They stood like that, just holding each other, for a while. Baekhyun lost track of time whilst silently calming and reassuring Chanyeol. He forgot even where he was until he was brought back to his senses when Chanyeol stepped slowly away from him. Baekhyun looked up at Chanyeol’s tear streaked face, trying to determine if he was feeling any better. The taller male refused to meet his gaze and stared intently at his feet. Baekhyun sighed and reached up for his chin, pulling it up so that he could look into his eyes, “How are you feeling?” His worry audibly thickened the sound of his voice. Chanyeol held his gaze for only a moment before looking back to the ground. That one moment wall all that Baekhyun needed to see the pain and concern in his eyes.

“I’m sorry you had to see that.” Chanyeol said, barely above a whisper, as he wiped away some of the stray tears, resolutely clinging to his cheeks. “I…I didn’t…”

“You have nothing to apologise for, I should be the one apologising for following you here. Do you want to talk about it?” Baekhyun said, cutting him off. He could see the reluctance in Chanyeol’s eyes as he looked back toward him, and spoke up again as the taller began to shake his head. “Look I know that you haven’t told anybody. But…I think you need to get it out. Look let’s go downstairs to the cafeteria and get some coffee, okay?” Chanyeol sighed but nodded. Baekhyun noticed him look down at his mother again, pain clear in his expression.

“I’ll meet you down there.” Baekhyun said, squeezing his arm reassuringly as he left the room. He felt that Chanyeol wanted a moment alone with his mum, and also a little time to compose himself. Baekhyun would be lying to himself if he didn’t admit that he needed a little time as well.

Baekhyun barely remembered having queued up in the cafeteria and ordering their drinks. He had decided to order Chanyeol the beverage he had had at the coffee shop a few days before, a builder’s tea. Having got the drinks he set them on one of the plastic table tops and slumped into his seat. He rubbed his face with both hands before running his fingers through his now only slightly damp hair. He hoped that by having someone to talk to Chanyeol would be able to feel better, but at the same time he worried that he would be angry at him for finding out. He let out a sigh, why hadn’t Chanyeol told Kai? He had been sat with his head in his hands when movement on the other side of the table alerted him to Chanyeol’s arrival. He looked up from the cradle of his fingers and into the taller boy’s face. His eyes were still red and puffy but the tear tracks were gone and he seemed a lot more composed than before.

“I suppose you’re wondering what…” He saw Chanyeol take a deep breath, “What happened.”

“You don’t have to tell me but I…I thought it might help.” Baekhyun looked up, deep into Chanyeol’s pain filled eyes, showing him his sincerity. “I won’t tell anyone. You can trust me.” Chanyeol let out the breath he had been holding before nodding. 

He took another deep, reassuring breath before beginning. “Well for a while my mum has been having problems with sleep. It isn’t that she doesn’t get enough, it’s just she would suddenly find herself really tired and drowsy at random times. There would be no reason for her drowsiness, and there didn’t seem to be any trigger either. I had been trying to convince her to go and see a doctor about it for ages and last Sunday, a week ago she finally agreed. That was why, I don’t know if you noticed, but on Monday and Tuesday I had to leave quickly from our rehearsals. On the Monday it was because she was having a check-up and tests and…I didn’t want her to be alone. Then on Tuesday I was going to meet her at the hospital for the results.” He looked down at his lap and it took a moment before he was able to continue, “When I arrived at the hospital she wasn’t there yet. I was immediately worried because I myself was late so she should have been there. I assumed that she had misplaced her car keys or was in traffic so I waited. After about 20 minutes of waiting, I was starting to really worry you know? Normally she was on time for everything. I got my phone out to call her but as I did I got a call from an unknown number. It was the hospital.”

A lone tear s down his cheek, “They asked if I was Park Chanyeol and I obviously said I was. They told me that I had been listed as Park Haeri’s emergency contact number and that she had been in a serious car crash. Park Haeri is my mother’s name.” Baekhyun heard Chanyeol’s voice crack on the last sentence and reached out to grip his hands.

“You don’t have to continue.” Baekhyun said, trying to save Chanyeol the pain. He saw Chanyeol look down at his hands which were holding the other’s. Baekhyun made to remove his hands but felt Chanyeol hold on to them tightly and left them there.

“No, I…I want to.” Baekhyun gave his hands a reassuring squeeze before the Chanyeol continued his sad story.

“As they told me the hospital that she would be taken through a load of paramedics arrived. They were pushing a gurney. Being tall I was able to see the person lying there, it was my mum. She’s always been so strong, having raised me alone since I was ten. She would work two jobs and still have a smile at the end of the day, she had balls my mum. She has. But seeing her there, so feeble, and broken, so….small, I just, I couldn’t….yeah. Anyway, I talked to the doctor and he told me how serious her injuries are, he also told me the results from her tests. She had been diagnosed with mild narcolepsy, where you fall asleep uncontrollably; she fell asleep at the wheel. And well she has been in a coma for five days now. There are no signs of decreasing vitality but also no signs of improvement.” He looked up at Baekhyun, tears brewing in his eyes, “I can’t lose her.” He whispered. Baekhyun scooted his chair around the table so he was sat beside Chanyeol and wrapped his arms around him. He hugged him tight and his hair. They didn’t get any weird looks which was good, people were used to this sort of thing in a hospital.

“Shh,” Baekhyun soothed, rocking Chanyeol’s tall slender frame gently, “You won’t lose her. You will never lose her.”

After a while Chanyeol seemed to be feeling a little better as his shoulder’s had stopped their slight shaking. “Thank you.” Chanyeol sniffed, “For all of this.”

Baekhyun looked up at him with a small smile, “Any time.” He replied, “I mean that. Actually, could I ask you something? You don’t have to tell me, I just…”

“Ask away.” Chanyeol said cutting him off.

“Well I was wondering,” Baekhyun began, lightly scratching his head, “Why you didn’t tell anyone, not even Kai? I mean you tell him everything. He has been really worried this week; he said that you never keep secrets from him so it must have been serious…” Baekhyun trailed off, worried that he might have struck a nerve.

“I guess you deserve to know. Well you may have already known, but as I said before my mum raised me alone from the age of ten. That was because my dad died. At that time, everyone treated me as differently, they were all careful around me, as if I could break at any moment. That feeling of…isolation I guess you could call it, made everything worse. I think I just didn’t want people to see me differently because I needed school to be normal. And I feared that it might make this all more real.” He sighed and Baekhyun nodded, feeling such love for the pained boy before him that it was crippling.

Baekhyun saw Chanyeol stretch and yawn and realised that it had probably been a very long day for him. He stood up and tugged on the other’s jacket. Chanyeol looked up at him with confused, puppy dog eyes and a slight pout. Baekhyun felt his heart stutter at the utterly adorable sight before him. “C’mon, you must be exhausted, you need to go home.” Chanyeol looked as though he was about to argue but at a raised eyebrow from Baekhyun he closed his mouth and nodded. “You go and do whatever you need to do before we eave and I’ll wait outside. Okay?” Chanyeol nodded again and headed off back upstairs to the main ward. Baekhyun dropped by the nurse’s desk on the way to the door and smiled at the gentle old woman. She smiled back in recognition and reached under the desk where he couldn’t see for two small white pills. “These will make sure you don’t get a cold dear.”

Baekhyun bowed in gratitude and thanked her taking the pills. He was about to walk away when he had a thought, and turned back.

“Excuse me, sorry. Could I have another dose? My friend got equally as wet and he has a big day tomorrow.” She smiled kind heartedly and complied with his wish. By the time he had finished thanking her and taking the pills Baekhyun only had to wait a minute or two for Chanyeol to arrive.

When he did arrive Baekhyun handed him the pills and instructed him to take them. As he did so another thought came to him. “Chanyeol, about the performance tomorrow,” Baekhyun said, “Look you don’t have to, I mean I’ll understand if…”

“I will be there.” Chanyeol cut him off, “I promise.” He said this with such sincerity as he stared into Baekhyun’s eyes that he didn’t dare doubt him. Baekhyun could only nod.

“I’m going this way…” They both said at the same time as they pointed in opposite directions. Chanyeol smiled. Baekhyun let out a surprised breath as Chanyeol pulled him into a tight hug. He felt the warmth of the taller male’s large body wrap around him, melting his heart like chocolate on a sunny day. He clenched his teeth slightly, afraid to hug him back in case he did something he would regret. Before he had initiated the hugs and they were to comfort him, but this was different. It felt different. “Thank you for today, you’ve been a really good friend.” Chanyeol stepped out of the hug and started walking away. He waved behind himself and called over his shoulder, “See you tomorrow then.”

Baekhyun smiled, hearing most of his confidence back in his voice that had been missing earlier. His smile turned to a slight frown as his eyebrows pushed together. As he was walking home he focused on one particular word. Friend. If it hadn’t been certain before, today had made sure of it. He was totally and utterly friend zoned.