Its been a few weeks since Luhan and Minseok had their little talk, and they've gotten a lot closer as friends since then.

Luhan had let the questions slide, not wanting to ruin the good atmosphere they had. But he never stopped wondering.

Most of the time things were good, but some days Minseok would arrive at school in an odd mood. Minseok tried not to let it affect his relationships with his friends again, and Luhan learned to be extra careful about how he treats Minseok. On those days, the conversations are quiet, the smiles are small, and they'll play soccer until they're ready to collapse. Though times like that are rare, they make Luhan sad, to see his Baozi in such a state.

Luhan asks every time what is wrong. Minseok doesn't want to answer; he doesn't push.

Minseok shares very little of himself.

The EXO boys have all but given up on learning about their eldest hyung. Anytime someone asks him a question about what his life was like before moving to their neighborhood he answers them as vaguely as the situation allows. When the subject of family comes up, he's silent altogether. (But they've all caught him watching Luhan interact with his parents with sad eyes.)

Minseok doesn't share his feelings, he locks them up tight and pushes them to the darkest parts of his heart, then he pastes on a smile. (He's always been good at pretending like everything is okay.) But lately it's been getting harder and harder.

He thought this move was supposed to help!

As much as Minseok loves his new friends, everything he left behind still seems to press in on him. He's suffocating.

Why can't it all just GO AWAY?!

Soon after Minseok had moved in, he discovered that he did not get along with the old lady who lives next door. It's not as if he particularly has a problem with her, but she hates him. The old lady has been living there since before the current landlord's father owned the building. (So a VERY long time.) And having been there so long, she knew everything about everybody. So as soon as she heard someone knew was moving in next to her she wrung every bit of information about him out of the landlord; who had been told of the circumstances of his living alone. (He was a minor staying alone, and was not paying for the apartment himself. So before he was allowed to move in everything had to be explained to the landlord.) She did not like what she learned.

It became her personal mission to get Minseok to move out of his apartment and go somewhere else. Anywhere else.

She yelled at him every morning, when he was leaving for school, calling him horrible things. He had tried to leave earlier, or later. But every time he changed his schedule, she would change hers.

Why couldn't she just ignore him?!

He's done nothing to her. He lives quietly; no loud music, no obnoxious sounds, or bad smells, and he's never even brought any friends over!

Despite the emotional toll the old lady was taking on him, Minseok would not move out. He had nowhere else to go. He would just have to endure.

And then the phone calls started.

He made the mistake of answering the first one, he cried himself to sleep that night. Now, he gets one every week, and he ignores one every week.

Between the phone calls and his horrible neighbor, Minseok is at the end of his rope. He started escaping to Luhan's every day after school. Being around Luhan usually helps Minseok feel better. But even that isn't completely without pain. Every time he sees the loving way Luhan's parents take care of their only child, and how they always welcome Minseok warmly into their home, he aches.

One friday after school, Minseok was doing homework with Luhan in his room. It was one of those rare days where they're alone, and they're both quiet and concentrated. When Minseok's phone rings from in his bag, he's startled into dropping his pen. Minseok grabs his phone, his stomach clenching at the caller ID, and denies the call. He sets it down beside him on the floor and goes back to work on his equations.

After about another thirty minutes, the boys agree to take a short break. While Luhan is busy downstairs in the kitchen, Minseok slips out to go to the bathroom.

When Luhan comes back with a tray of snacks and drinks, he frowns at his friends absence but realizes it out pretty quickly that he went to the restroom. Luhan munches on a chip while looking over his and Minseok's math, matching answers, when he hears Minseok's phone ring from the floor where he had left it.

He lets it ring for a bit, but then thinks, what if it's important?

Luhan sneaks a peek at the caller ID, and sees 'Mother.'

Thinking that maybe a call from his mother might be important Luhan moves to answer the phone.

"Hello?" Luhan says quietly.

"Minseok?"

"No, he's in the bathroom right now. This is his friend, Luhan."

"Friend? He has a-- You're his friend?"

Luhan frowns a little at the disbelieving tone in the woman's voice. "Yes."

"Luhan, was it? H-How is he?"

"I'm sorry?"

"How is my Minseok doing? Is he eating properly? Has he made many friends? I don't think I have to ask if the apartment is clean, he's always been a clean boy. But does he like it there? Is he happy?"

"Shouldn't you be asking Minseok these questions?"

"I want to. Oh, I want to. But he doesn't answer my calls anymore! But I suppose that's my own fault. Just-Just please, tell me, is he happy where he is?"

"If I'm honest, I think so. I hope so. But sometimes, I have to ask myself the same question."

"Oh my boy." She sounds like she's crying now. "Thank you, Luhan, for being honest."

Luhan hears small padding footsteps coming from down the hall.

"Minseok is coming. Do you want to talk to him?"

"Oh! N-No." There's a short pause on the other line. "Luhan? I want to ask one more thing of you."

"Okay?"

"Don't tell him about this conversation." And then the line goes dead.

Luhan is looking down at his phone in shock when Minseok enters the room.

Minseok visibly tenses up when he sees Luhan holding his cellphone. "Lu? What are you doing?"

He looks up, and tries not to look guilty. "When I came in you phone was ringing, so I was going to answer it, but it stopped before I could." Sorry Baozi, he thinks.

Minseok studies him for a bit before he takes back his phone and sits back down next to Luhan.

They get back to work.

______________________________________________

That call keeps Luhan up that night.

He wonders if not telling Minseok about his conversation with Mrs. Kim is a good idea. He knows that she asked for Minseok not to know, but Luhan feels guilty keeping it from his Baozi. He feels like he's lying. But maybe she has a point, she had said that Minseok has been ignoring her calls lately. Maybe he wouldn't even want to know that she called again. But somehow Luhan knows thats not true, Minseok would want to know. (Especially since Luhan actually talked to Mrs. Kim.) But why would Minseok ignore his mother? And why would his mother not want him to know they talked?

Luhan tosses and turns in his bed, unable to sleep.

With a sigh, Luhan turns onto his stomach to grab his cellphone from his nightstand. He hesitates at first, not knowing if maybe he should wait until morning.

What if he's asleep?

Luhan decides to text him. If Minseok is asleep, it'll be easily ignored. 

To: Baozi

Are you awake?

Luhan waits anxiously for a minute, then decides its silly to anticipate anything. Minseok is probably sleeping, like Luhan should be. 

To: Lu

You should be in bed Lu.

To: Baozi

I can't sleep.

To: Baozi

I need to talk to you. 

Luhan has to wait a while for a reply. He's almost afraid Minseok had fallen asleep. (Or perhaps just went back to bed.)

To: Lu

Meet me at the park in 15 minutes.

To: Lu

Wear a jacket. It's cold outside.

Luhan jumps out of bed and dresses quickly. (Completely forgetting his jacket.)

He wants to beat Minseok there.

__________________________

It's really easy for Luhan to sneak out of his house. His parents wear sound asleep and all Luhan had to do was climb out of the window onto the roof, and down the tree thats beside the house. 

Luhan gets to the park in ten minutes, but he didn't beat Minseok there. 

Luhan sees him, sitting on the swings. Waiting.

Luhan stops a few feet away from him, trying to get his bearings. He wanted a minute to himself to figure out what he is going to say. 

Luhan studies Minseok for a bit.

He had never noticed how small Minseok looks from a distance. His feet slide softly against the ground as he swings and his face is half hidden by the scarf wrapped around his neck; the ends trailing behind him in the wind. He stares up at the sky so intently that Luhan looks up too, wanting to see what he sees. 

Luhan only sees the moon; the stars hidden from view due to city lights and smog. Luhan shivers a bit, finally starting to feel the cold, when he feels a pair of arm wrap themselves around his waist. Luhan looks down at Minseok. 

"I thought I told you to wear a jacket." His tone is slightly scolding, but warm and he has a small smile on his face.

"I forgot." With a sheepish smile, Luhan wraps his arms around his friend, soaking up the warmth he brings. "But! I have you to keep me warm anyway, right?"

Minseok only answers with a small smile and a hum, his eyes closed. 

Theres a comfortable silence for a while, until Minseok breaks it. 

His tone is quiet and he sounds sleepy when he asks, "What did you want to talk about?"

Luhan unconsciously tightens his hold around Minseok. "Do you remember what I told you earlier?"

Minseok opens his eyes slowly, "I'm afraid you're going to have to be a bit more specific."

"You had just come back from the bathroom, and I was holding your phone. When I told you that I was going to answer it but it stopped ringing..." When he hesitates, Minseok only waits patiently. "I lied."

Minseok lets out a long sigh and pulls himself out of Luhan's embrace. "I know."

Luhan shivers, immediately freezing without Minseok's warmth. "You--you know? What do you mean you know? How could you know?"

Minseok lets Luhan babble for a while, preoccupying himself with his scarf. Minseok looks Luhan in the eyes as he wraps the warm fabric around his neck, "You're not a very good liar."

Luhan searches Minseok's eyes, wondering if he's angry. He doesn't look angry. 

"Are you angry with me?"

Theres a short pause before Minseok says, "Luhan, will you come home with me?"

Luhan chokes on his spit. "W--What?" He can feel his cheeks heat up, and he knows he's probably red as a tomato. 

Minseok laughs. "Get your head out of the gutter. I just thought it'd be warmer than out here and it'd be easier to explain everything there anyway."

Luhan presses his cold hands to his face, hoping to cool down a bit. "Oh, okay."

Luhan is a little surprised when they arrive at the apartment complex. The building looks like it's seen better days. Luhan remembers walking past this building many times, but he never would have imagined Minseok lived here. 

The school Luhan and Minseok go to is actually a school generally for the more well off in society. Minseok got in on a scholarship, which is how he ended up in class EXO. 

Minseok watches Luhan, observing every action, every reaction. 

Neither say anything as Minseok leads the way into the run down building. 

If Luhan was surprised at the outside of Minseok's apartment, he was even more surprised by the inside. He didn't know what he was expecting but it wasn't this. 

It was warm and smells of Minseok, like honeysuckle and cinnamon. Everything looked clean and organized; and it was cozy, but not cluttered. Though it overall looks a bit bare, Luhan can see Minseok everywhere. He thought it was brilliant.

Minseok let him in and they took their shoes off at the door, Minseok leaving his jacket on a hook by the door. Minseok made hot tea for the two of them, and now they sit facing each other on Minseok's couch, wrapped up in blankets.

"You talked to my mother?"

Luhan hesitates, but Minseok still doesn't seem angry, only tired. He nods.

"What did she want?"

Luhan glances at Minseok, "She wanted to know how you were doing. She said you don't answer her calls anymore."

Minseok hums, a thoughtful look on his face. 

Luhan waits a beat before he speaks again. "Why don't you answer her calls?"

Minseok sighs and focuses back on Luhan. "It's a long story."

"I've got time." 

Minseok can only give him a small halfhearted smile. He takes a moment to put his thoughts in order and then starts telling his story. 

"Before I moved here, I lived with my mother and her husband and their daughter. I was born out of wedlock, and for the first few years of my life my mother struggled to raise me on her own. When I was about three years old, she got married. He was a rich man. An investor to the company my mother had been working in at the time. 

Things were happy at first, and we were almost like a real family. But even as young as I was, I always knew that my step father didn't like me. He ignored me most days, and though it made me a bit sad that the only father figure I had shunned me, I grew used to it. About a year after they married, my mother got pregnant. They had a daughter, and then they were the real family." Minseok seemed so far away to Luhan. As Minseok talks, Luhan slides a bit closer.

"After she was born, I was pushed aside. But I never hated her, I love my sister. My stepfather spoiled her, and he completely disregarded me. As I got older, I got a bit rebellious. I suppose I was hoping to get a bit of attention, but no matter what I did I was ignored. Things escalated, and I continued to get into trouble. One day when I was out, Jieun had decided she wanted to follow me. She had been bugging me to take her to the park all day, but I kept telling her no. She shouldn't have been walking around alone like that, and she got hurt. A car ran a red light, and she got hit." Minseok's face twists into a pained expression.

"My stepfather blamed me. My mother blamed me. I knew she didn't blame me, but Jieun was too young to go against her parents. Regardless, I was no longer just ignored by my stepfather, but shunned by my family. I stopped being so rebellious, but I couldn't stand to be in that house anymore than necessary. I started spending all of my time at the park, or in the library. About a year ago, I met someone." Here Minseok smiles very slightly, Luhan almost missed it.

"We started meeting every day. He went to a different school than I did, but that didn't really matter to me. I hadn't really had any good friends before, just people who wanted something from me. He was understanding, and fun to be around. It really didn't take me long to start liking him." Minseok lets out a dry chuckle, and Luhan's breath hitches slightly and his heart gives a painful squeeze. 

"I confessed, eventually. I don't know what I was expecting. A rejection, maybe, but I thought the worst thing he would do is let me down gently. But what I got was so much worse. He told me he couldn't be friends with someone gay, whether they liked him or not. Yelled at me, in front of my house, to stay away from him. That's how my family became aware of my preferences. There was a reason I never said anything. I knew how it would go. When my stepfather learned that I was gay, he kicked me out of the house. He couldn't have something so disgusting living in his house, it would ruin his reputation. I thought my mother would plead for him to let me stay, she was after all my mother. She gave birth to me. She didn't protest at all about my leaving. So they shipped me off, and here I am." 

Minseok looks back to Luhan, wondering what kind of reaction he's going to get. The poor boy looks like he's about to cry. 

"Yah!" Minseok laughs when Luhan lunges at him, pulling him into a warm hug, a weeping mess. "What are you crying for you pabo?"

Luhan sniffles, "That's horrible. They're horrible."

Minseok gives a tiny smile. He was right in trusting Luhan with this, the fact that this wonderful, delightful boy would cry for him is all the proof he needs. 

"You don't deserve that. They don't deserve you." Luhan mumbles into the space between his neck and shoulder. 

Minseok feels so warm. 

"Thank you."

Thank you.

________________________________________________________________________

OMO!! I feel like a horrible person for not updating in so long.

Which is one reason why this chapter ended up being so loooooonnnngggg.

But I hope I'll have enought time to start updating more frequently again.

Thank you so much!!

HAPPY READING

--Aya Kay :* <3