Baekhyun ran forward, his fingers fiddling with the lock, his heart pounding as he finally got the damn thing to twist and pop open. He jammed his barefoot behind that door only letting it swing open a little bit before Junmyeon’s face greeted his own. His eyes were wide and his mouth dropped open in surprise at the loudness of Baekhyun’s sudden appearance.

“Uh..” Junmyeon paused for a moment before Baekhyun interjected.

“Yes, sure, I’d love some wings! You pick the sauce and as a bonus, I’ll even go and pick it up so you don’t have to pay for delivery!” Baekhyun’s words were quick and fast and Junmyeon went to say more but Baekhyun slammed the door in his face before he could get more out. His back pressed against the door and he once again made sure it was locked.

His eyes landed on Shinae soon after and his stomach sank. She hadn’t moved an inch since Junmyeon’s ruckus. Her body was rigid. Her back is straight, and her eyes are downcast staring blankly at her phone screen. He walked over his own heart pounding double time in his chest. Luhan for sure heard all of that, there is no way he didn’t.

Baekhyun dropped to his knees behind Shinae, saw the way she stumbled with the action, and cringed internally. His breath ruffled her long locks, he felt stupid and he wasn’t sure why. 

“Shinae,” he whispered her name hoping not to startle her. Though he doubted he could sneak up on her even if he tiptoed and held his breath. Every movement he made was large and loud for her. At least the way she jumped and shook anytime he made a slight movement indicated that was the case. 

But she didn’t seem to care, she turned slowly, her eyes barely meeting his own and his heart sank. She was trembling, her dark eyes watering, and her face completely pale. 

“Baekhyun, he’s going to come here,” her voice shook. “He heard all of that, he heard your name!”

Baekhyun nodded, but he already had a plan. His fingers clenched into a fist against his lap.

“Shinae, it’s ok. You and I are leaving to pick up food.” She frowned and her wavering gaze shifted into a full-on glare.

“Baekhyun, if he comes in here. He will easily find my clothes and my shoes.” Baekhyun jumped up right away and ran to the dresser and yanked open the drawer that held Shinae’s clothes. His fingers grasped them as he quickly tossed them onto his bed and then dropped down to the ground and grabbed her shoes doing the same thing.

His eyes lifted to stare at his bedroom window and he crawled onto the bed and peeked out at the drop from his room. It wasn’t an unreasonable distance but it was far enough that someone who was passing by might notice if clothes and shoes suddenly fell out. But he bit his bottom lip and pushed the window open.

His eyes landed on Shinae’s quizzical face, one of her brows was lifted and her head tilted. 

“I can’t carry these out so we’ll grab them after we leave to grab the food,” she nodded and then turned to stare at her phone. 

“I’ll figure that out in a moment,” he grabbed her clothes and shoes and shoved them through the small gap in the window. Then quickly hopped down onto the ground once more and grabbed her phone. Ignoring, to the best of his ability, how his arm and hand cast her in shadows before his fingers tightened around the vibrating phone. He glimpsed the caller ID and grimaced. 

Luhan’s boyishly handsome face greeted him, and he felt his own nerves fizzle at the sight. But Shinae was not going to answer this time. And he deeply dreaded the thought of Luhan showing up to ruin his Friday night. Shinae and him were a horrible duo and he already had one of them to deal with right now.

He grabbed his pillow and dropped the buzzing phone into the pillowcase, almost wishing he could do that exact thing to Luhan. He stopped after the morbid thought crossed his mind. He was not thinking this . He set the pillow back down and breathed in deeply before turning to face Shinae.

Her head was tilted, her brows furrowed in confusion at him, “Does that work?”

She nodded, “for now it does.”

He felt his stomach twist, if she had any idea what he just thought she’d be running in the other direction. This small sliver of trust they had built in the last hours would be completely demolished. So he swallowed the bitterness he felt towards her friend and went to grab a little button-up shirt so she could ride in his pocket.

He wasn’t sure how she preferred to be carried but for now, she’d have to settle for his pocket. He couldn’t have her being out in the open for his roommate and others to notice. He slipped on a thin blue button-up and set his hand down for her at the edge of the nightstand. She stared at the palm of his hand for a moment before she finally stepped onto him. The sensation was another odd thing. She was so light and small, her movements tickled him.

He lifted her up gently and slowly and tilted his hand for her. She silently and slowly slipped into the fabric, before vanishing from his vision. The only indication she was in there was the soft weight of her against his torso. He tried to relax but found it hard. 

Worried about jostling her too much with simple movements on his end that would be massive for her. But he unlocked his bedroom door and walked out into the loud chaos that was his home. Sehun and Chanyeol sat on the couch, their lips pulling into smiles as they saw him enter the shared space. But before they could say anything both boys leaped forward out of their seats and shouted in unison at the television.

Baekhyun had almost completely forgotten about the big soccer match. Junmyeon on the other hand was in the kitchen talking on the phone and the second he saw Baekhyun his eyebrows raised and he said thank you to whoever was on the other end before hanging up. He maneuvered around the popcorn, snacks, and pillows that were thrown around everywhere and squeezed past our other large roommates before he came around to stop before Baekhyun.

He pulled his wallet out and handed it to him and Baekhyun nodded, ing it into his pajama bottom pocket. Shinae moved against him and he stiffened. Junmyeon didn’t seem to notice Baekhyun’s sudden change in demeanor went unnoticed.

“So it’s the usual place,  just down the street.” Baekhyun relaxed. Their usual place for wings was a nice and small mom-and-pop shop that was hidden in a little crowded alleyway. The place was cramped and anyone could easily miss it if they didn’t know exactly what they were looking for.

“Ugh, Jang Jang’s sounds so damn good right now,” Baekhyun practically moaned the name and Junmyeon chuckled softly. 

“Don’t take too long, it may look like they’ve been stuffing their faces this whole time but they really are craving Jang Jang’s too.” Junmyeon smiled and patted Baekhyun’s shoulder before joining the others on the couch. 

Baekhyun smiled, and quickly slipped on his shoes and exited the apartment. The night air was humid and seemed to cling to his skin. He felt like after a moment of walking he’d be soaked in sweat but he hoped for Shinae’s sake that wasn’t the case. Once he got to walking down the steps he was greeted with a somewhat cool breeze and felt his insides relax. 

The night was quiet and was a startling contrast to their apartment right now. He loved it. Once he was down on solid ground he rounded the side of the building and grabbed Shinae’s clothes and then started to walk in the direction of Jang Jang’s. 

It had been a moment of him walking before he realized Shinae hadn’t said anything. 

“Shinae?” He whispered, his head tilted towards his chest pocket.

She grunted in response, “Can you stand or peek over the pocket edge?”

“No, I can’t,” her words were tense and short. She was clearly beginning to get irritated and Baekhyun found his own teeth clenching, his jaw tight. He shoved her clothes under one arm and then quickly used the open palm to push up at the bottom of his pocket. He felt her wrestle with the fabric and his hand for a moment before her head popped out over the top of the pocket.

Her dark hair was a tousled mess, and he couldn’t see her face but could almost feel the way her body tensed. 

“What has gotten into you? You were fine moments ago.” He grumbles. Her head whips up her eyes twisted into the smallest glare he’s ever been at the receiving end of, and he swears