It was another boring day at school, just like all of the ones before it. The days were beginning to blur together.

Chanyeol had dragged himself home from school that day looking forward to the upcoming weekend and how he was going to waste it away by doing nothing the entire time.

It had been a while since Chanyeol admitted to himself and Baekhyun (or well… his phone at least) that he was in love with the short brunette boy, and Chanyeol couldn’t help but feel more lighthearted after finally getting it out. He wasn’t plagued with the secret anymore, and it seemed much easier to text him now. Despite that, the change in his actual attitude was rather minimal.

He didn’t interact with people much, he refused to clean anything, he barely ate, and he generally would just lie around all day. Sometimes Chanyeol himself wondered if he was even still alive, but Jongin’s constant nagging, the burden of school work, and the lack of Baekhyun’s presence assured him that he was. Recently, he found he could care less about school. He started going to the arcade more often than studying, and started gliding by on B’s and some C’s instead of A’s. Chanyeol blamed it on ‘senioritis’ and did nothing else to fix it. His state of disdain for anything other than Baekhyun was overwhelming.

He currently found himself engulfed in a book, but he had actually been stuck on that one page for the past 20 minutes.

A knock on the door downstairs broke his intense concentration on the word he had been staring at blankly for the past couple of minutes. Chanyeol faintly wondered who it was, before remembering that Jongin had planned to come over to study, but he hadn’t given him a specific time to meet up. Chanyeol didn’t move from his position. There was a spare key somewhere outside the house, and he knew that Jongin knew where it was.

That’s why Chanyeol didn’t look up when Jongin threw his door open a couple of seconds later.

“Chanyeol, you weren’t answering any of my texts, so I just came over because I assumed you wouldn’t mind.” Jongin glanced around Chanyeol’s uncharacteristically untidy room. “But it seems as though you’re too busy to care anyways.”

Chanyeol mumbled something incoherent, refusing to look up from the book he was supposedly reading. He even flipped a page to make it look more believable.

Jongin continued to scrutinize Chanyeol’s room, and as his eyes landed on Chanyeol’s phone hidden beneath a pile of clothes, Jongin stated, “Kyungsoo will be up here soon. You might want to clean up a little or he’ll destroy your .” Jongin picked up his phone and cleared the majority of his texts and notifications from the home screen.

Chanyeol sighed. “Kyungsoo can clean if he wants to, but this is now my natural habitat.”

Jongin scoffed, slightly annoyed. “Since when have you become one of us? You were always the ‘Mr. Organized’ of the group when it came to…”

It took Chanyeol a couple of seconds to realize Jongin’s voice had faded. When he glanced up to see why, Jongin’s hand was shoving his phone into his face.

“What the hell is this?!”

Chanyeol squinted at the bright light from the screen. “My phone.”

“No, this ing text log.”

Chanyeol’s eyes focused on the screen before took in a deep breath.

“… It’s Baekhyun’s.”

“It says you texted him… Yesterday.”

“… I did.”

Jongin narrowed his eyes. “You text our dead friend?”

Chanyeol covered his ears, scrunching up his nose distastefully. “Don’t say it like that.”

“Why the hell do you do that?!”

“Because I miss him…”

Jongin growled and pushed Chanyeol off his bed. “That’s not a good enough reason.”

“Then what the hell is?!” Chanyeol yelled back, matching Jongin’s annoyed tone.

“There is no reason to cover this! You’re being a depressed little and it’s driving me insane!” Jongin grabbed Chanyeol’s collar and showed his room to him. “Look at your room! Would Baekhyun be proud of this?”

“Baek’s room was always this messy!”

“Is that why you let it get this messy? So you feel ‘closer to Baek’ or whatever?!” Chanyeol didn’t respond. “God, Chanyeol,” Jongin shouted as he dropped him to the floor, “does this really make you happy? Does texting Baekhyun give you some feeling of accomplishment in your life or something?”

Jongin made a big deal of preparing to send a text from Chanyeol’s phone. Chanyeol tried to get up to stop him, but Jongin put his foot on his chest and pushed him into the floor.

He read aloud as he typed.

 “Oh, hi there Byun Freaking Baekhyun!”

“Jongin, stop it!”

“It’s so much fun pretending you’re still alive as though you didn’t leave me behind to suffer! As though you didn’t leave all of your friends behind to suffer!”

Jongin made a big deal out of pushing the send button as he continued reading the texts aloud as he typed them, still pinning Chanyeol to the ground.

“It’s so god damn fun dealing with the depression! And the pain! And oh ho ho, look at me pretending to be alright!”

“Jongin, stop!”

“Look at me being Park Chanyeol – the only guy who can’t get over the fact that you’re dead because I’m the only one pretending that you’re not!”

“Don’t send that to him, Jongin, stop!”

“You text him so often and he can’t even read them!” Jongin spat down to him. “Do you even tell him the truth?!”

Jongin went back to typing. “Baekhyun, I bet you don’t know my grades are slipping! I bet you don’t know that during lunch, I cry alone in the bathrooms! I bet you don’t know that your mother is slowly getting over you by now and I’m still caught in my delusional world where we could have eternity together!”

Jongin glared down to Chanyeol and said mockingly, “Because I love you, you little Byuntae. And even though you’re gone, I’ll love you forever!” Jongin threw his head back and scoffed. “Hell, Baekhyun didn’t even love you, you idiot! Baekhyun liked girls, didn’t you notice?!”

Chanyeol screamed underneath Jongin, pressing his hands to his ears as he shouted, trying to get Jongin’s voice out of his head.

Jongin typed again. “Hell, you don’t even get these texts, yet I keep typing to you. I re-open these wounds of me, your family, our friends, and our classmates just because I’m so damn…” Jongin paused as he glared down to Chanyeol. “… weak.”

 “I’m weak, I’m lonely, and I hate it! All because you had to disappear, dammit!”

Hearing the commotion, Kyungsoo quickly ran up the stairs, eyes wide at the scene in front of him. “What the hell is this?”

Jongin huffed. “Did you know he texts Baekhyun’s phone?”

Kyungsoo gave a hesitant nod and slowly walked toward Jongin, replying, “It makes him feel better…”

“Makes him feel better, my ! You think it’s suddenly okay because it makes him feel better?!”

“Jongin, calm down…”

Jongin pushed Kyungsoo into the wall, shouting, “You too! Why is everyone sitting around thinking this is okay?! We’re about to graduate and you guys think this okay? Baek is gone, and neither of you can cope with that!”

Jongin threw Chanyeol’s phone to the ground. “Listen, Park Chanyeol! We were all Baekhyun’s friends just as much as you were! Watching you pretend that he’s still here is hurting us all as much as it’s hurting you! Will you just give it up and accept the fact that he’s dead already?! He’s been dead for months Chanyeol, just get the hell over it!”

“Jongin!” Kyungsoo grabbed Jongin’s wrist and pulled him away from Chanyeol. Jongin glared in Chanyeol’s direction as Kyungsoo dragged him out of the room and out of Chanyeol’s house.

Chanyeol sat up slowly and pulled his knees into his chest, hugging his legs tightly as he whimpered, “I’m sorry… I’m sorry…”

-------

Baekhyun was lying on his bed with Jongdae staring at the ceiling when his phone vibrated. Both of them looked at the phone, but Jongdae grabbed it first.

“From Chanyeol,” Jongdae read, “Oh hi there Byun Freaking Baekhyun…”

Baekhyun blinked and sat up quickly. “Are you sure it’s from Chanyeol?”

Jongdae nodded as the phone vibrated again. “It’s so much fun texting you and pretending you’re still…” Jongdae’s voice trailed off as he skimmed over the rest of the rest of the text before looking up to Baekhyun in slight shock.

Baekhyun blinked at the expression on his friend’s face. “What? What does it say?”

Jongdae looked back down to the phone as he turned his back to Baekhyun and mumbled, “Nothing,” as the phone vibrated again.

Baekhyun pushed Jongdae off the bed, saying, “Show me what he said, Jongdae – I don’t care if it’s fluffy and stuff, just don’t read it; it’s embarrassing!”

Baekhyun threw himself on top of Jongdae, pinning him to the ground as Jongdae shook his head quickly. “Don’t read it, don’t read it!”

Baekhyun stared downward as Jongdae struggled underneath him. Baekhyun flipped his hair back  and sighed, “Why? Why can’t I read a text directed to me?”

Jongdae stared up to Baekhyun, noting the sadness in the other’s eyes. “… I just don’t think you’d like it.”

“Why… why?” Baekhyun sincerely looked like he was going to cry.

Panicking a little, Jongdae replied nervously, “Well… well don’t worry about it!” as his eyes flitted around the room, hoping to think of anything else but Baekhyun’s puppy dog face and the phone vibrating in his hand as he blurted out anything that came to mind. “We can do some other stuff like cloud race or make some rainbows, and – Hey!”

Baekhyun snatched his phone out of Jongdae’s hand and ran out of the room and into another before he read the texts.

“Oh hi there, Byun Freaking Baekhyun. It’s so much fun pretending you’re still alive as though you didn’t leave me behind to suffer… As though you didn’t leave all of your friends behind to suffer…” Jongdae stood behind Baekhyun, frowning as he finally caught up to him and listened to him read the texts. “It’s so god damn fun dealing with the depression… and the pain… and look at me, pretending to be alright. Look at me being Park Chanyeol, the only guy who can’t get over the fact that you’re dead because I’m the only one pretending that you’re not…”

Baekhyun’s breath hitched as Jongdae took a step forward and whispered, “Baek…” but Baekhyun shook his head as he flicked to the next text.

“Baekhyun, I bet you don’t know my grades are slipping. I bet you don’t know that during lunch, I cry alone in the bathrooms... I bet you don’t know that your mother is slowly getting over you by now and I’m still caught in my delusional world where we could have eternity together…” Baekhyun stopped reading aloud as his eyes flittered over the rest of the texts. These were the things Chanyeol wouldn’t tell me? Baekhyun’s mind raced through all the happier texts – the ones where Chanyeol told him that everything was fine, but that he missed him a lot. A lot was an understatement… wasn’t it?

Jongdae put a hand on Baekhyun’s shoulder as Baekhyun’s phone continued vibrating and Baekhyun’s eyes scanned the incomings texts. “Hey… hey…” Jongdae slid the phone out of his hand and walked over to a drawer and put the phone inside of it before walking back to Baekhyun and wrapping his arms around the boy. “Hey, it’s okay… it’s okay…”

Baekhyun’s breath hitched as he attempted to speak. “I-it… it’s all my fault…”

“No, no it’s not your fault…”

“I left him alone… I left them all alone…”

“That’s not your fault – you couldn’t have done anything about it.”

Baekhyun’s mind raced back to November 24^th. If only he had finished Chanyeol’s present earlier. If only he hadn’t had that stupid argument with Chanyeol. If only he had gone home with Chanyeol instead of dragging Kyungsoo all across the city to look for something perfect to give to Chanyeol and complain about all of his problems… If only he had listened to Kyungsoo when he said he wanted to go home earlier… Baekhyun’s mind raced through the if only’s as though he had a chance to change them.

Baekhyun’s sobs and the soft vibrating of his phone in the empty wooden drawer were the only sounds echoing throughout the room.

---------------

Baekhyun only got one text the next morning.

From Chanyeol: “I’m sorry… I’m sorry…”

---------------

Chanyeol was met with the sight of a small, black leather book and Jongin’s profile as he looked up from his desk the following Monday. Jongin glanced down to Chanyeol and then back away as he muttered, “It’s a journal.”

Chanyeol sat up straight and quirked an eyebrow at his friend, asking, “And what do you want me to do with it?”

“God, Chanyeol,” Jongin groaned as he dropped the journal on Chanyeol’s desk and replied, “It’d be better if you write in here instead of texting him all the time.”

Chanyeol blinked dumbly in Jongin’s direction. “You think writing to myself–” 

“Is better than texting someone who won’t respond.” Jongin sighed before he added under his breath, “You’re pretty much just writing to yourself already anyways.” Chanyeol pursed his lips and looked away. Jongin frowned and glanced down to Chanyeol. “… How long have you been doing that?”

Chanyeol didn’t look back as he muttered, “About a month after.” Jongin didn’t respond as he looked away and leaned against the desk next to Chanyeol’s.

There was a minute of comfortable silence between the two before Jongin added, “I talked to Kyungsoo about it and we both agreed that this would be the best way for you to stop. Whenever you have the urge to text him, just write in here instead.”

Chanyeol looked over to Jongin. “Do you really think that’s going to work?” Jongin ran a hand through his hair and opened his mouth to respond, but Chanyeol cut him off contemptuously. “Do you think a leather book could replace my best friend?”

“No, a leather book can replace your demented fantasy that your best friend is still alive.”

The two stared at each other before Jongin looked away and muttered, “I’m sorry…” Chanyeol shook his head softly as Jongin stood up straight and said, “Just write in the book, okay? If anything, maybe it’ll get your mind off him.”

Chanyeol watched wordlessly as Jongin walked away and sat next to Kyungsoo. Chanyeol looked down to the journal and scoffed before opening the cover and flipping to the first blank page. Chanyeol narrowed his eyes at the too-white paper and blank lines before scribbling something down and growling at the pages.

‘This is stupid.’

Chanyeol sighed as he thumbed through the pages and stopped back on the first page, barely noticing a small note on the inside cover.

“We’re with you through it all! Chanyeol, Fighting! ^_^” – Kyungsoo

Chanyeol smiled a little as he stared at Kyungsoo’s neat handwriting and scribbled something else on the first page before he closed the cover of the book as the teacher walked into the classroom and told them to settle down.

‘But maybe I’ll give it a try.’

---------------

Chanyeol held up rather well for the first week. He had looked longingly at his phone for hours on end, but figured that writing in that journal would be better than texting with no response.

Chanyeol was sitting in the library doing homework when Kyungsoo approached him. It took about a minute or two for Kyungsoo to speak up after sitting down next to him.

“How are you doing?” Kyungsoo asked softly, barely glancing upward.

“I’m fine…” Chanyeol added before nodding toward his journal. “The journal is a pain, but I’m not texting him anymore.”

Kyungsoo smiled and nodded a little. “Progress is good…” There was silence for a while as both turned to their homework until Kyungsoo spoke softly. “Chanyeol, I know that it probably feels like you’re going through this alone or that no one understands how much you miss him, because like, you were in love with him and all, and Baekhyun and I were just really close best friends… but you know,” Kyungsoo hesitated for a second. “…I’m dealing with this as much as you.”

Kyungsoo paused as he stared downward; Chanyeol glanced upward to stare at the boy as he continued. “I keep wondering… if I hadn’t stopped at that one yellow light, or if I took one route instead of another, or even if hadn’t spent so much time deciding between one product and another, would Baek be beside me laughing right now?” Kyungsoo winced. “I feel like it’s all my fault for being so careless. And people tell me it’s not my fault, but why is Baekhyun gone when it wasn’t his fault either?” Kyungsoo dragged his shaky fingers through his hair and stopped at the ends to pull on it as he continued speaking through his quivering lips. “I think of all the ‘what if’s’ and ‘if only’s’ and wonder how this could have come out different, and how I was so stupid for allowing it to happen, and I just can’t –”

“Shh…” Chanyeol cut Kyungsoo off with a tight hug. “Please… just shh…”

The two stayed in that position until Kyungsoo pulled away from the hug, mumbling something about having to meet up with Jongin at his house. Chanyeol waved with a small smile as Kyungsoo walked away before he glanced to his phone and typed a quick text to Baekhyun. He told himself that he wouldn’t do this anymore, but for this, he felt he could make an exception.

To ByunBaek: “Kyungsoo and I miss you. But we’re dealing with it together, so we’ll be alright. Don’t worry about us :)”

---------------

Baekhyun decided that maybe it was time to take a break from training.

Baekhyun had started studying for his test and focusing on training his abilities much more earnestly now that his test date was set and steadily nearing. He wanted to stay in Haven with all of his friends. He was also doing it because wanted to please Chanyeol. To show him that he could do something and be fine on his own. Luhan often helped him study or train when Baekhyun lacked the motivation or knowledge to do so (also because Luhan was a guardian angel and had gone through the test before so he could give some good pointers), and Yixing (and sometimes Sehun) would come along to cheer him on.

Baekhyun learned a lot of details about the test and its requirements from Luhan. The test included an abilities test to assess certain skills required by guardian angels (the test is to be chosen at random, so Luhan advised him to practice for any of the skills that could possibly be tested for), and two written tests – one as a personality quiz to assure that one had potential to effectively guard another person, and one as a history test or so, which made virtually no sense to Baekhyun, but he considered it to be for diligence or whatever. Despite not understanding the reasons why, he’d have to do it anyways, so he studied for it. He just never realized how tiring it all would be.

Baekhyun hastily checked his phone and groaned when there was nothing new, but as he set down the phone, it vibrated. Baekhyun couldn’t have picked up his phone any faster, but a near permanent frown crossed his face when he found the text was from Jongdae.

From Jongdae: “You better not be slacking off.”

Baekhyun was too exasperated to deal with Jongdae’s freaky mind tricks right now.

It had been a bit over a month and a half since he last got a text from Chanyeol, which only said that he was finally a graduated senior and would be going off to the mature adult world to explore (and that night, Baekhyun had actually watched their graduation from the clouds, bursting into laughter as Chanyeol almost accidentally moonwalked off the stage when he got his diploma). The one before that was two weeks before then, which was something about Kyungsoo, and the ones before that were weeks before. Baekhyun was getting worried. Sometimes he wondered if Chanyeol was even still alive, though he felt like he would know if he ended up in Haven like him. Baekhyun set down his phone and reached for a cup of water, opting to pour it over himself rather than drink it, and gave an annoyed sigh.

His test was coming up in a few months, and he still wasn’t even near prepared. His mind was so occupied with Chanyeol recently that he hadn’t been able to focus on anything, and it was more than frustrating. Not only was he wasting his own time, he was wasting Luhan’s, and even though Luhan kept insisting that it was okay and that he wanted to do anything to help out his friend, Baekhyun couldn’t help but feel like a burden.

Baekhyun sighed and crushed the paper cup in his hand as he looked to his phone and flipped through his contacts before his finger landed on Chanyeol’s number. He sat up straight as he swiped at the number to send it a text message.

To Chanyeol: “Hey, you giant idiot.”

Baekhyun stared at the message before sending it, almost immediately receiving an error message. He groaned again and sighed at his phone, muttering, “Why won’t you send a stupid message through.”

To Chanyeol: “I knew you wouldn’t get this, but whatever. It’s kind of like what you do (or well... used to do…) – stupidly texting me as a way to torture yourself.”

Baekhyun blinked twice.

To Chanyeol: “But it’s kind of fun. Albeit a major time waster, but that’s kind of what I need right now.”

Baekhyun sighed as he leaned back into the wall and decided to type out a mass of texts to the phone number.

To Chanyeol: “So how have you been lately? It’s been a while since you’ve texted me.”

To Chanyeol: “You know, you’re always telling me how much you miss me, but I miss you too and you don’t get to hear that. It seems unfair from your standpoint, but it’s even worse for me, you know.”

To Chanyeol: “I can be reassured that you’re fine and all, but when it comes to me, you don’t even know where I am and that I’m still sitting here, waiting for you to just respond to one of these texts.”

Baekhyun’s phone vibrated, quickly catching him off guard.

From Luhan: “Byun Baek! What are you doing?!”

Baekhyun blinked at his phone and put his messages to Chanyeol on standby as he texted Luhan back.

To Luhan: “Nothing.”

A voice took him out of his concentration on his phone. “I know that.” Baekhyun glanced up to see Luhan running a hand through his honey-blonde curls and Yixing walking behind him, holding a guitar. “The question is why?”

Baekhyun frowned. “Just taking a break. I’m tired, Luhan.”

Luhan smiled as he sat down next to him and Yixing followed soon after. “I can see that, but it seems like there’s something else. Is something bothering you?”

Baekhyun glanced to Luhan and sighed into his knees. “Chanyeol isn’t texting anymore.”

Luhan pulled his knees up to his chest, copying Baekhyun’s position. “Oh?”

Baekhyun sighed. “Nevermind, don’t worry about it.”

Luhan and Yixing frowned before Yixing said, “I’m not sure if healing works this way or if you even need healing, but I can play a song to help ease the pain.” Yixing raised his eyebrows as he strummed the strings of his guitar with a small smile on his face.

Baekhyun laughed softly as he pushed himself up and said, “Thanks, but I don’t think I need it. I’m fine. Really. I ought to get back to training.” He held out his hand to Luhan with a smile on his face as he helped the other boy up.

---------------

Months came and went quickly.

While Baekhyun spent time studying for his job test and thinking of Chanyeol, Chanyeol spent time getting used to the college environment (including studying for exams) and thinking of Baekhyun.

The lack of contact between the two was hitting Baekhyun harder than the other.

Chanyeol had made new friends in college and was somewhat in the process of moving on. Even though he still thought about him often, Baekhyun wasn’t as relevant to him anymore.

Baekhyun was blind to this. Chanyeol never texted him. He never received updates. He got so busy with preparing for this test and hanging out with Jongdae, Luhan, and the others that he stopped visiting the clouds to watch Chanyeol, Jongin, and Kyungsoo just waste time together.

When the test finally came, Baekhyun felt unprepared.

He stared up to the large ebony and gold double doors that separated him from the testing room with a nervous frown etched on his face.

“Good luck. I believe in you.”

Jongdae’s whisper made his ears tingle, and his supportive pat on the back wasn’t as reassuring or comforting as he thought it should be. Usually, it’d be Chanyeol to say stuff like that to him. Baekhyun turned to him and nodded softly anyways before stepping forward to push open the doors, not knowing what would await him on the other side.

-------

The doors swung open with ease, revealing a large, white padded room. Stairs led up to a smaller room behind a tinted glass that seemed to be hiding a control panel and some fancy electronics.

However, it wasn’t the appearance the testing room that surprised Baekhyun; he was stunned when he noticed the face of someone familiar.

“Luhan?” Luhan smiled and motioned toward a desk in the middle of the room. “You’re giving me my test?”

Luhan nodded. “I’m on the council for guardian angels, so it’s only natural.”

Baekhyun released an exasperated sigh. “You never told me that!”

Luhan responded with a playful smirk. “Oh? It must have slipped my mind… I probably just didn’t think I needed to – now come on, or you won’t finish in time.”

With a small smile, Baekhyun quickly approached Luhan. Even though he still wasn’t entirely sure of how well he’d do with his tests, most of Baekhyun’s nervousness seemed to drain in front of Luhan.

-------

Luhan took a step back and turned to a large book and flipped through it. “Guardian Angel test #614…” He closed the book as he continued speaking. “Strength of mind. Agility. Mental Preparation.” He glanced up to Baekhyun. “Protection.”

Baekhyun nodded as though he understood what Luhan was saying.

“Guardian angels should protect whomever they’re guarding, despite what they think would be a better course of action or whether it puts them personally in danger. You do what’s right for them.” Luhan started walking toward Baekhyun. “I have to give you all this technical, scripted stuff because it’s protocol, but all you need to hear is ‘blah blah, I’m making sure you’re mentally prepared to look after other people, blah blah, put others before yourself, blah.’” Luhan stopped right in front of Baekhyun. “Understood?”

Baekhyun nodded again.

Luhan sighed. “It’s rare that you’ll ever actually have to do this as an angel, so who knows why it’s part of the test, but essentially, if you ever do need to fight off a hoard of demons… this is great practice.” He paused and continued, “But there’s personal demons everyone, and you should do your best not turn into one. You also have to differentiate between what is a demon and what Fate is planning, despite what it seems like to you. Okay?” Luhan poked his chest and opened his mouth to speak; Baekhyun found himself saying the familiar words along with him.

“Listen to your heart – don’t always trust your eyes.”

Luhan smiled as he pulled Baekhyun into a hug. “I know you can do this because I’ve seen you do it multiple times.” He gripped his arms tightly and spoke softly. “For Chanyeol, right?”

Baekhyun smiled a little and nodded. “For Chanyeol.”

Luhan laughed softly as he retreated to the back of the room behind the control panel. “But Baek?” Baekhyun glanced up to Luhan’s laughing face as his finger hovered over a button. “Just don’t destroy the system.”

Baekhyun smirked and closed his eyes when the lights in the room dimmed. Listen to your heart – don’t always trust your eyes. Your eyes can deceive you, but your heart knows what’s true.

So with his eyes closed, he fought off demons in the testing room. With his eyes closed, he made a pact to protect whomever he was chosen to guard, and always put their needs before his own. With his eyes closed, he chose to listen to what his heart knows is right and strive to achieve that goal.

For Chanyeol. I’ll be the best dang guardian angel Chanyeol’s never seen.

And when he finished, silence and darkness settled around him. His arms shook with the stress and in his mind, all he heard were his soft gasps of air and his heartbeat resonating in his ears.

Baekhyun could see the lights turn on around him from behind his closed eyelids, and he heard Luhan’s footsteps approaching him.

Baekhyun slowly opened his eyes and glanced upward, met by Luhan’s proud smile.

“Sit down.” Luhan gestured toward a desk in the middle of the room. “You’ve got two more written tests to finish.”

-------

No one was surprised when Baekhyun came out of the room, wielding a guardian angel pendant, and shouting that he passed.

Luhan, Jongdae, Sehun, Yixing and some of his other friends had come to party with him for passing the test, and they stayed out rather late that night. They had planned on partying until Baekhyun’s graduation ceremony commenced in the morning, but everyone got too tired to stay up, and they decided that Baekhyun needed to get his beauty sleep anyway. So everyone returned back to their own houses, leaving Baekhyun with pats on the back and congratulations, but instead of returning home, Baekhyun left Jongdae to visit a place that he hadn’t been to in quite a while.

The beautiful scenery of the clouds at The Observatory was inviting, especially on a day like today, where everything felt fluffy and Baekhyun just wanted to drown in his happiness and never resurface. Baekhyun fell over to lie on his back, staring at the mass of stars in the sky, giggling like a school girl. He sat up and crawled toward the edges of the clouds and leaned over them, smiling down to the world below and shouting loudly, “Wait for me, Chanyeol… I’ll be there for you soon.”

The sight of a rather handsome man caught his eye, and as the man showed a dazzling smile that could only belong to one giant he knew, and he sat up quickly, realizing it was Chanyeol, and noticed how much about him had changed in the while they weren’t in contact. Chanyeol’s hair was shorter, straighter, and black, and his clothes seemed much more fashionable. Baekhyun stared at him intently, wondering how someone like Chanyeol could suddenly look so not awkward and actually pretty y, before he noticed that he was walking next to another giant – one that was taller than Chanyeol was.

Baekhyun zoomed in on the view and noticed their hands entwined. There was a small pain in his chest as they staggered into Chanyeol’s room and slammed the door behind them. Baekhyun found he was unable to tear his eyes away from the sight. The taller giant pushed Chanyeol against the wall and leaned in toward him.

Baekhyun wanted to protest. He wanted to pull them apart. He wanted anything but this right now.

Their lips met with a gasp from Chanyeol.

Baekhyun’s eyes burned.

Chanyeol didn’t push away.

The giant’s hands found their way under Chanyeol’s shirt and Chanyeol’s hands found the other giant’s waistband. Each started pulling clothing off the other.

What happened?

Baekhyun stared as they undressed each other, stumbling over each other until they fell onto Chanyeol’s bed in a mess of heated, lusty kisses and soft moans.

What happened to “I’ll never leave you”?

Baekhyun watched the two fumble around in disbelief before he finally tore his eyes away from the sight. Baekhyun couldn’t watch anymore. He stood slowly and backed away from the edges of the clouds. He turned sharply and walked quickly, trying to keep the scene off his mind. His brisk walk turned into a scampered run. What was he running from? Why did he seem so afraid? …Afraid of what? Why was he escaping? Baekhyun opened the door and closed it with a slam before running to his room and jumping on his bed, screaming into his pillows.

That night, Chanyeol fell asleep with Baekhyun’s name on his lips and in his thoughts.

The next morning, Baekhyun graduated to guardian angel.

I earned my wings, Chanyeol… were you watching me?

********