Thud. Baekhyun slammed his head against his locker, groaning in annoyance and regret. He saw Kyungsoo and Suho look up from their conversation, shocked at his sudden and dramatic arrival. "What the are you doing?" Kyungsoo gasped, "What happened?" Baekhyun sighed and groaned at the pain that was now throbbing in his head. He rested his head against his locker, this time gently, letting the cool hard metal cool the pain. He looked up sideways towards Kyungsoo and Suho, not removing his head from his makeshift ice pack. Sighing again he said, "I messed up." tears welled in his eyes, "I ing ran away!" he nearly yelled, in self loathing, causing some of the students walking by to stop and stare at them. Kyungsoo motioned for them to shove off and they did. He tugged his teary eyed friend from his locker and pulled him into a hug, his hair and rubbing his back. 

After a few moments Baekhyun started to relax and felt his anger ebbing away. All that was left was a feeling of regret as he stepped out of Kyungsoo's arms, shaking his head at himself. "Will you tell us what happened?" asked Suho gently, making sure he didn't make Baekhyun angry or upset again. Baekhyun explained to them what had happened, how the day had started so well. How he had even managed to deal with the y cashier. "...and then I got cheese on my face, and he...he wiped it off. I just couldn't...handle it, you know? So I just kind of ran out without saying anything." he hung his head in shame as he finished recounting the mornings events, a mild blush creeping up his cheeks. 

"That , but think about it," Kyungsoo began, rubbing Baekhyun's arms in reassurance, "There are so many excuses that you can give, like you felt I'll and needed air, or you suddenly remembered somewhere you had to be." he smiled as he saw Baekhyun's face lift with the prospect of a way out, "Also think about how much worse it could have been. You could have accidentally confessed and then you'd still have a bruise on your face but believe me it wouldn't be from the locker." Kyungsoo chuckled. Suho giggled as well, unable to hide his amusement at Baekhyun's stunned face. "Bruise?!" Baekhyun asked frantically. He dragged a small compact mirror out of is bag and inspected his face, there wasn't a single blemish upon his creamy skin. He glared up at Kyungsoo and Suho who were now in hysterics at his reaction. He gave Kyungsoo a sharp, playful punch to the shoulder before laughing himself. 

The rest of the school day continued as usual, Baekhyun, Kyungsoo and Suho all teasing each other about their unending one-sided loves, Suho and Kyungsoo making fun of Baekhyun for getting 100% in statistics and Baekhyun retaliating by stating that at least he had gotten more than 50%. Kyungsoo and Suho had both scowled; statistics wasn't their strongest subject by far. The highlight of the school day had been when one of the tiest girls in their year had made a comment about how in Moulin Rouge, Satine shouldn't have slept around so much, which was followed by Kyungsoo's comment of, "Says the girl whose legs have two different post codes." rolling his eyes. This was met by roars of laughter by the entire class and the teacher had ended up having to bang a rock against the marble work top of the biology lab to claim back their attention. 

By the time the final bell rang Baekhyun felt relaxed and calm, his explanation set in his head. He had planned what he would say with Kyungsoo and Suho at lunch. He strolled to the practice room which they had I officially claimed as their own and pushed open the door. Upon seeing that Chanyeol hadn't arrived yet he sat down at the piano. He grazed his fingers along the black and white keys, loving the feel of the cold hard resistance. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply, then beginning to press down softly on the keys he started to improvise. The lyrics pouring from his heart, flowing through his powerful incomparable voice;

Boy, I can’t explain what I feel.

Oh baby my baby, baby, baby, baby.. yeah.

Making a day feel like a minute

With you, I’m the main character of a movie

As if I’m about to film an action scene to come see you,

as if I’ve become a hero

You’re perfect to me, I imagined

How would it be if we were together?

If only you say okay, everything is perfect, oh baby

I lost my mind, the moment I saw you

Except you, everything get in slow motion

Tell me, if this is love

Sharing and learning countless emotions everyday with you

Fighting, crying and hugging

Tell me, if this is love

All the guys in the world are jealous of me

They must be jealous to death of me, for having you

Even after the sun goes down and moon goes down, it will never change

You will find out that I’m a guy whom you can trust

I don’t know why, this unconditional emotion

Did I ever imagine?

Next to me, you shine more brightly as I become a better guy

I lost my mind, the moment I saw you

Except you, everything get in slow motion

Tell me, if this is love

Sharing and learning countless emotions everyday with you

Fighting, crying and hugging

Tell me, if this is love

If you wish and wish earnestly

Will it come true, like the fairytales?

A never-ending happy ending, happily ever after

I will trust you, protect you and comfort you, will be on your side

I will never leave your side

I lost my mind, the moment I saw you

Except you, everything get in slow motion

Tell me, if this is love

Sharing and learning countless emotions everyday with you

Fighting, crying and hugging

Tell me, if this is love

All the guys in the world are jealous of me

They must be jealous to death of me, for having you

My babe, baby babe, baby baby

I can tell, this is love

I will make you smile often like a child

I will make you feel the most comfortable, like a friend

My babe, baby babe, baby baby

Tell me, what is love.

Baekhyun played the last note and sat in blissfully relaxation, until a wolf whistle brought him back to the practice room. He hadn't noticed Chanyeol entering the room at the beginning of the second verse and spun around to see him settled his now usual chair. He looked impressed and awed by both the song and by Baekhyun's singing. "Wow, that was amazing!" Chanyeol said grinning. Baekhyun blushed deeply at the compliment. Chanyeol's expression turned to one of slight confusion, "Hey, are you okay? You acted a bit weird this morning; I was worried what had happened." Chanyeol looked concerned as he stared at Baekhyun waiting for a response. Baekhyun felt totally prepared to answer the question."I felt a bit I'll, I think it might have been the cheese so I needed some air." he laughed as he continued adding a humorous touch to his excuse to make it more believable, "I thought you would rather I left without explanation than if I had thrown up on you." he grinned and Chanyeol returned the smile, seeming to entirely trust Baekhyun's story.

"So do I get to hear that song all the way through? Did you write it?" he enquired, still smiling. He looked like an angel when he smiled thought Baekhyun, with his perfect, shining white teeth and soft lips. Baekhyun shook away his thoughts and smiled back."Yeah sure, I just thought of it while I was waiting." he blushed yet again at the look of astonishment on Chanyeol's face as he turned back to the piano and began to play. He quickly changed the first line from "Boy, I can't explain what I feel." to "Girl, I can't explain what I feel." Hoping to hide the fact that the inspiration of the song was the very person who was listening to it. When he finished Chanyeol started clapping enthusiastically, praising him again. After that they went through their song for the competition. Every time he heard his voice Baekhyun felt like his heart was melting a little more into a puddle at his feet. The deep pitch of Chanyeol's voice fit perfectly with Baekhyun's, the resulting sound being simply wonderful. After they had sang and played it three times through it was flawless. 

After the fourth and final run through they decided to call it a day, seeing no way in which they could improve without a stage to practice on. That chance would have to wait until the day of the performance. Baekhyun got up from his piano stool and was shuffling out from between the stool and the piano when his foot caught on one of the legs. He felt air rush past him as he fell, whistling slightly in his ears. Just before he tripped Chanyeol had placed his guitar onto the floor and was sat with his arms open. Baekhyun's breath caught in a huff as he suddenly landed with a soft thump in Chanyeol's lap. The two looked at each other, gazing into the others eyes, both pairs equally wide with shock. Normally Baekhyun would have scuttled off of him as quickly as possible and mumbled a shy apology. But he didn't. He didn't because he had noticed something that he had never expected could happen. His heart rate was accelerated, and his breathing was laboured, yes. But no more than a normal person would expect in this situation. He didn't feel faint of nauseated, he just felt...thrilled. 

Realising after a moment that he was still sat cradled in Chanyeol's lap, feeling the warmth from his legs and arms, he huffed and shifted himself off, blushing. "Sorry, I have to run. See you." with that he fled the room at an alarming pace, leaving Baekhyun flabbergasted. Baekhyun returned home in a slight daze. What did it mean that his body hadn't overreacted? Could he be his normal, loveable self around Chanyeol now? If so would Chanyeol like the new/real him? Questions flooded around in his head as he subconsciously was still thinking about how Chanyeol had felt underneath him. As he entered his house he concluded a hypothesis. That he could now touch Chanyeol without freaking out. The problem with a hypothesis was that it was unproven, he needed to test it. For the rest of the evening he spent the majority of his time chatting with Kyungsoo and Suho over Skype about how to test his new found hypothesis. By the time he slid into bed, the plan was set. Now he just needed to carry out his investigation.