Chapter Thirty Five
Can I continue feeling this way?
pic credit to http://tb-cont.tumblr.com
-Lay p.o.v.-
What?! Why did I just agree? Oh. My. God. Lay you are one stupid son of a-
“Time to practice again ladies!”
I would have been okay with the constructive criticism that our instructor gives us, but I could certainly do without the unnecessary insults. I held my tongue and walked closer to the mirrors, ignoring the snide comment he had just made. I watched him intently as he showed us the next moves, and after two tries, executed them with peak precision. The look on his face was priceless; being shown up less then five minutes after insulting someone. Chen was impressed as well. The rest of the practice went on and we were finally able to go home.
When we walked into the house the immediate smell of food filled our senses. We instantly looked around to see plates and plates of food on the kitchen table. Some were dumplings, cold noodles or fried vegetables. The others were pizza and cake.
Was duizhang trying to get us in trouble?
I nearly ran to the pizza, not having had it since last month, and bit into it without even getting plate first. Once my craving was satiated I got a plate and sat down at the table to wolf it down.
“If you choke I know the Heimlich maneuver. But I won’t use it.”
And there’s the Chen we all know.
“Just kidding. But chew your food or your gonna blow chunks over my favorite nature trail.” Chen joked but he was right. I slowed down and actually tasted the food, taking small bites so as to not make a fool of myself. I decided I would just have one piece and balance it with the vegetables so that it wouldn’t be that bad for me and did just that. Chen was standing up and eating, which made no sense since the chairs were five feet away, but seemed to be enjoying the food nonetheless. After we both finished I walked over to the leaders room and knocked on the door.
“Who is it?” Sounded from the other side.
“Lay~”
“Come in.”
I opened the door and gaped at what sight met me. Kris was standing up looking through one of his dressers while Tao sat cross legged on the bed, playing some game on his phone. My gaze was stuck on Tao’s face. It was the first time I had seen him since yesterday and gotten a good look at him; my heart sank. Minseok really did some damage on the boy. Knowing it was rude to stare, I bid my sight left but not fast enough as Tao looked up and caught me. He was wearing a smile but it faded instantly when he realized I was looking at his injuries, not at him. Kris noticed and took quick strides over to me, closing the door just enough so that I couldn’t see Tao from behind it.
He stood in the crack the door made so that he was in the room, but talking to me.
“Did you make all that food? It was delicious.” I commented, making him smile.
He blushed. “Yeah, it isn’t that good, but I’m glad you liked it.”
Typical modest response. I rolled my eyes with a smile. “Chen and I are going on a walk. Just letting you know.”
He cocked his head to the side. “Chen? Why Chen?” He paused and his eyes widened. “Chen!! That’s who!! I should have known, you were so red when you were next to him!!”
“Shh!! I’d like to keep this on the down-low. Besides, I don’t even think he knows nor reciprocates those feelings. So relax.” I laughed lightheartedly.
“Hyung, are you ready?” Chen asked from down the hall, probably putting his jacket on as it was nearing nighttime.
“Coming~” I called. “Wish me luck!” I held up a fist to Kris and he did the same, wishing me luck.
I walked down the hall and was soon out the door with him. He walked us into a forest-like entrance that was extremely secluded and had signs displaying the type of wildlife that section held. The steps were a mix of gravel and dirt, compacting together once stepped on. We passed a few bushes that held tasty looking berries on them, and walked by a tree that housed several squirrels. Before long the brush became thicker and the path narrower, showing us we were getting pretty far away from where we began.
“So what’s been bothering you?” he asked, sticking his hands in his pockets and making his breath appear in the chilly air.
I shrugged my shoulders. I didn’t feel like being rejected twice and quite frankly I was pretty sure he didn’t feel the same way, so why bother?
“Alright. If it’s not ‘what’, then ‘who’?” His voice became soft to ensure no one would hear us.
“I can’t say. And it’s not necessarily being bothered. I just have a lot on my mind is all.” I half lied and looked at a particularly interesting strip of dirt underneath my shoes.
“Okay. Let me guess. You like this person but you hesitate because you don’t know if they feel the same way. Your heartbeat rises every time you’re around them and your words betray you in every situation. Right?” He looked to me and I pondered the question. That really was true.
I nodded my head.
“And you sneak looks at said person out of curiosity and sometimes get caught.” He continued.
I nodded.
“Since you won’t confess to them, how about they confess to you?” He sounded as if he was even thinking about that question himself.
“What?” I laughed nervously. “That’s not possible if they don’t know I like them.”
“Really?” Chen stopped walking and turned to me, causing me to do the same. “Because I like you.” A knowing smile was plastered on his face, telling me he knew this whole time.
I, on the other hand, was frozen. He what?! Did he really just say that? I jumped as something touched my hand and looked to see Chen’s fingers had found my hand and were lightly intertwining themselves with mine, as if testing the waters. This brought me back to reality, and I tightened my grip as if to show him he didn’t have to worry. He turned and started walking again, a grin glued to his face as he dragged my surprise frame the rest of the way. He never once let go of our connected hands as we walked back to the house.
I don’t know what had just happened, but I liked it.
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