Call/Text

           You be the anchor that keeps my feet on the ground, I’ll be the wings that keep your heart in the clouds.

            Yongguk seemed to fling the flowers down on the counter, alarming the lady behind the register. She timidly racked up his total and Zelo’s, then they left the store in a blur of irritation and bitterness.

            “I’m sure nothing is happening.” Zelo tried to reassure Yongguk, but he was walking to far ahead to hear and to engrossed in dialing Himchan to care. He’d never felt more scared in his life for any relationship he’d ever been in. The thought that Jongup was being all snug with his boyfriend made him sick to his stomach. If that insignificant fuck ruined his second relationship, he’d have his hands around his throat, not caring if he strangled that little whore or not. He gave a sneer as he put his phone up to his ear, waiting for Himchan to pick up.

            He had to remember while the phone was dialing that he wasn’t mad at Himchan, but at Jongup. He knew he was going to yell anyways, but he just had to calm down.

            “Hello?” came a voice on the other line. Yongguk heard cries in the background and a comforting ‘shh’ from Himchan.

            “Where the fuck is Jongup?” Bang growled out, giving his phone the death grip. From behind, Zelo snuck up and placed a hand on his back, rubbing it consolingly. Yongguk heard a bottomless sigh come from Himchan.

            “Please relax first, hun.” Himchan cooed, voice sounding a bit tense.

            “Don’t ‘hun’ me, Himchan. Where is that slut?” he barked. Zelo flinched at the words, realizing that was his boyfriend who was being belittled.

            “We all need to talk Yongguk. Please don’t get angry.” Himchan pleaded. By the way wind whipped through the receiver, Bang could tell Himchan had picked up his pace.

            “Please call Youngjae and tell him to stop fucking Daehyun right now because that’s what they’re doing most likely. I’ll get to Dae. Okay? Here’s what’s going to happen-”

            “Can you tell me what’s going on first?” Bang interjected, face rearranged into a quizzical look.

            “Yonggukkie, what’s happening?” asked Zelo, tugging on his shirt. Bang swiped at him and walked faster, trying to get home as rapid as he could. Himchan cleared his throat. There was a pause.

            “Just call Jae. Please. And before we get inside, tell Zelo to prepare himself.” he said quietly. Yongguk looked behind him at the worried maknae, who was still tugging on his shirt and pleading to know what was going on.

            “Will do. And Himchan-” Yongguk responded. He waited for a reply, but nothing. “I love you so much. I’m going to call Youngjae now. Goodbye...” he stopped for a second and smiled to himself. “Princess.”

            He hung up the phone and fell back in line with Zelo, wrapping his arm around the younger’ wait and pulling him in. He couldn’t help but to notice the light blush that dashed Zelo’s cheeks.

            “Hey… Zelo.” he started out, unsure of what to say to keep him from bursting into tears again. “Uh... Himchan told me to tell you to be prepared. Does that make any sense?”

            Zelo hummed a bit, and decided to put his arm around Yongguk waist too, watching the older become surprised by the boldness the boy was expressing all of a sudden.

            “It means that Jongup and I are going to break up most likely.” he bluntly stated, tuning his head up to look at the sky. “I’m not sure about it though. And while I don’t want to break up, it’s probably best for him.”

            Yongguk gave a gentle squeeze to Zelo’s hips and pulled him into his side more, kissing the top of his head innocently.

            “But what about what’s best for you?” he asked, using his other hand to bop Zelo on the nose. He blinked and drew his head back, looking cross-eyed at his nose and speaking.

            “I’m a lot like Jongup in the sense that I just want to see the one I love happy, even if it means I’m miserable. And like, I love all of you a lot, some platonic some not, but that’s beside the point. If he’s happier away from me and closer to Himchan, I’m fine with that. Even so, I know Daehyun and him had sex, so maybe he likes Daehyun too? Either way, in the end, I know I’m going to be single and Daehyun and Youngjae aren’t going to be happy with each other.”

            Bang smiled feebly and kissed his head again, then his cheek, then thought about kissing his lips, but he stopped himself. The next thing he was doing was distancing himself from the younger as much as he could without it looking suspicious. Bang pulled out his phone and dialed Youngjae, trying to get the thought of making out with his ex out of his head. After one ring, Youngjae picked up.

            “What?” he said, breathing hard and sounding a bit irritated. Yongguk knew what he’d just interrupted.

            “Two things; One: don’t be rude to me, I’m your elder. And two: stop fucking Daehyun.” he explained. There was a pause.

            “I’m seriously Jae, hop off him.” he urged, laughing at the awkward request. There was a sigh on the other line and a few mumbles, then a groan, and a very unhappy Daehyun complaining about something. Youngjae sighed again.

            “He’s off, happy?” he complained. Yongguk raised an eyebrow.

            “Since when do you top?” he questioned, forgetting the serious matter that was soon to arise. Youngjae chuckled a bit.

            “Since Daehyun is a whiny little bitch and a screamer, so he can only bottom when everyone isn’t home.”

            There was a smack on the other line and some hushed yelling. Yongguk grew worried when no one responded for another minute. Suddenly, the line got cut, and the call ended unexpectedly. Bang gave a horrified look to his phone. Grabbing Zelo’s wrist without further explanation, he broke into a sprint back to the dorms.

 ~*~ 

            All I can really so is just assure him that I’m always gonna be there and I won’t betray him...

            Jongup was still crying when Himchan got another call from Yongguk. Jongup could only look at the caller ID and let out a wail, knowing he was going to have his ass handed to him by the leader. Himchan kept trying to hush him up as he answered his phone.

            “Ah, yes, Yongguk?” Himchan asked as Jongup choked out a cry at the name. Himchan tightened his grip on Jongup’s wrist and started a brisk jog, wind running through his hair.

            “I think Daehyun is like... abusing Youngjae right now. I just called Youngjae and then I heard a yell from Daehyun after he said some things and the call ended. How fast can you get back to the dorm?”

            Himchan looked to his side at a red faced Jongup, wiping his cheeks furiously and breathing heavily. The younger looked up and flashed a distressed smile; yet, it still made Himchan happier, even in the slightest.

            “How far away are you? I can get there in five if I sprint.”

            From the other line, Yongguk was panting and his voice was scratchy from talking and running.

            “I’m almost there. Please hurry.”

            Then the call ended. Just like that. For some reason, Himchan’s heart sank at the loss of his boyfriend’s voice on the other side. He’d see him soon, but his voice was always so comforting. Himchan gripped Jongup’s wrist like he was going to be ripped away from him and started running, Jongup struggling to keep up from behind.

            When Himchan threw open the door to the dorm, it was dead silent. A pin could be dropped and it’d echo with the resonating sound of one thousand crashing waterfalls. The only think that indicated any sign of life was a light on from the hallway and one from the bathroom.

            “Youngjae? Daehyun?” Himchan yelled. Jongup by now was curled up on the couch, staring at the door, looking like the devil himself would walk trough it any second.  Himchan waited for a few seconds until his phone buzzed. He pulled it out of his pocket, and noticed it was a text rather than a call. He opened it quickly and looked at whom it was from.

            Youngjae.

            He went to read the message, hands shaking at the content inside. The doorknob to the dorm opened and in walked a breathless Yongguk and Zelo. Himchan looked up and motioned for Bang to come and look, pushing the phone towards him.

            Daehyun got drunk because I threw away his cocaine. He hit me multiple times. I’m in the bathroom. Don’t call the hospital, and don’t come back here. Stay in the living room until he calms down.

            Himchan shook his head and shut his phone, putting it back into his pocket before walking towards the hallway, but Yongguk put a hand on his shoulder.

            “Respect his wishes.” he stated, looking at Himchan intently. “How about the four of us have a talk now and they can come later.”

            Jongup broke out into a snivel, forcing a rather disgruntled Daehyun to pop his head into the living room.

            “Stop crying you little whore.” he spat, rubbing his temples. “Why is it so bright in here?”

            Himchan looked around, noting that the only light was that from the small window. Behind Daehyun in the hallway, Youngjae slugged out sheepishly, hair covering his left eye. He walked over to Yongguk and put his head on his chest, waiting to be held by anyone other than Daehyun. Himchan grimaced at the older and quietly took Youngjae aside into the kitchen.

            “Push aside your hair.” Himchan said soothingly. Youngjae shook his head and turned away.

            “Don’t make me show you.” he whined, walking back into the living room. Himchan caught one of his arms and pulled him back. Youngjae shot a pleading look at the older man, and though Himchan felt bad, he couldn’t allow Daehyun to do this.

            “We all need to talk, Youngjae. Please, clip your hair back so that idiot can see what he’s doing to you.”

            Youngjae sighed, brushing his hair out of his face to reveal a very bruised eye. Himchan also couldn’t help but to notice finger marks appearing around his neck. He let out a concealed sob and pulled Youngjae into a firm embrace. The younger struggled a bit, but Himchan wouldn’t let go. When he did, Youngjae stormed out into the living room and sat down on the couch as far away from Daehyun as possible. When he walked by, he felt all eyes on him, or rather, all eyes on his eye. Rage bubbled in the pit of everyone’s stomach as they looked to Daehyun, who rubbed his eyes sleepily and yawned. After a few minutes, Himchan waltzed out of the kitchen, and everyone sat down on the couch. Jongup was the only one who sat next to Daehyun, and even Zelo, who was normally clinging to Jongup, sat tightly next to Yongguk, head resting in the older’ lap.

            Himchan plunked down next to Yongguk and offered Youngjae to join them on the same couch, but he shook his head no, and sat in the single recliner that was placed in the center of the two seats. There he sat on display for the five boys to be in awe of and grimace over. Like a piece of artwork, emotions ranged from anger, to sadness, and there was even a small smirk on Daehyun’s face. He was sure Zelo knew that his boyfriend had cheated on him, because Yongguk wasn’t the type to hide things from those that he loves. His eyes slipped to Zelo’s face. It was paled more than usual, though it carried a light tint of red, most likely because his head was in his ex-lover’s lap and Yongguk was lightly touching his face, in a serene manner. Daehyun was still smiling manically to himself when he looked back up. All Himchan could think about was lunging at him and smacking it straight off of his face, but what hurt him the most was that Youngjae, despite being beaten by his boyfriend, still smiled when Daehyun smiled. The boy could show no hatred toward his equal, and Himchan struggled to tell him the truth.