friends from the same calculus class, you watched nicholas down drinks in celebration after receiving his most recent test results. full fucking marks. the party was definitely unnecessary but who complains about a time to celebrate with drinks. despite your love for him, two hours of heavy bass music, drunk people yelling over the noise not realizing they’re adding to it, and the overall heat from sweaty bodies pressing together became quite overwhelming for you. hence why you bolted the room as soon as nicho’s eyes left you. now you just had to find a quiet room to recharge in.

“sorry. i didn’t realize someone was here already,” you said, ready to back away from the minimalistic room.

“ah, it’s fine. you can join if you’d like,” he shyly gestured to the space beside him on the balcony, scooting a tad to give you some room.

you nod in thanks before taking up his offer. a relieved sigh slips from your lips as you take in the cold night air. crystal clear with small hints of cologne. must be from him. “jo, right? nicho’s friend.” he briefly looks at you to nod. he’s not much of a talker, huh. “i’m y/n, from his calc class.”

“nice to meet you.”

…

shit, this feels really awkward. you really should’ve just chosen a different room. of course you end up disturbing the peace of the quiet guy. fanfreakingtastic!

“do you not like parties?”

oh. “sort of? i have fun at parties but it gets to a point where it feels like too much to handle even if i only come as a guest. sorry that sounds really all over.” you replied, chewing the inside of your cheek.

“i get that,” he mumbled. you looked over in surprise, seeing his ears turn the lightest shade of red at your sudden attention. “the guys throw a lot of parties, and while i like celebrating with them, it gets really loud and unfamiliar. i’d rather have my own space.”

“exactly! you know, i think i heard at least four people yelling complaints about how loud the room was, yet it never clicked in their heads that yelling was making the noise worse. pretty sure your friend k was one of them.”

a chuckle slips from his lips at the idea of k yelling at maki to turn the volume down, only to be met with him turning it up. the house would probably be a mess by the end, with cups littered all over the place and crushed up snacks stuck to the floor from the stickiness of spilled drinks. an utter nightmare to clean up, but for now, jo just wished to relish in this quiet with you even if it was a little awkward. strange how you, a random stranger or acquaintance, made him comfortable.

his smile, so soft and at peace. it was pretty. asakura jo was already a person whose visuals challenged those of a model, but with his smile on top of it, one that made his cheeks puff and eyes soften. all of a sudden, the party music didn’t seem to bother you that much, overtaken by the steady thumping sound of your heart. all you could focus on was that he simply looked–

“beautiful.”

his eyebrows furrowed at the soft mutter of the word, glancing your way only to catch you staring at him so intensely. were they calling me beautiful? cough cough cough. wow, real smooth jo.

“t-the trees.. they’re uhm- like absolutely beautiful. with their long spiky leaves and trunk? making pinecones during christmas… yeah.” you rambled on, hoping he didn’t actually catch you staring like a weirdo.

“i think that’s a shrub.”

“ah.”

you two stayed silent for the next few minutes. with you internally dying from embarrassment, cursing your life with your eyes shut, steadily biting your lip to avoid saying something stupid again. and him, internally dying of laughter, the corners of his lips ticking upwards into a peaking grin as he tried to hide and cool down his obviously red ears. he shifted his attention towards you once more, feeling his cheeks flush from either the cold or from the sight of you, he didn’t know. nicholas’ friend, huh?

speaking of the devil, nicholas, who was between tipsy and drunk, barged his way into the bedroom, body clumsily bumping against the door. “there you are! y/n come drink with me. last i remember, you also got a high score on the test. not as high as me though~” his voice radiating through the quiet space, breaking the trance you had jo in.

“jeez nicho, how much did you have to drink?” you stressed, rushing over to pull him off the door. your eyes look over at ej, another friend from calculus, who was massaging his temple at the sight of his now jacketless friend (he tossed it to juju after his nth shot).

“oh jojo, you’re here too!”

“..this is my room.”

your palm makes contact with your forehead, shaking your head at nicho’s current state. “okay! enough of that, let’s get you some water nicholas. no buts!” finally pulling him off the door and into your side, arm hanging around your neck. “i’ll take care of him. it was nice meeting you, jo.”

“you too, y/n. thanks for.. this.” he offered a tender, relaxed smile, one corner of his lips higher than the other, the kind of look that said he enjoyed your presence despite your slip ups. a weird warmth spread in your chest at the sight of him, face and ears tinged with pink, fingers fiddling with the hem of his sleeve.

you returned the smile, breaking his gaze before slowly closing his bedroom door with much difficulty because of your drunken friend. just as he was about to turn back to the scenery, he could faintly hear the teasing voice of his friend. “so you and jojo, huh?”

“shut up, nicho, you’re drunk!”

and although he couldn’t see it, he could hear how uneven your retort sounded. he let out a long exhale, body slumping against the railing as he looked out at the scenery once more. so many things to look at and yet, all he could see was the stumpy shrub you thought was a tree. that looks nothing like a pine tree. he laughed to himself, already wondering when he’ll see you again.

or maybe it was when you started hanging out with their friend group, sitting a few seats from him. even with all those voices stacked on top of each other– harua and yuma playfully bullying taki again after he slipped with his words, fuma, nicho and maki laughing their ass off, k doting on taki as always, and euijoo just trying to continue the conversation– the only thing that stood out to you was asakura jo actively listening to his friends, face flickering emotions that consisted of laughs, nods, smiles, and frowns.

the more time you spent with him, the more you noticed those little quirks of his. how he would patiently wait for his turn to speak. his manner of maintaining eye contact even if that meant his ears would flush a bright red. how his eyes sparkled and brows furrowed at the taste of good food, especially a warm bowl of white rice. his shyness when it came to affection, how he silently tugs at the hem of clothes before initiating a hug. his habit of gravitating towards a pen or pencil, to spin or scribble a little drawing in the corner of your notes (with your permission). the joy radiating from him when his eyes would crinkle and his grin would be so wide when laughing or talking to his friends.

forgettable? what a joke! jo was everything but forgettable. he was unknowingly so intoxicating to you. every moment with him felt like relaxation and acceptance of the present. even if the world constantly told you to hurry up, he would calmly remind you there was time to slow down and enjoy your surroundings. now you can’t even close your eyes without picturing that pretty smile of his.

“he’s invaded my fucking life without so much as a please and thank you.” you complained, head dropping into your hands with a groan at the laugher beside you. another party with this band of chaos, jo nowhere to be found thankfully. at least your heart could have some peace even with this club-like music pounding in your ears.

“no one forced you to like him, you know. that’s all you.”

“that’s what jojo does best. quietly invades. this time he did it to you, a little too well.”

“he’s got that silent rizz.”

“you should probably learn from him, taki.”

“oi!”

what a great group of friends you have. offering not a single piece of advice in your time of romantic crisis. “guys come on! i’m being serious here, what do i do? jo’s a really good friend. i don’t wanna make things weird between us.”

“do they not realize it’s already weird?” taki quickly gets elbowed to shut up. his comment only made you groan louder, head falling on the table with a thump. ow!

“okay. your solution is really simple actually.” you immediately peeked up at nicholas, hoping his answer would solve everything. he leaned in with a playful grin, “confess.”

your face instantly dropped as you pushed yourself away from the table and started to walk away, a hand ruffling your hair in annoyance. “c’mon, where are you going?”

“to find a better solution!” you yelled in irritation, pushing past overly heated bodies and stepping over crushed red solo cups littered over the floor. you feel sick here. from there, you followed your instincts, excusing yourself every once in a while, turning left then right then up until you found yourself standing in front of his bedroom door. “seriously?”

you subconsciously brush your thumb against the wooden panel hanging on the door. a bold ‘asakura jo’ in the middle, with little doodles positioned around the sides to fill the empty space. a forest, with wolves howling at the moon and a little heart hovering over a shrub. idiot.

“oh. hey y/n.”

“hey jo,” you breathed. what exactly did you expect when you came here? of course he would be in his room genius, it’s his room. he looks so good just sitting on the floor beside his bed. even if he could just sit on the actual bed, that would probably be better for his back.

“y/n?” you snap out of your thoughts, turning your attention back to the current situation. he chuckled at your stiff self, “i asked if you wanna sit with me?” you wordlessly nodded, feet dragging across the floor before quietly sitting beside him. your body tensed at the feeling of his shoulder bumping against yours, heat radiating from him. it felt like fire burning.

“reminds me of the first time we met.” you stayed silent. this distance wasn’t helping your feelings. his scent filled the room, with strong notes of laundry detergent and coffee, and a hint of cedar pine as its undertone. it reminded you so much of him and all the moments you spent together.

the quiet laughs shared over a cup of coffee, the late night walks with him humming a favorite song of yours, the cheesy grin he flashed at you when he caught your eye every time you came to support him during his basketball games. you never expected to grow such intense feelings for jo. you were weak for him. he never demanded attention, yet you still wanted to give him every ounce of yours like it was his to own. shit. you should probably leave before you do something stupid.

“i’m really glad i met you, y/n.” you froze, eyes shifting to look at him nervously. his words were cautious as if he didn’t want to scare you off.

but i'll pray for you all the time

“you make me feel really comfortable with myself. i like being with the others, don’t get me wrong, but i especially like being with you.” stop. please stop saying things that’ll only make these feelings worse. “i don’t have to force myself to talk, but if i do you always listen so attentively. the quiet with you feels different and i like that. it’s like background music, the way you’re like a rhythm flowing through my days to relax and ground me. i’m really happy.. with you.” say it.

if i could be by your side

his pinky shyly grazed yours, sending a spark of static through the air. he gulped. it was agonizingly slow, his movement unhurried as it gently curved around yours, his skin warm and a touch rough, before locking perfectly into place. his gaze on both your linked pinkies remained steadfast, lightly lifting it and grazing the rest of your fingers with his. your eyes stayed constant on him, gut wrenching at the sight of that heart-pounding smile gracing his face again. say it!

i'll give you all my life my seasons

“jo,” he hummed in response at the soft call of his name, eyes focusing on yours, gaze pulling you in. say it now! “i like you.”

by your side i'll be your seasons

his shoulders stiffed, pinky tightening around yours. the room felt like it was closing up on you with every passing moment of silence. you nervously muttered his name, scared out of your mind, “jojo?”

“can i kiss you, please?” voice barely above a whisper, already leaning hoping you would say yes. his ears are a bright red, eyes flickering between your eyes and lips. you don’t miss the way his breathing grows heavy.

you nodded and instantly felt his lips press against yours. shaky and uncertain until he feels you ease into it, hand sliding up his chest before carefully cradling his flushed cheek. his hand wrapped around your waist, gripping the fabric of your shirt tightly before pulling you close, perfectly fitting in between his arms. like you were always meant to be there.

both your hearts pounded strongly. the beat ringing in your ears in tune with the muffled sound of the music outside. breathless, you broke the kiss only to see him chasing after it. a laugh slipped before he captured your mouth once again, the two of you now smiling into the kiss like lovesick fools. “jojo..”

“i like you too. a lot. for a while actually,” he breathlessly said, giving your lips little pecks. his eyes were dazed, breath heavy, and lips just a tad swollen. his finger thumbs your bottom lip, pulling at it as he asked, “can i, pretty?”

without an answer, you leaned back into him, arms around his neck and his around your waist, quickly falling back into the rhythm with his lips against yours. asakura jo. a man that easily slipped into your life and now you can’t imagine a day without him.

you nod in thanks before taking up his offer. a relieved sigh slips from your lips as you take in the cold night air. crystal clear with small hints of cologne. must be from him. “jo, right? nicho’s friend.” he briefly looks at you to nod. he’s not much of a talker, huh. “i’m y/n, from his calc class.”

“nice to meet you.”

…

shit, this feels really awkward. you really should’ve just chosen a different room. of course you end up disturbing the peace of the quiet guy. fanfreakingtastic!

“do you not like parties?”

oh. “sort of? i have fun at parties but it gets to a point where it feels like too much to handle even if i only come as a guest. sorry that sounds really all over.” you replied, chewing the inside of your cheek.

“i get that,” he mumbled. you looked over in surprise, seeing his ears turn the lightest shade of red at your sudden attention. “the guys throw a lot of parties, and while i like celebrating with them, it gets really loud and unfamiliar. i’d rather have my own space.”

“exactly! you know, i think i heard at least four people yelling complaints about how loud the room was, yet it never clicked in their heads that yelling was making the noise worse. pretty sure your friend k was one of them.”

a chuckle slips from his lips at the idea of k yelling at maki to turn the volume down, only to be met with him turning it up. the house would probably be a mess by the end, with cups littered all over the place and crushed up snacks stuck to the floor from the stickiness of spilled drinks. an utter nightmare to clean up, but for now, jo just wished to relish in this quiet with you even if it was a little awkward. strange how you, a random stranger or acquaintance, made him comfortable.

his smile, so soft and at peace. it was pretty. asakura jo was already a person whose visuals challenged those of a model, but with his smile on top of it, one that made his cheeks puff and eyes soften. all of a sudden, the party music didn’t seem to bother you that much, overtaken by the steady thumping sound of your heart. all you could focus on was that he simply looked–

“beautiful.”

his eyebrows furrowed at the soft mutter of the word, glancing your way only to catch you staring at him so intensely. were they calling me beautiful? cough cough cough. wow, real smooth jo.

“t-the trees.. they’re uhm- like absolutely beautiful. with their long spiky leaves and trunk? making pinecones during christmas… yeah.” you rambled on, hoping he didn’t actually catch you staring like a weirdo.

“i think that’s a shrub.”

“ah.”

you two stayed silent for the next few minutes. with you internally dying from embarrassment, cursing your life with your eyes shut, steadily biting your lip to avoid saying something stupid again. and him, internally dying of laughter, the corners of his lips ticking upwards into a peaking grin as he tried to hide and cool down his obviously red ears. he shifted his attention towards you once more, feeling his cheeks flush from either the cold or from the sight of you, he didn’t know. nicholas’ friend, huh?

speaking of the devil, nicholas, who was between tipsy and drunk, barged his way into the bedroom, body clumsily bumping against the door. “there you are! y/n come drink with me. last i remember, you also got a high score on the test. not as high as me though~” his voice radiating through the quiet space, breaking the trance you had jo in.

“jeez nicho, how much did you have to drink?” you stressed, rushing over to pull him off the door. your eyes look over at ej, another friend from calculus, who was massaging his temple at the sight of his now jacketless friend (he tossed it to juju after his nth shot).

“oh jojo, you’re here too!”

“..this is my room.”

your palm makes contact with your forehead, shaking your head at nicho’s current state. “okay! enough of that, let’s get you some water nicholas. no buts!” finally pulling him off the door and into your side, arm hanging around your neck. “i’ll take care of him. it was nice meeting you, jo.”

“you too, y/n. thanks for.. this.” he offered a tender, relaxed smile, one corner of his lips higher than the other, the kind of look that said he enjoyed your presence despite your slip ups. a weird warmth spread in your chest at the sight of him, face and ears tinged with pink, fingers fiddling with the hem of his sleeve.

you returned the smile, breaking his gaze before slowly closing his bedroom door with much difficulty because of your drunken friend. just as he was about to turn back to the scenery, he could faintly hear the teasing voice of his friend. “so you and jojo, huh?”

“shut up, nicho, you’re drunk!”

and although he couldn’t see it, he could hear how uneven your retort sounded. he let out a long exhale, body slumping against the railing as he looked out at the scenery once more. so many things to look at and yet, all he could see was the stumpy shrub you thought was a tree. that looks nothing like a pine tree. he laughed to himself, already wondering when he’ll see you again.

or maybe it was when you started hanging out with their friend group, sitting a few seats from him. even with all those voices stacked on top of each other– harua and yuma playfully bullying taki again after he slipped with his words, fuma, nicho and maki laughing their ass off, k doting on taki as always, and euijoo just trying to continue the conversation– the only thing that stood out to you was asakura jo actively listening to his friends, face flickering emotions that consisted of laughs, nods, smiles, and frowns.

the more time you spent with him, the more you noticed those little quirks of his. how he would patiently wait for his turn to speak. his manner of maintaining eye contact even if that meant his ears would flush a bright red. how his eyes sparkled and brows furrowed at the taste of good food, especially a warm bowl of white rice. his shyness when it came to affection, how he silently tugs at the hem of clothes before initiating a hug. his habit of gravitating towards a pen or pencil, to spin or scribble a little drawing in the corner of your notes (with your permission). the joy radiating from him when his eyes would crinkle and his grin would be so wide when laughing or talking to his friends.

forgettable? what a joke! jo was everything but forgettable. he was unknowingly so intoxicating to you. every moment with him felt like relaxation and acceptance of the present. even if the world constantly told you to hurry up, he would calmly remind you there was time to slow down and enjoy your surroundings. now you can’t even close your eyes without picturing that pretty smile of his.

“he’s invaded my fucking life without so much as a please and thank you.” you complained, head dropping into your hands with a groan at the laugher beside you. another party with this band of chaos, jo nowhere to be found thankfully. at least your heart could have some peace even with this club-like music pounding in your ears.

“no one forced you to like him, you know. that’s all you.”

“that’s what jojo does best. quietly invades. this time he did it to you, a little too well.”

“he’s got that silent rizz.”

“you should probably learn from him, taki.”

“oi!”

what a great group of friends you have. offering not a single piece of advice in your time of romantic crisis. “guys come on! i’m being serious here, what do i do? jo’s a really good friend. i don’t wanna make things weird between us.”

“do they not realize it’s already weird?” taki quickly gets elbowed to shut up. his comment only made you groan louder, head falling on the table with a thump. ow!

“okay. your solution is really simple actually.” you immediately peeked up at nicholas, hoping his answer would solve everything. he leaned in with a playful grin, “confess.”

your face instantly dropped as you pushed yourself away from the table and started to walk away, a hand ruffling your hair in annoyance. “c’mon, where are you going?”

“to find a better solution!” you yelled in irritation, pushing past overly heated bodies and stepping over crushed red solo cups littered over the floor. you feel sick here. from there, you followed your instincts, excusing yourself every once in a while, turning left then right then up until you found yourself standing in front of his bedroom door. “seriously?”

you subconsciously brush your thumb against the wooden panel hanging on the door. a bold ‘asakura jo’ in the middle, with little doodles positioned around the sides to fill the empty space. a forest, with wolves howling at the moon and a little heart hovering over a shrub. idiot.

“oh. hey y/n.”

“hey jo,” you breathed. what exactly did you expect when you came here? of course he would be in his room genius, it’s his room. he looks so good just sitting on the floor beside his bed. even if he could just sit on the actual bed, that would probably be better for his back.

“y/n?” you snap out of your thoughts, turning your attention back to the current situation. he chuckled at your stiff self, “i asked if you wanna sit with me?” you wordlessly nodded, feet dragging across the floor before quietly sitting beside him. your body tensed at the feeling of his shoulder bumping against yours, heat radiating from him. it felt like fire burning.

“reminds me of the first time we met.” you stayed silent. this distance wasn’t helping your feelings. his scent filled the room, with strong notes of laundry detergent and coffee, and a hint of cedar pine as its undertone. it reminded you so much of him and all the moments you spent together.

the quiet laughs shared over a cup of coffee, the late night walks with him humming a favorite song of yours, the cheesy grin he flashed at you when he caught your eye every time you came to support him during his basketball games. you never expected to grow such intense feelings for jo. you were weak for him. he never demanded attention, yet you still wanted to give him every ounce of yours like it was his to own. shit. you should probably leave before you do something stupid.

“i’m really glad i met you, y/n.” you froze, eyes shifting to look at him nervously. his words were cautious as if he didn’t want to scare you off.

but i'll pray for you all the time

“you make me feel really comfortable with myself. i like being with the others, don’t get me wrong, but i especially like being with you.” stop. please stop saying things that’ll only make these feelings worse. “i don’t have to force myself to talk, but if i do you always listen so attentively. the quiet with you feels different and i like that. it’s like background music, the way you’re like a rhythm flowing through my days to relax and ground me. i’m really happy.. with you.” say it.

if i could be by your side

his pinky shyly grazed yours, sending a spark of static through the air. he gulped. it was agonizingly slow, his movement unhurried as it gently curved around yours, his skin warm and a touch rough, before locking perfectly into place. his gaze on both your linked pinkies remained steadfast, lightly lifting it and grazing the rest of your fingers with his. your eyes stayed constant on him, gut wrenching at the sight of that heart-pounding smile gracing his face again. say it!

i'll give you all my life my seasons

“jo,” he hummed in response at the soft call of his name, eyes focusing on yours, gaze pulling you in. say it now! “i like you.”

by your side i'll be your seasons

his shoulders stiffed, pinky tightening around yours. the room felt like it was closing up on you with every passing moment of silence. you nervously muttered his name, scared out of your mind, “jojo?”

“can i kiss you, please?” voice barely above a whisper, already leaning hoping you would say yes. his ears are a bright red, eyes flickering between your eyes and lips. you don’t miss the way his breathing grows heavy.

you nodded and instantly felt his lips press against yours. shaky and uncertain until he feels you ease into it, hand sliding up his chest before carefully cradling his flushed cheek. his hand wrapped around your waist, gripping the fabric of your shirt tightly before pulling you close, perfectly fitting in between his arms. like you were always meant to be there.

both your hearts pounded strongly. the beat ringing in your ears in tune with the muffled sound of the music outside. breathless, you broke the kiss only to see him chasing after it. a laugh slipped before he captured your mouth once again, the two of you now smiling into the kiss like lovesick fools. “jojo..”

“i like you too. a lot. for a while actually,” he breathlessly said, giving your lips little pecks. his eyes were dazed, breath heavy, and lips just a tad swollen. his finger thumbs your bottom lip, pulling at it as he asked, “can i, pretty?”

without an answer, you leaned back into him, arms around his neck and his around your waist, quickly falling back into the rhythm with his lips against yours. asakura jo. a man that easily slipped into your life and now you can’t imagine a day without him.