{ TWELVE }

Baekhyun rubbed his eyes tiredly the next morning. It was still somewhat dark outside, the sun not fully risen. He couldn’t sleep too well – unlike Joori who was still fast asleep.
There was school today but he wasn’t sure if she would wake up in time. She would probably wake up with a deathly hangover – and he would be here to help her through it.

He groaned quietly, burying his face in his hands. He felt like the most horrible best friend in the world. Just because Chanyeol was gone now didn’t mean he had the right to take Joori. It would be like completely ignoring the fact that Chanyeol had the biggest crush on her for years.
Who knows? If Chanyeol had been alive, it was fully possible that they could have eventually met and begun dating. Technically, he would have never even met Joori if it wasn’t for Chanyeol.

So how could he forget all of this and go after her?
The answer was: he couldn’t. He wouldn’t.

Joori and he would stay as friends – nothing more.

And plus, she liked Jongdae anyway. His feelings wouldn’t matter anyway.

He massaged his temples, feeling like a mess.
Exams were on Tuesday and he really couldn’t afford to miss class. He hadn’t been studying nearly as often as he had the other years, especially because he wasn’t able to concentrate lately. His thoughts were always mixed up with thoughts of Joori and Chanyeol.
He would have to study all day this weekend. His grades depended on it.

He took a shower and got dressed – all before Joori woke up. It was almost half past seven already and school started at 8.

He nudged her gently, earning a few annoyed groans in response.
“Do you want to go to school today?” He asked. “Exams are on Tuesday,” he reminded.

She groaned some more and clutched her head in pain. “I just want to fail,” she moaned into the pillow.
She propped herself up, her hair in a wild mess covering her face. She knew she looked terrible and covered her head with the blanket quickly.
She didn’t want him seeing how ugly she looked in the morning. Her makeup was probably ruined and streaked down her face.
She didn’t want to even think about how embarrassingly she probably acted last night. She groaned. How embarrassing.

“Stop hiding under the blanket and wash up,