Baekhyun had never really familiarized himself with the neighbourhood in which Chanyeol lived, because his house was on the opposite side of the city. Also, Baekhyun lived in an apartment, while Chanyeol lived in a small house. The neighbourhood was also slightly poorer, as the houses were older, and more rundown. Baekhyun’s apartment was newly built and modern, so it was a new environment for him.

They walked past a small elementary school where children were playing on the grass in front of the main entrance. At the edge of the sidewalk, under a big, leafless tree, a student was surrounded by older, bigger, and nastier looking kids. They pushed the child down, and called him names. He looked on the verge of tears.

Chanyeol made a ‘tsk’ noise and strode over to the kids. “Hey.” His stare was menacing and his voice authoritative.

The bullies’ eyes widened as the tall, muscular boy approached him. They scattered, leaving the kid pressed against the tree and wiping his eyes. Chanyeol flicked his forehead. “I told you to stand up to them,” Chanyeol said.

The kid yelped and rubbed his forehead. “They’re two years older than me. I’m also not fearless, like you.”

Chanyeol smiled slightly and fished a candy out of his pocket. “Be strong, Donghyun. Show them who’s boss next time.”

Chanyeol walked back to where Baekhyun stood. “Let’s go.”

Baekhyun followed. “Who was that?”

“Donghyun,” Chanyeol said. “He’s an orphan. He lives in a foster home.” Chanyeol’s expression suddenly darkened. “Except the couple who took him in only did so to collect child support money. Some adults are just scum.” 

Baekhyun looked at the ground. He couldn’t imagine what it would be like having a life like that. Sure, his parents were overseas, and he barely saw them, but they always sent emails and called to make sure Baekhyun was all right by himself. His mom would sometimes even ship gifts of clothing, money, and other little things.

They arrived at Chanyeol’s house a little while later, finally able to escape the cold biting winds of winter. Max greeted them happily at the door, jumping onto Chanyeol’s legs. He patted him on the head, and gave him a quick neck massage.

“I’ll go make something to eat,” Chanyeol said, kicking off his shoes and dumping his bag on the couch. “Make yourself at home.”

Baekhyun sighed and sat on the green leather loveseat, Max following him. He gave Baekhyun a silly dog grin, his tail beating furiously on the couch. “Woof!” he barked.

Baekhyun flinched and cautiously patted Max on the head. “At least you’re nice.”

Max blinked and looked at Baekhyun curiously. Baekhyun narrowed his eyes, scooting slightly away from the big German shepherd. “What?”

Max suddenly pounched on Baekhyun, causing the victim to scream in surprise and terror. The dog Baekhyun’s cheeks happily, his eyes seemed to be saying ‘Food’. The boy groaned and tried to move away, but he was pinned to the arm of the loveseat.

 “Hey stop that!” he cried.

 “Max, heel.”

At Chanyeol’s command, Max’s ears stood up and he immediately hopped off the couch. Chanyeol set a bowl of dog food on the ground and Max barked happily before digging into his meal. The tall boy walked over to Baekhyun, setting a plate of assorted crackers on the coffee table.

Baekhyun suddenly said ‘ah’ as if he remembered something. Baekhyun took a hoodie out his backpack and held it out to Chanyeol. “Umm... Thanks for letting me borrow this. It was ah... warm.” Baekhyun laughed awkwardly, his face turning a little red. “Oh! I w-washed it of course,” he added quickly.

Chanyeol smirked. “You can keep it if you like it.”

Baekhyun’s eyes widened and he rubbed the back of his neck. “T-Thanks I guess...”

Chanyeol chuckled quietly and took his textbooks out of his bag. “Well, we better get started. Otherwise we’re gonna be here all night.”

The two made a list of things to review, first of which was the biology test. This composed mostly of Chanyeol quizzing Baekhyun and the latter answering incorrectly. Then Baekhyun helped Chanyeol with his math homework, as the taller boy did not understand a single shred of what they were learning. After that, they started to study on their own in a comfortable silence.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

After Baekhyun went home, Chanyeol sat down in front of the TV and flicked through the channels. However, there was only one thing on his mind.

He turned the TV off and stared at his ceiling. Max hopped onto the couch and Chanyeol’s cheek, wagging his tail happily. He barked once, demanding attention. Chanyeol smiled and rubbed Max’s back, earning him happy growls.

“Seems you and Baekhyun are getting along fine.” Chanyeol grabbed the bag of dog treats off the table and put one on top of Max’s nose. Chanyeol made a stop motion with his hand, watching as Max stared at the treat with crossed eyes. After a few seconds, Chanyeol waved his hand and Max flicked the treat in the air, catching it in his mouth. “Good boy.”

Chanyeol watched as Max chewed on the bone shaped treat, and a thought came to mind. “Hey Max,” Chanyeol said suddenly. Max’s ears flicked in Chanyeol’s direction as if he was listening. “Do you believe in love at first sight?”

Max whined and tilted his head in confusion, part of the treat sticking out of his mouth.

Chanyeol sighed. “What do you know? You’re a dog.”

Max barked indignantly.

Chanyeol smiled and scratched Max behind the ears. “I’m just kidding.” He tilted his head back and rubbed his eyes tiredly. “I didn’t at first, but now I think I do.”

Max barked in response, giving Chanyeol his signature goofy dog smile. He seemed to be saying, “You like him,” in the most mocking fashion a dog could muster.

Chanyeol chuckled at his lovable companion, playfully pinching his ear. “You’ve always been the smart one, haven’t you?” Chanyeol’s expressions darkened. “I feel like something bad is going to happen soon.”

Max whimpered and Chanyeol’s cheek comfortingly.

Chanyeol sighed. “Bad things happen to people who hang around me, Max. That’s just the way things are.”

Max laid his head on Chanyeol’s lap, not making a sound while his owner his head thoughtfully.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sorry sorry sorry for not updating in forever I'm really busy with things like school and family and life in general because life hates me I swear sogfhso 

Yeah so like I realized like maybe I should probably finish it so here I am with a new chapter AHAHAHA please don't kill me

I'm surprised I still get subbers and comments for this story, I thought you wonderful people would have lost interest in this story already but it seems like maybe you guys still wanna read it so here you go another chapter to munch on :D 

Thanks so much for subscribing and staying with me, and those of you who say you want Kailay, there will be kailay like later... as in quite a bit later... haha sorry sorry 

Also I think I'm gonna be finishing Revenge is Bittersweet too, so please check that story out, its a prequel to Tears of December so don't get mad at the ending please LOL 

I will have another chapter of this one up hopefully by next week (when I say hopefully the chances are pretty low BUT I'M WORKING ON IT) so stay tuned and thank you so much for your interest! Like seriously though thank you :D