⭒ stella nightclub.

@✶ › minghao。 “no offense to you dude, but i thought you needed to loosen up a bit. and i figured a night here can help with that!” of course, this was a naïve conclusion for jaehyun to settle on. but in his defense, he hardly knew anything about minghao other than his status to the public, which despite in his royal image held less reverence than he expected. it took him a quick look to notice how the other would stiffen at the loud music quick to drown their voices, even from afar, with how bustling and crowded the club was. jaehyun himself had to make sure he was loud enough to not be overwhelmed by the generic edm and trap still played throughout the inside.

and that was when he figured out this would not turn out as smoothly as he initially thought. how did he not notice the vast difference between them? it was like night and day between the two, and yet the differences were brushed over so easily in the past, even if he’s aware lots have changed in the past six years.

pondering over an answer to his question, it did not take long for him to respond. “well, we’re not that awks around each other anymore and i wanted a friend to go with here so i figured why not you?” he shrugged as he drank some of his beer, a grin plastered on his face as his eyes drifting over to the dance floor before focusing on the person sitting beside to once again.

before he decided to ask for a dance with the other, his curiosity was still roused, wondering what the real reason was for minghao agreeing to go with him in the first place. “but if you’re already having regrets, why did you decide to accept my invitation here?”

@✷ › j. jaehyun。 his biggest, most fatal vice, minghao concludes, is latching himself onto some form of temporary company when yet another person leaves him again.

it's the only reason why he's standing outside a nightclub when he isn't a fan of the scene in the first place—the music coming from inside the venue is already hounding at his eardrums, albeit slightly muffled by the paper thin walls. the numbness on his fingertips is the only giveaway that he's been out here for quite a long time despite the warmth coursing throughout the rest of his body, and his throat tingling as he inhales his last cigarette. it's not that the person he's seeing is late, no—for some reason minghao had decided to leave the house way earlier than their meeting time.

he tosses the of his cigarette onto the pavement and quickly crushes it with the heel of his shoes when he sees a car pull up a couple minutes later. he makes his way closer upon seeing a certain familiar face emerge from the driver's side—and follows jaehyun into the venue, lips pressed into a line as he braces himself for the noise that'll inevitably attack him.

the nightclub is obnoxiously loud, with beams of colorful light coming from all sorts of direction. regret dawns upon him (if it hasn't already) as he struggles to get past the other club goers grinding against each other, and he finds himself repulsing when he feels his skin accidentally brushing against theirs. he wonders why the younger man had invited him here out of all places—was he not aware that minghao isn't into nightlife? but then again, they'd only lasted for a short while. certainly not enough for them to pick up those little details about each other. heck, he isn't even sure if he knows jaehyun beyond being an exceptional swimmer.

"just so you know—i'm already regretting this," he tells the other as he takes a seat on the bar, wincing at how easily the noise swallows his voice. he ponders the question for a moment and drums his fingers against the table. "not really." this, of course, was a lie. "what made you decide to bring me here anyway?"

@✶ › minghao。 after arriving to the stella nightclub from a thirty minute drive, jaehyun ushered the other over to the premises.

he can’t say he wasn’t surprised to see the familiar face again, or to fathom the possibility of running into him in this school. it was established long ago that he would be a distant memory, meant to be discarded, forgotten about forever. but when he heard the prince’s name called out of the few names enumerated in the first cluster, that task was proven to be impossible.

a month passed by, and they’re slowly but surely getting past that awkward stage. the pair managed to befriend each other despite the initial tension between them. as the prince may have hesitantly accepted his invitation to the nightclub near stellavance, jaehyun knew this would be a good opportunity to help him loosen up a bit.

the vibrant and flashy lights of the club welcomed them both (or mainly jaehyun), along with the gyrating bodies to edm bass boosted through the speakers. people stumbling over their two feet due to their inebriated state walked past them. his eyes naturally gravitated to the dance floor, his own body absorbed with the loud music. as they walked further into the club, he can’t help but feel the heavy bass-line of the music vibrate in his ears. jaehyun initially wanted to join in with the club dancers but instead walked minghao over to the more secluded bar, more dimly lit than the rest of the club.

“hey. i didn’t think you’d agree to this at all, but i should’ve expect the unexpected.” he chuckled softly after his remark. “so… do you have anything you need to be distracted from?”