My name is Byun Baekhyun and I have an imaginary friend named Chanyeol. Chanyeol has been with me from ever since I was a child to now. I am in high school and he still haunts me. He was a friend I made up because I was the loser who didn’t have friends but now that I have friends…Chanyeol only got scarier. He tries to make sure I never go out and he tries to make sure I am his and only his.

Friends aren’t supposed to scare you…they are supposed to make you laugh, make you happy, and comfort you. So why is Chanyeol treating me the way he does? Why?

The Past

This is how it all started.

The bell rang for recess and all the elementary school kids ran outside with glee towards the playground. Baekhyun was the last one to be outside and he walked alone with no friends to laugh and play with. For some reason, kids didn’t seem to like Baekhyun. Maybe because he doesn’t speak to others easily or he isn’t as outgoing as the others but he always seemed alone. The other kids saw Baekhyun come outside and began whispering amongst each other. “Look! It’s Baekhyun! He’s such a loser. No wonder why he doesn’t have friends.” “That’s mean hyung! You don’t know what he goes through!” “What? Do you care for the loser?” “No it’s just-“ “Then shut your mouth.”

Baekhyun tried to pretend he didn’t hear anything as he walked past the two boys talking about him. The rude boy stuck his foot out and tripped Baekhyun and Baekhyun fell forward roughly. His knee and hands skid across the black asphalt and blood started to protrude from the wounded body parts. The kids in the playground began to laugh at Baekhyun as he started to cry. He felt so lost and vulnerable until a teacher came over and helped him off the ground.  Most teachers back then never knew Baekhyun was constantly bullied and forced to be alone.

One day at the playground, Baekhyun decided to create a friend for himself and he imaged this tall boy with curly light brown hair and big eyes and a big smile. It seems creepy but he just wanted a friend who he could smile and laugh with through everything. He named his imaginary friend Chanyeol…Park Chanyeol.

A shadow casted over him and he looked up to see Chanyeol smiling down at him with his hand extended to help him up. Baekhyun took it and Chanyeol lifted him up off the pavement. Chanyeol spoke first and said, “My name is Chanyeol and I am here to make you happy and be your friend.” Baekhyun laughed at Chanyeol who tilted his head to the side in as he observed his imaginary friend. “You’re cute.” Chanyeol pouted and whined. “Don’t call me cute! I am not cute! I am a man!” Baekhyun laughed even louder. He has never been this happy in a long time.

What he didn’t know were the kids in the playground looking at him strangely and teachers staring at him with concern. After the day ended, Baekhyun was ready to leave when his teacher called him over to her desk. He didn’t know what she was calling him over for. He didn’t punch anyone today or use his strong vocabulary on anyone today. The teacher tried to keep a perky smile but he knew she was faking. “Baekhyun…you’re not in trouble but I am concerned about you. I even called your mother down to come to talk to you about this…problem.” Baekhyun looked at her confused and asked, “What problem?” The teacher cupped her hands together and spoke with concern, “Your classmates have been telling me every recess you talk to yourself and that you pretend you have a friend standing next to you even though there’s nothing there. Is that true?” Baekhyun grew angry with the teacher. “He is there! He is just invisible! His name is Park Chanyeol and he is my best friend!”

“Baekhyun that is enough!”

Baekhyun turned to see his mother who looked at him with anger. She walked towards the teacher and bowed at a ninety degree angle. “I am so sorry for my son’s…imagination. You know kids these days. They are filled with imaginative minds. I promise it won’t happen again.” The teacher nodded her head and said, “That’s not the issue here Mrs. Byun. My concern about Baekhyun is if he is having a hard time socializing with the other kids.” Baekhyun’s teacher turned to Baekhyun and asked him, “Why aren’t you playing with the other kids? Did they do something to you?” Baekhyun’s mother spoke for him. “He is just a shy boy. He has always been nervous about meeting new people.” “Baekhyun-ah, is that true?” Baekhyun’s mother looked at him with eyes that ordered him to agree. He agreed and the teacher smiled. “Don’t worry Baekhyun-ah. I’ll make sure you won’t have to be shy anymore. You two may leave. Thank you for coming!”

 Baekhyun’s mother bowed respectively before gripping Baekhyun’s shoulder tightly and pushing him out the door. She spoke in a hush tone towards Baekhyun, “Speak no more of this…imaginary friend. I will not let you make a fool of myself let alone yourself Baekhyun. Do you hear me?” Baekhyun didn’t respond. He felt Chanyeol’s comforting hand on his shoulder and knew that he would be alright.

One thing Baekhyun dreaded the most was going home. People say home is where the heart is…not in Baekhyun’s case. He would come home to the sound of his drunken parents fighting and throwing furniture in anger. The only time he ever saw his parents was when they were fighting. They were always gone in the morning so Baekhyun had to learn how to make breakfast himself and always walked to school alone. It was dangerous…not that his parents cared. Baekhyun has always been alone until Chanyeol changed that.

When Baekhyun reached middle school, he was still labeled weird and was forced to be a loner. Only during group projects would Baekhyun’s bullies be forced to be nice to him and by “group projects” it’s actually him doing all the work. Chanyeol would always comfort him by cursing them out and he would be the only one to hear it. That always amused him. He liked it around lunch time because he snuck up the roof top and got to eat food while talking to Chanyeol privately. It always felt like it was them against the world. They only had each other and Baekhyun liked that.

Then came high school, he didn’t know how he made his first friend but he did and his name was Kai. He met Kai in Chemistry class and they had a lab on the first day and they were partnered up together. The class got up and moved to their spots and it wasn’t hard for him to find Kai. He had dark brown skin and jet black hair and plump lips. Most girls would kill to sit next to him let alone be his lab partner so Baekhyun received a couple glares when he sat next to Kai.

Kai extended his hand towards Baekhyun and said, “Congratulations, you are stuck with the worst person for this lab. My name is Kai and I don’t understand a damn thing we’re doing.” Baekhyun laughed shyly and shook Kai’s hand. “Congratulations, you got a partner who understands science.” The two could hear loud gasps in the background and heard a girl whisper, “Why is Kai being so friendly to Baekhyun? Doesn’t he know that he is a freak?” Kai turned to the girl and put on his best smile that basically read: you. “Say you are you sorry to Baekhyun-ah. Right now.” The girl instantly bowed respectfully and said, “Sorry.

Baekhyun turned to Kai and said, “You don’t have to do that. I am used to them calling me a freak.” Kai looked at him with a serious face. “Never get used to people calling you a freak. It’s not okay.” Baekhyun couldn’t help but feel surprised by Kai’s response. He has never met a person who was willing enough to talk to him let alone stand up for him. He felt grateful and happy towards the boy.

Baekhyun was reluctant at first because he was used to being forced to do all the work while the other sits but Kai was stubborn and actually wanted to do more work than Baekhyun. (Even though Kai didn’t understand a damn thing they were learning let alone doing.) Soon enough, they became friends and thanks to Kai, Baekhyun was able to make more friends. What Baekyhun didn’t realize is that Chanyeol would stand in the back and glare at him as he talked to other people that weren’t him. He didn’t realize…he was slowly drifting away from Chanyeol as he gained more friends.

After the first day of high school, Baekhyun came home all happy and was greeted by an angry Chanyeol. “What’s your problem?” Chanyeol scoffed. “What’s MY problem? You wanna know my problem? You are trying to get rid of me.” Baekhyun looked at him confused. “No I am not. Just because I made new friends doesn’t mean I’ll forget you.” Chanyeol stepped close and yelled, “Yes it does! You are gonna have fun with these so called friends of yours and just leave me behind to watch you have fun without me. Some great friend you are.” Baekhyun rolled his eyes. “Fine…how can I make it up to you? How can I make you stop being mad?” Chanyeol smirked darkly. “Never hang out with those friends of yours.”

After Chanyeol’s request, Baekhyun would have to turn down every each of his friend’s invites to hang out or go somewhere because he knows Chanyeol is watching. He knows Chanyeol will instantly yell at him if he broke his promise. He knows he will break Chanyeol’s heart if he breaks his promise.

 Chanyeol is important to him but what he doesn’t realize is Chanyeol is imprisoning him. Chanyeol is making him be with his and only his. Chanyeol is forcing him to lose friends he just made. No friend does that. But Baekhyun was too oblivious to realize it until he finally cracked.

The Present

 “Hey Baekhyun!”

Baekhyun turned around to see Kai running to him. He smiles and waves to his young friend. “What’s up Kai?” Kai smirked and wrapped an arm around Baekhyun’s shoulder. “There’s a party this weekend and I was wondering if you wanted to go.” The invitation made Baekhyun’s heart race because he could already feel Chanyeol’s gaze pierce into him. He grew nervous but tried to stay calm. “Kai…I’m sorry but-““Don’t tell me. You’re busy. Baekhyun…you always say that. When are you actually gonna hang out with me and the guys? Do you hate hanging around us or something?” “It’s not that! It’s just-“

The school bell rang which interrupted Baekhyun. Kai sighed and looked at Baekhyun with a disappointed expression. “It doesn’t matter. I’m not gonna force you if you don’t want to. Bye Baekhyun.” Kai walked to his next class and Baekhyun sighed in frustration and turned to Chanyeol who was smirking at him. Baekhyun gave Chanyeol an angry expression before storming into the boy’s bathroom.

Baekhyun threw his book bag to the ground and pressed his hands against the sink as he stared into the mirror. He saw Chanyeol behind him with that smug look that always pisses him off. “Go away.” Chanyeol laughed at Baekhyun and walked closer and wrapped his arms around Baekhyun’s stomach. “What’s wrong Baekhyun?” Baekhyun elbowed Chanyeol who stepped back and he began to yell at him, “You know exactly what’s wrong!” The tall boy kept a mischievous look and leaned his head to one side. “I honestly don’t. Please do tell.”

Baekhyun grabbed his hair in frustration. “I know you’re not real. I’m not a child anymore.” Chanyeol walked closer and pressed his lips against Baekhyun’s ear. “I’m real to you, isn’t that what’s important?” Chanyeol’s hands began to feel up Baekhyun’s chest and a few kisses were pressed against his neck. “Please just…leave me alone. I don’t need you anymore.” Chanyeol chuckled darkly into Baekhyun’s ear and whispered, “I’m afraid I’ll have to decline. I’m not going anywhere. I know you have friends now, but admit it, I’m a thousand times more better than those guys you call friends.”

Baekhyun could feel tears pool at his eyes and whispered softly, “Please get away. I don’t want you with me anymore.” He couldn’t see this but Chanyeol wore a sad expression on his face. Chanyeol wrapped his arms tightly around Baekhyun and rested his head on his shoulder. “I know you don’t mean that.” This made Baekhyun furious. The fact that Chanyeol is trying to play innocent even though he is ruining his life is…despicable. Chanyeol looked in the mirror to see Baekhyun’s tears run down his face and felt guilt burn up inside him but he couldn’t help but hurt the boy.  Chanyeol wants Baekhyun all to himself because he loves the boy and doesn’t want anyone hurting him. He can protect Baekhyun from people hurting him. He can protect Baekhyun from heartbreak but Baekhyun doesn’t see his actions the way Chanyeol does. Baekhyun sees it as imprisonment (which it is) but he can’t help but try to keep the one he loves all to himself. He whispered softly, “You created me. I want to see you try and get rid of me.”

Baekhyun shoved Chanyeol away and turned towards him. “That shouldn’t be hard. All I have to do is close my eyes and you’ll be gone.” He did as he said and closed his eyes and a few seconds later he opened them to find Chanyeol was gone. He was surprised and looked around to see that Chanyeol was in fact…gone. A smile spread across his face and tears fell in happiness because he felt free…he could finally be a human again. As he walked out, he couldn’t help but feel a slight ache in his heart. He didn’t know what it is or what it meant so he tossed it aside.

The bell rang signaling that school ended and Baekhyun began walking out of the school when he saw Kai walking out. He ran up to Kai and said, “I wanna go to that party.” Kai looked at him surprised. “You sure? You aren’t gonna make up some excuse last minute are you?” Baekhyun laughed. “No I won’t. I really want to go.” Kai smirked and wrapped his arm around Baekhyun’s shoulders. “I knew guilt tripping you would finally work.”

The months passed and Baekhyun was able to finally be free and hang out as much as he wanted. But…is that what he really wanted?

He could still remember Chanyeol walking home with him and telling him jokes that never made sense. He could still remember Chanyeol keeping him company when he couldn’t fall asleep or when a thunderstorm kept him awake. He could still remember when he was a child and Chanyeol was his only form of comfort whenever he was lonely. He could still remember Chanyeol being there for him when it was the worst of times. Even though Chanyeol was overbearing…he couldn’t help but miss the brat.

After doing a grocery run, Baekhyun was leaving the store when he roughly ran into someone. The grocery bags fell out of his hand and the food began to roll out of the bags when the stranger helped him pick them up. The stranger spoke and said, “Sorry for running into you.” The voice was oddly familiar so Baekhyun looked up and was greeted by…Chanyeol?

Baekhyun looked at the stranger with a surprised look. “Chanyeol?” The stranger tilted his head to the side. “How do you know my name?” The shorter of the two nearly laughed hysterically. “Don’t try and act stupid. I thought I got rid of you.” Chanyeol looked at Baekhyun confused and said, “I’m sorry but…I think you are mistaking me for someone else. I have never met you before.” The tall boy gave Baekhyun a peculiar look. “Are you like a crazy person?” Baekhyun was instantly offended and scoffed. “I am NOT crazy!” Chanyeol leaned his head back and laughed. “I am just messing with you. What’s your name crazy person?” Baekhyun groaned and rubbed at his forehead. “You give me a headache. My name is Baekhyun.” Chanyeol put his hands around his waist and spoke loudly, “Well Baekhyun, considering I rudely ran into you, please allow me to buy you new groceries.” Baekhyun nodded in disagreement. “It’s fine. I can just buy new ones, it’s unnecessary for you to go out of your way to buy me new-“ “Speak no more! A nice citizen like me must do his duty and help the misfortunate and you who looks like he can’t afford much…I shall help you poor citizen in need!”

Baekhyun couldn’t tell whether he should slap the boy because of his rudeness or let the boy do as he pleases so he didn’t have to hear another damn word he said. He chose the second one because he likes the idea of not having to pay for new groceries.

Soon enough, he was walking through the store with the annoying giant as he picked out the groceries he needed (with extra snacks considering he isn’t the one paying.)  After awhile, Baekhyun wasn’t annoyed and he actually enjoyed Chanyeol’s never-ending talking and his stupid jokes that didn’t make sense. It reminded him of the imaginary Chanyeol and it made him feel nostalgic.

Their shopping ended and they walked out of the convenience store and Chanyeol turned towards Baekhyun. “Well, I hope you got everything you needed.” Baekhyun nodded happily and said, “I did and thanks again for paying for it. I feel like I should repay you somehow. If you have any favors, please tell me so I don’t feel so guilty.” The tall boy placed a finger to his chin and looked up at the sky as he was thinking for an answer. He smiled brightly and took a hold of Baekhyun’s shoulders. “Be my friend!” Baekhyun looked at the boy with a confused expression. Of all the favors he could have been asked…he was asked to be his friend? He doesn’t mind but it is odd.

Baekhyun nodded. “I will gladly be your friend.” Chanyeol smile widened and he jumped up and down in happiness and he clapped his hands like an overexcited child. “I’m so happy! I don’t have a lot of friends so having Baekhyun hyung as a friend would make me happy.” Baekhyun felt like Chanyeol was the representation of his old self and he felt sympathetic towards the kid. He smiled up at the boy and he knew right there and then, he wanted nothing more than to comfort this boy like Chanyeol did when he was lonely, when he was sad, and when he was afraid because that’s what friends do.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

A/N: I didn't fully proofread it because I am busy at the moment but please enjoy and leave comments!!

Chickyeol!

GIFs belong to http://cheolyans.tumblr.com/