#skdz

“Um...” Chris mumbled, avoiding their eyes. He bit his lower lip and tried to sum his thoughts up on the outcome of that “date.” It started out fine, but if he had to be honest, you probably didn’t see it as a date. Combined with the younger guys interrupting with good reason and him leaving you alone with Felix, it really wasn’t a date. (Well, a disastrous attempt to say the least.)

“Judging by hyung’s silence, I’m guessing it wasn’t good,” Changbin noted.

Felix ducked his head and shot Chris a sheepish look. Even though he had feelings for Y/N as well, he had a feeling that the bond between you and Chris was pretty strong too. Still, his run-in with both of you wasn’t his fault: Minho was persistent in finding Chris that day and he dragged Felix along, arguing that the two were almost lost brothers given how in-sync they were.

“Hey...um Chris?” Felix began, “I swear I wasn’t trying to ruin things. Minho was going on about his grade and his mum and dad flipping out, so... He thinks that we’re like psychic and know where each other is at all times.”

Chris nodded and murmured that it wasn’t the younger boy’s fault. Having met Minho’s parents one time in passing, he knew that they had high expectations for their son and often he was under a lot of pressure. He reassured Felix that you probably thought it was two friends catching up after tests and classes.

“She didn’t even act like it was a date,” Chris sighed. “Well, maybe it’s my fault I suggested a really casual place and didn’t drop hints, but I didn’t want to ruin things.”

“Fear of losing a good friend, understandable,” Felix sighed. He played with the paper wrapper for his straw and huffed, grumbling that you tended to treat him like a brother.

“Don’t get me wrong, she’s a great friend,” Felix continued, “but it’s frustrating really! I swear she sees me like a little brother and we’re not that much different in age!”

The older boys nodded grimly at Felix’s issue – being friendzoned was rough but being babied was harder. Chris propped his chin with his left hand and mused if Rosé was really your favorite.

Changbin closed his water bottle and thought for a few moments. “I could tell she was conflicted at first,” he noted. “I don’t think she wanted to hurt your feelings. Rosé probably sensed that and thought it was kinder to save her from hurting one guy and making another happy.”

                                                ———————

“Too early Rosie,” you grumbled under your breath as you dragged yourself to the door to answer it. You unlocked it and yanked the door open, only to see it was Chris, not Rosé.

“Oh um, hey Chris!” you said, straightening up. “Sorry, I got up a few minutes ago – I look like a mess.”

Chris shook his head and gestured to the entrance of your dorm building. “Should I catch you another time?”

You shook your head and rubbed the sleep out of your eyes. “At first I thought you were Rosie making me join her for Pilates,” you confessed. “Something on your mind?”

Chris flashed you a sheepish smile and asked if you wanted to go for a run or walk now. “Thought it would be good to get out for some fresh air. Unless you wanna eat before we go?”

“Oh no, no, no, walk’s fine,” you said. “Hang on, let me put some clothes on for walking and I’ll meet you in a bit.”

Chris smiled and he pointed to the entrance, saying he’d wait outside for you. “I’ll buy breakfast after we’re done.”

You raised a brow at him and looked him in the eye. “No, I’m paying. Last time you got my coffee and choux bun. It’s my turn.”

                                                ———————

“How are your classes going?” you asked.

Chris paused and looked back, realizing that he was getting too far ahead of you. You had been jogging with him, but recently slowed to a race walk pace while he continued. He waited for you to catch up before sharing that they were going well.

“Binnie and I did a collab for one of our class assignments and professor seemed to really like it,” he replied. “If you’re interested, I can share with you?”

You nodded, curious to know what the pair sounded like on a track. Chris produced his phone and unlocked it to pull up a song demo. He pressed Play and you leaned forward to hear it.

“Excuse me!” a voice called out.

Chris looked up to see a cyclist coming towards you and he quickly tugged you closer to him. The cyclist thanked him as he whizzed by on his bike and you blinked as you realized how close you were to him.

“So...Rosie’s really your favorite, huh?” Chris asked as he looked down at you.

“You’re really getting hung up on that again?”

“Come on, she spoke for you!” he protested. “I’m just curious! Wanna make sure you weren’t feeling pressured!”

“Uh huh, sure,” you laughed as you stepped back to give him space. You didn’t realize there was a skateboarder coming behind you and suddenly Chris was tugging you against his chest, the former barely missing you.

You felt your face heat up as your cheek pressed against his chest, which you discovered was quite defined under the thin tank he was wearing.

“Deja vu?” you offered as you watched the skateboarder disappear out of site.

“You okay?” he asked.

You nodded as you straightened up and stepped back to give him space. Knowing you hadn’t replied to his question, you found yourself saying something about breakfast.

“I don’t know about you, but I’m starving and I think we should eat now,” you spoke up. “Come on, there’s a great mom and pop place by campus that gives student discounts – let’s go.”

                                                ———————

"So early...” Minho whined as he sank onto the bleachers.

Felix threw the older boy a look before securing his goggles and jumping into the pool. He shivered as his skin became engulfed in cold water, which made Minho snort in amusement from the sidelines.

“I don’t understand the point of this plan,” Minho sighed.

Felix looked over at Minho and explained that he invited you to come to the campus pool. He timed it so it would be around the end of his exercise session, just so you could see for yourself that he wasn’t just your cute younger friend you saw as a baby brother. He didn’t have biceps like Changbin, but he was pretty proud of his physique.

“You want me here the whole time?” Minho asked as he looked over at the gate entrance to the pool.

Felix sighed and said that the elder should hang out for a bit. “I need someone to spot me – besides, you wouldn’t want me to drown, right?”

“You won’t,” Minho sighed. “But I’m not a good person to ask for help. I don’t know how to swim.”

Felix rolled his shoulders back and asked the elder to spot him and make sure he was swimming straight. He backed up against the edge of the pool wall and took a deep breath before starting some laps of freestyle in the pool.

Minho stifled a yawn before pulling out his phone to time Felix for fun. He looked up from the phone to the young man swimming from time to time, nodding as the other swam back and forth a few times. He saw someone walking along the side of the fence surrounding the pool and looked up.

He lifted a hand and called out your name as you placed your hand on the gate latch. “Good morning Y/N-noona!”

You smiled as you returned the greeting and closed the gate behind you. You asked if he had classes soon and he shook his head.

“I – yawn – sorry,” he mumbled, “I was told my class was canceled today so I’m free the whole day. Felix made me get up early to make sure he didn’t drown.”

You took a seat beside Minho and gestured for him to head back for more sleep. “Or go cuddle one of your cats,” you told him. “I’ll take over spotting duties for you.”

Minho flashed you a sleepy smile and thanked you with a slight nod of his head. He rose from his place on the bleachers and walked carefully to the gate, closing it firmly behind him.

Felix came up for air a beat after Minho left and he glanced over at the bleachers to see you were sitting there. He yanked his goggles off and beamed as he raised a hand. “You’re a little early,” he commented.

“Ah I didn’t want to be late,” you admitted. “You’re a machine out there. I knew Chris could swim, but you’re pretty amazing too.”

“Thanks,” Felix replied as he swam toward the ladder.

You turned to find his towel, spotting it at the end of the bleacher bench you were sitting on. You stood up and grabbed it, turning as Felix climbed out of the pool and headed over to you. You did a double take as he walked toward you in his swim trunks. No way was this your Mario gaming buddy...

“Everything all right Y/N?” Felix asked, trying to sound innocent. He tilted his head and scanned your face, noticing that your cheeks were getting a bit pink.

“Um ye-yeah,” you stuttered as you held out his towel. “Guess I owe you an apology for thinking you were a lanky kid. Have you been hiding those all this time?”

Felix paused from drying off and he grinned cheekily as he took one of your hands and guided them to his abs. “Oh these?”

“Okay, I get it, you’re ripped Lix,” you mumbled as you withdrew your hand. “I really didn’t see that coming.”

“I’m not a kid,” he reminded you in a gentle voice. “You’re only a year older than me.”

“Right,” you said. “Okay, did you already eat?”

“Y/N, you’re doing it again,” he said.

“Wha?”

“Babying me again,” he said. He secured the towel around his waist and turned to face you. He reached out to take both of your hands in his and he tilted his head. “So, is Rosé really your favorite still?”

You sputtered and tried to untangle your hands from his. “Felix!”

“Come on, you know I’m loads of fun and we have a good time. Also, I’m getting the sense that you’re a fan of my abs,” he teased.

“Very funny Felix,” you replied, scrambling to leave the pool before he could ask you again.

                                                ———————

“Hang on, what happened?”

“Both of them aren’t letting it go!” you groaned. You were draped across Rosé’s bed, spilling details of your recent encounters with Chris and Felix trying to woo you to change your favorite Aussie vote. Chris’s attempt was more innocent and coincidence based, while Felix seemed a bit more deliberate.

“Felix actually made you watch him swim, just to show off his abs?” Rosé clarified.

You nodded and she bit back a laugh trying to picture the younger boy with a ripped physique make you get all flustered.

“I’ve got an idea!” she declared.

                                                ———————

“I don’t know what you guys did, but clearly you didn’t get her to change her mind,” Changbin remarked as he waved his phone around.

Chris looked up from his computer and Felix hit Save on his essay he was typing up to see what the other was talking about.

Changbin passed over his phone and watched as the pair looked at the recent post from Rosé’s Instagram page in his feed.