— THE MIND READER PT. 2 —
"You look beat." Johnny chuckles, approaching him from behind and standing a short distance away. Ten can hear him put down a can on top of the wooden table and, eventually, he can feel the table shake as Johnny sits himself down opposite him.
"I feel it." he grumbles, spinning in his seat to face him. He keeps his elbows resting on the surface, firmly propping up his head in his hands. Although grumpy, the way his hands squish up part of his face is adorable to Johnny.
"Why's that then? We haven't had Chemistry yet." he points out, taking a drink from his can and pulling out a plastic box from his bag. Lunch. "Where's your group? Taeyong's always attached to your hip."
"They all have a test next. They're in the library revising but I didn't wanna go." Ten explains, quirking an eyebrow when he adds, "You're a jealous friend, aren't you? Chill."
Johnny appears mildly offended by that. When he swallows his mouthful of salad, he protests, "I am not a jealous friend! You're taking everything too seriously. I was making an observation, that's all."
Ten isn't convinced and he hides it pretty well. However, with a little bit of mind-reading, Johnny works it out with ease and sighs, "Why don't you believe me? That's not fair."
"Actions speak louder than words." is all Ten says, but Johnny knows what he means by that. Of course he does. He probably knows way too much about Ten for his own good — unintentionally, of course.
"Why do you look so dejected, then?" Johnny moves forward, prodding the contents of the box with his fork.
"I am psyching myself up," he says. "To confront her again. This time with more force."
The mind-reader grins, "I like it. The plan you've got looks good too. Definitely a good idea to avoid the teacher when doing it. She'll have your throat."
Ten stares dumbfoundedly at him the whole time as Johnny takes another forkful without ever breaking eye contact. It takes him a moment or two to realise that his mind has been read once more but, when he does, he rolls his eyes and smiles slightly, "I don't think I'm ever going to get used to that."
He chuckles, "Maybe, maybe not."
Johnny eats in silence for a few moments until he comes to a sudden realisation, "I thought you wanted me to help you out?"
"I did, and you have." Ten reassures him. "You're my Plan B."
With a hand on his heart, Johnny wipes a nonexistent tear from his eye, "I feel honoured."
With the level of drama throughout that, Ten doesn't know whether to cringe or laugh or just not bat an eyelid. So he settles on all three simultaneously, which earns a small amount of laughter from his companion.
"Good luck." Johnny says with a small smile after calming himself down.
Ten returns that smile with a mumbled, "Thanks."
He's going to need all the luck he can get his hands on, and that becomes particularly evident when he sees the girl again in Chemistry. For days he's been preparing for this but, now he's finally sat beside her, the task is truly daunting.
Ten tries not to think about it too much to begin with. He wants to get the lesson itself out of the way first. Plus the lunch break is just after the next bell, so he'll have plenty of time to have it out with her. However the buildup is eating him alive.
Johnny, sat behind him, is aware of this of course. He can barely keep his eyes concentrated on the formulas scrawled across his page. His mind is invaded with the thoughts projecting from Ten and, as much as it's useful to know how he's feeling, it's becoming overwhelming.
