I'm very exhausted tonight so sorry if any of this sounds liks gibberish.

Saranghaeyo!

Chapter 19

Despite the pouring rain half the Exo pack was out looking for Chen and all of Kris’s pack. They split up to search everywhere around the dorms and all the way over to the school but it was dark already and the rain made it even harder to see.

“Lay!” Sehun called, spotting his boyfriend up ahead. He ran to catch up with him. “Are you looking for Chen?”

“Yeah, you too?”

He nodded, pulling his hood forward to keep his face protected from the icy rain. “Chanyeol called Suho and told him what happened so he has most of us out looking.”

“Thanks. Kris is in a state. He’s hiding it pretty well but I can tell he’s worried.”

“We should find him soon then,” said Sehun. “Come on, let’s check near the gym.”

They set off into the darkness, calling Chen’s name but still getting no answer.

Lay tried to call again. He knew Chen wasn’t going to answer but he held his breath anyway. Then he heard a ringing noise over the sound of the rain. He pulled his phone away from his ear and listened. It was faint but coming from somewhere nearby.

“Do you hear that?” he said.

“What?”

“Chen’s phone. It’s ringing.”

Sehun stopped and listened carefully. He could hear it too. “This way.” He headed towards the dorms and as the sound became clearer he realised it was coming from a little dead end street formed where two if the dormitory buildings were joined by a hallway. It was a dark place with no lights nearby.

“,” he swore when he spotted the body on the ground.

Lay hung up the phone and raced past him. “Call Kris,” he ordered, crouching by Chen’s side.

The boy was curled up in a ball, his uniform torn and blood stained. His coat lay, equally torn, a few metres away. He twitched when Lay reached out to touch him but wasn’t conscious enough to know what was happening. His skin was cold to the touch from lying in the barely sheltered alley for so long. Lay set about healing him as quickly as he could but there was only so much he could do.

He could hear Sehun talking to Kris and wanted to comfort the maknae, knowing he was shaken by what he had seen, but he had to focus on Chen first. He tried to encourage some warmth back into his body before hypothermia set in. Hopefully he was in time. Chen shifted and moaned. That was a good sign.

“He’s on his way,” said Sehun, hanging up the phone and crouching beside him. “Is there anything I can do?”

“Get his coat,” said Lay. “We need to keep him warm.”

Sehun did as he was told, taking Chen’s mostly dry coat and laying it over him. His hands shook as he did so and Lay caught a hold of them.

“It’s ok,” he said. “He’ll be ok.”

“Promise?”

“I promise.” He kissed him gently but had to pull away as soon as they heard heavy footsteps splashing through puddles as they approached.

“Chen!”

Sehun stood up, quickly making room for Kris who reached out and his boyfriend’s wet hair off his forehead. “What happened?”

“It looks like someone did this to him,” said Lay quietly. “We need to get him inside.”

“Can you heal him?” Kris asked, scooping Chen into his arms and lifting him easily. The boy grunted and his eyes flickered open.

“K-Kris?”

“Shh, I’m here baby. Just stay still, ok? It’ll be alright.”

“I can heal him,” said Lay, “but not everything in one go. None of his injuries are that bad. It’s being out here in the cold and the rain that worries me most.”

They were halfway back to the front door already, Kris’s long stride getting them there in record time. Behind them Sehun was on the phone to Suho, telling him what had happened. Lay glanced back, wishing he could comfort his boyfriend. At least he had Suho. Of course he wanted to call him straight away and tell him what had happened and be comforted by him. Suho was his alpha. So why did Lay still feel a little jealous about it?

Once inside they hurried back to their dorm they took Chen to Kris’s room and gently removed his wet clothes. They were all probably too ruined to wear again so Kris told Luhan, who arrived back with Xiumin a few minutes after them, to just throw them out.

“Is Sehun ok?” Lay asked as his pack mate left with the bundle of wet clothes. “I think he was pretty shocked, finding Chen like that.”

“He’s outside with Xiumin,” said Luhan nodding towards the main room. “He’ll take care of him.”

Once they had Chen in some dry clothes and tucked up in bed, Lay started to heal him again. Kris was silent the whole time, his jaw tight and his lips pressed together firmly. Chen whimpered occasionally and Kris soothed him every time, running his fingers through his hair and kissing his forehead. He held Chen in his arms until the exhausted boy fell asleep.

Lay tried to get up off the bed but the world tilted beneath him and he fell. It took him a second to realise when he didn’t hit the floor and when he looked up he saw Sehun holding him tightly. He gave him a dizzy smile, glad that he had come back even if he couldn’t tell him in front of Kris.

“Hey, be careful,” said Sehun.

Lay tried to right himself but his knees buckled and Sehun had to keep him up once again.

“What’s wrong with him?” he asked Kris worriedly.

“He used too much of his strength to heal him,” he said. “He’ll be ok when he’s rested.”

Lay pressed his face to Sehun’s shoulder and took a deep breath, enjoying the scent of him. The younger wolf laughed nervously.

“Ok, come on,” he said. “Time for bed.”

He half walked, half carried Lay to his bed and helped him get in.

“Stay,” said Lay sleepily and luckily so quietly that Kris wouldn’t hear.

“I can’t,” said Sehun, though the look in his eye said he wanted to.

“But I want you here.” Lay tried to cup his cheek but Sehun caught his hand before he could.

“I’m sorry. I’ll see you tomorrow, ok?”

Lay nodded tiredly. He looked so cute and vulnerable as he closed his eyes that Sehun, after checking that Kris wasn’t watching, bent over to give him a quick, chaste kiss. Lay smiled but didn’t open his eyes. He was already half asleep.

In the end, Chanyeol and Baekhyun were so worried about their friend that they didn’t want to go home and slept on the floor by the couch. Suho didn’t want to leave either, though he couldn’t explain that he and Chen had become quite close over the past few days, so he slept on the floor too.

Despite how cold and tired all of them were it was hard to fall asleep that night. They all huddled together under a blanket, talking quietly about what had happened until finally they were so exhausted they couldn’t wonder about what had happened anymore. They fell asleep still tangled together and worrying about their friend.