♡ A story about learning to love, learning to hurt, learning to 𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘥 ― and most importantly, learning to be human. ♡
𝐅𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐄𝐃 4x
Marino Hills, California in the mid-2000s is hypersensitive to the idea of change. It clings desperately t...
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THE FALL OF 2006 Marino High Annual Movie Night
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It's the middle of October when Minho asks Jisung out to their school's drive-in movie event.
So, when Friday evening comes around, he curls his hair into silky, inky waves, and "borrows" (i.e., steals) his mother's jewelry for the night. He steps out of his usual polo shirt and khakis for a more flattering combo of oversized tee and baggy jeans.
(For reference, the oversized tee is Minho's, and the jeans are a pair he has yet to return to Felix.)
As Jisung gazes into his slightly-dirtied mirror, he contemplates every decision that he put into his appearance. Minho would undoubtedly know that Jisung tried to dress up for their time out. Would he like it? Would he be disgusted? Jisung doesn't know. Would his parents approve? Suddenly, Jisung contemplates each strand of carefully-curled hair that rests atop his head.
What if it's too much? Too gay? What if his father hits him again over it?
But...
What if Minho likes it?
Regardless of the thoughts that bounce about in Jisung's head, it's far too late to go back on any of his cosmetic decisions. Minho'll be here any moment now, and that fact alone sets Jisung's heart at the edge of a cliff.
He didn't tell Felix about his plans to dress up all nice and pretty for Minho—no—because Felix would act like an immature twelve-year-old and tease him. He didn't tell his parents about his evening plans because they don't know Minho, and Jisung supposes it's better that way.
Plus, so long as Jisung is home before eleven, which is when his parents should be back from a PR dinner, they won't ever know he left.
Right now, it's just his little secret. He likes it that way.
Jisung wonders if other moviegoers will look at him and Minho and wonder if they're together; if they're dating; if they'rean item, exclusive. Just the thought makes his heart sputter and his breathing hitch.
Would they be disgusted?
Jisung clamps on his lower lip, picking off a battered shoebox from his shelf. It's covered in a cheap array of sparkly stickers from the dollar store and a sad attempt at covering the shoebox's original design in construction paper. It reads: 'PROPERTY OF JISUNG HAN' in permanent marker, not that anyone would search through it anyway.
