Baekhyun sighs, absolutely bored as he spends the weekend in his room, simply idling around with EXO's songs playing through his speakers. Usually, his weekends would be spent over chilling at Jiyong's place but he's not really in good terms with them yet. He could ask for Chanyeol's company, but as much as he wants to, he is a bit wary of the senior now. He could study too, but then he's been studying so aggressively these past few days and he just needs a breather even for just a few hours.

The answer to his prayers comes in the form of a phone call. Sluggishly, Baekhyun rolls over from his chest-down position on the bed and reaches out for his phone on the bedside table, grunting from the effort he has to exert. The moment he finally reaches it, he slumps back on to the mattress and looks at the screen.

"Oh wow, he remembers me," Baekhyun utters as he swipes the screen and holds it up to his ear.

"Jongdae, you're alive," is the first thing that he says.

"Yeah, you bet I am," Jongdae answers cheerfully. "And is that EXO playing in the background?"

"What-" Baekhyun's eyes widen, realizing that his speakers are still playing. Quickly, he racks his brain for an excuse because dammit, why is he such a ing ?

"Don't tell me, are you a fan?"

"Oh I, uh, am in my sister's bed room!" Baekhyun says. "Yeah, we are watching a movie together. And don't be ridiculous, EXO . My ears are bleeding right now."

"Okay, whatever " Jongdae brushes him off.

"Where have you been? It's been two weeks."

"Yeah, I kind of went to China," Jongdae laughs.

"Oh? What did you do there?"

"Byun, you love me right?"

"No I don't."

"Okay, whatever."

Baekhyun chuckles. "Tell me."

"Let's keep this a secret, okay?" Jongdae whispers.

"Why? Were you involved in a mafia or something?"

"No, what the ?"

"Then what?"

"I'm ing gay and I met up with my university boyfriend studying there."

Baekhyun chuckles. "Oh, well that's nice. You have to let me meet him- wait, him? Boyfriend?" His hand shoots up to cover his mouth as he releases a gasp. "Holy Jongdae you're ing gay-"

"Yeah, now shut up and don't tell anyo-"

"You're a homose-"

"Yes."

"Holy !"

"Yes," Jongdae says tiredly. "Now I swear to god, Baekhyun, you better not mention this to anyone or I'm going to cut off your and feed it to your rabid fangirls. We're not exactly the best of friends but we might as well be so I trust you-"

"You have to treat me out if you want me to shut my mouth."

"Alright! ."

Baekhyun grins triumphantly, though he still can't believe it. Jongdae, who constantly talks to him about girls and bedding them, is actually homoual? Now that's interesting. It makes him wonder, how many people in school are like him who are still hiding what they truly are? That's one hell of a mystery.

"Anyway," Jongdae speaks up again. "Actually, I called you not to come out. I called you to come over. Let's go to Jiyong's house party together."

"What?! No!"

Baekhyun could imagine Jongdae's eyebrow perking up. "And why the hell not, Byun Baekhyun?"

"Because… Because lots of things happened while you were away."

"Oh? Care to enlighten me then?"

And so, Baekhyun told him about everything. About Chanyeol, about how he embarassed Jiyong, about the new transfer kid… everything. Except, of course, for the personal things that happened to him.

"So basically, you're kicked out of the clique?" Jongdae concludes.

"Yeah, you can say that."

"Ugh, you have to know by the now that it's easy to please them. If you don't remember, you're Byun ing Baekhyun, the school's prince charming. Just it up to them and you'll be back in the clique."

Jongdae's right, it's easy to please Jiyong and the others. The hard part is if Baekhyun actually wants to be one of them again. It's nice spending time with the since they’re actually a bunch of pretty fun people, but it’s getting kind of tiring putting up with them.

“Nah, I think I’m good, Jongdae.”

“What, why?”

“I mean, what if I was like you? ”

“What do you mean?”

“Gay, I mean. They would find out one way or another. They wouldn’t let me live it down if they ever find out. They’re that kind of people - they would ruin you if they just had the chance.”

“Shoot, do you mean they would eventually find out about me?”

“Uh-huh. Yeah, kinda”

“So does that mean I should just follow my boyfriend and leave for good?”

“Not necessarily, only if you want.”

“Oh. Well then, I probably won’t. You’ll miss me too much.”

“Gross.”

"So, what should we do then? It's Saturday and I'm bored."

"Wanna grab some ice cream?"

"Sure. Be there in ten. I'm bringing my Porsche."

"Stupid rich kids and their cars."

"Kidding Byun, I'm bringing my bike."

Ever since Jongdae came back, Baekhyun has been busy hanging out with him. Their friendship hadn't been the best before since they just hang-out if they wanted to have fun. They never crossed an intimate line - well, that is until Jongdae's confession. Since then, Baekhyun just lets himself be more comfortable and free around Jongdae. Baekhyun even introduced Yixing to him and they quickly clicked together.

Maybe if he's ready, Baekhyun would even tell Jongdae about his little weird obssession.

Baekhyun feels a lot better these past few days after cutting off ties with Jiyong and the others and just finding satisfaction with his little group. He's been studying quite a lot too since exams are drawing nearer and nearer.

He's been having too much fun that he had been unconsciously pushing a certain person away again. Baekhyun only realizes this right after exams when he goes to the library and gives back a book that he borrowed for studying.

No one is on standby at the moment on the desk, so Baekhyun waits by standing in front. He looks around, noticing how there's little to no one around since it's quite late already.

And then suddenly, he feels a body press up behind him and arms corner him to the desk.

"Baekhyun."

The brunette shivers when he hears that deep voice.

"Ch-Chanyeol-hyung…" Baekhyun stutters as he tightens his hold on his book.

"Nice to finally see you again," Chanyeol mutters with a sort of mock in his tone, lips close to his ear. "How have you been?"

"Fine…" Baekhyun answers in a small, strained voice.

A shocked gasp escapes his lips when Chanyeol suddenly places his hands on his waist and flips him around. Baekhyun finds himself facing the older in such a close proximity, his eyes intently staring into his with eyebrows furrowed and his lips tightened into a straight line.

"H-Hi?" Baekhyun greets, trying to ease up the tension.

The side of Chanyeol's lip pulls up into a smirk.

"You're really cute Hyunee, but I'm kind of pissed off right now."

Baekhyun gulps down, overwhelmed by dread at the unamused look across the senior's face.

"Why have you been ignoring me? Didn't you already promise me that you won't ignore me?" Chanyeol asks, eyes drooping the slightest. "I know you were busy with exams, but when you're free, you're preoccupied by Yixing and Jongdae. No time slot dedicated to me at all, and I'm upset."

Baekhyun presses his lips together, guilt shooting through his system. Chanyeol's right, he's been ignoring him, although it wasn't intentional. There has been some weird stuff going on through his brain about him, but even Baekhyun thinks it's unfair to treat him like this.

"I'm sorry, hyung," Baekhyun immediately says. "I honestly didn't mean it. I just… kind of forgotten?"

Chanyeol's frown deepens as he steps back.

"So I'm nothing to you?"

"No!" Baekhyun says, panicking now. "You know that's not what I meant!"

"Then what?"

Baekhyun sighs. He can't tell Chanyeol that he's been feeling kind of awkward around him, right?

"I'm sorry, okay?" Baekhyun whispers, reaching out with both hands to affectionately cup his cheeks. "How about I just make it up to you?"

"I don't know," Chanyeol purses his lips. "I'm still upset to know that I never even crossed your mind a single time the past few days. It's like you simply forgot about all of those times we've spent together."

"Chanyeol-hyung, you know that's not the case at all," Baekhyun whines, rubbing his thumbs soothingly on the taller's cheeks. "There's just some things going on in my mind that made me kind of ignore you, but I promise I won't do it again! You're… You're really important to me."

A ghost of a smile touches Chanyeol's lips before he forces himself to act stony. "How important am I to you, then?"

"You're someone I could rely on," Baekhyun quickly says. "And you can rely on me. You made me think twice about continuing to hang around Jiyong and the others. Thanks to you, I'm happier now that I'm maintaining my distance from them. Not just that. I'm always at ease and I'm myself around you. You make me happy. So," Baekhyun tilts his head to the side and flashes an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, Chanyeolee-hyung."

This time, Chanyeol couldn't stop the smile from forming on his lips anymore. He suddenly attacked Baekhyun with a big hug, squeezing him tightly and moving him left to right.

"I can't breathe!" Baekhyun whines as his face is buried into the other's chest.

"Call me Chanyeolee-hyung again," the senior demands.

"Why?"

"So that I would forgive you."

"Ah, Chanyeolee-hyung~" Baekhyun singsongs with a little giggle, feeling a bit bubbly from the attention the older is giving him. "I can't breathe, please have mercy on me~"

"Waahhh, Hyunee let me keep you forever!" Chanyeol groans as he pats his head. "I promise to feed you and take care of you!"

Baekhyun looks up. "Then do you forgive me now?"

Chanyeol laughs as he pinches his nose, earning a cry of pain from the younger, "Okay, you're forgiven because you're unbelievably adorable."

Baekhyun leans away once the senior lets go of him. This time, Chanyeol is showing that ever-present smile across his face along with an adorable dimple, his disappointment now long gone. Baekhyun definitely prefers this face even if an upset Chanyeol kind of looks hot.

"But hyung, I still have to make it up to you," the younger says.

Chanyeol hums. "What you've got on your mind, then?"

"I'm not sure yet, this is so sudden," Baekhyun chuckles. "How about you? Do you want anything?"

"I just want your attention, to be honest," Chanyeol laughs with a shrug. "Anything is okay as long as I'm with you."

"Then let's have ice cream and ride my bike down the river," Baekhyun suggests.

"Okay, sure."

Baekhyun didn't think he'd be able to experience this in his life time. Chanyeol riding his bike with him perched on the backseat is like a scene that came right out of a webtoon. With arms wrapped around the older's waist and his head lolled back to feel the wind toss his hair around, Baekhyun has never felt so free besides being at a beach submerged in the sea. There's just something about being with Chanyeol and the sombre sunset scenery that seems so perfect and intimate, giving him a kind of haooy and satisfied feeling.

Chanyeol stops the bike once they reach the bank of the river which is a safe place to hang around. Usually there would be a bunch of kids around here, but since exams are over and everyone is probably treating themselves to relaxation, they have the bank all to themselves.

"Baekhyun sit here," Chanyeol says, patting the spot beside him after throwing away some rocks to clear away the area for him. The other boy plops down then takes out one of the popsicles that they bought from a nearby convenience store, stripping off the plastic before popping it into his mouth as he gazes out into the skyline.

"Hyunee, can I lay on your lap?"

The younger mindlessly nods. Shuffling movements come as Chanyeol switches his position and lays his head against one of Baekhyun's thighs. He stares up at the younger's face, who is gazing out to the orange skies so he doesn't notice him.

"Chanyeol-hyung."

The senior flinches the slightest bit when Baekhyun calls his name.

"What?"

"I've been thinking of stupid things these days," Baekhyun starts. "I can't tell you though even if I want to though, they're pretty embarrassing. They're just a bunch of suspicions that are really far-fetched."

"What, conspiracy theories?"

Baekhyun bursts out into laughter.

"Yeah, kind of."

"Well," Chanyeol reaches up and touches Baekhyun's cheek with an index finger. "It's okay, you know, to think about such things. There are things that exist or happen that make you wonder, after all. Just don't accept them as realities, though. Take everything with a grain of salt."

Baekhyun hums.

There's no way that Chanyeol could be Loey, right?