Chanyeol's POV

I walk down the street after soccer practice, on my way home. Out of the corner of my eye I see a small boy, backpack still on his back, huddled in front of his house, back shuddering. Although his face was hidden, I instantly recognized the boy as Baekhyun. It pained me to see him like that, suffering alone.

I rush over, my mind swirling with questions. Why is he out here? Where are his parents? How long has he been out here? Why is he crying? I help him up. Halfway through, his legs give way and almost pull both of us to the ground. I steady the two of us, allowing him to rest on my shoulder. "Are you okay?" He shakes his head. "Do you want to go inside?" He shakes his head again. Baekhyun fumbles for his phone and keys in a message.

'If it's not too much to ask, can we go to your house? I'm not exactly on good terms with the person inside the building behind us.'

I run a hand through his hair. "Of course, come on." He hugs me and we walk in silence to my house.

As I unlock the front door, I call out. "Mother? Are you there?" Silence. Suddenly my phone buzzes. I skim the message and sigh. "Wonderful timing." I turn to Baekhyun. "Hey Baek, it's just going to be us. My parents are away on a trip." He nods, slipping off his shoes. I guide him upstairs. Once we are in my room my phone buzzes again, this time a message from Baekhyun. I look at him as I read the message.

'Can I stay for the night? I know I'm asking a lot and it okay if you decline but...'

I back hug him. "It's completely fine." I murmur into his ear, "You don't have to explain why if you don't want to." Baekhyun turns towards me, the action sending three pieces of paper out of his pocket and onto the floor. I pick them up. "Baekhyun, are these yours?" He sighs, looking at me with sad eyes. I look at the papers, alarmed.

I unfold the first one and after reading the first note, crumple the paper in rage. The second and third don't fare much better. Baekhyun just stares. I hug him again. "Baekhyun, why would you keep such things? Don't listen to them, they are just lies. I'm not using you. I really do like you, Baek, I really do." I murmur over and over again. Baekhyun types up another message.

'I never did once doubt you, as for hoarding the notes... I was trying to prove a point to the class. It's happened countless of times. Why should I care if it happens again?'

Baekhyun's POV

As I shakily key in the last couple of letters, the tears start to fall. Normally these kinds of things have no impact on me but now, reliving the memories of the past, I cried. The tears slid down my face and blurred my vision. I shut my eyes, squeezing a couple tears out, and wiped them away with the back of my hand. I felt Chanyeol easing beside me, allowing me to lean into his chest and cry. My mind fogged up with memories, bad with the rare pleasant. My mother's obvious hatred towards me, her cold ignorance after the accident. How I never got to meet my father, but had always been told I took after him the most. I always relied on myself for everything, there was no one to comfort me at the end of a long day, no one that I could celebrate my success with. The feeling I felt when I won the solo in my chorus group, like I was on the stars. Only to be replaced by the loneliness of working twice as hard, alone. Even when I walk amongst the stars, I walk alone. I was avoided like the plague after the accident. It was as if you could be infected with muteness, but in truth, nobody wanted to ruin their image.

Yet here I was, wrapped in the arms of the most popular person in our grade, maybe in the entire school. He was attentive to me, letting me cry on him. The feeling of being cared for was foreign to me, yet it felt so natural being in Chanyeol's embrace. When I had no more tears left I looked up, letting Chanyeol wipe the remainder of my tears. I pull out my phone.

'It hurts, Chanyeol. It really does.'

Somehow I didn't feel the need to describe what exactly hurt, I didn't even know myself. "I know Baek, I know." I felt his warm breath on my ear, as if he were blowing all my pain away. I blink a couple times, trying to rid my eyes of the mugginess that clouded it. I unlock my phone again.

'Sorry about that, let's get started on homework.'

Chanyeol's POV

Homework.

Homework.

The guy just had a mental breakdown and yet in the blink of an eye his thinking about work? "Oh, no you don't. You are going to rest right here, I'm going to make you some food. How can you even think about work at a time like this?"

Ping~

'I'm fine.'

"No you're not, just let me take care of you."

Ping~

'I don't want to be a bother.'

I give Baekhyun a look and sigh, walking out the door. Baekhyun, you are so selfless.

Baekhyun's POV

A good fifteen minutes later Chanyeol came back into the room, carrying two bowls of seafood ramen. "Sorry," He said, "I would make something more complex, but I didn't want you to have to wait." Chanyeol eyes the textbook in front of me. "I thought I told you not to work?" I shrug, grabbing my phone.

'I promise I'm fine. The food smells good by the way. We can eat while working.'

Chanyeol sighs in defeat.

I drag Chanyeol onto the bed beside me. Twirling my noodles I turn a page in the textbook. I'm careful not to get anything on the book as I lift the chopsticks to my mouth. Mmm. I close my eyes in content, savoring the salty tang on my tongue. I open my eyes to find Chanyeol looking at me, amused. I furrow my eyebrows at him and he wipes of the soup that dribbled out of the corner of my mouth. He licks his thumb. "You're right, it is good." I feel heat flaring up my cheeks, which Chanyeol obviously notices. "Aish, you're so fun to tease." He lightly brushed my cheek with the back of his hand. I look down. He laughs. "So cute." I pout.

'Let's get started already, we need to get this done.'

Chanyeol's POV

With each passing minute my adoration for Baekhyun grows stronger. Every move he makes seems perfect, even when he messes something up. I purposely miss some of the questions just to get Baekhyun to teach them to me. He seems so surefooted, so unlike how flustered he usually is. Even though, he's just as quiet. I fill in his silence with my own words, commenting on his every move. After a long six hours of nonstop working Baekhyun closes the textbooks. He texts me something.

Ping~

'Where do I sleep?'

"All of our guest room sheets are being washed. Is it okay of you sleep with me? I have a king-sized bed." I pause. "If you're uncomfortable with that, then you can sleep on the couch. Though it does get cold downstairs at night." Ouch, that probably came across as rude. It's just I'd rather not leave him alone upstairs. I'd rather me be downstairs, or me with him.

Ping~

'It's okay, I'll sleep with you. I don't mind.'

I smile.

Baekhyun's POV

I'm glad I'll have someone with me through the night. Whenever my mother used to kick me out I slept in a sleeping bag on the back porch, out of sight. It would be humid in the summer, I would wake up each morning with sweat running down my face. During the winters it would be so cold that I'd hardly get any sleep at all. Not to mention that I was extremely lonely. I look forward to sleeping on an actual bed for once.

Unconsciously I hug Chanyeol, thanking him silently. Thank you for all you've done for me today.

Chanyeol's POV

While Baekhyun washes up, I grab an extra pillow and toss it on the bed. Fluffing it up, I hear the ping of a message.

Ping~

'Do you have any clothes I could use as sleepwear?'

"Give me a second!" I sweep through my t-shirts and shorts, picking out the smallest of each. I walk over and knock on the bathroom door. It opens just enough for me to slip me hand in. "Here you go, they might be a bit big. I tried." I close the door behind me. I hear a rustling of clothes and the ping of another message.

Ping~

'They fit fine. Thank you!'

Baekhyun steps out of the bathroom with slightly damp hair. I run my fingers through it, airing it out a bit and step inside the bathroom, clothes in hand. A few minutes later I finish and come back to see Baekhyun sitting at the edge of my bed, reading a book.

Baekhyun closes the book when he realizes that I'm reading along with him. "First time reading?" He shakes his head, holding up two fingers. I smile, herding him under the covers and sliding in beside him. Baekhyun shifted a little distancing himself from me. I pat the space next to me. "Come closer, I don't bite." He moves closer to me and wraps his arms around me. I hug him back, tangling our legs together. Baekhyun buries his head into my chest and I involuntarily kiss his crown as a result. He looks up.

Baekhyun's POV

I feel the pressure of Chanyeol's lips against my hairline. The school's flower boy kissed me! I raise my head and wrap my arms around his neck, wanting to see his reaction.

Chanyeol's POV

As Baekhyun wrapped his arms around my neck, my spirits soar. So he didn't mind the kiss. I kiss him on the forehead, holding my lips there and letting my fingers tangle in Baekhyun's hair. I feel him intwining our legs together more, so I gently scratch his scalp. I feel Baekhyun's back vibrating in amusement at this and removes his forehead from my lips. "What?" I ask. He merely flicked me on the nose. "Go to sleep." He buries his head against my chest once more and I soon feel his steady breathing echoing through the room. I fall asleep to the sound.

***

I wake up the next morning in a good mood, looking down at the sleeping brunette in my arms. I run my fingers through his hair, massaging his head, until he woke up.

Baekhyun's POV

I open my eyes, still blurry with sleep, only to find dark eyes staring back with affection. Chanyeol laughs, kissing me on the nose. I instantly blush. He cups my face and kisses me on the nose repeatedly. This only makes me blush harder. I could get used to waking up like this. He finally stops to catch his breath, still smiling.

I do something that surprises the both of us. I kiss him. On the cheek, but still. This makes his smile grow wider. I tentatively pepper little kitten kisses all over his forehead, nose, and cheeks. I avoid his lips though, he can do that when he wants to. I'm not doing it. I roll over, grabbing my phone.

'Was that okay? I don't normally kiss people. I don't know what I'm doing.'

"Perfect." Chanyeol grins. "Absolutely perfect." I kiss him on the forehead again and get out of bed.

'I'm going to go wash up.'

Chanyeol gives me an 'okay' sign with his right hand and closes his eyes. I tear my eyes from him, dashing into the bathroom.

After the two of us finish our morning routines we head off to school. We pass by my house and Chanyeol gently kisses me, trying to ease the pain. I smile at him and we keep going. We enter the school, Chanyeol's arm around me. This undoubtedly draws a lot of unwanted attention. And hate.

Throughout the day, I loose count of the messages of hate and death glares I get. Chanyeol notices it during morning break and periodicity texts me little messages for the rest of the day to make sure I'm okay. I always reply with something along the line of 'Fine!'.

***

I seat myself next to Chanyeol, leaning on him slightly. Chanyeol takes one of my hands into his own and starts playing with my fingers as the teacher drones on about quadratics again. When the teacher confuses the equations up, Chanyeol lightly tickles my palm making me smile. I grasp his fingers, stopping them from moving.

"Our teacher isn't very bright." Chanyeol whispers to me, his breath tickling my ear. I nod as I watch him run outside, going to make copies. As soon as he steps out of sight, the previously silent class turns into a quiet hum. I pull out my phone.

'You didn't have to text me that much, you know.'

Chanyeol shrugs. "I wanted to make sure you were okay." He ruffles my hair. I tuck my head into the crook of his neck, keying in letters on my phone.

'I was fine. I didn't want to disturb you. You still have to pay attention in class.'

He kisses me on the forehead. Bad move. Most of the class' eyes are trained on us now. One had the nerve to pipe up. "What are the two of you?"

Chanyeol shoots a glare in the general direction of the person. "He's my boyfriend. Buzz off." This sparks a commotion among the rest of the class. Boyfriend? Chanyeol turns back to me, kissing me above the lips. But to the rest of the class it seemed as if he kissed me directly on the lips. I smile, glad that my first kiss wasn't forced.