Chapter Text
At first, Jisung had noticed that Felix seemed to be acting differently. It was the tiniest things, though. One example is that the other day, while hanging out with friends, Jisung noticed Felix's face would fall when he thought no one was looking. The second someone started talking to him again, his smile and usual demeanor would return. It was so brief, though, that Jisung thought that maybe he had just imagined it and eventually forgot that incident. There were other instances after that, too, when something would peek through, but just as quickly as it appeared, it would disappear. Felix seemed okay, though. He still laughed and joked and was his energetic self, but Jisung still wondered if something was off.
Months after that first incident, the day started out like any other, but soon everything changed. As the first class started, Jisung noticed that Felix was quieter and more subdued than he'd seen before. Mind you, he's been Felix's best friend since they were in third grade, so seeing this Felix for the first time started some alarms ringing. This was not Felix, and Jisung started suspecting that something was really wrong. For now, though, he would have to just get through class, and afterward, he would hopefully talk to Felix. Instead of concentrating on the professor, though, Jisung watched Felix. As the professor droned on about music theory, Jisung noticed that Felix was continuing to get worse and worse, and finally, at that moment, when Jisung was about to say, "screw this, " 1 pm finally hit. With some last words from the professor, Jisung could finally move and see what the hell was wrong cause there was something really wrong.
Moving quickly, Jisung was at Felix's side in seconds. When he got to Felix's side, Jisung was shocked at what he saw. Slumped over, Felix's usually bright sparkling eyes were now dull and looked almost lifeless, and his smile was gone. Gently, because just looking at Felix, you could tell with just one wrong word he would break, Jisung asked, "Hey, Lixie, are you okay? Did something happen?" "
Huh, what do you mean? No, everything is great. Life is good! Felix quickly replied, smiling. Jisung could tell, though, that this wasn't Felix's genuine smile. This smile was devoid of any happiness; it was a smile just for the sake of making one.
"Are you sure? I've never seen you not interested in what Professor Ann says." Jisung asked as they were walking out of the classroom.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Everything is fine; I'm just not feeling real well, okay. Can you leave it? I just don't feel well," Felix replied, still wearing his fake smile.
"Maybe you should skip the next class then and head home early. That way, you can get some rest. I can ask Minho to take notes so you won't get behind if you want? You know he won't mind."
After being silent for a while, Jisung heard Felix finally reply in a subdued voice, "If you're sure Minho would take notes for me, yeah, that might be a really good idea. I didn't get much sleep last night, so a nap might be good. "
Glad that Felix embraced the idea, Jisung quickly confirmed that Minho could and hugged Felix, watching him leave. As Felix left, Jisung could have sworn he heard Felix curse himself, but the wind took his words away .
As Jisung headed off to the dinning hall to meet Minho and the rest of their friends, he made a quick mental note to check on Felix later. Hopefully, with a little rest, Felix would perk back up to his usual self. In his heart, though, Jisung knew something was very wrong.
Usually, between classes, all of Jisung's friends would gather together and hang out. Today was no different, and when Jisung got to the dinning hall, he saw Hyunjin in the middle of some funny story. Quietly so as not to disturb him, Jisung walked over and sat next to Minho, at which Minho put his arm over Jisung's shoulder. Feeling how tense Jisung was, Minho whispered, "Hey, what's wrong?"
"It could be nothing, but I think somethings wrong with Lix." Even in a whisper, everyone heard Jisung's answer, and all conversations stopped.
"What do you mean somethings wrong with Felix? He looked okay this morning," Chan finally asked, still stunned at what he just heard.
"I don't know, call it a gut feeling, but during class today, he wasn't acting like himself and looked almost lifeless." Jisung sighed. "I mean, you guys know how he loves music theory, right?!"
"Yeah, that's one thing I've never understood about Felix. How one person could love school so much," Changbin laughed.
"Well, today, he just sat there. I don't even think he heard what Professor Ann was talking about. After class, I asked him what was wrong, and you guys know that fake smile he puts on when trying to convince everyone that he's fine; yeah, he did that. And said that he just didn't feel well."
"Well, there has been a stomach virus going around campus; maybe he got that," Jeongin piped in.
"I had that last week, and boy, was I sick. I couldn't even get out of bed for three days, so if Felix is sick, that makes total sense," Seungmin said
Yeah, maybe, but I don't know you guys; I think something is seriously wrong." Jisung said, still looking extremely worried.
"I only have two classes today, and my last class was just canceled, so I was heading home early anyway. We haven't gone on a date to our favorite restaurant in a while, so maybe I'll surprise Felix if he's feeling well enough. Don't worry, Jisung, I got this. I'll let you know if I find out anything, though."
"Thanks, Chan," Jisung said, finally relaxing into Minho.
The conversation continued to flow after Chan left until it was time for their next classes to start. The whole time, though, Jisung was quiet and just listened to his friends. Usually, he would be right in the middle there, but he was getting really worried about Felix the more he thought about him.
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Minho knew something was wrong the moment Jisung sat down, and after hearing about Felix, Minho realized why. Even after Chan had left, Minho knew that Jisung was still worried and that if he didn't do something, his boy would just think about Felix and continue worrying. So, knowing that Jisung wouldn't be able to focus on his next class, which meant he wouldn't be able to either, Minho made a spur-of-the-moment decision. Gently taking Jisung's hand, Minho stood and pulled Jisung up simultaneously.
"I have some things to do, so we're going to leave early, too," Minho announced. "We'll see you guys later, okay."
Okay, sure, we'll see you later. Are we still on for game night tonight?" Hyunjin asked
"Yeah, we should be, but I'll let you guys know if anything changes," Jisung replied, still focusing more on Felix than the conversation around him.
After a couple more minutes of Minho talking, they finally headed to Jisung's car.
"Keys." Holding out his hand, Minho demanded.
"I'm fine, Min. I can drive… " Jisung started protesting
"No, you are not. Not with your focus elsewhere, you aren't. I am not taking a chance with your life, so get in the car and stop complaining." Minho demanded. While he wanted to comfort Jisung, he knew that tough love was what Jisung needed right now. He's known Jisung for years, even before they started dating, and when anything happens to Felix, Jisung will focus on that and completely forget anything else, no matter how important.
It was silent for a few seconds, but Jisung finally nodded and handed over his keys. As much as he hated to admit it to anyone, Jisung knew that Minho was right.
After seeing Jisung get in and sit in the passenger seat, Minho opened his door and got in the car. He would check on Jisung occasionally, but the drive back was completely silent, and since usually, Jisung would be talking his ear off, Minho knew now how serious it was. This was not his Jisung at all. He had mentioned he's worried about Felix, and Jisung forgets everything when worried about Felix, so what did he not tell them? Knowing he couldn't do much now while they were in the car, Minho rested his hand gently on Jisung's knee. Just to reassure him that no matter how bad it is that they'll face it together, Minho will always be there for him. Once he knew Jisung understood his silent words, he turned his focus back on the road. Hopefully, once he got them back to their apartment, he could find out what was wrong.