The Painting

Five:

Earlier that day:

Felix walks through the halls, getting back to class after having to use the restroom. A poster on the bulletin catches his eye as he passes, causing him to look backwards, and promptly walk straight into somebody. 

"Hey!" "I'm so sorry!" Both boys say simultaneously. Felix blinks, thinking he's dreaming. There, in front of him, stands none other than Seo Changbin. 

"Hi." Felix says, lost for words as he stares at the boy in front of him. 

"Hey Felix." Changbin responds. Holy fuck, he knows my name. "We keep bumping into each other." The older laughs. Felix nods and giggles, still trying to find words. "I guess that means we are meant to talk. Do you have your phone on you?" 

"I-uh-I-yes." The younger unlocks his phone and hands it to the older. Changbin chuckles. 

"I'm not gonna bite, Felix." He types on the younger's phone, handing it back. "Text me sometime, yeah? See you in art." The older male walks away, leaving a speechless aussie, staring after him.

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Felix sits in the corner of the giant couch, blushing madly. Jisung, on the other hand is running around, screaming his head off. "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH I TOLD YOU MINNIE, IT'S GONNA HAPPENNNNN. GET READY TO PAY ME $100!" They all laugh at their squirrel, kinda hoping for someone to have a sarcastic reply. Chan speaks up, putting the small boy in his place.

"Jisungie, you're a little hyper about this... Is this because you heard Changbin's friend was talking about you?" Jisung stopped dead in his tracks. 

"What? Who? How? Where? Why??" Jisung goes red. 

"His friend, Minho apparently mentioned you." His friends exchange looks. 

"Jisungie.. what did you do??" Seungmin asks, worried. 

"Oh, fuck, I dunno..." Jisung panics, suddenly remembering running into him. "I may have ran into him on accident..." He says. "But he acted like it was no big deal..." They start to freak out but are interrupted by Chan laughing. 

"What's so funny?" Jeongin asks. "Don't you understand? If Jisungie hyung pissed off Minho hyung... it's not gonna be good."

"Changbin didn't say anything about Minho being mad, he said that Minho was talking about his partner for art. He said he sits next to a "cute squirrel boy"." Jisung's blush grew. 

"OOOOOOOH!" Shouts Felix. "What else did he say??" Felix questions. 

"He wouldn't tell me anything else because he knows I'm friends with you guys. He gave me enough info to tell you all. Said he wants Minho to get off his high horse and try to be nice to someone."

"What does Minho hyung talking about me have anything to do with that?" Jisung asks.

"Changbin hopes you and Minho can become friends. He thinks that Minho becoming friends with someone nice will be good for him." Chan says. Jisung thinks about it, nodding. 

The boys spend the rest of the weekend goofing off. Jisung finishes his drawing of Felix, making a copy of it on Felix's printer to hand into the teacher, since he keeps all of his originals. On Monday, Jisung is still bruised and sore, but not enough that he struggles to hide it. He makes his way to Art before lunch and turns in his project. The teacher looks at them all. 

"This week, I want you to interact with your partners. I want you to draw something important to them. This class is especially quiet, which I find important for focus. However, I want you all to be comfortable creating art next to other artists. Get to work!"

Jisung turns to Minho. "Hello, I'm Han Jisung." He says, holding his hand out. Minho reluctantly takes it, remembering the talk he and Changbin had that weekend, where Changbin told him to lighten up. He also told him to talk to the squirrel boy and get to know him, since he was worried about his face. 

"Lee Minho." Jisung smiles at him. 

"Well, Lee Minho, it's a pleasure." Jisung's heart was pounding in his chest. The older's eyes are absolutely breathtaking, and Jisung couldn't get enough if he tried. "So, uh tell me something about you." Jisung says quickly, looking away.

"Like what?" Minho asks. What possibly could Jisung draw about his life?

"Uh.. Do you have any pets?" Jisung asks. This makes the older's eyes sparkle. 

"I do. I have three cats." The dark haired boy responds. Jisung smiles, excited because he loves animals.

"Ooh! Do you have any pictures?" Jisung forgets all about the stigma behind Minho as the older boy pulls out his phone. He shows Jisung a picture of the cats cuddled on the couch, all napping peacefully. 

"This is Soonie, Doongie, and Dori." Minho explains, pointing each cat out. 

"Will you send me that photo?" Jisung asks before he can stop himself. "I- I mean, if you want. I just think that might make a good drawing." To his surprise, Minho gives him the tiniest of smiles.

"Sure thing." He hands Jisung his phone to put in his phone number, causing the younger to blush. Once he's done, Minho sends the photo to Jisung. 

"Thanks!" Jisung says, smiling. 

"What about you?" 

"What about me?" 

"What kind of things do you like?" 

"Ohhh, well, I like music, and animals, and cheesecakeee." He says, putting emphasis on the last word. That's when Jisung heard the most beautiful sound that his ears have ever been graced with. Then he realizes it's because Minho is laughing. 

"You're an interesting character, Han Jisung."

"It seems you are as well, Lee Minho." The bell rings, signaling the end of class. 

"Where do you go next?" Minho asks out of the blue, getting out his seat.

"Lunch, how about you?" 

"Same here. Hey, do you want to walk through the lunch line with me?" Jisung's heart dropped. He knew he was hungry... but if he got food, his friends would make him eat it. 

"I- uh-" Minho takes Jisung's hesitation as a no and shrugs it off. 

"Never mind, it's fine... sorry." The older starts walking away. Jisung grabs his wrist. 

"Wait, you didn't let me finish. Now let's go, I'm hungry."