Respiration

6

Jinyoung exited class, that red convertible right where Jackson had promised to meet him with the man himself again leaning on its hood. The two immediately locked eyes, with Jackson breaking into a grin while Jinyoung looked down at the ground.

He felt nervous walking up to the car, as in his hand he held a bag full of pastries from the on campus cafe as a gift of thanks to Jackson for his kindness. He had no idea what Jackson liked when buying them, so he sort of just bought a variety of everything. Of course he was the shy type, so giving Jackson his appreciation surprise would need a boost of courage that he didn't exactly have at the moment.

"Jackson, you really don't have to do this..." Jinyoung stated as he approached, still feeling quite burdensome despite Jackson insisting on giving him rides to and from school.

"I want to Jinyoung. Get in the car." Jackson urged, lifting himself off the hood to walk around to the driver seat.

"I appreciate your generosity..." Jinyoung mumbled, shuffling over to the passenger side.

"I just like helping people." Jackson replied cheerily.

"You really don't have to do any of this." Jinyoung repeated for the nth time now, though Jackson was a hard one to argue with.

"I know my rights Jinyoung, it's a free country. I have the choice to do this if I want to." Jackson stated, obviously not taking no for an answer.

"Right..." Jinyoung sighed. He always had a hard time dealing with people like Jackson. He wasn't exactly the abrasive type, but that's who he'd have to be if he really wanted Jackson to actually listen.

Yet it was like Jackson was wearing earplugs, completely ignoring what Jinyoung has repeatedly told him. He started the car, looking over at Jinyoung expectantly. "So, where you wanna go today?"

"Where?" Jinyoung repeated. Jackson wanted to spend time with him again, he could only wonder why. Jinyoung knew he was quite boring, so what Jackson found interesting about him, he couldn't begin to guess.

"Yeah. We went to the cafe yesterday, wanna go back there? Or find somewhere else to go?" Jackson asked, pulling out of his parking space to be on their way.

"I was... actually planning on just going home..." Jinyoung replied, looking down at his lap as he said so. He felt a little bad considering how excited Jackson seemed to be to hang out, but Jinyoung really just wasn't comfortable with all that yet. He needed some time to warm up to new people.

Jackson reacted as Jinyoung expected, his bright smile faltering a bit, now being forced to stay present on his face. "Oh well... that's alright too. Would you like me to drop you straight home then? You sure you don't want to stop anywhere?"

"I'm fine Jackson." Jinyoung stated, wondering why he was such a generous guy in the first place. It honestly made no sense as to why he was being treated so well by Jackson, especially since Jinyoung hadn't even been half as kind as Jackson's been so far. "Exactly what are you doing?"

Jackson's brows furrowed together, taking his eyes briefly off the road to glance at Jinyoung. "What do you mean? I'm driving."

"No I mean, why are you helping me so much? willing to pick me up from my place and drop me off, buying me food. What is this all about?" Jinyoung asked, the question maybe coming off a bit too harsh. He definitely had a tone problem, and he cringed every time he couldn't control the aggressiveness of a sentence.

"Nothing. Just being nice." Jackson replied with a shrug.

Jinyoung didn't know exactly what kind of response he was expecting, but what he got was quite underwhelming. No one is usually nice just to be nice. There's usually a motive or something behind it. That's what confused him the most, there was no motivation for Jackson to treat him so kindly, which was why Jinyoung didn't feel like he deserved any of it.

The rest of the car ride was pretty quiet aside from the music Jackson played, which was a bit weird since Jinyoung only knew the talkative side of him. He didn't complain though, deciding not to interrupt the silence until he got back to his place. Jackson pulled up in front of Jinyoung's apartment building, setting the car in park and turning towards Jinyoung wearing a small smile. No matter what it seemed that Jackson's mood could never be completely dampened.

Jinyoung took one glance at Jackson's face and decided that now had to be the time to give him the pastries he'd bought earlier. They were probably sticky and a bit squished, but Jinyoung hoped that Jackson was the type to see the thought behind it rather than the actual appearance of the baked goods. He lifted the plastic bag out of his lap and thrusted it towards Jackson, the latter's eyes widening as he was nearly smacked in the face with it.

"Th-This is for helping me out... from the day we met up til now... thanks." Jinyoung felt his cheeks burning hot as he spoke, his eyes focused on the cement outside of the car rather than watching Jackson's reaction.

The bag was taken from his hand, being replaced with Jackson's warm fingers wrapping around his own. "Aw, this is so sweet of you! I don't even know what to say..."

"I-It's fine. Don't say anything just... I didn't know what you liked so um... I j-just kinda got everything... anyway I gotta get going." Jinyoung nearly died trying to get out of there. He could barely even look at Jackson, and he knew he was embarrassing himself more the longer he talked.

Though when Jinyoung opened the car door and tried to pull his hand away from Jackson's, the other only gripped him tighter, slightly pulling him back. "It's totally fine, I'll eat every single one of them just because you thought of me when buying them. I really appreciate it, thank you."

Jinyoung internally cursed as he knew he was now colored red, and the way Jackson's eyes examined his entire face confirmed that he indeed looked like a tomato. "N-No problem..."

Jackson chuckled, finally releasing Jinyoung's hand so he could leave. He watched as Jinyoung gathered his things,  fumbling around with them like a fool. "Hey. Should I walk you to your place? Not because I don't think you can do it yourself, but... just because I wanna walk with you..."

Jinyoung was just getting out of the car, closing the passenger door. He wiped his clammy hands on his jeans, trying not to look as nervous and embarrassing as he already did. Jackson already had this much of an effect on him, spending any longer with the man may really end up killing Jinyoung. "Ah, um... m-maybe next time, I've got a lot of work to get started on..."

Jackson nodded, setting the car back in drive. "Yeah... okay sure, maybe next time. So, I'll see you in the morning when I come pick you up.

Jinyoung furrowed his brows, not aware of Jackson's plans to come back in the morning until now. "You're coming again?"

"I planned on it." Jackson replied.

Jinyoung shook his head, he couldn't let Jackson keep doing this. He felt bad enough already for burdening him so much, he didn't want it to continue. "Jackson, no, I feel bad about you wasting time and gas on me..."

"I don't. Remember, my car, my rules." Jackson referenced back to earlier that morning, flashing that bright smile again.

Jinyoung shook his head, waving away the offer. "No, Jackson don't come, I can get to school by myself."

"I know you can but... I just wanna try helping you out, y'know?" Jackson stated with a shrug.

Jinyoung was sure he didn't need any help, and having Jackson constantly worry about him was flattering, but unnecessary at the same time. He'd thanked Jackson and repaid him already, Jinyoung didn't want to be in his debt any longer. "I'm perfectly capable of doing it myself. Please don't come, I tolerated it this morning but I can't keep letting you do this."

Jackson was a fighter though, continuing to try and argue. But before he could even offer a rebuttal, Jinyoung slapped him with an "I have to go. See you around." then spun on his heels and walked away. He felt it was only right to reject Jackson's help so he was no longer a burden on his shoulders, yet every time he did so, he felt worse and worse about it. Especially when he'd glance back and see those large puppy eyes watching him walk away.

--------------------------------------

(*My writing is pretty bad on this story so far i dunno what's going on oof.*)