The empty gymnasium echoed of Taemin’s footsteps. Taemin had no idea why he was here, but if he had to find a common answer among his countless responses, “escape” would probably be the one.

Taemin needed to escape, escape to tranquility where he could restore some proper sense into himself before dealing with his worst nightmares; also known as Jongin, Soojung, Chanyeol, and Sulli.

And the deserted gym after school was the perfect place. Taemin headed towards a corner of the gym and sat down. After some time of pointlessly staring into space, he fell to his side and lied down on the cold floor. He looked up at the gigantic basketball net on top of him, and suddenly Chanyeol crossed his mind. He remembered Chanyeol’s unexpected leap on the basketball team captain and the punch into his nose, it would probably go down in history of Paran High as the most memorable entrance ever. Taemin chortled out a laugh.

“I gotta admit, that was pretty funny… freak.”

And for some reason, that lead him to think of Jongin.

“Heartless bastard. Inconsiderate . A disloyal jackass…”

Taemin uttered and his words resonated distantly in the big gym. Taemin lifted himself up and when his gaze naturally fell on the gym doors, he found Chanyeol leaning against the wall. Taemin hadn’t been lying down for long, but he had no idea how long Chanyeol had been watching him.

“You finished?”

Chanyeol’s low voice echoed. He slowly walked towards Taemin. Finding himself unbelievably pitiful, Taemin let his gaze fall to the floor. He tried so hard to keep it to himself and yet he was caught, this was worse than the embarrassment he had when Baldy made him hold a pail of water outside in the soccer field.

“Don’t tell me that you’re hiding like a girl.”

Chanyeol’s deep voice resonated even deeper in the gym. Taemin’s eyes stung and the orange lines on the gym floor started to blur.

, this was exactly why Taemin didn’t need any friends. He despised getting caught off-guard, he hated the feeling and no one taught him how to deal with it.

Taemin kept his head lowered and Chanyeol’s running shoes came into his blurry view. He couldn’t lift up his head now, his ego didn’t allow it. There was no question about it; Taemin knew how red his eyes and nose and his entire face was right now, and he wasn’t going to let Chanyeol see how pathetic he looked. As if he understood, Chanyeol just stood there. After some minutes of awkward silence, Chanyeol bent down and grabbed Taemin’s bag on the floor. This made Taemin look up unconsciously, and he saw Chanyeol grin down at him.

“Let’s go.”

Chanyeol whispered and walked back to the doors. Taemin remained sitting still for a while, and when he realized that he had been staring at Chanyeol’s long legs to a distance, he got up and hastily rushed after him.

Chanyeol was taller than Taemin, allowing him to take huge steps(in Taemin’s opinion), and Taemin had to practically run to catch up to him. As they made their way down the slope, Taemin stole some side glances at Chanyeol. Without turning his head, Chanyeol commented.

“I know I’m good looking, but you’re flattering me.”
“……”

Taemin stopped pacing after Chanyeol. Chanyeol whipped around and smirked, but unfortunately Taemin couldn’t start. A couple of guys from the basketball team sneaked out from behind the tall boy. Oblivious to the situation, Chanyeol mused at the fact that Taemin wasn’t retorting back like his smart-aleck self.

Unfortunately, Taemin didn’t have any time for that. It was way more than just a couple of guys. The numbers increased as they showed themselves from the alleyways split from the main road, and Taemin noticed Captain Dude’s colorfully renovated face between his minions. Chanyeol sensed the change of Taemin’s hardened expression and slowly turned around. Exhibiting a threatening aura, Captain Dude approached them. Chanyeol sighed, quickly calculating the numbers and the possibilities in his head.

“You sure you want to do this?”

Captain Dude smirked at this, and the bandage plastered over his cheekbones crumpled in a displeasing way. Up close, Captain Dude’s face was definitely an attraction. Gawking at his destroyed face, Taemin was getting perplexed over the unexpected situation. Taemin had enough episodes to stress over already and he refused to get involved in another. Chanyeol glanced at the minions behind Captain Dude and smiled.

“Mind if I introduce you guys to a nail salon near my house?" He smirked. "Those hands should sparkle in peach pink, much less shoot hoops or attempt a punch in my face…”
“Shut the hell up and move.” Captain Dude growled.

Chanyeol frowned in confusion and Captain Dude pointed to Taemin.

“You. Come here.”

Taemin looked behind him in hopes to see anybody else, but to his dismay he was the only living life. Taemin pointed to his own face and asked in disbelief.
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