The harsh cry of the school bell echoed through the hallways and Hakyeon found himself reluctant to leave the classroom. In pain and exhausted, he wasn’t really looking forward to walking home in his condition, but more than that, he wasn’t really ready to face the whispers and disgusted looks of his classmates. After his fight with Hongbin and his lunch rendezvous with Taekwoon, the whispers were much louder and more hateful than usual. Gathering every shred of his courage, he stood and made gathered his things, making his way through the hallway as quickly as he could.

“Hey, baby doll.” An arm draped over his shoulder as he exited the from doors of the school, Wonshik’s now familiar face inches from his. “Need a ride home?” Shuddering slightly, he shook his head. As nice as he was sure Wonshik was, and as much as he hated the thought of walking home, he wasn’t really feeling up to the task of figuring out Wonshik’s personality.

“I...” Unsure of how to respond, Hakyeon shifted slightly, trying desperately to come up with an excuse that wouldn’t seem rude or unfriendly outside of ‘I feel like garbage and my anxiety levels are really high right now and I don’t think I can handle it’ or something of the like.

“Hakyeon!” From the school gate, he heard a shout and looked up to see the smiling face of Jackson as the man waved enthusiastically. “Hey!”

“I actually already have a ride. Sorry.” Relief washed over him as he waved back at Jackson, motioning at him to wait a moment for him.

“Ah. Your ‘Not-Boyfriend’ is here, huh?” Wonshik’s smile dropped for a moment but was back before Hakyeon could even be sure it had left at all. “He’s pretty whipped for someone you’re not banging.”

“I... I mean... Um...” Wonshik’s words stung but Hakyeon was sure that he couldn’t possibly have known the impact of those words, because there was no way he could know what Hakyeon did for a living. Right? “W-we’re not in a relationship. He’s just... He’s very kind and... And just don’t drag him into the same category as me, okay? I’ll let you know if I can see that movie with you later.”

“Ah~ I was hoping you hadn’t forgotten.” Grinning, Wonshik ruffled Hakyeon’s hair before setting him free. “I’ll text you in a while to give you time to figure it out. See you later, baby doll.” Kissing Hakyeon’s cheek, he wandered off without another word. Shaking his head in a fragile attempt to clear his mind and function like a normal, non-broken human being. Collecting himself, he made his way to Jackson’s car. The other man had a split lip and a black eye, but he was smiling, personality as bright and welcoming as it had ever been.

“Hey.” Guilt descended upon him again and Hakyeon found that he couldn’t look his friend in the eyes. “I... Thank you for sticking up for me. I’m really sorry you got suspended. If... If you need me to... I’ll tell Jae’s dad that it was my fault and find a way to get you out of trouble.”

“Absolutely not, Cha Hakyeon.” The gentle but stern voice made him flinch as Jackson helped him into the car. “You didn’t make me fight him. I fought him on my own. I wouldn’t even begin to accept you taking the blame on this.”

“I’m sorry, Jackson.” Pausing a moment, he looked his friend over before hugging him. “Thank you.” Embracing him, Jackson seemed to handle Hakyeon like he could break him with the slightly pressure. Mind falling to something it had a few times since Hakyeon had first been hired to sleep with the other man, since they had very slowly formed what he supposed was a friendship... ‘In a different life, I could love you.’ Yet, it wasn’t a different life and Jackson wasn’t someone he could let himself love. That thought weighing heavy on his mind, Hakyeon moved away and pretended to busy himself with checking his seat belt.

“But hey. I guess I really am going to need you to tutor me now.” Chuckling, Jackson the card and started driving. “Do you mind if we go over what I missed in class today? I understand if you don’t want to. I’ll pay and I’ll buy food.”

“Okay.” He hadn’t even needed a moment to think it over, spending the evening tutoring Jackson seemed like a pretty calming end to his stressful day. “If you pay and buy food. Do... Do you mind if we do it at my place?” Honestly, everything in Jackson’s entire mansion was so interesting that he knew that he wouldn’t be able to focus, considering it would be his first proper chance to examine all the decorations without being otherwise engaged in activity.

“Yeah. Wherever you’re most comfortable, Hakyeon.” Jackson gave him a soft smile and turned the radio on low. “How was school after I left? Did you make a new friend?”

“Oh? You mean Wonshik?” Hakyeon watched Jackson as they turned down a street, heading ever closer to his apartment. “He sort of helped me get away during your fight with Hongbin. He’s new. I guess he’s pretty nice. A little weird and kind of awkward but nice.”

“I’m glad. More people should be nice to you, Hakyeon.” Jackson parked his car in front of the dilapidated apartment complex and picked up Hakyeon’s bag. “You’ve had a long day so you can go ahead and shower and get out of your uniform while I order pizza, if you want?”

“That sounds heavenly, actually.” Smiling, Hakyeon led Jackson upstairs, feeling more than a little self conscious about the shabby state of his living quarters. “Welcome to my home.” Unlocking the door, he stepped to the side to allow Jackson inside, waiting nervously for the look of disgust he figured the dingy interior deserved.

“It’s small but cute and full of personality.” Jackson looked around as he sat Hakyeon’s backpack on the couch. “It feels like home. In the mansion... All that space feels so lonely, but here... It feels like home... It feels exactly like Cha Hakyeon lives here and I love it.”

“I... I never thought of it like that...” Blushing, Hakyeon motioned for Jackson to sit down and went to the fridge to get him a bottle of water and an ice pack for his bruised eye.. “Thank you. It really does. Feel less lonely, I mean.”

“You don’t need to thank me.” Shaking his head, Jackson accepted the water, placing the ice pack against his face as he sat on the couch. “Go get cozy, okay? I’ll get the food ordered and we can eat while we study.”

“Thank you, anyway.” With a small, awkward half bow, Hakyeon quickly retreated to his bathroom to shower and do his best to forget any feelings that had been creeping up on him in the past few days.If he didn’t let those feelings go he wasn’t sure he could handle it.

Unsure of how long he had sat under that hot stream of water, by the time Hakyeon wandered back out in sweatpants and a baggy shirt, he heard voices in his living room. Moving forward quietly, he was surprised to find Jaehwan had already arrived. More surprising, though, was the harsh tones his friend was using on each other. Jaehwan looked angry but Jackson just looked exasperated and tired. Wanting to rescue them both from whatever was going on, he cleared his throat, watching both men jump.

“Hey, Jaehwan.” Making his way over to the couch, he sat between the two men and picked up his backpack from where it had been placed on the floor to get out his notes. “Jackson is here to study so if you’re staying you’ll need to be respectful of that.”

“Yeah. Okay.” Wrapping his arm around Hakyeon’s shoulder, Jaehwan pulled him closer. “I brought you some cookies. Our maid made way too many so I figured you might enjoy them.”

“Here.” Taking the papers from Hakyeon, Jackson smiled a little and settled down in his spot. “I’ll look over these and if I have any questions, I’ll ask. You go ahead and hang out with your friend. I know you don’t get a lot of chances.”

“That’s right. He doesn’t.” Jaehwan’s voice was unnaturally cold, making Hakyeon’s heart drop for a second before his friend warmed back up. “Thank you for this chance, Jackson. I appreciate it.”

“But I’m supposed to be tutoring you. I can’t just let you do it all alone.” Groaning, Hakyeon leaned away from Jaehwan slightly to see what Jackson was reading over. “I can’t accept your money if I’m not actually doing what you’re paying me for.”

“Cha Hakyeon. I would pay you just to get a good night’s sleep, okay?” Jackson’s words seemed to sting his soul and he wasn’t really sure why they hurt him so much, but he knew that the other man was telling the truth. Even when Jackson had been sleeping with him, he’d always done his best to insist that Hakyeon was taken care of to the best of his ability. “Don’t worry about this.”

“Jackson...” Moving back toward Jackson in an attempt to help him go over the schoolwork, Jaehwan’s arm around him kept him stuck close beside his friend.

“You heard him, Hakyeon. Don’t worry about it.” Jaehwan stretched, turning on the television with a small yawn. “Just relax with me. You really work too hard. It isn’t healthy.

“But...” Trying to protest despite Jackson’s willingness to go along with his laziness, Hakyeon gave his friend a pleading look as his phone chimed, telling him he had a text. “One second...”

“Hey, it’s Wonshik. How about that movie, Baby Doll?” Groaning as he remembered that he had somewhat agreed to a friend date, a feeling of being overwhelmed began to creep into him. He was barely used to handling work and Jaehwan, but this... This was almost too much for his anxiety to handle.

“Sorry, But I can’t. I ended up having to work.” Just wanting to get out of the situation without any wounded feelings, Hakyeon chose to text back with the truth, hoping that his new friend would respect that.

“Well . Maybe this weekend then?” The reply made him feel a little better about the situation, reassured that Wonshik wouldn’t despise him in the morning if they met at school.

“We’ll see, okay? I’ll try.” Answering back, he was beginning to feel tension in the room between his current companions and it was making him nervous, confused on why they could be so unhappy and concerned that, as always, it as all his fault..

“Sounds like a plan. See you tomorrow, Baby Doll.” Not sure how to reply, he chose to ignore it and get back to what he was trying to do, hoping to diffuse the animosity between the two men on either side of him, though he felt like the majority of the negativity was coming from Jaehwan. And how could he blame him? He’d really neglected their friendship for too long.

“Hey, Hakyeon. Not to bug you, but... What’s even going on in our math class?” Jackson held the paper out, pointing toward an equation they had covered that day with a questioning look.

“Are you really that bad at math?” Letting out a soft chuckle, he moved closer to look it over. Jackson’s ineptitude with numbers was honestly kind of adorable. Jaehwan shifted beside him, seeming annoyed for some reason outside of Hakyeon’s understanding. Was he doing something wrong?

“I am.” Nodding with a fake serious expression on his face, Jackson pointed at the equation again. “This is honestly just gibberish to me.”

“Okay. I’ll walk you through it, you brat.” Laughing, he shook his head and got out another piece of paper, ready to walk Jackson step by step through the equation.

“You’re the brat. But thank you.” Chuckling, Jackson poked Hakyeon’s cheeks playfully before preparing himself to seriously learn, much to Hakyeon’s relief. He had been wondering if Jackson was just using studying as a chance to goof off with him and was glad to see that it wasn’t the case and he was actually earning his money.

“Hey, Hakyeon.” Jaehwan moved closer, wrapping an arm around Hakyeon’s waist and resting his chin on his shoulder as he held a cookie to Hakyeon’s lips. “Here.”

“Jae. I need to work.” Pulling away slightly, Hakyeon patted his cheek lightly and sighed, feeling awful for having to get stern. “Please stop.”

“Fine. I’m going to hang out in your room. Alone.” Standing up, Jaehwan’s mood seemed to darken as he stomped toward the bedroom. “Let me know when he’s gone.”

“Jae...” Watching him, Hakyeon felt a surge of pain wash over him, feeling as though he had somehow done something truly awful by being his work home with him to interfere with his friendship. Jaehwan probably hated him for it. He wouldn’t blame him.

“I’m sorry, Hakyeon. Do you want me to just go? I’ll still pay you for the day.” Jackson began to stand and Hakyeon reached out, grabbing his wrist, suddenly really not wanting to see him go.

“No. No. Of course not, Jackson. Please... Please stay.” Blushing, he let go of his companion’s wrist when he settled back into his seat and looked away, shaking the paper in his hand. “Let’s get your GPA up together, delinquent.”

“You are such a nerd.” Chuckling, Jackson nudged Hakyeon with his elbow. “Teach me. I am your willing student.” Giving off his own laugh, Hakyeon felt himself relaxing despite Jaehwan pouting in the other room. It was true that something about Jackson had always managed to set him at ease and completely unnerve him all at the same time. As he began walking the other man through equations, he couldn’t help but wonder if this new work with Jackson, this new chance to get to know more about the man, was a blessing or a curse. Would he find himself happier with the expanding friendship or would his whole world come crashing down around him? Maybe... Could losing everything to selfishly seek love be worth it?