Lover Next Door

Chapter 13

Night

I'm still pretty annoyed at Jaehyun. What made him think it was okay for him to just grab me mid conversation?? With Taeyong too!

I'm in the middle of doing homework. I cant even concentrate, all I can think about is Taeyong. Damn I should've asked for his number, I want to talk to him some more.

Suddenly, my phone rings

*Yuta added *********** to drinking besties🍻🥂*

Who could that be?

Jiyoung
who'd you add without my permission🤨🤨

Yuta
im supposed to ask you for permission? whatever happened to trust..?☹️

Jiyoung
trust between us🙄not outsiders

Johnny
she's just saying that cuz she made the group chat💀

Mina
answer the question who did you add

Yuta
taeyong damn...

Oh my gosh, my wish was heard

Taeyong
hello👋

Jiyoung
welcome taeyong🤝

Miyeon
hmm wonder where yujin could be🤔

Yujin
shut the hell up

Yujin
hey taeyong:)

Taeyong
hi yujin:)

He's so awkward but cute. I look and see I got a private message from Yuta

you're welcome😉

whatever...

Not gonna lie, I owe Yuta. Without him I would've never come across Taeyong on my own. Even though it's only been a few days, there's just something intriguing about him...

I get another text, from Jaehyun

let's go out

it's night time?

i'm hungry

get yourself some food

i want you to come with me:(

hmm idk i'm kinda mad at you

please:(

Should I go? I'm not sure, I still feel a bit upset

you technically owe me

for..?

the bet, you lost

I immediately remember the night of the party, the lie we made up to Johnny. Whoever spoke up to first owes the other lunch, I spoke to him first.

thats for lunch

i'll accept it for dinner:)

He's something else...

fine
give me a few minutes

thx cutie
i'll wait downstairs😎

"cutie"
He's an actual dork

We walked to a small restaurant a few blocks down and ate there. It's been a while since we've gone out and shared a meal together. Usually we'll order in and stay at either mine or his place. It was nice out and the restaurant wasn't too busy. We ate and talked, catching up with our lives.
After we eat he convinces me to go walk around the nearby park.

"Thanks for coming with me" He says
"I owed you I guess" I roll my eyes sarcastically
"Hey you made that rule"
"Only cause you told Johnny we made a bet"
He smiles, I'm glad he finds it amusing

"Why did you want to go out? We normally stay in" I ask
"Just cause"
I look at him, I admire how he's almost always this calm and collected person. It has to be something very serious for him to feel a sort of negative emotion from what I've seen before.

"So, how's your boyfriend"
"Boyfriend?" Who is he talking about?
"What's his name? Taeyong?
"Taeyong's not my boyfriend idiot. He's just a friend"
"He might as well be from the way you kept staring at him earlier today"

I stop walking, he realizes I'm no longer next to him and stops to face me.

"What?" He walks towards me
"I was staring at him?"
"You did, you were practically drooling over him right in front of his face"
"No" I say in denial, that's literally embarrassing
"You were practically close to kissing him right then and there" he adds on
"No! Stop!" My eyes widen

His serious face then changes to him bursting into laughs, I look at him confused while still feeling flustered about what he said

"You should've seen your face oh my gosh" he continues laughing over his little joke
"What are you talking about?"
"I was joking with you, partially" he says after calming down
"Partially?"
"I mean you were looking at him in a certain way, a good way you could say"
"Not in a creepy way right?"
"No, why does it matter?"

I don't say anything, I don't like to admit to Jaehyun about my crushes cause then I worry he'll tell them about it, he did once when we were 12 and I wanted to beat him up so badly after my crush at the time rejected me.

"You like him" he scoffs
"Who said that?" I can feel myself getting defensive
"It's so obvious"
"You better not tell him" I use my most serious tone, I can't let him do anything
"Or what?" Sometimes I forget he
never gets scared or intimidated by me
"Or I'll tell your mom about the money you stole from her that one time"
"It was to go play at the arcade and you came with me"
"I'm begging you, don't say anything to him or to anyone please, you're the only person that knows" I confess
"I'm not gonna say anything" he rolls his eyes

"But what's so good about him anyway?"
I look at him, why is he suddenly wanting to know about Taeyong?
"What are you talking about?"
"Yeah, you're getting all worked up about a guy you just met, what's so special about him?"
"He's nice" I always feel myself blushing when it comes to him
"Anyone can be nice"
"Why are you being like this?" I get a bit irritated
"Like what?"
"You don't even know him and you already want to talk badly about him"
"I'm not talking badly, just being realistic"
"Realistic my ass"

We walk around the park a little more, not really saying much to each other.
Night time, I can't express how much I love it.

"It's funny how I used to be so scared of the dark and now it's one of my favorite things in the world" I say while looking up at the dark sky
"You're finally growing up" he jokes around
I click my tongue, his sarcasm is obnoxious
"I'm kidding, I love it too" he looks up as well

"Jaehyun did you ever think we would still be friends to this day" I ask
"Hm, I figured at one point you'd get tired of me"
"Me? really?"
He nods
"I figured you'd get tired of me"
"I'd never get tired of you, I like being with you"
We both smile at each other

Jaehyun' POV

I love being around you, I love the thought of you, I love you

Can you love me back?

♡