The Boy Next Door

45.

We eat and I quickly try to get away from my parents who are just a pester to Heeseung. They act more like his parents then mine! I don't mind though...

"You can sleep on the bed, I'll s-" before I can continue he throws me onto my bed and smiles while I sit in shock. 

"You sleep here." he demands while taking a pillow and walking out. This stubborn bitch.

Throughout the night I get these tingles in my head, it's gives me a sense of excitement and nervousness? 

I snap out of my vivid dream and gasp for air as soon as I see my ceilings. I look towards my window and see the rain dripping down it. Before I can even start to process it I widen my eyes and jump out of my bed. 

Oh shit. Oh shit. I totally forgot. 

Heeseung is terrified of rain, and thunder. His mom died on a rainy day so he despises them as much as he's afraid of them. I run towards the guest bedroom and see him curled up at the edge of the bed, rocking back and forth. 

"Heeseung, it's me. Chaewon." I say softly while plopping myself next to him. He shudders in terror and I can almost feel the pain rushing through his veins. 

"Heeseung, it's okay. Breath. Your okay. I'm here. You can tell me to go I'll go." I reassure him as I pat his back. 

"P-Please. S-Stay." he mutters while grabbing the sleeve of my shirt. I sit closer to him, hugging his body. 

"I'll stay for as long as you want me to. I'm not going anywhere. You don't have to be scared, your okay." I repeat while rocking back and forth with his cold body.

After a bit of silence, I feel his breathing becoming less sloppy as his whimpers do to. He is still holding onto my sleeve like he'll lose me if he lets go. 

"P-Please don't leave me... I-I'm scared you will j-just like my..." he bursts out in tears before he can continue but I already understand what he means. 

"I know. I know. But I won't. I'll be right by your side until... never mind." I say trailing off into my thoughts. Well he's going to get married. I can't... I can't stay next to him when he'll have a loving, perfect wife...

"U-Until? Until when Chae... Please..." he pleads while grabbing onto my shirt tighter. 

"Heeseung you'll have a pretty wife to do these things and I can't-" before I can continue he snaps. 

"No. I won't. I'm not going to have a pretty wife or whatever your imagining right now. If it means having you by my side, you'll be my pretty wife." he says while smirking as always. Well he's back to normal I guess.

"Oh shut up." I say while feeling my face heat up but it's dark so hopefully he can't see. I try to get up but he just pulls me down under the sheets with him. 

"What are you-" I ask before he puts his arm around me. 

"Let's just sleep. Like we used to." he says while burying his face into the crook of my neck. I have to get up. I can't sleep with him. I just...  can't. 

It's to comfortable, it should be uncomfortable but it's not. I could doze off at this rate. He's my bestfriend but I keep feeling differently. Like he's. more? 

~

We go to school, ignoring the night before, although you can definitely feel the heavy tension between us. 

I hear rumors all around school about Heeseung, and me of course, but his rumors are more interesting. They talk wonders on how he's getting married to a pretty rich girl and others talk shit about him.  

I'm not one to be nosey but I'm interested in what's going to happen with Heeseung. with me... 

Days go by and the rumors only seem to get worse, me and Heeseung still talk but it's different. He seems to have the entire world on his shoulders but he always tries to make time for me. I've started blowing him off on our hangouts cause I know there's hundreds of other things he could be doing. Not like spending useless time with me. Of course. 

"What should I get for a wedding gift? Is it bad I don't know what Heeseung likes?" I hear Jay's voice echo in my head at least three times before I snap back to reality. 

"What? Wedding gift what do you mean?" I ask abruptly, not being able to stop myself. 

"For Heeseung? His wedding? He didn't come to school today so I was guessing he was preparing for his wedding." Jay responds. 

"Oh. Right... I forgot." I say with hesitantly cause I didn't really it was this close. This close to losing someone I... love.?

"Chae, can we talk? In private I mean." Jake asks from beside me while tapping my shoulder. 

"Uhm sure." I respond confusedly, knowing we don't have much to talk about. We walk to an empty corner and jake seems extremely scared or nervous. 

"I'm just going to say it since it's obvious. I like you. Like a lot a lot. And I know you don't have feelings for me." he says before taking a deep breath. 

"Your in love with Heeseung. I know. But I just couldn't stop my feelings for you before, you know? But now, I know what's happening and I want to help. Go confess to Heeseung. Chaewon, you two are meant for each other and everyone knows it." he says. 

"Oh my god, Jake. First of all, I'm sorry. I-I knew of your feelings, but I just can't love back." I apologize while putting my head down, not daring to make eye contact with him. 

"Princess, don't apologize. Never apologize for your feelings. And I'm over it. Hey hey, I'll just date another girl, don't worry." he says, trying to make me feel better. 

"Chaewon I can see how you look at Heeseung and how your mood changed when we were talking about his wedding." Jake says while grabbing my chin so I look up at him. 

"No. You don't know that." I deny while shaking my head. 

"Chaewon trust me. Normal bestfriends don't act like this. Heeseung protects you and loves you more than anyone. If you were to go missing, Heeseung would flip the earth upside down just to find you. Your the only one he sees, Chaewon." he says, and his words definitely take up space in my head. His words echo in my head on repeat. 

"Jake that's where your wrong. He doesn't feel like that towards me. Yea he cares for me, but he's not like that. I bet you he would congratulate me if I started dating someone new." I say while rolling my eyes at Jake's absurd comments. 

"I bet $2,000 dollars if we told him we were dating he would flip. Tomorrow our friend group, at a restaurant, 8pm. for thanksgiving, since that's a good excuse." Jake says while smirking. Now this is an offer I can't pass.

"Deal. I'll give you $2,000 if he flips as you say. You pick the restaurant, text the group chat. Jake your going to be $2,000 poorer tomorrow. Happy thanksgiving eve to me!" I say cockily while raising my eyes and walking off. 

"Okay love." Jake says while chuckling and following me. 

I hope to win $2,000 tomorrow but one tiny tiny part of my brain hopes I don't. It hopes Jake's absurd theory is right, and Heeseung really is into me. 

What if he is? Do I even like him? I'm scared to lose a bestfriend either way. If I lose him I don't know what I'll do. 

~

Word count: 1300❤️❤️❤️