Slow Down - Jaywon

2: 'Avoid vaping'

"Thank you so much, man," Jake said, bringing Jay into a half hug the moment he presented Jake with the vape he had left behind. His face lit up with relief when he caught the vibrant red that he knew all too well. And just the moment after Jay handed it to him, he stared at the object before clutching it into his fist.

"Is it yours?" Jay asked him, raising his eyebrows with skepticism.

"Nah," Jake had answered, then tucked the vape into his sweatpants pocket right after. "Heeseung let me borrow it for a while, so I really didn't want to lose it. Again, thank you, Jay."

Sunghoon had his arms folded and an expression of expectation on his face. He waited impatiently for Jake to say something to him, preferably an apology for incessantly bothering him earlier. He knocked on the wall beside the doorway and Jake's head turned quickly. "Are you going to say anything to me, y'know, because you insisted that I was the one who left it behind?"

Jake shook his head in regard to his own actions before taking Sunghoon's hand into a familiar greeting the three of them shared. "Yeah, my bad. I was stressed out. I don't what I would've done if I had lost it to be honest."

Sunghoon murmured, "And Jay said you weren't an addict."

Jake's shoulders raised and drew taut in defense, the look on his face like he was about to justify his actions to the utmost fullest in retaliation to Sunghoon's comment. "I'm not," he started, his tone rigid and firm to sell the affirmation. "Like I said before, it's Heeseung's. We barely know each other so I'd pretty much be fucked if I lost a strangers vape."

"Why would he even lend you his vape if you guys aren't friends. Aren't vapes like prized possessions? Also--Let us inside. We shouldn't be having conversations like this in the middle of the dorm halls might I make clear," Sunghoon gritted, his jaw tightening in frustration.

Jake was risking himself to get caught, and at this university, money could not buy you out of any situation. By Sunghoon and Jay now being involved in the situation (Heeseung, too), they would be questioned, the vape would be confiscated, and Jake would find himself in a rough situation with a stranger.

Jake stepped aside instantly, pushing the door open with the tips of his fingers to let them in. He gave the hallways a quick scan to assess the possible camera locations before turning back into the dorm and closing the door behind him. "You guys want to try it?" Jake offered, holding up the vape after taking it from out of his pocket.

"A nicotine transfer that you, and some stranger--and possibly people I don't know--put your mouths on. No. Also, I'm refraining from any nic use until I have a mental decline," Sunghoon stated, being the only sensible one in the room when it came to the words he used. "But Jay might need to take a hit, after all he's been through with that exchange student of his."

Jay gave Sunghoon a pointed look and exhaled a deep breath through his nose, calming his sporadic frustration before it flared up again at the mention.

He did not want his roommate to be the topic of every conversation he had today; that only made it worse. But Jungwon had only been there for a few hours and had his name attached to everything Jay did. That was getting under his skin.

"No, I don't," Jay denied, the emotions obvious in his voice. He was an open book--but an audiobook. No one had to read Jay to see or understand how he felt, he had his heart on his sleeve.

"What happened? I wanna know. You can't tell Sunghoon and not tell me, that's like...breaking brocode," Jake chastised as he shook his head in acute disapproval. For a minute, Jay had wished Jake had actually lost the vape to see what would happen to him.