Chapter 6

Thermogenesis (INDEFINITE HIATUS)

~ Baekhyun's POV

 I rub my forehead and look around from underneath my hood as I walk quickly past the crowds of people and the thick stench that floats around from the cars and the buses of the city center. It's almost dark already, and my fingers are shaking badly. I'm squeezing the cold metal cover of my lighter in my pocket. The past few weeks had been... Terrible. I haven't had the courage to call Chanyeol after he didn't pick up that one time. I haven't been eating or sleeping pretty much at all in the last few days, and I can't take it anymore.

The bright lights and loud noises that surround me make my head hurt. I stop for a moment and rub my temples with my eyes closed, there's a voice screaming inside my head and I'm going to do exactly what it tells me to. I keep walking, but soon my steps speed up to almost running. The air keeps getting colder and my head feels louder and my heart feels like it's about to burst through my ribs and leave a gashing hole to where it's supposed to be. I keep running.

A car park appears and I slow down in front of it. It has at least four storeys, and the plain concrete building is decorated with steel bars around it. Even from out here, I can see multiple cars lined up in pretty little rows inside the building. A smile rises on the corners of my lips and I cross the street.

I jump over the safety bar with ease and run up the ramp that takes me to the second floor. I look around with a smile. There's a door to another skyscraper and of course, a fire exit next to it, about fifty meters away in front of me and the path to the door is lined with shiny cars. I take a deep breath and take in the smell of gasoline and dust that has been blown up when the cars drive in. The sound of my worn out sneakers hitting the concrete floor echoes softly in the room. I stop by a shiny, red car, probably owned by some rich bastard working in the skyscraper. The bright red color makes the voice in my head scream louder, and my hand pulls out the lighter from my pocket.

I kneel down and pull a small bottle out from the inside pocket of my jacket. It's filled with liquor that Sehun had managed to steal for me last night. I pour the contents on the ground by the exhaust pipe and splash some further underneath the car. This baby should burn up quite beautifully. I click my lighter and place the flame slowly to the line of booze.

I'm pulled back and dragged away. I struggle against the stranger pulling me away as the flames slither underneath the car. The smell of liquor burning...

A huge blast shakes my entire body to the very core of my bones, and the man pulling me away falls on the ground with me. My head hits the concrete heavily and I feel paralyzed. The car ing exploded in flames! I laugh loudly from happiness and roll on the ground from side to side. How amazing is this. The sweet sense of euphoria tingles through my veins and fills my head with ecstasy. The flames keep raging inside the hall and I hear a suspicious crack. Is the place falling apart...? The arms keep dragging me away and I struggle against them once more. I don't want to leave yet... I rip myself out of the strong grasp and breathe in the smell of gasoline mixing with smoke and burning rubber. It pushes itself through my skin and spreads through my entire body, leaving my muscles relaxed and my mind calm. I feel like I'm floating inches above the ground, and I close my eyes. A crack pierces the air again, and instead of grabbing my arms or shoulders, the stranger scoops me up in his lap and starts running away. At this moment I recognize the face, lit by the beautiful warm glow of the fire around us. Chanyeol. He's here. Chanyeol is here.

We run out the building, and the flames keep gulping the building. Chanyeol sets me down on my feet and I look at the fire climb. The flames light up the night and leave beautiful silhouettes against the dark blue sky, the tips the stars and the moon shining. But not even the moon can cover up the astonishing beauty, the strong fire that eats away at the car park.

"Baekhyun! What the did you...?!" Chanyeol's deep voice asks in shock and I look at Chanyeol with a smile. "Look... It's... Beautiful", I mumble and look at the fire again. A short moment of nothing but Chanyeol's horrified, quick breaths and fire crackling beside us. "You're starting the fires! You're the one who burnt that bar, and that forest... And... Why?!" he screams and puts his hands on my shoulders, turning my whole upper body to look at him. He's putting a lot of weight on me, is he feeling dizzy? I look him in the eyes and erase the smile from my lips. He's upset. His eyes reflect the flames next to us but behind them, there's no look filled with admiration, instead his eyes are filled with fear and sorrow, and betrayal. I remain silent when tears fall down to his cheeks.

"I need to go", I whisper and turn away to run - but I'm pushed down onto the cold street roughly. I shuffle around a little and realize that Chanyeol is lying on top of me. "You can't", he says with a broken voice that stings my heart. He pushes my back down. I struggle against him, but not eating for days has left me pretty powerless. "No! Let me go!" I scream and my eyes fill with tears. I can't be caught. They're going to take me away and lock me up into a cold room with no Chanyeol and no Jongin or even Sehun and they're going to hurt me and try to make me change and they'll hurt me even more when they realize they can't. "NO!" I scream from the top of my lungs, the smoke around me hurting my throat. It isn't supposed to hurt. It's supposed to be sweet and soft and make me feel whole again.

"No, no, no!" I chant and hit my forehead on the concrete. Chanyeol slides his palm underneath it and winces in pain every time I slam my head against it. "Baekhyun! Please! Stop!" he begs and holds my body in place. I start shaking and crying. My head feels heavy, and the voice is back. It shouts at me, mocking me, because I can't even do what I've done all my life right anymore. My heart is racing, it slams against my ribs and against the street underneath, it tugs away in different directions and struggles to keep pumping. I close my eyes when the sirens shout out in the distance. They're going to hurt me. Chanyeol doesn't want to hurt me. But he did.

I look up at the mirror on the wall next to me. I tug at the cold metal of the handcuffs that chain me to a gray chair, the same color as the table in front of me. I'm scared. The light above me is cold and hurts my eyes. Where did they take Chanyeol? I rub the tears away from my eyes and look at the door. "Chanyeol?" I say to it quietly, and when there's no answer, I look back at my lap. I place my forehead on the cold metal surface of the table and close my eyes. The policemen hurt me and they didn't let Chanyeol talk to me and now they're making me sit here, tied to a ing chair like a dog. My head's still hurting, my heart is racing and the flow of tears seems endless. I've had a few panic attacks while in here, but they won't let me out, they just come in and talk to me for a minute or two and leave me without answering my questions. My throat feels dry.

Suddenly the door opens and I lift my face from the table. A tall man in a suit comes in holding a light-brown folder. I follow him with my eyes as he closes the door behind himself and sits down across the table. He opens the folder and reads the files inside quickly. "Do you know what you are being accused of?" he asks and closes the folder, leaning back on the chair and looking at me with a judgmental look. I shrug a little. "Yes or no?" the man asks and leans towards me. His voice is deep, not in a kind way, but in a scary, cold way. "Y-yes", I say quietly and play with the lock on the handcuffs again. The man keeps reading the files. "Do you admit that you have committed the crimes you are being accused of?" the man asks and looks up at me. I shake my head quickly. "N-no! No! Let me out of here!" I shout at him and take a few deep breaths. The man blinks and looks me in the eyes. I feel trapped in this room, and the walls are closing in. "Let me out!" I scream and close my eyes, tugging strongly at the handcuffs. The man quickly gets up and leaves the room. I keep pulling the cuffs and screaming at the door, I know Chanyeol's there and I don't understand why they won't let me see him. My head is hurting even more from the lights and probably dehydration, I've been in here for hours. I keep pulling my wrists against the handcuffs until they start to bleed.

The door opens again and I sigh in relief when I see Chanyeol's face again. His face is still filled with worry and sorrow, but this time, there's also pity. He bows down a little when he holds my hands and gently pulls them closer to the cuffs so they aren't pressing my wrists anymore. A man behind him is carrying a small box. Chanyeol looks me in the eyes. "Baekhyun, please calm down, okay?" he asks and smiles a little. I look at my sleeves and shake my arms a little so they'd fall a little lower, I don't Chanyeol to see what I've done to them.

The man removes the handcuffs only for a moment so that he can clean the scars. Chanyeol holds my shoulders the whole time so I won't try to get up or run away. The stranger leaves with his box and leaves me alone with Chanyeol. Finally. He sits down and looks me in the eyes.

"Baekhyun, you know why you're here, right?" he asks and lowers his head. "Because I started the fires?" I suggest and Chanyeol nods a few times. He remains silent for a long time before talking again. "I'm sorry. They have enough proof to arrest you. But don't worry. I'm not going to let them take you away", he says and looks up at me again. He smiles a little before leaving the room once more. What the hell was that? Take me aw... As in prison?

I wasn't thrown into a prison, but they took me to a small cell and told me I was in "holding" until further notice. There's a small, uncomfortable bed, and a shiny chrome toilet next to a sink. I tried to sleep for a while, but I couldn't. I miss Jongin and Sehun. They're probably worried sick and searching for me. I cover my face and let out a few sobs. They're going to hurt me.

The few following weeks blur into a mess of big, scary rooms full of people, small, lonely cells and panic attacks sometimes followed with Chanyeol's comforting hugs. I haven't seen Jongin or Sehun at all - they probably assume I'm dead by now.

The police officers brought me a fancy black suit today. I put it on, except for the tie, which I didn't know how to tie. I haven't tied one in ages. A guard tied it for me and I was allowed to comb my hair with a soft brush. I sit down on the bed and look around, I guess something is going on if they want me all dressed up.

A guard appears soon to retrieve me. He cuffs me and walks me out of the police station, into a car. Two policemen get in and start driving away from the yard, turning right and speeding up. They're taking me to the courtroom again. Maybe we can accomplish something this time, like how many years I'd have to spend in jail, and after all those years and all the abuse from the other convicts, I'd be free but probably still on patrol. After that I'd just end up living a ty life on pills until I die. I'm not very optimistic about this stuff.

We pull up in front of a huge, white building. The stairs in front of the building are lined with reporters, the story has gone viral. The policemen drag me out of the car and I look at the staircase that leads to the main door. Cameras start snapping around me, and I close my eyes to block out the flashes. The policemen me up the stairs and inside pretty quickly, causing me to almost fall down on my ing face, those idiots.

I look up again when we get inside and we walk in through another pair of huge, dark doors. The familiar courtroom opens up in front of my eyes. It's an intimidating place, with a huge bronze statue of a blindfolded woman fixed to the back wall and the judge's chair underneath it. The walls are white marble, the furniture and the flooring is dark wood, and the whole room is decorated with gold here and there. I'm taken down the hallway, past the people with their judgmental eyes, and to the table in the front of the room, and I sit down on one of the two chairs next to my lawyer. I close my eyes and take deep breaths. I know Chanyeol is somewhere in the room, he always is.

The court goes on in the usual fashion of vows, boring political speech and the judge listening to every word like a hawk. I remain silent unless they ask me a question, even then I only whisper my answer to my lawyer who passes it to the judge with a strong, confident voice. He's doing his best to keep my sentence small. The judge leans back and my lawyer sits down, looking nervous. Her honor starts talking.

"I've come to the conclusion that your mental state is severe and it would be inhumane to put a man like you to prison. But since you do not have a home of your own; do you have a family member or a close friend who you could live with?"

I look at my lawyer for a second before answering with a single, negative word. I look at the table and close my eyes for a moment, I'm scared I might have another panic attack. I can hear shuffling behind me, when people turn around, and I turn around to look too. Chanyeol is standing up. My eyes widen and I fix my posture so I can see him better. "Your honor, if Mr.. Byun wouldn't mind... I'm... I'm Park Chanyeol, a friend of his. If he's okay with it, he could come live with me", he speaks with a calm, deep voice.

My heart skips at least two beats and my lungs are suddenly feeling very empty.

I turn my head to the judge so fast my brains collide to my skull and my headache spikes.

"Are you Mr.. Park's friend? Would you be comfortable with living with him?" the judge asks and I flinch a little. I whisper quickly to my lawyer. "Yes, Park Chanyeol is the closest friend I have right now and living with him would be... Amazing." The lawyer gets up. "My client confirms that Mr.. Park is his friend and that he is willing to live with him", he informs and the judge nods. "We will have to interview Mr.. Park and evaluate whether or not he is ready to take in a person with such difficulties as yours."

My heart is pounding when I leave the room, escorted out by policemen. I stare at Chanyeol, and he stares back with a warm smile. Everything is going to be okay. I smile back at him and tears of joy roll down my cheeks.

 

~ Chanyeol's POV

 

What the hell did I do?

I step inside my apartment and shake my head quickly. It's almost 10pm, after long interviews and explanations of what's going to happen now, I'm finally home. I look around and take off my shoes and my coat, hanging it on a coat hanger and sliding it into the closet. I put away the shiny shoes and rush to the kitchen, where I remove my suit's first layer and loosen up my tie before leaning over above the sink and splashing some cold water on my face.

I just volunteered to take in a man who hasn't probably lived in a proper home for years, who suffers from mental disorders, has started at least three fires (and almost got himself killed in one) and... Oh god, what the hell did I do?!

No, I think as I get up and tap the water off my face with a towel. This is Baekhyun. He trusts me, probably as much as he trusts his closest friends. He won't hurt me... Will he?

I walk to the bedroom and strip while walking to the soft bed that's soft sheets seem to be calling me. My clothes fall down on random places on the floor and I comb my hair back before sliding into the cold bed and taking a deep breath. The room is nearly pitch-black, but soft, cold light is sneaking through the blinds and illuminates the dust floating around in the air. The soft twirls and twists of the gusts send me to dream island within minutes.

---

A/N: Wow, that felt rushed. Sorry guys >_< Once again. But anyway, I love this story but it deserves better :'D

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LoveFanfiction00 #1
Gaaah! Update soon please!
dreamty #2
Chapter 13: what what what's happening in here?!
sarangga #3
Chapter 7: Omg! Baekkieee~ you shoul accept Yeollie's apology! Don't run away! :(((((((((((( And Kai! Why you didn't listen to Yeol first?!?!?!?!
iinbaekyo #4
what role taeyeon have in here?
I haven't read it yet
sarangga #5
Chapter 2: Oh my god update sooon!!
I really like Chanyeol's character :) AND WHAT WAS KRIS AND YEOL TALKING ABOUT?! WHO DIED?! WHY BAEK HAS PANIC ATTACKS!? WHY SEHUN ISN'T IN BALI WITH LU?! So many questions! I need answers author-nim!
kawaiimaster #6
Chapter 2: Ermahgerd~ Update~ I love this story XO -flails-