When Baekhyun’s eyes flickered open the following morning, light dancing across his eyelids as he came to, he was still reasonably groggy and sluggish from sleep. He felt significantly more well rested this particular morning than any of the previous days since being back at school. Shifting a little in bed, a small grunt beside him caused the brunette to sink back down to reality and take into account his compromising position. His arm was thrown across the grey fabric of Chanyeol’s shirt that had risen up a little to reveal his milky stomach. He could hear the steady beating of his roommate’s heart considering the fact he was using his chest as a pillow, his legs tangled intimately with the long, spindly pair belonging to Chanyeol. Baekhyun’s own heartbeat, however, was speeding up remarkably fast as colour drained from his cheeks and he sat up abruptly, barely stirring the other boy who was taking up the majority of his bed.

Not caring if the auburn haired boy woke up due to his rushed, messy exit from the covers now strewn at the foot of the bed, Baekhyun grabbed a change of clothes, his phone and left the room rapidly. Chanyeol grumbled a little in his peaceful sleep, turning over and nuzzling into the pillow that smelled of Baekhyun, his slumber undisturbed.

Barefooted and in a state of sheer panic, Baekhyun glanced at his phone and nearly choked when the digital clock read 13:24. It made sense that the two of them had slept so long given the lack of sleep they’d both been suffering from over the past week but it made Baekhyun feel sick with embarrassment and mild anger to hear that in his head. The two of them. Before he could mentally plan his imminent death, Baekhyun’s white, clenched knuckles were rapping loudly and consistently on the door of his friends’ room, praying to god they were there. After almost a minute of constant knocking, Baekhyun was wondering how one were to pick a lock, his breaking and entering plan disappeared as the door swung open.

“Can a person not use the bathroom in peace?” Yixing looked less than impressed with Baekhyun’s impatience, and even more so when the aforementioned brunette pushed passed him without a word and into his room. “Why do you look like you just got up?” He asked, shutting the door with a sigh after accepting Baekhyun’s arrival.

“Because I did just get up.” Baekhyun frowned in response to the scrutiny in which he was being looked at. “And my roommate is using the shower and I came to use yours.” He added quickly, glancing towards the bathroom door. Yixing shook his head and grabbed his key from the desk, tossing it at Baekhyun.

“I’m not even going to ask, but lock up when you’re done being a diva and be in the lobby by two if you want to come to the movies with us.” Baekhyun, who had failed miserably to catch the key, was picking it up from the ground when he asked who was going. “Me, Luhan, and the brats.” He rolled his eyes. “Who else?”

“Sounds lame.” Baekhyun mumbled bitterly despite his every intention to shower quickly and go with them.

“Then consider yourself uninvited you ungrateful piece of-“ Yixing raised his voice as the other held up his hands in defence. “Bring King Kong if you want, I don’t care.”

“Don’t call him that.” Baekhyun snapped immediately, heat rising to his cheeks seconds after. “He’s can’t come, he’s busy.” He added quickly, fumbling with his clothes as he edged into the bathroom. “I’ll be down soon.” He mumbled, shutting the door before Yixing could roll his eyes again.

When Chanyeol woke up, it was past two in the afternoon and he felt a little disorientated as his eyes adjusted, glancing around the room for an entirely new angle. It took a few moments for his memory to click into place and the moment it did, he sat up, long legs inconveniently tangled in the covers aiding his ungraceful descent from the bed. Despite the painful nagging in the back of his mind that Baekhyun wouldn’t be anywhere to be seen, Chanyeol searched the bathroom and the common room anyway before sulking back to shower.

Lying in bed in the early hours of the morning with his roommate tucked closely into his side, Chanyeol had known the repercussions would not be easy to deal with. Regardless of that knowledge, he had fallen back into a deep sleep with such ease and comfort that he almost felt guilty because of it. In fact, he did feel guilty, because he knew Baekhyun not being there when he woke up was not a coincidence. Chanyeol’s cheeks turned a violent red after realising how sordid he was making the situation out to be.

Chanyeol had texted Baekhyun four times, and called him twice. He told himself his battery was probably dead or that maybe his signal was really bad wherever he’d gone today. Even though he knew that he was being ignored. This was only made clearer after he’d come back from dinner that evening to see Baekhyun’s  duvet and pillow had disappeared from his bed, along with some of his things on the desk being moved around.

It was nearing three in the morning by the time Chanyeol turned off the light and pulled his covers over him, accepting his roommate wasn’t coming back to their room that night. Baekhyun hadn’t gotten back to him in the entire day, but despite this, Chanyeol had plenty justified it. Even with the room to himself, Chanyeol was unable to sleep soundly. It was almost as if he was sleeping with one eye open, looking out for his roommate who always had nightmares, even though he wasn’t there.

Sehun had tried to tell Baekhyun he could stay as long as he wanted on the floor between the two beds in his dorm room he shared with Jongin.  However the latter decided he couldn’t deal with another night of tripping over the sleeping lump of Baekhyun every time he got up for the bathroom. He was going to mention the annoying sniffling the older did in his sleep, too, but after a warning glance from Sehun, he kept his mouth shut. It was with regret that Baekhyun slunk back to his room just after eleven on Sunday night, arms full of his things which were carelessly dropped onto his bed. Chanyeol, to his surprise, wasn’t in their shared room. Baekhyun seized the opportunity to shower whilst he had the chance and it wasn’t until he was wrestling with a plain, black t-shirt that his eyes fell on his desk. Wandering over, he picked up the carton of juice, attached to which was a messily written note in Chanyeol’s loopy handwriting.

‘I hope you had a fun weekend. I went to the store with my friends and I bought this for you.’

There was a scribbled out smiley face, next to which was another more carefully drawn one. Baekhyun’s stomach lurched as a guilty smile crept over him. It soon disappeared after the sound of the door opening and closing startled him into dropping the juice on the floor. His ears were red, he could feel it, and his pulse was increasing because he couldn’t bear to look his roommate in the eye.

“Hey.” Chanyeol’s usual, deep voice greeted him but it didn’t seem as cheerful as usual. Baekhyun winced, muttering a small greeting of his own before fumbling with something on his desk.

“Thanks for the juice.” He added quietly, taking his phone and slipping it into his pyjama pocket as he sidestepped uncomfortably towards the door. He didn’t look up, or anywhere in Chanyeol’s direction as he opened the door and left. He knew Yixing was going to really hate him.

Fifteen minutes later, there was a knock at Chanyeol and Baekhyun’s door. Running a towel through his still damp hair, Chanyeol pulled open the door and blinked, glancing down at Luhan who let out a sigh.

“Um, hey?” Chanyeol didn’t hide his confusion as Luhan opened his mouth to speak.

“Baekhyun isn’t… Feeling well.” He forced out through almost gritted teeth. “I came to get his things so he can stay with me and Yixing tonight since…” This time, Luhan did grit his teeth. “Since we worry about him so much.” Baekhyun owed him so much it hurt. Chanyeol blinked several times before shrugging and opening the door for Luhan to come in and gather Baekhyun’s things quickly. Luhan nodded his head awkwardly as he left, cursing Baekhyun’s audacity under his breath in his native tongue all the way back to his room.

“Thank you so much,” Baekhyun gushed as he got up to take his pillow and duvet from Luhan who was still frowning. As he began preparing his floor bed, Luhan was watching him with narrowed eyes, arms folded across his chest.

“Don’t forget your part of the deal.” Luhan replied, settling onto his bed and looking down at the guest, whilst Yixing got comfortable, a smirk creeping over his lips. “What the hell is going on?” Baekhyun’s cheeks turned pink as he regretted pinky promising with Luhan that he’d explain everything. Regardless of how uncomfortable he was feeling, which was very, Baekhyun spat out the entire story. Including the fact he’d woken up to cuddling his roommate. After wailing about his misfortune and never being able to go back there again he fell backwards and forced his face into his pillow, an inaudible string of words and complaints muffled there.

“Wow,” Yixing and Luhan exchanged glances. Before Yixing was able to make his friend feel even worse about the situation, Baekhyun’s phone lit up and let out a little beep.

“What if that’s him!” Baekhyun cried, dropping his face into his pillow again. Yixing leaned forward off of his bed, swiping up the smart phone from the floor and glancing at the screen.

“What do you know, it is him!” He laughed, ignoring the pained wails from the Korean on his bedroom floor and took the liberty to open the message that had just arrived. “He says ‘feel better soon baek’ Wow, even a smiley face.” Yixing whistled, dropping the phone onto Baekhyun’s back.

“I hate my life.” He mumbled before Luhan rolled his eyes, turning off the main light whilst leaving the lamp on and turning over to sleep.

When Tuesday afternoon crept up on him and the other side of the room remained empty, Chanyeol realized, however way he looked at it, that Baekhyun was ignoring him. His usual optimism was failing to uplift his spirits about the situation and he waited patiently outside the Algebra class room for Baekhyun to file out. When he did, he reached out to softly grab his arm but changed his mind just as he had outstretched his arm. Baekhyun’s eyes were a little startled and Chanyeol thinks he could see guilt in them, but he ignores that thought.

“Hey,” He does his best to smile but even Baekhyun can tell it’s not half as vibrant as it’s supposed to be. “I hope you’re okay.” He mumbles, his awkwardness in the situation making his voice seem deeper than usual. Baekhyun can feel his heart sink because he knows that Chanyeol knows he’s avoiding him. He gulps but the lump in his throat doesn’t so much as shift.

“I’m… Yeah.” He forced a smile that looked like he was in pain. He thinks that’s because he is.

“I borrowed a new action movie from my friend.” Chanyeol hinted with hope in his voice but in his eyes, too. “Maybe we can watch it tonight or when you want to come back to our room. The floor must be really uncomfortable.” He tried to smile. He wants to talk to Baekhyun about what happened, but he knows if he tries that, Baekhyun is just going to walk away.

“I…” Baekhyun laughed nervously. He looked at the hope fading quickly from Chanyeol’s face and feels his resolve crumble. “I would love to watch the movie with you.” He replies, his smile becoming more genuine as he sees the difference it makes in Chanyeol’s face. “I feel much better now so I was going to move my things back this afternoon.” He lied. He felt half good and half bad about his decision but there was no going back now- not after it had looked like Chanyeol was about to hug him out of happiness.

That is how Chanyeol ended up in the library after school had finished, when most everyone else was socialising, eating, or relaxing. Chanyeol had lost count of how long he’d been in there when he felt a hard back book hit him upside the back of the head.

“Seriously, Tao told me he saw you in here, but I thought he was kidding.” Chanyeol rubbed the back of his head a little but kept his eyes on the paragraph he was focused on, despite the fact he could feel Kris judging him. “What is this?” Kris picked up a closed book from Chanyeol’s table and scrutinised the title. “Dream Interpretation?” He scoffed, looking at another, “Be Your Own Sleep Therapist… Chanyeol what the hell are you doing?” Kris was half amused, half wondering why his friend was in the library for the first time in his High School education to read about dreams and sleep.

“I’m just interested.” Chanyeol mumbled as his tongue slipped out of his mouth whilst he concentrated on copying from the book he was looking at. Kris followed his gaze and widened his eyes at the copious amount of notes he had seemed to have made. “Sorry but you standing there is off putting, I’ll talk to you later.” Chanyeol didn’t even glance at Kris, whose mouth was hanging open in shock that he’d just been blown off for books.

“You did not just pull a Kyungsoo on me.” He stammered. Chanyeol shrugged as he turned a page, pencil tapping the page as he read under his breath.

“You’re being kind of loud, this is a library.” Chanyeol advised, turned around and waving a little at Kris as an indication to leave. Kris did, but not without pushing Chanyeol’s books from the table first, a toddler-like frown painted on his less than impressed face.

When Chanyeol returned to his room that evening, Baekhyun was already there, lying on his bed in sweats, looking at something on his phone. He looked up after Chanyeol arrived, and flashed him the most genuine smile he could muster. He had to admit, the floor was really uncomfortable, and Yixing snored.

“So this movie,” Baekhyun sat up. “Is it supposed to be good?” He asked, seemingly relaxed despite the anxiety swimming around in his stomach as the inevitable loomed. After wrestling with his pyjamas, Chanyeol nodded. The taller boy grabbed his laptop and collapsed beside the brunette on his side of the room, reaching over to grab a paper bag from the foot of the bed.

“Cherry?” Chanyeol offered with an innocent smile. Baekhyun raised an eyebrow and allowed a laugh to fall from his lips. “What? They’re extra ripe!” He insisted, feeling pleasantly devious after reading that afternoon that cherries eaten before bed were helpful in sleep.

“Sure?” Baekhyun laughed, taking a handful and popping one into his mouth, biting it a little too enthusiastically, the juice spilling out of his mouth to run down his chin. Chanyeol laughed loudly and without reserve, reaching over to use his thumb to wipe it away. Baekhyun blushed, turning his attention back to the movie that was just starting.

By the time the movie finished, the two of them were yawning, but Chanyeol was determined that they stayed away just a little longer. After they’d washed up and clambered into their own separate beds, Baekhyun noticed Chanyeol’s lamp was still on.

“I missed having a roommate.” Chanyeol admitted openly as he lay on his back staring at the ceiling. Baekhyun felt both cold and warm at the same time in response to the sudden confession.

“I missed you too?” He replied. His answer was radiating awkward, but the statement was most definitely true. Chanyeol’s company was something he appreciated, and not having him around had made him feel all the more guilty about this situation they’d found themselves in; the same situation that neither of them had brought up or dared to discuss with the other.

“So today, my sister got a kitten.” Chanyeol changed the conversation. Baekhyun had to stop himself from laughing out loud at the absurd change in subject between them, but found himself smiling widely anyway. “Do you like kittens?”

“I think I prefer puppies.” Baekhyun answered, pulling his covers further around him and burying his face further into the pillow as Chanyeol started happily debating the pros and cons of puppies and kittens. Baekhyun thinks his roommate had moved on to the topic of which season was his favourite when his eyes began to feel heavy to the point he just had to close them. Chanyeol noted the sudden silence, and glanced over at the brunette on the other bed and smiled to see he’d fallen asleep. He felt proud that his light conversation about good, cheerful things may have helped provide the content, almost smile on his roommate’s face as he slept. Regardless of the confidence and hope he had that Baekhyun would, thanks to Chanyeol’s research, sleep easier that night, he kept the lamp on so that he could watch over him easily. Just in case.

this is extremely un-proof read because...
because i'll do it later, ok, tired.
i think this is the third time i've tried to post this.
i had the entire thing on aff ready to post and it deleted everything.
which is why i lost the will and just disappeared.
plus, i have my korean midterms coming up and ugh, stress.
anyway, i'll hopefully get the rest of this up soon.
sorry for the wait...

have some exo to make up for it~

kyungsoo clapping with his face is my favourite thing in the world.
i could cry.