A/N: Hi guys! I'm so sorry for not updating yesterday!! (゜´Д｀゜) But I'm pretty sure today's chapter is longer, so I hope that makes up for it! Daily updates are pretty hard for me, so I apologize if I don't get to update everyday. 

Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter! It's Jongin's birthday in this chapter, even though it was 2 days ago. (whoops!) And don't worry, next chapter, the plot will develop more and shit will go down. For now, enjoy! (*^▽^*)

Jongdae wakes up the next morning to the smell of fresh laundry and pancakes.

“Good morning sleepyhead,” Baekhyun says as he places a plate of stacked pancakes in front of the boy with the bed head. Jongdae briefly feels some sort of deja-vu before stuffing his mouth with pancakes. It isn’t unusual for Baekhyun to stay over or for Jongdae to stay over at Baekhyun’s. It is more of a habit now, and Jongdae is fairly happy that it ended up like this. Plus, they had classes together, so they could just walk together to campus without a problem.

After a quick breakfast and a soap fight that erupts after Baekhyun throws a handful of soap bubbles at the other, the two make their way to campus.

This is nice, Jongdae thinks to himself. Baekhyun’s busily chatting away about what song he wants to choose for their midterm, but the younger boy is barely paying attention. He revels in the the feeling of having it just be him and Baekhyun, without any distractions.

They approach school campus, and see their usual group of friends chatting. Once they spot the pair, hands are eagerly waved. “Stayed over at Jongdae’s again?” Amber asks, and when Baekhyun raves on about their soap fight (“I did not start it!” Jongdae yells indignantly), Jongdae also notices uncertainty flash in Chanyeol’s eyes, but he decides to ignore it.

After their morning chatter calms down, both Jongdae and Baekhyun simultaneously wonder why their group was so upbeat this morning.

“What’s all the excitement about?” Baekhyun asks, before going up on his toes to place a peck on Chanyeol’s lips. Jongdae feels his hearts sink a bit before making his way in between Kyungsoo and Yixing.

“Oh!” Kyungsoo immediately lights up. “Since it’s Jongin’s birthday tomorrow, we’re going to go to a karaoke club tonight!” The rest of the group is obviously excited for tonight’s event, but Jongdae finds himself reluctant to go. He didn’t want to see anything unnecessary… or heart-wrecking. But it’s Jongin’s birthday, and Jongdae remembers the finished cake sitting in his bakery.

“Sure, we’ll be there,” Jongdae replies, and the group lets out cheers.

Classes are as boring as ever, but Jongdae and Baekhyun cure their boredom with hand-written letters and scribbling on each other’s notes. The teacher eventually catches them and scolds them, but all three of them know that she really can’t threaten to fail her top two students.

Once the school day ends, the duo walk out and meet up with their regular group of friends. Kyungsoo and Jongin share details of where and when to meet, then everyone parts ways to get ready and prepare their gifts and surprises.

“Jongdae!” Baekhyun calls out when the boy is about to turn around and leave. “Can you pick me up on your way to the club? My car is broken,” he chuckles nervously, and Jongdae lets out a mocking laugh before agreeing.

“I’ll be there at 5 then, okay?” and the two part ways. Jongdae makes his way to the bakery for another day at work, and an idea comes to him on the way.

“Hey Jongdae,” his two workers greet him.

“Hi guys! Listen, would you two be interested in joining my friends and I to a karaoke bar? It’s Jongin’s birthday and I know he would love to have you two there.” The couple share a glance before agreeing. “Great! It starts at 6, so we’ll be closing early at 4:30 today.” And then work resumes, Jongdae putting the finishing touches on his cake before getting it ready for transportation. Then he decides to hang out with Sehun and Lu Han at the counter until work ends, and the three of them have a heated discussion of who should win what award at the Golden Disk Awards.

Once shift ends, Sehun and Lu Han walk home to get ready (Jongdae gives them a knowing smirk when he sees their hands clasped and the two only sputter and walk away), and Jongdae heads home. He washes up, fixes his hair, and throws on a hoodie and skinny jeans before grabbing his keys and driving to Baekhyun’s house. When the tinier boy opens the door, he greets his friend with a dazzling smile.

“Dae! Come in, come in. We still have some time before we need to go,” and Jongdae walks in before making himself at home. He practically lives at Baekhyun’s, so he was no stranger to his grand condo. The two spend the extra time they have finishing up Baekhyun’s gift to Jongin.

“You’re horrible at this,” Jongdae comments as Baekhyun struggles with the wrapping paper. His comment earns him a smack on the side of his head, but he just laughs it off and continues to tease his friend. But he can’t help but notice the way his perfectly-crafted fingers slide across the paper, and how delicate they look. All he wants to do is just entwine his fingers with his own and kiss each finger. Jongdae knows he can’t though, and that’s what hurts the most.

But he brushes it off as Baekhyun beams up at him when he finishes attaching a bow on the gift, and the two head out to the club.

“Happy birthday Jongin!” The two shout when they enter the room, immediately tackling the birthday boy to the ground. “How many birthday punches do you need this year?” They recite in perfect unison, and Jongin laughs with a smile that almost reaches his ears.

“Did you make this Jongdae?” Kyungsoo asks, pointing at the large cake sitting on the table. Everyone gathers around and admires the cake, praising Jongdae for his baking skills.

“Yeah, it’s for Jongin. Happy birthday man,” and the two exchange a friendly hug. Since the two were the last ones to arrive, the festivities finally begin with karaoke. There’s some alcohol, but since Sehun is underaged and doesn’t feel like getting drunk, Jongdae opts to do the same.

“Thanks hyung,” Sehun says, and Jongdae laughs. Sehun’s been calling him ‘hyung’ for a while, but Jongdae doesn’t mind it at all. The two have gotten especially close since the day Baekhyun told Jongdae his crush on Chanyeol, so Jongdae often finds himself confiding in the other whenever he’s upset.

For now, though, Jongin urges Jongdae to sing the first song, and the rest agree in unison. Jongdae protests, but many encourage him to go up on stage.

“It’s Jongin’s birthday! Just do as he says,” Yixing slurs, already feeling intoxicated. Junmyeon just takes his can and places it out of reach.

“Yeah, listen to the boy!” Amber encourages, but Jongdae only stares at his group in disbelief. He didn’t have that much confidence in his singing skills, much less singing in front of all of them.

“But Jongdae,” Baekhyun whines. “You’re such a good singer!”

“You’ve heard Jongdae sing?” Kyungsoo asks, and Baekhyun nods his head in reply. He explains that he walked in on Jongdae singing one day, and that was that. Jongdae feels the heat creep up his neck and he just sighs and flips through the karaoke book, ignoring the cheers and high-fives. He doesn’t notice an anxious pair of eyes rest on his back, and just merely inputs the song number and grabs the microphone.

He closes his eyes, and lets the intro fill his mind. Everything is blank in his mind; the lyrics and music are the only things he knows.

“If only I could go back one year

would we be different now?

Yeah, it’s a stupid thought, but still, what if

If I met you, would tears rise up?

The foolish me wouldn’t be able to say anything

Tell me, Merry Merry Christmas, hi, how have you been?

When the snow falls, would my bruised heart get covered whitely?”

Jongdae feels the music pulsing through his veins, he feels it in the core of his body, and he sings like he’s on the stage where famous celebrities made history. He hits all the notes perfectly, from the lowest of notes to the dragged out high note towards the end of the song. Once he finishes, he realizes the reality that he’s in front of all of his friends and not at home and immediately whips around. He’s faced with gaping mouths, and applause erupts in the room.

“I didn’t know you could sing like that!” Half of the room exclaims, and Jongdae only sheepishly thanks them, but when Baekhyun beams at him and praises his singing, he feels his face flush.

“Why don’t you or Lu Han sing?” Jongdae pushes, trying to get out of the spotlight. It feels nice, but he doesn’t know how much more of it he can take. Baekhyun and Lu Han laugh nervously, and both glance at the other. They decide to do a duet, and the choose to do Miracles In December by EXO, making Jongdae jump in excitement. The two sing in perfect unison, also earning gapes and cheers from the audience. After their performance, the room seems just as loud as it was before, and Sehun looks like he’s about to jump his boyfriend. (Jongdae can’t help but tease his friend, which grants him a light shove from Sehun.)

“You three should start a band!” Yixing exclaims, waving his arms around as he continues to praise their singing. Everyone else in the room agrees, and the three boys all beam at the compliments.

The night continues on with a lot of disarray. Yixing drags Junmyeon up for a duet, but Yixing ends up dancing half way instead of singing, and Kyungsoo and Jongin team up for a sing-and-rap duet. Sehun and Chanyeol go head-to-head with Yixing and Amber in a rap battle, and Baekhyun demands a duet singing battle with him and Jongdae against Lu Han and Junmyeon.

Jongdae thinks that he and Baekhyun’s voice sound perfect together.

As time passes on, with song after song and dance after dance, the group decides to settle down to sing happy birthday to an embarrassed Jongin, eat and pass around presents. He receives albums from bands ranging from Ne-Yo to SHINee, a set of his favorite snapbacks, new dancing shoes, and various other things that make his eyes light up. When he opens Kyungsoo’s present, he’s surprised to find a Cupid’s Watch and a ring.

“This is the watch that brought up together,” he reads. “It’s the watch that has completely my life, and it is needless to say that I am completely head-over-heels in love with you. I may not be proposing to you yet, but this promise ring is for you. Kim Jongin, you are the love of my life and I promise you that I will love you even after death does us apart.” Jongin and the rest of the group are completely in shock (and impressed) by Kyungsoo’s letter, and the writer can only shrink back in embarrassment.

“I didn’t think you’d read it out loud,” Kyungsoo says, but Jongin only beams at his boyfriend and brings his lips to his boyfriend’s. There are some cheers, and there are some teasing remarks made at the couple. Jongdae sees Baekhyun look up at Chanyeol, eyes shining, and Chanyeol smiles gently back at him. Jongdae turns away, refusing to look at the couple anymore.

Instead, he immediately decides to go right back into karaoking, pulling Amber with him. Despite Jongdae’s internal feelings, the atmosphere in the room is happy and loving. Jongdae pushes away his jealousy and ends up enjoying the night.

Once it’s well past midnight, half of the group is passed out on the couches. Jongdae and Sehun, being the only ones who are sober, clean up the room and snicker at the dumb conversations made by the ones who are still awake but clearly drunk.

“I’m thinking of buying a watch,” Chanyeol says, glancing down at a sleeping Baekhyun. His remark catches the attention of everyone still awake in the room, including Jongdae.

“Really? I thought you were against the whole watch thing,” Amber says.

“You don’t have one either Amber,” Chanyeol scoffs. “Besides, I thought it’d be interesting. That way I can find some extravagant way to ‘propose’ to Baekhyun.” He’s completely inspired by Kyungsoo’s proclamation of love and others let out “oohs” and “ahhs”, encouraging and congratulating the giant.

At first, Jongdae’s heart sinks, but then he realizes. There’s no way that Chanyeol can have his watch tell him it’s Baekhyun, because Jongdae has him. He finds himself completely confused in his train of thoughts, but decides to push it away when he feels his eyes droop. Keeping up with his idiot friends is extremely tiring, so he and Sehun decide that it’s time to get everyone up. They wake up those who are sleeping, and half goes with Jongdae while the other half goes with Sehun. Everyone says goodbye, and a final “happy birthday” to Jongin before their designated drivers drive them home.

Once it’s just Jongdae and Baekhyun, the latter wakes up.

“Dae, Jongdae, Kim Jongdae,” he whines, attempting to get the attention of his friend sitting in the driver’s seat.

“Yes, Baek?” Jongdae replies, not really caring for what the boy has to say. Jongdae just wants to go home and fall asleep.

“I forgot my keys at home, can I stay over at your place?” And Jongdae almost slams on the brakes. There was no way he was taking an intoxicated Baekhyun to his home. But Baekhyun really doesn’t have his keys on him, and he’s looking at Jongdae with his puppy eyes, so Jongdae only sighs and drives back towards his apartment. He helps Baekhyun out of the car, and practically drags the latter up to his room.

“Here,” Jongdae says, laying Baekhyun on his bed. “I’ll be in the other room on the couch if you need me,” and he turns around to leave before he feels Baekhyun tug at his arm.

“No… Dae, stay with me,” he murmurs, pulling Jongdae towards the bed. Jongdae only freezes and heats up, completely embarrassed at the thought of sharing a bed with Baekhyun. He knows of Baekhyun’s fear of the dark, but Baekhyun was usually never bothered by it.

Jongdae can’t bring himself to give in to the boy’s pleas, refusing to take advantage of his best friend’s state of mind.

Instead, Jongdae decides to sit by the bed, holding his delicate hands and brushing his fingers through Baekhyun’s hair. The boy almost immediately falls asleep, but Jongdae decides to stay in this position, even if it’s just for a few more minutes. After a while, he lets the strands of hair slip through his fingers as he gets up and walks out of the room, silently closing the door behind him. He lays on the bed, staring straight up at the empty ceiling he had despised since so long ago. Now, he falls asleep, his thoughts filled with Baekhyun.

Yeah, this chapter was pretty long. I hope you all liked it though! I also hope you all don't mind if you see any mistakes, I still have to finish studying for a few exams tomorrow so I didn't have that much time to proof-read today. 

Another note is that I have a friend who's giving me some ideas! She's helped me with some of the plot development that's to come in the next upcoming chapters, so you should check out her blog if you're into EXO!