Suho sighed so himself as he walked through the empty hallways of the school. It was early, and a Monday and he really just could not be bothered to stay late all week to oversee detentions, but alas, he had a job to do.

He rounded the corner, coffee cup in one hand, laptop bag in the other, when he heard a faint sound come from down the seemingly empty hall.

With a frown, Suho walked on, until he came across a person huddled up on the floor, crying. Setting down his laptop bag and coffee, he moved over and placed a gentle hand on the student’s shoulder.

“Hey” he said softly.

The crying boy looked up, his face puffy and flushed, his eyes red and sparking with tears. It was Kyungsoo.

Suho’s eyes widened momentarily before he pulled Kyungsoo to his feet. Without a second thought, Kyungsoo collapsed into the teacher, forcing Suho to embrace him, lest he fall, and began to cry harder.

Suho let out a soft sigh before pulling Kyungsoo into his classroom and sitting him down in his chair, “Wait here” he said softly before running back out into the hall. He grabbed his things from the floor where he’d left them and took them back into his classroom. He placed them on the desk before taking out a handkerchief from his pocket and handing it to the sad boy.

“Th-Thank you” Kyungsoo stuttered out before wiping his sodden face and drying his eyes the best he could under the continuous flow of tears.

Suho smiled softly, “That’s alright” he said, “So, would you like to tell me what’s got you so upset?”

“I...” Kyungsoo faltered for a moment before looking down at his hands, “My m-mum hates m-m-me” he said quietly, “S-She told-d me, I either b-b-break up with my boyfriend o-or I can leave. So I p-packed my stuff and told h-her I’d get it tonight aft-t-ter school. But I have n-nowhere to g-g-go”

“Oh Kyungsoo” Suho gasped, “Hey, don’t think like that. I’m sure one of your friends will take you in. And what about your dad? Surely he won’t let this happen?”

Kyungsoo shook his head miserably, “He d-didn’t say anything. He just-t stood there. He never s-stands up to my m-mum”

“Kyungsoo” Suho said, bending down in front of the chair so his face was on level with Kyungsoo’s, “Listen to me. It’s all going to be okay. Now, I only have two classes today, so I’m going to write you a note. You’re going to sit in with me for your lessons, and if you want, you and your friends can have lunch in here, and break too, if you want. You’re obviously in no state to go to classes. So I’m just going to go and get you some work, and have a word with your teachers, then I’ll be right back, okay?”

Kyungsoo nodded, “You d-don’t have to d-d-do that, Sir”

“I know I don’t” Suho smiled, “But you obviously need some time to calm down” he said, “So wait here and I’ll be right back, okay?”

Kyungsoo nodded, then watched as Suho straightened up and left the room. There were still tears falling from his eyes, but he wasn’t making noise anymore, apart from a staggered intake of breath every so often.

It was about twenty minutes before Suho returned, a pile of paper in one hand and a mug in the other. He placed them both down in front of Kyungsoo with a smile, “Okay, so you’ve got some work from each of your teachers, which you’ll need to hand back at the end of the day before coming back to me with Jongin for detention. And I also got you a cup of tea, because you look like you need one. However, I will be needing my desk back, so if you could sit at the table in front of mine, we’re all good to go”

Kyungsoo nodded and stood up, moving around the desk to sit at the smaller table in front of it. It didn’t have much space, since half of it held the printer, but it would do for working on, “Thank you, Sir” he said, having calmed down enough to get out a sentence without stuttering.

“You’re welcome” Suho smiled before turning to log into his computer and link it with his laptop.

Kyungsoo smiled slightly. It was still a while before classes started, so he took out his phone and sent a quick text to Kai.

To: Jongin<3
Hey. It’s me. I won’t be in classes today,
since I’m staying with Mr. Kim.
But he said you and the others could come
and hang out in his class at break and
lunch, if you want to. Xx

It wasn’t long before his phone buzzed with a reply.

From: Jongin<3
Oh? How come?
And yeah! We’ll be there! I’ll
grab you some lunch and stuff xx

He smiled sadly as he typed back his reply.

To: Jongin<3
He found me crying in the hall.
Mum’s kicked me out.
I’ll explain later. Xx

Kyungsoo sighed as he slipped his phone back into his pocket and had a look through his work for the day. English, Maths, Music, and Science. Well, at least he got to miss double science.

He rummaged through his bag for a moment before pulling out a pen and getting started in his English work.

“You know” Suho said, looking up from his laptop, which he’d been typing on, “It’s going to get better. All of this’ll blow over before you know it”

Kyungsoo smiled slightly, “If only it were so simple” he said, “You don’t know what my mum’s like, Sir. She won’t just accept this. She wants grandkids, and a daughter in law. She just won’t accept that I don’t like girls... It’s... not normal”

“It’s normal” Suho countered, “I like men. Does that make me not normal?” he asked, his mouth set in a thin line.

“You do?” Kyungsoo asked in surprise.

Suho smiled, “Yes.” He said, “Though I’d appreciate it, if that stayed between us. You’ve seen how the Head Master is, and I’d rather like to keep my job...”

“Of course” Kyungsoo nodded, “I won’t say anything... I just... I don’t understand why people can’t just accept it...”

Suho sighed, “It’s just one of those things.” He said, “You’ll come across people that will loathe you for being the way you are, but they mean nothing. The only people you need to worry yourself about are those that care for you. Those that love you and accept you for who you are and not who you’re attracted to.” He paused, “Your mum’ll come around, Kyungsoo. She will. It might take some time, and it will hurt a lot until then, but she’ll see. Nothing is worth losing her son over”

“You sound like you’re talking from experience” Kyungsoo said quietly, his eyes coming down to rest on his English work.

Write a short story that depicts the personality of your favourite fictional character. It read.

Kyungsoo smiled. This was good. He could work with this.

“I might well be. But as the bell is about to ring, now isn’t the time for personal stories” Suho said pointedly, and not a second later the bell rang and students piled into the classroom.

Kyungsoo sighed and turned to his work as Suho got up and set about getting his first class started on their work.

--

By the time Lunch rolled around, Suho found his classroom being invaded by not only Kyungsoo, but the other ten – rather loud – boys.

“Sir?” Chen spoke up, “Do you have a class next period?” he asked.

Suho shook his head, “No, I’ve not got any classes for the last two periods” he said, “Why?”

“Me, Yixing and Minseok have a free after lunch. Can we stay and keep Soo company?” Chen inquired with a smile.

Suho rolled his eyes, “You can, but don’t disrupt him from working” he said, watching as Chen’s smile grew, “I mean it, Jongdae. The moment you start putting him off his work, you can leave”

“Would I do something like that, sir?” Chen asked.

Suho shot him a pointed look before turning back to look at his laptop and pick up his coffee. He took a large sip and swallowed it down with a content sigh.

He’d already finished his food before the boys had barged into the classroom, thankfully, so he was simply looking over some of the work that had been handed in by some of his students.

“Alright, Sir”

Suho looked up to see that Chen had broken away from the group of friends, who were sat at the very back of the room, laughing away about something or another, and was now stood in front of him, blocking him from the view of the others, so that they wouldn’t be able to see – or hear – Suho’s replies.

“Can I help you?”

Chen shrugged, “Just figured I’d come and say hi. Well, that and apologise”

Suho’s brows furrowed in confusion, “What for?” he asked, genuinely at a loss of what was happening.

“Well, the other week, you know, when I walked in on you and... anyway, when we were walking home, he told me you knew about the... the kiss thing. And I wanted to say I was sorry. I mean, it’s one thing to kiss my best friend when I’m seeing someone, but to kiss my best friend that has a boyfriend... Well... I know how stupid I was” Chen said, his eyes not meeting Suho’s.

“Ah” Suho nodded, “That. Well, I guess it’s alright. I mean, it’s all over and done with now, right?” he said awkwardly, “Look, Jongdae-”

“Call me Chen”

“... Chen... Right, anyway, I’m not really comfortable talking about this... situation. It’s one thing that you know, but it’s another to talk about it. Especially when your friends are all sat at the back of the room...” he said, shifting slightly in his seat and catching a glance of Lay looking over at him and Chen with a look of concern on his face before he turned back and forced a laugh at something Chanyeol had said.

Chen sighed, “You still think I’m going to tell someone, don’t you?”

“No” Suho answered honestly, “It’s not that. It’s just... This isn’t something people would approve of, and all that needs to happen is for this conversation to be overheard for me to be out of a job and for Yi- him to be shunned for it. Besides, half the time, I feel like you’re not very approving of it yourself”

Chen frowed, “Why would you think that?” he asked, completely disregarding everything else Suho had said.

Suho linked his hands together and placed them on the desk in front of him, “It’s just the way you look sometimes... I understand he’s your best friend, but I do care for him, Chen. I really do”

“I know you do” Chen said, sticking his hands in his back pockets and rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet, “I wouldn’t be so calm about it all if I didn’t know that. Truth is, Sir, that I’ve not seen him this happy in a long time... He’s... struggled with things, in the past, that have made it hard for him to be truly happy, but since he’s been with you, those demons, they’ve not made an appearance, so I’m happy that he’s found you. Sure, I think it’s a little... crazy, I mean, there’s quite an age difference and what not, but I can see that you’re serious about him. Just like I can see he’s serious about you, and as far as I’m concerned, that’s enough.” He paused and looked at Suho rather seriously, “But I’m telling you now, if you ever hurt him... I will see to it that you pay.”

Suho nodded. He remained quiet for a moment before asking, “Struggled with what exactly?” he asked.

“That,” Chen said softly, “Is something that only he can talk to you about. So ask him, if you want to, but don’t push him to talk about it, if he isn’t ready”

“I wouldn’t” Suho said.

Chen nodded, “Good” he replied, “I’m glad we had this little talk” and with that, he turned and walked back to his friends.

Suho watched as he took a seat beside Lay, who automatically pulled him close and whispered something in his ear. Chen shook his head softly, and Suho could make out him mouthing the word ‘Later’ before Lay gave him a curt nod and turned to look at Suho.

He raised an eyebrow at the teacher, but Suho merely shrugged, making Lay roll his eyes, but shoot him a small smile before turning back to join in, once more, with his friend’s antics.

--

Tao sighed. Then he sighed again. And then one more time for good measure.

He was tired, not in the sense he wanted to sleep, but rather, tired of this dance he and Kris seemed to be doing. An idiot could tell they liked each other.

And hell, if the looks didn’t give it away, then the damn kissing and fondling did. But since that stupid game of truth or dare, Kris hadn’t so much as looked his way. They’d only hung out when they were with other people, and if Tao asked to hang out alone, Kris made some kind of excuse.

Not only that, but he had to find out from Baekhyun that Kris and Chanyeol had had a falling out just over a week ago, and about him! What could have been so damn bad about him that it made two best friends fall out for a while?

He let out another sigh.

He didn’t want to play games anymore. He just wanted Kris to ask him out and be done with it. Every time he so much as mentioned it to Kris, the other would just say something about not being ready for a relationship, or about not wanting to ruin the friendship.

Honestly, at times it made Tao wonder if Kris’s feelings for him were even real. He didn’t like the feeling of being strung along. He didn’t like the jealousness he felt when Kris laughed and joked with people that weren’t him, and he didn’t like how jealous Kris got when he so much as looked at another guy. It was stupid and they were both just pratting about. Tao really just wanted something, anything, to happen to just stop them from standing in this place. Whatever it was.

Okay, so he knew that he could just take the first step and ask Kris out, but then, what would be the point? Kris didn’t do anything until he was ready to, and by asking him out, he would probably only be rejected, which wouldn’t do much for the situation.

Tao got it, he did, he got that Kris had had bad luck in the past with relationships. But this wasn’t just some odd relationship, this was him and Kris! They’d known each other since forever and they just got each other.

Tao remembered the time that Kris had asked out Lay on a date. He remembered crying over it too, and Xiumin comforting him, saying that Kris was just confused. He’d almost felt a little bad for being happy when he heard that after the one date, Lay had rejected Kris and that was the end of it all.

But then, if he could ask Lay out back then, what was stopping him from asking Tao out now? The boy didn’t understand it. He really didn’t.

It was stupid, and annoying and quite frankly, frustrating as hell!

“Why so glum, chum?” a voice called out, snapping Tao from his reverie.

He looked up to see Chanyeol smiling down at him. How did the giant even find him? He was on the roof for crying out loud!

He’d gone there to be alone, but like everything else, it just didn’t go Tao’s way.

“Just thinking” Tao answered shortly, inwardly sighing when Chanyeol sat down next to him, and joined him in looking out at the cloud-filled sky.

Chanyeol squinted slightly against the brightness of the day, “Shouldn’t you be in class?”

“Yep”

Chanyeol frowned, “Then why aren’t you?”

“It’s only P.E” Tao said, “It’s not like I don’t exercise enough as it is”

“Sorry” Chanyeol said in return, “Didn’t realise you were on your period”

Tao growled slightly, “That’s not funny” he said, “So can you stop being a ing idiot for two minutes and just shut up?” he snapped.

Okay, so Chanyeol really didn’t deserve that, but he just wasn’t in the mood.

Chanyeol, it seemed, was aware of this fact, but still didn’t stop, “You know, you could just talk to him”

“A load of good that’d do” Tao scoffed, picking at the tread on his jeans, “Talk to him so he can tell me how much he values our friendship and doesn’t want to ruin anything? Or so he can tell me he’s just not ready yet?”

Chanyeol laughed a slightly woeful laugh, “Maybe if you just-”

“No” Tao cut him off, “There’s nothing I can do, Chanyeol. You know as well as I do that he won’t budge until he’s good and ready” he sighed, “He didn’t even tell me about the fight you two had, and he hasn’t been alone with me since that day we played The Avengers at Baekhyun’s house”

“Really?” Chanyeol asked, and when Tao nodded, he shook his head sadly, “That’s not on. I told him, you know. I told him he needs to make his mind up before you get sick of being dragged around and move on to someone else, but he just doesn’t listen”

“Tell me about it” Tao heaved a sigh before getting to his feet and dusting himself off, “Anyway, I better get back. The bell’s about to go and if I don’t show up for last period, I’ll get a gob full”

“Alright, Bye” Chanyeol said, “And good luck, with the Kris stuff”

“Yeah, thanks. Bye” Tao said, before leaving the rooftop and heading back down to the top floor hallway.

He was about to get lost in his thoughts again, but found he couldn’t as his eyes came to rest upon a closely entwined Luhan and Sehun.

Sehun had Luhan pressed up against the wall by the large window at the end of the hall. His hands were in the elder’s back pockets, pulling him in close so that their hips were pressed together. Luhan’s hands were tangled in Sehun’s hair as the pair of them all but devoured one another – at least that’s what it looked like in Tao’s opinion.

He couldn’t help but watch them as they kissed, so lost in the other that they didn’t even notice there was someone else in the hall with them.

They were obviously skipping classes, since Tao knew that Sehun was meant to be in P.E, like himself, and Luhan was meant to be in woodwork – he’d chosen that because he thought it made him seem manlier. Tao tried not to scoff at the thought.

He sighed inwardly as he watched Sehun pull out of the kiss and press his forehead to Luhan’s for a moment. He heard Sehun whisper, “My Xiao Lu” before pressing his lips softly to Luhan’s swollen, smiling ones once more in a chaste kiss.

Sehun pulled back again before kissing along Luhan’s jaw, making Tao frown. If only Kris could be like that with him.

He watched Luhan’s hands move from Sehun’s hair to cup the boy’s face as he looked at him, with pure adoration in his eyes. He heard Luhan say “You’re mine, you know” with a soft laugh as he ran his thumb over Sehun’s lips.

Sehun smiled softly, in a way that Tao was unused to seeing him smile, before he said, “I am. And I couldn’t be more glad”

Tao had a feeling that something had happened between the two. In the past week and a half, they’d been a lot closer. Always looking at one another with shy smiles, always touching one another as if it were second nature, almost as though they were unaware that they were doing it – which wouldn’t surprise Tao if that were true – and always whispering sweet things to each other.

They still bickered, of course, but even that, Tao noticed, was done with an undertone of affection.

It was making him feel funny, and he didn’t like it. He was happy for them, god was he happy, but looking at them in that moment, he couldn’t help but be sad. Because they had something he longed for. Something that was just at his fingertips, but he was unable to grasp, because he took a step forward, and Kris took a step back.

Silently, he walked over to the stairwell and made his way down until he reached the ground floor.

He stepped out of the stairwell only to come face to face with Xiumin, Lay and Chen. The three of them were obviously just leaving Suho’s class, having been keeping Kyungsoo company.

“Oh, Tao” Lay said in surprise, “Are you alright? You look upset”

Tao smiled slightly, “Yeah, I’m fine, ge, don’t worry” he said, “Just tried, is all”

“Are you sure?” Lay prodded.

Tao wanted to sigh, but didn’t. He adored Lay, so he didn’t want to get snippy with him, not when Lay was one of the loveliest people he’d had the fortune of knowing, “I’m sure, Xing-ge” he smiled instead.

Lay nodded, but looked as though he didn’t quite believe the younger boy. Tao was glad though, that Lay seemed to get the message and didn’t prod any further.

“Where you headed?” Chen asked.

Tao shrugged, “I was going to go to class, but now I’m thinking I might just skip and deal with the detention I’ll get tomorrow”

“Tao!” Xiumin gasped, “You can’t do that!”

Tao raised a brow at his eldest gege, “Oh? Why not? Luhan and Sehun are skipping as we speak. So is Chanyeol for that matter”

“How would you know?” Xiumin asked, not accusingly, but curiously.

Tao rolled his eyes, “Well, Chanyeol was talking to me like ten minutes ago on the roof, and Sehun and Luhan are up on the top floor making googly eyes at each other and making out” he said.

“Just you wait until I see Luhan” Xiumin tutted, “I’ve told him about this before”

Chen laughed, “Gee, who died and made you a member of the faculty?”

“Just because school’s gonna be done in a couple months, doesn’t mean we can just lollygag about!” Xiumin said firmly, “If he’s not in last lesson, he’s going to get such a bloody lecture”

Lay smiled, “From you or the teacher?”

“Both” Xiumin said, “And he deserves it too! Bloody idiot, he knows his gran’ll smack him upside the head if she finds out”

Chen chuckled, “But who’d tell her”

“Well,” Xiumin smirked, “I might have to bring it up in passing conversation if he keeps it up”

“My, oh my” Chen chuckled, “You are quite the evil boy, aren’t you, Min”

Xiumin laughed, smacking Chen lightly on the chest, “I try”

Tao sighed, “This is all well and good, but can I go now?” he asked, trying not to sound impatient.

“Are you going to class?” Xiumin asked pointedly.

“Yes” Tao lied.

Xiumin nodded, “Good” he said, taking Chen’s hand as he did and starting up the stairs with Lay in tow, “Bye Tao!”

“Bye” Tao said.

He waited until they were out of sight before walking right out of the school building and sitting down on the field.

He spent the remainder of the school day watching the football team practice. They were only dribbling the ball about, or practicing chipping the ball, but it was better than being stuck inside and having to answer stupid questions set by his teacher. Especially when he was in the mood he was.

He heard the last bell sound from the school behind him, signalling the end of the day, but he made no move to get up and leave, knowing that Kris would find him there soon enough.

True to his thoughts, about twenty minutes later, Kris – followed by Chanyeol, Baekhyun, Lay, Luhan and Sehun – walked over to him. Kris tapped him on the shoulder and offered him a smile, which Tao didn’t bother to return as he got to his feet.

Neither of them made a move to go. Kris knew then, that this wasn’t going to be good.

The others were stood to the side, watching the pair as they looked at one another.

“Um... Tao?” Kris said after a while, his tone careful and nervous.

Tao raised a brow at the older boy, “What’s wrong? Couldn’t come and get me on your own? Or are you scared of the big bag conversation you know we need to have?”

“Tao... I... what are you talking about?” Kris asked.

Tao scoffed, “What am I talking about?!” he shot back, his voice rising with each word, “Are you kidding me, Wu Yifan? What am I bloody well talking about?” I’m talking about the fact that I am sick and tired of playing this game with you!”

“What game?!” Kris shot back, his brows furrowed.

Tao glared at him, “The one where we act like there’s nothing wrong here. The one where I pretend I’m fine with you kissing me then telling me we can’t be more than friends! The one where I act like I’m okay with you being a prat and pretending there’s nothing between us” he snapped, his voice loud, causing their friends to look at them in shock. They weren’t used to Tao making outbursts like this, “I can’t do this anymore, Kris!”

“Do what? You said you were fine with what we’re doing!” Kris shot back, “What happened to ‘kiss me now and question it later’? Huh? Or was that some bull to just make me ask you out?”

“Oh I don’t know, Kris! Was it?” Tao’s eyes narrowed even further, “Maybe if you stop acting like you don’t know what’s going on with us, then you’ll realise that YES I want to be with you, and YES I’m tired of just being your friend!” he shouted, “I don’t want to just be your friend, Kris! I want you to ask me out, I want you to WANT to be with me! I don’t want to keep telling myself that this is going to happen when it clearly isn’t! And if it isn’t, then I want to move on and find a guy that WILL want me!”

It was Kris’s turn to glare, “Well maybe you should have asked me out then!” he shot back.

“Oh? So I could be rejected?” Tao asked, “So you could tell me you weren’t ready, or that you didn’t want to ruin what we have! No thanks, I’ve heard that a million times already! You might want to try a new excuse!”

“It’s not an excuse!” Kris snapped, “If I don’t want to do something, then I don’t have to! There is nothing stopping you from taking the initiative sometimes, Tao! Why does it always have to be me?!”

Tao hissed slightly, “Because I’m ing scared! I know I like you, and I know you know I like you! And then I think you like me too, but how can I know for sure when one minute you’re kissing the out of me, and the next you’re acting like I don’t exist?! Kris, for the love of god, you’ve made sure not to be alone with me for the last three weeks because you’re scared I might make a move, that I might ask you out!”

“That isn’t true!” Kris cried out indignantly, “I just... Things have come up!”

“What like you falling out with Chanyeol and not telling me?” Tao spat, “Stop trying to lie to me! I’m so damn tired of the lies, Kris!”

“So what, then?” Kris said, “You want me to sit here and tell you how much I like you? How much I want to be with you? For what, Tao? For you to know, for closure?! What good will it do? Looks like I was worrying for no reason, because clearly you’re the one ruining our friendship right now, not me!”

“That’s rich! Coming from the boy who can’t just admit he likes me, rather than beat around the bush!” Tao said, “So now it’s all my fault because I’m tired of waiting around for you like a good little boy?! I’m not yours to push around Kris! I want to have a relationship with someone! I want one with you! But you keep messing me around and blowing me off, so maybe....” Tao’s voice had dropped down to barely above a whisper now, “Maybe I should just look somewhere else”

“Maybe you should” Kris said in an equally quiet voice, “Because obviously I can’t give you what you want”

Tao let out something of a whimper, completely obviously to the stunned faces of his friends as they watched the pair in silent shock, “But you can” he said, “You can, it’s just that you won’t”

“Then what do you want me to do?!” Kris said desperately.

Tao sighed, running a hand over his face, “I want you to make up your mind!” he said, “I want you to choose. Do you want me as a friend, or do you want me as your boyfriend? I need an answer, Kris”

“I...” Kris sighed, “I don’t know!” he said hysterically, “I don’t know!”

“Then you need to figure it out, because until you do... I can’t do this” Tao gestured between himself and Kris, “Whatever this is”

“Tao...”

“No” Tao shook his head, taking a step back as Kris took a step towards him, “I can’t do this right now”

Kris looked at Tao a little desperately, “Tao please, don’t do this” he whispered, “I just need to figure it out”

“And I’m letting you” Tao said, his voice soft, but so clearly full of hurt, “I’m letting you figure it out, Kris. And I’m telling you this, I can’t be anything with you until you do. If you want me to be your friend, then I will. If you want more, then I will be more, but until you know what you want, I need you to stay away from me”

“Tao...”

“I need you to, Yifan. Because I can’t deal with how you’re making me feel. I need an answer, and until I get one, I can’t be around you”

Kris was about to take another step towards Tao, but a large, firm hand on his chest stopped him. He looked up to see Chanyeol has stepped forward and was holding him back, as Tao turned and walked away, not wanting Kris to see his tears.

“Just let him” Chanyeol said quietly, so that only Kris could hear, “He just needs some space right now. And you need to think about what you want”

Kris nodded dumbly, just watching after Tao.

“Yeol?” Kris heard Baekhyun’s voice from somewhere, but he didn’t bother to see where the boy stood, his eyes refusing to move from Tao’s retreating back.

Chanyeol shifted slightly, “You guys go with Tao” he said to Baekhyun, “I’m gonna take Kris home”

“I’m coming with you guys” Lay said, and Kris finally tore his gaze from Tao in time to see Baekhyun, Sehun and Luhan running after the younger boy, whilst Lay and Chanyeol remained with him.

Kris allowed himself to be pulled away by Lay and Chanyeol. The two of them spoke to him every so often as they lead him to his own house, but mainly just spoke to one another, seeing as how they could barely get a response out of Kris.

Once they got to Kris’s house, they made their way up to the boy’s room and let him flop on the bed.

Chanyeol and Lay exchanged a nervous glance before nodding at one another and opting to get Kris out of his sad mood.

--

Lay groaned, by the time he got out of Kris’s house it was close to ten, and he was exhausted. It had taken Chanyeol and himself a good five hours to get a smile out of Kris, and then another hour to get him to talk about Tao.

But, at least they’d gotten one thing out of Kris. He was definitely going to do something to win Tao back.

He just didn’t specify whether he meant as a friend or something more, which had frustrated the hell out of both Lay and Chanyeol.

“You think they’re gonna be okay?” Chanyeol asked as he walked beside Lay.

Lay nodded, “Yeah. It’s Kris and Tao, they won’t be able to stay away from each other for too long” he said confidently.

Chanyeol smiled, “That’s true” he said, as they rounded the corner onto the street he lived on, “You sure you don’t want me to walk you home?”

“I’m sure” Lay smiled, “I’m not actually going home, I’m going to my aunts”

“Oh” Chanyeol nodded, “She doesn’t live too far, right? Because I can still walk you..?”

Lay shook his head softly, “Thank you, but I’ll be fine on my own”

“If you’re sure” Chanyeol smiled, pulling Lay into a hug, “See you tomorrow, then” he said as he pulled back.

Lay chuckled and gave Chanyeol a brief peck on the cheek, “See you tomorrow, Chanyeol-ah” he said before walking away, throwing Chanyeol a wave over his shoulder before turning the corner.

He got to Suho’s house fairly quickly after that, since he’d jogged and was praising himself for his quick thinking about saying ‘his aunts’ house.

With a chuckle to himself, he knocked on Suho’s front door.

Suho answered and flashed Lay a smile, “I didn’t know you were coming over tonight? You usually get here earlier when you’re gonna stay the night”

“I got caught up” Lay said as Suho let him in, “I would have text, but I didn’t get the chance”

Suho tilted his head cutely as he closed and locked the front door, “Oh?”

“I was at Kris’s. He and Tao had an argument and got all upset, and so me and Chanyeol were trying to cheer him up... You know how it is. Teenage problems or whatever” Lay answered as he kicked off his shoes and placed his bag on the table.

Suho chuckled at the younger boy and lead him into the living room, where Lay took off his jacket and draped it over the back of the sofa, “Have you eaten?” Suho asked.

“Not since lunch” Lay said, and as if on cue, his stomach growled.

Suho shook his head softly, “You’d have thought you’d have eaten at Kris’s” he scolded lightly, “But oh well, I’ll make you something real quick”

“Okay” Lay smiled and followed Suho into the kitchen where he watched the elder whip him up something to eat.

Once it was cooked, the two of them sat down at the table. Lay ate pretty quickly, shoving food into Suho’s mouth every now and then with a laugh. When he’d finished that, he washed his plate – even though Suho insisted he didn’t have to – and put it away.

The two of them then went upstairs and brushed their teeth before getting ready for bed.

“You know” Suho yawned, “I had a chat with Chen today”

Lay nodded as he crawled under the covers beside Suho, “Since when do you call him Chen?”

“Since he told me to” Suho laughed, “anyways, he said something about you having struggled with something? Like, you were sad a lot...”

Lay paused, “Oh” he said.

“Can I ask what that was about?” Suho asked gently, wrapping his arms around Lay and pulling him close as they lay in bed in the darkness of the room.

Lay  hesitated for a moment before letting out a sigh, “I’ve had problems, in the past” he said, “with depression and... and anxiety. It’s not something I really like to talk about... But if you want to know, then I’ll tell you. But just not tonight, okay?”

“Okay” Suho said easily, though he held Lay tighter, “And you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to”

Lay smiled, “I want to” he said, “It’s just not something I advertise, you know? I mean, it’s only really Chen and my parents that know I’ve had problems with it... So, yeah”

“You know I’m always here for you, right?” Suho said after a moment, “No matter what”

Lay nodded against Suho’s collar, “I know” he said, his voice sounding rather sleepy, “And I should tell you I’ve been a lot happier since you and I got together. It’s almost like you’re my own guardian angel” he chuckled.

“You flatter me, Zhang Yixing” Suho laughed softly, “but you should know, you’re like my own personal healer”

Lay smiled, “You can be my angel, I’ll be your unicorn”

“Unicorn?”