"It's because of you that this family is falling apart Baekhyun!"

~

Baekhyun had just gotten home after a difficult day at school, it was just before exams and the teachers were cramming everything they could into the little time they had left before the tests began. Like many, Baekhyun had stayed in at school after hours to get assignments finished so he was a little more than exhausted, taking the fact that stress had stopped him from getting a good night's sleep, well, worse than normal.

When he got home and began to relax, he didn't expect for his father to walk into his bedroom and ask to "talk." 

"It's because of you that your mother has become depressed, it's because of you she can't work, it's because of you she feels useless. You're the rain cloud in our family's blue sky. You're just existing, doing what you have to and then disappearing, fading away to a world of the living dead, what are you lately? We can't tell what you are, you've changed and we don't like it, we can't take it. You're driving your mother and I crazy and we can't handle it anymore, we don't want you here, we won't survive if you're here much longer." Baekhyun looked up from his school work with an emotionless face, he had no energy for this, even though it was crushing his heart piece by piece with each word, "well I'm leaving for University soon, so you'll be fine." He almost flinched when he saw his fathers hands ball into fists at his sides, "You ruined this family Baekhyun, I hope you know that." and with that, Baekhyun's father left his room, closing the door quietly behind him like he had just been in for a harmless chat. As soon as the click of the door was heard, Baekhyun fell backwards on his bed and buried his face into his pillow, screaming into it and letting the tears pour. 

His father had been at it for almost twenty minutes, talking about what Baekhyun had done to his family, all because Baekhyun had an inability to open up. Baekhyun struggled, but he didn't want anyone to struggle like he did, so he would pretend, he would act happy so that no one worried. This act was exhausting, tiring and destructive, tearing Baekhyun apart day after day. He always knew his family didn't appreciate the way he is, but hearing the words and how he's destroying the world he grew up in, it hit him, and it hit him hard.

"we don't want you here,"

"but where can I go..?" calming down, he sat up on his bed, wiping his eyes with the sleeve of his hoodie and taking a deep breath. He can't stay with family, obviously. He has no money to be able to afford to stay in a hotel or B&B. He only has one friend, Chanyeol. But Baekhyun feels like he already burdens Chanyeol with so much, just by being the way he is, so he doesn't want to bother him anymore, Chanyeol does too much for him.

Chanyeol is always there for Baekhyun, he always has been. When they were younger and Baekhyun was bullied, Chanyeol was always nearby to quickly jump in and scare away the bullies, not because he was intimidating, well how could he be with his big round eyes, big toothy grin and pointy ears? They would run because of his height, he towered over them and probably was strong enough to hurt them quite bad if he really needed to. After Chanyeol would save Baekhyun though, he would simply smile at him and walk off again, leaving Baekhyun staring after him without even being given the chance to say thank you. They only became friends about a year into high school when they were paired together for a physics project, the amount of work they had to do caused them to end up going to each other's houses to try finish it in time. After that they started to hang out together during break and lunches, eventually meeting up outside of school too until they became closer than close.

Even now, when Baekhyun still hasn't totally opened up to Chanyeol, he's still always there for him. Whether it's just telling him a random story about his day when Baekhyun is down but doesn't want to tell anything about it, or when Baekhyun is sick he'll take extra notes in class to give him when they next see each other and will buy Baekhyun his favourite snack Pocky to cheer him up. It was all these little things, plus the times when he would just hold Baekhyun for hours when he broke down, that made Chanyeol the best friend Baekhyun could ever have wished for, but at the same time it made him sad because he felt like he didn't deserve Chanyeol. Chanyeol gave his all to try make Baekhyun happy, but Baekhyun couldn't even return the favour by opening up to him fully. Chanyeol meant the world to Baekhyun, but he felt like a burden to Chanyeol. He tried to take our his phone and text him, but couldn't bring himself to send the message, deleting it before chucking his phone down on the bed.

So instead, Baekhyun decided just to pack a small bag and head out. He didn't know where but he would find something. So he grabbed a couple outfits and his essentials and put them into a black backpack, slinging it over his shoulder before slipping out of the house. It was late, Baekhyun knew, the roads were quiet with only the streetlamps to light the pavement ahead of him. Pulling the cap lower over his face he headed left, and just kept walking.

Baekhyun had been walking for about an hour now, but every B&B he saw was just too expensive for him to even stay one night. He didn't have a job so he had very little money and no savings. Looking up when he felt something drop on his hand he sighed as he felt the rain droplets begin to fall on his face, and it didn't take long before it was pouring down. Feeling hopeless and defeated, Baekhyun didn't even attempt to find shelter to stand under until it passed, but just kept walking along the streets. 

As puddles started forming on the road, he became hipnotised in watching the ripples the raindrops made in them as he walked along. All he could hear was the rush of the rain surrounding him and nothing else. The sound was making him sleepy and his eyes began drooping. He was feeling heavy, having so much in his head but at the same time nothing at all, so he stopped and looked up to the black rainclouds, closing his eyes and letting the rain patter on his face and trail down his cheeks and down his neck under his clothes, sending chills through his bones. Baekhyun stood there for quite a while until the sound of a car passing by and the sound of a puddle being disturbed by tires brought him back to reality

After another half an hour, Baekhyun's clothes were soaked through, his face soaked with rain and tears which began to fall about t