Chen didn’t like the feeling that had settled in the pit of his stomach. It was as though something was very off, yet he couldn’t figure out what. It made the road to school feel a lot longer than usual, and he was in what he himself would call an uncharacteristically bad mood once he got there, glaring at pretty much anyone who so much as glanced at him. This included Jongup and Youngjae, both of them glowering at him from where they were stood at the edge of the western rooftop. It was a bit funny really - they still looked pretty damn beat up as far as he could tell from five floors down, and he hadn’t expected any of them to be back for the next couple of weeks, but there they were.

Out of recently developed habit he headed straight to the library, letting out a deep sigh and stopping outside for a moment as he tried to will some of his grouchiness away. After opening the door he stepped aside to avoid whatever encyclopedia Xiumin decided to throw at him, only once he’d stood there for a few seconds concluding that it really wasn’t coming. For a while he actually believed the other hadn’t finished his morning routine and gotten to the library yet, but upon peering inside he found that that wasn’t it at all.

“Are you coming in or do I have to come get you?” With furrowed brows he pulled the door shut behind him, approaching the older boy with hesitant steps and a suspicious mindset. Xiumin however just rolled his eyes before dropping back on the table, a couple of books falling off the top of the sloppily readied pile and onto the floor with soft thuds. “What is it Chenchen?”

“…You didn’t try to hit my head with a book, that’s what.” He grumbled as he sat down next to his elder with a pointed look, the third-year simply shrugging.

“I figured I could play favorites for once. I can throw one at you now though, if that’s what you want.” Shaking his head at Xiumin’s jest Chen fell back on the other lazily; another habit that he’d developed, this one over a few months rather than the one week it’d taken for him to realize he had more fun in the library than in the student council’s office.

“You don’t happen to know what Yongguk’s little helpers are doing here today, do you?” He asked while he still remembered, his lips tugging up a bit as he could literally feel his upperclassman’s evil chuckle, the older boy’s chest quivering against his own back.

“I have no idea. Baekhyun obviously isn’t here yet, but I bet he’ll let us know when he stops by. Why? Are they tossing people off the roof or something?” Chen grinned in slight amusement at the thought.

“No reason really, I don’t think they’ve done anything dumb like that… not yet in any case. I just thought that, you know, since Yongguk’s not around at the moment and the other three are still in the hospital…”

“Really? Even Himchan? Because I’m pretty sure he’s the anti-violence sort of guy… wonder who got to him.”

“Didn’t Chanyeol talk about this with you?”

“What? You think he tells me who kicked whose ? Those kids are hardly the kind of guys to sit around the table and brag about their wins like a bunch of drunken pirates.”

“…I guess not.” Chen furrowed his brows, unable to get the image of the group with eye patches and wooden legs out of his mind, as they slowly slipped into a glum silence. It was comforting to feel the other’s breaths, yet he found that as soon as they stopped talking, that unsettling feeling returned to the pit of his stomach, heavy and gnawing.

“You really alright Chen?” A few seconds passed. “Did you sleep bad or something?”

“I’m not sure what it is.” He replied simply. Because in truth he’d slept at least five hours – which was about twice as long as usual – so he wasn’t sure he could really blame it on that. He hummed a bit when he felt Xiumin’s fingers tangle in his hair, but still found it hard to relax. It didn’t really help that the past few days every touch of the older had sent some sort of electric current rippling through him, giving him goose bumps.

“You’ve got too much in that head of yours, just chill for a bit – everything’s gonna work out in the end.” Chen couldn’t help but chuckle at the older boy’s light-hearted attitude.

“What sort of life philosophy is that?”

“Beats me – carpe diem, happens, that sort of thing I guess. That a problem?”

“Who knows… I bet it’s gonna come back to bite you in the one day though hyung.”

“Yeah, right – I’ll be ready and waiting then.” They snickered along for a bit before silence fell over the room again. Although it was nice, it left Chen with way too much time to think, and his brows furrowed as his expression slipped back into a frown. Last time he had such a bad feeling about something was before starting at St’s, and back then he’d been right to be concerned – until he was picked up by Luhan and given something useful to do he’d been hard-pressed to stay out of everyone’s way. That’s when he met Xiumin the first time as well though, finding some refuge in the library a few weeks into the first semester. Although the older wasn’t always the nicest company he was friendly enough, and Chen would rather get a book in the gut once than suffer through a complete day of being hassled and pushed around by other students, so it had all worked out in the end… maybe that meant things would be alright this time as well?

Chen snapped out of his thoughts as the older boy shifted, forcing him to sit upright so he could get to his feet, a lopsided smirk playing on his lips as he nodded his head to the door.

“Let’s go take your mind off things?” He snorted at the suggestion, but really couldn’t be more willing to find something to occupy himself with. Loud voices echoed through the corridor even now, when most of them were supposed to be in class, but Chen knew better than anyone that everything boiled down to the situation at hand – nothing had really been resolved yet; even though Yongguk had most definitely lost his influence over the student body, nothing had been said about the status of the people who overthrew him. “They should go ahead and lay claim to whatever power they can,” He turned to look at the elder as they walked through the virtually unused home economics classroom, heading outside to cross the field at a leisurely pace. “Or someone else will. Everyone’s getting restless, annoyed and frustrated at all the inside they don’t get to be part of. The third years in particular – they’re already stressed out about graduation and university… not that any of them really stand a chance in hell of being accepted.” Xiumin was still smirking, but there was a bitter bite to his words.

“… I think they should just go ahead and finish what they started instead of taking this break or whatever they’re calling it.” Chen pursed his lips for a bit, meeting the other’s eyes for a short moment. “Just claiming Yongguk’s position isn’t going to do much now that everyone’s all riled up, right? Not to mention they’re starting to doubt Kris’ position as the person in charge as well, seeing as he hasn’t taken any action against them yet.”

“You know what Chen?” Raising his brow at the elder he was met with an honest grin, and despite the previously serious conversation he could feel the corners of his own mouth tugging up a bit at the sight. “That’s not our problem.” The way Xiumin said it was so plain and simple that he almost believed it for a few seconds, after which he slapped the guy’s arm with a shake of his head, completely disregarding the glare it earned him.

“It is too – everything’s our problem.” Chen whined, fully aware of how ridiculous it must sound, but too annoyed by it all to care. The boy to his side only laughed though, slinging an arm around his shoulders and pulling him close enough to ruffle his hair violently.

“That’s the thing Chen – it seriously is not. It has nothing to do with us! You know why?” He shook his head grudgingly, glaring at Xiumin through the messy hair that now fell in front of his eyes, again getting nothing but a laugh in turn. “We’re the middle-men. We’re involved, but we don’t really choose a side-“

“I don’t – you chose both, remember?”

“That’s pretty much the same thing.” It annoyed him that his comment – which was entirely true and not something to ignore completely – was waved off without a second thought, but he listened nonetheless. “We are the middle-men, the mediators. We’re part of things, sure, but we don’t do anything that could jeopardize our own survival.”

“You’re talking about this like it’s some sort of game-“

“Isn’t it though?” His jaw must’ve dropped, because Chen could feel the tips of Xiumin’s fingers give it a slight nudge, sending a sudden spark down his spine and causing him to clench his jaws fast enough to shake his brain. The look the older boy was giving him at that moment was indecipherable, and frankly made him want to snake out of the other’s grip and run far away. But then he spoke and Chen had to actually pay attention, because despite his current discomfort he wasn’t a complete .  “A game is exactly what it is.”

“And how did you reach that conclusion?” He questioned tersely, eyes flitting away from Xiumin’s face to scan over the schoolyard in hopes of a familiar face to save the day and lift the heavy tension that had settled over them with that one damned touch. Of course no one else was there, and even the third-years who would usually lounge around by the gym, which he found his feet moving towards, were nowhere to be seen.

“Well, what would you call it then? I mean, as soon as we leave this place it’s over, isn’t it?” Chen turned back to look at his friend, for once truly not following the other’s train-of-thought at all. Heck, he was usually the one having to do all the explaining and it just felt wrong to be on the other end.

“Can’t you just, you know, cut to the chase hyung?” The third-year just smiled knowingly, shrugging his shoulders as he pulled out the supposed skeleton key, Chen watching him unlock one of the gym doors warily before being dragged inside, and he assumed the subject was done with already. It was darker than he liked as the door closed behind them, but he did know where they were at least, which was why he just went along when he was pulled up the small set of steps leading onto the stage. “What exactly are you planning?” Xiumin cocked a brow and let out a small scoff, letting go of him to sit down on the edge.

“I figured we could do some sports – soccer, basketball, tennis – whatever floats your boat, just to pass the time. Since all you do is sit in front of a computer screen all day you really should try to balance it out you know?”

“What, you’re worried about my wellbeing? And you think exercise is going to help?” Chen spared a questioning glance at the other as he sat down as well. He’d never liked sports. Not one bit. All it did was make you tired and sweaty and give you some serious muscle ache if you overdid it. “I’d rather not.” He grumbled under his breath.

“Really? You sure? I’ll even go easy on you.” Xiumin seemed fairly honest by the look in his eyes, and when the older boy gave his thigh a light pat he couldn’t help but groan in frustration at the shiver that ran down his spine again. Something just wasn’t right with all this.

“Fine. I’ll do it, okay? Just… ugh… no basketball.” Chen wasn’t sure he could trust the exaggeratedly polite, drawn out nod of agreement he got, but decided to go along with it either way.

He shouldn’t have. Because after a while his brain started producing those stupid little endorphins that made him laugh, and smile, and actually enjoy playing soccer and badminton and running around the hall as though he was some elementary schoolboy. Chen couldn’t even remember the last time he was out of breath, and despite his hatred for strenuous activities he was enjoying himself. Sure, he lost at pretty much everything they did, but as they kept nabbing whilst they played, the gym gradually becoming messier, he felt sort of normal for once. He even ended up bouncing one of those big orange spheres of rubber haphazardly around the hall until it collided with the other’s face. At which he of course couldn’t help but bend over and laugh until he felt tears prickle his eyes and he was struggling to breathe properly. He peered up at the third-year through sweaty bangs, wiping his eyes and sweaty brow in one motion.

“You’re such an Chen – that seriously hurt!” Xiumin’s words didn’t exactly help him calm down, and he bit his lip to at least keep from guffawing at the older boy’s pinkish nose, somewhere in the back of his mind wondering how he even managed such a bull’s-eye.

“C’mere hyung, lemme see.” He wheezed after another minute, ignoring the grumpy look on the other’s face and the strangely unreadable expression that followed once he cupped the his cheeks, turning his face to inspect for any real injuries. “You’re such a baby.” Chen teased when he found nothing, a tiny smirk playing on his lips. “Does Xiumin-hyung want Chenchen to kiss the oo away?” It was just a jest, a joke like the ones they used to play every now and then.

Then again, at those times their faces hadn’t been five inches apart.

“Why don’t you?” Xiumin’s eyes meet his without so much as blinking, and for a second he was almost frightened by it. But for whatever reason, though he would probably blame his mind that decided to go completely blank that very moment, Chen decided to accept the challenge, leaning forward to place a quick kiss on the tip of the other’s nose.

“All better?” He quipped, trying not to think about the hand that was gripping the front of his shirt as they locked eyes again. The proximity of their faces was making his heart race, and before he could make sense of why he was pulled closer, soft lips brushing against his own as he shut his eyes instinctively. And then the sensation was gone.

He couldn’t form any proper thoughts. Or maybe he didn’t really want to.

Once he finally got over the shock however, he mentally cursed his burning cheeks, taking a stiff step back. What met him when he raised his eyes was Xiumin’s amused look as the elder his lips and smirked, letting go of his shirt with a small shrug.

“All better.” Chen could only stare at him in disbelief, blinking a few times as he let the words sink in. The other was still wearing that smug expression, which in most cases would reflect on his own face. “Your loss Chenchen.” Only, this time it was purely on his expense, and felt as far from their usual pointless banters as it could get. So much for friendship and… whatever it was – the borderline mocking look Xiumin was giving him, as though he was just there as a source of entertainment, made him scrunch his nose and furrow his brows in sudden disgust.

It hurt, pretty bad actually, and he absolutely hated it.

“You’re an sometimes, you know that?” He hissed, and was pleased to see that the other at least had the decency to stop smirking, the guy’s brows knitting together in what Chen would normally interpret as concern but this time didn’t even want to think about. “Thanks hyung, for trying to cheer me up – it was actually working for a while. Have fun cleaning up.” He cast an eye at the mess off scattered gym equipment, but really didn’t even consider helping out.

With cheeks were still burning he turned to leave, and when his wrist was caught in a firm grip it took every effort for him to not slug the elder.

“Let go.” He snapped, but Xiumin’s hold simply tightened.

“I’m sorry, alright?” Chen pursed his lips, refusing to meet the other’s eyes. “I’m sorry.”

“You crossed the line.”

“… I know.”

“Then why did you do it?”

“S-spur of the moment?” The slight stutter didn’t go unnoticed, and despite the tingling warning bells going off in the back of his head and the gnawing feeling in his stomach that had returned at one point or another, he dared a peek at the older boy’s face. Despite the situation he held back a laugh of relief at the troubled look he was met with. A moment’s consideration led him to think that maybe he shouldn’t have assumed Xiumin was playing with him.

“… Did Lay’s coming out mess with your head or something?” He scoffed, watching with certain contentment as the cogs slowly started turning in the other’s head. Knowing now that he’d overreacted for some reason just made him want to mend the little crack between them as soon as possible.

“Lay? What does that moron have to do with-… Oh.” Chen couldn’t help but snicker at the dumbfounded face the third-year was making, said boy snapping out of the temporary daze with a somewhat embarrassed grin. His tone was back to his usual cheeky one however. “No, Chenchen, I’m not planning a erted confession if that’s what you were thinking. You’re totally free to join me in the showers though.”

“Yeah,” Chen gave a small snort, snaking his wrist out of the other’s now loosened grasp and rolling his eyes. “Because that didn’t come off as erted at all.”

“Huh? Whatever are you talking about? I just thought since I have a bunch of stuff there already and we’ve both worked up a sweat and all… were you thinking of something else?”

And they were back to normal.

He shook his head in slight disbelief, but couldn’t really do anything about the heat rising to his cheeks – in fact he was convinced it worsened the more he thought about it. Big surprise there. And if he hadn’t had any indecent thoughts before Xiumin’s comment sure had gotten his mind going in the wrong direction.

When the other’s fingers laced with his own he wasn’t the least bit surprised at the spark that travelled through him from his fingertips, but this time it didn’t really make him uncomfortable the way it had before. Figures.

“Let’s go get washed up, alright? I’ll even promise I won’t try anything.” He responded to Xiumin’s playful suggestion with a scoff, but nonetheless went along with his upperclassman again, shaking his head tiredly. “I’m glad you forgive me by the way – I almost thought you were gonna punch me at one point.” Xiumin hummed with a creepily pleased smile, and Chen shrugged lazily.

“I was going to – good thing you apologized.” There was a moment of silence apart from their footsteps against the polished wooden floorboards, and out of the corner of his eye he could’ve sworn he saw the other shiver.

“Yeah, good thing I did.” The third-year finally sighed, and the grip on his hand tightened a bit. “How do you think Lay’s confession did work out by the way? Think he went through with it?” Chen chuckled a bit as he tried to imagine the look on Junmyeon’s face.

“I think we’ll find out soon enough.”

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A/N: Whew, finally. Time goes by too quickly - before I knew it I hadn't updated in two weeks again. *scratches head awkwardly* 

Please don't hate on me for this - I was planning to go ahead with Sulay or add in a bit of Hunhan but it just did not work out in my head or written down. Patience is a virtue, right? Bear with me guise~ TT-TT

Also, please excuse any mistakes - I have rewritten the ending of this roughly 4.16 times in three days and am still not sure I'm entirely pleased with it. But they kissed and made up so I won't need to start all over. (The first version of this chapter ended with a seriously butthurt Chen and a dumbly clueless Xiumin - see why I changed it?) Nevermind the fact that they didn't actually kiss - I'm saving that for another time. *evil snicker*

I hope you enjoyed it anyways! Thanks to all subscribers and silent readers~ And lots of love and hearts and brownies and orange juice 'cause that's tasty too to everyone who's kind enough to drop a comment~! <333 

~Fi