Time flies by even though they aren’t really doing anything. Baekhyun learns a lot about the boys there, especially Cash since the younger ones like to spill everything they can. Like how most of the mysteries surrounding Cash are more exaggerated dramatics than anything, although he still refuses to tell how he always has cash on him. But Cash reassures Baekhyun that he does not work for the CIA or mafia.

Soon the sun is disappearing from the sky and Leroy, Amir, and Juan are turning in to their own homes, respectfully declining Mrs. Cruz’s offer to stay for a late dinner. It seems that this really is Nikhil’s second home as she doesn’t even bother asking him, knowing he usually does.

“Well,” Mrs. Cruz smiles and turns to Baekhyun, “will you be joining us or are your parents expecting you home?”

“Ah, it’s just me this week so I’d love to stay for dinner,” Baekhyun says.

“Just you?” Mrs. Cruz asks, not quite understanding.

Baekhyun nods. “Yeah, both my parents work for companies that requires them to travel, so sometimes they have to stay away on business for awhile.”

Mrs. Cruz nods and does a poor job of hiding her sympathy as she pulls Baekhyun into a hug. “Well, you come and have dinner with us whenever you like! Mama Cruz will always be here to welcome you home.”

Cash groans and hides his face out of embarrassment while Nikhil just laughs and eggs her on by suggesting that she give Baekhyun his own drawer for clothes and toothbrush. It reminds Baekhyun of when he was little, staying with Chanyeol’s family when his parents were gone. Even after Chanyeol left to study abroad, his parents always made sure to call or stop by to make sure he ate. That same feeling of warmth bubbles up in his chest and he can’t help the huge smile that won’t leave his face.

It’s pretty late by the time Baekhyun forces himself to be responsible and decide that he needs to go home. He plans to just say his goodbyes and walk home, but Mrs. Cruz isn’t having it. She leaves no room for argument when she insists that Cash drive him home. Baekhyun doesn’t miss the opportunity to tease Cash a bit about how he’s a “true man” for being such a gentleman. Cash is thankful for mask of darkness, hoping Baekhyun can’t see how much his teasing is affecting him.

It’s a rather short drive, but it’s a pleasant one. Somehow the situation seems oddly intimate with a comfortable silence. Baekhyun can’t help but be drawn to Cash’s silhouette every now and then, noticing how intensely focused he is on driving safely. Again Baekhyun can’t seem to stop smiling. When they pull into Baekhyun’s driveway, Cash unknowingly lets out a sigh of relief that causes Baekhyun to laugh lightly.

“What?” Cash asks confused, but he smiles because it’s his natural reaction to seeing Baekhyun’s smile.

Baekhyun shakes his head. “Nothing,” he says teasingly, “just you drive like my grandmother.”

For a moment Cash is shocked and offended, but then he lets out a laugh. “I try my hardest to drive super safe so nothing happens to you, and this is what I get? I see how it is…”

“Try your hardest?” Baekhyun gives him a look of suspicion, “So are you saying you actually drive like some street racer?”

Cash shrugs and sits back feigning cockiness. “Well you know, I have to get all this cash from somewhere, right?”

“Huh,” Baekhyun says, “well now I’m curious.”

“Maybe one day you’ll find out,” Cash says with that crooked smile.

Baekhyun is very aware of the tension that fills the impromptu silence. It catches him and he knows this is where he is supposed to say ‘goodnight’ and get out of the car, but something about the way Cash is looking at him holds him still. The excitement of ‘what comes next?’ causes Baekhyun’s heart to thump in anticipation. It’s like a scene from a romance movie and Baekhyun feels like he’s finally experiencing life the way he’s always wanted to.

Cash’s head feels fuzzy and he really, really hopes he’s not imagining the atmosphere that’s fallen over them. Although he is pretty sure the fact that Baekhyun hasn’t gotten out of the car yet is a good sign. The way that Baekhyun looks as though he’s anticipating something both excites and terrifies the hell out of him. A hundred scenarios run through his mind (some he immediately scolds himself for) but he isn’t satisfied with any of them. Rushing would be too much of a waste, so all he does is lean over, unbuckle Baekhyun’s seatbelt, and murmur a ‘goodnight’ as he places a chaste kiss on Baekhyun’s cheek.

Baekhyun knows for a fact that his face is flushed as he returns Cash’s ‘goodnight’ and finally pulls himself from the car. Cash doesn’t leave until Baekhyun is safely in his house and Baekhyun watches him leave from the window. He’s glad he’s alone because he’d rather not have anyone hear the embarrassingly giddy giggle that escapes as he makes his way to his room. Baekhyun slides his phone out of his pocket to change, but freezes when he sees how many notifications he has. He curses, realizing he accidentally turned his phone on silent at some point and was too distracted to actually check his phone.

Most of the notifications are missed calls and texts from Chanyeol’s parents and his parents, and a few from Chanyeol, even a couple from Kyungsoo, all asking where he was. Despite his irresponsibility, Baekhyun is overwhelmingly touched and basks in it for a minute before sending his parents a text (they were busy or sleeping) and calling Chanyeol’s mother. As expected she picks up before the second ring.

“Byun Baekhyun! Where have you been? Why didn’t you answer your phone?” Mrs. Park scolds, but her voice is more worried than angry.

“Hi,” Baekhyun says sheepishly, “ah, I accidentally left my phone on silent. I was at a friend’s house.”

Mrs. Park gives a deep sigh. “Well you could have at least had the decency to let us know you were going to be gone all night.”

Baekhyun laughs lightly. “Come on, it’s not that late, and besides his mom insisted I stay for dinner.”

Mrs. Parks gasps and feigns offense. “You mean to tell me you’ve been letting another mother feed you? How could you, Baekhyun!”

“Oh, stop it, you know no mother could ever replace you,” Baekhyun says in his most charming voice.

Mrs. Park laughs. “That’s my boy,” she coos.

“You’re number one boy?” Baekhyun asks cutely. He knows she can never resist and secretly indulges in his cuteness.

“Well,” Mrs. Park says, “just between you and me, yes. But Chanyeol has no idea so you have to keep it a secret.”

“My lips are sealed,” Baekhyun laughs, “Well, I don’t want to keep you from your beauty rest, not that you need it.”

“Oh you,” Mrs. Park coos, “Have a goodnight darling. And make sure you stop by tomorrow. I haven’t seen your beautiful face in far too long. This old lady needs something to brighten up her days.”

“How about I stop in for breakfast tomorrow morning?” Baekhyun says, “It can be just like old times.”

“I’d love that.” Baekhyun can practically hear the smile on her face and he feels that warmth again.

~*~

A wonderful smell wakes Chanyeol from his slumber, something he hasn’t experienced in years. He shuffles out of bed and lets the delicious smell of food pull him to the kitchen.

“Mom,” he calls out in a hoarse voice as he enters the kitchen, “you cooking?” Chanyeol wonders for a moment if this is a dream; usually his mom only goes as far as making sure he makes something quick for himself before she has to go to work.

“Mornin’ Sunshine,” Baekhyun says. He’s leaning against the counter already dressed and ready for school, coffee mug in one hand and bacon strip in the other.

Chanyeol’s mother offers him a smile before returning to tend to the eggs. She’s also dressed and ready for work and Chanyeol feels like he missed something. “Baekhyun’s come for breakfast. Isn’t that great?” she says, “Go ahead and sit down. The eggs will be done in just a second.”

As Chanyeol settles into his chair and Baekhyun sits beside him, a feeling of nostalgia washes over him. The whole scene is so familiar and feels so normal, and yet it isn’t normal. It hasn’t been normal for years and while Chanyeol thoroughly enjoys it, he wonders why the sudden change? Why has his mother suddenly decided to wake up early and prepare them breakfast? Maybe sleep still has his thoughts scattered. Whatever the reason, Chanyeol was thankful; there’s nothing better than a homemade breakfast.

Fallen leaves dance and twirl past Baekhyun and Chanyeol as they make their way to school. The morning air is brisk, but comfortable when wearing a jacket. They’ve left earlier than either of them would usually, so they take their time to enjoy the morning walk. Chanyeol gazes down at Baekhyun to see that he has an absentminded smile on his face and that his steps seem lighter.

“So,” Chanyeol breaks the silence, “where were last night anyway. Mom was totally freaking out,” he says and it sounds almost too casual.

Baekhyun just smiles not noticing whatever odd tone Chanyeol seems to think he has. “I was at a friends house and his mom insisted I stay for dinner, that’s all. I accidentally had my phone on silent.”

“Hmm,” Chanyeol nods and pauses before he decides he can’t live without knowing who it was. “So, whose house?” he asks.

The smile deflates a bit and Baekhyun turns his head away and gives a shrug. “Just one of my friends,” he says and silently curses. Why does he feel like he’s hiding a secret relationship?

For some reason Baekhyun’s answer really irritates Chanyeol and he tries his best to keep the air light. “Yeah, I got that, but like which one. Like maybe say his name.”

“Well, you know I didn’t have anything to do yesterday so Nikhil wanted to hang out,” Baekhyun says.

“So you went to Nikhil’s house?” Chanyeol asks not liking the way Baekhyun is making him feel like he’s prying.

Baekhyun makes a high-pitched sound of uncertainty. “Ehhh, not really. Its actually a funny story!” he claps his hands together like he just remembered it’s a funny story, “Nikhil has like the same thing I do, you know with the whole “second family” thing? Yeah he’s totally close with Cash’s family. Like so close.”

Chanyeol does not think it’s a funny story; in fact, he doesn’t like the story at all. “You were at Cash’s house all night long,” he says flatly.

Baekhyun rolls his eyes. “It wasn’t all night long, okay? And it wasn’t just him and me. Nikhil, Juan, Amir, and Leroy were there for a while too.”

“Oh, Leroy, yeah that makes everything better. Gotta love that guy, huh?” Chanyeol says sarcastically. He still isn’t a fan of Leroy and probably never will be.

“Don’t be like that Chanyeol, come on. Don’t you think you’re taking this little “feud” too seriously? They aren’t bad guys,” Baekhyun says and sighs. He does think Leroy might have taken it a bit too far, messing with Chanyeol way he did, but still…

“No, this is totally beyond the “feud” Baekhyun,” Chanyeol says, “They are totally targeting me.”

Baekhyun laughs. “Oh Chanyeol, are you really going to let them get to you like that? Take it as a compliment! You’re so talented they see you as a threat,” he bumps his elbow into Chanyeol’s side, smiling.

Chanyeol rolls his eyes but smiles anyways, throwing an arm around Baekhyun’s shoulders. “Ahh, you always know what to say, don’t you? You little up,” he says and crushes Baekhyun into a side hug, extracting a cute laugh from him.

The moment doesn’t last long as they enter the school gates. Almost immediately, Leroy pops out of nowhere, slipping an arm around Baekhyun’s waist and pulling him away from Chanyeol in one swift move.

“Goooood mornin’, cupcake!” Leroy says with way more energy than he should this early in the morning.

Distracted by the pet name and grand entrance, Baekhyun doesn’t notice how he was swept out from Chanyeol’s arm and just laughs. “Good morning to you to,” he says.

Meanwhile Chanyeol is dangerously close to busting a blood vessel, but he calms himself and stays at Baekhyun’s side watching Leroy. As they approach the school building, Chanyeol has a moment of hope as Leroy detaches himself from Baekhyun, only to skip up the steps and gallantly hold open the door.

“Allow me,” Leroy says cheekily as he bows to Baekhyun while holding the door open, immediately letting it go into Chanyeol who curses. “Allow me to you to class,” Leroy says as he holds out his hand to Baekhyun.

Not really knowing how to react Baekhyun just laughs and says, “Sure,” turning around to wave goodbye to Chanyeol as they go their separate ways. As soon as they turn away Chanyeol makes a face and scoffs, “so extra” before sulking away to class.

~*~

The feelings that surge through Cash when he sees Baekhyun and Leroy coming down the hallway are indescribable, although a few words do come mind such as: murder, maim, assault, and 5-10 years. Throughout it all, amazingly, Cash manages to keep a calm look about him. Unfortunately, the intensity coming from his eyes made the effort futile. As soon as Leroy catches eye contact with Cash his arms immediately drops from Baekhyun’s waist, despite Cash being a junior and he a senior. The look honestly terrified him, although he supposes he deserves that considering their history of being “love rivals”.

“Cash!” Baekhyun calls out to him, surprised to see him in the senior hall.

Cash’s eyes soften and he smiles at Baekhyun. “Hey,” he says secretly celebrating that his move to give Baekhyun a hug wasn’t too ambitious. “You left you’re jacket at my house last night,” he says holding out the blue jacket he was wearing yesterday.

“I was looking for that everywhere this morning!” Baekhyun says and laughs. “I totally didn’t realize I left it there. Thank you!” He doesn’t pass up the chance to give Cash another hug as a “thank you” hug.

Cash hold the full body hug just a second long enough to give a pointed glare at Leroy over Baekhyun’s shoulder. Leroy awkwardly shoves his hands in his pockets. He’s never seen Cash so serious about a person before, but at the same time he can’t deny the attraction he has towards Baekhyun. But he figures it wouldn’t be fair since it seems like Cash has actual feelings. Maybe he’ll just…spice things up a bit.

~*~

Kyungsoo is tired of feeling sad. He’s tired of going in circles. He tired of waiting on Jongin to come to some sort of conclusion. It was time he started taking the bull by the horns. He’s wearing his school uniform, but he’s not going to school. Jongin has been absent for three days so far and that is not okay. Kyungsoo is well aware of Jongin’s…problems, so he’s going help the junior deal with them.

Jongin’s parents are gone by the time Kyungsoo arrives so he has to ring the doorbell five times before Jongin appears. Before he’s able to shut the door on Kyungsoo, Kyungsoo pushes it open with much more force than Jongin expects and lets himself in, closing the door behind him. Jongin stands there slightly shocked and unsure of what to do.

“Jongin,” Kyungsoo says in his student council president voice, “we need to and we are going to talk.”

Jongin just nods and shuffles behind Kyungsoo following him to his own room. Kyungsoo sets his bag down and takes of his jacket. He has a feeling he’s going to be here for a while. Jongin stands silently while Kyungsoo scans the room and walks over to where that blasted black journal sits on the desk. He flips through it watching as pages of neat handwriting slide by. Kyungsoo hold it up.

“Let’s start with this,” Kyungsoo says and he holds the book out for Jongin to take.

Jongin takes it gingerly. “This is, uh, my journal.”

“Wrong,” Kyungsoo says in a soft voice. He can see how much Jongin struggles with the idea of perfection, how he fears disappointment. His behavior is worryingly compulsive, Kyungsoo can see that clearly now. He can see how Jongin’s phobia of disappointment is controlling his life. Despite the heartache and confusion he has caused Kyungsoo, Kyungsoo can’t help but push it all behind him and forgive Jongin. He guesses love is just like that.

“Wrong?” Jongin questions, not quite understanding what Kyungsoo is doing.

Kyungsoo nods his head. “Yep, wrong. A journal is something you use to write down and record things that have happened or to vent feelings you don’t feel comfortable talking about. That kind of stuff. You have filled that with laws and expectations to which you live your life by with no kind of free will of your own.”

Jongin opens his mouth to give a refute but he can’t find fault with what Kyungsoo has said. It’s the first time someone has criticized his life plan. Usually when he tells someone about how he has planned out his life and has done a pretty good job of sticking to it, they praise him. They say how great it is that he has his life together and that he has a clear goal to reach. It’s the first time someone has told him that planning your life out like this is bad.

Kyungsoo can see the confusion troubling Jongin and he draws him back. “Jongin are you happy?” he asks with such sincerity it causes Jongin’s heart to flip.

He can only manage a meek, “I will be.”

“And what about right now? What do you want right now?” Jongin doesn’t have an answer, so he just shrugs. Kyungsoo continues. “Jongin, I’m not saying that you shouldn’t plan anything for yourself or set goals, I’m saying that you can know what will happen and trying to force everything to go to plan will just stress you out and make you unhappy. You’ll never be satisfied, because this idea of perfection,” Kyungsoo points to the black journal, “it doesn’t exist, Jongin. Please, you’re just hurting yourself like this. You’re putting strict limitations on yourself that could keep you from maybe discovering the best thing of your life.”

“But I can do it, Kyungsoo,” Jongin says as he holds up the book, “I can do everything I’ve written down. I know I can."

Kyungsoo gently takes the book and smiles a sad smile. “I know that, Jongin. I know you can do it. You can do anything you put your mind to, but is this what you want? Not what’s expected of you, but what you want to do. What will make you happy?” Kyungsoo opens the journal and stops on a page. It almost seems silly that this book, some ink on paper was causing all his problems. But when he looks up and sees that lost look in Jongin’s eyes, he knows it’s not silly at all. It hurts his heart. “Jamie Tuan. Family friend. Grew up together. She is talented, attractive, and nice. She is very beloved by my parents. They think we will be a good couple and should get married. Future wife,” Kyungsoo reads aloud.

“Its set in stone then?” Kyungsoo asks and he can’t help the tears that well up, but he tries to keep his voice strong. “Written right here in the journal. No changing it,” he stops as his voice breaks. Jongin still can’t bring himself to say anything. Kyungsoo struggles to keep himself together. “Jongin,” it comes out in a broken whisper, “I love you.”

O o O

omg

its been so long

i am so sorry orz

but i started college and well stuff 

hope you enjoyed!