니키. love language

chapter seven.

 vii.

[ gc ]: losers in student council; 10:10 AM.

jen <3: hey have y'all found partners for the student council yet? 

jay: ah i forgot the school dance existed for a moment

jungwon: i alr found a partner

sunoo: WHAT SCHOOL DANCE

sunoo: WAS THERE A MEETING I MISSED? 

hee: Wdym? U were there lol

you: i just woke up

you: good morning everyone 

jen <3: FINALLY UR UP

jen <3: FOUND A PARTNER FOR THE SCHOOL DANCE YET?

sunoo: WHAT SCHOOL DANCE (2)

you: u don't remember? it was the meeting where idiot interrupted,, when he was asking for a yearbook photo 

sunoo: AH

sunoo: IG I ZONED OUT IN THAT MEETING

you: i still havent found a partner yet 

jen <3: ask ni-ki then ;))

you: i'd rather suffocate. 

*

School was done for the day, and a certain boy can be found lazily leaning on his chair, at the brink of slumber. The journalism club was a bit loaded today, trying to collect the pictures that were needed for the school's monthly release.

"Mind me asking why most of the photos you've submitted are of [Y/N]?" Another journalism club member, Sunghoon pesters, a knowing smirk painted on his face. His close friend, Jake, is just by his side, already cupping his mouth in amusement.

Ni-ki opens his eyes from hearing their voices and shoots them dirty looks. "The rest of the photos of the others turned out bad, the only decent pictures I have are of [Y/N]."

"Or do you mean. . the only picture you ever got was of her." Both men bust out in laughter, while the teen continues to shoot them a glare, deadpan.

Ni-ki closes his eyes and makes a gesture of shooing them away. They eventually do, leaving behind a trail of uncontrollable snickers.

He exits the classroom, immediately meeting eyes with both of his friends. "You got here just in time; our meeting just ended too." Sunoo blabbers.

The teen continues to walk towards the exit of the school, but while doing that, they pass the gym. His peripheral vision catches the figure of you, and he stops. Jungwon and Sunoo look at each other, trying to contain their expressions.

"Isn't the meeting over?" Ni-ki points out. "Why is she still here?"

Sunoo speaks out first, and cups a hand over Jungwon's mouth, an attempt to muffle his fits of chuckles. "Ah, she still has some things she needs to go over with the school dance, you do remember it's coming up."

Ni-ki eventually breaks his gaze and turns back to his friends. "Sucks for her, I guess." He mutters and immediately starts to walk faster.

Ignore it, ignore the feeling. You are not going to go there. You won't. That's a stupid idea.

Suddenly, Jungwon brings up the topic that they had this morning. "So Sunoo, have you found someone to be your partner for the school dance yet?"

"Do we have to find partners?" Sunoo retorts, a pout on his face.

Jungwon nods. "Yeah, there's a segment where the student council will be dancing with their partners. It's mandatory."

A groan slips out of the boy's lips. Meanwhile, Ni-ki silently listens to their conversation, and before he can even think about it, his mouth suddenly blurts out these words. Which he pretty much regrets.

"Who is her partner going to be?" He slaps a hand over his face and feels his cheeks heat up.  

"Curious, are we?" Jungwon teases, and eventually eases his curiosity. "Well, she hasn't found one yet. I think."

Still flustered from earlier, he avoids making eye contact with both of his friends. "Why can't she just be partners with Jay hyung or something."

"Well, from what I remember, Jay hyung already found a partner today." He shrugs. "And why do you care so much about who her partner is going to be?"

Silence.

Sunoo then speaks up. "Why don't you ask her to be your partner for the school dance?"

While Ni-ki tries to divert the conversation elsewhere, here you were, still in school. This was going to take a while, especially when you had to go through most of the plans – which included the decorations, the catering of the food, and other things.

Thankfully, Jennie and her friend Rosé decided to stay along to help you out. But sooner or later, they had to go home, hesitantly leaving you behind.

From the window, you could see that the skies were almost turning dark. You were trying to get things done as much as possible, a lot of thoughts were spiraling through your mind. Mostly filled with worry and uncertainty. The pressure of trying to get everything done, and perfectly too.

You didn't want to pressure the other members of the student council that much. So it felt like you had to quietly endure the responsibilities, and diligently push through most of the duties as if they were nothing to you.

Strange enough, the only thing getting you through this was a certain teen's words.

"Next time, don't work so hard."

Who knew that such considerate words could come out of the devil's mouth? You silently questioned, instantly shaking those ridiculous thoughts away.

You eventually got most of your work done and came home late. His words continue ringing in your mind, even until you closed your eyes and succumbed to the call of slumber.