___________ "JOAH" by Park Jaebeom (JAY) ___________

{ 15 }

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You sighed, and kicked a few rocks. Right now, it was your free period so you had an additional hour and a half to spend. You walked to the bench in the middle of the small park next to the cafeteria and took a seat. You swung your legs to and fro and closed your eyes.

What you were thinking about at the moment was how much your life was changing in only a week. You'd fought with your sister, burned her checkbook with the account and all your given credit cards, moved out of the house, and into another one with six teenage guys. If someone knew, you couldn't bare the new levels of insults that were going to be thrown your way. It was going to be worse than even now. They only degraded you because of your disability. Because of you living with six other guys? You couldn't even imagine it.

What you also could not comprehend was the other conflict at hand. Sehun's little declaration at lunch.

"Why do you guys care so much?" 

"We care, because you're our mate. And that's what mates do. We protect and care for each other no matter how long we've known each other."

You knew he wasn't kidding and you also came clear with a single thought: you were oblivious and dense. All the signs were there. They said their marks were bolded only twice. Once, when their born fresh and clean, and twice when they found their mates. But all you knew was that D.O.'s mark had bolded. *So he's my mate?* You blushed red and covered your mouth. *That couldn't be..but Sehun said "we" and "our". Sehun is my mate too..? How do I...love two guys at once?* The thought alone was absoulutely ridiculous. You wanted to get married. But with two guys? Was that even legal?

"Ahra! YO!" You jumped and stared wide-eyed at Chanyeol.

He sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck and sat down next to you. "Sorry, did I scare you?"

"It's alright." You said plainly and stared at him.

He dropped his hand and cocked his head. "Is there something on my face?" He asked consciously, cupping his cheeks and making blowfish faces. You smiled at his childishness and shook your head.

"So," Chanyeol dropped his hand and his face grew serious. "Is there something the matter?" His group mates were bonded to this girl. If she was upset, they were upset. If she was happy, they were happy. That's just how it goes with mates.

"I..." You sighed and looked down. "I just thought that what Baekhyun oppa and Kai had done was harsh. It was uncalled for an unnecessary and I know they were just defending me but just because she did something bad to me doesn't mean she should be treated the same way. People do things because of a certain reason, not because they feel like it. If that was the reason, Joo Sun unnie would have quit already. It was boring, tiring, and a worthless thing to pay attention to." You babbled, not even correcting yourself when the intimate word had come out of your mouth. It felt right. So you said it. Besides, you liked the feeling you got when you let the words roll off your tongue.

Chanyeol had a surprised look on his face. Had he seen another more sincere, kind-hearted, and thoughtful side of Huang Ahra? She was really a beautiful Angel, he didn't deny it. As he had said it, his mark on his back seared and he bit his lip. What was going on? His body temperature spiked up, and he tried his utmost best not to sweat on the spot. His stomach felt upset and then his body got colder, like he was thrown in a pile of ice.s

Chanyeol ignored the feeling. He focused on the situation at hand. Ahra was right, but the wolves were prideful and protective and also possessive. If someone attempted to hurt someone they cared about, look at their mate, or even come near their loved ones they would immediately get defensive. It was a gene in their wolf blood.  They protected what was theirs, so Baekhyun would obviously speak up to such a condescending, disrespectful, and rude girl. But they also had the decency and respect to listen to their mate's wishes.

"Well, Ahra, you're going to have to look at it this way." Chanyeol explained. "Wolves are super protective of their mate. In whatever situation, if they feel like something bad is going to happen to their mate they will be right next to them just in case that bad thing will happen. You can't let yourself be stepped on like that, and as a mate, Baekhyun defended you."

You bit your lip. You hadn't thought of that. Then you sighed. Why have you been so careless lately? They were right. Sehun's been saying this for the past week. You were weak ad vulnerable and didn't even attempt to fight back. But you were just too scared to do it, scared that you'll lose anyways in the end.

Your mind skipped over your words and you paused at a word. "Wait. Mate? But...I thought Baekhyun didn't have one? So why was he so protective of me?" Chanyeol froze and cursed himself for being reckless. Then he blamed his brothers. Why did they have to hide this from you?

"Um...I mean...Baekhyun cares alot for you so thats why he defended you. You know. Just because...uh..yeah." He babbled with a small, little lie. You didn't notice and just nodded. The two of you fell silent until you couldn't stand it anymore and stood. Chanyeol followed your actions with careful eyes, so that if you misbalanced he would be able to catch you. You smiled shyly. You didn't really know what to do in a situation like this, but Chanyeol gave off a friendly, relaxing feeling to you.

"Do you want to come with me to the library..?" You asked. 

Immediately a grin came over his face and he jumped up. "Sure! Let's gooo~ To the library!" He cheered, and pulled you along. You stumbled and sent him a surprised look.

"Chanyeol-"

"Oppa." Chanyeol finished with a pout. "Not fair~ I'm older than Kyungsoo but you still called him oppa!"

"Kyungsoo?" You cocked your head.

"D.O. You know, the big wide-eyed freak?"

You slapped his arm and frowned. "D.O. isn't a freak! That's mean. Seriously. You should be a good role model, Chanyeol. I heard you were third oldest. Kai, D.O, and Sehun will look up to you."

Chanyeol chuckled and shrugged. "Kyungsoo doesn't deny it. And besides, those three don't even listen to me!" He blew a raspberry and furrowed his eyebrows.

You sighed and rolled your eyes though nonetheless skipped the subject. "I accidentally called D.O. oppa. It was just the slip of a tongue." You corrected. 

"But you can still call me oppa, right?" He replied hopefully. You raised an eyebrow.

"Why are you so enthusiastic about it? It's just a word." You shot back.

Chanyeol smirked, "Hey, it's nice to hear someone you like call you oppa."

You blushed red at his bluntness and lack of embarrassment at his indirect confessing. "T-then get Sehun to call you oppa. Done deal." You stammered, still stubborn of the whole idea.

"It's a whole different thing! Besides, I don't even like the brat." He complained.

"SEE! Look at this! You're so-" You cut off, waving your hands in his direction and fake-slammed your head against the hallway wall.

Chanyeol looked on with amusement. "So what? y? Handsome? Awesome? Can't handle the godliness?" He struck a pose and flexed his biceps. You bit your lip as his muscles popped out and huffed.

"You can dream, but it won't come true." You said bluntly and entered the library.

He followed you and placed his hands on your shoulders, following you and waddling cutely. "You so mean~" He said in a small voice and pouted once more.

You rolled your eyes and smiled at his antics and entered the row of fantasy books. You grabbed the one you were reading, another copy, and Chanyeol grabbed a comic book. You two settled down at a seat by the window that looked out to the forest and mountains in the distance. Chanyeol sat in front of you and watched as you flipped open to the page you were on. He saw the way your eyes quickly scanned over the contents and how they slowed, when you found your spot. He opened his book with a smile and began to read also.

As time passed by the sun shined down on the two of you, and you both looked up simultaneously. Your eyes caught Chanyeol's, and you looked as his face glowed in the sunlight.