One-Shot, Progression (SHINee)

[yinhe.livejournal.com]

[progression], Onew/Key, PG-13, High School AU
Genre: Romance
Length: 3,350 words. One-shot.
A/N: I guess this can be a sort-of gift!fic for x_tsubasa_x3   considering I can’t really do anything else. I wrote this back in January though. O_O; Sorry for the late fic, but the timing ended up good, yes? ^^; Happy 18th Birthday, Twin!!! <3333 …Damn it, it’s late now. =| SURWEI! <333

itskatfriedrice: I keep trying to type 'Jinki' and my fingers are like 'Kinki' =/
ItsGeniusOkaiz: LOL
ItsGeniusOkaiz: Oh ho ho~
itskatfriedrice: It's during Minho's line too.
itskatfriedrice: like wtf,
itskatfriedrice: hyungwhore. >>
ItsGeniusOkaiz: LOL

Onew was the new kid at school, his parents deciding that moving would be a fun life experience.

Not as a high school Senior… Onew thought while he packed up his room.

This sucks. he thought again, walking into his new school for the first time. He stuck out like a sore thumb among the chattering students dressed exactly like him. He thought briefly of his best friend, Minho, and knew Minho would fit in no problem here.

Minho was tall, quiet, and handsome. He’d be popular, the fact he was a bit of a manwhore put aside.

After a series of disastrous events in the main office (his parents forgot to verify his registration), Onew was twenty minutes late to his first class. He sprinted down the halls, looking for the right room number and completely missing the ‘Wet Floor’ sign. He tripped over his own feet and slid down the wet floor before moving slowly to a stop down the hall.

Onew shook his head and groaned as he heard a chuckle behind him. Great

“Need some help?” Onew looked up and saw a boy about his age with blond bangs holding his hand out. “I’m Jonghyun. You must be new here.”

“Thanks. I’m Onew,” he replied, taking Jonghyun’s hand and standing up.

“So what class are you rushing off to?”

“Uhh…” Onew took out his schedule. “Choir 1.”

“You sing?”

“Not well, but I enjoy it.”

“You’re probably really good. You look like someone who can sing well,” Jonghyun said. “I’ll take you to the room.”

“Aren’t you missing class though?”

Jonghyun grinned. “Don’t worry about me, Onew. Let’s go!”

The five-minute walk with Jonghyun helped Onew calm down. To him, Jonghyun already felt like an old friend.

“Here we are. Just go talk to Mr. Kim and he’ll tell you what to do.”

“Thanks, Jonghyun.” Onew walked over to the teacher, a younger man who looked like he should still be a student. “Mr. Kim?”

“You must be Lee Jinki,” Mr. Kim said, his voice raspy.

“Yes, sir. But you can call me Onew.”

“Not a problem. Why don’t you sing me a few lines so I can place you and you can hop right in today.” Mr. Kim leaned back in his chair. “… Go on.”

“N-now?!” Onew didn’t have anything ready, wasn’t prepared to perform, or-

“Of course now.” Mr. Kim smiled. “You’ll be fine, just do what you can.”

Onew nodded slowly and took a deep breath. Closing his eyes, he opened his mouth and let the words flow out of him.

“Both hands tremble as I remembered the cold love memories. Now it is getting weirder, I don’t wish to reject you, but I just know that no matter how close we are, I know that I can’t love you anymore. I can’t miss you; waiting for you makes me tired, I can’t endure anymore and I can’t realize this.”*

He stopped and opened his eyes. Mr. Kim was looking him over, seeming to analyze Onew.

“You’re in.”

“I- I am?”

Mr. Kim smiled at him. “With a talent like yours, why would you think otherwise?”

“I just never-”

“It’s fine,” Mr. Kim’s smile became lighter. “We’ll be starting soon. Go sit next to Jonghyun until then.”

“Thank you, Mr. Kim,” Onew said as he walked over to Jonghyun, who was talking to a boy who was obviously younger. The younger boy was playing with Jonghyun’s shirt collar and laughing lightly at a story Jonghyun was telling.

“So then she said, ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’ and you know how she gets when I give her attitude and let me tell- Onew! Did you make it?”

“I did,” he replied, awkwardly avoiding the glare the younger boy was sending him. Onew guessed it was for stealing Jonghyun’s attention. “Why didn’t you tell me you were in the same class?”

“You didn’t ask?”

“But I… did…?”

“Oh well.” Jonghyun laughed and the younger boy tapped his shoulder.

“Hyung, could you introduce me?”

“Oh! Of course!” Jonghyun snapped to attention. “Onew, this is Taemin. Taeminnie, this is Onew, he’s new here.”

“Oh,” Taemin took a light hold on Jonghyun’s shoulder, looking at Onew with a slightly possessive glint in his eyes. “That’s nice.”

Onew could tell from the bright smile on Jonghyun’s face and the tone in Taemin’s voice what “That’s nice” really meant. Taemin wanted Jonghyun and Jonghyun liked Taemin.

“If you didn’t hear him before, Onew has a really good voice.”

Onew felt his cheeks heat up a little. “I’m not that good…”

“Don’t be so modest,” Jonghyun said. “If I could sing like that-”

“But, hyung, you do sing like that,” Taemin chirped, wrapping his other arm around Jonghyun and leaning on his shoulder. “You don’t get all of those solos for nothing.”

“Taemin, don’t brag about me,” Jonghyun said, smiling before turning back to Onew. “Maybe I’ll share with you one day.”

Onew laughed. “You don’t need to.”

The three of them chatted a bit longer, Taemin finally softening up around Onew. Minutes later though, Taemin let out an excited shout of “Hyung!” and ran off towards the door.

Jonghyun looked at the door, pout on his face before saying, “Key’s here.”

“Key?” Onew asked.

“He likes to call himself the school’s diva. He’s my best friend, but lately he seems closer with Taemin and he seems a little cold towards me.”

Onew shrugged. “Maybe he’s just looking out for Taemin.”

“Why?” Jonghyun looked honestly confused and Onew decided to drop the subject, looking towards the door.

Taemin was leading someone over, and Onew already knew it had to be Key.

“Key, this is Onew-hyung! He’s new here – just started today,” Taemin pulled Onew up from his seat. “Onew, this is Key. He knows everything about the school. You should just ask him for any help you need.”

Taemin sat back down next to Jonghyun, his hand resting on the older boy’s knee as he talked.

Onew looked at Key and smiled awkwardly, and Key glanced coolly back at Onew (though that could have been colored contacts, Onew wasn’t sure). It felt as though he was analyzing every part of Onew, inside and out.

“He’ll do,” Key finally said, flipping his multi-colored bangs out of his eyes.

“Do for what?” Onew asked.

“For being a new member of our clique. Someone needs to teach you the ins and outs of the school and I know I’m not free everyday.” Key walked over to a nearby chair, putting his bag down, before turning to Jonghyun. “Jjong!”

Jonghyun looked away from Taemin, slower then Key probably would have liked. “Hmm?”

“When I’m not available, you’re in charge of the new boy. Got it?”

“Is that all for now?”

“…Possibly. I’ll get back to you.”

“Okay.” Jonghyun turned back to Taemin, who kept talking as if nothing had even happened.

Key looked back at Onew, the expression on his face soft. “You’ll do fine, just stick by us. And don’t be anxious or anything like that.” He patted Onew’s arm and sat down as Mr. Kim walked to the front of the room.

“Alright class. Before we get ready for warm-ups, I’d like to introduce our new classmate…”

-

Three weeks later, Onew found out Key had been right and fitting in hadn’t been as hard as he thought. Then again, that could have all been to do with Key parading him around the school like a show dog.

With Key and occasionally Jonghyun teaching him the who’s who of the school along with the latest gossip, Onew felt he already knew a little too much about the school.

One day after Choir, Key pulled Onew aside from the group of singers, a little quieter in stance than Onew was used to.

“Key, what’s up?”

“… We should – You and I, I mean. Not Jonghyun and Taemin, they’re driving me nuts. But, yeah, sometime this week, we – like, you and me, we should-”

“Are you saying we should hang out this week?” Onew asked, a humored grin on his face – it was different seeing Key nervous.

“Don’t interrupt me!” Diva Key was back, Onew noted. “… And yes. That’d be fantastic. I’ll text you about it later.”

Key walked away, a different step in his walk that Onew couldn’t name.

-

“Seriously, Minho, this school is completely different from ours. Key’s shown me some many different things here that we don’t have back home. I mean, yesterday, Key-”

“You talk about this ‘Key’ person a lot,” Minho said, a chuckle in his deep voice. “Is there something I don’t know?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, Jinki, all that I’ve heard from you are ‘amazing’ and ‘Key’. I feel a little replaced here.”

“Minho!”

“Just kidding, Jinki. Listen, Siwon’s having friends over. I’m gonna go.”

“Promise not to do anything too bad?”

“Can’t promise you anything, Jin- Donghae’s here, bye Jinki. Hi hyung!”

Without Minho to talk to or homework to do, Onew found himself bored. There wasn’t anything on TV either. He thought about calling Jonghyun and just as he picked up his phone, it started to ring.

“Hello?”

“Onew?”

“…Key?”

“Yeah. What’s up?”

“Nothing? Why did you call me?”

“I got bored. I figured talking to you would waste sometime.”

“Thanks, I think?”

“No problem.”

Despite the both of them being bored, they stayed on the phone for three hours talking about whatever came to mind.

-

“So what’s going on today?” Onew sat himself down next to an annoyed Key.

“Not being anywhere near them.” Key shot a glare at Jonghyun and Taemin, who were flirting with each other like usual. Key then picked up his bag and headed for the door.

Onew scrambled to grab his things and catch up to Key.

“Where are we going?” he asked after finally getting in step with Key.

“The mall. I’ve decided you need new clothes.”

“What? No I don’t. We wear uniforms anyway. You’ve never seen what I normally wear.”

“You need new clothes, end of story. I can just see how you normally dress and it hurts.”

“It’s not that bad…”

“Do you have pictures to prove it?” Key asked, pulling a hat out of his bag and placing it cautiously on top of his carefully styled hair.

Onew fished his phone out of his pocket and searched through his pictures until he found one of him and Minho at an amusement park. “Here.”

Key took the phone and studied the picture before handing the phone back to Onew. “Not bad. I surprised, Onew. And who was that? He’s kind of hot.”

A funny, unknown feeling grew in Onew’s stomach. “…What do you mean?”

“Really now, Onew. It’s a know fact I like boys. Now tell me who he is. A boyfriend maybe?”

“No. That’s my best friend from home, Choi Minho. He’s Taemin’s year. Why? Are you… interested?” Say no, Onew thought.

“No…” Key sighed and shook his head. “Wow, Onew. I didn’t think you were this slow.”

-

To Onew, the afternoon with Key passed too fast. He was finding himself more and more attached to Key the more time he spent with him.

“We should do this again,” he said, testing Key’s reaction.

“How about tomorrow then?” Key asked, smiling at Onew. “This beats playing videos games with my brother.”

They joked their way to Key’s house, making stupid plans to set up Jonghyun and Taemin.

“Well, Onew. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Bright and early for Choir. Thanks for the clothes.”

“Thanks for the food.” Key turned to his door and Onew began walking home.

“Onew, wait!”

Onew turned around, Key running into him with a hug right after.

“I had a good day,” Key murmured into Onew’s shirt. “Just… wanted to let you know.”

Key let go and ran back to his house, leaving Onew shocked outside for several seconds before Onew went home.

-

“Minho, I think I like boys.”

“Jinki, this isn’t really the best time to call me about being sexually confused.” Minho’s words were a forced calm and slightly breathy. “Can I call you back in 30 - 40 minutes?”

“I really need to talk to someone about this now though. And you’re the only one I can go to.”

“Okay, okay. Just – hold on a minute.”

Onew heard shuffling and muffled whispers – ”Give me a minute or two, Hae. He needs me.” “No problem.” - before Minho was back. “What’s wrong, Jinki?”

“Key and I hung out together all day and then he hugged me goodbye and I felt funny and I can’t stop thinking about him and you’re with Donghae so I’ll let you go and-”

“I could have told you that you liked Key weeks ago. You always talked about him. I say go for it.”

“That’s not what I wanted to hear. Go back to Donghae.”

“Sorry, Jinki.”

Onew knew that Minho was trying his best, but that didn’t make him any less confused.

-

“Well, I’d say go for it,” said Kim Heechul, Onew’s guidance counselor. “Seems to me that you both like each other. And knowing Kim Kibum, he’ll get pissy if you don’t respond right away.”

“That’s not helping me be any less confused over finding out I like a boy.”

“Lee Jinki,” Heechul said coolly. “Being gay isn’t a big deal. Trust me.” Heechul looked down at a picture on his desk. “If you pass up being who you are, you might just regret it.”

“Oh-”

“And if you break my cousin’s heart, I’ll make sure you never graduate.” Heechul smirked from his desk before shuffling with a few papers. “You can go now.”

Onew stood up quickly, leaving the room as fast as he could, squeaking out a quick, “Thank you.”

As he left, the gym teacher Hankyung walked into Heechul’s office.

“Hannie!” he heard Heechul say, his voice carrying a much happier tone than Onew had ever heard it have.

Oh, I get it now…

-

Onew was slightly standoffish to Key after talking to Heechul. He wanted to work out how he felt before confessing something he might regret later. It was a week until they talked again.

“Onew, we need to talk,” Key demanded, pulling Onew away from their lunch table. “We had a great time hanging out last week. Why are you completely ignoring me now?”

“I just… I need to think about a few things,” Onew stuttered.

“Think about what?” Key crossed his arms, raising a groomed eyebrow.

“About… Things. People. Feelings?”

Key’s eyes widened slightly, his expression staying the same. “Explain.”

“But-”

“Now.”

Onew took a deep breath. “I…” Think I like you? Think I could be gay? “…can’t tell you right now. But I will! As soon as I figure it out. Just, don’t worry, okay? Please?”

Key’s face fell. “Oh, okay then,” he muttered. “Don’t tell me.”

Onew sighed, running a hand threw his hair. “Damn it.”

-

“Onew, you need to talk to Key,” Jonghyun said. “It’s been at least two weeks, and he’s driving me nuts.”

“I can’t, Jonghyun. I don’t know what to say to him.”

“Well, what do you need to say?”

“How I – How I feel.”

“About?”

“… Key.”

Jonghyun gasped. “You like Key?!”

“Jonghyun, shut up.”

“This is so exciting! Wait until I tell Taemin, he’ll be excited too! When are you telling Key? Go tell him now! He’ll be so h-”

“I can’t tell him yet,” Onew said. “I don’t know how.”

“Just tell him,” Jonghyun said, suddenly calm. “Trust me, that’s all you need to do.”

“Really?”

“What, you don’t trust me?”

-

“Key, can you come over after school?”

Key looked away from his locker, shock on his face before it quickly vanished. “Oh, hi Onew. How are you these days? I know I’m fine. Being ignored.”

“Look, Key, I’m sorry. I made a mistake. So, please come over so I can fix this?”

“Fuck you, Lee Jinki.”

“W-what?!”

“Sorry isn’t going to totally cut it. You need to make it up to me. Cook for me today or something.” Key smirked and Onew caught on.

“That’s fine. I just… I need to talk to you.”

“Onew, just say it n-”

“See you after school, bye!” Onew grinned at an annoyed Key before running off to class.

-

“So, what do you need to say to me?” Key asked as he picked his way through Onew’s cabinets. “You said you’ve been thinking about this for a while. So why not just say it now?”

“It’s been in my head for a while, yeah,” Onew replied, stirring some rice. “I’ll tell you after I finish cooking.”

“What the fuck, Onew.” Key hit Onew’s arm. “Just tell me now.”

“Give it a bit more time, Key.” Onew served the rice into bowls, and headed upstairs to his room, Key right behind him.

“I’m getting tired of this waiting thing,” Key muttered.

“Sorry it’s a little messy right now,” Onew said, kicking the one out-of-place shirt to the side of his room.

“It’s fine,” Key said, sitting down on Onew’s neatly made bed, smoothing out the wrinkles he made. “So, are you telling me now?”

Onew sighed and sat next to Key. “Yes.”

Silence filled the room and Onew could feel Key staring at him. He shifted uncomfortably, taking a deep breath. “I’ve always liked girls. I thought out of our friends, Minho was supposed to be the gay one. He’s kind of in love with his brother’s friends anyway, so it made sense. And, I was afraid I’d end up a little like him. So I avoided anything I felt about the subject. Then I moved here and I met you. You made me feel so welcomed at school, and you helped me find my way around when I was lost in the hallways. You were always there. Then, that day we hung out and went to the mall, I felt on fire and a little different the whole time, and that’s when I realized that-”

“You can tell me if you aren’t gay, Onew. I’ll understand,” Key said, rushing his words together with a forced laugh.

“That’s not it, Key.”

“Then say-”

“I like you. A lot. More than that one girl in elementary school. More than singing. More than anything.”

Key’s eyes were wide and fixed on Onew. “Oh.”

“So, please answer back. I’ve spent weeks agonizing over how to say this to you and then actually working up the guts to say it all.” Onew scratched the back of his neck. “So-”

“Obviously, I like you back, lameass. I just wanted you to say something first so it didn’t seem like I was forcing you to like me.”

Onew smiled. “Oh, okay.”

Key leaned forward quickly, pressing his lips to Onew’s. Onew flinched in shocked, hitting his head on the bed’s headboard.

Key broke into laughter. “Wait until I tell Jjong our first kiss ended up like this.”

“As long as you don’t tell him what the second one was like,” Onew murmured, wrapping his arms around Key and leaning close to the other boy’s face.

Key smiled. “You can count on that.”

Their lips met slowly this time, Onew’s eyes flickering shut almost instantly. Key smiled, running his hands through Onew’s hair, and pulled him closer.

Onew grabbed Key’s shoulder, his thumb stroking where neck met shoulder. Key deepened the kiss, his tongue running along Onew’s.

He lost count of how many kisses they exchanged, how many times Key’s fingers swept through his hair, and how many times he let out a breathy smile against Key’s lips.

-

“About time,” Jonghyun laughed out, clapping Onew on the back at lunch.

“Hey!” Key exclaimed. “Don’t hit him.”

Taemin giggled. “Jonghyun-hyung should be nicer to Onew.”

Jonghyun pouted. “I am nice to him. Right? Onew, I’m nice to you!”

“Of course, Jonghyun.” Onew grinned, wrapping an arm around Key’s shoulders.

Key leaned into Onew. “Now,” he said, “time to get Jonghyun and Taemin to confess to each other.”

Jonghyun turned bright red and Taemin dropped his sandwich.



*Lyrics from Onew’s solo, The Name I Loved

Also, I know some of the characters are definitely out of character, but it's fanfiction for a reason, yes? ^^ I'm thinking of making a HanChul off of this. With how Heechul is so wise and all. ... ^^;

Started: 01/26/2010
Finished: 02/09/2010
Edited: 03/23/2010, 03/29/2010, 03/30/2010
Posted: 03/31/2010