Baekhyun is nervous, really nervous, as he trudges across campus to the address Chanyeol had texted him. The party is somewhere in the dorms by the sports complex -- which only adds to Baekhyun's anxiety -- and he'd been walking for five minutes already. His legs are tired from practicing earlier that day and he has a headache from the book he'd been annotating before he left his room, so it's needless to say that he's not in the best mood.

The thought of being surrounded by football boys and basketball boys and hockey boys and god-knows-what boys only makes him more nauseous, more uncomfortable, so he focuses on the way his knees peek through the holes in his jeans, the way the black fabric makes his legs look longer than they actually are.

(Jongdae had told him it was y, and that you need to be y to go to a party, so he'd obliged.)

The only beacons of hope at this party -- God, why did he agree to go to this? -- are Jongdae and Chanyeol. He knows that Jongdae will put his tiny body between Baekhyun and anyone who makes him uncomfortable, and he's confident that Chanyeol's goofy smiling face will calm him down. You'll be okay. Jongdae and Chanyeol are here. It's okay.

Jongdae lets out a frustrated noise from beside him, causing Baekhyun to turn in surprise. He notices that Jongdae's frantically texting his girlfriend, trying to persuade to her come out with them, obviously disliking the idea of babysitting Baekhyun alone all night. Baekhyun understands; he wants Jongdae to have a good time, too. 

Baekhyun checks his phone out of habit, noticing that no one has messaged him. It makes him feel a little empty, if he has to admit it, but then he hears thumping music and sees faint lights through windows and realizes that they're here. 

"Jongdae, I think this is it," Baekhyun points out, flinching at the sound of yelling voices, of loud laughter. He realizes then that they're all loud like Chanyeol, that this party isn't a small get together.

"Holy . Baekhyun, you got invited to some Gatsby party," Jongdae does a wolf whistle as he pushes his way through the door of the dorm. "There's no way you're going to find Chanyeol in here."

Baekhyun stares down the halls which, as Jongdae pointed out, seem to be teeming with people, with noise. Baekhyun's hands go a little sweaty, slightly nervous at the sheer amount of people in building. He can't believe he showed up for this. 

"Baek, you wanna go home?" Jongdae asks quietly, leading him through the crowds of people, comforting hand wrapped around his wrist. 

Baekhyun almost nods, but then he thinks he sees Chanyeol's head in the crowd, and he remembers the reason he came, so he stays silent. He needs to say hi to Chanyeol, leave, and be proud of himself for facing a group of athletes. 

"I'll be okay," Baekhyun reassures as Jongdae pulls them into a corner of the common room, away from the large group having a drinking contest in the middle. A large boy almost bumps into Baekhyun and he jumps away, heart racing, fear coursing through his body, before he wills it to go away with deep breaths. 

Jongdae doesn't seem too sure, but he nods anyway, and makes a drinking motion. Baekhyun nods almost hesitantly, but then thinks about how much a drink would let him relax, and he nods more confidently a second later. Smiling, Jongdae nods back and leaves to get them drinks. 

It's only after three of said drinks that Baekhyun feels comfortable enough to sway with the music, to smile back at Jongdae, to not feel like he's drowning in a sea of men waiting to beat him up. Maybe it's not that bad, then.

He still hasn't found Chanyeol, but he does see someone from the football team in the corner across from him, tall and broad, extremely close to another man, smirk on his face. Baekhyun feels his cheeks flush as he watches their hands wind together, at the way they move against each other to the beat. Their hands and lips and hips are glued together, smiles radiant in the dim room.

He didn't know anyone on the football team was gay, much less so openly, and he has to swallow hard at the thought of whether Chanyeol thinks that's bad or not. He'd never told him, really, that he liked guys. But Baekhyun assumed that Chanyeol would assume, would figure it out, at some point.

Then tall boy's hand detangles from the other's and moves down to squeeze waist and hips and . It's a lot to look at, and Baekhyun takes another swig from his cup, clearing his head of thoughts, and looks away. 

Jongdae's gone again, this time because his girlfriend showed up and he wants to meet her at the door, and so now Baekhyun is alone and slightly tipsy. It's a bad combination, but no one has bothered him, so he thinks he'll be fine for the five minutes it'll take for Jongdae to return. He finds out after a few seconds and several sips that he's wrong. 

Apparently, drunk him is impatient, and so he finally texts Chanyeol. He feels a little dejected, a little forgotten by the taller. Why had he not even asked if he'd showed up?

to: chanyeol 
i'm at party. it's crowded. kind of lost

Baekhyun watches as it sends, heart thumping, hoping for Chanyeol to find him and say hi so that he can leave soon. The drinks are hitting him pretty quickly and he's never been the best drinker in the first place. The atmosphere is making him a little dizzy, especially when he's sans Jongdae, so he's started to feel pretty out of it. 

Then his phone starts to vibrate, a call coming through, and Baekhyun picks up when he sees the familiar name illuminate his screen. 

"Where are you?" Chanyeol's voice is deep on the phone, and very loud, since he's screaming over the music. 

Baekhyun isn't sure if Chanyeol will be able to hear his answer, but he takes a chance and yells a little, too. 

"In the corner of the common room," Baekhyun feels too loud, bordering on annoying, since it's not as wild in here. "I'm by, uh, a ping-pong table." 

"Oh! I'll be there in a minute! Don't move!" 

Baekhyun hears the phone cut off and he smiles a little at the thought of the tall boy running through crowds of people to find him. Maybe it makes his cheeks a little warm, his stomach a little nervous, but he blames the alcohol and lack of food. 

Someone touches his arm and he turns, smiling, expecting Chanyeol or Jongdae. Except it's not; it's some guy who Baekhyun has never seen in his life. He's not particularly tall, but he still towers over Baekhyun, and his smile makes Baekhyun uncomfortable. Baekhyun wants to think it's the alcohol that makes him brave enough to pull away violently, pushing the guy's hand off of him. 

"Don't touch me," Baekhyun slurs a little. But he's so mad, and this guy is so stupid, and he can't believe he came to this party. Who just touches someone they don't know? 

"Whoa, chill out," the guy smiles again, putting his hand back on the crook of Baekhyun's elbow, holding him in place. The anger dissapates and the only thing coursing through his veins now is fear -- a lot of it. This guy wouldn't leave him alone, even when he was mean, and now Baekhyun feels a little sick to his stomach. Why wouldn't he let go?

"Don't touch me," Baekhyun says again, but this time it comes out quieter, and Baekhyun watches something flicker in the guy's eyes. He knows Baekhyun's scared, can probably feel Baekhyun's arm shaking a little. "Stop." 

"Why are you so scared?" the guy has an odd smile, too wide, and Baekhyun kind of feels like crying. He feels like he's in his high school, like he has no way of fighting back, like he's scrawny and dumb and fifteen again. 

"I'm not. I just don't want to be ing touched," Baekhyun quips back, regaining a hint of anger, but it's gone again when the guy's grip tightens. 

"I just wanted to talk to you," he seems angry now, and the grip on Baekhyun's elbow hasn't loosened up at all. "Why are you such a little ?"

Baekhyun feels fire burn through his stomach at that word, at the memories of rough hands shoving him down, at the sudden taste of blood in his mouth, as if it's real. He can't tell if he's hallucinating or completely lucid, but he suddenly feels like all of his nightmares are coming true at once, like he's being transported to a place where he's in pain again. 

He doesn't want to shake or cry or anything, but he can't help it, not when this guy is cornering him, rough grip on his arm numbing him. He feels trapped. 

"I'm not being a little ," Baekhyun gasps out, pushing the hand off his arm again, this time hard enough to make the boy lose his balance and trip. Baekhyun regrets it when he watches the way the guy's eyes darken, at the way he covers up embarrassment with anger. 

" you," the boy spits out at him, obviously livid.

The guy raises an arm and Baekhyun closes his eyes, sudden fear and familiarity too much. He can't move, can't breathe. It's just like high school, just like all the times he'd dreamt this and woke up screaming. Except this time, it's real life and he's about to get beat up in front of a group of people. At least in high school they'd kept it more private; they'd never attacked him in front of the whole school, never in a crowded room. 

He feels a sudden rush of wind moving toward him and he knows that it's the guys arm, that he's about to be punched, that soon he'll be tasting real blood. But nothing ever happens, no punch ever hits him. Instead, the rush of air is accompanied by the familiar scent of Chanyeol, by the presence of a tall boy in front of him, of strong arms holding the other guy's hand midair. 

" off," the guy says to Chanyeol, trying to wrench his hand away from the iron grip. But it's to no avail; Chanyeol has strong arms and seems furious, seems angrier than Baekhyun haf ever imagined him being.

"You  off," Chanyeol responds, pushing the guy's arm back harshly, leaving him stumbling back a few feet.

It all happens too fast for Baekhyun to see what happens, but he hears the noise Chanyeol makes when the other boy lands a punch square on his cheekbone. Baekhyun realizes that he's screaming as he watches Chanyeol cover his face and turn away from the boy, purposely blocking every punch from getting close to Baekhyun. 

"Chanyeol!" Baekhyun knows he sounds scared, but he can't understand why Chanyeol isn't fighting back, why Chanyeol is blocking him instead of focusing on himself. He lets a shaky hand reach out to hold Chanyeol's waist, the way Chanyeol had held his, and he pulls on his shirt, trying to get him to back out of the way. 

Baekhyun registers that now the entire room is watching. A few seconds pass and Baekhyun watches, feeling nauseous, as the guy gets in a few more punches to Chanyeol's face. Baekhyun hears a crunch that can only be a nose and he thinks he might actually vomit, that he might just pass out at the thought of the violence, of the blood, that he's causing.

Before the guy can get another hit in on Chanyeol, the tall boy from across the room has the guy in a headlock, screaming something about "What the , Chanyeol! Why didn't you ing punch him!" 

Baekhyun watches as the tall boy drags the man out of the room, strong arms wrapping around his neck threateningly. Then there's more guys gathering, examining Chanyeol, obviously angry and concerned. Baekhyun feels like an intruder, but, most of all, he feels like the reason Chanyeol is in pain now. 

He's shaking and now he really wants to cry, hearing the whimpers Chanyeol lets slip when a short boy touches his face.

Chanyeol shakes his teammates away with a hurried explanation, one arm reaching back to feel for Baekhyun, stopping when his hand meets the one Baekhyun still has on his waist. He grabs it, steadying Baekhyun and himself, and Baekhyun lets himself cry a little when he feels the way Chanyeol's breathing is constricted against his hand. 

"Sorry," Baekhyun whispers, but he's not sure if Chanyeol can hear it, not positive that Chanyeol can hear anything over the shouts and music and the pounding in his ears. 

If the tall boy does hear, the only reaction Baekhyun gets is a step closer to him, a hand tightening around his. Baekhyun is still shaking, but he feels less lightheaded with Chanyeol's cologne and warm hand reminding him that nothing happened. 

Jongdae is back now, screaming in his loud voice, panicked. 

He meets Baekhyun's eyes and relief fills the air between them. Then he's behind Chanyeol, too, hands on Baekhyun's cheeks, checking for injuries but finding only teardrops. "Baek, I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have left." 

Baekhyun shakes his head, knowing deep down that that guy wouldn't have cared if Jongdae was here either. He seemed self-entitled, overly confident, violent. Jongdae's presence wouldn't have changed the outcome; if anything, both himself and Jongdae would be bleeding now. 

"Nothing happened," Baekhyun tells him, voice a little rough from holding in his tears earlier. Saying it out loud only seems to make his composure worse, and he lets out a little sob, an embarrassing one, he notes. 

Chanyeol finally turns around at that, eyes full of concern and face full of blood. Baekhyun gasps at the red gushing from his nose, at the way his lip is already swollen. He looks horrible, but he still smiles at the shorter boy, wincing when his lip won't move like he needs it to. 

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry," Baekhyun whimpers, suddenly hating how little he could do in that situation, how weak he feels. 

"It's not your fault," Chanyeol's voice is deep and soft, smooth. "It's that jerk's fault. You didn't do anything." 

Baekhyun feels a little more reassured when Chanyeol manages a real smile this time without flinching, but then blood runs into his mouth and Chanyeol sputters at the taste. Baekhyun winces and reaches a sleeve up to wipe Chanyeol's nose, but the taller pushes his away softly. 

"No, that shirt's cute," Chanyeol chides, wiping his nose with his own elbow, wincing only slightly at the contact. Baekhyun feels himself turn red, embarrassed. He owes Chanyeol so much and yet all he can think about is Chanyeol stepping in front of him, of the way Chanyeol's smile had looked even with his face bloodied. 

"I should leave," Baekhyun points out, hands finally stilling a little. Chanyeol seems to ponder something for a minute before he's nodding. 

"I'll walk you back," Chanyeol says resolutely, turning to smile at Jongdae. Jongdae spares Baekhyun a worried look, but then he grins back at Chanyeol, as if saying that he'll stay here. Baekhyun didn't know that they'd even known each other, much less that they're close enough to communicate through eye contact only. 

"Okay," Baekhyun agrees because, honestly, Chanyeol walking him home sounds better than walking alone or forcing Jongdae to ditch his girlfriend right away. He can't shake the feeling the guy had given him, the intense fear. 

They walk in silence in the cold wind after Chanyeol assures him that his nose isn't broken (he broke it during a game once; he remembers the feeling) and Baekhyun assures Chanyeol that he's stopped shaking. Chanyeol realizes that he likes the way the chilly weathr makes Baekhyun's cheeks pink, likes the way his legs look in those jeans, likes the way his eyes shine when moonlight is reflected in them.

They're almost to Baekhyun's dorm, the air stale with the scent of blood and unsaid words, when Baekhyun finally looks at him straight on. 

"Why didn't you punch him back?" Baekhyun's voice is a little annoyed, as if he's angry at Chanyeol letting himself get attacked. Baekhyun has never seen him play but he knows Chanyeol is strong and tall and could've taken that guy out in a minute -- it doesn't make sense. 

"I don't want to get kicked off the team," Chanyeol explains, voice sheepish and gravelly. "Fighting back isn't really allowed, if your coach finds out." 

Baekhyun nods a little morosely. He should be satisfied by that answer -- it's a perfectly good one, in fact -- but he feels a little let down. 

"Also, I don't," Chanyeol sighs and looks away like he's embarrassed to continue. Baekhyun can hear it in his voice, notices it in the way his hands fidget.

"Don't what?" Baekhyun prompts, interest piquing. Chanyeol looks at the shorter boy, heat pooling in his cheeks and stomach. 

"I don't want to, you know, be violent. I don't want you to be scared of me like you were of that guy." 

Baekhyun can't help it when he smiles this time, pink cheeks deepening their shade. Chanyeol didn't want to be scary to him. The taller boy watches as Baekhyun reacts, dimple popping up for a split second when his smile stretches his cheeks out, transfixed. Then he realizes that Baekhyun is laughing at him, giggling over his pain. 

"Don't laugh!" Chanyeol whines in his deep voice, burying his red face in his hands. He regrets it immediately, though, because he yelps in pain at the forgotten nose injury. It only sends the pair into more smiles, a sort of warmth filling the air between them. 

"Okay, okay, I won't laugh," Baekhyun promises. They're standing in front of his dorm now, breeze shuffling through their jackets and hair. 

"I'll see you at practice?" Chanyeol says it like a question, and he's rewarded with a soft smile and nod from Baekhyun. 

"Thank you," Baekhyun says suddenly, and now it's his turn to be embarrassed. "Really. I don't know what would've happened. Thanks." 

Chanyeol smiles at him fondly, large hands reaching out to ruffle Baekhyun's hair in a playful way. Baekyun almost flinches, but he doesn't, not when Chanyeol's warm hands card through his hair for a second, gentle fingertips anything but threatening. The stay like that for a split second, and it sends chills down Chanyeol's spine, makes Baekhyun shiver a little. 

And then the taller boy doesn't say anything, just waves a hand and beams before he turns around, headed back to his dorm. Baekhyun feels like nothing that just happened was real -- it had to be fake -- and he makes his way back to his dorm, passing out into a dreamless sleep with Chanyeol's smile on his mind. It's almost wondrous, how he was spared from replaying the incident over and over again, if only for one night.  

On the way home, Chanyeol realizes, somewhat worriedly, that he would've protected Baekhyun even if Jongdae hadn't asked him. He wanted to protect Baekhyun, wanted to beat that guy up, but he'd held back. Chanyeol doesn't know why he's like this, doesn't know why his chest feels stuffy. He ignores it and keeps on his way back to his dorm, vowing to get over whatever was happening to him by the next skating practice. 

---

oh? ch. 4 is done? it's kind of short but....there's some action ok!!!

also...ohohohoho pcy i wonder what ur realizing?? hes a guys. i love him lol

ok love you all bye bye !!! comment subscribe etc ily <3