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Jeno walked through the halls with his head hung low, cheeks pink with what he intended to do today and heart racing rapidly. The unsightly scuff marks along the floor and gross remnants from possible food items made him grimace, but he had always promised himself and his family to get better.
Sometimes, when he was feeling particularly brave, he would leave his desk in a small state of clutter (basically leaving a notebook open and about two pens resting around it) and stare at it. It chewed his soul painfully, but he would never be able to get over this without practicing and putting in effort.
Last night... The clatter of dishes in the sink as Jeno rinsed them and cleaned them filled the kitchen. The marigold rubber gloves hugging his hands protected his skin from the damaging dish soap and water, which brought a bit of comfort. After all, skipping out on chores due to OCD and leaving them to his family wasn't fair either.
Mark, beside him, dried them off as they were passed to him, sliding them into their correct locations neatly. "So," the ravenette tried, "How's it going?"
"Hm? How's what going?"
"Psh, you're so oblivious. I mean with the guy you like. Jimin? Jaemin?"
"Jaemin."
"Ha, I'll get better with names, I promise."
Jeno smiled fondly, rubbing his sponge over the china plate and scrubbing it well since his problem allowed for no less. "It's still the same, to be honest. He still likes someone else, and I'm still here pining over him...."
"Okay, so by him 'liking someone else', that means he doesn't have a boyfriend yet, right?"
".....No."
"Then pounce, Child! Find him, tell him how you feel, and get it over with. Worst case scenario, he doesn't like you back and friendship is as good as it gets. Or, he could at least decide to try for you, and then you have yourself a dream come true."
"Seriously? Those are the only two scenarios?"
"Seriously."
Jeno hoped they were. His body was burning up from a stressful night of running confessions in his mind over and over. He had gotten three hours of sleep maximum, and the poor boy had chugged two pints of black coffee to stay alive today.
A familiar figure caught his eye, and they entered the male bathrooms in a bit of a hurry.
This is my chance, the ravenette thought, though he wasn't even half as confident as he had hoped to be. The only reason he was even doing this was Mark and his generous support. Only two scenarios. He gives me a chance. He ditches me. Yeah! I've been alone most of my life, so why would it change now?
