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You stared at the bright red numbers displayed on your alarm and rolled to the other side of your bed with a groan. The time to face the world had inescapably come, it was time to get up.

« . » You mumbled, burying your face in the soft pillow without the sliciest want to go to school today.

You weren't ready. Not now, not yet, not for all you will have to handle today. Just picturing Kai's annoying face and remembering your failed confession was enough to keep you hidden under the sheets forever.

Last night had been awful. You had barely sleep, thoughts keeping you awake. Your mind had been revolving around Kai, the deal and Chanyeol all night long. You were stuck. And exhausted. After all the efforts you had made to succeed, after all the things you had been through to seduce that idiot, Chanyeol had said no and here you were ; trapped. No matter how long you studied the situation or from which angle you had approached the problem, the result was always the same : you were ed.

With a sigh, you found the energy and motivation to get out of your bed before lazily making you way to the bathroom. You tried to imagine a smart plan of action. The picture was the key. Once you'd get a rid of it, you'd be free. But the major problem was obviously and unfortunately Kai. You considered for an instant stealing his phone which sounded great at first but, after some thinking, not so great. Let's be realist ; that was unachievable. He was one of those who (no matter where they were or what they were doing) were always clinged to their stupid phones. Might as well say it was ing impossible to get that damn thing. The next plan on the list was to buy the picture. Yeah, that was kind of exaggerated and really burdensome considering how poor you were, but Kai wasn't going to delete it so easily just because you didn't manage to date Chanyeol. Knowing how sneaky he was, he would probably ask for an indecent among of money in exchange (money that, of course, you didn't have) which left you with the last and most senstive option : Park Chanyeol. Of course, you couldn't help but reconsidered what happened yesterday. Maybe you hadn't heard correctly ? Maybe he was only joking ? Maybe he actually liked you but-...ugh. You needed to stop. And be honest with yourself too. Chanyeol didn't like you, end of the story. And you weren't going to harass him. It wasn't like you were desesperate !....Or were you ?

Well, yes, you were.

You hadn't even made five steps in the school hallway that the devil best impersonation popped up out of nowhere. Mocking smirk, mischievous eyes and ready to hear your juicy report, the crulest of them all ; Kai.

« So, are you finally dating the troll ? » He teasingly asked, looking for the demonstration of his victory through your facial features.

He was expecting something like irritation or (if he was lucky enough) obvious disgust on your face. He wanted to see defeat in your eyes, frustration held in your thight fists and urge for revenge in your clenched teeth. But unfortunately for him, you couldn't be more emotionless as you were now.

« You won. » You simply said, not in the mood to even pretend.

No need to lie, that jerk would know the truth right away anyway. So instead of putting on a ridiculous act or lie about what actually happened, you chose to be straightfoward. Chanyeol rejected you, Kai won.

And with that, you left him to join your lockers before tye beginning of classes.

Kai blinked, frowned and followed you.

« Wait what ? »

Keeping on walking, you shrugged.

« You won. » You repeated. « The deal. Chanyeol. The picture. It's over. I confessed and he rejected me. »

You tried to not show any sign of what could wrongly be interpreted as disappointment or sadness. It was just Chanyeol, it wasn't a big deal.

« He really rejected you ? »

You rolled your eyes.

« Yes. »

Kai kept silent for few seconds before making annoying little squeaks which sounded a lot like giggles.

« Are you kidding me ? » He asked, making fun of your misery. « Damn, you're even worst than I thought when it comes it guys. »

Following you, he went on with more stupid and mean comments about how « ridiculous and pitiful » you were. But you had reached the point where you didn't care anymore. That idiot could speak as much as he wanted to, you truly didn't give a damn.

Reaching your locker, and still followed by the annoying brat, you made the numbers on your padlock rolled, finding the correct combination. You waited for him to finish his little unoriginal monologue before naively asking :

« So, is the deal over ? »

And that was when he really started to laugh. The frank and loud laugh. The one which made you feel how freaking stupid you were.

« You can't be serious, right ? » He asked in scorn.

You shrugged.

« Well, I though- »

« Don't worry, sweetheart. » He cut you off with a moderated smirk. « We'll find something else. »

He winked. You frowned.

You didn't know what kind of « something » he was thinking about, but there were no way you would join him into another stupid deal. Cringing, you faced your locker to take what you needed for the upcoming class when a small crumple piece of paper fell and hit the ground. With a sigh, you bend to grab it.

« What's that ? » Kai asked, curious.

« Not your business. » You mumbled, standing back on your feet.

You carefully opened the folded paper and found a pretty unexpected message written in a clumsy handwritting.

Hi !

Meet me after classes in the school yard (￣(エ)￣)

Chanyeol

« Wow, that drawing is really awful. » Kai commented, looking at the message over your shoulder.

« Shut up ! » You hissed, shoving the precious paper on your pocket.

« Didn't you say he rejected you ? » Kai raised a brow, leaning against the locker next to yours.

You tried to not smile. You really did. But that message woke up all your hopes. Maybe everything wasn't over ! Maybe Chanyeol his mind ! You identified the butterflies in your stomach as the precious sign of your upcoming victory. Expectations builtup in your mind, it was hard to stay calm. It was full of promises for a simple paper !

« Well, guess everything isn't lost ! » You said, suddenly feeling better.

No, everything wasn't lost.

And maybe the odd was finally in your favor.

Chanyeol checked his watch for what must have been the 12^th time in approximatively 30 seconds. Staring at the tickling second hand, he was nervous, almost panicking, interiorly crying and already regretting. He knew this was a bad idea. He knew it. Never again he would listen to Sehun oh-soooo-previous advices. Never again. When he came home yesterday, Sehun had harassed him about you. He was claiming that confessing to someone when you already had a boyfriend didn't make any sense (and it really didn't) and he also affirmed, with the support of D.O, that Chanyeol was « clearly » having a thing for you and that he should stop « acting like an idiot ». He then adviced him to talk to you. And even if he didn't know what he was supposed to say, Yeollie did as Sehun told him to. So here he was, waiting for you. He didn't know if following the tips of a young little gull was the best thing to do, but he couldn't go into reverse anymore. You probably had already seen the note he left in your locker earlier this day, and you were going to show up at any moment. Or maybe he could actually go into reverse... Maybe he could just leave and pretend this never happened.He would just ran away before you arrived. That was actually a brilliant idea. You woud never know it was him since he didn't left his name on the pape- Oh wait. He did actually. Mentally facepalming, Chanyeol checked his watch again and... . With a gulp, he realised it was too late for escaping anyway. Timing had never been in his favor and, as if by magic, you appeared right at this moment.

You finally reached the school yard in haste. Classes ended few minutes ago and you had ran all the way to here. Chanyeol had ignore you all day long.You had crossed each other several times in the hallways, sharing awkward eye-contacts and all those stuff. You didn't tried to talk to him and neither did he. So once the class ended,you worried he'd change his mind and never come to your little « rendez-vous ». But he came, and you never felt so relieved.

For once, Chanyeol wasn't wearing his huge glasses, which was a real shock, and the collar of his shirt was up. It somehow reminded you him at the concert or a guy about to dance tango. Weird and hum... weird. Thightly holding what looked like a freshly snatched flower from the school yard, he was waiting for you. Blushing red, obviously embarrassed.

« Hi. » You shyly greeting him, feeling your cheeks burn from the embarrassement endured yesterday once you reached his level.

You expected him to greet you too but instead, he held the flower to you and blunty said « Here ! », avoiding your eyes.

You frowned, but he insisted.

Hesitantly grabbing the delicate flower with a confused « Uh...Thank », you wandered what he had to tell you which recquired a this kind of gift. Ok maybe he hadn't change minf and was just doing another Chanyeol's weird thing. Your expectations started to crumble.

A short but extremely awkward silent followed. Both avoiding each other's eyes.

« So hum... You wanted to talk to me ? » You asked to break the ice.

Chanyeol vigorously nodded. Tugging the tie of his school uniform, he nervously cleared his throat, not knowing how to start. His minds were shaking and his grin a little awkward.

«  Look...hum, about yesterday. »

You cringed. Being rejected had been painful enough. No need to go with some « after » talk full of pity.

« I thought a lot about it, you know. And... well, I don't think this is reasonnable since you and Kai- »

You blood cloted. For one second,  you thought your heart had stopped.

« Kai ? » You cut him off, deathly pale.

Chanyeol awkwardly nodded, taking it as the proof that something was really going on between you two. His heart squeezed.

« Y-yes... »

You blinked.

He knew, that was what you thought right away. He knew. About Kai, about the deal, about everything. He knew. It was making sense now. That was why he rejected you, right ? He knew you had been bluffing from the start, he knew he was just a deal, he knew hiw horrible you truly were. Never in your life you had felt so bad. You were having difficulties to breath, crushed by shame and horror. Chanyeol knew.

Clenching your fingers around the flower, you gasped. How did he know ? How did he guess ? You automatically thought of Kai. He was the only one who knew and also the only one willing to everything up just by revealing the truth to Chanyeol. This gave you the strength to defend yourself. It wasn't your fault afterall, it was Kai's !

« Look ! I...it's not what you think it is- » You started to explain in a hurry with a shaky voice.

« You guys aren't dating ? » Chanyeol blinked, eyes full of hope.

You stopped to raise a brow.

« What ? » You stumbled, your heart on a string.

Chanyeol frowned.

« He's you boyfriend, right ? »

Kai, your boyfriend ?

You stared at him for a moment, not understanding what he just said. 

« You think we are dating ? » You slowly asked.

Chanyeol bit his lips and replied with a « Uh-uh » which made you frowned, extremely confused. What the heck was he talking about ? You... Dating... Kai ? What was going on ? It took you a very long moment before finally realising what must have been the greatest misunderstanding ever. Chanyeol didn't know anything actually. He simply was mistaking ! Your lips curled into a relievef smile and you started to randomly laughed.  It was just as misunderstanding ! That was so close ! Chanyeol observed you, more than confused. Why were you laughing ? You tried to calm down but the pressure had been too suffocating, and Thank God !, it was just a midunderstanding and Thank God !, maybe that was the reason why he rejected you !    

« What's so funny ? » Chanyeol asked.

« We're not dating, Chanyeol ! » You exclaimed with a goofy smile. « We are not ! »

Chanyeol blinked his wide, wide, wide eyes. It was now his turn to not understand.  He was so convinced that you and Kai were dating. The phone call in the park, yesterday in front of library... There so many proofs, so many signs screaming that something was up between him and you ! And yet...  you were saying otherwise. Even if it was going against logic and the feeling in his guts, his heart felt suddenly so light and his cheeks so warm. You were not dating Kai. That was changing everything ! He was so damn happy that, accidently, four little words unconsciously and spontneously escaped from his curled into a smile lips.

« I like you too. » You stopped laughing, your smile fadding away.

Chanyeol slammed his hand against his mouth, realising what he just said. No, no, no ! He didn't mean to say that ! He was just happy too know his dear friend wasn't going out with some smirking jerk. That was it. But it was too late now but when he noticed the way your eyes were sparkling, regret got replaced by something warmer and softer.

 « R-Really ? » You asked, excited to finally see the end of the deal. 

Chanyeol loosened his collar, embarrassed. As much as he tried convincing himself he that wasn't liking you in that kind of way, his reckless mouth spoke for him.

  « Y-Yes.» You felt blushy and flattered and suddenly really, really happy and for some reasons really, really smily. You had to bit your lips to not let the victory splash all over your face because, HELL YES, you were finally seeing the light after all the struggle. Park Chanyeol liked you !  More determinated than ever to make that stupid deal end, you stared at Chanyeol wide, wide eyes and straightforwardly said « Let's date ! », taking this glorious opportunity sent by fate, destiny or whatever.

 « Like boyfriend and girlfriend ?» He asked, surprised by how things were moving so fast.

« Like boyfriend and girlfriend. » You said, beating your eyelashed. Naturally, Chanyeol shyly but then vigorously nodded, his crazy hair locks dancing around his enlighten face. He thought that he may had finally understood what Sehun and D.O said about "not acting like an idiot". And even if he didn't really how he was truly feeling about you, he followed his heart and accepted your suggestion : yes, he wanted to date you. 

« Great then ! » You exclaimed, victoriously clasping your hands together. 

Finally ! You couldn't stop smiling,  one more month and you'd get a rid of Kai, the picture and everything. Now that everything was set, you waved goodbye at him and was about to go when Chanyeol stopped you. « Shall we kiss ? » Chanyeol suggested with bright eyes.

You made a step backwards, horrified.

« No ! » You yelled.

Kissing wasn't a part of the Terms and Agreements deal contract. You had made it clear that you wouldn't have any unecessary physical touch with this boy. Deal or not.

« Oh... » He said, disappointed. «  I guess that's too early. »

Too early ? You started dating ten seconds ago ! And yet, he was asking you the permission to shove his tongue in your mouth. You winced, remembering now why you didn't want to do this in the first place. You had almost forgotten how derpy he could be. Giving him a not so sorry smile, you politely explained that yes, it was (and would always be) too early. Chanyeol nodded, understanding. 

« Do you want me to walk with you to your bus stop then ? » He gently suggested, taking his new boyfriend status very seriously.

« Ah, yes, sure.» You replied since it wasn't implying anything physical.

You both slowly left the school yard in silence. You made sure to keep your hands in your pockets, suspecting him to grab one otherwise. But nevertheless keeping on smiling like an idiot. Walking past the school entry, you noticed Kai was waiting, leaning against the wall. Descretly and as you had agreed, you made a little "ok" sign with your fingers against your leg. Kai smirked. You rolled your eyes.

1 Month left. 

Game was on !

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(A/N) Finallyyyyy ! It took +30 chapters for them to date OTL ;_; 

I wish you all good holidays ! Thank you for the amazing support, I love every single one of you :3 Sorry again for the messy update. Next one will be better.