after coincidentally having met in the men's restroom, jeno and chenle returned to the ballroom and wanted to join their friends again.

however, everyone was spread across the place and nowhere to be found — except for yejoon who was alone at the buffet and about to snatch some desserts once again.

"wassup fellow sophomore buddy", the orange haired boy greeted extravagantly as he was approaching him.

the curly brown haired boy turned to his friends and faced them with pleased surprise.

"hi guys! there you are!", he greeted with a sweet smile before raising his hand, revealing a brownie that he was holding, "you guys need to try that. it's so delicious!"

"damn, they really look scrumptious", jeno commented amazedly, eyeing the little treat.

"wanna try some?", yejoon offered, moving slightly his hand towards the blonde haired boy.

"nahhh, i'm good", the latter rejected kindly, shaking his head while smiling.

"come on! just one bite", the curly brown haired boy tried to persuade him into trying one as well by stepping closer to him and wanting to shove the brownie into jeno's mouth.

however, his attempt failed as jeno successfully dodged him and backed away, making yejoon almost trip.

nonetheless, the junior effortlessly managed to pull the younger one back to his feet before he could fall. yejoon was stunned, wondering how he could predict all his movements.

"i'm used to such situations thanks to jaemin and hyuck", jeno explained nonchalantly as if he had read the thoughts of the sophomore.

well, actually, he read the surprise on his face and could already tell what he was thinking.

"what?", yejoon asked irritatedly, lifting an eyebrow. chenle — who was wheezing the whole time in the background — was as confused as his fellow sophomore buddy was.

"we need a storytime, please", the orange haired boy demanded, making the older boy chuckle.

"okay, listen up", jeno started amusedly before explaining how he ended up in those situations.

after he was finished, they shared a laugh until chenle was reminded to search for his best friend.

"since we're talking about besties", the sophomore began, looking around in hopes of spotting the ash haired boy, "have you seen jisung anywhere? i can't find him."

"i'm worried that he got lost here", the chinese half-joked, knowing that it could actually happen to him.

"he's with his gaming club bros", yejoon answered and took a bite of his treat before pointing to the direction where jisung and co. were assembled ,"right over there."

"gaming club bros?", chenle frowned, confused about the situation. jeno was as puzzled as him.

"yup, you heard right!", the sophomore confirmed excitedly. "jisung has made new friends thanks to the transfer student who also happened to be good friends with the gaming club members."

a lightbulb inside jeno's head was lit up at the mention. "you mean the transfer student who jisung had once helped out but then failed to get to the room?", he asked gasping, seeing yejoon approve his words.

"if i remember that right, his name was shotaro", the blond haired boy added, index finger laying on his chin.

"yeah, it was", chenle confirmed, remembering it clearly even though it was just mentioned once.

the sophomore glanced at his best friend from the distance, seeing him talking so eagerly and laughing so wholeheartedly. they really did seem to get along with each other.

"it all makes sense now. jisung likes gaming and he originally wanted to join the gaming club. no wonder why he became friends with them, especially when they share the same interests", chenle thought to himself, finally having connected the dots.

"but why didn't he tell me anything?"

"wow, that's awesome that he's friends with them!", jeno commented joyfully, stealing a glance at jisung with the gaming club members.

"i'm proud of him for interacting with others", the orange haired boy noted, putting on a smile when there was a trace of sadness in his eyes.

jisung didn't tell him anything that he made new friends, let alone grew closer to them. however, he wasn't obliged to share everything — it's up to him to tell or not tell him things. chenle had to remind himself of that fact.

even though it hurt him just a tiny bit (actually more than he wants to admit), he was genuinely happy for his best friend. it's indeed a big step for him. he's developing himself and that alone made chenle's heart swell with joy.

"me too! he's probably having much fun", jeno noted smiling.

"he sure will", chenle added quietly before turning to his fellow sophomore buddy, "yejoon, do you still have some brownies left? i need one right now."

[ ★ ]

"the dances were so fun!", donghyuck reported happily to his friends when sooyun and he left the dance floor to meet the drama club members again.

everyone except for renjun, jaemin and jisung had already returned from their individual activities. the missing ones were either still out for a walk or chatting with other people.

"hyuck can moonwalk! can you believe it?", the blonde girl exclaimed in astonishment, boosting the boy's ego a bit.

"come on, it's not a big deal", the purple haired boy played it off when it was actually the deal. he felt lowkey (highkey) superior in the moment.

"okay, michael jackson", chenle remarked jokingly, however, he caused hyuck to show off and moonwalk in front of everyone. yup, he's an extra boy.

mark, jieun and haewon applaused for donghyuck while chenle and yejoon gasped in amazement. meanwhile, jeno seemed unfazed by it, probably because he had already seen it several times.

"you're legit michael jackson's son", the canadian commented amusedly, still impressed by his performance.

donghyuck giggled or more like said "hee-hee!" while doing michael jackson's signature dance, resulting in jeno feeling second hand embarrassment.

while the group talked about hyuck's little show, the sophomores decided to sneak out to have a taste of the chocolate fountain. it was too tempting for them and they had to set their priorities (and food is quite on top).

"oh my god, do you hear what i'm hearing?", haewon mentioned beamingly.

"wannabe by spice girls is playing", sooyun answered, slight confusion was written on her face.

"let's get on the dance floor, girls. it's a song we can't miss out and i wanna dance with you two!", the female senior insisted excitedly and grabbed the girls' wrists.

"yeah, sounds fun!", sooyun agreed joyfully and went along, wanting to spend more time with her female friends.

"but—", jieun hesitated and faced the older girl who looked so sweetly at her, "i don't dance..."

a warm smile was plastered on haewon's face, making the junior's heartbeat fasten.

"i know you can", the older girl encouraged her in a soft tone. her words were so simple and yet, so sincere and motivational to her.

"okay... i'll try", jieun complied shyly, observing how haewon's smile became bigger at her response.

"wonderful!", the senior couldn't wait any longer as she ran off to the dance floor, the girls being dragged by her.

donghyuck and jeno gasped loudly and exchanged knowing looks, nodding at the same time.

"are you thinking what i'm thinking?", the blond haired boy asked his best friend who nodded eagerly.

mark frowned at their behaviour. "what are you guys thinking?", he inquired curiously and irritatedly.

the two best friends turned their faces to the older boy at the same time, wearing a serious expression on his face.

"don't you get it?", the purple haired boy questioned in shock, causing mark's confusion to grow bigger.

"no, dude", the canadian responded candidly, his frown deepening.

"haewon and jieun...", jeno gave a hint, seeing the senior's face lit up in realisation.

"... they are acting sus!", mark exclaimed in epiphany, however, the two shook their heads.

"huh? what else do you mean?", the black haired boy asked irritatedly, eyebrows furrowed.

"i mean, yeah. this is also true but we all know that already. that's no secret", jeno replied laughing.

"my gay radar approves of it and my gay radar never lies", hyuck added proudly, wearing a smug grin.

"but anyways, jeno and i noticed the — probably — unintentional high school musical reference when jieun and haewon talked", the purple haired boy explained, his best friend confirming it with a smile.

"ooooh, that's what you mean", the canadian had another moment of epiphany, making his friends laugh.

"damn, where is jaemin when we talk about high school musical?", donghyuck stated dramatically.

"i know right... he would've loved the high school musical reference", jeno agreed, sighing.

"yo but real talk, i thought you were talking about the sus moment between haewon and jieun...", mark added before letting out soft chuckles, "dang, you guys are really unpredictable."

afterwards, the three of them held a conversation about high school musical and debated which song was the best.

nonetheless, their conversation got interrupted when an unknown student showed up and started talking to them.

"hey... are you guys friends with jaemin?", the girl began cautiously, looking carefully to the sides and causing suspicion to arise.

they all exchanged confused looks but nodded briefly. "yeah, why?", jeno asked directly, being on alert. his tone was as sharp as his gaze.

"i know it's none of my business to butt in but...", she paused, eyeing each boy before continuing, "why are you guys still befriended with him?"

the three of them frowned at the question, finding it ridiculous and pathetic.

"because he's an awesome friend and a good person with a gold heart", mark answered, observing how the girl's eyes widened at his response.

"is he?", she questioned skeptically, staring at them in disbelief. "the rumors about him say otherwise", the unknown female added quietly.

jeno rolled his eyes while donghyuck scoffed. "we know him better and know what's true. we can distinguish the truth from frabricated rumors", the latter retorted, giving her a threatening glare, "unlike other people here."

hyuck was sick and tired of people gossiping about jaemin. he didn't care if he was being harsh and rude in that moment. he had enough and he didn't tolerate any bullshit about his best friend anymore.

"damn, sorry. my bad", she backed away a bit and lifted up her hands in defense. "i mean, the rumors came from the fanclub and you know, jaemin's fanclub was crazy. they knew everything about him since they were intense admirers of your friend", the girl explained slowly, furrowing her brows.

"what??", mark and hyuck said aloud as shock was written on their faces.

"his fanclub??", jeno repeated in disbelief, his mouth being open agap.

the three of them exchanged looks, not wanting to believe what they had just heard.

"you didn't know?", the girl questioned, feeling surprised that they weren't aware of that.

"the fans from his fanclub found out the shady stuff of jaemin since they are... or were interested in him", she reasoned, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"wait a minute...", jeno noted, having noticed an odd, little detail amidst the shocking news, "did you use past tense for the fanclub?"

the girl nodded confirming. "jaemin's fanclub has disbanded after the members found out about his true side", she stated, making mark gasp loudly.

"hey! it's not his true side!", the purple haired boy complained madly, having to be stopped by jeno who was pissed himself.

"please, just go and leave us alone", mark requested seriously, knowing that it would be better for everyone if the unknown girl just disappeared.

the girl agreed and quickly ran off, especially when she felt intimidated by jeno and sensed hyuck's close anger outbursts.

even though the stranger left, the tension was still palpable, still in the suffocating air.

donghyuck couldn't hold back but let his frustration out by ranting to his friends.

"how can people just be so ignorant, noisy and naive and believe every fabricated nonsense?! it's all bullshit and yet, they think it's the truth? they don't even do a fact check! what the fuck!"

the two older boys could only agree, feeling angry themselves but being able to control their rage.

"i can't believe that the fanclub has spread the rumors about jaemin...", mark commented disappointedly.

"why did his fans turn their backs against him and switched to be his haters?", the canadian questioned irritatedly.

"no wonder why the fanclub has been so quiet when they have disbanded", jeno remarked, his lips were pursed into a thin line, "when did they disband?"

"wait...", donghyuck began before his eyes widened in realisation.

"isn't... yejoon in the fanclub?"

"shit, right!", the black haired boy exclaimed, covering his mouth with his hand for a moment.

"but dude, why hasn't he told us about the disbandment of the fanclub?", mark wondered in both confusion and curiosity.

"and why hasn't he told us about the origin of the rumors when he's part of the fanclub?", jeno asked skeptically, growing suspicious of the sophomore.

"maybe he didn't know about it too, jen. that could be the case, right? maybe the girl was the one fabricating shit and spreading another rumor...", hyuck commented cautiously, considering that yejoon might be innocent.

"true. let's check the facts first and ask yejoon about the fanclub situation", mark suggested, rubbing his chin as he was deep in thought.

"he might know some things."

"let's hope he does."

━━━ ☆★☆ ━━━

[ author's note]
part 3/3 of prom chapters <3
thanks for reading so far!! 🩷

how are we feeling?? 🎤🎤

does someone find the hsm and the nct 127 song references here? 🤭

also, happy 8th anniversary to 7dream <3