another usual school day had come to an end and jeongin was patiently waiting by the school gate for chan.

his hyung would usually be there a few minutes after him, since he had his classes on the opposite side of the building. but that day it had already been fifteen minutes.

jeongin was about to pull out his phone and text his hyung when he suddenly felt a pair of hands on his waist, and a deep breath on his neck.

"h-hey... innie..." chan mumbled, trying to catch his breath.

he moved a little and walked around so he was facing jeongin, who still felt the warmth of chan's hand on his waist as if it had been fire that touched him.

"hey, hyung. are you alright? did you run here?" jeongin asked, a hint of worry hid in his tone.

"yeah, sorry i was late. our physics teacher was so pissed off and decided to assign us three times the homework she usually gives," he explained rolling his eyes and huffing out a bit of air.

"ugh, that sucks. physics is so difficult," jeongin whined, while the two started walking away from their high school.

"nah, it's not that bad. you just have to pay attention and use logic."

"you make it sound so easy, hyung. i bet you're good at everything," jeongin smiled innocently, looking up at the blond haired boy.

and he was surprised to see that chan was actually blushing a little from the compliment he had received.

his pale cheeks were slightly tinted of a soft pink hue and jeongin honestly found it endearing.

they said nothing more for a while, and jeongin simply leaned on the elder's shoulder after a few minutes.

when they came to one of their usual stops at a traffic light, chan stopped jeongin by the wrist before he could cross the street.

jeongin turned immediately, "hyung, it's green, we can-"

"no, i know," chan laughed, "i was wondering... would you like to come over to my place?"

jeongin's cheeks were once again a pale red while chan rubbed a hand at the back of his head, he himself feeling a bit embarrassed.

"you said you don't have a lot to study for tomorrow, and i don't either. so why not spend a few hours together?"

jeongin pondered his options for a minute, before eagerly nodding with a wide smile, earning one in return from chan.

"great, follow me!" and so jeongin did.

but as they walked more into a road he didn't remember, he noticed that it didn't match to where chan lived.

"hyung, are we going to the right direction?" jeongin timidly asked, pulling on a sleeve of chan's black jacket.

and that's when it hit chan.

he had lied about where he lived and how could he totally forget about it?

now there was nothing left except telling the truth, hoping he wouldn't ruin everything.

"well..." he started off, catching the younger's attention, "do you remember when i told you i lived in that street a few blocks away from yours...?" jeongin nodded.

"uhm, i lied."

jeongin's eyes fluttered and his eyebrows raised in confusion, "y-you lied?"

chan lowered his head in embarrassment, before nodding, "yeah. i said i lived there so i had an excuse to walk you home and know you were safe..." he sighed, cheeks a dark red, as he lifted his gaze to meet the younger's blank one.

"i'm sorry, i didn't mean to play you, please, believe-"

"hey, it's okay," jeongin lightly laughed and chan stood up straight.

"you're... you're not mad?" his eyes got bigger, heart's heavier as every second passed in wait of a response.

"no. that's... that's actually really sweet of you," jeongin smiled, for once not being the one to die in awkwardness.

"oh," chan let out an amount of air he didn't even realise he was holding. thank god, he thought.

"so, uhm, where do you actually live?" jeongin then asked and the two started walking again, the air becoming less and less tense with every step they took.

———

it didn't take long for the two boys to get to chan's house and jeongin was surprised to see it was actually a fairly big house.

it was a two-story building with a wide front yard and a nicely decorated porch.

the boys entered the house and slipped off their shoes and coats, placing them in their right placements in the entrance.

"come here, innie, don't be embarrassed," chan softly smiled, motioning for the younger to follow him.

jeongin did as he was told and in the meanwhile he admired the different details of the house. the pictures hanging on the wall, the colourful expensive-looking vases that stood proudly on the furniture.

chan stopped in front of a light-wooden door and turned to jeongin, "my dad is probably home. we're just gonna say a quick hi, you don't have to worry."

jeongin didn't have the time to even nod before his hyung knocked on the door, earning a muffled yes from inside.

he pushed the door open and revealed a medium elegant studio, an older version of chan with a few strands of white hair sitting on a chair behind a desk.

"hello, dad."

"oh, hey chan, i didn't hear you come in. are you alright? how was school?"

"school was fine. i brought a friend over, we're gonna be upstairs," he explained and quickly glanced at jeongin, who shyly stepped forward and bowed, introducing himself to the elder man.

"hello, jeongin. my pleasure," chan's dad kindly said, his face brightened by a warm smile that resembled his son's.

"ookay," chan said before murmuring a small awkward that made jeongin giggle, "we're gonna be in my room."

"okay, have fun!" his dad explained and went back to his desk work as soon as his son closed the door.

"well, the worst is over. now, shall we go upstairs?" he smiled towards jeongin who eagerly nodded and followed the elder to his room.

a/n
lil update — and sorry for being so inactive but school sucks and it barely leaves me any time to do anything else apart from homework *sigh*

aND STRAY KIDS' NEW ALBUM LEVANTER IS GREAT WODHKQS it's like the album of my life-
i can't wait for it to arrive and i hope the amazon courier doesn't lose it :(

-mic