𖹭 pairing ; bestfriend!james x "dense" reader. word count: 1291
where he's attempts at trying to make you his all failed because you were so oblivious or are you? fluff.
JAMES PROPPED HIMSELF against your locker, that same easy grin playing on his lips like it belonged there. You didn't see that his ears were a tinge pink from getting himself worked up all morning, or how your friends already fell quiet behind you, waiting for the show to get on the road.
"So..." James got out slowly, "you believe in love at first sight or should I walk by again?"
You blinked at him, tilting your head. "Oh—ya, sure! You can walk with us! We're headed to the café after class, right girls?"
The silence hung heavier than a hamstring can off a gridiron player running from the corner back position. Your friends all slapped their foreheads in unison and groaned quietly. James looked at you for a moment, having his heart somewhere between breaking and melting because you were so damn oblivious.
"She's actually hopeless," Hyein whispered.
"He literally confessed without confessing, oh my god."
James let out a soft laugh, brushing his hand through his hair so you wouldn't see how flustered he was and said, "Right. To the café with you... and your girl gang. Sounds fun."
You smiled at him, completely overlooking the way his jaw tightened again for a second like he was holding back something he wasn't ready to say yet.
Behind you, Keonho walked by with his basketball, glancing at James with the most done expression a little brother could ever wear. "Dude, just do it, she's a lost cause."
Keonho had just left when you puffed out your cheeks and crossed your arms. "I'm not a lost cause! That's so mean."
James scratched the back of his neck and chuckled awkwardly. "Yeah..... mean," he agreed, although his eyes softened like he could no longer deny it.
After class was over, you were still pouting a bit when James came over to your desk and leaned down to grab your bag before you could. "C'mon." He said, "Let's go."
You blinked perplexed, "Oh—thanks." You reached out as second nature to stay near him and instinctively grabbed the sleeve of his shirt. James felt it, his heart stuttering at the little tug.
As you both exited, you leaned in close like you were about to tell him the most important secret. "Don't say anything to anybody but—I heard people in class saying that you liked someone."
James stopped walking from half a second. "...Uh."
You smiled completely unaware of the tension rising in James's shoulders. "Is it true?? Who is it??"
Hyein was right behind you and almost choked when she caught your question. "Oh my god..." she whispered to your other friend, who slapped her hand over her mouth to keep from exploding.
James chuckled nervously, attempting to diffuse the situation. "Maybe, maybe not."
This made your grip on his sleeve tighten even more, bouncing a little on your feet while you whined, "Tell me! Tell me! I won't tell anyone, I swear! I'm your best friend, you have to tell me."
Your friends exchanged glances, all silently yelling at how oblivious you were.
By the time you arrived at the café, you still had him pinned down. "Is it someone from class? Someone from your club? Do I know her? What's her name??"
James simply sat your bag down on the seat next to him, looking at you with an amused yet exasperated smile. Little did you know how close you were sitting to the truth.
He reclined in his chair back, a slight grin on his face. "Okay. I have a proposal for you."
You looked at him in skepticism. "...What type of proposal?"
"I'll reveal who it is-"He leaned in, his elbows on the table, "-only if you are unable to make the correct guess. No limitations to your guesses."
You eyes widened in determination. "Deal."
Everyone else leaned forward, practically shaking in secondhand embarrassment.
The waiter came over with a slice of strawberry shortcake, that you swore you couldn't eat all by yourself, so James had it to "share" with you but that ended up not happening and the only thing left of it was one sad forkful.
James just raised his eyebrow up. "Could eat it all, huh?"
You hummed.. "I couldn't. That's way too much sugar for me, you know that."
"You literally ate 90% of it," he muttered, nearly laughing, pushing the last forkful of cake toward you so you had to finish it.
You shook your head violently. "Never."
So he sighed and just finished the whole thing himself.
While this was happening, you kept firing off names. "Is it Hana? Omg, or maybe Yura. She's adorable, right? Omg is it Liz??"
"Wrong. Wrong. And wrong." James was half amused, half wanting to bang his head against the table.
Wonhee chimed in dramatically, "Girl, he's giving you so many hints."
"What hints?" you exclaimed once more.
"He literally said someone who is always nearby him," one friend remarked, shaking her head in disbelief.
"Yeah, someone who knows him best," Hyein chimed in with a slight grin.
"Um... Keonho?" you said without any hesitation.
"WHAT?!" James almost grimaced in disgust. Your friends all fell down in laughter. "That's your brother!" You could only bury your face into the palm of your hands.
He just sighed, putting his fork down and leaning towards you with a pout; his eyes never left yours. "Y/n..."
You peeked over your hands, only to freeze when he reached over your face and stroked the corner of your mouth with his thumb. "You had cream on your mouth," he said.
Your heart did a violent backflip.
You blinked as your lips parted, not knowing what to do as he drawled his thumb up to his mouth, licking it clean without breaking eye contact. His gaze was so intense it made your breath catch.
Your friends all swooned in disbelief behind you.
James tilted his head, in a softer tone but also still assured. "Still can't guess?"
Your throat felt dry. "...N-no."
He smiled just a little, leaning in a little closer. "It's you, dumbass. It's always been you."
For a moment, you just looked at him in wide-eyed disbelief. Then you let out a laugh. "You can't be serious."
James furrowed his brows, lips parting in disbelief that you brushed his lame line aside so quickly. But your laughter finally subsided, and you leaned in with a slight smile.
"...What if I told you I wasn't as clueless as everyone thinks?"
The entire table went silent. James blinked at you like you'd just thrown the entire room off guard. "Wait—what?"
You shrugged in response, rattling your fork around your plate. "I mean, you've been... obvious. The presents, the cheesy pickup lines... the way you've glared at any guy who even tried to breathe in my direction," you said softly as you leaned in closer. "I just wanted to see if you would actually say it."
The expression on your friends' faces each dropped. James's ears turned bright red, and he buried his face in his hands with a groan. "For the love of God... You've got to be completely joking..."
"Sorry," you mumbled with the tiniest hint of a smirk to your lips, nudging his arm with a chuckle, "I didn't think you'd get this flustered."
Once he finally had the courage to look out from behind his fingers, you leaned in and gave him a quick peck on the lips. It wasn't more than just a second, but it was long enough to freeze him in place.
"Oops," you said through his smile, settling back down like you'd done nothing, again.
James was there, perfectly still, probably wishing he could get up and not look like a complete idiot while your friends freaked out all around you.
