Alone {𝕄𝕀ℕ𝕊𝕌ℕ𝔾}

Chapter Nine

"FELIX...?" JISUNG QUESTIONED UNSURELY, REFUSING TO MEET HIS BEST-FRIEND'S EYES. "Yeah?" Felix hummed, and the strawberry blond boy let out a quiet sigh, pushing away his hesitation. He didn't even know why he was asking this question. "Where's Minho?"

Felix stopped eating his sandwich for a moment, before he shrugged. "He got suspended." Jisung's eyes widened in disbelief; so that was why he hadn't seen Minho around the halls the last few days.

"Why?" He blurted before he could even stop himself. Felix's eyebrows furrowed and his eyes narrowed on his best-friend. "Why do you care so much?" Jisung was left flabbergasted as he spluttered dumbly. He wasn't sure why his friend had had such a negative reaction to his seemingly harmless question.

Felix sighed as his irritated expression melted off his face. "He threatened somebody. So, he got suspended." Jisung had been confused multiple times in his life, but it was hard to beat the confusion he felt in that moment.

"B-But he was helping somebody – you know that!" he cried, and Felix simply shrugged, soon glaring. He'd never glared at Jisung before, and it was slightly concerning. "He wasn't willing to defend himself, so why should I step in? He can take care of himself," he huffed.

The strawberry blond male opened his mouth to interject, when Felix abruptly cut him off. "It's none of your business, okay? So just, like, stop asking." An awkward silence ensued, and Jisung turned his attention back towards his food, a small frown tugging at his lips.

~#~#~#~#~#~

Throughout the remainder of the school day – thank God it was a Friday – Jisung had barely spoken a word to his friend. He wasn't sure why it bothered him so much – Felix was right, it really wasn't any of his business – but it still bothered him how his friend had snapped at him like that, but he didn't have the courage to confront the situation.

He never had the courage to confront anything.

He stuffed his hands in his pockets – it was starting to get cold out as the fall slowly settled in – and kept his eyes trailed on the ground. Felix hadn't invited him over that night – which was odd, since every Friday they hung out together after school.

Jisung started to regret ever inquiring about Minho; as curious as he was, he wasn't about to lose his best-friend because of it. He told himself that he wouldn't ask about the older male any more; especially around Felix.

With this resolve set in place, he walked into a convenience store, palming the money in his pocket. He was in a serious mood for ice cream. Ever since he was young, he could only ever eat vanilla ice cream; chocolate was just too rich for him, and the others were too odd and tasted like an array of chemicals.

So, he stuck to plain-old vanilla ice cream. He headed over to the back of the store where all the refrigerated goods were kept. His eyes widened when he spotted only one two liter carton of vanilla ice cream left on the shelf. Lucky! He cheered, sliding open the door.

Just as he reached for it, his hand collided gently with another's. "Oh! Sorry!" he exclaimed, his head whipping sideways as he bowed slightly to the person. His wide eyes met equally shocked brown ones, but the surprise soon faded from Minho's face, reverting back to his neutral, indifferent gaze.

Something about the way he looked at Jisung had changed, and it made the younger feel increasingly uncomfortable. No matter how stereotypical it was, he'd never been so intimidated by someone with round glasses before. Minho just made them seem intimidating in that moment.

After a few moments of terse silence, Minho shrugged and turned on his heels. "Take it. It's fine."

"Wait!" When the boy's steps halted – despite himself – Jisung bit his lip slightly. "We can always... share? I mean, there's more than enough..." He wasn't sure what had possessed him to say such a thing, but he had the strange sentiment that the older was mad at him for something, and he wanted to get to the bottom of it.

Why do you even care so much? He thought bitterly, but he knew he couldn't go back on his offer now. "... No." Minho whispered, causing the boy's jaw to drop slightly. He didn't look back and started walking again.

Quicker than he could comprehend, Jisung stepped forward, his hand latching onto Minho's sleeve, and he didn't miss the way the boy flinched. "Are you mad at me?" He hated how vulnerably childish his voice sounded, and he realized just how stupid of a question it was.

They weren't even friends.

"I don't have the right to be mad." It seemed that Minho thought as much, too. "But... you are, aren't you?" It seemed that Jisung knew exactly what to say, because Minho's eyes slid away from him.

"It doesn't matter." Jisung had a habit of being annoyingly persistent, and he decided to utilize it. "It does." His eyebrows furrowed, and Minho gritted his teeth. "It really doesn't." He wrenched his wrist out from the other's grasp, feeling his anxiety levels lowering slightly now that the younger wasn't touching his wrist – touching his scars.

He hurried out of the store, breathing in deeply when the evening air encased him. However, he didn't expect his name to be called moments later.

A/N: Thoughts?

I'm struggLING boos.

Q: What are your favourite subjects in school?

A: Science and business. I'm a boring hoe, I knOW--

Lots of love,

~Junnie