It's times like this, when they're laying in the dark, hands close enough to hold each other, that Baekhyun thinks he could stay here. And then he remembers that he and Chanyeol have already planned to make the trip down south to visit Minseok and his wife this weekend.

He's scared to find out what they might know, but right now is enough. 

He can hear Chanyeol's soft breathing and can see the stars from the window past Chanyeol's head. He can see the dimple in Chanyeol's cheek when he giggles at something Baekhyun says, can hear the honey dripping from his voice when he tells stories about his childhood. 

"Once, me and my mom and Yoora, we went out because we had a snow day --" 

Baekhyun watches Chanyeol's face fall for a split second before he's back to normal, smiling in the darkness. 

"A-And we got in a big snowball fight. And we made hot cocoa afterwards and cuddled on the couch," Chanyeol's smile widens, and Baekhyun is transfixed in the way his whole face seems to sparkle. "It was like a movie, honestly. It's my best memory, I think." 

Baekhyun can tell that his eyes are full of fondness, but he can also sense the dim sadness in them. He knows that something about Yoora, the girl he'd never mentioned before, is the reason. 

I want to know everything about him. I want to make sure he doesn't get sad. I want to have a snowball fight and drink hot cocoa, whatever that is. 

"Do you have a favorite memory?" Chanyeol whispers, as if he's scared to ask it. Baekhyun knows why. Even after he told Chanyeol his secret, he didn't disclose much about his past. 

It's not like he had much to disclose, though.

"I don't," Baekhyun shrugs a little. "We didn't do much. I sat up there, I watched the sun and the moon move, and I waited for my turn to die." 

It sounds so sad, he realizes. When he was up in the dark expanse, where the only other thing he heard was sometimes the faint voice of Jongdae, he'd never considered it lonely. 

But now, looking at Chanyeol from inches away, laying almost shoulder to shoulder in a small bed, sharing stories, he feels that maybe home was never really home. 

"I wish I had stories to tell," Baekhyun says almost glumly. He watches Chanyeol's thick fingers move to tap a beat onto his wrist, as if he's comforting him. 

"Do you have cities? Do stars talk to each other?" Chanyeol's voice is so close and so deep, his questions sincere. 

"No to the cities," Baekhyun laughs, a tinkling bell in the eerie night silence. "Maybe closer to the center of the galaxy, I guess."

Chanyeol raises his eyebrows, as if questioning this information.

"I was too far away from other stars. I just sat there. I can't describe it. You guys don't have a state of being that describes it. I didn't look like this," Baekhyun softly touches his face, as if realizing for the first time that it was uniquely his. "I was just . . . energy. I had a form, but it was nothing like this. I couldn't touch anyone, I could only be contained where I'd always been." 

Chanyeol reaches out to softly touch his cheek, too. Baekhyun blushes and lets him do it, rough fingers drawing shapes onto his cheekbones.

"Friends?" 

Baekhyun thinks hard. "Not really. There was one star, the one closest to me. He was still far away. I could hear his voice sometimes, but it was always so distant. He told me about the sun and the moon. He was the only voice I'd ever heard, besides my own, before I came here."

Baekhyun is still reeling from the lull of Chanyeol's fingers against the sensitive skin of his cheeks. He's positive he's completely flushed. 

Chanyeol observes Baekhyun's faltering voice and pulls his hand away from the boy's face slowly. He wonders if Baekhyun was okay, all those years, without anyone to really talk to.

"Is that why you were so quiet when you got here?" Chanyeol questions, hurt evident in his voice. The rest of the question is left unsaid, but Baekhyun hears the Because you were always alone? clearly. 

He doesn't know why he's so sad, really, he's never thought of himself as lonely or pitiful. But something in Chanyeol's soft brown eyes tells him that the taller is worried. 

"Yeah, I guess. I didn't have anyone to talk to. I didn't know how to," Baekhyun blushes, suddenly feeling ashamed. "Sorry for holding onto your sleeve all the time. I didn't know how to get your attention without it. You intimidated me." 

Chanyeol laughs loudly, and this time it's his genuine booming laugh, shaking the bed as he flops around. 

"Me? Intimidating?" 

Baekhyun frowns. Why is unbelievable that he's intimidating? He doesn't think his fear was unjustified. 

"You're tall and smart and handsome. I didn't know what I was doing and I just followed you around. How was I not supposed to be intimidated?" 

Chanyeol sits up in bed then, suddenly, and he looks down at Baekhyun incredulously. The wide-eyed look Baekhyun gives him back, laying practically under him, sends a quick shiver down his spine. 

"What about now?" Chanyeol asks, voice low, curious. A small, rectangular smile breaks out across Baekhyun's face, leaving Chanyeol breathless in a good way. 

"You don't scare me anymore, I think," Baekhyun says flippantly, turning his back to the other boy, whispering, "Good night, Chanyeol." 

Chanyeol takes twenty minutes longer than Baekhyun to drift off to sleep, the image of a certain smile lingering on his mind. 

-- 

There's a group project announced the next day. Baekhyun immediately turns to make eye contact with Chanyeol, praying that he'll be spared the struggle of dealing with other students. Chanyeol looks back at him, an affectionate twinkle in his eye. Baekhyun gulps hard and his heart drums away to an erratic beat.

"I will be choosing the pairs," Mr. Lee's voice rings through like an alarm to the duo in the back of the room. Baekhyun's heart is now pounding at an alarming rate for different reasons completely.

Chanyeol panics, thinking of all the possibilities of what could go wrong if he and Baekhyun aren't together.

"Sehun and Sunyoung," they high-five happily, "Jongin and Taeyong; Chanyeol and Seungwan;  Baekhyun and Yixing --" 

Chanyeol stops listening. He can't help it, but, god, he's so mad. 

They move to work with their partners, and Chanyeol thinks he might lose it just by looking at the smug face Yixing is making. Baekhyun watches in shock, noticing the hateful glares Chanyeol is sending out. He's never made that face. Ever. Is he mad at me? 

"Baekhyun, I'm glad we get to learn about biology together!" Yixing's voices cuts through, confident and elated all at once. Chanyeol listens to the soft "yeah" sound Baekhyun makes back and rolls his eyes, ready to just get this project over with. 

He's not trying to be rude. He just sees the way Yixing looks hungrily at Baekhyun, sweet smile cunning and friendly touches suggestive. 

"Chanyeol, are you okay?" Seungwan asks carefully as she takes a seat near the tall boy. Chanyeol nods, suddenly friendly, and puts the boiling anger away in the pit of his stomach for a moment. He needs to be civil. He needs a good grade. 

"Sorry, I'm just feeling a little off," he lies. Seungwan doesn't question it and instead smiles brightly back, pulling out a folder. She tucks a strand of long hair behind her ear delicately and Chanyeol watches every moment. 

Seungwan is so small. She has little hands and long hair and a button nose, all tied together with a thin smile. He dwarfs her, all 6 foot something of his gangly body. He almost laughs a he imagines them presenting together, one too tall and one too short.

He thanks Seungwan internally for being so short and giving him a distraction from the debauchery going on only a table over. He can hear Baekhyun laughing softly and refuses to spare another look towards the two boys, focusing instead on getting his packet done. 

The bell rings and Chanyeol sighs in relief, ready to walk home with Baekhyun and maybe take a nap. He thinks about what Baekhyun might want for an afternoon snack -- is it too cold for icecream? 

And then he looks over at Yixing. Said boy is "cleaning up" his stuff from the desk, pressed closely to Baekhyun, hand wrapped around his elbow. 

Chanyeol feels Seungwan stand up next to him, bowing her head a little as a goodbye before she's out of the classroom. Chanyeol's eyes still haven't moved, and he doesn't think they ever would've if Baekhyun hadn't looked up at that moment. 

The taller's head snaps back down, guilt and jealousy filling him to the brim. 

Baekhyun's eyebrows furrow. He's confused and feels so so ignored. And Yixing is hanging off of him, but he has no idea how to shake the other. 

"Why don't we work on it some more right now? You're not in after school activities, right?" Baekhyun shakes his head reluctantly. He wishes Chanyeol would just look at him. "We can go to my house, it's really close to the school." 

Chanyeol had been packing his bag the entire time, acting as if he's not eavesdropping. He stills at Yixing's last statement, heat bubbling in his stomach in an awful way. 

"Chanyeol?" Baekhyun says his name like it's a question. He looks up, angry. 

Baekhyun's dark eyes are looking at him as if urging him to create an excuse. Chanyeol watches the way Yixing scans over Baekhyun's face, noting the twitch in the boy's lips as he takes in the features. He's suddenly so mad, so blinded with the thought of Yixing looking at Baekhyun like that, that he ignores the face Baekhyun makes. 

He picks up his backpack, ignoring the pair. "Get home safely." 

Baekhyun knows that those words mean more when they live together, and he especially knows that Chanyeol is mad at him. 

"Here, Baek, I'll grab your bag for you!" Yixing says happily, smugly. 

Chanyeol hears it as he leaves the classroom. His eyes blur a little, hands gripping so tight on his backpack straps that the knuckles turn white. He makes it down one flight of stairs before he's tackled and pulled off to a row of lockers. 

"Chanyeol, what the !" Sehun's voice is loud. For once, his best friend sounds legitimately pissed. 

"What?" Chanyeol sputters out in surprise. "What?" 

"You think you're cool if you let them go like that? I watched all of that. What the is wrong with you?" 

Chanyeol sighs and crosses his arms. He's so frustrated. Now is not the time for Sehun to start yelling at him. 

"That's not going to accomplish anything. You like Baekhyun, and so does Yixing, but you like him. Yixing only wants to get in his pants, you know." 

Chanyeol sees red at the description, at the thought of Baekhyun underneath Yixing. It sends a hot wave of anger through him again, and he resists stomping back up the stairs. 

"Stop!" Chanyeol half shouts, rubbing the back of his neck violently. "You think I should just go in there and tell Yixing to go himself? Baekhyun would hate me. If they're going to work on a project, they can work on a project. I heard him giggling with Yixing, it's not like they won't have a good time." 

Sehun laughs bitterly. "You're so ing stupid. Did you not see how Baekhyun looked at you? He wanted you to make an excuse, to get him out of it. Don't you get that he likes you? He always looks at you like you're the sun, Chanyeol." 

Chanyeol blushes because, yeah, that hit a little too close to home. 

"And you left him there, with some guy that's going to try and make a move on him when he doesn't want it. Are you happy now? You feel mature for walking away?" 

Chanyeol flushes again, but now he's ashamed. The look in Baekhyun's eyes flashes through his mind. His heart jumps and he starts up the stairs, determined. 

When he walks into the classroom, Baekhyun is picking up his backpack and Yixing is making a move to slip his hand around the curve of Baekhyun's waist. Suddenly logic is out of the window.

As the arm wraps around Baekhyun, the smaller boy jumps in shock and he looks upward uncomfortably. Chanyeol barges up to the both of them, harshly grabbing Yixing's arm and pushing him away. He purposely puts himself in front of Baekhyun, effectively blocking the boy, and he looks down at Yixing with fire in his eyes. 

"What the , Chanyeol?" Yixing shouts, looking down at his recently grabbed arm. Chanyeol looks down, too, seeing faint fingerprints on his forearm. He feels a pang of guilt, but it's gone when Yixing speaks next. "What's your problem? Baekhyun wasn't protesting." 

"Not protesting doesn't mean you can do it. Did he say he wanted you to touch him? Did he look like he wanted you to touch him? I didn't see that," Chanyeol retorts bitterly. He watches mirth glow in Yixing's eyes. 

"And you think he wants you to touch him? Get over it, Chanyeol. Just because you're tall doesn't mean it makes up for your face and personality." 

Chanyeol moves forward to grab Yixing by the collar, but he's stopped when familiar fingers find their way to his hand, holding it tightly. He turns to look at Baekhyun, watching the confusion swimming in the other's eyes.

"Let's go," Baekhyun whispers in a desperate way. Chanyeol can see that he's uncomfortable and scared. He suddenly regrets raising his voice and he nods in what he hopes is an apologetic way. 

They leave then, Chanyeol panting with anger. Baekhyun still can't believe what just happened. There are so many things running through his mind. He feels suffocated. 

It's only when they're out of the building and into the chilled air that Chanyeol feels like he can breathe. 

"I'm sorry for leaving you earlier," he mumbles. Baekhyun squints his eyes, watching the conflicted emotions wash over Chanyeol's face. 

"Why did you get mad at me?" Baekhyun asks. He doesn't understand what he did wrong, doesn't think he'll ever understand. 

"I'm a . I got mad because he kept touching you and making you laugh and -- " Chanyeol makes an exasperated noise from the back of his throat and musses his hair roughly. "I'm sorry. I let it get the best of me. We should've just left when you first looked at me, I --" 

"Jealousy?" Baekhyun asks, eyebrows raised. Chanyeol looks away then, too embarrassed, before nodding the slightest bit. 

"I shouldn't have been. It's just, he makes me so mad. He always talks to you like, like you're some object, like he just wants to sleep with you or something! And the look in his eyes when he watches you --" 

Baekhyun watches the boy stutter, fail to express his emotions, and turn away with scarlet cheeks.

"I'm sorry. It won't happen again. I won't leave you with him, if you don't want to be with him," Chanyeol's voice is low and sad, regretful. "I get it if you want me to just leave you guys alone. I was out of place, and he's right, I really shouldn't just assume that you'd pick me over him. I'm sorry." 

Baekhyun halts his walking, suddenly angry. He can see the regret in Chanyeol's eyes; he can see the self-ridicule he's putting himself through. 

"He's wrong," Baekhyun says simply. "I'd let you touch me. I'd always pick you, Chanyeol." 

--------

ooooooh hell yeah its only 12am AND i got caught up on a weeks worth of ap calc hw tonight 

im v tired gniht i hope u like this (kind of ??? long ??????) filler chapter filled w chanyeols jealousy,,, leading up to meeting minseok!!!

id love feedback of any kind,,,,, ok peace ! bye bye