The Painting

Eight:

The minute Jisung steps through his front door, he regrets it. The mess his parents made still lingers. Jisung cringes as he thinks of the scars in his back from the glass by the door. Sighing, he puts his bag down on the steps and starts to finally clean up the mess. As he's almost done, his phone rings.

Min <3 is calling...

Jisung smiles, answering the call happily.

"Mr. Lee." He says in a jokingly formal way.

"Mr. Han." Minho replies in an equally as playful tone.

"How were your meetings?" The squirrel boy enquires, taking a seat on the freshly cleaned sofa. He hears Minho groan at the thought of meetings.

"Unbearable. They talked nonstop for five hours." He complains. This causes Jisung to laugh.

"Sounds like a tough day. Good thing we didn't practice today, you'd be so tired." Minho smiles, hearing the boy worry over him.

"Mhmm. So what did my little squitrel do today?" Jisung chokes on air, quickly recovering. Two can play this game, Lee.

"Went to school like a normal person." He laughs. "Missing school for meetings is a little sus, Min. You sure you're not in a gang?" Jisung jokes.

Minho laughs back at the boy over the phone. "No, I'm not in a gang. Still not so sure you're not." Jisung goes red, thankful Minho can't see him.

"I-I'm not in a gang. Just t-trip and fall alot." Jisung mumbles, stuttering. Minho knows Jisung is lying, but decides not to press.

"Hey, Sungie?"

"Yes, Min?" Minho thinks about what he's about to say.

"Thank you."

"What for?" Jisung asks confused. 

"For making my boring day better." Jisung blushes, smiling like an idiot.

"Well then thank you for doing the same."

"I hate to end this conversation, but I still have homework to do. I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Of course."

"Goodnight, little squirrel."

"Good night, Min."

The two boys smile to themselves as the phone call ends. Minho happily does his homework, thinking about his cute art partner.  Once he's finished with his academics, he starts working on a new choreography. Then he decides to take a nap before dinner.

Jisung, on the other hand, finishes cleaning the entire house, making it back to the way he likes it and then settles into bed, skipping dinner. Before he falls asleep, a text pops up onto his phone.

Min <3
Actually good night, this time. Sweet dreams, Ji.

Jisung smiles to himself before responding and going to bed.

Minho checks his phone as he's about to go to sleep to find that the squirrel answered.

Sungie <3
Sweet dreams, hyung.

Both boys go to sleep happily.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"You're still coming over tomorrow, right??" Felix demands as soon as the boys enter first period. Jisung nods.

"Of course, Lix, I wouldn't miss it." He assures the aussie, elbowing Seungmin to do the same. After being reassured that the two would be there, Felix calms down a little.

"Are you both free tonight? I want to go shopping, but I don't want to go alone."

"I don't have anything planned after practice with Minho." He says, excited to walk around the mall.

"You could invite him~" Felix says, teasing the older. This causes Jisung to blush madly.

"M-maybe. I-i d-don't know if he l-likes to shop." He mutters. The two boys laugh at him.

"Worth a shot. After hanging out with us, especially Innie, he will either love shopping, or hate it." They all laugh.

"I'll think about it. Oh, also I'd like to go shopping next time I get paid. My parents kinda ruined alot of my stuff... and took my money." Jisung says sadly. Felix nods. The aussie really wants to find a way to get them caught without Jisung getting hurt worse in the process. Knowing how stubborn his hyung is, wanting to earn his life for himself, Felix doesn't say anything.

The bell rings for first period, causing everyone to groan, knowing they have a test first thing this morning. The teacher hands out the test, sitting up front and telling the class that they have the entire period to complete it. Seungmin is the first done, sitting back down to read a book. Eventually, they all finish the test and leave class.

Jisung mentally curses himself for blanking on some of the questions, but he knows that he did well either way. Classes go by fast and he happily makes his way to art, eager to see the gorgeous boy he's partnered with. Seeing that he's there already, Jisung takes his seat, smiling.

"Good morning, hyung!" He says, cheerfully. Minho looks up from his phone to smile at the squirrel boy next to him.

"Hey, Ji." He responds, smiling back.

"So odd question..." Jisung asks anxiously, bouncing his leg.

"What's up?" Minho asks, placing a hand on Jisung's knee to try to help him stop shaking. Jisung turns red.

"I- Well- Mall- Friends-..." Jisung swallows hard. Minho smiles.

"Breathe, Ji, it's just me. No need to be nervous." The older encourages, making a mental note to try and help the younger with his anxiety.

Jisung takes a deep breath. "My friends and I were wondering if you'd like to go to the mall with us after we practice later." He says, shutting his eyes and breathing out, causing Minho to smile. 

"That sounds really fun, Ji. I'd love to go." Jisung immediately cheers up.

"You have to promise not to say anything to Changbin hyung. We are picking out Lix's outfit for their date tomorrow." Minho raises his right hand.

"On my honor." He says, smiling at the cute boy. The rest of class the boys spend sketching out something they fear. Jisung sketches so that Minho can't see it, but the older boy is able to get a small glance. The picture is a house. Minho is confused at this point, thinking of the possibilities. Haunted house? No... Minho focuses on his own sketch, which is a picture of a boy, sitting on a curb, all alone.