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The bell ringing makes Jax completely slump into the table. He’d barely been holding himself up with a hand to his cheek, and at that point, he felt as though he’d mold like playdough into abstract art with how long he’d been holding himself like that. It’s not his fault the teacher’s voice knocked him out like a lullaby and the dim lighting the storm made in the class was sending him right under. His eyelids drooped with the persuasion of a serpent. His mind tumbled downhill with no sight of return.
Cue the bell. His class had apparently decided that allowing him the lovely slumber he was trying to reach was dismissable. They feel the illustrious need to clatter and clang and leave and speak and move chairs and tables and whatever the %$!# they want. His classmates must want him dead. He figures that, if so, he might as well act it; his collar digs into his oval head as he pathetically tries to attempt rest.
This is, expectedly, to no avail. He decides to quit early after a fruitless attempt. The table slides forward as Jax forces himself up, stands. The girls over on his left gossip really loud as always. His ear holds straight akin to an antenna, twisting left and right for the best angle of signal.
Something, something… no way, Gangle-chan? And Zooble-san? What kind of crackship is that? That dweeb and that stoner. Are they pulling his leg? And Jin― Jin!? Oh, not with anyone yet, thank god. But it’s her birthday!?
With a huff of relief—subtle and kept to himself—he picks up the bookstack he’d borrowed from the library at lunch and lodges them inside his tired bag, who eats them woefully. Jax can see the bag’s fatigue in parts like the half-torn strap, or the cracking leather on the flap. He doesn’t care. He fixes his glasses every few minutes, but he’d never fix his bag unless something vital fell off. It can and will endure this and more. Jax is truly a nerd, and it should support him no matter what he does. It will hold his burdens and books.
The walk to the door is weirdly tranquil. Weirdly, because usually, every few steps always leads to chaos reborn. If there was not, something is warning him. He latches a hand onto the door’s tugging crevice regardless and tugs. It can’t be that―holy %$!#, that’s a mob!
Students bustle about in the compact hallways, pushing amongst each other and a few going as far as to crowd surf to get to their destinations. Way too many to fit amongst, might he say, and Jax isn’t willing to try. As he goes to shut the door, an ear-piercing shriek is heard inside the crowd, close enough to describe: a sound of surprise rather than fear from something abrupt and perhaps physical. It sounds kinda like a squawk.
A body tumbles into the room. The head of them lands right into his chest with a force that sends Jax back with them. Landing painfully on his behind, he sinks deeper into the ground as he cushions the person’s fall. His eyebrows knit and he grits his teeth. Jax glares down at the head burrowed in his chest.
“Geez, dingleberry! What the hell is your…”
The head lifts. Jax realises then that the gorgeous black hair belonged to none other than the love of his life. No wonder the thing in his chest felt kinda stiff―it was her glasses, which are now laying disheveled on her nose, crooked. Her eyes are a cute, memorable brown. Her braces glisten with her teeth, as if a bunch of pale popstars on stage with flashy silver outfits. The image of beauty personified was sitting on top of him.
Jin. “…ₚᵣₒᵦₗₑₘ.”
“Jax?” Jin recalls, and Jax thinks, Oh my god, she knows my name?
“Jen! Yeah, you can call me that. That, yeah. That’s… that’s my name. Jax.” He awkwardly finger guns her as if to put the cherry bomb on top of the kill-myself cake. He blinks. Birthday. It’s Jin’s birthday!
As a saving grace, Jax fumbles for his bag flap, ripping that %$!# open as if it had a million dollars inside. He swears the flap tears a little. Its edge descends to the floor. Jax makes a show of scavaging inside, checking both through the books and beside them, and suddenly, he regrets borrowing so many.
Jin sits up. “What are you getting?”
“J-Just a second!” he blurts. Too nervous, he realises, so he adds on, “Geez. Impatient, much?”
He grabs it by the neck once he’s sure he’s caught the mangy thing and brings it up. A dog of white fabric and creamy-coloured button eyes is proposed. It bears a scarf on its neck with burgundy and orange stripes―beneath, Jax accidentally tore a gash in its neck seam. He’d sewn it back together, but it still looked a bit rough around the seams. Fuck, he realises, this gift is so lame.
“… Heard it was your birthday. Here. I’ve been meaning to give this to you for a while. I guess right now would be a better time than ever.”
Jin's eyes flick between Jax and his present. Calmly, she takes it from his hands. The split second of hand-contact sends a spike of electricity down his arm and spine. “Thx lol. It's cute. R U 3 tn?”
A flush meets Jax cheeks like a wildfire. His mouth opens wide, showing a downturned, teethy frown of pure shock. Jax swears he’s happy despite it―giddy, really. Free tonight? Am i free? Tonight?
“Uh, yeah, sure. Soba?” he suggests in the most disinterested tone he can forge. He settles his nerdy glasses straight.
Jin nods, standing. The crowd has dissipated. As she turns away, she says, “See you then.”
She emanates a pink aura behind her, sparkling with a glow and sparkle only she could possess. Flowers, magnolias, seem to bloom around her in that split second before she departs.
She’s gone in a second. Jax looks down at his sitting body. He just got a date with the Jin. Holy %$!#.
That day marked the beginning of a blooming romance. Their soba date went so well, they started dating immediately! They got married as soon as they turned 18 and had 13 kids together. Jax and Jin love eachother.