We Young • n.jm

11

"EVERYONE'S WEARING A LIFE VEST RIGHT?!" Chenle screams in panic as we all head over to the dock.

"Relax Chenle we all know how to-"

"-THAT'S WHAT Y'ALL SAID LAST TIME AND MARK DROWNED SO PLEASE TELL ME THAT EVERYONE HAS A DAMN LIFE VEST O-" Chenle stops mid-sentence when he feels someone ruffling his hair. He looks up to see Jisung smiling at him. "Relax 'Le. I'm sure we'll be fine this time"

"okay"

Jaemin and I spare each other a glance before we both try to hold our laughter in at the way Chenle reacts to Jisung.

"Alright! There are eight of us and four jet skis so who's pairing up with who?" Chenle asks. "Wait- do any of you know how to use a jet ski?"

The reason why we're all going to ride jet skis is to go to a near by island that has a market since we ran out of food a lot quicker than we thought and the next delivery of food to the island isn't until a week later.

Jeno, Renjun and Mark nod their heads while the rest of us except Chenle remain silent.

"Okay then Mark and Hyuck you guys go together. I'll go with Jisung. And Jeno, you'll go with y/n while Renjun rides with Jaemin"

And with Chenle's words, we all head out.

After about fifteen minutes of following Chenle, we all reach the other island and immediately look for the things that we need.

After Jeno and I find what we're looking for, we all head back to the dock only to realize that the other jet skis weren't there.

"Uh... Is it me or did they leave us behind?" I ask, trying not to panic.

"I'll try to call them" Jeno fishes out his phone, only to curse that there wasn't any signal.

"Do you remember how to get back?"

Jeno purses his lips before sighing. "You're asking for a death wish if you want me to drive us back without knowing the way" He says with a half-hearted chuckle.

I blink a bit, not really processing what he just said because I found myself staring at his eyes.

"Anyway, let's wait by the shore side. I'm sure they'll realize that we're gone and come back for us" As Jeno speaks, he grabs me by the hand and drags me off.

  ~~~~~  

"Jeno?" I ask as we sit side by side on the sand. He hums in reply.

"Why'd we only become friends now?" I turn to face him to see him staring at me a brow arched.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that we've been classmates since freshman year but you never talked to me until now"

"Well that's because you never spoke to me!" He says defensively. I furrow my brows.

"I tried talking to you before but you ignored me" Jeno pauses for a moment, as if he was trying to remember the memory.

"I'm sure that I'd remember something like that AND I wouldn't have ignored you" I roll my eyes as a bitter chuckle escapes my lips.

"Freshman year. You slipped by the edge of the pool. I helped you up and asked if you were okay. You stared at me for a few seconds before suddenly walking passed me"

Once again, Jeno's staring at me with a shocked expression although by the look on his face, I could tell that he remembered. I notice how his cheeks start to turn a little red.

"I- WELL- I JUST-" Jeno purses his lips, no longer wanting to continue what he was about to say. And since we were already on the topic, I thought that I might as well rant to him about it.

"I always thought that you hated me because you were always so nice to everyone. That's why I acted kind of distant when you first became Jaemin's friend"  As I spoke, my voice got softer and I hugged my knees to my chest, resting my chin on it.

"I really wanted to be your friend because your smile was nice"

Silence fills the air after that.

I hear Jeno release a breathy chuckle and turn my attention to him. I see him mess up his hair a bit before suddenly screaming to the ocean. The action catches me off guard since Jeno always seems so calm but I don't question it since I have the tendency to do something like that when my mind is a mess as well.

"Would you believe me if I said that I ignored you because my mind went blank?"

"Wait what?" I ask, suddenly amused by the situation.

"Okay. Don't make fun of me but-" Jeno pauses for a moment, contemplating on whether or not he should continue.

Jeno says something inaudible so I lean closer and ask him to repeat it.

"-I said I had a major crush on you before" 

"Jeno I seriously don't understand what you're saying"

"I SAID I LIKED YOU! BUT LIKE- I WAS ALSO INTIMIDATED BY YOU CAUSE YOU'RE A REALLY TOUGH GIRL AND WHEN YOU HELPED ME UP, YOUR FACE WAS SO CLOSE SO MY MIND WENT BLANK AND NOW YOUR FACE IS CLOSE AGAIN- Y/N BACK OFF A BIT"

I scoot over a bit, giving Jeno some space. I can't help but giggle at his sudden out burst.

"You've got to be kidding me?!" I say in between giggles.

"Stop! I was so cringey back then" He mutters, embarrassed by the whole situation.

"Well would you believe me if I said that I was sad cause I thought that you were cute and had a little crush on you"

At my statement, Jeno looks up, staring me with his jaw dropped. "You're kidding?"

I chuckle at his reaction before shaking my head. "Why do think Chenle and I watched every swimming competition"

"How are you so casual about this"

"Cause it was in the past! We're friends now and I think it's okay to tell you something like this"

I'm still chuckling but when I notice that Jeno's silent, I tilt my head to the side, wondering why he became like that.

"Jeno what's wrong?"

"I-"

"WE FINALLY FOUND YOU!" Our eyes go wide and Jeno and I get up, dust the sand off our clothes and turn around to see Chenle and Jaemin walking towards us.

The moment we see them, Chenle immediately wraps his arms around me, engulfing me in a warm embrace.

But my eyes are elsewhere.
For some reason, Jaemin seems kind of sad.