Baekhyun pulls back and looks at Chanyeol. “Really? You really don’t like him?”

Chanyeol huffs a bit before responding, “I mean, yeah. He’s so, so, I don’t know, extra.”

“Extra?” Baekhyun laughs, “He’s a nice guy, Chanyeol. I didn’t think he was being extra or “too much”. That’s just how he is.”

“How he is?!” Chanyeol blanches. “How can you even believe that? He was totally just playing you.”

For some reason Chanyeol’s words hit Baekhyun hard and he unexpectedly feels hurt. He feels almost angry with Chanyeol for saying something like that and it comes out in his tone. “You don’t even know him, Chanyeol! So how could you know something like that?”

Chanyeol is taken back at Baekhyun’s reaction. Is Baekhyun upset over Cash? “Baekhyun, come on I know these types of "jock" guys. I am one of them,” he says.

Baekhyun scoffs at the air of superiority Chanyeol has. “What? So you know because you’d do something like that?”

Chanyeol sighs. “I wouldn’t do that to you. I’m not saying I’ve never done anything like that before, but I’m not proud of it either. I’m just saying I know it when I see it,” Chanyeol says and he takes a step towards Baekhyun, “I’m just trying to look out for you because I care about you, Baekhyun. Come on, are we really arguing over some guy right now?”

Baekhyun doesn’t look at Chanyeol and keeps his arms crossed. He doesn’t want to argue with Chanyeol and Chanyeol is just trying to protect him. But the way he referred to Cash as just “some guy” doesn’t sit well with him. Baekhyun bites down on his lip out of habit and mulls over what he wants to do. Chanyeol’s his best friend. They grew up together and Cash…well he’s just met Cash.

Chanyeol steps closer to Baekhyun and rests his hands on Baekhyun’s crossed arm. He gives Baekhyun a smile. “Baek, come on. Don’t be mad. If it makes you happy I won’t say anything else about him, but you can’t expect me to like him either.”

Baekhyun shrugs and gives in to Chanyeol as he pulls to uncross his arms. He even reciprocates the hug, but somehow it doesn’t have the same healing affect on him that it does on Chanyeol. Baekhyun can’t really figure out why Cash has made such an impact on him in the short amount of time they’ve spent together. It’s unsettling, but not as unsettling as the feeling of distrust he gets when he looks up to see Chanyeol’s smiling face. Baekhyun shakes the feeling off. He’s probably just upset that he and Chanyeol haven’t spent that much time together.

“Hey,” Baekhyun nudges Chanyeol with his elbow as they walk back to his classroom, “we still haven’t done the rematch for Zombies vs Aliens that you begged me for. What’re you doing after school? Wanna get your kicked again?” Baekhyun says with a cheeky grin.

Chanyeol laughs. “Please, you totally cheated, but I can’t today.”

“Basketball?” Baekhyun asks

Chanyeol pulls a sheepish smile. “Ah, no. I’m actually going out with Sojoon after school.”

Baekhyun tries his hardest to appear neutral. “Oh yeah? Sojoon, huh? That’s cool,” he says and then coughs to try and mask how awkward that came out. “So are you guys, like, friends or…?” Perfect. Real subtle.

Chanyeol makes a noise of uncertainty and shrugs. “I’m not real sure actually. We’ve been talking and hanging out, I guess, but nothing has really, you know, happened.”

Baekhyun just nods. Any thoughts of Chanyeol being jealous fly straight out the window and plummet to the ground. He should know better though; Sojoon is never single for very long. And its not like it would be completely terrible. They’d make a cute couple, and maybe she could up Chanyeol’s sense of fashion and general everyday appearance.

“Well,” Baekhyun says, “I’ve got to get back to class, and so should you.”

Chanyeol shrugs. “I never actually went to class, so I minds well skip. Maybe actually do my homework for English,” he says.

Baekhyun just lightheartedly rolls his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, model student,” he stops outside his classroom door, “I guess I’ll see you…later,” he says giving a small wave.

Chanyeol nods and returns the wave as he begins to walk away. “Yeah, we’ll have to do that rematch sometime.”

Baekhyun gives Chanyeol one last nod before quietly entering the classroom. He does his best to focus on the lesson, but considering he missed the beginning he’s kind of lost. He doesn’t have the will to figure it out, so he opts for just staring out the window. Its overcast, the sky cloudy and light gray, blocking out the sun but entrapping the rays of sunshine that filter through. Baekhyun images being outside, the first frost of fall softly nipping at his bare arms because he forgot his jacket as usual.

Doing this calms him and he mulls over the events of his life. Baekhyun’s life was pretty mundane before Chanyeol came back. It’s like Chanyeol is some kind of catalyst in Baekhyun’s life, but then again life always was more exciting with him around. They were always getting into something they weren’t supposed to. Baekhyun remembers hearing their mothers talk about them, saying stuff like “separately they’re well behaved, but as soon as you put them together it’s like a bad chemical reaction. They’re good boys though”.

Things now aren’t as simple as they were back then though. Back then it was all innocent play, now it’s a magnet for drama and misunderstandings. Not that Baekhyun overly minds; he’s always had a distaste for the boring and mundane. And well, it’s no secret he likes attention. But there’s this nagging feeling of worry that things are going to start getting serious. That soon he’ll be in a situation he can’t laugh or brush off as just fun, and he’s not sure he’s going to be ready for something like that.

~*~

Jongin lays in his bed and stares at the fan blades as they turn lazily around and around, going in circles. He breathes out a deep sigh. Jongin knows how those fan blades must feel. Trapped, endlessly going in circles and not knowing why or how they got there, not remembering life before this endless rotation of death. He groans. Why is life so hard?

Jongin picks up his black, leather bound journal and flips through the pages, stopping at the beginning of a sectioned off portion titled: My Life Plan. Ever since his third year of middle school, Jongin has diligently filled out the pages with details of how his life is going to go, his short and long-term goals, and the steps to achieving those goals. He made this to ensure that his life would go smoothly. Jongin doesn’t expect perfection, but following the plan is supposed to ensure something pretty close. So why? Why is his life spiraling downwards and out of control? He’s done everything he’s supposed to do; he followed the steps.

Jongin groans again and tosses his journal haphazardly in frustration. He doesn’t last 30 seconds before he’s scrambling up and retrieving the journal, smoothing out the pages as he sits back on his bed. Some may think it sad to say, but Jongin’s whole life practically revolves around this journal. It’s been his outlet for everything. Everything he could never say, the feelings he could never face, the questions and doubts that wander his mind, all told in this journal. He can literally hold a physical representation of himself in his hands. And no one knows.

Maybe it’s because of the way he was raised. Without meaning to, Jongin’s parents imposed an idealistic view on their son. He’s always been talented in many areas, things come easy to him, and there’s no question about his good looks, but it all backfired. All of that potential set Jongin up to be the perfect son, something he was and is not. Maybe he did it to himself, but Jongin just can’t ever bring himself to bear the disappointment of his parents. In some ways he fears it. He fears disappointing his parents, and in fact, he fears disappointing anyone.

It might be strange, but Jongin finds that anger and hurt are easier to deal with. These things are fixable, but once you disappoint someone there is no fixing that. Yes, they will get over that disappointment, but it can never change the fact that you disappointed them. That’s why Jongin can’t bring himself to go to school. He knows that he’ll see Kyungsoo and see the disappointed and accusing look he’s sure Kyungsoo reserves just for him.

~*~

“Hey,” a voice catches Baekhyun’s attention and he turns, smiling when he sees Nikhil walking up to him. Nikhil plops down beside Baekhyun. “You’re hurting my heart sitting here all alone, looking like an abandoned puppy,” he says as he pokes at Baekhyun’s cheek, “What’s up?”

Baekhyun laughs and swats away Nikhil’s finger. “Nothing. Just don’t have anything to do, I guess?” he says, shrugging. “Kyungsoo’s busy with Danny and the book club, Chanyeol has a date, and my parents are away, so no one’s home.”

Nikhil hums and throws an arm around Baekhyun’s shoulders. “Seems like quite the dilemma.”

“Yup,” Baekhyun says. He turns to look at Nikhil after an extended silence to find the boy staring out into the horizon. Nikhil’s always been a strange kid, but he’s nice and actually a lot of fun to hang out with once you get past the occasional periods of him zoning out. Often, Baekhyun finds himself caring for Nikhil like a younger brother, a lot of which is probably due to him being two grades under Baekhyun. “So,” Baekhyun begins but Nikhil interrupts him.

“So, since you’re not doing anything you should come hang with us. And by us I mean me, Leroy, Amir, and Juan are all chilling at Cash’s house. Might practice a bit and you can learn some sweet moves from the master!” he grins, jumps up, and shuffles an imaginary soccer ball. He kicks the “ball” and then throws his hands in the air, letting out a whoo! and yelling, “He shoots! He scores!”.

Laughing, Baekhyun gets up and slings his backpack over his shoulder. “Okay, you’ve convinced me. I must learn from you, O Great Master!”

Nikhil lets out another whoop of triumph and, due to his height advantage, throws his arm back over Baekhyun’s shoulders as they walk. Baekhyun might be irritated if it were any other kid, but there’s just something about Nikhil’s lanky limbs and goofy grin that makes it impossible to dislike any aspect of him. Maybe it’s because Baekhyun knows Nikhil doesn’t mean anything by it; he just likes to be close and friendly.

The walk to Cash’s house isn’t very far, but it’s still a few more blocks than Baekhyun would like it to be. Disregarding his age, Baekhyun begins to whine about the distance, but all Nikhil does is laugh and tell him he should come work out with the team.

“I’d drive you there, but I’m 15 so,” Nikhil says and shrugs, his face completely void of sympathy.

Baekhyun grumbles. Kids these days.

When they finally reach Cash’s house, Baekhyun is almost positive he’s dying of dehydration. But he doesn’t have time to complain about it as Nikhil just walks right through the front door without knocking. Baekhyun’s a little thrown, but he quickly follows, taking off his shoes at the door, and mumbling a greeting that falls under Nikhil’s shout of “Lucy, I’m home!”, to who he assumes is Cash’s mother in the next room.

Baekhyun follows as Nikhil pads into the living room, giving a call of “Mom!” before enveloping a very beautiful Latina woman that's sitting on the sofa. Baekhyun immediately envisions her as Mother Earth, a goddess of sunshine and warm hugs. She has a natural, down-to-earth beauty about her that's enriched by slight laugh lines and tiny crinkles at the corner of her eyes. Her smile is big and beautiful and she emits softness. Not the I’m-a-proper-lady-petite-and-soft kind, but the I’m-a-mother-to-every-child-that-enters-my-home kind of soft. A soft that is reminiscent of warm muffins and homemade tortillas.

Nikhil gives her a childish smack of a kiss on the cheek and she pats him on the , telling him to stop kissing , but she’s smiling with that look of love Nikhil seems to pull out of everyone.

“Introduce your friend, Nikhil. Don’t just leave him standing there,” she says giving Baekhyun a smile.

Nikhil hops up and gestures between Baekhyun and Cash’s mother. “Mom, this is Baekhyun, friend from school. Baekhyun this is Mom.”

Rolling her eyes playfully, Cash’s mother gets up and offers Baekhyun a hand. “Or, you can just call me Maribel or Mrs. Cruz if that makes you more comfortable,” she says.

Just as Baekhyun thought, her hand has a firm grip but is also soft. The moment is all too fleeting as she makes her way to the kitchen asking if Baekhyun would like something to eat or drink. After acquiring a cup of water, Mrs. Cruz directs them to the basement game room where the others are waiting.

Just before they descend the basement stairs, Nikhil stops. “Uh, huh, I think I forgot to tell them that you’re coming with me,” he says and then shrugs his shoulders, “eh, it’ll be fine.”

Baekhyun freezes. “Wait, they don’t know I’m here? Is it even okay if I’m here? Why didn’t you ask before inviting me?” he suddenly feels like an intruder imposing his presence.

Nikhil dismisses Baekhyun’s worries with a wave of his hand. “It’s totally fine. This is practically my second home. Mi casa es su casa,” he says and he continues his descent down the stairs.

Baekhyun has two choices: either stand at the top of the stairs with a cup of water like a , or fake it til he makes it and walk down like he has every right to be in Cash’s house without Cash knowing. Baekhyun decides, “ it” and hurries after Nikhil.

Nikhil jumps over the last two stairs with a shout of,“Wassup?!” to announce his arrival while Baekhyun trails after him offering a wave and a simple “Hey”. Despite Baekhyun preparing for the brace of awkwardness at being the uninvited guest, he’s welcomed warmly with Bro Code handshakes and the very unsubtle slip of Leroy’s arm around his waist.

“Where’s Cash?” Nikhil asks as he plops down on beanbag that’s seen better days. Baekhyun can only imagine the kind of abuse it’s been through. “Yo, toss me those chips,” he calls to Juan who proceeds to chunk the half dead bag of Doritos at Nikhil’s head. Luckily, Nikhil has fast reflexes and he manages to catch the bag before chips are spewed all over the floor.

Leroy takes Baekhyun’s cup of water, setting it down on a nearby table, before pulling him down on the half of the sofa not taken up by Amir, who’s watching some cooking show. Baekhyun admires his ability to tune everyone out, but he has no idea how he does it.

“Cash is changing because this ,” Leroy says, gesturing to Juan, “spilled hot sauce all over him.”

Juan throws his hands up dramatically and says, “Well then, just put all the blame on me, why don’cha?”

Amir finally tears his eyes away from the TV and looks Juan dead on. “Yeah. We will. Because it was your fault,” he says in a way that leaves no room for argument.

Baekhyun laughs at the defeated look on Juan’s face as he tries and fails to plead his case with Amir. It’s just a fact of life that no one argues with Amir. He usually takes the role of judge and jury within the group, being the fastest and most effective solution to settling arguments and fights.

“Cash! My man!” Nikhil shouts as soon as he hears Cash descending down the stairs.

“It’s about time you got here, Nikhil,” Cash laughs descending the last couple of steps, “What took you so…long…” Cash’s words drag, clearly distracted by Baekhyun’s surprise visit.

Nikhil does jazz hands in Baekhyun’s direction. “I stopped to pick up an abandoned puppy. Thought you might take him in,” he says grinning in return to Cash’s glare.

Baekhyun coughs awkwardly. “Sorry for just showing up. I thought Nikhil had asked if it was okay…” he throws Nikhil a mini glare of his own, which only makes the boy’s grin brighter.

Cash’s features immediately soften. “No, it’s totally fine, really. You don’t have to apologize for this dip,” he says laughing and pushing away Nikhil’s ridiculous advances for a “forgive me” hug. While Cash is distracted with Nikhil, Juan decides to attack and he starts a wrestling match.

Baekhyun laughs with them, using it to mask the fact that he finds shirtless Cash in sweatpants roughhousing with his friends extremely attractive. Maybe he should start showing up to the soccer team’s workouts.

im back, back again

lol im having a lot of fun with my jongin characterization

and yeah i still don't know who baek is gonna end up with, like your guess is as good as mine

but i can say i do have a certain love for my OC

if you couldnt tell 

i mean posey and baek would make a pretty cute couple....theoretically  

i feel like id need to see them like standing side by side to really get a feel for it, but theoretically i can dig it 

heres another pic of Cash (aka my excuse to show a cute pic of Posey):

"Hey, Baek, do you, uh, I don't know, maybe do you want to grab, like, a burger or something with me...later, or something...." *squints bc sunlight is beaming thru window into his eyes* *causes him to accidentally smize*

nailed it