Friend Zoned || jj.project || DISCONTINUED

Chapter Six: Keep It Cool

Yesterday, my best friend in the whole world...

Just told me he liked me.

It felt awkward when he said it, but after I cooled down, I didn't really mind as much.

It was kind of strange, really. When Jaebum said those words, I felt as if...

I wanted him to say that?

No, that can't be right. I'm being ridiculous.

Or maybe I'm not?

I don't know. I haven't really figured any of this out yet. But for now, I got to keep it cool. I can't fall for the guy I just friend-zoned, right?

Anyway, I walked to Jaebum's house so we could walk to school together, as we had a routine of doing so.

"Hi, Jinyoung," Jaebum smiled as he opened the door.

"Hey, hyung," I replied, keeping calm and cool and collected. "Ready?"

"Yeah, just give me a second." He walked inside and returned with a backpack swung on his shoulders. "Let's go."

As we were walking to school, I felt more relaxed. It was just as if yesterday had never happened, which was quite to my liking. Sorry, but I'm not ready for these kinds of twists yet.

We walked inside the school and through the hallway, as I tripped over something and fell onto the floor.

"Oops," I heard a voice say, just hovering above me.

I looked up as I regained my balance and looked at the face the voice belonged to. "Should've known."

"I guess you should've," Jackson smirked. "You should really watch where you're going." He paused and gestured toward Jaebum. "Your little saviour isn't going to be there for you 24/7, you know."

I balled my fists. "Shut the fuck up, Jackson, if you want to keep your teeth in your mouth."

I looked towards Jaebum, who just gave me a look, signalling for me not to do anything I'd regret.

"Better watch your back, Jinyoung," Jackson said, turning away. "I'm everywhere."

I clenched my teeth as he began to walk away. "I'd hate for my fists to get wrecked by your face, but unfortunately for you, I have no regrets."

I charged at Jackson from behind and my fist met his jawline. I backed up, taking some room to breathe. Jackson touched his jaw, and looked up at me furiously.

"You'll regret this," he said, giving me a slight chill. "Lucky for you, I have someplace to be right now. But know that this isn't over."

He reset his jawline slightly and walked away.

I looked at Jaebum hyung. He had such a hurt look on his face. He'd always tried to keep me in line, but I'd let him down.

I opened my mouth to say something, but Jaebum beat me to it.

"I don't like him any more than you do," he said. "But...now you've just stooped down to his level. I expected more from you, Jinyoung."

He grabbed my backpack off the floor and handed it to me as he walked off to his class.

"Wait, hyung!" I called behind him. "Please!"

He didn't answer, nor did he turn around.

When Jaebum gets into one of his moods, I usually just give him some space and then apologize later. No big deal.

But today, things felt different. Today, when he said those things to me, it felt like he was ripping my heart out of of my chest.

But we're the same people we were yesterday, the day before, and the years before, right?

We're just friends, right?

Nothing more, right?

So I shouldn't be hurt, right?

Then why do I feel like I want to jump off a 12 story building?

Way to go, Jinyoung. Your plan was to keep it cool, and all you did was mess everything up.

Fuck feelings.

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Oof, two updates in one day! Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, even though it got a little weird.

BTW, no hate, I 💜 Jackson, in case you were wondering.

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