CHAPTER FOUR→ the undressing

Jaemin found himself mysteriously awake, the bedside clock reading 1:00 AM.

He mentally slapped himself for sleeping that long. He'd intended to take a short nap when he fell asleep– but ended up sleeping into the morning. 

Feeling the blanket covering himself, he started to question how it had gotten there. He knew he didn't have it when he fell asleep, so... His question was immediately answered when he glanced over to the couch, seeing Jeno peacefully lying upon it.

Jaemin smiled at Jeno's little gesture, but then paused, feeling a bit guilty. He had unintentionally stole Jeno's bed, it wasn't fair that he had to sleep on the couch.

Feeling a strange urge to do so, Jaemin stood up from the mattress, and walked across the room towards the older male.

"Heyyy, Jeno, get up," he said, kneeling next to the couch and lightly shaking the sleeping Jeno. He figured he'd apologize for waking him up so early later; for now, he didn't exactly care how Jeno would react to it.

After a bit more urging, Jeno finally came to. He blinked upon waking, taking a moment to register Jaemin as the person who had awoken him. He slowly sat up, stretching.

"Sorry for stealing your bed," Jaemin started, a hint of embarrassment in his voice. Jeno smiled, his expression tired, yet amused.

"You wake me up at..." Jeno paused, glancing over to his clock, "one in the morning, just to apologize? Thanks, but it's fine."

Jaemin shifted from his position next to the couch, instead taking a seat next to Jeno on said furniture.

"You should take your bed back. It's fine. I'll take the couch," Jaemin said, ushering Jeno to move. Jeno looked at him, incredulous.

"Really? No, you take the bed. I insist," Jeno argued. Jaemin, somehow having felt this would happen, sighed. 

"Am I really gonna have to do this the hard way?" he asked. Jeno looked at him, confused. "What's the hard w–"

He stopped speaking as Jaemin stood up, pulling Jeno up along with him. 

Taking Jeno back across the room with him, he shoved him down onto the bed, then hopped on next to him.

"Lie down, hoe," Jaemin said, the startled Jeno obeying his command and doing so. Jaemin, content with his accomplishment, lay close to Jeno, tightly wrapping his arms around his waist.

"Don't even try to leave," Jaemin warned, cuddling up to Jeno. In truth, the situation wasn't uncomfortable for either of them.

After a moment of quiet, Jeno decided to take the moment into his own hands. Turning to face Jaemin, Jeno saw Jaemin's questioning look, wondering what the older was doing.

"If cuddling is happening, we've gotta at least do it properly," Jeno spoke, waiting as Jaemin took a moment to figure out exactly what he meant. Regardless, Jeno took Jaemin in his arms, resting his head in the crook of Jaemin's neck.

Jaemin only hoped Jeno didn't notice the way his heart stopped beating for a moment.

Eventually, the two fell silent, just basking in the newfound warmth. This was probably the best thing either had experienced; they definitely weren't gonna interrupt or ruin it. At some point, they both fell asleep, too hesitant to say anything.

Then finally, hours passed, and morning came. However, this morning did not go exactly as they had expected.

A frantic knocking came at the door. "Jeno! I swear to god, Lee Jeno! Open up!" a voice yelled from the hallway.

Jaemin, however, was the one who abruptly awoke to the sound. Jeno, on the other hand, managed to sleep through the ruckus, much to Jaemin's surprise. 

Struggling to get up from the bed–as him and Jeno were still tangled together upon waking–Jaemin tiredly stood up, trudging over to the door.

He was aware that answering the door in a room not belonging to him might be a bad idea. He didn't particularly care, though. He just wanted whoever it was to shut up and let him go back to sleep.

Swinging the door open, he came face to face with an older boy. Jaemin didn't know who the boy was, but had a feeling that this was the friend Jeno had talked about, a certain Haechan.

"Jeno! Are you insane? Why–" Haechan stopped speaking as he laid eyes upon Jaemin, a suspicious expression beginning to form on his face.

"Who...?" he muttered, trying to remember if he'd ever met Jaemin. Haechan figured he knew all of Jeno's friends– he must have met him somewhere before, right?

"Jaeminnn, why'd you leave? Come back to bed," Jeno whined from inside the room, now awake, yet not conscious enough to realize that there was a visitor at the room. Jaemin felt his face heat up at the sentence. Hopefully that wouldn't be taken the wrong way.

"Uh... Jeno, your friend is here to see you," Jaemin called back, glancing back into the room, then turning back to Haechan as he heard Jeno rolling out of bed.

Haechan still said nothing. He had no idea what to say to the sudden appearance of a strange boy in Jeno's room.

Jeno made his way to the door, casually leaning against Jaemin and slipping an arm around his waist. Jaemin wasn't sure whether Jeno was still tired, or if he was being touchy for other reasons. He welcomed it either way.

"Haechan, what do you want? It's so early," Jeno questioned, eyeing Haechan.

"Um. Jeno, what day do you think it is?" Haechan asked, his tone inferring that Jeno was being rather oblivious.

"What day? It's Monday, right?" Jeno spoke, his voice unsure. Haechan nodded, motioning for Jeno to continue.

"Right, and on Monday we have..." Haechan waited for Jeno to figure out what he was referring to. Jaemin, however, realized first, and instantly felt like an idiot.

"SHIT, JENO, WE HAVE SCHOOL," he blurted out, grabbing Jeno by the shoulders as if to get him to focus on what he was saying. Jeno got the point regardless.

"You better hurry if you don't want to be later than you already are," Haechan advised from the door, watching the two panic.

"Yep. Bye Haechan, we've gotta get ready!" Jeno said, bluntly slamming the door on Haechan.

"Jaemin, wear some of my clothes since you don't have anything. Take whatever you want," Jeno offered, giving him a smile that Jaemin found precious. He nodded in agreement, walking over to Jeno's closet and digging through some clothes.

Choosing a sweater he liked and a random pair of jeans, Jaemin closed the closet door and turned around. He froze upon seeing Jeno standing a bit aways, pulling his shirt over his head and throwing it on the floor. 

When Jeno reached to remove the shorts he was wearing, Jaemin–although a bit disconcerted–chose to make a quick comment.

"What happened to not undressing in front of me? Am I not attractive anymore?" Jaemin joked, seeing how Jeno paused, then turned slowly to look Jaemin up and down. Now smirking, Jeno walked over towards Jaemin, who was suddenly too aware of how good Jeno looked with his shirt off.

"No, you're still cute. But I think you'd look cuter without those clothes on," Jeno said, now standing rather close to Jaemin, resting his hand on the small of Jaemin's back. Jaemin, although flustered, hid his wreck of emotions beneath a mask of smugness.

"Why don't you help me take them off then?" he asked coyly, enjoying whatever was going on. If this was flirting, he definitely wasn't going to stop it.

"Gladly," Jeno said, taking a step towards Jaemin. Instinctually, Jaemin stepped back, but found himself up against the wall, Jeno still in front of him.

Not missing a beat, Jeno took the hem of Jaemin's sweatshirt in his hands, slowly pulling it up. Jaemin shifted as to let him do it, and soon Jeno pulled the shirt over his head, dropping it to the side. 

Turning his attention to Jaemin's jeans, Jeno paused. "You okay with this?" he asked, making sure Jaemin wasn't uncomfortable. Jaemin, albeit a little nervous, nodded in approval.

Upon taking the button of Jaemin's jeans in hand, an unexpected intruder cut the situation short.

Haechan swung open the door to yell at them to hurry up, but instead fell speechless at the scene he was witnessing. Jeno, being an idiot, hadn't locked the door. He instantly wished he had.

If Haechan thought he felt uncomfortable, though, he had no idea how Jaemin and Jeno felt. The two instantly came to their senses, realizing exactly what they were doing. They didn't even know where exactly it was leading.

"HAECHAN, GET OUT," Jeno turned, yelling at him. Haechan gladly complied. He'd had enough shock today.

"Ah, um, sorry," Jeno awkwardly apologized to Jaemin, who he still had backed against a wall, half naked. Jaemin, bearing a look of embarrassment, quickly shook his head, signaling there was no need to apologize.

"So, uh, that was a bit intense, but... you still like me, right?" Jeno asked quietly, feeling a little insecure. Jaemin stared at him, surprised.

"Like you? Dude, that was hot. If I didn't already like you, I definitely would now," Jaemin said, now changing into his–well, Jeno's–clothes. Jeno smiled, before stumbling upon a question.

Did Jaemin mean like as a friend, or as something else? This question would probably bother Jeno for days. He definitely hoped it was the latter option. It was probably the latter option.

After changing into their clothes for school, the two stopped at the door, Jeno grabbing his supplies for the day.

"Damn, I've gotta get my stuff from my room. It'd only take a few minutes, but..." Jaemin trailed off, mentally forming a plan to spend as much time as possible together.

"Jeno, I don't want to have to go get my stuff alone. Come with me, please?" he begged, giving Jeno the most pleading look he could. Jeno rolled his eyes, grabbing Jaemin's cheek and squeezing it.

"You already know I'd say yes, cut the act. Let's just hope no one who knows me is still at the dorm, though," Jeno said, bringing up a valid point. 

Despite the concern, the pair left the building, and made the short trip to the East Dorm. Due to school being in session, the building was completely deserted, and the walk to Jaemin's room was easy.

Once they arrived at Jaemin's room, Jaemin swiftly unlocked the door, entering and striding across the space to grab his schoolbag.

"Nice place you guys got here," Jeno complimented, glancing around. Jaemin laughed at the obviously untrue compliment.

"Your place is much better. I'm seriously considering forcing you to let me stay there," Jaemin stated, shoving a couple of items into his bag.

"I mean, I'd love having you as a roommate, but wouldn't your roommate here get feel bad?" Jeno asked, before being interrupted by an even louder laugh from Jaemin.

"Are you kidding? Chenle? Feeling bad? You don't know him, but if you did, you'd know he'd be glad to kick me out," Jaemin spoke, heading towards the exit.

"Aww. Well, I wouldn't kick you out, Jaemin," Jeno insisted, keeping up with the younger boy as he left the room and started walking down the hallway.

"Yeah, well you wouldn't kick me out because you're too nice," Jaemin said, Jeno raising an eyebrow in surprise.

"I'm too nice? Excuse me, but I am not nice at all," Jeno argued playfully, nudging Jaemin in the side.

"Oh really? I don't think I could ever actually be annoyed by you," Jaemin said, then noticing how Jeno's expression turned to one of a sudden determination. "Oh no, what does that look mean," Jaemin muttered to himself upon seeing Jeno's mischevious grin.

"I can't annoy you, huh? Well... what if I did THIS?" Jeno spoke suddenly. Before Jaemin had time to react, Jeno leaned in, planting a firm kiss on his cheek. 

"Catch me if you can!" Jeno shouted, immediately dashing down the hallway towards the elevators. 

Ignoring the lightheaded feeling from the spontaneous kiss, Jaemin gathered the wits to chase after him, yelling, yet smiling giddily.

Jeno, who had gotten to the elevator first, hurriedly pressed the 'close doors' button. Much to his dismay, the elevator did not do so, and the hyper Jaemin flew in, pouncing on Jeno like a predator would hunt his prey.

Jeno screeched as Jaemin tackled him, but the two soon broke out into fits of childish giggles. Anyone who might see them would think they were insane... and they would probably be correct.

"Listen, promise me that you won't ignore me in school. I'm new, I don't have anyone else," Jaemin eventually brought up, the mood becoming a bit more serious. 

"You won't need anyone else. I'll be there, don't worry," Jeno said, letting a bit of possessiveness show as he draped an arm over Jaemin's shoulder.

"Hah, well, I do have a few friends. They're not in most of my classes, though," Jaemin said, catching Jeno's gaze.

"Exactly. I'll keep you company, buy you lunch, beat up anyone you want me to..." Jeno listed, absentmindedly playing with a lock of Jaemin's hair. Jaemin, appreciating the gesture, smiled.

"Thanks," Jaemin said, his bright smile meant just for Jeno. Jeno smiled back adoringly, noticing every little detail about Jaemin that made him all the more lovable. 

It was then that Jeno made a decision, one that he felt stupid for not having already thought;

No matter what, he wanted Na Jaemin to be his. 

CHAPTER FOUR→ end.