Archive of Our Own ^beta

In Baekhyun’s opinion, admiring someone was completely different than liking someone; there was a fine line, but it was there. For him, admiration was simply thinking that someone is cool, interesting, fun; someone who was enjoyable to be around.

Park Chanyeol, Baekhyun was fond of him. His personality was bright and inviting, and Baekhyun loved every bit of it. He just thought that Chanyeol was so… cool. Someone he’d like to spend time with, if he had the chance.

Being accepted to college was a dream come true, in general. But being accepted into the same University as Park Chanyeol was, to say the least, a godsend from heaven. He wasn’t saying he applied to the same college on purpose, it just happened to work out that way. Which made the acceptance letter appear as if it was personally delivered to him by an angel.

Baekhyun couldn’t be happier.

Studying and majoring in the same field as Chanyeol was the cherry on top, the ribbon wrapped around the present, the icing on the cake. It completed the whole package; it was everything he could have ever hoped for. How did he get so lucky? Having the same dream in the same environment as the person he admired.

Except, those were thoughts for the future. Thoughts for the present included helping Sehun unpack his large ass boxes. Just thoughts, though. Baekhyun pretended he didn’t see the other male struggling behind him.

For now, he had his attention focused on his class schedule, which was displayed on his laptop screen. Things were going to be much different from high school, that’s a given, but he was confident that it would be better. He had already made some changes, such as asking Sehun; a male he barely knew, if he wanted to be his roommate. He didn’t want to get stuck with some random guy, so he took the leap and asked someone he was familiar with.

The fact that Sehun was friends with Chanyeol may have influenced his decision a bit. Just a little bit. Only a small fraction, as he told himself.

“Alright. I think I’m done.” Sehun announced as he put the last of his things away, cutting off Baekhyun’s thoughts about school.

“That’s good.” He responded quietly, still not socially on the same level that Sehun was. He was trying though. That was one of his goals for this year; to be able to socialize like a normal college student.

“Hey, I’m going to go out to eat with some friends now, do you want to come?” Sehun invited, causing Baekhyun to raise his eyebrows in curiosity. Friends? Which of his friends was he referring to?

“Oh, sure. Who’s coming?” He asked in an attempt to sound nonchalant.

“Just Junmyeon and Jongin I think,” Sehun replied.

“Oh,” Baekhyun muttered, trying not to let his disappointment show. Junmyeon and Jongin, they were cool, sure, but they weren’t Chanyeol. “Nobody else?”

“Not that I know of. Why?”

“No reason. I'm just wondering. Sure, I’ll come.” Baekhyun replied with a small smile, still thankful for the invite.

-

“Hey guys, you remember Baekhyun, right?” Sehun asked the two males who were sitting at one of the tables. Baekhyun reluctantly sat in the seat next to Junmyeon, looking around cautiously while offering a smile. He had to make a good first impression at least, even if they did already know of him. Knowing of someone was completely different than knowing them, he would be one to know about that.

“Hey! It’s the smart guy from chem class last year. You go here too?” Jongin said with a surprised tone. He spoke so casually to new people, Baekhyun wondered if he could get the same confidence.

“Yeah, he’s also my roommate. I thought you knew that?” Sehun teased.

“I didn’t really connect the dots…” Jongin trailed off.

Baekhyun felt his cheeks heat up at the thought of him being their topic of conversation. He hadn’t even spoken a word yet and honestly, he didn’t really plan on it. It was like sitting at the cool table in the cafeteria. Except he was the one who got the pity invite and nobody actually knew anything about him. Not yet, at least.

He listened as the other three boys began to communicate, hoping he could contribute to the topic of conversation at some point. That, or that the topic would eventually make its way over to Chanyeol. Every new topic that was brought up seemed pointless, in his opinion. He was only waiting for something more interesting to be discussed.

Baekhyun knew for a fact that Junmyeon was Chanyeol’s roommate, they’ve been best friends for years now, so there had to be some reason out there on why they weren’t functioning as one being. At least, that’s what he thought best friends did.

“Why didn’t Chanyeol come? He could have met Baekhyun?” Sehun asked, presumably to Junmyeon, bringing Baekhyun’s attention back to the conversation.

There it was. Sehun had read his mind. They were already telepathically linked, that had to be a good start to a friendship.

“That fucker,” Junmyeon responded, rolling his eyes. “Apparently he’s mad at me, even though I haven’t even done anything to him! He’s so dramatic!”

Baekhyun paused drinking his coffee mid-sip, this was the first he was hearing about this.

“Why’s he mad at you?” Jongin asked.

“You tell me! He’s all like ‘blah blah you’re so annoying,’ but I literally did nothing to him!” Junmyeon answered dramatically. “He’s been on edge for a while now. I thought he was just eager to go to college but now that we’re here, he’s just gotten worse.”

“Maybe he just doesn’t like you.” Jongin teased.

“Maybe he doesn’t like you.” Junmyeon added.

“I’m not the one he’s claiming to hate.”

Junmyeon sighed, kicking his feet up onto the table. “I don’t care, honestly. It’s his fault for majoring in pre-med. We all know how that’s going to work out for him. Dumbass.”

“Don’t be mean! Baekhyun’s majoring in pre-med.” Sehun defended, sending a glare in the male’s direction. Baekhyun internally smiled at how quick Sehun was to bring him up. The fact that he knew what Baekhyun was majoring was reassuring, to say the least. He was being recognized and talked about for something he was proud of; definitely a self-esteem boost.

“Oh really?” Junmyeon commented with a laugh. “Oops.”

“Sounds fun, you two should study together or something.” Jongin chimed in, “Is that what people do together? Study?”

“You’d know if you actually studied,” Sehun added, directing the topic away from Baekhyun and onto something else.

Studying with Chanyeol sounded like a grand idea to Baekhyun, especially with the same major. Sehun was a genius for coming up with that one.

Truthfully, he never envisioned Chanyeol to be the type of person who wanted to be a doctor. Baekhyun had wanted to be one ever since he was young, but their personalities were almost the complete opposite. When Sehun happened to let Chanyeol’s endeavour slip, he was surprised, to say the least; Chanyeol was the life of the party, not a student who spent a majority of his time studying like Baekhyun.

Thinking about it, maybe that was the reason Baekhyun admired him so much. Chanyeol was so carefree, living the best life he could without second thought, from what Baekhyun had witnessed. He just gave off positive vibes.

Baekhyun was definitely fond of the idea of Chanyeol being his study buddy.

-

Plan failed. After the first week of classes, Baekhyun hadn’t seen Chanyeol at all. Not even a single time; Not even passing by the hallways or the dining hall. Finding Chanyeol was going to be harder than he thought. It wasn’t like he’d even get anywhere by merely seeing him, but it would definitely be a start.

On top of everything, math class, his least favourite subject, was also his last class for the week. He was certainly looking forward to relaxing over the weekend and getting used to his new schedule.

A male suddenly took a seat next to him, causing Baekhyun to lift his head.

“Hey!” the deep voice greeted. Baekhyun recognized it as Junmyeon’s. Taking a quick few glances around the room, Baekhyun wondered if he made a mistake and thought he was someone else.

“Ah yes, math. My best subject.” Junmyeon exhaled, sarcasm clear in his tone as he set his books on the desk next to Baekhyun. “I’m kidding. I don’t have a best subject.”

Baekhyun could only nod slowly, unsure of how to respond.

“Are you good at math?” Junmyeon asked, tilting his head towards Baekhyun.

Baekhyun raised his head, just to confirm that Junmyeon was indeed talking to him before replying, “I’m okay at it.”

“Great! I guess we’re both screwed,” Junmyeon laughed, finally taking a seat as he picked up a textbook and began flipping through it. “I didn’t look at this before. Damn, there are so many pages in this thing, I hope we don’t go over them all.” Junmyeon sighed.

“A majority of the pages are just practice questions, don’t worry. There’s not a lot of new information in it. I’ve already looked through it all.” Baekhyun admitted. He had taken a plunge in getting ahead of the game due to his struggles with the subject.

“Shit, you’re right! That makes life so much easier, thanks!” Junmyeon said enthusiastically, closing the book.

Baekhyun smiled at his response. Junmyeon seemed nice. Maybe this class would make life easier for him as well.

-

Baekhyun opened his textbook, turning to the page that the teacher had assigned. He barely even knew what the lesson was about, but he was able to pick up the concepts fairly quickly. It had been his special skill throughout his school life. Even if a certain topic was literally the most confusing bit of information to ever exist, he always found a way around it, which made for him to be a very reliable teacher, tutor, and especially, study buddy.

“Hey Baekhyun, look at this.” Junmyeon interrupted.

Studying with Junmyeon, however, somehow made him feel dumber. He wasn’t the study buddy he was expecting, that was for sure. Explaining the same thing over and over only to have him still not understand got annoying after the third try. “What?” He answered in the most patient voice he could muster.

“It looks like the pencil is bending.” Junmyeon giggled, moving the pencil up and down to make a wavy illusion with it as someone would do in grade school.

“I see that. Did you do number four yet?” Baekhyun redirected the conversation back to their homework, getting increasingly annoyed at how much Junmyeon wasn’t concentrating, or even making an effort to do so.

Junmyeon stared down at his paper, expression looking blank for a moment until he raised his head again, “No, because; you see here, there are only three questions.” A smug look appeared on his face after he pointed out his observation.

“On the back,” Baekhyun interjected.

“What? There’s no bac-” Junmyeon began, flipping over the paper before his face fell completely. “Fuck.”

Baekhyun put his head in his hands, silently praying for the fate of this man. He motioned for Junmyeon to hand over his paper, scanning over it once he received it. “There is no way you got 195.3 for this answer. You didn’t even solve for x. What did you solve for?”

“The… uhh… the number? I don’t know, I just guessed! That one was hard.” Junmyeon whined.

“Even if you did just guess, this was a terrible guess,” Baekhyun commented dryly, amazed at the intelligence of the human race. Or lack of.

“This is so-” Junmyeon began to grumble when the sound of his phone ringing paused him, “Hold on, I gotta take this.”

Baekhyun nodded, turning his attention back to Junmyeon’s paper, still wondering how someone could mess up an answer this much.

“What do you want?.” Junmyeon questioned into the phone, startling Baekhyun out of his daze. “No, I didn’t steal your stupid damn notes. What the fuck. What the hell would I get out of that? Why would I want those?”

Baekhyun found himself listening intently to the conversation despite only hearing half of it. Junmyeon didn’t seem happy with whoever was on the other line. Judging by the context, the recipient didn’t either. The idea crept into his mind that it might have been Chanyeol, but he shut that thought down quickly in order to not get his hopes up.

If Junmyeon was on the phone with Chanyeol while being in the same room as him, it was almost like he was the one talking to him. Travelling sound waves.

“No! That’s not- why would I do that? Just tell me why. Go ahead. Let's see if you can come up with a valid reason why- no. Don’t. Chanyeol, no. What are you doing? Just-” Junmyeon scrambled, quickly grabbing his backpack. “Sorry Baekhyun, I gotta go. Chanyeol’s threatening to delete my Xbox account.” He offered an apologetic smile before holding the phone back to his face. “You little shit. I hope you go to hell. Do you hear that? I hope you go to hell!” He threatened, shutting the door behind him after he walked out.

Baekhyun could only raise his eyebrows in bewilderment. This was now the second time Junmyeon had done this the last time they tried to ‘study’ together. Nothing would ever get done, Junmyeon would do dumb shit for half an hour, then leave urgently. Maybe it was for the better. They hadn’t been getting much done anyway. Who even needed a study buddy? All the company he needed was his pencil and paper.

Rather than reminiscing too much on the loss of Junmyeon, he turned his attention back to his homework. He picked up his paper, noticing another paper slip from underneath it.

Junmyeon’s paper.

Baekhyun dug his hands into his face once again, resting his elbows on his desk. He knew homework wasn’t Junmyeon’s first priority, but he could have at least grabbed his work before he left so urgently

He knew he had to return this, one way or another. Even if Junmyeon didn’t plan on doing any of it or even turning it in, it was the right thing to do. He didn't want to be the cause of Junmyeon failing and getting a bad grade. ‘Sorry, you can’t graduate because you didn’t turn in that one homework assignment!’

The thought made his shoulders shutter, as he placed the piece of paper in a safe place before deciding to revisit the problem at a later time.

-

Baekhyun texted Junmyeon the night before, wondering when and where he should return this super important piece of paper, but only received a quick “oh u can just put it on my desk.” Which then required the important question of, “where do you live?” Something he’d been wondering about for a while.

So now he found himself outside of what he hoped to be Junmyeon’s room. If his calculations were right, it should be this one. He severely hoped so, at least. Knocking on the door of the wrong college dorm room would be the last thing he wanted to do.

While he brought his hand up to the door to give it a light knock, he found himself getting nervous. Maybe this was a bad idea. It was just a paper after all. What kind of a weirdo tracks down a dorm number just for that? The quickest solution would be to slip it under the door and call it a day. Though, that would be taking the easy way out. It was most likely just Junmyeon in there, and they were on friendly terms already, so what was he so afraid of? It was only a simple door, nothing too horrifying about that.

That is, unless Chanyeol was in there. That possibility changed almost everything. How would he even react? What would he do if Chanyeol opened the door and saw Baekhyun standing there? The probability of that happening was about 50/50, a very similar statistic to the one circling in his brain. He couldn’t pinpoint whether he wanted to see him or not.

The worst possibility he imagined was that Chanyeol wouldn’t even recognize who he was. He’d merely look around, only to find that there was nobody important in the walkway and Baekhyun would be left with a closed door and a piece of unfinished math homework. This was most likely an overreaction on his end, his social awkwardness gnawed away at him.

Granted, they have had classes together before in high school, but those didn’t really count as meaningful interactions considering they were on complete opposite sides of the social spectrum. He mostly just observed from a distance, keeping to himself. Chanyeol, on the other hand, could do anything but keep to himself with the crowd he attracted.

Finally bringing up the courage to knock, Baekhyun offered a very light tap to the door. If it wasn’t loud enough for whoever was inside to hear, then he’d be out of luck because he sure as hell wasn’t about to try again and risk a heart attack.

Baekhyun flinched when the door was pulled open just seconds after, revealing a sweatshirt standing before his direct eyesight. He tilted his head up to look directly into the eyes of, yes, Chanyeol. Just his luck.

It was the first time Baekhyun laid eyes on him since the last day of high school. Probably the first time he’d ever been this close to him too. For some reason, his thoughts felt scrambled.

He looked good, Baekhyun wasn’t going to lie. Those big eyes with that burning gaze, it all messed with his mind, especially when they were staring back at him. He was certainly still as tall as Baekhyun remembered. There was no question about that.

Chanyeol didn’t have any emotion lingering on his face though; he was unable to read him. An almost blank expression coated his face. He anticipated a greeting from the other, but not a word was spoken. Wasn’t he going to ask who Baekhyun was? Maybe wonder why he had suddenly shown up at his door?

“I have a paper,” Baekhyun stammered out, realizing that Chanyeol wasn’t going to be the first one to speak.

“You have a paper?” Chanyeol repeated with a curious voice, raising an eyebrow. “Let me see.” He held out his hand as Baekhyun pushed the paper into his hand, scanning the page.

“It doesn’t look like any of these are right.”

“Yeah,” Baekhyun answered quietly, “it’s Junmyeon’s. He left it in my room yesterday.”

“Oh, that makes more sense. I was wondering why you were at my door with a piece of paper full of wrong answers. But if it’s Junmyeon’s, then I’m not surprised at all. You can just leave it on the desk in there.” Chanyeol motioned towards the back of the dorm, a section he had yet to see considering his limited view from the hallway.

Was he supposed to just go in? To just step inside and walk in right past Chanyeol? Just like that? It sounded too simple; Baekhyun wished he was given more specific instructions. He took a few small steps forward, relieved when Chanyeol eventually moved out of the doorway.

Baekhyun mentally cursed himself for being so awkward. Why couldn’t he have just announced the paper was Junmyeon’s from the beginning? He had to say it in the stupidest, most timid way possible, didn’t he?

“Hello?” Chanyeol asked, bringing Baekhyun’s wandering attention back to the present. It took a moment to realize that he’d just been awkwardly standing in the middle of the room for way longer than he should’ve. “His desk is right over there.” Chanyeol pointed behind Baekhyun where a barren wooden table laid against the corner.

So many thoughts still lingered in Baekhyun’s head that he almost forgot to set down the paper. How could he forget the one thing he came here for?

“Oh, yeah,” he dumbly responded, shuffling to lay Junmyeon’s paper on top of the desk. By the looks of it, there wasn’t much on it to begin with compared to the other desk sitting across the room, the one he assumed to be Chanyeol’s. The difference between the two desks seemed pretty similar to the material on his and Sehun’s desks. The difference between a working student and a lazy student was clear.

He looked up, though his view was blocked by Chanyeol, who only seemed to be staring right back at him. Did he recognize him? That was Baekhyun’s burning question that was in the back of his mind throughout all of this. If Chanyeol had ever spared a glance and thought, “Ah yes, Baekhyun! I know him!” as soon as he invited him in.

“Thank you,” Baekhyun broke the silence, but almost immediately regretted it after.

“For what?” Chanyeol questioned, changing his gaze into a confused expression.

“You let me in.”

“Oh, yeah. You’re welcome.”

Baekhyun looked around the room awkwardly, slowly making his way to the exit as casually as he could. “I’ll get going now,” he spoke, eyes stuck to the floor.

“Alright, goodbye,” Chanyeol replied casually, not moving from his position of sitting on top of his desk with his arms crossed.

As soon as Baekhyun closed the door, he wanted to pee his pants. How he survived that entire interaction without doing so, he didn’t know. However, until the next encounter with Chanyeol, he’d replay those quick few seconds in his head on repeat for a while.

-

The next few weeks that passed seemed extremely repetitive to Baekhyun. All he did was study, do homework, go to class, sleep, and repeat. Not the most exciting activities, but he didn’t mind. It was what he came to college to do in the first place: to get a degree, not let himself suffer in boredom.

Sehun had been in and out of their room for the majority of the time. He would occasionally bring people into the room to play video games with him while Baekhyun did his best to try and keep to himself.

He’d been trying to keep the dorm room as clean as possible, but Sehun seemed to enjoy being a malfunctioning human garbage disposal that randomly spit shit out everywhere. Although he was initially quite reserved from Sehun, Baekhyun eventually found himself more comfortable with talking to his roommate. He even found the courage to scold him about his sloppy living habits, something that seemed unrealistic to who he was just months ago. But, this was his life now; he just had to deal with it. Even if it meant babysitting a grown man almost 90% of the time.

A knock was heard halfway through his math assignment and he was not ready to wake Sehun up and tell him to get it. He knew whoever at the door would be here for Sehun, considering he hadn’t exactly found any other friends who would want to see him yet. He’d been trying to build more connections, though, and that was all that mattered. Besides, not too many people were as inviting as Sehun and his friends.

He walked over to the door and opened it to be greeted by Jongin and Junmyeon. “Oh, hi,” he welcomed calmly, “Sehun’s asleep.”

“Still?” Jongin groaned, already walking inside. “It’s like noon!”

“Pretty normal schedule for him,” Baekhyun commented, watching the two boys walk right over to Sehun’s bed. Jongin wasted no time once he got over there, giving the sleepy man a light slap on the ass. He awoke almost instantly, looking around the room with wide and confused eyes.

Baekhyun could only raise his eyebrows, having never seen that kind of greeting before.

“What was that for?” Sehun grumbled, rubbing his eyes. “I almost had a heart attack!”

“You were asleep.” Jongin laughed, putting a hand up to Sehun’s hair.

“Oh really? Was I?” Sehun bit back, sticking out his tongue to lick Jongin’s palm.

“Hey! Don’t get smart with me,” Jongin answered, causing Sehun to start… giggling? Interesting.

Jongin paused his conversation with Sehun to look back at Baekhyun, “Alright, see you guys later!” He smiled warmly, waving goodbye.

“Oh, you’re leaving already?” Baekhyun wondered. They had just got there. All that effort to wake Sehun up, only to leave directly after? Did he completely forget about Junmyeon?

“Uh… no?” Jongin said blankly, blinking back at Baekhyun. Someone was going to have to explain what was going on here because Baekhyun was not following.

A hand landed on his shoulder, drawing him backwards. “I think they want some time alone,” Junmyeon whispered in his ears.

“Wha-” Baekhyun started but didn’t get to finish his sentence before he was dragged out of the room by his hood.

“We can leave them alone for a little, right?” Junmyeon said after closing the door behind him.

“But that’s my room.” Baekhyun insisted with a defeated sigh. “I was supposed to study for-”

“Believe me Baekhyun, your studying can wait a few hours. Why don’t we go do something? Something that isn’t studying!” Junmyeon exclaimed, tugging on Baekhyun’s hand, “Come on, let’s go to my room and I’ll teach you how to play some video games.”

Baekhyun, without much choice, agreed to the other’s offer. Being in Junmyeon’s room sounded scary, especially if Chanyeol was going to be there too. He wasn’t sure he was ready to set foot in there again but ultimately resigned to Junmyeon’s pushy nature.

-

Standing in front of that door, he was sure he peed his pants this time. Granted, there was no way to actually check that, so he remained still in front of the door, watching Junmyeon fiddle with the keys. Any minute, any second now, that door would be pushed open and he would find out if he would be seeing Chanyeol again.

Did he want that? Did he want to see him, or did he want to avoid him at all costs for the rest of his life? He couldn’t make up his mind. He was no longer able to admire him from a distance anymore due to their lack of classes together. He couldn’t just look up from his seat and watch as Chanyeol threw a pencil into the ceiling to piss off the teacher, or watch as he tossed out jokes like a standup comedian. Those wonderful days were, sadly, over.

Now a month into college, Baekhyun thought he would have heard at least something about Chanyeol. Maybe from a random conversation that he would happen to overhear, talking about something stupid or iconic that Park Chanyeol did. Even just a passerby, commenting to their friend about the tall and funny guy they observed on campus.

But… nothing. Junmyeon and Sehun didn’t even mention Chanyeol’s name as much as he would have expected. Being someone's best friend, wouldn’t you at least mention them once? The only mentions seemed to be negative as of late. Baekhyun wondered what had changed so quickly.

“It’s open, finally.” Junmyeon breathed out, pushing the door open.

Not even a moment later, he had laid his eyes upon him. Sitting in front of the doorway, staring at a laptop that was sitting on his desk. He didn’t even glance up when Junmyeon had pushed the door open, striding into the room with Baekhyun following slowly behind.

“We’re going to hang out here,” Junmyeon stated.

Chanyeol didn’t even react. His eyes didn’t even move from where he was looking, completely fixated on a piece of paper that Baekhyun assumed had something to do with an assignment.

Whatever it was, Baekhyun had most likely gotten something similar. In which, he probably knew it like the back of his hand and could have easily helped Chanyeol decipher whatever he was struggling with. If only they could just study together, something as simple as that. He could be so much help!

Junmyeon rolled his eyes, shaking his head. He was probably caught off by Chanyeol’s obvious disinterest in his surroundings.

Baekhyun didn’t blame Chanyeol though; he looked busy. He knew that if he was put in the same position, trying to mind his own business while completing schoolwork, he wouldn’t give his full attention to an unwanted visitor either.

“You can just ignore him.” Junmyeon half-whispered, though still loud enough for Chanyeol to hear. Yet, he gave no such reaction.

Junmyeon ran over to one of the beds and jumped on top of it, rolling into a ball the second he landed. “Come feel my comforter, Baekhyun. It’s the softest thing you’ll ever feel.”

Baekhyun was then forced to move from the doorway, making his way past Chanyeol’s desk and onto Junmyeon’s side of the room, plopping himself right next to Junmyeon on the comforter. It was comfortable, he did admit. “It’s soft.” He spoke, rubbing his hand all over the fabric.

“Isn’t it?” He smiled, before widening his eyes. “Wait, I have an idea.” Baekhyun watched in confusion as Junmyeon turned around to grab a pillow from behind him. The other man held a finger up to his mouth to indicate for him to stay quiet.

“Hey!” Chanyeol’s voice rang out in the air, just seconds after he was whacked in the head by a pillow.

Junmyeon couldn’t control his giggles. “It wasn’t me, it was Baekhyun!”

Baekhyun’s eyes widened, moving his head instantly to look at Junmyeon, then back to Chanyeol, who looked unimpressed. “No, I didn’t throw it.” He defended instantly, shaking his hands to show that he was, in fact, innocent.

Chanyeol raised one eyebrow while crossing his arms, clearly not amused by the situation. “I know.” He stated while looking expressionless at Baekhyun.

Baekhyun glanced up, noticing Chanyeol’s eyes on him. He almost seemed to cower under the gaze, hoping the topic of discussion would switch quickly.

“Did you bring someone over here just to stay focused on me the whole time?” Chanyeol questioned, turning to look towards Junmyeon.

“What? No,” Junmyeon replied, sounding confused. “We were going to play videogames.”

Chanyeol only rolled his eyes in response, “Then leave me out of it, would you? I’m trying to focus.”

“Fine, okay! Geez, someone’s not in a good mood today.” Junmyeon huffed, shaking his head, “Anyways, Baekhyun, let’s just ignore him.” He said while grinning, taking no notice to the scoff heard from across the room.

Baekhyun felt better knowing that Chanyeol was at least aware of people being in the room, even if it did take Junmyeon throwing a pillow at him. Would he say anything about recognizing him? Maybe he’d be like ‘hey! You’re that guy who stood in my room for thirty seconds straight looking for a desk! As if it wasn’t right there!’

He shuddered at that thought, remembering exactly why he was against coming here in the first place. In Chanyeol’s head, he was probably known as the guy who was friends with Junmyeon based on the two encounters, but he didn’t know if that was what he wanted to be known as.

“So Baekhyun, let me show you my house on Minecraft.” Junmyeon said excitedly, gripping onto the remote while pressing a variety of buttons, “I’m thinking about adding another floor onto it or something, what do you think? Anyways, I also got some dogs over here and- OH one escaped! How’d he do that? Or did he die? Maybe it was one of those Iron Golems, I was against making them in the first place but Sehun was all like ‘Junmyeon you NEED them’ and I was like-”

“Can you be any louder?” Chanyeol interrupted, causing Junmyeon to fall silent. He looked disappointed, which was completely understandable in Baekhyun’s opinion. Junmyeon certainly didn’t have the quietest voice in the world.

“Actually, yeah. I can be so much louder. Would you like that?”

“I would like the opposite, thanks. I’m trying to work.”

Baekhyun shuffled awkwardly in his position, understanding why Junmyeon commented about them not getting along earlier.

“Someone’s not in a good mood today,” Junmyeon muttered under his breath.

“I just don’t understand why you brought him over here just to play video games,” Chanyeol added, turning back to his desk. “I’m not sure Baekhyun wants to sit around playing silly games all day with you.”

Baekhyun’s eyes widened at his name being mentioned. He’d spent this entire time thinking Chanyeol had no clue who he was. This meant he knew his name, who he was, and enough about him to decide that Baekhyun didn’t like video games. That was a start.

He tried his best to ignore the glare Chanyeol was sending Junmyeon. They had somehow found a way to make the topic about him, in which he had no idea how to respond too. What was he supposed to say?

“Well? Do you, Baekhyun?” Junmyeon turned to look at him. Baekhyun doubted he was really asking, probably just looking for another reason to start an argument with Chanyeol. He ultimately decided not to say anything, ending the conversation with a simple shrug, which seemed to be enough for Junmyeon.

“See? Mind your own business!” Junmyeon must have taken that shrug as an ‘oh yes, I love video games!’

“At least be quiet, this is still my room. Your voice about a Minecraft house should not be as loud as it is, just saying.” Chanyeol pointed out.

Baekhyun could feel the tension in the room. Obviously, Chanyeol wanted it to be quiet, he didn’t want to keep being a burden, especially if he was only here because Junmyeon forced him to be. He could be getting so much done at the library instead, that would be a much better use of his time. “Maybe I should just go,” Baekhyun commented, moving to stand up.

“No, you don’t have too. Just don’t worry about him.” Junmyeon said, “See? You made him uncomfortable!” He yelled to Chanyeol.

“Me?” Chanyeol answered, surprised.

“Yes!”

“That doesn’t even make any sense! You were the one who-”

“What? What did I do?” Junmyeon cut him off.

Baekhyun put his head in his palms, wondering what he just started. He certainly didn’t expect to begin a whole different discussion by simply wanting to leave them alone. It was for Chanyeol’s sake, so he could have a quiet room, but why did he feel like it was his fault? How did he screw up this badly without even saying anything? He must have some sort of special skill, it was not easy to mess up a single interaction in so many different ways.

Junmyeon and Chanyeol continued to exchange words, but he was beyond the stage of listening. He just wanted to leave, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to start anything,” He muttered before managing to escape from the room without any further words being said.

By the time anyone probably even noticed, he was already trying to memorize his way back to the dorm.

-

During math class the next morning, Junmyeon didn’t speak a single word about anything that happened last night. Though, it was all Baekhyun was able to think about. He wondered how the two’s normal conversations together usually ended up if they were willing to make a problem out of nothing while having a guest over. It was still put in his brain that everything was caused by him. If he hadn’t been asked to leave his own room, gone with Junmyeon for the sake of having somewhere to be, and then proceeded to say nothing while an argument around him began. If he hadn’t done any of that, there would have been no issue at all!

Junmyeon had just sat down next to him and was already talking about how difficult the course was. He began every class with a sigh and a slam of his books onto the desk. It was a tradition at this point, Baekhyun thought.

“I hate this stupid class,” Junmyeon said for the second time that day, not even a minute after announcing it the first time.

Baekhyun nodded, not mentioning how little effort Junmyeon actually put into the class. If he did, maybe he’d actually start understanding it, but that didn’t seem very likely. He wasn’t going to be the one to tell him that.

“I didn’t mean to start any arguments between you guys yesterday.” Baekhyun blurted out, eager to get that off of his chest, “I’m sorry if I did.”

Junmyeon raised his eyebrows, “what? Oh, don’t worry about that, it was his fault.” He reassured, “It usually is. Did you see how I was minding my own business and he had to suddenly butt in like that? You saw that, right? Every damn day.”

Junmyeon failed to mention how he did start the discourse by throwing a pillow at Chanyeol but once again, Baekhyun wasn’t going to be the one to tell him that.

“If only he wasn’t such an… I don’t know… bitch, to put it lightly. Imagine just imagine being such a fat fucking asshole.” Junmyeon commented, each word more exaggerated than the last. Baekhyun only absorbed the information like a sponge, not knowing how to respond. He’s learned that it was just better to be quiet sometimes.

“Next time he says something I swear I’m going to go crazy. ‘I need it to be quiet waa waa waa’ Then go to the library! This is my room too!”

“Is he different than he used to be?” Baekhyun asked. There couldn’t be much harm in his question, right? Even though he knew the answer. Despite only seeing him a limited amount of times in college, he could tell. He no longer had the look of a cheerful, joyful, and sweet high school student.

“I could write a book. Maybe there’s a robot in his brain, controlling him and the only setting they have is just a straight asshole. Whatever it is, I hate it. I just hate him.”

Baekhyun was looking forward to meeting and getting to know Chanyeol this year. He seemed like so much fun to be around, this isn’t what he expected at all. All those times he saw him laughing, smiling, making other people happy, it was so different than what he was witnessing.

“He used to be so enjoyable to be around. Did college really fuck with him that much? Or, I guess he was like this before, he basically ignored me all summer and only talked to me when he had to. He’s stupid, though. If he can’t keep his friends in check, what makes him think he’ll do well with such a major, one that requires so much work. You tell me, how’s it like being a premed student? Hard?” Junmyeon asked.

“Yeah,” Baekhyun responded. It was difficult, but it was supposed to be. However, he never found many issues with difficult subjects. Learning came very easily to him, especially the things he was interested in.

“Why’d he even do that then? How does he expect to be successful in that career if he talks to people like they’re constantly on his nerves?”

-

Doing his homework was a daily occurrence, but he couldn’t help but get tired of it every now and then. The notes became repetitive and he found his mind drifting to different topics, including Chanyeol. The subject was something Chanyeol most likely was learning about too, he wondered if he was able to comprehend it. Especially since Baekhyun seemed to be struggling a bit himself; how was Chanyeol doing?

He knew he should study with him, or at least attempt to, but the only interactions they’ve had during the year haven’t exactly been green lights. Every time he went over there, it ended up with him regretting ever thinking about it. Was this going to be a regular occurrence? Begging himself to go over there and see Chanyeol, but only feeling regretful as soon as he leaves?

Maybe he should just disregard that and focus on his feelings. It’s college, isn’t he supposed to do what he wants without regrets. He’s never going to get this time back, wasting it studying 24/7 didn’t sound all that appealing anymore. With all of the possibilities of brand new experiences that were right in front of his eyes, he should take advantage of that. He should say something, make the first move this time. It shouldn’t be too hard to ask someone to hang out. Especially if Chanyeol would directly benefit from it, considering Baekhyun could explain any topic asked of him.

For sure, next time he saw Chanyeol he was going to talk to him more and offer some options for hanging out. One way or another. Could he handle that? He didn’t even know how to converse with Chanyeol, let alone ask him to hang out and spend hours alone with him. Maybe that was a bad idea, he’d have to consider all of the ups and downs to that plan.

It was way too early for that, what was he thinking? He’d barely even met him and they’ve yet to have a proper conversation. What are they going to bond over that isn’t school-related? Wearing clothes? Maybe personal hygiene?

Chanyeol seemed to know who he was, at least. That was a start. He knew him by his name. But what if he only knew his name, and he didn’t care about him? What if he hated him? What if he simply used him as an excuse to hate Junmyeon? The thought of that made Baekhyun shutter, he’d rather not implant that scenario into his brain, or else he’d start to believe it.

A knock was heard on the door, interrupting his homework and incredibly important thoughts. What could be urgent enough to have to distract him from that? He walked up to open it and let whoever it was inside but was surely surprised to see who was standing there.

As if on cue, Chanyeol had shown up at his door. Was he able to hear his thoughts? Did he know that Baekhyun was trying to ask him… out? Was that the right word for it? Only to study, though. Studying was the main priority over everything else.

“Oh, hi.” Baekhyun greeted politely, still trying to get over the initial shock that Chanyol could read his mind. All he needed to do was think of the notes, and then Chanyeol wouldn’t need to study with him! Solution!

“Hi, is Sehun here?” Chanyeol asked, peeking slightly into the room. He wasn’t sure why, though. Their room wasn’t all that roomy. Unless Sehun had been hiding in the closet or something, he wasn’t here.

“Oh, no. He’s not, sorry.” He responded, unsure if that was a good answer or not. As long as he answered the question, he thought he’d be fine unless Chanyeol was expecting him to dive into deep detail about the whereabouts of his roommate.

“That’s fine, my mom just sent him some cookies if he wants them,” Chanyeol said, tossing a neatly wrapped package onto Sehun’s desk. At least he knew which one was Sehun’s. Had he been here before? Probably not, Baekhyun hardly ever left the room unless he was in one of his classes. He barely even used the dining hall, finding it awkward to eat in the same large hall as hundreds of other people.

Perhaps Chanyeol had been over to his room before and saw all of the pre-med notes laying out on his desk, thinking to himself ‘hey! I’m majoring in that too! Let me ask my good friend Baekhyun if we could study together!’

Or, maybe not.

Chanyeol gave him a small smile as he continued to stand in the same spot, causing Baekhyun to realize that he never responded to his last statement. “That’s cool.” He said, knowing he immediately killed the conversation with that.

It wasn’t his fault that Chanyeol just so happened to look so… attractive. His clothes, mostly. The way he was perched up against Sehun’s desk, glancing around the room ever so slightly. Even when looking like he just rolled out of bed, Chanyeol still found a way to bring all of Baekhyun's attention to him.

Despite him wearing almost the same exact outfit, Chanyeol looked completely different in it. Not many people could pull off sweatpants and a sweatshirt as well as he could. He just looked so soft, so sweet.

Chanyeol continued to look around the room as Baekhyun observed how his body moved. The way he lifted his hand up to scratch the back of his head, probably wondering what he was doing here and why this little boy was staring at him.

“And... I, uhh. Wanted to say sorry for arguing with Junmyeon right in front of you the other day. It was kinda a dick move on my part to, provoke him while he had someone over. I didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable and like you needed to leave or something.” He apologized.

Baekhyun stood there for a second, allowing the information he just heard to register in his brain. Chanyeol had apologized for something he didn’t even need to apologize for. It was Baekhyun’s fault, though! He was the one who disturbed everyone. “You don’t have to apologize. I’m sorry for disturbing your studying in the first place. You sounded busy and I didn’t want to be with Junmyeon. who was so loud. and then you’d lose your focus.” He burst out, spitting out words faster than they came into his brain.

Chanyeol sighed in response, leaning back onto the desk more. “That’s what I was afraid of. Don’t worry about anything, it was Junmyeon’s fault. He was the one being loud, you didn’t do anything. Plus, after you left, he wasn’t any quieter! That man just has no filter.”

Baekhyun nodded, agreeing. “He can be pretty loud…”

“Yeah. Especially when he’s mad. Sometimes I’m worried we’ll get noise complaints from across campus.”

“With Junmyeon I think it’s even further. Maybe across the state.” Baekhyun replied, trying to ease into the conversation without directly insulting anyone.

“Only the state? I’d say the country,” Chanyeol added with a small laugh. “That man. I don’t know what to do with him.”

“What do you mean?” Baekhyun was going to play dumb. Junmyeon and Chanyeol not getting along? Suddenly unheard of in his brain.

“We haven’t exactly been getting along well recently. It’s getting kinda ridiculous at this point, but…” His voice trailed off.

“But?”

“It’s nothing, don’t worry about it.” Chanyeol dismissed, changing the subject, “Has he said anything about me to you?”

Baekhyun paused, knowing clear and well that Junmyeon has said a lot about Chanyeol on multiple different occasions. The vast majority being negative, which didn’t help his case at all. If he spilt the beans then Junmyeon would be upset if he ever found out, but if he didn’t say anything then he’d feel guilty. He couldn’t find it inside of him to lie to Chanyeol, “Uhm, not much. Just a little.” He stated simply, leaving room for interpretation. People's definitions of a little varied.

“He has? I knew it, that fucker. What has he said? Did he mention anything specific, so I have a valid witness and can go beat his ass up right now?”

That wasn’t the answer Baekhyun was expecting. He quickly began waving his hands in front of him to defend his position, “No no! Please don’t do that, he hasn’t said anything bad, I promise!” Junmyeon would surely hate him if he knew he was over here spilling the beans.

Chanyeol only smiled in response, a true smile. A grin that stretched across his entire face, giving off the impression that he was genuinely happy. “I’m kidding. I wouldn’t pull it out of you. If it was anyone, it would be that Sehun. How come he gets the care packages from my mom and I don’t? He’s the favourite child and he’s not even in the family!”

Baekhyun chuckled, unable to hide the smile that grew onto his face. Something about Chanyeol speaking just made him so happy. Especially once he noticed the change of tone in his voice, how he sounded playful. There was some colour in his voice that sounded like music to his ears.

“I’ll let him know.” He responded.

“Thanks. Well, I guess I’ll get going now. Try not to eat all of the cookies before Sehun gets back or he’ll start hating me too if he doesn’t already.” Chanyeol announced, pushing himself off of the desk.

Baekhyun nodded, wishing he wasn’t already going to leave. He just got here, didn’t he? What was the rush?

“Oh, and, Baekhyun,” Chanyeol began, turning around from the doorframe.

“Yes?” He responded, a little too quickly.

Chanyeol paused to take a deep breath, “Just… if you’re going to be friends with Junmyeon, be careful. Just a little warning.” He finished before walking out the door, closing it behind him.

Baekhyun felt his breath hitch in his throat, not expecting that response at all. What the hell did that mean? Why would he go out of his way to warn him? The thought lingered in his head.

-

Days went by, and Baekhyun hadn’t found himself having any significant reason to leave his room. So, when Sehun told him to get his ass off his chair, he had no reason to say no. It was a nice day outside anyway, being one of the last few before it inevitably got cold. He decided to succumb to peer pressure once more and grab coffee with Sehun. There was some large story made up by him about how Baekhyun would die due to lack of sunlight if he didn’t agree, but he knew that was far from true. In fact, he was statistically more likely to die outside of his dorm rather than inside, there were so many more factors.

But saying no to Sehun wasn’t in his vocabulary on this specific day, so he ended up once more sitting at a table with him surrounded by Junmyeon and Jongin.

He’d only been out with three of them a few times, choosing to decline requests a majority of the time. He knew this time would be the same, though. It always was. Times that made him think he got a pity invite and should have saved the embarrassment by making up some random story about how busy he was.

Everyone would talk about something that Baekhyun had no knowledge about while he would sit there, fiddling with his coffee stirrer, memorizing the ways the colour blends into his coffee as the creamer disappears. It became an exciting activity for him.

Despite barely being part of the conversation, he still felt included during some moments. It was the thought that counted, and he was thought of enough to be invited. That was important!

“Yesterday was crazy.” Junmyeon began after sitting down across from him. He put his bagel on the table, adjusting the table to fit the four of them.

“Hell yeah. I’d never seen Jongin drink like that before.” Sehun commented, patting his friend on the back.

Baekhyun assumed that was what they were doing last night, drinking. They did it pretty often, so it shouldn’t be a huge shock. Sehun often came home extremely late, much later than he would have liked, but he wasn’t going to start complaining about that. That would be like ranting to your child about taxes, the conversation would get nowhere.

“That’s nowhere near my peak! You just haven’t seen me at my best yet. I can take it, drink after drink, trust me. Much better than you Junmyeon, I think you’re the worst here.” Jongin boasted.

“What? I’m not the worst here. Baekhyun’s here, I bet he’s the worst.” Junmyeon defended, turning around to face him.

“Huh?” Baekhyun asked, confused about how the conversation suddenly made its way over to him. He was entertaining himself just fine blowing bubbles into his drink, why had he been brought up?

“Do you even have any?” Jongin questioned.

“Any what?”

“Alcohol tolerance, duh.”

“Oh, umm…” His voice trailed off as he thought of a response that would result in the least amount of attention on him.

“He’s probably never drank before, right?” Junmyeon butted in faster than he was able to form an answer.

“Of course not, do you think he’s the type to do that?” Sehun responded confidently.

Baekhyun shuffled awkwardly in his seat, not knowing if he should try joining into the conversation or remain silent. How was he supposed to respond? If he answered honestly, they’d probably begin questioning him why, and he didn’t want any of that.

“I don’t know, I’ve never seen him drink. You haven’t, right?” Junmyeon asked, turning his attention to Baekhyun.

“No,” He responded.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” Sehun confirmed. “I haven’t seen him do much of anything besides sit at that desk and do homework. What’s so exciting about learning?”

Before Baekhyun had the chance to answer, Junmyeon joined the conversation again with a smile on his face, “We should get him a drink!”

“Oh, no. That’s okay,” Baekhyun declined. That would be the last thing he did on this earth.

“I think you would enjoy it.” Junmyeon’s voice continued to gain more excitement with every word he spoke.

“Him? No way.” Sehun added in. “Baekhyun doesn’t even like coffee.”

“I like coffee! I’m drinking it right now,” He defended, twirling his stirrer to prove that there was, in fact, a cup of coffee in front of him.

“That’s not coffee. There’s like seven creamers in there, that’s a milkshake.” Jongin pointed out.

He did have a point, there wasn’t much actual coffee flavour in it. But that didn’t mean he didn’t enjoy the flavour!

“Tonight, we’ll get you a drink.” Junmyeon decided.

“What?” Baekhyun responded, trying hard to hold in his shock, “You don’t have to do that, it’s okay. I’m sure it’s probably expensive and everything, don’t worry about me guys, you can have it to yourselves.”

“He’s so modest!” Junmyeon beamed, seeming unaffected by Baekhyun’s protests, “It’s so cute. But I don’t think you understand the offer all that clearly. Think of it as a gift! Friends give each other gifts, right?”

Baekhyun stared at the table, shaking his head slowly, “it’s okay.” He responded quietly.

“You’ll love it.”

“Junmyeon! Stop terrorizing the poor man.” Jongin butted in, causing Baekhyun to release a breath he didn’t even realize he was holding.

“What? You don’t want to see Baekhyun drunk? I think that would be a sight to see. Do you think his brain would start completing homework faster? That might be a useful skill…”

Sehun scoffed at Junmyeons statement, “If that was how it worked, then everyone would be getting drunk.”

“Well, not everyone does homework,”

“You’re missing the point.”

“Am I? Tell me, does it or does it not make your brain faster?”

“It does not, you’re just stupid.”

“No, wait, not the brain. It gets rid of your thoughts though, right?”

“You can’t get rid of something you never had to begin with,” Sehun commented, receiving a playful hit to his back from Junmyeon.

Baekhyun watched them bicker with each other, grateful that the topic of choice was no longer about him. He knew he wouldn’t drink, he couldn’t. That was one of the things his parents told him not to do in college, and he was going to hold his word to them.

Maybe the three children at the table were distracted and had forgotten the previous conversation. That would be nice, he would only have to avoid them for the rest of his life!

-

It’d been three weeks since, and he was only slightly successful in his plan to avoid everyone. It was harder than he thought, considering Sehun was his roommate, something he only thought about when he came home and remembered why Sehun was following him.

Luckily, they haven’t had many conversations together. Sehun was mainly in and out of the dorm, while Junmyeon had been skipping more and more classes. Which was fine by him, he was able to focus more in that class without someone folding paper aeroplanes next to him. God only knew what both of them were up to, and he really didn’t want to know. He was fine by himself.

Plus, he had work to do. Schoolwork, something that was probably foreign to Sehun and Junmyeon. Who said humans needed social interaction to function? He was doing just fine alone in the quiet room. He was nearing the end of his reading for the week, being much more productive than he originally thought. After that, he could move onto other topics and exercise his brain even more.

“I’m going to have some people over tonight if that’s okay,” Sehun announced, startling Baekhyun, who had zero memory of him even walking into the room. Had he been there the whole time?

“Here?” He clarified, making sure Sehun didn’t walk into the wrong room.

“Yeah,” Sehun replied, tapping his fingers on the desk as if he was waiting for Baekhyun to say something.

“When?”

“Like, right now.” Sehun said, turning to face the door, “I’d answer quickly before our door gets broken down?”

“Huh?” Baekhyun questioned, wondering who exactly Sehun had brought over. Were they wild animals? What would happen if he said no, he’d get mauled by a wolf?

“It’s only a few people, we can be quiet though if you want to stay. Just as long as you stay in that square foot of space against the wall.” He added, pointing to the back corner, “That’s the haunted one.”

Baekhyun sighed, rubbing his face into his hands. He had a good momentum going on with his work and didn’t want to break it right in the middle. There was also no way that anyone brought in would be quiet enough for him to get anything done, Sehun and quiet didn’t belong in the same sentence together.

“I’ll leave.” He decided, standing up from his chair. He could go to the library instead and be saved from either making Sehun mad or being attacked by rowdy college kids. Times like this made him regret choosing a roommate the way he did, but at least there were alternatives.

“Okay, great!” Sehun exclaimed, “You can come back around ten, I’m sure we’ll all be out by then.”

Baekhyun nodded, grabbing his laptop and heading out the door.

-

Time had passed quickly at the library, luckily. He was getting tired and felt eager to get back into his room. Once ten o’clock rolled around, he was proud of how much he was able to accomplish. He’d been there for so long, only motivated by the thought of going to sleep once he was finished. The lack of people in the library really helped him be productive. There was no excessive noise due to most students being other places than the library on a Saturday night. Most people would be out wasting their lives and leaving their worries behind until Monday morning.

When he walked into his room, he almost felt like he was entering heaven. There wasn’t even a huge mess left like how he imagined. There seemed to be a lack of items in the room. It felt empty, especially on his side of the room.

Looking closer at his desk, he realized that a majority of his items were… gone? Where had everything gone? Getting a closer look, he noticed that items that littered his desk had disappeared. Pencils, textbooks, notes, even some picture frames he kept. What the hell happened?

He picked up his phone to dial Sehun immediately, knowing he had to have something to do with it. Was it a robber? No, it couldn’t be. They had left all of Sehun’s belongings.

“Huh?” Sehun answered his phone, sounding out of it.

“Do you know what happened to all of the stuff that was on my desk? Everything was here when I left, and you had people over who were here most of the day.” Baekhyun asked, forcing himself to keep his tone clear of accusations.

“Oh, I don’t know,” Sehun responded simply, almost sounding like he didn’t care at all.

“You don’t know? You were here the whole day while a bunch of people were in my room, near all of my belongings, and you’re saying you don’t know anything about that?”

“Umm, maybe they took something. I’m not sure.”

“Something? Almost everything is gone!”

“Yeah, sorry.”

“Sorry? What do you mean? Can you get it back?” Baekhyun questioned, feeling frustrated at Sehun’s lack of attention.

“I guess I could try.”

“You could try? People you brought into our dorm might have stolen from me and you’re not going to do anything about it? Why can’t you just ask them?”

“Look, I’m sorry but I’m a little busy right now. We can talk later.”

“Later? How long is ‘later’?” Baekhyun questioned, only to be met with the sound of buzzing from the other line. He hung up, no surprise there. Everything would just have to be put on hold while he sat around waiting for Sehun to continue their conversation. How pathetic was that?

How was he even supposed to sleep, knowing there was a possibility everything could be gone forever? All of the notes that he left out had disappeared, what was anyone going to get out of taking those? If someone wanted to use his notes, they could have just asked him. But what use would they get out of the pictures frames and memories? It just wasn’t making any sense.

He refused to get too upset over this. In the long run, this wasn’t worth his time. He would keep himself distracted until Sehun finally decided to show up. Everything would work out, he just needed to keep himself occupied until then. Luckily, he still had his laptop, so he was able to work on his paper that was due soon.

Somewhere along the night, Baekhyun found himself dozing off, only to be awoken by the sound of the door being opened. He blinked open his eyes, relieved to finally see Sehun again, despite the fact that it was nearing 4 in the morning. Jongin walked behind him, so it appeared he wasn’t alone.

“Sehun.” He began, pausing until he had the full attention of his roommate.

“What? Shouldn’t you be asleep?” Sehun replied, almost looking confused as to why Baekhyun was in his own room.

“I was asleep, until you woke me up. But now that I’m awake, you can tell me where all of my stuff went.” He stated, getting straight to the point.

“That’s it? I don’t even get a hello?”

“Can you listen to me? I-” Baekhyun began.

“I don’t want to worry about that right now. I’m a little occupied.” Sehun replied, brushing him off. He didn’t seem the least bit interested, only bringing his attention to making his bed while Jongin stood at the entrance.

“This is important, though. My desk was covered in items this morning when I left, when you told me to leave, and when I come back everything’s gone? Then you say some of your friends might have taken it, yet you won’t even try to get it back? You won’t even ask them why?” Baekhyun argued.

“I did ask! I just haven’t heard anything, okay? Geez, calm down.”

“How about you take a walk to calm yourself, there’s no reason to get mad at him.” Jongin butted in, taking Sehun’s side. No surprise there.

If it wasn’t four in the morning and he wasn’t dead tired, he would have probably gone crazy. How else was he supposed to get the point that didn’t require getting mad? “I’m not going to leave so you two can have the room. Find someplace else.” He stated, figuring out what Jongin was hinting at.

Sehun only scoffed, muttering an “asshole” on the way out, followed directly by Jongin, who made a point of slamming the door behind them.

Baekhyun grumbled, annoyed at how quickly the conversation seemed to have ended. He wasn’t even given the chance to give in his input; only being left in dead silence once more. A burst of anger washed over him as he stood up, made his way over to the door and twisted the lock, securing himself in the room. That way, nobody would be able to come in and attempt to steal anything else.

He gripped tightly onto his covers while letting his eyes fall asleep again, hoping he would wake up in the morning and the entire day would have just been a dream.

-

When it was nearing seven in the morning, Baekhyun was awoken by a sudden noise. Banging on the door from outside was heard. One after another, they continued to echo into the air. His body shot at every bang, each one seemingly more loud than the previous. It was too early to be awake for the second time in one night, what could be that important? The possibilities for who was behind there were large, but Baekhyun was able to narrow the answers down.

“Baekhyun!” A voice shouted from the other side, whom he recognized as Sehun’s. “Open the door!”

He didn’t want to. That was about the last thing he wanted to do. Any reason he had to get into the room so urgently could wait until the morning when Baekhyun was more awake. If Sehun could claim the room, why couldn’t he? It was reserved for Baekhyun and only Baekhyun for the next three hours. Sehun could suck it up and continue hanging with Jongin for all he cared. The thought of opening the door never even crossed his mind.

“Baekhyun, open the fucking door.” Sehun’s tone shifted, taking a break from yelling to speak in a threatening tone.

Baekhyun felt his body stiffen up, not expecting Sehun to go so far as to curse at him. Maybe it would be better if he jumped out the window, found a new identity and lived a new life as a housewife in Paris. Sehun sounded like he was about to explode, which only lowered the chances of Baekhyun opening the door. He would wait until later to have a civil conversation. What right did Sehun have to be this mad? Wasn’t he the one who had been wronged?

The noise continued for two more minutes, precisely. Every bang rewaking him up as his body tried to fall back asleep. Eventually, Sehun would get tired and leave, for the time being, giving Baekhyun another few hours of silence, if he was lucky.

Once that happened, he couldn’t help but feel worried about the morning.

-

For the third time that morning, he woke up peacefully. The sun shone in nicely through his blinds, giving the room a luminous appearance. His eyes made their way over towards the empty bed next to him, reminding him about the issue he had on his hands.

He forced himself to get out of bed in order to examine the situation. Luckily, Sehun hadn’t come back to bang on the door, so he was most likely asleep somewhere else. Which meant that Baekhyun had some more time to himself if he was lucky. With a quick check of the outside hallway, he breathed a sigh of relief as he sat down at his desk.

Despite having a rough sleep, he felt refreshed. Being alone in his room made him feel like he was back at home, with all of the space in the world to complete what he needed to. The volume was a plus, too. There was nobody else in the room to distract him.

Maybe this was what he needed to relax. He hadn’t been completely alone in a while, except for the short moments when the bathroom would be empty. He needed some time for himself, away from school work and other people. Maybe he’d find a hobby? Watch some television? Write a novel? The possibilities were endless!

Until the doorknob opened.

He realized a moment after that he never actually locked the door again after observing the hallway. This meant there were either burglars or…

“So now you’re up.” Sehun raised his voice as he stepped into the room.

Shit.

“Now you want to leave the door open for me?” He walked over to the desk where a now frozen Baekhyun had been sitting at. “What happened earlier? Did you not want to?”

Baekhyun only felt his body refuse to turn around. He couldn’t bring himself to turn around and face Sehun. His tone said it all, he was not happy.

“Look at me!” Sehun yelled, causing Baekhyun’s body to move once ordered too. “What the hell is wrong with you? Do you think you can just hog the room all to yourself and lock me out like that? Who the hell even locks dorm rooms?”

Baekhyun only stared, now face to face with the man himself. He’d never seen such anger on someone's face before, and to think Sehun thought he was the one overreacting!

“Are you not even going to answer me?” He continued, “What, you can’t come up with an explanation?”

Hands pulled him forwards, up from the chair. Before he could understand what was happening, Sehun had already moved him to the corner of the room. How was he supposed to respond? He had an answer, but not one that Sehun would like. Hey, I didn’t let you in because I didn’t want to!

“So you’re just going to stay silent, like a pussy?” Sehun taunted, adjusting the grip he still had on Baekhyun’s arm.

“My stuff! You didn’t care about that! Why do you expect me to just brush that off? It’s important, and you’re responsible.” Baekhyun defended, hurrying to respond before Sehun continued to add insults into the mix. Who knew how long he would talk for if Baekhyun didn’t intervene.

“Is having access to that more important than me having access to my own room overnight? What if I didn’t have anywhere else to go? Where would I sleep? Was that a smart move?”

Baekhyun opened his mouth to respond but closed it shortly after. He had realized his mistake. His feelings for wanting to lock out Sehun were one thing, but the right thing to do was different. He did keep him out of his room, even when he tried hard to get in. What if something bad did happen, and it would be all his fault? The thought made Baekhyun shutter, immediately regretting his previous actions. No matter how much he wanted to get back at Sehun, he should have at least let him in. Then, he might not have been in this situation.

“I’m sorry.” He apologized quickly, before any more time on the ticking bomb went off.

“Yeah.” Sehun rolled his eyes, removing himself from in front of Baekhyun. It was only until there wasn’t a body blocking his view that Baekhyun realized Junmyeon was in the room as well. Had he witnessed the whole thing? Did that mean he knew everything?

He tried his best to avoid eye contact from either of them by sitting back down at his desk. Though, he could feel their eyes on him. Focusing on anything else just wasn't an option anymore, as he was aware that anything could happen at any moment. The silence from Junmyeon almost confirmed that he was on Sehun’s side about this.

Minutes went by and he didn’t dare so much as let out a heavy breath, aware of the other two still in the room with him. Were they going to leave? Or just stand there?

“You know what,” Junmyeon began, interrupting Baekhyun’s moments of silence. “I think you should get some fresh air.” He added in a normal tone, leading Baekhyun to believe his request was genuine.

“I think I’m okay.” He responded.

“Are you?” Junmyeon asked, making his way over towards Baekhyun’s desk. He pulled him up out of his chair, similar to how Sehun did just moments ago. “I think you should spend some time outside.” Each word sank deeper as Junmyeon dragged him closer and closer to the door.

Once he was far enough to be out of the room, the door was shut behind him. Realization struck just seconds after, leaving him knocking frantically on the door. “Hello? I left my phone in there, can I at least get that?” He pleaded, not wanting to spend the next hours without anything. At least Sehun had the chance to grab things before he was locked out!

Silence from the other side told him that he wouldn’t be getting an answer anytime soon. Or at least the next ten hours, if they were giving him the same treatment. Which meant that knocking on the door wouldn’t have any effect, so he shouldn’t either bother with that.

Somehow, somewhere, he would have to entertain himself for however long it might take. However, there weren't many possibilities due to the lack of necessities he had with him.

Homework? He wouldn’t be doing any of that today. None of the math sheets that Junmyeon was probably stealing, would be getting completed. Definitely a bummer, he enjoyed using his Sunday’s to catch up on everything and ensure that he was well equipped for the week to come. Instead, he was forced to find another hobby. The campus had so many things to do, he should be able to entertain himself for the day! He only had to remember to turn in his premed paper by four and he would be good!

He was hit with another wave of realization once he remembered the paper. He was finished, sure, he finished it weeks ago. But had he turned it in? No. Was he planning on turning it in? Absolutely. Did he have any way of turning it in? Once again, no. He didn’t even know what time it was. What if it was already four? What if he’d been out here, trying to decide what he wanted to do with the day, but the day was already over? That didn’t seem right, he hadn’t been locked out for that long. It was around noon the last time he checked the time, so he still had four hours to figure out how to turn that essay in.

Four hours didn’t even seem long enough, as Baekhyun had zero ideas, to begin with. The library was a big no, as they decided to give everyone personal student laptops. Which, was supposed to be his responsibility, but that part wasn’t his fault. He couldn’t even contact anyone without the use of his phone, not that he would have anyone to contact. Asking a random person would seem suspicious, so that was out of the picture too. So, what else?

He began to jump to conclusions, determining that if he didn’t turn in this project on time then he would never graduate and would be left to fend for himself on the streets.

Was it worth banging again? It was, but would they even listen? Most likely not. His time frame was narrowing by the minute, causing him to scramble around for a solution.

One more name ended up popping into his head, but he wished it didn’t because it was then all he could think about. Wouldn’t it be weird going over there? Especially if Junmyeon wasn’t going to be there, it would just be him and Chanyeol alone. There was even the possibility that he wouldn’t be there, then he would really be out of options.

His feet began moving in that direction before his brain chose whether or not to go. He retracted his footsteps from weeks ago to the dorm room that held Park Chanyeol. Luckily, his great memory didn’t let him down as he still knew the location down to the exact room.

Getting locked up led him to Chanyeol’s room, and suddenly it didn’t seem as bad anymore. If only he could get over his nerves of talking to people who held a higher social status. When he knocked on the door, he was surprised to see Chanyeol standing there. Yes, he was in his room, but the thought that Chanyeol was actually in there hadn’t set in yet.

“Hello?” He asked, looking tired. Maybe Baekhyun shouldn’t have disturbed him, he must be busy.

“Hello. I wanted to ask you for a favour.” Baekhyun said, forcing himself to make eye contact with Chanyeol as he spoke, despite how awkward it felt.

“Oh, sure. What do you need?”

“I just need to borrow your laptop to submit my essay. Mine is… broken and the paper is due in a few hours. ” He asked, only bending the truth slightly.

“Oh, that essay. I think I know which one you’re talking about, I was actually working on it too. You can come in.” Chanyeol invited, opening the door further.

Baekhyun offered a smile in response, walking into the door as Chanyeol made way for him to enter. The room definitely felt familiar to him, though he wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not. The last time he was here, he ended up causing issues. This time would move more smoothly, or so he hoped. At least the room was much quieter than last time, with the absence of Junmyeon, whose side of the room was still a mess.

But he didn’t have time to worry about that now, he needed to submit that essay before the deadline.

“You can take however long you need with it, I’ll just need it to double-check mine before it’s due,” Chanyeol said, handing him his opened laptop.

“Thank you, but it shouldn’t take that long. I’ve had the essay completed for a while.” He added, immediately regretting it. What if Chanyeol thought he was trying to brag? That wasn’t the impression he wanted to give off.

“Lucky you, I left mine to the last minute. I finished it about an hour ago and only started last night.”

“Last night? You did it fast!” Baekhyun commented, knowing he wouldn’t have been able to accomplish that.

“I guess so, but I know it’s not my best work. I was just so confused by the prompt, it took me weeks to understand, leaving me with only a short time to actually complete it.” Chanyeol sighed.

“It was a little confusing.” He admitted.

“Once you’re done, would you mind looking over mine? You don’t have to go super into detail, I just need to know if it makes sense or not.”

“Yeah of course! I can look through it.” Baekhyun responded, feeling a sense of satisfaction that Chanyeol wanted him to review his essay. Coming here was turning out much better than he thought it would. His communication skills also weren’t letting him down like he was afraid of; he was able to maintain a steady tone while responding.

“Great, thank you. I’ll pull it up once you’re done.” Chanyeol smiled, eventually taking the laptop from Baekhyun once he had finished.

Scrolling through the document, Baekhyun could tell that it was written in a hurry. He fixed slight grammar and spelling issues while skimming the document. Though there were some clarity issues, overall it wasn’t bad. Chanyeol seemed like he knew the information well.

“Is it bad?” Chanyeol asked suddenly before Baekhyun had a chance to give it a full run-through.

“No, it’s not bad. It’s fine, overall. I just think you’re missing some of the minor details. The third paragraph especially could use just a little more work on it,” He explained, trying to remain kind while also being helpful. “But, you’ve got the main idea down, and that’s what’s important.”

Chanyeol smiled in response, “You really don’t think it’s bad? Do you think I’ll get a good grade?”

“You’ll definitely pass, I hope, but you should look back at the things I mentioned,” Baekhyun reassured him.

“Thank you, I will. That’s really reassuring to hear. I thought for sure that I’d fail this, especially since I put it off for so long. I just couldn’t get my brain to think, especially about the topic. I haven’t had the time, either. Every class just gives out so much work.” Chanyeol said while scrolling through his essay again.

Baekhyun nodded. “There is quite a bit going on. I don’t understand how people can afford to spend so much time doing activities outside of school, it makes me wonder how their grades are doing.”

Chanyeol laughed, nodding his head. “I’m right there with you. I can’t afford to get bad grades anymore, not like the three classes I almost failed in high school.”

“You almost failed classes?” Baekhyun widened his eyes. He knew that Chanyeol enjoyed being active in high school, but he didn’t know that his grades ended up suffering so much as a result.

“Yes! I had to do so much extra credit to get them up, even go to summer school. It was a lot. And now, I’m not prepared for the workload I have.”

“It can be a lot of work, but it’s important to take it easy sometimes too. If you want to go out and have fun, then I think you should! School is important, yes, but I don’t think it should be anyone's only priority.” He replied, aware his statement didn’t exactly apply to him.

“Yeah, true. But these days, I don’t seem to want to do much of anything. The ending goal seems so much more important than the journey there.” Chanyeol continued.

Baekhyun didn’t know how to interpret that. He didn’t want to pry into anything, though, so he just attempted to keep the mood positive. “Well, thank you for letting me use your laptop.” He mentioned, attempting to steer the conversation.

“Oh, it’s no problem. By the way, do you want me to take a look at your laptop? I might be able to fix it. I’d hate for you to get in trouble because it broke.”

“Huh? My laptop isn’t broken.” Baekhyun replied without much thought.

Chanyeol raised his eyebrows, “Didn’t you say it was broken though?”

He paused, remembering that he did indeed say that. That was the excuse he went with, that was the whole reason he was here! How could he forget that! “Oh, well, it’s not like… broken broken. I don’t think so, at least. I just… forgot my password.

Chanyeol offered a confused glace with a hint of amusement in his face, “are you going to remember your password?” He asked.

“Yeah, I think I remember it,” Baekhyun added sheepishly, feeling the embarrassment grow. Had he not been so caught up in the moment and remembered what he said in the first place, he wouldn’t have had to extend the lie.

With a small smile, Chanyeol teased, “Of course, you forgot your password, as one usually does.”

Baekhyun knew he was kidding but still felt like burying himself in his hands. If there was any chance that Chanyeol saw through his little lie, he’d have to disappear from his life completely. Especially since he only said that in the first place in order to avoid saying the true reason, which was far more embarrassing. “I can get going now,” he stated, standing up from his chair. Though, he found himself not wanting to leave. He’d probably just end up walking around Whole Foods watching the lobsters climb around while snacking on the free samples. But if he stayed much longer, he’d most likely be distracting to Chanyeol who just wanted to work on his essay.

“Of course, thanks for looking over my essay.” Chanyeol thanked him, once again.

“It’s no problem,” Baekhyun responded.

“And, if you’d be okay with it, could I get your number? Whenever we have the same or similar projects, we could double-check each other's papers. Although, I don’t know how much help I’d be,”

Baekhyun’s eyes lit up at the invitation. Not only had Chanyeol just asked for his phone number, confirming the fact that he did indeed want to see him again, but he also knew that they had similar classes. “Yeah! You can just put your number into mine,” He reached into his pocket to pull out his phone but stopped once he realized that it wasn’t here. Shit, another thing he’d forgotten about. How did he keep making those mistakes?

“Actually, could I use your phone? I think I left mine in the dorm.” He said, praying that Chanyeol wouldn’t offer to go with him to get it. That would just lead to more misunderstandings.

Chanyeol turned around to him and let out a small laugh while pulling his phone out to hand to Baekhyun. “Did you forget the password to that too?”

“Not that part, I guess I’m just forgetful.” He replied, tracing his fingers on the side of his pants. He hated lying this much, the longer he stayed here the worse it got. Though, everything was justified. If he flat out told Chanyeol that he was locked out, that would make it look like he had zero authority, because who gets locked out of their own dorm by their roommate? Forgetting two passwords seemed more likely.

While handing Chanyeol's phone back to him, he couldn’t help but notice the amused expression that was resting on his face. Had he cracked the code and was just playing along, waiting for Baekhyun to make some stupid mistake to ruin it all?

“I’ll get going now, but it was nice to see you again,” Baekhyun announced, making his way towards the door.

“Yeah, you too. See you soon, then? Whenever you’re able to remember your passwords.” Chanyeol waved before closing the door.

Baekhyun stood outside the door for a moment, wondering if all of that really just did happen and he wasn’t just imagining it. Three months ago, the idea that he would have Chanyeol’s number, who directly asked him for it, seemed impossible.

This was something special.

It was like nothing else even mattered to him anymore. Nothing could bring down his stride and ruin his day. The day had quickly turned into one of the best, despite the discourse this morning. Which, he would still have to deal with eventually.

But, he had Chanyeol’s number!

He might as well enjoy the rest of his day to the fullest if he was already feeling this happy. He barely even cared anymore that he was locked out, and still had half of his stuff missing. Everything was starting to look up with no sign of coming down. He even skipped down the hallway before exiting the building.

Observing everyone else out on campus made him even more enthusiastic, he wondered if they were enjoying life as much as he was at that moment. Some faces were familiar, some not, but they all didn’t look as overjoyed as he felt.

The lecture hall buildings even looked prettier and more appealing to the eye. As well as the sun, which shined over them brightly, illuminating every feature of the design. The sidewalk had a luminous glow to it, almost leading him directly back to his room.

The universe must have been giving him some sort of sign because when he reached his room, the door was unlocked. He walked in without any issues and was even pleasantly surprised to see that his desk looked a little fuller again. The misplaced items had been returned, even somewhat in the correct spot. All just the cherry on top to his perfect evening.

Junmyeon and Sehun weren’t even in the room, which made him feel grateful. Even just a few hours of peace and quiet would be enough to certify this day as the bed day ever. He could finally rest in peace. Laying his head down on the pillow, he felt his body sink into the sheets. They felt amazing, even softer than usual. Maybe all this happiness was tiring him out, he wasn’t used to this much action in his life. All the stress he was feeling this morning and last night seemed pointless now. Everything would solve itself eventually, right? It always does.

A small light emitted from his desk, reminding him that his phone was over there. His stomach did a few more backflips as he made his way over there to check who it was from.

‘Hi! This is Chanyeol :) I hope you remember your passwords soon so you can see this.’ It read.

Baekhyun felt his heart melt at the little smiley face he’d included. Should he respond now? Or wait? Or just ascend into the heavens? What would he even say? He decided to leave it for now, to help confirm the fact that he did indeed forget his password.

The sound of the door opening startled him, taking his focus off of his phone and onto the entrance. Sehun had walked in, causing Baekhyun’s palms to become sweaty. As long as he acted casual, he should be fine. There was no reason he shouldn’t be in the room right now, so why was he nervous?

“Hi,” Sehun began, waving at him, “I got your stuff back.”

Baekhyun nodded in response, looking around. “I see that, thank you.” He debated on whether or not to apologize for acting up, seeing as his belongings were put back nicely, but Sehun began speaking again before he had the chance too.

“I felt bad about earlier, so I left the door open. Junmyeon didn’t really want to, but… I did. So… you’re welcome.”

“Oh, yeah. Thanks. And, sorry about last night.”

“Don’t worry about it, I was kinda in a bad mood, I guess, but I shouldn’t have taken that out on you. Even though I did want to get something from my room.” Sehun added, walking over towards his desk while pulling something out of the drawer.

Baekhyun had no clue that Sehun kept condoms in his desk. Let alone the top drawer. The place meant for pencils and scissors held condoms. If that wasn’t a perfect description of Sehun, he didn’t know what else was. The situation almost seemed humorous to him at this point. Misunderstandings that led to more, all stemmed off something so little.

“My friends said they thought that desk was mine, so they ended up taking some of it. I promise nothing was intentional. I think everything is there, but I’m not sure what you started with. Some things I tried organizing, but things like this,” He paused, walking over to Baekhyun to pick up a small Deadpool figure, “I had no idea what to do with.”

“He’s the desk topper who watches over me and makes sure I do all of my homework. It works, maybe you should invest in something like this.” Baekhyun teased, feeling himself more comfortable around Sehun again, deciding to take advantage of the moment while it lasted.

“Hey! I do my homework! There was an essay due last month that I turned in!” Sehun defended.

“Last month?”

“Yes. It was actually a really good essay if I do say so myself.”

Baekhyun shook his head in response, “You need a Deadpool,”

“Maybe Deadpool needs me, have you ever thought about that?”

“I’ll never put that thought into my head.”

Sehun let out a laugh in response, continuing his process of turning on the Xbox.

Things were stable enough, for now, that’s what he considered it as. Getting along with a roommate was one of the most important things in college, so at least he got over that obstacle. Other people, like Junmyeon, could wait. Eventually, he’d have to see him again, but the longer he was able to push that back the better. Something about the way he spoke to him in recent days didn’t sit well. Sehun revealing that Junmyeon did in fact not want Baekhyun back in his own room was the icing on top. He wasn’t ready to deal with him again just yet.

-

Everything else going on in his life was second to his blossoming friendship with Chanyeol. Nothing else burned as much as his desires to meet with the other, only growing the longer apart he spent from him. The image of his smile resting in his brain with the words he spoke still lingering in his mind.

‘Could I get your number?’

The sensation he felt when he received a text from Chanyeol just felt different, especially since he responded very quickly. The last text he had received was a question, wondering if Baekhyun was available later that night. To work on homework, of course, that was how he interpreted it. Maybe even study, if that was the word for it. Of course, Baekhyun wanted to study! And with Chanyeol? You didn’t have to ask him twice! He even made sure all of his notes were clear and in order before he went over, just in case Chanyeol had any difficulty with things being unorganized.

Seeing his dorm room number once again made him excited, especially since the last time he came, he felt overjoyed after. There was only a minor setback, and that happened to be beyond his control. All he could do at this point was pray that Junmyeon wouldn’t be there, but he knew that wasn’t always going to be the case. Going over to someone’s room and expecting to never see their roommate there was unrealistic, it was only a matter of time before he had to see Junmyeon again. It would have happened much sooner if Junmyeon hadn’t developed a sudden habit of skipping their only class together.

That only made him wonder how Chanyeol dealt with the difficult man every damn day.

His liking towards Junmyeon had quickly switched the more he got to know Chanyeol better, automatically making him their common enemy. Or at least, that’s what he thought. It’d only been a few interactions, but those small gestures just showed him how genuine some people could be. Not all college kids were drunks who gave zero shits about their life, contrary to Baekhyun's belief.

If Chanyeol hated him, he’d hate him too. That’s what he settled on.

He was just hoping, praying, Junmyeon decided to take an extra-long vacation to his home. Maybe even decided to stay there, who knows!

He tried to press his ear against Chanyeol’s door, listening to see if he could hear anyone else's voice coming from the room. Luckily, there was nothing. Just the silence that Chanyeol was hopefully emitting.

With a few small taps to the door, he was relieved to see only Chanyeol in the room. His mind was now completely wiped, now rid of the thoughts that clouded up his brain. It was time to continue his life and move along, only thinking about the next few hours of his life.

“Oh, hi Baekhyun. You can come in.” Chanyeol welcomed.

Baekhyun smiled, observing the room as he walked in. It looked extremely similar to the last time he was here, which gave him a good feeling. Consistency was always important when recreating moments.

The room, in general, looked similar to his own. One side being tidy and organized, while the other was suffocating under the mess. It wasn’t hard to guess which was which, either. Baekhyun had felt a sense of attachment when he realized Chanyeol also cared about the state of his living space. Cleanliness was never a crime!

“So, what do you want to work on?” Baekhyun began while opening up his backpack. He was excited to get ready and share all of the knowledge he had built up. “I brought many different subjects since I wasn’t quite sure which ones you were taking or not. I also don’t know if they’ll have the same material as mine, but I decided to bring them anyway. They might not be a perfect fit, but I’m sure we can figure something out.”

Chanyeol stared at him for a second before responding, “That’s great, but you didn’t have to bring all of that. I didn’t know you wanted to work on homework, I didn’t get anything set up.” He admitted, scratching the back of his head.

Baekhyun blinked in confusion, wrapping his head around the idea that Chanyeol didn’t expect to study. Hadn’t that been the whole point? “Oh, I’m sorry, I just assumed... “ His voice trailed off.

“Don’t worry about it! I’m fine with studying,“ Chanyeol was quick to reassure him with a smile. “Just let me find something real quick, there has to be something to work on in here.”

The next half an hour was then spent with Chanyeol rummaging around his desk while they discussed classes. The information they were learning was extremely similar, which he expected, so they were able to converse well. Chanyeol knew more than he expected him to, which made him feel better about him being a possible study buddy. For clarity issues, he felt like he did a good job at explaining things Chanyeol might have been struggling with. If he was being at least a little bit helpful, Baekhyun was satisfied.

The door opened behind him, forcing him to pause his discussion. When he saw who it was, he blinked twice to make sure he wasn’t dreaming.

Junmyeon had walked in, only sparing a small glance in his direction before sitting down at his desk.

He thought for sure that he was safe, this wasn’t supposed to happen! All the time he spent relieved that he was free of the other was all pointless, he had just shown up anyway. He couldn’t find something else to do with his time?

Chanyeol seemed to have tensed up but didn’t say anything in response as he continued with what he was doing.

“Baekhyun, I didn’t expect to see you here,” Junmyeon stated after sitting alone for a few minutes, interrupting the conversation they were having. He did seem much quieter than usual, even waiting a while before acknowledging him, which was out of the ordinary. But luckily for Baekhyun, he didn’t exactly care. Junmyeon could stay as silent as he wanted, as long as he didn’t disturb either of them.

“I’m studying with Chanyeol,” He stated, almost pointing out the obvious.

“How's that going?” He asked.

“Fine,” Baekhyun responded, receiving a glance from Chanyeol that almost screamed ‘just ignore him.’

“Baekhyun, can you tell me why this number goes up? I thought it was supposed to be at the bottom.” Chanyeol asked, directing the topic back onto their math homework.

“That’s because it’s a log. You’re thinking of exponents. The order switches around, but the point is still the same.”

“Are you sure?” Chanyeol asked, examining the paper. “I guess that makes sense, then. I’ve been doing these all wrong. I don’t even remember learning it that way.”

“You probably took the class back in high school, which was a while ago. A memory refresh never hurts, especially with a confusing subject like math.”

“Yeah, I didn’t pay much attention to math in high school.”

“If you’re not smart enough to learn the information, why are you even taking these classes in the first place?” Jumyeon started from across the room, turning his chair around to face both of them. “Don’t make Baekhyun drag you through the mud. If you think you’re so smart, why don’t you learn it yourself?”

Baekhyun was taken aback by the sudden statement after almost forgetting Junmyeon was there for a moment. Why did he have to butt in? Couldn’t he just stay silent in the corner?

Chanyeol gripped onto his pencil, letting out a loud exhale. “You don’t know how to do this shit either, don’t pretend like you do.”

“But I don’t strive for that level of intelligence that you do, I know my limits!”

Baekhyun fought back the urge to say that they were in the same math class, where Junmyeon did in fact have no clue what was going on. He hadn’t even shown up the last few classes, what right did he have to criticize Chanyeol for trying? Junmyeon was just being a dick for no reason at this point, nothing had been provoked. Was he trying to prove a point? Perhaps, try to embarrass Chanyeol in front of him?

“Can’t you just leave? You’re not even doing anything in here besides being a headache. So, go ahead and be a headache somewhere else, and spare us all.” Chanyeol responded.

Junmyeon chuckled, almost amused, clearly having no interest in leaving anytime soon. “You two just love to kick people out of their rooms, don’t you?” He questioned.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Chanyeol responded as Baekhyun shifted uncomfortably in his chair. He didn’t know this conversation was going in that direction. Certainly not what he planned for when he came over today. He wouldn’t put it past Junmyeon to bring it up, but to make it seem like he was the one at fault, instead of the other way around? That didn’t make any sense. Junmyeon wasn’t even involved in the whole discourse in the first place, he just happened to show up and turn it into something bigger than it should have been.

That being said, he would still hold onto the hope that Junmyeon would refrain from mentioning anymore on that matter. He didn’t need Chanyeol finding out; everything had been going so well!

“You two are perfect for each other,” Junmyeon continued, facing his attention towards Baekhyun, “let me know when he dumps you in the ditch.”

Chanyeol seemed to get more agitated after that, finally standing up to face the nuisance across from him. “What are you even talking about? You think I’m the villain here?”

Junmyeon’s grin only kept widening, looking proud of himself for being about to get the reaction out of Chanyeol that he desired. “Of course not, that’s crazy! Well developed villains generally have deeper motives behind their actions.”

Baekhyun felt the same frustration Chanyeol felt, despite having no idea what they were talking about. The words seemed to be getting to him, it didn’t take a genius to figure that one out.

Not only was he confused, but he felt out of place at the sudden argument. Was that all they did with each other? Argue? There had to be some inspiration behind all of it, something that happened that changed the close friendship they had, but Baekhyun didn’t know what. At this point, he wasn’t even sure if he wanted to know.

Everything seemed to be initiated by Junmyeon, further leading Baekhyun to believe that he was the root of all issues. Chanyeol had a good reason to dislike him, there was no doubt about that.

“Baekhyun, how about we go somewhere else,” Chanyeol asked, choosing to ignore the taunting messages by Junmyeon.

He nodded, eager to get out of there as well. If they could just go somewhere where they could tell Junmyeon to fuck off without being held accountable for it, Baekhyun knew all too well about that topic, they’d be set.

Because by the looks of it, Junmyeon wasn’t planning on shutting up anytime soon.

“What? You’re escaping your problems? And while bringing Baekhyun into them? Is that not immature?” Junmyeon asked, narrowing his eyes.

“We’re leaving now, go talk to someone else,” Chanyeol stated calmly while walking to the door. “Or better yet, keep your mouth shut.”

He closed the door shut behind them, walking out into the hallway. Baekhyun followed without thought, unable to sit in that room with that man anymore.

“I’m sorry about him,” Chanyeol sighed once they reached the end of the hallway, enough distance to ensure that Junmyeon didn’t follow them out. “He’s just so unexpected.”

“It’s okay,” Baekhyun reassured. “You don’t have to apologize.”

“I just hate that he felt the need to bring you into this, especially when you haven’t done anything wrong. If he decides to target you for hanging out with me, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have had you come over if I knew he could walk in at any moment.”

Baekhyun was quick to defend, “No! It’s not your fault at all, I wanted to come over. He hasn’t said anything mean to me either, I’m sure he won’t be rude just because I’m… with you.” He lied right through his teeth, attempting to push the thoughts about what occurred just days ago away. That was all in the past, anyways. None of it mattered now.

“That’s good. Where do you want to go, then? I guess we can’t do any more studying, I left my work and everything in there. I’m glad you were able to grab yours.”

“We don’t have to do homework if you don’t want to,” Baekhyun answered, picking up on the hint that Chanyeol never wanted to do homework in the first place. It was just his go-to, something that could easily be done without a surplus of awkward and uncomfortable moments, which is how most of his interactions have been going so far.

Chanyeol seemed to like that idea much better, “Great, do you want to go get some coffee? I mean, I know it’s the middle of the day, but a little kick never hurts.”

“That sounds great!” He loved the thought of staying up late at night, especially if encouraged by Chanyeol.

“That’s the spirit.”

The small shop was much more crowded than he expected it to be, but they were able to find a table near a window, one of Baekhyun's favourite spots. Chanyeol offered to order the drinks for them after asking what he wanted, which just gave him a few more moments to pinch himself to prove that this was all actually happening. The only concern he had would be keeping up a conversation for a longer period of time, small talk was never his strongest suit. Hopefully, Chanyeol had enough strength to carry the conversation.

“So, I’ve been wondering,” Chanyeol began, setting the drinks onto the table. “What do you like to do in your free time?”

Baekhyun shuffled to open the creamer packets and began stirring them in, giving himself a moment to think. What did he did in his free time? “I study a lot.” He answered

“Besides that?”

He was completely blanking on this one. He wasn’t prepared for a pop quiz and it seemed like he was failing on the first question. If studying didn’t count, was there actually anything else worthwhile he did with his time? Besides sleeping, eating, and the occasional scroll on TikTok, he couldn’t pinpoint a single thing.

“Any specific hobbies?” Chanyeol continued, seeming to notice Baekhyun’s struggle to answer this question, “Maybe like riding a bike?

“Wouldn’t that be a form of transportation? It’s just like driving a car, I don’t know if I’d consider that a hobby.” Baekhyun wondered out loud.

“Do professional bike riders ride for the sake of getting to their destinations, then?” Chanyeol played along with a grin on his face; one that sent Baekhyun’s heart into overdrive. “Do race car drivers just really need to get to the other side of that track?”

“Well, I think at that point it’s considered a job,” Baekhyun pointed out.

“I guess there’s a fine line in there somewhere.”

“Either way, I don’t ride bikes.”

“Yeah, me neither.”

“What else do you do?” Baekhyun asked, deciding to reflect the same question onto Chanyeol.

“Me? Hell, I have no clue. I don’t know what I’ve even been doing the past few months, it feels like my body is on autopilot. Eat, sleep, go to classes, do homework, repeat. Then, all of a sudden it's November and I have no memory of any of it. Nothing stood out to me enough to want to stick to it.”

“There aren’t any clubs you’d be interested in?” Baekhyun decided to try his luck, knowing how involved and invested he used to be during high school. Any school-related event, you name it, Chanyeol was there and ready.

He was enthusiastic, especially during sporting events. It wasn’t hard to tell that he knew everyone there, and was determined to be their number one supporter. Flags, banners, school spirit, he remembered it all. The few times he bothered with events were purely to see the joy overflow out of Chanyeol as he secured his spot at the top of the social chain. Confidence played a big factor in his personality, which only made him seem even more attractive to the entire female population, and select male.

But, that was in the past, and the present Chanyeol was struggling to find anything enjoyable he’s spent his time doing in the past months. Seeing someone so gloomy who’d been so joyful in the past left a pang in his heart.

He couldn’t help but think that Junmyeon had something to do with it.

“There just isn’t much I’ve wanted to do lately,” Chanyeol responded, twirling his stirrer. “But, I do have a question for you.”

“Yes?”

“How the hell are you able to drink that with that much creamer in it?” He asked, motioning towards the eleven empty containers Baekhyun had set off to the side.

“Oh.” He turned away, attempting to cover the pile with his hand while mentally cursing himself for forgetting to throw them away.

“I don’t think my taste buds could handle that much sweetness combined with the bitterness of coffee.”

“It’s actually not that sweet, I don’t use the flavoured ones.”

“Really? Let me try,” Chanyeol asked, reaching for the cup. His expression lit up almost instantly after taking a sip. “Holy shit, that’s good! It’s like milk with a dash of coffee, who could say no to that? I might have to try some of those myself,” He said, standing up.

Baekhyun smiled with happiness, glad Chanyeol was enjoying his so-called ‘coffee.’ It only made him remember who didn’t. The joy that swelled in his chest was unlike others he’d felt before. Watching the tall man get excited over simple coffee packets was a rollercoaster of emotions. Every packet poured, he’d turn back around to glance at Baekhyun, who could motion to add just one more. One more never hurt!

Never in all of his time in school, life even, did he think he’d be sitting in a coffee shop enjoying some diluted coffee with Park Chanyeol. The realization would never sit in, as well as the surprising lack of nerves he felt when making conversation with him. It felt a lot more natural than he expected, especially since he was about to shit himself at the mere thought of him about a month ago. It only made him more excited to see where things were going to go in the future; how things would progress from now on. He wanted to stay like this, in the same position, forever. How did he end up getting so lucky?

Life got much more exciting for him, new doors opened and new possibilities blossomed. All he had to do was to keep things the way they were, exactly the way they were.

-

Tuesday morning, Baekhyun was woken up by a text. It was unusual, to say the least. He hadn’t been in direct communication with anyone recently, what was so urgent?

Checking the message, he felt himself giggling at the photo attached, which just so happened to be a picture of Chanyeol with his own cup of coffee-milk. He was smiling brightly, showing off the mug with the pile of opened coffee creamers visible in the background. The small gesture made Baekhyun’s morning as he sent a thumbs up in response, happy that his habits were already rubbing off on the other. He still needed to decide on a time when they could hang out again. It should be soon, so they could avoid going backwards in the friendship process, but not too soon where Chanyeol would get tired of him.

Baekhyun didn’t even hear the door open, causing him to jump when said subject cleared his throat. Much to his dismay, it ended up being Junmyeon. The mood in the room dropped instantly and he could almost feel the temperature drop. What happened to knocking? He cursed himself for leaving the door unlocked, but he wanted to avoid any future issues that had to do with doors and locks. Junmyeon didn’t even live here, though, so he wouldn’t feel a bit of regret if he just threw him out right now. Did he think he got free range to go wherever he wanted?

“Sehun isn’t here,” Baekhyun stated simply, turning around in his chair to face away from Junmyeon. He shouldn’t get the pleasure of having a face-to-face conversation.

“Oh, I’m not here for Sehun,” Junmyeon responded without a moment of hesitation.

“Okay.” Baekhyun continued to face the wall, hoping if he was blunt enough then Junmyeon would just leave. If he wasn’t here for Sehun, there was only one other person he would be there for; and that person did not want to see him.

“I just wanted to ask you if I could borrow some notes. I think I might have missed some while I was sick.”

“You were sick?” Bullshit. If you called ‘too drunk to function a sickness’, then sure! Junmyeon was sick!

“Yeah, I missed a few days. See? I’m even hydrating!” He stated, holding up a water bottle to display.

Baekhyun narrowed his eyes, not wanting to comply. He was the one who sat in class and took the notes, why should he share them with anyone else? Especially when the said person just decided not to show up to class half the time. He couldn’t expect to put in zero effort and still get the benefits.

“Well? Can’t I see some of the notes you took? I should be able to learn about what I missed in class while I was gone.”

Baekhyun clenched his jaw, not having the energy to argue and say no. Besides, he didn’t want Junmyeon to go ranting to the teacher about how terrible Baekhyun was; he didn’t let me see his notes! That wouldn't leave a good impression, and that was extremely important to him. “Past notes are in my closet, I’ll check in here.” He stated simply, forcing himself to finish the action despite his heart telling him not to.

After grabbing the box, he set it down on his chair while beginning to look through it. “This is everything from units seven through eleven, that's about where we are now, but until 12 is in the drawer on my desk if you think that’s what you missed.” If Baekhyun cared enough, he could have pulled out the exact notes Junmyeon missed based on the days he was missing, but he had no intention of being helpful.

“Okay, I’ll take a look,” Junmyeon responded, shuffling through the box a little harsher than desired. He stopped almost instantly, pulling out one of the first pieces of paper he laid his sweaty little hands on. “I think this is it!”

“It is?” Baekhyun questioned, wondering how someone could assess a whole box of information in less than ten seconds. Junmyeon certainly wasn’t skilled enough for that.

“Yes.”

“That paper looks older though, I’m pretty sure you were in class for that,” He knew Junmyeon most likely had none of the notes to begin with, but what was the point in having double of something if he was already missing new notes?

“Baekhyun, I’m pretty sure I would know what notes I missed, You don’t have to fact-check me there.”

“But I’m just saying-”

“If I say I need these notes, then I need these notes. There should be no issue, I don’t understand why you’re making it into one.” Junmyeon cut him off.

“An issue? I’m not, I’m just trying to make sure you get the right information.” He responded. Though he might not be fond of the other, he wasn’t going to be the reason he failed math, even if he was oh so sure that he chose the right notes.

“I think you just need to chill,”

Baekhyun signed, feeling the exact same frustration Chanyeol must have been feeling the other day. Junmyeon was not only difficult to communicate with but was incredibly one-sided. He questioned how he dealt with him for so long before being able to realize that. It only took him a few days to change his mind, which was a red flag instantly. He’d finally been able to see how he really acted. How was Sehun still able to tolerate him? That fact would remain a mystery to him.

“Anyways, I’m going to head out now, I’ll return this to you the next time I see you. But really, you should calm down.” Junmyeon stated before walking out the door, leaving a frustrated Baekhyun with one less paper of math notes. At least he didn’t ask for the answers to the homework, Baekhyun wouldn’t have given those up easily. Maybe he should have hidden everything and claimed he lost it all, then it wouldn’t technically be a lie and Junmyeon would never get the pleasure of being gifted notes! Simple!

Baekhyun let out a sigh, sinking into his chair. All his motivation had been sucked out of him; all he wanted to do was talk to someone rational. The text message from Chanyeol appeared back on his mind, making him smile while he reached for a sip of his water bottle.

He choked almost instantly, surprised at the sudden unexpected taste. He surpassed the urge to spit it out and bitterly swallowed. Realization shut in that what he was drinking was not in fact water. No water in the world tasted like whatever he just drank unless Aquafina was now getting their groundwater from radiation plants.

The smell gave it away, he should have known. It was a smell he was well aware of, but wasn’t expecting to smell in his own water bottle

He felt his frustration rise as he assessed the situation, concluding that Junmyeon purposefully switched their water bottles.

Sure, it could have been an accident, accidents happen all of the time! But the timing just wasn’t right. The whole situation seemed off to him, and now he knew why. He should have concluded something was suspicious with how Junmyeon wanted notes instead of homework. He didn’t even take notes, he’d have no use for them.

The aftertaste had run down his throat, lingering in his mouth. Why the hell didn’t he spit it out the second after realizing something was wrong? His palms felt sweaty, knowing he was holding a beverage that he had no intention of holding anytime soon.

Disbelief was an emotion that weighed heavily on his mind. He didn’t know things like this actually happened in real life. Peer pressure, if that was the word for it, only happened in movies and shitty informational videos in primary school. People out there were actually like this? What was the motive, what was the drive? What did Junmyeon want to get out of tricking him into drinking alcohol? This wasn’t what he wanted, this wasn’t what he came to college for.

-

“Do you know what the answer to this one was?” Chanyeol asked.

“Huh?” Baekhyun responded, allowing his brain to focus once more on the topic of study; math quizzes that had been returned. He’d been getting distracted every few moments, unable to shake the topic out of his head. It didn’t help that they were looking at math, which his brain just automatically associated Junmyeon with.

Studying with Chanyeol, or being with Chanyeol in general, was supposed to be a fun time and something he looked forward to. Yet, the only person he could think about was Junmyeon. He waited, aware that he could walk into the room at any moment as he had previously. Expect this time, he had something to personally confront him about. Something much more personal than last time.

“I asked if you knew what this one meant.” Chanyeol continued, bringing his attention back to the homework once again. How dare Junmyeon interrupt his time with Chanyeol by flooding his brain with negative thoughts! He didn’t even know what problem they were on, too busy watching the door like a hawk. As soon as he stepped into that room, he’d planned to sock him right in the face. Though, that was just a plan. He’d most likely end up sending meaningless glares across the room while Junmyeon minded his own business. He’s got about 2 hours to grow a backbone.

“Oh, which question again?” Baekhyun did feel bad, being so distracted when he promised that he’d help Chanyeol with homework, but he physically could not help it. Thinking about how distracted he was only made him more distracted, and he was getting nowhere.

“Number four. The question we were going over.” Chanyeol stated, pointing to a question on the paper.

Baekhyun sheepishly flipped the page, not aware they had already moved on, “oh, right. I got C.”

“That’s not what I got, would you mind explaining how you got the answer?”

“Oh, the answer? I think I just…” What the fuck, “I guess I moved the number above?” So now he’s unable to explain or understand math.

Chanyeol only sighed in response, putting his pencil down onto the table. “I don’t think this is working out.”

Baekhyun widened his eyes, shuffling to the correct problem immediately. He didn’t want Chanyeol to think he didn’t want to study with him or anything, he did, his brain just happened to be preoccupied. “No! It’s working! Don’t worry, I can explain these, I know the answer to them.” He responded, talking fast to get the words out.

Chanyeol offered a smile, probably taking notice of Baekhyun’s sudden frantic state. “I can tell you’re distracted, don’t worry about it.”

Baekhyun sighed in defeat, lowering his head. He couldn’t even deny it. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. I actually wasn’t quite in the mood to go over this either. Do you want to go… do something else?”

“Like what?” Baekhyun asked, hoping Chanyeol wouldn’t suggest more coffee. The three cups he had this morning were already throwing a party in his stomach.

“It’s nice out now, we could play outside.” He suggested.

“Play outside?” Baekhyun didn’t quite know what to do outside, besides walk around. He’d never been an outdoorsy type of person.

“Here,” Chanyeol began, walking towards his closet. “I brought this but I haven’t had the chance to use it yet.”

He pulled out a football, bringing back memories in Baekhyun's brain. He was reminded of the days he used to watch Chanyeol play football on the school team. He certainly wasn’t the best out there, but he had the same determination as any other star player. Butterflies developed in his stomach.

“A football? I don’t know how to play, though.” He responded, holding back the fact that he didn’t want to go anywhere near the ball. All he wanted to do was sit on the bleachers and watch Chanyeol have the time of his life again playing with a football.

“I can teach you some of the basics.” Suddenly Baekhyun wanted to play football. “Basically, you throw the ball and run.”

“That is a great explanation, football tutor.”

-

“The first step to learning is knowing how to throw the ball, that’s the most important part.” Chanyeol said, demonstrating the proper stance, “See? It’s easy?”

Baekhyun nodded, adjusting his feet accordingly.

“Good, now I’m going to give you the ball, and you’re going to try and throw it in between those two poles,” Chanyeol instructed, pointing into the distance.

He accepted the ball, taking a chance to try it for himself. Only when he threw it up, he didn’t exactly get the result he thought he would. The ball ended up flying in the opposite direction, landing just a few feet behind him. How the hell did that happen? This was harder than he thought.

Chanyeol laughed in response, but quickly covered up his giggles with his hand, “Buddy, the ball is supposed to go in front of you when you throw it.”

“Hey.” He pouted, “I think it just slipped out,” He refused to accept that he actually just did that. How the hell he ended up being so unathletic was beyond him. Balls must have a mind of their own.

“Okay, okay. Try it one more time. This time, aim forwards.”

“Alright, let's see.” He aimed higher this time, hoping that was the issue with the previous toss. Except, things only seemed to be getting worse. This ball went up, then came straight back down, landing right on top of his head.

Chanyeol didn’t try to contain his laughter this time, letting out giggles while Baekhyun stood there questioning physics. Sure, he could come up with the mathematical function of throwing a ball but put him in the actual position and he’d only draw a blank. “Please tell me you’ve thrown a ball before,” Chanyeol asked amidst his laughter.

Baekhyun tapped his chin, attempting to recall the last time he was outside on a football field throwing a football. Oh, that’s right. Never! If he knew he’d be in this position right now, he’d have spent every spare second throwing balls through metal poles.

“Maybe I should have demonstrated first, to show you where the ball should end up going.” Chanyeol teased, “Watch me.” He picked up the ball and threw it forward, making an almost perfect shot. Or at least, that’s what he thought. He had no clue where Chanyeol intended the ball to go.

“Wow. It went far.” Baekhyun commented.

“That was a terrible throw, don’t use that one as an example,” Chanyeol responded, confirming the fact that Baekhyun knew nothing about football. “Okay, now you can go get it.”

“What? Me?”

“It’s not going to get up and walk over here!”

He sighed, agreeing to retrieve the ball, deciding there was no point in refusing. Sooner or later, he’d have to show how incredibly slow he was at running, might as well get it over with now. Sports, the abomination of mankind.

“Now let's simulate some real play,” Chanyeol said once Baekhyun had returned.

“Real play? What’s that?”

“It’s when we do this.” Before Chanyeol even finished his sentence, he had run over to Baekhyun and snatched the ball right from his grip, already being halfway across the field before he had the chance to process what was going on.

“So, football?” He yelled after him.

“Isn’t that what I just said?”

Baekhyun playfully rolled his eyes, crossing his arms. “You caught me off guard, I could have defended.”

“Oh, really? Okay, let’s try again. This time, try.” Chanyeol teased before handing the ball back to him. He held a tight grip on it, as much as he was able to manage. Who decided to make these things so slippery? It didn’t help that it had previously been raining, everything seemed to be slippery.

Chanyeol grabbed the ball from him almost instantly, much to his dismay.

“This game is fun.” He laughed while Baekhyun shook his head.

“This game is not fun.”

“Now, you try and take it from me.”

“I refuse.”

Chanyeol giggled, “Come on, come on, come and get it!” He teased.

Baekhyun stayed stationary for a moment, waiting until just the right moment to reach for it. Chanyeol had paused for a moment, leading Baekhyun to chase after him during those few seconds. He got a firm grip on the ball and refused to let go; not quite strong enough to gain ownership of it completely.

“Wow, you’ve got more of a grip than I thought,” Chanyeol commented, backing up.

Baekhyun witnessed Chanyeol trip backwards, causing his own body to jerk forwards. The strong grip he had on the ball caused him to land on the floor as well, toppled right on top of Chanyeol.

“Did you want the ball that badly? You could have just asked.” Chanyeol teased from underneath him.

Baekhyun stood up quickly, dusting the dirt off of himself while offering a hand to help Chanyeol up too. “Yeah, I guess it’s… uhh… slippery out.” His cheeks felt hot with embarrassment.

“The rain will do that to the grass. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve slipped on wet grass. Though, I’m not sure that’s something to be proud of. Are you okay, though? I didn’t mean to take you down with me.”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” He responded.

“I’ll let you have the ball this time, how about that,” Chanyeol said, holding the ball out for him. As Baekhyun reached forward to grab it, he immediately brought it back, “If you can get it.”

“Oh, this again?”

“Okay, maybe I have a bit of an advantage here.”

“A bit? You’re seven feet tall with years of prior experience.”

“Fine, I’ll give you a head start. Try and throw the ball at me.” Chanyeol began backing up slowly.

He threw the ball, hoping that it would at least go forward this time, watching it land in the one spot he wished it didn’t. Right in the middle of Chanyeol’s dick, his ballsack, his twins and their mother.

Chanyeol yelped and fell to the group, but Baekhyun couldn’t surpass his laughter. Something about hitting a grown man in the nuts was so amusing to him.

“Oh, you’re laughing?” Chanyeol asked amidst his crisis.

“Just a little.”

“Are you going to be laughing when I score this touchdown and bring home the win?”

“Probably. I wasn’t the one with a dick-shot.”

Chanyeol laughed, brushing his hair out of his face, “Give me about five minutes with that one.”

“What! Hey!” He protested, throwing his hands downwards to block that area. “Respect them down there.”

“Them”

“Yes. Them. It’s not singular. I don’t know about you but-”

“But?”

“Nothing.” Baekhyun finished, attempting to cover up his laughter while Chanyeol stood there confused. He was having the time of his life on this field, despite the main focus being something like football. It’d been so long since he'd had a playful conversation with someone, where the flow of the conversation seemed so natural. There was always a response he could think of, enough to make him anticipate every next second. He never wanted this moment, and this feeling to end.

“Are you trying to say I only have one singular nut?” Chanyeol asked.

“That’s up to-”

“Hey guys!” A voice cut off his response, causing him to turn around to see who it was coming from. He felt his blood level rise as he realized who was now walking towards them.

It was almost like he had a tracking service on him, causing him to always show up exactly when he wasn’t wanted. Why did he have to show up now, of all times? When he was having a good time enjoying Chanyeol’s presence.

“Just ignore him.” Chanyeol stated, “I’ll toss you the ball whenever you’re ready.”

“Don’t you think you’re being too harsh on him? You are quite a bit bigger.” Junmyeon commented, taking no awareness of the hint that he wasn’t welcomed.

“We’re just playing,” Baekhyun stated.

“Mister here might take a step and crush your whole body!”

“That’s not going to happen,” Chanyeol’s expression was completely different from what it was just moments ago. At least Baekhyun knew he wasn’t alone in this.

“Woah, woah. Calm down, I’m just kidding, a man can’t joke around anymore?”

“No.” Chanyeol responded, “You can’t.”

“Ouch,” Junmyeon said, putting his hand on his heart while faking a frown, “You really should be kinder. Anyways, I wasn’t looking for you. I was looking for Baekhyun.” He turned his attention to him.

“Me?”

“I wanted to see if you enjoyed your little treat last night.”

Baekhyun stiffened at the words, upset that he would even bring that up in such a casual manner. Did he think it was a joke? “No.” He stated, avoiding eye contact.

“You didn’t? I got that especially for you!” Junmyeon said, almost taunting him.

He resisted the urge to throw the ball right at his head. There was no way he had the bravery for that, despite every bone in his body ready to attack. He clenched his teeth, hissing out a response, “I didn’t appreciate it.”

“What’d he do?” Chanyeol questioned, reminding Baekhyun that he was still there.

“Nothing! I just gave Baekhyun the opportunity to try something! It was a gift, I’m kind of sad he didn’t enjoy it.

“You’re having fun, aren’t you?” Chanyeol asked once again, “Tell me, what did you give him?”

“It’s okay Chanyeol, can we go somewhere else?” Baekhyun didn’t want to drag the situation out to more than it already was; he especially didn’t want to get Chanyeol involved. Another time, he’d deal with this, but on his own time. He was too much of a coward to say anything about it with Chanyeol in the picture. The last thing he needed was anyone else getting involved in his issues.

Chanyeol paused for a moment, then sighed, “If that’s what you want, yeah, of course.” He shot a glare at Junmyeon before motioning for Baekhyun to follow him.

“You guys are already leaving? But I just got here!” Junmyeon called after them but luckily, didn’t end up following.

Baekhyun followed quickly behind Chanyeol until they both ended up near the bathrooms on the other side of the field. “What was that all about?”

“It’s nothing.” He responded, hoping no more questions were asked. In case he was just overreacting about everything, he didn’t want anyone to know. Some might even say Junmyeon had good intentions, only wanting his dear friend to step out of his comfort zone. Something like this could be laughable to any other person, but he thought differently. One thing he knew for sure was how he felt was his own private life.

“He mentioned something ab-”

“It’s fine, Chanyeol. Don’t worry about it.” He said, voice slightly raised causing him to regret it the second he heard how his tone sounded. “I… umm.”

“Alright, I won’t bother you about it anymore. But, do you promise to tell me if he says anything abnormal to you? He’s really unpredictable, I’m just more sure if he’ll start to target you because you’re hanging out with me.”

“Yes, I’ll tell you. Don’t worry, it’s okay” Baekhyun repeated, almost trying to convince himself.

“Okay,” Chanyeol responded, though not appearing to be 100% convinced.

“I’ll be going back to my dorm now.” He said, grabbing his backpack from the bench nearby.

“Have a good night. I’ll see you soon?”

“Yeah.”

-

Despite how much he enjoyed being around Chanyeol, he still had other requirements in life. Including school work, which seemed much more boring the more he continued. His body itched to go outside once more, to experience the sun and laugh along with someone. Math equations just sounded bland and boring in comparison to the times he had just the other day.

He rubbed his hands across his face, attempting to get himself to focus. Of course, he knew how to do everything, he just simply didn’t want to. Every few minutes was spent checking his phone, checking to see if there were any messages or updates.

Nothing. Chanyeol was most likely doing his homework without the comfort of a study-buddy. He’d seemed to have enjoyed their day out as well, laughing and joking around. A side of him that Baekhyun wanted to see all along was finally coming out. The friendly teasing was only an added bonus, causing Baekhyun to smile unconditionally.

“Are you in here?” Sehun asked, walking in the room.

“You didn’t have to ask as you were walking in, you’d see me in here anyway.”

“What if I suddenly went blind?”

“Interesting, but I th- What’s that smell?” He paused, taking in a slight burning smell, “Is something on fire?” Before turning around to see the smoke escape from Sehun’s lips.

“Huh?”

“You’re smoking”

“No, I’m not.”

“I can clearly see that you are,” Baekhyun argued, not missing the cigarette that was placed in between Sehun’s fingers.

Sehun only shrugged in response, “Maybe I am. So what?”

“What? Now you’re into smoking?” He could deal with the drinking, because it didn’t directly affect him, but smoking in his room? “You know we share this room, right?”

“Yeah, I know. So, that means I get some right to it too. You’re allowed to smoke in here too, I don’t mind.”

“No, that’s not the point. You can have a say in what happens with the room, but so do I, and currently, your smoking is directly affecting me.” He responded, resisting the urge to plug his nose. If there was one thing he hated most in this world, it would be smoking.

“How is this affecting you at all? I’m minding my own business. Junmyeon said it was okay!”

Baekhyun sighed, the pieces all falling into place. If Junmyeon was behind this, that wasn’t surprising at all. Despite that, getting someone else into smoking was a terrible move on his part. Adding to the list of terrible things Junmyeon had done. “Why are you doing this then? Because Junmyeon told you too.”

“Well, I wanted to.”

Baekhyun shook his head, “That’s not a good reason. You should honestly make better decisions, Sehun.”

“Who the hell are you telling me what I can and cannot do? Are you my mom?” Sehun challenged, raising his voice.

He was slightly taken aback by the sudden attitude but decided to keep his stance. As long as Sehun stayed on the other side of the room, he should be fine! “I might as well be. Do you think your mom would be happy with you doing this?”

“I don’t care, everyone else does it. She’d just be happy her kid isn’t a loser like you.”

Baekhyun rolled his eyes, annoyed that Sehun was in the ‘mood’ again. Either that, or he was just high as fuck. Both, still, invalid reasons to be a dickhead. “That’s not the right mentality.”

“Do you think I care?” Sehun responded, making a point of blowing out smoke right in front of him, causing him to swat away at the air.

He needed to go somewhere else, aware that his words were only making Sehun more upset; and lord knew he did not want to proceed further with that. If Baekhyun left, though, that would only make him think it was okay to do whatever he wanted in their room. Which, would just be moving in reverse. He walked over to the door, muttering, “If you keep doing that, I’m going to call campus security,” before walking out the door.

“Oh yeah? What are they going to do about it? They’re losers too!” Sehun called out, cut off by Baekhyun slamming the door.

Months ago, his go-to place would have been the library, but he didn’t bring anything else besides his phone. However, he didn’t feel like going there anyway. Every part of his body yearned for him to walk in the direction of Chanyeol’s room. There was the possibility that Junmyeon would be there, yes, but he was willing to take that risk if it meant he could clear his mind for a few hours.

“Baekhyun? Oh, hi.” Chanyeol greeted as he opened the door. Baekhyun took the next few seconds to peek into the room, making sure Chanyeol was alone. “Junmyeon isn’t here if that’s what you were wondering.”

“Oh, good.”

“Are you here for something, though? I didn’t know you were coming.”

“Just to hang out, if that’s okay.”

Chanyeol smiled, opening the door wider, “Of course, come on in. Actually, I was about to ask if you wanted to look at something for me.”

Baekhyun spotted a box of cigarettes on Junmyeon’s desk the second he walked in. They were just out in the open, he didn’t even put effort into hiding them. For something that was banned on campus, he sure wasn’t trying to hide the fact that he had them, just like Sehun was.

“Baekhyun?” Chanyeol repeated.

“What? Oh, yeah, what do you need?”

“It’s the essay for pre-med that was assigned like a month ago, but it’s due by tonight. I assume you’ve already turned it in because we had so long to work on it, but I’ve been putting it off for a while. Do you think you could look over mine? Even check the grammar, make sure it makes sense, stuff like that.”

But what reason would Junmyeon have to smoke? And to even get his friends to do it too? Who else has he persuaded in the school? Most importantly, did Chanyeol smoke? No, he couldn’t. He wasn’t the same as Junmyeon or Sehun, he was different. He cared about his life and future, unlike those two.

“Do you think you could look over it for me?”

“Look over it? Yeah, of course.” He responded, though his brain had turned off academics for a while ever since he had genuine fun with another human being. Looking at an essay had to be the last thing he wanted to do with all of the things on his mind, but he had to help Chanyeol. “I think I already wrote this one, is it old?” Baekhyun asked after taking a glance at it. Some of the material looked familiar, but his brain was in no space to think at the moment.

“Yeah, I figured. But, it’s not old, it’s just due tonight and I slacked a little.”

“Oh, okay.” He glanced over the information, trying to force his brain to comprehend what he was reading, but nothing was working. The only thing he could think about was those damn cigarettes sitting feet away from him.

“Baekhyun, are you okay? You’re gripping the laptop hard.”

He released his grip, not even realizing he was holding it. “Yeah! I’m fine! I’m just… concentrating.”

Chanyeol sighed, picking up the laptop from his hands, “It’s okay, it can wait. I’m sure it’ll be fine. You seem like you’ve been distracted lately, is there anything on your mind?”

“No, I’m just tired I guess.” He responded, feeling bad that it was noticeable.

“You’re tired? I guess it is getting late. Here,” Chanyeol stood up and began walking over to his bed, “Come over here.”

“To your bed?”

“Yeah, hop in.”

“What?” Baekhyun questioned, unsure of what Chanyeol was offering.

“You said you’re tired, so I’m offering my bed for you to sleep on. The bedsheets are very comfortable if I do say so myself.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yes!”

The offer was incredibly tempting, he didn't want to go back to his dorm tonight if Sehun was going to be there. It was like a guardian angel, with the name of Chanyeol, was sent down to resolve all of his problems instantly. “Alright. I’ll test that. But where are you going to sleep?”

“I’ll just take Junmyeon’s, he’s not going to be back tonight.”

Baekhyun fell asleep almost instantly, letting the weariness of the day take over his endless thoughts.

-

He was awoken by a large jerking, causing him to spring up immediately, face to face with Junmyeon. What a great way to start the day!.

“Who said you could be in here?” Junmyeon asked as Baekhyun was blinking awake.

“Huh?” He blinked his eyes awake, taking a moment to observe his surroundings.

“I’m asking why you’re laying on Chanyeol’s bed.” Junmyeon continued, pointing to the mattress that Baekhyun was indeed laying on.

He thought for sure that last night was a dream, he was only imagining being in Chanyeol’s room in Chanyeol’s bed wrapped up in Chanyeol’s sheets while Chanyeol’s roommate questioned him. But, the glare from Junmyeon felt pretty real to him.

His phone had fallen off the bed last night, he assumed, as he leaned over to pick it up. One single text was available, from Chanyeol reading, ‘I had to get up for an early morning class, but I didn’t want to wake you. You can stay there if you want, If Junmyeon bothers you, just punch him in the face for me, thanks! :P’ The emoticon that Chanyeol used made him giggle, resulting in Junmyeon squinting his eyes at him.

“What is this? Are you two gay or something?”

“What? No!” Baekhhyun defended instantly, “It was just late last night and-”

“Okay,” Junmyeon cut him off, reaching for something from his back pocket.

Baekhyun recognized the sight instantly, making his blood level rise. They weren’t what he wanted to spend his time thinking about, yet here they were, following him around.

“Here,” Junmyeon reached out his hand, “You have one. I think you’d like it.”

“No, I’m not going to have any of the things you suggest I have,” He responded. At least this time, Junmyeon had offered instead of tricking, but there wasn’t any way you could have someone try a cigarette without them knowing.

“Do you think I care that much? Don’t worry, you’re not that important.” Junmyeon scoffed, waving his hand away, “I couldn’t care less what you do.”

“That’s funny because you seemed to care when you replaced my water bottle with alcohol the other day. Even making up a fake story about how you needed my notes, which you never even returned” Baekhyun pointed out.

“Oh, that? I mixed them up, honest mistake! You’re not going to blame me for my mistakes now, are you?”

“Mistake? You’re the one who said it was your little treat for me!”

Junmyeon opened his mouth to respond, but closed it seconds later, looking like he was collecting his thoughts. “Yeah, that was a present! What, you don’t like presents?”

“You caught yourself. You knew you did it on purpose, and now, you’re trying to offer something else to me. I’m not just going to accept without thought, I’m not Sehun.”

He rolled his eyes in response, “Then don’t? I don’t fucking care. You’re the one in my room right now, trying to start an argument with me over petty little things.”

“Actually, this is Chanyeol’s room, and he said I could be in here. You’re in the wrong here, it’s not my fault that you can’t realize that.”

“Oh fuck off, Byun Baekhyun. You’re such a headache. It’s no surprise that people only want to be around you because you’re smart. Including Chanyeol.”

That one hurt. That wasn’t the case, right? To be fair, he hadn’t hung around many people, to begin with. If a majority of people were that shallow, he’d have all the friends in the world. Chanyeol may have been around him at first because he was smart, sure, but he’d been getting to know him more. They both seemed to enjoy being around each other. Chanyeol wasn’t like that, not at all. He needed a real person to talk to due to living with a flamethrower by the name of Junmyeon, and Baekhyun was willing to be that someone.

“You’re wrong.” He responded, averting his eyes to the floor while clenching his fist around Chanyeol’s comforter.

“Am I?” Junmyeon responded, tracing his fingers over the stick in between his fingers before taking a puff, releasing it into the air. “Anyways, I’m leaving, try not to release semen all over Chanyeol’s bed.”

He jumped out of bed instantly at that last comment, straightening himself out. What the hell was he talking about? Junmyeon was so full of bullshit it was unimaginable. There wasn’t a single sane thought processed in his tiny brain.

Chanyeol should be arriving back anytime soon, judging by the timestamps on the message he sent easier, so Baekhyun decided to wait. He spent his time looking around, observing the different features of the room. The layout itself was extremely similar to the room of his own, which was to be expected. Junmyeons stuff, or what he assumed, took up a majority of the space, leaving Chanyeol with a cleaner, smaller fraction. Everything, however, smelled like Chanyeol. From the bedsheets to the curtains, which he totally did not smell, to the textbooks on his desk.

By the time Chanyeol did eventually arrive, he had the contents of the room memorized. His way of passing time surprisingly worked, allowing himself to become more familiar with his surroundings.

“Oh, I didn’t know you were still here,” Chanyeol said as he walked in the room, “Has Junmyeon been here yet?”

“He just left a little while ago,” Baekhyun responded, twiddling his fingers together. Chanyeol looked down; he didn’t look like he was in the best mood. “What’s wrong? You look upset. Is it Junmyeon?”

“Oh, no. It’s just-” He paused for a moment, “Nevermind. It’s okay. How did you sleep?”

“Fine, the bed was comfortable. But, if you’re upset about something, you can tell me. I’ll listen,” He offered.

Chanyeol sighed, reaching into his backpack, pulling out a piece of paper, “I didn’t think this would be graded so quickly, so I didn’t have time to prepare myself for it.” He showed it to Baekhyun, revealing the grade on top. “I guess that’s what I deserve, though.”

“Was this the paper from last night?” Baekhyun wondered, shuddering at the red ‘C’ that was on top of Chanyeol’s paper. He doesn’t think he’s ever received a grade so low in his nineteen years of life, the sight almost foreign to him. Surely Chanyeol had gotten worse grades before, but he was trying to be better, so this must have been harsh on him. Especially with such a competitive major, low grades weren’t something taken lightly.

“Yeah.”

“Oh.” Baekhyun was supposed to look over that, Chanyeol was counting on him! He failed to do that just as he failed Chanyeol. Instead of being helpful, he put his own emotions forward.

Chanyeol sat down at his desk, slouched down while crossing his arms. “I just- I just needed to do well. I know I shouldn’t rely on others to make sure it’s good, but- I just don’t know.”

Baekhyun shuffled his feet, looking at Chanyeol who was staring straight at the wall. “What do you mean?”

“Part of me just wishes you could have at least looked over it once, maybe check to see if I had even done it on the right topic,” He let out a small laugh, most likely to diffuse the tension that had built up.

A wave of silence washed over Baekhyun, suddenly at a loss for words. Sure, he could have looked over it, but did he have to? No. At a moment’s realization, the words Junmyeon said earlier were brought to his attention again, now falling right into place.

“It’s no surprise that people only want to be around you because you’re smart. Including Chanyeol.”

Mirroring Chanyeol, he crossed his arms, “You wanted me to look over it so you didn’t get a bad grade? Is that my obligation?” He challenged, feeling quite small compared to the rest of the world. His only obligation on this earth wasn’t to ensure others do well.

“What? That’s not what I mean- I’m sorry if it came out that way,” Chanyeol stood up, shaking his head, “I didn’t mean it like that.”

“I-” He sighed, taking a few small steps towards the exit, “I’m sorry for letting you down, then.” Whether or not he genuinely meant it was still undecided, even to him.

“Baekhyun, seriously, I’m sorry,” Chanyeol repeated.

“It’s okay, I understand.” Baekhyun continued to walk towards the door, pausing just before leaving to turn back around, “I should go now, anyway.”

“Oh, okay. Have a good rest of the day.” Chanyeol said as he closed the door.

Unable to sort through his emotions, he ended up walking as slowly as he could back to his room. Another reason being the fact that Sehun would be there, and Sehun wasn’t in the best mood at the moment. Every person he had met so far in college just had to find some issue with him, one way or another. Was he that unlikeable? Enough to be incapable of finding people that wanted to be around him because of who he was?

So far, University hadn’t been all that he expected. He should have trusted his gut feeling to ignore everyone and live on his own, only caring about himself. Life was much easier when he didn’t have to worry about the wellbeing of others.

As he stood outside his own damn room, he felt nervous about walking in. How long would it take before Sehun blew a breath right into his face again? How long before he got mad, pushing and kicking him out of his room again.

Baekhyun opened the door with frustration, paying no attention to Sehun who hadn’t appeared to move an inch from where he was last night. He was still sitting at his desk, blowing away like it was the last thing he ever did. The room had a stench of smoke, even stronger than yesterday. “Can you not fucking do that in here?” He shouted, unable to hold it back.

Sehun turned around with a smirk on his face, “Why not? Does it bother you?” He challenged, moving closer.

Baekhyun backed away, making his way towards his desk. He grabbed his backpack and whatever was currently on his desk, shoving it all together. “Yes. It fucking bothers me. And so does everything else! How about you get some sense, get a brain, and learn to function as a useful member of society,” He spat, feeling the words roll off his tongue. It felt good to get some words out and stand up for himself; something he’d been holding in for the past few months.

Sehun looked slightly taken aback, but Baekhyun was unsure if he responded or not, already halfway across campus, making his way towards the nearest bus stop.

He didn’t care. He didn’t care that he had classes that day, they could wait. This campus could wait until he was ready to face it again.

-

“Baekhyun, sweetie, what are you doing here?” His mom questioned, offering him a confused glance. She was most likely wondering what her son was doing on her porch in the middle of the week, unprompted and with no notice.

Honestly, Baekhyun was wondering why too.

It was a spur of the moment decision, everything in his life had been going downhill in a flash, and he just needed some time away. Some time to forget about school for a moment and be transported back to his high school days, where all he did was sleep and study. The days where his mom would wake him up with a smile, offering unconditional love. It was time to go back and visit. He’d turned off his phone so he wouldn’t lose focus of the quality time he would have with his mom.

“I came to visit,” He smiled, giddy to finally see his mom again. Nothing was stopping him from visiting her any other time, he just didn’t end up finding the right moment yet, until now.

“Oh, don’t you have classes, though? I don’t want you to miss out on those.”

“Not today,” He lied, “They’re doing some cleaning.”

“Really? They didn’t send me an email about that…”

Baekhyun drew a blank, cursing modern technology, “It’s- uhh- fairly recent.”

“Interesting, I guess things have changed from my generation. But come on in, Baekie, I’ll make you some soup.

He accepted, feeling the familiar aura as he stepped into the house he grew up in for the first time in months. All of a sudden, it felt like no time passed at all, and he was still just a high school student. His only worries were staying up too late reading, completely oblivious to the rest of the world. He didn’t have any worries about the state of his relationship with peers, which was something that seemed to be happening pretty often in college, not entirely by choice.

“What have you been up to?” His mom asked as she walked into the kitchen, pulling a pot out of the cupboards.

“Just the usual college stuff. Work, essays, nothing too exciting.”

“Anything else?”

“Not really.”

“No girlfriend yet?”

“No, no girlfriend,” He chuckled at hearing the question again, it was something his mom used to ask at least once a week. As if that much was going to change during that week.

“Alright, I guess I should stop asking, I’ll wait until you open up to me. While you wait, you can look through some of the newspapers, I left some of the comics for you.”

Baekhyun almost squealed in excitement, remembering the activity he enjoyed as a kid. He used to cut up all of the important bits of the newspaper, and compile it into a newspaper of his own. The amount of news that was written was almost endless, causing Baekhyun to get invested in all of the slightly outdated stories.

“This one,” His mom pointed out a headline after setting down a bowl, “I remember this. It’s fairly recent, actually. ‘Motorcyclist dies in a horrible crash.’”

“Wow, that doesn’t sound good,” Baekhyun commented as he began to read the article.

“It wasn’t, I even knew his wife. They had a son your age, I think you might have gone to school with him if I remember correctly.”

“Really? Who? Maybe I knew him.”

“Chan-something. Park Chan-”

“-Yeol?”

“Yes, that’s it. Park Chanyeol. I remember that name. The article might even mention it somewhere in there.”

Baekhyun felt his heart drop the more he read, every word standing out to him. Father, healthy, crushed, killed. His hands got shaky continuing, knowing this was something that actually happened, affecting someone so important to him. The scene was described as graphic, causing Baekhyun to have to take a break from reading.

He had no idea. All this time they spent, and he had no idea. He felt like he should have known, considering his mother did, but he was too late to the party. The date on top ready July, meaning it was only just a few months ago. How was he supposed to go about his own life normally, if he knew someone close to him was suffering?

He didn’t want to say anything just in case that only made Chanyeol more upset, but he also didn’t want to pass it off as something that didn’t happen. The guilt set in when he realized the last thing he did was walk out of the room, leaving him alone without even giving him a chance to say anything. How could Baekhyun have been so selfish? Obviously, others were struggling too, but he had to view it as a personal attack on him. Pitiful.

Now, he was once again left with his thoughts. The soup his mother oh-so-kindly made didn’t even seem appetizing anymore. His body itched to return to the campus to make things right, but there were also things there he came away to avoid. There were many decisions to be made, but he didn’t have to think about that anytime soon. At least a nice sleep in his bed would be a good refresher, helping him to be ready to face the world the next day.

“Hey mom, do you want to play a board game?”

-

One night turned into two until he decided it was time for him to leave. All the school he’d be missing surely haunted him, but he knew that spending time with his mom was more important. She was a huge inspiration to him, giving him a new outlook on the situation when he arrived back at school.

Everything would work out, eventually. Life was full of speed bumps, here and there, but everything was overcomeable. He shouldn’t run away from his issues like he was so used to doing, no matter how tempting it may be.

“Baekhyun? You’re back? Oh, thank god.” Sehun said as he stepped into the room. Luckily, he didn’t show any obvious signs of smoking or irritation, hopefully, it was just a one-time thing he’d have to deal with.

“Yeah.”

“Where’d you go? I thought you dropped off the face of the earth.”

“I went to visit my mom for a little while.”

“But Junmyeon told me you missed classes, I thought you hated missing classes!”

Baekhyun sighed, rubbing his eyes. Of course, Junmyeon had to go and get into his business some. It simply wasn’t a normal day if he didn’t. “I do, normally, but I needed a break.”

“A break? From what?” Sehun continued to ask.

“Just, a break.” He muttered, getting tired of the stream of questions.

“Anything, in particular, you needed a break from?”

“No! Just, a break” Baekhyun responded, voice slightly raised.

Sehun seemed to lay off after that, taking a moment's break in between questions. “If it was because of me, I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine, don’t worry about it,” Baekhyun sighed, throwing his backpack onto the ground. He should probably go to the professor's classes and see what he missed. He didn’t even give them any notice that he would be gone, that certainly wasn’t going to look good. Rubbing his eyes, he only slightly regretted his spur of the moment adventure. No matter how much he would have to catch up now, he needed that time off.

“You didn’t even respond when I texted you, I thought maybe you were mad at me,” Sehun spoke again, not willing to drop it. Since when did he get so nosy?

“I just needed a break from everything. Just some time alone to forget about school and everything that’s happening.”

“Is something happening?”

“Sehun, please, I’m not really in the mood right now. I have a lot of work to catch up on as is, I don’t need any distractions.” He stated, beginning to take his books out, planning out where he needed to go first. Math was a must, it was incredibly important that he was able to catch up on that.

“Oh, yeah, Chanyeol told me to tell you, whenever you got back, that he’d be keeping track of what you missed if you ever decided to return.”

“He is?”

“Yeah. I can tell him that you’re back, unless you want to.”

Baekhyun reached for his back pocket, pulling out his phone. Chanyeol was going to keep track of all the work he missed? Even despite not being in the same classes? Even if he had no idea how long he’d be away for? He suddenly felt bad for leaving without a trace, or any way for people to contact him.

He ended up calling Chanyeol after turning his phone back on, the recipient picking up almost instantly. ‘Baekhyun?’ He asked, his voice laced with concern.

‘Hi.’

‘Is that really you? Oh, thank god, I thought you died.’

Baekhyun let out a light chuckle but felt bad for leading him to assume that. ‘I’m here, I just went back home to visit for a few days.’

‘I’m glad you’re safe, then. When Junmyeon told me you weren’t in classes, I knew something was off, and then when Sehun said you weren’t in the dorm, I thought I’d go crazy. None of my calls or texts were going through to you either.’ His voice said from the other line. Baekhyun looked at his recent messages, and sure enough, there were many from Chanyeol.

‘I’m sorry for making you worry.’ He apologized.

‘No, it’s okay. I understand, you needed some time for yourself, obviously, I’m not obligated to know about your whereabouts 24/7, that’d be weird,’ He paused to clear his throat. ‘I’m just glad you weren’t murdered.’

‘I understand, I’m glad I wasn’t murdered as well.’

‘That’s very good,’ Chanyeol let out a small laugh that was audible from the other line, ‘Anyways, I’ve been trying to keep track of things you’ve missed. I got in contact with some of your professors too.’

“Really?’ Baekhyun asked. Nobody had ever gone through that much effort before to make sure he stayed on task. He was touched, to say the least.

‘Yeah, I knew how important school was to you.’

‘Oh, thank you, Chanyeol.’

‘Of course, it’s no problem. When do you want me to bring everything over? Is now okay? Are you in the dorm?’

‘Yes, I am.’

‘Okay, great! I’ll come now.’

‘Awesome, see you then,’ Baekhyun smiled, hanging up. His stomach was filled with butterflies, urging to break out.

“What’s got you all excited all of a sudden?” Sehun teased.

“Oh, Chanyeol’s coming over.”

“Hmm, I see. Alright, I’ll leave, I’ll give you two some time for yourself.” He said, voluntarily walking out of the room, “You can thank me later.”

He didn’t even have time to process the statement before he heard a knock on the door, eagerly walking over to open in. Chanyeol greeted him with a smile and a small tap to the head. “It feels good to see you again, I seriously didn’t know what happened to you.”

Baekhyun sheepishly looked to the floor, rubbing his neck, trying to avoid the colour from appearing on his cheeks, “Yeah, I’m sorry. It’s good to see you too.”

“You’re not allowed to be murdered on my watch, okay?”

“Noted.”

“Good. Glad we're on the same page here,” He set his backpack down on the floor, beginning to take stuff out of it. “I have everything here.” He set a folder onto Baekhyun’s desk. “I wasn’t sure how long you’d be gone for, so I just asked for whatever they’d be willing to give me. Some papers might be too early, as they were for later classes, but that’s okay. Some of this is from my own notes too, if they’d be any help to you.”

Baekhyun looked through all he brought, amazed at the quality of it. Chanyeol took good notes, he wasn’t going to lie. They were clear and easy to understand, which was extremely helpful. “Wow, this is awesome. Thank you so much, Chanyeol.” He repeated for probably the thousandth time that day.

“Of course. It was my pleasure. I felt like I kinda owed it to you, in a way, for helping me through all of this. Even if you did get distracted sometimes.” He joked.

“To be fair, your bed was very comfortable.”

“Right? One day, I’ll have to feel yours, just to compare. But I’m betting I can safely say that mine is better.” Chanyeol beamed, crossing his arms.

“Oh really? I don’t think you’ve felt my moms hand-knit quilt.”

“Hand knit? I have to feel this.” Chanyeol walked over, running his hands through Baekhyun's bed. “This. This is nice. I think I’ll just take a little nap. You know, just so we’re even.”

The slight of the little boy getting excited over blankets brought a grin to Baekhyun’s face, watching him enjoy every moment of life. “Chanyeol?” He asked, voice becoming very small all of a sudden. The more he thought, the more his heart hurt for him.

“Yeah?”

“I’m sorry.”

“You’re sorry? For what? Is this about the essay? Because, I’m sorry, about blaming you, or getting mad at you for no reason-”

“No, it’s not that.”

“Then? What are you sorry for?”

“I don’t know, I just…” His voice trailed off, his brain unable to think of the right words to use.

“You don’t have anything to be sorry for, Baekhyun. Don’t worry, you haven’t done anything wrong.” Chanyeol reassured, standing up from the bed to meet his eyes.

“I just wanted to let you know that I’m always here for you.”

Chanyeol paused, blinking with a blank expression. “Oh, thank you, then. I’m here for you too.”

Baekhyun walked over to him, offering a hug, relieved to see that he accepted it. He gripped tight, not wanting to let go.

-

“You’ve been spending so much time with Chanyeol lately, it kind of makes me feel left out.” Junmyeon’s voice entered Baekhyun’s ears, no matter how hard he tried to block it out. For some reason, you couldn’t close your ears as easily as you could close your eyes, forcing Baekhyun to listen to every word Junmyeon wanted him to.

“Please just focus on the class.” He stated simply, attempting to keep his gaze straight. He didn’t need any more distractions, he was already behind as it is, without the loudmouth next to him ruining his peacefulness.

“What if I don’t want to? Talking to you is so much more interesting than-” He paused to squint at the board, “whatever the hell exponents are.”

Baekhyun felt his brain explode at that one. This man was helpless, academically and socially. Some people were just not meant to exist, he thought. “I’ll tell the teacher you’re bothering me and he’ll make you move.”

“Ooh, I’m so scared of a teacher! Please, go ahead! I dare the teacher to look over here and lay eyes upon me, a student, minding my own busi-”

“Shut up already, would you?” Baekhyun hissed, keeping his voice low so others couldn’t hear, “If you didn’t realize, you’re the only one talking.”

“That’s not true at all.” Junmyeon matched his volume, “It does appear that you’re speaking right now as well if I’m not mistaken?”

He resisted the urge to kick him from underneath the table.

The rest of the class went smoother after Baekhyun stopped responding and eventually shut Junmyeon up, until after class where it seemed like he just resumed. Like a pause button on a remote, suddenly starting right back where it left off. Except for this time, it was unprompted.

“You got a crush on Park or something?” Junmyeon asked the second he stood up.

“No,” Baekhyun responded simply, half tuning out his words. Junmyeon was crazy for thinking something like that, what went on inside his brain?

“You know what’s funny? I asked him the same thing, and he said yes!”

Baekhyun’s heart sped up, then resumed its normal speed seconds later. A flutter across his chest, awakening his thoughts. He’d be lying if he said he hadn’t felt something at that moment. “Really?” He asked though it came out more as excitement.

“No!”

His shoulders drooped.

“But see, you got excited for a second there, didn’t you?” Junmyeon teased.

“Just leave me alone.” He mumbled, scurrying to grab his materials and leave before this conversation went any further.

“Aww, this is so cute! It’s like Romeo and Juliet! Except Romeo doesn’t give a single shit about Juliet!” He paused, leaning closer to Baekhyun’s ear, “Guess what? You’re Juliet!”

“Do you have nothing better to do?” Baekhyun grumbled, scooting his chair in.

“It’s really sad, I think.” Junmyeon continued, shaking his head. “Only spending time with people who are obviously using you.”

Baekhyun paused for a moment, then shook his head. These were Junmyeon’s words, they held no meaning and shouldn’t be accountable for anything. He wasn’t going to fall for this stupid trap again. Chanyeol had demonstrated earlier than he did indeed care, so what was the point in even listening to what Junmyeon had to say? Especially when it was about his own life? He was someone who built his personality off of torturing others and enjoying the aftermath of it. Everything he said was a lie.

“But now you like him? Tsk, tsk. How is this going to end? I’m interested, actually.”

The closer he got, the more uncomfortable Baekhyun felt. The words chipped at his brain little by little, despite how much he was trying to tune them out. Every little word, remark, stuck with him unwillingly.

“Who needs to watch sad stories anymore, when you have Byun Baekhyun’s love life?”

Baekhyun felt Junmyeon's hot breath on his body, forcing him to look down. Every second, he got closer and closer, not intended on backing up anytime soon.

“What? Not going to respond? Cat got your tongue?”

Baekhyun shoved his body off of him, away from him, as hard as he could. “Fuck off!” He shouted, voice coming out louder than he intended.

Junmyeon stumbled into the table, landing on the floor with a thud. Within seconds, all remaining eyes in the room were on him.

Baekhyun retreated, backing up slowly, uncomfortable with all of the sudden attention. The realization hadn’t set in that they were looking at him because he just threw Junmyeon into a desk! Did he mean to? Not at all. Did he regret it? That one was still up in the air.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Junmyeon spat, standing up, making his way over to Baekhyun at a fast pace.

The closer he got, the more Baekhyun backed up, until eventually, his back was against the wall. The reaction was expected, though, he wouldn’t think any less of Junmyeon. “You were in my personal space!” He responded, attempting to defend himself. “I asked you to stop, and you didn’t.”

Junmyeon only smirked in response, getting even closer than before, “You think you’re funny?” he questioned. At this point, more students had stepped closer to them, almost as if they had predicted what was going to happen next.

He felt hands around his neck, causing his natural instinct to kick in as he forced his own upwards in an attempt to remove them. He choked, spat, attempting to keep some air in his body during the few seconds of power Junmyeon held over his breath.

Not even moments later, they were released. Someone had already pulled Junmyeon’s squirming body off of him, leaving him to drop on the floor, coughing and trying to regain his breath. There was a small pat on his back as a voice was heard in his ear, “Hey, are you okay?”

He recognized it to be Jongin, not completely sure if he could trust him. Though he didn’t protest as he helped him up, allowing himself to be led elsewhere, giving him time to assess the situation completely.

Junmyeon had just choked him.

He didn’t realize the tears coming from his eyes, little by little, until he was sitting on the floor of the nearest men's room, knees to his chest. Furiously brushing his hands over his eyes in attempts to hide the tears that might have escaped, he turned to the wall. The reason he was crying wasn’t exactly clear to him. Maybe everything finally crashed in his brain, leaving his emotions to take a route of their own whether he liked it or not.

“Are you good? Like, you don’t need any medical attention?” Jongin asked, crouching down in front of him, reminding Baekhyun that he was still there.

He shook his head in response, urging to hide his face so the redness and puffiness weren’t on display.

He still didn’t have a solid opinion on Jongin yet, he didn’t know exactly what to think of him. He was friends with Junmyeon, wasn’t he? So why’d he help the person he was trying to fight?

“Well, at least that’s good. Who knows what he’d have done if nobody was around?” Jongin said, visibly shuttering at the thought.

Baekhyun paused, averting his eyes to rest on Jongin as he answered with a small voice, “Aren’t you two friends?”

“I mean, we’re supposed to be, but we’ve been having some discourse recently.” Jongin sighed, shaking his head. “He just wants to do so much, if that was even the right term for it. He’s just reckless, and a bad influence in my opinion. Sehun just eats that shit up, but I don’t.”

Baekhyun’s head sprung up as listened, “That’s exactly what I thought!”

“Really?”

“I’ve been thinking about it for a while, but I didn’t want to say anything or tell anybody in case it backfired.” Baekhyun’s mood lightened, relieved that someone else shared his opinion, that someone was able to view the situation in the same way he viewed it.

“Yeah, I don’t exactly know how to feel about him now. It’s too bad, though. It essentially drove me away from Sehun, and I really liked him. I know he liked me too, but I guess that’s what he gets for choosing sides.”

“Sehun isn’t your friend anymore?”

“Friend? That’s a light word for it. If friends fuck each other, then sure.”

“I mean I- wait.” The words took a moment to process in Baekhyun’s brain. “You two were…” His voice trailed off as he acted out the movements with his hands.

“You didn’t know? Oh, I thought Sehun would have told you.”

Baekhyun sighed, shaking his head. “Guess not.” There was yet another ‘secret’ he was left out on concerning his roommate and whoever else.

“Maybe he forgot?” Jongin suggested, most likely sensing the gloomy atmosphere.

Before Baekhyun could respond, the door was pushed open causing Baekhyun to instinctively stand up and attempt to turn around before they were able to see him. Sitting on the bathroom floor, crying, was not the best situation to be in. He’d never be able to live that down if anyone other than Jongin saw him.

“Baekhyun?” A familiar voice called out.

“Chanyeol?” He asked, turning around to face him. Sure enough, he was there, looking wonderful as ever.

“I told him to come, I know you two are like friends or whatever,” Jongin said, but Baekhyun was paying no such attention.

“Are you okay? Why are you crying, are you hurt?” Chanyeol asked, causing Baekhyun to want to shrivel up into a ball. His heart melted at the concern, but at the same time, he wanted to bang his head against the wall for causing him to worry.

“I’m fine, don’t worry.” He reassured.

“What happened?”

“Junmyeon choked him,” Jongin answered instead.

“He what?”

“Not completely unprompted, though. Baekhyun pushed him into the desk first.”

Chanyeol glanced over to him with wide eyes, “You did?”

He nodded sheepishly, looking down to the floor, “But, he wouldn’t stop bothering me.” He defended, though it came out sounding more like a whine.

“He was bothering you? How? Did he say anything?”

Baekhyun held his tongue, deciding not to repeat a majority of the words due to the context. Yes, Chanyeol! He was teasing me because he thought I liked you! And, I didn’t deny it! I resorted to violence instead!

That wouldn’t serve him any justice. “Some things… But he was in my face, I had to move him out of the way.”

Chanyeol didn’t respond, instead patted him on the back. “Good job,” He offered a high five that Baekhyun accepted. “You did what I’ve been wanting to do for the past four months.”

“What is this? The Junmyeon hate club?” Jongin butted in, reminding Baekhyun that he was still there.

“Yes. Would you like to join?” Chanyeol responded, causing Baekhyun to laugh.

“When do we meet, I’ll have to check my schedule.”

“We meet every time he comes back drunk as shit.”

“Wow! You guys meet often!”

Baekhyun laughed, forcing himself to look away from the large grin that had formed on Chanyeol’s face. He certainly had the perfect skills to lighten the mood, that was for sure. He was the rainbow after a thunderstorm, there to make sure everything returned to normal. That was what Baekhyun admired about him.

“But, what do we do about this?” Jongin continued.

“Whatever Baekhyun wants. If he wants me to go find him and offer the same treatment, I won’t hesitate. But if he doesn’t, then I’ll leave it alone.”

“Wow, impressive.”

“Huh?”

“Nothing,” Jongin coughed, looking away, “Anyways, I’m sure he’d still be pretty mad still, judging by who he is as a person, so I vote we leave him alone for tonight, at least.”

“Good point. Who knows what else he could do when he’s mad mad. I’ve only ever seen him when he’s been slightly ticked off. Baekhyun? What do you think?”

“I don’t want anything to do with him.” He furiously shook his head, eager to get the thought of Junmyeon out of his brain so he could focus on other things. Meaning, the man standing right in front of him.

“Great. In the meantime, let’s go somewhere.”

“Really? Where?” Jongin asked.

“Uhh, I kinda meant just me and Baekhyun,” Chanyeol answered sheepishly.

Baekhyun held back the urge to giggle. Not that he disliked Jongin or anything, but alone time with Chanyeol seemed to be the only thing on his mind at the moment.

“Harsh.” Jongin tisked, shaking his head.

“Sorry, nothing personal,” Chanyeol reassured, giving him a pat on the back and leading him towards the door.

“Hey, what if I wanted to stay in-” Jongin protested.

“Goodbye, Jongin!” He closed the door, making sure nobody else would come in. “If you’re up for it, we could go somewhere. Or, do something, whatever you want. We could even study!” Chanyeol added excitedly, turning to face him.

“Y-yeah, sure. Just give me a moment.” He stuttered, wiping his face a few more times with his sleeve.

“Of course, take your time. Are you okay, though? You’re not hurt?”

“No, he just caught me by surprise. I really don’t even know why I was crying,” He let out a breathy laugh just as another droplet fell down his face, “or, still am crying.”

“Let me help with that,” Chanyeol said, rushing to the sinks to grab some paper towels. He grabbed a handful and began dabbing at Baekhyun’s eyes, “They might be a little rough, sorry.”

“At least they’re doing their job.” He commented, feeling fresher already.

Chanyeol smiled, reaching his arms out. They entangled themselves around Baekhyun’s waist, pulling him into a big hug. He responded, matching the arm movement and wrapped his around Chanyeol’s neck. “That scared me, literally. All Jongin texted me was the location and that Junmyeon was trying to suffocate you. I was like, what the hell? I don’t know what went through my brain during that time. Just the thought of you being hurt… yeah. But, I’m glad you’re okay.”

“It was brief, I’m glad people were able to react quickly.” He exhaled, remembering the few seconds. “Hopefully he’ll get some sort of punishment.”

Chanyeol grinned, eyes sparkling in the fluorescent bathroom lights. For a brief moment, Baekhyun lost himself in them. He was hypnotized, drowning out any background noise as his one focal point stood right in front of him. In a state of trance, he barely even heard what Chanyeol said next.

“Wait, I have a great idea.”

-

Getting back to the dorms didn’t take long, as Chanyeol opted to speed walk to ‘get there faster.’ He was like a kid on Christmas morning, eager to open the presents that rested under the tree. Except this present wasn’t anything tangible, but simply an activity, one that would be spent with Baekhyun.

The joyful look on Chanyeol’s face gravitated towards Baekhyun, only making him more curious as to what magnificent activity was going to occur that made him so excited.

Walking into the dorm room, with no Junmyeon, luckily, Chanyeol wasted no time to rush over to his closet. After a few seconds of rummaging, he threw a pair of pants at Baekhyun, claiming it was ‘urgent that he put them on,’ which he didn’t oppose.

He slipped them on, finding issues shortly after. If these were Chanyeol’s sweatpants, why the hell would they fit him? “I think we’ve got an issue.”

“Yeah? What’s it?”

“This.” He tugged at the loose fabric, hanging off of his legs. About six inches of it, approximately.

“It’s nothing a little tugging can’t fix! These things have strings for a reason!” He walked over to him, wrapping his hands around his waist, locking fingers with the edges and pulled. And he pulled, and pulled, he really just pulled.

Baekhyun felt every single pull, very profoundly in a certain area.

Chanyeol got technical, tying a tight knot that rested over his belly button, backing up to admire his work. “Wow look at that!” He exclaimed, pausing a moment later, “Actually-”

“I look like a grandma.” Baekhyun pointed out, observing himself through the mirror.

“Your proportions are out of this world! Victoria's secret has nothing on you, legs for days!”

He had to admit, he looked pretty stupid. Deciding to play around, he crouched over and began walking to imitate an older man.

“Grandpa! You put on my pants again!”

“Arrre you sure?” He dragged out his words, faking his best old-person voice.

“Yes!”

The two continued joking around, taking every moment available to turn the joke into a nicely formatted roleplay, only ending when they could barely talk anymore due to laughter. During this, Chanyeol had placed his hand on Baekhyun’s shoulder, to keep from doubling over due to the giggles that escaped from his mouth, forming a sensation in his heart. The entire world was on halt while they shared a moment.

Baekhyun looked at the mirror once more, putting his hand in front of his mouth to avoid more giggles from flowing out, “Why don’t I go and get my own sweatpants?”

“But then we don’t match!” Chanyeol whined, looking back and forth between the blue pants they both had on.

Baekhyun smiled, “Okay, I’ll just trip and fall.”

“No, no! You can get your own, that’s okay!” Chanyeol nodded, motioning over to the door.

“Alright, but I wanted to ask, what are we doing?”

“Well, Byun Baekhyun, we are putting on pants.”

“I meant after that.”

“Oh, we’re going on a run!”

“We” Baekhyun questioned, not prepared at all to engage in physical activity.

“Yes! I figured football may not be your thing, but there are so many other outdoor activities! Like, running!” Chanyeol exclaimed enthusiastically.

Baekhyun almost wished they were playing football again. “I can’t run.”

“Everyone can run! It’s just faster walking. All you have to do is move your body a little faster. Simple, right?”

“Wh-”

Baekhyun’s sentence was cut off by Chanyeol leading them outside, “Let’s go!”

They stopped by his dorm room on the way over to get a pair of pants, and some food and beverages, Baekhyun knew he would need it if he was going to be running. Chanyeol had rushed ahead once they exited the building, making his way over towards the nearest track, the same location they had thrown balls at just a few weeks ago.

“Now, all you have to do is start walking, and then start walking faster, and then take up a jog, then continue from there! Quite simple, if you ask me.” Chanyeol instructed.

“I’ve run before, I’m just not good at it.”

“I figured. Maybe you’ll grasp it better than football!” Chanyeol teased, causing Baekhyun to playfully hit him. “Now, follow me. Try and keep up.” He began sprinting across the track, running a million miles an hour.

Baekhyun’s eyebrows were raised, as he admired the way he was able to sprint across the field before he was able to blink an eye. Deciding against following him for the sake of his lungs, he sat down on a nearby bench. “I think I’ll just watch!” He yelled after Chanyeol, hoping his voice was loud enough to be heard.

“You’re not coming?” Chanyeol yelled back as he expressed a pout, one that Baekhyun had to squint to see.

“You look like an ant.”

“If I’m an ant, then I’m going to come to steal your food.”

“No!” Baekhyun shrieked, shielding his power bar and confirming that it was secure in his pocket.

“Come run with me!” Chanyeol said, already on his way jogging back.

“I’m observing, making sure you’re doing it right. By my calculations, yes! You are! Congratulations.” Baekhyun began to clap.

“Is watching someone run going to get you exercise?” Chanyeol asked, a playful smirk plastered on his face.

“It keeps my eyes active, watching you go back and forth. Maybe even my head, too.”

“What if I said I’d let you look at a textbook if you did a lap?”

“Hey! Homework isn’t a reward!”

Chanyeol raised his eyebrows.

“At least to most people.” Baekhyun corrected, crossing his arms, refusing to move from the bench.

“You don’t want to run with me?” Chanyeol pouted again, this time giving puppy eyes.

“I did quite a bit of exercise walking all the way over here.” He looked up, noticing how far the track was from his dorm, “About a whole two blocks!”

“You’ve left me with no choice,” Chanyeol said, crouching down to meet him at eye level before he felt his body rise from contact with the other. He squeaked at the touch, amazed at how easy it was for him to be picked up. Was Chanyeol really strong, or was he just extremely light?

“Hey!”

“You’re like my bride now.” Chanyeol continued, adjusting his hands so Baekhyun was held with his body in between both hands.

“Bride?” Baekhyun questioned, feeling his body heat up.

“Isn’t this bridal style?”

“Well, yes.”

“I vote we have a race.” Chanyeol changed the subject before he could process, forcing his brain to move on from the conversation.

“A race?” He questioned, mind fuzzy as Chanyeol set him down nicely on the blacktop.

“Yes.”

“For what?”

“Fastest to get to the other side!” Chanyeol stated, already halfway to the destination before he even finished his sentence.

“Hey! That’s cheating!”

“You are correct.”

“I can’t run.” He reminded.

“Do you want me to bring out the football again?”

The memory of him throwing the ball with it landing behind him popped into his brain, making his body want to move on its own, “I’m running!” He began bounding across the field to the quickest of his ability, feeling the air on his face as he opposed the gust of wind. He managed to cross the field much faster than he imagined, though not matching the speed of Chanyeol.

“Hey, not bad.” Chanyeol greeted, welcoming him to the other side of the field.

“Except that was all of my energy.” Baekhyun sighed, throwing himself onto the floor. “I’m winded.”

Chanyeol sat down on the floor next to him, laying his head back onto his hands. “Look at the sky. It’s empty. There’s nothing there. It’s completely clear. There’s nothing to worry about, nothing to think about when you’re under the sky. The only thoughts that pass through your head are the ones at that moment, the ones that only matter during that moment. That’s the beauty of playing outside. I missed it so much, honestly.”

Baekhyun half listened, half wheezed, still trying to regain his breath. He tried to remember the last time he sprinted, or ran in general, cursing himself for letting himself get so out of shape.

“I’m glad I finally have someone to play outside with and to just have fun. I enjoy the outdoors, so much. It gives me a break. Thank you, Baekhyun, for being so enjoyable to be around. It’s a breath of fresh air, literally.” Chanyeol continued, eyes still set on the sky.

Baekhyun didn’t know how to form words to the kind words. Instead, he reached over and gave Chanyeol a small pat on the back, letting his brain reminisce with the words. He enjoyed it too, even if outdoors wasn’t his strong suit. The mood only lightened from the last time they did, and he hoped it would continue to do so for many times to come. If he could enjoy himself, and make Chanyeol happy at the same time, there would be nothing better.

A comfortable silence reminisced in between them for a moment as a breeze flushed over the field. Just two boys, laying in the middle of a field, staring at the empty sky. No thoughts, just enjoying the company of each other. This was it, this was the feeling Baekhyun wanted to feel for the rest of his life.

Chanyeol stood up eventually when it had considerably cooled off, offering his arm out for Baekhyun to take. “Let’s go inside now, it’s getting dark.”

“And bugs.” Baekhyun stuck out his tongue, slapping off a mosquito from his arm.

“And bugs.”

-

“This sounds like a perfect time to go over notes,” Chanyeol stated once they had both showered and changed into comfortable clothes, lounging in Baekhyun’s room. He’d opted to sit on Sehun’s chair while Chanyeol sat on his desk chair, beginning to shuffle through the piles of paper on his desk.

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but no,” Baekhyun responded, not even wanting to think about school work, or anything related to it. He was fine just where he was, having some peace and quiet while Chanyeol was in the room.

Chanyeol nodded, “I agree. That can be an issue for me in the morning.”

“You’re going to bed already?” Baekhyun questioned as he watched the other stand up.

“Not yet, but I figured I’d get comfortable.” He made his way over to the farther side of the room, pointing out a bed with blue sheets. “This one is yours, right?”

“It is, yes, but you’re going to sleep here?” Baekhyun clarified, making sure he understood correctly and wasn’t relying on a fantasy decided in his head.

“Might as well, right? I have to try out your sheets. You got to try mine, I think it’s only fair.” Chanyeol leapt into his bed, beginning to cuddle with one of his favourite pillows.

“Fair.”

“Come here.”

“I am here.”

“No, come here.” Chanyeol pointed to the gap in between the two beds, inviting Baekhyun to follow his instructions.

Before he could process what was happening, he felt his body being tugged forward, feeling the familiar sheets quickly rub over his skin. A pair of arms placed firmly around his waist for the umpteenth time that day, pulling him forward. He struggled a bit, before breathing out and finding himself quite comfortable in his new position on Chanyeol’s lap. “Just don’t tickle me.” He decided, only slightly wishing Chanyeol would follow that instruction.

Seconds later, he was laughing harder than he ever had before. Hands were attacking him at all angles as he furiously attempted to push them away; only to find that they kept coming back stronger than ever, ticking every body part he had to offer. The action continued for quite a while, and Baekhyun found himself out of breath once he was finally released, leaving the two tired.

Chanyeol reached out, throwing his arm over the back of Baekhyun’s head, inviting him to lay down on it. His heart beat faster than he felt it before, almost seconds away from pounding out of his chest. It had to have been loud enough to be heard from the dorm across the hall, possibly even the town next to them. Or Italy.

For those few moments, that touch was all Baekhyun knew. The icy sensation that crept up through his back, combined with the soft pillow of an arm he had, created a heaven-like feeling. He rested his head comfortably, every inhale being consistent with Chanyeol's scent and only that. There was nothing else going on in the world but the two beings who laid on his bed, enveloped in each other. The thought alone made Baekhyun begin to sweat, once it had registered through his brain where he actually was, and who was currently under him.

The silence continued for a few moments, he even found himself drifting to sleep before Chanyeol’s voice startled him awake, “Baekhyun, do you know why I want to be a doctor?”

He stirred for a moment, bringing his attention to the being under him, “Why?”

“I want to save people.”

“Like your dad?” He blurted out, lost in a stance of sleepiness with his brain working without a filter. Realizing immediately, he slipped his hand over his mouth, somehow hoping to slap some sense into himself as well. What the hell had he just said? “I-” He began.

“Yeah,” Chanyeol responded before he had a chance to say anything else. “Quite spot on.”

“I’m sorry.” He said, giving Chanyeol a few pats on the body parts he was able to reach.

“It’s fine. It’s just, that’s my dream now. I don’t know how to explain it, but I just know that’s something I’m meant to do. I have to do well in school so I can become the best I can be.” He continued, returning the few pats.

Baekhyun didn’t respond, not wanting to ruin the sentimental mood. He only huddled closer, placing his hand on Chanyeol’s chest while observing the constant rise and fall.

“I know, it’s sudden, especially since I gave no shits about education before… everything happened. I had a reflection period, and I think I know more about myself and what I want to do with my life, which is to become a doctor.” He paused, only causing Baekhyun to snuggle in closer, “Some people haven’t been making that any easier for me, though.”

He frowned, only imagining what he could be referring to. His hatred toward him grew by the second and it took every muscle in his body to not leap up and give him a piece of his mind. If he wasn’t entangled in Chanyeol, he just might have. “I support you.” He whispered, resting his chin on Chanyole’s stomach, unsure whether or not it was audible.

“Thank you.”

“My dad died, too.” He admitted, letting go of something he’d built up for a while. Though unsure of whether to mention it during this time, he decided to add on. “When I was much younger, though. I barely knew him.”

“I’m sorry.” Chanyeol breathed out.

“I’ve grown to get used to it.” He shrugged slightly, “It’s just been me and my mom for a while now.”

“That’s cool. I mean- not cool that he’s dead, not like that- but it’s... It’s like… I don’t know what I’m trying to say.” He stammered as Baekhyun felt his body tense up.

He began rubbing the areas he could touch, most notably being his belly, which relaxed upon Baekhyun’s touch. “It’s okay. I get what you mean. And, what you’re going through.”

Chanyeol squeezed tighter, pulling Baekhyun’s body closer to him. “Thank you. Really, thank you.”

They laid in that position for moments longer, Baekhyun even found himself dozing off once more until he felt drops of liquid fall onto his face. “Chanyeol?” He looked up to the source, “Are you crying?”

“N-no, It’s just...” His body rattled movements after a sharp exhale, further confirming Baekhyun’s theory.

“You can cry, it’s okay,” he reassured, making sure Chanyeol was aware of that.

They were getting closer by the moment as Chanyeol leaned forward to caress his neck. He continued to let the tears run, even putting a hand in front of his eyes to block anything from falling on Baekhyun. Though, he wouldn’t have minded at all. Baekhyun was glad the light was off so he didn’t have to witness the man in such a state, he wouldn’t be able to take it even more than he was. Already having his own emotions threaten to spill, the inclusion of the sight aspect would send him into a water party of his own.

Seeing- well, hearing- the man in such a state was something he never thought he’d ever experience. This wasn’t the same man he noticed years ago, but somehow, he liked him much better. Baekhyun felt an undeniable connection, a bond, blossoming between the two, an adventure he’d never experienced before, but one he was truly excited for. Those were his last thoughts before drifting into a deep sleep, body engulfed over the man below him.

-

When he awoke next, it wasn’t entirely by choice. Judging by the pitch blackness in the room, it couldn’t have been any later than 5 am, causing Baekhyun to grumble. Because, who the hell was walking into the room that early in the morning? He attempted to turn on the light, but Chanyeol’s arm beat him to it. “Hello?” He called out to whoever had just opened the door.

The second Baekhyun saw the light flicker on, he had to keep himself from blushing. His shirt was almost completely off while his body hung off the bed, only being held up by the arm draped around his waist. At least he was awoken before he had the chance to fall off.

A small hum from across the room reminded Baekhyun that they weren’t alone, causing him to jump out of bed; a new shade of red covering his face as he prayed whoever there wasn’t paying close attention to whos-body-part-was-on-who.

His eyes focused enough to recognize Sehun, which wasn’t a surprise at all. He groaned and rubbed his eyes, suddenly feeling frustrated that his moment was interrupted by a roommate who had zero time-management skills and even less social awareness. “Did you have to come back so late?” Baekhyun questioned, voice coming out harsher than he expected. For someone so tired, it certainly didn’t take him long to regain himself enough to call him out.

Sehun didn’t answer, only began to walk in the room slowly, tripping over his own feet just steps in. Baekhyun looked at him with puzzlement, glancing over at Chanyeol to hopefully find answers, but only found him continuing to doze off.

“Sehun?” Baekhyun asked, walking closer to him, noticing more closely that his movements seemed off. “Are you okay?” He asked again, watching Sehun linger for a few seconds. He appeared dazed; as if he had no idea where he was or what was happening. Every step looked like a struggle, as he reached out to the wall for support.

Baekhyun hadn’t quite processed what was going on, due to still being hazy after just waking up, but the second he watched and hear Sehun’s body crush onto the floor, he became fully awake.

Chanyeol seemed to do the same, almost leaping out of his bed at the sound of the impact, being beside Sehun in just seconds. Showing little, if not any, signs of having just woken up. “Sehun, Sehun!” Baekhyun heard him shout, voice stern, but controlled. “Are you okay?” Chanyeol repeated the same question, placing Sehun’s head and body onto its side while furiously shuffling, “Baekhyun, call 999.”

It was the first movement he made ever since he watched him… fall, so lifelessly. He typed the numbers after a few missed tries due to his palms becoming increasingly more sweaty by the second. His breath also hitched in his throat, causing his breathing to become inconsistent.

“It’s alcohol poisoning, it has to be. The stench is everywhere. This stupid fuck! What the hell was he thinking!” Chanyeol ranted out loud, words sounding harsh but his hands ever so delicately laced around Sehun’s head and shoulders. The latter let out a slight moan, only adding more scents into the room.

As Baekhyun talked to the receiver, he didn’t take his eyes off of Sehun, even for a moment. He explained what happened and gave all the information needed, not missing how shaky his voice sounded out loud. He had to sit down on the floor, knees shaking, almost buckling under the stress. “Is he conscious?” He asked though it came out as more of a whisper.

Seconds after, Sehun groaned, shifting his body in order to drop a pile of vomit right onto Baekhyun’s pants.

“I think that’s our answer,” Chanyeol commented, working to stabilize him in the new position his body had moved to. “But he’s not exactly responsive, he’s extremely disoriented. This isn’t good.”

Baekhyun nodded, though he was sure he already knew this information. Hell, he’d done many walkthroughs of situations like this one before, yet he still froze in the moment, letting his emotions take over. He knew he shouldn’t have been thinking about himself during this situation, but the thoughts crept in anyways. Fear overwhelmed him, worry for the body who lay sprawled out across the floor. He didn’t even want to change his puke stained shirt, not wanting to leave the side of his roommate, in case anything else unexpected happened.

To say that he was thankful Chanyeol was there would be an understatement. What the hell would he have done if he was here alone? Curl up into a ball and sulk, while someone was in dire need right in front of him? The idea of someone's life in his hands was insane; something a doctor should know how to handle, right? He put his hand on his chest, attempting to keep his breathing level down, having difficulty reminding himself that this was real life. This was no simulation, not a test about what to do, this was real life.

And Chanyeol handled it perfectly, considerably better than he did. He reacted quickly and knew exactly what to do to prevent the situation from progressing. He was even holding onto Sehun’s hand while monitoring his every movement. Everything he did was performed so calmly, like he was meant to be in that situation, to be the one to take care of people. Baekhyun admired it.

Compared to the hot mess Baekhyun was, Chanyeol took the lead. He even had to lean his body against the bed to prevent his body from falling over. He was scared, he’d never been this scared in his whole life. The situation itself was a terrifying one, but even more that it was his roommate; the person he’d been living with for the past few months. This wasn’t now the night was supposed to continue, not at all.

The second the paramedics came, he felt relief wash over him as he let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. Everything happened so quickly, and before he knew it, it was just him and Chanyeol standing in the room; left with the remains of what just occurred. He even realized his face was stained with a few tears, still in a state of disbelief, debating if what he just witnessed was real. The throw-up stain on his shirt left as the only solid evidence that hadn’t just been hallucinating the whole time.

“Holy shit,” Chanyeol spoke, averting Baekhyun’s attention up to him. His voice sounded rough, husky; matching his rugged appearance. “I don’t know what just happened.”

Baekhyun covered his mouth in an attempt to drown out the possible sobs that begged to come through. His second time crying within 12 hours, for two completely different reasons. That had to be a new record for him.

Chanyeol moved closer to him, squatting down to meet him at eye level. “Baekhyun, it’s okay. There’s nothing else we can do about it now.”

“But… Sehun-” He stuttered, forcing the words to come out, though he didn’t know what he was trying to say.

“There’s nothing you could have done differently, none of it was your fault,” Chanyeol reassured, seeming to read Baekhyun’s thoughts.

He didn’t know how to respond, only leaned forward to wrap his arms around the body in front of him, needing that physical touch as reassurance. Chanyeol returned the hug, pulling him in even tighter. “Why didn’t I do anything to help him…” He whispered, wondering if he was made out to be a doctor after all.

“You did well, you were first to react and notice something was off, while I snoozed. That’s a very important skill, awareness.” He continued, tapping his back.

“But, I didn’t do anything!” Baekhyun continued to whine, realizing how different things could have happened if he was alone like he was any other night.

“You called the receiver, didn’t you? That’s the most important thing you could have done. How about you go shower and clean yourself off, maybe you’ll feel better after that.” Chanyeol’s voice was like honey to his ears, the bandaid to cover up the cut that made everything better.

Baekhyun took the advice and did indeed feel much better once he was clean and left without vomit staining his clothes. He decided to toss the old pair of clothes, deciding they were no longer of importance to him. Washing them would have been the cherry on top to his shit-day-sundae.

Chanyeol was still there when he got out, though he wasn’t surprised by that. Chanyeol seemed eager to resume, considering he was already laying in Baekhyun’s bed with a nice spot in the centre of his body left open; perfectly able to fit a certain smaller man. “Let’s go back to bed for now. We can see how things are going in the morning. He’s in safe hands now.”

That was the only thing Baekhyun needed to hear before he jumped back in bed, shifting around until he was just as comfortable as he was the first time. The events from the night stayed on his brain throughout the night, but the comforting hand on his stomach was able to diffuse the thoughts, enough to allow him to fall asleep that night.

-

Baekhyun trudged behind Chanyeol, keeping himself as lowkey as he would while they entered through the doors of the hospital. By now, it appeared everyone on campus knew about the alcohol overdose of Oh Sehun. Barely even ten hours after it happened; the news had spread like wildfire. Apparently, if you’re brought to the hospital on campus, every single person within a mile radius will know about it!

He struggled to keep his composure throughout those ten hours that had passed, but Chanyeol was always right there for him. He served as the one leading him through, which made sense considering he’d been clinging to him like a leech all morning; only feeling comfort when he was with him. In case anything else did happen, he felt safe knowing Chanyeol was right there for him.

Chanyeol was a good person.

They were told that Sehun wasn’t awake yet, but he was stable. Which was good news. He was at least alive, and already on the road to recovery, which sent a wave of relief over him. The hardest part was over, everything that happened after was just a waiting game. If things had gone differently, they might have not had the same result. Chanyeol patted his back when the news was announced to them.

“Thank you, doctor,” Chanyeol replied with a respectful bow.

“We’ve also alerted his emergency contact.” The doctor continued, observing a clipboard.

“Thank you.” The taller man repeated, bowing once more as the doctor walked away.

Shuffling was heard behind them, and they were met with a familiar face. This time, the roles were reversed, and Jongin was the one crying, “Is he okay? Do you think he’ll be okay? Is he alive” He asked frantically, voice accelerating after every word.

“I think he’s going to be okay,” Chanyeol reassured.

“You think?”

“There’s no way to know for sure… I’m sorry. But he’s stable.”

Jongin began crying more, throwing his hands onto his face. “I’m so stupid! I should have said something to him! I shouldn’t have just let him stay with Junmyeon, I should have known he wasn’t going to be in a good mood! I should have known! If I weren’t-”

“He was with Junmyeon?” Chanyeol cut him off, seeming confused; like he was processing the information.

Jongin nodded, “Of course he was. He wouldn’t do this on his own. He even texted me, saying he was going to be with Junmyeon for a while. I think he wanted me to go with him, but I didn’t! What if I’d gone? I could have prevented this!”

“Jongin, it’s okay. It’s not your fault. Sehun is his own person, he’s responsible for his own actions.” Chanyeol paused, “Well, most of them at least.”

“I know how Junmyeon gets. Once you start drinking, he usually doesn’t let you stop.”

Chanyeol crossed his arms, “What do you mean?”

Jongin continued to cry, stuttering on his words. “He-he’s so harsh, he wants to feel superior for some reason and the way he does that is by forcing people to do what he wants…”

The shuttering body in front of him was enough to put Baekhyun in yet another state of sorrow. He took pity on the boy, how knowing the intimate relationship the two had. He couldn’t imagine what he’d do if something ended up happening to Chanyeol, especially in that way, he’d be even more of a mess.

“Do you know where Junmyeon is right now?” Chanyeol asked, giving Jongin a few shoulder rubs.

“I’m not sure, I haven’t seen him since yesterday. Shouldn’t he be here though? He should! If he had any awareness of the state Sehun was in last night.” Jongin said, pausing to wipe his eyes. “Why did he let that happen!”

“That’s what we’re going to find out.”

-

“He should be in the dorm if he hasn’t already gone into hiding. I don’t know where he’d go if he intended to escape the situation, but I don’t think he’ll have gotten that far yet.” Chanyeol stated as they hustled across campus, Baekhyun having to speed walk to keep up with the long legs.

“I don’t know where else he’d go to escape it besides the dorm. Everywhere I go, people are talking about it.” Baekhyun replied, attempting to brainstorm other possibilities of where the man could be. He doubted he would have gone far, considering it wasn’t long into the day, but there was no being sure with that man.

Chanyeol didn’t even bother with knocking on the door when they arrived, he shoved the key in and opened the door in record time. To no surprise, they found Junmyeon, sitting at his desk like it was just a normal day. Chanyeol pushed into the room, making a few strides over to Junmyeon, grabbing onto his collar and hoisting him up from the chair.

“Hey, what the hell is wrong with you?” Junmyeon yelled, already trying to push Chanyeol’s hands off of him.

Baekhyun felt satisfaction when he heard the audible thump of Junmyeon being slammed into the wall, it sounded like music to his ears. Watching him squirm, attempting to be set free from the harsh grip held on him, was a satisfying sight to see.

“Me? What the hell is wrong with you? What the hell happened last night, how did you let him get that drunk?” Chanyeol yelled, voice booming through the room.

“Sehun? What the hell are you talking about, he’s fine. Nothing will last, stop being so dramatic!”

“He is not fine, Sehun could have died on the floor of his own dorm last night - not even eight hours ago - and you’re telling me it’s fine?”

Junmyeon scoffed, throwing a few more attempts to break free, before ultimately giving up again and returning to his stance, “He wouldn't have died.”

“Junmyeon, he’s in the hospital right now, unconscious. What the hell do you think that means! He’s not sleeping!”

“But he’s not dead, which is what you’re trying to make it out to be like.”

Chanyeol paused, shaking his head in disbelief. Baekhyun could feel the frustration; the two probably having extremely similar thoughts. He couldn’t fathom any human speaking words so heartlessly, especially about someone who was considered their friend, someone who you’ve known for so long. It just didn’t register in his brain as a plausible emotion, one where you could so simply discard the health of someone else close to you.

He never thought he’d be in the situation, yet he somehow wasn’t surprised by it circling Junmyeon. The tension in the room kept building, leaving Baekhyun unable to stop himself from butting in. from saying something that was on his mind, “You’re missing the point-” He began.

“Oh shut up, Byun. Like you know anything.” Junmyeon scoffed, responding before he even had the chance to continue.

“I do, I was there, watching my roommate collapse and fight for his life; right on my own floor! Almost directly after he hung out with you.” Baekhyun continued, speaking louder.

“So?” Junmyeon stated simply.

“So? What do you mean by ‘so’? Are you fucking crazy? Do you really not care about him, at all?” Chanyeol asked.

“Get off of me, psycho.” Junmyeon pushed him backwards again. Chanyeol let go of his grip but didn’t allow him to move much further away from the wall.

“No.”

“You really need to figure your life out some more, you’re always over-exaggerating about stupid shit!”

“Junmyeon, this isn’t about me. This is about you allowing, or even forcing, someone to drink much more than a body can take.”

“I didn’t tell him to do anything!”

“Did you try and stop him? And, what about you? You don’t seem like you were drunk at all.”

“You can’t tell that just by looking at me.” Junmyeon defended, furrowing his eyebrows.

“I think it’s safe to assume, so tell me, why? Why didn’t you do something about it? Why didn’t you try to stop him?

“How do you know I was even there?”

Chanyeol paused, voice dropping to a level Baekhyun had never heard before. “I know you were there.” He’d never seen him in this state before, as angry as he was. The chilling voice change sent shivers throughout his spine.

Junmyeon was quick to change the topic, seeming like he ignored the words Chanyeol just spoke. “All these months, even from the very beginning, you’ve always found a way to make your issues about me.”

Baekhyun covered his mouth in an attempt to not butt in again. There were so many things on his mind, words he wanted to fire back, insults he wanted to throw, but he held himself together. Whatever was being discussed, due to the topic change, was between the two men in front of him. Junmyeon brought up past topics, making this no longer about Sehun, but more personal issues and Baekhyun hated him for that.

“My issues? Are you fucking serious? As far as I’m concerned, every single thing leading up to this point has been your fault.”

“Has it?”

“Yes, would you like me to elaborate?”

“Not at all, you’ll only find a way to make it about yourself.” Junmyeon crossed his arms.

“You’re the one who brought our past issues into this, do you not realize that? This discussion was about Sehun!” Chanyeol shouted, voice gradually rising as he stepped closer and closer to where he had Junmyeon pushed against the wall.

Baekhyun only stood from a distance, watching the scene of the two unfold right in front of his eyes. He could feel the frustration with talking to him, though he wasn’t the one engaging in the conversation. He only hoped this would be over soon, as things only seemed to be progressing for the worse.

“Maybe it’s time to face it,” Junmyeon stated, voice clear of emotion.

“Face it?” Chanyeol let out a laugh in disbelief. “Face what? The fact that you’re a heartless bitch who causes issues on purpose? For what, what reason, what good reason do you have for that? What the hell happened to you?”

“What happened to you? Ten years of friendship, and all of a sudden you ghost me. For who knows how long, have you ever thought about that?” Junmyeon responded, emotion more present in his voice.

Chanyeol matched the calmer tone, bringing his voice down to a normal speaking level. “Is that your reason for being out to get me? Because I needed some time to myself? Because I didn’t have the time nor mental space to spend every living second with you, wasting my life away?”

“You obviously had better things to do, Jongin too! What about me? How do you think I felt?”

“Don’t look for pity, you’re a sick being,” Chanyeol muttered, already turning away. “Obviously this isn’t working, it’s difficult to converse with someone like you.”

“Chanyeol, I just want you to think about how I feel,” Junmyeon stated once more.

“How you feel?” Baekhyun added in before he could even realize what he was doing, bringing the volume in the room up once more. “How about how everyone else fucking feels?” He didn’t miss the wide eyes he was receiving from the two. “The way you treated me, what did I do to deserve that? Locking me out of my own room, attempting to give me alcohol when you knew I didn’t want any, harassing me at any given moment, what was the reason for that?”

“What? He did all that?” Chanyeol asked, caught off guard.

“Well, that was because…” Junmyeon’s voice trailed off as a blank expression came across his face.

“Because what?” He questioned once more.

Junmyeon didn’t respond, only crossed his arms and set a scowl on his face while Chanyeol turned away from him, focusing on Baekhyun. “He did all that shit to you? Why didn’t you tell me?”

Baekhyun sighed, hearing the question he’d been dreading since the very beginning. He only shrugged, not even having an answer for it. At first, he built up emotions out of embarrassment that he could let something so stupid happen to him, to affect him, but the more time progressed on, he just didn’t want to make Chanyeol worry. Though, releasing everything that had built up over the past few months felt good, even if he would have to deal with the concern and questions.

“Baekhyun, I-” Junmyeon began.

“You, don’t talk to him.” Chanyeol cut him off. “Think about the reason we’re even here in the first place. Do you think you have any right to blame anything that’s happened on anyone else but yourself? Think about it, really, reflect on it.”

Junmyeon only frowned, “I don’t need you to tell me what to do.”

“But, I am. I’m telling you to think about how you’re involved in a serious medical case concerning someone who trusted you. In fact, the only person who cared to be around you.” Chanyeol added, voice cunning through the air.

The few seconds of silence didn’t last long as Baekhyun moved forward to tug on Chanyeol’s arm, pulling him in the direction of the door. “I think we should leave.”

Chanyeol nodded, sending one last glare at the boy standing on the wall, observing the floor, before walking out with Baekhyun, fingers entangled.

-

“Sehun’s parents, they said they were on their way,” Chanyeol said, handing a can of root beer to Baekhyun as he took a seat beside him on the curb.

He nodded, taking a few sips while observing the world around them. The streets were busy, active, cars zoomed past every second while people played and enjoyed the sun. People who were most likely living a much simpler life at that moment, filled with simpler thoughts. He wished to join them soon. In a world where he could enjoy his time, spending it in new ways with people he cared about. He desired for that.

“Baekhyun?” Chanyeol began.

“Yeah?”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“About what?”

“About everything that man did to you.”

Baekhyun sighed, knowing this conversation was coming. “I was embarrassed.” He stated simply, letting his head hang.

“You don’t have to feel embarrassed about something like that, Baekhyun,” Chanyeol said with a calming voice, putting a hand on his shoulder. “It happens to the best of us. Hell, he even flushed my retainer down the toilet.”

Baekhyun perked up, “Actually, I think I remember that.”

“That fucker. Those are expensive!” Chanyeol let out a small laugh before pausing, scratching his neck, “did you not want to tell me because you didn’t want to make me feel bad?”

Baekhyun sheepishly nodded. “You said to tell you, but I couldn’t do that to you. I was worried you’d…” He stopped talking, unsure if he wanted to mention that part.

“I’d what?”

“Think it wasn’t worth hanging out with me after that. If I caused you so much trouble… I don’t know, really.”

“I see what you’re saying, but, I deflect it. I, for one, think you’re very enjoyable to be around, and I enjoy hanging out with you. For you, nothing else.”

“Really?” Baekhyun questioned, feeling the happiness in his body rise.

“Yeah, if anything I’m the one who should feel bad for getting you involved in all of this. I mean, in a way, it’s kinda all my fault.”

Baekhyun shook his head. “Not at all! I didn’t know what I was getting myself into, requesting Sehun to be my roommate and trying to get closer to you.” He stated, pausing only moments later, widening his eyes, realizing what he just revealed. Damn, what the hell?

Chanyeol reacted by wrapping his arms around him, pulling him in for a hug. “I’m glad you think I’m worth it.”

Baekhyun felt the sparks shiver through his body, surprised by the fact that he hadn’t shit himself yet. The touch felt so electric, giving him a sense of comfort and safety, something he’d been looking for for a while. He returned the embrace, gripping onto the back of Chanyeol’s shirt, unable to stop himself. He just wanted to hold him so badly, eager for more body contact with the other.

“My level of coolness is kinda hard to beat.” Chanyeol continued, whispering into Baekhyun’s ear.

“You wish.” Baekhyun teased, smiling harder at the small pout that formed on the other's face.

He pulled away moment’s later, Baekhyun not missing the small tint of pink that appeared on his face as he coughed, diverting his attention away to the near distance. “I’m sorry you had to see everything back there, it got pretty messy. I feel like it would have gone worse if I didn’t have you there observing me.”

“I’m glad I was able to contribute something, at least.” He muttered.

“I think you spoke well, you shut him up. Once and for all, I hope.”

“I guess we’ll see.” He stated, taking another sip.

The two shared another moment of comfortable silence, allowing them to both take time to enjoy each other's company. The use of words wasn’t necessary, he could tell by the smile creeping up on Chanyeol’s face that he enjoyed being there too. His life was still spinning off the rails, but spending these few moments with the company of the other man was all he needed to feel okay. Words couldn’t describe the feelings he held inside for him, one day, he’d let them out once and for all. One day he’d break free, and come to terms with himself. He loved Park Chanyeol. That was a fact.

“Do you want to go see Sehun again tonight? Or do you want to do something else?” Chanyeol asked, breaking the silence.

“Whatever you want.” Baekhyun shrugged. I just want to be with you.

“We can go back if that’s okay with you?”

“Yeah, that’s fine.”

Chanyeol offered him a smile, turning back to look at the street in front of them.

“Actually, there’s been something I’ve been meaning to say.” Baekhyun continued, immediately feeling himself heat up.

“Yeah? What’s it?”

“I think you’ll be a great doctor. Don’t worry about what anyone else says, they don’t know what they’re talking about. If anyone in this world would succeed at being a doctor, it would be you.” He blurted out, releasing the thoughts, though unsure of how far he’d get. “You’re such a great person, someone who genuinely cares for people and knows how to make people comfortable. Those are important qualities, and you have them all. You also have the professionalism and time management, as well as the ability to sense an issue and act on it.” Baekhyun stated, letting the words flow out. Once he started, he wasn’t able to stop. Thoughts, good thoughts, about Chanyeol had built up in his brain ever since he got to know him, and he couldn’t resist not letting the man know.

Chanyeol stayed silent for a moment, only looking out into the distance. It lasted long enough that Baekhyun considered that he might not have heard him, and urged himself to repeat his words.

“Baekhyun?” He said after a moments passing.

“Yes?” He eagerly answered.

“I think I’ve fallen in love with you.”

-

<3