Bad habits; Jeongchan

Somewhere I lost a piece of me

"You know", Changbin says, watching Chan stare at Jeongin by the school gate,"you could have just told me you were pussy whipped."

Chan turns to him, raising his eyebrows. He's not pussy whipped.

"Or, you know,", Changbin corrects himself,"ass whipped, I guess."

"Fuck off", Chan says, pulling a green apple lollipop out of his pocket. He's not going to deny he's crushing hard, but is he going to risk whatever Jeongin will give him for more? Hell nah.

"Ah, give it a month, you'll be smokin' with me again", Changbin says, taking a slow drag. He's one of those people who smokes more for the aesthetic than his cravings. 

Not an addict. Not the way Chan was. is. 

He's been without a cigarette long enough that the ache has become less physical, but it's still there, omnipresent in all his motions.

Changbin starts blowing smoke rings, a crooked smile playing on his lips.

Fucking wannabe edge lord. 

"Nah man, I only just realized how expensive this shit is", Chan laughs lightly, coming back to himself a little late, but soon enough to salvage the conversation.

"Now that I'm not spending money on ciggies, I can afford more shit", he continues.

That's not exactly true, since he is saving for something else.

"Why you still dressed like that then?", Changbin asks, raising an eyebrow( practiced, like everything else he does. It's ironic, the way he carries himself to make it seem like he gives so few shits, and yet-)

(everyone's a hypocrite somehow.)

Chan flips him off, an automatic response.

"My style is fire", he sniffs.

"Did your boyfriend tell you that?", Changbin jokes, winking. 

"He's not interested in being my boyfriend, Changbin"

"I don't know man; at the very least he's interested in keeping you alive for longer."

"True", Chan laughs, finally giving in. He was never going to win banter with Changbin.

Suddenly, Changbin's face becomes a stony neutral. His body coils, winding up for something. Chan tenses, knowing who's footsteps he's hearing behind him without having to check.

There's only one person in school who could make Changbin this aggressive this quickly.

"Hey cocksuckers, y'all got a light?"

-

They're sitting on their individual balconies again, Jeongin wrapped in a blanket, Chan with a yellow lollipop in his hand.

"I can't believe you just kneed a dude in the balls today", Jeongin says, a flicker of humor in his dark eyes.

Chan shrugs.

"He insulted Changbin."

There's way, way more history behind them than that one insult, but Chan doesn't feel much like explaining that.

Jeongin laughs, pulling his sleeves down to make them even longer. There's a pause, the air around them heavy with something unsaid.

"You need to stop fighting, you know?", Jeongin says after a while.

"Mhm", Chan says, resting the back of his head against the wall.

He does, probably, but Chan doesn't want to talk about this in his only true safe space.