Forbidden Sensuality

5

Jinyoung stormed into his dorm, slamming the door behind him. He threw his bag on his bed, climbing up along with it, angrily flopping himself against the mattress. A leftover deflated happy birthday balloon got hooked on his foot, which caused him to spasm violently with anger to get it off.

"I told you to clean your birthday shit up days ago." He grumbled.

Jackson laid across from him on his own bed, brows furrowed at the younger's somewhat out of character behavior. "What's wrong with you?"

"Just… nothing man, it's not important." Jinyoung answered. He unzipped his bag, reaching in and digging around for something.

Jackson didn't buy his response since Jinyoung hardly ever told the truth about how he felt. "Seems kind of important."

"I said it's not fucking important." The younger snapped while yanking out a large textbook with paper shoved inside of it. He flipped open the book, scowling as he read through the pages.

"Alright, okay. It's not important, sorry." Jackson focused back on his phone, leaving Jinyoung alone with his anger. Though the younger never minded his business for too long.

Jinyoung let a heavy sigh pass between his lips as he looked over the information packed textbook along with the sheet of paper in his hand. None of it made sense to him, no matter how many times he's read it and reviewed it in class, nothing in that book ever lingered in his mind. "How the fuck am I supposed to remember this?"

Jackson glanced back over at him, brows raised in curiosity. "Remember what?"

Jinyoung looked up from the book, shooting a sharp glare at Jackson who always refused to keep his head out of things that didn't involve him. "Mind your damn business."

Instead of heeding Jinyoung's words, Jackson sat up, pulling himself off his bed. "Dude, are you struggling in class?"

"I never said that, mind your business." Jinyoung repeated, ignoring the elder as he approached his bed.

Jackson squinted as he walked closer, looking down at the material sat in Jinyoung's lap. He narrowed his eyes at the younger, pointing at the sheet of paper he held in his hand. "What's that paper?"

"Nothing." Jinyoung coldly responded. The last thing he wanted was to show off the sad results of his latest exam. He blamed the surprise party they had for Jackson a few days before on his grade, but it was difficult to pin all the blame on that when he'd gotten similar grades with no such distractions at all.

Jackson refused to stop pushing though, standing there staring at Jinyoung for a long moment before lunging at him. Jinyoung was caught off guard as the paper in his hand was yanked away, the elder running out of arm's reach as he read over the sheet.

"Stop! Give it back!" Jinyoung yelled, hopping off his bed to chase after him.

Jackson had already skimmed over the test though, eyes widening at the poor grade written in big red marker at the top, almost as if it was there just to mock the student. He was utterly floored by these results though, he didn't know Jinyoung was bringing back grades that bad. "Jinyoung, a 26? I swear you're one of the smartest guys I know, how the hell did you get a 26 on a test?"

"Don't reprimand me like I'm your fucking kid." The younger sneered as he gripped Jackson's arm to hold him still while snatching his exam back. He returned to his bed with angered stomps, plopping himself upon it again and shoving his failed test into his bag. "Obviously I'm not as smart as you think I am…"

Jackson clicked his tongue, shaking his head at the remark. "Come on, that's not true. Everyone has that one subject that fucks them over, for me it's math. Makes no sense."

"Yeah well good for you." Jinyoung grumbled. He truly didn't want to talk about any of it. He'd been failing for a while now, and was sure that he'd figure something out at some point. Obviously he hadn't figured things out yet, but he was still trying his hardest not to totally flunk. A 26/100 wasn't even the worst grade he's gotten.

"Jinyoung, if you need help just get a tutor."  Jackson urged as he walked over and leaned on the younger's bed. He suddenly perked up, a smile tugging at his lips as he gently nudged Jinyoung's arm. "Hey, I know you and Jaebum have the same class."

Jaebum, yeah, the guy he's been trying to avoid who also passes biology with flying colors. He hated how perfect that guy was, from his appearance to personality to brains; he was the whole package and then some. Jinyoung didn't want anything to do with him despite the way his heart skipped a beat at the sound of his name.

"So? Why do you care?" He asked in a flippant tone.

Jackson scoffed at his careless reaction. "Hello? Ask him to tutor you!"

"I don't need a goddamn tutor, I can learn it myself."

"We're halfway through the semester and you're failing. Obviously you can't."

Jinyoung clicked his tongue in annoyance, shoving Jackson away from him. "Can you get off my back? You're not my dad."

"Yeah but I'm a concerned friend." The elder retorted.

Jinyoung frowned at the word 'friend'. It felt weird between them. He's never regarded Jackson as anything more than a roommate; this was the first time they've labeled their relationship as something other than 'the annoying guy that lives with me'. "Since when did we become friends?"

"Since my birthday and you helped get me that record." Jackson replied, receiving an incredulous stare from Jinyoung. He smiled,  knowing that Jinyoung would reject him with all his might despite how obvious it was that he at least somewhat cared for others. "No one else could've known I listen to that band, you're the only person I've played their songs around the most."

"Yeah because you don't know how to keep the volume down when I'm trying to sleep…" Jinyoung mumbled, his eyes falling down to his lap to avoid Jackson's warm chocolate orbs.

"So, since you care about me at least a tiny bit, I'll do the same." Jackson continued while gently patting the younger's shoulder. "I think you should get some help."

Jinyoung sighed, still staring at his lap. He hated to admit it, and especially hated to agree with Jackson, but looking at his testing results and classwork, it was obvious that he needed a little push. The last thing he wanted was to get himself anymore involved with people than he already was,  but if his grades were already tanking, he had to rely on some tutoring as a last resort.

"I'll think about it." He ended up replying, as he hated fully committing to anything.

"Good." Jackson nodded, knowing that was the best answer he'd get. He backed away from Jinyoung's bed with a smile, obviously glad that the younger was taking his best interest in mind. "I'm gonna shower."

Jinyoung hummed, laying back on his bed, hearing the bathroom door close just minutes after.

As much as he tried to keep his mind clear, he found himself thinking about that certain classmate who had already offered to be his tutor. Just the thought of him made his heart pound hard in his chest.