as felix sat there inside the dark, medium-sized space known as his room, he stared at the phone in his hands, contemplating over and over again if he should text changbin.

lately, he'd been growing more and more dependant on the guy, coming to refer to him as some sort of friend even though they hadn't known each other for long and they'd only seen a few pictures of one another.

even the college student knew next to nothing about felix's actual life, he still comforted the boy in more ways than one. it would be a lie if felix said changbin's words didn't make him happy at times, elevating his mood whenever he felt like he was feeling pressured. without the older boy knowing it, he frequently made the australian smile with his jokes, and his texts were usually enough to make his whole day.

felix had been staring at changbin's account for a while now, torn between texting the elder and not wanting to disrupt his time. changbin hadn't texted him for a few days now, and he knew whenever the older was offline he was busy with his job or school. that always saddened felix, and sometimes he wished he could experience what it was like to go to a public school once again, wished his mother wasn't so adamant to make him homeschooled.

his mother was always a very strict person, ridden with her unwavering beliefs and her annoying rules. that was what led him to rebel, and with the dating app, he could be able to choose who he wanted to talk to and meet, finally able to have a say in his own decisions for once.

the door opened, and felix swiftly shifted his phone under his pillow, making himself appear as if he was asleep.

his skin didn't crawl or feel like he was being scrutinized, so felix knew the person at his door wasn't minho. that instantly made him relieved.

"felix? are you awake?" a voice asked.

felix sighed and nodded, sitting up from his bed.

"mom says dinner is ready," the voice continued, and felix bit his lip.

"sure, i'll be downstairs in a second chenle," felix answered, finally staring at the boy a few feet away from him. with his bright pink curls and short stature, it was easy to think of chenle as any age under seventeen. as well as his adorable looks, his possessed an innocent, childlike demeanor as well. out of everyone in the house, felix was probably the closest to him, as they both shared a lot in common.

"be sure to hurry," chenle smiled, even though he didn't look as excited as he'd tried to portray. no one was excited about their family dinners anymore. "you wouldn't want mom to get mad."

felix nodded, knowing better than to do something reckless like choosing to skip out on dinner that evening. he just couldn't do that. but on the bright side, at least he could text changbin later that night. he could only hope the older boy would be online at that time.

***

felix wanted to throw up. the arrangement of greens and fish on his plate made him want to gag, especially when the food was so horribly done. felix knew his mother could have gotten better food -- and one that was more edible as well -- but she wanted to make this dinner special by cooking the food herself. and by the reactions of most of the people sat around the wide dinner table, they didn't look like they were huge fans of the food either.

but no one could say anything, and that was a fact. their mother was seated with them, which meant they had to eat everything and compliment the food whenever she asked them what they thought about it. everyone knew she was a bad cook (which was why the house was visited by chefs ever so often), but like always, no one could say anything.

felix could feel the loaded gaze of minho following his every move as he gingerly at his food. it made him anxious, but he tried his best not to let it show because if he did, minho wouldn't hesitate to inform his mother about it.

the older had many things he liked, such as his endless supply of hair dye and his affinity for purple soda, and taunting felix seemed to be a part of that list as well.

felix didn't know why minho disliked him so much, but he figured the guy was devious and unstable, so he made sure to stay out of his way as much as he could.

'dinner' went painfully slow, spent with ingesting disgusting food and making uncomfortable small talk with his mother. when dinner was finally over, felix didn't hesitate to race towards his room, firstly making sure his mother and minho were nowhere to be found before he did so.

as soon as he got inside his room he leaped on his soft bed, quickly grabbing his phone from under his pillow.

to his surprise -- and happiness -- there was already a new message from heart you, and it came from none other than changbin himself.

seobin11: hey, are you there?

seobin11: don't mind me,, i just casually forgot to check if you were online again
seen

leef15: yeah, i'm here :)