Silently holding out the red notebook in front of him, Myungsoo couldn't help but smile at the item as if it was the greatest thing in the world. And it kind of was in some small way, especially since it was a present from Sungyeol. His first real present from his soulmate at that too. 

And while it wouldn't have been anything remotely special to most people, Myungsoo couldn't help but feel as if it was beyond amazing to receive such a thing. Especially since it was not just given in jest, but there had been actual thought behind the present too. Even if the gesture was more for Sungyeol's benefit when it came to the two of them communicating, Sungyeol unable to understand sign language just yet. Something of which Myungsoo didn't expect Sungyeol to learn, because most people never wanted to learn the language when it came to speaking to him, if they wanted to speak to him at all that is.

But while the item wasn't supposed to be seen as a present as it had been given to help Sungyeol out more than Myungsoo, the younger boy was a bit blinded by how happy he felt to get such a thing that he didn't even realize that fact. Especially since the younger boy hadn't had a real present in years, at least not since his mother had died, so he couldn't help but be ecstatic to receive the thin binded book. And even if the item was too small and cheap to really be considered as a present to most people, Myungsoo was still touched anyway. 

So unable to keep himself from smiling even wider, Myungsoo couldn't help but bring the notebook to his chest, almost as if he was hugging it, as he made his way to class. Ignoring the rest of his peers as he walked, taking no notice of the odd looks that some students gave him as he passed, Myungsoo was too busy thinking about Sungyeol to really notice what was going on around him as he was glad that the other had given him a chance. 

He was glad that Sungyeol had actually listened to what he had to say and that the other had been able to accept his lack of explanation for his arm. The other deciding he didn't need to see it after all, causing relief to flood through Myungsoo in the process. He was glad that he didn't have to show the other how ugly – no, grotesque his limb looked just yet, almost as if he was part monster instead of fully human. 

But instead of trying to force him to show him his arm like he had done to him the other day, he had apologize to him instead. Something of which Myungsoo wasn't expecting since Myungsoo wasn't used to getting many apologies in his life and he really didn't feel as if Sungyeol had been in the wrong in the first place. 

Yes, Myungsoo was uncomfortable with showing him his arm, but it wasn't like Sungyeol knew anything about him or why he didn't want to show him it in the first place. And while Myungsoo was probably going to wait on showing him anything like that until he was good and ready, something of which Myungsoo felt would take a long time to be, Myungsoo couldn't just fault the other for not knowing his insecurities and faults. But he had still be touched by the other's words and how sincere he sounded.

The other had even promised to make it up to him, had promised to be better to him since he had finally realized that Myungsoo hadn't been lying about the soulmate thing, despite it being something that Myungsoo wouldn't have been able to do at all. Outright lying being something that wasn't his strong suit, and while he could omit the truth from time to time, that was still very different from actually lying to someone to get out of trouble or to get something they want. Especially since omitting the truth was more of a defense mechanism to protect himself from his father's wrath as much as he could, rather than him doing it to help get him his way. 

But Sungyeol hadn't known any of that, and with how popular and beautiful he was, Myungsoo couldn't help but understand why Sungyeol may have thought the way he did. Specifically, in regards to him being his soulmate and why it may have seemed as if he could have been lying at first. Even with Myungsoo's limited knowledge of the other and his friends, Myungsoo realized pretty quickly that compared to Sungyeol, Myungsoo wasn't anything special.

He was a nobody, a waste of space, and someone that probably shouldn't have been born, and if Myungsoo had been in Sungyeol's shoes, he probably would have thought the same because of how mismatched they seem. But even if they were unmatched, Myungsoo couldn't help but feel something strong for the older student, something so exciting and scary at once that it made his heart flutter in his chest. But to Sungyeol, it seemed as if he hadn't felt that way yet and to Myungsoo who had been completely ecstatic about learning who his soulmate was had been quite depressed to learn that Sungyeol hadn't felt the same way. 

He had felt unwanted, terrible, and felt as if it had been his fault to make his soulmate so unhappy that he didn't even realize who he was. But Sungyeol had explained everything to him, had explained why he had treated him the way he did, Myungsoo felt much better about everything. Especially since things hadn't been completely his fault as he had thought they were. 

However, none of that stuff really mattered now, because besides the older boy giving him a notebook to use, he had also asked him to sit with him and his friends at lunch. The older boy had wanted to get to know him more and implement him into his life. And for Myungsoo who was so used to sitting alone, eating the small amount of food that he could buy with the allowance his father afforded him, Myungsoo was a tiny bit excited to eat lunch with his soulmate as well. Especially when Sungyeol had given him this small smile after everything that not only made his heart ache in this good way, but his stomach had felt a little funny as well, almost as if something had decided to take residence inside of it.

Not only did he barely know Sungyeol and had started off on the wrong foot with him, but being given a present and being asked to lunch, Myungsoo really wanted to find out about everything he could and then some about the other boy. Because unlike he, Sungyeol was a beautiful person and it wasn't often that Myungsoo got to hang out with beautiful people. Especially since the last one had died before her time, leaving a scar that seemed as if it was never going to heal...

Frowning at the sudden thought of his mother, of how the other woman would have taken the news about him getting to meet his soulmate, Myungsoo couldn't help but wonder if she would have been happy for him if she was still alive. But not knowing that answer and not really wanting to know the answer to that question, especially since his father had a knack for telling him harsh but truthful things about his mother and what she probably thought of him up in heaven, Myungsoo couldn't help but forcefully shake his head to remove the depressing thoughts.

Trying to focus on the positive things that had happened to him so far, even if they weren't exactly as positive as he thought, he eventually found himself thinking about lunch and how he was going to meet Sungyeol's friends. And while that scared him quite a bit, it also made him happy too.

He just hoped Sungyeol's friends would like him, at least a little bit, because if they didn't, Myungsoo wouldn't know what to do.

Because if Sungyeol's friends didn't like him, then Myungsoo was positive that Sungyeol would reject him again, but this time it wouldn't be due to being an accident.

∞

Quietly waiting outside the cafeteria doors, Myungsoo couldn't help but anxiously look around for Sungyeol, only to look down at his shoes a second later, constantly repeating the motion, hands clenching the notebook Sungyeol had given him earlier due to nerves. The enthusiasm that he had experienced a couple of hours before was pretty much gone and replaced by insecurities and 'what if' scenarios that made him wonder if things were actually going to be okay. Especially when more often than not, anything that had to deal with people, usually didn't go that well for him. So he couldn't help but silently freak out at what was going to happen when it came to Sungyeol's frends, wondering if they would actually like him despite how different he was compared to most people. Especially since he couldn't speak and most likely none of them knew sign language either as most people didn't go out of their way to learn it unless they had to. 

It also didn't help that he didn't have any friends and the closest things that he could even call such a thing were the books that he read, and while those were great companions to have, it wasn't exactly the same. The mere thought of it was kind of odd and it was almost as if something like that was a beacon that told everyone how much of a social pariah he was and how he didn't do that well in social situations. Because not only couldn't he communicate effectively, but his people skills were quite low that most people didn't really care about him at all or didn't even think he existed.

All they knew about him was that he was smart enough to get high ranks in most of his classes, but other than that, he was a literal nobody. And for a nobody like him to suddenly have the chance to meet a bunch of people that most people thought were beautiful, liked, and were highly respected throughout the school and community, it was kind of scary to think about.

Especially since Myungsoo couldn't help but think that he wouldn't exactly match up to the likes of them. But Sungyeol had asked him to eat lunch with him, had asked him to meet his friends, and Myungsoo despite having those thoughts and being nervous about it, was going to do just that. Even if he kept on thinking about how much of a bad idea it was and how Sungyeol's friends were going to hate him and that things were going to go south in some way. Something of which made Myungsoo feel worse and worse by the minute, and with Sungyeol being nowhere in sight, Myungsoo couldn't help but feel his shoulders drooping at the thought of something like that. Or even worse, Sungyeol having lied to him about lunch and had stood him up instead... Rejecting him once again.

Feeling quite horrible to be thinking like that, even if it was something that he couldn't exactly control, especially with how much he second guessed himself and how low his self-esteem was, he couldn't help but try to shake those thoughts away. Sungyeol didn't need him thinking like that, so loosening his grip along his notebook, he could only take a few deep breaths to try and calm himself down as he continued to wait. He silently hoped that everything that he had thought about seconds before wouldn't come true.

Continuing to wait, teeth nibbling a bit on his bottom lip, Myungsoo almost sighed in relief when he had finally noticed Sungyeol walking down the hall with a smaller boy in tow. A boy who went by the name of Nam Woohyun, who was not only one of their school's sports stars, but was also one of Sungyeol's friends. 

But not just any friend, but his best friend, and to Myungsoo, that scared him even more. Because not only was the boy special to Sungyeol, but Sungyeol was also really special to Woohyun, and to Myungsoo who had never really had any friends, never mind a best friend, knew that best friends always trumped regular friends. Because best friends always cared much more deeply about those type of friends than they did with their other friends. So much so that most of them were even considered family in their books and knowing how close to the hip the two of them were, it made Myungsoo nervous.

He could ruin things without having to do much more than speak and if Woohyun turned out to hate him, Myungsoo would most likely hate himself because he would have hurt Sungyeol. And Myungsoo didn't want to hurt Sungyeol, he was his soulmate, his other half, and Myungsoo desperately wanted someone to love and care aboot him and his soulmate was his best bet. 

So while Myungsoo had thought that he had been relatively prepared and excited to meet his soulmate's friends earlier in the day, especially after the slight high he had received from the present and Sungyeol accepting the fact that they were soulmates, he didn't feel that confident about anything anymore. Even if he took a test on his best subject, Myungsoo would feel as if he would fail it, even if he had studied days beforehand. 

He was going to mess up and do something completely stupid, terrible, or somehow make a fool out of himself and heaven forbid if he did all three. But unable to run away, Myungsoo could only look down at his shoes, hands tightening against the notebook again, before he could hear Sungyeol call his name as he got closer to him: 

“Myungsoo... Have you waited long?” 

Feeling his cheeks tinge pink, happiness spreading through him at the mention of his name, but still feeling a bit apprehensive about Woohyun and the rest of the people he was going to meet, Myungsoo could only shake his head 'no.' Hoping that the answer would be okay and that he didn't upset either of them, especially before lunch, Myungsoo inwardly sighed when he noticed Sungyeol scratch his head for a second as he somewhat awkwardly gave, “Oh, good... Very good, I'm glad to hear that.”

While Woohyun didn't say anything but decided to give him a hard stare instead, silently assessing him as he did so, sizing Myungsoo up and wondering how Sungyeol had gotten a soulmate like him. But not finding anything wrong with his looks, especially since Woohyun was quite surprised by how nice Myungsoo's skin and face were, now that he got a good look at him, he was quite pleasant on the eyes. And while he didn't look like some of Sungyeol's exes when it came to looks, he was still kind of pretty in this boyish way. He was even kind of cute looking as well with the way his blush reached his ears. 

Ignoring the way Myungsoo's clothes seemed to slightly hang off his form, but were immaculate like Sungjong's and Sunggyu's uniforms were, Woohyun couldn't help but feel as if the other boy seemed as if he was a stickler to the rules and was the type of person that didn't get out that often, if at all. 

Myungsoo looked like a bookworm and with Sungyeol meeting the kid in the library twice now, it was safe to say that Myungsoo was most likely that type of person, something of which Sungyeol wasn't. And while Sungyeol didn't exactly have any problems with those types of people (they were friends with Sunggyu and Sungjong after all), it was uncommon to see Sungyeol be with someone like that.  Especially since Sungyeol was the type to have fun, mess around, and occasionally get in trouble, something of which Myungsoo looked as if he did none of. So it was odd to see Sungyeol paired with someone like him.

However, Myungsoo looked harmless enough and didn't look like he was going to hurt his best friend, so as much as Woohyun wanted to play the unnaturally skeptical best friend card, Woohyun decided not to Because the longer he looked at the boy, seeing how he fidgeted around the two of them, obviously nervous about everything that was going on and not just towards him, but brightening up when Sungyeol mentioned something about the notebook, Woohyun couldn't help but feel bad about how harsh he had been before. Because looking at Myungsoo and taking in the way he held himself, how he seemed quite small in this odd way, despite being a couple of centimeters shorter than Sungyeol and a hair or two shorter than Sungjong, Myungsoo hadn't been lying. 

So giving a sigh and deciding to see how things would play out between the two, Woohyun decided to put a smile on his face and finally introduce himself. While Myungsoo could only nod and bow back, nervous smile on his face as he recovered from the other's stares, still anxious of what was to come.

Finally deciding that he needed some food, Sungyeol quickly went to interrupt the two as he went to grab Myungsoo's arm, hand circling around the limb, as he said, “Now that you've met each other, let's go eat, alright?”

Cheeks turning red at the sight and feel of Sungyeol holding his arm, Myungsoo could only nod, too embarrassed to do much else, while Woohyun could only ignore Sungyeol's 'Why did you have to be so mean?' stare as he cheekily laughed, “Lets.”

The three could only proceed the rest of the way to lunch, Myungsoo awaiting to see what the others had to think. But with Sungyeol holding onto him and the two laughing about something Woohyun had to say a moment later, Woohyun even going so far to pat him on the back as well, Myungsoo couldn't help but feel a small smile creep onto his face. Maybe he didn't have that much to worry about after all. 

[ A/N ] : Here's chapter eight and while I'm not completely happy with it, I hope you guys still enjoy it. Updates will continue to be sporadic just because school hasn't allowed me a lot of time to write or really do anything that is. I don't even get much time to watch my favorite TV shows and things, but that's the life of engineering student. But anyway, I would like to thank everyone that has subscribed, upvoted, and commented so far. I really appreciate it and the comments, I love reading them, so please comment if you can. And while I don't have a lot of time to actually get back to them like I used to, I appreciate the time and effort you guys take to give me feedback on the story, so thank you.   :D