Chapter 11: Be There (3300 words)

"Be There"- Seafret 

Well you can take what you need, take the air that I breathe and I'll give away all that I own.
Whatever I lose, is put back by you in a way that you'll never know.

Cause I can't be without you

I'll be there when you need me most
I'll be there if you're ever alone
Together, will we grow old?
I can't leave you
You can't leave me,
No.

You're my way out
You're my way through
And I can't, I can't
Be without you
You're my way out
You're my way through
And I can't
Be without you

A/N: BIG S/O TO MY RECENT UPVOTERS: Sheelalim, kpoplover9258, Asianmomo, Rashawn, c6h12o6, grilledfrillgirl, Chiakisama, Baekmemyyeol, yihshinee17 and colaondashboard! You all are my muses and I love you deeply 😘😘

<><><><><><> WONWOO POV <><><><><><><><><>

And Wonwoo just sat there in his chair like that, dumbfounded and in his pajamas, until about 5 minutes before Seungcheol was supposed to be there. When Seungcheol knocked on Wonwoo's bedroom door, Wonwoo was struggling in his chair to pull his pants on without causing his healing leg any pain. He managed to pull some jeans on before Seungcheol came in and tried to like as casual and layed back as possible.

When Seungcheol walked in however, it was clear by his face that Wonwoo didn't look quite as casual as he had planned to. Seungcheol looked startled st first and then just concerned. 'This must be the first time he's seen me without my beanie on" Wonwoo thought to himself. At this point, the baldness was just part of him, and it didn't really shock him much anymore. He hadn't been around people in a long enough time that he didn't have much of a concept of being self-conscious. Yet, as Seungcheol was just staring concerned and saddened at his appearance, his bald head, the dark circles under his eyes, the jeans that were much too big for him now and the pajama shirt that hung baggy off his thin arms, Wonwoo suddenly felt that distant but still familiar feeling of self consciousness, like he wanted to retreat into a hole and hide. Yet, he couldn't decide why he felt this way. Seungcheol was his best friend at one point, and Wonwoo knew that that look was not judgmental but just sad. Still, he couldn't shake this feeling of inferiorness and discomfort in his own skin.

Seungcheol opened his mouth to speak, but then closed it again quickly. Before Seungcheol could really say anything, Wonwoo leaned forward and grabbed his beanie out of his suitcase, along with a shirt to change into. He tried to laugh and be normal, "Sorry, I'm running a bit late. I took a nap haha, getting changed takes a while too. I guess it's just been a while since I've worn something other than a hospital gown. Anyways, can you grab me some shoes and socks, I'm going to change my shirt." Seungcheol nodded, and very quickly turned away as Wonwoo started pulling his shirt up.

Seungcheol cleared his throat from the closet, "I'll probably just text Jihoon and see if Jeonghan and Jisoo can take him since we are running late, apparently they wanted to go too. I mean the game isn't until 12:30 but yeah, since we planned on getting there around 12:15"

Wonwoo nodded, pausing a minute to respond while he was leaning forward to pull his shirt over his head. He rolled over to his dresser and grabbed a random T-Shirt. "That's fine. I hope the big crowd doesn't freak Mingyu out. Jeonghan will probably have an easier time helping Jihoon escape though. I didn't know you and Jihoon were on a texting basis though?" Wonwoo teasingly laughed, trying to ease the awkward tension in the room. In a way, it worked, and he felt himself relax. It may have been awhile since he had really treated Seungcheol like a friend, but he still relied on the other deeply. Seungcheol's actions since they had reunited had been a little different than the Cheol that Wonwoo grew up alongside, but Wonwoo knew they were all motivated by worry, concern and love, maybe mixed with betrayal. Wonwoo knew Cheol would never understand why Wonwoo left him out of the equation, and that's what worried him the most, forgiveness is the only thing that could ever heal the gap between them...

Seungcheol laughed, and the tension in Wonwoo's shoulders lessened, as he pulled the shirt on. "We exchanged numbers purely for getting you from point A to point B. That guy is a different species. Tennis shoes or Sandals? I think it might be raining, so I don't know if you'll want tennis shoes. Want a rain jacket?"

Wonwoo laughed, feeling the new hope fading and the gap returning. "I'll take the rain coat and the tennis shoes. My feet won't be on the ground anyways." He laughed, kicking his good leg against the wheelchair." Seungcheol let an awkward chuckle out. He was trying, Wonwoo could tell that much. If this was their friendship how, he could take it. Seungcheol came out of the closet finally, with six different arrangements of rain jackets/pullovers and about 7 different pairs of tennis shoes, converse and vans. The multitude of clothing choices immediately had Wonwoo laughing.

<><><><><><> SEUNGCHEOL POV <><><><><><><><>

The way that Wonwoo laughed at his slightly overdone wardrobe choices made Seungcheol forget about the missing hair from his head and the general sickly skinniness that had become him. Every time he looked at Wonwoo, he was welcomed with a flood of emotions, the most prominent being guilt. Wonwoo had been this way for roughly 4 months now, and Seungcheol hadn't been there for him at all. Now that Seungcheol was back in his life, he didn't even now how to act. He hated himself for how awkward he was being around Wonwoo, but the months away from him had exposed Seungcheol to exactly how much he was in love with the kid. He knew he was in love and therefore gay when Wonwoo's dad died. It was normal for a friend to feel sad or even hurt when his friend was hurting, especially with that magnitude, but Seungcheol had felt like his life was ending right alongside Wonwoo. He'd have given the entire World or even his life to take away the pain Wonwoo was feeling. He'd willingly shoulder any burden if it meant Wonwoo would genuinely smile again, and he wanted the rest of his life to be trying to create that smile. That's when he realized the way he felt about Wonwoo was very different than the rest of his friends.

Seungcheol shook his head, bringing him back to reality, Wonwoo was waiting and looking curiously at the shoes Seungcheol was holding, so Seungcheol hoped his zoning out had gone unnoticed. "Sorry" he laughed awkwardly and shrugged, "I didn't know exactly what to choose for you, so I kind of just brought anything that could possibly work." Wonwoo laughed and Seungcheol smiled brightly as Wonwoo picked out a plain pair of converse and a simple black rain jacket. Seungcheol leaned down before Wonwoo in a crouch, displaying the converse dramatically before slipping them on Wonwoo's feet, "All set Cinderella" he winked, then got up and set the rain jacket into Wonwoo's lap. As he was pushing Wonwoo through the door and out to his car, he realized he selfishly liked the wheelchair. He could make whatever doe ey