Mystic Messenger High School! AU - Peaceful - Saeran x Reader

Car Journey

The walk to the car was... awkward, to say the least. Saeran refused to look at or talk to me. I was still a few paces behind him, but it seemed he didn't notice. It was like he was off in his own little world, like he was barely even here at all.

He's not the most... stable person. I'm not either, honestly. Look at me, criticizing him for zoning out when I do it on a daily basis! I wonder what's got him acting so strange. His mood swings seem to be more prominent today. This probably isn't the best idea... Getting into a car with him, I mean. At least I have Luciel. If something goes wrong, he can help. He's tru-

My thoughts are cut off when I bump into Saeran, who has stopped in front of the front door of the school so he can open it. He stiffens, his hand frozen on the handle.

"I am SO sorry. I'm really clumsy, I was just thinking and I didn't realize you stopped and... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hit you."

He just nods absentmindedly, staring at his hand on the door handle. He pushes down, opening the door and holding it for me.

That's nice of him, I guess. He has SOME common courtesy, at least. Wait, don't be an asshole. Saeran's gone through a lot. He must have. I wonder if he'll ever tell me what's up with him. I want to help him. That's what friends are for, right?

I hear a small groan from Saeran. "There he is."

I look up to see Seven waving enthusiastically while leaning against a silver sports car.

Wow. Did not expect Seven to have such a nice car. He seemed like more of a minivan type, like a soccer mom or something.

We make our way towards him, Saeran still refusing to look up from the ground.

"Heya, Saeyoung."

"(Y/n)!" He pulls me into a hug. I hear Saeran take a sharp breath.

What's up with him?

"How you been? It's been a while."

Seven pulls away from me and backs up. I hear a faint sigh behind me. 

Strange...

"I've been alright. It's weird not seeing you at lunch every day." He nervously looks at Saeran, who is currently observing a tree on the far side of the parking lot. He's pretending to not care about our conversation, yet I can feel he's hanging on to every word. So can Seven. He's not stupid. He's choosing his words carefully as to not piss off his brother. "I... uh... WE miss you at the RFA. You aren't on the messenger much anymore."

"Yeah, I miss you guys too. Sorry. I'm always working on the project. It's really important to me." I glance at Saeran, noticing his triumphant smirk. I doubt he smirks when he usually looks at trees. 

"I get that." The glance doesn't go unnoticed, but not by who it was directed to. There's an awkward silence.

"So, uh... Ready to go?" 

Saeran is now crouched on the ground, watching an ant slowly make its way across the concrete. He nods in response, standing. 

"Yeah." I look back to Seven's car.

Saeran opened the door to the backseat and made himself at home there. He closed the door.

"You can ride shotgun, (Y/n)." Saeyoung lowers his voice as to not alert his brother. "He doesn't want to sit next to me, so he sits in the back."

I nod in understanding. "Alright." I open the door and climb in, buckling my seatbelt and awkwardly sitting upright in the leather seat of the car.

Seven climbs in after I do, securing himself and starting up the engine.

The car ride commences. There's only awkward silence.

Well. So far this is... awkward. That's to be expected, I guess. They hate each other and it's my fault they're even IN this situation. I wouldn't be surprised if both Saeyoung and Saeran were pissed at me for this. If only I was doing better in class... I wouldn't have to be working on a project with Saeran in the first place. I probably would have done the project later with someone else in my English class, maybe an acquaintance. I never would have met Saeran. Huh. Sounds... weird. Now that I know him, I can't imagine life without him. I hope this visit isn't that awkward. At least we have the project as an excuse for that. Speaking of awkward... Maybe I should say something.

"Nice car." Good going. Fucking nailed it.

"Oh, uh, thanks. It's my pride and joy." Saeyoung lets out a short, strained laugh. "Bought it myself."

My eyes widen and I turn my head to look at him. "Whoa! Wait, seriously? Holy shit! Where the hell did you get the money?"

"Been saving up. I've been making a little money doing some freelance work in my free time." We stop at a red light and he rubs the back of his neck. 

"Oh, that's cool. You must be really good."

He laughs. "I mean, I wouldn't go THAT far..."

Silence again.

I give up and just look out the window. Saeran is sitting behind me and I can see through my peripheral vision he's mirroring my position. He hasn't said a word the entire car ride.

Seven doesn't seem to hate Saeran as much as Saeran hates him. I wonder what he's done to make him like this. It's a real mystery. I wonder if there's anything I can do to help them. They're my friends, after all. I don't want any of my friends to be mad at each other, even if it's a sibling rivalry that's been going on for Lord knows how long.

After a while, even my thoughts grow silent. I listen to the hum of the engine and stare at the trees and houses passing by in a blur. It's strangely soothing, in a way. I stare out through the windshield and realize I have no clue where the hell we are.

Shit. How am I supposed to get home? I sure as hell can't walk. We're at least a ten minute drive from school now, and we aren't even there yet! Plus, it's the time of the year where it gets dark early. Hell, the sun's ALREADY starting to set and it's only 3:45! Well, first off, calm down. Secondly, the sun is just barely starting to set. It's still high in the sky. You'll be alright.

The entire rest of the car ride was spent in silence. It was hard thinking without worrying anxiously about what Hyun warned a couple days ago. What if it comes true? 

I'm thinking about all the ways this can go wrong when I hear Saeyoung clear his throat. I notice we've stopped moving.

"We're here."