In honor of the whole new year new you tradition..... lets do a little new year new fic! I've been working on this for so long and it's finally time to post the first chapter! I'm really excited for this one. I spent a lot of time writing it, trying to change how I usually write, making sure that the plot flows well and that there's not as much dialogue as most of my stories usually have. So enjoy and Happy New Year everyone! Please upvote and comment to let me know if you liked this chapter!

Winner! Winner! Winner!

The machine across from the prize counter rings loud throughout the arcade; kids from all over turn their heads, jealous of the tall guy who keeps winning the big jackpots. They all watch as the machine spits out an endless stream of tickets that pile up at the guy’s feet as he high-fives his friend playing at the machine directly beside him.

Baekhyun is watching too, with one elbow resting on the glass counter and his chin pressed flat against his palm; he’s chewing his nails again even though he said he was going to stop. He knows this guy. Well, he doesn’t know know him, but he’s seen him around the arcade enough to recognize him. He’s the only customer he’d call a regular, seeing as he’s there just as much as Baekhyun is. The only difference is that Baekhyun actually works at the arcade, this tall, freakishly good at arcade games guy is just obsessed with hitting jackpots and crushing little kid’s dreams, apparently.

“He’s really good,” Jongin says from beside Baekhyun, still watching the tall guy, but now squinting in annoyance because he’s dancing around like an idiot. “Are you glaring because you’re jealous?”

Baekhyun purses his lips and turns his attention to his coworker. “Shut up, I would never be jealous of,” he turns to look at the tall guy, now happily shaking his , “that,” he finishes as he turns back to Jongin. “He’s literally an idiot.” He watches the guy dance for another few seconds then returns to his relaxed position on the counter, letting out a long sigh. “He is really ing lucky though.”

“He won a jackpot for 8,000 tickets earlier,” Jongin says offhandedly as he straightens the shelf of cheap teddy bears. “And another for like 4,000. I had to go and put more tickets in the machine for him.”

Baekhyun huffs, “I feel like we’re always filling up the ticket slot for him. He really needs a new hobby.”

“Stick to what you know,” Jongin says, patting Baekhyun on the shoulder, “stick to what you’re good at.”

Baekhyun is left alone after that. It’s a boring job, most of the time spent standing around waiting for little kids coming to get a handful of candy with the couple hundred tickets they’ve won. It’s boring, but he gets free food and drinks, and he’s allowed fifty free play tokens a week which he’s been using to save up enough tickets to take home something cool, eventually.

His day drags on. It’s a fairly slow day in the arcade, like every Monday night, but this particular night is especially awful. He’s already had to clean vomit up in the bathroom and squeegee the glass of a pinball machine a kid chose to sneeze on, instead of turning his head like any normal person. He sighs, rearranges his numb cheeks on the stool he’s sitting on and is momentarily distracted by a child screaming from somewhere in the distance. He just wants to scroll through his Facebook feed until it’s time to close up.

“Hey,” a voice calls, and Baekhyun looks up. “Chanyeol, my friend over there,” the guy says as he points a thumb over his shoulder, “he told me to let you know that the machine ran out of tickets again.”

Baekhyun stands and looks over, unsurprised when he sees it’s tall guy standing beside a machine with an error code blinking across the screen. So, his name is Chanyeol, Baekhyun thinks. “Yeah, give me a sec. I’ll go grab a stream of tickets and be right over.”

He arrives at the machine where Chanyeol and his friend are lost in conversation. He drops the stack of tickets on the floor and gets down on his knees, using his key to open the ticket slot door so he can resupply the tickets.

A sudden voice close to him takes him by surprise; it’s deep and near enough to his ear that it sends a shiver down his spine. “Thanks for doing this,” Chanyeol says with a wide smile, “You guys must be sick of me by now.” Chanyeol laughs and straightens himself so that he’s looking down at Baekhyun instead of invading his personal space.

“Only a little,” Baekhyun jokes, though inside he knows he really means it. “You’re kinda infamous around here, among the workers anyway.” He smiles, Chanyeol is aggravatingly attractive this close up, and Baekhyun wishes he could slap himself for even having that thought. “Me and Jongin…my devastatingly handsome coworker,” he says offhandedly, “we like to call you the soul crusher.”

Chanyeol and his friend give each other a curious look and Baekhyun has to stop himself from laughing.

“We can always see the light leave the younger kid’s eyes every time you hit a jackpot. It’s like you have a sixth sense for when a machine is ready to payout; you crush the kid’s hopes and dreams.” He realizes he’s doing his idiotic rambling thing again and laughs just to shut himself up. “But yeah. Tickets are good to go now.”

“Cool. Thanks,” Chanyeol says, and his attention goes back to the game as tickets start spitting out of the machine once again.

Luckily for Baekhyun there are no more empty ticket slots, no one else decided to snot all over a machine; the rest of his shift was easy sailing. Fifteen minutes before closing, Chanyeol and his friend are the only people left. Baekhyun knows Chanyeol never turns in his tickets; he always takes them home in a big crumpled ball he carries proudly in his arms. He’s wondered a few times what Chanyeol is saving up to get. He’s a twenty-something dude, so he assumes it’s the PlayStation 4 sitting on a pretty pedestal at the very top of the prize wall. A whopping “125,000 Tickets” sticker slapped right across the box. Baekhyun looks up at it and chuckles, it would be cheaper to just walk into a store and buy one instead of buying hundreds of dollars worth of tokens every week.  

“His name’s Chanyeol,” Baekhyun says the next day. He’s sitting beside Jongin, as usual, behind the prize counter. There’s a relatively loud birthday party going on, so he has to raise his voice a bit.

“Who?” Jongin asks.

“Tall guy. His little, big-eyed friend came up to the counter after you left last night asking me to refill a machine for him, and told me Chanyeol’s name.”

“Ah,” Jongin says, half-wincing at a child who’d just fallen flat on his face trying to run to a machine. “So, are you totally gonna him then?” He turns to look at Baekhyun now, taking in his confused and slightly offended face. “What? You sleep with everyone, nothing wrong with that.” He receives a hard punch to the shoulder and Baekhyun scoffs.

“This is why I hate you. This is why I told the manager to put your on days.” He pouts quietly to himself for a second, then adds, “.”

As if on cue, Chanyeol and his same friend from the night before come strolling in the door, the latter talking animatedly about something Baekhyun can’t hear over the screaming children. He watches Chanyeol slip money into a token dispenser and fill a plastic cup to the brim; his friend does the same, and then they’re off to win tickets.

Most of Baekhyun’s shift is spent running after kids kicking and punching at machines, cleaning up after kids that can’t keep a cup secured in their hands, and shelling out handfuls of candy to kids redeeming their tickets. He doesn’t get much of a chance to watch Chanyeol play, like he usually does when he’s here, and he just wants to go home and face plant into his pillow…after he finishes his homework, of course.

Around 9:30, a half hour before closing, Jongin finally shows his face. He’d spent his shift working in the kitchen baking pizzas and dropping fries in the deep fryer. He looks like hell and his shirt is stained with grease, and Baekhyun can’t hold in his laugh.

“Why does Junmyeon always toss me in the kitchen for parties?” He flops into a chair and goes limp, sliding down until his is hanging off the seat, and he lets out a huge sigh. “I hate children and I hate this job.” Baekhyun laughs once again. “And I hate you too.”

Baekhyun has time to roll his eyes before he perks up, smiling at the sight of Chanyeol struggling to walk toward the counter with a large bunch of tickets hugged in his arms. He gets halfway to the counter, drops half of the tickets, gets tangled in them as he tries picking them up, and finally makes it to the counter. “Hi,” he says, breathless as he grins at Baekhyun, peeking over at Jongin momentarily. “He okay?”

“Oh, Jongin?” Baekhyun side eyes his coworker and smirks, “Yeah, he just hates children.”

“Me too,” comes the deep voice from the night before. Chanyeol’s friend steps out from behind him, holding his own large, but slightly smaller than Chanyeol’s, bunch of tickets. He’s smiling at Jongin who now has his uniform hat over his face, assumedly trying to sleep. “They’re the worst,” he adds once he’s looking back to Baekhyun.

“So,” Baekhyun says to break the silence. He leans on the counter, popping his booty out and swaying his hips. “Finally cashing in on your tickets?”

“Oh uh, no,” Chanyeol says, shifting on his feet. “Me and Kyungsoo we’re uh…actually just coming to say hi. Or, bye? Hi and bye?”

“We’re leaving,” Kyungsoo says, using his shoulder to push Chanyeol away from the counter and toward the door.

“I’m saving my tickets,” Chanyeol says over his shoulder in a hurry; Kyungsoo is relentless, pushing him along with an unfailing persistence. Chanyeol turns back again, struggling to keep upright against Kyungsoo’s firm grip on his sides, “I’m gonna get the best prize here!” He smiles, almost too big for his face. “That!”

They’re out the door before Baekhyun gets a chance to look back, to follow where Chanyeol’s finger was pointing, but he knows. He already knows what that idiotic giant was pointing toward. Baekhyun would agree it’s the best prize, the only thing in the whole place worth saving up for. The one prize Baekhyun has been saving his very own tickets for.

“That son of a ,” he says, his fist so tight his nails dig into his palms. “That’s my giant teddy bear.” From beside him, Jongin chuckles and Baekhyun grits his teeth and kicks at Jongin’s legs, successfully knocking him off the chair, onto the floor with a pained groan.

Baekhyun ups his play time. He even, very reluctantly, slips some of his own hard earned cash into a token machine for the first time since he’d gotten the job. He refuses to let Chanyeol get the bear before him; he’s been working too hard for the past two months to let it slip through his fingers now. He won’t accept defeat. Even if it means spending more time than he’d like at work once his shift ends.

It’s a Wednesday and Baekhyun’s shift had been short. He had a class on campus earlier in the day, most of his classes he takes online because he hates people, and he’s ready to spend the hour before closing winning some tickets.

He slips four tokens into a machine, his favorite game, the only one he’s half-decent at, and glares at his hand on the button. Sure, he’s no Chanyeol-arcade-game-stupid-wizard-extraordinaire, but he sure as hell is going to try his best.

The game is simple enough and requires little skill, just timing and luck, really. It’s a tall machine, looks similar to a crane machine, but the bottom spins and has little holes with ticket amounts on them. All you have to do is hit the button to drop a ball, and hope it lands in the jackpot, or at least a high-ticket amount. Easy enough. He slams the button, only partially wishing it was Chanyeol’s face, and the ball drops, lands in the 25 slot. He groans. Chanyeol would probably get the jackpot, he whispers begrudgingly.

He hits the button again and again, getting no more than 30 tickets at once, and running annoyingly low on tokens already. It’s much easier to carelessly run out of tokens when he hasn’t paid for them himself. Again and again, he gets low scores, and he only gets more annoyed with each play.

He’s staring at the machine with a furious concentration when the jackpot bell rings out from the twin machine beside the one he’s at.

“Did you see that? Right in the jackpot on the first try!”

Baekhyun digs his heel into the hideously stained carpet and pivots, a dangerous glare already forming on his face. “You,” he seethes, because who would it be of course, besides Chanyeol.

Chanyeol is ecstatic about his win; Baekhyun eyes the ticket counter, he’d just won 1750 tickets in one go. He hates Chanyeol. And, he hates his stupid big ears too.

“Want me to show you how to do it?” Chanyeol says excitedly, motioning toward his machine. “It’s really easy.”

“I can do it myself, thanks,” Baekhyun hisses, then slams his fist down on the button. He gets 4 tickets and he wants to die, wants to roll his eyes so hard into the back of his head they detach and he just dies.

“Here, watch.” Chanyeol’s eyes move in a slow circle, following the rotation of the machine. He’s holding his hand over the button, just waiting. Baekhyun is annoyed and becoming increasingly impatient. “Now!” Chanyeol hits the button, a quick little tap unlike the way Baekhyun punches it, and Baekhyun can almost feel his arm swinging to punch Chanyeol when the ball lands right in the jackpot…again. Two in a row.

“That’s not fair,” Baekhyun sputters, trying to dig into the depths of his brain for a fitting insult. “I’ve been here for like twenty minutes and only have like 100 tickets, and you have…” He pauses to look at the pile on the floor building around Chanyeol’s legs, tickets are still spewing from the machine.

“It’s like…3000,” Chanyeol says with a bright smile. Baekhyun rips his ticket stream from the machine and walks away, having to talk himself out of flipping Chanyeol off as he passes through the doors.

Baekhyun doesn’t live in the dorms on campus, but he might as well. His apartment is tiny, and his bedroom is even smaller, and the angry little ball he’s curled up in on his bed is even smaller still. He’s on his side staring at the wall, the television buzzing low from somewhere behind him, and he’s still pissed off. It’s been well over an hour since his run in with Chanyeol, but he just can’t shake the anger.

He knows he’s being a petty baby, but he just really wants that bear. It’s as tall as he is and pink and really ing soft. He wants it to cuddle at night when it’s cold and his ty apartment heat isn’t working well enough. Or, when he’s been drinking alone and wants a partner to dance drunk with to old One Direction songs. That’s his bear.

A knock at his door makes him sigh and groan; he hadn’t planned on getting up anytime within the next hour or so. But he does, and he shuffles slowly across the carpet, heaving another larger sigh when he twists the knob.

His roommate, Minseok, is easily his favorite person in the world. Baekhyun hasn’t known him for half as long as some of his other friends, but somehow, Minseok just gets him. Also, there was that weird month long period where they ed like rabbits; literally every flat surface in the apartment has one or both of their prints on it, but they don’t like to talk about that. Baekhyun calls him Min for short, or Minnie when he’s feeling cute and needy for snuggles on the couch, and he can never resist pinching his little round cheeks that so contrast his rock-hard body. Minseok insists he hates it, but he’s never actually told Baekhyun not to do it.

Baekhyun fixes a pout onto his lips and leans into Minseok forehead first, letting himself fall limp into Minseok’s arms. “Minnie,” he whines, then buries his face in his neck.

“Should I make hot chocolate?” Baekhyun lets his pout intensify and he looks up and nods.

“So, who hurt you today?” Minseok asks as he hands off a mug to Baekhyun and sits at the other end of their shared couch. He makes a face when Baekhyun digs his bare toes under his thigh; they’re cold, but he lets him.

“No one hurt me.” He takes a large gulp of his hot chocolate and sighs. “That big idiot at the arcade just pissed me off.”

Minseok hums, the only real sign that he’s paying attention because his eyes are focused on the television across from him. Soccer is on and it’s the only thing in his life he cares about other than Baekhyun and school…and his family, of course. He tenses, balls his fists, and then groans when some team, Baekhyun assumes it’s the one Minseok doesn’t like, scores.

Baekhyun frowns and decides to dig his foot into Minseok’s cheek. “Pay attention to meeee!” he whines, “You know I’m a needy !”

Minseok tries hard to keep the smile off his face as he sighs, rolls his eyes. He turns to face Baekhyun. “I’m sorry princess, would you like me to stop everything I’m doing and just stare at you as you talk for an hour?”

“Well…” Baekhyun’s pout turns into a small smile, “Actually, that’d be nice.” He bounces up onto his knees and falls into Minseok’s lap, curling his limbs all around him anyway he can. “Refer to me as princess from now on too, I like that.”

Minseok doesn’t even answer, just pushes Baekhyun off him and onto the floor. “If you need me, I’ll be doing homework in my room,” he stops in his doorway, smirks, then adds, “princess.”

“What?”

Baekhyun pulls his phone away from his ear, blinks in disbelief and scoffs. “What? Is that really how you answer the phone? You monster.”

Jongin sighs, the kind of sigh he gives Baekhyun when he’s annoyed with him. “I’m…busy. What do you want?”

Baekhyun purses his lips, narrows his eyes. He gasps. “Are you getting laid right now? Oh my god, is that what’s happening?” He knows he’s in line at Starbucks, and he knows he’s being loud, but it doesn’t stop him from bouncing excitedly at the thought that Jongin just answered his call mid-.

“I’m…what? Dude, no.”

Baekhyun instantly deflates. “Oh, well boo you.” He narrows his eyes, hearing a soft sigh from the other end of the phone, something else sounding eerily like a weak, distant moan. “So, what are you up to then?” he asks cautiously, not wanting to give away his suspicion.

“You called me, what do you w-want?”

“A grande mocha frappe, soy, no whip. Thanks!” He giggles at the pretty girl taking his order as he swipes his card, switching his phone to his other hand quickly. “Sorry, I’m getting coffee right now. Anyway, I was calling to see if you…” He pauses to sign his receipt and throw a dollar in the girl’s tip jar. Just as he’s about to speak again he’s stopped by a very distinct whimper crying out through the phone. His jaw drops, scandalized.

“Nini, hang up and fu—“

The voice cuts off abruptly and Baekhyun stands still. That was most definitely a guy’s voice calling out for Jongin, calling him ‘Nini’, asking him to him. The laugh that leaves Baekhyun is menacing, Disney villain worthy. He grabs his drink when his name is called and types up a quick text.

To Jongin:
i knew you were into guys!!!! i’m never wrogn abt this stuff why didnt you ever tell me :( :( :(

He doesn’t expect a reply, not right away anyway, so he slips his phone into his pocket and makes his way to the door.

Outside, there are multitudes of students walking, running, one kid is on a skateboard cruising down the crowded sidewalk. Baekhyun hates coming to this particular Starbucks because he always, always runs into…

“Sehun,” Baekhyun says, not even trying to hide the dread in his voice. He watches the tall blonde walk toward him, waving his arms much too enthusiastically for how busy the sidewalk is. Baekhyun knows he’s already been spotted, so he doesn’t try to hide like he normally would; he just puts on his best fake grin and braces himself.

“Hi, Baekhyun!” Sehun’s eyes seem to glimmer as he steps in front of the shorter, older boy. He smiles big, bright; Baekhyun wonders if his cheeks ache from it. “We always seem to run into each other here, huh?”

Baekhyun is in his last year of college; he’s had lots of time to learn new things and make plenty of mistakes. Sehun is one of those mistakes. Sehun is, arguably, the worst mistake, made in a beer induced stupor at an end of the year party last year.

“Seems so,” Baekhyun says, chuckling awkwardly. Sehun is pushed by a passerby suddenly and they bump into each other; a memory of Sehun’s body pressed against his flashes through his mind and he shakes the thought away. “I should get going.”

“Oh,” Sehun says, eyes downcast, “Okay…okay yeah, you’re probably busy.” He bites at his bottom lip and Baekhyun can tell he has to force himself to look up. “I’ll see you around?”

He sounds so hopeful, it’s so pathetic and Baekhyun feels awful, but he just doesn’t feel that way about Sehun. “Yeah,” he smiles, deciding to indulge Sehun because Baekhyun can’t handle hurting people’s feelings, “I’m sure we’ll bump into each other again.”

They part ways, Sehun toward campus and Baekhyun in the other direction, toward his work. He thinks about that night with Sehun, the events that caused the freshmen to fall so hard for him. He wishes he could go back and undo what he did; sure it was good , great , but Sehun is a bit obsessed with him now. Baekhyun blames himself. He should have controlled himself, kept his in his pants, but he was drunk and Sehun was so pretty, is so pretty, and he let himself fall into bed (actually it was the bathtub at a frat house) with a sweet, young freshman.

But god, was the ever good. Hot and sticky, sloppy drunk hands roaming everywhere, the desperation in their grinding hips, Sehun’s shoulder bumping the handle and turning the shower on. Baekhyun can, at least, look back on that fondly, think about it sometimes when he’s getting off alone in his room. He stops dead in his tracks and shakes his head, tells himself to think about literally anything else.

He makes it to work just in time to be only ten minutes late. The smile he gives to his boss, Junmyeon, gets him out of bathroom duty and he marks that as a win in his book.

It’s Friday, but it’s still early, so the arcade is pretty dead. There are a few high school kids skipping school and a couple parents with children too young for school. He finds himself bored quickly, sitting in his little chair flipping through the same magazine he’s been reading for the past three weeks, the one he keeps under the counter as an emergency something to do.

His vibrates and he leans to the side to pull his phone out of his back pocket.

From Jongin:
y the would i tell u?? i already came out once didnt rly feel like doing it again

To Jongin:
gonna change ur name to nini in my phone ;p who was that btw his voice was really y

From Jongin:
i literally in hate u dont u dare change my name to that

To Nini:
tooooooo late…… NINI

Baekhyun gets his phone taken away by Junmyeon, which he pouts about for the next hour until Jongin shows up for his shift. He instantly perks up when Jongin rounds the corner, stepping behind the counter to grab his hat he keeps hung on a hook in the wall.

Jongin places his hand over Baekhyun’s entire face, pushes him back into his previous seated position. “Just don’t. I will seriously kill you.”

“But Nini!” Baekhyun whines, making obscene kissy faces at him. He reaches his arms out, slapping at Jongin’s and thighs, giggling at each weak punch he dodges. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I’ll stop.”

They sit beside each other in silence for a while. Baekhyun has always liked Jongin, and Jongin Baekhyun, no matter how annoying Baekhyun may be. They work well together, complain together, and occasionally get drunk on weekends together. Jongin is two years older, inches taller, and was the one who showed Baekhyun the ropes when he was first hired in at the arcade. Baekhyun would never actually tell him, but he really admires Jongin; he’s smart and kind, and very sincere in everything he says and does. He’s a good guy.

Jongin’s one fault, though Baekhyun wouldn’t label it that because he does the same, is that he likes to sleep around. And, until today, Baekhyun assumed it was all the lovely ladies’ hearts around campus he was breaking. Jongin is attractive, devastatingly so, but Baekhyun wouldn’t necessarily say he’s attracted to him. He’d him, sure, if the offer was ever put on the table, but that’s about the extent of his attraction.

“You’re staring at me.”

Baekhyun blinks and gives Jongin a wide grin. “So, who was it that you we’re ing when I called?”

Jongin laughs, literally bursts into a raucous laughter right in Baekhyun’s face; the kind of laugh where he has to reach out and punch Baekhyun in the shoulder over and over. He composes himself, wipes the tears forming in the corner of his eyes, and rubs at where he’d punched Baekhyun. “Oh, it’s cute that you really think I’d tell you that.”

“You’re so mean,” Baekhyun pouts. “Come on, just tell me! Is it someone I know?” He turns his head to scan the room; Jongdae is sweeping, Taehyung is sanitizing machines, and Luhan is sitting in a chair in one of the reserved party rooms sleeping. There’s also Amber and Krystal, but now that he knows Jongin’s preference he doesn’t worry about them. “Is it someone we work with?” he asks excitedly.

“I’m…no it’s not someone we work with. I’m not telling you. It’s none of your business.”

Baekhyun jumps up and slams his hands on the counter, throwing a mild temper tantrum. “Oh, come onnn, Nini! Tell me! I need to know who you were dicking down at 11am!”

“Excuse me?”

Baekhyun’s eyes widen and he prays that when he turns around there isn’t a small child standing on the other side of the counter. “Oh,” he perks up, “Kyungsoo, thank god you’re not a kid.” He laughs and pretends to wipe nervous sweat from his forehead. “What can I do for you?”

“I just…uh. The token machine isn’t taking my money so I wanted to see if I could get tokens with my card?”

“Yeah, sure.”

Baekhyun decides to stay after his shift today and play some games. He’s on a mission to win big. He takes his free tokens from the bin under the counter and even snags an extra $20 worth that he tells Junmyeon to take from his next check.

He steps up to the same machine and fixes a serious look on his face. “It’s bear time.” Then, he leans in close, presses his cheek to the cool glass, and whispers, “Please be good to me.”

Before he gets the chance to press the button, the buzzer on the machine beside him is going off. Okay, he’s actually going to scream if he turns and sees Chanyeol.

“WHY?!”

Chanyeol looks confused, and a little scared, and Baekhyun had screamed so loud he jumped and clutched his chest. “Why did you scream?”

“Why are you next to me?” He points an accusatory finger in Chanyeol’s face. “Do you literally just wait until I come to this machine so you can stand next to me and show me how much better at the game you are than me?” Baekhyun looks thoroughly offended and he hits the button on his machine on accident; he gets a 4.

“No. I just…like this game is all.” Chanyeol looks hurt, like he’d just been scolded by his mother. “I’m sorry?”

“Whatever,” Baekhyun snaps. He turns his attention back to his machine and huffs angrily. He plays a few rounds, the silence between himself and Chanyeol breeds guilt within Baekhyun. He feels bad for yelling at him. He really doesn’t like hurting people’s feelings. “I’m sorry,” he says as his ball lands in the 35. The next ball lands in the 15. “I’m sorry for yelling,” he looks up at Chanyeol, “You’re just so good it’s aggravating.”

The corner of Chanyeol’s lips curl into a small smile. “I could show you,” he says, motioning to the game, “I could show you the timing.”

“This game is all luck,” Baekhyun says matter-of-factly.

Chanyeol pushes Baekhyun aside as he shakes his head. “But it’s not. Watch.” He leans in, fully concentrated. “You just…wait until the 4 is lined up to that corner,” he points to the back left and then taps the button. The ball falls directly into the jackpot spot and he turns, proud, to smile at Baekhyun. “See?”

“Lucky shot,” Baekhyun mumbles as he retakes his place in front of the machine. He watches the bottom spin, eyes following the 4, and he taps the button right where Chanyeol said to. It almost bounces out, but it doesn’t, the ball lands right in the jackpot. Again. Baekhyun doesn’t believe it.

“Lucky shot?” Chanyeol laughs and puts his hands up in surrender when Baekhyun glares at him.

They play side by side in silence for a while. Baekhyun hits the jackpot on his own a couple more times and does some hard-core side eyeing, peeping on Chanyeol still content beside him. He thinks Chanyeol is cute, a fleeting thought, but it’s there, and he pushes it away just as fast as it came.

After a few more minutes Chanyeol wanders off to play other games. Baekhyun wishes he was good enough at other games to play them, but he’d just be wasting his tokens. He looks down at his cup; he’s almost out.

When he gets back to his apartment Minseok is sleeping on the couch; the television is on and the calculus book on Minseok’s chest is slowly sliding onto the floor. Baekhyun creeps over slowly and plucks the book up to set it on the table. He smiles when Minseok grumbles something in his sleep and rolls over, wrapping an arm around Baekhyun’s leg.

“Cuddle.”

“But I have homework,” Baekhyun says softly, running fingers through Minseok’s hair. In his sleepy daze Minseok pouts and Baekhyun breaks, gives in to Minseok’s cute face. He sighs at his weakness and climbs onto the couch, pressing his chest against Minseok’s.

It’s nice, very cozy and so, so warm he can feel himself falling asleep, homework be damned. He realizes he’s going to let himself nap so he rearranges himself into a more comfortable position on his side, his legs tucked between Minseok’s. He nuzzles his face into Minseok’s neck and sighs out in bliss; cuddling with Minseok is the best thing in the world.

When he wakes up it’s much darker in the room and they’ve moved in their sleep. He has to stop himself from laughing so he doesn’t wake Minseok. They’ve both twisted around and now have their lips pressed together.

Baekhyun leans back slightly, “Minnie,” he whispers. “Min, wake up.” Minseok blinks himself awake and it’s cute, too cute. Baekhyun loves sleepy Minseok. “We were kissing in our sleep.” This time he lets himself laugh and this wakes Minseok up fully and he joins in the laughter.

Minseok rolls over, crushing Baekhyun’s arm in the process, then elbows him in the ribs. Minseok takes Baekhyun’s knee to his crotch and there’s a mix of groaning and laughing.

They spend a little time after finally getting off the couch cleaning. It’s long overdue; the dishes are piled in the sink and the bathroom probably needs a hazmat team to come in and scrub it down (they have to rock, paper, scissors to decide who cleans that). Baekhyun does dishes while Minseok grabs a mask and rubber gloves, a mop and a roll of paper towels, and marches into the bathroom, fearing for his life. They play music throughout the apartment and stop about an hour in to have a duet in the living room.

When cleaning is done they’re both wiped out and it’s well passed dinner time so they order pizza, hopping on the couch to find a movie on Netflix before the food arrives.

They’re both fully comfortable on the couch when the pizza arrives, too tired to stand and too tangled in the warm blankets. So, Baekhyun just shouts that the door is open. They hear a confused “Uhhh” from the other side of the door and Baekhyun giggles, snuggling closer into Minseok’s side so he can reach his wallet in the pocket of his jeans he’d just kicked off before he’d curled into the blanket.

The door opens, Baekhyun stretches out the cash in his hand, wide smile on his face, and then he can’t stop the displeased groan from leaving his mouth.

“Baekhyun?”

“Sehun?”

Minseok glances between the two, sensing the tension. He knows the story, the history between them, and he knows that Sehun still craves affection and attention from Baekhyun. He knows how this must look, him and Baekhyun cuddled up under a blanket, Baekhyun’s pants lying on the floor beside them. Poor little Sehun.

“I’m sorry,” Sehun says, eyes downcast and cheeks burning red. “It’s uh…um, $14.34.”

Baekhyun hands over a twenty and tells Sehun to keep the change. Sehun is sulking, they both can see it, as he walks back to the door. He stops and turns, then clears his throat. “You guys look cute t-together.” And then, he’s gone.

“Well,” Minseok says, mouth full of pizza, “That was in’ awkward.”

Baekhyun chews, swallows, then lets out a loud laugh. “Maybe he’ll get over me now that I have a boyfriend that I apparently look cute with.” Minseok rolls his eyes and pushes him away.

Baekhyun is furiously typing on his laptop, glasses at the tip of his nose dangerously close to slipping off and onto his desk. He’s running strictly off coffee and protein bars he’d stolen out of Minseok’s cabinet in the kitchen.

It’s currently 4:13am and Baekhyun hasn’t slept. He forgot about an essay due in his psychology class in, he checks the clock across the room and whines, four hours. He huffs and straightens his glasses; he can totally do this.

Aside from the essay, he’s also forgotten about reading he was supposed to have done for a partner project they’ll be starting in class today. He only hopes whoever he gets partnered with will have done that part for them.

He finishes his essay with just enough time to toast three pieces of bread and run out the door. He sprints across campus, still in his pajamas, piece of toast hanging from his mouth, and a pain in his side. He really should start hitting the gym with Minseok, he thinks.

He walks into class beside the professor who gives him a raise of his eyebrows, and then he takes his seat at the back. Everyone passes up their papers and then waits for partner assignments to be announced. Baekhyun prays he doesn’t get the annoying girl who sits a few seats over; she’s always watching YouTube on her phone instead of paying attention.

“Baekhyun! I’ll partner you with,” the professor looks around the room, “Chanyeol.”

Baekhyun’s eyes narrow, there’s no way it’s the same Chanyeol from— A boy at the very front turns and waves enthusiastically. Of course it’s the same Chanyeol from work.

“Jongin, I might have to take you up on your offer to kill me.” He switches his phone to his other hand as he grabs his coffee from the barista. He waits for Jongin to stop laughing and ask why. “Chanyeol is in my psychology class and I just got ing partnered with him for this huge project.”

“He’s in your class? Why haven’t you ever mentioned that?”

Baekhyun grits his teeth and groans. “I never noticed! I had no idea he was in the class with me until like three hours ago!” He sips his coffee, a little dribbles down his chin and he wipes it with his sleeve. “I just had to sit and talk to him in a ing Starbucks for like an hour.”

“Did you make him pay for your coffee?”

“Obviously,” Baekhyun rolls his eyes. “I bought another one on the way out, but he paid for the first two.”

They continue to chat as Baekhyun walks. He tells Jongin about how weird it was having to speak to Chanyeol for such a long period of time, how weird it was to see him outside of the arcade. He complains about how tired he is and how he’s vibrating from so much caffeine, and finally hangs up as he walks into the arcade and waves at Jongin sitting behind the counter.

“Do you guys want to go get wasted tonight?” Jongdae and Luhan are standing on the other side of the counter, Luhan’s bouncing excitedly as he waits for an answer.

Jongin gives Baekhyun a skeptical look. “Guys, I’m literally a twenty-four-year-old man, I don’t want to get drunk in some ty freshmen dorm with you and all your other little friends.”

Jongdae scoffs, “Neither do we, gross.”

“It’s a frat party, for your information, old man,” Luhan says, sticking his tongue out. “Don’t know the name of it, but it’s that huge one at the center of campus.”

Baekhyun and Jongin share another look. “We’re in,” they say in unison.

“ off the couch and into some tight little pants!” Baekhyun shouts at Minseok as he bursts into the apartment, Jongin following behind him. “We’ve got a frat party tonight.”

Minseok has a piece of leftover pizza hanging from his mouth which he rips out with one hand. He jumps up and salutes Baekhyun before scurrying off to his room to change. Baekhyun does the same, rips his closet door open and begins digging for his favorite pair of shredded skinny jeans. He calls them his lucky jeans because he always gets lucky when he wears them to parties. And that’s Baekhyun’s only goal for this party tonight, get laid.

The party is loud and raging by the time they arrive. A kid is already pantsless and passed out in the yard and, as they walk to the open front door, a girl is holding heels in her hands, crying on the steps.

They meet Jongdae and Luhan inside and are led to where the drinks are. Red cups are filled with beer, Baekhyun dares to try the mystery punch in the large bowl on the counter; it’s green and intimidating, but he’s really looking to get ed up tonight.

Baekhyun ends up in the living room switching between dancing with Minseok and Jongin. Both are much better dancers than he is, but he’s just here to have fun, not win any awards. So, he sways his hips and throws his head back, grinning wide when hands grab at his hips. He laces his fingers with the hands on him and pushes his back; he thinks it’s Minseok holding him by the way the body feels against his back.

The four cups of mystery punch have his inhibitions nearly gone, so he turns around in Minseok’s hold and kisses him. He hums, pleased when a tongue slips into his mouth, drags across his own; the hands still on his hips squeeze and slide up to his waist. The kiss moves to his neck and he moans into Minseok’s ear; he can hardly hear it over the music, but he knows Minseok could definitely hear the desperation in it.

“Should we keep dancing, or do you wanna take this upstairs?” he slurs, lips still pressed to Minseok’s ear. He bites his earlobe and giggles, loving the hands that have slipped into his back pockets. His lucky jeans never fail him.

He almost screams when he leans back, finally opening his eyes. “Sehun?! What the are you doing?” Sehun looks just as confused as Baekhyun who’s looking around; Minseok is nowhere in sight.

“I’m…I was…we were dancing and you kissed me, I-I thought it was okay.” His eyes are wide and terrified, looking like a child caught doing something they shouldn’t have been. “I’m-I’m sorry!” He steps away from Baekhyun and crosses his arms over his chest, eyes looking dangerously close to tearing up. “I ran into your friend from the other day and we got to talking and he said that you guys aren’t dating. I thought this way okay. I’m sorry.” He bites his lip and his chin quivers. “You kissed me…I’m sorry.” He makes a pained, crushed face and turns away, disappearing into the crowd.

Baekhyun has to go outside to get some fresh air, sober himself up a bit. What the had he just done? How did that even happen? How did he not notice his friends abandoning him on the dancefloor? “They better be getting some,” he sulks.

The backyard has a really nice patio with tons of tables and chairs. There are a few people scattered around, most of them smoking; a couple girls are making out in a secluded corner. He pouts and takes a seat on the stone steps.

He thinks about all the poor choices he’s made in his life. Dropping acid that time in his freshmen year, coming out in high school thinking no one would make fun of him, the time he slapped his cousin. His drunk brain is swimming with thoughts of all his mistakes. And Sehun, ing Oh Sehun, is the mistake that has haunted him for a year. He tears up and tries hard to keep them from falling; he’ll blame this on the alcohol tomorrow.

“You okay?”

A shadow falls over Baekhyun and he looks up. Perfect. “Hey, Chanyeol, yeah I’m fine. ing great, actually.” He wraps his arms around himself and sighs.

Chanyeol sits beside him and offers his cup out. Baekhyun takes it and chugs until it’s empty, throwing the cup away into the grass. He wipes his mouth with the back of his hand and burps. “Thank you…needed that.”

“So, how come you’re sitting out here all alone?”

Chanyeol’s voice is gentle, soothing, and Baekhyun is grateful for that. “Just…things in there got a little too much for me to handle.” He laughs at himself, at the absurd situation he’d gotten himself into. “What are you doing here?” He looks over and Chanyeol is grinning at him.

“This is my frat. I live here.”

“Of course you do.”

“Sehun lives here, too.” Chanyeol leans back, stretching his legs out in front of him. “So what was up with you guys kissing and then you running away?”

“You saw that?” Baekhyun grimaces; of course Chanyeol and Sehun know each other. “We kind of have a weird history and—“

“Oh trust me,” Chanyeol interrupts with a small chuckle, “he’s told me all about his crush on you. Everyone knows how much he likes you.”

Baekhyun pouts now, pulls his knees up to his chest and rests his chin on them. “I don’t know why he likes me so much. I hate it; I feel bad because I don’t feel the same and he’s just…he has so many feelings.”

There’s a long pause.

“Yeah,” Chanyeol finally says, “Sehun’s good, but he’s got a soft heart.” He bumps shoulders with Baekhyun and smiles when Baekhyun looks up at him. “Don’t feel so bad. He likes you now, but he’ll get over it. It just takes him longer than the average person.”

Baekhyun can feel the effects of the drink he’d chugged setting in. His skin is warming and his gums are tingly. He giggles. “You know, I didn’t know we had psych together until literally today.”

Chanyeol makes a face, slightly offended, mostly amused. “Probably because you always barge in just in time or late.”

“Are you good? At psychology, I mean?” He turns to give Chanyeol one of his smiles where his eyes disappear, all teeth and cheeks. “Because like, I’m gonna let you know now I’m only taking this class because I have to and also I may not have done any reading for this project.”

Chanyeol sighs, but he’s smiling. “Luckily for you, I’m a psych major.”

“My savior.”

“Hey, you want to come see my room?”

Baekhyun stares at Chanyeol, tilts his head and just stares. He blinks a few times, keeping all emotion from his face, but he can’t help it when he smirks a little. “Are you asking me what I think you’re asking me? Because I gotta tell you, I’m not drunk enough for that anymore. The whole Sehun thing kinda killed my buzz.”

Chanyeol’s confusion is obvious, but then his eyes are widening in realization and he jumps up, hands out and shaking between Baekhyun and himself. “Oh! Oh, no! That-that’s totally not…I wasn’t trying to…I wouldn’t…”

Baekhyun is amused with Chanyeol’s nervous stuttering, and the way he can’t bring himself to meet his eyes. He knows he should stop smiling and say something, but he’s really enjoying the way Chanyeol is freaking out. So, he moves to sit cross-legged and sits up properly, pulling his bottom lip between his teeth to attempt hiding his cheeky grin.

“Like I know we just met each other kinda and like…I just, wouldn’t do that. You know?” Chanyeol’s brows are furrowed when he finally meets Baekhyun’s gaze. “I just know you weren’t into the party anymore, so I thought I could show you my room.”

Baekhyun keeps quiet as he holds eye contact with Chanyeol. He releases his bottom lip and lets a full smile form now, giving Chanyeol a view of his perfect teeth. Chanyeol’s eyes narrow.

“You ing ,” he pouts, kicking at Baekhyun’s foot when he starts laughing. “You could have said something before I dove into a full apology.”

“It was cute,” Baekhyun says before he realizes it, and then he’s blushing at the admission, getting to his feet and letting out a deep breath. “Let’s go get another drink and then you can show me your room,” he says with a wink.

Chanyeol’s room isn’t at all what Baekhyun expected. He’d assumed, that because it’s in a frat house, the room would be a mess of empty takeout boxes and red cups, clothes and used condoms. But it’s not; it’s actually ten times cleaner than Baekhyun’s room has ever been since he moved into his apartment two years ago.

“What?” Chanyeol asks as he watches Baekhyun take in his surroundings. “Not what you expected?”

Baekhyun gulps down half his drink as he shakes his head. “Not at all,” he says, turning to grin at Chanyeol. “It’s missing the typical frat house details.

“And those are?”

“You know,” Baekhyun chuckles; Chanyeol moves closer to him, “Like the garbage, the stinky boy smell, condoms and girl’s everywhere.”

Chanyeol snorts into his cup and shakes his head, “You’re ridiculous, you know that?”

Baekhyun looks, really looks, at Chanyeol. He’s tall and slim, dressed nicely in dark jeans and a cardigan. He’s handsome with his dark hair pushed back and the soft yellow lighting contouring his face. “I know,” he finally says, “I’m ing crazy.”