- Genre: Fluff, High School AU, Sports, Friendship
- Word Count: 1,949
- Pairing: Reader x Haechan
- World: NCT Dream
When you first entered high school, you told yourself that you would keep a low profile and live out your high school career in peace. For the year, it went as you had planned, but it didn’t last long.
It all began one lunch period. You were sitting outside for the latter half of the period, enjoying the cool spring air and the gorgeous cherry blossom trees that were in mid-bloom. This was the peaceful life you wanted.
“Y/N!” Haechan was running towards you, waving his arms in the air like a madman. The other students were staring at him, some laughing at his behavior. He was the one thing you had overlooked in your plans.
You and Haechan grew up together, neighbors since birth. You were forced to play with one another as children, which led to a tight bond between you. You had been inseparable up until your last year of middle school when you started to grow apart. It was understandable – you were getting older and you both liked different things, but you remained friends and spoke nearly every night. More often, he would be at your house instead of his own.
“You know I love you, right?” He questioned, plopping onto the grass in front of you.
“What do you want?” You sighed, not bothering to open your eyes.
He pouted at you. “Can’t a guy let his bestie know that he loves them?”
“You only tell me that when you want something. So what’s up?”
“We’re going to join the basketball team.”
You thought he was joking, so you didn’t respond, but when you opened your eyes, you realized he was serious. “What’s with the sudden interest? And why do I have to be involved?”
“You remember Renjun, right?”
“No, how could I possibly remember the guy that’s been in the same class as us every year since grade school?” You rolled your eyes, making him scoff at the attitude.
“His cousin graduated last year and asked him to keep the basketball team going, but there are only two members currently and if they don’t get at least six more members, the club will be shut down.”
You scrunched your nose. “No thanks,”
“Good thing it wasn’t a request.” He grinned, pulling himself to his feet as the bell rung.
“Oi, what does that mean? Haechan!” But he didn’t respond, winking as he ran towards the building. With a sense of dread, you pulled yourself to your feet and followed suit.
The final bell rang, signaling the end of the school day. You stretched your arms above your head before putting away your books into your bag. As soon as you stood, arms wrapped tight around your body.
“Y/N! Thank you for joining the basketball team!” Renjun smiled at you gratefully; it was obvious that it meany a lot to him.
You glanced over his shoulder to see a smirking Haechan, shaking a slip of paper back and forth in the air. It was the club registration form, filled out with your information. ‘Son of a…’
“We just need one more member and the club won’t be shut down!” Renjun cheered, clapping his hands.
Seeing how happy he was, you couldn’t bring yourself to tell him the truth. You were so going to kill Haechan.
“I wonder if Jeno had any luck.” Haechan murmured. “He said he was gonna try a few underclassmen.”
You plopped back down in your chair. “I know an underclassman that likes basketball. He only plays for fun, though.”
“Who?” Haechan demanded, placing a hand on his hip. He had no idea who you were talking about – since when did you have friends that he didn’t know about?
“His name is Jisung,” you weren’t bothered by the change in attitude. He had always been a bit overprotective and even a little possessive at times. You blamed it on the fact that you were his only friend for most of his childhood. “I met him my first year. He got lost bringing his brother the lunch he forgot. We talk occasionally.”
“Would you be willing to ask him?” Renjun sent you the cutest look you’ve ever seen – His lip jutting out, eyes wide and pleading with his hands laced under his chin.
‘Damn you for being so adorable!’ “Yeah, I guess.” You muttered, standing up and slinging your bag over your shoulder. You didn’t wait around for a response, quickly exiting the room. ‘So much for a peaceful school life…’
The next morning, you stopped by Jisung’s classroom. Most of the students had arrived, but the blonde was nowhere in sight.
You approached the first student you saw. “Hey, have you seen Jisung?”
The girl shook her head. “He’s usually late.”
A boy approached you, tilting his head to the side. “What do you want with Jisung?”
You glanced at the clock and groaned. If you didn’t leave now, you were gonna be late for class. Pulling out your notebook, you quickly scribbled down the info on a piece of paper, sloppily folding it and handing it to the blonde. “Can you please give this to him?”
“Sure!” He smiled brightly, accepting the paper.
You turned tail and ran out of the room just as the bell rung. Thankfully, your teacher was also running late, so you were able to slip into the classroom without being scolded.
“Where were you?” Haechan asked, brows furrowed. “And don’t say you slept in late because we walked to school together!”
You rolled your eyes as you fell into your seat. “I was looking for Jisung.”
He folded his arms with a frown but didn’t say anything about it. “Jeno found someone. Same year, class 5. His name is Jaemin.”
“Hmm, really? He’s really popular with the girls. Didn’t know he was into sports.”
“Hey, you better not fall in love with our teammates.”
“Jealous?” You teased, making him scowl and look away. You didn’t miss the blush on his cheeks. “Don’t worry, idiot. I promised I’d marry you when we got older, remember?”
His eyes softened as he looked at you. “You remember that?”
You nodded, twirling your pencil absentmindedly. The promise had been made when you were seven and he was six. Your parents had forced you to attend your cousin’s wedding, and Haechan served as your ‘date’. You’re not sure what caused it, but when your cousin kissed her new husband, Haechan leaned over and pecked your cheek, declaring that he would be your husband one day. You made a pinky promise on it.
Haechan smiled at the memory, his heart fluttering. The relationship between you was quite a strange one. Family, yet more than that. The feelings you both shared were well known to each of you, but neither of you spoke a word on it. They just weren’t needed.
He hummed, lowering his voice. “So, that makes five members. We still need three more before next Friday.”
You caught the teacher’s eye and decided to keep your mouth shut, sending him a look telling him to zip it. He put a hand over his heart dramatically but did as he was told.
“Haechan, dear?”
He paused, looking at the teacher curiously. “Yes, ma’am?”
“Would you mind taking these to the office for me?” The teacher patted a small stack of folders on the desk.
“Sure,” He picked up the stack before turning to you. “I’ll meet you in the gym.”
With a nod, you went in separate ways, making your way to the gym. There was only one person inside – You recognized him as the blonde from Jisung’s class. He was dribbling the ball, eyes focused on the hoop. With one quick leap, the ball was sent soaring through the air and into the hoop.
“Hmm, not bad.” You commented, throwing your bag onto the bench.
He whipped around in surprise before smiling brightly. “Hello again!”
“Did Jisung show up?”
“He’s getting changed.” He reached into his bag, producing two slips of paper. “Here, we’re officially joining the basketball club!”
“More new members?” Renjun nearly squealed as he entered, his smile so wide he reminded you of the Cheshire cat. “I’m Renjun, the captain.”
“I’m Chenle!” He pointed to the other blonde that had just exited the locker room. “That’s Jisung!”
Jisung’s cheeks turned red at the sudden attention and he bowed politely. “Thank you for inviting me.”
Jeno entered the gym, followed closely by Jaemin and three girls that never took their eyes off of him.
“Where’s Haechan?” Renjun asked you, tilting his head slightly.
“He had to run an errand for our teacher. He should be here soon.”
“Are we still short?” Jaemin inquired, glancing between the group.
“By one member… if we can’t find someone soon – ”
“Don’t worry!” Haechan threw the doors open and rushed inside, nearly dragging a boy behind him. “I got our last member!”
You recognized the boy instantly. His name was Mark and while you hadn’t ever interacted with him, he lived in the same neighborhood. Not only that, but he was popular with everyone. “Are you sure you have the time? You’ve got a pretty full plate.”
Haechan scowled at you. “Stop trying to get rid of our teammate.”
“I’m not trying to get rid of him, but I know you. I want to make sure he’s doing this because he wants to and not because you guilted him.”
“I’m hurt that you would imply I would do such a thing.”
“Have you already forgotten that you forged my club form?”
“So? We’re in this together!”
You were standing face to face now, glaring each other down. You couldn’t decide if you wanted to kiss him or smack him in the head with the ball.
Mark cleared his throat, “He explained the situation, but he didn’t guilt me. I enjoyed basketball when I was younger, so I’m happy to join!”
“Told you,” Haechan stuck his tongue out at you, pulling away when you tried to grab it.
Renjun giggled, holding the forms to his chest. “Hyung is going to be so happy to know that the basketball club is going to continue.”
You patted his shoulder with a smile. “We better work hard to make the underclassmen interested so it can continue after we graduate.”
“Stop thinking about the future!” Haechan scolded, throwing his arm around your shoulders and pulling you to his side. “We can worry about that later. For now, let’s have fun!”
“Yeah!” Chenle started to dribble the ball again, running away from Haechan tried to grab it. The group divided into two teams and began to play. You were clear and Jaemin passed the ball to you. As soon as it touched your hand, you took off, dribbling it against the court. Haechan rushed in front of you, blocking your way to the hoop. You could attempt to throw it, but you had never been very good with free throws. Your eyes darted around, but every member of your team was being covered.
Just as you were about to take the shot, Chenle’s cheerful voice broke the tense air. “Haechan hyung, are you dating Y/N?”
Haechan stumbled back, his face turning red as his butt hit the ground. “W-What?”
You took your chance, rushing past the stunned boy and dunking the ball.
“That’s cheating!” Jeno cried, despite the cheeky grin on his face.
Chenle let out a loud laugh, high pitched and contagious. It wasn’t long before the rest of the team were laughing along with him. You approached Haechan, holding out your hand.
He was pouting as he slid his hand into yours. Even after you pulled him up, he didn’t release your hand.
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