Baekhyun had one hand resting upon Chanyeol’s chest, to brace himself as he lost his footing, and started tumbling over to the side. Chanyeol gripped his forearm to steady Baekhyun, his fingers so long and slender that they wrapped around his wrist and then overlapped. The heat of the sudden touch spread along Baekhyun’s arm and into his chest, so hot and intense was the feeling that his breath caught roughly in his throat. He lifted his gaze slowly to meet the eyes of his infatuation. They were large almond shaped eyes in a brown so close to charcoal that if you had not been looking closely enough at them, then you would have missed the flecks of caramel that made them a dark, rich brown. Chanyeol’s eyes held Baekhyun’s for a moment, with an expression of concern. But as quickly as the situation had come about, it had changed again as the fleeting glance between the lover and the loved was broken.

Only once the eye contact was broken did Baekhyun become once again aware of his surroundings. All his focus concentrating on the arm being gripped by the man before him had caused the neglected arm to become lose in the abrupt intensity of his situation. Flustered as he was he couldn’t put the pieces together quick enough to be able to get a firmer grasp on the coffee cup that was sliding free from his fingers. He could only watch dumb struck as steaming hot liquid spring free from its container and lashed down upon the body before him. Grunts of pain and shouted profanities brought Baekhyun back to the situation at hand. He stood and stared at the injured boy, eyes welling without his consent. He wanted to do something to help, but his feet were rooted to the ground and his face was stuck in a state of shock, mouth gaping open and eyes popping from their sockets.

There were loud shuffles and bangs as the people surrounding them in the corridor came back into focus, crowding around Chanyeol and offering help. He tried to deny that he was hurt but the pain was able to raise a high note from even his gruff voice box, he was fooling no one. His friend, Kai, who had been walking just behind him yelled out in annoyance, “Guys relax, he said he’s fine okay? Back off will you?”

Kai bundled Chanyeol’s tall frame awkwardly under his arm, being tall himself but nothing as tall as Chanyeol it was difficult, but Kai managed to make the action look playful and friendly, rather than the protective stance that Baekhyun knew he was really taking.

“C’mon hyung, let’s go find another shirt.” Nonchalance and confidence oozed from his voice, convincing the babbling crowd he wasn’t really in any pain. But Baekhyun watched as Kai, keeping up the playful, bounding pretence, headed not to the left toward their lockers to get a new shirt, but to the right, where the nurse’s office was situated.

The corridor started to clear as people either made their way to their lessons for early studying, or outside into the sunshine to absorb the heat and socialise before the school day began. Baekhyun fell back against his locket and slid down, so in shock that he didn’t even notice the cold metal against his back or as his padlock scraped harshly past his head. He sank down to the floor and wrapped his arms around his legs.  When looking at the person sat in the middle of the deserted corridor, you would not see the Baekhyun everyone knew, smiley and cute, talkative and kind and when holding a microphone or dancing, a fierce character full of charisma. No, you would see a small boy trying to hold himself together by gripping his legs, as to him, what had just happened, was incomparably terrible. There were only two thoughts drifting around in his head as he sat there. He switched rapidly between wondering if Chanyeol had been seriously scolded and despairing over the impression that Chanyeol must have had of him after their first real encounter, would he ever forgive him?

Kyungsoo headed for Baekhyun’s locker, assuming that the forgetful head had forgotten to meet him. He was feeling really excited about today’s events and knew that this was the perfect way for him and his best friend to showcase their talents. He like Baekhyun was a born performer, and the two had been inseparable since they first started singing together as children, Kyungsoo was so happy that there was a spring in his step as he rounded the corner to the corridor where he expected to find Baekhyun. The scene he expected was Baekhyun stuffing books in his bag, or getting his PE kit out or maybe dropping all of his stuff like he was frequently found to be doing. This was not the scene that Kyungsoo found himself facing, instead he saw his best friend deflated and tearing on the floor.

Kyungsoo’s heart dropped into his stomach as he rushed over to his friend, his wide, concerned eyes confused and pleading, “Baekhyun-ah, what is it? What’s wrong…?”

Baekhyun looked up into the alarmed eyes of his friend who had only once seen him in a state such as this and couldn’t control as his tears brimmed and spilled over his eyelids, “How could I have done that to…”

He was unable to get anymore out as shaking sobs started to wracks his body. Kyungsoo knew that his beloved friend had a sensitive and kind soul and was sure that the reason behind his woes was not due to his own pain but that of another. By the look in Baekhyun’s eyes he was sure that it was none other than Chanyeol. Kyungsoo embraced his friend and his hair as his mother always did for him when he was upset. He stayed like this until Baekhyun had calmed down and was able to explain what had happened.

Kyungsoo realised that Baekhyun’s overflowing emotions were not just those of misery, but also of happiness at how close he had come to Chanyeol. It was this conflict waging a war inside of him that had caused his outburst. Kyungsoo managed to get Baekhyun off to his first period after he had gotten him calmed down. He just hoped that Baekhyun would still be emotionally able to perform later that day, in a matter of a few short hours…