we are inevitable | jakehoon

eight.

They don't broach the subject again after that night. Jake, for one, is happy about it. Difficult conversations are by no means his forte, nor does it ever seem like they would be.

He goes home the next morning, they get ready for the new school year to start and they go on with their lives. Their final year in high school will prove to be the busiest one yet, as the playful ones in the class settle down and buck up in preparation for college applications, the various sports teams start training for competition season, and the student council takes over the full responsibilities from their seniors as they graduate.

Jake and Sunghoon don't break up. Few people witnessed everything that happened between them the night of New Year's Eve, fewer were sober enough to register it and to only two did it hold enough significance for it to be remembered. They show up to school together on the first day, walking hand in hand until they have to separate to find their respective lockers before homeroom starts. The amount of eyes on them is not little, as expected of widely-known star athletes, but Jake doesn't pay the wandering eyes any mind as he looks at his schedule to double-check the location on the way to homeroom.

By lunch, everything seems to have been settled. Sunghoon invites Jay and Jungwon, Jay's boyfriend from second-year, to sit with him and Jake at their table. Jungwon is the junior captain of the Taekwondo school team, not by any means considered to be of a low profile, but he's friendly and warm and respectfully polite without making things awkward, and the three of them are more than happy to accommodate when he asks if his transfer friend from Japan can come sit with them.

"This is Riki," he says, making a little presentive gesture.

"Hey, it's you!" Jake gives him a wave and Riki bows his head politely. "He got on the junior team first try. I'm looking to have him take over as varsity wide receiver next year."

"Enough with your football," Sunghoon laughs, stealing one of his potato bites.

"No, but listen- the team's gonna be solid once we start proper-"

"I'll kill you-"

In that way, days pass, and most things stay the same.

─

Certain things, certain moments in time, affect the future more greatly than others. Jake supposes this is one of them.

A team from the next city is in town for a friendly game tonight, and Jake disappears from school halfway through the day, as does the rest of the varsity team, to start their warmups early and run a couple of drills proper before the game at seven.

Sunghoon goes home in the afternoon when school ends to take a shower and change out of his uniform before heading back to school to watch the game; he meets Jay and Jungwon at the gates as he enters, and by the time they reach the fields, K and the others are already there, waving them over to the row of seats in the bleachers that's been saved for them.

He drops casual, polite greetings to everyone around as he sits down. "Where's Riki?"

"He's playing tonight," Jungwon answers, craning his neck to see faces amongst the crowd of players in identical jerseys. "One of the wide receivers got injured last minute, I heard. I can't tell which one's him, though."

"What? Jake plays wide receiver, did something happen to him?" Sunghoon is already standing up, unconsciously looking out for the white and blue jersey with the 15 on the back. It's the only way he can tell the players apart, once they're suited up in full game gear.

"Hey, chill," Jay says immediately, pulling on his sleeve to get him to sit back down. "Jake's fine. It was Youngbin, I heard he twisted his ankle during training earlier. Pity he'll have to sit out of the game with the Stallions, though."

"Ah, hope he recovers soon," Sunghoon says politely, though he's unable to hide the relief in his voice.

Jungwon shakes Jay by the shoulder and points out to the field. "Look, there's Riki!"

"Your eyesight must be fantastic, because I can't see shit right now."

The game is tight; the teams go back and forth scoring point after point, neither of them letting up, neither of them keeping their lead. As of the half-way mark, at 45 minutes, Jake accounts for a solid half of the dozen goals they've accumulated. Sunghoon knows as much about football as a regular non-sports enjoyer would, but K keeps him fairly well caught up on the progress of the game, which he supposes makes up for his own lack of knowledge.

"Touchdown! The Tigers take home a win tonight, with a score of 24-20!"

Cheers and whoops and oceans of blue and white engulf them in the bleachers, and the players down on the field pile onto each other like nurse sharks for their victory celebration. Sunghoon can make out, when he squints, Jake pounding Riki on the back as the rest of the team joins in, full of encouragement for their youngest player's excellent showing in his first ever varsity game.

There are post-game traditions, as there usually is in any other school, that the players enjoy after victories; the cheerleaders finish their routines and scatter onto the field to give their congratulations and escort the players off to the changing rooms. Jungwon and Jay have a good laugh beside him at the absolutely confused look that Riki wears as third-year cheerleaders swarm him.

He isn't the only one unfamiliar with the tradition. Sunghoon and Jake are, by this time, usually gone. Jake keeps a staunch habit of avoiding these displays of veiled affection from the cheerleading girls and makes his leave to find Sunghoon when the game ends.

For accuracy's sake, the word should really be 'kept'.

Jake doesn't look in his direction as two blue and white twintailed girls attach themselves to his side, leaving the field with the rest of his team as they throw congratulatory punches back and forth amongst themselves. It's not a big change, but the dynamic shift between them is cosmic. Neither of them make any attempt to acknowledge it.

Nevertheless, they both know it's there.