CHINGUX 2014: tell me if this is love (2/5) for coeurdelupine
← PART 2
Studying in the library with Baekhyun and Jongdae is always a bad idea. Or, well, being with the two of them in the library or any other place where people are supposed to be quiet, that is.
The old librarian always scolds them or kicks them out because Baekhyun and Jongdae are insufferable idiots who can’t keep their mouths shut for longer than two seconds and they always get into trouble, dragging Kyungsoo along with them as well. Just like they're doing right now.
The library is packed with students hunched over their books, using up the last day of the weekend to get all the work done before more assignments pile up. Kyungsoo hates Sundays, mostly because all of the good tables in the library are already taken by the time he drags himself downstairs.
“Hey ‘Soo,” Baekhyun speaks up while Kyungsoo is in the middle of doing his Mandarin homework. He flips the page of his notebook loudly and ignores Baekhyun, who doesn’t stop whispering his name until he gets bored of it and kicks Kyungsoo’s shin under the table, trying to get his attention. Kyungsoo yelps, reaching down to rub at the abused spot and sends Baekhyun the deathliest glare he could manage as the said leans back in his chair, looking all smug and full of himself. Asshole.
“What do you want?” Kyungsoo spits out, throwing Baekhyun one last look before he goes back to his homework.
“Would you date any of us?” Baekhyun asks and Jongdae snickers behind his hand, looking curiously at Kyungsoo. “Have you ever thought about what that would be like?”
“I’d date Chanyeol. Maybe Baekhyun, too.” Jongdae speaks up for the first time and slings an arm around Baekhyun’s waist to pull him closer, nuzzling his face into Baekhyun’s neck. Ugh, it's too early in the morning for him to see his friends get all mushy and cuddly and gross. Maybe it's not too late to find another spot.
“I wouldn’t date him, though,” Baekhyun points at Kyungsoo with his thumb and rests his chin on top of Jongdae’s head, frowning. “He’s mean.”
Kyungsoo narrows his eyes, looking at dumb and dumber in front of him and leans in over the table to knock their heads together like coconuts. “Are you idiots high again?”
Both Jongdae and Baekhyun yelp in unison, wincing as they rub their heads and Kyungsoo smiles, feeling satisfied that he managed to get them to shut up, even though if it will last only for a few seconds.
“I wouldn’t date him either. You were right, he is mean.” Jongdae pouts and slumps back into his chair, still rubbing at the sore spot on his head.
“Where did this even come from?” Kyungsoo asks, tapping his pen against his notebook rapidly. "I thought we weren't supposed to get carried away and all that crap; hell, we weren't allowed to kiss each other up until a few months ago. And now this?"
“I don’t know. I was just curious.” Baekhyun shrugs, resting his chin on an open palm. “So you wouldn’t date any of us? Not even Chanyeol?”
“What is that supposed to mean?” Kyungsoo is even more confused now. Not even Chanyeol? He wouldn’t date his friends because they’re-well, his friends. Bets and deals aside, there aren’t any feelings involved, just like they agreed at the beginning. “Not even Chanyeol,” he echoes, mimicking Baekhyun, and the said stiffens visibly for a split second before he goes back to his usual self.
“Well, it’s just that you guys are really close, y’know?” Jongdae clears his throat and pipes in. Baekhyun simply nods in agreement. “Sometimes it looks like you two are already a couple, that’s all.”
Kyungsoo sighs exasperatedly and shakes his head. “He’s just my friend, it would be weird. Don’t be silly.”
“Dude, you’ve already sucked each other’s dicks, why would it be weird?” Baekhyun practically yells and before Kyungsoo has a chance to reply-or pack all of his belongings neatly back into his backpack, for that matter-the three of them are being kicked out of the library, the old librarian hissing at them as she escorts them out of the door, holding Baekhyun by the ear the whole time.
They get banned from the library for a week and Baekhyun keeps mussing about how he practically owns half of it since his parents always renovate it whenever their son gets into a lot of troublr, and how “It’s not fair!”, but it only makes her tug on his ear even harder.
“But think about it,” Baekhyun starts again minutes later as they drag themselves up the stairs to their rooms, “you and Chanyeol. You guys would be good together.”
Kyungsoo stops mid-step to turn back and stare at Baekhyun. It makes Jongdae stumble backwards a bit, clutching onto the handrail for support. “Baekhyun, why are you even talking about this? Chanyeol and I are just friends, there’s nothing more to it.”
“But just think about it, ‘Soo,” Baekhyun repeats again, “half of the people in this school already think you guys are dating. You are almost always together and you never let anyone else touch you as much as Chanyeol does. I’m just sayin’.” Baekhyun shrugs and walks past Kyungsoo, Jongdae following suit.
“Baekhyun, please, would you just let it go? We aren’t dating and we will never date. I don’t care what everyone else thinks, it is not gonna happen.” Kyungsoo says loudly, firmly, suddenly feeling very irritated by this whole conversation.
“Fine!” Baekhyun snaps at him and Jongdae looks surprised at his sudden outburst. “We’ll be in my room. Feel free to come over when you’re done with your homework or when you finally open up your eyes, or whatever, I don’t care. Ugh! Come on Jongdae, let’s go!” Baekhyun huffs, grabbing Jongdae by his elbow before he storms over to his room, a confused Jongdae waddling behind.
Kyungsoo is left standing on his own in the middle of the stairwell, confused and annoyed.
He’s never really thought about dating Chanyeol.
Chanyeol speaks with his mouth full and is obnoxiously loud and has the tendency to hit someone or something when he’s laughing really hard. He’s sloppy and very clumsy, has no boundaries when it comes to personal space and often tries to push Kyungsoo’s buttons, bothering him constantly because “You look cute when you are pissed off.” Ugh, Kyungsoo couldn’t possibly date him. He has a type, after all.
Well, it’s not really a type; he’s mostly into guys that are taller than him, with nice thick arms and a pretty smile, and while Chanyeol manages to fit into only one of those categories-all thanks to the miracles of puberty-he’s still really lanky and scrawny. Sure, his smile is kind of pretty too, when his mouth isn’t stuffed with food, but one of his eyes gets smaller than the other when he smiles really wide and he looks like a serial killer.
He’s gotten even taller and kind of handsome too, in these past few months, and his voice has dropped a few octaves that always makes Kyungsoo’s hair stand on end whenever he leans in to whisper something in his ear during class.
But it’s Chanyeol; his best friend since he was thirteen, someone that managed to pull him out of his shell and taught him how to feel comfortable in his own skin, how to socialize and make some new friends.
Chanyeol had been by his side every time he had an argument with his father and he always tried to cheer him up by making a fool out of himself. That hasn’t changed though. He’s still here for Kyungsoo, whether it is to help him with his science homework (the only subject Kyungsoo isn't very good at) or to pick him up and help him relax after he’s had a rather exhausting day.
He can’t throw all of that away just because there’s a slight possibility the two of them would make a good couple. What if they really start going out-not that Kyungsoo even considers this, thank you very much-and it’s good for a while, only to realize they've worked better as friends? They’d start being awkward around each other and eventually drift apart completely, and the mere thought of it makes Kyungsoo feel sick to his stomach.
Okay, yes-they’ve kissed each other a few times and they’ve seen each other naked, and even sucked each other’s dicks as Baekhyun had said earlier, but that’s all just something the four of them do for fun. He’s sucked Jongdae’s dick too and vice versa, but that doesn’t mean anything. It’s just a simple, casual thing they’ve got going on. Kyungsoo sometimes lets Baekhyun cuddle with him on the couch in the common room while they watch TV, but that doesn’t mean that they like, like each other, or that they are or should be dating.
The kiss from a few nights ago was really something special and Kyungsoo would be lying if he said he hasn't thought about it, or felt a small tingle crawl down his spine everytime he closed his eyes and saw the way Chanyeol looked at him. It's like the image is tattooed to the back of his eyelids and he can't get rid of it no matter how much he tries to clear his mind, or preoccupy himself with studying.
Maybe there is something more to it, to that moment they shared that night, and maybe, they would really make it work, but he doesn’t want to risk losing his most comfortable friend because of it. And besides; it’s not like Chanyeol is interested into him like that. That would be ridiculous.
They've started this whole thing a long time ago and it has never gotten into the way of their friendship before, so why should things start changing now?
✩
“Hey, wanna watch a movie tonight?” Kyungsoo asks Chanyeol the next day as they pack their bags after their science lesson is over. Chanyeol didn't join them for breakfast and came straight to class, not texting Kyungsoo to whine and complain about how bored or tired he is. “Jongin said he would pull an all-nighter at the dance studio again, so you are welcome to drop by whenever you want.”
“I-Uh, can’t. Sorry.” Chanyeol coughs awkwardly, keeping his head hung low as he closes the zipper of his bag. “I have to work on my homework for tomorrow.”
Chanyeol starts walking towards the door without waiting for Kyungsoo to be finished packing up like he always does and Kyungsoo quickly shoves the rest of his stuff inside his backpack so he could catch up with his best friend.
“Oh,” he says dumbly, slinging his backpack over his shoulder and follows Chanyeol out of the door and into the crowded hallway. A girl bumps into him accidentally as she rushes over to her next class, but he ignores her, along with the quick apology she throws at him over her shoulder. “Well. Wanna go to the library, then? I need to catch up with my English readings, anyway.”
“No. It’s fine,” Chanyeol smiles briefly and waves him off. He seems like he’s in a hurry to go away and Kyungsoo takes the hint, smiling stiffly instead of bothering him any further. “We’ll do it some other time,” Chanyeol says quickly and gives Kyungsoo half a wave before spinning around on his heels to hurry off to god knows where.
Well, that’s kind of strange, but Kyungsoo has to make a presentation in front of the student council board in less than five minutes, so he doesn’t think too much about Chanyeol and his strange behavior; he’s got other, more important things to worry about right now.
✩
The next day, Kyungsoo asks Chanyeol if he wants to go play pool in the game room after dinner and Chanyeol says, “I can’t. I have detention, remember?”
Shit. He almost forgot about detention.
"Later, then?" Kyungsoo asks and Chanyeol nods.
"I'll text you later. If I'm not too tired."
Kyungsoo spends the rest of the afternoon helping the drama club arrange the props on the stage for their rehearsal, careful not to break anything.
Chanyeol doesn't text him that night.
✩
On Thursday, Kyungsoo asks Chanyeol if he wants to go swimming or just lay around by the pool and Chanyeol says, “I can’t. I have basketball practice” and leaves before Kyungsoo can remind him that it’s Thursday and that his basketball practices are always on Mondays and Wednesday, and sometimes during the weekend.
Kyungsoo knows Chanyeol’s timetable perfectly and knows that the captain of the team-which also happens to be Chanyeol’s roommate-never makes them practice during Thursdays, not even before a big match that’s happening the same weekend. Something about his drama club activities, or whatever.
The problem with spending all of your free time with someone, is that after a while you learn to recognize all of the microexpressions they make, the tone of their voice when they speak for what it really is and easily pinpoint the lies they tell you. You know their every mole and every freckle, the stories behind each scar on their body and how they feel underneath your fingertips.
The problem with being as close to someone as Kyungsoo is to Chanyeol, is that Kyungsoo can read Chanyeol like an open book (always has) and Chanyeol can do the same too.
There was a time, back when Kyungsoo just started getting close to Chanyeol, when he felt terrified at the thought of someone figuring him out, because at the age of thirteen Kyungsoo barely knew himself. He's never been the nicest of people-but not bad either-and he used to be very careless with his words, sometimes a bit too harsh and a tad too honest.
Chanyeol managed to figure him out almost immediately and it scared Kyungsoo a lot, thinking Chanyeol would run away. So Kyungsoo tried to distance himself to make the inevitable drifting apart easier to deal with for when it would finally happen; though back then Kyungsoo would never admit out loud that he would miss Park Chanyeol and his bright teeth.
But Chanyeol didn't run away-much to Kyungsoo's surprise-and stuck by his side.
The problem (in this case) with being so close to Chanyeol is that Kyungsoo knows when Chanyeol’s smiles are fake and when they’re not, and he can easily recognize when Chanyeol is lying to him. And that’s what Chanyeol has been doing for the past week or so-lie to him and make up excuses so he wouldn't spend time with him and Kyungsoo can’t understand why.
The more he thinks about it, the more he realizes that he's barely seen Chanyeol all week, or talked to him for that matter; nothing more than the necessary during class or breakfast. He thinks back at the things he said or did to his best friend during these past few weeks and the only thing that comes to mind-the only not so usual thing that happened between them-is the night of the Welcome Freshmen party. Or, well, the kiss they had that night, to be more specific.
Before Kyungsoo got involved in the bets (the more serious ones) Baekhyun sat him down and explained to him that everything is allowed, except kissing. Something about it being too intimate and how it could make them develop feelings for each other-ones they were trying to avoid if they wanted to keep the whole thing casual-and Kyungsoo shrugged indifferently, going along with it.
That was probably the only rule back then, which with time went from being forbidden to who cares, as long as you don’t make it personal. And maybe that’s what happened; maybe the kiss freaked Chanyeol out, because it was too intimate and nothing like all of the kisses they’ve shared so far.
Maybe Chanyeol thinks Kyungsoo just got the wrong idea and thought Chanyeol likes him more than just a friend-which he doesn’t!-and is trying to figure out ways to approach the situation. Or maybe it's the other way around, but it's kind of the same problem. Kyungsoo sees the way Chanyeol looks at him during algebra or while they’re eating together, like he wants to say something to him, but for some reason, he can’t.
But since Kyungsoo still sees Chanyeol only as a friend, that should mean things would go back to normal as soon as they straighten things out, right? That shouldn’t be so hard-or well wouldn’t, since Chanyeol keeps avoiding him and keeps his distance during the day which makes the confrontation even more complicated.
Kyungsoo misses the warmth of Chanyeol’s leg brushing up against his under their shared desk or the heaviness of his arm slung around his shoulders as they walk down the hallways together, the sound of Chanyeol's loud laughter clear as a bell as it echoes around the music room. It’s only been a week or so and Kyungsoo is being kind of ridiculous right now, thinking about all the small, simple things he used to share with Chanyeol, or how much he misses seeing his good morning :D messages first thing in the morning. Maybe he's just being paranoid, but he has a weird feeling that there's more to this than it seems.
That’s it. He’s going to talk to Chanyeol as soon as possible and make sure there aren’t any misunderstandings between them.
✩
There isn't any progress the next week either and Chanyeol keeps shrugging off Kyungsoo’s invitations to hang out, or go out together during the weekend.
“I can’t, I have to study” or “I can’t, I already made plans to meet up with Yura” is all Chanyeol has to say lately, and Kyungsoo is starting to feel worried.
Chanyeol is acting really strange-stranger than he usually does, and Kyungsoo keeps thinking about the way Chanyeol smiled stiffly at him earlier and denied yet another one of his suggestions to spend some time together at the music room. He even flinched the other day when Kyungsoo reached out to fix his tie like he always does and Kyungsoo pulled away as soon as he was done.
“Basketball practice,” Chanyeol said later that day and almost tripped over his own feet on his way down the stairs, in a hurry to be someplace else again.
Kyungsoo was left standing there with his books in his hands, confused and slightly irritated because Chanyeol lied to him, for like, the tenth time in the past two weeks. He hasn't even texted him and it's starting to drive Kyungsoo crazy.
As the days go by and Chanyeol keeps ignoring him (more or less), Kyungsoo realizes how their roles have switched. Usually, Chanyeol would be the one to text Kyungsoo first, or make plans for them and bother Kyungsoo until he caves in and simply goes along with it.
Now, Kyungsoo is the one that has to grab Chanyeol by the elbow so he would catch him before he rushes off again, asking him if he would like to hang out or whatever. He's the one who texts first and he's the one that gets ignored most of the time; not Chanyeol. It's weird. He's not used to living in a world where he's the needy one and Chanyeol is the calm, collected one.
But if Chanyeol needs some time for himself to sort out whatever shit he's dealing with right now, then Kyungsoo will give him his space, even though he really wants to sort things out already.
He really misses his best friend.
✩
"Hey, have you talked to Chanyeol lately?" Kyungsoo asks Jongdae a few days later while Jongdae pulls on his sweatpants, dragging them down his legs.
"No, not really. Why?" Jongdae shrugs and reaches out to palm Kyungsoo's erection over his boxers.
"He's been acting kinda weird lately, I guess," Kyungsoo makes himself more comfortable on Jongdae's messy bed and props himself on his elbows just in time to see Jongdae lean down to mouth along the length. He gulps when Jongdae trails a hand up his thigh and sneaks it underneath the boxers, fondling his balls.
Jongdae huffs out a laugh and rolls his eyes as he teasingly fists Kyungsoo's cock in his hand. "It's Chanyeol. He's always been weird. It's his thing."
"His thing?" Kyungsoo asks confused, feeling kind of breathless.
"'Soo, can you just shut up for a second and let me suck your dick in peace?" Jongdae huffs, shaking his head in disbelief. He continues talking nonetheless, tapping on Kyungsoo's thigh with his hand so he would lift his hips a bit, help him take the rest of his clothes off. "You know. Like, you and your weird obsession about keeping things neat and perfect all the time. Or Baekhyun's-well his everything, I mean, it's Baekhyun." Jongdae trails off and finally wraps his hand around Kyungsoo's dick.
Kyungsoo is a bit offended at Jongdae's comment. It's not an obsession; he just likes it when things are organized in a certain order, that's all. There's nothing wrong with not being a slob. But he shrugs it off and continues. "He's just-Fuck," he breathes out when Jongdae starts to move his hand expertly. "It's not like him to be this weird. I don't know." He bites on his lower lip to keep himself from moaning out loud.
"You shouldn't worry too much," Jongdae says after he's made Kyungsoo come, using a bunch of scrunched up tissues to wipe him clean. "It's Chanyeol. Just give him some time."
✩
All the amount of schoolwork he's given proves to be a good distraction. He's too swamped with studying and going to club meetings to worry about Chanyeol. It's been probably over three weeks since he last talked to him, but Kyungsoo is too busy to keep track.
He's sure Chanyeol will snap out of it sooner or later.
✩
Kyungsoo often catches himself pulling his phone out of his pocket to text Chanyeol, even though he doesn't know what to say. It's been over a month and Chanyeol's behavior is still confusing, more than usual. Kyungsoo still isn't used to not seeing or hearing from Chanyeol 24/7 and it's so weird seeing him only during classes.
This isn't the first time Chanyeol has been acting all strange and stuff, but it's the first time it's lasted this long. It never lasted more than a few days-a week tops-and he would always text Kyungsoo to tell him that he's fine, to stop worrying. This time, there are no messages. Chanyeol has always been there by his side since he was thirteen, texted him two hundred times a day when he was on a vacation with his family, and now it's all gone, with no warning or anything. Kyungsoo is starting to get really worried now.
This whole thing is starting to throw him out of a loop and he feels on edge whenever Chanyeol sits next to him during class. He wants to turn around and ask him what's wrong, grab him by the elbow as he's about to leave, and maybe Chanyeol would stay and talk to him about it, sort things out. Maybe Chanyeol would stop lying to him and they would go back to being best friends, putting everything behind them, but Kyungsoo can't find it in himself to do it.
God, even he is starting to act all weird, because he's never had any problems when it came to confronting people before and now he can barely even send a simple text message to Chanyeol to ask him if he would want to join him and the rest in the common room.
He huffs and puts the phone back in his pocket only to pull it out seconds later, typing out wanna hang out? to Baekhyun. He just needs something to help him take the edge off, to make him stop overthinking so much.
hang out hang out or blow me hang out? ;P is Baekhyun's reply and Kyungsoo rolls his eyes. 'm free tho. cum over :*
Kyungsoo wrinkles his nose in distaste and throws his phone on his bed, hopping off to put his slippers on.
"Just so you know, this isn’t dial-a-dick or anything. I have a life too, y’know,” Baekhyun protests as soon as Kyungsoo barges into his room a few minutes later and immediately climbs into his bed.
He straddles Baekhyun’s hips and fists his hand in Baekhyun’s hair to tug him closer, smashing their lips together without wasting any time. "Oh yeah? Then why did you say it was okay for me to come over, huh?" Kyungsoo asks in between kisses, lips curving into a smirk when Baekhyun groans, hands sliding down Kyungsoo’s back and slipping under the waistband of his jeans to grab fistfuls of his ass.
“I have needs too,” Baekhyun offers weakly and Kyungsoo shakes his head, dragging his teeth harshly down the column of Baekhyun’s neck, his adam’s apple bobbing in his throat as Kyungsoo goes lower, sucking a mark in the dip between his collarbones. “Besides, you give good head.”
Kyungsoo rolls his eyes at that and slides his hands underneath Baekhyun’s X-Men t-shirt, tugging it up his chest to bunch it under his armpits, leaning down to flick his tongue over Baekhyun’s nipple. “We’ll see about that,” Kyungsoo looks up at him and dips his head again to twirl his tongue around the other nipple, feeling the way it hardens under his tongue.
At the end, Baekhyun ends up giving Kyungsoo head and he also ends up prepping himself as Kyungsoo sits back and enjoys the show.
He works his fist slowly over his cock as he cards fingers through Baekhyun’s hair, encouraging him to go on, telling him when to add another finger and when to speed up. The sounds of Baekhyun’s slick fingers sliding in and out of his hole only spurs Kyungsoo on even more, and he grips on Baekhyun’s hair to pull him up in his lap for a deep, messy kiss.
Once Baekhyun is well prepped, Kyungsoo flips him over on his hands and knees, face down and ass up in the air on display, drizzling down some lube in between Baekhyun’s ass cheeks and using his cock to smear it around, dipping the head in and out a few times teasingly until Baekhyun starts begging to be fucked.
Baekhyun comes with a loud cry and bites on Kyungsoo's arm when he refuses to cuddle.
✩
Detention, however, provides an even better distraction, one that goes by the name of Oh Sehun, the tall and really cute underclassman.
It's late when Kyungsoo realizes that everyone from the drama club already left and he's about to lock up and leave as well, when he hears someone yelp behind him, followed by a loud thud thud thud. Kyungsoo immediately spins around on his heels and hurries off to help whoever's lying down with his face glued to the floor, a bunch of boxes strewn all around him.
"Are you okay?" Kyungsoo grunts as he pulls the guy up and he's taken aback when the guy finally manages to stand on his feet, hovering over Kyungsoo with his height. This is the first time since his detention started that he's seeing this guy, but Kyungsoo has a feeling he knows him from somewhere else. He looks really familiar.
"Y-Yeah, um, thanks," the kid says awkwardly, brushing the hair that's fallen over his eyes. His face is flushed pink and Kyungsoo finds it kind of amusing. "I just...fell down the stairs, I guess." He fumbles around awkwardly and sniffs, crouching down to pick the boxes off the ground.
"Looks like it," Kyungsoo smiles and bends down to help him. They look really heavy. The guy thanks him with another shy smile and Kyungsoo leans back against the stage. "Hey, do I know you from somewhere? It's just, you seem very familiar. I must've seen you around campus before, or something."
"Me?" Shy boy points at himself, eyes wide in surprise. "Um, I guess? I'm Sehun. I'm friends with your roommate. Well sort of..." Sehun trails off, biting on his lower lip like he just revealed too much.
Kyungsoo hums in thought; the name sounds familiar. He's heard of a Sehun on several occasions before but that's not it. "Weren't you the guy that took our pictures for the school newspaper last year?" Kyungsoo asks, eyes narrowing slightly as he gives Sehun a quick once over.
"Y-Yeah?" Sehun nods slowly, sounding a bit unsure. "I mean, yeah. That was me. My hair was different back then, so that's probably it."
Kyungsoo's eyes widen in realization once he puts two and two together, finally remembering where he knows Sehun from. He was the weird photographer guy with the wild rainbow-colored hair who took double shots of Kyungsoo because there was something wrong with the lighting. He kept frowning down at the camera like it was the most offensive thing he's ever seen and Kyungsoo had to stop himself from laughing at the poor guy.
"I remember you. I liked your pictures a lot," Kyungsoo smiles and loves the way Sehun's face flushes quickly, filing the information for later use even though he doesn't know if there will be another chance where he would be able to use them. This is his last day of detention and the chances of bumping into Sehun around campus are very slim. It's a very big school and there are a lot of students.
"They were okay," Sehun shrugs it off and stands there awkwardly for a while before he motions towards the door. "I'm gonna go now. I have an exam tomorrow and I haven't studied at all, so, bye. See you around."
Sehun is gone before Kyungsoo has the time to say goodbye or wish him good luck. He's a cute kid. Weird, but kind of cute.
✩
Kyungsoo (literally) bumps into Sehun a few days later after their first encounter in the middle of the crowded hallway up on the third floor.
The dark blue folder Sehun was carrying in his hands is lying on the floor by their feet and Kyungsoo quickly scrambles to pick it up. "Here you go," Kyungsoo says as he hands the folder over to Sehun and the younger thanks him quietly before he runs away, probably in a hurry.
Still weird, Kyungsoo thinks, but even cuter this time as he almost trips over his own feet on his way to his next class.
✩
The third time Kyungsoo sees Sehun is at the library.
Kyungsoo is surprised to see Sehun there since he's in the section Kyungsoo always goes to when he's alone, the one tucked in a corner behind the magazines section and the endless rows of vending machines. Kyungsoo likes this place because it's usually empty (thanks to the very low wi-fi signal) and quiet, and he doesn't have to share a desk with anyone. He prefers spreading out instead of stacking everything in piles so he wouldn't take up a lot of space.
Sehun is too busy reading out of an ethics textbook to realize that Kyungsoo is there, a hand propped up under his chin and balled up candy wrappers scattered all over the table, some even lying around his feet on the carpeted floor.
Kyungsoo stands there with his books in his hands, contemplating whether he should sit next to Sehun or go somewhere else, but then he remembers the way Sehun blushed easily the first time he saw him and he really wants to see that again.
"Hey," Kyungsoo greets him quietly, not wanting to scare Sehun who's still lost in his book, and ends up doing the exact opposite-making Sehun jump up from his seat, knocking over the book with his elbow. Kyungsoo starts to chuckle when Sehun places a hand over his chest dramatically, nostrils flared and mouth parted open in shock.
"H-Hi," Sehun mutters dumbly once he's calmed down. "What are you doing here?" His brows furrow when he realizes how dumb that sounds and quickly corrects himself. "I mean, it's the library, of course. It's open for all students of the school, but I meant in this section. Not that you're not allowed to come in here, but I just-I don't think I've ever seen you in here. In this section, I mean." He frowns and looks down, reaching out to ruffle his hair.
Kyungsoo bites back the urge to laugh at Sehun again, and it's hard not to because he looks really adorable when he's flustered. He sets his books on the same table as the one Sehun's using, before he bends down to pick Sehun's textbook off the floor instead of laughing at the younger boy for rambling so much.
"Well, technically, I'm not really allowed to be in here tonight." Kyungsoo replies, closing Sehun's book with a snap. "My ban expires in a few days, I think, but don't tell anyone, okay?"
"Ban? What do you mean?"
Kyungsoo is about to stand up when he lifts his head and finds Sehun's face very close to his. So close, that he can smell the cherry flavored candy he's been eating on his breath. "Um," Kyungsoo says unintelligently, the words stuck in his throat. Sehun is leaning over the edge, his knuckles white from where he has his hands holding onto the edge of the table for support, peering over Kyungsoo.
They stare at each other for a few beats and Kyungsoo finds it really hard not to stare at Sehun's mouth, amazed at how pink it is. "Well, long story short: I have the worst friends ever." Kyungsoo clears his throat and finally gets up, handing the book over to Sehun who thanks him quietly. In these past few weeks he managed to get yet another ban, this one two weeks long, all thanks to Jongdae's loud laughter.
He plops down in the chair across from the younger boy with a huff, quickly taking out the pens from his pencil case, lining them up by color. He could sit on the table next to Sehun's or the other ten in this section, but it's a big table, he thinks to himself, and besides; Sehun doesn't seem to mind the company.
They work in silence for the rest of the night and Sehun proves out to be a nice study buddy. He doesn't take up lots of space and he's quiet as he pops a piece of sour cherry flavored candy after another, keeping the litter to his side of the table. Kyungsoo often looks up at him, almost always in time to catch the way his tongue pokes out at the corner of his mouth in concentration.
Kyungsoo is the first one to leave, but not before he gets a bottle of water from one of the vending machines and sets it on the table next to Sehun's phone. Sehun thanks him shyly, lips curving upwards in a small smile.
✩
The same night Kyungsoo is very rudely woken up by a call from Chanyeol. He furrows his brows in confusion because a) it’s the middle of the night, what the fuck? and b) he hasn’t seen nor heard from Chanyeol in so long, what the fuck?!
Jongin throws a pillow at him from the other side of the room, cursing something unintelligible under his breath about it being "too loud" and "turn it off" as he rolls over in his bed and pulls the blanket over his head.
Kyungsoo picks up, groaning out a, “What the fuck Park, do you have any idea what time it is?” He throws an arm over his face, waiting for Chanyeol to answer.
“Hah, well…” Chanyeol chuckles nervously on the other side of the line and Kyungsoo contemplates hanging up on his so called friend when Chanyeol speaks again. “I’m really sorry, Kyungsoo, but Jongdae and Baekhyun won’t pick up and my roommate’s phone is off, and I need someone to let me in.”
“Where the hell are you?” Kyungsoo asks, straightening up a bit in his bed.
“Outside,” Chanyeol answers sheepishly and Kyungsoo groans as he tosses the blanket off to the side. “Can you please, please, please help me out, I'm freezing.”
Kyungsoo huffs into the receiver. “Fine. Wait for me by the labs. I’ll be there in a minute.” he says before he hangs up on Chanyeol, grabbing the special key card that opens all doors (a very handy gift they all got from Jongdae last Christmas) from his desk and quickly slips into his shoes.
He’s quiet and careful as he makes his way down the hallway and down the spiral staircase that leads to the science section of the first floor, the sound of his shoes scuffing against the marble floor echoing throughout the empty hallways. It’s dark and terribly quiet, the only light coming from the lampposts outside, flickering every few seconds and it reminds Kyungsoo very much of those awful horror movies Jongin makes him watch when they’re bored late at night.
A shiver goes down his spine at the thought of the last one they saw, where a school girl came back from the dead to haunt her classmates and ended up killing them all. He huffs in annoyance at how ridiculous he’s being, hurrying up because the sooner he lets Chanyeol in, the sooner he can go back to bed and back to sleep.
He turns left, right, left and another left and he’s in the old science lab that's been out of use since Baekhyun ruined half of it during class almost two years ago, opening the door so Chanyeol would be able to get in. A gush of wind comes through the gap and Kyungsoo shivers, crossing his arms over his chest and practically curls in on himself in an attempt to keep himself warm as he waits for Chanyeol to come inside. It's the middle of November and Kyungsoo’s thin bunny print pajamas are doing a terrible job at keeping him warm.
A few seconds pass and Chanyeol is nowhere to be seen and Kyungsoo kicks the door open even further so he could step outside and look for his friend, the sound of dry leaves crunching beneath his feet awfully loud in the quiet night. He looks around, searching for that idiot and he’s about to go over to the other side of campus to go look for him, when he feels someone’s presence behind him.
He gulps nervously, thinking he got caught by the night guard again and he curses mentally as he turns around, already dreading the conversation he’s going to have with the principal first thing in the morning. Maybe he can use sleep walking again, but they would probably confiscate his key card. Fuck.
But the least thing he’s expecting is for Chanyeol to be the one standing right behind him, hovering over him. Kyungsoo almost bumps into his chest and he squeaks out in surprise, heart jumping up to his throat. Chanyeol is quick to place one large hand over Kyungsoo's mouth to muffle the sound and Kyungsoo has to swat it away so he would let go. Chanyeol smiles apologetically as he circles around Kyungsoo to lock the door.
His hair is pushed back from his forehead and his lips are red and slightly swollen, like they were after that night, and Kyungsoo swallows down the jealousy that starts to creep up his throat. He’s even wearing his favorite leather jacket, the one he wears when he really wants to make an impression on someone he likes and for some inexplicable reason Kyungsoo wishes Chanyeol wouldn’t wear it for anyone else except for him.
“Bro, where the hell is your phone? I sent you like three texts telling you to go back to bed because the storage room was open and I would get in from there, but when you didn’t reply I thought you might be here and I came over as soon as I heard you open the door.” Chanyeol says hurriedly, all in one breath and his voice is still a tad too loud for the situation they’re in right now.
“I left it in my room, I must’ve forgotten it in my hurry to come and save your skinny ass,” Kyungsoo spits out, keeping his voice quiet. “It’s three in the morning Chanyeol, you owe it to me big time.” he pokes Chanyeol’s chest accusingly, eyes narrowed down to slithers.
“‘Soo, I’m so sorry for waking you up.” Chanyeol fusses, flapping his arms around like a seal. He opens his mouth to speak again but Kyungsoo shushes him, not trusting him to have control over his own voice. He doesn’t want to risk getting caught, not when they’ve managed to get this far.
“Save it,” Kyungsoo hisses at Chanyeol and grabs him by the wrist, tugging him along as he makes his way over to the door. “I can always kill you tomorrow. Now be quiet,” he turns around to give Chanyeol one last threatening death glare before he checks if the coast is clear. Chanyeol looks like a kicked puppy, drooping his shoulders as he nods in understanding and Kyungsoo ignores the way his chest tightens at the sight.
They successfully make it up to the their floor and Chanyeol waves at Kyungsoo when they reach his door. “Thank you,” he whispers and steps closer to Kyungsoo. He inhales the scent of Chanyeol’s cologne and it’s so terribly intoxicating that he pushes him away quickly before he does something he’ll regret in the morning, or before (god forbid) they get caught. Chanyeol smiles awkwardly as he waves at him, turning around to run over to the end of the hallway where his room is.
Kyungsoo quietly slips inside his room, not wanting to wake Jongin up for the second time, and leans his head against the door once he closes it. The fact that this was the first time he's spent more than two seconds with Chanyeol in over a month irritates him so much. Everytime they have lunch together, Chanyeol is the first one to leave, scarfing down his food rapidly with an excuse along the lines of “I have to go, see you guys later.” Baekhyun and Jongdae aren’t of much help either, as they shrug their shoulders every time Kyungsoo asks them if they find Chanyeol’s behavior weird.
“It’s just Chanyeol, you know how weird he can get at times.” Baekhyun had said, waving him off before switching the topic to something entirely unrelated.
Kyungsoo feels betrayed. He knows it’s silly and that he should talk to Chanyeol before he jumps to any conclusions, but there’s a voice screaming at him from the back of his head, reminding him that Chanyeol sneaked out of school grounds without mentioning anything about it to him and that he was Chanyeol’s last choice. Jongdae and Baekhyun won’t pick up is flashing in bold letters before his eyes and he toes off his shoes angrily, leaving them like that in the middle of the hallway.
He tosses the key card to his nightstand and flops down on his bed, huffing and puffing as he rolls around in the sheets, trying to make himself comfortable. Why didn’t Chanyeol tell him about his plans? Chanyeol used to text him about his whereabouts every five minutes, even informing him when he was in the bathroom taking a dump, for crying out loud! He could’ve helped him sneak out like he always does. He would’ve helped him pick out his outfit and even style his hair, but no. Apparently Chanyeol is mad at him for something, if the fact that he’s been avoiding him for so long is anything to go by.
He’s not used to not being by Chanyeol’s side; it feels empty and weird and during these past few weeks he’s been feeling kind of lonely. Ugh, he is being ridiculous again. It’s almost four in the morning and he should be sleeping instead of mulling over Chanyeol and how damn good he looked and how damn jealous he felt for no reason at all.
Just like he told Baekhyun a few weeks ago-he and Chanyeol are just friends. So why does he feel so shitty and jealous and frustrated all of a sudden?
✩
"Where were you last night?" Baekhyun asks Kyungsoo the next morning as they're walking towards the gates where Jongdae should be waiting for them.
It's Saturday and Baekhyun decided to be nice for a change and take them out for lunch in town. Kyungsoo thought of going to the movies with Jongin, but this is such a rare occurrence that he doesn't want to miss it. Chanyeol isn't with them and Kyungsoo doesn't even bother asking about his whereabouts.
"Studying at the library," Kyungsoo shrugs, trying not to smile at the thought of Sehun worrying on his bottom lip with his teeth. He doesn't want to tell them about Sehun, for some reason. He wants to keep it all to himself for a while longer; he knows Baekhyun will come up with some stupid jokes that will ruin it for him.
"Spending your Friday night in the library while you're still on the black list," Baekhyun whistles obnoxiously. "Look at you livin' life on the edge." Baekhyun starts to guffaw loudly at his own words and Kyungsoo rolls his eyes. God, he's so lame.
Kyungsoo elbows Baekhyun below his ribs to shut him up and Baekhyun starts to whine like a little puppy. "The fuck was that for?" He pouts, acting like he's mad and offended but links his arm through Kyungsoo's anyway.
"Your pain gives me strength." Kyungsoo bumps their shoulders together and drags Baekhyun towards the gate where Jongdae is already waiting for them, leaning against the wall and smiling down at the phone in his hands. "Hey, do you happen to know where Chanyeol was off to last night? He called me in the middle of the night because you guys wouldn't pick up." He swallows; the words leave an unpleasant taste in his mouth.
"I dunno," Baekhyun replies and untangles himself quickly to hop off to Jongdae. "Whatcha smiling about?" he asks cutely and tries to take a peak at his phone, but Jongdae is quicker, hand already halfway down his pocket.
"Just talking to my brother," Jongdae waves him off and grabs the snapback from Baekhyun's head, pushing the hair back from his forehead to put it on his instead. "You guys ready to go? The car got here five minutes ago."
Jongdae keeps texting someone the whole time during lunch, stopping from time to time to eat and shove Baekhyun's face as far away as possible from his phone. Baekhyun simply latches onto him like a barnacle and keeps whining loudly in his ear.
"Who have you been texting all day long?" Kyungsoo asks once he gets tired of listening to Baekhyun repeat "who are you talking to?" over and over again.
"My brother," Jongdae grins brightly and finally puts his phone back into his Givenchy clutch, keeping it on the other side of the bench they're sitting on, far away from Baekhyun.
Kyungsoo narrows his eyes suspiciously. "Don't lie. You once blocked him on KakaoTalk because he refused to give you the location of the party he was at. Who are you really talking to?"
"Yeah, ChenChen. Spit it out!" Baekhyun detaches himself from Jongdae and starts to tug on his arm repeatedly.
It's only a matter of seconds before they start to push and pull each other, screaming loud enough to gather the attention of the other customers at the tiny restaurant. Kyungsoo sighs, taking a sip of his iced tea as he waits for them to stop, ignoring the glares their table is receiving from the few people around them. Kyungsoo is used to it by now; he stopped feeling the secondhand embarrassment a very long time ago.
Baekhyun is in the middle of pushing Jongdae's leg away from his lap and trying to bite the arm wrapped around his throat when Chanyeol joins them, smile falling off his face when he spots Kyungsoo sitting in the corner across from the kindergarteners. Kyungsoo is surprised to see him here too, even though he was probably included in the original plan; he just assumed Chanyeol wouldn't be joining them at all.
"Hey," Chanyeol greets them and smiles, lips set in a thin line.
"Yo, you made it!" Jongdae greets him brightly and gasps when Baekhyun's teeth enclose around his earlobe.
"Sorry it took me so long," Chanyeol hikes up the sleeves of his flannel shirt up to his elbows, reaching out for the menu that's by the napkins.
"Where were you last night?" Kyungsoo asks, curious, before he could stop himself.
"Yura was in town. We, um, had to go grab some stuff," Chanyeol says quickly, barely bothering to look at Kyungsoo as he replies. His fingers are fumbling with the pages, eyes scanning the menu intently.
"I though she already left for London," Kyungsoo comments casually, using Baekhyun's distraction as an opportunity to steal a piece of tuna gimbap from his plate and pop it in his mouth. Baekhyun is practically sitting on Jongdae's lap now, both of them too preoccupied to pay attention to their surroundings.
Chanyeol stiffens in his seat and plays with one of the buttons on his shirt. "She was supposed to leave yesterday but something came up at work, some last minute stuff. I think her flight leaves tonight."
Kyungsoo hums in response and waits until Chanyeol is done ordering until he speaks again, tapping his foot against the floor impatiently. "Why do you keep lying to me, Chanyeol?" Kyungsoo almost snaps; he clearly remembers Yura's new KakaoTalk status message from last night, complaining about London's heavy downpour that greeted her, not to mention how she would never make him stay up so late. "What's going on? And don't tell me it's nothing, because in case you haven't noticed, it's been over a month since we've last talked to each other normally, and you keep running away whenever you see me come your way." Kyungsoo is fuming by the time he's done talking and he assumes he wasn't really quiet either, since Jongdae and Baekhyun are staring at him from across the table, both of them frozen mid-fight.
Chanyeol simply stares at him, jaw tight and hands balled up in fists in his lap. Kyungsoo doesn't wait for Chanyeol to respond and continues talking, thinking this is as good a time as any to sort things out.
"Is this about what happened at the party? Did you think I misunderstood that kiss and thought there was something going on there, because I assure you, that's not the case," Kyungsoo says, stopping when the waiter comes to bring Chanyeol his drink. "I don't know what happened, but you need to stop treating me like I'm an idiot," He continues, voice calmer than it was a few seconds ago. "You've always been a terrible liar, Chanyeol."
"Oh, don't worry about that. I didn't misunderstand anything," Chanyeol says sharply. "You made it perfectly clear I will never be anything other than just a friend to you. I'll always be Park Chanyeol; your stupid, annoying, best fucking friend. " Chanyeol spits out, standing up to pull his wallet from his back pocket and pulls out a few bills, throwing them on the table. He grabs his snapback and phone, huffing angrily. "I'm-I'm not even hungry anymore." And with that he's gone, slamming the door of the restaurant loudly as he leaves.
Kyungsoo is sitting there, frozen and taken aback by what just happened. "What? What is he even talking about?"
Baekhyun clears his throat loudly and Kyungsoo watches as chews on his bottom lip for a second before he speaks. "Remember that time in the library when I asked you if you would date any of us? Before we got kicked out, and we had that fight in the middle of the school..." Baekhyun trails off and Kyungsoo nods slowly, urging him to go on. "Well. He kinda-"
"He was on his way to meet us and he happened to hear our conversation." Jongdae cuts Baekhyun off, finishing the story.
"But why is he so upset about it?" Kyungsoo asks slowly, swallowing down the bile that's rising up his throat. "Is he like in love with m-" Kyungsoo stops abruptly, the gears in his head finally starting to spin. Oh. This can't be happening. "So he..." He trails off and Jongdae glances at Baekhyun like he's asking for permission to continue and Baekhyun nods stiffly.
"Yeah," Jongdae puffs out his cheeks and looks around the restaurant awkwardly.
"And that's why he's been avoiding me all this time? Because he's. Like. In love with me?" Kyungsoo starts playing with the plastic straw in his drink absentmindedly. His throat feels dry all of a sudden. This can't be happening.
"Well, that and-he's kinda seeing someone right now?" Jongdae says uncertainly and winces.
“Do you know Jinah? That hot girl that wanted to join the choir but didn’t make the cut?” Baekhyun starts after Kyungsoo gives them a what the fuck look, scratching behind his ear sheepishly. Kyungsoo nods, remembering the pout on her face when Mrs. Kwon gave her the bad news, and Baekhyun continues. “Well at the freshmen party she asked Chanyeol out and he turned her down, but a few days later he started hanging out with her and...one thing led to another and last night was their first official date.”
Kyungsoo's heart tightens in his chest and he doesn't care that he's sitting here like an idiot in front of his friends, feeling like someone spilled a bucked of ice-cold water over him. So that's what Chanyeol's been doing behind his back all along. He leans back in his chair and tries to breathe even though his lungs feel like they're going to burst. His head is a jumbled mess right now; finding out that your best friend is in love with you and has spent the last month or so avoiding you because of it, is a lot to deal with so early in the day, and to top it all off, he's been running around and having dates with someone while Kyungsoo kept worrying about him. Fuck.
He needs to get some fresh air. He needs to get out of here; he can't stand the pity written all over his friends' faces.
He gets up quickly and he grabs the jacket from his chair, not bothering to turn around and pick the chair up after it falls down in his hurry to leave. He starts running down the street and ignores the protests from Jongdae who immediately ran out after him. He runs until his legs give out and his lungs start to burn, coming to a stop when he reaches a small playground, sitting there for hours as he tries to wrap his mind around all the new information he just received.
And it all makes sense now; the clothes and the hair and how swollen his lips looked last night. The way he looked at him at that party, before he kissed him and why he's been avoiding him ever since. Why he flinched every time Kyungsoo touched him, the constant attention he's been giving him, always finding reasons to bother him. Huh.
His phone has been buzzing in his pocket for over an hour and he pulls it out, ignoring all the missed calls and messages from both Baekhyun and Jongdae, and scrolls down his contacts list dialing the number of the person he knows would make him forget about things for a while.
✩
"Hey kiddo! Aren't you supposed to be in school?" Minseok grins cheekily as soon as he steps foot in Minseok's bar.
"Weren't you supposed to open a coffee shop?" Kyungsoo grins back and plops down in one of the stools lined up in front of the bar.
"Ha. Very funny," Minseok rolls his eyes playfully and goes back to unpacking boxes of white wine. "Why aren't you at school?"
"It's the weekend, remember?" Kyungsoo snorts, taking a bottle from the counter, reading at the label on the back to keep himself occupied. "It's only been, what-three years since you graduated, and you already forgot what life in that hellhole used to be like?"
"It's been two years, and no, I haven't forgotten about it," Minseok defends himself and snatches the bottle away from Kyungsoo's hands. "And back in my day, we weren't allowed to leave campus without a parent or a guardian present. You brats have it easy these days."
Minseok used to be the president of the school council and the captain of the soccer team, one of the most popular guys in school back in his days. Kind of quiet at times, but very nice and outgoing. Everyone loved him. Kyungsoo kind of had a crush on him during his freshmen year, but with time it ended up as nothing more than just admiration and respect.
Minseok always dreamed of opening his own coffee shop, since his number one dream was kind of not an option, thanks to his bad knee. But a coffee shop ended up being a bar, because "It's the same, really. And the business is better. Plus I get to meet all the cute girls."
"If you say so." Kyungsoo tilts his head to the side and smiles, accepting the cocktail Minseok makes for him.
Kyungsoo gets drunk that night and Minseok has to call the evil twins to come pick him up, and Kyungsoo doesn't remember the ride back home. The last thing he remembers before passing out on Baekhyun's bed is Jongdae's hushed, concerned voice, asking Baekhyun if he thinks Kyungsoo would be okay.
"He will, don't worry."
→ PART 3
Studying in the library with Baekhyun and Jongdae is always a bad idea. Or, well, being with the two of them in the library or any other place where people are supposed to be quiet, that is.
The old librarian always scolds them or kicks them out because Baekhyun and Jongdae are insufferable idiots who can’t keep their mouths shut for longer than two seconds and they always get into trouble, dragging Kyungsoo along with them as well. Just like they're doing right now.
The library is packed with students hunched over their books, using up the last day of the weekend to get all the work done before more assignments pile up. Kyungsoo hates Sundays, mostly because all of the good tables in the library are already taken by the time he drags himself downstairs.
“Hey ‘Soo,” Baekhyun speaks up while Kyungsoo is in the middle of doing his Mandarin homework. He flips the page of his notebook loudly and ignores Baekhyun, who doesn’t stop whispering his name until he gets bored of it and kicks Kyungsoo’s shin under the table, trying to get his attention. Kyungsoo yelps, reaching down to rub at the abused spot and sends Baekhyun the deathliest glare he could manage as the said leans back in his chair, looking all smug and full of himself. Asshole.
“What do you want?” Kyungsoo spits out, throwing Baekhyun one last look before he goes back to his homework.
“Would you date any of us?” Baekhyun asks and Jongdae snickers behind his hand, looking curiously at Kyungsoo. “Have you ever thought about what that would be like?”
“I’d date Chanyeol. Maybe Baekhyun, too.” Jongdae speaks up for the first time and slings an arm around Baekhyun’s waist to pull him closer, nuzzling his face into Baekhyun’s neck. Ugh, it's too early in the morning for him to see his friends get all mushy and cuddly and gross. Maybe it's not too late to find another spot.
“I wouldn’t date him, though,” Baekhyun points at Kyungsoo with his thumb and rests his chin on top of Jongdae’s head, frowning. “He’s mean.”
Kyungsoo narrows his eyes, looking at dumb and dumber in front of him and leans in over the table to knock their heads together like coconuts. “Are you idiots high again?”
Both Jongdae and Baekhyun yelp in unison, wincing as they rub their heads and Kyungsoo smiles, feeling satisfied that he managed to get them to shut up, even though if it will last only for a few seconds.
“I wouldn’t date him either. You were right, he is mean.” Jongdae pouts and slumps back into his chair, still rubbing at the sore spot on his head.
“Where did this even come from?” Kyungsoo asks, tapping his pen against his notebook rapidly. "I thought we weren't supposed to get carried away and all that crap; hell, we weren't allowed to kiss each other up until a few months ago. And now this?"
“I don’t know. I was just curious.” Baekhyun shrugs, resting his chin on an open palm. “So you wouldn’t date any of us? Not even Chanyeol?”
“What is that supposed to mean?” Kyungsoo is even more confused now. Not even Chanyeol? He wouldn’t date his friends because they’re-well, his friends. Bets and deals aside, there aren’t any feelings involved, just like they agreed at the beginning. “Not even Chanyeol,” he echoes, mimicking Baekhyun, and the said stiffens visibly for a split second before he goes back to his usual self.
“Well, it’s just that you guys are really close, y’know?” Jongdae clears his throat and pipes in. Baekhyun simply nods in agreement. “Sometimes it looks like you two are already a couple, that’s all.”
Kyungsoo sighs exasperatedly and shakes his head. “He’s just my friend, it would be weird. Don’t be silly.”
“Dude, you’ve already sucked each other’s dicks, why would it be weird?” Baekhyun practically yells and before Kyungsoo has a chance to reply-or pack all of his belongings neatly back into his backpack, for that matter-the three of them are being kicked out of the library, the old librarian hissing at them as she escorts them out of the door, holding Baekhyun by the ear the whole time.
They get banned from the library for a week and Baekhyun keeps mussing about how he practically owns half of it since his parents always renovate it whenever their son gets into a lot of troublr, and how “It’s not fair!”, but it only makes her tug on his ear even harder.
“But think about it,” Baekhyun starts again minutes later as they drag themselves up the stairs to their rooms, “you and Chanyeol. You guys would be good together.”
Kyungsoo stops mid-step to turn back and stare at Baekhyun. It makes Jongdae stumble backwards a bit, clutching onto the handrail for support. “Baekhyun, why are you even talking about this? Chanyeol and I are just friends, there’s nothing more to it.”
“But just think about it, ‘Soo,” Baekhyun repeats again, “half of the people in this school already think you guys are dating. You are almost always together and you never let anyone else touch you as much as Chanyeol does. I’m just sayin’.” Baekhyun shrugs and walks past Kyungsoo, Jongdae following suit.
“Baekhyun, please, would you just let it go? We aren’t dating and we will never date. I don’t care what everyone else thinks, it is not gonna happen.” Kyungsoo says loudly, firmly, suddenly feeling very irritated by this whole conversation.
“Fine!” Baekhyun snaps at him and Jongdae looks surprised at his sudden outburst. “We’ll be in my room. Feel free to come over when you’re done with your homework or when you finally open up your eyes, or whatever, I don’t care. Ugh! Come on Jongdae, let’s go!” Baekhyun huffs, grabbing Jongdae by his elbow before he storms over to his room, a confused Jongdae waddling behind.
Kyungsoo is left standing on his own in the middle of the stairwell, confused and annoyed.
He’s never really thought about dating Chanyeol.
Chanyeol speaks with his mouth full and is obnoxiously loud and has the tendency to hit someone or something when he’s laughing really hard. He’s sloppy and very clumsy, has no boundaries when it comes to personal space and often tries to push Kyungsoo’s buttons, bothering him constantly because “You look cute when you are pissed off.” Ugh, Kyungsoo couldn’t possibly date him. He has a type, after all.
Well, it’s not really a type; he’s mostly into guys that are taller than him, with nice thick arms and a pretty smile, and while Chanyeol manages to fit into only one of those categories-all thanks to the miracles of puberty-he’s still really lanky and scrawny. Sure, his smile is kind of pretty too, when his mouth isn’t stuffed with food, but one of his eyes gets smaller than the other when he smiles really wide and he looks like a serial killer.
He’s gotten even taller and kind of handsome too, in these past few months, and his voice has dropped a few octaves that always makes Kyungsoo’s hair stand on end whenever he leans in to whisper something in his ear during class.
But it’s Chanyeol; his best friend since he was thirteen, someone that managed to pull him out of his shell and taught him how to feel comfortable in his own skin, how to socialize and make some new friends.
Chanyeol had been by his side every time he had an argument with his father and he always tried to cheer him up by making a fool out of himself. That hasn’t changed though. He’s still here for Kyungsoo, whether it is to help him with his science homework (the only subject Kyungsoo isn't very good at) or to pick him up and help him relax after he’s had a rather exhausting day.
He can’t throw all of that away just because there’s a slight possibility the two of them would make a good couple. What if they really start going out-not that Kyungsoo even considers this, thank you very much-and it’s good for a while, only to realize they've worked better as friends? They’d start being awkward around each other and eventually drift apart completely, and the mere thought of it makes Kyungsoo feel sick to his stomach.
Okay, yes-they’ve kissed each other a few times and they’ve seen each other naked, and even sucked each other’s dicks as Baekhyun had said earlier, but that’s all just something the four of them do for fun. He’s sucked Jongdae’s dick too and vice versa, but that doesn’t mean anything. It’s just a simple, casual thing they’ve got going on. Kyungsoo sometimes lets Baekhyun cuddle with him on the couch in the common room while they watch TV, but that doesn’t mean that they like, like each other, or that they are or should be dating.
The kiss from a few nights ago was really something special and Kyungsoo would be lying if he said he hasn't thought about it, or felt a small tingle crawl down his spine everytime he closed his eyes and saw the way Chanyeol looked at him. It's like the image is tattooed to the back of his eyelids and he can't get rid of it no matter how much he tries to clear his mind, or preoccupy himself with studying.
Maybe there is something more to it, to that moment they shared that night, and maybe, they would really make it work, but he doesn’t want to risk losing his most comfortable friend because of it. And besides; it’s not like Chanyeol is interested into him like that. That would be ridiculous.
They've started this whole thing a long time ago and it has never gotten into the way of their friendship before, so why should things start changing now?
✩
“Hey, wanna watch a movie tonight?” Kyungsoo asks Chanyeol the next day as they pack their bags after their science lesson is over. Chanyeol didn't join them for breakfast and came straight to class, not texting Kyungsoo to whine and complain about how bored or tired he is. “Jongin said he would pull an all-nighter at the dance studio again, so you are welcome to drop by whenever you want.”
“I-Uh, can’t. Sorry.” Chanyeol coughs awkwardly, keeping his head hung low as he closes the zipper of his bag. “I have to work on my homework for tomorrow.”
Chanyeol starts walking towards the door without waiting for Kyungsoo to be finished packing up like he always does and Kyungsoo quickly shoves the rest of his stuff inside his backpack so he could catch up with his best friend.
“Oh,” he says dumbly, slinging his backpack over his shoulder and follows Chanyeol out of the door and into the crowded hallway. A girl bumps into him accidentally as she rushes over to her next class, but he ignores her, along with the quick apology she throws at him over her shoulder. “Well. Wanna go to the library, then? I need to catch up with my English readings, anyway.”
“No. It’s fine,” Chanyeol smiles briefly and waves him off. He seems like he’s in a hurry to go away and Kyungsoo takes the hint, smiling stiffly instead of bothering him any further. “We’ll do it some other time,” Chanyeol says quickly and gives Kyungsoo half a wave before spinning around on his heels to hurry off to god knows where.
Well, that’s kind of strange, but Kyungsoo has to make a presentation in front of the student council board in less than five minutes, so he doesn’t think too much about Chanyeol and his strange behavior; he’s got other, more important things to worry about right now.
✩
The next day, Kyungsoo asks Chanyeol if he wants to go play pool in the game room after dinner and Chanyeol says, “I can’t. I have detention, remember?”
Shit. He almost forgot about detention.
"Later, then?" Kyungsoo asks and Chanyeol nods.
"I'll text you later. If I'm not too tired."
Kyungsoo spends the rest of the afternoon helping the drama club arrange the props on the stage for their rehearsal, careful not to break anything.
Chanyeol doesn't text him that night.
✩
On Thursday, Kyungsoo asks Chanyeol if he wants to go swimming or just lay around by the pool and Chanyeol says, “I can’t. I have basketball practice” and leaves before Kyungsoo can remind him that it’s Thursday and that his basketball practices are always on Mondays and Wednesday, and sometimes during the weekend.
Kyungsoo knows Chanyeol’s timetable perfectly and knows that the captain of the team-which also happens to be Chanyeol’s roommate-never makes them practice during Thursdays, not even before a big match that’s happening the same weekend. Something about his drama club activities, or whatever.
The problem with spending all of your free time with someone, is that after a while you learn to recognize all of the microexpressions they make, the tone of their voice when they speak for what it really is and easily pinpoint the lies they tell you. You know their every mole and every freckle, the stories behind each scar on their body and how they feel underneath your fingertips.
The problem with being as close to someone as Kyungsoo is to Chanyeol, is that Kyungsoo can read Chanyeol like an open book (always has) and Chanyeol can do the same too.
There was a time, back when Kyungsoo just started getting close to Chanyeol, when he felt terrified at the thought of someone figuring him out, because at the age of thirteen Kyungsoo barely knew himself. He's never been the nicest of people-but not bad either-and he used to be very careless with his words, sometimes a bit too harsh and a tad too honest.
Chanyeol managed to figure him out almost immediately and it scared Kyungsoo a lot, thinking Chanyeol would run away. So Kyungsoo tried to distance himself to make the inevitable drifting apart easier to deal with for when it would finally happen; though back then Kyungsoo would never admit out loud that he would miss Park Chanyeol and his bright teeth.
But Chanyeol didn't run away-much to Kyungsoo's surprise-and stuck by his side.
The problem (in this case) with being so close to Chanyeol is that Kyungsoo knows when Chanyeol’s smiles are fake and when they’re not, and he can easily recognize when Chanyeol is lying to him. And that’s what Chanyeol has been doing for the past week or so-lie to him and make up excuses so he wouldn't spend time with him and Kyungsoo can’t understand why.
The more he thinks about it, the more he realizes that he's barely seen Chanyeol all week, or talked to him for that matter; nothing more than the necessary during class or breakfast. He thinks back at the things he said or did to his best friend during these past few weeks and the only thing that comes to mind-the only not so usual thing that happened between them-is the night of the Welcome Freshmen party. Or, well, the kiss they had that night, to be more specific.
Before Kyungsoo got involved in the bets (the more serious ones) Baekhyun sat him down and explained to him that everything is allowed, except kissing. Something about it being too intimate and how it could make them develop feelings for each other-ones they were trying to avoid if they wanted to keep the whole thing casual-and Kyungsoo shrugged indifferently, going along with it.
That was probably the only rule back then, which with time went from being forbidden to who cares, as long as you don’t make it personal. And maybe that’s what happened; maybe the kiss freaked Chanyeol out, because it was too intimate and nothing like all of the kisses they’ve shared so far.
Maybe Chanyeol thinks Kyungsoo just got the wrong idea and thought Chanyeol likes him more than just a friend-which he doesn’t!-and is trying to figure out ways to approach the situation. Or maybe it's the other way around, but it's kind of the same problem. Kyungsoo sees the way Chanyeol looks at him during algebra or while they’re eating together, like he wants to say something to him, but for some reason, he can’t.
But since Kyungsoo still sees Chanyeol only as a friend, that should mean things would go back to normal as soon as they straighten things out, right? That shouldn’t be so hard-or well wouldn’t, since Chanyeol keeps avoiding him and keeps his distance during the day which makes the confrontation even more complicated.
Kyungsoo misses the warmth of Chanyeol’s leg brushing up against his under their shared desk or the heaviness of his arm slung around his shoulders as they walk down the hallways together, the sound of Chanyeol's loud laughter clear as a bell as it echoes around the music room. It’s only been a week or so and Kyungsoo is being kind of ridiculous right now, thinking about all the small, simple things he used to share with Chanyeol, or how much he misses seeing his good morning :D messages first thing in the morning. Maybe he's just being paranoid, but he has a weird feeling that there's more to this than it seems.
That’s it. He’s going to talk to Chanyeol as soon as possible and make sure there aren’t any misunderstandings between them.
✩
There isn't any progress the next week either and Chanyeol keeps shrugging off Kyungsoo’s invitations to hang out, or go out together during the weekend.
“I can’t, I have to study” or “I can’t, I already made plans to meet up with Yura” is all Chanyeol has to say lately, and Kyungsoo is starting to feel worried.
Chanyeol is acting really strange-stranger than he usually does, and Kyungsoo keeps thinking about the way Chanyeol smiled stiffly at him earlier and denied yet another one of his suggestions to spend some time together at the music room. He even flinched the other day when Kyungsoo reached out to fix his tie like he always does and Kyungsoo pulled away as soon as he was done.
“Basketball practice,” Chanyeol said later that day and almost tripped over his own feet on his way down the stairs, in a hurry to be someplace else again.
Kyungsoo was left standing there with his books in his hands, confused and slightly irritated because Chanyeol lied to him, for like, the tenth time in the past two weeks. He hasn't even texted him and it's starting to drive Kyungsoo crazy.
As the days go by and Chanyeol keeps ignoring him (more or less), Kyungsoo realizes how their roles have switched. Usually, Chanyeol would be the one to text Kyungsoo first, or make plans for them and bother Kyungsoo until he caves in and simply goes along with it.
Now, Kyungsoo is the one that has to grab Chanyeol by the elbow so he would catch him before he rushes off again, asking him if he would like to hang out or whatever. He's the one who texts first and he's the one that gets ignored most of the time; not Chanyeol. It's weird. He's not used to living in a world where he's the needy one and Chanyeol is the calm, collected one.
But if Chanyeol needs some time for himself to sort out whatever shit he's dealing with right now, then Kyungsoo will give him his space, even though he really wants to sort things out already.
He really misses his best friend.
✩
"Hey, have you talked to Chanyeol lately?" Kyungsoo asks Jongdae a few days later while Jongdae pulls on his sweatpants, dragging them down his legs.
"No, not really. Why?" Jongdae shrugs and reaches out to palm Kyungsoo's erection over his boxers.
"He's been acting kinda weird lately, I guess," Kyungsoo makes himself more comfortable on Jongdae's messy bed and props himself on his elbows just in time to see Jongdae lean down to mouth along the length. He gulps when Jongdae trails a hand up his thigh and sneaks it underneath the boxers, fondling his balls.
Jongdae huffs out a laugh and rolls his eyes as he teasingly fists Kyungsoo's cock in his hand. "It's Chanyeol. He's always been weird. It's his thing."
"His thing?" Kyungsoo asks confused, feeling kind of breathless.
"'Soo, can you just shut up for a second and let me suck your dick in peace?" Jongdae huffs, shaking his head in disbelief. He continues talking nonetheless, tapping on Kyungsoo's thigh with his hand so he would lift his hips a bit, help him take the rest of his clothes off. "You know. Like, you and your weird obsession about keeping things neat and perfect all the time. Or Baekhyun's-well his everything, I mean, it's Baekhyun." Jongdae trails off and finally wraps his hand around Kyungsoo's dick.
Kyungsoo is a bit offended at Jongdae's comment. It's not an obsession; he just likes it when things are organized in a certain order, that's all. There's nothing wrong with not being a slob. But he shrugs it off and continues. "He's just-Fuck," he breathes out when Jongdae starts to move his hand expertly. "It's not like him to be this weird. I don't know." He bites on his lower lip to keep himself from moaning out loud.
"You shouldn't worry too much," Jongdae says after he's made Kyungsoo come, using a bunch of scrunched up tissues to wipe him clean. "It's Chanyeol. Just give him some time."
✩
All the amount of schoolwork he's given proves to be a good distraction. He's too swamped with studying and going to club meetings to worry about Chanyeol. It's been probably over three weeks since he last talked to him, but Kyungsoo is too busy to keep track.
He's sure Chanyeol will snap out of it sooner or later.
✩
Kyungsoo often catches himself pulling his phone out of his pocket to text Chanyeol, even though he doesn't know what to say. It's been over a month and Chanyeol's behavior is still confusing, more than usual. Kyungsoo still isn't used to not seeing or hearing from Chanyeol 24/7 and it's so weird seeing him only during classes.
This isn't the first time Chanyeol has been acting all strange and stuff, but it's the first time it's lasted this long. It never lasted more than a few days-a week tops-and he would always text Kyungsoo to tell him that he's fine, to stop worrying. This time, there are no messages. Chanyeol has always been there by his side since he was thirteen, texted him two hundred times a day when he was on a vacation with his family, and now it's all gone, with no warning or anything. Kyungsoo is starting to get really worried now.
This whole thing is starting to throw him out of a loop and he feels on edge whenever Chanyeol sits next to him during class. He wants to turn around and ask him what's wrong, grab him by the elbow as he's about to leave, and maybe Chanyeol would stay and talk to him about it, sort things out. Maybe Chanyeol would stop lying to him and they would go back to being best friends, putting everything behind them, but Kyungsoo can't find it in himself to do it.
God, even he is starting to act all weird, because he's never had any problems when it came to confronting people before and now he can barely even send a simple text message to Chanyeol to ask him if he would want to join him and the rest in the common room.
He huffs and puts the phone back in his pocket only to pull it out seconds later, typing out wanna hang out? to Baekhyun. He just needs something to help him take the edge off, to make him stop overthinking so much.
hang out hang out or blow me hang out? ;P is Baekhyun's reply and Kyungsoo rolls his eyes. 'm free tho. cum over :*
Kyungsoo wrinkles his nose in distaste and throws his phone on his bed, hopping off to put his slippers on.
"Just so you know, this isn’t dial-a-dick or anything. I have a life too, y’know,” Baekhyun protests as soon as Kyungsoo barges into his room a few minutes later and immediately climbs into his bed.
He straddles Baekhyun’s hips and fists his hand in Baekhyun’s hair to tug him closer, smashing their lips together without wasting any time. "Oh yeah? Then why did you say it was okay for me to come over, huh?" Kyungsoo asks in between kisses, lips curving into a smirk when Baekhyun groans, hands sliding down Kyungsoo’s back and slipping under the waistband of his jeans to grab fistfuls of his ass.
“I have needs too,” Baekhyun offers weakly and Kyungsoo shakes his head, dragging his teeth harshly down the column of Baekhyun’s neck, his adam’s apple bobbing in his throat as Kyungsoo goes lower, sucking a mark in the dip between his collarbones. “Besides, you give good head.”
Kyungsoo rolls his eyes at that and slides his hands underneath Baekhyun’s X-Men t-shirt, tugging it up his chest to bunch it under his armpits, leaning down to flick his tongue over Baekhyun’s nipple. “We’ll see about that,” Kyungsoo looks up at him and dips his head again to twirl his tongue around the other nipple, feeling the way it hardens under his tongue.
At the end, Baekhyun ends up giving Kyungsoo head and he also ends up prepping himself as Kyungsoo sits back and enjoys the show.
He works his fist slowly over his cock as he cards fingers through Baekhyun’s hair, encouraging him to go on, telling him when to add another finger and when to speed up. The sounds of Baekhyun’s slick fingers sliding in and out of his hole only spurs Kyungsoo on even more, and he grips on Baekhyun’s hair to pull him up in his lap for a deep, messy kiss.
Once Baekhyun is well prepped, Kyungsoo flips him over on his hands and knees, face down and ass up in the air on display, drizzling down some lube in between Baekhyun’s ass cheeks and using his cock to smear it around, dipping the head in and out a few times teasingly until Baekhyun starts begging to be fucked.
Baekhyun comes with a loud cry and bites on Kyungsoo's arm when he refuses to cuddle.
✩
Detention, however, provides an even better distraction, one that goes by the name of Oh Sehun, the tall and really cute underclassman.
It's late when Kyungsoo realizes that everyone from the drama club already left and he's about to lock up and leave as well, when he hears someone yelp behind him, followed by a loud thud thud thud. Kyungsoo immediately spins around on his heels and hurries off to help whoever's lying down with his face glued to the floor, a bunch of boxes strewn all around him.
"Are you okay?" Kyungsoo grunts as he pulls the guy up and he's taken aback when the guy finally manages to stand on his feet, hovering over Kyungsoo with his height. This is the first time since his detention started that he's seeing this guy, but Kyungsoo has a feeling he knows him from somewhere else. He looks really familiar.
"Y-Yeah, um, thanks," the kid says awkwardly, brushing the hair that's fallen over his eyes. His face is flushed pink and Kyungsoo finds it kind of amusing. "I just...fell down the stairs, I guess." He fumbles around awkwardly and sniffs, crouching down to pick the boxes off the ground.
"Looks like it," Kyungsoo smiles and bends down to help him. They look really heavy. The guy thanks him with another shy smile and Kyungsoo leans back against the stage. "Hey, do I know you from somewhere? It's just, you seem very familiar. I must've seen you around campus before, or something."
"Me?" Shy boy points at himself, eyes wide in surprise. "Um, I guess? I'm Sehun. I'm friends with your roommate. Well sort of..." Sehun trails off, biting on his lower lip like he just revealed too much.
Kyungsoo hums in thought; the name sounds familiar. He's heard of a Sehun on several occasions before but that's not it. "Weren't you the guy that took our pictures for the school newspaper last year?" Kyungsoo asks, eyes narrowing slightly as he gives Sehun a quick once over.
"Y-Yeah?" Sehun nods slowly, sounding a bit unsure. "I mean, yeah. That was me. My hair was different back then, so that's probably it."
Kyungsoo's eyes widen in realization once he puts two and two together, finally remembering where he knows Sehun from. He was the weird photographer guy with the wild rainbow-colored hair who took double shots of Kyungsoo because there was something wrong with the lighting. He kept frowning down at the camera like it was the most offensive thing he's ever seen and Kyungsoo had to stop himself from laughing at the poor guy.
"I remember you. I liked your pictures a lot," Kyungsoo smiles and loves the way Sehun's face flushes quickly, filing the information for later use even though he doesn't know if there will be another chance where he would be able to use them. This is his last day of detention and the chances of bumping into Sehun around campus are very slim. It's a very big school and there are a lot of students.
"They were okay," Sehun shrugs it off and stands there awkwardly for a while before he motions towards the door. "I'm gonna go now. I have an exam tomorrow and I haven't studied at all, so, bye. See you around."
Sehun is gone before Kyungsoo has the time to say goodbye or wish him good luck. He's a cute kid. Weird, but kind of cute.
✩
Kyungsoo (literally) bumps into Sehun a few days later after their first encounter in the middle of the crowded hallway up on the third floor.
The dark blue folder Sehun was carrying in his hands is lying on the floor by their feet and Kyungsoo quickly scrambles to pick it up. "Here you go," Kyungsoo says as he hands the folder over to Sehun and the younger thanks him quietly before he runs away, probably in a hurry.
Still weird, Kyungsoo thinks, but even cuter this time as he almost trips over his own feet on his way to his next class.
✩
The third time Kyungsoo sees Sehun is at the library.
Kyungsoo is surprised to see Sehun there since he's in the section Kyungsoo always goes to when he's alone, the one tucked in a corner behind the magazines section and the endless rows of vending machines. Kyungsoo likes this place because it's usually empty (thanks to the very low wi-fi signal) and quiet, and he doesn't have to share a desk with anyone. He prefers spreading out instead of stacking everything in piles so he wouldn't take up a lot of space.
Sehun is too busy reading out of an ethics textbook to realize that Kyungsoo is there, a hand propped up under his chin and balled up candy wrappers scattered all over the table, some even lying around his feet on the carpeted floor.
Kyungsoo stands there with his books in his hands, contemplating whether he should sit next to Sehun or go somewhere else, but then he remembers the way Sehun blushed easily the first time he saw him and he really wants to see that again.
"Hey," Kyungsoo greets him quietly, not wanting to scare Sehun who's still lost in his book, and ends up doing the exact opposite-making Sehun jump up from his seat, knocking over the book with his elbow. Kyungsoo starts to chuckle when Sehun places a hand over his chest dramatically, nostrils flared and mouth parted open in shock.
"H-Hi," Sehun mutters dumbly once he's calmed down. "What are you doing here?" His brows furrow when he realizes how dumb that sounds and quickly corrects himself. "I mean, it's the library, of course. It's open for all students of the school, but I meant in this section. Not that you're not allowed to come in here, but I just-I don't think I've ever seen you in here. In this section, I mean." He frowns and looks down, reaching out to ruffle his hair.
Kyungsoo bites back the urge to laugh at Sehun again, and it's hard not to because he looks really adorable when he's flustered. He sets his books on the same table as the one Sehun's using, before he bends down to pick Sehun's textbook off the floor instead of laughing at the younger boy for rambling so much.
"Well, technically, I'm not really allowed to be in here tonight." Kyungsoo replies, closing Sehun's book with a snap. "My ban expires in a few days, I think, but don't tell anyone, okay?"
"Ban? What do you mean?"
Kyungsoo is about to stand up when he lifts his head and finds Sehun's face very close to his. So close, that he can smell the cherry flavored candy he's been eating on his breath. "Um," Kyungsoo says unintelligently, the words stuck in his throat. Sehun is leaning over the edge, his knuckles white from where he has his hands holding onto the edge of the table for support, peering over Kyungsoo.
They stare at each other for a few beats and Kyungsoo finds it really hard not to stare at Sehun's mouth, amazed at how pink it is. "Well, long story short: I have the worst friends ever." Kyungsoo clears his throat and finally gets up, handing the book over to Sehun who thanks him quietly. In these past few weeks he managed to get yet another ban, this one two weeks long, all thanks to Jongdae's loud laughter.
He plops down in the chair across from the younger boy with a huff, quickly taking out the pens from his pencil case, lining them up by color. He could sit on the table next to Sehun's or the other ten in this section, but it's a big table, he thinks to himself, and besides; Sehun doesn't seem to mind the company.
They work in silence for the rest of the night and Sehun proves out to be a nice study buddy. He doesn't take up lots of space and he's quiet as he pops a piece of sour cherry flavored candy after another, keeping the litter to his side of the table. Kyungsoo often looks up at him, almost always in time to catch the way his tongue pokes out at the corner of his mouth in concentration.
Kyungsoo is the first one to leave, but not before he gets a bottle of water from one of the vending machines and sets it on the table next to Sehun's phone. Sehun thanks him shyly, lips curving upwards in a small smile.
✩
The same night Kyungsoo is very rudely woken up by a call from Chanyeol. He furrows his brows in confusion because a) it’s the middle of the night, what the fuck? and b) he hasn’t seen nor heard from Chanyeol in so long, what the fuck?!
Jongin throws a pillow at him from the other side of the room, cursing something unintelligible under his breath about it being "too loud" and "turn it off" as he rolls over in his bed and pulls the blanket over his head.
Kyungsoo picks up, groaning out a, “What the fuck Park, do you have any idea what time it is?” He throws an arm over his face, waiting for Chanyeol to answer.
“Hah, well…” Chanyeol chuckles nervously on the other side of the line and Kyungsoo contemplates hanging up on his so called friend when Chanyeol speaks again. “I’m really sorry, Kyungsoo, but Jongdae and Baekhyun won’t pick up and my roommate’s phone is off, and I need someone to let me in.”
“Where the hell are you?” Kyungsoo asks, straightening up a bit in his bed.
“Outside,” Chanyeol answers sheepishly and Kyungsoo groans as he tosses the blanket off to the side. “Can you please, please, please help me out, I'm freezing.”
Kyungsoo huffs into the receiver. “Fine. Wait for me by the labs. I’ll be there in a minute.” he says before he hangs up on Chanyeol, grabbing the special key card that opens all doors (a very handy gift they all got from Jongdae last Christmas) from his desk and quickly slips into his shoes.
He’s quiet and careful as he makes his way down the hallway and down the spiral staircase that leads to the science section of the first floor, the sound of his shoes scuffing against the marble floor echoing throughout the empty hallways. It’s dark and terribly quiet, the only light coming from the lampposts outside, flickering every few seconds and it reminds Kyungsoo very much of those awful horror movies Jongin makes him watch when they’re bored late at night.
A shiver goes down his spine at the thought of the last one they saw, where a school girl came back from the dead to haunt her classmates and ended up killing them all. He huffs in annoyance at how ridiculous he’s being, hurrying up because the sooner he lets Chanyeol in, the sooner he can go back to bed and back to sleep.
He turns left, right, left and another left and he’s in the old science lab that's been out of use since Baekhyun ruined half of it during class almost two years ago, opening the door so Chanyeol would be able to get in. A gush of wind comes through the gap and Kyungsoo shivers, crossing his arms over his chest and practically curls in on himself in an attempt to keep himself warm as he waits for Chanyeol to come inside. It's the middle of November and Kyungsoo’s thin bunny print pajamas are doing a terrible job at keeping him warm.
A few seconds pass and Chanyeol is nowhere to be seen and Kyungsoo kicks the door open even further so he could step outside and look for his friend, the sound of dry leaves crunching beneath his feet awfully loud in the quiet night. He looks around, searching for that idiot and he’s about to go over to the other side of campus to go look for him, when he feels someone’s presence behind him.
He gulps nervously, thinking he got caught by the night guard again and he curses mentally as he turns around, already dreading the conversation he’s going to have with the principal first thing in the morning. Maybe he can use sleep walking again, but they would probably confiscate his key card. Fuck.
But the least thing he’s expecting is for Chanyeol to be the one standing right behind him, hovering over him. Kyungsoo almost bumps into his chest and he squeaks out in surprise, heart jumping up to his throat. Chanyeol is quick to place one large hand over Kyungsoo's mouth to muffle the sound and Kyungsoo has to swat it away so he would let go. Chanyeol smiles apologetically as he circles around Kyungsoo to lock the door.
His hair is pushed back from his forehead and his lips are red and slightly swollen, like they were after that night, and Kyungsoo swallows down the jealousy that starts to creep up his throat. He’s even wearing his favorite leather jacket, the one he wears when he really wants to make an impression on someone he likes and for some inexplicable reason Kyungsoo wishes Chanyeol wouldn’t wear it for anyone else except for him.
“Bro, where the hell is your phone? I sent you like three texts telling you to go back to bed because the storage room was open and I would get in from there, but when you didn’t reply I thought you might be here and I came over as soon as I heard you open the door.” Chanyeol says hurriedly, all in one breath and his voice is still a tad too loud for the situation they’re in right now.
“I left it in my room, I must’ve forgotten it in my hurry to come and save your skinny ass,” Kyungsoo spits out, keeping his voice quiet. “It’s three in the morning Chanyeol, you owe it to me big time.” he pokes Chanyeol’s chest accusingly, eyes narrowed down to slithers.
“‘Soo, I’m so sorry for waking you up.” Chanyeol fusses, flapping his arms around like a seal. He opens his mouth to speak again but Kyungsoo shushes him, not trusting him to have control over his own voice. He doesn’t want to risk getting caught, not when they’ve managed to get this far.
“Save it,” Kyungsoo hisses at Chanyeol and grabs him by the wrist, tugging him along as he makes his way over to the door. “I can always kill you tomorrow. Now be quiet,” he turns around to give Chanyeol one last threatening death glare before he checks if the coast is clear. Chanyeol looks like a kicked puppy, drooping his shoulders as he nods in understanding and Kyungsoo ignores the way his chest tightens at the sight.
They successfully make it up to the their floor and Chanyeol waves at Kyungsoo when they reach his door. “Thank you,” he whispers and steps closer to Kyungsoo. He inhales the scent of Chanyeol’s cologne and it’s so terribly intoxicating that he pushes him away quickly before he does something he’ll regret in the morning, or before (god forbid) they get caught. Chanyeol smiles awkwardly as he waves at him, turning around to run over to the end of the hallway where his room is.
Kyungsoo quietly slips inside his room, not wanting to wake Jongin up for the second time, and leans his head against the door once he closes it. The fact that this was the first time he's spent more than two seconds with Chanyeol in over a month irritates him so much. Everytime they have lunch together, Chanyeol is the first one to leave, scarfing down his food rapidly with an excuse along the lines of “I have to go, see you guys later.” Baekhyun and Jongdae aren’t of much help either, as they shrug their shoulders every time Kyungsoo asks them if they find Chanyeol’s behavior weird.
“It’s just Chanyeol, you know how weird he can get at times.” Baekhyun had said, waving him off before switching the topic to something entirely unrelated.
Kyungsoo feels betrayed. He knows it’s silly and that he should talk to Chanyeol before he jumps to any conclusions, but there’s a voice screaming at him from the back of his head, reminding him that Chanyeol sneaked out of school grounds without mentioning anything about it to him and that he was Chanyeol’s last choice. Jongdae and Baekhyun won’t pick up is flashing in bold letters before his eyes and he toes off his shoes angrily, leaving them like that in the middle of the hallway.
He tosses the key card to his nightstand and flops down on his bed, huffing and puffing as he rolls around in the sheets, trying to make himself comfortable. Why didn’t Chanyeol tell him about his plans? Chanyeol used to text him about his whereabouts every five minutes, even informing him when he was in the bathroom taking a dump, for crying out loud! He could’ve helped him sneak out like he always does. He would’ve helped him pick out his outfit and even style his hair, but no. Apparently Chanyeol is mad at him for something, if the fact that he’s been avoiding him for so long is anything to go by.
He’s not used to not being by Chanyeol’s side; it feels empty and weird and during these past few weeks he’s been feeling kind of lonely. Ugh, he is being ridiculous again. It’s almost four in the morning and he should be sleeping instead of mulling over Chanyeol and how damn good he looked and how damn jealous he felt for no reason at all.
Just like he told Baekhyun a few weeks ago-he and Chanyeol are just friends. So why does he feel so shitty and jealous and frustrated all of a sudden?
✩
"Where were you last night?" Baekhyun asks Kyungsoo the next morning as they're walking towards the gates where Jongdae should be waiting for them.
It's Saturday and Baekhyun decided to be nice for a change and take them out for lunch in town. Kyungsoo thought of going to the movies with Jongin, but this is such a rare occurrence that he doesn't want to miss it. Chanyeol isn't with them and Kyungsoo doesn't even bother asking about his whereabouts.
"Studying at the library," Kyungsoo shrugs, trying not to smile at the thought of Sehun worrying on his bottom lip with his teeth. He doesn't want to tell them about Sehun, for some reason. He wants to keep it all to himself for a while longer; he knows Baekhyun will come up with some stupid jokes that will ruin it for him.
"Spending your Friday night in the library while you're still on the black list," Baekhyun whistles obnoxiously. "Look at you livin' life on the edge." Baekhyun starts to guffaw loudly at his own words and Kyungsoo rolls his eyes. God, he's so lame.
Kyungsoo elbows Baekhyun below his ribs to shut him up and Baekhyun starts to whine like a little puppy. "The fuck was that for?" He pouts, acting like he's mad and offended but links his arm through Kyungsoo's anyway.
"Your pain gives me strength." Kyungsoo bumps their shoulders together and drags Baekhyun towards the gate where Jongdae is already waiting for them, leaning against the wall and smiling down at the phone in his hands. "Hey, do you happen to know where Chanyeol was off to last night? He called me in the middle of the night because you guys wouldn't pick up." He swallows; the words leave an unpleasant taste in his mouth.
"I dunno," Baekhyun replies and untangles himself quickly to hop off to Jongdae. "Whatcha smiling about?" he asks cutely and tries to take a peak at his phone, but Jongdae is quicker, hand already halfway down his pocket.
"Just talking to my brother," Jongdae waves him off and grabs the snapback from Baekhyun's head, pushing the hair back from his forehead to put it on his instead. "You guys ready to go? The car got here five minutes ago."
Jongdae keeps texting someone the whole time during lunch, stopping from time to time to eat and shove Baekhyun's face as far away as possible from his phone. Baekhyun simply latches onto him like a barnacle and keeps whining loudly in his ear.
"Who have you been texting all day long?" Kyungsoo asks once he gets tired of listening to Baekhyun repeat "who are you talking to?" over and over again.
"My brother," Jongdae grins brightly and finally puts his phone back into his Givenchy clutch, keeping it on the other side of the bench they're sitting on, far away from Baekhyun.
Kyungsoo narrows his eyes suspiciously. "Don't lie. You once blocked him on KakaoTalk because he refused to give you the location of the party he was at. Who are you really talking to?"
"Yeah, ChenChen. Spit it out!" Baekhyun detaches himself from Jongdae and starts to tug on his arm repeatedly.
It's only a matter of seconds before they start to push and pull each other, screaming loud enough to gather the attention of the other customers at the tiny restaurant. Kyungsoo sighs, taking a sip of his iced tea as he waits for them to stop, ignoring the glares their table is receiving from the few people around them. Kyungsoo is used to it by now; he stopped feeling the secondhand embarrassment a very long time ago.
Baekhyun is in the middle of pushing Jongdae's leg away from his lap and trying to bite the arm wrapped around his throat when Chanyeol joins them, smile falling off his face when he spots Kyungsoo sitting in the corner across from the kindergarteners. Kyungsoo is surprised to see him here too, even though he was probably included in the original plan; he just assumed Chanyeol wouldn't be joining them at all.
"Hey," Chanyeol greets them and smiles, lips set in a thin line.
"Yo, you made it!" Jongdae greets him brightly and gasps when Baekhyun's teeth enclose around his earlobe.
"Sorry it took me so long," Chanyeol hikes up the sleeves of his flannel shirt up to his elbows, reaching out for the menu that's by the napkins.
"Where were you last night?" Kyungsoo asks, curious, before he could stop himself.
"Yura was in town. We, um, had to go grab some stuff," Chanyeol says quickly, barely bothering to look at Kyungsoo as he replies. His fingers are fumbling with the pages, eyes scanning the menu intently.
"I though she already left for London," Kyungsoo comments casually, using Baekhyun's distraction as an opportunity to steal a piece of tuna gimbap from his plate and pop it in his mouth. Baekhyun is practically sitting on Jongdae's lap now, both of them too preoccupied to pay attention to their surroundings.
Chanyeol stiffens in his seat and plays with one of the buttons on his shirt. "She was supposed to leave yesterday but something came up at work, some last minute stuff. I think her flight leaves tonight."
Kyungsoo hums in response and waits until Chanyeol is done ordering until he speaks again, tapping his foot against the floor impatiently. "Why do you keep lying to me, Chanyeol?" Kyungsoo almost snaps; he clearly remembers Yura's new KakaoTalk status message from last night, complaining about London's heavy downpour that greeted her, not to mention how she would never make him stay up so late. "What's going on? And don't tell me it's nothing, because in case you haven't noticed, it's been over a month since we've last talked to each other normally, and you keep running away whenever you see me come your way." Kyungsoo is fuming by the time he's done talking and he assumes he wasn't really quiet either, since Jongdae and Baekhyun are staring at him from across the table, both of them frozen mid-fight.
Chanyeol simply stares at him, jaw tight and hands balled up in fists in his lap. Kyungsoo doesn't wait for Chanyeol to respond and continues talking, thinking this is as good a time as any to sort things out.
"Is this about what happened at the party? Did you think I misunderstood that kiss and thought there was something going on there, because I assure you, that's not the case," Kyungsoo says, stopping when the waiter comes to bring Chanyeol his drink. "I don't know what happened, but you need to stop treating me like I'm an idiot," He continues, voice calmer than it was a few seconds ago. "You've always been a terrible liar, Chanyeol."
"Oh, don't worry about that. I didn't misunderstand anything," Chanyeol says sharply. "You made it perfectly clear I will never be anything other than just a friend to you. I'll always be Park Chanyeol; your stupid, annoying, best fucking friend. " Chanyeol spits out, standing up to pull his wallet from his back pocket and pulls out a few bills, throwing them on the table. He grabs his snapback and phone, huffing angrily. "I'm-I'm not even hungry anymore." And with that he's gone, slamming the door of the restaurant loudly as he leaves.
Kyungsoo is sitting there, frozen and taken aback by what just happened. "What? What is he even talking about?"
Baekhyun clears his throat loudly and Kyungsoo watches as chews on his bottom lip for a second before he speaks. "Remember that time in the library when I asked you if you would date any of us? Before we got kicked out, and we had that fight in the middle of the school..." Baekhyun trails off and Kyungsoo nods slowly, urging him to go on. "Well. He kinda-"
"He was on his way to meet us and he happened to hear our conversation." Jongdae cuts Baekhyun off, finishing the story.
"But why is he so upset about it?" Kyungsoo asks slowly, swallowing down the bile that's rising up his throat. "Is he like in love with m-" Kyungsoo stops abruptly, the gears in his head finally starting to spin. Oh. This can't be happening. "So he..." He trails off and Jongdae glances at Baekhyun like he's asking for permission to continue and Baekhyun nods stiffly.
"Yeah," Jongdae puffs out his cheeks and looks around the restaurant awkwardly.
"And that's why he's been avoiding me all this time? Because he's. Like. In love with me?" Kyungsoo starts playing with the plastic straw in his drink absentmindedly. His throat feels dry all of a sudden. This can't be happening.
"Well, that and-he's kinda seeing someone right now?" Jongdae says uncertainly and winces.
“Do you know Jinah? That hot girl that wanted to join the choir but didn’t make the cut?” Baekhyun starts after Kyungsoo gives them a what the fuck look, scratching behind his ear sheepishly. Kyungsoo nods, remembering the pout on her face when Mrs. Kwon gave her the bad news, and Baekhyun continues. “Well at the freshmen party she asked Chanyeol out and he turned her down, but a few days later he started hanging out with her and...one thing led to another and last night was their first official date.”
Kyungsoo's heart tightens in his chest and he doesn't care that he's sitting here like an idiot in front of his friends, feeling like someone spilled a bucked of ice-cold water over him. So that's what Chanyeol's been doing behind his back all along. He leans back in his chair and tries to breathe even though his lungs feel like they're going to burst. His head is a jumbled mess right now; finding out that your best friend is in love with you and has spent the last month or so avoiding you because of it, is a lot to deal with so early in the day, and to top it all off, he's been running around and having dates with someone while Kyungsoo kept worrying about him. Fuck.
He needs to get some fresh air. He needs to get out of here; he can't stand the pity written all over his friends' faces.
He gets up quickly and he grabs the jacket from his chair, not bothering to turn around and pick the chair up after it falls down in his hurry to leave. He starts running down the street and ignores the protests from Jongdae who immediately ran out after him. He runs until his legs give out and his lungs start to burn, coming to a stop when he reaches a small playground, sitting there for hours as he tries to wrap his mind around all the new information he just received.
And it all makes sense now; the clothes and the hair and how swollen his lips looked last night. The way he looked at him at that party, before he kissed him and why he's been avoiding him ever since. Why he flinched every time Kyungsoo touched him, the constant attention he's been giving him, always finding reasons to bother him. Huh.
His phone has been buzzing in his pocket for over an hour and he pulls it out, ignoring all the missed calls and messages from both Baekhyun and Jongdae, and scrolls down his contacts list dialing the number of the person he knows would make him forget about things for a while.
✩
"Hey kiddo! Aren't you supposed to be in school?" Minseok grins cheekily as soon as he steps foot in Minseok's bar.
"Weren't you supposed to open a coffee shop?" Kyungsoo grins back and plops down in one of the stools lined up in front of the bar.
"Ha. Very funny," Minseok rolls his eyes playfully and goes back to unpacking boxes of white wine. "Why aren't you at school?"
"It's the weekend, remember?" Kyungsoo snorts, taking a bottle from the counter, reading at the label on the back to keep himself occupied. "It's only been, what-three years since you graduated, and you already forgot what life in that hellhole used to be like?"
"It's been two years, and no, I haven't forgotten about it," Minseok defends himself and snatches the bottle away from Kyungsoo's hands. "And back in my day, we weren't allowed to leave campus without a parent or a guardian present. You brats have it easy these days."
Minseok used to be the president of the school council and the captain of the soccer team, one of the most popular guys in school back in his days. Kind of quiet at times, but very nice and outgoing. Everyone loved him. Kyungsoo kind of had a crush on him during his freshmen year, but with time it ended up as nothing more than just admiration and respect.
Minseok always dreamed of opening his own coffee shop, since his number one dream was kind of not an option, thanks to his bad knee. But a coffee shop ended up being a bar, because "It's the same, really. And the business is better. Plus I get to meet all the cute girls."
"If you say so." Kyungsoo tilts his head to the side and smiles, accepting the cocktail Minseok makes for him.
Kyungsoo gets drunk that night and Minseok has to call the evil twins to come pick him up, and Kyungsoo doesn't remember the ride back home. The last thing he remembers before passing out on Baekhyun's bed is Jongdae's hushed, concerned voice, asking Baekhyun if he thinks Kyungsoo would be okay.
"He will, don't worry."
→ PART 3