In the 12th summer of Zhang Yixing’s life, he met Park Chanyeol, the giant transfer student who gave everyone toothy smiles and laughs like crazy everyday. Chanyeol was the exact opposite of Yixing.

Chanyeol was the popular kid who everybody likes and girls talk about him in all their conversations. He was strong in both academic and athletics, making him the perfect role model for every guy. He also knew how to play many instruments despite only being 12. In every sense he was the perfect Mr. Popular in school.

Yixing on the other hand was quiet. He rarely spoke. He is average in everything - sports, studies and looks. He blends into the background so well that teachers only remember him when they took attendance. He was alright with it nonetheless. Even though it gets lonely sometimes when everyone hangs out with their best friends and groups, Yixing gets over them in the blink of an eye since he has gone through it one time too many already. But he is alright. He will be alright.

When Chanyeol first said hi after settling down in the seat next to him, Yixing shifted in his seat to stay as far away as possible from Chanyeol.

Chanyeol thought that Yixing was just shy and was determine to make Yixing his buddy for life. And thus began the ‘Make Yixing My Buddy For Life(MYMBFL)’ operation.

Since Chanyeol was new in school, he did not bring the needed textbook that day. Seeing that as a chance to share the textbook with Yixing, Chanyeol asked for it immediately.

Upon hearing Chanyeol’s request, Yixing stiffened. Yixing hugged the textbook close to himself and Chanyeol was a little disappointed. In the end, Chanyeol shared the textbook with another kid seated at the front.

"Is Yixing very shy?" Chanyeol asked as the teacher wrote an equation on the board.

"I don’t know dude. I mean I’ve never even talked to him before." The boy replied, writing down the equation into his notebook. Chanyeol gave him a ridiculous look when he looked up from his notebook. The boy shrugged and said,"I mean he does not even talk to anyone. When we are kind enough to help him with something, he just ignores us. That guy’s a total man." Chanyeol looked back to see Yixing solving the equation, not believing what the boy just said

Chanyeol asked Yixing many questions, hoping that he will reply to one of it. However, things did not go the way he wanted. Throughout the entire day, he just seemed like an idiot talking to himself. The classmates being their kind selves advised Chanyeol to stop talking to Yixing since it will not make a difference.

"Nope, I am determined to make him my buddy for life," Chanyeol said with a huge grin. He then pretended that he did not see his classmates’ disgusted expressions.

The days passed and there was no improvement whatsoever. Yixing still ignored him, refused to share his textbook and notes with him and avoided him during lunch break. Their classmates’ often told Chanyeol that it was enough and that he should not waste anymore time on Yixing. But, every time without fail his answer remains the same. However, Chanyeol wondered why did their classmates not try to understand Yixing and get to know him better.

He soon discovered the answer one winter afternoon, 6 months after he transferred in.

Chanyeol had forgotten his Mathematics textbook under his desk that afternoon after leaving the school. He realised it only after he turned the corner to his house. After leaving his bag at the doorstep, he took off for the school to pick up his forgotten Maths textbook. He was filled with dread because his school was a 20 minutes walk away and his favorite drama was going to start in 10 minutes. 

Now looking back, boy was he glad that he forgot the textbook that day.

He arrived at the school at 4:30, the time when his drama would have started playing. Sighing, knowing that he could not make it back in time now, he walked the way up to his classroom, not wanting to waste anymore energy running. 

As he neared the classroom, he heard shouting. 

"You ignored him today again eh." 

"You must have a death wish then." 

Then loud blasts of laughter rang out. Chanyeol stopped in his tracks to hear more of it.

"Answer me!" Then a clatter of tables and chairs could be heard. 

"Don’t you dare look at me like that !" The stomping of feet could be heard and a loud bang rang out. Chanyeol thought of it as tables hitting the floor and wall. 

"Do you want me to stop? Beg. Beg for it then. Beg for it, Zhang Yixing-ah! Like how you always do!" A loud voice commanded. 

'Yixing?' 

Upon hearing his seat mate’s name, Chanyeol jolted into action from his place 5 meters away from the classroom. He pushed open the classroom door and what he saw inside surprised him deeply. 

The classroom was in a mess with tables and chairs on the ground and out of position. A group of guys, whom Chanyeol recognized as his classmates, were crowding around a figure lying on the floor on the other side of the door. A boy, who was in the middle of the circle, was holding the figure by his neck and the figure was flaccid, supported only by the person holding the neck.

It was Yixing.

Yixing was the figure.

He was half , his school shirt lying just beside the door. His pale arms were covered in bruises. His torso was mostly blue-black, most probably from the punches and knocks against the tables. His eyes were half-lidded and there were tears streaming down his beautiful face. His face was pretty much alright, except for a bloody nose there was no bruises or anything of that sort. And Chanyeol wondered if that was why he never knew that his seat mate was being bullied.

"Chanyeol…"His classmates breathed out. The boy in the middle let go of Yixing, causing him to fall flat on the ground. Chanyeol's blood boiled. He now knew why they never tried to befriend Yixing or even understand him.

They were bullying him.

That was why.

Chanyeol felt stupid. Dumb. Retarded. And all the negative things you could call a human. He wondered why he never noticed the bruises on Yixing’s arms. He wondered why he never thought that Yixing might be a victim of bullying. Whatever it was, all Chanyeol had in his head now was to get Yixing out from here as soon as possible.

Chanyeol stomped up to the circle and grabbed the center boy by his collar. “Chanyeol, I can explain…” The boy breathed out, scared by Chanyeol’s behavior. They have never seen Chanyeol enraged before. As far as they knew, Chanyeol was the type that never gets angry. Even when someone pull a prank on him. Even when someone doodled on his notebook. And yet, here he was, blood boiling because of Zhang Yixing.

"Get the out. Every. Single. One." Chanyeol hissed, letting the boy go. Everyone made a mad dash for their things and ran out as soon as they secured their bags. After he watched every single one of those bastard run out, he bent down to tend to Yixing.

Yixing was cold to the touch and he was barely awake. His breathing was ragged and they turned into small puffs of smoke after emerging from his lips. Chanyeol went to the door and grabbed Yixing’s shirt. 

"Yixing, hold on. I’m gonna help you put this on." Chanyeol explained as he held Yixing up. When he tried to fit Yixing’s arm into his shirt, Yixing winced.

"Ah-h…I-It hurts…" Yixing breathed out. Chanyeol removed the clothing immediately and took off his coat. "Bare with it a little. This is going to keep you warm." Chanyeol cooed as he fitted the coat on Yixing. Although Yixing winced a few time, Chanyeol managed to get him into the coat.

He went over to their seat to grab Yixing’s bag and his textbook. After stuffing the book that he had forgotten into Yixing’s bag, he went back to Yixing. 

Yixing’s breathing had become a little more steady and Chanyeol got his cooperation for a piggy back. “Alright, hold on Yixing.” Chanyeol said before starting to dash back to his house. 

People gave him weird looks when he ran on the streets, carrying an unconscious boy on his back. But he blocked it all out. All that he could think of was to get Yixing to his house as quickly as possible.  

Upon entering the house, he let Yixing down onto the couch before proceeding to do anything else. Chanyeol glanced at the wall clock in the living room after locking the front door.

'5:05…Mum should be coming home soon.' Chanyeol thought as he stood at the entrance way to the living room, recovering his lost energy. 

Then Yixing let out a small whimper from his place on the couch. Chanyeol went over to his seat mate immediately. Yixing had turned around on the couch causing him to almost fall off if not for Chanyeol, who caught him before he face-palmed the floor.

Figuring the couch was not a very safe place for Yixing to rest, seeing as he might flip off the couch again, Chanyeol decided to carry Yixing to his room and let him rest there. 

He carried Yixing bridal style to his bedroom on the second floor. He noticed again for the second time that Yixing was pretty light. And Chanyeol wondered just how much has Yixing been going through while he had Chanyeol by his side. 

Setting Yixing down on his bed, Chanyeol realised that he should change the coat that Yixing was wearing into something more comfortable.

Looking through his wardrobe for something that was going to fit Yixing, Chanyeol realised that Yixing was very small in size as compared to himself. He tried to compare every shirt he had to Yixing’s body but they all just seem too big for him. In the end, Chanyeol settled with a white knitted sweater that had been lying around at the back of his wardrobe ever since he grew out of it when he was 8.  

As he unbottoned the coat, the bruises came into sight and Chanyeol remembered how stupid he was. He did not notice the bruises at all, not even when he sat beside Yixing for about 6 hours a day.

He should have asked, ask if Yixing was being bullied since no one in class liked him or even bothered about him.

He should have try to know more about Yixing from other kids i other classes.

He should have done something.

Something.

After changing Yixing into the sweater, Chanyeol just sat there beside a sleeping Yixing on his bed, admiring him. He noticed how Yixing lips were slightly parted and how he would mumble something. He noticed how beautiful Yixing was and how vulnerable he seemed that made Chanyeol want to protect him so badly.

Then, he heard the front door open downstairs and reckoned that his mother had returned home from work. After covering Yixing with the blanket, Chanyeol slipped out from his room to go downstairs to greet his mother.

"Welcome back, mum." Chanyeol greeted as she enveloped him into a hug. "I’m back, darling." His mother replied as he helped her with the grocery bags in her hands.

She questioned about the extra pair of shoes placed neatly at the entry way while he placed the groceries into the place it belongs to.

"Ah…That’s Yixing’s." Chanyeol replied as he stored away the vegetables. "Yixing as in the boy who sits beside you?" Mrs. Park asked, confirming. Chanyeol gave a quick nod.

"Did he come over to play? Chanyeol, dear give you give him something to drink?" She asked after taking off her coat. Chanyeol shook his head and begun to tell her the things that happened in the last one hour, without missing any details.

"It’s not your fault and you know it, Chanyeol-ah. So don’t blame yourself." Mrs. Park comforted him after she listened to the retelling of the happenings before she arrived home.

"But I should have asked. I should have known that they were treating him badly. I should…I should have done something for him." Chanyeol sighed as he remembered how their classmates talked about Yixing.

"All that’s past has past. All that matters is that Yixing is alright now." Mrs. Park assured Chanyeol as she patted him on his back, giving him encouragement. "Now then, wouldn’t you help me prepare dinner for your father, sister and Yixing?" She asked with a warm smile. And of course, Chanyeol nodded his head in agreement.

The dinner preparation was carried out smoothly and in no time, the dishes were ready to satisfy the Park family’s hunger.

Mrs. Park told the rest of the 4 person family about Yixing while Chanyeol brought up the porridge that Mrs. Park prepared for Yixing. He entered his bedroom after 2 knocks on the wooden door.

Everything was still inside and it was the best proof that Yixing has yet to wake up. He set the tray of food on his nearby desk and went over to Yixing.

Yixing was sleeping soundly. His chest rose up as he inhaled and sank down as he exhaled, in a steady rhythm. He looked at ease, peaceful and free. The moonlight shone on Yixing's face and Chanyeol noticed that he had a beautiful face with long eyelashes, a full and definitely kissable lips...Wait what. Chanyeol sat up straight, his thoughts shocking him.

'I-I just thought that Y-Yixing's lips were k-kissable.' Chanyeol thought and a blush crept up upon his face as he looked at Yixing's lips again.

The thought hung around in his mind and Chanyeol could feel his face burn up. He slapped himself on the cheeks and whispered about how stupid he was and what the hell he was thinkig about. The above action caused Yixing to wake up from his slumber, causing Chanyeol to get the shock of his life.

"Wha!! Ohmygod." Chanyeol let out a loud cry as Yixing opened his eyes and stared at Chanyeol, trying to get his vision to focus. Sitting up, Yixing continued to stare at Chanyeol, wondering what he was doing and where on earth was he.

"This is..." Yixing began, looking around the dark room with moonlight as the only source of light. "This is my bedroom," Chanyeol replied, standing up to get Yixing's food from his desk.

As the memories of the past one hour slowly started to return back to Yixing, he became flustered, knowing that he had cause Chanyeol trouble. As Chanyeol return to his bed with the tray in hand, Yixing refused to meet his eye and instead trained his eyes on the bed sheets covering him.

"Is something painful somewhere?" Chanyeol asked, worried by Yixing's sudden action.

Yixing did not reply.

Chanyeol frowned. Yixing was ignoring him. This just brings things back to square one and Chanyeol most definitely did not want that. Now that he know, Chanyeol was going stay by Yixing and help him.

Chanyeol grabbed Yixing by the shoulders and Yixing's head jerked up --probably from the pain and shock and Chanyeol felt apologetic -- causing their eyes to meet. Chanyeol saw only one emotion in Yixing's brown eyes -- fear. Yixing looked so scared and Chanyeol could feel the slight trembling from Yixing.

"Yixing?" Chanyeol whispered. Yixing's eyes darted away.

Chanyeol was determined to make Yixing talk.

"Yixing, I'm sorry for not noticing all this, bull, sooner. I'm sorry for not being able to do anything for you. I really want to help you so please,talk to me. I really want us to be...Friends." Chanyeol said sincerely. Yixing's eyes drifted back to Chanyeol's honey brown ones and he shook his head.

"I-It's not your fault." Yixing said, barely a whisper but Chanyeol managed to catch it anyways. "I was glad you talked to me...I j-just did not k-know how to reply b-back." He stuttered, looking away. 

"Just say whatever you want to. Be comfortable." Chanyeol answered. Silence ensued as Chanyeol waited for Yixing to give him an answer. After a while of silence, Yixing nodded, barely making eye contact with Chanyeol but the latter was satisfied nonetheless. "You must be hungry now, why not eat some porridge." Chanyeol offered, remembering the tray of food. 

After Yixing had had his fill of the porridge, Chanyeol brought it down to the kitchen and washed it. After returning to his room, he found Yixing to be asleep again and this time, he crawled in beside him. And they both stayed in slumber land till the next morning.

[Author's Notes: hahhahaha, how was it? 2,815 words was vomited out when I had chanxing feels like in March or something. They be damn cute. There's nothing much to say except that 'I screwed up.' HAHAHHAGHGHAGAHAG /ahemahemahem/ As always, please leave a comment or two to encourage or tell me what can be done better. Thank you for reading and I hope you've enjoyed it.