A/N: I updated a few days ago by the way!

Five Years Ago...

 The forecast predicted snow. The first snow of the season, an always special occasion in Jinsol's eyes; so to celebrate she put on the most oversized sweater she owned, and decided to bake sugar cookies, only to find out they'd run out of butter. The sun was going down, but Sol figured she could make it to the convenience store and back before it turned pitch black out. So she asked her mom for a few bucks, and ran out. The chill outside was biting, and Sol regretted not grabbing a coat--not that it would have even fit comfortably over her sweater. 

By the time she was leaving the store, butter swinging in the bag, you could just tell that it was going to start snowing any second. Suddenly, Sol was stuck by the thought of watching the snowfall while sitting on the swing at the park. It was stupid to go there alone at night, even if it was in her neighborhood, she was still a thirteen year old girl. But...would five seconds really make that big of a difference? She turned right instead of continuing straight. 

There have been very few times in Byun Jinsol's life that she thought she could feel everything fall into place. The moment she saw the playground was one of them. Snow fell from the sky, and her eyes landed on Oh Sehun, her friend that she only spoke to when they were alone. At times the hidden aspect of their growing friendship had irritated her--was he embarrassed to be friends with her?---but at that moment, as she walked up to him and saw him smile as he noticed her, she was happy that their paths have crossed in the ways they have. This Oh Sehun was her's to know, and as the snow landed in her hair, she felt like this was right. 
He feigns annoyance, "Why do you always show up when I'm trying to mope?" 

She laughed, "Why are you always moping?" 

​​​​​​~~~~~

People say family is chosen, it's not just blood. But, that doesn't change the fact that blood plays a large role in Sehun's DNA, that is an indisputable fact. The people he would choose as family will never make up who he is the way he knows the stuff that flows in his veins does. It's a pessimistic way to look at a hopeful saying, but he can't help it. He claimed his best friend's mother as his second mother, but she wasn't the one who wrote his permission slips when he needed to leave school early. 

All this to say; Sehun knew what he could be when stripped bare. He heard his father yell, he heard his mother scream back, he felt that anger occasionally somewhere deep inside of him. That is why he ran from it, clawing, screaming, crying. And he was petrified he'd have to run from it his whole life. What would he do when he got tired? Or tripped up?

"Remember when you ghosted me for like a month?" Baekhyun said, suddenly appearing beside Sehun's locker. Baekhyun had a habit of showing up right when Sehun's thoughts started turning towards darker times. He also had a habit of mentioning that time when it benefited him--but that was because he didn't really know the full extent of it. 

"Vaguely." Sehun muttered, switching out a notebook from his last class for the one he needed for his next. 

Baekhyun hummed, "Yeah, that was really screwed up of you...well I need a favor." 

Sehun rolled his eyes, closing his locker with a calculated amount of force.  "You can ask for a favor without trying to guilt me into it." Sehun reminded him. 

"What's the fun in that?" Baekhyun kicked off the locker as they started down the hall. "Anyway, Sol's meeting up with some old middle school friend for dinner tonight, at some place downtown, and my mom wants me to go pick her up later, but I have a date. Can you do it?" 

Sehun's shoulders had gone stiff, and he tried to hide his discomfort by narrowing his eyes and pretending the question irritated him. "What about Jongin, or Luhan? They're closer to her, aren't they?" Now he really was irritated. 

​​​​​''Yeah, but if something actually happened, I'd trust you to keep her safe. And I have to go with my gut feeling, cause if something does happen, and my mom finds out I wasn't there for it, she'd kill me." Baekhyun shrugged, "So, will you?" 

For every single reason ever, Sehun should say no...but, he doesn't. "Fine." He turned into their classroom and the conversation ended as they took empty seats in the back. 

Here's the thing: Oh Sehun isn't the same kid he was four years ago. And he wouldn't make the same mistakes. His blood was thick, but he was made up of more than just blood. 

~~~~~~

Sol had run into Hwang Yeji, an old friend from middle school, a week ago. They exchanged numbers, but Sol doubted they'd ever actually use them--afterall, Yeji was a grade above Sol, so they really weren't that close. Clearly, she was wrong. Yeji texted her a few days later, asking if she wanted to go to some new restaurant that opened somewhere downtown. Sol thought of making other plans so she could have a good reason to reject the invite, but that felt too harsh when Yeji had never done anything to her. It wasn't the girl's fault that she was attached to a bad memory. So, Sol replied by asking what time she would like to meet. 

And now, she was putting too much thought into her looks. It was fine to want to look nice, to dress well because it made her feel confident...it was another thing to dress in hopes of showing-up someone else. So she pretended that the reason she picked out her outfit the night before was because she was excited to go out on the town with a friend. Sol made her makeup look perfect, put on sheer-black tights and an almost leather feeling black skirt, she wore a tigh-fit cropped, cream sweater, and a black leather jacket. She paired it with her maroon scarf and fingerless gloves, and wore black boots that made her a lot taller than she was. She was going to be cold still, but it felt worth it when she looked in the mirror. 

This was a moment of vanity, and she was heavily aware of it; despite those attempts to make herself believe otherwise. 

Sol shook her head, she was going to miss her bus if she worried about it any longer. 

~

"Oh my goodness! You look so hot!" Yeji exclaimed as soon as Sol joined her at their table.

Sol tried to hide the smile on her face, "Thank you," she looked at Yeji, "you look beautiful, as always." It was true. Yeji was unbelievably gorgeous, back in middle school she was referred to as 'The Visual Queen'; it only hits Sol now that that probably didn't feel as