𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟰
𝓭𝓸𝓷'𝓽 𝓶𝓮𝓭𝓭𝓵𝓮

Hyunjin had lived quite a moderately...bland life. He was born into a well off family, his mother and father both being successful business and stock traders (whatever that meant). He had a lovely house, no siblings to share any of his toys or clothes, no neighbour's right next door to play with in the summer. The only reason he even had a bike was because his father would occasionally force him to come bike riding with his country club.

But nothing, absolutely nothing, could even come close to the pure adrenaline pumping through his blood as he raced down the hill, wind rushing through his hair. His mouth tasted bitter and dry, but as he opened his mouth to let out a howl of laughter, his chest felt lighter. It's as if his entire life had led up to this moment, this exact, painstakingly, wonderful moment.

"That's it pretty boy!" Changbin cried out behind him, letting out a shout of joy of his own.

Felix's laughter followed in suit, and Hyunjin sneaked a glance back at the couple, who were watching him gleefully, eyes bright and shining under the setting sun.

It was strange how comfortable he felt in their pair, and even more so how easily they allowed him in. There wasn't a single moment they singled him out or ignored him, eventhough it was obvious they cared about eachother more than anyone else, always being sure to include him in discussions and explain inside jokes and stories. Even times where Changbin was teasing him excessively, or Felix giving him significantly more attention than the other boy- the other of the couple didn't so much as blink. Instead, they looked fond, watching the other keep Hyunjin company.

It was...just strange. They were strange. So very strange.

Hyunjin grins beside himself, deciding he very much liked strange.

The time of day had progressed from a pale blue to the day now bleeding into the night, a warm pink and orange hue cascading across the town. And the more and more that the trio of teenagers raced through the clearing, towards to the centre of town, the more and more Hyunjin felt like he was entering a completely new world.

"Hyunjin! Turn onto the road!" Felix shouted, and although Hyunjin had no idea whether Felix actually knew where to go, he didn't hesitate before following the instructions, skidding to a turn before the wheels started to race on the smooth tar of the road.

There were no cars, surprising Hyunjin, but to Changbin, it was like winning the lottery.

"All right!" He shouted, and the boy who was once skating behind him (perhaps as a safety precaution, since Hyunjin had never been on a dirt bike) had now zoomed past his right and infront of him.

Changbin was in a crouching position, leaning so far forward, Hyunjin felt a small spark of anxiety flicker in his stomach, but it was quickly replaced when the boy looked back. His smile was so wide and bright, eyes creasing with joy.

"Come on babe!" He shouted, assumingly to Felix (of course, why would he call Hyunjin babe?), who howled in laughter. "Why so slow? Me and Hyunjin might get there before you at this rate."

Hyunjin wanted to scoff and point out that they hadn't even asked him for his address yet, and instead, felt a sudden gust of air shoot by his left side. He blinked, stunned to suddenly see Felix racing down the empty road, not even looking back at Changbin and Hyunjin.

Hyunjin unconsciously slowed down, watching in awe as Felix easily turned smoothly at a bend, despite his speed. He was crouched similar to Changbin, but both arms at his back, leaning forward.

Changbin slowed down with him, standing up straight as he easily cruised beside Hyunjin.

He was grinning with pride, "When I told you we're the best skaters in the park, I wasn't joking."

"How is he..." Hyunjin started, marvelling at the distance between Felix and the two boys he had all but left in the dust.

Changbin shrugged, turning to look at Felix, pride still glowing off his face at his boyfriend, "He's the fastest long boarder I know, but he's humble. He'll probably deny it, even if no one's beaten him in a race."

"So when he said he'd get me home in 10 minutes...he wasn't exaggerating."

Changbin reached out to ruffle Hyunjin's already messy and knotted hair, one leg out to his side ready to kick off, "Only one way to find out sweetheart."

And with that, he kicked off a couple times, the distance between them growing immensely. Felix had stopped dozens of feet away from them, watching them fondly, but Hyunjin was distracted by Changbin's back to even see the glimmer in Felix's eyes as he smiled knowingly.

"Sweetheart...?" Hyunjin breathed out, heat rising up his neck to his cheeks.

Blaming it on the summers heat, Hyunjin began to peddle quickly, planning to overtake both of them to fight off his growing embarrassment.

It was no easy wish, since the duo had noticed the way Hyuniin was accelerating towards them and put two and two together, both charging ahead with no hesitation.

The adrenaline was back to rattling Hyunjin's rib cage, buzzing under his skin as his legs were turning numb and jelly with his sudden speed, but he didn't dare stop. He couldn't. If he did, maybe this surreal moment would come to an abrupt stop, something that felt dangerously close to fear rippled through him at the thought.

"Hyunjin! Is that all you've got?" Felix's voice cut in through the air, both boys closer but still cruising in front of him.

Changbin grinned cheekily, "Gone soft, pretty boy?"

Hyunjin blinked, mischief making it's way from his chest to his eyes as he put on the best pained expression he could, pouting slightly as he called back, "I think I've got a leg cramp."

The glee was immediately wiped off the two skaters expressions, concern immediately taking over. They slowed to a stop, eyebrows furrowed in worry.

"Hey slow down sweetheart." Changbin said cautiously, but Hyunjin could barely hear him, since the moment he saw Felix jump off his board, a spike of adrenaline shot to his legs as he gunned the pedals.

Hyunjin let a loud wolf howl erupt from his chest as he zoomed past the bewildered skaters, leaving them to blink in the dust.

He turned back around briefly, absolute joy painted on his sunkissed face as he cried out, "Just kidding! Race you home!"

Felix gaped, his own words thrown back at him, "He's...such a brat."

"But he's pretty cute." Changbin added unhelpfully, although the smirk on his face hinted more than a little annoyance for being tricked so easily by a newbie.

Felix, unsurprised by Changbin's answer, rolls his eyes, leaning over to smack Changbin upside the head.

The older boy, who had been tracking Hyunjin's acceleration figure, jumps in surprise at the violence, jerking forward and almost tripping over his resting skateboard, "Ow! Babe! What was that for?"

"Stop staring at his ass." Felix states with another eye roll, although the teasing smile dancing on his lips held no malice.

Changbin sputters out explanations, none of them convincing, as his face heats up.

"Hey you two! Are you coming or what?" Hyunjin shouts from far ahead, looking smaller and dazed under the summer heat.

Felix says nothing but gives Changbin a knowing glare, before he runs a hand through his boyfriend undercut, petting the place he had smacked. "You heard him, we have to get prince charming home."

Changbin massages the spot he was hit like it actually hurt, grumbling under his breath as Felix mounts his board and kicks off towards Hyunjin.

"I wasn't staring at his ass..." Changbin pouts.

Felix snorts, "I know you weren't, but you should." He says much to his boyfriends surprise, "He's pretty fit."

"Felix! You should focus on his heart not his- his-"

"Babe, I can't see his heart. I can however, appreciate a good ass."

"You-" Changbin shouts, positively scandelised, as Felix races off up to Hyunjin, booming with laughter, who watches them with adorable confusion.

—

"HOLD THE GATE!" Hyunjin screams when his neighbourhood comes into view.

The rush from the clear roads to the busy town centre was a blur, since the fun was beginning to dissipate and instead, the growing anxiety of having to face his mothers wrath was exceeding.

Before he knew it, Hyunjin was charging head first to his street, where the watchman gasps loudly when he sees Hyunjin approaching, followed by two boys on skateboards.

They must be quite a sight, especially when racing through town. But truly, there is no way to fix the situation as it stands, so if his mother finds out about his son parading through town and disrupting the peace...well, better now than later.

The watchman is obviously confused, but pulls back the gate he was closing, "Mr.Hwang?"

"I'LL EXPLAIN LATER!" Hyunjin shouts, before he and the pair of boys behind him squeeze through the opening and into the street.

Hyunjin's house is at the very end of the street, with the biggest driveway and biggest garden and, unsurprisingly, biggest house.

If Felix and Changbin are intimidated or confused by Hyunjin's neighbourhood, they say nothing about it, which makes Hyunjin feel worse than if they did comment.

He wasn't- he wasn't trying to show off or anything. He would never.

"Oi, don't frown pretty boy." Changbin says, appearing at his right all of a sudden, "You look better when you laugh."

It startles a smile out of Hyunjin, because of course Hyunjin would say something so cheesy, and yet he can't help but feel calmed by it.

Changbin grins in response, "There you go darling."

"You ready to face your mother?" Felix interjects with a sudden seriousness beside Changbin.

Hyunjin let's out a shaky sigh, smile dropping back into a frown immediately, "No."

"Can't you tell her you were at a friends house? Or a club?" Felix further pokes, and Changbin frowns when the atmosphere turns tight. The carefree excitement barely even there anymore, replaced with bubbling apprehension and worry.

"I don't think me being late is the only problem she'll bring up today..." Hyunjin mutters, referencing the event that had take place that morning, although its loud enough to be heard by both boys beside him.

Before either one can comment on what that means, Hyunjin's house comes into view, and he screeches to an abrupt halt.

The bike jerks forward dangerously, almost throwing him off completely if not for both legs Hyunjin plants into the ground, but it doesn't stop Changbin from tripping over his legs to stop as well.

Felix is much more graceful as he comes to a stop, "Is everything okay?"

"My dads car is on the driveway." Hyunjin states, pale, "He's not supposed to be home for another week."

"Shit." Changbin curses, looking around the empty street as if there would be an emergency exit somewhere for them to run to instead.

"Do you still want to go home?" Felix asks concerned, and its obvious there's something deeper in his words, or a darker implication of what awaits him at home.

But Hyunjin has never feared his parents impressions of him, and he is not starting now, "Yeah."

He picks himself off the bike, rolling it to Changbin, who takes it by the handles wordlessly. Although, from the furrow in his brows, it's obvious he wants to say more.

"Thank you for taking me home, and thank Bambam for letting me borrow his bike." Hyunjin forces out, smile thin and eyes not nearly as bright as Felix wants them to be.

"Don't worry about it pretty boy." Changbin answers when it's apparent Felix can't fathom a response, "We'll see you around, yeah?"

Hyunjin winces, "Hopefully? I should really go in now."

Hyunjin turns away and jogs to the big house on the end of the street before Felix can reach out to stop him. Instead, Changbin grabs Felix's forearm, shaking his head when the latter looks back in plea.

"You don't even know him Felix." Changbin hisses under his breath when Hyunjin is a good distance away, slowly walking up his outrageously large driveway, "He doesn't want us to meddle."

"But aren't you worried too?" Felix asks with big almond eyes, and truly, a much stronger would have to refuse such a look. Changbin is not nearly as strong. Nor does he think he ever will be.

He purses his lips, eyes tracking Hyunjin as he finally makes it to the front door.

"Fine," he sighs, letting go of Felix's arm, "We'll wait here. In case he runs out."

Felix is definitely not pleased by the answer, but doesn't oppose. His lips fall into a thin line, shuffling back so the two of them are pressed side by side, leaning against the dirt bike Hyunjin had just ridden on.

Hyunjin doesn't even look back at them as he fishes out his house keys from his blazer pocket and opens the front door, shutting it closed behind him.

❀⊱┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄⊰❀

ha HA HELLO!!
it's been an entire
year since the last
update. i deeply
apologise. but
lucky for anyone
who's stuck around,
the next 4 chapters
are already written
and will he published
within a couple of
days !!

hope you enjoyed
this cliff hanger ;)

❀⊱┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄⊰❀

13/08/2020
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