strangers to lovers | high school au | angst/fluff/suggestive
You were never the type to go to parties. Not because you weren’t interested in going, but because you were never invited. Being introverted and perpetually anxious, you found it difficult to make friends. For that reason, you were surprised when Yuna, your lab partner, asked if you were going to Sungchan’s party on Saturday. As if you typically had conversations about things other than science projects. In an attempt to not seem like a total loser, you said ‘yes’, knowing full well that you had never once in your life had an interaction with the party’s host. Yet you went anyway. You even carpooled together in Yuna’s car, but five minutes into the party she ran off with her other friends, leaving you by yourself.
You should’ve known better. That Jini would be there, planning the next phase of making your life a living hell. Because two hours and three random drinks that left a buzz in your chest later she dared you to “stay locked inside the bathroom with Wonbin for five minutes”. All her friends laughed mockingly, commenting on how you must’ve dreamed about this sort of thing. You couldn’t even glance in your crush’s direction. Face burning hot in embarrassment. Jini knew you couldn’t even talk to the guy, much less make a move on him. This was meant to torture you by making you look like a fool in front of someone you had no business having feelings for.
Wonbin was one of the popular guys. He came from a well-off family, got good grades, was a track star and a member of the dance team, sang, played guitar, and — on top of all of that— he was the cutest guy in school. In your opinion, at least. To say he was well-liked by his peers would be a major understatement. Everyone loved him. Including you. However, your interest laid a bit deeper than the typical grocery list of characteristics mentioned.
Yes, Wonbin did capture your heart at the school talent show. But while most talked about his rendition of Leroy Sanchez’s “Don’t Let Me Down”, you couldn’t sway your mind away from the timid smile he had on his face while the audience applauded, the gracious way he accepted the first place award, and then quickly acknowledged his friend’s praise just so he could share his win with his family. Especially his mother, who — unlike most teenage boys — he didn’t mind receiving affection from in public.
Despite being on top of the high school food chain, he didn’t act like it. Shy, considerate, and a little goofy. That’s why you liked him. So when you stood across from each other in that stuffy bathroom, making small talk like it was a normal situation, you were beyond grateful that Wonbin was your crush instead of someone more judgmental. “You’re the one that painted the mural inside the gym, right? The one with the mascot,” he clarified. You nodded your head, staring up at him with hesitant eyes. “It looks very cool.”
“Thanks,” you unintentionally whispered. A silent curse directed at yourself ran through your mind for being so awkward. Your eye contact was flimsy, voice barely making any sound. Even your body language was closed off with folded arms. Meanwhile your crush looked calm and collected leaning against the wall. Eyes a bit hooded over from drinking.
“I’ve seen some of your work in art class. I wish I had your talent.” You let out a quiet scoff. “What?” He asked, raising a questioning brow. A tiny amused smile on his face.
Your fingers absentmindedly picked at the fabric of your sleeves. “Nothing. It’s just… you’re good at so many other things.”
“Playing guitar, dancing, singing, track and field—“
“I’m not that good at track.”
“Are you kidding?” You playfully asked in a soft voice. “You’ve come in the top three in four races this year, and you would’ve won that one in April if it hadn’t been so foggy and —“ you stopped once you realized you were oversharing. A normal classmate that’s never talked to him before wouldn’t have noticed that he’s had difficulty seeing in dim light since his LASIK surgery.
His laugh was warm and polite-seeming, despite it being primarily at your expense. Straight teeth on display in a lopsided smile. A hand going to scratch the back of his neck. “You’ve been paying attention to me for a while, haven’t you?” You bit your bottom lip anxiously at the direct question, eyes glancing around the room. The minuscule amount of liquid courage you had dissipated in an instant. “It’s alright. I actually don’t mind. It’s… kind of… cute.”
Your heart started to pound as he pushed off from the wall and slowly sauntered over to you by the sink. “What are you doing?” You whispered, eyes slightly growing wide, body tensing up. It was like your diaphragm stopped working properly. Everything in your stomach sloshing around due to your unsettled nerves. Your crush casually trapped you between his arms, hands lazily gripping the sink counter.
“Just getting a closer look,” he mumbled in a low voice. His curious eyes took the entirety of you into his alcohol affected mind. From your shoes to your hair. You had to cover your mouth in order to prevent yourself from saying anything stupid or making any weird noises. Your stomach kept churning, mind getting more and more lightheaded by the second. You must have looked pathetic in that lonely puppy sort of way. Wide eyes with a trembling figure. Because he unconsciously mouthed the word “pretty” while looking at you. Something that just didn’t make sense in your brain, even with all the alcohol and unbridled emotions.
Your hand lowered slightly, revealing your quivering lips. His eyes darted to them for a millisecond and you thought for a shocking moment that he was going to lean down and kiss you. For all you knew, he might’ve. That is, if you hadn’t jerked forward and released all the contents of your stomach into your hand and the crotch area of his jeans. You didn’t even get the chance to be mortified, feeling more bile rise in your throat, you turned around and released the second round into the sink.
The turn of events seemed to sober Wonbin up instantly. “Wow, okay,” he shook his head in disbelief. “Okay, okay, not in your hair.” Without any hesitation, he pulled your hair away from your face. Another uncertain hand landing between your shoulder blades. If you weren’t puking your guts out, you might have gushed internally over how sweet he was. “It’s okay, just… let it out.” In actuality, it was only a minute or so between when you started throwing up and when you finished, but it felt like a lifetime. Wonbin handed you a towel to wipe your face with after you rinsed out your mouth. Using a separate one to clean up his… situation on his jeans. “Y/N, do you have a ride home?” You couldn’t meet his eyes, feeling you would dissolve into dust if you did. You simply shook your head in response. The boy sighed listlessly. “Alright, I’ll take you home.”
The five required minutes ending up being more like ten in the end. The two of you opened the door to find everyone more interested in the game than whatever happened between the two of you. Well, mostly everyone. “Grab your things and we can head out,” he stated, fixing his jeans. Though there was nothing he could do about the decent sized water spot in the center. Similar to how you couldn’t get rid of the feeling of vomit left on your mouth. You rubbed the back of your hand over your lips and nodded in confirmation.
You thought that had been end of it: you embarrassed yourself in front of your crush into the next century and he was never going to talk to you again. He drove you home, walked you to your door, made some excuse about you not feeling well to your parents, and that was that. Little did you know about the video clip of you and Wonbin exiting the bathroom being sent around the school, or the ‘slut’ comments filling the comment section. It wasn’t until Monday morning when you first heard the vicious whispers of your classmates that you were able to piece together the unsettling situation.
“It’s always the quiet ones.”
“… totally sucked Wonbin’s dick in the bathroom.”
“No one saw them for the rest of the night.”
“… probably took her home and...”
“She’ll be pregnant before graduation.”
The school day went by painfully slow with your head hung low, ignoring the stares and the unnecessary commentary from the peanut gallery. Of course, you avoided Wonbin like the plague. Facing him after all this might actually kill you, you thought. He was probably humiliated to be caught up in a sex scandal with a total loser like you. Though you didn’t know much about guys, you figured ‘scoring’ with an awkward freak wasn’t a positive for them. Wonbin was only ever going to think of you as the creepy stalker girl that puked all over him and ruined his squeaky clean reputation.
The school counselor got to you before Jini did, thankfully. She asked about some of the rumors going around and wanted to make sure you were okay. You could tell she didn’t believe you when you said nothing happened. But there was nothing you could do to convince her. At least, you had managed to disuade her from calling your parents. The last thing you needed was for your mother to come down to the school and demand for some sort of retribution. No, you were going to handle this like a mature person: cut class and bawl your eyes out underneath the bleachers.
“I see you’ve also had enough of the circus.” Wonbin’s voice cut through the silence unexpectedly, your chest almost caving in on itself from the shock. Immediately, you hid your face in your hands, wiping away at the overwhelming tears. In his own fashion, Wonbin quietly handed you a tissue from his bag. You hesitantly took it if only to shove it down your own throat and choke on it. Unfortunately, the paper would be too thin to clog up your airways. Just as silently, his hand appeared about a foot away from your face. Your red, puffy eyes glanced up at him. He was clad in his gym clothes, long hair tied back, and his bag slung on his shoulder. Evidently, he was choosing to ditch as well. You could see the tiredness in his eyes. It must’ve been a long day for him as well.
“C’mon,” was all he said, urging you to reach for his outstretched hand.
“Why?” You questioned in a hoarse voice. Though you weren’t certain what you were asking. Why did he want you to get up? Why did he find you there? Why did he want you to go with him? Why was he being so nice to you when you had just unintentionally decimated his social life?
“We’re getting out of here,” he simply put. Then raised a lightly inquisitive brow. “Unless you want to stay.” And be a wounded prey for Jini? Hell no. You prayed he couldn’t feel your erratic pulse through the palm of your hand once you had mustered the courage to take his, standing up as gracefully as you could. For a second, the two of you froze in that position, close enough to see your reflection in his eyes, his fingers reluctant to wrap around yours despite trying to keep you steady. His gaze not wavering from yours for a solid two seconds before you both pulled away in an awkward rush.
You followed him to his car, which looked a lot nicer than it did Saturday in the darkness. You contemplated the concept of ‘stranger danger’ as you buckled yourself in. For all you knew, he was going to drive the two of you over some cliff. It wasn’t like you would blame him if he did. You didn’t bother asking where you were going, assuming he was taking you home. Color you surprised when he pulled up to a drive thru menu for a random fast food place. “Hi, yes. Could I get two vanilla sundaes with extra chocolate sauce and sprinkles? Thank you.” It was amazing how you could be completely numb emotionally and still have the wherewithal to notice the little nervous breath he released after talking to a stranger.
For the better part of ten minutes, you sat in his leather car seats, parked in front of an empty mattress store, quietly eating your ice cream as an indie rock radio station played from his stereo in the background. Sure, it was somewhat awkward, but there were certainly worse things you could’ve been doing. You couldn’t help but wonder if anyone saw the two of you leave school together, if more rumors were spreading as you filled your stomach with excess sugars. The thought made your insides churn. Which only worsened after Wonbin’s first utterance since parking the car: “So, how long have you had a big fat crush on me?”
You nearly spat out the mouthful of vanilla and chocolate. The question was blunt in a way you didn’t expect from him, but also intentionally light as to not scare you off. His warm brown eyes glancing at yours told you he was genuinely interested in your answer. The small waver of his calm expression proving that it was still uncomfortable for him to bring up the topic. You swallowed the cold substance quickly, causing your chest to shiver as it went down. “I- I don’t have a,” you stuttered, unsure what to say. “It’s not- I’m not- I don’t have a crush on you,” you lied through your teeth. His small smile threw you off, not sure if he was teasing you or honestly amused by your skittish behavior.
He frustratingly kept eating his ice cream in peace while you struggled to string a coherent sentence together. And he had to do it so majestically as well. Air conditioner blowing at the loose strands of his hair. “It’s okay. Lots of people have a crush on me.” His spoon paused midair as he said it, your eyebrows pushing together in confusion. “I didn’t mean for it to come out like that. Just that people, in general, have crushes, so it’s nothing to be ashamed of. People become interested in other people. It’s natural.” Overcorrection. He was just as socially awkward as you.
“Exactly,” you agreed with a slight nod. “People just want to know things about other people, and pay attention to things. That doesn’t make it weird.”
“Right. If anything it’s flattering to have someone pay attention to you.” He added assuredly.
“Yes.” For a couple seconds you stared at one another, wondering where all this energy to talk came from. Soft, nervous chuckles filled the confines of the car. All at once, it felt like a weight was removed from your chest.
“Especially, when they force you to emergency wash their favorite pair of jeans.” You covered your warm face with the paper ice cream cup. Wonbin chuckling at your reaction. You gave him a rushed yet sincere apology. “It’s alright. It was still the most fun I’ve had at one of those parties. Honestly, they’re not really my thing.” He let out a tired sigh, relenting to explain after you gave him an inquisitive stare. “I just don’t like disappointing people. So when they invite me, I show up.”
You nodded in understanding. “I don’t think parties are my thing either, or alcohol.”
“Or party games in bathrooms.” You genuinely laughed at that one. And Park Wonbin’s facial expression actually softened at the sight of your joy. Was he really enjoying your company or just being nice? Why was this going so well when you feel like he should be upset with you in some way, like everyone else? But he wasn’t. “I guess that means I won’t be seeing you at anymore parties.” You gave a playful yet definitive ‘no’. “That’s a shame. I has hoping to have, you know, a fellow anti-party person to talk to next time.”
Wonbin was exactly who you thought he was: sweet, considerate, sensitive in the way most guy’s weren’t. “Y/N,” he called your name softly from his reclined driver’s seat. The both of you found staring at the roof of the car to be awfully relaxing. The lack of overt eye contact made it easier to talk. You hummed in response. “If you want, I can talk to someone… about… the thing. A teacher or vice principal Lee. Maybe they could fix the situation, stop people from spreading… misinformation.”
Your lips pursed together in a slight grimace. Fingers picking at the hem of your shirt. “I don’t think they would believe that the rumors aren’t true even if we told them.”
“What makes you say that?”
“Ms. Choi had me come to her office and sent me out with a pamphlet about safe sex.” Wonbin let out a huff of air in disappointment. If the guidance counselor wouldn’t do anything to fix the situation, most likely no one would. You were on your own. “It’s not that bad,” you said, reassuring yourself more than the boy next to you. “Maybe we can just wait it out until everybody moves on to some other piece of stupid gossip.” For a second, the crumbling of Wonbin’s paper ice cream cup in his hands was the only sound inside the vehicle. A listless sigh left your mouth. “They are going to believe whatever they want to believe no matter what I do. But I guess ‘school slut’ is a step up from ‘school nobody’.”
There was something in your attempt at an apathetic tone that bothered Wonbin. He shifted to his side. You could feel his eyes stare at you pitifully. You hated it. “Y/N.” He tried to get your attention, but you couldn’t quite bring yourself to look at him. Not until his fingertips carefully brushed the sleeve of your shirt. His warm brown eyes held no judgement as you met their sincere gaze. Dark hair perfectly framing his kind face. Your breathing became extremely light. A fuzziness building inside your chest. “Even if you had… done what they say, you wouldn’t have done anything wrong.”
You didn’t know how to respond. Nobody had ever called you out on your misplaced guilt before. Nobody cared to notice the pessimistic inner dialogue that contently occupied your brain even when it bled through into your speech. “And you’re not a nobody.” You got the sudden urge to cry, tears pricking at the corners of your eyes, but you swallowed the feeling down. Wonbin seemed to pick up on it though, the pads of his fingers gently caressing your wrist. As if to say it was okay to feel whatever you were feeling.
“You’re a good guy, Wonbin.” His lips pulled up into an appreciative smile, eyes darting to where your hands connected.
“I try,” he replied, unsure of how to respond to such a blatant compliment. He looked like some sort of Devine figure, the way his dark lashes casted delicate shadows over his perfect cheekbones.
You were always infatuated with Park Wonbin since the the moment you laid eyes on him, but this feeling was so much stronger than that. Irrationally, you wished you had done the thing they claimed you did. You wished to properly hold his hand, lather him in worshipping kisses as he pulled apart each layer that concealed your helpless soul. He was everything you’d ever dreamed of and more.
“Okay,” your voice was almost less than a whisper, shaky. He still listened closely nonetheless. “I may have a tiny little crush on you.” He wasn’t yours, but he still quietly reveled in your timid affection. Hand finally overlapping yours.
“I would’ve kissed you that night.” His confession seemed to punctuate the acknowledgment that there was something between the two of you. An inexplicable and unexpected connection. A blush crawled up his neck, the same heat overtaking your face. And just like that, all the nerve your teenage selves could muster left in an instant. “Uh, it’s getting late, I should take you home.” Wonbin pulled away at the same time as you, lifting up his seat. You followed suit.
“Yeah,” you easily agreed. Quietly thanking Jini for the dare. Positive that you had met the love of your life.
perm taglist: @rixieisfreaky @winterbeartaehyungbestboy @sanniekook @hwrtoni @sukistargirl @wenoberry
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