ONE THING you should never do is put a group of bikers and a group of surfers together in a grocery store...unless you want absolute chaos.

"alright," chan announced when they arrived at n/s supermarket (or more professionally known as "north-south supermarket), "i need to pop in here for a minute to grab some groceries because some people—" he shot a pointed glare at felix and seungmin— "like to sneak into my house and steal my food without asking. it might take a while, so i'm really sorry about that."

multiple groans were heard in response. "we can help you—" jeongin began, but was promptly smacked on the back of the head.

"grocery shopping is lame," hyunjin hissed. "don't volunteer us for that shit!"

seungmin nudged felix with his shoulder. "he's just saying that because he probably sucks at shopping," he whispered, just loud enough for everyone to hear.

hyunjin whipped his head towards seungmin. "i do not!" he protested. "i'll have you know that i shop a billion times more than anyone else in existence! i'm great at shopping!"

"oh yeah?" seungmin countered. "if you're so good at it, why don't you prove it? i bet that my friends and i could easily find everything on chan's grocery list much faster than you guys."

"bring it on, princess!"

jeongin didn't miss the wink seungmin sent towards chan, the brunette mouthing "you're welcome". jeongin bit back a giggle. one thing bikers could never back down from was a challenge and seungmin used that to his advantage by tricking his friends into having a grocery-shopping competition. he's so sly, the biker thought as he was dragged by changbin into the store. i like it!

☀☀☀

"there are six things on each list," chan announced. everyone was lined up at the front of the store, anxiously waiting for the signal that would allow them to begin. "anything goes as long as everyone on your team successfully checks out all of your groceries and makes it back to the entrance together. there are no rules. sabotages are legal. pretty much everything is allowed unless it'll get us kicked out of the market. that means no guacamole bombs, felix."

felix dejectedly slid an avocado back into the pocket of his cargo pants.

"is everyone ready?" chan asked. jeongin nodded along with the rest of the boys, his heart pounding in his chest. excitement pumped through his bloodstream. "well then... go!"

immediately everyone took off, sprinting in all different directions. jeongin made a beeline towards the fresh produce, eyes zeroing in on the plump red tomatoes that he had glimpsed at their starting point earlier. before the competition, hyunjin (who deemed himself the "team captain") had given jeongin the task of getting tomatoes and a box of popcorn for their group while he would get oranges and butter. that left changbin with a can of beans and a chunk of frozen beef.

hearing footsteps behind him, jeongin turned his head to see felix hot on his tail, a dangerous grin on his face. "i'm coming for you!" he growled, and with his deep voice, he sounded almost demonic. jeongin gasped and ran faster, frantically weaving in between stacks of fruits and vegetables in an attempt to throw the surfer off of his trail. surprisingly enough, felix was quite agile and kept up with jeongin with ease, causing the younger boy to panic. he's so fast!

they soon neared the tomato stand, and jeongin felt hope swell within his chest. he was so close to his goal that he could nearly touch it. but as soon as he reached out to grab one, a banana narrowly missed his hand and he retracted it quickly.

"you're not getting those on my watch!" felix declared from behind him, arms filled with bananas that he waved menacingly. the way he did it was almost comical; however, when another banana zipped past his head, jeongin realized that it was anything but. more and more bananas were launched at him and he dodged them with a yelp, resorting to taking cover behind an onion stand.

how do i get myself out of this situation? jeongin thought. the longer he hid, the more likely that his group would lose the competition, and he didn't want to be the reason that they failed. plus, felix was getting closer and closer to his hiding spot; he could tell by the way that felix's voice was slowly growing in volume. "where are you, little fox?" he called, sending shivers down jeongin's spine.

the biker needed a diversion, and fast. however, his panic wasn't doing anything to help him think, so he had no idea what to do. should i throw onions at him? no, he might get hurt. should i just run? but then i won't be able to get the tomatoes! what should i do?

jeongin's heart rate picked up when he saw felix's shadow fall beside him. he was right around the corner of the onion stand, looking around for the biker like a panther on the prowl. this is it, jeongin thought in despair as the surfer made a move to round the corner. i'm going to be caught and banana-ed!

"ha! found—" suddenly there was a shriek and a loud thunk as if someone had fallen. the sound of onions falling filled jeongin's ears and his eyes widened when he realized that the stand was coming down. he scrambled away from the stand where onions streamed down the sides and onto felix's body, which was sprawled on the ground. a banana peel lay by his feet.

"rats! fooled by my own creation!" felix cried as the onions buried him completely.

jeongin stared at the scene in silence for a while before thanking god and rushing to fill a bag of tomatoes. he had no idea how he had gotten that lucky—or what had really happened at all— but all he knew was that somehow, someway, he had gotten the diversion he had hoped for, and he wasn't going to let this opportunity slip away.

after successfully getting what he went there for, jeongin hurriedly searched the numerous aisles in the market for one that held the popcorn. his face brightened when his gaze landed on an aisle with a gigantic sign hanging over it labeled "movie snacks"; however, his breath hitched in his throat when he saw someone standing in the middle of it.

"hello, jeongin," chan said with one of his trademarked dimpled grins. but there was something different about it, jeongin realized. the look in his eyes didn't hold the softness that he had become accustomed to— instead, there was something a bit darker in them. but rather than it frightening him, jeongin felt a rush of adrenaline surge through him. he was excited.

"hi chan," jeongin responded. he didn't miss the way the surfer's eyes followed him as he slowly made his way forward. "what're you doing here?"

chan crossed his arms as he leaned against one of the shelves, the grin never leaving his face. "well," he said, "i got my things already, and i thought that it might be a good idea to scope out the competition. i knew that someone would be looking for popcorn, so i decided to wait and see who it was. and it turned out to be you."

"so you're here to stop me?" jeongin asked, gaze flickering around as he spoke to try and find where the popcorn was located. when he looked back at chan, the male's face turned smug, and it was then that jeongin saw that what he was searching for was being blocked by his body. the only thing standing between him and his second item was bang chan himself.

"i think i already have," chan said, and jeongin realized that this was going to be more difficult than he originally thought.

chan was one of those people that could make a soft gay like jeongin instantly melt. couple his genuine personality with his handsome features and it was like jeongin had found everything he could ever ask for in a guy. every time he was around him, jeongin felt his heart beat just a little faster and funny feeling would erupt in the pit of his stomach. he wasn't dumb; he knew what those signs meant, but he didn't want to say it aloud in fear of it being true. those feelings would get him in trouble in more ways than one. the position he was in now was an example of that fact. what do you do when the thing that you want is in the way of the thing that you need?

"chan, please," jeongin pleaded, stepping closer to him in hopes of finding a way around him. "you don't have to do this. you know that we'll lose anyway, so why not just be nice and give me what i need?"

chan cocked an eyebrow. "what you need? no, that popcorn is what you want. what you need is..." he faltered, a sign that the confident front he had put up earlier was merely a façade. this gave jeongin hope.

"what i need is what?" he asked. he had no idea where he was going with this, but if it was able to throw chan off guard, he would take it for all its worth.

sadly, it didn't do much. chan simply shook his head ever so slightly before clearing his throat. "never mind. anyway, you're not getting this popcorn." he picked one of the boxes up and tossed it from hand to hand in an almost taunting fashion. "there's absolutely nothing you can do to get it. it's over, jeongin."

jeongin paused. there's nothing i can do...but there's something i can say.

before the competition, hyunjin left changbin to intimidate the surfers' team while he pulled jeongin to the side. "i.n," he whispered, "i have an important piece of advice to give you." jeongin was all ears. "i can tell that you have a soft spot for chan—" at this, pink tinted the younger's cheeks— "but he also has one for you. so, if you ever encounter him at any time during this thing, you've gotta take advantage of that."

"but what do i do?" jeongin asked. hyunjin chuckled deviously.

"you've got to flirt."

"what?" hyunjin slapped a hand over the shocked boy's mouth when he exclaimed a little too loudly.

"quiet!" he hissed. "it's the only way. i know that going down the touchy-touchy route isn't really your thing, so i've devised a number of pick-up lines that i need you to memorize in case the time comes." he then rattled off a list of phrases so quickly that jeongin had a hard time remembering even one of them. "got it? good," the brunette said without waiting for a response. "now, go out there and make me proud!"

jeongin didn't think he'd have to take hyunjin's advice, but it seemed to be the only way. if his friend was right about chan's soft spot for him (which he seriously doubted) then his idea could work. if not, things would just be super awkward and jeongin would probably have to bury himself under a pile of onions like felix.

he took a deep breath before approaching chan. his palms were sweating like crazy, and as he stood before the older, a questioning look appeared on his face.

"hey, don't think that you—" chan froze when one of jeongin's hands went to his chest and the other to his chin, the biker's pale fingers gently dipping his head down until his lips were right next to the older's ear. jeongin swallowed dryly. no backing out now.

"channie," he whispered, wondering for a brief moment if the loud heartbeats he was hearing were his or chan's— "if you give it to me, this popcorn won't be the only thing that you'll be popping tonight."

instantly chan's jaw dropped to the floor, as did the box of popcorn in his hand. jeongin quickly scooped it up and ran, not bothering to look back at the stunned boy in the movie snacks aisle who had gone stock-still (and who would be ridiculed by his friends for it later on). all the redhead knew was that he would never be able to look chan in the eye ever again.

holy shit. i can't believe that just happened.