Baekhyun leaned against the wall in the dingy school cafeteria. Who to watch today, he thought, sipping his chocolate milk. His backpack sitting by his feet periodically got kicked by the passing high-schooler. No one paid much attention to Baekhyun, which was how it had always been. Baekhyun was sure his peers were dimly aware that he was always in the same spot and that he existed; they just didn’t care enough to acknowledge him. With his shaggy brown hair almost covering his eyes and his unceremonious stance, no one ever batted an eyelash at Byun Baekhyun.

Every day was pretty much the same. At lunch time he would buy his tru-moo^tm carton of chocolate milk, and then take his position next to the vending machines. He never ate anything, just sipped. Baekhyun hated being idle, but he hated socializing even more. As a solution, he began watching people, as in the extremely observant kind of watching. He noticed their smiles, their frowns, what things they laughed at, what things they avoided, who mattered to them and who did not. Since the first week of freshman year, he had picked one person to watch every day and learn as much as he could about him/her in the 45 minutes that was their lunch time. He hardly ever repeated faces, mostly because 45 minutes was just enough time for Baekhyun to get bored.

Baekhyun didn't learn everything about the people he observed, but he learned enough. He had witnessed cat-fights, good jokes, breakups, declarations of love, and unrequited love. He watched friendships form and fall apart. Sometimes he felt like he could see the future, but couldn't do anything to stop it. Fortunately, most of the things he witnessed and learned were all pointless and trivial. It was high-school after all.

That particular day, he hadn’t had anyone in mind when lunch time came around. The second semester had just begun, and Baekhyun was not ready to be back. He missed the comfort of his bed and the binge watching of Criminal Minds. Evidently, the remainder of the student body was not ready to come back either. When he looked around the cafeteria, most everyone was about to fall asleep or was already sleeping. His tired eyes wandered, and eventually landed on a very tall boy with dark curly hair and an elfish face. Baekhyun cocked his head, intrigued.

This boy was yawning, tired, like everyone else. What made him different were his eyes. They were twinkling, like his eyes alone were smiling. Baekhyun yawned unintentionally before looking back at the boy. Baekhyun had seen him around; he had never really taken notice before, which was weird because the boy was very annoyingly attractive. Baekhyun didn’t know the boy’s name, and it was sorta upsetting. The boy had actually managed to go under Baekhyun’s radar which was very impressive. Baekhyun watched the boy intently, noting how he tapped his fingers against his thigh constantly, like he was playing a piano piece. He was sitting across from two people, one boy and one girl. The girl, Jina, he knew, because he had watched her one day last year.

Baekhyun didn't know why, but he couldn't take his eyes off the boy. His eyes were just so inviting. Baekhyun wanted to stare into them, to see them up close. It was almost daunting, how deep they seemed. Baekhyun shook his head, annoyed with himself. Get it together Baek, he thought, looking around the cafeteria again.

Eventually, he decided that it was easiest to just watch the boy sitting next to that girl Jina, the one who was coincidentally sitting across from the mystery boy. Coincidentally.

The next day at lunch, Baekhyun found himself looking for the boy again, spotting the mop of brown hair in the crowd. The boy was waving his arms in the air, explaining something to his friend. The curly haired boy seemed to be the complete opposite of Baekhyun. He liked talking to people and told jokes and laughed and more than anything, smiled. Baekhyun’s heart stopped when he smiled. The boy’s grin was spread from ear to ear, lighting his whole face up. It was contagious and addictive and amazing. Baekhyun wondered how it would feel to be the cause of that smile.

It was really weird, actually, Baekhyun didn't usually get attached to the people he watched. He almost never felt any reason to speak to them or meet them, but this boy is was different. There was some kind of charisma emanating from him, and it pulled Baekhyun in ruthlessly.

Every day that week, Baekhyun told himself to find another person to watch.

Every day that week, his eyes always found a certain curly haired boy.

 

(^•=•^)~

 

Chanyeol yawned, extremely tired. He could have sworn he had gotten at least 7 hours of sleep, but he felt like he had pulled an all-nighter. Amazingly, his friends sitting across from him were in worse shape. Chanyeol was convinced Jongdae was 100% asleep and was sleep eating. The boy’s eyes were closed, yet he continued to shovel food into his mouth. Jina was next to him, textbook opened in front of her. Her eyes were half closed, and her attention seemed to be on the very appetizing sandwich in Chanyeol’s hand.

“I really should have slept for longer last night,” Jina groaned. “Ms. Choi is a complete psycho! Who the hell gives a test on the first day back? It was Winter break! Who the hell is going to study over Winter Break?”

Chanyeol laughed. “Dude, you really need to stop stressing. Everyone knows you’re going to score really well on it like you always do. Plus, you’re the one who wanted to take that class.”

“I signed up for the class, not some psycho teacher who looks like a freaking model and teaches high school classes like we’re in college.” Jina grumbled. She elbowed Chen. “Hey, princess, wake up. This is high-school, remember? The best four years of your life. What’s the point if you’re asleep the whole time?”

“Shut up, I need my beauty sleep,” Jongdae muttered, not opening his eyes. “This pretty face isn’t going to take care of itself. Or maybe it will. But only if I sleep.”

“Jongdae, just because your eyes are closed doesn’t mean you’re asleep.” Jina said, rolling her own eyes.

Jongdae cracked one eye to look at Jina. “See, this is why your skin is so crusty. You should really sleep more. Is that a wrinkle I see?”

“Are you kidding me? My skin is perfect. And even if it weren’t, at least I’d have a 4.0 GPA. You, on the other hand, would end up being the Mcdonald's worker with the clearest skin.”

“Well if I ate Mcdonald’s, my skin would no longer be beautiful, so therefore your prediction is flawed and incorrect.”

“At least I have an IQ over 10,”

“At least I have more than two friends,”

“At least I can count over one hundred,”

“At least I am not a dusty old lady who’s never kissed anyone,”

“At least I have the guts to admit my feelings.” Jina grumbled.

Both of Jongdae’s eyes flew open. “What?”

“What?”

“What?”

Jina sighed. “Never mind, Jongdae; I got you to open your eyes, didn’t I?”

Jongdae blushed, but quickly shut his eyes again. “Nope, don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Chanyeol rolled his eyes, smiling at his two friends. He took another bite out of his sandwich, the taste of peanut butter barely registering on his palette. There was this feeling creeping up on him, like he was being...watched. He looked around the cafeteria, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

                                                                                                                                               

(^•=•^)~

 

                 

 

(^•=•^)~Baekhyun was stumped. He couldn’t figure it out. It was now the Friday of the second week back from school, and every day the boy had been on his mind. Why? It couldn’t be because he was gorgeous, because Baekhyun was immune to that kind of stuff-- wasn’t he? There were plenty of attractive guys in the school, but this one was more than just attractive. Baekhyun couldn’t explain it and it was almost pissing him off. What gave this boy the right to steal his precious attention? He had things to do. He had other people to watch, better things to learn than observe him for 10 whole days.

Baekhyun was learning quite a lot about this boy, solely based on his observations. Though he didn’t want to admit it, Baekhyun was purposefully avoiding finding out the curly haired boy’s name. Baekhyun was afraid of his name. If it was anything as perfect as the rest of the boy, he would be a goner. Putting a name on him would make him real, and Baekhyun definitely wasn’t ready for that. No, Baekhyun rather just watch him pretending like he’s just another nameless face in the cafeteria.

 

It was nearing the end of lunch, so Baekhyun proceeded to throw away his milk carton. When he looked back at the boy, his heart stopped.

 

The boy was staring at him.

 

Baekhyun backed up and averted his eyes, training his gaze on something nonexistent on the ceiling. It was probably just a coincidence; he had probably just been looking in Baekhyun's general direction. He definitely had not spotted Baekhyun, because people didn’t do that. Baekhyun blends in, he is invisible. He has been to everyone who for three years, so what makes this boy any different?

Baekhyun took a deep breath and glanced back up at the boy.

 

The tall boy was still staring straight at him

 

Except now he was standing up, eyes wide.

 

Neither of them made any move for a minute, staring at each other with surprised eyes. Suddenly, Baekhyun’s shock was interrupted by the high pitched ringing of the bell. He yelped and scrambled out of the cafeteria, muttering hurried sorry’s and excuse me’s.

Wow this isn't cliche at all, saved by the bell. But guess what Baekhyun? You're officially screwed.

 

 

Chanyeol sighed, exasperated. He had spent the entire lunch period staring at his kimbap. It wasn't that he wasn't hungry; it was just that his mind was occupied by a certain someone. It has been one whole week since he had spotted a boy staring at him. He had known that someone had been watching him, he just felt it. He thought it would be some stalker creep. But when he made eye contact with that boy, he had seemed genuinely flustered. Adorably flustered. Chanyeol had been caught off guard. He jumped out of his chair, ready to chase the boy down, but the bell had rang suddenly and the “stalker” had ran off.

On Monday, Chanyeol had run to the cafeteria, hoping the boy would be there. Apparently, Chanyeol had run so fast that he was the first one to lunch. He sat down as students began filing into the cafeteria. Jongdae and Jina sat down, and launched into various stories about their day. Chanyeol was only half listening, as he continued to look around for the boy. He reasoned that a teacher could have held him back, or there was a really long line for the bathroom. Soon enough however, lunch was over, and the boy had never shown up.

For the entire week, the staring boy hadn't shown up to lunch. Not once. It wasn't only that Chanyeol couldn't see him, he couldn't feel him either. Every day since the beginning of the year, he had felt like someone was watching him. Weirdly, it had developed into an almost comforting feeling. Now that it was gone, Chanyeol knew almost for sure that it had been the boy he made eye contact with and that he wasn't showing up to lunch anymore.

Jina waved a hand in front of Chanyeol’s face. “Yah, Park Chanyeol! What’s your issue? Are you good?”

Chanyeol was shaken out of his stupor. “Oh, um, yeah, I’m fine. I’ve just had something on my mind lately.”

Jina scoffed. “Dude, I think the last time you had ‘something on your mind’ was when you had a crush on that substitute teacher in the 4^th grade.”

Chanyeol frowned, shaking his head. “It was a serious issue ok? I brought her cookies, and she rejected me. But you know what’s worse? She still ate the cookies. That is definitely crusty behavior. And anyways, it’s nothing like that, I don’t have any interest in any of the old geezers that teach here.”

Jongdae leaned forward on his elbows. “Care to share? You’ve been really out of it since last Friday. You literally have cracked a total of five jokes. Five. I think that’s a record for you.” Jongdae added, taking a bite out of his own sandwich.

Jina gasped. “Even Jongdae noticed? You see Chanyeol, clearly this is serious. I mean, Kim Jongdae actually managed to notice something was off!”

“Hey, I’m a good friend! I notice when something’s bothering you guys!” Jongdae whined, only mildly offended.

“You? Jongdae, you’re like the densest person I know. Everyone literally has to be 100 percent straightforward with you because you can’t grasp obvious clues.”

Jongdae huffed indignantly. “Yes I can, hints are my specialty, I analyze at top speeds. I’m like a context clue maniac.”

Jina huffed and muttered angrily under her breath, “That’s definitely extremely stupid and not true because if it was you would have noticed that I literally have been in lo-”

“Guys! Hey, I’m fine. Seriously, It’s all good. There’s just a little something that i have to resolve, nothing big.” Chanyeol flicked Chen’s forehead.

“Yah! What was that for! Why is everyone bullying me? I deserve revenge! I deserve retribution.”

“Thanks for being a semi good friend Jongdae, I appreciate your dire concern. But really, I'm all good, I'm great.” Chanyeol pulled his peach out of his lunch box. “You might even say I'm peachy.”

Now it was Jina’s turn to flick him in the forehead.

 

(^•=•^)~

                                                                                                                                                                         

                Baekhyun sighed against his locker. He had approximately one minute and thirty seconds before the bell signifying the end of lunch rang. For the past week, he had retreated to eating in a field behind the school. He was pretty sure it was basically illegal, but there was no other way. Besides, Baekhyun like sitting alone in the grass, staring up at the sky. It made him feel like he could stay there forever, or chose to go wherever he wanted. Then he would remember that he was a creepy stalker who liked to watch people interact. And, he would have to deal with the judgment of a real person, who no doubt thought he was some weirdo.

Wait, Baekhyun thought, why should I have to?

Baekhyun had done nothing wrong. So what if he stared at people? He wasn’t hurting anyone and it certainly wasn’t any of that boy’s business. Besides, who cares if he knows anyways? He probably is used to people staring at him, given the fact that he’s so attractive. To him, Baekhyun was probably nothing more than an admirer.

 Baekhyun wouldn’t let himself make up reasons to avoid him, when avoidance isn’t even necessary. Baekhyun would go back to the cafeteria tomorrow and take his usual place against the wall and watch whoever he wanted. Baekhyun refused to be stopped by some boy who was probably just a regular, over attractive, high-school boy.

Ding ding ding, the bell rung out in the hallway. Baekhyun quickly scrambled to grab his backpack off of the floor and throw it over his shoulder. Kids poured into the halls, and Baekhyun let himself get lost in the sea of people. The more invisible he was, the safer he felt. Baekhyun didn’t particularly like the feeling of being jostled around, but it was nice to know that things hadn’t changed, and he was still the same as he was a week ago.

He weaved expertly through the hallways, not bothering to apologize for stepping on toes. No one ever seemed to apologize to him, so why should he? He saw familiar faces, faces he had watched so carefully, all oblivious to him. It was almost amusing.

The last three periods of the day seemed to drag on and on, and Baekhyun couldn’t seem to pay attention to anything. His last class was calculus, but Baekhyun’s mind kept wandering. He really did like math, but in seventh period on a Friday afternoon he really could care less about the difference between differentiability and continuity. He willed time to go faster, so he could be at home, away from everything and everyone. He tried desperately to forget about the tall boy with the smiling eyes, because he was nothing but a ruined dream.

Finally, after an entire forty-five minutes of counting the number of tiles on the floor of the classroom, the bell finally rung, and Baekhyun was free. The students surged into the hallway, so Baekhyun gathered his stuff and waited for everything to calm down.  After a minute, he made his way through the halls and out of the two front doors of the school.

He stood outside the school in front of the parking lot for a minute, looking up at the sky. There was a single cloud floating, but it was threatening to block out the sun. Baekhyun closed his eyes and took a long breath. Another week was over, and it was like all of his worries had evaporated, all of his stress dissipated.

“Hey! Hey, you!”

Baekhyun huffed and opened his eyes because his tranquility had clearly been compromised. He turned around to see what idiot was yelling that loudly to get someone’s attention. When Baekhyun turned around, however, his face blanched. A boy was sprinting towards him, backpack bouncing behind him, boy who was unusually tall. It was him. If Baekhyun had even a shred of hope that Curly haired tall Boy hadn’t actually seen him, it was gone now. Tall Boy’s eyes were not exactly smiling, but they were staring at Baekhyun with a weird intensity.

Tall Boy slowed to a stop in front of Baekhyun, panting. His cheeks were red from running and he was breathing hard. That didn’t however, take away from how soft his mused curly brown hair seemed.

“Uhmm…?” Baekhyun leaned back, suddenly self-conscious. What the hell…?

“Uh, Hi,” he panted. “I’m Park Chanyeol, nice to meet you.” He held his hand out expectantly.

Baekhyun stared at Park Chanyeol’s hand.

Park Chanyeol. That was his name.

Suddenly, it became real.

 

“Um, I actually don’t know you, and I heard it’s going to rain, and I really have to go so, goodbye sir.” With that, Baekhyun his heels and calmly began walking away.

“Hey wait!”

Chanyeol jogged up to Baekhyun, and stood in front of him, blocking his path. “Look, just hear me out. I just have like, one question. Have you been watching me every day at lunch since the beginning of the semester?”

Baekhyun stared at him like he had a fire-breathing unicorn perched on his head.

Chanyeol laughed nervously. “Given, it’s a pretty odd question.”

“No, really? You don’t say.” Baekhyun deadpanned his face devoid of expression. However, on the inside, his brain was on the verge of exploding. How in the name of all things holy had this boy figured it out? How the hell had he figured out that Baekhyun was some weird creeper boy creeping on his beautiful face?

No Baekhyun, you’re not creepy. Just observing adolescence in its natural habitat.

Chanyeol coughed. “So um, hello? Is that a no?”

“Yes.” Baekhyun said quickly, avoiding Chanyeol’s eyes. “I mean no. I mean yes. No, I have not been watching you.”

“Uh, are you sure? You don’t sound sure.” Chanyeol asked, leaning down in an attempt to get Baekhyun to look at him.

“Yes. I’m very sure.” Baekhyun still would not meet Chanyeol’s eyes.

“I was right! Dude I won! Admit defeat, you’ve been watching me!” He pumped his fist up in victory. “So why though? Am I just that dreamy? Oh no, are you some spy who has been hired to gather information about me? Oh my god, have you been sent to… dispose of me?”

Baekhyun stared at him, gaping. This was not the reaction he had expected at all.

Chanyeol must have misinterpreted his silence, because then he said, “Holy , you really have come to kill me. Oh my GOD YOU’VE COME TO KILL—”

“shHH!” Baekhyun grabbed Chanyeol and pulled him behind some dumpsters next to the school. “Look, if you’re going to start accusing me of things, could you at least keep your voice down?” Baekhyun hissed, looking around.

Chanyeol grinned. “You totally have been watching me. I can just feel it.”

Baekhyun sighed, and looked up at the sky. Why couldn’t he have just forgotten about Chanyeol? Why couldn’t he have just moved on to watching someone else? How had he even ended up in this position?

“Fine,” Baekhyun conceded, “You win. Game over, I’m a creepy stalker, blah blah, what do you want?”

“Well we can’t do this here, at least let me take you to a café. This dumpster is hardly the place to have a proper conversation.” Chanyeol began walking toward the parking lot. “Well, are you coming or not?” he called back, not turning around.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” Baekhyun grumbled, only slightly smiling as he followed Chanyeol.

(^•=•^)~

                The café that Chanyeol led them to was by far the sketchiest coffee shop Baekhyun had ever been to. It was titled ‘The Bean’ and had a large faded coffee bean poster plastered on the front window. It was in a little alleyway a couple blocks behind the school.

                Inside The Bean, the paint on the walls was peeling and cash register looked like it was as old as Baekhyun. Chanyeol greeted the girl behind the counter like they were old friends. Baekhyun went to take a seat in one of the booths next to the window while Chanyeol ordered. He stared aimlessly out the window, wondering how the hell he had ended up in that situation, and whether or not he should be happy about it. How was he supposed to explain this to Chanyeol? Why should he even have to? And why was Chanyeol so interested?

                “Hey so I got you a latte, I hope that’s ok,” Chanyeol said, handing Baekhyun the drink as he sat down. Baekhyun nodded and sipped. He stared out the window again, feeling Chanyeol’s eyes on him. Chanyeol cleared his throat.

                “So, uh, you watch people often?” He laughed and nervously began tapping his fingers against the table.

                Baekhyun glanced at Chanyeol. “Yep. As you might already have guessed, I am quite the creepy stalker. Unfortunately, no one is safe from my all seeing crystal ball eyes.” Baekhyun said with a solemn expression.

                Chanyeol balked. “Wait, so it’s not just me? You watch other people too?”

                Baekhyun sighed and shook his head. “You wish I just watched you. I really feel like we understand each other on an emotional level now. Great accomplishment, I think we’re done here. Goodbye.”

                “No wait! It’s just, who do you watch? Just everyone? Anyone? Why?” Chanyeol asked, a confused expression on his face. Baekhyun thought he was taking this rather well, given that he knew Baekhyun was admitting that he stared at people for no apparent reason.

                “Look, let me break it down for you. I don’t like talking to people. So instead, I watch them. I analyze their actions and interactions with other. I don’t know, it’s just something I taught myself. For example,” Baekhyun pointed to Chanyeol’s fingers tapping the table. “That’s something you do all the time. It tells me you play an instrument, most likely piano, but you could play other things to.”

                Chanyeol’s eyes widened. “That is so cool! I play piano and guitar, like actually. What else can you tell about me? Oooh, what about other people? Do you know weird secrets about them too?”

                “Yeah, I kinda have way too much dirt on way too many people.”
                “That’s so cool! You could be gossip girl, you have the power to ruin peoples lives and relationships!”

                “I feel like you’re a little too excited about this,” Baekhyun said drily, squinting his eyes. “I just told you I watch people like a hawk on a regular basis and youre talking about how cool it is? I’m not creepy or freaky?”

                Chanyeol grinned. “Nope, quite the opposite actually. I think that makes you ten times more interesting, and makes you much more than just a pretty face. You’re like a wallflower spy.”

                Baekhyun snorted, ignoring the warm feeling spreading in his chest. “Right, so much more. You, on the other hand, are still just a typical high school boy.”

                Chanyeol pouted. “I play guitar and piano! Don’t musicians have a reputation of being really sensitive and deep? I assumed this was common knowledge.”

                “Hah! You wish. You look like a teenage heartthrob and nothing more.”

                Chanyeol smiled cheekily. “You’d change your mind if you heard me play,” he sing-songed, crossing his arms.

                Baekhyun sighed. “Yeah, maybe, but probably not. My intuition is pretty good, you know.”

                Chanyeol rolled his eyes. “You have yet to prove it. Oh, by the way, I have one condition, if you don’t want me to tell the entire school that you know everyone's secrets.”

                Baekhyun’s jaw dropped. “Are you kidding me?”

                Chanyeol raised an eyebrow, his lips spreading into a sly smirk. “You don’t want me to tell people do you? Besides, I need a reason to see you again. This seems like a pretty good excuse.”

                Baekhyun scoffed. “Yeah, blackmail is really the way to a guy’s heart. What do you want?”

                “I want gossip, intel, information, whatever you want to call it. I want you to share your findings about everyone!”

                “Seriously? That’s it?” Baekhyun looked at Chanyeol accusingly. It couldn’t be that easy.

                “Yup, that’s it. We can meet up here twice a week and you can tell me stuff.”

“Uh-huh. Anymore weird requests?”

“Will you come back to the cafeteria? I feel bad that you had to leave.”

Baekhyun paused, surprised. “Uh, yeah, I guess I will. But I was going to anyways, it’s not like you have to give me permission.” He added defensively.

“Aight, I see you. Great! Its settled. Today’s Friday so, we can meet every Tuesday and Friday!”

“Okay, I guess I’ll see you Tuesday. You promise you won’t tell anyone?” Baekhyun asked, still slightly wary. He wasn’t sure how much he could trust Chanyeol, no matter how friendly and inviting his face looked.

“I promise, Baekhyun, really. I’ll meet you afterschool on Tuesday at this exact table in this exact café. See ya!”

With a final wink, Chanyeol was gone, leaving a dumbstruck boy inside a deteriorated cafe.

(^•=•^)~

            True to his word, Chanyeol was waiting for him at The Bean the following Tuesday. He looked as if he had been waiting for hours, even though school had only ended a mere fifteen minutes before. He was already sipping a smoothie, and even had the audacity to stand up and stretch when he spotted Baekhyun.

            Baekhyun rolled his eyes. “Wow, I hope you weren’t waiting long.”

            Chanyeol sighed exasperatedly. “Oh, it’s been years Baekhyun, it feels like I've waited my whole life for you.” He winked.

Baekhyun choked on his coffee and coughed a couple times. “Right, sure.”

Chanyeol leaned forward on his elbows, eyes shining. “So, what juicy piece of information do you have for me today, sir?”

 Baekhyun leaned back, subconsciously. “My theory that you’re way too excited about this still stands. Anyways, what do you want to know about? I hope you know you only get one fact at every,” Baekhyun gestured to the air between him and Chanyeol, “meeting, that occurs. Got it? Also now that we’re at it, I need to add some ground rules. First, I will not provide information that divulges anything extremely personal or has anything to do with their mental state. Let’s keep things light ok? Believe me there is plenty of gossip at are school.”

“Yeah definitely, I get it. Besides, I’m not looking for any specific information, just gossip or cool little things that I do or my friends do. You know, like how you could tell I play piano from my tapping. If you can’t tell, I quite enjoy being in other people’s business.” Chanyeol said, grinning cheekily.

                “Oh, I can tell alright,” Baekhyun muttered. “Alright, the main character of my first juicy tidbit is Krystal Jung.”

                “You mean the Ice Krstyal? What about her?”

                “Well believe it or not, she actually can show emotion.”

                “No way, that’s impossible. I’ve heard she has this really nice smile, but it’s mostly just a legend.”

                Baekhyun rolled his eyes. “Well, she does, but only when she’s with Amber Liu. Amber can actually make her smiled and slightly angry sometimes. I don’t know for sure if they’re dating, but I’m pretty sure they like each other.”

                Chanyeol’s eyes widened. “No way! Krystal Jung is gay? Nice, more fire to the brewing LGBTQ+ population. We will rise.”

                Baekhyun cleared his throat. “Uh, right. I may be gay, but I really don’t want to be included in any brewing. That sounds like we’re breeding chickens in gross humid environments. Also, I think Krystal is pan because she hit it off with that gender-neutral guy Hyunseung back in sophomore year. That was also pretty cute. By the way, you’re really weird you know that?”

                “Yes, I do know that, but I tend to be more toned down around other people. I don’t know Baekhyun, I might be opening my heart to you. Can I get your number?”

                “Aha no, seriously? Is that my cue to run out of here as fast as I can?”

                Chanyeol laughed. “That depends. Maybe it is, maybe not. But you should stick around to find out if you want your secret to stay safe with me.” He said it with a playful tone, so Baekhyun didn’t take it as a real threat.

                Baekhyun sighed comically. “I guess I will have to. But as you know, it’s only one fact a day. I believe it is time we part ways Park.” He grabbed his backpack and slung it over his shoulder. He grabbed Chanyeol’s phone and put his number in before sprinting out of the shop.

Chanyeol grinned stupidly at his phone. He jumped out of his seat and waved, “See you Friday!”

 

(^•=•^)~

 

On Friday, Baekhyun ran to the cafe all the way from his seventh period class. He burst into the cafe, startling the employee at the counter, and leapt into one of the booths. He made conversation with the girl behind the counter, Hyuna, who happened to be friends with Chanyeol. Apparently he’d been frequenting The Bean since freshman year. Baekhyun learned that Hyuna was a freshman in college but had been working at the bean since high school. She was actually quite funny, and it wasn’t really awkward at all.

Seven minutes later, Chanyeol walked into the coffee shop and greeted Hyuna. When he saw Baekhyun, he stopped his foot angrily.

“I thought I would be earlier!” He whined, pouting.

Baekhyun shrugged. “Well, maybe you should be a little bit faster on Tuesday,” he said, smirking.

After that, it became almost a game. Every Tuesday and Friday, it would be a race to see who could reach their booth in the cafe first. Usually, Baekhyun would win because his teacher released them from class a little bit earlier on Fridays. Chanyeol was faster, however, and managed to win sometimes. Most of the time, it would end in Hyuna declaring herself the winner and Chanyeol and Baekhyun laughing too hard to retaliate.

Baekhyun almost began to look forward to talking to Chanyeol. No one else had ever really talked to him the way Chanyeol did. Chanyeol was straightforward, and wasn't afraid to say what he was thinking. Baekhyun even started to get excited about sharing his findings with Chanyeol. Once he told Chanyeol about the popular Luhan, and how he was cheating on his boyfriend with Oh Sehun.

“Oh Sehun? No way! What is with these eternally emotionless people actually having emotions?”

“Aw, don't say that, Sehun is actually a complete softie. He and Luhan are adorable together, and Luhan’s current boyfriend is an anyways. Luhan really should get his feelings figured out though.”

“I still don't understand how you were able to figure this out just by watching them at lunch.”

Baekhyun smiled slightly. “You notice a lot if you just step back and watch.”

Another time, Baekhyun informed Chanyeol that Jongdae was actually a closeted neat freak, and always had a pack of tissues and hand sanitizer at hand.

Chanyeol almost fell out of the little booth laughing, before he realized Baekhyun was being completely serious. The next day, he had tested this little theory by asking Jongdae for some hand sanitizer. Needless to say, Chanyeol really wished he hadn’t because he spent the rest of lunch listening to Jongdae rattle on about the difference between scented and non-scented sanitizers and which were the best.

When Baekhyun was feeling generous, or when Chanyeol was way cuter than should be legal, he would divulge a particularly interesting piece of information.

“You know Jieun right? The one in our grade?” Baekhyun asked Chanyeol in a hushed tone one Friday.

“You mean IU? Yeah, goody two shoes, I know her. Very nice, very sweet, what did she do, cheat on a test?”

Baekhyun smirked. “Yeah, you thought. You know all of those ‘senior’ pranks? Yeah, well, none of them were actually senior pranks. Well, except for that one about the crickets in the cafeteria, but that one was pretty lame anyways.”

“No way…” Chanyeol murmured, eyes widening.

Baekhyun grinned. “Yup, those were all orchestrated by her. The picnic tables on the roof? She came up with that. Painting “Principal Lee Soo Man ” on the school sign? Also her. Oh, and lets not forget the famous football field incident.”

Chanyeol gasped. “There’s no way. How did she even manage to mow the entire field into looking like a giant booty? Like, that was so genius.”

“Yeah, I have absolutely no idea how she’s doing it, but she’s definitely coming up with all of those, but she definitely is. That’s one of my most precious findings.”

“Wow. I think I just became a fan of IU, can you believe it? Imagine how amusing it is to her, the fact that everyone sees her as the complete opposite of who she is. How does she even pull off that double life?”

“Yeah, I've been trying to figure that out on my own for like a year.” Baekhyun said, chuckling.

Chanyeol grinned. “Well, now we can ponder it together. Two heads are better than one, right?”

Baekhyun paused. Last semester, he would have scoffed in Chanyeol’s face. He would have laughed and insisted that clearly not, that being on your own was much more efficient and reliable.

But at that moment, sitting in The Bean with a grinning Chanyeol, he nodded his head.

(^•=•^)~

Chanyeol burst through the door of The Bean.

“You won, he’s not here yet.” Hyuna said, barely looking up from the novel she was reading.

Chanyeol fist pumped the air. “Yeah, let’s go, gimme some. Third time in a row that I've been first.”

“Wow! You deserve a medal!” Hyuna cringed. “Are you sure you’re in high-school?”

Chanyeol stuck out his tongue and went over to their usual booth. His teacher had let them out early, and it was a Tuesday. If his calculations were correct, he would have at least eight minutes before Baekhyun ran through the door. He smiled and put his backpack down on the floor.

“No coffee today?” Hyuna asked, looking up from her book.

“Nah, I’ll wait for Baekhyun to show.” Chanyeol took out some sheet music he had been writing and put on his headphones to pass the time. Chanyeol got lost in his melodies, harmonies and chords. Before he knew it, he had filled in an entire sheet of staff paper. He popped his earphones out and looked around.

Hyuna was making a coffee for a customer, but there was no one else in the shop sitting down. He checked the time, and it was 5:30. He had been sitting there for two and a half hours and hadn’t even noticed that Baekhyun hadn’t shown up.

“Hyuna? Where the hell is Baekhyun?” Chanyeol asked, looking through his phone for any unseen messages.

Hyuna handed the drink to the customer before wiping her hands on a dish towel. “Dude, I don’t know, I thought he had texted you or something. You were so into your work that I thought you knew.”

Chanyeol quickly texted ‘Where are you’ to Baekhyun. He drummed his fingers on the table, waiting for a reply. Minutes passed and still no reply. He got up and began pacing nervously around the café, listening for the telltale ding!

“Chanyeol, cut it out, you’re going to freak yourself out. I’m sure everything is fine, seriously.” Hyuna said, concerned.

Chanyeol checked his phone again, but Baekhyun hadn’t replied. “If everything is fine, why didn’t he text me that he couldn’t come? Something must have happened!”

Hyuna hopped over the counter and put her hands on Chanyeol’s shoulders, stopping his frantic pacing. “Look, if something happened, you would have known because no news is good news. Baekhyun probably just got tired or something and went home. Maybe he had a doctor’s appointment. The point is, you don’t know, so you shouldn’t assume the worst. You should go home, get something to eat, and then go to sleep. You can find him in the morning, I’m sure he will have replied by then.”

Chanyeol closed his eyes, and pictured Baekhun laughing. He pictured him telling Chanyeol about IU and her tricks, and saw the glint in his eye. He pictured his brooding stance on the wall of the cafeteria, watching people with keen eyes.

Chanyeol opened his eyes and sighed. “Thanks Hyuna, really. Ok, I guess I’m going to head home. Could you text me if Baek comes here?”

“Sure Chanyeol, no problem.” Hyuna replied.

Chanyeol walked over to their little table, gathered up his books and papers, and walked out of The Bean into the chilly evening.

(^•=•^)~

Chanyeol didn’t know why he ended up in the front of Byun Baekhyun’s yard, but he knew that he couldn’t back down now. He never thought that the school directory would have come in handy, but sure enough it had.

He stood of the curb, gazing up at the two story house that Baekhyun had spent his entire life in. He could picture baby Baekhyun playing in the yard and young Baekhyun learning to ride his bike on this very sidewalk. He smiled at the thought of a younger more naïve Baekhyun, and wondered if he was as attentive as he was now.

The lights were on inside the house, which was a good sign, but he couldn’t see anything through the windows. He took a deep breath, and marched up to the front door.

Chanyeol couldn’t seem to find a doorbell, so he decided to be safe and just knock. He had barely touched his fist to the door before it was ripped open by a middle aged man wearing a white t-shirt and jeans. He would have looked like a perfectly normal friendly dad if not for the expression on his face. His eyes were bloodshot and as far as Chanyeol could tell, he was extremely angry.

“Who are you?” the man asked semi-calmly, trying to keep his voice level.

“Uhm, I’m Chanyeol, a friend of Baekhyun’s? Is he here?” Chanyeol stuttered, not able to tear his gaze away from the man’s. Was this guy Baekhyun’s dad?

“Why do you have any business with my son? Now is really not a good time.” He said, teeth gritted.

“I-I just came to—return his textbook. He’s in my econ class and I borrowed it from him.” It was then that Chanyeol heard a muffled sob from inside the house. Over the man’s shoulder, Chanyeol could see a woman, presumably Baekhyun’s mom, hunched over on the floor, crying. “Really generous by the way, your son is a very good  friend of mine.” He added distractedly, a thousand thoughts running through his head.

“Well, that’s irrelevant to me right now. Baekhyun cannot come to the door or talk to you.”

“Not even for a minute? Really, it’s important, he’s going to need it tomorrow,” Chanyeol said. He really needed to see Baekhyun, if only to make sure that he was alright. Suddenly, he heard footsteps running down stairs. From over the man’s shoulder, Chanyeol could see Baekhyun emerge from the staircase, completely unscathed. Chanyeol let out huge sigh of relief. When Baekhyun’s gaze met his, his eyes widened. He grinned widely, but the smiled left his face as quickly as it came. He was surprised, but there was more than just surprise. Along with the surprise and the slight happiness, there was fear. It was not a fear of Chanyeol, but rather a fear for Chanyeol. Baekhyun began shaking his head rapidly, motioning for Chanyeol to leave with his hands.

“I told you to leave. Get off of my doorstep, and get off of my property.” The man growled, all politeness gone.

Chanyeol was about to insist some more, but the expression on Baekhyun’s face made him stop. Baekhyun didn’t look hurt, and he clearly did not want Chanyeol there. So instead of barging his way into the house like a madman, Chanyeol mouthed an apology to Baekhyun. He thanked the man politely before turning on his heel and walking all the way home.

(^•=•^)~

Baekhyun ran down the stairs clutching his backpack to his chest. It was 7:14, and he had to be at the bus stop at 7:25. He had forgotten to set his alarm the night before and had woken up late. Admittedly, his thoughts had been more than slightly preoccupied the night before.

His parents had already left for work. His mom had left him a note on the counter saying she was going to be home later and Baekhyun should take care of himself. That usually translated to ‘I'll be home after your dad falls asleep, I'm sorry Baekhyun.’

Baekhyun sighed and pulled on his shoes. He threw a couple cliff bars and a banana into his backpack before running out the door.

7:17. Not bad, he thought, as he locked the door behind him.

Behind Baekhyun, someone cleared their throat.

“Um, hey.”

Baekhyun whipped around, unbelieving. “Chanyeol? What the-- what are you doing here?”

Chanyeol stuffed his hands in his pockets and grinned widely. “I wanted to go to school with my favorite wallflower.”

Baekhyun gaped at Chanyeol for a full ten seconds before fumbling for his phone and looking at the time. 7:19

“Ok, wow, you're here, it's really late and we need to bounce.”

Chanyeol winked. “It's a good thing I have long legs,” he said, grabbing Baekhyun’s hand.

Baekhyun grinned stupidly and broke into a run down the sidewalk to the bus stop pulling Chanyeol behind him.

(^•=•^)~

They reached the bus just as the doors were closing, but managed to squeeze inside, laughing hysterically. They made their way to the back of the bus before the bus driver could get too angry and sat down. Chanyeol was trying to stifle his laughter, but it just made him look like a deformed monkey. Baekhyun grinned at his stupid expression, before his eyes traveled down to their still intertwined hands.

Baekhyun quickly pulled his had away, startling Chanyeol. Chanyeol met his gaze with a concerned and slightly hurt expression, all traces of laughter gone. The air suddenly felt thick and heavy, like there was not enough oxygen for the both of them. Baekhyun looked away from Chanyeol’s and leaned his head against the window.

Baekhyun closed his eyes and willed Chanyeol to disappear. Sharing his sob story wasn’t going to do anything for either of them. Being alone was always better. Relying on people was overrated, and as cliché as that sounded, Baekhyun knew it was true. He had been getting along fine on his own for all these years, so why change. He was fine. Everyone had problems, and Baekhyun needed to know that he was strong enough to overcome them by himself. Even if he told Chanyeol, there was no way he could help.

“Hey,” Chanyeol said softly, putting his hand on Baekhyun’s shoulder. “Look at me, Baek.”

Baekhyun opened his eyes, but didn’t turn around. “Why did you come to my house yesterday?” he whispered. “You shouldn’t have come.”

“Baekhyun, I was worried ok? You didn’t show up to the café and you didn’t answer your phone. I was worried about you, alright? I just wanted to help you.”

Baekhyun huffed angrily. “I don’t need your precious help, pretty boy. I am my own person and I am perfectly capable of handling my own problems. I have all this time so thanks but no thanks.”

Chanyeol stared at Baekhyun with a stony expression for a long time. Baekhyun thought he had finally done it, that Chanyeol would stay the hell away. But then, Chanyeol did something that Baekhyun probably would have punched him for if he was a little more prepared.

Chanyeol laughed. He laughed and laughed, like Baekhyun had just told the funniest joke on the planet. Baekhyun sat there silently, watching Chanyeol trying to decide if he should be offended or not.

“Baekhyun look. I get it, you’re independent, and you need to do things alone, blah-blah-blah. But don’t you think it’s kind of stupid? I’m trying to help you because I care; I’m not asking to know every aspect of your life. I’m just telling you that I’m here for you, Baek. I’m not going to swoop in on a white horse and solve all your problems, but I’m here if you need me. If you want to talk, I’m willing to listen. If you want help, I’m can help. If you need someone to hold you or comfort you no questions asked, I volunteer. Unfortunately if you want me to pretend that I never saw anything and leave you the hell alone, that’s not going to happen. I’m just telling you that I’m your friend Baekhyun. I’m not trying to belittle you or take away your independence. I really do care about you and want you to know that you’re not alone and that I’m right beside you. If you don’t want to talk about it, you don’t have to. But don’t you think it would help to share whatever you’re dealing with?”

Baekhyun gawked at Chanyeol, unable to for words. He slowly began to smile, his grin spreading wider and wider until it spread of ear to ear. “Wow Yeol, I never knew you felt this way. Does this mean you finally accept that you like me for more than just my gossip?”

Chanyeol rolled his eyes. “Yes, of course, I like you as a—friend! I like you as a friend.” He laughed awkwardly before looking down at his hands.

Baekhyun punched his arm lightly. “Thank you Chanyeol, really. I don’t know, I might take you up on that, eventually.”

“I hope you know this doesn’t mean that our weekly café dates are off.” Chanyeol said, gathering his stuff.

The bus stopped in front of the school, and Baekhyun grabbed his backpack, blushing. “Right, uh, date, sure.” He pushed past Chanyeol into the aisle. Chanyeol was still gathering his stuff, and was half turned around. Before even Baekhyun knew what he was doing, he leaned over and pressed his lips to Chanyeol’s cheek. Chanyeol whipped his head around, dumbstruck, but Baekhyun was already on his way out of the bus.

“See you Friday!” Baekhyun called behind him.

“See you,” Chanyeol mumbled to himself, smiling stupidly.

 (^•=•^)~

Weeks passed, and Baekhyun found himself looking forward to these little “dates” with Chanyeol. Tuesdays and Fridays became the best days of the week, and on those days school couldn’t end fast enough. They began staying at The Bean much longer too, sometimes going home only after sunset. They would help each other with homework and then lose themselves in conversation talking about everything. Sometimes they wouldn’t leave until Hyuna was closing up and she kicked them out.

Chanyeol was worried Baekhyun’s dad would get angry that he was coming home so late, but Baekhyun assured him that his parents never noticed. Though he didn’t say it, Chanyeol hoped Baekhyun being out of the house for so long would help him avoid his father’s episodes. He still hadn’t told Chanyeol about his parents or their story, but Chanyeol knew enough. He would let Baekhyun tell him whenever he was ready, even if that was never.

Baekhyun arrived at the Bean on Friday first, beating Chanyeol.

“Hey Hyuna, how’s it going?” he asked bouncing up to the counter. “You got the goods?”

Hyuna rolled her eyes. “Yeah Baekhyun, I got you.” She looked around suspiciously, before handing two coffee cups to Baekhyun. “Here you go, I added an extra packet of the white powder today, don’t tell Chanyeol.”

“Thanks,” Baekhyun whispered, “You do know that Chanyeol hates extra sugar in his coffee though, right?”

Hyuna laughed. “Why do you think I did it?”

“Touche,” Baekhyun said, walking over to their table. It was then that Chanyeol walked in.

“LET’S GO, I AM SUPERIOR EZ, BOW DOWN TO THE WINNER—oh. You’re here. Dammit, Baek, I was on a roll.” Chanyeol whined.

Baekhyun rolled his eyes and held out Chanyeol’s coffee to him. “Oh come on, we all know I’m superior.”

He slid into his seat, Chanyeol following suit.

Chanyeol opened his mouth to say something, but Baekhyun cut him off. “Before you deny it, I have a particularly interesting piece of information today.”

Chanyeol quirked an eyebrow “Do tell.”

“Well,” Baekhyun said, leaning forward on his elbows. “I was looking around at lunch today; you know doing my daily rounds, when I noticed a certain boy staring at your friend Jina like she was some kind of goddess or something.”

Chanyeol scoffed. “You mean Jongdae? Yeah, he tends to get like that around her nowadays.”

Baekhyun smirked. “Yeah, Jongdae wishes I was talking about him. I am in fact talking about Kim Jaejoong, the senior.”

Chanyeol’s jaw dropped. “No way! The Kim Jaejoong has a thing for Jina? Hah! Never would have guessed that. I mean he’s like the second most perfectly chiseled specimen I've ever seen.”

Baekhyun frowned. “Well who’s the first?” He asked, slightly expectant for some reason.

“Of course it’s you… —nho, Yoon Yunho. He’s a year above us too.” Chanyeol grinned cheekily.

“Right, him,” Baekhyun grumbled. Baekhyun huffed, “Well, anyways, the best part is, Jongdae noticed too. And from my point of view, it’s part sad, part hilarious. Jina is giving up on him, Chanyeol, Jongdae needs to stop being so scared and just go for it. He really is going to regret it forever.”

Chanyeol shivered. “Dude, that’s kind of weird how you know stuff about my best friends that even I can’t see. Then again, you could just be making this all up about watching other people, and spend all your time staring at me at lunch. Plus, you did kiss me on the cheek that one time. Any feelings I need to know about, Baekhyun?” Chanyeol teased.

Baekhyun’s cheeks reddened. “Please, I was delusional at the beginning! You were just a really good looking guy who seemed to play piano. That was it. Now I clearly know that you’re a tall douche who likes to race short people and is a sore loser when he loses. However, that kiss really was to thank you, I don’t see the issue, sir.”

Chanyeol quirked an eyebrow. “You think I’m attractive?”

“Moving on, Chanyeol, Jaejoong and Yunho are also really attractive.”

Chanyeol pouted. “Well fine. I hope you’re not meeting up with them on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.”

Baekhyun laughed. “No, Chanyeol, I am faithful to your gossip needs.”

“Good! That’s good because uh, I was wondering, maybe you’d want to come over to my house this weekend?”

Baekhyun raised his eyebrows. “Wow Park, you sure there’s not something you’re not telling me? Some unrequited feelings perhaps?”

Chanyeol scoffed indignantly. “Oh come on. Friends hang out, right? Plus The Bean is becoming like school, it’s a routine. We need to do something out of routine. I want to hang out with you is that so wrong?”

“Not wrong at all, I would love to come over this weekend.” Baekhyun said shyly before quickly adding, “I might actually enjoy hanging out with you too. Might being the operative word.”

Chanyeol grinned. “Great. I’ll text you the address later. Now, I have this huge AP Bio project and I am employing your teacherly help ‘O great intelligent wallflower.”

Baekhyun shook his head. “Alright, Yeol, give me your text book. You owe me for this.”

Chanyeol happily handed it over, listening as Baekhyun began explaining symbiosis.

(^•=•^)~

Chanyeol knew he was falling for Baekhyun, he just didn’t realize how much he had been. At the beginning Baekhyun had been a pretty face with an interesting take on things. He really had been curious about the information Baekhyun held, and fascinated with the way that he found it. Overtime, however, Chanyeol found himself wanting to learn more about Baekhyun than anything else. That day when Baekhyun came over to his house, everything just clicked into place.

Baekhyun had knocked on the door to Chanyeol’s house at exactly 4:03 on Saturday. Chanyeol ran down the stairs, hollering “I got it, Mom,” as he reached the door.

Baekhyun jumped in surprise as the door was flung open. Chanyeol was grinning madly from ear to ear.

“Hi.” He said, smile unwavering.

“Hey,” Baekhyun smiled, mirroring Chanyeol’s expression.

They stood there for a couple of seconds, grinning at each other like idiots.

“You know, I’ve never seen you in any other clothes than the school uniform. This is weird.” Baekhyun said, looking Chanyeol up and down. “Come to think of it, I don’t think I've ever seen anyone from school in anything other than the uniform.”

Chanyeol rolled his eyes. “I’m honored, Byun Baekhyun. Feast your eyes; maybe you can learn some weird fact about me from my clothes.”

Baekhyun punched him in the shoulder. “Come on Chanyeol, aren’t we going to do something?”

Chanyeol’s face broke into a grin again. “Yeah! Come on, we can go to my room and watch something on my laptop.”

 They ended up curled up on Chanyeol’s bed next to each other watching Criminal Minds, after Baekhyun’s insistence that Chanyeol needs to watch it. Chanyeol was perfectly fine with the arrangement.

(^•=•^)~

The last day of school was quite possibly the longest day of the year for Baekhyun. His classes seemed to drag on, the teachers droning on about summer homework and finals. Everyone was restless and there was more than one prank pulled off at lunch. Naturally, Baekhyun knew exactly who had orchestrated them.

Baekhyun wanted the day to end, but he was also dreading afterschool. It was Friday, so he was supposed to meet Chanyeol at the Bean like every other Friday. The only thing was, this wasn’t like every other Friday. This was the last Friday. After today, Baekhyun wouldn’t be meeting Chanyeol at the bean every Tuesday and Friday and he wouldn’t have any more gossip to share. He would be regular quiet Baekhyun, who Chanyeol no longer had any need for, and Baekhyun wasn’t looking forward to coming to terms with that.

When school was finally over, he for the first time ever, actually walked to the Bean. When he arrived, Chanyeol was already at their table and a drink was waiting for him. This time, there was a donut as well.

“Surprise! No more school, and it’s a perfect excuse to eat some donuts. Hyuna bought us some because, and I quote, “To congratulate you on making it through another year in that hell-hole.” She’s very optimistic if you couldn’t tell.

Despite himself, Baekhyun smiled as he slid into the seat in front of Chanyeol. “I mean, she’s not wrong. Anyone who buys me donuts is always right.”

“Hey Baek?”

“Yeah?” Baekhyun said, fully engrossed in his donut.

“I like you.”

Baekhyun choked on a piece of donut and started coughing heavily.

“Uh, are you ok?” Chanyeol asked with a concerned look on his face.

“You—what?” Baekhyun wheezed looking up at Chanyeol with wide eyes. This couldn’t be happening. 

Chanyeol grinned. “I really like you. I just thought I should let you know.”

Baekhyun looked around the store. “Is this a prank?” He looked around for any sign of a surprise. The Bean was empty, however, even Hyuna was in the back room somewhere.

Chanyeol’s expression fell. “Baekhyun, I’m serious. Ok, you don’t like me back but do you really have to invalidate my feelings?”

 “NO, Chanyeol, it’s not that, it’s just… people like you, don’t like people like me. I’m quiet invisible Baekhyun. I provide you with information and that’s it. It’s not like we even know each other, not really—“

“Your favorite color is blue, and that’s why you look up at the sky so often.” Chanyeol said softly, looking up at Baekhyun.

“What? Chanyeol what are you—”

“You always finish your chocolate milk in the first fifteen minutes of lunch, because you don’t like to drink it when it’s not cold anymore. You never eat anything at lunch, which is somewhat worrisome. You tend to blow the hair out of your face extremely often, and it’s literally the cutest thing I've ever seen.” Chanyeol took Baekhyun’s hands in his.

“You watch me at lunch a lot and you like to think I don’t know. You know I watch you a lot at lunch and like to pretend you don’t know. Your favorite show is Criminal Minds, mostly because they are profilers and that’s your absolute dream job.”

Baekhyun stared at Chanyeol. “Wait. I’ve never told you any of that stuff. Literally none of it. How could you know?”

A sly smile spread over Chanyeol’s face. “I guess you could say I’ve been observing you?”

Baekhyun shook his head. “You really are extraordinary.”

“So are you. You managed to use the word extraordinary without sounding like a complete idiot.”

Suddenly, Chanyeol stood up and pulled Baekhyun out of his seat, before pulling him into his arms.

Colors exploded in Baekhyun’s vision when their lips met, greens and blues and purples and oh my god. Baekhyun tentatively brought his hand to the back of Chanyeol’s neck and pulled him closer wondering why they hadn’t done this before.

When they finally pulled apart, Chanyeol was grinning madly. “See? I do like you. Very much, I might add.”

Baekhyun looked up at him . “Aren’t you going to ask me if I like you too?”

“Would I have really kissed you if I didn’t know the answer to that question? I observed you, remember?”

Baekhyun scoffed. “That’s not fair! Maybe I don’t like you. Maybe I don’t want to be your boyfriend.”

Chanyeol raised an eyebrow. “Ok, I know that I didn’t say anything about boyfriends, that was all you.”

Baekhyun punched him in the arm. “Park Chanyeol!”

“Yes?”

“Though I kind of hate you at the moment, it would make me very happy if you agreed to be my boyfriend.”

Chanyeol grinned. “Do you even have to ask?” 

 

---

A/N This is so extremely late I'm so sorry also im sorry it was so loooooong i just really didnt want to split it up but yeaaaa thanks for reading!!! i hope you enjoyed, dont forget to subscribe and upvote also THE EXO COMEBACK OH MY GOD DO SITTING ON THAT LAMPOST THING IN MONSTER IS MY LITERAL AESTHETIC IM CRYING I LOVE AND LIKE THE WHOLE THING WITH ALL THE ERAS BEING INCLUDED IN LUCKY IM JUST IM JUST IM JUST 

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