung opted for taking the bus in case it started to rain. The scenario reminded San of the time he'd bled and had to call Wooyoung to help him. He wondered if the latter still thought about it, but he hoped not.

He and Wooyoung sat at the back, and he busied himself with staring out the window while Wooyoung typed on his phone, unusually quiet again.

"So, uh," San said as a very lame attempt at starting small talk, "what're you doing?" As he said this, he traced unusual shapes on the window because he needed something to do with his hand.

"Checking memes on Twitter," was Wooyoung's flat response.

"Oh."

"D'you have one?"

"Huh?"

"A Twitter account."

"No..."

At this, Wooyoung unexpectedly snickered. "Fuckin' figures. You're such a nerd."

San scrunched his nose. He felt attacked and had the great need to defend himself, just like the previous times Wooyoung had jabbed at his lack of a social life. "I am not."

"Come on dude," Wooyoung turned to fully face San, the spark his eyes one had flashing. "You're totally a nerd. The 'hermit crab' type of nerd. Why don't you have a social media account?"

Maybe San should've just kept his mouth shut in the beginning. But then again, seeing Wooyoung returning to his chatty self sent satisfaction pumping through his veins.

"I just...don't find the need for it," San replied.

"Why? You don't like posting things about yourself?"

Yeah, because I'm uninteresting and have this weird bleeding problem that's both hellish and makes me incredibly insecure of myself as a whole. San swallowed and looked at his lap. "Kinda."

Wooyoung looked around the nearly empty bus, and then shifted a little closer to San. This, obviously, had the latter's entire body getting rigid.

"You have looks, though."

Fucking boulders bounced around in San's stomach, and his cheat felt as if someone had just struck a match on it. Stop being so obvious and stupid, San. You're such an idiot.

"You're lying," San spoke, noticing at the bus was nearing the block where he lived. "We both know I'm below average."

Of course he was. He was too skinny, too weird looking, too shy, too stupid, too much of a loser, and too miserable. He was just too much of the negatives, and no matter what anyone else said, San knew that he'd never be good enough for anyone.

Wooyoung just sighed beside him. "I probably sound cliché right now, but you seriously don't look that bad. I feel like..." His thumb twirled around a lock of San's hair, "like a new hairstyle would strengthen your prettyboy-ness."

"Prettyboy-ness?" San did that thing where he just pushed out a breath to show his amusement. He bet his face was already on fire. "Gross. And I don't want a haircut."

Wooyoung's finger tapped his chin. "A good hairstyle would show off your face more, as well as those rad cheekbones you have. And your jawline's so sharp I feel like it'd hurt me."

San really laughed at that one. "I can't tell if you're genuine or just making fun of me."

"I mean everything I'm saying." Wooyoung looked absolutely serious, his lips pulled into this boyish smile that made San's heart noticeably flutter. It was hard, but San couldn't fall for him, even when he had a feeling that deep down he'd already had. "If you show off your face a little more, then you'd be scoring chicks left and right. Or guys, I don't judge."

San just opted to look away at that moment as a lame attempt to hide his warm cheeks.

* * *

To be honest, San felt a little bit overwhelmed bringing Wooyoung into his house for the second time in a row, even when he knew he obviously had no reason to. It's not like Wooyoung was judgemental or anything, and he didn't look like the type to turn his nose at things that didn't scream fancy, even when he'd gave off this 'mean boy' vibe in the beginning.

But as Wooyoung walked past the livingroom and into the hall that led to his room, San realized the reason he felt so jumpy was that Seonghwa wasn't around this time. They were alone together.

Don't make it weird, San thought, feeling like smacking himself at that moment. The urge to hit himself grew as soon as his mind become flooded with different scenarios as to how this hang out could end.

"Saaaan? What're you doing down there?" Wooyoung exclaimed. His voice was sudden and nearly made San jump out of his fucking skin.

"N-Nothing," San stuttered, before rushing into his room with his and Wooyoung's school bag in hand.

Similar to that Saturday night, Wooyoung had sprawled himself on top of San's bed. "Know it sounds weird saying this, but your bed is just really fucking comfy. And the sight of the sky outside your window makes me calm."

San blinked, before putting his and Wooyoung's bags beside his homework table.

"Wouldn't your own bed be more comfortable?" He asked, wondering if he should eat next to Wooyoung or just plant himself on his homework chair. He opted for the latter 'cause he didn't want to be weird. Wooyoung's words were still fresh on his mind.

Wooyoung's nose scrunched with distaste. "No. I can never sleep properly with my family members a few rooms away. What if they fucking tried to poison me or something?" He chuckled, but San didn't hear any humour in it.

"I know you'd probably get annoyed with me saying this, but...you sure you're okay?" San questioned, fiddling with the pens on the table.

"Yeah." Wooyoung sat up, hugging San's pillow like he was a little kid. "So, what now?"

San was well aware of the boy's attempt to change the subject, but he still felt the need to say something regarding the matter. "I-I kinda have a list of things I try to follow whenever I'm not feeling the best."

"Like, thinking of nice things?" Wooyoung added, his voice sounding a lot closer now. San almost jumped and looked up to see Wooyoung staring down attentively at him. Their eyes awkwardly met, resulting in San having to hurriedly look away.

"Yeah." San cleared his throat, and grabbed a lone notebook laid on the table. "I also work on my homework and any other assignments that I have." He rubbed his hands together. "I also listen to music whenever I have the time."

"Type in your passcode and give me your phone."

San did as he said, but then realized what the other may have been up to. "Wait -- "

"Oooh, Chase Atlantic?" Wooyoung cooed. "You kinky fucker."

San grabbed his phone before Wooyoung could see any more songs on his playlist. "I just -- "

"Hmmm?" Wooyoung cut in with his eyebrows raised. He looked so amused.

"Shut up." San begged, his cheeks all flamed up. "I just like the melodies, that's it."

"Sure." Wooyoung crossed his arms. "And...what else? What else do you do?"

"I used to write out whatever I felt, especially after my parents...died," San cleared his throat again. "Maybe you should try it, if talking about it may be too hard for you."

"So what you're saying is...you had a diary?"

San shook his head. "It's a journal."

"Can I read it?"

"No."

"I hate you right now."

"Don't care."

Wooyoung gasped in response, which made San crack a big smile. "...Do it again."

San stopped smiling. "Do what again?"

"You can laugh, sure, but you never really smile a lot," Wooyoung explained. "That's why you should do it again, 'cause it suits you."

San picked his nails. "I don't exactly like my smile."

"Well I do."

As a dumb attempt to distract himself from his racing heart, San pulled out some books from his bag. "...Let's do some homework."

Wooyoung loudly groaned, flopping his body over San's bed.

San found himself smiling again, but it disappeared the second his and Wooyoung's eyes met.

"Did you just smile?"

"No."

* * *

"You know," Wooyoung began half an hour later. He looked up from his notes. "Yunho's been acting real strange lately."

The mention of the blue haired male made San iffy despite the former already apologizing to him and leaving him alone. "Yeah?"

"He left school really quickly today too," Wooyoung continued, twirling one of San's pens in his fingers. "And you know who else immediately left school after classes ended? Mingi."

"Doesn't mean anything," San replied. "Tons of people leave school as soon as it ends."

"Yeah, but," Wooyoung watched San. "Mingi said he was gonna meet someone after school during lunch, right? And then Yunho told me earlier today that he was meeting someone after school. They said the exact same thing."

San didn't know what Wooyoung was trying to say. Sure, he was there when Mingi exposed that Yunho liked him, but he'd never seen them around school together. "...Lots of people meet other people after school."

Wooyoung gave an exasperated sigh. "Yunho's been crushing on Mingi since last year. Ever since Friday, he's been excited as fuck. And today, he seemed to be in a huge hurry."

San inched away, not knowing why Wooyoung seemed so passionate with this matter. "I still don't think they're seeing each other."

"Okay." Wooyoung tapped the pen on the homework table. "Let's make a deal. If Mingi and Yunho are actually 'dating' or whatever, you get a makeover. If they aren't dating or seeing each other at all, then I have to dye my hair white which would probably make my parents kill me."

San swallowed. He really didn't know about this. "Uhh...okay?"

Wooyoung took his iPhone and texted someone.

"Wait, who are you texting?"

Wooyoung smirked. "Yunho."

"But -- " San shut his mouth. "Fine..."

- wooyoung
yunhooo, where are u rn

- wooyoung
are you w mingi??

- yunho
no

- wooyoung
sureee
u know u can tell me anything right?

- yunho
i know
k
i'm w mingi

- wooyoung
are you two into each other

- yunho
...maybe?

San jumped when Wooyoung suddenly fist bumped the air.

"Wohoo!" He hollered, and San began to question his sanity.

"What?"

"Looks like you're getting a makeoveeerrr," Wooyoung exclaimed while clapping his hands.

"Uhm." San looked away, his head feeling oddly light. His eyebrows furrowed, but then his eyes widened when he felt something wet trail down his nose.

"Shit, your nose is bleeding," Wooyoung's startled words only confirmed San's fears, and panic infested his veins.

"W-Wooyoung," San started. He hated the way his voice shook. His hands trembled, and he didn't know why this had to happen now. "Don't -- don't call the ambulance."

"San -- " Wooyoung stood up and rushed over to him. His hands held onto San's arms.

"I want you to...to take me to that room close to mine. It's where -- where I go to when this happens in the house..." San answered, feeling more and more lightheaded. "Don't wanna stain the carpet..."

Wooyoung's eyes held this fear that San had never witnessed before. "O-Okay." He helped San to his feet, his warm touch incredibly comforting to the other. "Fuck. You'll be okay...right?"

San looked away. "I'm used to it. Just place me on the bed inside the room, I should wake up soon."

Wooyoung quickly nodded. "...Alright."

* * *

a/n: thoughts?