jaemin's eyes moved along the dancing couples in the ballroom as he was intrigued by the scene unfolding in front of him.

even though not all their steps matched to the sound of the slow, romantic song, their affectionate looks and genuine smiles on their faces matched the love they felt for each other.

the pink haired boy cracked a little smile, finding the dancing couples utterly wholesome. his grin grew wider when he spotted his best friend chatting bubbly and giggling with the prom king while messing up the beat to the song they danced to.

"they are so cute", jaemin thought to himself before catching mark accidentally stepping on hyuck's feet and making the younger one yelp in pain, "... and silly."

"hey cotton candy boy", someone called out, making the pink haired boy snap out of his thoughts.

jaemin's head perked up as his gaze shifted to his younger friend standing in front of him.

an amused grin adorned yejoon's lips as he started to wiggle his brows. "wanna be my yee to my haw?", the latter asked charmingly, tilting his head.

the pink haired boy furrowed his brows as confusion was written on his face. "what?", jaemin questioned irritatedly, seeing the younger one laugh at his reaction.

"wanna dance with me?", yejoon asked him again, this time making it clearer. jaemin's confusion faded as a lightbulb lit up inside his head.

"that's a weird way to ask for a dance", the pink haired boy teased, laughing at his silly words.

"i wanted to be different than the other girls or boys", the sophomore declared jokingly, flipping back his imaginative long hair, "so, is it a yes or no?"

"sure, let's dance", jaemin agreed grinning and took gently his hand in his, pulling him to the dance floor.

yejoon's heart skipped a beat when the older one took the initiative and grabbed his hand. the simple touch and action left a tingling sensation on him, making him feel overwhelmed. he was truly taken aback, nonetheless, managed to follow his steps.

the pink haired boy came to a halt when he found the perfect spot for them to dance. his eyes locked with his as a warm smile adorned his lips.

"let's dance, shall we?", jaemin suggested joyfully, holding gently his hand and interwining his fingers with his.

"sure", yejoon breathed, feeling butterflies fluttering in his stomach at the action. he was internally freaking out — in a good way tho, he's just a flustered gay panic — and his loud, racing heartbeat didn't make things better.

jaemin didn't make things better either. the pink haired boy placed his free hand on his back, pulling him gently closer to him and making the younger one feel even more flustered.

heat shot up yejoon's face as the proximity drove him crazy. jaemin, on the other head, managed to be calm and giggled softly when noticing his blush. "he's so cute."

a new slow song started to play, reminding jaemin to finally get started.

the pink haired boy took the lead and took the first steps. yejoon followed suit, moving along with him.

everything around them seemed to slowly blur out while the two of them were dancing under the magnificent light.

the people's chattering and music in the background faded with each second passing by. the only music that played was the melody of their heartbeats.

yejoon's heart was pounding quickly, making it hard for him to stay calm. it was a mutual feeling as jaemin felt the same way.

strange feelings twisted his stomach. the pink haired boy felt all dizzy and giddy while dancing with him.

jaemin wished to stay in that moment forever.

it was so beautiful. yejoon was beautiful. his lips were beautiful.

the pink haired boy stole a glance at his lips, feeling tempted to touch them with his.

the shade on yejoon's cheek turned darker when the sophomore caught jaemin taking a glimpse of his lips. shyness was written all over his face as his heart started to act up once again.

he was too embarrassed to admit it but he loved the way jaemin looked at him and the way he sneakily glanced at his lips. he would love to feel his lips on his.

his mind was hazy and yet, all he could think about was jaemin and what could happen next.

anticipation rose and yejoon couldn't help but yearn for more, yearn for something to happen.

his heart was beating crazily the longer he looked at the older boy and the more details he noticed about him.

his pink hair fell perfectly into his face, gracing his gorgeous face. his skin was shining under the light, making him appear ethereal. his brown eyes had him under a spell while his charming smile had a captivating effect. his pinkish lips were beautiful and soft, alluring him secretly.

"he's so divine...", yejoon dreamed, admiring him without noticing that jaemin had leaned closer to him.

only a mere gap held them apart. they heard their own quickened heartbeats and pulse, they felt each other's breaths and they felt the desire that connected them.

the proximity were killing them slowly and softly. jaemin couldn't stop thinking about how his lips would feel on his. his curiosity and temptation prompted him to close the gap between them, nonetheless, his nervousness wouldn't let him do that.

however, doesn't curiosity kill the cat?

the pink haired boy couldn't hold himself back, didn't want to hold back any longer. he took up his courage and leaned in closer.

as he was about to kiss him, yejoon and jaemin were pushed from the side from a couple nearby, tearing them apart and disturbing their intimate moment.

"sorry", the random guy apologized briefly before quickly running off with his girlfriend and vanishing in the crowd in order to dodge them.

"what the fuck?!", yejoon yelled loudly, feeling utterly offended and enraged.

he was extremely mad at the couple who ruined the moment between him and his crush and held them apart from sharing their first kiss.

however, his cheeks were tinted red in embarrassment and shyness. he realised that they almost kissed and that they were so close.

"it's okay", jaemin reassured him, hiding his rage and yet, feeling embarrassed as well as he almost kissed his crush, almost had his first kiss and yet, failed to kiss him.

nonetheless, relief washed over his face as he almost put his friendship with yejoon at risk just for his selfish desires. what if yejoon wasn't intending to kiss him? what if he had read the room wrong? what if he had just imagined everything?

"it's not okay. they should have been more careful!", the curly brown haired boy rambled, glaring at the direction where the couple ran off.

"calm down, it's fine", the male junior mentioned and took his hand in his, making the younger one turn to look at him again.

"thank you for this dance", jaemin gave him a bright smile before lifting up yejoon's hand and placing a gentle kiss on his hand.

it was a bold move, jaemin was aware of it, but he couldn't help it. his desires took over his mind and he wanted to give him a kiss somewhere. so, why not give him a peck on his hand? it's less risky and a kiss too, right?

all his previous hatred and anger faded in an instant as yejoon was a
speechless and mindblown. not to mention, he became quickly the embodiment of gay panic.

"i— uh— no problem. i... enjoyed it too", the sophomore managed to bring out those words out of his mouth, feeling his heart beating against his ribcage while his cheeks were flushed.

jaemin grinned mischievously when he noticed the impact he had on his friend. he was totally enjoying the sight of him being flustered.

the pink haired boy let go of his hand and gave him a teasing wink.

"the pleasure is mine."

[ ★ ]

slow songs stopped playing, instead fast fun songs were tuned once again.

yejoon and jaemin decided to go back to their friend group who were all gathered at one place (aka the buffet again).

not only donghyuck and mark had already returned from the slow dance but also the girls came back from outside.

"there you are!", jeno noted grinning when the two boys showed up. "how was the dance, hmm?", donghyuck asked in a teasing tone, making his best friend roll his eyes while the blond haired boy wheezed in the background.

"it was fun. why are you asking?", jaemin asked in annoyance. the purple haired boy wore a wide grin on his face before leaning closer to him and answering his question. "you know, jeno and i witnessed you guys almost kissing each other."

heat shot up his face as jaemin gave him a smack for saying that. "no word about it or else you get another smack", the pink haired boy muttered in a threatening voice.

"wait what, you guys were actually almost kissing each other??", donghyuck whispered-shouted in shock with jeno's laughter dying out and being replaced by a gasp.

"i was just joking...", the purple haired boy added in disbelief before smashing his hands on his cheeks, "oh my god. no fucking way."

"i was joking too, dumbass!", jaemin tried to excuse himself, however, his (gay) panicked face from previously and his blush betrayed him.

"you liar!", jeno chimed in and received a smack from the pink haired boy too.

"just shut up you two!", the youngest among the three yelled and before he could chop off their heads, sooyun came to the rescue.

"hey hyuck, wanna dance with me?", the blonde girl asked, unintentionally having saved jeno and donghyuck's asses. jaemin held himself back and glared silently at his best friends who were relieved about sooyun's presence.

"sure thing", hyuck complied joyfully, wearing a bright smile. not only was he glad to be able to escape jaemin from his beating, but he was also fond of dancing with his crush and being able to spend more time with her.

"gotta go to the bathroom", jeno excused himself and immediately ran away from jaemin, seizing the opportunity to get away from him. "hey!", the pink haired boy yelled and tried to follow him, however, failed to do so due to the crowd.

"don't mind them", donghyuck mentioned giggling, seeing his pretend girlfriend snicker about the situation even though she didn't know the full context.

the purple haired boy glanced at her hand before grabbing it gently. "let's get on the dance floor and show them how powerful of a couple we are", he suggested grinning, wanting to show how nonchalant and cool he is when he felt giddy about calling them a couple and holding her hand.

sooyun nodded chuckling, revealing her lovely smile once again. "yeah! i'm in", she gave in before noticing something, making her gasp in realisation. "hyuck, they are currently playing a beyoncé song!"

"OH MY GOD, YOU'RE RIGHT. WE GOTTA HURRY TO THE DANCE FLOOR!", donghyuck exclaimed beamingly, his eyes litting up when he recognised the song of his favorite artist.

"let's go then!", the blonde girl pulled him with her and lead him through the crowd to the dance floor.

donghyuck followed her without hesitation, having a lovestruck smile on his face.

[ ★ ]

"hey jieun, let's dance together!", haewon requested energetically when she saw the younger girl sitting around and glancing into the void.

"i'm good. i'm not much of dancer", the junior rejected and gave her an apologetic smile, "sorry for being no fun."

"sweetie, i have never said that!", haewon noted and sat down next to her, "it's always fun with you and we don't necessarily need to dance to have fun. we can do other things too!"

"like what?", the younger one asked, tilting her head.

"like going to the photobooth!", the female senior suggested grinning, seeing jieun's eyes lit up.

"this sounds like fun!", she declared excitedly, making haewon smile softly at her.

"then let's not waste any more time! the photobooths are often occupied so let's get going!", the older one stood up and pulled her friend from her seat before walking quickly to said place.

luck was on their side when one of the photobooths was available. the two girls entered the booth and claimed it for themselves.

unlike before with the whole friend group, they ended up being in a smaller booth.

their shoulders touched, they had barely any space and they were sitting closely next to each other.

haewon's heart skipped a beat at the realisation of the proximity. her cheeks were tinted pink, however, she played it cool — well, at least she tried that.

"wanna take normal pics or silly ones?", the older one asked after discovering the little box of goofy disguises for photos on the floor, trying to distract herself from being too gay panicked.

"woah! let's go for fun pics!", jieun beamed and lifted it up, scanning the contents of the box. red, huge sunglasses caught her eye. after taking them out of it and putting them on, she proudly glanced at her friend and flashed her a foolish smile. (haewon died on the spot.)

"how cute", the older one chuckled, loving how the silly glasses look enourmous and stunning on her.

"you have to take the crown! i'm sure it'll look cute on you!", the younger one insisted when she took another glimpse of the items, grabbing the little crown out of the box.

haewon faced her, seeing her sweet eyes looking at her in anticipation. her lovely gaze made her heart melt slowly. how could she say no to those precious eyes?

"as you wish, princess", the older girl smiled, letting jieun lean in to crown her. the senior felt her heart pausing for a moment when her friend came closer and placed the crown on top of her head, softly touching her hair for a split second.

"damn, that's better than the coronation of prom king and queen", haewon thought to herself, smiling amusedly.

"awesome!", jieun beamed, backing away to examine haewon's look. "oh! and to complete your look, you need that too!", she added excitedly and grabbed pink heart-shaped sunglasses from the box without noticing that the glasses matched the cheeks of haewon.

the latter nodded and giggled, liking how enthusiastic she was about the whole dressing up thing.

haewon reached out for the specs with their hands touching for a split second, enough to make both their hearts race crazily.

"how do i look?", the older girl asked and started to pose, the glasses sitting on her nosebridge while the crown was on top of her head.

"gorgeous, queen!", jieun complimented and clapped cheerfully her hands when her friend struck poses.

"not as gorgeous as you tho", haewon mentioned boldly, her gay panic switching to gay confidence as she had to seize the opportunity to drop a pick-up line. (geez, this girl.)

it was jieun's turn to blush at her words. she was lucky that her giant sunglasses partly covered her pink cheeks. "just a mere compliment... she is just really kind", she thought to herself, trying to calm her pounding heart.

haewon smirked proudly when she noticed her being all flustered afterwards. "but you know what? there is something missing... to complete your look", the older girl was searching for something in the box until she found the perfect item.

"this!", the senior exclaimed and pulled out a flower headband, "that's what we need." haewon did basically the reverse of what jieun had previously done; she leaned in to put the floral crown on her head. and guess what? jieun was as flushed and panicked as the older girl was.

"perfect!", haewon grinned widely and backed away, checking out her friend's completed look. "dang, even cuter than before", she noted in delight, not even trying to hide her gay confident side.

"uh... thanks! uhm- let's take some photos!", the younger girl suggested awkwardly and shyly, feeling off guard again due to haewon's direct compliments and indirect flirt attempts.

"let's go for it", the senior agreed humming, smiling happily and still pleased about jieun's adorable reactions.

haewon pressed the button that set off the timer before the picture was getting taken.

the girls began to pose for the camera, starting off with a normal sweet picture of them to making a heart sign together with smiles on their faces to throwing gang signs with intimidating looks.

they giggled after the first pictures were taken and printed out, examining them and then laughing more about the photos.

the two girls decided to take more photos for fun. they struck so many poses together and showcased silly expressions on their faces. they were messing around and broke into a fit of laughter. jieun had never laughed that hard before like now.

the camera captured the precious moments the two of them shared.

even the one where haewon glanced at jieun like a lovesick puppy with her heart-shaped glasses. her soft and genuine smile was caused by jieun's contagious laugh while her eyes were filled with sincere admiration and affection for the girl who chuckled in the picture.

haewon was glad that the photos held their precious memories of this special night. jieun might have been the highlight of her prom.

[ ★ ]

after jeno ran off to the restroom and succeeded in escaping from jaemin, the pink haired boy returned to his friends. well, actually, it turned out to be more difficult to find them at first as they were somehow all scattered across the place.

donghyuck was partying with sooyun on the dance floor. jieun and haewon magically vanished as they sneaked away from the group without giving them a heads-up. chenle went to the bathroom before jeno sprinted away to go there. mark talked to his other friends of his year, the same goes to yejoon and jisung. wait- jisung?!

jaemin's eyes widened in surprise. he had to blink and squint his eyes several times to confirm that it was jisung, his little baby interacting with other people. he didn't seem to be awkward or shy around them, quite the opposite, they talked vibrantly and shared laughters. it seemed as he got along well with them.

the pink haired boy smiled like a proud mom while watching him. (after all, he's momma nana.)

"there you are jaem!", a familiar voice chimed in, making jaemin turn around and lock eyes with him.

"hi renjun", he greeted with a smile, his heart warming up at the sight of him. "have you seen it? jisung is talking to other people!", the younger one remarked happily.

"yeah! it's amazing that he's socialising and stepping out of his comfort zone", renjun agreed joyfully, looking at jisung for a brief moment before facing the pink haired boy again.

"you know, i was talking to yejoon and jisung when his friends from the gaming club approached us and started chatting with him", the two-toned haired boy shared, stealing another glance at the freshman and his friends.

"there was also the transfer student — i think his name was shotaro — who jisung had once helped out to find the computer lab... well, more or less, they both got lost at the end but you know what i mean."

they both snickered when recalling the legendary moment. "jisung told me that shotaro and he stayed in contact after their first encounter. shotaro is also the one who introduced him to the members of the gaming club and i think they all get along", renjun mentioned happily, "that's really sweet."

"woah... i'm so happy to see him making new friends. my baby's growing up so fast", jaemin commented emotionally, wiping away an invisible tear from his eye and making the older one giggle.

"so true. well, yejoon and i left jisung alone with his friends because yejoon craved food from the buffet. but guess what?", a dramatic pause followed with jaemin asking 'what?'.

"that freaking kid ditched me for his classmates!", renjun rambled, shaking his head in disappointment, "and now i'm strolling around on my own. i was kinda bored by now until you showed up!"

jaemin gave him a heartful smile as his heart warmed up at his words. "that's sweet!"

"so, what do you want to do? anything particular?", renjun asked curiously.

"hmm", the younger one was deep in thoughts before an idea struck his mind, making his eyes lit up.

"do you want to ditch the others and go on a walk with me?", the pink haired boy inquired, seeing the face of the older boy beam at the suggestion.

"sounds like a plan", renjun agreed grinning, being in favor of his idea. he grew sick of the crowd anyways — especially when he crossed paths with annoying people also known as his shady classmates. besides, night walks with your friends were superior so it seemed like a perfect plan.

the pink haired boy mirrored his expression before taking renjun's hand in his.

the chinese was taken aback and felt his face becoming flushed. his heartbeat was as fast as the songs they played in the ballroom.

"we shouldn't lose each other in the crowd", jaemin reasoned sweetly after reading his friend's shocked and surprised face.

a brief nod followed afterwards and the younger one went ahead first, leading the two of them through the crowd to the exit of the venue.

as soon as they stepped outside, they were welcomed by the fresh, cold night air. it was quieter, more peaceful and less noisy now.

"god, i'm so glad that it's less crowded now. it was so hot and loud in there", the two-toned haired boy highlighted, appreciating the peace outside.

"totally!", jaemin agreed before noticing that he was still holding renjun's hand, blushing at the realisation.

"oh god, sorry...", the younger one apologized immediately, letting go of his hand right away.

"huh?", renjun was confused for a second, he didn't take notice of it until now. it seemed normal to him, well, except for the fact that it did cause butterflies inside his stomach but he didn't mind a bit to hold hands with him.

"don't be sorry. i'm okay with that, jaem", the two-toned haired boy reassured softly and grabbed after his hand, holding it gently. jaemin looked up in surprise, locking eyes with him as his cheeks turned pinker than before.

"do you... mind? are you okay with that?", renjun asked in a whisper, feeling shyness take over him.

the younger boy was now the one off guard but he managed to nod at his question. "i'm fine with it, don't mind at all", jaemin muttered, feeling sheepish all of the sudden. oh dear, where did his bold and confident side go?

renjun nodded, giving him a warm smile and caressing the back of his hand. jaemin's hand felt all tingly at his touch, making his stomach feel twisted.

"let's get going", the older boy suggested softly. the butterflies returned once again when he was reminded that he was holding hands with him. "god, what are you doing with me?", the chinese wondered in his head, impressed by the impact his friend had on him.

"yeah, let's go", the pink haired boy complied smiling and squeezed softly his hand.

the two of them walked down a path under the black tinted sky, littered with gleaming stars and a graceful moon.

it didn't take long for them to get talking. jaemin found that it was easy to struck a conversation with renjun and vice versa.

they chatted about everyone and everything. they felt at ease and comfortable around the each other. they did not only lost track of time but also got lost in their conversation.

the two of them genuinely enjoyed the time they spent together, enjoyed their walk and enjoyed each other's presence.

"hey jaem, look at the sky! the view's so beautiful", renjun pointed out and came to a halt, gazing up to the stars and dedicating his full attention to the night sky.

jaemin stopped in his tracks, having a brief glance at the sky before looking at his friend and dedicating his full attention to the boy who could lit up the night sky.

"a really beautiful view."

━━━ ☆★☆ ━━━

[ author's note ]
wowow a lot is happening
wellbeing report — how are you guys feeling? 🧐🎤

omg but can we talk about how much nct is feeding nctzens with content?? like first, wayv's japanese album (which is a total banger — i'm obsessed with tempo and bandage), then nct dream will be releasing an english single (and renjun pookie is participating there too 😭😭) and on top of that, both jaehyun and yuta SOLO (!!) albums will be coming soon too ⁉️

i am overwhelmed ⁉️💣💢🔥💥

btw i <3 jaehyun solo songs
i love the vibes like that's exactly what i imagined from him and he is eating it up everytime

anyways part 2/3 of prom chapter! ♡

see you in the next chapter 👯