#dlnexus

“What do I get if I play fair?” Jungkook asked, tossing the snowball in his hand into the air, ready to shoot it at you.

It was the third time you had a snowball fight (something you decided to make annual the first time you did). But Jungkook, being your best friend and much stronger and faster than you, had already let you win in the previous two years. You couldn’t deny that you felt more than special about being the only person for whom he repressed his competitive spirit, but you couldn’t help feeling a little angry that he thought you were not able to win him (it seemed like he was underestimating you instead of wanting to see you happy).

So this time you really got angry and told him you wouldn’t have a fight if he didn’t play fair and let you win. It was then that his question came up and you didn’t know what to answer, mostly because your heart used to accelerate every time he smiled mischievously and the sound overshadowed anything else around you.

“What do you mean?”

“If we’re going to have a real snowball fight,” he replied, still throwing the snowball high. “Let’s get a real prize.”

It was very hard to concentrate when he looked at you like that, but you swallowed hard and forced your brain to remember that you were best friends and he had no idea how you really felt in the last year.

“What do you have in mind?” The question didn’t go the way you wanted it to, and it was obvious when his smile grew that he noticed the stab of fear in your voice.

It was hard not to feel a little bit afraid when Jungkook went into competitive mode and demanded something. Last time, he’d gotten you to do the challenge of the ice bucket that ran through the social media. Of course it was that time, when he helped dry you out and make you warm, that you realized why your heart was pounding every time you were close to him. You had fallen in love with your best friend.

However, he didn’t seem to notice how you felt, so you kept the secret to yourself so as not to lose the best friendship in the world. Unfortunately, the butterflies in your stomach didn’t understand that.

“The loser will have to grant the winner a request,” he announced. “Whatever the winner wants, the loser will have to do without complaining and without fighting.”

“Why don’t you ever tell me what you want?” You asked with a pout.

“Because you wouldn’t take it if I told you.” He was sincere, as usual. “So, you in?”

He stopped tossing the snowball into the air, which meant he was really ready for war. You squeezed the snowball in your hand, also preparing yourself, bit your lower lip and took a deep breath before answering. “I’m in.”

You barely had time to escape the snowball he threw at you. You ran sideways and threw your first snowball too, but Jungkook was quick and dodged, already preparing another snowball.

The fight really seemed different from the other years. Not that you didn’t always strive, but having Jungkook really motivated to win was another story. Although he was bigger than you, the fact that he was an athlete and you weren’t make him much faster. Diverting from his snowballs was not easy, and you couldn’t get away from many of them anyway.

Even though he had decided to play for real, every time one of his balls struck you, you noticed that he was not playing with all the strength he had. You had seen Jungkook play snowball fight with his friends and all the other boys complained that even the snow could hurt when it left the boy’s hand. However, it didn’t hurt so much when it hit you, which meant he was still controlling himself.

You also managed to hit him a few times, although it was much less. The last two snowball fight events had taught you something.

But Jungkook was way better than you. When you were half dead, your whole body aching from the workout, and your breathing began to ache, you regretted that you had stirred up the competitive spirit of Jungkook, who seemed not to have moved one second, because he was still running and breathing normally. Maybe doing a sport as he always suggested was not such a bad idea.

In one last attempt to win before falling dead of fatigue, you circled the little fort you had built, trying to surprise Jungkook from behind. But he was smarter and climbed up the fort without you noticing. From there, he threw a snowball straight into your hand, knocking down your snowball, then he jumped on your side and knocked you to the ground with him. Finally, he picked up a handful of snow and hit you head.

You just sighed and lay there with your head on his arm and your arms stretched out beside your body. You didn’t even have the strength to admit defeat.

“I won,” he said calmly, and you sighed again as you noted that he didn’t look a bit tired.

“You can let me win again next year,” you stated, breathing still ragged. “I’ve never been so tired in my life.”

Jungkook chuckled but didn’t move or say anything, and you stood there, half-hugging, lying in the snow and looking at the baby blue sky.

You didn’t want to leave that position. It was so good when Jungkook held you that way. And at that moment, it didn’t make much difference if he heard your heart hammering inside your chest.

Only when your breath was estable, Jungkook spoke again.

“I guess I’ll demand my award now,” he commented slowly, as if he was still thinking about it.

But you always kept your word, especially when it came to Jungkook. “What do you want me to do?”

“Just don’t fight me, okay?” He replied, but you didn’t even have time to respond.

With an impulse, he turned and touched your lips with his. He gave you a kiss that surprised you so much, that you only managed to widen his eyes when he pulled away and stood looking at you with raised eyebrows and biting into the inside of his mouth.

You really couldn’t react, only the reason was because your ear was buzzing, your heart felt like a machine gun and the butterflies in your stomach seemed to be having a party.

“Aren’t you gonna say anything?” He finally asked after a while.

All you could do was shake your head as you tried to control the reactions of your body and mind.

“I know I asked you not to fight with me, but can you say something?” It was the first time you had seen your best friend, who had always been self-confident, looking nervous. “Maybe I shouldn’t have done it. I didn’t want to upset you, I just thought you should know how I felt and maybe I should try, and I couldn’t think much about the consequences, and…”

You grabbed his coat and pushed up, kissing him to stop him from talking. That surprised him too, for he googled his eyes like you.