After what seemed to be their fateful encounter, Chanyeol instantly became close to Kyungsoo. Even though the taller was the exact antithesis of how Kyungsoo's personality is, Chanyeol was energetic, chatters and moves quite a lot even by just sitting down alone while Kyungsoo was the steady, peaceful boy that behaved in class all the time – it's a miracle that they were still able to get along pretty well. Chanyeol would often greet him, first thing in the morning, toothy white grin always happy to see Kyungsoo in class, as he starts blabbering about the million things he can tell the shorter about how his day went at home, even if it only barely started.

 

"Today, my sister made me eat some eeky eeky vegetable, it doesn't taste so good, and it had some weird slimy liquid like saliva on it." Chanyeol would continue on, making exaggerated hand gestures as Kyungsoo only kept quiet, his face propped nicely on the palm of his hand. A tender smile always plastered on his cute little face as he listened on to Chanyeol's ramblings.

 

Around midday, Chanyeol would often play with their other classmates out in the field, either playing football or hide and seek. Sometimes catch, and it dealt with a huge amount of soil and mud that dirtied their pressed white uniforms.

 

Kyungsoo would often eat lunch inside the classroom, hanging around with his other classmates that prefer the indoors, but ever since Chanyeol came along, the found himself locked on the window, leaning his stomach on the small platform where some succulents were placed, and watched him have fun out in the open air. He would quickly finish off his home-cooked lunch, neatly placing it back in his small penguin backpack and dash to the large windows to watch the enjoyment unfold.

 

 

But for the most part, his eyes were just glued to Chanyeol.

 

 

"If you really want to play soccer so much, why didn't you just go out and play with them?" A lanky boy, who's height difference between Kyungsoo would only be a half-inch, was sitting at the teacher's table, holding a manga about dragons and dragons that give you wishes if you collect an adequate amount of balls, the fringe of his hair was longer than what the student handbook had required, dark brown and was ready to poke any form of itchy on his eyes very soon if he didn't decide to brush it away from his face. He set his book down the table, eyeing the latter at the window with good measure.

 

"I don't wanna play, I just wanted to watch what they are doing." Kyungsoo responded without looking away.

 

"Are you sure you just want to look at what they are playing? Or you want to just look at him?" Emphasizing the last word in question, a sly smile forming on his face.

 

". . . . Keep quiet, Baekhyun. Or else I will take your chocosticks from you and I will tell your mom that you have been a bad boy in school." Kyungsoo glared at his friend, his nose crinkling as he let his tongue out.

 

"Okay, okay. But why do you like him though? He isn't as handsome as Son Goku, he just looks like Master Yoda, but taller." Baekhyun made a pout, not sparing the other a glance as he went back to reading.

 

"He's my Prince Charming. And someday we will be together and get married just like Ariel and Prince Eric." Kyungsoo sighed softly, seeing Chanyeol hitting the goal for the fourth time.

 

"You're so lame, Soo. I want to be the master of all Dragonballs and be as strong as Goku! I can rule the world and I can eat all the chocosticks in the world!" Mimicking Goku's famous Kamehameha with his little palms, Baekhyun stood up from his chair, as if a surge of power has just came into him (There wasn't any, he's just a kid).

 

Kyungsoo didn't respond to that, just smiling at Baekhyun's feats, he was happy he could share his little secret with Baekhyun, who has been his friend since kindergarten. They were stuck by the hip, his mom noting that Baekhyun is the loudmouth to Kyungsoo's silent whispers, the voice of his thoughts, if that was even possible.

 

 

"Miss Do, Kyungsoo wants a popsicle stick! Can I buy him one?" Was what Baekhyun said one day, during a school fair on their first grade.

 

"Baekkkk stoppp!!!! Mama already said I can't have any." He tried to cover the other's mouth shut, his eyes blown in shock as he lowered his head at his friend's declaration, his words came out in a hushed tone.

 

"Oh? Kyungsoo cannot have any because he already ate his bag of cookies today, dearie." Kyungsoo's mother replied warmly.

 

"But I wanted to get him one! He helped during art class yesterday, and I got a perfect score because of it."

 

Kyungsoo was hiding behind the beagle, his eyes were anywhere but on his mother. Indeed, he wanted a popsicle, but he didn't want his mom to know about it and that he might get her angry (But his mom never got mad at him for it, she just gently laid her rules on him when it comes to sweets).

 

"Alright then. Kyungie, you can have one popsicle stick. But that's all okay? You might spoil your appetite for dinner later." His mom proposed, and with that, Kyungsoo's eyes glistened with joy, the smile on his face evident. He gave his mom a quick nod before he and Baekhyun then marched to the popsicle stand to buy.

 

"T-Thank you, Baekkie." Kyungsoo shyly thanked Baekhyun, his hand still holding onto the other's sweater sleeve.

 

"I told you I've got it! Byun Baekhyun saves the day!!!" It was quite an unusual kind of friendship, but they just simply stuck like glue to each other, no matter how much their differences scream so much, they still managed to get around it nevertheless.

 

 

 

Baekhyun was indeed, the voice of his thoughts after all.

 

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

By the end of classes, Kyungsoo found out that Chanyeol and he walked the same route home, and it had been an early habit of them to walk home together ever since. Chanyeol waiting for Kyungsoo to finish fishing his books inside his bag, while the taller begins to rattle on the latest game his dad had bought him, he says it is some kind of RPG game, and that it was all about a flower girl who is an Ancient of the world and a blonde guy who had a big sword.

 

"The character's name is Cloud Strife, and dad says he has got some awesome fighting moves in the game! I can't wait to play it later when I get home!" Chanyeol makes imaginary sword swinging moves, as if he was the one carrying said heavy sword. He flipped, turned around and even jumped up and down, trying to pretend he was the main protagonist of the game himself.

 

"I'm done! Should we go home?" Kyungsoo inquired, placing his penguin bag on his back, making little leaps just to make sure everything is secure inside.

 

"Yoshhh ~ To the Sector 5 Slums we go!" Chanyeol follows suit, Kyungsoo leading the way out of the classroom. It had already been a silent agreement between them, that Chanyeol had all the right to speak or say anything and everything, had the bragging rights to just talking nonstop and Kyungsoo wouldn't mind one bit. The shorter would just lovingly look at him in a love-struck daze, beaming at him as he made crazy and weird actions here and there.

 

"We should play the game sometime, why don't you come by my house next weekend?" Chanyeol bursts out all of a sudden, skipping a step in front to face Kyungsoo, his teeth couldn't get any whiter.

 

Kyungsoo stopped on his steps, eyeing the latter with an unreadable expression. Deep inside Kyungsoo wanted to jump so high from where he was standing, like he wanted to slide off the far end of the rainbow, he might not look like it, but he was very very happy at Chanyeol's sudden invitation.

 

"Y-You want to play games with me on the weekend?"

 

"Of course! You are my best friend now, right? We promised to stay together forever, Soo!" Chanyeol excitedly said, both his arms raising in a victory pose.

 

 

"Best friend?"

"Soo?"

 

 

Kyungsoo's brain suddenly just malfunctions in that moment, and he couldn't figure out how he was supposed to process the information he just heard – Chanyeol calling him his best friend, or calling him by his nickname (As if Baekhyun doesn't call him that, but of course the effect is different if it was Chanyeol who said it), his young heart suddenly giddy and beating very fast underneath his well-ironed uniform.

 

Of course he had learned from the Princess and the Frog and Beauty and the Beast that it took a while for a fairy tale couple to fall in love with each other, his mom also explaining to him that some love stories start off as friends, and they grow beautifully into a loving relationship after that. And as a little boy, Kyungsoo thought that whenever a person calls him the title of a 'Best Friend', that meant that they would eventually become a couple in the near future or in just a matter of days.

 

 

But of course, sooner or later Kyungsoo would realize, life didn't work that way.

 

 

"Kyungsoo?" Chanyeol snapped him out of his thoughts, the shorter flinching as he realized he spaced out far too longer than usual.

 

"Aah sorry!! I was just thinking about the next Disney movie that will come out next month." He shook his head lightly, trying to break off any other thoughts that will lock him into daydreaming again about Chanyeol.

 

"Hehee ~ I thought so. But yes! Let's play the game at my place this weekend okay?" Chanyeol chuckled, he didn't wait for Kyungsoo to respond to his offer, as he grabbed the little one by the hand, holding it gently as he led them to start walking home again.

 

Kyungsoo was silent for a while, just trailing behind Chanyeol as he let him be held, his cheeks growing rapidly in a bright red at the realization of what was going on. His eyes were fixated on the bigger hand holding his smaller one, the size covering his whole palm, he couldn't even see his fingers.

 

 

"He's holding my hand. He's holding my hand. He's holding my hand."

 

 

Thoughts of Chanyeol wearing Prince Eric's clothing swirled around Kyungsoo's thoughts, as he imagined Chanyeol leading them to his ship, ready to be married (Ariel got married on Eric's ship yes, and he finds that awfully romantic).

 

And as the sun sets beautifully on the sky, and when they have finally reached Kyungsoo's home, Chanyeol bidding him a good bye before walking a few more blocks to his own abode, Kyungsoo watches as Chanyeol turns a right, soon disappearing from his view.

 

And as Kyungsoo watches, he unconsciously holds out the hand that held the other's earlier, clasping it tightly on his chest as he whispered to himself –

.

.

.

.

'That's what I hoped would

Happen with you,

More than you could know.'