Chapter 17: The Talk

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    After telling the others what happened during Jisung's walk home, Chan and Changbin insisted on walking the boy home. "I'll protect you!" Chan said, hugging the younger as a mother would. "And I'll just stand around, don't want any unintentional holes in my pants." Changbin chimed, pointing to his black ripped jeans for emphasis. "Thanks." Jisung mumbled sarcastically, though he was really thankful he didn't have to walk alone.
    Bryce was nowhere to be seen, and Jisung hoped Minho did enough to keep it that way. "I don't see him anywhere." Chan said, looking around as they walked. "Stop looking, he's obviously not gonna bother today." Changbin replied. "In hopes of changing the subject to something more interesting... A little birdy told me that someone might have a crush."
    Jisung groaned.
    Deciding he would never hear the end of it if he didn't, he agreed to tell them when they got to his house. "Mom! I'm home!" Jisung called as the three entered the house. "Hey! You brought your friends!" Mrs. Han said upon seeing Chan and Changbin. She stood up, walking over and giving each boy a hug. "We're gonna go to my room. Might come down later and play games." Jisung told her, heading up the stairs. "Have fun!"
    "So... You have a crush?" Changbin questioned once the door was closed. "Can't a guy put his stuff down first?"
    "Nope!"
    "No."
    Jisung rolled his eyes, smiling. "Well, I'm not sure to be honest. This isn't something I can find out by myself!" he exclaimed, flopping down onto his bed and staring at the ceiling. "Okay... What do you feel when you're around him?" Jisung sat up and looked at Chan as if he had three heads. "What kind of a question is that? I feel like I feel with you guys, happy." Changbin sighed, smacking Jisung on the back of the head. "Stupid! If you think you have a crush on the dude, you obviously feel something more!" Jisung glared at Changbin for a second, then thought about it.
    "My heart flutters, and my stomach turns, and my thoughts don't run as wild. I feel safe. I feel... I don't know... I feel special." Jisung concluded, looking down at his lap. "Then you have a crush. It's as simple as that." Chan said, putting a hand on Jisung's knee.
    "Well damn..."
    Chan and Changbin were confused when they saw tears in Jisung's eyes.
    Jisung's eyes seemed like waterfalls, worrying his friends. "What is it? What's wrong?" Changbin asked, eyes shifting from Chan to Jisung. "It's not fair!" Jisung said through irregular breaths. "Alright, well first thing's first. You need to breathe." Chan said, cupping Jisung's face and looking him in the eye. "You'll have a panic attack at this rate, crying like you are." So Jisung breathed.
    In.
    Out.
    Repeat.
    Once his tears were falling slowly and his breathing was back to normal, Jisung sighed. "It's not fair..." he repeated, laying back and looking at the ceiling. "What's not fair Sung?" Changbin asked, placing a hand on his shoulder. "It's not fair that I have to have a crush on him. Minho's so perfect and I'm so... me." the squirrel boy said, making the others share a look.
    "So it's Minho?"
    It was more of a statement than a question. Jisung tensed, bringing his hands to his face and hiding behind them. "Great going Jisung!" he said loudly. This caused his friends to laugh lightly. "There's nothing wrong with liking him, Sungie." Chan said in a gentle tone. "What if he doesn't like me back? What then? I'll lose a friend that I just made!"
    "Maybe you weren't supposed to be friends in the first place."
    The two turned and looked at Changbin, shocked. "I don't mean this in a bad way, but what if you weren't meant to be friends? What if you were always destined to be more? And that's why you like him even when you just met him. What if this conversation, you realizing you like him, is your wake up call to take that risk? I'm not gonna rush you, do it when you're ready. But I think there's something to do with fate going on here."
    Chan and Jisung were shocked to say the least. This was a lot of emotion that Changbin was showing, a lot of care shone through his words. "Wow... I mean, well said! I completely agree with you now that I think about it!" Chan chimed, pulling Jisung to sit up. "Take your time, Sungie, and don't lose hope. You never know what someone else is thinking."
    Nodding along with what Chan said, Jisung thought for a minute. There's too many what ifs in my head right now. Too many that I need to aquash before even thinking about confessing. "I won't confess any time soon." he finally spoke. "But if my crush lasts, and we get close enough, I might." That was good enough for his friends. "Now,let's discuss this 'He's perfect and I'm me' bullshit over some specially shaped cookies." motherly Chan spoke.

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