straight // taegyu

twenty four

first lunch came along, and taehyun felt a bit more uplifted than he did in the morning. he had to thank beomgyu for that. however, eric wanted to be with him. taehyun couldn't really ignore him, since they were still technically dating.

that's when he realized that eric was probably in love with him genuinely.

that smile, that little giggle, that gentle hand-hold, the gentle kiss on his forehead was all enough to convince taehyun. unless eric was a really good actor.

"eric, can i ask you something?" taehyun asked after putting a grape in eric's mouth.

"go ahead," eric nodded as he chewed, grimacing in disgust when he bit down on the seed. he took it out his mouth with a sound of disgust when he flicked it away. taehyun laughed a bit at his actions.

"well," taehyun began, "i want to know what your relationship is with oh heejun. because you're so sweet and nice and he's… not. and i know he has asked you to do things that were out of your comfort zone. if he has done anything like that, you should tell me, sweetie."

eric looked at his hands. "you found out about the dare, didn't you…?"

at least he was honest.

"i'm sorry if i hurt you, tae," eric said quickly. "thing is, i had a crush on you back when i was a sophomore and you just arrived on the school as a freshman. you were so cute. i liked you for a while — until last year, i think. but i told myself to move one because it would never happen. but then heejun remembered that i used to like you, and dared me to ask you out. i was kind of excited, and i fell in love all over again. but heejun wanted me to break up with you by friday."

taehyun looked at eric in the eye. the boy looked sad, and taehyun didn't like that. "eric, do you really like me?"

eric nodded almost immediately. "definitely. but i'm leaving soon anyways — and i know you don't have the same feelings."

taehyun hated the look in eric's eyes.

"i know you still like beomgyu," eric said softly, "and that's okay. i want you to be happy, even if it's not with me. your happiness is more important to me. i'll learn to let go. after all, i let go of you last year, i'm sure i can do it again."

taehyun smiled softly to himself. his plan of drawing eric in didn't work. instead, he got a remorseful response about the dare. he put his hand on eric's, stroking gently with his thumb. "eric, sweetie… i'm sorry. i'm sorry for falling in love with my best friend while i'm dating you. you deserve more than me. you're so handsome — you can definitely score more than me."

"i'm sorry about this all — it was a waste of time for us all," eric sighed. "you're great. you really are. love is overrated, though. i'm sure i'll get over you. if i see how happy you are with beomgyu, i'm sure i'll do fine. i had developed a little crush on someone else before we were dating, so i'll work on that."

taehyun smiled a bit wider. "good luck on that crush, then."