Step by Step [TO1 ROMEYOU 1]

CHAPTER 7

      Donggeon was the first one to take care of Jerome the moment he screamed out of pain. His over-motivation caused him to be less careful and injure his ankle, while trying out certain moves he had seen Jeyou doing. Jerome sat down on the floor with Donggeon caressing his shoulder and thigh, while Mr. Lee tried to take a further look at his twisted ankle.

»Don't worry, it's fine.« Donggeon pushed himself in front of Jerome's face, so he couldn't see his injury.

»Donggeon~« Jerome whined out of pain with teary eyes. At this moment, he was happy to have Donggeon, who took great care of him. They spoke with each other only once before, but it felt like they were already friends forever. The way he made sure Jerome couldn't see his ankle and probably whine even more and tried to distract him from his pain made Jerome feel comfortable and protected around him.

»Thank you...« Jerome tried to smile and wiped his tears away with his shirt.

Jeyou was standing at the end of the room, since he rushed back immediately after hearing Jerome's scream, only to see Donggeon's and Jerome's interaction. Even Chihoon and Woonggi were kneeling next to Jerome, surprised by their behavior. Jerome didn't care about his friends trying to take care of him as well. The only thing he had in mind was the black-haired boy in front of him.
Jeyou couldn't stand this situation any longer - his chest began to feel unexpectedly squeezed. He ran over to Jerome and pushed Donggeon away with a fake smile. »I'll take care of him. Thanks.« he said, before Donggeon could complain. Jeyou immediately noticed Jerome's smile slowly fading and his eyes following Donggeon, who now took a few steps back.
Why are you so obsessed with him?!

»We need to take him to the infirmary.« Mr. Lee said while trying to calm the other students standing around.

»Who's strong enough to carry Jerome to the infirmary?« Mr. Lee sounded very serious, despite being funny usually. It was the first time the students have seen him this committed, since he was the type of teacher to joke around a lot. At Mr. Lee's question, all students immediately looked at Donggeon, who was known for his great physical. Jeyou clenched his fists as he moved away from Jerome for Donggeon to get him on his back and piggyback him to the room, which was only a few hallways away. Jeyou would've been able to carry Jerome easily as well.
Woonggi, Chihoon and Jeyou automatically followed both of them to the infirmary room, but after Jerome was put on the bed, all of them were sent out by the nurse. They stood in front of the door silently, probably worrying about Jerome and hoping him to get better.

Woonggi crossed his arms in front of his chest as he approached Jeyou to stop only a few inches away from his face.
»Thanks for. taking care. of. our friend.« He said ironically and slowly word by word, which provoked Jeyou at an instant.

»He said he wanted to continue by himself! What was I supposed to do?!« Jeyou answered, almost grabbing Woonggi's shoulders.

»OK guys! Stop it.« Chihoon squeezed himself between both of them and separated them by pushing Woonggi back to the wall. Jeyou only looked down at the floor with disappointed, teary eyes. He turned around without a word and started leaving the hallway.

»HA! Coward!« Woonggi jumped out behind Chihoon's back to scream the words. But it didn't affect Jeyou anymore. He knew he should've stayed with Jerome. And he knew his chest was hurting constantly, since he saw Jerome's behavior towards Donggeon. It was way too annoying. If he just would've stayed with Jerome, or would've taken him with him, all of this wouldn't have happened. But he still couldn't explain Jerome's obsession with Donggeon.

***

Jerome slowly opened his eyes after a knock could be heard at the door. He occupied a bed at the infirmary, since he wasn't allowed to walk for the next days. After the nurse took care of the ankle, Jerome fell asleep right away to get rid of the pain.

»Y-yes?« Jerome rubbed his sleepy and swollen eyes, while trying to sit up in the bed. The door opened silently, and he sincerely hoped it to be Donggeon. He brushed through his hair with his fingers to look less pitiful and sick. A brown haired guy appeared from behind the door.

»Jeyou!« Jerome smiled and opened his arms for a hug into Jeyou's direction, knowing he wouldn't get one anyway. As Jeyou approached his bed with fast steps, Jerome noticed a plastic bag in his hands.

»I didn't exactly know what you like...so I just got everything.« Jeyou placed the bag next to Jerome, which contained a lot of different snacks. Jeyou knew it wasn't the best way to apologize for leaving him alone, but at least it had a relieving effect on his chest. This way, he wanted to show how much he actually cared for Jerome.

»Oh my god! Hyung, really? That's for me?« He immediately opened the bag to look through the food with a bright smile. Jeyou sat down on a chair next to the bed and observed Jerome going crazy over some kind of candy like a little child.

»Let's share!« Jerome shoved a candy bar into Jeyou's mouth and started munching on another one. He seemed more hyperactive than usual, probably due to the pain. Jeyou on the other hand was less smiley, because of his occupied mind. It just hurt him too much, seeing Donggeon treating Jerome like his friend...his best friend... like a boyfriend, even. And Jerome's look in his eyes every time he sees Donggeon... Jeyou didn't want to imagine it.

»How bad is it?« Jeyou wanted to distract himself, and of course he was genuinely interested in Jerome's condition.

»It's not bad but...too sweet for my taste... I liked this one better... and this one!« Jerome started to review the snacks laying all around him.

»I meant your ankle!« Jeyou looked dumbfounded at first, but couldn't resist smiling.

»Oh!« He laughed. »The pain is worse than the actual condition. I would be able to participate in a few days again...« He said while staring at his blanket. Probably, he felt the pain crawling up his body as soon as he started talking about it. Jeyou took notice of it and tried to change the topic.

»Great! I am happy, it isn't that bad... Did you try the potato chips yet?« Jeyou handed him a bag of chips, which was abandoned at the edge of the bed. Jerome took it with a smile and started opening it.

»I will not leave you by yourself anymore, look at you...« Jeyou said quietly. More as if he accidentally said it out loud while thinking. Jerome looked up to meet Jeyou's eyes, which looked as if he was in pain.

»You hopefully don't think it's your fault, right?« Jerome said with a sad tone, and placed his hand on top of Jeyou's, which was resting at the edge of the bed. He just smiled bitterly and looked at the floor, trying to avoid answering the question.

»Alright!« He suddenly stood up, throwing Jerome's hand aside. »Make sure to rest properly and stay away from other people.« Jeyou caught Jerome's eyes and realized what he just said.

»What-?« Jerome's question sounded rather as if he wanted Jeyou to repeat what he said, since he didn't hear it clearly.

»I said, rest and don't let other people disturb you, alright?« Jeyou said with a smile. »I can't continue the duo project without you, you know?« He added as he felt the need to justify his weird and clingy actions lately. He knew he was a mess and over-reacted a lot these days. It was just a matter of time until this would stop.