It took Sehun a while to comprehend what Baekhyun said.
He was stunned, speechless, and all the horrible images of the cell came back to him in a giant mental rush, making him feel nauseous.

"No..." Sehun whimpered and his body laid limp against the headboard of his bed.
This is not happening.

"The school... They were going to send that er from Dorm B to the cell, but Luhan... He insisted he was the one who attacked first and they take him instead..." Baekhyun broke down, setting off the tears in a few other boys.
Sehun gathered all the energy he had and leaped out of bed, struggling his way through the crowd beside his bed and the arms grabbing out at him.

"Sehun, no! You can't-"

"He needs me." Sehun cried out desperately and pried Suho's hands off of his arm.

"And you need rest. Luhan is safe inside the cell." Suho frowned and reached out to pull Sehun back into his bed.
No one is safe in this place.
Sehun stepped forward and gave Suho a deathly glare, causing the latter to freeze in place and stare up at the young boy in fear.

"Tao, Baekhyun hyung and Chanyeol hyung know how horrible it is in the cell. Luhan barely has enough fat on him to keep himself warm after the sun goes down. You're telling me he'll be okay in that cold dark place?" Sehun hissed and clenched his fists, resisting the urge to lash out and vent his anger.
He quickly turned and ran out before the others could try and keep him inside again.
He's all alone.
He must be so scared.
Sehun's anger subsided, replaced by anxiety and worry as he ran as fast as his legs would carry him.
The sky was pitch black, and Sehun ran towards the cell in the dim exterior lighting on the buildings.
He almost ran past the steel cell from the poor visibility, but the metallic sheen in the moonlight caught his eye and he sprinted towards the barred window.

"Luhan!" Sehun yelled as he grabbed onto the bars, stupidly shaking them in attempt to break them off.
He almost cried when he saw that familiar pale face appear behind the bars.
He's okay.
Luhan's okay.

"Sehun...?" Luhan wrapped his icy fingers around Sehun's own, leaning in closer.
There were swollen red marks snaking around Luhan's fingers, looking angry and extra painful on the pale skin.
They looked horrific.

"How bad are the burns?" Sehun's voice cracked as his tears surged out of his eyes.

"They'll be gone in two weeks. Just my hands and belly." Luhan said blankly and removed his fingers from Sehun's, hiding the wounds away.

"Why did you do that..." Sehun whimpered, his heart twisting inside his chest.
He slid his hand through one of the gaps between the bars and cupped Luhan's face in his hand, the hollow of his cheek pressed against his warm palm.
Luhan didn't breathe another word while Sehun weeped, and he stared ahead with unfocused eyes.
He only spoke again when tears stopped pouring out of Sehun's eyes.

"No one should have to suffer."

"Neither should you!" Sehun cried, reaching his other hand out to hold Luhan's face so he couldn't avoid Sehun's gaze.
Frustration took over Sehun.
He hated how Luhan brought this situation down on himself unnecessarily, yet he knew only a person as pure as Luhan would do such a thing and he could never hate that.
He wished Luhan hadn't covered for that brute, though at the same time it only showed what a pure heart he had and Sehun wouldn't even dream of changing that.
He was angry that Luhan was thrown into the cell as a consequence of defending the brute, but he was glad he saw how pure Luhan really was.
Sehun found himself having an inner battle and the more he thought about it, the more his head hurt.
He shook his head around to clear it and refocused on the boy before him.

"Why did it have to be you, out of all people?" Sehun whispered, feeling more miserable than ever.

"I-I..." Luhan had opened his mouth and tried to speak, only to clamp it shut the next second and reopen it again.
Sehun immediately lunged forward, eager to hear what the boy had to say.

"What is it Lu?"
Luhan lowered his gaze and fell silent.
Sehun's heart sunk, and just when he decided maybe Luhan wasn't going to speak, he did.

"It only makes sense that I do."
What?
Sehun frowned at the troubled expression on Luhan's face.

"I"m unwanted. He has a family. It only makes sense for me to do it."
No.
No no no.
Sehun couldn't believe what he was hearing.
His chest felt impossibly tight and he honestly thought his heart was going to break into pieces.
Unwanted.
That's what Luhan thought of himself, and Sehun had never disagreed more on any matter.

"No, it doesn't. I want you. I'll always want you."
Because I love you, more than anyone on this earth has ever loved another person.
Sehun gazed intently into Luhan's eyes.
Dark rings had formed around them and they were slightly bloodshot, appearing even glassier under the moonlight.

"Oh Lu, you dummy..." Sehun was mesmerized by the glistening brown orbs, and he felt all the complex emotions inside him melting away, leaving him calm and still.
He even managed to break into a little smile as he brushed Luhan's bangs out of the way.
Luhan hadn't moved or replied, but Sehun knew he understood his feelings by the way his lips quivered and tears brimmed his eyes.

"I told you, I'll always be here. I'll never leave you, Lu." Sehun wiped away a stray tear that escaped from Luhan's eyes with his thumb.
Luhan nodded wildly and pressed his lips together, and Sehun knew he was trying to hold back the tears.

"Shhh. It's okay, Lu. Let it all out." Sehun gently the sides of Luhan's face with the pads of his thumbs, resting his forehead on the bars as if they didn't exist and he was holding Luhan close.
He said nothing while Luhan sobbed quietly and let the tears fall, only rubbing circles into the latter's temples in attempt to soothe him.
He only took his hands back when Luhan had stopped crying, and he pulled his t-shirt over his head.

"Hold onto this and get some rest. Call if you need me." Sehun shoved the thin fabric through the gap in the window and slid down with his back against the wall.
There was shuffling from the window, and when it died down Sehun knew Luhan was doing as he told him to.
He imagined Luhan curling up on the cold concrete floor with Sehun's t-shirt in his hands, right behind the wall where he himself sat.
Good enough.
Sehun closed his eyes.
He was about to doze off when Luhan's voice brought him back from dreamland.

"Will you really stay with me?"

"Always."

"That's what my dad said too."
Sehun smiled at the familiar reply.
His dad must have really loved him, despite whatever happened for him to leave Luhan.

"When I was three he took me to the beach. He carried me in his arms and we went into the sea. We went deeper and deeper until the water reached his waist. I was afraid, so I asked him, 'Daddy, you're not going to let go of me, are you?'"

"What did he say?"

"'I'd never drop you.'"
Sehun felt the butterflies in his stomach flutter around madly as he replayed the time when he told Luhan the same thing.

"I knew my dad loved me and wouldn't let go, but I was terrified. What if he did drop me? But I trusted him, because I knew he loved me more than anything else in the world. I wasn't afraid anymore even though we went even deeper into the water, and in the end I was safe."

"It's the same with us, Sehun."

Author's Note:

I know, I know.

I broke your hearts with the last chapter.

Therefore the "Fl" part of Flangst is coming.

Offtopic: The EXO catchphrase I use the most isn't Kkaebsong or Yehet.

It's 'maybe next time'.

Cuz I'm an like Krease. Lawl.