#i don't ship any idols irl obviously but in fics sometimes

[dreamofbona]

starlight - park jongseong

summary: when your family decides to move, you're not happy at all. even though your social life is crumbling, you want to stay in new york. besides, what's to say that life in seattle will be better?

alternatively: you move to seattle and learn how to live (2521-esque)

genre: high school au, fluff, angst

pairing: jay x fem!reader

warnings: swearing

word count: 2.3 k

other characters: jake, heeseung, kim chaewon, huh yunjin, sakura, huening kai, taehyun

Chapter Two:

Days pass, and you continue getting accustomed to Seattle. By the end of your first week, you can confidently say that you think this friend group is gonna last.

It’s the Saturday after the first week of school that you get the text. It’s in the big group chat.

jjongsaeng: i’m bored. anyone up for going 2 the beach? 

jenjen: don’t you have hw?

jjongsaeng: i’m a procrastinator

heehee: i’m up for the beach

heehee: when we going?

aussie boyy: we should do hw @ the beach

zuha: that defeats the purpose of the beach

heehee: yk it’s a fact when zuha speaks on it

heehee: our fav internet grandma zuha

heehee: she probably spent an hour typing that out we should respect that effort

zuha: i resent that

chaechae: i’m in. i’m also a procrastinator. 

jenjen: *sighs* fine then

jjongsaeng: this convo is literally over text. u can’t sigh like that

jenjen: dramatic effect jjong. it’s an art. 

jenjen: anyways y/n, kai and tyun r awfully quiet. r yall hanging without us?

y/n: no never! i’m gonna have to opt out tho lots of hw

chaechae: NO

chaechae: no hw ur coming to the beach

y/n: … 

y/n: fine then but if i fail history that’s on u chae u go talk to my parents

heehee: yay! kai? tyun? 

kai: sorry can’t make it i got a coffee date

jenjen: A DATE?! WITH WHO?! SPILL THE TEA CHILD

kai: no. bye. 

aussie boyy: guess we’ll have to interrogate him on monday 

aussie boyy: tyun? taehyun? kang taehyun? hello? 

tea-hyun: can’t sorry. prior commitment. next time yall

Once everyone’s decided whether or not they can come, you and the others text separately to figure out rides. Jay, Chaewon, and Jake can drive, so you assign rides based on proximity. 

jjongsaeng: alright then. so, we’ll meet at the beach. well, i’ll see y/n and jen soon. 

You see a black sedan pull up outside your house, and a head of blonde hair gets out. You grab the bag you’d prepared for the beach, run down the stairs, but fail to beat your parents out the door.

“Mom, Dad, this is Jay. Jay, these are my parents.” you say, quickly. “Great! Now that we have introductions out of the way, beach time!” 

You try to get out the door, but your dad says, “Wait, hold on a second. I want to meet your friends.”

“Another time, Dad,” you respond. 

“So, Jay,” your dad goes on, “you’re also a junior? What’re you interested in?”

Jay nods, “Yeah, I’m also a junior. In school I like English and History. Outside of that, I love the arts - singing, dancing, painting - and fashion.”

“Oh, that’s cool,” says your dad. “I have zero fashion sense. Anyways, you guys are going to the beach?”

You nod, “Yeah, I already told you, you said sure, go and have fun.”

“I know,” your dad says. “So, is it just the two of you?”

“No,” says Jay. “We’re picking up another friend, and then the others are meeting us there.”

“Nice,” says your mom. “Sounds like fun. I’ll have to meet all of you at some point. Invite them over, Y/N,” she says to you.

“I will,” you respond.

“Alright, we won’t hold you kids any longer. Go have fun. Don’t get eaten by a shark!” says your dad.

You roll your eyes, following Jay out the door and into his car. He gets in the driver’s seat, you sit in the passenger seat - perks of being the first one picked up - and he starts making conversation. It’s nice, but you’re also a bit shocked: this is the most he’s talked to you since the first day of school. 

“So, how’s your weekend been so far, Y/N?” he asks, glancing at you before looking back at the road (he’s a safe driver like that). 

“It’s been good,” you say. “I slept in, it’s Saturday so waffle day, and then I procrastinated, did homework, watched YouTube videos, procrastinated, did more homework… What about you?”

Jay chuckles, “The same, pretty much. Homework is, well, homework. Depending on the class, it’s either fun, bearable, or torture.”

“So true,” you agree, “I love English homework, it’s so fun. I’m also okay with History and Science. Hate math homework though. It’s good practice but an awful experience.”

“I love History homework,” says Jay. “I find it so cool to learn about different time periods. I also like looking at pictures and drawings, seeing what people wore, what the beauty standards were. Did you know that in Florence, back in the 1600s, women bleached their hair in the sun and dyed it with urine? Having blonde hair was the beauty standard, and that’s how they did it.”

You crinkle your nose, disgusted. “Ew.”

“They also,” Jay continues, “believed that bigger foreheads were more attractive, so they’d pluck hair to move their hairline further up.”

“Beauty at the price of pain,” you say, not knowing how to respond. “I could never do that.”

Jay laughs, “Me neither.”

You then pull up to a gorgeous house, painted light blue, with a long dark driveway. Just as Jay parks the car, Jen runs out the door, bag in hand.

“Thank God you’re here,” she says. “My parents wanted me to do homework while waiting. Math homework.” She waves towards the house, before sitting in the backseat. “I hate doing math homework with them.”

“Did your parents also ask you to memorize times tables and recite them when you were eight?” you ask, and Jen laughs, nodding. 

“Yup. Awful childhood experience. Especially because we have calculators, like I get that they grew up not using calculators, but I don’t need to memorize basic math. I’d rather memorize song lyrics.” she says. 

“Relatable,” says Jay.

You three carry on, discussing school and adults and life. Before you know it, Jay’s parking the car, and then you three get out, grabbing your bags and meeting up with the others.

“I’m traumatized,” is the first thing Zuha says. “She drives like a maniac.”

Chaewon pouts, “I’m a good driver. The state of Washington agrees.”

“Maybe back then,” says Zuha, “but not anymore. I’m never sitting in a car with you again.”

“It wasn’t that bad,” argues Chaewon, but Zuha’s shaking her head.

“You ran through three red lights, rolled through four stop signs, didn’t blink when changing lines, went 20 miles over the speed limit, yelled at slower drivers - they could hear you, Chae, calling them “fucking idiots”. I was scared someone would snap and follow us. Road rage is a very real thing.” 

Zuha looks exhausted, Chaewon is pouting, and everyone else is laughing. You included. Who would’ve guessed that Chaewon was crazy behind the wheel? Well, everyone, actually. You’d been shocked that she had her license. For good reason, you now know.

“I’m not driving back with you,” says Zuha.

“I’ll give you a ride,” responds Jake. “Your house is on my route anyways.”

Zuha breathes a sigh of relief. “Thank you.”

“Then who will go with me? I’ll be all alone,” Chaewon whines. 

“That sounds like a you problem,” says Heeseung. “I’ll go with you though. I want to sit in a car with you. It’s like a free amusement park ride. Six Flags will be a piece of cake after sitting in a car with you.”

Everyone laughs, and you all start walking towards the sand. Jake brought a beach umbrella, and you set it up, along with some lawn chairs and towels. You all brought snacks, and Heeseung has a cooler as well filled with cold drinks.

The beach is fun. At one point, you all go in the water, splashing each other. Heeseung shoves Jay in the water, who then shoves him back. Jake is watching, laughing, until he gets dunked in the water by Jen. Everyone splashes and jumps and screams and it’s a fun time, something you had never done with your friends back home. 

You also talk a lot with Jay. It makes you happy - all of your friends are nice, but there’s something about Jay that draws you in. He’s so thoughtful, kind, funny. He tends to be quiet, but sometimes he’s extremely loud and energetic and he absolutely brightens the room. Because of his more quiet tendencies, it feels more authentic and thoughtful when he does speak and engage in conversation. It also feels more personal, private, like whatever he’s telling you is for you alone, like he’s making a special effort to tell you about a piece of him. You like getting pieces of him. It makes you feel like you’re closer to figuring him out. And you want to figure him out - he has an incredible smile, and you want to know the secret behind it. You want to make that smile happen. 

Jay sits next to you on the sand, talking about the way the sun’s light is hitting the waves of the ocean, about how it would make for such a nice painting. Not a picture, a painting. Jay’s so artistic. 

“You should paint it,” you tell him as he’s pondering out loud the different shades of blue and green that would be mixed to replicate the color of the ocean waves. 

“Should I?” he asks, “I’m not a great artist.”

“I don’t believe that,” you respond. “Paint it. I feel like you know a lot about art.”

Jay shrugs, “I like art. I think it’s because I also like history, and fashion. Art is so intertwined with both of those areas. I mean, all three are intertwined, really. There’s history and art behind fashion. There’s art and fashion throughout history. There’s art from different historical time periods, and fashion is art…” he rambles on for a bit, before blushing, “I’m probably boring you, aren’t I?”

You shake your head, “Not at all. I’ve never really thought much about any of those connections, or subject areas, so it’s interesting to learn about it. It’s cool that you think so much about it. Especially the attention to detail - details are so important, but people always gloss over them.”

Jay grins, “I feel the same way. Art without details, writing without details, anything without details, really, would be so dull, vague, uninteresting. Details give life to things.”

Through the glare of the sun, you try to focus on the details in his smile. “They really do,” you agree.

You really enjoy the beach day. It’s a good break from studying, and it’s fun to spend time with your friends. Between conversations on the sand, hanging out in the water, picnicking in the shade, you feel a sense of community and belonging. 

You’re also really happy because of Jay. You’ve talked to him so much today, and it makes you happy. It’s a weird feeling, and it makes you nervous - you feel giddy and excited whenever you talk to him, and you never feel like that around other people.

Later that night, you’re in your pajamas, getting ready for bed. You’re under your covers, about to turn your light off, when your phone buzzes. 

You’re not all that sleepy, so you pick up your phone from your nightstand, and see a notification. It’s in a group chat with Jen, Zuha, and Chaewon.

jenjen: so are we gonna talk abt jay and y/n?

y/n: ??

y/n: there’s nothing to talk abt?

zuha: yup and chae’s a good driver

chaechae: i resent that but i agree

jenjen: zuha stop talking abt chae’s driving for one second

jenjen: we have more important matters to discuss

zuha: 🙄

jenjen: do u like him back?

chaechae: that’s a stupid question it’s obvious she likes him

y/n: i don’t like him! I like being friends w him but just that

zuha: stop lying to yourself! ur acting like chaewon rn

chaechae: i’m feeling v unsafe in this gc rn

zuha: that’s how i felt in a car w u

jenjen: zuha, very kindly, shut up abt chae’s driving 

jenjen: anyways, y/n, do u like talking to jay?

y/n: yes

jenjen: do u like seeing him smile?

y/n: yes, doesn’t everyone?

jenjen: did u blush when u saw him with wet hair? water droplets falling on his skin?

y/n: … maybe. didn’t the rest of u?

jenjen: y/n, sweet sweet child, NO 

zuha: no

chaechae: no

jenjen: confirmed y/n likes jay

chaechae: and he likes her back he’s kinda pathetic abt it

chaechae: bro drove out of his way to pick her up before jennifer

y/n: he did?

zuha: he didn’t want his gf to die in a car w u

chaechae: i want to block her, can i block her?

jenjen: anyways, it’s obvious he likes u

jenjen: he wouldn’t stop talking to u today, after a week of barely talking to u

zuha: it’s cuz kai’s on a date, so he knows y/n and kai don’t have a thing

y/n: he thought kai and i had a thing?

jenjen: u didn’t know? he looked so pissed everytime u talked to the kid

jenjen: i was half expecting a fight 

chaechae: i wish there was a fight that would be funny

zuha: this is why u shouldn’t have a license

y/n: well at least he knows that kai and i aren’t a thing

y/n: speaking of which who’s kai dating?

jenjen: idk, kid refused to tell me

chaechae: i have a few ideas but i’m not sure

zuha: idk, we’ll see monday

jenjen: as long as it’s not u, it doesn’t matter

jenjen: i’m the captain of jay x y/n and i need to see my ship sail

y/n: so u guys r sure he likes me?

zuha: yes

chaechae: yes

jenjen: yes

y/n: huh

copyright: this is original work, don't copy it. just send an ask/comment to join the taglist.

taglist: @chaewon-slays