fourth wheel | changlix

09

Operation Fourth Wheel objective one; get officially acquainted with Seo Changbin.

Done.

I can't believe that I already completed the first part so shortly after setting up the plan. It feels like yesterday that I explained everything to my best friend, just like when I freaked out in the bushes after Hyunjin got his number for me. It's crazy how the flow of time felt ever since that happened, but maybe I'm still in a daze.

Did I complete part one without making a total fool out of myself? For my standards; yes, I did pretty well. But hey, if that guy really has a thing for me like I have for him, he should be able to live with it since it's a big part of Lee Felix.

Now the time has arrived to carry on with the mission, entering operation Fourth Wheel stage two; keeping in touch with Seo Changbin and getting to know him better to see if he really is as perfect for me as I like to think he is.

In short: more dates.

Grinning lightly, I make my way through the crowded hallways, heading towards the spot I usually meet up with Hyunjin and Chaelin during lunch breaks. It's pretty hard to actually get through the mass of students that are all walking slowly, more focused on chatting with friends than on getting to the cafeteria, and they cause quite the traffic jam. Getting out of here is nearly mission impossible, so I decide to just go with the slow flow.

Suddenly, a hand lands on my shoulder, tugging me out of my zombie-like walking rhythm.

"Hey man," a vaguely familiar voice greets me rather enthusiastically, and I turn around to see one of Changbin's friends grinning at me.

"Hi... Jisung?" I hesitantly greet back, even though I'm pretty sure this him; loud and looks like a squirrel. Unmistakable.

"The one and only," he states, before his smiles disappears a little. "I mean, there is another Jisung here but you get what I mean, right?"

I just nod, not entirely sure why Han Jisung decided to talk to me in the middle of a busy hallway, creating an even bigger obstruction that slightly ticks off some students that pass by.

Jisung huffs, feigning offense when a guy shoves him away to get past him, but his smile is quick to return.

"Let's go," he announces, and before I can ask what is going on, he starts dragging me along.

Somehow, he miraculously finds his way through the crowd of students and before I know it, we end up in a quieter hallway, approaching a staircase no one really bothers to use since it leads to the most boring part of the school; the hallways were the janitors keep most of their equipment, asides from what they store in the small janitor closets scattered throughout the school building.

"So, where are we going?" I ask, frowning as we walk past bright yellow doors with signs that display brooms and buckets.

"Oh, just to a spot to eat our lunch," Jisung shrugs, letting go off me to fix his hair before he shoots me a sideways grin. "As Bin hyung's future man, you are definitely my friend now."

Not entirely sure how serious this Jisung guy should be taken, I lightly tilt my head. Is this how you make friends? Interesting. On a brighter note, he looks like someone who'd dance on a table with me. Something Chaelin and Hyunjin refuse to partake in, for obvious reasons.

"Well, hello new friend," I say, still a bit taken aback but definitely not complaining.

"I'm partly lying tho –no, not about the friend part, don't worry." Jisung grins awkwardly as he watches my confusion. "I am just dragging you to Changbin hyung and I'm going to ditch y'all so you can have a romantic high school lunch together and I promise no one is going to spy on you two because I feel guilty for spying on your library date. I'm sorry, man."

I'm starting to understand what they mean with loud, because this guy talks more than I do –scratch that, he talks more than anyone I've encountered before.

Meanwhile, Jisung happily rambles on.

"I wanted to befriend you ever since I saw you dancing the renegade on a table but Bin hyung freaked out every time I wanted to approach you so that didn't work out," he tells me, his smile turning into a light smirk. "Believe me when I tell you that he is as whipped for you as you are to him."

"R-Really?" I blurt out, hardly believing my ears. Is this what Chaelin meant with juicy secrets?

"Yes sir," the boy nods. "Man, he's going to kill me if he finds out that I told you this but he always whined about how cute you are whenever he saw you and he absolutely adores your freckles but hey, you didn't get that from me, okay?"

Again, I can do nothing but nod, a bit overwhelmed by all the new tea. But I can't help the grin that spreads over my face. He likes my freckles? Suddenly, I'm very glad to have them.

"Yo, I actually have something else to do now," Jisung mentions, eyes widening as if he just remembered something. "I told Chan hyung that Innie is waiting for him, to keep him away from Changbin, you know? Buuuut Innie isn't actually waiting for him so I have to fix that before Chan hyung finds out that I lied."

He whines softly, and adds, "Innie is going to demand two weeks worth of apple juice and strawberry milk, please feel sorry for my soon-to-be broke ass, thank you. Your man is down this hallway, seeya later, Lix."

He makes a lame hand gesture into the direction we were walking, and then he dashes off, leaving me quite a bit dumbfounded. Innie? I have no idea who he's talking about, but his words were such a waterfall and it's a lot to take in.

Loud squirrel? More like flying squirrel that got caught in a crazy whirlwind. I take a sweet moment to process what just happened, but then I grin. I'm sure we'll get along great.

And, he basically set me up on another meeting with Changbin, and I'm really grateful for that. I make a mental note to thank him later, maybe by helping him getting over his apple juice debt.

Then, before I have time to freak out and run away, I straighten my back and walk down the hallway. If Jisung set this all up, I better make it worth his efforts.

That, and I can't wait to spend a lunch break with Changbin.

——

eh, idk what this is lol

i really don't know why i keep mentioning dancing on tables and i honestly feel like i'm writing some kind of crack fic at this point but it's kinda fun to write like this so i'll keep it this way ig

you know what's even more fun than dancing on a table? dancing on a table while yelling along with thnx fr th mmrs by fall out boy, 10/10 would recommend