Chapter 1: Dear Alice
Chapter Text
Dear Alice,
I have been trying to ask this one girl in my math class out on a date however I want to plan the first date before I do. I want to be prepared, you know? Especially because she is obviously oblivious to all the hints I have been dropping all week. The only problem is that I have never planned a date with this type of girl before. She doesn’t seem like the small talk type, you know, she's one of those girls who only has two friends and always has her nose in a book. An outcast guess. Anywho, can you help a man out and give me the inside scoop on what date is sure to win a chick over?”
-Desperate Chad
Dear Chad,
First off, maybe don’t call the girl you are trying to ask out an “outcast with two friends”, I think that would be my first advice if you are trying to enter the dating pool any time soon. Seriously Chad, you are really off to a great start * insert eyeroll here*.
You came here for date suggestions though, so I will stop judging you for a second and get to the point. You could always go with the safest and most proven route; a movie date. WOW sooooo unique, I know. Think about it though, you sit at the screen and share popcorn with no talking, no talking means less chances for you to insult her by calling her an outcast again. *Cue slow clap moment*.
My second suggestion is to take her bowling. Yea, I know, what's so fun about bowling? Well, there is an activity to focus on so small talk won't be the main focus, and bonus, if the date goes well, you can take her to the arcade next to the bowling alleys and win her something nice. Show off a little. It will be great for your ego.
-Love Alice
Doyoung finished typing and clicked send on his email. Off goes another response to the most ridiculous section of their school newspaper.
Did he ever think that he would be the voice behind Dear Alice, a dating advice column? No, never in a million years. But somehow he ended up here.
About a month ago, Doyoung’s close friend, Jungwoo, had cornered him in the hall after school in a panicked frenzy.
He had explained that one of their journalists got mono and she was not going to be able to help run the newspaper for a while and that they were in desperate need for a person to fill in while she was gone.
Jungwoo knew that Doyoung was a great writer. He was a straight A student, the literature teachers all adored him, and he was one of the only few people who knew that Doyoung in his free time, enjoyed entering online writing competitions.
“You know that I am busy with Debate Club and tutoring, Jungwoo. That is a huge commitment.” He had whined at the time.
“No no, don't worry. We were able to split up her sections amongst the rest of the journal club, however there is one column left and none of us have the time to add it to our stack of responsibilities. It’s super simple compared to your writing competitions you do all the time” He had pouted while bouncing up and down holding onto Doyoung’s wrists to make sure he didn’t escape.
“Ugh, fine. How many weeks? two? three?” He had given in.
“Three, four tops! I promise! You are the best hyung.” Jungwoo’s mood changed a full 180, returning to his usually sunny self.
Well it had been four weeks and Yoona had gotten over mono, however her parents made her transfer schools. So Doyoung somehow joined the journalist club by accident.
While Doyoung wanted to get angry at Jungwoo for getting stuck in this situation, he knew it wasn't his fault, so instead he liked to curse out Yoona’s parents for thrusting this responsibility upon him for the rest of the year. He complained a bit, however he was secretly glad that now he had another thing to add to his college applications.
Despite now being a full fledged member of the club, Doyoung couldn’t make it to the meetings after school due to a tutoring gig he had at the same time, so Jungwoo took it upon himself to write down all notes and relay them to him. In return, Doyoung would email Jungwoo the column's responses each week and Jungwoo would format them for the Newspaper.
It wasn't a streamline way of getting things done, but it makes Doyoung’s life easier and it helped save him face for taking on the most ridiculous section of the paper.
The next day while walking into the school building, Jungwoo came running over, shaggy blond hair bouncing in the wind as he did.
“Doyoung, Alice is getting pretty snarky these days. Poor Chad, he just wanted to woo a beautiful outcast~” He sighed dramatically throwing a hand across his chest in fake sympathy.
Rolling his eyes, Doyoung kept walking down the hall towards his locker, trailing behind was Jungwoo who was much more like an overly active goldendoodle than a high school senior at eight in the morning.
Doyoung would never know where he got all his energy from. He himself needed at least two iced americanos to make it out the door on time.
The two rounded the corner and came across a hall of lockers, stopping at one right next to the water fountain.
“You know, the Newspaper has been getting more interest ever since you took over. I think people enjoy your sass.” He shrugged as if he didn’t understand what the hype was about.
“Well, great. I’m glad they like subpar advice and judgment on their personal issues.” Doyoung deadpanned as he opened his locker.
Jungwoo just laughed and patted Doyoung’s back before looking down the hall they just came down.
“Good morning Taeyongie~” He yelled down towards a figure walking in their direction.
“I was just about to ask Doyoung if he wanted to come to my house tonight for our little hangout session.`` He practically sang as the new person joined them by Doyoung’s locker.
“Yes, that would be great. But, of course, only if you have time or want to. I know that you are busy and you get nervous around too many people.” Taeyong stuttered out, rubbing the back of his neck nervously.
Doyoung and Taeyoung had known each other the longest out of their friend group. Their relationship had always been weird though. When alone, they could chit chat and chill for hours, however whenever someone else was in the same room as them, they got awkward, almost as if they had never spoken to each other before and it was their first time meeting.
“Taeyong, you know that on Fridays I am free after school. Sure I am down. What time?”
“Yay! It starts at six, I have drinks, pizza, and every party game you could think of!” The goldendoodle of a boy vibrated with excitement.
The hangout session was quickly sounding like a full blown party and Doyoung was already regretting his choice. Taeyong was right, he doesn’t do well at large parties, and he really wanted to fix that.
So, reluctantly, Doyoung smiled and nodded at Jungwoo and politely said that he would make sure to not be late. Then he said goodbye and headed to his first class of the day.
How bad can it possibly be? It will just be their friend group, nothing to worry about right?
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Dear Alice,
My boyfriend doesn’t like to go to parties, it’s so lame and frustrating. Can’t he understand that relationships are about the give and take? Last weekend I had suffered through four hours of attempting to play video games with him! That should have at least earned me a two hour appearance at my best friend's big party she is throwing. The whole point of dating in high school anyways, is to show off. The only reason why I am dating my boyfriend is to prove to my friends that I can get the hottest guy. So how am I supposed to convince him to come to the party?
-Love Trish
Trish, Trish, Trish,
I’m sorry to break it to you, but you have a trash look on relationships. I honestly think that your boyfriend should run while he has the chance. Dating should be between people who both want to get to know each other, not to just show off at a party like a show dog. Who made you think this way, Trish? Who broke your heart and caused it to become so calloused to the simple idea of love. If you ever want your boyfriend to join you at a party, I prescribe you will have a very lengthy task of reevaluating what a relationship is supposed to be like. (Hint: it's not transactional.) In the meantime, I hope your boyfriend comes to the senses that you are only in love with yourself.
-A very saddened Alice
Friday classes usually go by fast. Students are too tired to engage in class lectures and teachers are just as ready for the weekend, leading to video heavy course schedules.
By the time the bell rang in Doyoung’s AP history class, he was already packed up and ready to go because they just watched the history channel all class.
Even though he agreed to go to the party tonight, he actually had a lot of work he needed to do before he made his way over to the other side of town where Jungwoo lived.
Collecting his things, he made his way out the door and into the overcrowded halls. Getting bumped around like a small fishing boat in the middle of a stormy sea, he ducked his head and trudged forward, on a mission to get to his car as soon as possible.
His practice over the years of maneuvering safely, getting out of the building in one piece just so happened to fail him today.
As he aimed for a gap in the crowd along a row of lockers, another student bumped straight into him, knocking the three textbooks he was lugging to the floor around his feet.
Students kept moving past him, stepping over his books and ignoring him as they made their way to their own cars.
“Oh, I am so sorry, here let me” the boy who ran into him tried to pick up the textbooks before getting bumped into by someone else walking by.
Both knew that at this rate, they would have to wait a few minutes until the hall calmed down to gather the books scattered around them.
“You don’t need to wait, I can get them after everyone stops getting in the way.” Doyoung said as he tried to figure out where the third book fell.
“No, I insist. It was my fault anyways. Hopefully they didn’t get damaged.” He was pushed against the lockers next to doyoung.
Now that Doyoung was less focused on his books, he looked up to see who the culprit was that caused his quick escape to become a lot less quick.
It was Jeong Jaehyun. Of course it had to be the most popular boy in school. Tall. Hot. Smart. Jock. What else could anyone in this crappy school ask for? He was pretty much the full package. Everything that Doyoung felt he himself wasn't.
A second realization hit him, he just found himself in an embarrassing situation in front of Jaehyun and he was only waiting with him because he probably pitied him. Great.
He must have been with his friends too. The athletic guys always seemed to travel in packs for some reason.
While Doyoung panicked, he didn’t notice that the hallways cleared. He was lost in his mind trying to not embarrass himself in front of Jaehyun when books being held out to him snapped him out of his thoughts.
“The pages of this one got a little creased, sorry about that. Luckily no one left foot prints on them” Jaehyun looked down at the books as he handed them over. He genuinely looked guilty about causing slight damage to the books.
“AP Literature.” He read from the book on the top of the pile that Doyoung took from him.
“Huh?” was all that Doyoung could dumbly say.
“Umm. I mean, how are you liking that class? I was going to take it but I was worried that with football, I would have too much on my plate.I took the easier English course instead.” Jaehyun explained.
Confused as to why Jaehyun was trying to have small talk with someone like him, he just nodded and said that it was good so far.
“Well that's good.” Jaehyun also nodded.
Expecting him to give up and leave, Doyoung was surprised when the tall boy just stood there not moving.
“Ummm, actually I was in a rush to leave. So, um, thank you for your help and ah. Have a great weekend… ok bye.” he stumbled over his words.
Before Jaehyun could respond, Doyoung beelined it towards the front doors of the school. All he heard was the jock calling out bye.
Well that was weird.
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Doyoung pulled through the large open gates that marked the barrier between Jungwoo’s house and the rest of town. Their school was made up of two types of people, the super rich, and the rest.
While Doyoung’s family was pretty well off, they lived in an older three bedroom house in a neighborhood on the other side of town. The houses around Jungwoo’s home were all way out of his own family’s budget.
Every time their friends got together, they would either meet up at Jungwoo’s house or Taeyong’s house because they simply had more room.
By the time he pulled up to the house, he checked the time on his phone: 5:53. Good, he thought. I didn’t show up late even with the holdup while leaving the school.
Climbing out, he grabbed the bag of chips he bought on the way over and headed to the front door. His mother had ingrained in him that you don’t show up to a house empty handed.
Mr Byeong, the butler of the Kim household had answered the door.
“Ah Doyoung, welcome. Come in, come in. Jungwoo is in the lounge ordering pizza for you boys tonight.” He smiled, ushering in the new arrival.
“Thank you. I brought chips.” He awkwardly replied as he slipped his shoes off.
“I can go stick that in the kitchen with the rest of the food Jungwoo stockpiled in there. Make yourself at home” and with that, the butler disappeared into the house along with the small bag of chips Doyoung had handed him.
Left in the entryway, he was left to himself to gather every last bit of energy needed for tonight. They planned to show up at six, so therefore, it would be socially acceptable to leave by ten. He would need to somehow keep his social energy up until then.
He loved his friends, but he enjoyed their company one on one. Trips to the pet store with Taeyong to buy supplies for the shorter’s fish tanks, museum trips with Taeil, movies and arcade trips with Jungwoo, and even the occasional outing with Haechan despite the constant friendly bullying they had between them.
All at once, though? That's when things got a little chaotic.
“Jungwoo, need help with the pizza?” When he entered the lounge area, an Australian shepherd came barreling off the couch and straight for Doyoung.
“Hello Lulu” he laughed as the dog jumped up on him.
“Nope, I just got some basic cheese pizza. I figured that would work for everyone.” Jungwoo smiled while holding up his phone showing the ‘order complete’ across the screen.
“Taeyong said he was on his way and Taeil is bringing Haechan from theatre practice. My parents aren’t here for the week so the place is all to us. I don’t think Byeong will tattle on us to my parents.” Jungwoo smirked at the last sentence.
“So, what’s on the schedule for tonight?” Doyoung relaxed into the leather arm chair next to Jungwoo.
“I got a scary movie, cards against humanity, good old fashioned truth or dare, and when we get really drunk, I have Spin the Bottle.” He wiggled his eyebrows at Doyoung before checking his phone again.
“Haechan said that Mark Lee is coming. I am hoping that I can get them to finally ask each other out tonight. It’s been a painfully slow process.” he sighed before typing furiously on his phone to the other boys headed their direction.
“Thank god. How long has it been? A year? Why wont Haechan just ask the kid out?” Doyoung laughed.
“That's what I want to know! He was so panicked about it that he almost submitted a letter to your dating advice column” Jungwoo laughed.
“Alice would have probably insulted him for taking so long,” Doyoung laughed. “He better not find out that I write for the column, he will never be able to live it down.”
Soon after Taeyong walked in along with Taeil and Haechan in tow.
“Let’s get this party started!” Haechan shreked the second he walked into the office with an energy drink in hand.
“Oh my god, do you really need more energy?” Doyoung went to complain but was tackled by an energetic Haechan who clung to him as if Doyoung was a tree.
“Hello my favorite wet blanket~” the youngest sang into his ear.
“Leave him alone and help me bring the drinks into the kitchen.” Taeil pulled Haechan off Doyoung and out of the room.
“Taeil got us some beers and ciders for tonight. His cousin got them for us.” Taeyong explained to Doyoung who gave the shorter a confused look after seeing the box of beer bottles.
“It’s going to be a fun night~” Jungwoo smiled and skipped out of the office following the two who just left.
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The pizza had come ten minutes ago, the four boys had watched half of the movie and were about to take a break to get up and grab some snacks when the doorbell rang.
Confused, Taeyong turned towards Jungwoo.
“Hmm I wonder who that can be~” He sang mischievously.
“Shut up” Haechan jokingly hissed, standing up to chuck a pillow at the taller one and made his way to the front door.
The three stayed in their various spots scattered around the room awaiting his return with Mark but were caught off guard when they heard more than the two voices of Haechan and his crush walking back.
“Uh, so there was some mild miscommunication…” Haechan laughed awkwardly.
“It’s my fault. I thought it was a big house party and so when Johnny heard that I was going he wanted to join and he invited Yuta and Jaehyun who were playing basketball with him. And then Yuta invited Sicheng… and so uh. Yea.” Mark rubbed the back of his neck and looked towards the ground.
The silence in the room was almost suffocating, no one wanted to speak up before the owner of the house said anything. All eyes turned towards him.
Jungwoo let out a sigh as he stood up, stretching a bit and brushing off his clothing before he turned towards the two youngest.
“Well, good thing Taeil brought way too many drinks and I ordered an extra pizza.” he smirked. “The more the merrier! Who here wants to chug some alcohol and play Spin the Bottle!” He yelled out to the crowd of athletes.
“I’m down!” Yuta cheered.
Soon they were all smiling and chatting, the tension in the room dissipated in a blink of an eye.
Doyoung was the last to follow the group of boys into the kitchen, suddenly overwhelmed by the sheer amount of new bodies. However most of his concern was about one boy in particular that had shown up with the rest.
Taeyong must have noticed his hesitation because he was soon next to him grabbing his arm in reassurance as they walked towards the kitchen.
“Aye Jungwoo, you got a ping pong table?” Johnny asked over the kitchen island that was now covered in paper plates, pizza boxes, and red solo cups.
“For beer pong? Heck yea, my dude. It’s in the pool house.” He pointed towards the large french doors leading out to the pool deck.
“This house is crazy! Everywhere I look I find something new to be amazed about” Mark gasped in awe.
“To the pool house everyone!” Haechan led everyone out the doors.
Chapter 2: Spin the Bottle
Summary:
Jungwoo's house party gets a little more Interesting
Chapter Text
Dear Alice,
I like this kid and I don’t know how to find time to hang out alone with them. They have been part of my friend group since I can remember and when I invited only them to my house, they seemed to assume it was a group thing and everyone showed up. How do I tell my other friends that I kinda want to hang out with only one person at a time for a change? Is this why people say it's so hard to date your friends?”
-Friend Zoned.
Dear Friend Zoned Amigo,
This is a tricky situation… While a normal sane person would just say to get some guts and tell your friends that you want alone time with your crush, I am going to tell you that that is a horrible Idea. Never let your friends know who your crush is. It’s free blackmail. You should mastermind a way to separate from the group during your hangout sessions. Play hide and seek and share a hiding spot. Offer to go buy snacks and make your crush come with you. That way, your friends never suspect you. Good luck getting out of the friend zone.
-Love Alice
The sun set a while ago yet the party was still going strong at Jungwoo’s house. Most of the boys were gathered in the pool house which consisted of two arcade game machines, a ping pong table, a mini bar, bathroom, TV with the latest playstation attached, two couches, four bean bags, and a mini guest room.
Honestly, Doyoung could live in that pool house comfortably for the rest of his life if he had to.
He had joined the crowd for the first ten minutes of the beer pong game they started, however the loud cheers and chants had caused him to seek refuge out on the pool deck on a lounge chair.
Drinking alone, he stared up into the sky to stargaze for a while. This was his ideal night, peaceful relaxation.
Something about staring up into the night sky always brought a sense of comfort to him. Maybe it allowed him to realize that his issues were very small in comparison to how large and expansive space felt.
He didn’t know how long he was outside on the lounge chair for but he fell asleep somewhere during his stargazing and was awoken by the feeling of someone gently placing a blanket on him.
Startled, he sat up, knocking over the hard cider can he had placed next to the chair.
“Oh my god, I didn’t mean to wake you. I'm sorry.” A familiar low voice gasped behind him.
Spinning around, he made eye contact with the last person he wanted to be alone with for a second time that day: Jaehyun.
Shit, he is going to think I am a complete mess. Doyoung thought as he looked away to pick up his split drink.
“It was getting cold out and I noticed that you fell asleep so I asked the butler guy if I could get you a blanket.” the tall boy rambled on, his face a nice rosey blush from the alcohol he consumed during beer pong.
“It’s ok. Thanks for being concerned.” Doyoung grimaced as he realized that when he sat up, his sock went straight into the puddle of his split alcohol.
Jaehyun pulled over a chair that was nearby and sat down staring at Doyoung who was not really in the mood for conversations now that his sock was soaked and he was still on high alert after being shocked awake suddenly.
“Why did you come out here instead of joining in on the games everyone is playing in there?” He asked, tilting his head to the side, almost puppy-like, which only confused Doyoung.
How could someone so tall and handsome suddenly look so soft and cute?
“I don’t like crowds of people.” the irritated introvert deadpanned in hopes to hide his slowly growing interest in the boy in front of him.
“Ah. Well that makes sense then. Sometimes it’s too much for me too.” He nodded and looked up towards the sky.
An awkward silence fell between the two and all Doyoung could do was stare at the taller. The starlight reflected off the pool and flickered across the athletic boy's face in ways that Doyoung wished he could ingrain in his head.
God who allowed this man to be so attractive.
Jaehyun was wearing a black fitted t-shirt and a simple pair of black jeans to go along with it. A silver necklace hung from his neck that sparkled in the moonlight with the gentle swing it had, caused by the boy abruptly sitting down.
Doyoung looked at his own outfit. He was wearing an oversized grey sweatshirt and baggy black pants. He was practically swimming in extra cloth compared to the fitted look Jaehyin was sporting.
The two sat there for five minutes, Doyoung wrapped in the blanket Jaehyun had found for him, and Jaehyun stared at the sky trying to think of something to say, before they were interrupted by Jungwoo who came sprinting out of the pool house.
“Doyoung! Jaehyung! What are you doing out here? We are starting Spin the Bottle and I demand all party guests to participate.” He whined, grabbing onto Doyoung’s wrist, pulling him up and off the lounge chair.
Disappointed by the interruption and the forced participation, Doyoung grumbled as he was dragged towards the loud pool house.
His wet sock left footprints behind him, forming a trail from the lounge chair. Looking back, Doyoung saw that Jaehyun had noticed the footprints and had matched his stride to perfectly copy the same path that he had taken.
Jaehyun’s face was fitted with a fond smile as he concentrated on each step.
Crap, I need to sober up or I am going to do something stupid like fall for this jock.
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They were all in a circle, Doyoung tightly tucked between Taeyong and Jungwoo. Looking around the room, he had only spoken to a few of the people here.
Sicheng was in his English class along with Yuta. They never spoke in that class though because Yuta spent the whole time trying to get the other’s attention. Everyone knew that the boy had a crush on Sicheng. Well, everyone but Sicheng himself, who was oblivious to the whole thing.
Next to Yuta sat Johnny. Johnny wasn't in any of Doyoung’s classes this semester, but in the past, they had shared a few. They talked a little bit. Johnny was a calm extrovert who got along with almost anyone which made it easy to chat with him during class.
Johnny was best friends with Mark and Jaehyun who came next in their little circle. All he knew about those two was that they played basketball together, and that they were both simultaneously popular and good students. Life isn't fair sometimes.
The rest of the circle consisted of his friends. Honestly he wouldn’t mind if he had to kiss any of his friend group. They had played this game before, so it wasn’t anything new. Doyoung was more concerned with it landing on anyone else, more specifically, Jaehyun.
“Alright! Who wants to go first? I vote Haechan!” Jungwoo gave Haechan a mischievous smile and handed the boy the empty beer bottle.
“Oooooh, I know who Haechan wants it to land on,” Taeil smirked and looked across the circle towards Mark.
“Shut up, I am spinning it” Haechan hissed.
It spun around the group six times before slowing to a stop on the person sitting right next to him.
“OOOOH MOON TAEIL!” Yuta cheered, clapping his hands “You jinxed yourself!” he laughed.
“KISS! KISS! KISS!” Jungwoo got the group to start chanting. They two boys at the center of attention looked at each other before Taeil shrugged and pulled the younger in for a kiss.
Everyone cheered even louder.
“Alright alright. Calm down. I am spinning it now.” Taeil announced.
They played for a while before the bottle finally made it’s first stop on Doyoung. They pairings went as such:
Haechan -> Taeil
Taeil-> Johnny
Johnny-> Yuta
Yuta-> Jungwoo
Jungwoo-> Sicheng
Sicheng-> Mark
Mark-> Johnny
As the bottle slowed, Doyoung’s stomach dropped. He was hoping that he would be able to magically get out of it but here he was, staring across the circle at the tallest one there.
“OOOH DOYOUNG! YES, GET IT!” Jungwoo and Haechan both cheered, jumping up and clapping. The two both fed upon each other's energy (or maybe the alcohol also had a play in the fact that the two were resembling the energizer bunny).
“Here, I can come over there.” Johnny smiled as he stood up and walked across the circle towards Doyoung whose face was quickly turning the shade of Taeil’s red sweater.
He knelt down in front of him, grabbed his face and placed his lips upon his. Doyoung’s breathing stopped for a few seconds as he froze.
Just as quickly as Johnny’s lips came into contact with his, they were gone and he was walking back to his spot next to Mark.
“Aww no fun. That was barely a peck!” Mark teased.
Doyoung was thankful Johnny took control of that, because his body still didn’t seem to want to move with so many people staring at him.
“Ok Doyoung~ spin the bottle.” Taeyong patted his back.
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Dear Alice,
I’m not specifically here for dating advice I guess. I just am writing for any advice about finding someone you like. All my friends are in relationships and I am happy for them, but sometimes it seems like I am the only one who doesn't have a partner. Are my standards too high? I don’t even know if I am straight or gay or pan or whatever. I’m confused and jealous of those who know how to date. Any advice on finding your special someone? Or maybe, any advice on discovering your own sexuality?
-A lonely stranger
Dear Lonely Stranger,
It sounds to me like you need to figure out what kind of person you are looking for. I would start with asking yourself what kinds of things draw you to people. We are attracted to people on lots of different levels but the main four are: Platonic attraction, Romantic attraction, Sexual attraction, and Aesthetic attraction.
You already have the platonic attraction down because you have friends that you are drawn to for some reason or another. Next we have romantic attraction. Do you ever look at someone and picture yourself growing old together, cuddling, and sharing all your secrets with them? That's how I would describe romantic attraction. Sometimes this attraction takes a little bit of time to grow, some never experience romantic attraction. Both are ok. Then we have sexual attraction. Who do you get turned on by? If you have never looked at someone and have the desire to sleep with them, then you might be on the ace spectrum. That's ok too! Lastly, there is aesthetic attraction. Who looks and dresses the best to you? Maybe you are aesthetically attracted to your favorite singer, or maybe you really like your classmate’s style. That all falls under this last category.
Once you can distinguish these four categories of attraction, I am sure that you will have a clearer picture of your own sexuality and finding a partner will become slightly easier. I hope this helped. I have been in your shoes in the past. It’s scary and confusing but once you figure it out, it’s going to get better.
-An Understanding Alice
Doyoung reached down for the bottle, hand slightly shaking. Willing himself to act indifferent to the game, he sighed and looked away as he spun it.
Eventually he had to look down at the bottle because his nerves got the best of him. It spun around the circle one, two, three, four times before it showed signs of slowing down.
It moved from himself clockwise, past Jungwoo who sat next to him stopping on the next person.
Doyoung couldn’t get himself to look up. Brain trying to remember who sat there. Was it Mark? No. It wasn’t Johnny again. It couldn’t be-
“Oooooh it finally landed on Jaehyun!” Johnny cheered.
Doyoung snapped his head up to look at the boy who sat behind the pointed beer bottle. Jaehyun, wide eyed, was staring straight at Doyoung in slight shock before hiding his surprise behind a cool smirk.
“Finally. I was beginning to think that the bottle hated me for some reason.” He laughed.
Jaehyun stood up and walked over to Doyoung just like Johnny had done minutes before. Kneeling down, he brushed hair out of the nervous boy’s eyes and smiled at him.
With his right hand, he cupped Doyoung’s cheek and the other wrapped firmly around the back of his neck to help stabilize them.
Leaning in, Jaehyun tilted his head to the side, lips taking a while to brush up against Doyoung's. They were gentle like Johnny’s but instead of barely touching and retreating, Jaehyun firmly pressed further. Air from his nose hitting Doyoung’s cheek.
A hint of tongue brushed across Doyoung’s lips but instead of opening up, Doyoung tightly pressed his lips closed in fear of what would happen if he allowed it to go further.
Doyoung’s mind started to cloud over until the feeling of the hand on his cheek started to disappear, Jaehyun retreating backwards to look at him eye to eye.
Doyoung will never admit it, but his heart ached a little when he felt the other boy pull away from him.
“You're a good kiss” Jaehyun smirked before standing up and walking back to Johnny who gave him a high-five.
Well crap. Doyoung thought. I think I just fell for the arrogant jock. This wasn't the plan.
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The next day, Doyoung woke up in one of Jungwoo’s guest beds, confused as to where he was.
Sitting up, his head pounded in protest. It didn’t help that the sun was shining through the open window.
Doyoung looked around to see the room. Taeyong was curled up next to him in bed and Lulu had found herself at home by their feet.
After a few minutes of sitting there, he was able to place enough memories of last night together to remember that some of the boys ended up staying at Jungwoo’s place due to the amount of alcohol they had consumed.
“Morning Lulu. I smell breakfast. Did Mr. Byeong make us something good to eat?” Doyoung asked the dog who was staring at him tail wagging.
He stood up and shuffled to the bathroom to fix his hair.
Wow he looked like a mess. He laughed at his current state of bed head, wrinkled clothing, and squinting eyes, still sensitive to the light.
Food and coffee were the only thing that mattered right now, so instead of worrying about how he looked, he continued his way down to the kitchen where the smell of pancakes and bacon was coming from.
Haechan and Johnny were sitting at the counter staring off into space when he entered.
“Good morning.” Doyoung announced to the room. Mr Byeon turned around from the stove to smile at him.
“Doyoung! I have coffee ready. Breakfast will be done in a few minutes. Make sure to get some liquids in you, you boys had fun last night.” He smiled before pointing to a few different types of juices on the counter as well as the coffee machine to the right of him.
“Thank you. Johnny, do you know who all stayed last night?” He asked, reaching for the coffee right away. Johnny himself was also spotting a large cup of joe. Haechan on the other hand had a glass of orange juice.
“I think we all ended up crashing here. Jungwoo was pretty insistent that we didn't drive and it was already too late to have someone come pick us up.” Johnny smiled, a blush creeping up on his face that Doyoung thought was odd.
That means that Jaehyun was still here, shit.
Sitting down, Doyoung chugged his coffee before filling it up again. His nerves getting the better of him before the other boy even showed up for the day.
Mr. Byeong brought over two platters of food and set it on the counter in front of the three boys who were still trying to wake up.
Soon the rest of the boys slowly started making appearances due to the smell of food leading them to the kitchen like a siren.
Mark stumbled in first, sitting down between Johnny and Haechan, instantly going for the pancakes.
Soon Yuta and Sicheng came walking in, Yuta announcing that he had actually been awake for a while but was waiting for Sicheng to get up before he decided to join the rest.
Doyoung’s roommate was next, Taeyong rubbed his eyes as he rounded the corner into the kitchen. The room slowly filled with laughter as the boys chatted about what happened that night.
Doyoung got caught up in friendly banter with Taeyong and Haechan and didn’t notice the arrival of the man who he was anxious to see.
Jaehyun slipped into the kitchen and went straight for the coffee and bacon. Doyoung only noticed his presence when the boy sat right next to him.
“Good morning” he mumbled, voice still raspy from sleep. Doyoung would be lying if he said that he wasn't affected by it.
“Morning. When I got up you were dead asleep on the bean bag chair!” Mark announced giggling. “It looked super uncomfortable. Are you ok dude?”
“Well I would have slept in the guest bed in the pool house with Johnny but he had a guest…” Jaehyun mumbled.
Johnny choked on his food trying to get Jaehyun to shut up. Everyone stared at Johnny until the door from the pool deck creaked open. All heads snapped towards the entrance in time to see a very sleepy Jungwoo enter the kitchen in an oversized hoodie.
“Morning~” He softly called out before walking past the table and into the kitchen.
“I like his hoodie. It looks just like the one I got you for Christmas last year.” Yuta smirked looking at Johnny suggestively.
Mark, being slow on the situation in the room suddenly figured out what happened, standing up in shock.
“Oh my godddddd. Wow. Okay.” He awkwardly laughed before turning towards Johnny. “I was literally on the other side of the wall on the couch. Bro that's way too close.”
All Johnny could do was turn pink and try to stay calm.
Chapter 3: Peach
Summary:
Taeyong plays dress up with Doyoung and it works out in his favor
Chapter Text
Dear Alice
I met the most interesting person the other day. It wasn't a first meeting, but one of those sudden realizations where you finally notice the person who has been around you for years. I have gone to the same school as them since as long as I can remember but I'm just now realizing how endearing they are. I don’t know what has overcome me but I am a shy mess around them. How do I engage in casual conversation suddenly without scaring them away? Any advice?
-Peach
Dear Peach,
I would normally laugh at someone who can’t hold a conversation due to nerves but I have experienced something similar recently (I know, weird. How can someone one who runs a dating advice column suck at dating? Me. That's who.) so I will be nice this one time. I would find out what they are interested in (if you don’t know already). People love to talk about themselves and their own interests. Just nod along and act interested. That will do the trick. Unless their interests are something super weird or illegal… then run fast (I’m looking at you, girl. The one who is WAY too obsessed with serial killers. Those are some serious red flags). Good luck to you my friend.
-Alice
The week after the chaos that ensued at Jungwoo’s house party, a few couples had popped up from the boys. Jungwoo and Johnny had gone on two official dates, most of which consisted of going to the dog park for Jungwoo to pet all the puppies.
Haechan finally managed to ask Mark out on a trip to the bowling alley and things were looking good for them.
Yuta was still head over heels for Sicheng but sadly nothing had progressed between the two despite all eight of the other boys trying to help make it happen.
What was the most obvious thing that changed after the party was that the jock group now sat with Doyoung’s group of nerdy friends. This was very confusing for anyone who didn’t go to the party but once they saw Jungwoo clinging to Johnny, they managed to put two and two together.
Unlike Romeo and Juliet, these two love birds brought their sides together through an accidental one night stand and while that should sound adorable, Doyoung couldn’t be any more stressed.
Suddenly lunches were more loud and chaotic, he had more people stopping him in the halls for what he dreaded most: small talk, and his small crush on Jaehyun was getting harder and harder to ignore when the dimpled boy sat directly across from him everyday for an hour while they ate.
The amount of pressure Doyoung felt to not look like a fool while trying to eat his sandwich and banana for lunch today almost caused him to have a mini panic attack. Who would think that a banana was an appropriate lunch to bring to school? No one. Literally no one. Yet here he was trying to eat it without making eye contact with anyone at the table.
“And then Mark fell on his butt while trying to prove to me that he was a professional bowler!” Haechan dramatically explained the date he and Mark went on to the group, luckily distracting most of the boys squished around the table so Doyoung could eat in peace.
“Hey! You said that you wouldn’t tell anyone about that! It was so embarrassing. My tailbone still hurts.” Mark pouted towards the end of his complaint.
Everyone laughed at the two bickering like an old couple despite their relationship only consisting of one date.
Doyoung chuckled as well, looking up from the spot on the table his eyes had been glued to as he finished his banana and immediately made eye contact with Jaehyun across the table.
Panicking, he pulled the banana away from his face and smiled at the jock, regretting all life choices as he did.
Luckily lunch was over shortly after, allowing for Doyoung to pack everything and attempt his escape to fifth period AP literature.
Announcing his leave, he stumbled over the chair as he fled the scene.
As he made his way towards the hall, he felt a hand reach out and grab his shoulder.
“Hey. Sorry, I thought I was going to lose you in the crowd. I'm headed the same way, let's walk together.” A dimpled boy came into view as he turned to see how grabbed him. Crap.
Quickly hiding his pained expression, Doyoung slowed his walk for the taller to join and then turned to respond.
“Oh really? What class?” Doyoung hated small talk.
“Ummm math.” Jaehyun awkwardly blurted confusing Doyoung. Most of the math classrooms were located in the opposite direction.
“So, how has AP literature been going? Any good book recommendations?” The taller one quickly changed the conversation.
“Yes actually. The most recent book the teacher assigned was pretty good. I read ahead of the class by accident because I couldn’t put it down. Do you like reading?” Doyoung looked up in surprise at the boy sticking to his side like a sticker.
“Yea! I guess we have a lot in common. I wish I could find time to read more, but you know, practice after school takes up time.” He smiled.
They talked about their favorite authors, mostly Doyoung just listed a bunch of books to read because he couldn’t pick one and before they knew it, they stood in front of the classroom Doyoung was headed to.
“Oh, here is my stop. Thanks for keeping me company.” He rocked back and forth trying to get the other to keep making his way down the hall.
“Yea no problem. Enjoy class.” He smiled and turned to leave.
Well that was weird, Doyoung thought. Since when did Jaehyun like to read as much as me?
-----
Dear Alice,
My friend has changed for a girl. He is a totally different person. Before he met her, he would only wear basketball shorts and baggy t-shirts. The weekends ment gaming for 10 hours at a time with me and the friends. The kid practically lived off of energy drinks and pizza. But most importantly, he was a nice guy. Now that he is dating, he has started dressing in fancy clothing and acts like the girls personal pet. He never has time for anyone and acts annoyed when we ask to hang out. Help! What do we do?
-A concerned friend
Hello Concerned Friend,
This is a tough situation. Have you considered that he might have an evil clone? Ok, maybe not. Well if this personally happened to me, I would just step back for a while and let this toxic relationship run its course. Whenever a person completely changes themself for another, you know that it won't be long before the act is over and quickly after, the relationship is also over. (I do hope that he keeps this new fashion sense though. It sounds way better than basketball shorts everyday). I hope your friend comes back soon.
-Love Alice
Taeyong sat across the table at the cafe drinking his strawberry smoothie and swinging his legs back and forth.
“So, what's your plan for this weekend? Taeil wanted to go shopping with me for some new clothing, wanna join?” he asked.
Closing the laptop he had open, Doyoung looked over at the untouched americano sitting next to him before realizing that he had been spacing out for way too long while trying to right response for the Love Alice column.
“Umm I don’t have anything planned. Where are you going to go?” He finally answered after snapping out of his thoughts.
“I don’t know. He wanted to go to that new shopping street near 5th street station.”
“Oh! I have been meaning to head over there. A new plant store is nearby. Maybe I will join then.” He smiled towards the boy across the table. Taeyong’s face lit up.
“Can I pick out a new outfit for you?” The shorter smiled mischievously.
“Is there any specific occasion?” Doyoung questioned.
“Nope.” he emphasized the p sound with a pop of his lips. “You just never know when your closet will need something besides your constant baggy button ups and sweaters. Doie, your closet drowns your figure.” He complained a little.
“Fine. But no wild colors or patterns. I enjoy my clothing color pallet of gray tones and blues.” Doyoung signed.
“Perfect! Shall we go to Jungwoo’s house tonight? Or do you want to head over to my house. A new version of my favorite character in my game came out three hours ago. I have been itching to get back and buy it.” Taeyong stood up, gathering his bag and drink.
“I need to go to my next tutor session later today. Can you just drop me off at home?” Doyoung never had time for spontaneous meetups, also, gaming wasn't really his thing. Last time he played with Taeyong and Haechan, he had somehow died during the tutorial round. It really took a hit on his self-esteem for a few days.
--------------
Dear Alice,
It's me again. Thank you for your advice from last week. It went really well! I need help taking the next step to move my relationship further. Right now we are almost like distant friends. How do I get to know this person more? Everytime I am with them, we are either in a very large group of friends, or we are only together alone for a short period of time. I have never had this hard of a time trying to get someone to talk to me before. I’m nervous, they are nervous. We are all nervous. Any tips on how to get more one on one time?
-Peach
Dear Peach,
Welcome back! I’m glad that my first advice helped you however, hopefully this doesn't become a weekly thing. You need to learn how to date on your own eventually (I mean, the Dear Alice column isn't going to be with you all your life. Time to take off those dating training wheels my friend). Here are my tips, find an excuse for you to be alone with them. Whether that is needing help with something, or getting the courage to simply ask them out for a one on one hangout. It’s all up to you. I’m sure that you will figure it out.
-Alice
Taeil and Taeyong ran ahead of Doyoung and into the shopping street they were so excited to check out. The street was full of people dressed in high end brands like those Balenciaga sock shoes and the iconic Burberry plaid.
Looking down at his own outfit consisting of tan chinos and a navy blue polo shirt and baseball cap (both he stole from his older brother) he suddenly felt very underdressed.
“Taeil! Let's go into this one first. I bet that they have some great options for you.” Taeyong called out, pointing at a set large black and glass door leading into a store.
Nodding, all the boys filed in.
“Taeyong, how expensive is this shopping street? A person walked by wearing those Valentino combat boots that cost over a thousand dollars.” Doyoung was in shock.
“Don’t worry. You will only wear basics anyways so it will be cheaper. Everything is on me today!” Taeyong announced.
“What?! That's so much money. I’m not letting you buy me things.” Doyoung was about to walk out.
“No no no! Wait. I missed your birthday this year due to my dad’s business trip that I had to go on. Let me buy you something. Please.” He pouted.
“Fine. But nothing is allowed to be over a hundred dollars.” With that, Taeyong got giddy and ran over to the clearance section and got to work looking through items.
The hopped from store to store, each time Taeyong made both Taeil and Doyoung try on way too much. Taeil joked about it being a runway show with Taeyoung being the boss of it all. Doyoung just kept thinking about the little Peperomia Obtusifolia he was planning on buying at the plant nursery once this was all over. His socialization battery was running low on charge and he would need to escape into solitude soon for his own sanity.
“Ok this is the one. Doie I am buying everything for you right now.” Taeyong declared. At this point, Doyoung wasn’t even paying attention to what he was wearing so when Taeyong was so determined to buy it, he had to turn towards the mirror to see what it was.
He was wearing a thin black turtleneck with a simple silver chain necklace layered on top. His jeans were a slim fitted and black, and his feet were fitted with a slightly heeled ankle boot. Draped over his shoulders but not put on properly was a sleek leather jacket.
Dang. He did look good. It was nothing that he was expecting Taeyong, the king of fun colors and patterns, to pick out for him.
“Yea, this is like the cooler and sexier version of Doyoung” Taeil agreed. Trying to not take offence to that comment, Doyoung just nodded and went to change back to his own clothing.
Before he knew it, they were checked out and headed to the next place. The price was hidden from Doyoung when they bought the outfit, he was pretty sure that Taeyong just ignored his rule.
--------------
After the exhaustingly long day, Doyoung carried his new plant and two bags of clothing into the house and collapsed on the couch as his phone pinged.
MAYBE JAEHYUN flashed across the screen when Doyoung lifted the phone to see the notification.
What? How did he get my number? Panic started to set in as he opened the text. It simply read:
Maybe Jaehyun: Hi Doyoung, it’s me, Jaehyun. Jungwoo stopped by to get food with Johnny and so I asked for your number. I hope that’s ok
Doyoung sat there for a bit trying to figure out why Jaehyun would want his number when a second text came through, the sound making him physically jump.
Maybe Jaehyun: I know that you offer tutoring. I was wondering if you could help me out with science. I have had to miss a bunch of it this semester due to Football games. I can pay you!
Doyoung’s heart dropped. Oh. He just needs help in school. That makes sense.
He sat there for a while trying to type out a good response.
Doyoung: Of course. You don’t need to pay me though. Unless you want to pay in coffee ;)
Doyoung: When are you free? I can do all day Sunday and the mornings on Saturday
Sitting for a minute, wondering if he shouldn't have suggested Jaehyun pay for his coffee addiction (or maybe it was the smiley face that scared him off), a message popped up.
Maybe Jaehyun: Sunday’s sound great! Wanna meet up at the cafe on 8th street tomorrow at 1pm?
Tomorrow? That was much sooner than Doyoung was expecting. Sitting there for a while, he debated making up fake plans to get out of it.
It’s just Jaehyun. You have had lunch with him for the past two weeks. What’s the big deal?
Everything. Everything was a big deal. They had never been alone for extended periods of time and he really didn’t want to make a fool out of himself.
Clearly Jaehyun was just looking for a tutor, so he would keep it professional.
Doyoung: Yea sounds great!
Well he was stuck going now…
Doyoung threw his phone to the other side of the couch and flung his head back. What did he just get himself into?
--------------
Dear Alice,
I haven’t had my first kiss yet. All my friends have had boyfriends and girlfriends for a while now and they all talk about what their first kiss was like. I don’t get the hype but also I feel left out. Am I late to the dating game? Should I just kiss someone to get it over with? Please help!
-A Lonely Jellyfish
Dear Late bloomer,
KISS THE NEXT PERSON YOU SEE! (Is that what you were hoping to hear?) No, don’t do that. You aren’t a late bloomer at all. Waiting to find the right person for your first kiss can be scary at times while it feels as if everyone in the world has moved on to the next stage of life before you, but don’t feel stressed. If you try to rush it, you will only put more pressure on yourself to find someone. (Unless you have a really cute friend who is willing to be your first… then jump on that. Trust me. You wont regret.) So next time your friends make you feel insecure about not having kissed someone, just look them dead in the eye and say that you have not sucked on someone’s tongue before because you are waiting for the right tongue (this must be delivered in the most serious of faces).
-Love Alice
Doyoung woke up in bed around 10:30 am to the sound of his brother and mom laughing downstairs. Groaning, he reached for his phone on his nightstand and started flipping through instagram. In the corner, a little notification lit up.
Clicking on it, Doyoung froze.
-Jeongjaehyun Started Following You
Wow, ok. That's one way to start the day. Clicking on the account, Doyoung scrolled through photo after photo of Jaehyun standing in or smelling various plants.
Huffing out a small laugh, Doyoung looked around his room at his mini army of plants and wondered if Jaehyun would enjoy taking pictures with them too.
What are you even thinking right now? It is way too early in the morning for you to be picturing Jaehyun in your room smelling your plants. He knocked himself in the head with his phone for allowing his brain to go straight there after seeing the photos.
Sitting up, Doyoung quickly switched to his account to see what Jaehyun would have seen (he needed to make sure that he came off as cool, you know?).
It mostly consisted of him sitting in various cafes and bookstores. Well at least all the photos look good.
He really did come off as a coffee addict, didn’t he? Well that's embarrassing.
Coffee. Crap! Today he is meeting Jaehyun in a cafe for tutoring, he completely forgot about that!
Standing up quickly, (a little too quickly because everything went blurring for a few seconds before he could continue) he ran downstairs to eat and get ready for his new student.
“You’re out of bed early today honey” Doyoung’s mom turned towards him pointing at the box of cereal.
On the weekends Doyoung preferred to stay hidden in his room until about 11:30 playing on his phone. Sometimes staying in the cozy bed was more important than food.
“Want breakfast?” She asked as Gongmyung handed Doyoung a cup of coffee.
“Thanks” He said before chugging the coffee and shoveling some cereal in.
His mom and brother both gave each other knowing looks before turning back to see the younger finish off his full bowl of cheerios.
As his brother went to ask if he was meeting up with someone, Doyoung stood up, placed his bowl in the sink and headed back up the stairs to get ready.
It was going to take Doyoung thirty minutes to drive to the cafe, an hour to get ready, and it was already 11 am. If he had been planning on meeting up with taeyong, he would have plenty of time to play on his phone before he started to get ready, but the nerves of meeting Jaehyun had caused him to underestimate his time leading to panic.
After trying on what felt like his whole wardrobe, Doyoung sat down on his bed piled high with clothing colored different shades of blue and gray. Frustrated that nothing was looking how he wanted, he was about to text Jaehyun and say he couldn’t make it when he remembered something.
Running downstairs, Doyoung sped into the family room where his brother sat on the couch watching TV.
"Wow, what are you looking for?" He asked in surprise at Doyoung's sudden entrance.
The younger ran to the other side of the couch and scooped up the two bags of clothing he discarded there the night before.
"These. Bye!" and with that he ran back upstairs, thanking the Taeyong god for playing dress up with him yesterday and demanding to buy him that outfit.
“Taeyong is going to give me so much crap for this” he chuckled out loud in his room, holding up the outfit before rushing to pull the tags off and slip it on.
Once his hair was dried and styled, he stepped back and tried to look at himself as best as he could through the mirror above the sink in his bathroom.
Having Taeyong’s full length mirror would be handy right now.
He looked just as good as he did yesterday, if not better, now that his hair was styled to match the vibe of the outfit.
God, am I overdressed for this? Jaehyun just wanted a tutor, not some crazy person who has a crush on him.
Before he could change his mind and change for the hundredth time, Doyoung convinced himself that it was a great outfit and that he needed to leave now or else Jaehyun would be left waiting in the cafe.
He grabbed his trusty black messenger crossbody bag and headed out the door.
Chapter 4: Cheese Cake and Dimples
Summary:
Study date, cheesecake, and nosey friends.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Dear Alice,
My boyfriend and I like to hang out all the time but his music taste sucks and I don’t know how to tell him that I would rather stuff cotton into my ears than listen to another one of his horrible makeout playlists. It seriously ruins the mood every time. What should I do?
-Being cock blocked by a playlist
Hello Music Snob,
Maybe take turns with the playlist! Or maybe spend one night making the playlist together! That's a cute date idea, and then if he suggests a song you particularly hate, just ask him to leave it out this time. That’s all I got. If his music taste is really that awful, then I wish you luck.
-Love Alice
Doyoung had parked outside of the cafe 10 minutes ago. He was suddenly really glad that he rushed getting ready because he didn’t take into account how much time it was going to take for him to muster up the courage to step inside the cafe.
It’s not like it was a new cafe which would bring the added nervousness of trying to learn how the ordering situation worked (even though most cafes were exactly the same). He had been there a hundred times before. It was the best coffee shop in town. One he spent almost every Thursday night studying at.
Something that Jaehyun might have noticed considering that his instagram featured the cafe in many of his posts. Maybe too many if he was being honest.
What scared him most about going in is the fact that Jaehyun was going to be there. Stupid Jaehyun and his stupidly perfect smile. Jaehyun who was just looking for homework help.
Right. This isn’t something to be nervous about. Snap out of it!
Doyoung opened the car door and stepped outside. He had parked on the side of the building to avoid parallel parking in the front, so he was going to have to walk around to the front. Luckily it was a sunny day.
As he made his way inside, determined to look as natural as possible, something that's kinda hard to do when all you can think about is what you are doing with your arms (like serious? How does one swing their arms naturally when trying to look casual?) He scanned the cafe to make sure that he was the first one to arrive.
To his surprise, a dimpled boy waved him over to a table in the middle of the room. Looking down at his watch before making his way to Jaehyun, Doyoung was surprised to see that they both came early. It was fifteen minutes before they agreed to show up.
“Hey! I was a little bit worried about the mid afternoon weekend coffee rush so I ordered our first round for us. You like americanos right?” Jaehyun smiled as Doyoung finally reached the table.
Doyoung looked around at the cafe to find the “rush” that Jaehyun was worried about. Aside from them, there were only two other tables occupied leaving most of the cafe fairly empty.
He turned back to the americano in front of him that Jaehyun had ordered before he arrived. Of course I like americanos. Have you seen my instagram? Doyoung mentally laughed.
“My favorite! Thanks” He sat down across from the handsome jock taking a sip of the coffee before reaching for his bag. Good job Doyoung. Totally natural.
“No rush on studying, you just got here. Let's chat for a bit. Do you want any snacks? They have really good cheesecakes here.” Jaehyun reached across the table gently grabbing Doyoung’s arm to stop him from taking out the stack of notes for the tutoring session.
The second Jaehyun’s hand touched his arm, Doyoung froze. Well this was definitely not going how he expected.
Setting the bag back down, Doyoung sat back up in his chair and stared across the table nodding but not a single word came out of his mouth.
“So cheesecake?” Jaehyun awkwardly questioned.
“Uh, yea that sounds good.” Doyoung nodded again. He had never had a tutor session start out with casual chatting and cheesecake, but he had also never tutored a kinda almost friend before either. I guess today was going to be a lot of firsts for him.
Jaehyun stood up quickly and got back in line to get the cake, leaving Doyoung to sit and let his mind wander.
Staring at the boy at the counter, Doyoung couldn’t help but admire the way Jaehyun held himself. His posture and broad shoulders screamed confidence but not in that toxic masculine kind of way, but in a friendly welcoming way.
His clothing alway fit him perfectly. Today he wore a well fitted pair of light washed jeans and a simple white tee shirt but somehow it looked like high fashion on him.
Jaehyun was handed the cake and by the time he was turning back to walk to the table, Doyoung realized that he had been staring at the tall boy the whole time while waiting.
A faint blush fell across his cheeks and he looked at the table quickly to not make eye contact with the boy headed in his direction.
“One raspberry cheesecake freshly made, a few days ago...” Jaehyun joked as he placed it on the table alone with two forks.
Oh. They are sharing the cheesecake. It’s not like he expected Jaehyun to buy him his own slice, but he also didn’t realize that they would be sharing.
“Thank you. It looks great.” Doyoung said before grabbing a fork. “Once we finish it, let’s take a look at that math homework, I didn’t get a chance to look at what chapter you guys are going over.”
Jaehyun just scooped a bite of the cake, smiling at Doyoung with the fork still in his mouth.
“Sounds good.” He said once his fork came back down to the plate, dimples in full force.
---------------
Yuta and Sicheng had promised to meet some friends from their dance academy that weekend to celebrate the fact that their competition was coming up. Not knowing where to gather, Yuta had suggested a cafe that Jaehyun had mentioned to the group a few days before.
They had all agreed to meet up at 1:30pm because a couple of them had dance practice that morning.
“I need coffee.” Yuta cheered as they finally pulled up to the cafe’s side parking lot. Sicheng was driving and Yuta was giving directions which might have caused them to get lost on the way there.
“We would have been here 10 minutes earlier if it weren't for you.” Sicheng sighed, putting the car into park and checking his phone for the time.
“It’s alright! We are here now. I asked Ten and he said that Yangyang isn't even here yet so we aren’t the last ones to arrive!” Yuta justified their untimely arrival.
Stressed about being late, Sicheng rushed out of the car and headed for the door. The taller one was already around the building by the time Yuta caught up and opened the door for him.
“Hey, coffee’s on me for causing us to get lost. Sounds good?” He beamed his toothy smile and all Sicheng could do was smile back and nod.
Yuta went to the counter to order and Sicheng went and found the rest located in the front window booth chatting away.
Soft music played throughout the cafe. The place was cozy, one of those cafes where they have bookshelves filled with old books and board games in the corner. Yuta was glad that he recommended the place despite the fact that it was so hard to get to with all the one way streets around this area.
By the time the coffees were ready, Yuta had grabbed them and turned to see where the rest went, eyes landing directly on Jaehyun.
What is he doing here?
Trying to see who he was with, all Yuta got was a back of a head leaning over a textbook. Next to them was a single empty plate that held two forks.
Jaehyun smiled at the boy, dimples displaying the most fond look Yuta had ever seen across the boy's face. He was clearly not paying attention to what the boy leaning over the textbook was saying to him.
Curious but not wanting to intrude, Yuta decided it was best to go back to the table where the rest of his group sat instead of going up to Jaehyun and embarrassing him in front of his date.
“What took you so long?” Ten laughed while scooting over to make room on the booth seat.
“Oh uh, nothing. I thought I recognized someone.” He brushed off, taking another glance at the two sitting in the middle of the cafe.
If only that boy sitting there would turn his head a little, maybe I will recognize them from school.
“Hi everyone, sorry I’m late.” Yangyang’s arrival snapped Yuta out of his stare.
Hendery popped up and ran around the table to usher in their new arrival.
“You own the table drinks next time for being the last one here!” Ten cheered and soon the whole table was laughing and chastising the boy for being so late.
“Ok ok. But we aren't going to one of those really expensive places” he pouted, plunking down in the bench seat. “It’s going to have to be like McDonalds. I don’t want to spend all my allowance money on $7 coffees.”
As Yangyang pouted, Yuta went to snap a photo of Jaehyun to send to Johnny. He would probably know who this mystery boy is.
Lifting his phone up, Yuta’s eyes flicked down to the button before looking back up in time to see the boy in the shot had looked to his left. With a shutter sound of his phone, Yuta froze staring at the face before him.
Jaehyun’s mystery date was Doyoung. Oh my god everyone was going to need to hear about this!
Quickly leaning over, Yuta hit Sicheng and his arm.
“Ow what the heck?” He started to complain until Yuta shoved his phone into the tallers hand.
Confused, Sicheng looked up towards where the photo of Jaehyun depicted he would be and sure enough, he sat with a boy at a table, the one with their back towards them was now back facing the tall jock, hiding his face away.
Sicheng looked back at the photo and zoomed in on the side profile caught in the picture and gasped.
“Since when did Jaehyun have a thing for Doyoung?” Sicheng looked up at Yuta in shock.
“I have no idea but Johnny might!” He shrugged before taking his phone back and sending Johnny the picture with the simple text: Since when was this a thing?
While all this happened, Doyoung sat across the cafe leaning over a calculus textbook rambling on about equations and Jaehyun stared fondly at the boy, oblivious to the storm that was happening in multiple group chats amongst their friend group.
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Doyoung could feel Jaehyun staring at him. They had only started the second math problem when he noticed it and the shy boy didn’t know how to react.
“Um, so can you show me how you would solve this problem? Then I will go over it and see if you make any mistakes. That way I know where to help you.” Doyoung powered through on the tutoring session. If Jaehyun needed help with math, then Doyoung was going to help even if that meant dealing with the taller’s constant stares.
“Sure thing boss.” Jaehyun smirked, reaching for the textbook that was tucked under Doyoung’s right elbow where he had rested it.
While Jaehyun read the question, Doyoung fidgeted in his seat not knowing what to do with his arms or where to stare. He decided to look off to the left awkwardly, eye focusing on the menu board at the front of the cafe.
“Ok, I'm done.” Jaehyun handed over his calculations. Scanning to the bottom, Doyoung could already tell that the answer was correct.
“Wow, good job. You don’t even need any corrections.” Doyoung beamed.
Jaehyun blushed under the compliment. The light pink spread from his dimples all the way up to the tips of his ears.
Doyoung would have kept staring if it weren't for his phone suddenly going off.
“Ah sorry. Oh it's taeyong. I will put it on silent.” he fumbled with the phone after being shaken from his gaze, finally finding the do not disturb setting and switching it on. Jaehyun did the same after a few text pings went off on his as well.
Laughing awkwardly, Doyoung turned their focus back onto the textbooks and they continued on with their studying.
Well, not really studying. Jaehyun seemed to be completely underestimating his ability to do math because every question that Doyoung threw his way, he was able to solve with no problem.
A little suspicious, in any normal situation Doyoung would have called the student out on not needing him but deep down he wanted to continue their little study sessions, so somehow he managed to convince himself that it was all thanks to his great teaching.
Yea, that's it. Doyoung was a great teacher and Jaehyung was a fast learner…
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Dear Alice,
I like to think that I am a hopeless romantic. I have watched every popular romance movie out there. My bookshelf at home is filled with stories where the guy and girl meet, fall in love, and run off into the sunset together for their happily ever after. I have studied every formula on how to get to that happy ending as if my grades were dependent on it, yet I am the most single person I have ever met. I’m not sure where I went wrong, but I need help asap!
I have asked my friends for help and they all seem to say the same few things: “You just haven't found your prince charming”, “that's because you can’t start a conversation with someone to save your life”, and “maybe try being less nervous”. The problem is, I don’t know how to fix all of that. What should I do?
-A Girl Looking for a Happily Ever After
Hello Hopeless Romantic,
What it sounds like is that you have forgotten that the real world sucks compared to books. Sadly, most people don’t have that magical moment where they bump into someone in the halls at school and suddenly fall in love with them. Meaningful relationships take time and work to develop. You can’t fall deeply in love with someone just because you like their dimples! That would be crazy talk.
Step one for finding your true love: get out there. Set the books down and talk to some people. While I completely understand hiding behind your dreamland of massprinted paperback romance novels found in the discount shelf at used bookstores, you still need to talk to people to find your true love. And guess what, most people you talk to are not going to be that person. It’s ok, there is no rush. By not putting pressure on yourself to hurry and find them, they will show up on their own much much faster.
Good luck,
-Alice
Doyoung had walked into the school building a little later than usual. The night before he had stayed up late head in the clouds while trying to get some work done.
Stupid Jaehyun and his stupid dimples. Doyoung had to take an extra hour to complete the Dear Alice responses to send in for this week's newsletter. Once he had finished, he ended up laying in bed for way too long trying to fall asleep. His mind couldn't stop thinking about every little thing that was said at the cafe between him and Jaehyun.
Still groggy from the lack of sleep, the boy opened his locker and started to load his textbooks inside, picturing the way Jaehyun’s face looked when he had handed him the same textbook only a few weeks before when he ran into him in the hall.
Shit. Doyoung banged his head against the open door trying to maybe knock some sense into himself when a lanky boy came into his peripheral vision.
“Dear Alice is dropping hints faster than I dropped AP Chemistry last year” Jungwoo smirked, holding out his phone towards the sleep deprived boy.
Turing to look at the picture on the screen, Doyoung quickly realised that it was him and Jaeyun yesterday at the cafe.
Before he could fully comprehend what was in front of him, Doyoung swiped the phone from the other’s hands and brought it closer to his face.
Embarrassment crashed into him like a ton of bricks as he tried to not panic.
“What the fuck? Why do you have this? Do you have spies everywhere or something? How do you literally always know what's happening?” Doyoung stuttered out. So much for not panicking.
“No, I’m just in all the right group chats. Information just somehow ends up at my feet.” He shrugged.
“Wait, group chat? Who all knows about this?!” Doyoung was starting to fully panic until he realized that he was worrying about nothing. He just had to clarify what was happening.
“Scratch that. Tell your group chat that it's not what it looks like. I'm tutoring him in math.” He tried to play it off but he couldn’t erase the panicked looks he had just thrown the taller boy a few minutes before.
“Does Alice know that it’s just a tutor student situation? Because I'm pretty sure that she told someone that you can't fall in love with someone just because of their dimples.” Jungwoo sang out the last sentence smirking at Doyoung who couldn’t do anything but blush profusely.
After trying to say something, anything really, Doyoung was only able to spit out “I hate you. Don’t you dare tell anyone.” Before slamming his locker and sped walking off in embarrassment.
Doyoung, what the hell has happened to you? Get your shit together. This is truly an embarrassment. He thought as he fled the scene, heading towards his first class. He would just be twelve minutes early for it. Better than dealing with Jungwoo who would love to hold his crush over him just like Doyoung had done after Jungwoo had slept with Johnny the night of the party.
Karma is a real bitch sometimes.
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Lunch went a lot better than Doyoung thought it was going to go. He had seriously considered walking past the table and bee-lining it towards the bathrooms and hiding there until the end of lunch. With a little bit of common sense however, he had convinced his panic was irrational and that there was nothing to be nervous about.
He was only Jaehyun’s tutor. Even if he wasn’t and they all found out about the fat crush he had on Jaehyun, so what? Half of his friends are dating each other. Hell, everyone knows that Yuta has a crush on Sicheng and he hasn’t imploded due to embarrassment so far. Doyoung would be completely fine.
He had taken a deep breath, he thought about what Alice would do. Cool and snarky Alice.
Walk up like nothing happened. If they question you, make them feel weird for even insinuating that there might be something between Jaehyun and you. He thought to himself.
Standing a little straighter with his new game plan in mind, he strolled over to their lunch table, taking a seat in his usual spot next to Taeyong.
“Hey.” He calmly said to no one in particular, pulling out the lunch box he had packed that morning and set it on the counter.
He had hoped that no one would say anything to him, however that hadn’t worked out as planned. After everyone stared between him and Jaehyun for a few silent seconds, someone spoke.
“Hey Doyoung, I heard that you tutor the friend group now. Can you help me with History?” Mark piped up. All heads turned towards him, including Jaehyun.
“Umm yea, no problem!” Doyoung smiled, rubbing his neck before pulling out his sandwich.
He had looked around the table at the faces of each of his friends to see what their reactions were. Taeyong and Jungwoo had seemed to panic when the tutoring session was brought up, Yuta just smirked, but one person stood out in particular: Jaehyun.
Was that a ping of jealousy that just flashed across his face?
Notes:
I'm so sorry for the wait! If you see any typos, don't be shy to point them out!
Chapter 5: Cuddles and Confessions
Summary:
Jaehyun has a study session at Doyoung's house.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Dear Alice,
Hopefully this will be the last time I write the school newspaper for help on my dating life, but at this point I believe that I am just that hopeless. I followed your advice about spending time alone. It’s been going well! We have met up twice; however they have also started hanging out alone with my best friends as well. How do I make it more obvious that I like them more than just friends? Also is it bad that I get a little jealous when my best friends send pictures of their hang out sessions? I don’t know what to do.
-Peach
Welcome back,
It sounds like you are friendzoned harder than I originally thought. This can be for two reasons, number one: the person is just not into you, by meeting up with your other friends as well, they are proving that your one on one dates aren’t romantic, they are just friendly. Reason number two could be that they are just too oblivious to realise that you like them (however they would have to be very dense if that was the case). The best next step would be to rule out the second reason by straight up telling them you like them. That is the only way to clear up confusion. This may cause strain in the friendship if it turns out that they don’t like you though. So good luck.
-Alice (I wish I could give you better advice)
Doyoung had been tutoring Jaehyung for two weeks now, Mark for one, and now Haechan was asking for help with his English homework. While Doyoung was always happy to help his friends, it was becoming a lot. Not prepared for the sudden additional students, Doyoung had found himself basically living at the cafe that he liked to tutor at.
This wasn’t something Doyoung would have thought to have been a bad thing, however the time he spent driving there was cutting into his now shrinking personal studying time for his own classes.
It really hit home when an essay he turned in last week came back with 80% written in bright red ink at the top of the page. This was a score unheard of for Doyoung.
“You seem more tired than normal, Doyoung. Make sure you leave enough time to edit your essay next time. It was really good besides some spelling errors.” His teacher had commented as she had handed back the paper.
Luckily it was Friday, leaving him with more time at home to work on the next paper that was due the following week. He needed to make sure that it was better than the disappointment in his hands if he wanted to keep his 4.0 GPA.
A little distracted by his sudden drop in grades, the rest of the school day flew by as a blur.
Once he reached his last class of the day, Doyoung noticed that his groupchat with their immediate friend group had started to go off. Sneaking a peak at his phone, he was able to make out a few messages.
JUNGWOO: Ok ok, so party at mine again, Mark is incharge of pizza
TAEIL: I will get chips
MARK: Wait- why am I incharge of pizza?
JUNGWOO: johnny said so
MARK: ok
MARK: wait what?!
HAECHAN: Then I am incharge of pizza too. We are a packaged deal
Doyoung flopped over his desk with a loud sigh. The group was already planning a party for the weekend again. Didn’t they have one just last weekend? Why did they need one again so soon?
No wonder everyone needed help with their classes. Doyoung thought. When do they all do their homework?!
Pouting slightly at the fact that he knew he was going to have to miss out on tonight's adventures, he quickly realised that the reason he wanted to go to the party so badly was for one person in particular. Jaehyun.
It wasn’t like he didn’t see the boy every weekend during their study sessions. They already had plans to meet up that Sunday like they usually did, however, something about being at a party, not leaning over a textbook, made their conversations much more exciting.
At the last party, Jaehyun ended up leaving early due to early Saturday football practice, however they had spent the first two hours just talking. About what exactly? Doyoung doesn't really remember, but he does remember the look on Taeyong’s face when he made eye contact with him across the room.
That judging face you give when your friend is being way too obvious about their crush to the point that it's embarrassing.
At this point it was so obvious that he had a crush on Jaehyun that everyone knew it. Jaehyun must have known too and he was just keeping small talk with him to be nice.
At least Doyoung could pretend like the conversation wasn’t out of friendly obligation.
Pulling out his phone when the teacher wasn’t lecturing, Doyoung quickly typed out his official decline to the party offer.
DOYOUNG: Hey, I can’t make it tonight. I have a paper to write.
It didn’t take long for the group chat to blow up again.
JUNGWOO: aww man! Party Pooper
HAECHAN: You have the whole weekend though..
TAEYONG: It's ok. You can join us next week!
HAECHAN: Wait we are partying next week too?? HECK YEA
JAEHYUN: I can't make it either
YUTA: We can party at my place next weekend!
YUTA: Sicheng said he can’t wait for the party at my place
SICHENG: no i didn’t.
MARK: OMG SICHENG IS IN THIS GROUP CHAT? I have never seen him message on here. Wild
From there the group had spiraled back into their party planning for that night. Doyoung quickly shut off his phone to focus on finishing this assignment in class to help limit his homework load for this weekend.
What he had missed was the separate message outside of the large friend group chat that had popped up on his phone.
JAEHYUN: Hey, I was wondering if you needed a study buddy tonight. Doing homework alone can be lonely sometimes.
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Dear Alice,
I broke up with my girlfriend. I don’t know why actually. It just happened suddenly and now I am confused. We had been going out for the past three months and we slowly stopped paying attention to each other. The first month was great, she had always come over to my house, she brought cookies and frog pottery. It was a super lovey dovey relationship. By the second month she would come to my house sometimes but we should just sit on the couch and watch anime together. By the third month, she was too busy and I was not motivated to keep the relationship alive and so we broke up. Does this mean that I suck at relationships?
-Froggy
Froggy,
It sounds like you two just grew apart. Your relationship wasn’t adding anything to your life and neither of you were motivated to continue it. You are not bad at relationships, just a little lazy. It’s not a bad thing, it just means that the relationship wasn't a priority. Sometimes friendships are better than dating someone anyways. Dating takes way too much time and effort. The only downside is now you don’t have anyone making you frog pottery. Enjoy that single life!
-Alice
Finally reaching his car, Doyoung turned it on and sighed as he reached for his phone to scroll through any missed messages before his short trip home. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed someone walking straight for his passenger side.
Jaehyun’s face became visible through the foggy window as he leaned in and knocked on the glass motioning for Doyoung to roll it down.
Instead Doyoung quickly unlocked the door to allow the tall boy to enter.
“Did you get my message?” Jaehyun smiled as he climbed in, slipping his backpack off and into his lap.
“Wait, what message?” Doyoung quickly scrambled for his phone.
“Study session at your house! Are you alright with that?” Jaehyun quickly retracted his confident statement and mumbled out “I mean it's totally ok if you like to study alone. I will be quiet too. I just have this exam on monday and I was thinking that I could ask you questions occasionally as I study but only if-”
“Yes” Doyoung blurted to stop the taller one from continuing on. “I mean, if it’s only you then I am sure it won't distract me from writing my essay.” Doyoung blushed.
He was really going to be alone in his room with Jaehyun. This was either a really dumb or a really really good idea.
“Ok~ sounds like a plan. Mind if you just give me a ride? I don’t know where you live.” Jaehyun smiled and shut the passenger door, reaching for the seatbelt.
“Umm, ok. Yea. No problem.” Doyoung suddenly remembered something. “My family is going to be out late tonight. Is that ok?”
Jaehyun thought for a second before nodding, ears turning slightly pink. Doyoung didn’t notice, as he was too busy starting up the engine on the car to drive home.
Soon the two were pulling out of the school’s parking lot and headed to Doyoung’s Home. If Doyoung said that he was totally calm in this situation, he was lying.
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“My room is up this way.” Doyoung led them up the staircase and down the hall into his room. Luckily Doyong was a fairly neat person, so his room was presentable enough for guests without having to run around and throw stuff into his closet.
“I don’t have another chair besides my desk chair. I can go grab you one from downstairs if you wait here” He turned to run out of the room, however before he made it to the door, Jaehyun had grabbed his wrist.
“No! I mean, I am good here.” He let go of Doyoung and walked over to the bed, flopping ungracefully on top of the grey covers bouncing a few times, displacing the penguin and polar bear stuffed animals that were carefully placed on the corner of the bed against the wall it was pressed up to.
“You know what? I am not surprised at all about how neat your room is. You should see Mark's and Johnny’s. You would be lucky to find a spot on the bed to sit on” He laughed while staring up at the celicing where he lay, absentmindedly reaching for the penguin to toss up in the air and catch while enjoying the soft bed.
Not knowing how to respond, Doyoung nodded despite the taller man not looking towards him.
“Ok, well I am going to grab some snacks. Then we can start our homework. Do you want coffee?” Doyoung pointed towards the door dumbly again, silently wishing that Jaehyun would set his stuffed animal down instead of abusing it like that.
“Sure! Do you need help bringing anything up” He popped up from the bed propping his body up on his forearms behind him. The penguin dropped from mid air, hitting his chest and sliding to the side of him, his fluffy hair slowly falling onto his forehead making him look softer than normal.
Jung Jaehyun, on his bed, looking so soft and huggable. Fuck. Doyoung needed to get out of there fast before the pink growing on his cheeks became noticeable.
“I’m good!” he half squeaked before all but sprinting out of the room.
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The two had been working for a few hours now, snacks had been finished and chit chatting had faded away. Doyoung had been so engaged in his essay writing that he didn’t even notice how quiet Jaehyun had gone for the past hour.
Spinning around in his desk, Doyoung was met with a peacefully sleeping Jaehyun.
The boy had somehow managed to fall asleep directly on his textbook that sat near the pillow on the bed.
Slowly standing to keep as quiet as possible, Doyoung looked around his room for the throw blanket he kept on hand for those late night study sessions. Once acquired, he tiptoed over to the bed.
Jaehyun looked so pretty asleep. It wasn’t fair at all. Most people drooled or slept with their mouths wide open but the image before Doyoung could have been a piece of artwork hung in a museum.
Gently setting the blanket over the boy, Doyoung had to freeze half bent over when the sleeping boy shifted at the new weight on top of him. Once he felt like the case was clear, Doyoung straightened back up and simply stared for a while.
God Doyoung, if Jaehyun woke up and saw you staring at him, that would creep him out so much. Why are you such a weirdo? He thought, still unable to look away.
It must have been at least five minutes before he managed to turn to walk back to his essay, however a hand reached out and grabbed him on the wrist.
“Lay down with me” Jaehyun whispered, voice still filled with sleep. “You have been studying for too long.” A slight pout could be heard at the end of the sentence.
Doyoung’s breath hitched in his chest as he turned back to the bed. Jaehyun scooted over and lifted the blanket up looking up at him expectedly.
Knowing that he wanted to join him but not wanting to come off as weird, Doyoung opted for not saying anything that could lead to embarrassment and instead he simply listened to the jock’s request and climbed into the waiting arms in bed.
Now with his back firmly pressed into Jaehyun’s front, the boy had wrapped his arms around Doyoung, pulling him in tight before sighing into the back of his head.
They both laid there for a while, Doyoung trying to not move, worried that his heart might fly out of his chest and Jaehyun, who from what Doyoung could feel, might have fallen back asleep.
Doyoung was left to sit there in his thoughts trying to come up with any logical reasoning as to why this was happening right now.
Maybe Jaehyun was sleep talking, or maybe he snuck some alcohol from downstairs and was now very, very drunk.
Eventually Jaehyun was the first to break the silence.
“Doyoung.” He mumbled into the back of Doyoung’s head. “I think.”
“I think I like you.” Both held their breath, neither wanting to be the first to speak after that sudden confession.
“No. I don’t think. I do like you. A lot actually. And I am very dumb because I was so nevous that you are going to say no, so I wasn’t going to ever say something, but then I got jealous over stupid Mark and as I sat here watching your back as you typed, I realized that I don’t want to wait until I know for sure that you like me. I want to tell you now. I like you.” Jaehyun sat up and rambled at Doyoung who stiffened on the bed.
Slowly, Doyoung got up and faced the blushing boy, blankets falling around their waists as they sat in the middle of the bed.
“I like you too.” Doyoung blushed as well. Playing with the blanket in his lap, not sure what to do next.
Jaehyun let out a huge sigh before reaching his hands up to lift Doyoung’s chin. Looking the shorter in the eyes, He smiled a large dimpled smile.
“Can I kiss you?” He blurted, head tilting to the side like a giant puppy.
“Yes please. Yes.” Doyoung didn’t wait for Jaehyun before leaning in and stealing Jaehyun’s lips.
It was hesitant at first but soon Jaehyun was lowering Doyoung onto the bed, kissing much more feverently.
Their make-out session ended with lots of cuddles before Jaehyun started to giggle to himself. Doyoung looking up from his chest where he had been pressed into, he gave Jaehyun a confused look.
“I was so dumb. This whole time I was nervous about asking you out. I even wrote to that school dating advice column. I was a mess” he rolled over to lay on his back, now full of laughter.
Surprised at the sudden confession, Doyoung sat up quickly.
“Wait, you wrote to the Dear Alice advice column?!” he practically shouted.
Panicked, Jaehyun sat up as well, eyes wide and laughter gone. “Yea, why?”
“Oh my god! I am fucking Alice! I literally write for that section of the school paper!” Doyoung gasped before flopping onto the bed laughing.
Soon they were both laughing, unable to stop, small gasps coming from both of them.
Rolling to face Doyoung while laying down on the bed, Jaehyun calmed himself enough to continue the conversation.
“Do you realize that you personally helped me ask you out?” Jaehyun smiled, hair falling into his face.
“Yea. Clearly I did a great job. Look at us now.” Doyoung smirked back before reaching out to snuggle into Jaehyun’s chest.
“You did it Peach. You finally did it."
Notes:
AHHH it's all done. Hopefully you all enjoyed it! I am a little sad that it is finished which is partly why it took me so long to post this final chapter (╥﹏╥)