*THURSDAY*

The next day started out differently. 5 minutes before the first bell rang, the lanky senior was already standing in the hallway next to the locker that Kyungsoo shared with Baekhyun. Chanyeol ignored the stares of other students as he waited with three coffee cups in a to-go carrier.

The tall boy smiled in greeting as the two friends came walking up. "I brought caffeine for us this morning. There's one black coffee, one americano, and one latte." he said, indicating the top of the cups, which were marked with a small 'B', 'A', and 'L'. 

Originally, Chanyeol planned to just bring coffee for the brunet, but figured it would be cruel to not bring one for his owl-eyed friend as well. Jongin had given his full approval of the plan and had gone in half with him to pay for the drinks.

Baekhyun blushed a little and smiled. "That's sweet. Which one is yours?"

"Whichever one is left after you guys choose is fine with me." the tall senior replied.

The hazel-eyed boy raised an eyebrow as he adjusted his glasses a little.  "No really. You paid so you should choose. Which one do you usually drink?"

Chanyeol could push it, but the first bell rang at that point and he decided to not take more time. "I usually have an americano." he said with a small smile.

Kyungsoo spoke up. "Perfect. I like mine black and Baek can have the latte. Problem solved!" he said, grabbing the one marked with the 'B'. 

The brunet smiled up at Chanyeol. "Thank you so much!" he said sweetly as he took the cup marked 'L'.

The tall senior smiled back then winked as he nodded his head towards the owl-eyed boy. Baekhyun realized the taller had something planned and he hid a smile as he lifted his cup to drink. Chanyeol leaned over towards Kyungsoo. "Jongin said to tell you he's sorry he couldn't bring this to you himself." The dark-headed boy coughed into his drink as the taller continued. "He had early morning practice, so he's probably all worn out and sweaty by now..."

The eyes of the owl-eyed boy were opened wider than Chanyeol had ever seen and Baekhyun was doing a horrible job of covering up his laughter. Kyungsoo had frozen with his drink up by his mouth. His friend finally took pity on him and grabbed his arm.  "Come on, you can daydream about sweaty athletes in class. Let's go!" the brunet said, laughing as he pulled his friend's arm. "Bye Chanyeol! Thanks again for this!" Baekhyun lifted his coffee cup in salute then began dragging his still spluttering friend down the hallway.  

The lanky-legged boy chuckled as he watched them walk away.  Then he pulled the last coffee cup out of the drink carrier and turned towards the library just as the second bell rang. Perfect timing. As always. 

Chanyeol felt a little distracted as he read his novel during study hall. Thoughts of the brunet's smiles lingered in his mind. By the time the bell rang, he was already heading back out into the hallway toward his next class.

The second period AP class was a little shaken when the teacher decided to give a pop quiz, but the three boys in the last row didn't have many difficulties. Chanyeol knew the material well, and he found out the other two studied together often, so they were also comfortable with the questions. They told him this as they left the room after the bell rang.  Chanyeol held the door open for Baekhyun and Kyungsoo, then also held the trash lid open as they each dumped their empty coffee cups in the hallway trashcan. He excused himself to the bathroom after that, saying he needed to wash his hands before going to his next class. The truth was he needed to do that but also wanted to splash water in his face and pull himself together. Chanyeol had been dealing with the beautiful beaming smiles from the brunet all morning. A guy could only take so much. 

When lunchtime came, the tall senior pushed his basketball-player friend over carefully to the side of where he usually sat under the tree. Chanyeol then steadily watched the window until two familiar faces came into view. Jongin caught on to what was happening and they both gestured in invitation when they saw the boys grinning at them thru the window.

Soon the school gossips had more to talk about as the four boys talked and laughed together under the large tree. This time Jongin was beside Kyungsoo, and Baekhyun sat diagonally next to Chanyeol with their knees touching.

Chanyeol was very aware that friendship was important for a successful romantic relationship, and he genuinely wanted both of those things with the hazel-eyed boy. The whole time the tall senior sat there, he was careful to make sure Baekhyun felt comfortable. He only asked casual questions that weren't prying about the brunet and his friend. He let Jongin make a fool of himself as the poor boy swooned over his crush. And the taller made sure to include the new boy in his good natured teasing of the obviously smitten couple sitting with them. 

When the bell rang to indicate the end of the lunch period Chanyeol made a show of not wanting to leave the area around the tree. "Classes aren't as fun as this~... Nooooo!"

Jongin and Kyungsoo laughed at his antics, but Baekhyun took it a step further. He also laughed then grabbed Chanyeol's wrist and pulled him towards the school. "Let's go big boy!" he said, grinning back at the tall senior.

The brunet's eyes seemed to shine as the sunlight glinted off the thin metal rims of his glasses. Once again Chanyeol was mesmerized. "Let's go Big boy... You've been tempting me long enough!"  Caught in another déjà vu moment, the lanky-legged boy shook his head a second, stumbling a little over his feet.

Jongin furrowed his eyebrows, watching his friend. "You OK there Yeol?" he asked.

Kyungsoo cocked his head, looking a little dissapointed. "Yeol? You have nicknames for everyone then?" 

Baekhyun had turned at Jongin's words, but Chanyeol was quick to give him a reassuring smile. "I'm fine" he said. 

Jongin was already anxiously reassuring Kyungsoo of his loyalty to his select few friendships via nicknames, but Baekhyun ingnored him, addressing Chanyeol instead. "Yes you-  I mean, good!" 

Chanyeol cocked his head. Stumbling a little as they entered the room he reassured the blonde. "I'm Fine!"  The blonde turned and ran his hands up and down his arms and plastered his body against the taller. "Yes you ARE. VERY Fine..!"  The blonde brought his arms up to circle Chanyeol's neck. "Very, very fine indeed.." he said and pulled the taller down to crash their lips together again.

Baekhyun cocked his head in the same direction in response to Chanyeol's somewhat spaced-out look.

Jongin and Kyungsoo had gotten through their awkward moment to find their friends engaging in their own awkward moment and it made both of them giggle. Jongin snapped his fingers in the air between the brunet and the tallest one of their little group. "C'mon guys! Time for class~!" the tanned boy said. As if on cue the bell rang and they all looked at each other in panic.

"!" Chanyeol voiced out what the rest of them were thinking and they all burst out laughing, waving goodbye as they split up to hurry to class. Fortunately the teacher hadn't closed the door to the World History class yet, so Chanyeol and Jongin came in bowing and apologizing for their tardiness. The teacher just smiled and waved her hand dismissively. 

As they got settled in their seats, the teacher began lecturing. Jongin carefully hid his phone behind his tablet as he texted Chanyeol to ask about him the stumbling-then-spacing-out incident earlier. The tall senior texted back that he would explain later when they could talk. Satisfied, Jongin put his phone away and laid his head down for a nap. Chanyeol scoffed at his friend, but he didn't deny it looked very tempting since the lecture seemed extra boring. 

At the end of the period Jongin and Chanyeol were among the last to leave the classroom.  They were surprised to see Baekhyun and Kyungsoo waiting for them near the bend in the hallway. The four made their way to the Music room, weaving around the usual rush of students. When they reached the doorway, Jongin spoke up. 

"So.. our team has a scrimmage game on Saturday afternoon and Coach said we could have friends come to make it more like a real game. It's gonna be here in the gym at 3pm. Can you guys all come?" he asked.

Saturday was only 2 days away. Chanyeol knew he could go, but he didn't know if Baekhyun had a babysitter for such short notice. Jongin didn't yet know about the brunet being a parent, but the tall senior knew it wasn't his secret to tell. He decided to be careful in his response. "I might, but I have to check. My neighbor asked if I would be interested in watching their kid this weekend and I have to make sure it's not during that time. I know it's sometimes hard to get babysitters." Chanyeol looked at Baekhyun and Kyungsoo as he said this, and both of their eyes open wider in understanding.

"Oh, I bet it can be. But hopefully they have several people in their life that can help them. That way you could come to the game with the rest of us, right Kyungsoo?" Baekhyun's words held the hidden explanation that Chanyeol was looking for, and he nodded as he smiled. It had been hard to tell the white lie with sincerity. 

The basketball player raised an eyebrow at Chanyeol's excuse. He knew his friend didn't have any neighbor's with young children. The athlete started to say something but his tall friend cut him off. "I'm sure I'll be able to be there. Plan on it!" Chanyeol said, smiling at all three boys.

Jongin decided to not question it. He was sure his friend had a really good reason to suddenly tell a lie. He would just add it to the list of things to ask about later. "Great! Ok I gotta get to practice.. Bye~!" he said, waving as he backed away then turned and ran down the hallway in the direction of the gym. Baekhyun and Chanyeol exchanged a grin as they watched Kyungsoo wave back cutely.

The three went into the classroom and sat in their usual seats right as the bell rang to start the class. The teacher walked over and closed the door, then turned to the students. "Ok, can I have everyone's attention? Thank you." All eyes turned to the front of the room as the teacher continued. "Now.. As you may already know, the school Christmas Assembly usually has a talent show. That's about 3 months away, but the reason I'm bringing it up now is because I've decided to make that your final assignment for this semester." There was an outburst of confusion and questions from the students, but after a couple minutes the teacher raised his hand for silence and then continued. "Please pay close attention. I want you to split yourselves up into groups numbering anywhere from 3 to 6 members each. Choose your partners wisely. Your group will be writing and composing a song in any style or genre, and also making arrangements for your song to be performed at the Christmas Assembly. Whether it is performed by members of your group or not is up to you, but it MUST be performed in order for you to receive a grade." By now, the murmurs and stifled exclamations from the students had gotten very loud, and the teacher had to raise his voice to be heard over the ruckus. 

One student in the back raised their hand to speak. "Do we HAVE to do this assignment?" they grumbled loudly.

The teacher raised an eyebrow and smirked. "I strongly suggest you do, since this whole exercise will count towards 80% of your grade for this semester."  His declaration caused amazement, excitement, and apprehension among all the students in the room. "I will let you choose your partners now." The teacher grinned at his riled up class. "Once you decide on your group members, come up and write your names on this clipboard." he said loudly over the noise of conversations as he set a clipboard on his desk.. 

Chanyeol whipped his head around and looked directly at Baekhyun and Kyungsoo. The two friends were leaning in towards each other in conversation, but both of their heads were already turned facing the lanky-legged student. As soon as he looked at them, they both broke out into grins and Chanyeol grinned back. He opened his mouth to say something but was startled by a slender hand on his shoulder. The designer shoes beside his feet were a dead giveaway showing who was standing next to his seat. 

"Wanna join my group Chanyeollie?" the sickly sweet voice was obviously meant for only him, but the brunet heard anyway and stilled for a moment.

Chanyeol looked up at the girl, who was batting her eyelashes at him. "Thanks but I've already decided who I'm partnering with, Taeyeon."

The girl huffed but tried to play it off as cute as she inspected her expertly manicured fingernails, then shrugged and flounced back to her chair, completely ignoring the stares of the two friends. In the past Chanyeol might have wanted to work on this sort of project with the haughty girl. She acted over-entitled, but she had really great vocal skills and he could easily have written something that would show them off beautifully and gotten them both a good grade.

But now, as he looked over at the hazel-eyed boy and his friend, Chanyeol felt excited. Writing for male voices might be a challenge but they were both good singers and he was confident they could make whatever he wrote shine just as well, if not better.

The student sitting in front of Baekhyun went over to talk to a friend, so Chanyeol slipped into the empty seat, straddling it backwards to face both boys. "Are you guys ok with this? Just us three?" he asked. His serious words were met with eager smiles and nods. The taller sighed in relief. "OK good. I hate to assume anything, but I just knew we could do a great job together." 

"This will be fun!" Kyungsoo said, and Baekhyun nodded again then jumped up and ran over to the teacher's desk to write their names down on the list. The owl-eyed boy leaned towards Chanyeol who had turned his neck to watch the brunet. "You know... you're good for him." Kyungsoo said quietly.

Chanyeol turned back around to face the dark-headed boy. "He's good for me too, but I don't deserve him yet." he said. Kyungsoo's eyebrows raised in surprise but before he could respond Baekhyun came bounding back over to his seat. "Ok so how to we want to do this?" he asked eagerly.

The taller chuckled at the hazel-eyed boy. "Cute." he said, making the shorter blush. Chanyeol grinned and continued. "I thought maybe you both could come to my house and we could work on the project about once a week? I have a keyboard and guitar, and there's plenty of space for us to make all the noise we want without bothering anyone." 

The two friends nodded at the tall senior's words. Kyungsoo spoke up. "Is it ok if we sometimes bring a younger member with our group?" he asked cryptically as he indicated with his head towards Baekhyun. The brunet turned his head swiftly to look at him in shock.

Chanyeol got the message just as fast and he was quick to agree. "Sure!" Baekhyun whipped his head back again to look at the tall boy as he continued. "If you want to bring anybody along, it'll be fine. We have a music room that has comfy carpeting, very few sharp corners, and is soundproof, so everybody can be comfortable when they're in there." Chanyeol reassured them, looking directly at the brunet. 

Baekhyun looked worried. "What would your parents say..?" he looked around warily at the other students sitting so close to them as he continued. "About.. having more kids in their house and.. stuff?" 

The tall senior smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry. My parents love kids. It'll be fine."

The brunet shifted in his seat. "But.."

Chanyeol laid his hand palm down on the desk between them. "It's ok if you don't want to." he said carefully. "But if you're comfortable, they'll be comfortable."

Kyungsoo nudged his friend. "And it will be good for everyone to get to know each other..don't you think?" 

Baekhyun unexpectedly blushed but seemed extremely frustrated as he looked at his owl-eyed friend. "We are not doing this here!" he said quietly yet firmly through his teeth. Kyungsoo pursed his lips but nodded in agreement. Chanyeol was confused at the sudden change in atmosphere and pulled his hand back off the desk, furrowing his eyebrows a little as he watched the exchange. The brunet noticed and turned back around to the taller, then gave a small sigh and smiled. "Ok." he squared his shoulders. "So when should we start?"

Chanyeol blinked in confusion then took a second to think. "For this week.. How about Saturday? We can meet at my place for lunch and work a couple hours before we go watch the baskeball scrimmage game."

"Not a bad idea." Kyungsoo said. 

Baekhyun nodded. "Sounds good. But I'll wait a week or so before bringing um.. extra friends.."

The taller nodded. "That's probably wise. I want everyone to be familiar with the surroundings when we hang out." He smiled reassuringly. The brunet smiled back with appreciation and Kyungsoo beamed at the two of them.

"Ok~..!" the teacher spoke loudly over the various conversations in the room. "Has everyone settled on their partners for this project? If you have, I'm going to read out the list just so I can confirm that everyone is involved and I have all the groups listed." 

Chanyeol grinned at his group partners then slipped back over to his own seat near the wall. The teacher lifted the clipboard and began reading. "The first grouping is Park Chanyeol, Doh Kyungsoo, and Byun Baekhyun. Just three members, Ok.. The second group has 5 people listed. Lee....." The teacher continued reading out the list of groupings but instead of paying attention, Chanyeol pulled out his notebook and began jotting down his thoughts. Within 10 minutes a whirlwind of ideas had already spilled out from his brain and was filling the page. As the teacher spent the rest of the class reviewing chord progressions, the hazel-eyed boy repeatedly looked over at the lanky-legged boy. Every time, Chanyeol had a satisfied look on his face. 

When the bell rang for the end of class the three boys made their way through the crowded hallways to Kyungsoo and Baekhyun's shared locker. The two boys watched as Chanyeol waved good bye and headed out an exit door. As they turned back around, a familiar slender hand with expertly manicured fingernails abruptly stopped Baekhyun from opening the locker door. He turned his head to stare at the girl. 

"Just because you managed to get him to join your group to work on a project, doesn't mean you have a claim on him." she said haughtily. "Some people understand how these things work." 

Kyungsoo grabbed the door handle and yanked it open, successfully moving the girl's hand away in the process. He glared at her and she glared back, but when he refused to look away she  her heel and left through the crowd of students.

Baekhyun chuckled. "She was wrong and right at the same time." 

Kyungsoo grinned back.  "Let's go home. I'm sure your claim is missing you."

The friends placed their books into the locker and left the building. As they walked outside, the two noticed the parking lot had a small group of students gathered on the edge of the sidewalk. They were all watching Chanyeol as he held an envelope in his hand, walking towards a large trash can at the edge of the grass. A dissapointed sigh sounded from the group as they watched the tall senior throw the envelope away then walk back to his blue BMW and climb in. As he drove away one of the girls spoke to another in the group. "Our BMOC will never accept any of the love letters left for him. They say he just doesn't do dating." 

Hearing the girl's words, Baekhyun's shoulders slumped a little. Kyungsoo put his hand on the brunet's arm, but before he could say anything, the other student responded to the girl. "Not true. I heard he hooked up with somebody really hot once 2 years ago."  The girl scoffed. "If that's true, whatever that person did screwed it up for the rest of us. Thanks whoever you are.."

Baekhyun stood frozen. Kyungsoo quickly grabbed his shoulders from behind and began pushing him away from the area. He didn't stop until they got to his car where he opened the door and pushed his friend into the seat. As he was closing the door back, the dark-headed boy just barely heard another girl saying "Yeah, he must still be hung up on that person to not want to date anyone else.."  Kyungsoo smiled to himself as he circled around to the other side of the car and got in. Deliberately turning on the radio and turning up the music, he drove them in the direction of home.