Chanyeol was going on three weeks without having set something on fire. It felt like he was finally in control of that deepest part of himself, that part that was to blame for him turning to fire and matches for coping. As for why he had more self-control, if asked, Chanyeol could say Baekhyun without any hesitation or second thoughts. All of this, this person that he was now, was because of Baekhyun. It was like the other was a bright light leading him out of the maze of the dark and disastrous flames ready to burn him and kill him at any moment. When they had first met, Chanyeol had seen that the light within the other was fading, like Baekhyun no longer cared, but now it was getting stronger again; Chanyeol liked to think that he was also affecting him in a positive way.

The way Baekhyun smiled at him, that little smile that had steadily grown wider and happier with each passing day, made Chanyeol want to make him smile always; every time he saw the other cry, he felt like he was losing a piece of… whatever this was that, he was working so hard to gain or gain back. Baekhyun was a big part of his life now, whether he really acknowledged it or not. Unfortunately, though, there was still a little bit of him, a tiny part inside his heart, which was in doubt. This part that seemed sure that everything good that was happening was only temporary, that Baekhyun would no longer what to be around him once he found out about his dangerous hobby, or coping method, or whatever it was, it didn't matter that he had stopped for the time being.

Chanyeol could feel his hands shaking, clinched tightly at his sides. He knew he couldn't depend on Baekhyun like this, that someday the other would no longer be by his side. Fire was really his only constant companion, the only thing that allowed him to keep living as a somewhat functional human being. With that thought overshadowing all of the other previously rational and more positive thoughts, he grabbed his keys and left his apartment, his hands itching to set something on fire.

"Chanyeol-ssi…" Baekhyun walked up to him the next day, eyes downcast and voice trembling. "I…"

Chanyeol took one look at him and knew that something was deeply wrong. Without another second's hesitation, he wrapped his arms around Baekhyun gently, letting him know that he was there.

"What's wrong, Baekhyun-ah?" He placed a gentle kiss on the other's forehead. "Did someone hurt you? I'll go-"

"My dad…" Baekhyun whispered so quietly that Chanyeol nearly missed it.

"What did you say?" Chanyeol felt his heart beat a little faster, while some sort of emotion overwhelmed him, something he didn't understand, what was this feeling?

"My father…" Baekhyun repeated, his hands grabbing handfuls of Chanyeol shirt. "My father was killed in that fire last night…"

Guilt. That's what that feeling was. And devastation. Chanyeol had been thinking about this, about Baekhyun finding out his secret. Except, he had gone as far as killing, albeit accidentally, the other’s father, and then he knew he could never let Baekhyun know the truth. He thought he had had a good reason for burning down that building, but really, they were all excuses. He had noted that lights had still been on in that building and had chosen to ignore that, believing, or maybe hoping, that someone had simply forgotten to turn them off. He burned the building to the ground, the slight burns on his arms and hands proof of this. His body stopped cooperating, refusing to move when he tried to do so. He was a murderer now, and if he didn't think fast, Baekhyun might become suspicious of him, maybe even figure out his secret, and then he would never be able to face him again.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Baekhyun-ah," He hoped he sounded sad enough, sympathetic enough, as he pulled Baekhyun into a tighter embrace. He hoped that the guilt wasn't obvious. "I… I hope the police catch this guy…" An obvious lie since Chanyeol was the one setting these fires, and he really did not want to get caught.

"We were pretty close, although I've always been closer to my mom," Baekhyun was saying now, his own arms tightening around Chanyeol, like he hadn’t heard anything Chanyeol had just said. "They're both overprotective… I've moved places and schools more times than I can count on my fingers… They're just always so worried about me, and obviously this is hard on them too… my mother became a stay-at-home mom after the fifth time I changed schools, and my father has… no had, somehow been able to stay with the same company… and now… I don't know what we're going to do now…"

Chanyeol took a deep breath, his heart was pounding harder, his palms were sweaty, and his legs were shaking; he felt like he wanted to throw up. Guilt was slowly swallowing him whole, with a little sadness, anger at his own lack of self control, and something almost like relief because Baekhyun didn't know it was him, that thought alone made him feel sicker to his stomach.

"I… I'm sorry, Baekhyun-ah," His throat was dry and everything he was saying sounded forced. "Please let me know if there's anything… I can do for you…" To make this up to you… He thought, even though he knew that nothing in the world could make up for what he had done.

"Thank you, Chanyeol-ssi," Baekhyun's face was buried into Chanyeol's chest. "It means a lot."

When Baekhyun pulled away, about a minute before the first bell went off, Chanyeol was almost sure that Baekhyun had seen through his act, noticed everything that was off about the way he was acting, but all he said was: "See you later, Chanyeol-ah…" And Chanyeol had been so relieved that he didn't notice the switch to ah from ssi, and by the time he realised it, his cheeks heated up and he felt twice as guilty as before. Baekhyun obviously considered him a close friend, and friends, no matter how close, did not harm family members, let alone kill them.

Chanyeol's mind was on the same subject the whole day: his flames, his coping method, his hobby, had killed someone important to someone close to him, might have even killed others; as if he hadn't hated himself enough. He had known though, he had been aware that one day that he would lose control of this… addiction, and that day had been yesterday. He didn't know what to do anymore, his mind in turmoil as he went over his options, taking in absolutely nothing of what the teacher was saying.

By the end of the day, he was sure that he was going to go insane if he didn't set something on fire, but he wanted to cautious. He didn't stop to say goodbye to anyone, not that there was anyone but Baekhyun, and he just couldn't face Baekhyun at that moment. He ran home as fast as he could, grabbed his matches, a stack of paper and an ash tray before settling himself on to his balcony. He struck a match, immediately calming down when he saw the flame come to life. One sheet of paper at a time, he set them on fire, watching slowly as each one burned to ashes. His eyes were bright from the reflection of each glowing match, and he felt infinitely calmer, but the crime that he had committed was still nagging at the back of his mind, reminding him that the very thing he was playing with was dangerous enough to kill people.

Chanyeol sighed as he struck another match and just stared at it, realising just what he could do with this. He could burn down huge buildings, maybe even whole cities, and he could kill people; fire was powerful, and definitely not meant to underestimated, ever. In his head, fire was his savior, the thing that had kept him sane during that brief but very obvious period of depression he went through after his parents had been killed. It had allowed him to feel free, he felt like the flames, the little sparks that flew away from the fire, like he could fly away with them. Until that very day, he had never even considered that fire was capable of hurting people. He hissed when he felt the small flame between his fingers burn him. Immediately, he dropped the match, and stamped it out. For a long few minutes, he just stared at the burn on his finger, it no longer hurt, but for that brief second when the flame had first him, he had hissed not in pain, but in surprise, the almost pleasant kind.

He went through an entire box of matches and several hundred sheets of paper before he finally felt satisfied enough to go inside, his heartbeat was still a bit on the fast side, but at least his breathing was steady. Once or twice, he had purposely let the flame burn him, letting it linger over his skin for just long enough, and it left a nice tingly sensation that was pleasant until he started feeling the pain. Chanyeol was reminded of that third time, that time when he had known he was in love with fire, but that time had been different, that time he had been innocently unaware of how dangerous fire could be. This time, he was too acutely aware of just what fire could do.

His phone was ringing as he stepped inside, and caller ID informed him that it was Baekhyun, no doubt worried about him. He couldn't bring himself to answer though, so he turned his phone off, and decided to take a shower, before trying to sleep. This day had been long and torturous, and he really couldn't stand much more.

Chanyeol was in a sea of flames. The fire bright red and orange against the otherwise grey and dull background. Scared, but fascinated, he took a step back when the flames came towards him, and each step took him closer and closer to the fire behind him, until he fell back into the roaring flames. He screamed, expecting to be burned, but he felt nothing, the fire wasn't hurting him. Laughing, mostly out of relief, he stood up and began walking through the flames. That was when he saw the other people.

They were all screaming for help, and Chanyeol was confused for a moment since he was sure that these flames couldn't hurt people, or just him. These people were being swallowed up but the fire, and Chanyeol's eyes grew wide. He ran towards the closest person and tried to grab his hand and pull him out, only to have his hand go right through him. Panicking, he ran to the next person only to have the same thing happen again, and again, and again. He ran shaky fingers through his hair, trying to make sense of the situation.

"Chanyeol-ah!" Chanyeol paled considerably when he recognised the voice. "Chanyeol-ah, help me!"

Chanyeol started running, faster than he ever had before, desperate to save at least one person, especially that person.

"Baekhyun-ah!" He shouted still running. "Baekhyun-ah, where are you?!"

"Chanyeol-ah!"

And then he was right in front of the other, half his body already burned by the fire. Terrified, Chanyeol stretched his hands out and tried to grab Baekhyun's wrist or hand, but missed, went right through. He tried again, and again, and again, refusing to believe that he couldn't do anything. Eventually, he accepted the fact that he was absolutely powerless to stop this. And in front of his eyes, Baekhyun slowly burned away, from flesh and bone to a pile of ashes. Chanyeol screamed, and screamed until he was shaking and crying so hard that he couldn't anymore. His hands swiped futilely at the pile of ashes, trying to scoop them up. It didn't work, and he collapsed on to the floor, tears still rolling down his face. All he could do was watch as the flames swallowed everything and everyone, and he was powerless to stop it.

Chanyeol woke up with a start; cold sweat drenched his pajamas and made his hair stick to his forehead. He slowly sat up and lowered his head into his hands, trying to make sense of that nightmare. Baekhyun's screams still echoed in his head, and he couldn't stop the tears that were now making their way down his face. He knew he could never let that happen, he had to make sure no one else died by his flames, and if he died making it happen, then so be it.

End of chapter 3

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I would be lying if I said this wasn't meant to be angsty, because it was, it really was... also uh, this chapter is barely edited, so I'm sorry for any mistakes... OTL I hope it was worth the wait...

Thank you so much to everyone that has read, commented on, subscribed to, and upvoted this fic! ; A ; I'm so glad you guys are liking it so far.

So until the next chapter... I'm going to say two weeks, just to be safe, but I make no promises.