Though Baekhyun barely got enough sleep, he woke up early and skipped breakfast to head out to his boyfriend’s house. His darkening eye bags were horrible but just a little eyeliner did the trick.

But Chanyeol wasn’t there.

“You just missed him,” a maid told him.

He nodded and thanked the lady. Chanyeol was avoiding him, probably knowing that he would be in his house first thing in the morning. Or so he assumed.

Arriving in school and not finding his boyfriend in the classroom where the tall boy always waits for him, he searched the campus, even in the laboratories and clinic but there was no sign of the tall boy. He must have gone somewhere else but school, he thought as he headed back in the classroom just in time the bell rang for their first class.

He settled down on his seat, Jongin’s questions sounded distant to him as he stared at his boyfriend’s empty seat, also unaware that Luhan was staring back at him.

The teacher came in with Chanyeol, at last, and both were having a hushed conversation and by the looks of their expressions, everyone assumed that it was something serious.

Baekhyun wanted to jump from his seat to his boyfriend’s arms, apologize and tell the other boy how much he missed him and probably kiss him in front of the whole class. But when Chanyeol made his way to his seat, Baekhyun’s heart sank when the other didn’t even spare him a glance.

The classes began but his whole attention was on the boy on the other side of the room.

The break came and just when the teacher was about to dismiss them, she called for Chanyeol’s attention and asked him to come with her to the office, which the said student obliged without a question.

Once again, Baekhyun didn’t have the chance to talk to his boyfriend.

Lunch came and Baekhyun couldn’t even grasp what was happening at all. Sure, his boyfriend was avoiding him but Chanyeol started approaching someone else but from their circle of friends. Luhan and Jongin even exchanged curious glances to the others after seeing the disappointment on the pretty boy’s face.

Their other classmates noticed it too and Baekhyun was again the center of their conversations.

Instead of eating lunch, he quietly followed a distance after Chanyeol who was talking with a classmate and they were heading to the library.

Before reaching the building, Baekhyun couldn’t stand it anymore. The disgusted stares thrown towards him made him feel sick. He caught up with his boyfriend, holding the tall boy’s sleeve by the wrist, causing the conversation to halt.

Chanyeol gave him a questioning look.

“We need to talk,” he said, more like begging. “Please.”

In response, the tall boy looked away and returned his attention to the interrupted conversation.

“Chanyeol, please!” He pleaded more, tightening his grip on the fabric, ignoring the fact that his hands were trembling and tears started streaming down his face.

The tall boy sighed. “Give me ten minutes,” he told his classmate and led his boyfriend to the nearest rest room.

All the while, Baekhyun cried quietly, clutching into the tall boy’s arm. He watched his boyfriend lock the door after checking each cubicle to be empty and went straight ahead to grab some paper towels.

Pausing, Chanyeol crumpled the paper towels, as if checking its softness and when he thought it was too rough for his liking, he threw it on the trash bin. He fished his handkerchief out of his pocket instead and approached the shorter boy, avoiding eye contact.

“Why would you even wear non-water resistant eyeliners when you would just smudge them halfway through the day?”

Baekhyun sobbed quietly and didn’t want to answer. He must have looked terrible with his swollen eyes, smudged eyeliners and eye bags.

Chanyeol carefully and gently wiped the shorter boy’s face with his handkerchief.

“Are you mad at me?” Baekhyun sobbed softly, wanting his boyfriend’s gaze to return his but Chanyeol was looking anywhere but his eyes.

“Yes.”

“Then why are you doing this? You could have just ignored me and left me crying.”

“Just because I am mad at you doesn’t mean I will ignore you when you’re like this.”

“I’m sorry.”

His apology didn’t seem to reach the other’s ears because Chanyeol moved away after cleaning up his face and went to the sink to wash his hands and keep the handkerchief back into his pocket.

“Channie, I’m really sorry.”

He still failed to receive a response and even a glance.

Another minute of silence between them passed while Chanyeol checked himself in the mirror the whole time before finally turning to look straight at the shorter boy’s eyes.

Whatever the tall boy was going to tell him, Baekhyun sensed that he wouldn’t like it and he doesn’t want to hear it. But Chanyeol still spoke up.

“I never wished or even wanted for us to reach this point but I realized this must happen before it gets worse. I don’t want to get to the point where I feel l