as eleven o'clock neared, hongjoong sat on yeosang's bed patiently. he was waiting for his brother to text him that he was outside, but he was taking forever to show up.

yeosang fell asleep... where is he?, hongjoong thought to himself.

thankfully, he got a text from jongho not even two minutes later.

jongie hyung
hey, we're here

joongie
ok be right out!

hongjoong hesitantly poked his friend, waking him up from his slumber, "sorry sangie, but my brother is here." he sheepishly said.

yeosang rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and stood up, "it's ok, i'll walk you out." yeosang said and led hongjoong towards the front door of his house.

"bye mrs. kang!" hongjoong waved goodbye to yeosang's mom who waved back.

"goodnight, sweetie. i'll see you soon!" she called as the boy walked outside.

"i'll text you tomorrow sang!" hongjoong said as he neared yunho's car.

"ok, bye!" yeosang waved one last time before shutting the door and heading back to bed.

before hongjoong could open the door to yunho's car, his brother stepped out, "here hongjoong, sit in the middle seat. you're the smallest out of all of us." he motioned for hongjoong to enter the car to which he obeyed.

as he shuffled his way into the car, he realized who he was going to have to sit next to on the way home.

seonghwa.

hongjoong's eyes widened, not expecting to see the older in the car. instead of saying anything to seonghwa when entering the car, hongjoong quietly took his seat, not wanting to bother him as he usually did.

"hey hongjoong." yunho lowered the radio and turned around, smiling at the small boy.

"hi yunho." hongjoong whispered out as jongho took the seat next to him, squishing in.

once the car door shut, yunho began driving off. although hongjoong felt suffocated in the small car, the boy tried his best to ignore the feeling.

his heart began racing as it typically did when he was near seonghwa. the only other time he's been this close to the boy was the time when he awkwardly admitted his feelings for seonghwa, but that only lasted for about ten seconds. now, he has to deal with the boy being pressed up against him for a five minute car ride.

"mingi, turn the volume back up!" jongho called from beside hongjoong, scaring him out of his thoughts. mingi gave the boy a thumbs up and raised the volume of the radio, blasting 'view' by shinee.

as the music blared through hongjoong's eardrums, he continued to grow more uncomfortable in his seat as the seconds passed. not only was everyone in the car scream singing horribly off key and slightly scaring him, but he was also forced to be squished up against his crush for an entire car ride.

as he was sitting in the stuffy car, seonghwa's arm began hurting him. he was in an uncomfortable position, bending his arm in a way it doesn't naturally bend. he lifted his arm and began moving it towards the boy sitting beside him.

"hey, do you mind if i put my arm around you?" he asked hongjoong nonchalantly. hongjoong's eyes widened, gulping loudly after hearing seonghwa's request.

"um, y-yeah. that's fine." hongjoong choked out, earning a grin from seonghwa as he placed his arm around the boy's lower back.

as soon as hongjoong felt seonghwa's arm around his waist, his breath hitched. he felt even more suffocated, his heart racing even faster than before.

"so, how was your night?" seonghwa suddenly asked hongjoong, catching the smaller boy slightly off guard.

"um... it was fine. fun, actually." hongjoong smiled sheepishly.

"that's good to hear. you were with your friends?" seonghwa questioned.

"yeah. i was at yeosangie's. wooyoungie was there, too." hongjoong replied. "how was your night?"

seonghwa let out a small sigh in response, "it was fine. nothing too interesting happened. honestly, this small conversation with you has been better than my whole night was."

hongjoong blushed a deep shade of pink. since he didn't really know what parties at san's house entailed, hongjoong didn't realize seonghwa was slightly intoxicated. all hongjoong knew was that seonghwa was acting even sweeter than he did this afternoon, and he couldn't help but think back to the conversation he had with his friends a few hours prior.

"well, you never know. maybe if he starts being nice to you, he'll get to know the real you... and maybe he'll start to like you!"

hongjoong smiled, thinking that it was already happening to him. he realized he didn't have much time left before he had to exit yunho's car, so he continued talking to the older before he had to leave.

"well, i'm glad you're liking our conversation." hongjoong giggled and seonghwa cooed at his reaction.

"ugh, how adorable that giggle of your's is!" seonghwa cheered, squishing the blonde's cheek.

"t-thank you." hongjoong stuttered out, cowering into himself a bit.

"no need to thank me, i'm just stating facts." seonghwa winked, causing hongjoong to choke a bit on his own saliva.

before hongjoong could blink, they had already arrived at his house. he sighed loudly, wishing the car ride could have been hours long.

"ok, your stop's here!" yunho called out as he put his car in park, turning around without bothering to lower the music down.

"bye guys!" jongho screamed over the music as he exited the car, getting a few waves in return.

hongjoong waved, not wanting to scream over the music as his brother did. before he could step out of the car, seonghwa stopped his body from moving with his arm that was still wrapped around hongjoong's waist.

"bye, joongie." seonghwa leaned close to hongjoong, speaking just loud enough for only the small boy to hear.

hongjoong's breath hitched, "bye, seongie." he whispered out as seonghwa let go of him, allowing him to exit the car.

as the brothers walked towards their door, yunho drove off before hongjoong could turn back around. once the front door opened, hongjoong began running towards his room.

"wait, hold up!" jongho called, stopping hongjoong in his tracks, "are you ok? why do you seem so off?" jongho asked, unaware of hongjoong's interaction with seonghwa in the car.

"i- um, it's nothing! just a little tired, i-is all." hongjoong stood awkwardly, scratching the back of his head as he spoke.

jongho gave the boy a knowing look, "hm... if you say so." he dragged out a bit as he walked towards his room, leaving the boy to himself, "goodnight babe."

"night jongie, i love you!" he screamed out as he scrambled to his room, slamming the door behind him and slowly falling down to the floor.

hongjoong's thoughts were all over the place.

why did he put his arm around me? why did he squish my cheeks? why did he call my giggle adorable? why did he say our conversation was more interesting than his whole night? why did he specifically stop me before allowing me to leave the car?

hongjoong didn't have the answers to these questions, but he sort of liked it that way. it allowed his imagination to run wild, and for once, allowed him to think that seonghwa might feel the same way that he felt about the older.

as hongjoong laid down in his bed, he was able to sleep peacefully with a huge smile on his face, excited for the next time he gets to see seonghwa.

seonghwa... i actually think i'm going to cry. get well soon you beautiful angel. please rest up and don't push yourself, you need to heal properly. we will all be here when you're ready. we love you💓

-vic