Calm Before the Storm

Chanyeol sneaked past the security guard at his post by the school gates, sighing in relief when he managed to break out of campus without getting caught. The security guards were like hawks and more often than not, they would catch students who were planning to ditch lessons during school hours. He had been lucky enough to have slipped by them.

But of course, just as he reached the bus stop, the bus had already started to move off, and despite running his hardest to try to flag it down, he still fell behind, missing the bus by a split second. He was frantic to see Baekhyun, and he felt like if he wasted another moment, he'd lose his chance to fix everything he'd ed up. 

And it terrified him to think about it. To know that he might be losing the boy who had been a stranger turned best friend, the one he never realized he'd harboured feelings for.

By the time he reached the vaguely recognizable white doors to the house he'd been to once before, his knees buckled beneath him as he fell to the ground to his palms and knees in a heap of heavy panting and exhaustion. It took him awhile to regain the strength to stand back up but as soon as he mustered every little ounce of stamina left in his legs, he began to bang against the door with his fist, quite oblivious to the doorbell that could have saved him the effort.

His heart skipped a few beats when the door finally opened a minute later as an achingly familiar face stared back at him, dressed in his blue striped cotton pjs despite it being two in the afternoon. His hair was no longer the striking blond colour he used to have. It was now a shade of medium ash brown, much darker than the previous. The boy had probably decided he needed a change. To be honest, though, Chanyeol liked the colour better on him. It softened his features, accentuating his facial features. The taller male found himself more drawn to look into his eyes than before when he'd had the distracting shade of blond.

Chanyeol tries to ignore how adorable the other boy was with his hair all ruffled and his small face giving off the whole cute puppy vibe.

Baekhyun was looking at him in slight confusion as he held the door open, waiting for the taller boy to say something. He stared at the boy from the top down and opened his mouth to make a remark about the state Chanyeol was in - breathing heavily, tufts of his black hair sticking out in all the weird places, his tie coming loose, blouse untucked, little patches of black stains on his brown pants where his knees were, and his shoelaces untied. But he decided against it, clamping his mouth shut instead.

"Aren't you supposed to be in school? Lunch period is almost up."

Baekhyun was the first to break the silence between them.

"I know, Baekhyun. I know everything."

Chanyeol breathed as Baekhyun felt himself holding his breath, the former ignoring the older's question about the taller male ditching school.

"Chanyeol, please, I can't do this right now. I really don't feel up to it."

Baekhyun sighed wearily, not knowing what the other boy was really referring to but too tired to ask. He used the hand that had been placed on the door to run it through his bedhair. It falls messily around his face and he knew he looked like but he couldn't really be bothered.

"I didn't see you today in school and I was worried, I just found out something during lunch and Iran3milestotellyouthat -- are you sick?"

Chanyeol's wide eyes narrowed in on the smaller boy's as he scrutinized his face that was even paler than it should be. Baekhyun shrugged in nonchalance as he deadpans.

"Just a little fever."

"Are you okay now?"

Chanyeol reached over to place a hand over Baekhyun's forehead. The older boy doesn't flinch; he allows Chanyeol to do so, too weak to protest, so he just nodded lightly in reply.

"I've been thinking too much lately, stressing over stupid things."

Baekhyun smiled grimly at the other boy who frowned.

"So have I."

"What do you mean?"

Chanyeol took out the crumpled paper stuffed from his pocket as Baekhyun gaped at the boy. He knew what the paper contained, but he had no idea how the hell it had ended up in the taller boy's hands.

"Him with the gawky posture, the lopsided grin, his captivating personality that shines through. His heart is beautiful, it shows, even when he tries to hide it."

Baekhyun found himself reciting the sentence along with Chanyeol in his mind since it was his essay after all and he knew it word for word. 

"...He heals my apparent wounds, but he doesn't know he is the cause of it. My cry for attention to make him notice me is mistaken as a chirp of happiness. But every time he sets me free I come back to him, flying 1000 miles to get to him, braving every calamity. The friction puts me off but I do not care much for it. I need to get back to my cage, to his hands. It is my home. Because I am just a Little Bird, and he is the storm that eats me alive..."

Baekhyun cringed inwardly, feeling a little pricked as Chanyeol does his best to read the whole essay out. When he was done, he folded the paper neatly into a quarter, even though it was already crumpled to begin with, and stuffed it back into his pocket. Baekhyun could feel Chanyeol's eyes just begging to meet his own, but he couldn't bring himself to look at the taller boy so he just stared at his hands that were twisted together, just like the tight knot that had formed in his stomach.

"You wrote this about me."

"I did."

Baekhyun replied quietly, finally giving in.

"Baek, I never knew. Why didn't you tell me?"

There was a hint of accusation in his voice and suddenly Baekhyun didn't feel like having this conversation. He already woke up that morning feeling like utter crap and now Chanyeol was being a demanding .

"You were so... just not into me."

"That's because I never knew. You never told me, you moron! You know how dense I am. I have no ing clue what's going on half the time. I thought you were still into girls, I thought we were just an experiment."

The words fell out of Chanyeol's mouth in a huff as he threw his hands in the air in exasperation. Baekhyun took a small step back, a little afraid at the taller boy's outburst, as if he might just pounce upon him the first chance he got.

"I guess it started out like that." His voice was just a whisper now that it almost gets lost in the wind.

Baekhyun could hear Chanyeol's uneven and loud breathing and it takes him a great deal of effort not to fling his arms around the taller boy's neck and bury his face in his chest where he knew would be the most heavenly place ever for him. After an insufferably long silence of nothing but Chanyeol's breathing and Baekhyun's internal struggle to restrain himself, Chanyeol spoke up in a low tone.  

"I want you..." Baekhyun could see, out of his peripheral vision, Chanyeol taking the small steps towards him, "...to be mine."

The taller boy's last line had been a whisper that was filled with longing and Baekhyun felt his heart beating hard against his ribcage as he wondered if this was everything he had imagined it to be. He decides that yes, Chanyeol yearning for him is all he has ever wanted.

"Do you really?" Baekhyun asked in a small voice as he looked up from his hands, staring into Chanyeol's big eyes for the first time since the taller boy had almost broken down the door to his house.

"I want you. I want all of you."

Baekhyun blinked hard; he doesn't know why but he's brought to tears and he mentally cursed at himself as he felt a tear pricking at his eye.

"Are you crying?"

Chanyeol had caught sight of the tears in the corner of his eyes and he was completely bewildered.

"This is the second time I've seen you tear up. Am I the reason for it?"

Baekhyun scowled in response; stupid Chanyeol brings out his emotional side. But then he sees the worry etched into the younger boy's features and his expression softened, remembering those times when he'd wished the other boy would just stop leading him on.

"You made me feel so small. Like I was nothing."

Baekhyun finally admitted as he glanced away. He felt a pair of large hands cupping his right cheek and bringing him to face the taller boy once more.

"I'm sorry if I ever made you feel that way. I admit I may be insensitive at times but.... you're the last person I would ever want to hurt."

Chanyeol used a thumb to catch a tear that had almost rolled down the side. He leans in, and for a moment, Baekhyun thought he was going to kiss him on the lips. Instead, he felt Chanyeol's dry lips kissing the wet spot where the tear had been wiped from.

Boyfriend.

The word felt foreign, even though he'd said it in his mind. But it felt good. Park Chanyeol, his boyfriend. Chanyeol wrapped his arms around Baekhyun's smaller frame of a waist and pulls him close to his chest, engulfing him in a loving embrace as the older boy smiled against Chanyeol's sweat-drenched blouse.

He could get used to this.

~*~

"Can I hold your hand?"

Chanyeol whispered as he glanced around warily at his surroundings. Baekhyun looked up at his side to see his boyfriend with an anxious expression on his face. It was the first time they were going to school as an official couple after Chanyeol had come running to Baekhyun's house the day before in the middle of school hours to confess his feelings for the older boy, in which said boy had thought that it had been nothing short of romantic.

Of course, Baekhyun knew what Chanyeol must be worried about. In the eyes of students at Seoul High School, Baekhyun was still the most perfect and most popular boy who was above everyone else, and Chanyeol, on the other hand, was just another average student.

Them hooking up would only cause an uproar; and possibly, Baekhyun to be thrown off his hierarchical status at the top. But after what Baekhyun had been through to win over the prankster's affections, he figured that it was just a small price to pay. He couldn't care less about all that hierarchical bull anymore. As long as his tall goofball of a boyfriend was by his side, he knew he'd be okay.

"Why not?" 

Instead of waiting for Chanyeol to reply, though, Baekhyun closed the gap between them till his shoulder was bumping against the younger's arm(since he was taller) and then reached for Chanyeol's bigger hands and interlacing their fingers together. The younger boy flashed the older a bright smile that makes the latter melt inside like the proverbial chocolate in the sun.

Chanyeol walked Baekhyun to his class, and since they had a little time to spare before their first lesson starts, they leaned against the rows of lockers outside the classroom.

"Yeol, since we're dating now, would you do whatever I say?"

Chanyeol reached over to pinch the older's cute button nose, causing Baekhyun to scowl as he tried to dodge it.

"Of course, you bossy little ."

"Ya!"

Baekhyun hit the taller boy on the head; he's shorter, but thank god he's not that short to be unable to reach Chanyeol's head.

"I'm just kidding, baby. Lighten up."

Baekhyun catches the lopsided grin that causes Chanyeol's right eye to grow slightly wider than his left, and a smile forms on his own lips.

"Then will you befriend Luhan?" Baekhyun's tone returned to one of seriousness as Chanyeol held the older boy's gaze.

"Yeah. Of course."

Baekhyun tried to look for any signs of annoyance or fake pretense in Chanyeol's face, but he could find none. 

"Why the sudden request, though?"

"I just want us all to get along. I agreed to be yours, and that is a new beginning in itself. But I want a clean start. You, me. New friends. Ones who are true."

"And Luhan's pretty great."

Baekhyun explained himself as he tried to decipher the look on his boyfriend's face. There wasn't a hint of uneasiness in his expression, just a little surprise, and the older boy took that as a good sign. 

"Not as great as me, though, right?"

"You're the best."

Chanyeol grinned, giving Baekhyun a quick appreciative peck on his cheek.

"When you're not being an annoying goofball."

Baekhyun added, earning himself a shove.

"Honestly, I feel more like myself when I'm around the gang."

"The gang?" Chanyeol raised a questioning eyebrow.

"The detention gang." 

Baekhyun smiles as he says it, and for the first time ever, Chanyeol notices a certain look in his eyes he's never seen before. It was a genuine look of happiness. The taller boy felt a warm feeling settle comfortably in the pit of his stomach; he felt content himself to see the other boy happy.

Just then, the bell rang and Chanyeol bade a quick goodbye to his boyfriend before leaving for his own class, even though he really didn't want to. 

Chanyeol entered his classroom with a few seconds to spare and slid into the first empty table at the front of the class. A certain boy entered the class just as he got settled down and he kept his eyes fixed on him, watching as he sat down at a table alone in the corner in the back of the room. He mentally face-palmed himself for never knowing that he shared a class with the Chinese boy. This was the first time he's come to known about it, despite having almost reached the end of the school-year.

He had wanted to get up and sit beside the boy but because the lesson had already begun, he couldn't do so. He waited patiently till the lesson ended before he stood up and turned around to make his way to the Chinese boy, but before he could get to him, the boy was already hastily making a run for it out through the back door.

Chanyeol hurriedly slung his bagpack over his right shoulder and went after the boy, catching a glimpse of his bright hair disappearing into the toilets at the end of the hallway.

The second he stepped into the toilet, he sees the boy hunched over one of the sinks, spitting into it as he let the water run. Chanyeol watched quietly by the door as Luhan cupped his hands together to collect some water and took a sip from it before he turned off the tap.

"Have you told him?"

Startled at the sudden deep voice echoing in the tiled room, Luhan turned to see Chanyeol standing at the door with a tensed stance. His eyes are wide in shock, but his expression changed into one of weary as he sighed. There's just something about the way the taller boy is staring at him that tells him that it's no use lying to him because he clearly knows what's going on.

"No."

"You need to tell him."

"I can't..."

Luhan trails off as Chanyeol replies in a stern voice that surprises the Chinese boy. He has never seen this serious side of the school's prankster. His brows were deeply furrowed and maybe, maybe, Luhan could sense a little worry in the tone of his voice.

"You have to."

Chanyeol deadpans.

"Please, don't tell him."

Luhan was afraid now as he began to plead the younger to keep from saying anything. He hadn't really thought about it himself. He had decided that the best thing to do was to pretend that everything was fine, because Sehun didn't have to know anything that doesn't really concern him. But now he realizes that because he was so in love with his boyfriend, things might get complicated.

"I won't. But you have to."

Chanyeol relents as his lips pressed into a thin line.

"Soon. Just not now."

Chanyeol nods in understanding. He really shouldn't meddle in other people's affairs, but Sehun deserves to know the truth. If they were going to start this whole new friendship thing, an important rule would be to prevent keeping secrets from each other.

"Anyway, I was thinking of asking Baekhyun to tutor me for our upcoming college entrance exams. Do you wanna join us? We could have a little study group. Just us, the detention gang."

Luhan's small lips curled into a smile at Chanyeol's offer. 

"Okay."

 ~*~

4th Saturday - 24 hours completed

Every Saturday, Principal Kim would expect to find six boys making a ruckus(well, mostly Chanyeol) in the detention room. He'd expect to find the room in a mess from god knows what they had been doing before he arrived. He'd expect to see Luhan hitting Sehun's shoulder playfully as the younger guffawed with his head thrown back, laughing as if the Chinese boy had told him the funniest joke in the world. Principal Kim would expect to see Chanyeol and Baekhyun engaged in some sort of play-wrestle whereby the taller boy would have the shorter boy in a headlock as Kyungsoo sat in the corner of the room cursing at the pair to "shut the up!" and Jongin sitting beside him going through a book that is opened on the desk in front of the both of them. Which surprises Principal Kim because Jongin never studies unless it's with his best friend Sehun or if he was forced against his own will. 

But what Principal Kim never expected to find was six boys sitting at their desks in a circle, quietly engrossed in their school work, the only sounds coming from the exhange of murmured whispers between Baekhyun and Chanyeol on something about the pythagorean formula, and the heavy scribbling of pen against paper.

Principal Kim walked into the music room turned Class of Doom that third Saturday to find that everything was out of the norm. 

He cleared his throat and six heads jerked up simultaneously as they bowed a greeting when they realized who it was.

"I must say, I'm impressed with you young lads. Keep up the good attitude. We're halfway there, just 12 more hours to go and you'll be free from Detention."

He left the room, feeling quite proud of his students.

The gang spent the rest of the day mugging, occasionally taking short toilet and mind-refreshing breaks. When detention hours drew to a close, they decided to pack up and take a well-deserved last break before heading for home.

Jongin had suggested they went to the rooftop garden, and after a chorus of agreement, the six of them made their way to the school's rooftop garden on the fifth floor of Block B. 

Sehun claimed the bench first, pulling Luhan down beside him and then letting his head fall in his boyfriend's lap as he stretched out his long limbs on the length of the bench. Luhan smiled down at him, ruffling his hair fondly and all Sehun could think of was how he could live like this forever; Luhan's pretty and youthful face with the clear skies as the background, peering at him with nothing but love in his eyes that sparkled for him and only him.

Kyungsoo walked over to the ledge beside a row of potted flowers where he'd had his first kiss with Jongin just a few days ago as the latter followed suit, standing beside the older. He predicted how it would be a place that would house many memories. He could already see it in his mind - sneaking out during lessons to meet here, lazing on the bench while he watched Jongin dance, kissing amongst the garden of pretty flowers. He felt the younger hooking his arm with his own. He turned to look at Jongin who was staring out at the campus grounds with a small smile on his face. Kyungsoo traced his every feature and thought about how he liked it. To be honest, he couldn't wait till they were alone, and the first thing he would do would be to kiss the younger senseless and let his lips travel along every curve, every crook of his perfect body.

Chanyeol and Baekhyun were sitting on the patch of artificial grass, facing each as they played Red Hands, as had been initiated by the younger male. Baekhyun was killing it at the game and it amused him to see how his boyfriend's clumsy and goofy side had appeared as he scrunched his nose up in utmost concentration as he tried to swat at the older's hand, missing it every single time.

Luhan tucked his hand under Sehun's jawline, in which he thought was masculine, and leaned in to kiss the younger's closed eyes. He pulled back into an upright position, letting his arm rest on Sehun's broad chest  and shifted his gaze at his new found friends. Everyone looks so happy and carefree and for the first time he felt like he really belonged here, with Sehun, with them.

But then again, there's that little dreaded feeling that's nagging in the back of his mind, telling him that this is just the calm before the storm, and Luhan has never been one to be afraid of anything, ever. But now he was terrified at what was to come.

He truly was. 

~*~

 A/N: so much fluffff, it's basically raining streamers and bunnies and unicorns and rainbows and cake

I procrastinated a lot on this one, i kept telling myself "GET YOUR TOGETHER AND FINISH THE DAMN CHAPTER" but I ended up spending three hours listening to one direction and reading random fanfiction and idk i guess im the biggest procrastinater ever.

also I've been having some major baekyeol feels lately 

AND i've set my mind on writing another chapter and updating tmr but for now i need sleeeeepppp i can't do a marathon with only four hours of sleep i am so screwed OTL