shot clock || na jaemin (the court series #1)

quarter two: minute two

it all started when park jisoo showed up to school with a hickey that wasn't from jaemin. now, jaemin and jisoo weren't exclusive, by any means. but they were certainly starting to edge into that territory, given the fact that the infamous phantom had taken to not really sucking face with anyone besides jisoo. jisoo hadn't been messing around either, the both of them often sneaking off together rather than separately, and it had become public news that the two of them were developing feelings for each other. 

but jaemin didn't roll like that and neither did jisoo. they never explicitly said that they were only fucking each other but it was certainly implied when jisoo found out that the only action jaemin was getting was from, well, her. 

so when she shows up to school with a hickey on her neck that certainly wasn't from jaemin, he didn't know what to think. he didn't having feelings for jisoo, but he wasn't aware that she was really seeing other people either. then again, jaemin had never been opposed to his partners having partners, so why did this make his head spin and his body itch?

"you like her," chenle says simply, taking a bite of today's beef brisket. apparently, korean school food wasn't as good as it was in his old school in china, but it would do. which was chenle for 'it tastes good', jaemin had come to learn.

he fixes the younger boy with a glare, jisung rolling his eyes besides his best friend. 

"no i don't. she was good, don't get me wrong, but not good enough to get me to catch feelings," jaemin says, stretching his arms out behind him. jisung brandishes a chopstick at his friend, chewing thoughtfully before speaking.

"besides, i heard from oh jinyoung that jisoo was somewhere with a girl. apparently she saw two girls making out at a park or something like that," jisung says, lifting up a piece of broccoli before shoveling it into his mouth. jaemin's eyebrows raise.

"oh jinyoung? since when have you been talking to oh jinyoung?" jaemin asks slyly, nudging the youngest. jisung's eyes widen, ears turning stunningly red as he stutters out some lame-ass excuse. the corner of jeno's mouth turns downwards as he examines the blush on jisung's face.

"i don't want you to talk to her," he says sternly. jaemin exchanges a look with haechan.

"why not? jinyoung's a nice kid," haechan says, frowning at the boy. jeno sighs, shaking his head slightly, eyes bloodshot and cloudy. 

"i don't think she is. i mean, she's slept around, hasn't she? she's even gotten with jaemin," he says, refusing to meet their gazes. haechan's eyes blaze at that, jisung's grip on the chopsticks having gotten tighter.

"what the fuck man? that's not cool and you know it. you're one who always said that that kinda stuff was double standards. what's gotten into you?" renjun says, unperturbed by the hand on his chest. it was jisung's. 

"i don't know, okay? i just...i gotta go," jeno says, getting up from the table. jisung makes eye contact with jaemin and jaemin gets out of his seat to follow his best friend. it'd always been like this; the boys were super close with each other, almost brothers, but there were always pairings with the group, who would go find each other when they needed a someone to lean on.

haechan and renjun, the fiery ones who argue over the stupidest things but were the ones with the kindest hearts. they liked to give tit for tat, meaning that the group was often dragged into prank wars just for being in the same vicinity as the two boys.

jisung and chenle, the perfect combination of fire and ice. cool and hot. chenle was the one who thrived off of the spotlight, the one who didn't give two shits about what other people thought and voiced his opinion with little regard for authority figures. jisung, on the other hand, was a little more on the compliant side, always pulling chenle from the line of fire, calming the situation with a shy smile and soothing voice.

and there was jeno and jaemin. the two boys who got along so well because although they were superficially very different, fundamentally they were soulmates. platonically, of course (been there, done that, did not turn out well). they shared the same passion for the things they loved, the quiet confidence that inspired those around them, and the heart of gold which hoped for nothing but good in the world. 

more jeno than jaemin, if he was being honest with himself. jeno was their leader, on and off of the court. he was calm and collected, always advocating for the right thing in a calm voice laced with power. 

seeing him like this kind of reminded jaemin of when serena had first moved here, now a little over two months ago. it hurt him more than he would like to admit, when he found out that serena and jeno weren't on speaking terms for an entire month. 

the siblings were painfully professional on the court, afraid to hurt their father, who just coming around to the fact that serena was warming up to him as her father once more. 

it didn't take a genius to figure out why their relationship had gone sour.

"jeno, can we talk?" jaemin hears a voice ask, ducking behind a bush when he recognizes that voice.

"talk about what? you were the one who said that you liked me and then you fucking ran away from me. i don't know if i'm just another notch in your belt or if you actually like me," jeno spits viciously, and jaemin can practically see the anger on his best friend's face. 

the girl is silent, looking up at jeno with a sad smile. 

"i do like you, jeno. i just...i'm worried. with all the stuff with your mom and sister and basketball, i don't know if you can handle a girlfriend right now." jaemin's head hits the brick wall of the school, revealing his presence, and he tenses as he curses himself, waiting for the two figures to approach him. 

park jisoo and lee jeno.

+++

a/n: ahaaa i just wrote this chapter with a little bit of background, a little bit of plot, and a whole lot of tension so that the next chapter works out >:) the next chapter is literally so angsty, i almost cried plotting it so have fun mfs :))

eat good food, drink water, kick ass today lovelies!

p.s. shout out to my malay readers!!! y'all are so cute :)