As soon as Baekhyun gets settled in the car and they’re backing out of the parking lot with Baekhyun directing him where to go, his stomach embarrassingly starts grumbling. His cheeks burn, he can hear Chanyeol chuckle from beside him.

This day really couldn’t get any worse… This is so embarrassing.

“Hungry much? Didn’t get to eat lunch today?” Chanyeol teases as he takes a different route than the one to get to Baekhyun’s house.

“C-Chanyeol.. This isn’t the r-right turn.. And no. I f-forgot my money t-today.”

“We’re going to go eat because like you, I’m also really hungry. Don’t give me that look! I’m still a growing boy. Since you forgot your money, it’s my treat.” He exclaims as he continues to keep his eyes on the road.

“Y-You don’t have to. I can go home and cook s-something.” Truth be told, Baekhyun really only knows how to cook ramyun and bacon and scrambled eggs. That really makes up his diet, as unhealthy as that sounds.

“It’s fine! You really should stop worrying so much. Is McDonalds okay?”

“Y-Yes.” As soon as he gets Baekhyun’s approval, Chanyeol pulls into the parking lot.

As soon as they get out of the car, Baekhyun has to hold down the urge or groan because the less time he spends in Chanyeol’s presence, the better it would be for his health (and his heart). He’s really hoping they would just buy food and bring it on home. But some things just aren’t meant to be.

When they finish ordering and Chanyeol pays, he leads them to a table by the window. Awkward silence ensues for Baekhyun mostly because Chanyeol doesn’t really notice these kinds of social cues. Baekhyun doesn’t really know how to act since this is really the second time they’ve talked and he just doesn’t want to say the wrong thing or bore Chanyeol with all the mumbling and stuttering he does on a daily basis.

So they stay silent save for the sounds of other people in the background going about their businesses. Their number gets called for food pickup, and Chanyeol walks over, a few girls turn their head and giggles into their hands, no subtlety detected at all. Chanyeol’s probably used to it because he’s completely oblivious to their excessive staring and their high pitched squealing. Baekhyun wonders how someone can look as good as Chanyeol does but be completely oblivious to the effect his looks have on the female (and sometimes male) population.

Baekhyun’s thoughts are interrupted when he realizes Chanyeol’s in front of him with the tray of food for Baekhyun which he gratefully accepts. Chanyeol probably realizes Baekhyun feels kind of put out and strained because he ends up giving Baekhyun one of his famous smiles, completed with his eye twitch and set of white teeth. Whether it’s to reassure him once again that everything’s okay or he just wanted to be nice, Baekhyun wasn’t sure. Baekhyun could only respond with a smile of his own, as strained and uncomfortable as that smile is.

As they eat, they still don’t talk at all. There’s a few awkward silences that passes by before Baekhyun realizes Chanyeol’s already wolfed down his whole meal and thrown it away while Baekhyun was spacing out. When Chanyeol comes to reclaim his seat, he just stares at Baekhyun. He looks skeptical, and almost comprehensive as if Baekhyun was a puzzle he can’t figure out.

The way his classmate stares makes Baekhyun extremely self-conscious and without really realizing, he starts eating a bit too fast because of anxiety. Clearly that wasn’t a great idea as he started choking on a bite of his burger. His eyes are watering again but this time, it’s because he really really needs water which he finally receives from a panicked Chanyeol.

As he gulps his water down, he can feel his throat start to loosen up, and Chanyeol is closer than he was before. There’s a comforting hand on his back, patting it, probably Chanyeol’s way of making sure the food goes down the right way this time.

“T-thank you..” Baekhyun says, hoping to ignore the hand that is still rubbing his back.

“You really had me worried there, Baekhyun. I mean.. you must’ve been so hungry because you really started shoving that burger down. Please be careful next time” Chanyeol gives him worried eyes which sends chills down his spine because Chanyeol’s everything is refreshing. From mundane and lonely days, as much as he embarrassed himself, today was probably one of the most memorable days he’s had in a while. Because as much as he dreaded being together with Chanyeol for extended periods of time, a huge part of his heart can’t help but feel… hope.

I can’t.. Not like this. One thing about hope is that it’ll either make you the happiest or it’ll destroy you. I can’t risk this. Chanyeol’s naturally a nice person, I’m not someone special.. Don’t do it Baekhyun. You’re setting up for more heartbreaks. Distance.

“Baekhyun? You okay?” The deep timbre in Chanyeol’s voice snaps Baekhyun out of his inner turmoil.

“I.. I-m sorry. C-can w-we go home n-now? I’m not feeling w-well.” To be fair, it’s really not a lie when his heart is going into overdrive and he feels like he’s about to have a panic attack if he’s not in the confines of his room.

Chanyeol looks concerned but heeds to his request, knowing today really hasn’t been a good day overall for Baekhyun. Before they leave however, the girls who were checking out Chanyeol approach their table.

“Hi! Um. We noticed you from over there and we were just wondering if you wanted to come hang out with us? It’ll be really fun! So what’s your name?” The girls completely ignore Baekhyun as their attention are solely focused on Chanyeol.

Baekhyun feels even more uncomfortable because people usually don’t outright ignore Baekhyun. He just happens to fade into the background so they don’t notice him. There’s a huge difference.

He looks at Chanyeol, not really knowing if he should cut in and say something or not. He doesn’t want Chanyeol to feel any obligation in seeing him safely get home because Baekhyun is old enough and he can do that by himself.

When Chanyeol doesn’t respond and all he does is looks at the girls with the blankest stare he’s ever seen Chanyeol sport, Baekhyun decides to just put them out of their miseries.

“C-Chanyeol…” As soon as Baekhyun whispers his classmate’s name, all sets of heads turn towards him. “It’s o-okay. You c-can go h-hang out with them. I’m tired so I w-will head home.” He tries his best to give Chanyeol a reassuring smile, gathers his things, and mumbles an excuse me before heading towards the exit. He can hear the girls chatter behind him, trying to get Chanyeol’s attention.

He takes a deep breath, something in his heart kind of aches but before he can push through the door however, something strong firmly grips his wrist he has on the door handle. Baekhyun’s eyes widen when he realizes it’s Chanyeol. Without even looking at the smaller boy, Chanyeol turns towards the girls gaping at being interrupted by the person they were noisily talking to.

“I’m sorry. I can’t hang out with you. I have to take my friend home now. Excuse us.” With that, he opens the door with the hand that’s not gripping Baekhyun’s wrist and drags him towards the car. He opens the door and shoves Baekhyun inside, still as gently as ever. He gets in the driver’s seat and starts pulling out of the parking lot.

Baekhyun decides to just break the palpable tension he feels in the air by being the first to say something.  “A-are you m-mad at me?” He looks down at his hands, too afraid to look at Chanyeol because he doesn’t want to see the answer to that staring at him. He can only hear Chanyeol’s deep sigh. It makes him want to curl into a ball and just stay locked up in his room.

“No. I’m not angry at you. I just don’t understand you at all.” Baekhyun didn’t even realize Chanyeol wanted anything to do with him in the first place so there’s shocker.

“What’s t-there to understand? I’ve a-always b-been like this.” Baekhyun doesn’t want to let anyone in. Or let anyone try to understand what goes on through his head, because to be honest most of the time, he doesn’t even know what’s going on in there.

“I. I just mean, it’s frustrating. You’re frustrating!” Chanyeol probably doesn’t realize that those words hurt Baekhyun more than anything because this is only the first day they officially met as Chanyeol and Baekhyun and he’s already driven Chanyeol to his limit. He wants to cry but forces himself to choke it down because he’s cried too many tears today, in front of this person, he can’t handle doing it again.