UP FOR A DANCE? ; junhao

01 ; possibly spiked punch

"up for a dance?" a voice asked in perfect mandarin which, left minghao in a pit of confusion.

his eyes lose focus of the crowd in front of him; a tight group of pre-teens dancing either freely or quite awkwardly with one another, either laughing with friends or sharing a strange atmosphere with the guy or girl they shyly accepted to go to the dance with.

minghao glanced up at the boy, who had been offering a friendly smile and a welcoming aura. minghao doesn't understand why his face suddenly felt like an australian summer's day or as to how his stomach twisted in nervousness but he managed to ignore it. minghao was new to the school by a few months with a weak understanding of korean and had to a minimum of no friends what-so-ever (besides a year 8 called yixing who would sometimes sit with minghao after finding him alone and looking sad).

minghao was sure surprised to hear his native language being spoken to him out of his home but was relieved too. he continued to just look at the taller boy, forgetting that, of course, he had to reply.

the other laughed awkwardly and fixed up his blazer. "sorry, i just-i saw you standing here all by yourself and thought you wanted some company...? if not i can-"

minghao was quick to cut him off, exclaiming, "no! sorry, i just didn't expect anyone to come up to me, speaking in mandarin too"

both minghao and that boy laugh together.

"uh yes. i'd love to dance with you" minghao added on, putting on a grin that he hadn't worn in a long time.

they soon join the crowd minghao had been pitifully watching for the past half an hour and danced with one another. the energetic pop songs blasted throughout the gym and minghao managed to just get lost in the music and in the boy's beautiful brown eyes.

he was very handsome, minghao noted. especially in the neon lights and dark room.

they danced to every song after that moment and once the tempo slowed and the texture thinned to just the vocals and piano, minghao suddenly knew what was going to happen. junhui didn't seem fazed at all and confidently guided minghao's arms to loop around his neck with his own hands gripping the shorter's hips lightly.

junhui would continue to smile cheerily at minghao who had probably gone a very deep shade of red.

"is this okay?" he asked, swaying to the song which minghao easily followed.

"yeah. yes, it's perfect" minghao chuckled a little hesitantly, not wanting to make eye contact at that moment.

moving to a new country and learning the language was definitely hard but minghao thought that this little gesture just made this whole experience a little bit better. he hadn't had so much fun in months and minghao was certainly grateful to this boy for giving him one of the best night of his life.

[SEVEN YEARS LATER]

"has someone asked you out yet?"

"no"

"same"

both minghao and jihoon sighed and slumped in their seats. jihoon lazily took a sip from his iced matcha latte. well, what was left of it which was now ice and water. minghao had been frowning for the past few minutes of the two sitting and thinking of probably going alone to their winter formal that would be held that weekend.

"we should just go together, no?" jihoon finally spoke but minghao shook his head.

"that's our completely last resort. i wanna at least try to get a date first"