Sorry guyssss *bows left right centre*, my comp crashed last night, so I couldn't get  to do the updates I promised... And writing is going so slowly, becuase the computers in the community library just ... >< growls. I hope you'll enjoy this chappie, and do remember to comment and subscribe, and if you're enjoying this fic in general, pleaseprettyplease click on the grey arrow beside the title *points*... It's overrrr thereeeee.... <33333

*Swoons* Myungsoo's expression...... <33333

WHAT ARE YOU DOING NOW?

Myungsoo rolled his eyes after reading the fifth text message Sungyeol had sent to him, over his food during lunch break. What was this guy doing? Didn't he have class? What was he doing spamming Myungsoo's inbox with five exactly identical text messages, and during school hours too. Myungsoo leaned on the caffeteria table, resting his chin on one arm, the other hand bruied in his hair, as he scrolled down to view the rest of his messages. Sungyeol had sent him one text every five minutes for the past hour or so.

Myungsoo smirked then. If he didn't answer (not forever--Myungsoo didn't have the heart) for the rest of today, would Sungyeol still send him texts every few minutes? Or would he give up? Myungsoo felt curious. Well--either way, Myugnsoo couldn't be bothered to answer the boy right now. He didn't have the time to either--break was short when Myungsoo had to eat and finish last week's homework at the same time. He'd skipped school the whole of last week, and his homework had piled up, and Myungsoo was paying the price now. There was no escape, and Myungsoo knew it.

He sank lower in his chair, and chewed on his pencil thoughtfully. He could see his friends at the table where they usually sat, and Myungsoo avoided their glances studiously. He didn't want to go over. They had known his best friend, how close they had been, and Myungsoo was afraid they'd ask him where the guy was, why they weren't glued together like they usually were. Myungsoo was afraid of breaking down in front of them. He cried enough in the privacy of his own room, for goodness sake.

Hoya came over after a while, eyes full of questions unasked. He passed Myungsoo his own completed copy of the assignments, and Myungsoo took it from him gratefully. Math was a real killer, and he didn't think he could finish it in (Myungsoo checked his watch and panicked) ten minutes.

"Hey..." Hoya sat next to him.

Myungsoo nodded in greeting. He didn't really want to talk, and he hoped homework undone was a good enough excuse to stay silent, and "focus" on the assignments at hand. Sungyeol felt Hoya shift uncomfortably next to him.

"You were sick last week?"

Myungsoo nodded. It wasn't that he wanted to hide things from his friends. It was just that some things could be shared, and other stuff was better left unspoken.

"So he nursed you back to health, huh? I thought you'd both gone out on holiday without us. Sunggyu would have really wrung your neck, you know..." Hoya joked. Myungsoo didn't need Hoya to mention his best friend's name, to understand who he was talking about. So he'd skipped school too? Myungsoo just stared at the work on the table, and brought the tip of his pencil down, to touch the paper, as if he was going to write something. If only what Hoya said could be true.

 Myungsoo sighed, and looked up from the copied homework. He hadn't finished yet, but he couldn't bring himself to care.

"Can we talk about something else?" Myungsoo hated the way his voice sounded a little shaky. He'd tried hard not to show how affected he was. Hoya smiled at him then, and Myungsoo was reminded of why they'd become friends in the first place--Hoya was such a nice, easy-going guy, and Myungsoo genuinely enjoyed his company. Myungsoo looked toward his friend's table, where they were still chatting over their lunches, and felt a little more lonely than before. It seemed Hoya had noticed.

"Come sit with us." Hoya said, dragging Myungsoo back to their friends, and when Myungsoo was pushed down onto the seat, and everyone tried to help with his homework, Sunggyu straining his voice to be heard over their chatter with Woohyun waving his arms exicitedly beside him, Myungsoo felt just a little bit better. Screw his best friend. He had Sunggyu, and Woohyun, and Hoya, and Dongwoo, and Sungjong. His best friend wasn't needed anymore. They weren't best friends anymore.

Perhaps Myungsoo could manage to persuade himself for the next two months.

Approximately four long, tiring, boring...(the list could go on forever) hours, Myungsoo felt as if he was about to explode from the boredom. It was math, and Myungsoo found it a miracle that he could actually keep awake throughout the whole of the lesson. Normally, he'd be drooling on his worksheets, fast asleep, till the bell jolted him awake, in time to rush out of the school as fast as possible, friends in tow. Today however, he'd spent too much time taking naps, exhausted after crying sessions the whole of the last week he'd spent locked up at home, that Myungsoo didn't feel the least bit drowsy. And the lesson was so excruciatingly uninteresting that he almost wished he could just nod off, and escape from the low droning of his teacher. It wasn't that he hated his math teacher or anything--it was just the subject that Myungsoo disliked.

He sighed imagining himself exploding from boredom, then remembered his phone under his table, and how he'd wondered earlier if Sungyeol would bother keeping up the five-minutes-per-identical-text thing he seemed to have started before lunch. Myungsoo checked the clock, and did a little math, to prove that he wasn't at all bad at the dry subject. Four hours had passed... Myungsoo smirked.

There was no way in hell Sungyeol would have texted him fourty-eight times.

Myungsoo's hand felt around in his bag that he'd stuffed under his table, and his fingers closed around the familiar form of his handphone. Myungsoo glanced at the teacher, pacing around at the front of the room while lecturing them. There was only ten minutes before the bell rang anyway. Myungsoo was quite sure he wouldn't get caught, and have his device confiscated from him, for using it in class.

He slid it out, and unlocked the screen. And ogled at the number of messages he'd received--eighty messages. Myungsoo's thumb hovered for a while, then tapped on his inbox, so Myungsoo could check if all those messages really came from that absurd stranger-named-Sungyeol. Just reading Sungyeol's contact name made Myungsoo want to laugh at the boy's weirdness--who else added hearts at the end of their names when they gave people their number? Myungsoo in his cheecks to stop smiling, and his thumb flicked continuously up his screen, to view all the messages.

All eighty messages were from Sungyeol. Myungsoo's eyes were on the verge of falling out of their sockets. Sungyeol hadn't given up texting Myungsoo every five minutes, he'd actually increased the frequency instead. As Myungsoo scrolled down, he saw how Sungyeol had grown more creative in the messages:

About fifty of them asked what he was doing, the next twenty simply stated "Answer me", with increasing numbers of exclaimation marks behind the sentence. The last ten asked him where he studied at.

Myungsoo ignored the first twenty--he wasn't doing anything, and the next twenty didn't really require an answer. Myungsoo smirked at the last ten questions. He had a definite answer to that. Myungsoo's fingers got down to work.

Myungsoo: Hell.

He smiled at his response, satisfied with his answer. A few moments later, the phone buzzed, and Myungsoo hastily viewed the Sungyeol's reply.

Sungyeol: Seriously? O.O

Myungsoo smiled. He could totally imagine Sungyeol making that face.

Myungsoo: No, genius. I go to Woollim High.

He hit send, just as a shadow fell on him. Myungsoo looked up, and gulped, and smiled nervously at his teacher who was now looming over him. His math teacher did not look pleased. He glared at Myungsoo, and motioned for Myungsoo to hand over the phone.

"I--" Myungsoo began, trying to come up with a good excuse so that he could keep his phone. The bell rang, and Myungsoo jumped, grabbed his things, stuffed them hastily into his backpack, and hurtled out the door, yelling a goodbye over his shoulder at his frustrated teacher. He ran through the corridor that was just starting to fill up with students, and legged it out of the school.

And crashed into someone rushing in the opposite direction.

"Ow..." Myungsoo rubbed his elbow, where it had whacked the pavement when he'd fallen. Myungsoo looked up, to shoot the person one of his trademark squinty-eyed glares, but his eyes widened instead.

"You," Myungsoo half shouted, "Are you a stalker or something?!"

Sungyeol shook his head, smiling so hard that Myungsoo could see how white his teeth were, in comparison to his pink gums. Sungyeol bent over him, and extended a hand to help him up, but Myungsoo ignored it, picking himself up, and dusting his uniform down. Myungsoo squinted his eyes again, this time in suspicion. What was Sungyeol doing here? He opened his mouth, but froze, when a voice he knew too well called out to him from behind.

"Myungsoo!"

 Myungsoo didn't move. Myungsoo didn't know if he wanted to see him again, didn't know what to say to him anymore. Myungsoo didn't know what he wanted. Myungsoo didn't know if he'd break down talking to him.

"Hey." Myungsoo's best friend placed a hand on his shoulder, turning him around. Myungsoo didn't look at the face that was even more familiar than his own, from the countless times he'd stared at the guy's face, so long he'd memorised every curve, every line. Myungsoo kept his gaze on the floor. Only on the floor.

Myungsoo's best friend dragged him a little away from Sungyeol, so that they were (probably) out of earshot.

"Hey." The guy repeated, and Myungsoo angrily found himself thinking how wonderful it was to hear his voice again. Myungsoo hated himself for still loving the guy who walked out on him. Myungsoo didn't hate his best friend--he couldn't bring himself to.

He doesn't trust his voice anymore, so Myungsoo just nods in acknowledgement of his best friend's presence.

"You know the girl I was talking to you about? Before we watched the movie last week? I need your help." His best friend places a hand on Myungsoo's shoulder when he speaks the past line, as if nothing had happened between them, as if he hadn't abandoned Myungsoo.

Myungsoo still doesn't say anything, and nods again.

"She's still clinging onto me, and it's getting annoying." His best friend takes a deep breath, and speaks slowly, as if reading a fairytale to a little kid, "Could you pretend to be my boyfriend for just one day?" Myungsoo can hear the smirk in the guy's voice now. "I know it's going to be awkward because I rejected your little confession, but think of this as testimony of our past friendship."

Myungsoo hears the way his best friend emphasises that it was his confession, his fault that their friendship was sinking. To other people maybe, his best friend's voice could be mean, and his words scathing, but Myungsoo couldn't bring himself to think that way. He jumps, when his best friend leans forward, smirk still in his voice, until his mouth is next to Myungsoo's ear, and his breath tickles it.

"This was what you wanted anyway, wasn't it? Although it's just for one day..."

Myungsoo didn't hear the rest of his best friend's sentence, because Sungyeol chose that moment to drag Myungsoo away by the elbow, and chatters happily in his ear, as Myungsoo stumbles dazedly behind him.

Then, Myungsoo remembered that he didn't want anyone to know how weak, how vulnerable, how lost he was feeling, and so he arranged his face into a smile, the corners of his lips stretching upwards. He nodded, and pretended to be following what Sungyeol was saying to him.

"Where are you going?" Sungyeol suddenly turned around, and asked seriously, catching Myungsoo off guard for a moment.

"Uh? Where am I going..?" Myungsoo's numb brain slowly processed the question, as he stared down at the floor, smile still plastered on his face. "Home." Myungsoo replied finally, remembering, and heading back up the way they came, turning right. Sungyeol followed, but Myungsoo was too disturbed to care at that moment.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

When Myungsoo reaches home, and takes out his key to unlock the door, Sungyeol is still following behind him. Myungsoo's hand hesitates on the key in the lock, remembering the mess that is strewn all over his small apartment--mountains of used tissue paper, dirty clothes he'd not been bothered to clear, empty cups of strawberry yoghurt (his comfort food).

"Stay here." Myungsoo turns the key in the lock, then scurried inside, to try to clear up as much as possible, so that his apartment wouldn't be a health hazard for his unexpected guest.

Sungyeol doesn't obey, and follows him in anyway, eyes wide and staring, as if he was trying to take in all of Myungsoo's apartment at once. Sungyeol looked absolutely fascinated. Myungsoo paused, a dirty vest hanging from one arm, a handful of scrunched up tissues in the other, when he saw Sungyeol.

"I thought I told you to stay outside. I won't be long..." Myungsoo hinted for Sungyeol to step out again, but it wwas as if Sungyeol didn't get what Myungsoo was trying to say. Myungsoo sighed. He hadn't expected the boy to get it anyway. Myungsoo gave up on the idea of neatening his apartment, and instead settled for shoving as much mess as possible behind the couch, where it would be hidden from sight.

"Where's your mom?" Sungyeol asked, looking around the room, as if expecting someone to pop out from behind the couch, or out of the cupboards. Myungsoo was busy shoving the stuff into the gap between the sofa and the wall when he replied.

"I live alone."

"Where's your sister?" Sungyeol asked again, and Myungsoo sighed.

"I live alone, Sungyeol."

"Where's your--" Sungyeol began, but Myungsoo cut him off.

"I liiiivvveee alooonnneee." Myungsoo said, drawing out each syllable, so that Sungyeol will hopefully get the point--which he does, to Myungsoo's relief.

"Oh." Sungyeol's brow furrows. "Why?"

Myungsoo shrugs. "Because I enjoy it, I guess..." It hadn't really felt lonely until last week, and it let Myungsoo feel more in charge of his own life, let Myungsoo feel more grown up. Myungsoo finished shoving the mess behind the sofa, and straightened, running a hand through his hair. He rummaged in his closet, and brought out a change of clothes, and paused in the doorway of his bathroom. Sungyeol watched his every move.

"You wanna shower first?" Myungsoo felt the need to play the part of a considerate host.

Sungyeol shook his head. "I didn't have gym lesson today," He explained tp Myungsoo. Then, Sungyeol looked sharply at the boy, startling him a little, for the second time that day.

"You're sad." Sungyeol stated simply.

"No..." Myungsoo fanned his hand, as if to disperse Sungyeol's words that hung in the air, making sure to fix a huge smile on his face.

Sungyeol ignores his denial, and continues as if he'd not been interrupted, "Why are you sad? Because of the guy from before?"

Myungsoo's stomach dropped. Since when had Sungyeol become so observant? How could he tell, when his own friends didn't even suss the problem out? Myungsoo's smile faltered. His face scrunched up the tiniest bit. And then he saw the way Sungyeol's eyes looked at him, as if they could see right through his phoney smile, and weak denial, and ended up spilling everything to Sungyeol. Everything--about his best friend, about how he'd fallen for the guy, about how he'd confessed, about how that had gone terribly wrong, about how he still loved his best friend.

And at the end of it all, Myungsoo was gasping for breath, forcing the tears down, because he hated crying in front of people. He leaned against the door frame, hands balled tightly into fists. Sungyeol found his way towards him, and Myungsoo felt the boy's hand bury itself in his hair, it, smoothing it down. Myungsoo closed his eyes for a while, to hide the tears that still managed to well up there.

"I can be your best friend." Sungyeol said, "you don't need him anymore."

This made Myungsoo's head snap up, and his sudden anger dried his tears.

"What do you know?! Of course I need him. You wouldn't understand." Myungsoo growled, jerking his head away from Sungyeol's soothing hands. Sungyeol's happy, accepting expression didn't change, and for some weird reason, that made Myungsoo even more livid. Myungsoo didn't even think about the words that left his mouth next.

"You're just a mere aquaintance. You're nobody compared to what he is to me..." Myungsoo choked on his own words, and left the sentence hanging, as Sungyeol's smile twitches, and doesn't reach his eyes anymore. Myungsoo wished there was a delete button, so he could wipe away his last sentence. Sungyeol was standing beside him, hand hanging in the air, as if it was still patting his head. Myungsoo watched as Sungyeol nodded once slowly, eyes fixed on a spot above Myungsoo's head.

"I guess." Sungyeol whispered, and stepped back so Myungsoo could take a shower. The last thing Myungsoo saw before he closed the door in Sungyeol's face were Sungyeol's eyes, and they looked back at him, lost and betrayed.

 Myungsoo leaned his head against the cool tiles on the wall of his shower cubicle, and covers his face with his hand for a moment. He really didn't mean to hurt Sungyeol like that. Myungsoo imagined his empty living room outside the door--Sungyeol must have left him by now. His phone buzzed beside the sink, and he read his friends' text with a watery smile. Myungsoo remembered how he'd felt so much better instantly during lunch break, when he'd gone to sit with his friends. Maybe spending time with them would cheer him up, and make him forget the guilt, if only temporarily.

After the shower, when Myungsoo stepped out refreshed, and he'd just bent over to pick up a stray pair of shorts he'd forgotten to stuff behind the sofa, something tugged in his chest again, stronger this time. Myungsoo groaned, and dropped the shorts, and brought up his hands to claw at his chest, like he'd done two mornings ago.

He jumped, when two hands patted his hair, and someone crouched down beside him, rubbing his back, as if he was trying to lessen the pain. Myungsoo looked up, and for some reason he couldn't explain, he felt grateful.

"You didn't leave?" Myungsoo gasped out, just as another pang made him clutch his shirt even tighter. Myungsoo's words made Sungyeol smile a little, but his voice was still low.

"I'm not your best friend," Sungyeol reminded him.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Hope you guys enjoyed this chappie!! Remember to comment and subscribe, and if you're enjoying this fic in general, pleaseprettyplease click on the grey arrow beside the title *points*... It's overrrr thereeeee.... <33333