The 1 Rule - haobin

happiness

"There's no way that you actually passed" Ricky says, who is already waiting outside of my exam classroom

"What do you mean?! I feel confident about it" I say, leaning against a locker in front of the classroom

"Dude, you finished 20 minutes before the end of the exam. Tell me how you could pass a maths test, out of all the people in there"

"Maybe because I actually studied. And anyways, you finished your English test like 30 minutes before it ended, so I wouldn't speak if I were you" I say. Ricky rolls his eyes

"Whatever. Anyways, why are we here? Let's go get some food"

"You can go. I'm waiting for someone" I respond and Ricky looks at me with quizzical eyes

"Cho?"

"Nah. She's in another building"

"Alright then. Go ahead and abandon your best friend" Ricky says dramatically and walks away.

I laugh to myself and tap my foot on the ground, waiting for Hao to walk out of his classroom. Surely then, ten minutes later, I see the boy walking out of the room, face expressionless

"Hao!" I call out. The boy turns around and I run up to him. I give him a warm smile, and he curtly returns it

"How did it go?" I ask. Hao looks at me

"Good. Better than I expected," He says. I smile and nod

"That's good" I say, and Hao hums beside me. We start to walk down the stairs, and I feel thankful for his presence

"How did you do?" I hear Hao say. I shrug

"Pretty good. Better than I expected" I say, and Hao laughs

"I guess I'm a pretty good teacher" he says, and I laugh as well

"I guess you are," I say. Hao brushes his shoulder against mine, and a smile to myself. Silence overcomes us, as we walk in a slow pace through the empty hallways, classrooms still filled with students taking their exams.

"Are you ticklish?" I ask. Hao snorts, catching me by surprise. Now, that's something I've never heard come out of him before. I like it... it's funny

"What's with the sudden question?" Hao says, a smile still displayed like art on his face.

"Dunno. So, are you?"

"Depends. Some people suck at tickling" He says, and I hum. Silence again.

"How about the ribs?" I ask. Hao looks at me, eyes opening wide

"What-" Hao starts, but I already start ticking him at the side of his stomach, making him yelp. He seems to want to say something, but his laughs cover it up. He covers his stomach with his own arms, but I manage to still tickle him. I hear the unstoppable laugh of Hao, making me laugh intensely as well, a grin playing at my lips.

"Stop- stop it-" Hao says, yelping in laughter, swatting my arms away and starting to run. I catch up to him, grabbing him by the waist and pulling him against the wall. Hao laughs unstoppably, trying to run away, but I have him trapped.

"Kids! There are exams going on!" A shout erupts from the hallway, a teacher walking out of her classroom. I stop tickling Hao, look at him, and take him by the hand

"What kind of behaviour is this?!" The woman shouts out. I bow down to her and start running, dragging Hao along with me, who is still in fits of laughter, half out of breath, half about to pass out.

As we round the exit to the building, we slow down

"You- you got us - in trouble" Hao says, out of breath. I shrug

"School ends in one week. They can't do anything about it now" I say. Hao nods, and we step out into the warm outside

"What was that even for though?" Hao says between breaths, little laughs still escaping from his mouth

"I wanted to hear your laugh," I say. Hao looks at me, ears red. I look back at him, embarrassed.

"Not my smile?"

"That too"

I let it escape from my mouth. It's always with him, I let out my true thoughts, the true feelings. It all feels so true. It all feels real. And it feels different.

"Thanks Hanbin" Hao says after a few moments of silence

"For what?" I ask, confused

"For bringing some real happiness into my life"

"It does feel different, doesn't it?" I reply, almost formed as a whisper

"Yeah. It really does"

♡♡♡

Short chapterr (kinda a filler chapter). I couldn't concentrate in studying so I was like why not write something down. Now I got to rll hurry up because I have so many things to do for tmr. I'm so excited for break

ALSO, Stray kids are having a cb???!!! One day before Zb1????!!!! I swear I was abt to pass out after finding out. 

Anyways, I'll go study rn and hope that you guys like the chapter

(stream 'heartbeat' by 2PM) <-- a classic fr fr

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