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“So, in conclusion, if you vote for me again, as your student class president I would always be on your side and I would work hard to make you happy and satisfied!” Taeyong finished his speech, deeply bowing to his peers, a big smile plastered on his face. Jaehyun rolled his eyes. The crowd clapped and cheered loudly.
Taeyong had this election in the bag, like he did every year, unfortunately. For some reason, people seemed to love him. Jaehyun heard all sorts of nice things thrown around the classrooms and hallways about Taeyong – from how “amazing” he looked to the kind way he treated people and how good his cooking skills were – he heard it all!
Taking a look at the stage again, he noticed Taeyong was still up there, helping some guys take everything down, even after all his opponents had already left. The worst thing – he did it all with a genuine smile on his face! Jaehyun didn’t think there was anyone more annoying than Taeyong. Next to him, Doyoung scoffed. They looked at each other and rolled their eyes at the same time.
“Did you hear this shit?” Doyoung asked, a look of disbelief on his face.
“I know, he’s the worst!” Jaehyun cleverly added, rolling his eyes one more time for the emphasis.
The crowd began to clear up, so Jaehyun and Doyoung left their seats and started walking towards the exit, both going in the same direction since they had chemistry together next period. As they were nearing the stage, they saw Taeyong coming down from it, smiling brightly once he spotted them. “I’m so glad you guys came!”
Walking right past him without even sparing him a glance, Jaehyun coldly said “This was mandatory,” and Doyoung quickly added “Don’t flatter yourself!”
Not staying to see the look on Taeyong’s face, the two of them left the auditorium, high fiving each other subtly. Jaehyun turned to look at Doyoung, who looked exactly how Jaehyun felt, a smug smile adorning his face. Jaehyun’s stomach flipped and he tried to embrace the feeling, like he promised his brother he would, and not suppress it like he did in the past. It was a bit difficult when Doyoung didn’t like him back.
“We’re gonna be late, come on!” Doyoung exclaimed and started walking towards the lab, taking Jaehyun’s hand in the process. This wasn’t something they normally did, since neither of them really liked skinship, although Jaehyun thought he could definitely get used to this. He hoped that his hand wasn’t clammy like he thought it was and that his heart wasn’t as loud as he felt it in his chest.
Doyoung probably noticed him staring at their clasped hands, since he cleared his throat and said “We’ll be faster like this,” shaking their joined hands to clarify what he was talking about. “You don’t wanna be late, right?”
Jaehyun shook his head, holding tighter onto Doyoung’s hand.
Doyoung nodded approvingly. “Me neither. That’s why I took your hand, so that we would move faster.”
“But wasn’t it also because you wanted to hold it?” Jaehyun asked hopefully, knowing Doyoung would probably just dismiss it as teasing.
“Don’t be ridiculous, it was purely out of effectiveness,” he scoffed, quickening his pace, but still not letting go of Jaehyun’s hand. For the rest of their way to the lab, Jaehyun tried to hide a pleased look from his face.
"He totally likes you, bro!" Jaehyun's brother exclaimed, before finishing half of his crisps in one go.
"You got fever again?" Jaehyun asked, not too worried about it. His brother often got fever, since he had a lot of heat in his body, but snacks always seemed to help him bring it down.
Xiao Jun only nodded, seemingly already feeling better. "Stop trying to avoid the subject!"
"What subject?" Jaehyun's other brother, Chenle, asked, as he stepped into the room.
"Jun is being overdramatic like always. Doyoung held my hand today in school and this fool thinks that means he likes me."
Chenle gave Jaehyun a confused look. "That's exactly what it means. You're the fool, not Jun," he said matter-of-factly.
Xiao Jun high fived him and then proceeded to wrestle him on Jaehyun's bed. Usually, he would probably be able to knock Chenle down, because even though he was weaker than their younger brother, he was way more skilled.
Now, though, his body was probably still fragile from the fever, so their goofing soon became a mess of screaming, laughing and leg kicking. Jaehyun had to put an end to it. He threw a pillow at his obnoxious brothers, yelling at them "Get out, you're annoying!"
A temporary truce was made between them and they soon attacked Jaehyun, all three of them crying with laughter by the time their mom came to tell them to shut the fuck up.
It wasn’t a secret that Jaehyun hated Taeyong. He hated the guy from the moment he first laid eyes on him in freshman year. From the first day, he was nothing but nice to everyone, always ready to help and listen to anyone that had something to say.
The way he just assumed the role of a leader was appalling to Jaehyun, and he wasn’t the only one who felt that way. Maybe he should thank Taeyong, actually. Not that he would ever do that, he would literally rather die, but he did play a crucial role in Doyoung's and his friendship. If it wasn’t for their shared hatred for the guy, they probably never would’ve become friends. It was that hatred that brought them close.
The thing about Jaehyun and Doyoung – they were both really competitive. They both thought they were the smartest and generally better than everyone else. So, naturally, when they started high school, they both wanted to run for the student class president.
Of course, they didn’t know each other yet then, and they wouldn’t until the election day, when they both placed second, with equal amount of votes, but still bellow Taeyong. Taeyong, whose results were never seen before in their school, because nobody ever won by that much.
On that day, Jaehyun swore Taeyong will be his archenemy, Doyoung fervently agreed and the two cheered to that with their green tea later that day, in a diner that would soon become their spot.
“I’m not going, and neither are you! I don’t even know why we’re still talking about this!”
Jaehyun should’ve known someone as petty as Doyoung would have a problem with seeing a bigger picture when it came to going to Taeyong’s party. It took him an embarrassing amount of time to get it himself when Xiao Jun first suggested it.
“Just listen!” Jaehyun raised his voice, slowly running out of patience. Doyoung reluctantly stopped talking and took a sip of his tea instead.
“We’ve never been to one of his parties, so we don’t know how he is when he’s drunk. What if he’s a really bad drunk?” Jaehyun exclaimed loudly and then took a look around to see if anyone of importance heard them. Doyoung gave him a disapproving look.
“What if,” Jaehyun started in a slightly quieter tone, otherwise unbothered by Doyoung’s obvious distaste, “We get him super drunk and he spills some secrets? He must have some dirt on him, for fuck’s sake!”
The waitress muttered something mean to him in passing, probably annoyed that he kept hitting the table loudly, even after being told not to a few times already.
“Okay, first of all, calm the fuck down! I’m not getting kicked out of here again because of you.”
Jaehyun lowered his head in an attempt to look like he felt guilty about that. He didn’t, but Doyoung was easier to deal with when he thought he was right.
“But, yeah, we do need some blackmail material on him. Maybe going to this party is the right thing to do.”
Jaehyun smiled wickedly. What he wanted, he got. Also, having an evil genius for a brother certainly helped.
Doyoung rolled his eyes. “Don’t look so smug, I’m sure this was Jun’s idea. He’s the smart twin, after all.”
Before Jaehyun had time to protest, Doyoung quickly added “Except for the fever thing, that’s the stupidest shit anyone’s ever said.”
Jaehyun gaped in shock. “It is not! He just has a lot of heat in his body, so naturally, he needs snacks to…”
“Stop talking!”
Once they were outside, Jaehyun pretended he was cold so that Doyoung would give him his jacket.
“Are you warm now?” Doyoung asked, still trying to fix the jacket on him, his hands staying around Jaehyun’s shoulders for longer than necessary. He nodded, feeling content.
When Doyoung was done, he looked at Jaehyun fondly. “You look funny, it looks weird on you,” he chuckled.
Jaehyun looked up and batted his long eyelashes innocently at him “But I still look good?”
Doyoung quickly looked away and mumbled something that sounded a lot like “yeah”. Jaehyun counted that as a victory.
Feeling particularly bold tonight, he took Doyoung's hand in his, holding it tightly. “You’re gonna get cold, now that you’re not wearing a jacket. This way, you’ll be warm.”
Doyoung didn’t say anything, which meant he didn’t protest and Jaehyun swore he felt Doyoung squeeze his hand for a second. “Also, I wanted to hold your hand.”
He felt Doyoung stiffen for a moment, before he continued to walk as if nothing had happened. Jaehyun felt a wave of disappointment wash over him, until he heard Doyoung clear his throat “Yeah, me too.”
“You too, what?” Jaehyun asked, just because he was annoying by nature and didn’t know when to stop.
Doyoung tried to free his hand from Jaehyun’s hold, but didn’t quite manage, which led Jaehyun to believe he wasn’t really trying that hard.
“You’re the worst” he said, not able to hide the laughter from his voice. “Let’s just go home.”
The night of the party, Jaehyun felt nervous. Xiao Jun’s plan seemed stupid to him all of a sudden. The whole thing was based on the premise that they will get Taeyong drunk, but the more he thought about it, the surer he was Taeyong didn’t even drink. Or, at least not enough to embarrass himself and disclose important information. He just didn’t seem like the type.
Even worse, and this is something Jaehyun will never admit out loud, not even to himself, deep down, he thought Taeyong maybe really was exactly how he presented himself. No dark secrets, no ulterior motives, just a genuinely good person. Jaehyun shuddered at the thought.
“So, what are you gonna wear tonight?” Chenle asked, barging into his room without knocking, like he always did.
Jaehyun groaned loudly, throwing himself on the bed, getting lost in the sea of rejected clothes. “I don’t know!” he whined, looking dejected. Then, he lifted his head and gave his younger brother a stink-eye. “And didn’t I tell you to knock?” he demanded.
Chenle pouted. “But, Jun never knocks!” he protested. “And he’s literally always here, I’m surprised he’s not here now, to be hon- ”.
His annoying grumbling was interrupted when a cheerful looking Xiao Jun entered Jaehyun’s room, carrying two tubs of ice cream with him.
“Ice cream for my favourite sibling!” he exclaimed happily. When he noticed Chenle, his face fell and Jaehyun facepalmed.
Before Chenle could get away, Xiao Jun attacked him with a hug. “No, no, no, please don’t go, I was just joking. Honestly, we always say that, but it’s just a joke.”
Jaehyun decided to join in and try to actually salvage the situation, since Xiao Jun was clearly incompetent.
“Lele, you’re the cutest person in the world, literally. One can only aspire to be as cute as you.”
Chenle was still trapped in Xiao Jun’s embrace, but he wasn’t resisting as much anymore. Progress, but he was not quite there yet. Jaehyun clearly needed to take drastic measures. “You can have my ice cream.”
“Thank you,” Chenle said cheerfully, grabbing the tub from his brother’s hand, acting like nothing had happened. The little devil.
“So,” he started, mouth full of Jaehyun’s green tea ice cream, “Let’s make this night your bitch!”
“Don’t ever say that again!” Jaehyun winced, cringing at his baby brother’s words.
“You’re like twelve,” Xiao Jun added.
“You guys are the worst!”
Jaehyun’s phone buzzed and when he checked it, expecting to see a message from Doyoung, another name was on the screen. He frowned.
from: arch enemy
I heard you and Doyoung are coming tonight
Oh god! Should he even answer him? Their arrival was supposed to be a surprise, how does the word travel so quickly?
“Guys, Taeyong just texted me!” he informed his brothers of the news.
Xiao Jun perked up at that, pushing Chenle out of the way to get to Jaehyun. “What did he say?”
Jaehyun showed him his phone. Xiao Jun looked deep in thought for a few seconds. “Okay, type ‘Yeah, why do you ask?’”
Jaehyun gave him a look. “That’s the best you can come up with?”
From the desk chair, Chenle yawned loudly “Just do as he says, he’s a genius at these things.”
“I know we keep saying that, but is it actually true?” Jaehyun asked, suddenly questioning everything. Knowing he won’t come up with anything better, he sighed and, once again, did exactly what his twin brother told him to do.
to: arch enemy
Yeah, why do you ask?
The reply came in after a few minutes.
from: arch enemy
Is your brother coming?
Jaehyun stared at the message, still not entirely sure what it meant. Why was his sworn enemy asking about his brother? Did they have any business together? Or, and Jaehyun didn’t even want to think about it, was he interested in him? Jaehyun snorted at the thought. Well, Taeyong was out of luck, for once, because Xiao Jun disliked him almost as much as Jaehyun did.
“Listen to this, Taeyong is asking about you,” he said to his twin brother casually, certainly not expecting a reaction he soon got. Xiao Jun jumped on him, almost pushing him off the bed, all in an attempt to grab Jaehyun’s phone as soon as possible.
“Give me that!” he said, scratching Jaehyun’s hand in the process. Jaehyun and Chenle shared a look. “Oh, boy.”
Taeyong’s house was smaller than Jaehyun expected. It was nice, though. Cozy. There weren’t a lot of people there and Jaehyun started wondering why they were even invited to this small gathering.
“Do you think Taeyong invited us to his party so that he could hook up with your brother?” Doyoung asked next to him.
“Probably, yeah.”
Jaehyun wasn’t as upset about the whole thing as he thought he would be. Sure, Xiao Jun betrayed him and lied to him, but he thought that if his brother didn’t like Doyoung, Jaehyun would probably do the same thing.
Trying to keep that mindset, he adverted his eyes from the two who were currently flirting on Taeyong’s ugly sofa.
“So, I’m guessing the plan is cancelled now?” Doyoung asked, probably already knowing the answer to that himself.
“Yeah, I think I’m gonna hit pause on the whole ‘trying to sabotage Taeyong’s life’ thing. Seems kinda excessive now that he’s probably gonna end up dating my brother.” Jaehyun winced at his own words. This will definitely take some getting used to.
Doyoung hummed knowingly. Then, he turned around to look at him. “Wanna get out of here?”
This time, when Doyoung took Jaehyun’s hand in his, there were no excuses and justifications, just his warm touch setting Jaehyun’s heart on fire.
“Let’s go!”
Later that night, Chenle was getting impatient waiting for his siblings to get home. Still, he couldn’t go to sleep without hearing all about the party, so, when they finally got back, he demanded they told him everything. After listening to their pathetic retellings of the night, he almost threw up in his mouth, but managed to control himself – he didn’t want to have to clean it up, in case anything spilled on Jaehyun’s bed. He was too tired for that now.
“So, both of you have boyfriends now? Yet another thing you have in common, that you can bond over and not include me in!” he practically screamed, not caring about the time or that his siblings were frantically shushing him.
He stormed out of the room, immediately taking his phone and dialling his best friend’s number. It took almost a minute for him to pick up.
“Lele, what is it, did something happen?”
The call must’ve woken him up, his voice was still groggy from sleep. Chenle thought that was objectively cute.
“Jisung, we need to find me a boyfriend!”