heyy please do comment! this is gonna be fun i promise 😍

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"are you done?" jungkook calls out in a lazy tone, sprawled on the couch with his laptop sitting on his chest and a bowl of popcorns on the keyboard. his eyes never leave the screen, watching a show that is meant to make people laugh, with such boredom that even the makers would be depressed. 

the room isn't really silent despite the boring and uninterested look on jungkook's face, jimin's voice is heard once in a while when he tries to discipline his three-year-old son who wouldn't sit quietly and have his dinner, frequently jumping from the couch or sometimes hiding near jungkook then erupting into a fit of laughter as he thinks his dad failed to find him. jimin sighs at the commotion, glancing back upstairs where his wife is busy with his sister, getting her ready for the big day. 

moreover it was the main reason they've been here since afternoon. jimin had received a frantic call from aera and from her voice, he concluded it was something serious; it was. she needed haewon's help getting ready for her prom night for which there's been another month-long bustle. from taking haewon for shopping with her so that aera doesn't accidentally get a lame dress and make a fool of herself, to getting new makeup, sandals, purse, everything under haewon's guidance, saying that she didn't want to risk anything. 

and it's been almost three hours since haewon joined aera to get her ready, leaving the brothers confused as to what was taking them so long. they couldn't possibly be under attack right now could they? 

jimin sighs deeply, standing up as he's done feeding jiwon and wipes the boy's mouth with a napkin, "alright, good boy. look, we're done eating," he smiles and jiwon nods with a giggle. 

"noona! aera! are you gonna come out today or not?" jungkook yells, making jiwon laugh as he climbs on the couch and sits near jungkook, leaning on his arm, "see jiwon, noona's taking so long," 

"noonaaaaa!" jiwon shouts, standing on the couch as jungkook chuckles, sitting up straight and bringing the toddler in his lap. "noona!" the boy gasps, wriggling away from jungkook's arms and slips down from the couch, running towards the stairs, grabbing attention from the brothers who follow his gaze, falling under an awestruck gaze when their eyes meet aera's figure walking down the stairs.

"wah..." jungkook whispers unconsciously, his eyes open wide and jaw hanging loose for he had never imagined his baby sister to look so elegantly beautiful in a gown like that until today. it warmed up his heart to see aera all grown up from the little girl he had always known, but also ignited a pang of insecurity that it was high time for him to be alert and kicks guys away because now he was certain of his sister's ability to grab guys like ash catching pokemons. no way. 

"ri..." then his eyes turn to his side, seeing the elder brother under a similar situation, circled with feelings and emotions, a hint of pride and a pinch of sadness that his princess is growing up, saying goodbye to high school now and will start a new journey of her life as an adult. 

her dress fits her just fine, as if it was made for aera itself. the shiny fabric of the top hugging her upper body with perfection and the ruffle that flows just above her knees from the front to dropping low at the back, makes her look like an angel, decorated with white heel sandals and her dark brown hair resting down from her shoulders like a soft touch of cotton— elegant and pretty in short. 

"how do i look?" aera asks softly, nervousness hinting in her eyes as she looks back at the brothers, meeting silence from their side as though they didn't hear what she said. "uh oppa...?" she calls again then glances at haewon who chuckles softly, patting her back.

"let them take their time," she says and aera nods, shifting her eyes from the brothers to the little guy standing beside her. his eyes gleaming in admiration and cheeks turning a shade of pink as his lips are parted, staring up at her in complete awe.

"pwincess..." the boy points at aera, making her laugh as she crouches down to his height and brings him closer, pecking his lips softly, getting an excited giggle of happiness from him before he runs away to his dad, "daddy! noona is weal pwincess!" 

"i'm gonna have to agree with that..." jungkook mutters, turning to haewon who just laughs, "noona what did you do to make her look that pretty?" 

"are you saying i'm not always pretty?" aera huffs. 

"uh not really, but today's so different," jungkook sighs, coming near her and turns her around, inspecting the dress carefully, then looks at her face again, "are you sure you wanna go out?" 

"are you sure you wanna ask that when i spent so much money on this dress, my shoes, my nails, and three hours into getting ready, including haewon unnie's time?" aera asks back, making jungkook sigh. "ignoring that, tell me how do i look?" she beams, twirls in her place once, showing her dress to the brothers.

jimin smiles, stepping forward and holds her hand, leaning closer as he presses his lips on her forehead, "beautiful. i didn't realize my riri's a big girl now until today." he whispers in a tender voice, hugging the sister tightly, "why did you grow up so fast?" 

"uhm i don't know?" aera looks up at him, which is when she notices the tears in jimin's eyes, "hey hey, why are you crying? oh my god!" 

"ah nothing just..." he shakes his head, rubbing his eyes and clears his throat, "gosh, you were just a baby yesterday, my child. now your high school ends, then college and then you'll marry someone and leave me forever..." 

"wha— really? c'mon, don't cry oppa!" aera hugs him again, wiping his tears and kisses his cheek, gasping when her lipstick left a slight mark on his soft cheek, "oops, unnie he's not having an affair, it's just me." she jokes, looking at haewon, making her laugh as well. 

their attention shifts to jungkook, when noticing that he's quietly watching his siblings, not saying anything, then moistened gaze catches aera's eyes, making her pout, "c'mon stop crying you both, i'm not leaving you i promise!" 

"aish! c'mere," jungkook shakes his head, opening his arms and aera happily hugs him, kissing his cheek forcefully and grins on seeing a clear lipstick kiss on his cheek, "wow this is so fun,"  

"okay but don't kiss anyone," jungkook whispers as though warning her, getting a mischievous grin from the sister, "aera, i mean it." 

"i know, jake is going with riah, and clay is going with soomin. so you can relax, there's no one to kiss me." aera gives him an assuring look but notices his strict gaze, "just kidding, just kidding. it was one time we kissed okay?"

jungkook rolls his eyes as he glances over to jimin who sighs as well, shaking his head still not that comfortable with the fact that his baby is eighteen, has been on a few dates, kissed both of her best friends once, talks to haewon about hot boys and hotter boys, and last but not the least, she's admitted in a game of truth and dare that she remembers walking in on jungkook and now she knows what the monster was. jungkook was close to jumping out the window of jimin and haewon's apartment from the 16th floor when he came to know that.

aera has definitely grown up. 

but some things didn't change and it warmed jimin's heart. like cuddling to her big kitty plush while watching a movie in her room, stealing clothes from jungkook's closet then fighting him that it's hers, or sometimes sneaking out hoodies from jimin's place and act like she never did anything, fighting over videogames, sitting on the counter and talking about the silliest things while the brothers worked in the kitchen, climbing on jungkook's bed and cuddling him over the blanket if he was too lazy to move, tripping on the last step of the stairs, still struggling with zippers sometimes, not understanding what color shoes to wear with an outfit until one of the brothers choose one for her, refusing to leave the house if she's determined to get a 'goodbye' kiss, and many other things like that. 

these moments proved to jimin that no matter how many years pass and how much aera becomes independent, she'd still be her brother's baby sister. 

"who's gonna pick you up?" jimin asks. 

"jake and clay," she says and jungkook arches up a brow, "i know, i'll tell you. listen so, they have different dates, but they said they wanted to see me first. and i also told them that we should be together, then we can meet our dates at the venue— because, well they might like their girls, but they're not me." she says with some sass and haewon smiles proudly, giving her a high-five. 

"exactly! you should keep your boys tight," haewon says, making the brothers choke while aera just laughs. 

"what are you teaching her noona?" jungkook shakes his head, "gosh! no, hyung!" 

"haewon-ah, what is this? she's just a kid, you can't—" 

"she's eighteen jimin. and what's wrong if she's reminding her best friends that she should be a priority." 

"i don't really need to remind them unnie," aera laughs, "jake is so annoying, i know he's gonna watch me like a hawk while i'd be with eunwoo." 

"wow, you don't listen to me aera, i can tell he likes you!" haewon says and aera shrugs. 

"no unnie, he likes riah. but clay always always says that there's something about me which makes them be attentive when it's about me. he's not like jake, but he does keep an eye to make sure i'm okay." 

"wow..." jimin sighs deeply, "well what should i say now... y'know just enjoy i guess? and if they're actually that responsible then tell them to take care of you." 

"and don't go anywhere alone or with the boys." jungkook says.

"what if i need to go to the washroom?" 

"take a girl with you," 

"i don't have girl friends," 

"well then—" 

a honk interrupts jungkook and aera breaks into a smile instantly, turning to the front door then glances at the elders, "they're here, i'll go now." 

"bye, have fun!" haewon gives aera a brief hug, smiling widely as excited as aera herself, "you look beautiful okay? don't let anyone else tell you otherwise," 

"i love you unnie, you're the best!" aera grins, waving at them and walks out of the house to the porch where the boys are already standing. she smiles at them, stopping at the sight of them and arches up her brows, raising her hands at the sides, giving them time to look at her and start with the compliments. 

"wow..." jake mumbles, gulping thickly as he stares and so does clay, both having trouble deciding what to say first. 

"that means you look gorgeous," haewon whispers to aera, making her giggle, deciding that maybe she's the one who needs to start talking because the boys seemed to be taking forever." 

"you both look great," she smiles, nor lying as the suits they're wearing adorns their handsome features, making them look even more attractive tonight.

"you look great, aera," jake says, "like... like... a princess," 

"i know! my noona lookin' like pwincess!" jiwon chirps as he's sitting in his father's arms, looking at his noona with shining eyes. "me— i will mawwy noona!" 

"geez, calm down little guy," jungkook chuckles.

"you're barely three and wanna marry my little girl," jimin acts fake angry, looking at his son who giggles and nods. 

"noona so pwetty! i will mawwy noona and mamma!" 

"c'mon not them," jimin sighs, "i can't believe my son is doing this. jiwon, kiddo, your mamma is my wife and your noona is my child. so no, you're not gonna marry them." 

"nooo!" jiwon pouts, turning to jake who winks at him, holding his hand, "hi..." he mumbles suddenly, making the elders laugh. 

"hey," jake smiles at him, "how do i look?" 

"good," jiwon says then points at clay, "kay h'ungie lookin' mo' good," 

"ah yes! thank you," clay smirks, pushing jake out of the way and smiles at the kid, "i knew it we're best friends, right jiwon?" 

"yea but i' best fwend noona... and uncle koo,"

"that's my boy," jungkook nods proudly, patting his nephew's head.

"alright, well i'm your noona's best friend," 

jiwon looks over at aera for confirmation and smiles when she nods, "okay," he chirps, shaking hands with clay, "i' best fwend wid kay," 

"thanks buddy," he chuckles and turns to aera now, "shall we head out now? it's time,"

"sure," she nods, stepping down from the stairs as jungkook helps her with the dress and jake holds her hand till the car. as she sits inside, the brother eyes the two boys to come aside for a word, earning confused glances from them. 

"look, i'm letting her go, but you need to make sure she's fine." jungkook says to them in a low voice such that only they are able to hear what he's saying and nod, "no unwanted people near her, get it? and please don't let her drink alcohol." 

"she doesn't listen to us sometimes," clay says and jungkook looks over to jake who smirks, giving a nod which means that he'll take care of jungkook's sister at all costs. 

"cool, and wait— who's this eunwoo guy?" jungkook inquires.

"a simp," jake hisses, "he's been crushing on aera since sophomore year. you won't believe hyung, he was literally so happy when aera agreed to be his prom date." 

"clingy? or anything...?"  

"uh not really, he's actually pretty shy but alcohol in his system makes him a bit bolder." clay says, "last time he tried to kiss but she stopped him." 

"keep an eye," jungkook says firmly and the boys nod, all stepping away once the secret conversation is done. "if anything happens, you two are in trouble." 

"don't worry hyung," jake grins, "we'll take care of everything." 

clay sighs as jungkook doesn't really look convinced and turns to him, "i'll make sure nothing goes wrong," clay assures and jungkook nods this time, patting his shoulder as he gestures them to get going now.

"what did you say to them?" jimin asks. 

"just to take care of aera," jungkook sighs, waving at aera and smiles, mouthing 'have fun' to her. then he faces jimin and haewon once the car is gone, "—and look to make sure nothing weird happens y'know?" 

"i thought you didn't trust them?" jimin raises his brows, walking inside with the brother and his wife, and his son in his arms who lets out a yawn now. 

"they care for her. i've seen it, jake can fight pretty much anyone for aer— his friends, i mean." jungkook clears his throat, "and clay, he's calm and the most mature among the three, so he can take care of his friends. they both make a good combination." 

"interesting," haewon smiles amusedly, patting jungkook's back which makes him look down, virtually whining that he actually said all that. 

"i don't trust them though," he says to cover up and haewon laughs, "noona, no c'mon!"

"what? when did i say anything?" she chuckles, shaking her head and follows her husband to the kitchen, "is he asleep?" she asks, peeking at their son's face and smiles softly, "funny how he always needs someone to put him to sleep like that," 

"aera was the exact same," jungkook chuckles, taking jiwon from his hyung and smiles at his sleeping chubby face, "i'll tuck him into bed. now hyung, stay the night here, it'll get even more late till we have dinner and all."

"uh but—" 

"c'mon it's fine, noona. you were saying i don't have time, now you're not staying over for one night." 

"okay fine," haewon sighs, "who's gonna help me here?" 

"me," jimin says and glances at jungkook, "you can take longer than just putting jiwon to bed," 

"got it," jungkook gives a thumbs up and grins at haewon, "tomorrow, just you and me, no husbands allowed." 

"done," haewon laughs.

•••

"you didn't say how i look," aera squints at clay, making him chuckle amusedly as his eyes avert from the street to her at the backseat. 

"you look beautiful," he says, "you really wanna grab a lot of compliments huh?" 

"i look pretty," she shrugs, "—and i know it." 

"amazing," jake sighs, straightening his coat as he sits back, scrolling through his phone. "riah and her girls are already there," 

"what do you exactly like in riah?" aera frowns, leaning forward, her eyes staring at jake for an answer who grins mischievously and winks at her, making her roll her eyes at him, "her sister chelsea, i heard she dated my brother," 

"yeah," clay nods, "it was bad though," 

aera hums softly, sitting back and sighs deeply, "it's weird isn't it— like some people have such a great love story, for instance, jimin oppa and haewon unnie. looking at them makes me believe in love. but then look at jungkook, he's had a messed up love life. weird..." 

"but he's happy with his life," jake mutters, "it's not wrong if someone doesn't wanna be involved in relationships whatever the reason might be." 

"yeah," aera nods, "i've seen jungkook up close, if he doesn't wanna do anything, nothing in this world can make him do that. and i love that about him, he's free and just listens to what convinces his heart the best."

clay however, looks at jake and frowns, "so you don't wanna date riah?" 

jake looks at him, shrugging his shoulder, "it scares me... y'know the relationships and labeling things. if she can work with me keeping things like they are now, then i'd stay." 

"if not?" aera asks quietly and jake glances at her through the mirror, then at clay, shaking his head with a small smile. 

"if not, she'll have to move on alone." 

"but you like her," 

"i like us— what we have. the day it changes, i'm gone." 

aera keeps quiet after that, taking her time to notice the depth of his words and decides to not ask anything more right now. clay pulls in front of the resort where the party is being held. aera opens the door, stepping out slowly and fixes her dress before she's ready to head inside with the boys. 

they meet eunwoo standing with his three friends and waves at aera, motioning his hand for her to join them. a hand, however, subtles on her back and jake leans closer to her ear, "i'll be with riah, and clay's here too. call us if there's anything," 

aera nods at him with a smile, and then at clay, gesturing to him that she's going to eunwoo. as she walks in the direction, she notices the eyes turning to her including eunwoo's friends who nudge him teasingly, probably muttering to themselves that he actually did an amazing job getting jeon aera to be his date for the prom. aera sighs at the stares and responses she gets from people, suppressing the urge to roll her eyes and smiles at eunwoo. 

"hey, eunwoo," she says and the boy is already lost, but his friend kicks on his foot, laughing awkwardly and nods towards the girl. 

"hi aera, you... you look amazing," eunwoo says. 

"ah thanks, you look great too." she smiles and glances at one of his friends, "hey minjun, nobody told me you're coming," 

"well, surprise," he chuckles, standing beside eunwoo and holds out his hand to which aera doesn't think much and puts her hand in his. the action surprises her when the boy presses his lips on the back of her hand and steps closer, "you're gorgeous," his comment makes aera smile nervously as she pulls her hand back and turns to her date, regretting that she ever spoke to minjun. 

"eunwoo, i guess we should go?" 

"we should," he nods, bumping shoulders with minjun and takes aera's hand, leading her to main dance floor. "i'm sorry about him," he sighs once they're at a distance and aera smiles at him, shaking her head. 

"it's not your fault. even i had no idea he would do something like that," she says.

"alright anyway, forget about him, wanna drink something?" 

"sure, whatever you like," she shrugs, taking a seat with him at the bar. her eyes wander around the place, lights dim and people dancing with each other already as the dj keeps blasting the music from the stage. she recognises most of the people, but some still are still new faces from different batches than hers. 

all of them look good: girls dressed in beautiful gowns and dresses, and the guys flaunting different suits tonight. eunwoo holds the drink in front of her, pulling her back from her thoughts, "so, how's everything? i heard you're considering foreign universities after this?" 

"well, yeah my brother said whatever i wanna do. and he did tell me about a lot universities, courses and all," 

"that's nice, my parents have been talking about the medical field. they want me to be a doctor," 

aera nods slowly, sipping from her drink and speaks, "and what do you wanna become?" 

"doctor," eunwoo smiles, "it's dad's dream since i was born. i gotta be a doctor and make him proud," 

"sounds like a nice plan, but who's gonna make you proud? your son?" aera laughs, "are you gonna wait for like— ten-twenty years to have someone to make you proud by fulfilling your dream for you?" 

eunwoo's smile fades away and aera stops laughing, staring at him with a soft smile, "i don't wanna discourage you eunwoo, being a doctor is great. you can help people, serve them and also make good money. but think about it carefully, your career is yours, no one else is going to live it for you. not your dad and certainly not your son or daughter." 

"i wanna be a doctor," he hushes out, then nods firmly with a smile as he gains confidence of his words, "thanks for saying that," 

"no problem, i wish you good luck for future. make your family proud and yourself proud," 

eunwoo nods at her words, about to ask what she wants to pursue her career in. though his wish is left unfulfilled as the music changes and aera stands up with a smile, turning to him with her eyes shimmering in excitement under the dim blue and pink lighting, virtually telling him that she wants to dance too. 

so eunwoo leads her to the dance floor between many other people, all busy dancing with their partners and sometimes switching the partners itself. aera chuckles as she holds eunwoo's hands, dancing with him and twirls under his hand, making him laugh too. then the song changes and masks are being passed to everyone as the lighting turns into a shade of cyan mixed with pink and purple, the music slowing down to let the pairs enjoy a romantic couple dance.

as aera glances over her shoulder, she notices how almost everyone around her is drowning in their partner's eyes, moving in a gentle pace along with the music. when she looks in front, eunwoo's staring at her too, driving her a little towards the uncomfortable side as she doesn't know what she should do. this was one of the things she didn't like: leading eunwoo on when she didn't like him like that. she looks down, keeping her hand on shoulder and prays for the music to pass quickly and some quirky party songs to play.

with a twirl however, the partners are switching and aera gasps, finding a smirking face before her who's hand tightens it's grip on her waist. despite the mask, aera could tell it was minjun, making her sigh as she pushes his hand lightly, "minjun, stop please," she mumbles slowly. 

"i'm sorry, you look too good," 

"i get that, but please don't do this." she says and he chuckles, loosening his grip on her but steps closer, dancing with her. "can you stop?"

"what am i doing?" he stares at her, licking his lower lip and looks away, releasing a breath, "can we go somewhere quieter?" 

aera glares at him, suppressing the urge to kick him away and scans around her, looking for one of her friends instead. making a scene and ruining the party would be too much, so she just pushes him away lightly when clay catches her eye. 

the next moment aera's turned around by a hand snaking on her waist and holds her close, never stopping the dance with everyone, "are you okay?" 

"jake," aera sighs, hitting his arm which only makes him laugh silently, "you scared me," 

"what was he doing?" he asks.

"holding me," aera sighs, "do you think i wore something wrong...?" 

jake shakes his head, holding her by her shoulders and takes a step back to glance down at her dress and then back at her face as he brings her close again, his hand sliding to her side, tickling lightly, making her aera gasp as she tries to pull away, holding her laugh, "you look beautiful. minjun is an asshole and we don't consider their opinion," jake says as he holds up his hand, letting her circle slowly, then pulls back like everyone else, 

"thanks," aera wraps her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly and kisses his cheek, "you're the best," 

"i am the best, i told him to go to you," clay voices from behind, making aera laugh as she hugs him too. 

"thank you," 

the music stops and everyone stands with drinks in their hands, looking up at the stage where the hosts of the party are standing, a guy named rehan and his girlfriend aecha, both looking good as always. they hold their mics and rehan starts speaking first, "good evening ladies and gentlemen! are you having fun so far?" he raises his mic towards the people on the floor, earning a loud roar of cheers. 

"amazing," aecha smiles, "as we're proceeding further into venturing out the fun tonight, how can we miss out on this crucial ritual of revealing the prom king and queen of this year?" 

everybody cheers again as they all stand with partners and rehan goes to announce the king and queen, "the prom king, everybody, of this year is..." he glances at the flash card with a smile and, "any gusses?" 

"jake!" riah says and the rest chuckle, knowing how much this girl liked him. jake didn't smile though, knowing that one day he'll break her heart and leave this fondness behind. aera and clay nod in agreement, calling jake's name too, earning a glance from him as he pretends that he already won.

"well well," aecha chuckles, "it is jake! our prom king tonight everybody!" 

everybody cheers for jake as he smiles at his friends, going for a hug but riah approaches him first, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulls him into a hug, also kissing his lips with a wide smile, "i'm so happy for you!" she says and jake smiles, hugging her back. 

"you're gonna be the queen," soomin nudges riah, making her blush as she glances at jake who's staring over at his two friends who give him thumbs up with proud smiles. 

"and the prom queen— let's see if you can get it right again?" aecha says, getting mixed names from the crowd, but she pretends to not hear other names than one which is the winner to avoid hurting anyone. "aera?" 

aera looks up at the girl, shrugging her shoulders as she doesn't say anything but then gasps hearing a bunch of boys and girls screaming out her name as the prom queen, "that's right! please give it up for our prom queen, aera!" 

almost everyone cheers with happiness, except for riah, soomin and aera herself, as they exchange glances and riah looks embarrassed, stepping away from jake when aera's made to stand next to him. "riah i—" 

"you look great aera," riah says with a sad smile, walking away with soomin following behind her. jake doesn't seem to notice as he wraps his arm around aera, grinning widely at her, making her force up a smile too. 

"i request our king and queen to come up on the stage and receive their crowns and sashes," 

jake holds aera's hand, helping her up the stairs which itself gains a lot of cheers. another couple walks up the stage and aera smiles at them, recognising them as last year's king and queen. the girl puts the sashe on aera first, followed by the guy putting it on jake. then they set the crowns and the music starts blasting loudly, marking the official beginning of the party. 

"ri? what's wrong?" jake asks, noticing aera glancing at the end of the crowd frequently, not looking as happy as she was when they first arrived here. 

"riah should be the queen, not me." aera says, looking at her feet, "she wanted to have this moment with you jake. i... i just came in between you two," 

"she said that to you?" jake frowns and aera shakes her head, "then what? why are you talking like that?" 

"because she likes you! didn't you see her face when my name was called with you? she wanted it to be her." 

"that doesn't matter aera, it's nothing that serious and she should understand this." 

"maybe it's not a big deal for you, but for her it was." aera says, pulling herself back and gets off the stage, going towards the restroom with a worried face. 

"aera?" clay catches her wrist, stopping her on her tracks, "what's wrong? where are you going?" 

"where's riah and soomin?" 

"i don't know," clay says, "but what happened?" 

"come with me," aera sighs and leaves the dance floor to a quieter place, near the restroom. just when she's about to speak, they hear some voices from the restroom.

"i know, but he doesn't even see me..." it's riah talking, "i was genuinely happy for him, but he's only got eyes for aera. she also has a date today but still she can't keep her hands of jake." 

"well, that's actually true," soomin speaks now, "even clay has his attention on her more than on me, and it sucks y'know, to be the second choice when they're our first choice. sometimes i feel like it would be better if aera wasn't friends with our boys, or maybe if she wasn't here at all." 

"she's exactly like her brother," riah grits in anger, "he broke my unnie, she loved him... but what did he do in return? break her heart, leave her alone... and now it's aera trying to break me like that. i hate her!" 

"such a slut," soomin scoffs, "always around boys. have you seen how she touches them and let's them touch her? i feel bad for eunwoo for falling for a girl like aera." 

"fuck her! i'm gonna win jake no matter what she tries," 

aera doesn't realise when tears started brimming her eyes and her head lowers on it's own, making the crown fall on the floor. clay hugs her gently, rubbing her back, "don't listen to them," he says and the door of the restroom opens, revealing the two girls. 

"again?" soomin grits, glaring at aera and pulls her away from clay. 

"soomin don't—" 

"please clay, it's enough now! do you think i'm blind that i can't see what's going between you two?! and you, aera, always acting so sweet in our faces, but you're such a dirty snake! one guy isn't enough for you that you keep getting both clay, jake, eunwoo and even minjun today? do you have any shame left in you?!" 

"seriously aera," riah shakes her head, "there are people who'd kill to be you, i feel bad for them. you're disgusting. just stay away from us— and by us i mean, jake and clay too."

"that's it, you've said enough. now leave." clay glares at her and soomin, "i really didn't think you were like that. leave." 

the girls scoff, going their way. aera wipes her tears, taking a few deep breaths and enters the restroom, standing by the sink where she splashes water on her face, breaking into a sob with her eyes staring at her reflection. "aera," clay calls softly, patting her back and wipes her face, "none of it was true. don't listen to them, they're just jealous." 

"why me..." aera cries, pushing him away and rubs her eyes, smudging the mascara from her eyes along with the water and tears, "i didn't mean to hurt them clay. i came here to give this— this crown to riah." she says between sobs, glancing at clay now, "am i the only one who loves this friendship? do you not like spending time with me? am i bothering you... getting between you and your girls?" 

"no, never," clay says, holding her hands with one hand and cupping her cheek with the other, "we love you, both me and jake." 

aera hugs him tightly, burying her face in the crook his neck as her sobs calm down gradually and left behind is slow breathings and dried stains on tears on her cheeks, "i wanna go out of here..." 

clay nods without a word, pulling away and looks at her face, grabbing a few tissues from the side of the sink and wipes off the smudged mascara from her eyes and cheeks gently, then smiles on noticing aera's moistened gaze on him as her tears return, "do you like soomin?" 

"not anymore," clay says, "no one gets to hurt you, and what she did today was wrong." 

"liar, you liked her." aera cups his face, making his look at her in the eyes, "you should've gone after her, clay," 

"and leave you alone?" 

"i'd go home..." she shrugs, taking the tissues and cleans off her face, sighing deeply, "i had no idea all of this would happen. i just thought tonight will be fun and all of us will enjoy..." 

"let's go," clay pats her back, exiting the restroom and meets jake leaning on the wall right in front of the door. "hey, since when are you here?" 

"since riah slapped me," jake mumbles, stepping near aera and turns his face to show her where the girl slapped him, "it hurts," 

"i'm sorry," aera says staring at her feet. 

"why did she hit you?" clay frowns, "those girls are really crazy!" 

"she wanted to be the queen with me— actually she was jealous because aera was with me. i can swear if it were any other girl, she wouldn't react this way." jake sighs and glances at aera, "i'm sorry for what happened," 

"it's not your fault," aera says, "i'm leaving…" 

"i'll come along. what am i gonna do if you both are not here." jake shrugs, picking up the crown from the floor and cleans it with his coat before putting it back on aera's head. "that looks better," 

"i don't want it," aera mumbles, pushing his hand away and follows clay out towards their car. 

nobody said anything for a while until the girl had fallen asleep midst thoughts and jake turns to clay, "did they say something to her?" 

"yeah, not to her, but they were talking about her— a lot of shit and we heard it." clay answers, "she was crying. i feel bad for her jake, she was so excited for the party, and they just... ruined it at once. prom is a great memory for anyone, and ri just got that messed up because some girls were jealous." 

"i'm gonna talk to riah," jake cracks his neck, "and you better talk to soomin, or else i'm gonna do it." 

"you can't just go fight girls, dude." clay rolls his eyes.

"i never said i'm gonna fight them. just that i won't hold back on my words if they—" 

"jake," aera's voice comes in between as she's sitting up straight and takes a deep breath, holding her head which is hurting even though she didn't even touch alcohol— or maybe she did, a little bit. "ah do you have water?" the boy hums, passing a bottle of water while clay pulls over a few blocks before her place. 

"god..." aera breathes out, nodding her head slowly once she's had a few sips and leans back on the seat, "i'm okay, you don't need to fight anybody," 

"what did she say?" jake turns to her and she shrugs her shoulders with a small smile, "do not give me that look okay? i'm asking something and i want an answer," 

"she likes you," 

"then she better like you too!" jake groans, hitting on the stereo which makes clay hiss as it's his car, "if she can't keep her jealousy to herself then i don't need her in my life. if she's gonna hurt you like that, ruin your moments of happiness, then i certainly do not need her." 

"you sound weird right now," aera scoffs, pulling herself forward and gets up slowly to adjust the mirror so she can have a look of her face, "oh damnit... my mascara..." 

"and the prom? hello?" jake hisses, earning a glare from the girl as throws the bottle at him and opens the door, getting out of the car right away. 

"hey! aera!" clay follows after her and so does jake but he doesn't call out for her. 

"yeah go, you left me there on the stage, heard riah talking crap about you and didn't even say anything to her, and now you don't wanna face us too. go on," 

"jake shut the fuck up," clay glares at him, holding aera's hand and turns to her, "he's crazy don't listen to—" 

"i'm sorry!" aera glares at jake, yanking her hand away from clay and grabs the other boy's collar, "i never asked you to follow me! i never asked you to come with me an-and y'know what jake? you can still go back to that fucking prom be the king and make riah your queen i don't care! i... i just wanted to have fun tonight, not mess things up like this..." she trails off slowly, letting him go and shakes her head as she pulls back, looking down and takes off her heels, holding them in her hands which much relaxing than straining her feet all this while for nothing, "go back if you want, i'm not stopping either of you,"

"he didn't mean to say that," 

"but he did," aera mumbles, "i don't understand he likes riah or not... that girl is crazy over him and he just— even you clay." she pulls away, staring at the boys, "riah and soomin really like you both and you like them back, then why do you act like they're not important?" 

"they are," clay says, glancing at jake who doesn't looks mad or pissed and drapes an arm around aera's shoulder. 

"but not as much as you," he completes clay's words, then squints his eyes at the girl when she doesn't seem to believe it, "c'mon we just left that lit as hell party for our puppy, now don't look at me like that." 

"get away from me, you're a jerk," aera pulls away, getting a challenging look from the boy as he wraps his arms around, holding her hands so she won't hit him with the sandals, "yah! leave me!" 

"stop shouting, people will think i'm kidnapping you!" 

"this guy's kidnap—"

"hey!" clay covers his mouth, halting all the movements for a while then aera bites his hand, making him scoot away and she bursts out laughing, "ew! disgusting!" 

"hey let's go to your place. i don't wanna go home and explain everything to my brothers, that's embarassing..." aera turns to jake who shrugs, "we'll have a drink, watch a bad movie and dance and—" 

"cool, i'm in," jake nods, "it's gonna be our prom. just the three of us." 

"yes," the girl smiles now, hugging jake who smiles this time, kissing her cheek and smiles wider when aera doesn't pull away. clay rolls his eyes at the two, almost going to the car, but stops on his track, feeling a soft hand tugging on the sleeve of his shirt. "come back idiot," aera mutters, enough for the boy to hear and squeeze her body in a bone crushing hug. 

"ow ow! let me breathe!" aera shrieks, wriggling in between the tall boys and takes a deep breath once the hug is more normal, "isn't it funny we ditched our dates and are standing here at almost midnight, planning our own little prom?" 

"i can ditch a lot of dates for this," jake blurts out and doesn't regret it at all.

"well, i won't ditch my future boyfie," aera shrugs. 

"you have two boyfriends already, how many more do you want?" clay mocks, mimicking soomin's words which make aera laugh now. 

"ooh, sounds great," jake grins, "hey let's make a drunk promise tonight." 

"nobody is drunk here," aera chuckles amusedly. 

"let's pretend we are," jake says, "in future if we don't find anybody for us, we're gonna buy an apartment together and live together for the rest of ours lives." 

"sounds fun, but what if one of us is already dating or maybe even married?" aera says. 

"then the other two will marry each other." 

"wait!" clay gasps, "i don't wanna marry you!" 

"guys guys! let's just go from here." aera laughs. 

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a/n- heyyyyy did you like the chapter???? i'm expecting a lot of votes for this one because it took a lot of time ahhh. anyway thank you for reading it's too long right? 😂

(who would you call jake and clay from this lol?)

[i don't own any of the pictures used. credits to the rightful owner]

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7K words (yes that's true, so you better vote)