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It’s not easy being in love with your best friend is what Jackson Wang, gryffindor since day one, realizes. He doesn’t know why he’s surprised, why he’s shocked, he doesn’t know how this even happened but this - this is a thing now. He has officially fallen in love with his best friend. The boy with the most beautiful smile (even though he always tries to hide it when he laughs) and eye whiskers.
They have known each other since their first year. They first saw each other in the train going to Hogwarts, both wide eyed 11 years old, not believing that this was happening to them although for different reasons.
While Jinyoung’s family did have a wizard, his dad, none of his sisters had received the Hogwarts letter and everyone was expecting the same thing to happen to him, so when - on the day of his 11st birthday - they saw The Letter, you can say they were all shocked, weirdly excited and scared (in Jinyoung’s case) to say the least.
Now for Jackson, none of his parents are wizards, none of them even knew such thing actually existed - only his mom remembered a few stories her aunt would tell her during bedtime, the stories of an amazing world and school were many could learn magic with different houses for each kid and a wild and scary forest behind a beautiful magic wizard school. So, once they saw such letter, the first thing they did was: call the so called aunt as fast as possible. And now, here he is and here they are five years later.
Jackson still misses fencing and his parents constantly, although he might not want to be an Olympic Athlete like his parents anymore, while Jinyoung still wants to be an actor if possible, even after finding all about the wizard world. But the biggest difference is, Jackson Wang is in love with his best friend, Park Jinyoung.
With a deep sigh, Jackson settles down on the gryffindor table next to Jaebum, his also best friend since day one, although not the one he is (unfortunately? fortunately?) in love with.
“Okay,” Jaebum says as he starts reaching for the strawberry milk that Yugyeom has been eyeing next to him, “what is it? You’ve been sighing nonstop since yesterday night. This can’t mean anything good.”
This makes Jackson sigh even deeper, “Hyung.”
“Yeah?” Jaebum pours some strawberry milk in the cup next to him, in another one next to him and then, finally, to the one Yugyeom has been holding and pleading with his eyes.
“I think I might have a crush.” Jackson mumbles while getting the milk and cereal from the new kid beside him, avoiding the best he can Jaebum’s gaze.
Jaebum stops his now third cup of strawberry (he hasn’t drank any yet, but he still does this every morning, says it is so no one can drink everything without him getting his Needs), looks at Jackson - he doesn’t need to look at Jaebum, he knows, he can feel it - puts the strawberry milk on the table and says, “Is it the potions professor again? I told you -”
“It’s not,” Jackson flushes and stops Jaebum before he goes into that again, he knew he shouldn’t have told Jaebum he thought the new professor was kind of attractive (and just a little bit, okay), “It’s not the Potions professor.” Jackson picks a little on his bowl of cereal, he should as well admit everything, “And it might not be just a crush.”
He really has Jaebum’s full attention now, fuck. “Who is it?”
“Jinyoung.” Jackson feels his right ear, the side Jaebum is at, get even hotter now. Jaebum is not even drinking any of his strawberry milk. Jackson stuffs his mouth with the cereal while he waits for Jaebum to process the new information.
“Park Jinyoung?” Jackson nods, sighing on his bowl again, “Professor Park Jinyoung? The principal? What the fuck.”
“What? No.” He’s lucky he didn’t have any cereal on his mouth or he might have choked, “Why would you even say that? It’s Park Jinyoung. The Slytherin. 5th Year. Just like us.”
Amazingly enough, Jaebum’s gaze gets even more squinty and strong, “What?”
Jackson goes back to his cereal, here they go, “You might know him. He is in our muggles studies class. I have been his friend since our first year.”
“Yes, I know that,” Jaebum stops Jackson’s hands from getting any more cereal by holding his wrist. Maybe he shouldn’t have told Jaebum right away after all, he should’ve given it some time, “But he’s a slytherin.”
There it is. Jackson makes his eyes meet Jaebum’s for the first time in this entire conversation, “Yes, hyung, I’m aware. I’ve known that since I saw the hat announcing it and you mumbling about how slytherin sucks.”
Jaebum splutters, Jackson is so glad Yugyeom decided to leave their table in the beginning of this conversation to eat breakfast with Bambam in the hufflepuff table, “But they do! They do suck.”
“You know, I thought we were over this.” He shakes off Jaebum’s hold of his wrists and goes back to his cereal.
“Slytherins are not just a thing you get over it.” Jackson stuffs his mouth with cereal again, waiting for Jaebum to go in a rant again about how awful slytherins are, can you believe they actually won against Gryffindor in the last quidditch game? They must have cheated somehow.
He might have made a mistake by telling Jaebum compulsively.
So. Jackson has a Plan, yes, with capital P. And he calls it SPJ (Seducing Park Jinyoung), usually he has more creativity but honestly, he’s too nervous but - Listen, he has a Plan. He is going to make Jinyoung fall in love with him, okay. He is going to do it. He will do it in 3 months or else he’ll just give up on this. If nothing happens in that time, then it means there really is no chance.
They’ve been friends for five years now, Jinyoung must like him at least a little bit - he has even invited Jackson to his house in Changwon and he has gone to Jackson’s house in Hong Kong so, he must at least like Jackson, even if just as friends. Maybe it won’t be that hard.
It is that hard. Spending time with Jinyoung is not hard, he is always with Jinyoung somehow, the thing is trying to do something to impress Jinyoung. See, his plan so far has 3 steps. The first one being this: Impressing Jinyoung and making him realize how amazing Jackson is.
But he always just ends up making a fool of himself, like right now. Jackson told Jinyoung he would be able to do a split and then throw a paper ball perfectly at the trashcan beside the bench, but what happened was - while he was trying to do the split, he might have overdone himself and got himself in the infirmary. He might need to die now.
“I can’t believe you did that.” Jinyoung has been there with Jackson in the infirmary since he injured himself, Jackson told Jinyoung he could go (he didn’t want to embarrass himself further) but Jinyoung said he would stay and Jackson didn’t bother trying to change his mind because: one, he was in pain ; two, he knows how stubborn Jinyoung is.
But it always makes Jinyoung laugh so maybe it isn’t that bad after all.
The thing, thought, is that it keeps happening. He thought that the disaster while throwing a paper ball was just bad luck but, after landing on the infirmary for the fifth time, he thinks he might be cursed. First, it was paper balls and pulling a muscle on his leg. Then having his broom hitting his face while getting on it to, yes, show off to Jinyoung and breaking his nose. Slipping on a banana peel in the corridors (you are not even supposed to eat outside the dining hall) after telling Jinyoung to watch how cool and fast he can walk to class and spraining his ankle. Getting bit by not only Jaebum’s cat but Mark’s snake after saying he’s good with animals.
And, now, he was literally just hitting a orange when he choked and had an allergic reaction. He wasn’t even trying to impress Jinyoung, they were just - well, having a picnic. He thought it could be nice. He never had allergies before, he has eaten oranges before. “I think I’m cursed.”
Jinyoung snorts besides him, “It is getting quite ridiculous. I don’t think I have ever gone to infirmary so many times in such a short time.”
Jackson is cursed. Groaning he lays down further in the bed and whines, “This isn’t funny. I am dying. I could die right now. Or tomorrow.”
“They gave you some medicine and said it’s nothing serious, you’re going to be fine.” Jinyoung pats Jackson’s hand that’s laying down in the bed. Jackson feels his face heating up and covers it with his other hand while quickly glancing to Jinyoung.
He’s so handsome. And nice. Jinyoung has followed him to the infirmary every single time and he’s so close and is now touching his hand and his eyes are doing the thing, they’re - “You’re laughing at me.” Jackson whines down further, “You’re a terrible friend.”
Letting out the laugh that he was trying to hold it in, Jinyoung cleans the tears in his eyes and says, “I’m sorry, it’s just,” He takes a deep breath trying to control his laughter, “You don’t need to be doing all this, you know.”
Jackson figures it out it’s better to just ignore Jinyoung at this point. God knows what could happen if he tries to say something now. And he is embarrassed.
“Jackson,” Jinyoung sighs, “please look at me.”
Never one to back down or refuse a request like that, Jackson takes his hand out of his face and turns to Jinyoung. Might as well die with some dignity.
“I like you.”
His brain goes blank. I like you, he said. I like you, Park Jinyoung, local slytherin, his best friend, said.
“What.”
Jinyoung’s face turns an amazing shade of red, “I,” he splutters, “I didn’t mean to say that.”
Unconsciously Jackson tightens his hand on Jinyoung’s. Jinyoung is still holding his hand. And that’s when Jackson takes his back, holding it with his other glancing down, “You didn’t?”
“No,” Jinyoung screams getting up from the chair he was sitting down, “No, that’s not what I meant.” He sits down on the corner of the bed and tries to look at Jackson’s eyes, “I mean, I noticed what you were doing and,” Jinyoung gulps down, “I thought it was cute.” His ears are getting red now too.
“Are you making fun of me?” Worse than ending up in the infirmary that many times now Jackson finds out Jinyoung noticed what he was doing? He is cursed when he was born, he was going to die, he can’t be alive anymore.
“No,” Jinyoung exclaims, “I mean that, I like you. It made me happy. That you were trying to impress me when we have been friends for so many years. When I have taken you with me to my house and,” Jinyoung laughs, “Everywhere really. And you still want to,” He bites his lips, “Impress me or do something so I can like you when, well, I already do.”
“Oh,” Jackson rises up his head, this time Jinyoung is the one looking down at his own hands. Jackson reaches for one of them before saying, “Does that mean we can kiss now?”
Jinyoung holds his hand back and startles in laughter, “Of course, you would ask that.” Jinyoung rises his eyes and leans closer, Jackson clenches down on his hand and as soon as their lips are inches apart, Jackson closes his eyes.
“Yeah,” Jackson mutters as they finally kiss. Jinyoung humming into it.
“Jaebum is going to be insufferable about this.” Jackson mutters in the kiss and every pain he will got when their friends find out will be worthy it because Jinyoung just laughed in their kiss. They can kiss now. Jinyoung likes him back. Maybe he is not cursed after all.