Chanyeol hissed as his fingers grazed the burns that he had sustained the day before, and he harshly berated himself for letting them happen. The pain jolted him awake as he shot up and winced, finding himself sitting on the floor. He frowned in confusion as his eyes shifted towards the clock on the wall, it was already 1 P.M. Well, . Slowly and unsteadily, he staggered his way into the washroom and washed his face, trying to remember what exactly had happened the previous day. He just remembered having been so upset, that he had burned paper to make himself feel better, and eventually, when that became insufficient, he burned himself. He lifted his forearm and for five long minutes just stared at the raw skin that was peeling. It didn't hurt, that much, but it looked like it should hurt. Chanyeol slowly touched one of the burns and winced, but he couldn't say it was an unpleasant pain.

It was already far too late to go to school, and he really wasn't feeling up to it either. Besides hating school, Chanyeol found that he wasn't ready to face Baekhyun yet; he knew, though, that he couldn't put it off forever. He needed to clear his head. After forcing down a little food, drinking a lot of water, and spending ten minutes staring at the ashes on his balcony, Chanyeol finally grabbed his keys and left his apartment, intent on clearing his head. He was tired, his body moving slowly, his thoughts barely coherent, and he just wanted to lie down and sleep in the middle of this hallway.

When he exited his apartment, the first thing he heard was screaming. There was something heart wrenchingly familiar about this scream though, and Chanyeol was running towards it before he could completely think it through. As he ran, his brain figured out that the scream belonged to Baekhyun, and that just made him push himself more, running as fast as his legs would let him. Stopping at the entrance of an alleyway, he noticed three figures hunched over something, or someone, and Chanyeol was more than sure that that someone was Baekhyun.

"Hey!" He yelled running towards them, fear, but anger in his voice. "Get away from him!"

All three turned, and two of them looked horrified, panicked, while the other one had this crazed, almost bloodthirsty, look in his eyes. In his hand, he held a knife that still had blood dripping off of it. Chanyeol felt his blood run cold, and for a moment, he was glad that they were blocking Baekhyun. The blond one, Sehun, and the one with the slightly tanned skin, Jongin, gave Chanyeol a look that almost seemed apologetic, before running away, not sparing a single backwards glance.

Cowards, both of them, Chanyeol thought, or maybe they're the smart ones.

His gaze turned back towards the only one still standing there, panting, the knife now pointed at Chanyeol. And at that moment, Chanyeol actually feared for his life, so he held his hands up, hoping to show that he meant him no harm, at least not right now. Chanyeol was feeling rather conflicted; he was angry about whatever harm had befallen Baekhyun, he wanted to kill the guy, but at the same time, the other male had a distinct advantage, and Chanyeol dying would do Baekhyun no good. Reaching into his pocket, Chanyeol cursed when he realised that he forgot his phone at home; now he couldn't even call the police. Tentatively taking a step forward, Chanyeol kept his eyes on Kris the entire time, hoping to get the other to calm down.

"Stay back!" Kris yelled. "I'll kill you; I'll kill both of you!"

Chanyeol swallowed audibly, hoping to find a safe way out of this situation. "Hey, why don't you, uh, put the knife down?" He asked. He knew that the chances of the other listening were slim, but he didn't know what else to do. "We can… talk about this."

"There's nothing to talk about!" Kris yelled, his grip on the knife tightening, and Chanyeol could see that his hands were shaking.

"To be honest, I don't care what happens to you," Chanyeol replied, sliding his hand out of his pocket. "If you let me get to him, I'll let you go. I care about him far more than you."

Kris lowered the knife a little, as if weighing his options. "You'd just let me go, after I nearly killed him?" Chanyeol's hand closed into a tight fist at those words; he knew he shouldn't just let him go, but at that moment, he saw no other choice. "But you know, if you stay still enough, maybe I won't kill you both."

Chanyeol bristled at the threat on Baekhyun's life, he really couldn't care less if he, himself, lived or died. Briefly, he contemplated his chances of success if he were to charge at Kris and bash his head into the nearby wall, only to decide against it almost immediately; it was too risky. Before he could come up with his own course of action, though, Kris was charging at him, knife raised, and eyes blazing. That was when, instead of concentrating on Kris, Chanyeol's eyes fell on Baekhyun, completely seeing the other for the first time, and he felt himself pale considerably.

He managed to shift out of the way, for the most part, but the knife still cut him across the arm. Wincing, Chanyeol tore his gaze away from Baekhyun and just ran at Kris, any indecision being replaced by a rush of adrenaline. With his bare left hand, he grabbed Kris' knife by the blade and drove the other back until he was up against a wall. Chanyeol was panting as he realised that Kris was actually scared; the terror in his eyes was obvious. Pulling the knife out of the other's grasp, Chanyeol slammed the handle as hard as he could into the side of Kris' head, effectively knocking him out.

The knife fell out of Chanyeol's hand as the adrenaline wore off, and a searing pain was felt in his left hand, but he had no time to worry about that. Stumbling a little, Chanyeol made his way over to Baekhyun and collapsed on to his knees. The smaller male looked like he was barely breathing. A foot-shaped bruise was starting to form on his neck, along with a wide variety of other bruises, but Chanyeol didn't notice any of that; he was staring at the long cut on his right arm, and the wound in his side. There was so much blood. Chanyeol was crying as he gently grasped one of Baekhyun's hands, almost screaming when he felt how cold it was.

"Please, Baekhyun-ah, hang in there!" He begged, squeezing his hand. "I could never… never forgive myself if… if you…"

He couldn't even bring himself to finish the sentence. And the he felt Baekhyun's hands move, run a delicate finger over that burn mark that he had inflicted on himself accidentally.

"Are you… my… soul… mate?" Baekhyun’s voice was barely audible, but Chanyeol was just happy to hear him speak.

"What did you say, Baekhyun-ah?” Chanyeol gently shook him a little. “Can you hear me?"

Unfortunately, there was no response, making it clear that Baekhyun was unconscious, and that Chanyeol needed to get him to a hospital; why did he have to forget his phone? At that moment, he spotted someone walking by. Relief bloomed in his chest as he turned and shouted at them. "Hey! Can you call emergency?"

The guy looked confused as he took in the scene before him but then he was nodding his head furiously as he fumbled for his phone. Chanyeol gently lifted Baekhyun into his arms, his entire body shaking; he was almost certain that Baekhyun was in this condition because of him.

"Hang in there, Baekhyun-ah…" He whispered, a few strands of hair from Baekhyun's forehead. "You're going to be okay…"

Chanyeol wasn't sure whom he was saying those words for since Baekhyun was unconscious, but he believed them, or at least he wanted to believe them. Sirens could be heard in the background, but by that point, Chanyeol was sobbing, loudly and brokenly, as he clutched Baekhyun's bleeding body. He was no longer hearing or feeling anything else, his guilt threatening to swallow him whole.

Chanyeol was taken in for questioning. After he finally managed to calm himself down enough, he told the police his point of view of the events from when he had gotten there, to when the ambulance and police had arrived. The officer seemed to find his story believable enough, since after a few forms and some strict words, he was allowed to go. Chanyeol was shaking the entire time, terrified that he'd let slip that he was the pyromaniac that the police were searching for. Luckily, the subject was never brought up, and Chanyeol felt like he could breathe again when they were finally done. He quickly enquired about which hospital Baekhyun had been brought to, before thanking the officer and running out as fast as he could.

The second he set foot outside the building, he started running. He ran until he was sure he would collapse, either from blood loss or just exhaustion. Slowing down considerably, he tried to figure out just where he was, since he had been running blindly before. What he couldn't figure out, as he started walking again, was why Baekhyun had been in that alleyway in the first place. It had only be around two, school was definitely not over, and Baekhyun never skipped class; it just didn't make sense, Baekhyun should not be in the hospital.

It wasn't until the hospital came into view that Chanyeol came up with a plausible reason: Baekhyun had been broken up about his father, ran out of the school crying, ended up trapped there. Guilt threatened to overwhelm him again as he started shaking, wondering he should even go see Baekhyun. His steps slowed but then sped up again as he realised that he needed to see, with his own eyes, that Baekhyun was okay, or going to be okay.

"Excuse me," Chanyeol asked the nurse sitting at the reception desk. "Could you tell me which room Byun Baekhyun is in?"

The nurse barely spared him a glance, clearly not caring at all, before flipping through a clipboard of paper, and scanning the sheets.

"428." Came the short reply.

"Thank you!" Chanyeol was certain that if she had really taken a look at him, she would not have let him up.

In the elevator, Chanyeol grimaced as he looked at himself in the mirror. His hair was disheveled and disgusting, his face was pale, he was only wearing a black tank top, and jeans with burnt and torn holes, he was covered in blood from his arm, his hand, and from Baekhyun; he just looked horrible, but none of that mattered. He stepped off the elevator and walked towards Baekhyun's room, wondering just what he would say to him, if he were even awake.   

Chanyeol paused in front of the door, his hand gripping the doorknob tightly. He took a deep breath, trying to calm his pounding heart. Guilt was most likely the main reason for his nervousness; he was sure if this had been before that… incident, he would be barging in there by now, yelling Baekhyun's name. Finally, he pushed the door open and went in, but froze when he saw someone else on the room.

There was an unfamiliar woman in the room. She had a simple beauty to her face, similar to that of Baekhyun, her hair was cut short, just up to her chin, and her eyes were sad as she turned away from the bed. It didn't take a genius to realise that she was most likely Baekhyun's mother. She scrutinized Chanyeol, taking in every detail of his current state. Her eyes narrowed as she stood up, standing protectively in front of Baekhyun's bed.

"Who are you?" She demanded, crossing her arms. "What are you doing in my son's room?"

And that confirmed it; this was the woman that he had left widowed when he had burned down that building.

"I…" His throat felt dry as he tried to resist the urge to turn and run out of the room. "I'm his friend…"

"Friend?" She scoffed, clearly disbelieving him. "He has a friend like you? Are you sure you're not one of the people that did this to him?"

Chanyeol took  a step back subconsciously. Sure, he hadn't directly done that to her son, but he felt like he was almost just as guilty. He opened his mouth to say no, that he wasn't one of the people that hurt Baekhyun, but the word would not come out.

"Well?" She demanded, clearly irritated. When Chanyeol still didn't say anything, she turned away from him, sitting back down next to her son's bed. "It doesn't matter, regardless of whether you're actually friends with him or not, I won't allow it."

Her words and actions signaled that the conversation was over, that there was no room for argument. Chanyeol could only watch, his face emotionless, as she began to absentmindedly the back of Baekhyun’s hand. Baekhyun stirred then, softly, but he still didn't open his eyes.

"Baekhyun-ah…" His mother said gently, starting to move her finger in soothing circles. "It's okay, baby, no one's here to hurt you."

Except me, Chanyeol was sure Baekhyun's mother was thinking. Even though he resented it, he didn't blame her, just based upon his current state, and also what he had actually done. He had caused irreparable damage to their family; at this rate, Baekhyun may die soon as well, and it would also be his fault, even if indirectly. Baekhyun didn't move anymore though, his face was scrunched in pain.

"A nerve was severed in his arm," His mother was saying. "He will never be able to move his pinky again… I know it doesn't seem like a big deal, but this shouldn't have happened…"

Chanyeol collapsed to his knees at those words; he wasn't sure why he was being told this, but he was certain it wasn't because she trusted him. She was merely piling more weight on to his shoulders. If Chanyeol hadn't killed his father, he wouldn't have been depressed and crying, he wouldn't have left school, and he wouldn't have been in that alleyway, subsequently leading to him being in this hospital bed; it was like Baekhyun's mother had already figured it all out.

"Chanyeol…ah…" Baekhyun muttered in his sleep. "Where are you?”

Chanyeol was on his feet, and on the other side of Baekhyun's bed before his name was completely uttered.

"I'm here, Baekhyun-ah," He replied urgently, wrapping his hands around Baekhyun’s left hand and squeezing gently. "I'm here…"

Baekhyun's mother remained silent through the exchange, still staring at Chanyeol, worry, confusion, and a lack of trust all very clear on her pale face. "…So you're Chanyeol?"

Chanyeol could only nod, wondering how she knew.

"He's mentioned you before," She seemed displeased by this fact, clearly still judging Chanyeol based upon his current outer appearance. "He appears to have taken a liking to you… though I can’t imagine why." The last part was muttered under her breath, but Chanyeol heard it as clearly as if she had screamed it into his ear.

"I… don't know either…" Chanyeol replied, hoping he didn't sound bitter. "I don't mean him any harm though… I promise." At least not directly…

"…I cannot make decisions for my son," She told him after a long silence. "If he wants to be friends with you, then who am I to say no?"

Chanyeol almost smiled; that was probably the closest he would ever get to acceptance. Getting up, he decided that he had overstayed his welcome, if he ever had been. Bidding Baekhyun's mother goodbye, he left the room, and the hospital, trying to ignore the guilt that was still gnawing at him.

"I lost the feeling in my pinky," Baekhyun said sadly, lifting his right hand and trying to move that finger, only to have nothing happen. "I hate this…"

Chanyeol could only smile sympathetically as he wrapped his hands around Baekhyun's. It was the next day, and Chanyeol was skipping school to visit Baekhyun. When he had arrived, Baekhyun had been awake, and they had fallen into small talk until Baekhyun brought up his pinky. His entire right arm was wrapped in white bandages, and Chanyeol was certain that there were more bandages underneath the blankets that he couldn’t see.

"I want to go home, Chanyeol-ah…" Baekhyun whispered, having lifted his other hand to play with Chanyeol's fingers. "I hate the hospital, I've been in here too much… hey, how did you get this burn?"

"Huh?" Chanyeol felt a strange tingly sensation when Baekhyun ran a finger over the burn on his finger. "Oh, I must have accidentally hurt myself while I was cooking or something."

"That's interesting," Baekhyun mumbled as he took a moment to study his own hand. "I have a nearly identical burn on the same finger… but I have no idea where it came from…"

Chanyeol pulled Baekhyun's finger closer, staring at the aforementioned burn, and his eyes widened; it really was the same.

"You know what Yixing told me the other night?" Chanyeol shook his head, looking away from Baekhyun's finger. "He told me that all those little marks, the ones where you have no idea where they came from, they're from your soul mate…"

Chanyeol just smiled; it was a cute idea, but largely implausible.

"I don't really believe in soul mates," Baekhyun continued, letting the hand that wasn't being held to drop back down to his side. "It just seems too… convenient, you know?"

"I agree," Chanyeol replied, drawing circles onto Baekhyun's palm. "And if anything, I doubt I would be your soul mate."

Chanyeol let out a forced laugh, but stopped immediately when he noticed that Baekhyun wasn't laughing with him.

Baekhyun looked almost hurt, confused, and just sad as he pulled his hand out of Chanyeol's grasp. "Why not? Do you not want to be?"

"…Wait, no, that's not what I meant," Chanyeol said quickly. "Of course I want to be… but I… I'm not good for you… I would only end up hurting you."

"I don't believe that," Baekhyun smiled, lifting the arm that wasn't covered in bandages up, and placing it against Chanyeol's cheek. "I… I think I like you, Chanyeol-ah…"

"You… what?" Chanyeol couldn't believe his ears; he just stared at Baekhyun uncertainly. "No, no, I think you're just confused. You can't like me. I'm bad for you. We're both guys. This is wrong."

"Why do you think you're bad for me, Chanyeol-ah?"

"I…" Chanyeol hesitated, a giant list of things he wanted to say going through his head: I killed your father, I like to set things on fire, I'm probably the reason you're in the hospital, your mother hates me… but he said none of that. "I… can't tell you, but please, believe me."

Baekhyun seemed to consider his words for a moment, but then he was leaning forward, his lips finding Chanyeol's. "I want to know everything about you, Chanyeol-ah. Would you give me that chance?"

"I… no… I can't…" Chanyeol stumbled back, shocked, and fell out of his chair. "I'm not good for you… please believe that…"

And then he turned and ran out of the room, not daring to look back, missing the hurt that was written all over Baekhyun's face.

The fire was burning brightly; dancing, red flames, every which way, but not even fire, could calm Chanyeol's wildly beating heart on that day.

"Me," Chanyeol muttered out loud, throwing another lit match at the building that was almost completely swallowed. "Me. Baekhyun likes me… why? Why would he like me? He should hate me…"

Chanyeol ran a hand through his hair, not caring about the soot and ashes that were probably getting in there. He was torn about Baekhyun's confession. On one hand, he was beyond happy that someone actually likes him, and especially in that way. On the other hand, he didn't want it to be Baekhyun, the boy that he had hurt time and time again, mentally and physically. Guilt was a powerful thing, as Chanyeol was learning the hard way. Sighing, he looked at the blaze again, the beautiful flames that paled in comparison to Baekhyun. He wasn't sure he liked Baekhyun in that way, but part of him knew that he did. Baekhyun didn't deserve any pain, though, so it may be best if Chanyeol just stayed away for a little bit…

"Park Chanyeol, what are you doing?"

Chanyeol nearly cried out at the sudden voice. He turned to find the source, and his heart plummeted, along with any chance of him ever getting to be with Baekhyun.

"…Yixing."

End of Chapter 5

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Um... I don't have much to say, so I hope you liked it ^_^ 

Thank you so much to everyone that's been taking the time to read this fic! It means so much to me <3

So until the next chapter, probably the week after next =3