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"And number twenty-three, Lee Jeno makes a swift pass to teammate Jung Jaehyun! Jung's going for it and... score!"
There's an eruption of excited cheers and shouts right after. “Yes, folks, with the regional championship nearing away, it’s clear that NeoZone did not come to play today!” the announcer shouts, only causing the crowd to go wild once more.
Well, except for Lee Taeyong, who instead winces while harshly clutching his ears to avoid his eardrums from being blown up any further.
When navigating the chaotic halls and student life here at NCT High, there are a few events and places Lee Taeyong likes to avoid at all costs. First, there's the dreaded freshman hallway on the first floor to the right with that awful putrid smell of sweat and smelly gym socks for starters (and the gym isn't even near that hallway to begin with!) Speaking of the gym, after a disastrous gym class freshman year, Taeyong avoids that place at all cost as there's danger at every corner thanks to frustrated underclassmen taking their anger out on dodgeballs and anyone standing in their way.
He also avoids the science hallway as well, infamously known as 'WrestleScienceMania' thanks to biology teacher Mr. Kibum and physics teacher Mr. Choi, whose married-like bickering often ends up having a wide audience. Taeyong still remembers last year in advanced biology. After going on an extended hiatus during the first semester, Mr. Choi abruptly entered Mr. Kibum’s classroom on his first day back, expecting a warm reunion. However, Mr. Kibum instead frowned and asked, “Why did you wear that raggy-ass sweater? Why didn’t you change beforehand?” leaving Mr. Choi and the entire class in shock before eventually hugging him anyway.
It's also important that you avoid Dean Shindong and his rude comments at all costs unless you feel like punching that man in the face because Taeyong certainly does.
What else... Oh! Do you know about homecoming, prom, those shindigs? Then you should note that anything that involves social interaction means Taeyong won't make an appearance; don't expect him to show up cause he won't.
He's like a ninja; you'll never see him there!
With that being said, you're probably wondering why Taeyong is in the gymnasium in the middle of an ongoing basketball game amongst many rowdy students that are elbowed against him right now, two of the things he usually tends to avoid.
Well, Taeyong made a promise to someone that he'd try to show up and show his support for the NCT High's basketball team NeoZone although he doesn't know an ounce of basketball or what to do at a basketball game. Earlier, he accidentally cheered when the opposing team scored a basket against the team that earned him a few glares from the students sitting nearby.
It would've been less of an embarrassment for Taeyong to show up to a social gathering in the school gymnasium with a friend rather than being alone. Still, with Taeil needing to proofread his twenty-something paged report for his writing class, Ten just choosing to skip school today in general and Doyoung currently in student body president mode at the commentator's booth announcing on the other side of the gym, he didn't have many options. With everyone showing off their school spirit in their school colors, Taeyong meanwhile sticks out like a sore thumb with his platinum hair and bright blue polo in a sea full of putrid neon green and black.
So here he is now: completely going against all of his morals this one time just to keep the end of his promise to someone.
Taeyong doesn't even know who's on the team other than recognizing Doyoung's boyfriend running around the court like a lost child trying to find his mom in an oversized grocery store and Johnny Suh, who's been in a few of his classes in the past few years. A lot is going on right now, so Taeyong's trying his best to take as many social cues as he can while listening to Doyoung's commentary as it does provide a few explanations about what's happening in front of him (minus the basketball lingo, of course.)
All of the sudden, in the midst of the chaos, out of nowhere, someone shouts the word, "Ball!" as the basketball seemed to be growing into a bigger size.
The anti-social interaction student was confused as the gym seemed to react strongly to the word. Does this always happen in basketball? Was this a tradition that he didn't know about? But, then again, he didn't know anything about basketball in general...
Taeyong couldn’t figure out why the basketball kept getting larger and larger, nor why everyone seemed to suddenly get louder.
Then it hit him.
Boom.
Something bangs against his forehead, and Taeyong's head suddenly begins to hurt.
The entire gym started making a bunch of pounding noises while the other slowly began to feel a wave of dizziness come in.
This game is not in his comfort zone right now. He's not used to this scene, and that's fine. He'll just pick up the basketball lingo from Doyoung right after the game because Taeyong's feeling a bit tired right now.
Speaking of Doyoung, the last thing Taeyong hears is "Can we get a medic?" over the loudspeakers before he closes his eyes and takes a... small... nap.
Johnny Suh is nothing but a fool.
A big, lovestruck, dumb fool.
"Relax, John. Nurse Joy said it was just a minor concussion. He's going to be fine once he wakes up," Jaehyun consoles, rubbing his best friend's shoulder.
Johnny lets out a loud groan in response. It's been two hours since the game ended, and Johnny's head is full of nothing but mixed emotions. For starters, NeoZone lost miserably to the visiting Hollywood team with a score of 98 to 41. Poor Mark kept getting multiple penalties, most likely due to the distracting towering opponent playing defense in front of him. Johnny tried his best to block the guy off, but the freshman nearly peed his gym shorts on the floor right then and there.
Second, with that disappointing and embarrassing score flashing in front of them and the entire student body's eyes, NeoZone only has one last shot next week to get to the regionals competition before they're knocked out of the running for good. Coach keeps telling Johnny that they have a good chance, but his eyes say another story.
And finally? The most embarrassing one of them all, the one time in the entire game where Johnny possessed the ball to make a shot, he ends up knocking out innocent bystander Lee Taeyong with the damn basketball during the second quarter! As the team captain and main face of NeoZone, he should've known better to get his head in the game and ensure that his team rides the boat to success.
He hears the footsteps of someone approaching him and Jaehyun outside the nurse's office. However, Johnny's too busy to acknowledge them as he's still trying to process the chain of unfortunate events that occurred today.
"How is he?" the person asks, slight irritation laced in his voice.
Oh God, it's Doyoung.
Johnny gulps, refusing to meet the other's eyes, knowing that he's best friends with the one he unintentionally landed in the nurse's office.
Not to mention, Doyoung's currently dating his best friend as well.
"Minor concussion. Nurse Joy said he should be fine," Jaehyun answers.
The student body president hmphs, plopping a seat next to Jaehyun on the bench.
"He better be, because otherwise Johnny Suh..."
Fear immediately runs down the other's spine as he turned to meet Doyoung's piercing gaze.
"If something, and I mean anything, were to happen to my best friend, trust me when I say this will not be the end of it, do you understand?" he hisses, pointing an accusing finger at his way.
He rapidly nods. Knowing it's Kim Doyoung, he doesn't want to know what anything could mean; the other's just too damn good at his job, especially when it comes to releasing the consequences if the job isn't executed properly.
"Good," Doyoung grumbles, finally relaxing back onto the bench. "What a day, huh?"
Both Jaehyun and Johnny grunt in agreement.
"You still down for dinner with my parents tonight?" he hears Jaehyun ask Doyoung, in which the other responds, "Yes, but I have a meeting with the council first to discuss the possible budget cut the school might be giving us."
Jaehyun says something else after that, most likely along the lines of he'll wait for him or something, but Johnny's too preoccupied right now to listen in as he eventually tunes them out. He's frustrated at himself for allowing this to happen: Troy Bolton would be so disappointed in him right now.
Not to mention, Lee Taeyong wouldn't have been hurt if he didn't force the other to make that stupid promise with him in the first place!
Johnny groans. As oblivious Lee Taeyong might be, it turns out he's just perfect enough for Johnny Suh to fall stupidly head over heels forever since that faithful first day he met him in their shared chemistry class two years ago. Taeyong might've been and still is quite introverted to this day. Still, when their chemistry teacher assigned the two of them as partners for the year, Taeyong made a small yet cheesy joke about the two of them possibly having chemistry together.
He knows it was just a joke back then, but the moment he heard the small giggle erupt from the other's mouth, Johnny knew he was stuck.
And since then, he has held a crush on a certain Lee Taeyong.
At first, he thought it was just a tiny crush that would eventually disappear after freshman year. But boy, was Johnny oh so wrong.
When everyone came back sophomore year after the summer break, Taeyong's beauty only seemed to emulate greater radiance even more, causing only more panic to poor ol' Johnny. Meanwhile, Jaehyun and Doyoung began dating shortly after coming back from winter break that only forced Johnny and Taeyong to cross paths with each other and their respective friend groups every now and then.
He and Taeyong only have had a few conversations with each other, nothing too big or too fancy. He only knows a few things about Taeyong, such as his favorite colour being light pink and that he liked to make dad jokes to Doyoung’s annoyance. Not to mention they continued to have a few classes together even to this day, which Johnny can't help but wonder if it's truly faith, or just because the school perceives him as a big-brain student (which, by the way, is false.)
Last year they had biology and algebra together, and this year they have Literature together.
And yes, Johnny painfully sits behind Taeyong and pins over him aimlessly from afar.
This is where the now-dreaded promise comes in: the other day, Taeyong had shyly came up to Johnny's desk and asked him a small favor on behalf of Doyoung, who desperately needed help on what to get his boyfriend on their upcoming one year anniversary.
"Sure, I can help," Johnny had responded, earning a sigh of relief from Taeyong.
"Oh, thank God because if he kept bickering with me about it, I was going to scr-"
"-Only if you come to our upcoming basketball game Thursday afternoon," Johnny had finished.
Taeyong immediately flushed. "W-what?" he stuttered.
Johnny grins. "If you come to our upcoming basketball this Thursday against SMTown, I can help you guys make a good surprise for Jae that will definitely earn Doyoung a bunch of brownie points. As captain, I'd really appreciate the support if you showed up to root for us."
Johnny notices the embarrassment tinted on Taeyong's cheeks, but his cheeky grin drops once he sees the frown on Taeyong's face.
"I... I... I don't know if I can do that, Johnny," Taeyong stutters. "I... I don't really go to those types of things."
Oh shit. Johnny felt bad.
"It's fine, Taeyong, don't worry, I'm not going to force you to go if it's outside of your comfort zone," Johnny supplies, receiving an expression of shock from the other. "I'll still help you and Doyoung make a good surprise for Jaehyun anyways."
Taeyong blinks at him for a few minutes before scratching his head shyly.
"I mean..." Taeyong begins before meeting Johnny's eyes one more time. "I could probably go though...? For a few minutes at least as long as I don't miss the bus."
Johnny widens his eyes. "Really? You will?" he asks, excitement suddenly in his voice, making the other slightly jump in response. Yet Taeyong gives him a small smile and a nod. "I know Doyoung will already be there because he has to do announcing stuff, so I'll try my best," he considers.
"Promise?" Johnny holds up his pinky finger to the other.
Taeyong lets out a small giggle, unintentionally making Johnny's heart soar once more as he links pinkies with him.
"Promise."
The bell rings at that, and Taeyong gives him another smile before going to take his seat a few rows up, leaving Johnny with a large thumping in his chest and a new determination to win this for Lee Taeyong and Lee Taeyong only.
But damn, how fate said otherwise.
During the second quarter, only a few minutes before halftime, the moment Johnny grabbed the ball from the opposing player and ran up to the other hoop, amongst the giant sea of students he saw Lee Taeyong of all people in the crowd, which only gave him nothing but a brand new surge of energy to make the shot.
What he didn't realize was in the midst of his excitement, an opponent had knocked him over, causing the ball to fly in Taeyong's direction. When noticing it, Johnny quickly shouted to the top of his lungs, "BALL!" in hopes that Taeyong would notice and duck out of the way, but boom!
He did not.
And now Johnny's miserable, impatiently waiting for the other to wake up from his concussion.
It's two hours later when Nurse Joy clicks open the door to her office and sticks her head out, surprised to only see Johnny still there. Upon seeing her face, Johnny immediately scrambles to get up from the bench in a hasty rush.
However, as he attempts to walk inside, Nurse Joy uses her body to block the doorway. right then and there. "Where's your friend?" she questions him.
"He left." Doyoung and Jaehyun had other places to be, and Doyoung's meeting with student council began an hour ago, leaving Johnny as the sole person left to wait for Taeyong. "Can I see Taeyong, please?"
Nurse Joy narrows her eyebrows. "Depends," she answers. "Are you going to give my patient another concussion from your careless actions, Mr. Suh?"
He shakes his head. "No, I promise! I'm here to apologize!"
Nurse Joy sticks her head back inside for a moment, most likely looking at Taeyong, before moving aside to finally let the basketball team captain inside.
Taeyong's drinking out of a water bottle when he spots Johnny standing a few feet away, eyes growing wide.
"J-johnny!" He says in surprise, "What are you doing here? It's late!"
"I uh..." Johnny slowly walks closer to him. "I wanted to apologize for what happened today."
Taeyong raises his eyebrow. "Apologize? For what?" he wonders. "You did nothing wrong; it's me who should apologize. I didn't know I took a nap in the gym and got a concussion from it."
Johnny blinks. Taeyong thought he got a concussion from napping?
His heart thumps at the thought.
"Uh... Taeyong... that didn't happen," he explains. "You were hit in the head by a basketball... mine, to be specific."
This time Taeyong's the one to blink back at him, reeling in the shock.
"Oh... I see," he softly whispers.
"I'm really sorry that happened, someone knocked it out of my hands, and it just happened all so fast! I shouldn't have forced you to go if I knew this was gonna happen," Johnny whines. "I would never want to hurt you, promise!"
"I know, Johnny."
"You told me you weren't really into going to those types of things, and I should've stopped forcing it! Clearly, it was wrong, and I- wait what?" Johnny continues to ramble but pauses when Taeyong makes that statement.
Taeyong smiles. "I said I know, Johnny," he repeats, much clearer this time. "I know you would never want to hurt me knowing how much you like me and all."
Johnny widens his eyes.
"Y-you know? I mean- what?" Johnny's frazzled. Is today opposite day or something?
Taeyong lets out his little giggle again.
"Jaehyun told me yesterday when I told him and Doyoung you invited me to the basketball game; I hope that was okay."
Johnny's jaw drops.
The little shit! No wonder he and Doyoung left in a fit of chuckles and laughter earlier- there's probably even isn't a student council meeting or a family dinner tonight!
"Don't worry, Johnny. They know I like you too," Taeyong admits, red tinting his cheeks nervously. "I have for a while anyway."
Johnny blinks.
Oh God.
Is this happening?
Taeyong giggles. "Yes, Johnny, it's happening."
"Oh shit, I didn't mean to say that out loud," Johnny confesses, earning another laugh from Taeyong. "Now what?"
Taeyong thinks for a minute. "Well, you could take me out to dinner, maybe? I am feeling a bit hungry right now."
Johnny grins.
"Dinner it is."
He might've lost today's basketball game, but Johnny Suh definitely earned a slam dunk when it came to a certain Lee Taeyong.