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Sunday afternoons could be well spent with friends and family or just by lazing around in bed, but for Jaemin and Jeno, it meant that it was time to use up their brain juice to brainstorm for ideas for their next video. “Jaem, any good ideas yet?” the older mumbled into the cushion as his body was sprawled over the long beige sofa. The younger was sitting on the floor next to the coffee table with his laptop on, scrolling through different webpages for some inspiration. Best friend tag? Done. Whisper Challenge? We’ve been there. Yoga Challenge? Fuck that. Jaemin’s eyes then landed on the very last suggestion at the end of the page. Bingo. “How does the Chapstick challenge sound, Jen?” Jeno knew about the nature of this particular challenge, he had seen tons of youtube couples do it and he found it cringey most of the time, but the thought of doing it with Jaemin made his heart beat a little bit too fast for his liking, maybe it had something to do with his long-term crush on his own best friend.
“Uh… isn’t t-that challenge for c-couples though?” Jeno was a stuttering mess and he hoped that Jaemin would just brush this unusual behaviour of his aside. On the outside, Jaemin seemed like he was calmly and rationally explaining his choice, pulling out the oh come on we’re best friends we cuddle and hold hands all the time card, but on the inside, he was just as flustered as Jeno. He didn’t know when or how it happened, but he started looking at his best friend in a different light. He wanted more than just friendly cuddles from Jeno and this challenge popped up at the right time in his favour. Jeno was unsure of this but seeing the younger look at him with those gleaming eyes of anticipation, he knew he couldn’t say no. He would do anything for the pretty boy sitting in front of him.
To say that Jeno didn’t manage to sleep a wink the night before wasn’t an overstatement. He had stayed up to edit some footage for his upcoming gaming video and it took him much longer than expected. It was already way past midnight and he was feeling all sorts of things, nervousness, anxiousness, you name it, but what had really kept him from sleeping the whole time, was the fact that he had to hide his feelings for his best friend. What if he finds out? What if he hates me for it? Get your shit together, Jeno. He’s your Best Friend, your Best Bro. He’s going to kiss you and you’re not supposed to feel anything. You can’t let him know. He tried shaking these thoughts out of his head but before his brain could stop overthinking things and let him sleep in peace, his alarm sounded. He groaned. They were going to film the video today.
That’s how they ended up sitting on Jaemin’s bed with a box of different flavoured chapsticks which Jaemin had bought off online and the camera set up in front of them. “You ready, Jen?” Jeno could only let out a small stutter of agreement. It started off with Jaemin introducing the agenda for the video and how the challenge would be carried out: Jaemin would pick a random chapstick from the box without Jeno seeing what flavour it is, apply it on his lips and Jeno would have to guess. As the brown-haired boy was nearing the end of the introduction, Jeno could feel his palms start sweating from nervousness, but he couldn’t show it and he tried his best to look calm and collected in front of the camera, to look like this whole thing wasn’t a big deal to him, but in fact, it was a huge deal.
“I’m gonna pick one, don’t look!” Jeno felt himself tense up as the pretty boy chose one and applied it onto his lips in secrecy. Jaemin looked into his eyes, signaling for him to taste his lips. He leaned in slowly, with his heartbeat quickening as he gets closer to Jaemin’s ever so enticing lips. The distance between their lips now is non-existent as Jeno closed his eyes and felt his lips gently brush against Jaemin’s. Peppermint. He pulled away and his eyes fluttered open to see the prettiest boy on earth, less than an inch away from his face and his heart might have stopped beating at the sight. “I…uh… couldn’t quite taste anything! Let me do it again.” In all honesty, he just wanted to kiss Jaemin again, so he did. “I’m guessing… peppermint?” Jeno sheepishly answered. He could get used to this.
“Close your eyes! I’m picking the next one!” Jeno obeyed and kept his eyes closed. Once Jaemin gave him the green light, he opened his eyes and leaned in for another taste of his lips. Jeno was confused for a second, then he realised something. Jeno’s late night worries had disappeared, just like magic. One peck. Two pecks. Three pecks. “I think I know what flavour this is. It’s my personal favourite.” Now, it was Jaemin’s turn to be confused. He didn’t put on any chapstick. Jeno reached for the back of Jaemin’s neck and pulled him in for another kiss. This time, it was longer, deeper, with Jaemin’s arm around Jeno’s waist and none of them wanting to pull away. After what seemed like an eternity, Jaemin pulled away first as he needed to catch his breath, only to see his best friend looking at him affectionately. “So what flavour is it, Jen?” Jeno felt blood rush to his cheeks as Jaemin brought their foreheads together. “Your lips.” That was all it took for Jaemin to capture Jeno’s lips again, until he was reminded that this entire scene was being recorded on his camera and buried his now flushed pink face in the crook of Jeno’s neck. “I guess we have a lot of footage to edit this time.” Jeno jokingly said as he pressed the “Stop” button on the camera.
They were still on Jaemin’s bed, cuddling, with Jaemin being the small spoon and Jeno playing with Jaemin’s soft brown locks. “Jaem, can I tell you something?”, Jaemin hummed in response, hoping to hear those words. “I like you, Jaem. I’ve liked you for a long time now. Na Jaemin, will you please be my boyfriend?” Jaemin’s lips curled up in immense happiness as he heard those words that he had always wanted to hear. “Lee Jeno, I would love to.” Their hands found each other’s, and so did their lips. Internally, Jaemin was thanking himself for suggesting this video idea. Who knew it could change his best friend into his boyfriend?