Surprise!!! ^^

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Baekhyun’s ride home with Chanyeol was enjoyable again. The tall boy liked talking and he was a passionate talker. Baekhyun needed that kind of energy. He knew he will have a lot of explaining to do to Luhan later, but he didn’t mind it for now. For now, he just enjoyed the tall boy’s stories. It was endearing to see that Chanyeol wanted to tell him everything. He was a complete opposite of Beakhyun, who mostly kept things to himself.

Chanyeol fell silent for a moment as they stopped in front of Baekhyun’s house. The other boy was about to get out when he spoke again.

“Did your friends find it weird that you talked to me?”

Baekhyun was surprised by the question but chuckled after a while. “A little, yes. I think that they will definitely interrogate me later. Especially Luhan. I never talked to you much and now you’re taking me home.”

“What did you tell them then?” Chanyeol asked, his body slightly turning toward Baekhyun.

The said boy sighed and his lips. It was sort of a nervous habit. “I told them that now that I’m not with… my ex, I can befriend you freely. Which is true anyway.”

There was a moment of a heavy silence before Chanyeol looked at the smaller boy. “Baek, I think you should tell your friends. I’ve thought about it a lot, and I think you should be honest with them. If you can’t or don’t want to tell them the whole truth, at least tell them the bare minimum. They deserve that. They are your friends. You think you can hide from them but believe me… they know something’s off. Sehun always sees right through me as well.”

Baekhyun knew that he was right. He had seen the worried glances from his friends, and he knows they don’t deserve to be held in the dark. However, he didn’t know how to share something like that. He was used to keep to himself.

“I’m a better actor than you,” he said in a small voice but smiled so Chanyeol would know he didn’t mean it badly.

Chanyeol’s chuckle was soft, and he shook his head. “You’re not nearly as good as you’d wish to be. At least not with your friends,” he said kindly and Baekhyun had to agree with him.

He could fool everyone but not his friends.

“And you,” he said unintentionally, startling the tall boy.

“W-what?”

“I can’t seem to fool you either, Chanyeol,” Baekhyun’s voice was low, and his stare was intense.

It was the first time he was looking at Chanyeol so openly and it made the boy flustered.

“Well… aren’t I your friend as well?” he asked with his ears turning red. He was embarrassed because he knew he was obvious. He never hid his crush on Baekhyun, and that’s why he knew him so well. “Ah, but it’s still your decision. I just wanted to tell you my opinion,” he chuckled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his nape.

Baekhyun smiled over his behavior. It was adorable. Chanyeol was such a softie despite being all tall and dangerous looking when he wanted. And for the first time, Baekhyun realized how lucky he was to have him as his friend. Chanyeol always tried to please him, protect him, and make him happy. The boy would lie if he said that his heart didn’t flutter once or twice because of that. Which honestly confused the hell out of him. But there was also a small guilt nibbling on his heart. He knew that Chanyeol liked him more than a friend and he wasn’t ready to give him more. So, in the end, he was just taking and not giving anything. He could only express his appreciation since he didn’t do that as often as he should.

“Thank you, Chanyeol. I’ll think about it,” he said with smile on his lips and Chanyeol almost melted in his seat.

Baekhyun was preparing the snacks in the living room when he remembered Chanyeol’s words before he left. He made a joke about being hurt that he wasn’t invited for the sleepover, and then wished him to have fun with that bright smile of his. “And Baek, if anything happens, call me. I’ll come quickly.”

It was very sweet, and the boy tried to make himself believe that any friend would say that. He thanked him and sent him home, but the taller boy insisted on waiting until he would lock the door. Once again, Baekhyun was getting confused by his own heart when it fluttered.

He was awoken from his thoughts by a knock on the door. His heart skipped a beat and hands started trembling. God, when did I become this weak?

“Who is it?” he asked through the door and when Luhan answered, he opened it.

“Hey… You didn’t forget I was coming, right?” Luhan asked him with frown.

“No, of course not,” Baekhyun was confused by his weird question. They made plans, after all.

“Then why the question and the locked door?”

Oh. So, he noticed.

“I’m just careful,” Baekhyun said sheepishly, but the look he got from his best friend told him that he wasn’t fooled. And the boy thought that maybe Chanyeol was right. His friends didn’t deserve to be lied to since they knew him so well. “Okay, okay. I’ll tell you. Just… let’s go to the living room already.”

Both entered the room and sat down.

Luhan looked at his friend and waited for him to start, not knowing how hard it actually was. Baekhyun knew that he needed to keep it simple, but it was easier said than done. He was searching for words. He still wasn’t sure what exactly to reveal and what to keep for himself. He couldn’t say everything, that was obvious. But what was enough?

Sighing, he rubbed his face and noticed that his fingers were still trembling.

“Baek, what’s wrong?” Luhan spoke with worry lacing his voice.

Baekhyun looked at the pretty boy and bit his lip. “Something’s happened,” he whispered, and his heart squeezed in his chest. “Between me and… Kyungseok.”

Luhan had a bad feeling about this but didn’t interrupt his friend. He has never seen him like this. It looked like the boy would break down right there.

“The… The reason why we broke up. It’s-“ Baekhyun tried to form a coherent sentence, but it was hard. A random bits of information slipped past his lips before he shook his head and took a deep breath. “We had a fight. He… was weird and I didn’t like it. He… hurt me during that fight and I kicked him out. He tried to apologize, but I didn’t want to listen to him,” he started and once he did, it was hard to stop. “One day, he caught me in front of the house and tried to force his way in. Ch-chanyeol happened to pass by and helped me.”

It wasn’t the whole truth, but Baekhyun felt like it was enough for his friend to understand. And the most unexpected thing happened. Luhan jumped to his feet, looking more furious than Baekhyun has ever seen him. He looked like he was ready to kill. Wow.

“That bastard! He did what? He hurt you? And he wanted to… ! Baek, why didn’t you tell us sooner? We could have helped you! But oh my god, I’m gonna freaking kill him!” the small boy was beyond furious and Baekhyun was touched.

He really had the best friends ever. It was rare to see the Chinese boy so angry, and to know that it was for his sake, was an amazing feeling.

“Lu, it’s okay now,” he said softly and tugged on his hand so he would sit back down.

“No, it’s not, Baek. We knew something was fishy, but we had no idea it was this serious. And although I’m glad that Chanyeol was able to help, it should have been us, your friends.”

“He’s my friend, too, you know?” Baekhyun said softly, feeling the need to speak up for his sake.

Luhan smiled for a moment and then sighed, ruffling his hair. “It’s good to hear. He was kind of desperate,” he chuckled lightly and looked at his friend. “But still…”

“But still nothing, Lu,” Baekhyun interrupted him with smile. “I really am okay now. I’m just being careful and lock the door.”

For Baekhyun, it felt like a heavy weight was lifted from his shoulders, and he knew that it will be even better once he tells the whole group of his friends. Keeping it for himself was a burden. It seemed like Chanyeol really knew what was right.

After his confession, the boys talked some more and of course, Luhan teased Baekhyun when they talked about the tall boy that became his friend. Baekhyun was already used to it and it didn’t bother him as much as it used to. He mentioned that Chanyeol asked him to go to a concert together with Luhan and any of their friends who would like to come. Luhan was actually pretty excited about that. The whole evening went well, and the boys drank quite a lot. That’s why Baekhyun didn’t really realize he was sending a goodnight text to Chanyeol. And he didn’t realize what he sent.

To: Chanyeol

Godnight ma teddybearrrr

The morning came faster than Key expected. He was pacing through his room and scowling at his phone. Taemin didn’t text him the evening before, and despite being happy and excited for his date hangout with Jonghyun, he was worried about his best friend. Taemin looked really sad and although he was reassured by Jinki that he will be fine, he couldn’t believe it until Taemin would say so.

“This brat,” he groaned and took his phone out, texting the said boy.

He used many exclamation marks in the first text, scolding the boy. The second one, however, was softer and worried. But Taemin didn’t text him back, and Kibum was more than worried. He sent him three more texts which were left unanswered, and he was about to call him when someone rang a bell. That someone didn’t even wait for Kibum to open the door. They simply entered the house.

“I’m here, I’m here, calm down,” Taemin called out to Key, closing the door.

“Yah!” Key frowned and marched right up to him. “What do you mean calm down? Why have you not answered any of my texts, you brat??”

Taemin looked at his friend who seemed worried and smiled apologetically. He could guess what made him worried, and he knew it was his fault, so he felt sorry.

“I’m sorry. Things just happened and I didn’t have a chance to reply. And I was on my here when you texted, so I thought I would save the energy.”

Kibum could only snort. “Yes, save the energy, and let me freak out.”

“Aw, come on. Do you wanna hear what happened or not?”

“Of course, I do! Spill. What the hell happened? You looked like crap.”

Taemin snorted and pulled Kibum to sit down on a couch. “I felt like crap. I really thought that Minho had someone he loved so much that he didn’t even accept other people’s feelings.”

“And? He hadn’t?” Key asked curiously, tilting his head to the side.

He wasn’t sure if it was okay to talk about it. He didn’t want to hurt his friend. However, Taemin suddenly blushed. Blushed!

“He had… but…” the boy said bashfully and hid his face behind his hands which was so not him.

“Oh, come on! What??” Kibum groaned, finding the boy’s behavior weird.

“Well, Minho came to me and asked me what’s wrong. I have no idea where the courage came from, but I confronted him, and I was in the middle of talking when he suddenly… kissed me. Key, he kissed me!” Taemin said, his voice raising in wonder at the end, as if he still couldn’t believe it.

Key, on the other hand, was not surprised. It was so obvious that the two boys liked each other, that he was only surprised that it didn’t happen sooner. He was so happy for his friend though. So happy that he leaped up and tackled Taemin in a hug.

“Congrats, Tae! Jesus, finally!” he laughed and heard the younger boy laugh with him. “So, are you two together now?” he asked as he let go of Taemin and sat back down.

“Kind of?” his friend hesitated but didn’t look sad.

“Kind of?” Kibum frowned.

“Yeah,” Taemin chuckled and seeing the glare the latter was giving him, he explained. “Minho said he will… court me,” he said sheepishly, and it was such a prize for Kibum to see him so shy.

“Court you?” he laughed softly and shook his head. “It’s so obvious that he and Jonghyun are friends.”

It was Taemin’s turn to be confused now. “What do you mean?”

“He said something similar yesterday, when he was taking me home,” Key admitted and Taemin could have sworn that his eyes softened.

And he couldn’t miss this chance to .

“Ooooh, so he was taking you home, huh?” he smirked and then laughed when Key slapped his arm.

“Yes, because my bestfriend left me at the table to fence for myself,” he stuck out his tongue.

Taemin did feel slightly bad for leaving his friend there, but he knew Key didn’t mean it and just wanted to change the topic.

“Yeah, yeah, what a terrible friend I am,” Taemin waved his hand dismissively and then grinned. “Don’t think that I didn’t see the stolen glances you two gave each other. Oh, and the whispering,” he raised his eyebrow as if to dare Kibum to say something.

Key knew he was right. And at the same time so wrong. He thought that Jonghyun was flirting with him sometimes as well, but then he realized, that the man was just playful like that. And he was so confused when he found himself wishing that the latter would flirt with him. It was weird because he had a crush on his brother. Maybe that’s it. Maybe I see Hyunjoong in him, he tried to tell himself, but he knew it was a bull. Because Hyunjoong could not be more different than Jonghyun. Jonghyun was perfect. Kind, funny, handsome, supportive and everything a man could be. Whereas Hyunjoong might have really been just a handsome face. And it hurt.

Taemin nudged Kibum because he saw how he was spacing out. The cat-like boy sighed and rolled his eyes. “We are friends, Tae. You know how playful he is. I like people like that,” he shrugged his shoulder.

“I think you’re just in a denial. I have never heard you talk so much about someone. Not even that jerk.”

“Yeah, because you didn’t want to hear about him,” he just shrugged again, which annoyed Taemin.

“Bull. You just didn’t have anything to talk about. Because there was literally nothing good about him.”

“Tae, are you trying to pick up a fight with me?” Kibum asked, getting annoyed as well, because ‘that jerk’ was still his crush. No matter how much he wanted to stop his feelings.

“What? Of course not. I’m trying to open your eyes,” Taemin sighed and leaned against the couch. “I’m sorry, okay? It’s just that… Jonghyun would be perfect for you.”

I know, Key thought to himself and it startled him. His heart stuttered and he unconsciously put a hand on his chest.

Taemin smiled at the gesture and decided that he should just leave it. His best friend had to realize his feelings on his own. Just like Taemin himself did.

“Ah, look at the time. I’m supposed to meet Minho,”