The Car Crash Club • Monsta X

xvi.

Hyungwon was genuinely surprised to find his phone ringing - another call from Jooheon - when he got home. He'd thought that Jooheon would assume that Hyungwon was just being a weird freak who couldn't socialize and give him some space, but apparently not.

"Yeah?" Hyungwon said, clenching the phone between his ear and his shoulder as he twisted his key in the lock. Their house was old, and the only way to get the door open was to twist the key to the right, pull up on the door handle, and then flick the key to the left while using your shoulder to force the door inward. He almost fell into the house, catching himself on his second step, and he removed the key, slipping it into his pocket before closing and locking the door behind himself. Then he turned to face the dark house.

It was only at this point that he realized that he could have just ignored Jooheon's call, and why hadn't he?

"Hey, you didn't seem so good earlier," Jooheon said, and there was something about his tone that was just a shade off from usual. Like he was being more cautious, and Hyungwon didn't like that but he couldn't blame him.

"Sorry," Hyungwon apologized automatically, not really looking to deliver an explanation. He set the to-go box down on the counter. It was weird; he'd been hungry earlier, but his appetite had completely vanished when the waitress had looked at him. Now, though, he was starting to feel hungry again, so maybe he'd be able to eat again soon. "I'm fine, though," he added after a second.

"Okay," Jooheon said, still using that voice like he was handling Hyungwon with kid gloves. "Hey," he said abruptly, his tone losing that wary edge and sounding more like his normal carefree self. "What are you doing tonight?"

Hyungwon blinked. That was the absolute last thing he had expected to hear. "I was planning on watching a movie," Hyungwon said, spotting the television remote on the couch where he'd left it earlier.

He was just reaching for it to turn on the television when Jooheon asked, "Cool, can I join you?"

Hyungwon's hand closed around the remote, and he froze. It took him a full five seconds to shake off that moment of panic, turning on the television and clearing his throat. "I didn't mean that I was going out to a theater, I'm just watching something at home. So..."

"I know," Jooheon said. "Can I come over and watch it with you?"

"It's getting late," Hyungwon said, looking to the clock for any possible excuse. "And the movie might be long, so-"

"That's fine," Jooheon said, and Hyungwon sighed in relief, leaning against the couch and thinking that Jooheon had given up. "I could just stay the night then," he suggested, and Hyungwon's eyes flicked open.

"What?"

"A sleepover," Jooheon cheered.

"Wait, I don't-"

"Should I bring anything? Snacks, drinks? I've got some killer games, too. What type of console do you have?"

Hyungwon's mouth opened and closed as he tried to figure out how to respond to Jooheon in a way that would shut down the idea and not completely terminate their friendship. Finally, he just sighed. "Maybe some drinks? All I have is water. And...Xbox."

"Xbox?" Jooheon groaned, and Hyungwon couldn't quite quash the small smile that lit up his face at the sound. "I suck at Xbox."

"As if," Hyungwon said, rolling his eyes. "You always beat me."

There was an odd beat of silence that had Hyungwon going back over his words and trying to find what had been wrong. "I don't think we've played before, have we?" Jooheon said after a moment, and Hyungwon frowned, trying to square up the seemingly disparate facts. "Maybe you're thinking of someone else?"

"Yeah, I guess you're right, we haven't," Hyungwon said after failing to come up with an answer for himself. "Just a feeling then. I'm not very good."

"Perfect," Jooheon said, and just like that, the odd moment passed. "I'm not good on Xbox, but it sounds like I at least stand a chance against you. I'll be there in half an hour, okay?"

"Fine," Hyungwon said, flopping down onto the couch and extending his elbows over the armrest, still holding his phone up to his ear. "But if you're late, I'm not letting you in." Hyungwon didn't know where the sudden burst of confidence came from, but it felt unfamiliar, not in a bad way.

"So first you don't want me to come over at all and now you want me to get there faster?" Jooheon chuckled. "Fine, I'll do my best. But you'd better not lock me out."

"We'll see," Hyungwon said with a smirk.

--

"Twenty-nine minutes," Jooheon said, breathing heavily as he followed Hyungwon into the house after shutting the door behind himself.

"That was close," Hyungwon commented as he leaned against the counter, giving time for Jooheon to set the drinks down and catch his breath.

"Well, I needed to pick out the right pajamas," Jooheon said as he opened up the grocery bag to reveal a few cans of different sodas and some bags of chips and popcorn. "A sleepover is a big deal in the fashion world, you know. You don't want to make a wrong move."

"If you say so," Hyungwon said with a shrug. He'd never been much of a sleepover person. Even before the accident, he hadn't had any close friends that he could remember. "Well? Do you want the official tour?" he asked, feeling like it was something he should offer as the host, especially since Jooheon was planning on staying the night.

"Let's do it," Jooheon agreed, looking up at Hyungwon with a smile.

"Well, obviously, this is the kitchen," Hyungwon said, pointing a finger up in the air and moving it in a circle to gesture to the space around them.

"I'm familiar," Jooheon said with a slight laugh.

Hyungwon's lips tilted up at the corners before he exited the kitchen, Jooheon close behind. "Living room," he said, pointing to his right. He looked over to his left; there was the bar counter attached to the kitchen, and behind it was a small room that was nearly bare save a neat shelf just above eye level from the kitchen. Three urns rested on the shelf, and Hyungwon swallowed before waving towards them. "My family."

Jooheon's eyebrows pinched together before he gave a soft bow of his head in respect.

Hyungwon swallowed once more, trying to clear the heavy feelings from his frame. He was being social, just like how his therapist had told him. He could do this. He could interact with someone and not let the accident crush his existence, not tonight, at least.

He headed deeper into the house up a half-flight of stairs and into a narrow hallway. Bedrooms lined either side; Mi-Yeon's, the first on the left; his parents, the door on the right. "My room," Hyungwon said as they came to the second door on the left, which he'd left ajar. He didn't linger long, only pointed at the last door on the right. "Bathroom." He turned to face Jooheon, who was peeking into his room but looked back at Hyungwon when he saw him turn out of his peripherals. "Well, that's the tour." He didn't know what to say next, so he just edged past Jooheon and headed back to the living room. He took a seat on the couch, and Jooheon sat on the floor with his back against the couch for support. They picked out a game to play and, as expected, Jooheon beat Hyungwon consistently.

Hyungwon got up some time later to grab some of the snacks Jooheon had placed in the kitchen, and Hyungwon had just grabbed a bag of chips and a soda when he looked up and froze. There were only two urns where there should have been three.

But then he blinked, and everything was as it should be. He was shaken, but he chalked up the illusion to dehydration and returned to Jooheon.

--updated 06/04/20 (mm/dd/yy)--

also i will be shifting over to weekly updates soon since i'm almost up to the part where i've written a bunch ahead - any particular day that y'all would like? wednesdays are "slipping father" and thursdays are"shooting the moon" updates, so any other weekday!