It's like he and Yifan never attempted to become friends at all. He doesn't even turn his head in Yifan's direction and Yifan doesn't bother saying a thing to him. Chanyeol hates it because it makes him feel like he's missing a part of himself but he can't do anything about it, considering the fact that it was Yifan who walked away first. Chanyeol avoid him like the plague and he's sure that things are never going to be the same between him and Yifan.

He's cutting it close in the morning as he rushes out the door. He had woken up on time but spent a good half hour in the bathroom heaving into the toilet. He probably should have just stayed home after that, but he's not going to let his cancer get the best of him yet. His skin is slowly losing its color and he can see the way eye bags are forming under his lids but Chanyeol ignores it because he's already accepted his condition.

When he stumbles outside, he sees Yifan there with Zitao conversing like they've done before. He can feel Yifan's gaze on him, but Chanyeol's gaze quickly falls to the ground before him as he stumbles towards school. Whatever those two are talking about is between them and he has no reason to be there.

"Chan! Are you okay?" Zitao asks suddenly, and he reaches forward with open arms because it looks like Chanyeol's about to fall over.

"I'm fine, just a little tired. Later, Zi." He doesn't even bother acknowledging Yifan, just leaves and continues to stumble his way to school.

He knows he should be running, considering how late he is, but his muscles are sore and with his knees wobbling so much he's not sure if he can make it without landing on the floor at least a dozen times. There are footsteps behind him, and there are cars blaring their horns, but Chanyeol just focuses on getting to school. He hates his cancer, he hates that he can't even talk to Yifan anymore because there's no way Yifan's going to want to get closer to him again after leaving that Friday.

There's a sigh that escapes his lips when he nears the school because he honestly doesn't want to go in right now. Baekhyun and Jongdae skirt around him, and Chanyeol doesn't know if they've told the others or not, but when they realize things are tense between the couple and Chanyeol, it makes it hard for him to be in their group presence. And then there's Yifan, and Chanyeol really doesn't want to sit next to him and constantly find himself looking over at a guy who won't even look him in the eye.

"You're late!" The gatekeeper says, but when Chanyeol opens his mouth to apologize, he realizes the teacher isn't looking at him but behind him.

So he turns, just slightly to see who the teacher could be talking to, and is left baffled when he sees Yifan just a few feet away. Yifan always drove himself to school, so why was he walking today of all days?

"My car broke down." Yifan says simply, like his explanation doesn't matter to him and that the teacher should be relieved that he's even at school. He makes eye contact with Chanyeol for just a moment before the shorter of the pair turns away and walks as fast as he can into the school.

Of course, he doesn't get very far before his legs start shaking, and he's left holding onto the wall as he continues inside, but he can hear Yifan's footsteps behind him. Yifan was the one who walked away, so why was Yifan following him now? Did that mean he was going to take back the fact that he left? Chanyeol doesn't know and Chanyeol doesn't want to know. He just wants to get to class and stop wishing to be close to someone who obviously doesn't share the sentiment.

But, as fate would have it, his knees buckle and just before he ends up on the ground, Yifan hoists him up by the arm. Chanyeol's honestly grateful to have Yifan there, because it would have been plenty embarrassing to have fallen there, but he jerks away from Yifan like he's being burned.

"Chanyeol, I-" And he stops to his lips like he's unsure of what to say, and Chanyeol looks down at the ground because it's suddenly so much more interesting than anything else.

"I'm fine, Yifan. You don't need to burden yourself with me." Chanyeol mutters, and he's trying to turn away when Yifan wraps a hand firmly around his elbow.

"Burden? What do you-" He's cut off again, but this time it isn't because he's nervous.

"Chan!" Jongdae calls from down the hall, and there's an audible sigh that escapes Yifan's lips as the tall male passes Chanyeol on his way to their shared class.

Chanyeol smiles as Jongdae calls him because at least he's being Jongdae again. Though he's partially disappointed when Jongdae zips forward and latches around his waist instead of his back. Baekhyun's close behind him and Sehun's walking with them, hands in his pockets, but Chanyeol can't do much other than rub Jongdae's back.

"You're looking pale." Sehun notes, and both Baekhyun and Jongdae tense. Jongdae even pulls back a little to see if Sehun's words hold any truth, and Chanyeol merely shrugs.

"Yeah, I didn't sleep properly."

Baekhyun gives him a look but Chanyeol ignores it and goes around Sehun on his way to his locker. His stumbling is less prominent now than it was earlier, but he can feel the shorter male's worried gaze following him. It is true that he's been unable to sleep properly, though his muscles would go weak sometimes for unknown amounts of time.

"Are you ready for the game?" Sehun asks upon seeing the three of them tense. It's obvious he knows something is up, but Sehun's not one to pry.

Chanyeol stares at him for a good few moments because he doesn't know what Sehun's asking about, but then he remembers that he's on their school's basketball team and that yeah, there's actually a game coming up. He groans as he thinks about it because he's the star player and he loves basketball but he doesn't even know if he can play properly.

"You're not going to play, are you?" Baekhyun asks with narrowed eyes, because he knows just how much Chanyeol loves the sport, but Chanyeol merely shrugs.

"We can get Jongin to sub for you." Jongdae offers, his voice pleading as they stare at one another.

Chanyeol just shrugs again because he wants to continue living the way he always has even with cancer. Why should a tumor be the deciding factor that stops him from doing something he absolutely loves, anyway? With his books tucked under his arm, he shuts the door of his locker and turns in the direction of his classroom when he sees the look in Baekhyun's eyes.

"Basketball is the only thing I have left that hasn't changed." Chanyeol says quietly, and Baekhyun looks away because there's no point in arguing with someone as stubborn as Chanyeol is.

Sehun looks like he's going to say something, but the bell rings and saves Chanyeol from his questioning. Being the only one out of their current group of four that doesn't know about Chanyeol, Sehun finds the way the three of them act to be suspicious and Chanyeol feels horrible for keeping it from him.

"We'll walk you to class." Jongdae says quietly, and he takes a step in the direction of Chanyeol's classroom but Chanyeol stops him by placing a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm fine, Dae. Please don't treat me like I can't do anything on my own." Chanyeol begs, and Jongdae visibly deflates as he steps closer to Baekhyun. They might not be the closest but to Jongdae, Chanyeol is someone he wishes to be around for the rest of his life and the thought of losing Chanyeol makes his heart feel heavy.

"Stay safe, Chan." Baekhyun says softly, and Chanyeol appreciates his words.

And Chanyeol walks off with the three of them watching him. Sehun asks them what's going on, but neither of them answer him and Chanyeol's a little relieved because he should be the one to tell Sehun if he ever tells Sehun at all. It's a relief to him that his friends agree to let him continue being him, because when he gets to class and sees Yifan, he's glad that Baekhyun's not around. After telling Baekhyun of how Yifan had left, the short male had vowed to slap Yifan if they ever were to cross paths again.

There's a seat up front today, as well as the seat beside Yifan, and Chanyeol glances at the seat he's come to get used to for a moment before deciding that he's not going to stay around Yifan. It's best this way, best that they don't get close to one another because they're both scared of the outcome. He takes the seat up front and actually does his best today to pay attention to the teachers. It's a little hard because of his headache, but for the most part, he does alright.

That is, of course, until he turns his head just slightly to see what Yifan is doing. It's not like he needs to know, and he hates the fact that he wants to know considering the fact that he's been telling himself to stay away from Yifan for both of their sakes, but for some reason he just needs to see Yifan. He sighs again as he watches Yifan writing what the teacher is saying because despite everything, Yifan is still so breathtaking no matter what he does.

And then time stills, because Yifan raises his head to look right at him. Chanyeol thinks he's just looking at the board for a moment and turns away to write his own notes, but when he glances back in Yifan's direction again, the taller boy is still staring. His eyes are soft and there's no smile on his face. Because he had caused for Yifan to cry once before, he's sure that he's frowning now because of Chanyeol as well and simply turns back to the board.

It's crazy how much he misses Yifan, considering the fact that he barely knows the guy. All he knows are the things that he's seen and even after seeing all of that, he's not any more important to Chanyeol's life than any of his other friends, right? He closes his eyes for a few moments as he thinks this to himself and shakes his head because he's supposed to be focusing in class, not thinking about someone as confusing as Yifan; but he ends up looking back in Yifan's direction anyway.

And Yifan's staring at him like he's never even looked away.