A/N: Hi! 😊

Double update! Chapter eleven will be directly after this one. Enjoy and happy reading! Also, please don't forget to vote and comment. Thank you!

Love from,
BunnyBaekkiee ❤️

~ 🌸 ~

Chanyeol had lead Baekhyun to the gymnasium to talk. It got them out of the heat, and it hid them from prying eyes. They were sitting in the locker room, their backs against the far back wall. Baekhyun's legs were folded beneath him as Chanyeol sat with his knees pulled to his chest, his arms wrapped around them. He had managed to fold his large body into a ball, and the position made him feel more calm and protected.

He folded his hands, eyes trained on the floor. He couldn't find the right words to bring to his lips, and the heavy pressure of Baekhyun's eyes on him didn't help the fact. He inhaled a shaky breath and glanced from the corner of his eye at Baekhyun, who was staring at him expectantly.

"Are you going to explain yourself?" Baekhyun asked.

Chanyeol glanced at him before looking away. He released a shaky breath and said, "Y-yes." Then he fully turned to face Baekhyun, his hands reaching out to grab Baekhyun's as he said, "Baek . . . I—-" Chanyeol inhaled another breath, before saying in a very calm voice. "Six years ago, there had been a boy. He moved away. He left behind someone precious to him, and it'll be a regret that no matter the number of days or years that pass, he'll never be able to let it go. But he tries his best, because that precious friend of his once told him, 'Life's too short to have regret in the heart'."

"And that, Baekhyun, is my secret . . . My biggest regret is ever leaving him."

Baekhyun was speechless, his mind reeling from this new, heart stopping realization that Park Chanyeol was the little boy from his childhood. That best friend that suddenly disappeared one day without so much as a goodbye. That once dear friend he would have done absolutely anything for, and in return, had broken Baekhyun's heart and left him behind hurt and confused. Leaving him behind to wish to forget him; to erase all the pain he had created. An doing exactly that . . .

Baekhyun's young mind had completely erased Park Chanyeol from his memories, and now, his older self was slowly letting him back in.

Silent tears rolled down Baekhyun's cheeks as he fell into Chanyeol's arms. He hands gathered fist fulls of his hoodie as he sobbed. "Why? Why didn't you say anything?" Baekhyun cried. "You hurt me so much I forced myself to forget you! You were my best friend, Chanyeol, and you left me!"

Chanyeol's own tears ran down his cheeks as he hugged Baekhyun close and repeatedly whispered, "I know. I'm so sorry. I had too. I'm so, so sorry, Baekhyun."

They stayed that way for minutes that seemed to stretch into hours. Both of them hugging the other and drawing strength, their grieving embrace both one of warmth and love; rekindling and healing.

When they finally broke apart, Chanyeol smiled softly and kissed Baekhyun's forehead. "Baek, I don't want to regret anymore. So can we....be friends again?"

"I may have forced myself to forget, Chanyeol, but you will always be my best friend. That I can promise you for certain," Baekhyun whispered with a small smile before leaning forward to hug Chanyeol once more.

They stayed in the locker room, not caring how many classes they missed as they just talking. Catching up on the years lost, as well as playing and joking around. They deemed this time of rebuilding their friendship far more important than any class assignment.

Chanyeol and Baekhyun were playing with a ball and jack's, something that Chanyeol had found clattering around at the bottom of his bag. Chanyeol had his legs crossed beneath him as he sat on the locker room floor, watching on amusedly as Baekhyun failed to gather more than four jack's into his petite hand. He kept getting frustrated and threw the jack's back down for a redo.

Chanyeol chuckled. Baekhyun's eyes darted up to his face as he cried, "Stop laughing at me, you jerk!" Chanyeol pushed his lips to better contain his laughter, but Baekhyun could still hear him snickering. He huffed and threw the ball at Chanyeol. It hit his chest as he cried, "Fine then! Why don't you play if you think you can do so much better!"

Chanyeol snickered and took the ball, muttering, "Challenge accepted . . ." as he gathered together the jack's before dropping them down.

Chanyeol managed to grab all of them without dropping a single one in only a minute. Baekhyun stared at him with his mouth agape before crying, "You so cheated!"

Chanyeol laughed. "How did I possibly cheat, Baek? You were watching me the whole time!"

Baekhyun's cheeks were flushed as he pointed his finger to Chanyeol's hand and exclaimed, "Your hands are too freakishly big! Therefore you cheated!"

Chanyeol just laughed and cried, "How does that even make sense?"

He laughed again, and then Baekhyun lunged forward, shoving him backwards as he yelled, "Cheater!"

Chanyeol couldn't catch his breath he was laughing so hard, and the fact that a certain midget kept poking his sides and calling him a 'cheater' didn't help the 'not able to breathe' situation. Eventually though, Baekhyun wore himself out and ended up clasping onto Chanyeol's chest. He didn't feel a need to move either, as he was comfortable.

Chanyeol sighed and gently brushed his hand over Baekhyun's hair, his other hand moving to tentatively touch his waist before shamelessly holding onto him.

The silence stretched on as they laid there together, content in each other's arms. Baekhyun kept thinking that what they were doing was wrong, but a little voice in the back of his head insisted otherwise. So he relented, and fell deeper into the comfort that was Park Chanyeol. It felt so good laying there with him that he never wanted it too end.

Another moment passed before Chanyeol softly asked, "Do you love him? Daehyun, I mean, do you love him?"

Baekhyun froze beneath Chanyeol's touch, and when Chanyeol noticed the tension, his hand stilled in Baekhyun's hair. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I–I shouldn't have asked that . . ."

Baekhyun sat up, glancing down at Chanyeol as he softly asked, "Then why did you?"

"I–I don't know . . ." Chanyeol trailed off.

Baekhyun shook his head. "Yes, you do. Please, Chanyeol, stop being afraid of me. Please? Just tell me what you're thinking?"

Chanyeol sat up too and covered his face with his hands, his voice coming out muffled when he responded, "I can't."

Baekhyun furrowed his brow and leaned forward, gently touching Chanyeol's arm as he said, "Yes, you can. Please?"

Chanyeol inhaled a shaky breath before removing his hands as he whispered, "I don't want you to hate me . . ."

Baekhyun shook his head and lifted his hand up to caress Chanyeol's cheek with his thumb as he softly muttered, "I could never hate you."

"Promise?"

"Of course, I promise," Baekhyun softly said.

Chanyeol nodded, and he didn't say anything for a moment, and then suddenly it was like something shifted in the air between them. And before Baekhyun could comprehend what was happening, Chanyeol kissed him.

Baekhyun gasped as Chanyeol's cold hands firmly gripped his face, holding him in place.

Baekhyun's mind immediately began to scream two different things at him, his body and mind splitting in two as the opposing forces fought against one another. He gasped again. His mind was screaming at him, loudly voicing how wrong the situation had become. While his body had grown heavy and detached, his ability to pull away seemingly severed.

But then he regained control again, and fighting against something he scarily never wanted to end, he ripped himself from Chanyeol's grasp. He didn't allow himself to feel the kiss, and he shoved away the new desires as he quickly grabbed his bag, skin flushing as he stammered, "Ch-Chanyeol, that—-that came never happen again. I–I have a boyfriend, do you understand? I–I can't betray him. I'm sorry." And with that, Baekhyun ran away.

Hot tears filled Chanyeol's eyes as he pounded his fist against the floor in anger, in frustration, in hatred for himself. He had just gotten Baekhyun back, and then he had to go and fuck it up by kissing him . . . He's such an idiot.

"I'm so sorry, Baekhyun," he whispered into the quiet of the locker room.

Baekhyun ran out of the gymnasium without any direction. His actions were blind and wild as he sprinted across the lot to the school. He was nearly there when a sudden arm shot out and halted his movements. He screamed from the unexpected touch and whirled around, his chest heaving.

Daehyun stared back at him with his brow furrowed and his eyes full of worry and confusion. "Baekhyun?" he softly asked. "What's wrong, baby?"

Baekhyun's heart clenched, and finally breaking down, he threw his arms around Daehyun's neck. He sobbed and held on as tightly as he could, and once the tears had dried up and there was nothing left, he trailed his lips across Daehyun's neck.

His lips brushed against the hollow below Daehyun's ear as Baekhyun whispered, "Let's skip the rest of our classes together? Please, Daehyun...?"

Daehyun nodded and gently pushed Baekhyun back, he kissed his forehead and whispered, "Okay, Baekhyun . . ."

Word count: 1,550