Road To Cloud 9

5

Inner Conflicts

   Jongseob had planned to wake up extremely early to avoid seeing Shota on the way to school, but unfortunately, his alarm had failed him. Well more like he kept on hitting snooze, when he checked the time he let out a very audible groan. However, this was the end of his complaints as he got out of bed and went to get ready for the day.

   When he was done he walked into the living room, seeing a slightly hungover Hongjoong with a couple of empty cans of beer near him. He had let out a groan of complaint when Jongseob had turned on the lights, making the younger roll his eyes.

"Just how much did you drink?" Jongseob turned up his nose in disgust from the strong alcoholic smell. "It smells like a bar in here."

"Shut uppppp." Hongjoong whined. "My head's killing me."

"Tough luck, I need a ride." Jongseob flipped his brother over on his backside.

"Just take my-" And with a lunge Hongjoong got up, clenching his stomach as he ran to the bathroom. Sounds of vomiting followed suit.

"I don't have a license, what if I get pulled over?" Jongseob replied, not surprised by his brother's immaturity. 

"Fucking fine. Just... get me some painkillers and some oatmeal." Hongjoong groaned as he emptied the rest of his stomach's contents.

"Can't believe I went to you for advice." Jongseob grumbled as he went to fulfill the older's requests.

"I can hear you!!" Hongjoong shouted.

   Jongseob had to wait a while before his brother was actually fit to drive. When he was and started driving, the younger had immediate regret. His hand was clenching the car handle, preparing for his brother's speeding to land them in an accident. The only good thing was that he wasn't late and didn't have to see Shota, but his stomach almost made him regret it.

"I think... I'm going to puke." Jongseob said as he got out of the truck and held his hand to his mouth.

"Hey! Be lucky I even drove you at all!" Hongjoong said with furrowed brows. "Make sure you talk to that kid too."

  Jongseob just shrugged his brother's words off as he hurried off to his class. Hoping he could make it there without being spotted. While he did this he saw a familiar blonde boy walking his way, doing something on his phone. He hadn't seen Jongseob yet, but something in the orange-haired boy made him stop for a bit. Unaware of it himself, he was conflicted, he didn't know if he wanted to keep Shota as a friend, or as a stranger. 

   At the last second, as Shota was looking up from his phone, Jongseob had run around the corner to hide. He sat against the wall as he waited for the blonde to pass. When he was sure he wasn't around anymore, he went to his classroom.

  Sitting in his usual seat he noticed how Shota wasn't in yet. Which caused him great relief. Wanting an excuse for when he did walk in, Jongseob plugged in his earbuds and listened to music with his head down. Maybe the loud music blasting in his ears would calm the splitting of his mind and heart. 

  Class went on like it normally did before Shota came into Jongseob's life, well almost. Of course, Jongseob was keeping the blonde on the other side of his stone wall. When class was actually going on he would act like he couldn't hear him, that all his attention was on the chalkboard in front of him. During breaks, Jongseob would quickly get up and hide in the bathroom until the next class.

   When school was finally over, Jongseob was completely tired and dejected. He ended up eating lunch in the bathroom because Shota kept looking for him, just the mere thought that he went that low made his shoulders slump. He let out a sigh, as he came up from under the stairwell, which was where he was hiding yet again from the blonde.

"Wow, you're really good at hiding." A voice said which made the boy jump and back into a wall. Looking to see who it was, it was somebody Jongseob didn't recognize. Their dark brown hair not being a distinguishing factor. 

Jongseob's face of confusion was just enough for the dark brown-haired student to start speaking again. "If I remember, there's something happening under the bridge right now." He said with an innocent puppy dog face as he grabbed a red lollipop from his white jacket's pocket.

"The bridge?..." Jongseob questioned, wondering why on earth this guy told him that.

"Hmmm, who was the one that said it? Jeong... Ji...?" The boy with the red lollipop said in a questioning tone as he rocked back and forth on his heels. 

Ji.... Ji Jaeyong! Jongseob remembered what happened at lunch yesterday and how he threatened Shota. But wait, it wasn't his responsibility, they weren't friends. But then Hongjoong calling Shota a "Good Kid" flashed in his mind and the next thing he knew, he was running.

"... He sure is interesting." The boy that was still by the stairwell said as he twirled the lollipop in his hand. "I don't remember him being a student though... oh well. I'm sure he'll teach that Ji punk a lesson."

-

   As Jongseob was running to the location he was told, he was trying to reason with himself. Trying to talk himself out of it but also trying to get him to continue running. It was too late to turn away though, there was no stopping his body from running, it was like it was in a one-way mode. Focused on only what he was going to do when he got there.

"Hongjoong is never going to let me live this down once he hears about it." Jongseob sighed as he felt his body start to grow tired but a quick flash of adrenaline when he saw Shota and Jaeyoung made that tiredness go away.

  Just as someone was going to grab Shota from behind, Jongseob instinctually punched them in the face, making them stumble back. Now, it was positive, a quiet life for Jongseob was out of the question.