[Fic] Buttons - Part 4
Oct. 2nd, 2011 07:06 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lotus_beautyTitle: Buttons
Author: LotusBeauty
Type: multi-chapter
Rating: R for language
Pairings: Jaejoong/Yoochun
Genre: gen, college!fic, drama, humor, romance
Summary: Micky followed along, not because he wanted to. Sure, he liked being around Jae, but he went because, really, he hadn’t anything better or more interesting to do. And Jae definitely made things interesting.
Disclaimer: Characters not mine, never were, but it's just fiction. The base story, however, is mine. Shoo.
P:
Micky was impressed. Jae lasted an entire month without incident, which was unexpected, but pleasant. That was also how Micky would probably describe their friendship—unexpected, but pleasant. The two got along in a strange sort of non-speaking way. A gesture or look seemed to communicate what they wanted, and the other would oblige. Micky liked that with a look, he could get Jae to turn down his music, and Jae could basically do the same.
“He’s kind of mean.”
“He is not,” Micky defended in exasperation.
“Well, he’s intimidating then!” Junsu huffed over his notebook. “His glare is mean.”
“Probably because you ask questions that would be the equivalent of someone asking you why your butt is so damn big,” Micky hissed.
Changmin snickered, then paused. “Oh god, what did he ask?” He looked back and forth between them as they went silent. He dropped his bag of gummy bears on the table. “You didn’t… you didn’t ask if he was gay, did you?” His eyes widened as Micky’s narrowed. “Oh my god, you did.”
“And he wonders why Jae glares at him,” Micky said simply as he scribbled out a misspell in his notes. The topic of conversation was not helping Micky write ‘jar’ instead of ‘jae.’
“But how am I supposed to know if the look meant ‘Can’t you tell?’ or ‘What makes you think I’m gay?’” Junsu whined.
Micky never bothered to tell Junsu that though he hadn’t specified which answer it was, Jae had commented on how fun it was to make Junsu sweat. And Micky had to admit, it was fun to watch.
“Maybe it was both. The guy is smart enough to make you squirm,” Changmin commented as he tossed a few gummy bears in his mouth.
Micky snorted as Junsu made a similar sound. “As smart as you?”
“I would say so. He’s at the top of all of his classes.”
“What?” Micky asked as he and Junsu stared.
“Yeah. You didn’t know? He always downplays it in my criminology class, but the guy is super sharp. He should be a TA or something.”
“And you know this how?”
“I overheard some of the professors in the cafeteria talking about him. One of the female ones said he had brains to go with his pretty face, and then they all started talking about how good his grades were,” Changmin explained as Junsu whistled. “I guess the student population of the college aren’t the only ones after him.”
Junsu chortled as Micky grinned and asked, “Is she a cougar?”
“I don’t know, one of the guys I tutor came over and asked for help before I could figure out who was who,” he said with a defeated shrug.
“Do you think he’s got an ego?” Junsu asked.
“Of course he has an ego, you moron,” Micky replied. “The guy wears black, smokes and walks around like he’s badass. And then he glares at you in his free time.”
“But top of the class and doesn’t parade it? That’s odd,” Changmin pointed out.
“Maybe he doesn’t want people to think he’s secretly a huge geek,” Junsu suggested.
“Why are we talking about him again?” Micky complained as he rubbed his eyes.
“We are just making sure he’s right for you,” Changmin replied seriously.
“Shut up.” Micky stared at his notebook, hoping to god he wouldn’t blush as the other two snickered.
“Hey guys, what’s up?” Yunho asked as he stopped next to the table.
“Oh, nothing, just Micky here is—”
“I’m going to talk to your parents about that girl you met last week,” Micky interrupted desperately to hear Changmin suck in his breath in anger.
“You…” He took another breath to calm himself and smiled at Yunho. “Micky’s just getting a bit of tutoring, as is Junsu.”
“But, that’s—”
“Shut. Up.” Changmin gave Junsu a murderous glare and Junsu zipped his lips. Yunho just looked very confused as Micky realized he’d just saved himself from becoming the gossip of their entire dorm. Micky mentally thanked every god in existence for Changmin’s overprotective parents.
“Right. So, Micky, can I talk to you for a second?” Yunho asked.
“Uh, sure.” Micky got up and shrugged to his friends before following Yunho into the aisles. “What’s up?”
“Has Jae said anything out of the ordinary?” Yunho asked.
“Uh, no. He doesn’t really say much, if at all. Why? Did something happen that I should know about?”
Yunho shook his head and smiled. “I’m sure it’s nothing important. He just seemed out of it in one of our classes.”
“Maybe he’s having a bad day.”
“Maybe. Anyway, I’ll let you get back to whatever you were talking about. Whatever it was, I’m sure I’ll find out eventually,” he said with a grin.
“With those two, I’m sure you will.” Micky shook his head as Yunho laughed.
“If they’re asking about Jae, be as mysterious as you can with your replies. He likes messing with peoples’ heads.”
“I can tell. I’m just not that good at it.”
“Think about what he would say. Actually, you’re into writing, right?”
“Yeah, did he tell you?”
“Jae says you’re always writing something on your laptop, or scribbling in a notebook.”
Micky glanced at his moleskine on the table as he realized he did do that from time to time when he got a good idea. “He noticed?”
“He says you’re not as adventurous as you should be. You should go out with him sometime. If not for yourself, for your writing. Experience helps flesh out your writing, makes it more impactful, right?”
“When did our relationship get to this level?” Micky teased.
“When you got Jaejoong as a roommate,” Yunho said with a laugh.
“Okay, then tell me. How come he hides how smart he is?”
Yunho smiled. “He just wants people to like him.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You’ll see.” Yunho patted him on the shoulder and waved to the other two as he left.
Micky sat down again, trying to absorb what he’d been told and decided writing it down would be a good idea, lest he forget the good advice.
He let Yunho’s suggestion turn over in his mind a lot over the coming days and wondered if he was missing out on anything. He even used the ideas in a few poems he wrote and impressed his professor with them. Unfortunately, it also impressed the girl who was mooning over him despite his change in appearance. She was one of those girls who thought that what was on the inside counted, which was lovely, but not in his case.
Friday afternoon, after he’d dodged her by slipping out of class first, he hurried back to his dorm to find the room empty. Jae’s bag was there, but he was not. Probably out smoking or something. Then Micky noticed the paper sitting on Jae’s desk and flipped it over, raising his eyebrows in surprise. The paper was entitled ‘Synesthesia’ with a score of 98. He glanced at the professor and was momentarily impressed as he’d heard the guy was a stickler, which was probably why Jae got a 98 instead of 100, but that was damn good to begin with.
Micky leaned on Jae’s desk as he began to read the paper and soon he had his notebook out to make a quick note on a new page on the subject of the paper. He was going to have to look this up later. Soon his stomach was growling and Micky returned the paper face down and went in search of sustenance.
Jae caught him on his way to the cafeteria and announced, “We are going to a party.”
“You’re jinging,” Micky blurted out, momentarily forgetting his hunger.
“One of my sisters sent me a new charm,” Jae replied as he pulled out his phone to show off the new hello kitty charm with a bell.
“Very stylish,” Micky replied as he followed along. “Yunho did say I should get out more.”
“He gives the best advice, and he’ll be there too!” Jae replied jubilantly, jingling as they walked. “This is ruining my stealth stats,” he muttered as he shoved the bell inside his pocket.
“Joy of joys. I just love seeing Yunho. He’s the bestest there is!” Micky said blithely, swinging his arm in mock excitement.
“That’s the spirit, now get in the damn car,” Jae said as he shoved Micky in before sliding over the hood and taking his seat.
“Smooth,” Micky said, impressed.
“I aim to please.”
And when they arrived, Micky noticed there was something different about this party. There was a group of about eight or nine people, with others trickling in, standing around a small fire on the beach. Micky couldn’t help but grin as he took in the view with the setting sun lighting up the clouds all around.
“Picked a damn good night,” he said as they moved down onto the beach, smelling the barbeque.
“Good thing you’re wearing those flip flops,” Jae muttered around a cigarette as he untied his boots and took them and his socks off altogether. “I texted Junsu, and he said he’d bring Changmin.” He offered Micky a cigarette, who turned it down.
“Hey! You made it!” Yunho waved. “Want a drink?”
“Damn straight,” Jae said before he blew his smoke away from Micky.
“Sure,” Micky replied. What did he have to lose? They could probably get Changmin to be the designated driver. Hopefully.
Micky was then introduced to more people—Donghae and Alex and Taka and Aya and Stephanie and Martha and many others—whose names he knew he wouldn’t remember at all the next day despite recognizing a few from his classes. But Micky found himself having a lot of fun, talking to people and getting to know them and what their majors were. At one point, he realized he knew more about Alex’s major and hobbies than he really did about those of his roommate. He decided that he should know more.
Marching off in a direction, Micky ran into Junsu and Changmin, who had stopped near the music and heard that there would be an improptu dancing contest.
“Are you joining?” Junsu asked over the music.
“Hell no, you know I’m terrible.”
“Good. Changmin is eating the burgers they’re grilling so it’ll be just me. It’ll take much less time for me to win then!”
Micky shook his head in amusement. Bastard. He sat on one of the benches to watch as Junsu took on Daichi and Keita. He kicked off his sandals and took the last swig of his beer before setting the bottle in the recycle box nearby.
“Enjoying yourself, finally?” Jae asked as he climbed over the bench and sat next to Micky. One button was undone. The bell was still in his pocket.
“Yeah, I always enjoy watching Junsu embarrass himself!”
“He looks like he’s doing pretty good!” Jae pointed and Micky followed this gaze to see Junsu rolling his hips like nobody’s business. “He dances like a stripper.”
“I’ll tell him that I found him a new profession,” Micky replied with a snicker.
“It might make him some damn good money with that ass of his.”
“Can you dance?” Micky asked, figuring it was a good a time as any to get to know more about Jae.
“Oh god no. No, I have terrible rhythm,” he said as he shook his head and took a drink of his beer. “I’d rather sing it than dance to it.”
“You do like music,” Micky added.
“How perspicacious of you,” Jae replied with a grin. “Yes, I like music, mostly rock and metal. I occasionally like some pop music, if only for cheering up, but most of it has some really banal lyrics.”
Micky had to agree there. “Just metal and rock? What about alternative?”
“Yeah, that too. Anything that’s loud, really. Hey, how about you write lyrics, I’ll make a band and sing for it, and we’ll make loads of money.” Jae nudged Micky as they laughed.
“It’s the perfect evil plan!” Micky cackled as he steepled his fingertips.
“We’ll make loads of money off of unsuspecting teenage girls!” Jae added excitedly.
“YEEEAAAAAHHH!!” Junsu screamed as the crowd around them cheered. Apparently, he’d won the dancing contest. Though what he’d won wasn’t obvious. Maybe respect. Or an ego boost.
“God, he squeals like a dolphin,” Jae muttered with a grin. Two buttons undone.
Micky tore his eyes away and called, “Get over here, dolphin-butt!”
“What’d you say about my butt?!” Junsu called as he jogged over. “Did you see me own the dance floo—er beach?” He grinned, every bit of his pearly whites showing.
“Yes, yes!” He waved Junsu over. “You’re gonna be the dancer in our band!”
“We have a band?”
“Oh, and Yunho can be the manager!” Jae told them excitedly. “This is brilliant!”
The three huddled together and made outlandish plans with their band as the party began to wind down. The music quieted down as people separated into groups, chatting here and there as conversation shifted. Micky downed another beer as other people joined their conversation, pushing it into another new topic, throwing in suggestions here and there. Eventually, Micky grew restless and decided to wander a bit.
He was surprised to hear Jae as the topic of a few of the conversations he encountered. Most people usually had great things to say about Jae, about how cool and fun he was, but tonight, he heard someone whisper how that was all there was to him and he should just drop out if he wasn’t going to study. So, he wasn’t the only one who had thought that at first. At one point he overheard a girl suggesting Jae was getting his passing grades with something other than his intelligence. Micky just shook his head. How wrong they were.
At some point, Micky wandered away from his group and over to the shore, letting the water wash over his feet. It was cold, but he didn’t mind. Staring up at the stars in the sky, he wondered how long it had been since he’d taken the time to just stop and open his eyes to them. It also made him wonder just how long it had been since he’d opened up to anything new in his life like this. Studying had eaten so much of his time in the last few years and he hadn’t even bothered to notice how much he’d been closing himself off. Well, he did have Junsu and Changmin, but they never really did much. Maybe they should try to do one crazy thing each year. Maybe they should go on a road trip.
Micky smiled to himself as he kicked the water and pulled out his notebook to write down a few of his thoughts. Maybe he was going nuts. He would have time for all that ridiculousness once classes were over. It wasn’t like he couldn’t wait to do something fun. Holidays would always be there, summer would always be there. But could life wait like that? Well, why not? Anticipation made it more fun, right? He sighed. He would figure this out eventually.
“Being pensive?”
“You know I live to be pensive.” He glanced over at Changmin. “Wanna go on a road trip next summer?”
“Are you having some sort of early life crisis?”
Micky laughed. “What? No, I just…” He sighed. “I just think we should do more than homework and playing video games and surfing on the internet.”
Changmin rolled his eyes. “I guess you have a point, but I’m not trying to get you to go skydiving.”
“I draw the line at anything involving heights,” Micky told him very seriously as he scribbled an ending to his poem, hoping it would make sense tomorrow.
“You don’t have to go out to parties to learn something about yourself, Micky,” Changmin said quietly.
“I know,” he said as he stuck the notebook back in his pocket. “It’s just nice to forget everything and go out and have fun. I mean, I use the internet as a way to escape too, but this is just as fun and it’s nice to get away from everything.”
“Don’t go changing too much because of your crazy roommate,” Changmin said as he draped an arm around Micky’s shoulders and they laughed.
“I can’t change after just one night of drinking at a party,” Micky protested as Changmin tried to give him a noogie.
“Hey! Let go of my roommate!” Jae called from a ways off.
“I’m just teaching him a valuable lesson about friendship!” Changmin called back.
“Carry on, then!” yelled Jae and Changmin continued as Micky called for help.
“I think he likes you,” Changmin commented as he and Micky wrestled one another back and forth and finally dissolved into laughter before making their way back to the group.
“Hey! It’s after midnight!” Junsu screeched at Changmin, waving his phone. “Your pumpkin is going to melt!”
“Whatever that means. Shit, I’ll text you later,” he said hastily before sprinting over to Junsu and trying to drag him to his car. Micky just laughed as he shook his head. He’d never get rid of those idiots.
Jae waved Micky over and put an arm around him, the bell ringing as they walked. Three buttons undone. “Yunho is driving us back in my car. Let’s give him a nice ride back, shall we?”
“What tricks are up your sleeve this time?” he asked, curious.
Jae laughed. “None. Kindness should be treated with kindness.”
Micky grinned and let Jae lead him back to the car as he looked up at the starry sky. He hoped he would look back on this night and see it for what it was: a moment of respite from their boring, study-driven lives.
~***~
you are all very silly readers~ a few of you are on track
Part 5
Author: LotusBeauty
Type: multi-chapter
Rating: R for language
Pairings: Jaejoong/Yoochun
Genre: gen, college!fic, drama, humor, romance
Summary: Micky followed along, not because he wanted to. Sure, he liked being around Jae, but he went because, really, he hadn’t anything better or more interesting to do. And Jae definitely made things interesting.
Disclaimer: Characters not mine, never were, but it's just fiction. The base story, however, is mine. Shoo.
P:
Micky was impressed. Jae lasted an entire month without incident, which was unexpected, but pleasant. That was also how Micky would probably describe their friendship—unexpected, but pleasant. The two got along in a strange sort of non-speaking way. A gesture or look seemed to communicate what they wanted, and the other would oblige. Micky liked that with a look, he could get Jae to turn down his music, and Jae could basically do the same.
“He’s kind of mean.”
“He is not,” Micky defended in exasperation.
“Well, he’s intimidating then!” Junsu huffed over his notebook. “His glare is mean.”
“Probably because you ask questions that would be the equivalent of someone asking you why your butt is so damn big,” Micky hissed.
Changmin snickered, then paused. “Oh god, what did he ask?” He looked back and forth between them as they went silent. He dropped his bag of gummy bears on the table. “You didn’t… you didn’t ask if he was gay, did you?” His eyes widened as Micky’s narrowed. “Oh my god, you did.”
“And he wonders why Jae glares at him,” Micky said simply as he scribbled out a misspell in his notes. The topic of conversation was not helping Micky write ‘jar’ instead of ‘jae.’
“But how am I supposed to know if the look meant ‘Can’t you tell?’ or ‘What makes you think I’m gay?’” Junsu whined.
Micky never bothered to tell Junsu that though he hadn’t specified which answer it was, Jae had commented on how fun it was to make Junsu sweat. And Micky had to admit, it was fun to watch.
“Maybe it was both. The guy is smart enough to make you squirm,” Changmin commented as he tossed a few gummy bears in his mouth.
Micky snorted as Junsu made a similar sound. “As smart as you?”
“I would say so. He’s at the top of all of his classes.”
“What?” Micky asked as he and Junsu stared.
“Yeah. You didn’t know? He always downplays it in my criminology class, but the guy is super sharp. He should be a TA or something.”
“And you know this how?”
“I overheard some of the professors in the cafeteria talking about him. One of the female ones said he had brains to go with his pretty face, and then they all started talking about how good his grades were,” Changmin explained as Junsu whistled. “I guess the student population of the college aren’t the only ones after him.”
Junsu chortled as Micky grinned and asked, “Is she a cougar?”
“I don’t know, one of the guys I tutor came over and asked for help before I could figure out who was who,” he said with a defeated shrug.
“Do you think he’s got an ego?” Junsu asked.
“Of course he has an ego, you moron,” Micky replied. “The guy wears black, smokes and walks around like he’s badass. And then he glares at you in his free time.”
“But top of the class and doesn’t parade it? That’s odd,” Changmin pointed out.
“Maybe he doesn’t want people to think he’s secretly a huge geek,” Junsu suggested.
“Why are we talking about him again?” Micky complained as he rubbed his eyes.
“We are just making sure he’s right for you,” Changmin replied seriously.
“Shut up.” Micky stared at his notebook, hoping to god he wouldn’t blush as the other two snickered.
“Hey guys, what’s up?” Yunho asked as he stopped next to the table.
“Oh, nothing, just Micky here is—”
“I’m going to talk to your parents about that girl you met last week,” Micky interrupted desperately to hear Changmin suck in his breath in anger.
“You…” He took another breath to calm himself and smiled at Yunho. “Micky’s just getting a bit of tutoring, as is Junsu.”
“But, that’s—”
“Shut. Up.” Changmin gave Junsu a murderous glare and Junsu zipped his lips. Yunho just looked very confused as Micky realized he’d just saved himself from becoming the gossip of their entire dorm. Micky mentally thanked every god in existence for Changmin’s overprotective parents.
“Right. So, Micky, can I talk to you for a second?” Yunho asked.
“Uh, sure.” Micky got up and shrugged to his friends before following Yunho into the aisles. “What’s up?”
“Has Jae said anything out of the ordinary?” Yunho asked.
“Uh, no. He doesn’t really say much, if at all. Why? Did something happen that I should know about?”
Yunho shook his head and smiled. “I’m sure it’s nothing important. He just seemed out of it in one of our classes.”
“Maybe he’s having a bad day.”
“Maybe. Anyway, I’ll let you get back to whatever you were talking about. Whatever it was, I’m sure I’ll find out eventually,” he said with a grin.
“With those two, I’m sure you will.” Micky shook his head as Yunho laughed.
“If they’re asking about Jae, be as mysterious as you can with your replies. He likes messing with peoples’ heads.”
“I can tell. I’m just not that good at it.”
“Think about what he would say. Actually, you’re into writing, right?”
“Yeah, did he tell you?”
“Jae says you’re always writing something on your laptop, or scribbling in a notebook.”
Micky glanced at his moleskine on the table as he realized he did do that from time to time when he got a good idea. “He noticed?”
“He says you’re not as adventurous as you should be. You should go out with him sometime. If not for yourself, for your writing. Experience helps flesh out your writing, makes it more impactful, right?”
“When did our relationship get to this level?” Micky teased.
“When you got Jaejoong as a roommate,” Yunho said with a laugh.
“Okay, then tell me. How come he hides how smart he is?”
Yunho smiled. “He just wants people to like him.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You’ll see.” Yunho patted him on the shoulder and waved to the other two as he left.
Micky sat down again, trying to absorb what he’d been told and decided writing it down would be a good idea, lest he forget the good advice.
He let Yunho’s suggestion turn over in his mind a lot over the coming days and wondered if he was missing out on anything. He even used the ideas in a few poems he wrote and impressed his professor with them. Unfortunately, it also impressed the girl who was mooning over him despite his change in appearance. She was one of those girls who thought that what was on the inside counted, which was lovely, but not in his case.
Friday afternoon, after he’d dodged her by slipping out of class first, he hurried back to his dorm to find the room empty. Jae’s bag was there, but he was not. Probably out smoking or something. Then Micky noticed the paper sitting on Jae’s desk and flipped it over, raising his eyebrows in surprise. The paper was entitled ‘Synesthesia’ with a score of 98. He glanced at the professor and was momentarily impressed as he’d heard the guy was a stickler, which was probably why Jae got a 98 instead of 100, but that was damn good to begin with.
Micky leaned on Jae’s desk as he began to read the paper and soon he had his notebook out to make a quick note on a new page on the subject of the paper. He was going to have to look this up later. Soon his stomach was growling and Micky returned the paper face down and went in search of sustenance.
Jae caught him on his way to the cafeteria and announced, “We are going to a party.”
“You’re jinging,” Micky blurted out, momentarily forgetting his hunger.
“One of my sisters sent me a new charm,” Jae replied as he pulled out his phone to show off the new hello kitty charm with a bell.
“Very stylish,” Micky replied as he followed along. “Yunho did say I should get out more.”
“He gives the best advice, and he’ll be there too!” Jae replied jubilantly, jingling as they walked. “This is ruining my stealth stats,” he muttered as he shoved the bell inside his pocket.
“Joy of joys. I just love seeing Yunho. He’s the bestest there is!” Micky said blithely, swinging his arm in mock excitement.
“That’s the spirit, now get in the damn car,” Jae said as he shoved Micky in before sliding over the hood and taking his seat.
“Smooth,” Micky said, impressed.
“I aim to please.”
And when they arrived, Micky noticed there was something different about this party. There was a group of about eight or nine people, with others trickling in, standing around a small fire on the beach. Micky couldn’t help but grin as he took in the view with the setting sun lighting up the clouds all around.
“Picked a damn good night,” he said as they moved down onto the beach, smelling the barbeque.
“Good thing you’re wearing those flip flops,” Jae muttered around a cigarette as he untied his boots and took them and his socks off altogether. “I texted Junsu, and he said he’d bring Changmin.” He offered Micky a cigarette, who turned it down.
“Hey! You made it!” Yunho waved. “Want a drink?”
“Damn straight,” Jae said before he blew his smoke away from Micky.
“Sure,” Micky replied. What did he have to lose? They could probably get Changmin to be the designated driver. Hopefully.
Micky was then introduced to more people—Donghae and Alex and Taka and Aya and Stephanie and Martha and many others—whose names he knew he wouldn’t remember at all the next day despite recognizing a few from his classes. But Micky found himself having a lot of fun, talking to people and getting to know them and what their majors were. At one point, he realized he knew more about Alex’s major and hobbies than he really did about those of his roommate. He decided that he should know more.
Marching off in a direction, Micky ran into Junsu and Changmin, who had stopped near the music and heard that there would be an improptu dancing contest.
“Are you joining?” Junsu asked over the music.
“Hell no, you know I’m terrible.”
“Good. Changmin is eating the burgers they’re grilling so it’ll be just me. It’ll take much less time for me to win then!”
Micky shook his head in amusement. Bastard. He sat on one of the benches to watch as Junsu took on Daichi and Keita. He kicked off his sandals and took the last swig of his beer before setting the bottle in the recycle box nearby.
“Enjoying yourself, finally?” Jae asked as he climbed over the bench and sat next to Micky. One button was undone. The bell was still in his pocket.
“Yeah, I always enjoy watching Junsu embarrass himself!”
“He looks like he’s doing pretty good!” Jae pointed and Micky followed this gaze to see Junsu rolling his hips like nobody’s business. “He dances like a stripper.”
“I’ll tell him that I found him a new profession,” Micky replied with a snicker.
“It might make him some damn good money with that ass of his.”
“Can you dance?” Micky asked, figuring it was a good a time as any to get to know more about Jae.
“Oh god no. No, I have terrible rhythm,” he said as he shook his head and took a drink of his beer. “I’d rather sing it than dance to it.”
“You do like music,” Micky added.
“How perspicacious of you,” Jae replied with a grin. “Yes, I like music, mostly rock and metal. I occasionally like some pop music, if only for cheering up, but most of it has some really banal lyrics.”
Micky had to agree there. “Just metal and rock? What about alternative?”
“Yeah, that too. Anything that’s loud, really. Hey, how about you write lyrics, I’ll make a band and sing for it, and we’ll make loads of money.” Jae nudged Micky as they laughed.
“It’s the perfect evil plan!” Micky cackled as he steepled his fingertips.
“We’ll make loads of money off of unsuspecting teenage girls!” Jae added excitedly.
“YEEEAAAAAHHH!!” Junsu screamed as the crowd around them cheered. Apparently, he’d won the dancing contest. Though what he’d won wasn’t obvious. Maybe respect. Or an ego boost.
“God, he squeals like a dolphin,” Jae muttered with a grin. Two buttons undone.
Micky tore his eyes away and called, “Get over here, dolphin-butt!”
“What’d you say about my butt?!” Junsu called as he jogged over. “Did you see me own the dance floo—er beach?” He grinned, every bit of his pearly whites showing.
“Yes, yes!” He waved Junsu over. “You’re gonna be the dancer in our band!”
“We have a band?”
“Oh, and Yunho can be the manager!” Jae told them excitedly. “This is brilliant!”
The three huddled together and made outlandish plans with their band as the party began to wind down. The music quieted down as people separated into groups, chatting here and there as conversation shifted. Micky downed another beer as other people joined their conversation, pushing it into another new topic, throwing in suggestions here and there. Eventually, Micky grew restless and decided to wander a bit.
He was surprised to hear Jae as the topic of a few of the conversations he encountered. Most people usually had great things to say about Jae, about how cool and fun he was, but tonight, he heard someone whisper how that was all there was to him and he should just drop out if he wasn’t going to study. So, he wasn’t the only one who had thought that at first. At one point he overheard a girl suggesting Jae was getting his passing grades with something other than his intelligence. Micky just shook his head. How wrong they were.
At some point, Micky wandered away from his group and over to the shore, letting the water wash over his feet. It was cold, but he didn’t mind. Staring up at the stars in the sky, he wondered how long it had been since he’d taken the time to just stop and open his eyes to them. It also made him wonder just how long it had been since he’d opened up to anything new in his life like this. Studying had eaten so much of his time in the last few years and he hadn’t even bothered to notice how much he’d been closing himself off. Well, he did have Junsu and Changmin, but they never really did much. Maybe they should try to do one crazy thing each year. Maybe they should go on a road trip.
Micky smiled to himself as he kicked the water and pulled out his notebook to write down a few of his thoughts. Maybe he was going nuts. He would have time for all that ridiculousness once classes were over. It wasn’t like he couldn’t wait to do something fun. Holidays would always be there, summer would always be there. But could life wait like that? Well, why not? Anticipation made it more fun, right? He sighed. He would figure this out eventually.
“Being pensive?”
“You know I live to be pensive.” He glanced over at Changmin. “Wanna go on a road trip next summer?”
“Are you having some sort of early life crisis?”
Micky laughed. “What? No, I just…” He sighed. “I just think we should do more than homework and playing video games and surfing on the internet.”
Changmin rolled his eyes. “I guess you have a point, but I’m not trying to get you to go skydiving.”
“I draw the line at anything involving heights,” Micky told him very seriously as he scribbled an ending to his poem, hoping it would make sense tomorrow.
“You don’t have to go out to parties to learn something about yourself, Micky,” Changmin said quietly.
“I know,” he said as he stuck the notebook back in his pocket. “It’s just nice to forget everything and go out and have fun. I mean, I use the internet as a way to escape too, but this is just as fun and it’s nice to get away from everything.”
“Don’t go changing too much because of your crazy roommate,” Changmin said as he draped an arm around Micky’s shoulders and they laughed.
“I can’t change after just one night of drinking at a party,” Micky protested as Changmin tried to give him a noogie.
“Hey! Let go of my roommate!” Jae called from a ways off.
“I’m just teaching him a valuable lesson about friendship!” Changmin called back.
“Carry on, then!” yelled Jae and Changmin continued as Micky called for help.
“I think he likes you,” Changmin commented as he and Micky wrestled one another back and forth and finally dissolved into laughter before making their way back to the group.
“Hey! It’s after midnight!” Junsu screeched at Changmin, waving his phone. “Your pumpkin is going to melt!”
“Whatever that means. Shit, I’ll text you later,” he said hastily before sprinting over to Junsu and trying to drag him to his car. Micky just laughed as he shook his head. He’d never get rid of those idiots.
Jae waved Micky over and put an arm around him, the bell ringing as they walked. Three buttons undone. “Yunho is driving us back in my car. Let’s give him a nice ride back, shall we?”
“What tricks are up your sleeve this time?” he asked, curious.
Jae laughed. “None. Kindness should be treated with kindness.”
Micky grinned and let Jae lead him back to the car as he looked up at the starry sky. He hoped he would look back on this night and see it for what it was: a moment of respite from their boring, study-driven lives.
~***~
you are all very silly readers~ a few of you are on track
Part 5
