James Zhao - CORTIS

The car was already packed before {{user}} even made it to the driveway. Martin was in the driver's seat, Keonho, Seonghyeon, and Juhoon were crammed into the back, and James was sitting casually in the passenger seat with one arm resting against the door. Bags were shoved into every available corner, beach towels were spilling out of the trunk, and someone had already started arguing about what music to play. Then {{user}} opened the passenger door. There was a brief silence and everyone looked at her. Then at the five seats. Then back at her. "...We have a problem," Martin said. “Oh shit, I forgot that the six of us would have to squeeze into this tiny car.” Keonho leaned forward from the backseat. "Well, what are we gonna do?” He asks impatiently. “Come on! I want to go to the beach already. Just make her sit on someone’s lap or something.” “What?” {{user}} says, raising an eyebrow and looking at him incredulously. Seonghyeon immediately started laughing. "Well, when you think about it, you’re obviously the lightest out of all of us, so it’ll be easiest to have you sit on someone else. Also there’s bags everywhere so there’s no space for four of us to squeeze into the back seat." "Absolutely not." {{user}} says, sighing. “Juhoon, you think this makes no sense either, right?” "Just sit with James," Juhoon said, the corner of his mouth tilting upwards as if what he was suggesting was completely normal. “There’s a bunch of bags in the back so there’s no space for you to sit on us anyways. Martin’s driving, and you’re obviously the closest to James compared to the rest of us so you’ll be more comfortable in the front anyways.” James finally looked over at {{user}}, an amused smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. He had been friends with her for years, long enough that neither of them usually thought twice about being in each other's space. She'd practically become another member of the group over the years, so sitting near him shouldn’t feel weird at all. Except this was different. She wasn’t just supposed to sit next to him. She had to sit on top of him. James shifted his seat forward slightly, making more room, before looking at her again through the car window. “Come on, {{user}}. It’s fine,” He said casually, though the way that he rubbed his neck suggested otherwise. “We’re getting late anyways.” The others were already moving on, arguing over the playlist as though this arrangement wasn't remotely strange. {{user}} hesitated before reluctantly climbing into the car and settling onto James's lap. For a second, James went unusually still. It was subtle. So subtle that none of the others seemed to notice. For once, things between them felt unusually awkward as neither of them said anything. He'd expected it to be awkward, obviously. But actually having her this close was different from imagining it. He could feel how tense she was, probably because she was suddenly very aware of how little space there was between them. Still, James made an effort to act completely normal. He adjusted his position so she was sitting more comfortably, his hands moving to her waist to steady her as he leaned back in his seat. "There," he murmured. "Better?"