He felt himself breathing. In and out. In and out. That was all he could do at this moment where he wasn't able to do anything else.

Even though his eyes were closed and he could not move, he was aware of his surroundings. He felt the faint whirring of the fan that was probably close to him, mixed with the nauseating  smell of antiseptic which meant that he was in the nurse's office.

The sound of someone talking filled up the empty space of room, and Taeyong identified the voice as none other than Yuta. Immediately, the guilt engulfed him again.

Yuta seemed to be talking to someone, followed by the door closing and footsteps coming towards him.

Taeyong felt like he was being watched, then the faint sound of humming filled up Taeyong's eardrums. It was a song that the male had heard before, but couldn't pinpoint where he had heard of it. 

Slowly, he opened his eyes, his vision shifting back into focus as he was faced with the bright fluorescent lights attached to the ceiling.

"Oh. You're awake." The unfamiliar voice startled Taeyong as he felt his eyes shifting over to the male currently sitting across from him, a small smile on his face.

Jaehyun.

"What- What are you doing here?" Taeyong asked groggily, hating the way his voice sounded. If Jaehyun was affected by how harsh Taeyong's tone sounded, he didn't show it.

"You fainted and had to stay in the nurse's office. I volunteered to stay and watch over you as your friend had to go to his classes," Jaehyun answered.

"Don't you have classes?" the older asked, only then realizing how dry his throat was. He took that moment to sit up slowly, ignoring how Jaehyun's eyes followed his every move.

"Classes after break for me aren't really that important," the black haired male started. He then grabbed a full glass of water with some painkillers and handed them to Taeyong, who accepted them with a low 'thanks'. "The nurse told me to give these to you, and she said that you were probably stressing out yourself too much."

Taeyong nodded, feeling awkward.

"I believe we haven't spoken before. I'm Jung Jaehyun, by the way," the younger introduced, eyes glinting with an unknown emotion inside them.

"Lee Taeyong," Taeyong muttered. Jaehyun grinned fully, exposing his dimples and straight, white teeth.

There was an anxious silence between them, as Taeyong didn't know what else to say to Jaehyun.

The moment he made eye contact with the younger, Taeyong felt as if he couldn't look away. Jaehyun's deep, black orbs Taeyong into an orbit of nothingness and uncertainty. Something that was familiar and reminded Taeyong of himself. He wondered if Jaehyun knew of what he was doing to him, and wondered about the possibility of Jaehyun going through the same thing that Taeyong was currently passing through.

He then looked away, his pale fingers grazing the soft material of the bed he was lying on.

Jaehyun wanted to talk more with Taeyong. "Taeyong--"

The door was opened, and in stepped Yuta. The bell signaling the end of the period rung soon after.

"Yuta," Taeyong exclaimed, breathing a sigh of relief. Jaehyun made him feel uncomfortable and vulnerable.

"Are you better now? Do you still want to go to the next class?" his friend asked. Taeyong would have considered staying in the nurse's office, mostly because he didn't like school, but that would mean being in the same room with Jaehyun. "And I was the one who asked Jaehyun to look after you, and he was probably going to do it without my permission, anyway."

The said male rubbed the back of his neck in an embarrassed motion. Taeyong's sharp eyes saw the brief looks exchanged by the two taller males standing before him and raised one eyebrow. He didn't know what was going on, and he didn't care. He just wanted to go to his next class.

-

Apparently, Taeyong's next class was Art. The male did not remember signing up for art classes as his mind had blocked out many memories, and also because he skipped school so much. He hadn't brushened up on his art skills in ages and he was pretty sure he now. Great.

To make things worse, Jaehyun was also in art class. Apparently, art classes mixed up children from different grades, which he also did not know anything about.

Painting a blank canvas was a lot harder than it looked when the teacher was practically breathing down Taeyong's neck for any slight mistake and the occasional worried glances that Jaehyun would send his way when the teacher scolded him.

'I can take care of myself' Taeyong thought, thinking back to earlier when Yuta said that Taeyong looked like he needed someone to protect him.

Being in a world of his own, Taeyong picked up a stack of grey and black paint, not thinking about what he was doing. He just wanted to get all of this over with. When he was done, he looked at his finished piece.

The painting was a black road with what looked like a faint street lamp with grey clouds overshadowing the road. It was depressing, and Taeyong found it harder to breathe every passing second.

It had been dark. It had been really dark and everywhere was silent. The only sounds heard came from the tires moving against the rocky, black road. Then, everything was loud. Too loud as a bright light shone on Taeyong's face, almost burning him. The sticky feeling of a bloody hand had grabbed onto Taeyong's arm. He was so scared. He heard a voice calling out to him. Calling his name. He couldn't respond.

"...eyong. Taeyong!" Arms connected on both of Taeyong's shoulders shook him, trying to get the raven haired male out of the state that he was in.

Taeyong felt himself snap back into reality. "Taeyong, are you alright?"

That was the teacher, but Taeyong could not answer him. Not when Jaehyun was in front of him, his hands on his shoulders. Not when Jaehyun's was face so, so close to his.

"Do you want to go home?" the man continued to ask, annoying Taeyong. What kind of question was that? Of course he wanted, needed to go home.

"Yes," answered Taeyong. He needed to get out of here. He slightly shrugged Jaehyun's hands off his shoulders and stood up, grabbed his bag and left. It was only when he left the classroom that he realized that he had to wait for Yuta. They usually walked home together.

He sighed, walking in the direction of the school gymnasium as he knew his friend was probably having basketball practice. Yuta was a sports junkie, which meant that he signed up for numerous types of sports, football and basketball being one of them. Taeyong didn't know how he managed sports and his school work, but his friend was flawless at multitasking.

Taeyong managed to sneak into the gymnasium unnoticed and he was right about Yuta having basketball practice. He took a seat on one of the numerous benches, noting that he wasn't the only person who came to watch sweaty boys playing sports. Some girls huddled up at the sides cheering when one if their boyfriends scored.

Yuta was a good player and was always concentrated on the ball, never missing the hoop. Upon seeing Taeyong, a grin formed on his face and he waved, his dark hair damp with sweat. Taeyong grinned and waved back.

Taeyong found himself sinking into the bench that he was seating on when the door opened and revealed the last person Taeyong wanted to see.

The black haired male, clad in his basketball uniform joined with the other players. 

"What took you so long, captain?" a blonde haired boy known as Mark asked, handing the ball over to Jaehyun. 

So Jaehyun was the captain, Taeyong thought, hoping with all his mind that the younger did not spot him.

Jaehyun gave his familiar smile, which never failed to amaze Taeyong (not that he would ever admit that). "Something came up. Alright, listen up! We know coach is not there today, and I trust that you all practiced already, so let's do a mini game, then we can all go home!"

As most of the boys grabbed their water bottles before standing in their positions, Taeyong noticed Jaehyun conversing with one of the fangirls seated on the benches with a smirk on his face. The raven haired male frowned, looking away. What a boy. Taeyong couldn't explain why he was feeling bitter all of a sudden.

Jaehyun soon joined the others, taking his position as a center. As soon as the game started, Taeyong understood why the younger was the team captain. Jaehyun dribbled the ball effortlessly and was a great defense and shot the ball into the hoop with excellent precision.

Usually, Taeyong was uninterested in watching people play basketball, or any kind of sport in that matter, but his eyes followed Jaehyun's every move. It was there when Taeyong noticed how tall Jaehyun actually was. How his smooth, muscular skin glistened with sweat and how damp his hair was as he ran his hand through it.

Taeyong immediately looked at his friend instead. Yuta was passed the ball to shoot, courtesy of Jaehyun, and as soon as he scored a goal against the opposing team, everyone stopped playing, too exhausted. 

Yuta quickly ran to where Taeyong was, a smile plastered on his face. "So, how was I, huh?"

"You were great. You're always great, and you know it," Taeyong answered.

"Aww thanks!" Yuta looked like he was going to hug Taeyong, which made the older contort his face into one of disgust.

"Don't hug me with that sweaty body of yours," Taeyong groaned. Yuta laughed loudly, gaining the attention of Jaehyun. 

"Oh really. Stop me, then," Yuta replied, moving closer to Taeyong while the other tried to escape.

"Yuta!" Taeyong exclaimed at his laughing friend, causing him to stop. "Do you have any more practices after this, because I need to go home."

"Yeah, I do." Yuta then ruffled the hair of his pouting friend. "But I have someone who could walk home with you."

-

Walking home with Jaehyun was unexpected, to say the least. It turned out that Jaehyun lived in the same neighbourhood as Taeyong. The older remained silent most of the time, hoping that his house was in sight soon.

"I never knew we lived close to each other until now," Jaehyun started, now clad in his casual clothes.

"Yeah." that was all Taeyong could say. He saw Jaehyun looking at him, seeming to be contemplating something.

"Taeyong, can I ask you something?"

Taeyong slowly turned to look at the other and couldn't look away. Jaehyun was attractive. "Yes?"

"Can I call you hyung?"

The question caught Taeyong off guard. "O-Okay." Great, he was stuttering now. 

Jaehyun grinned, his dimples in display. "Taeyong hyung. I know I make you uncomfortable, and I'm sorry that I make you feel that way. You're just really interesting. Is my apology accepted?"

Taeyong then spotted his house. Giving Jaehyun a wary look, he answered the male. "Sure." Reaching the door, he turned around, not surprised to see Jaehyun still standing there. "Can I ask you something?"

Jaehyun looked surprised to see Taeyong asking him something or talking to him in general, as he was usually the one who initiated any kind of conversation between them. "Y-Yeah, sure."

"Do I look like someone who is in need of protection?"

"Uh...no?"

"Thanks." Taeyong then entered the empty house and closed the door, leaving a very confused Jaehyun.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter and see you next time!