Archive of Our Own

You always dreaded the end of summer. 

The shorter days, the colder air, the countless layers you’d begrudgingly end up bundled in. But you dreaded the end of this summer more than most. This was your last summer before you were going off to school, your last true summer at home. And it was ending in seven days.

“Hello! I know you’re home, even though you’re not answering me!” The familiar voice echoed around your house.

Somewhere beside you, your phone buzzed for what must be the 100th time this hour. You pulled the covers tighter over your head in response.

“I know you’re moping in there!” The voice was closer now, just outside your door.

“Go away,” your words came out muffled under the duvet.

“What was that? I couldn’t hear you,” his voice had a teasing lilt. You heard your door creaking open.

“Gyu, I’m not in the mood,” you barely got the words out when the covers were pulled off you. “Beomgyu!”

The absence of the blanket’s warm comfort was a shock to your system. You sat up quickly and met his amused grin with a scowl. He held his hands up in mock surrender. 

“You’re so annoying,” you said as you fought the smile that threatened to ruin your resolve. “How’d you even get in here this early?”

“First of all, it’s noon,” he explained, flopping onto the bed next to you. “And your mom loves me, you know this.”

You rolled your eyes but you couldn’t fight him there, your mom really did love him. She especially loved to bring up the story of how you met, much to your chagrin. How you had been walking home, during the peak of winter, rubbing your little eight year old hands together and trying not to lose a finger to the cold. Beomgyu had seen you and, in a random act of kindness which he still cannot explain to this day, offered you one of his gloves. This was basically soul-bonding in the third grade and so you’d been best friends ever since.

“Whatever,” you yawned, sprawling back out on the bed. “Why are you bothering me on my designated sulking time?”

He laughed as he looked down on you. “I don’t think you need to waste your last week of summer on sulking.” 

“Oh?” You propped yourself up on one arm. “And what fabulous summer plans do you have for me?”

“I’m glad you asked,” he said, reaching into his shorts pocket. He pulled out a folded piece of paper that he carefully began to unravel. You thought it was just another one of his stupid pranks until you looked closer and saw handwriting. Your handwriting.

“Wait! Is this?” You said excitedly, your hands reaching out instinctively.

“Our middle school summer bucket list?” He held the paper over your head, out of your reach. “Yes, yes it is.” 

“Shut up!” You jumped up, suddenly renewed with energy. “Let me see!”

“Hmmm I’m not sure,” he held the list even higher. “You didn’t seem very interested in me a minute ago…”

You made a few grabs for the paper while he laughed, tauntingly waving it above you. After a minute you gave up, crossing your arms and pouting your lip at him.

“You know what you have to say.”

“I’m not gonna say anything.”

“Okay, then I guess I can just go,” he moved to stand up.

“Wait,” you sighed and he glanced back at you. “Gyu, I’m so so sorry I wasn’t excited for your amazing presence. I love to have you around and I would love to look at this list with you.” You added a sugary-sweet smile at the end to prove your sincerity. 

He nodded thoughtfully at your speech. “Thank you for your kind words. Unfortunately, the word I was looking for was please…”

“You’re such a brat!” You swatted at his arm as he finally brought the list back into your reach. You plucked it from his hands and let your eyes greedily roam over the page. A few random items stood out to you.

• Eat a WHOLE watermelon
• Throw a pool party
• Have a picnic on the roof
• Go nightswimming

“Wow, we weren’t very adventurous were we?” You smiled as you scanned the page. Beomgyu joined you, resting his chin on your shoulder. 

“Hey! Eating a whole watermelon is an impressive feat,” you could hear the grin in his voice. “Plus, I distinctly remember wanting to add ‘skinny dipping’ and being hastily denied.”

“Gyu, we were thirteen.” 

“Didn’t stop you from adding something scandalous.” He reached his arm out from behind you to point to an item you had glossed over upon your initial search.

• Have my first kiss

Your face went scarlet immediately as you brought the page closer to inspect it.

“I don’t even remember putting that…” you shook your head at yourself. “Who did I think I was?”

“Someone who was getting a lot more play than we did at thirteen.”

You slapped his wrist not-so playfully. 

“Ow!” He exclaimed as he retracted his hand.

“Sorry,” you smirked.

You poured over the list. Details came back to you the longer you looked. You remembered the day you made it, fighting over every item that made it on. Then, once you’d finally agreed on everything, Beomgyu lost the list at his house. You spent days helping him look for it until you decided it was hopeless. You agreed that the list would turn up when you needed it most. That time, it seems, was now.

“So,” you started, spinning around to face him. “When are we getting this done?”

“I’m already way ahead of you.”

It turned out Beomgyu had planned out an activity for every day until you left. You were gonna have the last summer of your dreams, even if it was only in a week. 

—

“Okay, what do we think about this one?” You asked as you opened the door to your room.

It was the day of the pool party and you’d been modelling swimsuits for your girlfriends for over an hour.

“Hmm,” your friend Mia hummed thoughtfully. She sat cross legged on your bed alongside your other friend, Emily. “I like these bottoms but the last top was way better.”

“I gotta agree,” Emily chimed in. “It totally took your As to Bs.”

You sighed and threw your hands up in defeat.

“This is like the 30th combination we’ve tried. Maybe I should just do a one piece-”

“Oh but I love this one,” his voice came from your open door. 

“Beomgyu!” You whipped your head around to glare at him. Just his head was poked through your door, his eyes flicking up and down your frame quickly. He was supposed to be setting up for the party instead of bothering you and your other friends. “I could’ve been changing or something.”

“You’re so dramatic! I’ve seen you in a bikini a thousand times!” He reached his hand out to tug at one of your swimsuit’s strings before he darted away. You could still hear his laugh as it bounced off the hall.

You closed the door behind him and turned back towards your friends. They shared a knowing look before glancing back at you. 

“So, are we gonna talk about it?” Emily asked with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

“Guys-”

“He looks so good,” Mia giggled as she leaned back on your bed. 

You were… surprised. Beomgyu’s antics had always resulted in merciless teasing from your friends. Normally, that kind of stunt would have been quoted and reenacted until you were all laughing tears. Swooning was definitely not a regular response. 

“Wait… what?” Your brow furrowed as you joined them on the bed. 

“Y/N, you can’t act like you haven’t noticed.” Mia said as she grabbed your arm. “He’s so… pretty this summer.”

“And his arms,” Emily sighed as she held a pillow to her chest. “I wonder what he could do with those…”

“Emily!” Your mouth fell open at her words. “I can’t believe you guys. You’ve never acted like this before.”

“He never looked like this before,” Emily said with a shrug. “You’re the only one who doesn’t see it.”

“But don’t worry!” Mia interjected. “You totally get dibs when you come around. I mean, it’s only fair since you’ve known him the longest.”

Your eyes widened as you looked back and forth between them. Now you really couldn’t believe what they were saying.

“Ew! No way,” you cringed at the thought. “We do not look at each other like that, we’re just really good friends.”

“I don’t know,” Emily said, a grin tugging at the corner of her mouth. “It didn’t seem like he was looking at a friend just now.”

Your friends laughed as your face instinctively went red. 

“Whatever.” You shook your head at them both. They were definitely going overboard about all of this.

You checked the time and realized the party was going to start a lot sooner than you’d anticipated. You finished getting ready quickly and tried your best to keep your mind from drifting back to what your friends had said. 

—

“You did a really good job,” you said through a mouthful of watermelon.

“Yeah?” Beomgyu asked as he took the slice from you. “I was a little worried it was overkill.”

“No way,” you shook your head. “It’s perfect.”

You looked out over the pool and admired how everything shined in the golden hour light. Beomgyu had successfully turned your backyard into a Hawaiian luau. He’d lit tiki torches, bought leis, and curated the snack bar. He’d also managed to invite all of the remaining seniors who hadn’t left for school yet. It was impressive, especially on such short notice. You had taken a break from swimming to sit and take everything in. You watched, and laughed, as your friends flirted their way into a few games of chicken. You were really gonna miss this. Of course, Beomgyu had noticed you sitting alone and decided to bring himself, and his watermelon, over to you. He was now sitting beside you on your towel.

“So, what’s on the agenda for tomorrow?” You asked, tilting your head.

He bounced up and down as he chewed, polishing off the last bit of watermelon.

“Well, I figured I’d stay over and we could do nightswimming,” he gestured towards the pool with the watermelon rind. 

“Couldn’t we just swim tonight?” You said as you looked between him and the pool. “I mean the sun’ll probably be down in an hour or so.”

“Y/N,” he gasped at you. “That doesn’t count at all! It’s gotta be late, like 2AM.”

You rolled your eyes, you couldn’t believe he’d called you the dramatic one.

“Okay, fine. But you have to promise to be quiet. My parents couldn’t sleep during your midnight karaoke last time.”

“But they said I was a joy to have over,” he gave you his best puppy dog eyes.

“During the day, Gyu,” you corrected as you nudged his knee with yours. “You’re a joy during the day.”

He pouted briefly and your eyes inadvertently went to his lower lip. You’d never paid any attention to his mouth before, unless you were listening to him prattle on about something. But you found yourself a little fixated on it now. His mouth was sort of perfect, all red and shiny from the watermelon. Not to mention his lips. When had his lips gotten so big? This must have been what Mia meant when she said he was pretty this summer.

“-Are you listening to me?”

You froze like you had been caught doing something wrong, your eyes jolting back up to meet his. A subtle heat rushed through your body, no doubt flushing your cheeks. He had an amused look on his face and it almost felt like he knew what you had been thinking.

“I’m sorry I was… spaced out. What did you say?” You tried to recover quickly.

“I said,” he spoke with an exaggerated tone. “I’m going back in the pool and I asked if you were gonna come too.”

“Oh,” you thought over his offer. “You go ahead, I'll be there in a minute.”

“Suit yourself!” He reached over to squeeze your leg playfully before getting up. Your thigh buzzed with warmth from his hand. “I’m gonna leave my shirt over here so it doesn’t get wet.”

“Okay-”

You barely had time to respond before he pulled his shirt off and tossed it at you. You felt your mouth go dry as your eyes trailed down his frame. It wasn’t like you hadn’t seen Beomgyu shirtless before, he’d been swimming at your house since before you could do long division, but this time it felt different. Almost like you shouldn’t be looking. He was lean and toned, the sunlight reflecting off the planes of his abdomen. You absentmindedly thought that your friends had been right, he definitely looked different. Good different. Your eyes followed after him as he jumped into the pool, tracing down the muscles in his back. He surfaced and pushed the hair away from his eyes. His body glittered in the water, droplets slowly making their way down his skin. He glanced back at you and raised his hand, beckoning you to join him. 

You stood up from your towel on shaky legs, clearly the time you had away from him was not enough to compose yourself. You silently cursed your friends for ever saying anything to you. Now you had to deal with the idea that Beomgyu was… attractive? And worse than that, you might be attracted to him. No, no way. He was silly and annoying and nothing more than your best friend. You decided that this was just a weird disconnect and it’d all go back to normal the longer you spent with him. It had to.  

—

“Gyu, I’m exhausted.” You yawned as if to prove your point. “Let’s just do nightswimming tomorrow or something.” 

“No! That’s gonna throw the whole schedule off,” he complained. “All you have to do is dip your toes in and it’ll count. Don’t you wanna make middle school us proud?”

You’d been sitting together on your bed for a few hours, passing time until it could officially be deemed ‘nightswimming’. It was now 3:45 AM and you were on the brink of sleep every time you blinked. Beomgyu, on the other hand, was a bundle of energy. He practically jittered with anticipation. 

“Okay,” you sighed. “I’ll put my feet in, but that’s it.” 

“I knew you’d do it!” He bounded off your bed and swung open your door. You shushed him through giggles as you crept through the house. It wasn’t like you were doing anything illicit, but you didn’t think your parents would be pleased if you woke them up in the middle of the night. You grabbed two towels before heading out of your backdoor. 

The air outside was warm and humid and you could hear a few cicadas singing. Beomgyu quickled stripped down to his swim shorts and was wading in waist-deep water by the time you’d closed the door. He really was full of energy.

“Come in! It’s so nice,” he said as he swam over to the pool’s edge.

“You said if I dipped in my feet it would count,” you retorted as you walked to the edge. You really didn’t want to deal with getting your hair wet before bed and you were still in your tank and sleep shorts. He was just gonna have to be happy that you even put your feet in the water.

You slowly lowered yourself to the ground, letting your feet dangle in the pool. The water was honestly really nice and you probably would have joined him any other time. Beomgyu swam in front of you, doing a few flips and tricks. You kicked some water at him and laughed when he pretended like it hurt. He suddenly went under the water and reemerged closer to you, his hair sticking to his forehead. You had the strange urge to push his bangs away from his eyes. 

“Y/N,” he said, his voice now lower than it had been before. “I have to ask you something…”

You held your breath as he came closer, his hands coming up to rest on your knees. You could feel your heart speed as he looked up at you. 

“Yes?” You asked, barely able to keep the shaking out of your voice.

“I was just wondering,” he said as his hands began to climb further up your legs. “If maybe you would…”

“What?” you breathed. His hands were higher now, encircling your hips. You tried to focus since you knew his next words would be important but it was hard with his hands on you like that.

“If you would,” he said again, tightening his grip on you. “...Come in the pool with me?” 

You barely had time to process what he’d said when you were suddenly being yanked forward. You let out a quick yelp before being submerged underwater. 

“Beomgyu!” You gasped as you surfaced. “Why would you do that?! I’m not even in a swimsuit!”

He was laughing so hard he could barely get any words out. 

“Did you… really think… putting in your feet… would count?” He said between laughs. “You should’ve seen your face!”

“Ugh! You’re infuriating!” You splashed water at him as hard as you could before swimming past him to the steps. You stomped out of the pool and over to the towels where you began to dry yourself as best as you could. It was really no use, your pajamas were completely soaked just like the rest of you. 

“Y/N, I’m sorry,” Beomgyu said, climbing out of the pool. “I didn’t think you’d get so mad-”

“It’s fine,” you answered briskly. “Just go inside and take your shower. I’ll be in when you're done.”

“Okay,” he said as he walked past you, briefly laying a hand on your shoulder. He hesitated like he wanted to say something else before grabbing his towel and heading inside.

You bundled yourself in your towel and sat in a chair facing the pool. You were shivering a little but it had nothing to do with the water. The moments kept replaying in your mind like a broken record. His hands on your hips, his eyes soft as he looked up at you. You thought you were over the weirdness from yesterday, you’d chalked it up to your friends’ influence getting in your head. Now he’d touched you once and you were a complete mess. There was no one else to blame but yourself. How were you supposed to go inside and face him like this? You sat and mulled over everything for what felt like hours but was probably only a few minutes. Eventually, exhaustion won out and you dragged yourself inside. 

You showered quickly and threw on a new pair of pajamas. You opened the door to your room and through the darkness you saw the outline of a figure in your bed. Of course, just when you thought you could handle things, Beomgyu had to be asleep in your bed. You were weighing the options of going and laying on the couch when he shifted towards you. His eyes squinting at you through the night.

“Y/N?” He asked, his voice full of sleep. “What’re you doing?”

You took a deep breath before you answered him.

“I thought you were sleeping,” you said carefully. “I was just gonna lay on the couch so I didn’t wake you.”

“No, ‘s fine. Come here,” he murmured as he pulled the covers open for you. 

You reminded yourself that you’d had countless sleepovers with Beomgyu since you were kids. You’d even shared a tent together for a week when you were ten because his family had forgotten to bring an extra. Nothing was weird about two friends laying together. Because that’s all you were, two good friends. 

You padded across the floor to the open space in the bed. You laid down and quickly pulled the covers up before you could talk yourself out of it. And for a moment, everything was fine and you laughed at yourself for how badly you’d overreacted about this. But then, he moved closer to you, his arm sliding around your waist. Your shirt moved a little in the process so part of his hand was on your bare skin. He didn’t seem to notice. You noticed though, your whole body going hot at his touch. You were suddenly hyperaware of him, of every one of his fingers pressed against your torso. You immediately remembered all the reasons you should’ve been on the couch. Your mind raced through all the ways you could inconspicuously slip out of his arms when he mumbled something behind you.

“What?” you asked, your voice barely a whisper.

“You’re so warm,” he whispered back. There was a brief pause and you thought that was all he was going to say until he spoke again. “I’ve missed this.” He shifted closer as he spoke, you could now feel every rise and fall of his chest through your back. 

“What’s there to miss, Gyu?” You smiled as you said the words. “We’re always together.”

“Yeah,” he murmured into your shoulder, sending goosebumps down your spine. “But not like this.” His thumb brushed up and down the bare skin of your stomach as if to drive home his point.

You felt yourself get impossibly hotter from his words. He was right, it had been a while since you’d had a sleepover. And he’d always been clingy but you felt like something was different tonight. He was so… close, much closer than the occasional brush of limbs in the night. Maybe he was trying to apologize for the thing with the pool earlier or maybe… Your mind started to race in a completely new direction. What if you weren’t the only one with new feelings? This thought was enough to encourage you to make a move of your own. You slowly slid your hand down to his, intertwining your fingers together. You felt his soft sigh against your back and, for the first time that night, you relaxed. 

“Goodnight Gyu,” you whispered. He didn’t answer you but his grip on your fingers tightened temporarily. You closed your eyes and fell asleep smiling. 

—

You woke up to sunlight streaming through your windows, temporarily blinding you. You felt oddly cold and turned over in bed, searching for Beomgyu’s heat. But instead of his warm body you just found more blankets and pillows.

“Beomgyu?” You grumbled to your empty room. This was… odd. Sure, he’d left sleepovers early before but never without some kind of heads up. You squinted around for a note or something but you came up empty handed. You reached over to your nightstand for your phone, typing out a text to him.

‘hey why’d you leave me like a one-night stand lol’

You left his messages open for a second and noticed he’d already read it. You waited patiently for his response but one never came. This made you reread your own message over and over. Now it sounded so desperate and needy. And why would you insinuate that him sleeping over was in any way similar to a one-night stand? You contemplated sending a follow-up text but you didn’t want to make it a big thing. You decided you needed to talk it out with someone, or two someones. Emily and Mia both picked up your call quickly. 

“Why are you calling so early? I thought you were hanging out with Beomgyu.” Mia wiggled her eyes suggestively.

“That’s why I’m calling… I think something happened.” You took a deep breath before you recounted the entire past night to them, not omitting a single detail.

“Wait wait wait,” Emily said once you had finished your rambling. “So he flirted with you, cuddled up with you, and then he left without saying goodbye?”

“Don’t forget about him leaving her on read,” Mia chimed in.

“Thank you for that kind reminder, Mia,” you laughed in spite of the situation. “You really know how to make a girl feel better.”

You shook your head but it didn’t clear up your thoughts like you hoped it would. 

“I just don’t understand why he would act like that and then ignore me,” your voice broke a little at the end. You took a shaky breath to steady it. “Honestly, it was stupid to get my hopes up.”

“Y/N don’t say that,” Emily said firmly. “He was totally sending you signals and it’s not your fault you picked up on them. He probably got nervous and was worried you didn’t feel the same.”

“I guess…” you said, not feeling very convinced. 

“Boys are dumb and he’ll definitely reach out when he comes to his senses.” Mia’s voice was filled with confidence. 

“I really hope so because I’m leaving for school tomorrow.” It wasn’t until you said the words that you realized how close the end of your summer really was. Beomgyu had managed to distract you with the bucket list all week but it was really sinking in now. You felt that same overwhelming wave of sadness crash over you. “Guys, I’m gonna go but I’ll text if anything happens.”

They chorused out goodbyes and good lucks before you ended the call. You fell back on your bed feeling drained even though you just woke up. You dragged yourself through the motions of your day but your heart wasn’t really in it. Sometime in the late afternoon you laid back down for a nap when your phone rang. The sound of it spurred you into action, it was the ringtone you’d set for Beomgyu. You picked up the phone with shaky hands and pressed it to your ear.

“Hello?” You asked gingerly.

“Can you be here in an hour?” He asked quickly. “It’s important.”

You suddenly felt nervous. What if your friends were wrong and you’d done something to upset him?

“Um yeah, I think I can be. Hey, about earlier-” You wanted to bring things up but you were cut off abruptly.

“Okay good, wear something nice.” He said before hanging up.

You stood there shocked for a second, the phone still clutched in your hand. Why was he being so confusing? One second you swore he didn’t want to be friends anymore and the next he was telling you to dress up for him? You checked the time and realized if you wanted to make it to his house in an hour you were going to need to get ready now. You rushed around fixing your hair, putting on makeup, and picking out an outfit. The outfit confounded you the most. Usually you’d just throw on a t-shirt and shorts but he’d said to dress nice, whatever that means. You eventually settled on a mini dress that you hardly ever wore. You figured it was nice enough without trying too hard.

As you walked outside to your car, all the nerves started to resurface. You drove to his house in silence, too anxious to listen to any music. When you pulled up you noticed all the lights were off inside. Just another weird part of this whole day. You walked up to the door and hesitated for a second. Usually, you’d just walk in but you weren’t sure if that was crossing a line now. You finally worked up the courage and opened the door. It was quiet inside, almost eerily so. 

“Beomgyu?” You called out into the empty house. Your voice echoed and you were met with silence. You suddenly remembered Beomgyu telling you about his parents being out of town this week. That would explain their absence but not his.

You slowly made your way up the stairs to his room. His door was ajar and you could see inside, no Beomgyu. You were about to turn around and go back downstairs when you noticed his window was open. He never left the window open by accident. You walked over to it and stuck your head outside. You couldn’t believe what you saw.

There Beomgyu was, looking like a model out of a magazine, sitting on a picnic blanket on the roof. He was wearing a short sleeved button up and dress pants, both of which fit him perfectly. You were glad you’d decided on the dress after all. He’d decorated with throw pillows and fairy lights, creating a scene out of one of your pinterest boards. There were snacks and drinks and a bottle that looked suspiciously like his parent’s champagne.

“Gyu? What is this?” You asked as your mouth fell open in shock.

“Y/N! Right on time,” he gave you a sly smile like he was aware of what he’d done to you all day. “You knew I couldn’t let you leave without finishing the list, right?”

You just shook your head in disbelief. He came over to you and held out a hand to help you step outside. His hand was warm as it guided you out onto the roof. Once you were stable, you wrapped your arms around his shoulders, pulling him into a tight hug. He seemed momentarily surprised but soon wrapped his arms around your waist in return. The new warmth that came whenever you touched Beomgyu soon spread throughout your whole body. You didn’t mind it now though and, if you were being honest, you actually kind of liked it. You let the embrace linger a little longer than necessary before pulling away to look at his face.

“This is the greatest surprise ever,” you said in total honestly. “I can’t believe you did all this for me.”

“Of course I did,” he replied, his gaze not leaving your eyes. “You’re my best friend.”

The air felt charged as you looked at each other. You faintly recognized that his hands were still on your waist. After a few seconds, you decided to break the tension. 

“I’m starving, can we eat or is this all for display?” You asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

He blinked rapidly at you like he was coming out of a daze. 

“Oh-uh, yeah sure,” he said as he released his grasp on you. 

You trailed closely behind him as he made his way over to the blanket. He put together a little plate of all your favorite foods as you sat down and stared at the sky. You’d always loved spending time on Beomgyu’s roof, especially towards the evening. It was that perfect time of night just before the sun would set. The sky was light pink, dappled with soft clouds.

“Wow, this is perfect,” you said as he handed you your food.

“I couldn’t let you leave without a proper goodbye,” he shrugged as he lowered himself beside you.

You sat quietly together as you ate, watching the sun sink lower over the horizon. The absence of the sun’s rays and the length of your dress caused a shiver to run through you.

“Are you cold?” He asked, genuine concern in his voice.

“No, I’m fine,” you said as a chill ran through you. “I’m just regretting not bringing a jacket.”

He snorted in response but moved closer to you. His warm side pressed against yours and his hand brushed over your fingers. You thought he’d move a little but his hand continued to rest on top of your own. You’d never been so grateful to forget a coat in your whole life. 

“So,” he started, tilting his head at you. “How are you feeling about leaving for school?”

You found it was a little hard to think due to his proximity so you looked forward as you spoke.

“Stressed and anxious and excited,” you rattled the words off quickly. “It’s just… a lot. You should be grateful you’re not dealing with it.” 

He nodded as he took in your words. You remembered how you felt when Beomgyu told you he was going to take a gap year instead of heading off to school. You were a little heart broken to realize you wouldn’t be figuring things out together.

“Well about that…” he said as he reached behind himself to pull out an envelope. He handed it over and looked at you expectantly.

“What is this?” You murmured, mostly to yourself. You slid the letter from the envelope and let your eyes wander across the page. It was… an acceptance letter? To your school?

“Wait! Are you..?” You looked up at him with wide eyes and an even wider grin.

“I wanted to be sure before I told you,” he said as he matched the glee in your tone. “But yes. We’re going to school together.”

He barely had time to finish his sentence before you were throwing your arms around him. The motion caught him off guard, disrupting his balance. You tumbled together to the blanket, his hands flying to your sides to steady you. Only then did you realize how much closer you were. You were hopeful he couldn’t see your blush as you realized you were basically laying on top of him. You pushed yourself off his chest enough to meet his eyes. He was smiling a lazy grin and you started talking to distract yourself from it.

“I’m thrilled we’re going to school together and I’m really relieved this is what you wanted to talk about,” you said quickly, the words practically spilling out of you. “I was so nervous driving here thinking about what you were going to say.” You laughed at yourself as you remembered how anxious you had been just a few hours ago.

He furrowed his brow as he looked up from his place on the ground.

“Why would you be nervous?” He asked, seemingly oblivious.

“Well, just cause you left me this morning and you didn’t text me back and so I thought…” you trailed off due to the intensity of his gaze. You took a second to gather your thoughts before starting again. “I thought maybe I’d crossed a line or something.”

“What do you mean ‘crossed a line?’” He asked, just as clueless as before.

You sighed to yourself, he really was going to make you spell it out for him.

“Well just like when we were… cuddling,” you felt your face burn as you rambled on. “And I went to hold your hand and my motives weren’t entirely friendly and-”

“Y/N,” he said with a smirk, rendering you speechless. “I’m your best friend, you think I don’t notice when you’re acting different?” He pulled you back closer to him as he spoke, your faces now only inches from each other.

Your eyes widened as you realized what he was saying.

“I can’t believe you!” You exclaimed as you pushed at his chest playfully. “Here you were letting me suffer while you knew the whole time!”

“Wait, knew what?” He asked, feigning innocence.

“Oh, come here,” you sighed as you leaned into him.

You momentarily thought that kissing Beomgyu might be weird after so many years of friendship but the second his mouth was on yours you forgot all about that. His lips were soft and warm as they met your own. Your heads instinctively tilted so you could be closer, like you’d done this a million times before. You pressed your hands flat against his chest as you sank deeper into the kiss. His own hands tightened around your waist, his familiar heat radiating off of every point of contact. You’d wanted to have those strong arms around you for so long, you were almost breathless from the feel of them. After a minute, you tried to pull back to look at him but his lips followed after yours. He was needier, more insistent than you thought he’d be. You didn’t mind it at all. He kissed you like he was making up for years of lost time. And, maybe in a way, he was. Eventually, you both came up for air, your breaths mingling together in the small space between your faces.

“I guess we finished everything on the list after all,” he said through heavy breaths.

You were confused about what he was saying until you remembered the bucket list and your so-called ‘scandalous’ entry.

“I swear if this was all an elaborate plot to finish that bucket list, I’ll leave you right now.” You giggled.

“Nah, no plotting,” he said as he leaned up towards you. “This was just an added bonus.”

You had barely any time to process his words before his lips were on yours again. He was bolder this time, running a hand up into your hair. His fingers tangled in the strands and pulled slightly. You let out an involuntary gasp at the feeling of it. Any other time, you would’ve been embarrassed but you were in too deep to care. You repaid the favor by letting your hands trail down his arms. The same arms that had taunted you all summer and were now in your grasp. You dug your nails into them, no doubt leaving crescent-shaped marks all along his biceps. He whimpered at the sensation, his muscles going taut under your hands. You smiled against his open mouth.

After what felt like forever, you finally broke apart again. You rested your head against his chest as he idly ran his hands up and down your back. His heart pounded under your ear and you were pleased by the fact that he enjoyed kissing you as much as you did him. You laid together for a while in comfortable silence under the stars. You knew you should probably go home soon, you still had bags to pack and friends to update, but no responsibilities seemed more important than Beomgyu’s body pressed against yours. You were delighted to remember he was going to be at school with you, soon you’d be able to kiss him any time you wanted. The thought sent a new wave of warmth through you.

“So wait,” he started, interrupting your thoughts. He had a teasing hint in his voice. “When you said you had ulterior motives when you were holding hands with me, what does that mean?”

You shook your head, not fighting the smile that crept across your face.

“You really are such a brat!” You mumbled as you pressed your face into his chest. You could feel his laugher rumble through you.

Some things never change.