“I shouldn’t have lied!” Chanyeol screams inside his dorm room as he kicks the pile of clothes waiting to be put inside his laundry basket. His shoulders begin to feel heavy with the unexpected words that came out from his mouth. He liked him, he did. He liked Baekhyun but instead, the teen angst left in him, chose to state otherwise.

You know what’s worst? Kyungsoo is Baekhyun’s friend. They’re not best friends but they are good friends but, really, it isn’t the issue. Why did Chanyeol lie? Is it to mislead Baekhyun, to make him fall in love with him, or to protect himself in case things go south?

It was the last one most probably because Chanyeol didn’t like rejection. He gets straight A’s, he’s that guy who’s a member in every club, and definitely not the guy who ends up confessing his feelings for someone who he’s somehow unsure of.

He sleeps it off, thinking that maybe it didn’t hurt Baekhyun. He laughed it out anyway, he even said good night but, was he really okay?

The next day Baekhyun came in late, fortunately or rather unfortunately, the only empty seat he could see was behind Chanyeol. He walked slowly and quietly so as not to disturb the lecturer and as he sits Chanyeol turns around and gives him a smile – oh, that damned good smile.  

”Hey...” Chanyeol greets him.

Baekhyun raises his eyebrows and purses his lips, motioning that there was a professor speaking infront.

“Oh, okay.” Chanyeol says as he faces the front.

After an hour on the muscles of the legs and of the feet, after an hour of wishful thinking and questions, the class was dismissed. At least this, they were both sure of.

“Hey, Baek!” Chanyeol calls the boy who's already fixing his things to leave but he looks back with those brown eyes and little cheeks and oh, if only Chanyeol could take back the words he let go. “Can we talk?” he asked.

“About what?”

“I just have something to say.”

“What is it, Chanyeol? You can say it now or you can just message me. I have to go.”

“Where are you going?”

“Home.”

“But you just got here?”

“I know.” Baekhyun walks outside without looking back. He walks straight into the elevator.

Chanyeol was frozen and the elevator doors have closed, the next one won’t come anytime soon so he chases him 5 floors down and ends up seeing him walking with Jongin.

You deserve this, Chanyeol.  

The following days went by slowly as if time planned to agonize them even more, as if it had planned for them to see each other along the hallways, to sit almost directly in front of each other during an exam, to be paired in the lab – to just be, to coexist.

Unlike bones that fuse together over time, Chanyeol and Baekhyun slowly drifted apart. Baekhyun left without giving a word to him. He wouldn’t reply to Chanyeol’s messages.

Hey, Baek?

Baek, when’s the test on anatomy?

Baekhyun, do you have our professors email?

Baekhyun, where are you studying now?

Baekhyun, hello!

And then it echoes,

“Baekhyun!” Chanyeol calls out.

Baekhyun’s eyes were filled with tears. He was not aware that he walked all the way to the fire exit and started climbing almost 5 flights of stairs. He just wanted to runaway, not because he admitted it but because it played again – that moment, that time he chose to leave.

He looks down at Chanyeol just a few steps behind him, panting.

“Chanyeol, I...” he laughs to hide the tears, “I’m sorry.”

“No, I’m sorry,” he walks towards Baekhyun so they could see other eye to eye with Baekhyun a step higher than him, “I was the one who lied and you had every right, and you still do, to choose not to forgive me or to talk me in the very least. I liked you then and seeing you now made me realize that I still do. Maybe, I always have and if you won’t give me a chance, I always will like you – or love you for that matter and I'm going to have a hard time finding someone greater than you are. I know you work in neuropsychology but allow me to say this...” he inhales deeply, “Maybe there’s something wrong with the chemicals in my brain or maybe I was just crazy – crazy enough to think that you’d like me more or that you’d probe into why I like him only to surrender to the fact that you like me but you didn’t and that frustrated me the most. It frustrated me that I held myself back from this – from you.”

“Chanyeol...” tears begin to fall so lightly on his cheeks, “Let’s rewrite everything, shall we?”

“Huh? Do you want to erase this?”

“No,” he smiles, “what I mean is that, let’s be together. Let’s rewrite that ending that was written long ago. I love you too.”

Chanyeol smiles. A few days ago, he thought the boy he loves was married, he thought he'd lose him for the second time but above all the mishaps in between, he whispers just loud enough for both of them to hear it. 

"I don't care if I'd have to chase you 5 more flights up or down. This is worth the wait and this will be the last time their story will be rewritten."