#potato chip fiction is like. stuff you read in the sitting of eating a bag of chips and is fun for your preferred flavor of fun

[attila-werther]

anyway on the topic of enjoying potato chip fiction, there is nothing I love more than a gay mini series that only asks for half a braincell from me. this plot is held together by a singular piece of tape and I'm here for it.

[redeyedryu]

Cross Dimensional Problems

Chapter 3 - Uh... | [Ao3]  | 1 | « | x | » |

Have some more of whatever this is, I guess. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Summary: Mmm, popato chisps~!

Popato chisps, as it turns out to your complete and utter disappointment, do not taste all that different from regular potato chips. The weird fizzy, pop-rock like sensation and the way they kind of just… disappear when you swallow is pretty neat, though. A monster food thing, no doubt. Still, talk about a letdown. Doesn't mean you're gonna stop eating them though, as you proceed to stuff yet another into your mouth. They even crunch like a regular potato chip.

“YOU EXPECT ME TO BELIEVE THIS? THAT THIS… THIS HUMAN IS FROM SOME PLANE OF EXISTENCE WHERE THE GREAT AND TERRIBLE ME IS NOTHING MORE THAN FICTION? SOMETHING CREATED BY SUCH A WEAK AND FEEBLE RACE?!”

You talk around the chisp you just shoved into your mouth and bring a hand to your chest, a mockery of being flattered. “Aw, love you too, boss,” you say in an overly sweet voice and as the very tall, very loud, very edgy skeleton proceeds to sputter and cough and choke at your words, you simply shove another two chisps into your mouth. He’s shouting, boots stomping against the linoleum of the kitchen floor, but you’re already toning him out.

Sans and the Underswap Papyrus had shuffled you up the basement stairs and into the kitchen, talking amongst themselves about needing to call a house meeting. As it just so happened, your additional company had already been present, apparently preparing some meal or another. It didn't smell like burnt rubber or vinegar so you’re hoping this is one of those takes where the Papyruses and Swap Sans aren't absolutely terrible when it comes to cooking, that they've had enough time to improve and learn that no, glitter is not a key ingredient.

Underfell Papyrus, Swapfell Sans, and regular ol’ Papyrus had been the lucky ones to welcome the newest party crasher (that's you, by the way) to the house. Papyrus had given a rather enthusiastic welcome, complete with bone-crushing (heh) hug. The Fell variants, being not so touchy feely, had merely scowled at you and turned up their skulls in that pretentious manner they’re often presented as being.

Goodness, it was all just so surreal.

You had to tell yourself not to stare because that's rude. Play it off, act as cool as the coolest cucumber. And so you had walked over to the nearby table sat in the middle of the large kitchen and plopped into a seat. Breezily, yet politely because you're no mannerless heathen, you had asked for a bag of popato chisps and Papyrus had all but gasped, affronted that you would choose to eat something so unhealthy—and so soon before dinner! But Sans had shot him some kind of look and the skeleton had ultimately acquiesced. He hadn't done so happily, of course, as he had none too quietly muttered this and that about poor eating habits as he fished a bag from the pantry.

You thanked him when he begrudgingly handed the snack bag to you and had proceeded to munch away while Sans and the Swap Papyrus set about explaining just why exactly a human had trudged up from their basement—and in such lazy attire, no less!

So that leads us back to the present. Underfell Papyrus appears to be taking the news the worst so far, you think. You're not sure, though, he's a hard one to read. Too tsun, too soon.

“SO, HUMAN,” another voice speaks up just as you toss the last popato chisp into your mouth. Judging by the deep, rough rumble not unlike Underfell Sans’s, loud though it may be, you guess it's the only other Sans in the kitchen that is addressing you. When you direct your attention to the source, you are proud to say your deductive skills aren't complete crap.

The Swapfell Sans variant has taken to standing at the table across from you, arms folded over his chest. His sockets are squinted and he's taking advantage of the fact you are sitting down, giving him the height advantage to sneer down at you. Pretentious prick.

Stop being so hot.

“Yes, skeleton,” you reply. His face scrunches up like he smelled something bad and you just smile. 

“WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY ON THIS MATTER?” You're not sure how to interpret his tone, nor that question. It sounds like an accusation? Almost as if you're being scolded.

“Uh… Not exactly sure what you mean by that, but uhm… hmm.” You fuss with the popato chisps bag, neatly folding it in on itself--in half, a quarter, an eighth, a sixteenth. “Whether or not you believe me, it's the truth. Where I'm from y’all’re nothing more than fiction and fantasy.” You’re not avoiding meeting their eyes, you're just very interested in this folded up popato chisps bag. It's just so cool. Yup.

The skeleton clicks his tongue and you think you hear the sound of boots tapping out an impatient rhythm.

“PROVE IT,” he says.

That succeeds in drawing your attention.

“Uh…?”

“UNLESS, OF COURSE, YOU ARE LYING?” Ah, there's that smug, condescending leer again. You squint at him.

“I'm not lying.”

He waves a hand at you, a signal to, “GO ON, THEN. PROVE IT.”

Your face creases in a rather extreme pout, a breathy exhale forced through your nose. Fine, be that way you pretentious, sexy piece of shit.

You cross your arms and lean back in your chair.

“Well. That’s… there is… there are so many different takes on the AUs that there’s no guarantee anything I say will necessarily add up.” You cast a glance towards Sans, noting he and the rest of the ensemble have paused in whatever bickering they had been involved with with Underfell Papyrus, to listen to you speak. You take that as your cue. “I guess I'll start with the source material. Though bear in mind it's been at least a year or so since I've last played…”

You close your eyes and take a slow, deep breath. You exhale just as slowly, attention once more returned to the folded up popato chisps bag as your fingers itch for something to keep busy with.

Whelp. Here goes.

“Undertale is a pixel RPG style game. Its premise being that you don't have to fight. It's a game where your choices matter, and you can choose whether to fight and kill monsters or show them nothing but mercy.” From your peripheral, you don't miss the way Swapfell Sans’s face tightens, nor the way Sans’s posture seems to tense. “You play as a kid whose name you set in the beginning but eventually learn to be named Frisk, who is their own person separate from you, the player. They essentially act as your vessel.

“They fell into the Unground and start in the Ruins, in a bed of golden flowers. You proceed a room over and are introduced to Flowey. In Swapped universes it's often a toss-up between it still being Flowey, a Temmie, or even Monster Kid. Just depends on who’s writing the story.

“So anyway, you proceed through the Ruins. You meet Toriel, who bakes you a butterscotch cinnamon pie in most routes. When you try to leave she tells you about Asgore and how he’ll kill you if you go through the doors leading to the rest of the Underground. He's done so to all those that preceded you, afterall. So you fight Toriel and then trek towards Snowdin from there.” You pointedly don't look at Sans when you say, “You meet Sans just before a bridge and the whole thing is built up to unsettle you. You cross a stick in the middle of the path that winds up cracking behind you, you hear footsteps in the snow but no one’s there, and when you get to the bridge he’s all,” and here you do a poor imitation of Sans’s deep voice, “ ‘H u m a n. Don't you know how to greet a new pal? Turn around and shake my hand.’ It's a cutscene so your character does that and then a rather long, drawn out whoopie cushion fart sound clip plays.” You hear a couple chuckles off to the side. “Things happen, you hide behind a conveniently shaped lamp, you meet Papyrus, you go through Snowdin. You fight Papyrus, get locked in a shed, then proceed through Waterfall and are dogged by Undyne the entire time… you fight her then you go on to Hotland and all its conveyor belts, steam vents, and lasers. Talk to Alphys and fight Mettaton on his ridiculous show… several times. Then it's what… onto the CORE? The soundtrack there’s really neat. So you make your way through the CORE and you wind up fighting Mettaton Ex and the fight's broadcast throughout the entire Underground? So you beat him and then you're in New Home and you wind up getting the tragic backstory for the King and Queen’s kids. Then you fight Asgore… and after that you fight Flowey. And once that's done you've beaten the game. The ending varies depending on what route you're on and the choices you made.” You decide not to say it also depends on which monsters are still left alive.

You’re bending and twisting the piece of garbage in your hands, a bit nervous for whatever reason to meet anyone’s eyes. Honestly, what are you afraid of?

The room is utterly silent--so quiet, in fact, that you would undoubtedly be able to hear the proverbial pin drop. You take a hesitant peek up at your company and your cheeks heat up and there’s a tingling sensation that crawls down your back as you catch the voided stare of the skeletons around you.

You don't know why but you feel compelled to rush out that, “I only ever managed to do neutral pacifist and true pacifist runs…” before quickly averting your gaze back to the mutilated snack bag. Heck. Why aren't they saying anything? They're the ones who asked! And it's not like you did anything! You didn't bring yourself here, didn't put yourself into this impossible scenario!

Someone say something already!

There's a loud clap and you're ashamed to admit that you very nearly jump out of your seat at the abrupt noise.

“WELL!” Papyrus speaks up, drawing your attention. “I BELIEVE THE HUMAN! THEIR STORY CERTAINLY DOES ADD UP WITH WHAT TRANSPIRED HERE, WITH OUR HUMAN FRIEND. DOESN’T IT, BROTHER?”

Oh bless your beautiful, sweet bones, Papyrus!

All eyes turn to Sans and oh boy. He's doing that blank eye socket thing and he’s sweating.

“y-yeah,” he eventually manages as he brings a bony palm to scrape across the top of his skull. “yeah, paps is right, it checks out.”

Your shoulders slump as tension leaves you. Man, you're going to wind up with all kinds of knots at this rate. The errant thought of whether or not skeletons would be good at giving massages crosses your mind but you stuff it down. Now’s not the time. Maybe later. …maybe.

“WELL. BE THAT AS IT MAY,” Swapfell Sans begins, “THAT DOES NOT EXPLAIN HER APPEARANCE HERE, NOR WHAT SHALL BE DONE WITH HER.”

A cold chill rushes down your spine and your stomach flips. They're not going to throw you out, are they?

Op. There's that tension again.

You shift your gaze to Papyrus, eyes pleading.

“WELL OF COURSE SHE WILL STAY HERE, WITH US!”

Oh sweet baby Jesus, Papyrus you are a saint. That's it, he is absolutely your new favorite.

Underfell Papyrus, on the other hand… he sputters. “I SHOULD THINK NOT!” he protests, gloved hands slamming onto the table. You don't jolt at that, you don't. “WE DON'T EVEN KNOW THIS HUMAN AND YOU WOULD SUGGEST WE KEEP IT HERE? WHERE WE ARE MOST VULNERABLE? PREPOSTEROUS!”

Your brows furrow.

“What?” It's not like you're going to try and dust them in their sleep or anything, what the heck, man.

“OH YOU HEARD ME, HUMAN. I AM WELL AWARE OF YOUR KIND, HOW CONNIVING YOU CAN BE.”

You mouth a silent, “what?” Because… what?

“Uh… I mean. Not that I'm… not uh… flattered? That you’re apparently so intimidated by me but… I wouldn't… I uh… I'm not an asshole.”

Oh dang. Are his cheeks turning red?

… 

Holy shit???

They are!

“I AM NOT INTIMIDATED BY SOMEONE AS WEAK AND PATHETIC AS YOU!” he denies, booted foot slamming against the linoleum as he stands straight, arms crossing over his chest. “I AM MERELY BEING CAUTIONS, WHICH IS MORE THAN I CAN SAY FOR THESE GULLIBLE, IDIOTIC CREAMPUFFS!” 

There’s a chuckle, low and deep and sexy. Your eyes flit to Swapfell Sans. There’s an amused air about him, his sharp-toothed grin more relaxed than before.

“I AM NOT AGAINST THE HUMAN STAYING HERE. OF COURSE WE WOULD NEED THE REST OF THE HOUSE TO WEIGH IN ON THE DECISION, BUT SHE IS CLEARLY NO THREAT. SHOULD SHE TRY ANYTHING, SHE WOULD BE EASY ENOUGH TO DISPATCH.”

“Uh… thanks? …I think??” You're a bit on the fence with that reasoning. Also isn't that kind of a threat?

“TCH. SUIT YOURSELVES,” Underfell Papyrus sneers. “BUT DO NOT COME CRYING TO ME WHEN IT ATTEMPTS TO DUST YOU IN YOUR SLEEP.” And much like his brother had in the basement, the edgy skeleton makes an abrupt exit.

Funny how he had voiced your thought, though.

“Should… I be worried about him?” you ask the room.

You're a bit surprised when Underswap Papyrus speaks up, as he had been rather quiet since coming up from the basement. “nah, he’s just a worrywart.”

“I… if you say so…” You're not entirely convinced but, well. Your options are kind of limited.

You're about to ask something else when a rather shrill BEEEEEP cuts through the kitchen.

“AH. THAT WOULD BE DINNER.” Swapfell Sans announces. He turns away from the table and all of you grouped there, to attend to the oven.

And it's only after he says something that you finally register the rather pleasant scent wafting through the air. It entices your hunger, your mouth watering as your stomach grumbles quietly. Popato chisps aren't very filling, after all.

[pockpop]

the loved and the damned part two | seo changbin

➵ summary: throwing up flowers for a boy in love with someone else is more exciting than not loving him at all.

➵ genre: fluffy angsty stuff ya know, tattooed!changbin, college au, 1990s era

*lyrics credit to julia micheals

oct.23.2018  | 9:23pm

masterlist

••

part one | part two

“hurts to remember the moment we met, the touch that he planted, the garden he left.”

•

october 1997

the arrival of fall was evident in the cool breeze that welcomed us in the beginning of october. but the colder it got, the more sick i was. and to make matters worse, oblivious changbin was still in love with his ex girlfriend. so why was i still in love with him? that’s a question neither myself or my dumb heart could answer.

as usual, for breakfast, changbin and i sat in a booth at georgie’s diner, a hangout spot close to campus that many students went to for the three meals of the day. but keeping down even one meal was becoming difficult for me.

“just because i said i’m paying doesn’t mean pick at your food,” changbin commented with a mouth full of seasoned potatoes. I scrunched up my face at him and cut into my omelet that still had steam coming from it.

“hey so I have a question,” changbin motioned for me to speak as he was starting to dig into his chocolate chip pancakes.“so have you ever heard of someone throwing up flowers?”

he stopped mid-chew,staring at me oddly.“that’s an odd question. why do you ask?”

i huffed, scratching my neck,“I um- read it in a book the other day?”

changbin snorted as he continued to eat,”those fiction books you read, you gotta get your head out of the clouds sometimes y/l/n. we need you down here.” he joked lightly flicking my forehead, but just that tiny touch upset my stomach. gripping the edge of the booth seat, i took a deep breath to try and subside the nausea but it didn’t work.

“I’ve got to go to the bathroom,  just don’t eat my omelet,” I said pointing at him while I stood up, he waved me off and was already reaching to get a bite of it anyway.

speed-walking to the bathroom, i barely made it to the toilet before the flowers exploded out of my mouth. calla lilies decorated the toilet, the toilet seat, the floor and my shirt. i groaned out as my eyes blurred with pain filled tears. i closed my eyes briefly but only for a second before a knock came at the stall door.”hello? are you alright in there?” a female voice said through the door.

“yes. just still fighting a stomach virus.” I sickly replied as i to scrambled to pick up the flowers and flush the toilet. as i was turning to open the door,i watched the girl’s hand reach down to pick up a stray lily.

catching a glimpse of her hand, i recognized the lotus flower tattoo on her hand but i couldn’t remember from where. her cautious voice followed afterward.“it’s gets easier,over time. at least until these beautiful flowers turn fatal... I do hope you feel better.”

at least until these beautiful flowers turn fatal? what the hell was she talking about? i wasn’t sure but i was still stuck wondering how in the hell i was gonna fix whatever was going on with my body.

••

“hey chris, did she call today?” was the first question out of changbin’s mouth the moment we entered the frat house. chris barely glanced up from his textbook, waving changbin off.”when she does, isn’t it the first thing i tell you?”

changbin bit his lip, balancing his weight back and forth for a moment before he looked back at me.”does this mean she really doesn’t want to get back together or something?”

“I don’t know binnie, it’s only been a week.”

see, changbin’s ex had approached him just a week ago talking all this stuff about fixing the tension between them and saying she’d call him again soon so they can really talk. i was getting tired of hearing about her. one moment he’s completely in my face and complimenting me, clinging to my side like an over-attached child and then the moment she is even mentioned, it was like i didn’t exist. not only was it hurting my pride to still even be in this situation but it wasn’t as if i was calling him out on his bullshit. i let him do it because what girl doesn’t love the pain of her unrequited love?

groaning, changbin grabbed my hand and led me upstairs to his room. once we reached his room, i pulled my hand away, nausea settling in my stomach again. he didn’t even notice. “i just don’t get it. you can give someone all your time and they barely even notice you.” he complained sitting on his bed to kick off his sneakers. it was only when he glanced up at me still standing in the doorway did he pause.

“are you okay? you don’t look so good.” i shook my head, gripping the straps of my backpack.”i think i’m actually gonna head out.”

“but i have something for you and-”

“just show me next time? yeah, i’ll see you tomorrow.”

i felt the room was caving in,my chest so tight that my vision was blurring. i turned to leave the room and almost fell into the door frame. his hands were there to catch me, as they always seemed to be, but never to hold me. pulling away from his grip, i walked down the stairs, almost making it out the door before a tear dropped down my cheek.

why was i letting him do this to me? he’ll never love me back.

my stomach burned as the roots seemed to plant themselves deeper and i had thought i held down the nausea well enough for once but once i finally took a deep breath of fresh air, a calla lily escaped from my mouth onto the front porch. 

“y/n! wait-” panicking, i clapped a hand over my mouth and was about to run down the steps but i faltered seeing changbin’s ex standing in the walkway watching me. she didn’t look upset, but intrigued, her baby doll brown eyes were unreadable.

“sophie,”changbin choked out and she finally tore her attention away from me to him beside me. swallowing hard, i walked past her, not missing her side-eyeing me. changbin didn’t even say goodbye. but then again, neither did i.

••

a few days later in my avoiding changbin quest, I walked into the art department building, carrying my art supplies bag in my arms with a ton of paint inside. I couldn’t exactly see in front of me so when I did bump into someone, the person caught the bag before i dropped it.

“oh thank-“i stopped mid-sentense seeing sophie in front of me. “thank you,”I finished softly. she smiled gingerly at me, her face brightening as she smiled,”no girl you’re fine. you need some help?”

“I wouldn’t mind any actually,”i spoke, allowing her to take the bag from me. it was then did i notice the lotus flower on her hand, the beautiful intricate design of it mesmerizing me. it was the same one I saw in the restaurant, and her voice was the same collected and calm tone. she noticed that I was staring at her hand and followed my eyes to her tattoo. “let’s get inside shall we? then we can talk?”

she turned and followed me to the art room I rented out for a few hours. my project was due in a month and everyone else was already doing their finishing touches while i had barely started adding the paint or any of the actually art to my project.

“so changbin and you, huh?”

startled by her question, i shook my head quickly,”oh no, just friends. he’s still...getting over some stuff.”

she giggled,”typically of binnie, but I think it’s better for us this way,”

once we were inside the art room, she waited until I had taken out all my supplies and canvas before she settled on sitting on one of the tables. her tattooed legs swinging comfortably.

“my flowers appeared soon after I started dating changbin. gorgeous red lotuses. I thought I was going crazy at first. and then I questioned if it was just that he didn’t love me. but it actually wasn’t him at all.”

I looked away from my canvas to her in confusion and she laughed at my expression,”yes you’re not the only one out there with this damned disease. see, before changbin, I was actually talking to minho, you know lee minho the dancer?”

“basically runs the dance department,” I responded

“oh yeah you bet he does and he and I had a thing before changbin showed up. but no one knew, since minho was all about image and what not so of course I fell for him anyway but then he broke it off. and the flowers showed up after changbin and I were together.”

shaking her jet black beach curls,she sighed deeply.”it was horrible. painful in every way and I was considering just going to the doctor and asking them to rip open my lungs. I was so mean to changbin because I hated being with him and knowing my heart was with someone else. I wanted to stop hurting him. so we broke up and I wanted to just suffer until I died I guess but then... the flowers stopped.”

I bit my lip waiting for her to continue. her eyes met mine and i could see them watering,”minho eventually loved me back. I mean he just confessed and then the flowers were just gone. we haven’t let anyone know because of obvious reasons but if he didn’t love me back I probably wouldn’t be here right now.”

I went back to organizing everything, putting on my apron in deep consideration.”so we just have to wait to they love us back or die?”

“well no-not exactly. see, there’s this special doctor in the next city over that does surgeries for this. he says there’s a way where he can get rid of the roots, only problem is it rids you of any emotions at all. sick isn’t it?”

i nodded, not feeling too good. rubbing my stomach, i did want to get rid of the stupid flowers, but ridding myself of all emotions? dying? changbin actually loving me back? all of it sounded like complete bullshit.

“you can wait for him to love you back, get the surgery or die. all of them sucky I know, but it’s just the curse of us damned ones.”

i snorted, liking how the simple sound made sophie smile,“oh we have a name now?”

the beautiful girl grinned,”i just came up with that. it’s a rare disease but it’s out there.says to have been around for centuries, passed down and some stupid crap like that. either way there’s the ones who are loved and then there’s us, and i’m really pissed at whoever passed it down my family lineage, aren’t you?”

i sat down on a stool and shrugged,”i just hope whoever it was was worth it for them.”

sophie bit her lip and tilted her head at me,”that’s why we still love them through the pain. they are always worth it.” 

••

“are you ignoring me or something?” i heard him before i saw him, the scratching of his skateboard against the pavement made me roll my eyes. i stopped walking to allow him to catch up to me and once he did, i was pissed i even looked at him. as always, changbin looked his best. wearing a black bomber jacket, white t-shirt, ripped jeans, and black air-force ones, as simple as the outfit was, he made it look so damn good. 

he also didn’t look too happy with me either, gripping his skateboard in one hand and his sketchbook in the other, his body was entirely facing mine. 

“no. i just talked to you.” the tattooed boy narrowed his eyes at me, tilting his head in agitation,revealing a new design on his neck.”don’t give me that bull, ‘ight? just tell me what’s been going on with you? i thought we were cool?”

“we are, binnie. but aren’t you and sophie back doing who knows what? why are you even here bothering me?”

he looked taken aback, frowning at my answer.”sophie and i aren’t getting back together for one. and two, cause i can. you’re my best friend y/n, am i just not supposed to be worried about you?” when i didn’t answer him right away, he looked down at the space between us and took a deep sigh. “i’m sorry, okay? for ignoring you, for talking about her all the time, i’m just..sorry.”

his eyes met mine finally and i just couldn’t do it. damnit changbin, why are you so damn beautiful? i groaned and punched his arm,making him yelp.”i seriously hate you,” changbin just dropped his skateboard and sketchbook and scooped me up in his arms, burring his face into my neck. it took me a second before i hugged him back, but once i did, i didn’t want to let him go. with the cold breeze,it was easy for me to melt into his embrace and soak up the feeling of him. 

no matter how much i wanted him to be mine, i had to realize he just would never feel the same. no matter how much i wanted this feeling constantly from him, to feel protected and loved by him, the sooner i realized it wasn’t going to happen, the better i would feel. at least that’s what i kept telling myself. 

but that didn’t work at all. it had only been two days later when my body finally couldn’t take it anymore.

gorgeous calla lilies decorated my tiny dorm room. the trail of them like a trail of bloody death led all the way to the bathroom where i was hacking up more and more. my throat raw and my stomach clenching painfully, my nails gripped the sides of the toilet with blurry eyes as tears streamed down my face.

was he really worth all this pain? was he worth dying for?

flushing the toilet, i slumped down beside it to rest, closing my eyes for just a moment to let my body relax. I thought it was just a few minutes but the opening and closing of my dorm door made me shoot up from the floor.

“um, y/n?” i heard changbin call out. i barely scrambled to my feet but stopped short in the mirror seeing how terrible I looked. my usually vibrant dark skin was now sucked of all light and the dark circles under my eyes made me realize I was already dying.

my hair was falling into my face in nappy, tangles and my lips were swollen.

the sound of his approaching footsteps took me out of my trance and quickly I closed the bathroom door, locking it.

“y/n? tell me what’s going on? why are there bloody flowers everywhere?” I could hear him trying to turn the locked door knob.

“changbin, please go,”i rasped out, already feeling woozy again. “y/n, open this damn door right now.” I fell to my knees, the room spinning. I clenched my eyes shut to try and gain control but then the flowers started spewing out, so many that i felt like i was choking.

and then I was slipping into the darkness, my head banging against the floor just as changbin broke the door open.

••

it was the beeping of the heart monitor that oozed me out of a deep darkness. squinting to the bright lights, my vision eventually cleared to see changbin asleep beside me. his head on my lap, his hand in mine.

lifting my thigh a bit to wake him up, he groaned softly after a while but eventually opened his eyes so i could see those sweet brown eyes that i fell for once before. he stared at me for a moment, more in admiration than anything before he narrowed his eyes at me.

“why didn’t you tell me I was doing this to you?”

“because telling you wasn’t going to automatically make you fall in love with me and make it stop.”

“but I do love you, that’s how you’re still alive.”

i furrowed my eyebrows at him and he lifted his head to shyly smile at me.”the doctors told me that the only way they were going to be able to save you was the surgery. you were on the brink of death so even if i did eventually fall for you, it would be too late..” he rubbed his thumb across my hand before squeezing it. “but as they were beginning the surgery, the roots, the flowers, they just started disappearing.”

i smiled coyly at him,”you never know what you have until it’s almost gone.”

changbin laughed at me, lifting my hand to his mouth to kiss it,” you’ve never spoken truer words. and now that I have you, I’m never letting go.”

••

I lay in the grass with my backpack under my head, staring up at the sky. the sun was soon to set and the clouds were decorated in oranges and pinks. my cassette was playing my new mariah carey tape,fantasy making me bop my head rhythmically.

my view got covered by changbin standing over me, two glasses of lemonade in his hands. I glared at him and pulled out my earphones.

“mariah and I don’t approve of you blocking my view.” changbin snorted and kneeled down beside me, waiting for me to sit up before he handed me the glass. “drink up, chris made it fresh just for you.”

“wow, why didn’t i just date him then?” i asked before taking a sip of my lemonade, choking on the beverage when i saw his shocked facial expression. leaning over, i pressed a chaste kiss on his lips, liking the smile that spread across his face. “i’m just kidding, i didn’t go through all that pain for nothing.”

his face fell at the mention of it but i just leaned my forehead against his and pressed my lips gently to his nose, “i don’t know why you’re all sad when i mention it. if it didn’t happen, would we have been here right now? in this moment?”

he narrowed his eyes in thought.”actually, what got us to this moment was that old ass cassette player you got.”

“don’t come for my cassette! you murdered my poor baby and i will always despise you for it!”i yelled making him laugh, 

“you’re so dramatic, drink your damn lemonade you out-of-style hippy.”

“don’t even start with your wanna-be hard-rapper act when your soft ass actually sleeps with not one but two stuffed animals and a ice cold cup of water every night.”

changbin gasped, holding his chest as if he had just been attacked,”you’ve been talking to chris haven’t you?!” sipping on my lemonade,i laid back down and ignored his question, watching him jump up and run inside yelling profanities. 

i couldn’t help the laughter that stirred up in me then. it’s funny how life works out, how things can seem to fall into place. some way...some how.

-