*Chapter 6;

"Y-Yes, I understand, I'll be there shortly, sir."

After ending the call, he held the phone to his chest and slowly paced his hammering heart and labored breaths. He was still lightheaded and numb all over, and if he got up too fast, he thought he might vomit.

For a long time, Baekhyun sat beside a pile of crumpled cardboard boxes and recycling bins, zoning out, but reminiscing. His childhood memories were locked away tight in some deep recess of his mind, and no matter how long and hard he thought about why he had pushed Chanyeol or when it had happened, nothing surfaced. Not even an inkling of a thought or a fraction of some deeply-embedded trauma. Perhaps it had been so traumatizing to him as a child that he just forgot it all, wiped it clean from his mind as he grew up forgetting the boy whose life he ruined.

He wasn't sure how to get up or accept himself after hearing the painful truth from his own mother. She could have told him that it was just an accident, that Chanyeol had walked right into the middle of the street on his own two feet so he wouldn't feel so guilty. Then, he realized that the truth had been covered long enough, for years. Perhaps she thought it was time for him to know, because he was mature enough to take responsibility for his actions.

But, was he prepared? Was he emotionally prepared to face Chanyeol and admit deep inside that he had been the one responsible... for making Chanyeol the way he was?

Slowly, he pushed himself onto his feet and walked in the direction of the police station, reciting what to say in front of Chanyeol so things would repair itself. After all, he hadn't meant to say what he said so harshly, especially not so he'd end up in the police station. It was better that Chanyeol was detained there than wandering out by himself, lost and confused. Just the thought of Chanyeol being ignored and treated poorly by passing pedestrians and cold strangers who were just like him made the tears well up in his eyes again.

Much to Baekhyun's surprise, the police station was quiet and cozy. It was his first time inside one since he always thought criminals were the ones that were supposed to be dragged in. There were some desk officers taking phone calls, looking quite busy that Baekhyun had no place to fit in but in one corner of the building. Then, he saw Chanyeol sitting on a bench, one hand cuffed to a railing beside him. It was a pitiful sight, and Baekhyun almost wanted to yell at the officers for putting him in cuffs when Chanyeol was the most harmless person he knew. Park Chanyeol was the type to shed a tear when flowers wilted, so Baekhyun doubted he had committed any crime to a seriously punishable extent.

He didn't speak to Chanyeol (he wasn't emotionally prepared for that yet) and walked up to the front desk where he cautiously caught the attention of a training officer. His nametag read "Do Kyungsoo"; he looked young, more or less in his early twenties, with big, beady eyes. His warm smile set Baekhyun at ease, for the moment.

"Ah... my name's Byun Baekhyun. I came for Park Chanyeol?"

"His brother?"

"Stepbrother," Baekhyun corrected him, handing over his identification. He couldn't help but feel antsy, glancing over at Chanyeol out of the corner of his eyes and wondering why the cheerful boy looked so dejected and weak.

"Right, stepbrother, I'm sorry," the officer replied, filling out some paperwork and pushing the rest to Baekhyun with a ballpoint pen, "You'll just have to sign here, here, and here, then you're free to go."

That was all? Baekhyun stared at the papers a bit longer, reading the terms that it explained. There was too much information for him to read, so he just stuffed the copies into his pocket and signed wherever he was supposed to. The only piece of notable information he read was the section that briefly touched upon all mentally handicapped individuals having some charges cleared by a parent or guardian. The rest sounded too complicated for him to understand. "Excuse me, officer," he asked quietly, "What exactly did Chanyeol do?"

"He stole a hot cake from a snack wagon down this street and turned himself in half an hour later. He seemed to have snatched it right off the grill, so his fingers are a little burned. We've treated it for him, so he should be fine." Kyungsoo said calmly, "By federal rules, there's a set bail and consequences that apply... but I think he's repenting very much now."

"Oh... um... thank you." Baekhyun smiled, following Kyungsoo as he unlocked the cuffs from Chanyeol's wrist.

As soon as he was freed, Chanyeol lifted his head and stared at Baekhyun like a scolded puppy. Yet, there was still a smile that hadn't extinguished yet, like a low ember burning brightly in the midst of cinders and debris.

Baekhyun turned his gaze away, unable to convey his emotions properly because he was more stubborn than he let off.

"Idiot."

"Yeah, mom. He's safe. Don't worry about it, and be safe on your way to work."

He slipped his cellphone into his pocket and turned to Chanyeol on his right, who was happily munching on the hot cake Baekhyun bought him on their way home. His gaze fell on Chanyeol's nameplate and remembered what his mother had told him about Chanyeol wanting to be a teacher. Fate was cruel to make it so that Chanyeol couldn't even be a student with a nametag of his own.

"Why'd you steal, you dummy?" he mumbled, trying to play it cool like always, "You could have just come home and eaten something."

Chanyeol stopped chewing so loudly. "Baekhyun didn't want Chanyeol to come back."

"Well, I didn't mean that for real, you idi..." he trailed off, shaking his head, "I didn't mean it. So don't go running off on your own again because it's a pain in the bailing you out, okay?"

Chanyeol nodded with a small, understanding smile, deciding to press his luck further by asking "Baekhyun, can I sleep with you?"

"No."

"Does it hurt?" Baekhyun mumbled, snipping the end of the bandages right off after tying it in a small bow on two of Chanyeol's long digits. The pinkened area was slightly burned, so he just applied some cooling cream and wrapped it in gauze so the inflammation would die down.

The taller boy nodded and stared at the bandages wrapped neatly around his fingers.

"You have some guts, snatching things right off the grill like that." Baekhyun sighed, standing up to push the first aid kit back into the top shelf he brought it down from (with a foot stool, but that was besides the point). He struggled on his toes for an embarrassing length of time before he felt Chanyeol pressing against his back, pushing the kit into its rightful place for him. The tips of Baekhyun's ears were pink when Chanyeol pulled away.

Once Chanyeol's burn was treated, Baekhyun shut himself in his room again to finish some long-overdue homework. It helped to get his mind off of things for a while, since his whole day had revolved around Chanyeol and he was hardly paying attention to his school or social life anymore.

He turned to page sixty-two of his math textbook and found the note Chanyeol had left under his door wedged in the spine. He hadn't had the heart to trash it, so he just kept it in one of his drawers instead.

"Baekhyun?"

Baekhyun turned around in his swivel chair to find Chanyeol in his doorway, holding what looked like a can in his hand with a bunch of white flowers sprouting from the damp soil filled to the top. Chanyeol set the flower on Baekhyun's desk, grinning from ear to ear, "Baby's Breath. My favorite flower. You can have it."

Baekhyun turned the can around, finding it a little amusing that the label for vienna sausages was still on it. The white flowers were tiny and bunched together in small clusters. They definitely weren't the most aesthetically pleasing flowers on the earth, but Chanyeol's pure thoughts were what made the flowers look even more beautiful than roses, carnations, or lilies. Without these, what beauty did any other flower have by itself?

"Thanks, Chanyeol..." he said, with a small, shy smile.

The Baby's Breath stayed on his bedside windowsill that night,

and Baekhyun only had pleasant dreams.

"Chanyeol, this is yours." Baekhyun pushed a bento box towards Chanyeol, the little bag that held it labeled 'Byun Baekhyun'. It was a bento box he used to pack lunches in when he was small, and it was wasn't shaped like a tray or anything that could spill with clumsy footing.

Avoiding Chanyeol's glossy gaze after he handed him his specially-packed lunch, he pulled his own duffel bag over his shoulder and motioned towards his stepbrother who was standing there, dressed in his newly-washed uniform.

"What are you just standing there for, Park Chanyeol?" he grinned gently, "Let's go to school."

Author's Note: There you go, a longer chapter for you guys! Thank you for all the support and endearing comments, I do read them all one by one and get blown away with how smart you guys are sometimes with figuring out the plot twists that I took ages planning! xD It really was heartbreaking for me to write Chanyeol as a disabled person after lots of researching, and I'm really glad that most of my readers understand the plight that Baekhyun was going through since he isn't really a bad person! D: Once again, thank you for your support!