This was not happening.

Baekhyun decided Chanyeol was worse than water. His face made his stomach churn more than realising his friends wanted to go to the water park. His voice made him more uneasy than having to walk to the shop without an umbrella when it was drizzling. His smile made him more afraid than when kids came running towards him with water bombs and his laugh made him itch more than–

“Why are you staring at me?”

Baekhyun blinked.

Chanyeol was holding his small rice bowl in one hand and his chopsticks in the other, kneeling on the floor at the other end of the coffee table opposite Baekhyun. Kai and Kyungsoo on his left and right were now looking at him puzzled too. Baekhyun opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He just sat there like a goldfish, blowing invisible bubbles. His voice finally found its way home, but of course, his brain had decided to go on a coffee break again.

“I…uh…wasn’t.” He stammered.

“…Whatever.”

Chanyeol turned back to his rice and continued eating his dinner, along with everybody else.

Smooth. Real smoo-shut up.

Kyungsoo surprised Baekhyun when he quickly leant over to him while Kai and Chanyeol were engrossed in some stupid conversation about comics.

“Baekhyun. Are you okay? You’re blushing again,” he whispered.

Baekhyun snapped his head to face Kyungsoo.

“No I’m not!” He whispered in reply, or more, yelled quietly.

Baekhyun noticed Chanyeol’s eyes flicker his way, but he didn’t stop talking to Kai. He tried to calm the quick pace of his heartbeat. Why was he getting so flustered? He wasn’t some kind of teenage love-sick girl from one of Kai’s comics, not that he had read any…

Kyungsoo let out a soft sigh, and placed his hand on Baekhyun’s shoulder.

“If you like him, you should just tell him.”

Baekhyun froze.

What.

Kyungsoo continued...

“I think you two are really cute. Love works in mysterious wa–  .”

Baekhyun flung his arms into the air, forgetting that he was meant to be whispering.

“I’m not telling him that I like him!! If this is love –”

Wait.

That came out wrong.

He had meant that he wasn’t going to tell him he liked him, because he didn’t! And that if this is love, he would rather die alone.

Chanyeol stopped talking to Kai.

He looked at Baekhyun for a while, staring into his eyes.

Baekhyun could feel himself melting into the floor.

He wished that he would.

He’d just be a lump of sticky lava, ruining that ugly last-minute-decision-of-a-rug Kyungsoo had purchased.

But Chanyeol said nothing. He just picked up his empty bowl and glass and headed silently into the kitchenette.

Baekhyun tried to explain what he had meant to say.

“Chanyeol! I’d rather die! I like love! I’m not telling you!”

Well…

That obviously worked.

Not.

Shut up Brain.                                        

And heart –

Piss off too.

Baekhyun tried to catch Chanyeol for the rest of the evening. It was seriously like trying to catch a butterfly – a butterfly on crack. He would see Chanyeol disappear into the bedroom and by the time he barged in there, he saw a bit of his leg retreating into the laundry. When he raced in there, he saw his arm disappear into the kitchen. Baekhyun finally bumped into him when he was fixing his hair in the mirror in the bathroom and Chanyeol came prancing in to wash his face. Ignoring Baekhyun’s presence (and entire existence for that matter), Chanyeol ran the tap and cupped his hands under the flowing water, bringing it up to his face and splashing off the perspiration. Baekhyun jumped a little at watching him. He looked like he should be in one of those commercials, you know, for face cleansers or something. The water trickled down his neck, caressing his smooth skin. His mouth was open slightly so he could breathe, and his head was tilted back just enough that Baekhyun could see the distinct curve his Adam’s apple made in his neck.

He looked really y.

Baekhyun slapped himself again.

No he didn’t.

Who the hell washes their face that way anyway? He was getting water all over the floor!

Baekhyun suppressed a small shriek when he saw water drops head his way and towards his perfectly styled hair. He quickly reached backwards and grabbed the face towel off the hook and threw it in Chanyeol’s face.

Breathe Baekhyun. Breathe.

“Scared of a few drops of water? What a girl.”

 He heard Chanyeol’s muffled voice from behind the towel which he was now using to wipe his face.

“Or do I turn you on too much?”

…

Breathe! Baekhyun Breathe!!

Baekhyun pretended to fix his hair in the mirror again to try and distract himself from picturing his hands around Chanyeol’s neck.

“About what I said at dinner by the way,” he reminded himself of what he had wanted to say to Chanyeol before he got distracted by his body attractiveness…before he got distracted, “it came out wrong. It’s nothing like how it seemed.”

Chanyeol finished drying his face and looked at Baekhyun…well…down at Baekhyun.

“So then it wasn’t like, I don’t want to tell him I like him because I don’t and if this is love, I’d rather die alone?”

Baekhyun’s jaw dropped.

“Nailed it.”

“How d-did you k-kn…”

“Because somebody as unattractive as you couldn’t possibly like somebody so far out of their league.”

Breathe…

“You’re not staying in my room.”

“You mean my room.”

Breathe…

“And by the way, I just happen to love water.”

...

Whoa. Why are you breathing so fast?

Slow down!

H-hey! What are you doing?

N-no don’t choke him!

Baekhyun!

What are you-

You killed him!

Oh My God!

Ah. Just kidding…

But that was the best thought Baekhyun had had about Chanyeol all day.

However, something else lingered in the back of Baekhyun’s head as Chanyeol walked out of the bathroom.

He looked into the mirror again.

Why the hell was he so nervous?