𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐛𝐨𝐲 - 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐧𝐠 ✓

.thirteen

"Hey, who wants to go swimming?" Someone shouted. A chorus of whoops and hollers rose up from the boys as they started making their way toward the lake.

Jisung looked over his shoulder at Minho, who sat plucking individual blades of grass and tying knots in them. He rolled his eyes and reached for Minho's hand. "I'll pass," the older said. Jisung groaned and flopped onto the ground next to his friend.

"You know," he said, "The guys here are all really nice. They won't make fun of you or anything, if that's what you're worried about."

Minho looked at Jisung but didn't reply. He shrugged and watched people jumping off the dock, seeing who could make the biggest splash. He realised he needed an excuse. "It's too cold, and I can't swim with this shirt. Maybe another time," he mumbled. From behind him, he heard a familiar soft voice.

"You can wear my shirt," Chan said, "I don't think it's cold at all, and I brought an extra anyway." He held out a grey t-shirt, and Minho hesitantly took it, awkwardly thanking his new friend. Jisung snorted.

He smacked Minho's shoulder and teased, "You're too scared to swim without a shirt? It's 70°, Minho baby. You're not cold. I thought you didn't care what anyone thought of you." Minho flicked his forehead and turned away to change into Chan's shirt. "There's no reason to be insecure anyway," Jisung continued, "Trust me, I've seen you without a shirt, and you're hot, and I know that for a fact. Seriously, nobody's gonna judge you, bro."

"Oh God, don't remind me. If you're dragging me down to the lake, at least let me pick one thing. I don't even want to swim, but if I have to, I'm wearing a shirt," Minho stated firmly. He turned back toward his friends who were waiting for him and felt uneasy under their gazes. Before he could ask why they looked at him so weird, they both tackled him in a hug and started cooing about how cute he looked. Minho was much smaller than Chan, so he looked tiny wearing his shirt, and Chan and Jisung both thought he looked adorable.

They dragged him down to the lake where everyone else was already having fun swimming. Chan dove off the dock first, then floated on his back in the water, waiting for Jisung and Minho. Jisung shouted as he did a cannonball, making a huge obnoxious splash.

Minho sat on the edge of the dock with his legs in the water. He looked down and hesitated. He couldn't see the bottom of the lake, nor could he see anything that was in it. He debated jumping in, but didn't have a second to think of his decision before something beneath the water grabbed his ankles and yanked him in.

Minho thrashed around, pulling away from whatever had pulled him into the lake. He punched and kicked blindly under the water, and only came up for air once his ankles were free and he landed a solid kick to whatever it was that had grabbed him.

Jisung emerged from beneath the surface of the murky water and coughed loudly. He scowled when he heard Chan laughing and then turned toward Minho, who held onto the edge of the dock, looking around frantically.

"Hey, Minho, are you okay?" Jisung held the dock with his left hand and Minho's face in his right. The elder finally stopped seeming terrified when he felt Jisung's hand on his cheek. He met the boy's eyes and sighed.

"Yeah, just... freaked out over nothing," he muttered. "I think I might be done for tonight. I'm gonna go back to the house." He pulled away from Jisung to lift himself out of the lake and onto the dock, pushing his hair out of his face and taking deep breaths.

Jisung climbed out of the water very ungracefully, falling back in twice before he managed to find his balance. "I'm gonna come with you," he said, "You seem kind of shaken up."

Minho shook his head. "I wouldn't want to take you away from your friends. Have fun, and I'll see you tomorrow."

Chan swam up to the dock and held onto its edge, asking, "Are you leaving already? You should stay for s'mores, and you can meet the rest of the guys. I'm sure they'll love you."

"Maybe another time," Minho responded with a sad smile. "Oh, um, when do you want your shirt back? I'll wash it first, obviously, but I don't know how to get it back to you. Can I get your number or something?"

With a smile, Chan shrugged. "Don't even worry about it. Keep the shirt; it looks good on you. And Jisung can give you my number. I left my phone at home," he said.

He bid Minho and Jisung goodnight as they left. Jisung jumped onto Minho's back and shouted, "Carry me!" Minho reluctantly did as he was asked, but he complained the entire time about how heavy Jisung was.