Chanyeol shifted a bit where he was lying on top of his bed. He couldn’t remember if his body had ever ached so much as it did now; which was right up to the point where he could just barely take care of himself during the day – the majority of his time had been spent thinking and staring up at the ceiling. Much like he was doing now, with his chest heaving slowly with every deep breath as though he was asleep.

The sky outside was darkening already, and he was feeling more than bitter for not having been able to go outside at all. He was still pissed at the bastards who jumped him the night before, wanting almost nothing more than to waltz over to school and let them feel so much pain that they wished they’d never been born. The one thing he did want more was to make sure that the music room was untouched, the instruments safe. Although he was fairly sure no one gave a damn about them he couldn’t help but be concerned; they were all he had at the moment.

The whole day he’d been trying to rack his brains to remember the faces of the guys who’d left him with an annoyingly useless body. A few of them at least he knew he’d seen with either of the two big guys, but most of them he hadn’t known. He wasn’t even sure if there’d been seven or eight of them; they were too many for him to handle on his own in that situation but he couldn’t determine the exact number. As for the ones who stopped to help him he only knew that one of them was the infamous first-year, D.O., who patrolled the school with a baseball bat, and the other he simply knew as Kai – this was because the kid introduced himself curtly when helping him home. He hadn’t seen him around before, but at that time he’d been tired and in pain, not to mention far too beat up to get back to the house on his own – he didn’t have much of a choice but to trust that the other wasn’t a shady character; which it seemed so far that he really wasn’t.

But with all that happened there was another thing, or rather, another person that entered his mind. Chanyeol felt guilty when he thought of the way he’d sort of cut the other out of his life after starting at the jailhouse, but maybe the younger had forgotten about him already.

“Agh- ack! Damnit!” He snapped as he sat up, clutching his side. Another hot bath seemed like a good idea to calm himself a bit; it’d worked the last three times that day. Now, standing up in itself was a hassle, but the hard part was to actually walk. He looked at the clock on his wall, dropping back onto the bed with another curse. Maybe it’d be better to just go to sleep already? Sure a bath sounded nice, and it was about time for dinner, but he just didn’t have the energy. Then again if he went to sleep so early he’d be up again in the middle of the night.

The phone that rested next to him on his covers seemed to draw his eyes to it. If he just made one call? He had a decent reason to contact him, and if it was that guy he could definitely be trusted…

“Screw it…” Chanyeol finally gave in and reached for the device, weighing it in his bruised hands for a few moments before unlocking the screen. The kid had probably changed his number by now, right? Yeah… he might’ve – and then some stranger would answer and be utterly confused and he could hang up right away. His thoughts slowly shifted to what he’d say if the other did pick up; since they first got to know each other they hadn’t spoken all that much in the first place – there had been this sort of mutual understanding despite their differences. ‘Silence is golden’ was their favorite saying.

He let out a deep sigh, forcing himself to focus on the present instead of thinking backwards in time; he’d be stuck doing it for hours if he wasn’t careful. His attention was on the phone again, and his smile was small and of the bitter kind when he pushed the speed dial. Why he hadn’t changed it in over two years was a mystery.

“Don’t answer…” He mumbled under his breath as he waited, glancing tiredly around his room that was by now dark with no light but that of the street lamps outside.

“What?! I yelled into my phone. I didn’t recognize the number, but the caller could be damn sure that if it wasn’t important I’d come after them with a ten foot iron pole and-“

“Tao?” Chanyeol knew he was making a very ugly face; he recognized the voice on the other end, but the owner of it didn’t seem very familiar – two things that were really throwing him off. It was quiet for about three seconds before the other cleared his throat.

“The person on the other end sounded oddly familiar… was it really Chanyeol-hyung? But why would he be calling? And why did he still have my number? After a second’s thought I decided to give him a chance to explain himself before hanging up, seeing as the people rolling around on the ground in pain most likely wouldn’t be able to move properly for a while.” Yes, the voice definitely belonged to his junior, but the kid’s way of speaking sure had changed. Maybe that had come along with the clear change of personality – Chanyeol had never expected the younger to actually end up at the same school he did, but he’d blamed naïve assumptions like that on their period of zero interaction.

“It is me… turns out I never deleted your number.” He stalled, unsure of what to say.

“I couldn’t determine yet whether the statement was a good thing or not, but it was good to know that hyung could still talk after yesterday. Those guys were lucky that D.O. already took care of them or they’d be in intensive-“

“Tao, I need a hand with something.” It slipped out before he could stop himself, and left him staring down at the floor as though it’d tell him why he said it. The other line remained quiet as well, as though Tao was waiting for him to continue. But with what? Chanyeol’s thoughts were still a bit muddled as he finally reached the answer almost half a minute later. “Help me hit back.” He breathed, and had he spoken just a bit louder he was positive the sound would’ve echoed back through the silence.

“…Hit back? Chanyeol-hyung had never been one for revenge, and I had to think a bit on it. Why did he contact me of all people, and why not sooner? One of the dogs got a bit too close again and I paused to kick him back with a huff, hoping he’d get the message and stop ing around.”

“You don’t seem as restrained as you were before either.” Chanyeol said, and felt like his voice sounded a bit cooler than he’d intended. He thought he could hear the younger mumbling something on the other end, but he couldn’t make out anything - most likely because the language used was Chinese as opposed to the Korean they communicated in otherwise. “…Tao?”

“Mm, hyung still hadn’t hung up. This was all getting on my nerves. I thought about just hanging up and-“

“Come over for a bit?”

“…” Was this silence a good sign or a bad one?

“I know you dislike speaking over the phone, but there’s more to say about this.” He added and made a move to stand up. He hissed whilst clutching his side again, taking a few unsteady steps before leaning against the door frame. “I’m leaving the door unlocked in case you make up your mind to come.” Chanyeol could feel his face scrunch up a bit as he got no answer, and he ended the call abruptly. That was as far as he’d go. He wouldn’t gravel or plead or beg him to come over.

He staggered his way over to the front door and unlocked it, pausing for a moment before going over to the messy living room and landing heavily on the couch with a loud groan. Would the soreness ever go away? He forced himself to lay still on his side for a few minutes, making tired mental notes of what he’d have to clean away first when his mobility returned, but soon gave up and twisted himself so he could stare up at the ceiling again.

His thoughts drifted off to the conversation he’d had with his underclassman, the frown creeping back onto his face. He wanted to even things out with the jerks who jumped him, and for that he needed Tao’s help. But some of those people had been part of the big guys’ groups – wouldn’t that mean trouble? Would they be able to handle it just the two of them? Hell, would he be able to take care of everything himself if Tao decided not to help him out? As a last resort he might be able to convince that Kai fellow to give him a hand again. D.O. would’ve been a good person to side up with as well, but he doubted the kid would even bother to listen.

Chanyeol woke with a start that brought a stream of foul words to the tip of his tongue. He gritted his teeth and took a few deeps breaths to calm himself and will the dark thoughts away. The room was still dark, and if he had a clock nearby he was convinced he’d see it was sometime around midnight.

“…n’t changed at all, and the second floorboard still creaked when I stepped on it before. I was a bit confused as to where hyung’s parents were, but supposed they were working or something like that.”

Chanyeol pursed his lips – the other had come after all. Although the lights blinded him as they flickered on he barely even blinked, but just looked at the figure in the doorway. It’d been so long since they’d met last that he hadn’t been able to tell how different the younger had become over the years. The look on the boy’s face was a bit distant as he kept mumbling quietly to himself, taking a seat on the opposite couch. Chanyeol wondered how he himself looked in the kid’s eyes, but he’d never ask. Besides, in his current condition there wasn’t a chance in hell that he’d get a satisfactory answer.

“Thanks for coming over.”

“If he’d woken up an hour earlier I might’ve told him it was nothing, but seeing as it was already nearing one in the morning I could hardly do that anymore. I was hoping he was clear on what he wanted my help with.” Tao’s face showed no real emotion when he said it, and Chanyeol made sure to keep his façade up as well. It was a surprising deal harder in front of the other than it had been with the rest of the student body.

“I want the big guys to get off my back, but I can’t handle it by myself; if you won’t help me it can’t be done.” He explained, getting right to the point as he sensed that the other wasn’t up for small talk either. Their eyes met for a split second before the other looked away with a small huff.

“I wasn’t very fond of the big groups either, but I didn’t see what the best way to deal with them was – besides, I was already above them. Maybe Chanyeol-hyung should call that D.O. guy; didn’t he declare war today after all? They hardly needed to get me involve-“

“Tao.” Chanyeol cut the other off sharply, dragging his body into a sitting position with a wince before continuing. “You’re the only one I trust enough to ask.” Honesty was something he hadn’t had much use for the past years, but in this case it might very well be effective. That and he didn’t want to concoct anymore lies, not to feed to the other in any case. But with his words the dark-haired boy seemed to have disappeared so deep into his own thoughts that he wasn’t even focused enough to keep his previous mumbling up. Chanyeol knew that it was best to leave him to it – the other had had sessions of personal reflection like this many times when they were in middle school together, so he recognized the dazed look on the guy’s face. At least that was still the same amidst a mass of transformations.

It wasn’t until nearly five minutes later that Tao finally returned to the world of the living, alerting Chanyeol with it by clearing his throat.

“It seemed like hyung had almost fallen asleep by the time I’d made up my mind, but he quickly snapped back to life when I let him know I was done thinking. ‘I’ll do what I can this time’ I told him. The look on his face seemed to be one of genuine surprise.”

“I was starting to think you were going to refuse.” Chanyeol replied with a shrug, and had to admit that he indeed had been pretty shocked. Then again, he might very well have felt the same way if his request was turned down as well – he’d somehow managed to convince himself that he knew the kid despite their time apart, and that the younger wasn’t one to ignore a cry for help. Most of the time at least.

“There was one thing I wanted to be sure of though, and that was whether or not we were going to do this ourselves. I didn’t doubt my own strength, how could I? But hyung looked very beat up; and even after he’s healed it’s not a given that he’ll be on the same level as either of the big guys.” Chanyeol noted the emphasis on his way of referring to the third-years in charge, and had to clench his jaws to keep a chuckle from slipping out – Tao’s comments had been pretty spot on after all, and should in fact be something to worry about.

“I considered trying to form some sort of alliance with D.O., but he’s probably not interested… there is this person, Kai, who seemed like a good enough guy, but I really don’t know anything about him.”

“Was he talking about the transfer student in my class? No, it might just be a coincidence, most likely was because that guy didn’t seem all that strong in a fight – what use would he be? I’d been hoping Chanyeol-hyung would’ve thought things through a bit more but apparently he hadn’t.” Tao last sentence was said sharply, and the boy finished with a click of his tongue. Chanyeol rolled his eyes slightly as he thought back on the guy who’d lent him his shoulder the other night.

“He’s pretty tall, about your height I guess, slightly darker skin than most people, not scary looking at all. I haven’t seen him around school, but he was wearing the uniform.”

“…Judging from the description it did seem to be the same person I met on the first day of school. Does that mean I should go have a chat with him to explain the situation? Of course he’d listen to me, but on second thought I had no real desire to force him to join us on this.”

“Don’t then; just explain things and give him my number.” Chanyeol felt himself seriously having a hard time holding back a smile at the other’s troubled frown. Could it be that the so-called king had no previous experience in plotting? There was one thing that definitely would make it easier for them to talk things through though. “Can’t you go back to speaking like a normal person at least around me?” He asked aloud as soon as he thought it; forgetting to wait the usual time needed for his brain to filter his speech. The glare he received sent a shiver down his spine.

“I don’t think hyung was even remotely aware that it was his fault that I started speaking like this in the first place, maybe if he did he wouldn’t be so quick to dismiss it. So far it’d worked quite well at keeping people away, and I had no intention to change that. It wasn’t-“

“Tao, enough.” Chanyeol knew he was making a very disappointed face, but he couldn’t do anything about it. It was clear now that his good intentions had backfired, and he should let the guy know that. “The reason I didn’t stay in touch with you was just that I didn’t want you to follow me to the jailhouse, I didn’t think you were suited for a place like that, but apparently it didn’t work like it was supposed to. I don’t know what happened in middle school for you to take the same stupid road I did, but I’m not going to apologize for trying to keep you away.” The way the other glowered at him made him want to turn his back and run, despite his injuries, but he didn’t.

They remained in a dark staring contest for a while until he gave in, Tao getting up off the couch the second their glares weren’t connected any longer. Out of the corner of his eye Chanyeol followed the other’s steps towards the front door, watching in silence as he got ready to leave. He jumped a bit when the younger spoke.

“I’ll talk to Kai and D.O.” When there was no continuation Chanyeol was quick to redirect his gaze to the other’s face, unable to stop himself from cracking a smile at the sight. Tao’s grumpy pout was completely unchanged, and although he could’ve easily cooed at it, it just seemed too unsuitable for the guy’s current image. He couldn’t help but chuckle as the boy’s brows furrowed further.

“Thank you Taozi.”

“…Go yourself.”

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A/N: ...I don't know what to say. I just don't. Whyyyyyy?! Why did I make their personalities so hard to work with?! Ugh. This chapter pretty much melted my brain and had it #%!@!4&?=$#%!@!4&?=$#%!@!4&?=$. <------ What I was trying to say is not good for anyone to read, not even R.A.W comedians.

There we go. So, pretty gloomy chapter... it wasn't supposed to be... or well, maybe it was, I don't know. But this is a neccessary evil chapter! And, wait for it... or not, you probably noticed already, but there was no nasty cliffhanger~! Yaaay~! Like, yeah. *pets magic toad*

Hurrdidurrdidurr~ Love to all subscribers (all fifty-freakin'-eight of you!!! *total bliss*) and commentists~! *hands out brownies* <3<3<333

Not sure when the next chapter will be out but since this has pretty much invaded my head and built a nest and hatched cute little bayb birds it shouldn't be too long. 

Thanks for reading~! *gangnam styles towards horizon*

~Fi