Peculiar You •• Namjin AU

8 : Preparations

"So uh," Yoongi starts, looking confused. He'd just been haphazardly made the leader of their booth. "Just throw those pillows to the floor." He gestures to the room, the tables randomly arranged on the barren floor.

Mark sheepishly raises his hand from the his place beside Yoongi. "Shouldn't we sweep the floor first?"

"Oh shit right," He mumbles, scratching his head. "Do that." He commands again, not entirely motivated himself.

His classmates briefly share a look, some of them picking up the brooms from behind the door and some standing back to get out of the way.

Yoongi leans back on the chalkboard, running a hand through his hair impatiently.

The festivals in their school weren't usually this fuzzy, but since Jin wanted to add some pizzazz to their normally mundane school year, everybody's competing.

He supposes some people would like to participate, for the sake of a good competition, but he's content with just standing around doing nothing.

But now he's the class leader. Great.

There's a knock on the door before Yoongi can think about swearing. Jimin comes in with a wary smile, lingering on the doorway.

"Excuse me..." He mutters, bowing his head to Yoongi.

"Ah, Jimin." Yoongi says, feigning excitement as he spreads his arms wide, sarcastically waiting for a hug. "Would you care to help us?"

Jimin walks inside the room, frowning at him. "I'd be glad to." He says, walking past Yoongi who shrugs.

"Great. One more person on the team."

"You haven't put up the streamers and stuff yet?" Jimin asks, taking in how the room remained devoid of decorations despite the deadline nearing.

Yoongi pauses, raising a brow. "We have those?"

"Yes."

"Well, shit." He mutters, clapping his hands to get everyone's attention. "Alright so change of plans..."

Everyone in the class groans, putting away the brooms.

★

Namjoon sighs as he picks up the hose and plops it on the aquarium to fill it with water, he watches the water rise up slowly as he sits back on the grassy plain with a groan.

Meanwhile, Jin practices his lines for the opening ceremony, dramatically twirling and jumping around as he does.

They're at the back of the school, a secluded area where the old storage shed for the school is located.

Namjoon usually spent his earlier years here lounging with friends or listening to music to relax.

But for now, he's currently waiting for an aquarium to fill up with water.

And he is very stressed.

"Jin do they really need an aquarium?" Namjoon mutters, "Seems like too much of a stretch to me."

"I think it's a pretty creative stretch." Jin replies, eyes still glued to his script.

"We're using up our budget."

The complaint from him is enough to pull Jin away from his lines, "Using it up?" Jin says skipping to his side jovially, "I, for one, think we're managing the money pretty good."

"You bought an aquarium and a giant elephant stuff toy." Namjoon lists down, "And don't forget the equipment you lent Taehyung for their booth."

"It's all for the sake of the festival." Jin states, seeing nothing wrong with using what they've got to make the event good. "Plus an exhibit about aquatic animals won't make any sense without aquariums."

Namjoon huffs out a laugh when Jin joins him on the ground, sitting close. "And what do we do with it after the festival?"

"Decoration for the lounge?" Jin shrugs, grinning. "Or let one of the students keep it at home."

"Guess we'll keep it." Namjoon says, tapping his foot irately.

"Aw, so you like fishies?"

"They're not high maintenance pets." Namjoon mutters as he keeps the hose in place when the tank begins to fill.

Jin smiles, watching the water nearly reach the brim. "It's full Joonie."

Namjoon reaches behind him to wind the tap closed, sighing as he stands up.

"So, how do you plan to haul this up three flights of stairs?" He asks, looking down at a sheepish looking Jin.

Jin laughs, pushing his cheeks to look cute. "Whoops, I haven't thought about that."

"I can drown you in that tank right now."

"But you won't, right?" Jin asks, voice sweet and happy.

Namjoon stares at him blankly, before turning away and stalking towards the old shed. "I won't. I'll just pour the water all over you."

"There's other ways to get me wet, Namjoon."

"President."

"Right, right. I'll help you."

★

They find a dusty scissor lift from inside of the old storage room.

"Cool." Jin muses as he pokes the chipping paint, "Does it still work?"

Namjoon replies with a nonchalant hum, oiling the nuts and bolts so they'll move smoothly. "I dunno. Worth a try."

Jin hums, leaning his chin on Namjoon's shoulder as he worked. "So you're like a fix-it guy too, huh?"

Namjoon ignores the weight on his shoulder in favor of testing the locomotions. "I guess."

"But you're also a god of destruction--"

"Jin don't--"

"--You're the best of both worlds!" Jin exclaims, wrapping an arm around his neck.

Namjoon pretends to choke at his hold, "Let me do my job Jin."

"You can do it just fine with me latched unto you." Jin says, his smile unwavering.

Namjoon's about to concede with his point when he's startled by a knock on the metal door.

They both look up to see a smirking Taehyung holding a bag of costume props.

"Did I disturb something?"

"Ye--"

"No."