//okay so I love dodie clark and she posted this song called party tattoos and I just had to write something based on it.Â
//warnings: college!AU, drinking, implied sex, fluff(???), gender neutral
//sneak peek:Â Â Jeonghan, being well on his way to being drunk, grabbed your hand and pulled you to the middle of the living room on the makeshift dance floor. The speakers made it feel like an earthquake was tearing through the house. His arms held at your waist, pulling you closer to his chest as he began to dance to the music. He seemed to be saying something but you could not hear him over the music.
//pairing: jeonghan x reader
Your head ached. It felt heavy and you did not want to open your eyes and face the hangover you already felt coming on. The shifting weight of a body next to you was enough to make you open your eyes and sit upright in the bed, causing an instant headache. You heard your heartbeat in your ears as you looked beside you and took in the figure of your best friend, Jeonghan. He was still asleep, eyelashes brushing against his cheeks, his lips slightly parted with smears of black lipstick on them. His hair sat in a mess on top of his head. His arms found their way to your waist when you realized how bare you both were. Your head started to pound as your mind raced to the night before.
Your eyes glanced at the clock repeatedly, getting antsy waiting for Jeonghan to get ready.
âI donât know, Hannie.â You called to him from your bed. âPartying just isnât something I think would be fun to me.â
He groaned from his place in the bathroom. âCome on Y/N, itâll be great.â He peeked out at you. âIâll be there. And if you get uncomfortable we can leave.â
You nodded slowly as he smiled sweetly in your direction. When he returned his attention to the mirror to finish drying his hair, you continued to pick at your skin out of nerves.
When he emerged from the bathroom he handed you a tube of pitch black lipstick. âPut this on, you can regret it when youâre old.â
You looked back to him and carefully tried to wipe the black smears off his lips. Smoothing down his tousled hair, the corners of your lips pulled up as soft snores escaped his. The rays of sun finally began to pour through the part in your curtains, blanketing your floor in a soft, warm light. It brushed over the pile of college textbooks sitting on your desk, reminding you of the stressful week only days before.
It was a Saturday night, exams were just about finished and the partiers in your college town were just about ready to drink away the stress and the fact that they had probably butchered their exams. Your college and sorority houses were lit up like the busking nightlife of Tokyo, Japan. The music from up and down the street seemed to mesh together in a mess of wall shaking bass and beat drops.
The vibe of actually going to a party had your stomach in knots. You spent most of your time up in your dorm, studying or doing homework.
The idea of partying never appealed much to you. Getting wasted off your ass to forget the week you had never seemed like a bright idea.
âYou need to be able to relax, Y/N. Let yourself have fun for onceâ Mingyu voiced from across the room, followed by a chorus of mumbled agreeance from the others.
Somehow Jeonghan had talked you into going with him and his friends. Maybe they were right, you needed a night to forget the week and mistakes you would possibly make that night. You wanted to have a night to be like them; to feel what it feels like to not give a damn.
When you walked into the house, it felt like the music was rattling your ribcage. The smell of cheap booze filled your airways as people walked by, already noticeably on their third or fourth drink.
Jeonghanâs hand pressed to your back as he walked the two of you to the kitchen.
âWant a drink?â he asked, his back to you as he began to grab himself a drink.
No, you really didnât, but you were out and at a party and didnât want to be the only sober one. âYeah, sure.â
Jeonghan beamed over his shoulder at you, quickly fixing you a drink before placing the flimsy plastic cup in your hand. The first sip had you wanting to spit it right back out. The burning in your throat as you swallowed left a grimace on your face. Beside you, Jeonghan couldnât help but laugh. âLightweight.â he joked.
âAsshole.â you remarked, punching him jokingly in the arm.
More and more people started to file into the house, the atmosphere becoming hotter and slightly claustrophobic. You were three drinks in and finally feeling a buzz kicking. Jeonghan, being well on his way to being drunk, grabbed your hand and pulled you to the middle of the living room on the makeshift dance floor. The speakers made it feel like an earthquake was tearing through the house. His arms held at your waist, pulling you closer to his chest as he began to dance to the music. He seemed to be saying something but you could not hear him over the music.
âWhat?â you called, loud enough to be heard over the booming music.
He pulled you into him, his lips close to your ear, âYou look really great tonight. And Iâm really glad you decided to come.â
The party finally seemed to be picking up, even more people loading into the house, boozing up, and letting go of their inhibitions. Escaping from the crowded living room, you found yourself in the kitchen with some of Jeonghanâs friends.
Hoisting yourself to sit on the counter, you looked around at the boys, all smiling and letting loose after a full week of exams. You smiled as you listened to them laughing and telling stories of the first few days of college and meeting each other. You laughed along at the ridiculous stories Soonyoung began to share.
Jun looked over to Joshua who stood leaning against the counter to your right, a cup in his hand. âHey, Joshua, how is that cat youâve been taking care of?â
Joshuaâs eyes went wide, slamming down his cup.â I got to go.â leaving in a haste before anyone could ask any questions.
You watched as Jun picked up Joshuaâs cup, taking a sip as he assumed it was water like his own. A look of horror crossed his face as he spit the liquid back in the cup and coughed dramatically. âThatâs not water⌠Josh was drinking straight vodka.â
Turning your attention back to the stories, smiling with the others as the story of Seokminâs first time getting wasted came to an end with a roar of laughter coming from the boys.
âI remember when Jeonghan first came here,â Vernon commented. âHe REALLY liked Y/N. Like⌠Y/N and I had a book project we had to do and as soon as they left he kept asking questions about how I knew them and what year they were in⌠He was like a lost puppy when Y/N wasnât around.â he laughed, clearly tipsy and just wanting to talk with his friends too. âAnd now heâs friendzoned.â
The whole room seemed to have gone cold and you could feel their eyes on you, trying to read how you were going to react. Your eyes averted to your lap, taking in what Vernon shared. You thought Jeonghan was attractive of course but you never thought he saw you in the same light, so you had suppressed your feelings for him and settled with being his best friend.
âWhoâs ready for another round?â Jeonghan boomed. Eyes darted in his direction and a look of confusion crossed his face. âWhat?â
Your attention turned back to your room, taking in your surroundings. The pile of clothes on the floor, shoes left haphazard by the door, the jacket on your desk chair.
The party had began to die down, people filing out around three in the morning. Cups were left everywhere, the smell of alcohol and sweat still lingering, probably seeping into the couch left to smell for weeks to come. You had began to help cleaning up, grabbing a garbage bag and picking up the cups off the floor.
âReady to go?â Jeonghan called, leaning in the doorway.
You looked back at him, smiling. His hair sat on his head seemingly undisturbed from when you first left. He had taken his contacts out, round-framed glasses sitting perfectly on the bridge of his nose. A soft smile played on his lips as he picked up the few cups near him before walking over to place them in the bag you were holding. He stopped drinking around midnight, so he seemed to have sobered up a bit.
âYeah, Iâm ready.â you handed over the bag to Soonyoung,, before heading out the door.
The temperature outside had dropped tremendously since you first left that evening. The alcohol still lingering in your system felt like you were radiating warmth, or was it that you finally knew Jeonghanâs feelings mimicked your own? Despite this warm, you began to shiver at the gust of wind blowing your way. Beside you, Jeonghan was shivering as well.
âMy mom always told me to bring a coat.âyou remarked, arms wrapping around yourself.
He smiled at you, âCoats are so heavy⌠Tonight you needed to float, to fly.â
His arm wrapped around your shoulder, trying to keep heat, but you both still shivered. At least you were shivering together.
Smiling, your attention was pulled back to Jeonghan as he snored softly. You noticed the soft purple marks trailing down his neck. Quickly grabbing your phone and turning on the front-facing camera, you spotted similar marks scattered on your neck and collarbones as well.
As you entered your room, you turned to look at Jeonghan.
âVernon told me something⌠in the kitchen.. About you.â you emphasized.
Jeonghanâs seemed to grow to the size of saucers. âWhat did he say?â
âYou canât blame him, okay? He was tipsy and we were talking and he wanted to join in.â you sighed, shaking not from cold now but from nerves. âHe told me that you had feelings for me.â
He nodded slowly, looking up at you, âI still do.â stepping closer, he wrapped his arms around you. âA lot.â
He kissed you gently to begin, and as you relaxed into the kiss things began to heat up. Not pulling away, he guided you back to your bedâŚ
You felt him stir beside you, looking down at him as he began to wake up. The sunlight caused him to squint in protest, groaning as he tried to bury his face into the sheets.
âNice bruises.â you whispered.
He peeked up at you, smiling, pulling you to lay with him. âTheyâre not bruises, theyâre party tattoos.â