☦︎︎ 𝙉𝘾𝙏 𝙊𝙉𝙀𝙎𝙃𝙊𝙏𝙎 ☦︎︎

YUMARK/ MARKHYUCK - SCHOOL DANCE

My palms feel sweaty as I hold the handwritten letter I made yesterday. I can feel my body shaking with nerves, but I try to contain it. I nervously look the halls, waiting for him to come out of his classroom.

I see him.

Nakamoto Yuta.

"There he is, Mark," says my friend Haechan as he wraps one arm around me. "Are you gonna give him that note now?"

I bite my lip and notice my heavy breathing – does Haechan notice it too?

"Umm, I don't know anymore..." I stutter, the nerves getting the best of me. "What if he rejects me?"

"Well, then he rejects you. Nothing more to it."

"But he could embarrass me in front of everyone!" I shout, turning my head towards my friend.

"I won't let that happen," Haechan responds, his hand rubbing my shoulder in encouragement. "Do you want me to do it instead?"

I grab my friend's hand and remove it off my shoulder, squeezing it once before letting go of him and smiling. "No thanks, I've got to do it myself."

Haechan nods and smiles at me, giving me a little push in the direction of Yuta. I take a deep breath before making my way across the hall, avoiding the other students walking by.

"Yuta," I say nervously as I stand next to him. He hasn't even noticed me yet.

"Yuta..." I poke his arm once and he turns to face me.

"Mark, hello," he says kindly, "What are you doing around here? None of your classes are near mine."

"Umm, I..."

Yuta looks down and notices my thumbs twiddling on the piece of paper. He points to it before asking a question.

"Is that for me?"

-

"What if he rejects me?" Mark asks me, nervous to ask his crush out to the school dance.

"Well, then he rejects you. Nothing more to it," I say nonchalantly, trying not to worry him.

"But he could embarrass me in front of everyone!"

"I won't let that happen," I say, my arm still wrapped around his shoulder. I massage him gently, trying to calm him down but I know he's still nervous. "Do you want me to do it instead?"

"No thanks, I've got to do it myself," he smiles, squeezing my hand as he walks towards his crush Nakamoto Yuta.

I watch the conversation play out from the other side of the hall. Mark becoming nervous, then Yuta smiling at him. It was nice that Mark had found someone who liked him so much. The only problem is...

I like Mark.

How am I supposed to tell him? He's had a crush on Yuta for the past 4 months and I've been his "wingman" the entire time. Plus, I'm sure he only sees me as a friend.

I try my hardest to not get jealous seeing him coo over that boy, but I don't think I can hide my feelings for too much longer. Even now, watching Yuta put his hand on Mark's shoulder to talk to him makes me jealous. My hand was just there a minute ago, and yet he only gets butterflies when it's Yuta.

Watching Yuta staring so nicely at Mark makes me sick to my stomach. What is it about Yuta that he likes so much? I can change for him. I'll do anything for Mark to just pay me a little more attention.

I've liked him for years now. We've been best friends since middle school and that's when I first started to like him. I always tried to tell him subtly, but he never got the hint. I even asked him out one valentine, but his mom said it's cute how close we two "friends" are. I've been getting increasingly impatient ever since he's had this new crush on Yuta. When will he see that I'm here for him?

-

"So, how did it go?" Haechan says with a smile as I walk back to him.

"I don't wanna talk about it..." I say, beginning to leave, "let's just go home."

"What happened?!" Haechan's concerned voice asks as he runs to catch up with me. "It looked like it was going so well."

"It was going well until he read the note," I hang my head in shame. "He said he's already got a date for the dance, and he only thinks of me as a friend."

"Yikes... the friendzone. I know that all too well."

"Not even the friendzone! He said he thought of me more like a little brother!" I shout, my hands expressing my emotions.

"The BROTHER zone?! Dude, I'm sorry. I know you liked him for so long as well."

We walk out of the school towards my house, and I've only just noticed our hands interlinked, fingers laced between one another.

"Woah," I say, looking down at our hands before holding them up, "when did we start holding hands?"

"When you were talking about Yuta."

"I didn't even notice," my voice trails off as I flop our hands back down. Haechan's thumb strokes mine gently and I can't help but feel a bit warm inside. Comfortable.

"Your hand's shaking," said Haechan, "want a glove? I've got some in my bag."

"No thanks, I'm not cold."

"Oh, then why are you shaking?"

I don't know if it's from the rejection or if maybe I've always felt this way, but Haechan is sort of pretty, don't you think? I don't know if I'm only just noticing his good looks now or if I've always noticed them and just always repressed them. But something about this setting, this situation, his hand interlinked with mine as we walk to my house after school. It makes me feel safe.

"Haechan?"

"Yes?"

"Do you maybe want to go to the dance with me?"

"As a friend?"

"As my date."

"Mark, are you serious?"

I smile at him and nod my head. "Be my date, Haechan?"

He turns to me and smiles, holding my hand tighter.

"I thought you'd never ask."