It has been two years since Lyric’s desperate attempt, and it was now the first day of Junior Year. Things were alright for Lyric. That was the perfect word to describe her life; it wasn’t sad nor was it happy. It was alright.

She carefully stepped outside of her home onto the sidewalk. Baekhyun and Chanyeol were already there, waiting for her as they usually would on school days. “You’re getting better at wearing your leg braces and crutches everyday. Are you sure you’re ready to wear them to a crowded place like school though?” Baekhyun asked worriedly. Lyric nodded her head happily and walked ahead of them. The boys shrugged their shoulders and followed suit. Lyric has been really determined to do things on her own.

Chanyeol and Baekhyun were always protective of Lyric, but over the past years their need to protect her grew. Lyric seemed to be the target of bullying at their high school. Once she returned in Sophomore year her ex boyfriend, Alec, made sure that she wouldn’t be happy. But while he was a force to be reckoned with, Baekhyun and Chanyeol definitely made sure he wouldn’t get to Lyric. It seemed like everyone was on edge today worrying about how Lyric would do at school. Well, everyone except for Lyric herself.

She got used to the constant bullying, and it didn’t bother her anymore. There was one thing that petrified her though. She shivered and tried to put the memory out of her train of thought. Before she could think anymore about it, she felt a tap on her shoulder. She looked up to find a dorky Chanyeol staring down at her. “Hey guess what today is!” he exclaimed happily.

Lyric’s confusion was evident, “what?” His mouth formed an O shape as he dramatically put his hand over his heart. “I can’t believe you would forget such an exciting day for Baek and I!”

“Yeol, just tell me!” she demanded while playfully hitting his leg with her brace. “Yah, watch it! Those things hurt you know.” Lyric rolled her eyes. Baekhyun took over as Chanyeol tended to his nonexistent wound, “Our friends from Korea that we told you about flew in a few days ago, and they’re starting school today!”

“Oh, I totally forgot! So does this mean I’ll finally get to meet them?” she questioned. Baekhyun nodded his head and turned around to yell at Chanyeol to come on. They were almost to the road before the school entrance. All of them felt the atmosphere darken as they approached the busy street. None of them liked crossing it because pain seemed to come out of the asphalt and surround their memories. Baekhyun and Chanyeol gripped Lyric’s arm to help support her so she could cross easier. As the cars came to a halt, the three of them hurried across the road onto school grounds.

“Well, we’ve got to go greet the others and show them to their first block. Will you be okay to go to class alone?” Baekhyun asked. “Yeah, don’t worry.” Lyric responded.

She walked to her first class and found a seat in the back. She propped her crutches against the wall and sat down. She liked sitting away from the teacher so that they wouldn’t catch her reading instead of listening to the lecture. Reading was her escape. Whatever book she was reading seemed to become her reality. Her own life wasn’t something she could call her reality. Waking up, eating, doing some not so exciting stuff, then sleeping as her daily routine made it seem like she was just in a very boring dream. Why live her monochromatic life when she could be lead an exciting life in her favorite novel?

Lyric dropped her book  as the dismissal bell rung. After her shock from the bell startling her wore off, she grabbed her crutches and began walking to her next class. She was excited because she was finally going to meet the friends that Baekhyun and Chanyeol always told her about. They were all very fortunate to get into the same Literature class. Having classes with friends seemed to be a rare occurrence.

“Hey, Lyric!” someone from behind her shouted. As she turned to see who it was a boy kicked her crutches from under her hand and she fell to the ground. She tried to reach for them, but two other boys picked them up and dangled them over her. She tried once again to obtain what was hers, but she had no luck. “Look at her squirming around like a fish out of water.”  A voice she recognized hissed. It all made sense now,  Alec was behind this.

Lyric immediately tensed and curled into a ball. She tried to block out all of the insults being yelled at her, but most of all she tried to block out memories of Alec. Her body started to shake and the tears began falling. She heard a new voice a few seconds later, “Hey, leave her alone! What’s wrong with you people?!”

She peeked out of the hands covering her face to see a boy that was obviously of asian descent. He had hair that was dyed blond and brown eyes that were full of rage and disbelief. The boy pushed the group of guys out of his way and picked up Lyric.

Lyric was in shock as she was being carried away. They rounded a corner and headed towards the nearest room away from the hallway, which happened to be the library.

When they arrived to the library, the guy ignored the confused librarian and took Lyric to the couches at the back. He gently laid her down and sat in a chair beside her. “Are you okay?” he asked. “Well, I mean, I guess.” she replied, unsure.

He pulled out his phone and sent a text to someone. Lyric sat there awkwardly, not knowing what to do or say. “Oh! I’m Jongin by the way, and you must be Lyric. I just texted Chanyeol and Baekhyun that we’re here.” Minutes passed by as Lyric was thinking of something to say. Lyric was about to say something when the bell interrupted her and Baekhyun and Chanyeol walked in.

Baekhyun jogged over to where they were and Chanyeol limped behind him while carrying her crutches. Baekhyun was clearly outraged. “I swear I’m going to kill him one day!” he fumed. While Baekhyun was questioning Jongin as to what happened, Chanyeol handed Lyric her crutches. “Are you alright? Are you hurt or just shaken up?” he asked.

“I’m fine, just shaken up like you said. Alec hasn’t hurt me physically in over two years Yeol, I’m scared.” Lyric whispered. Chanyeol hugged her and told her that he’d protect her. He was beyond angry at Alec and his immature gang of friends. Not only was it sick to make fun of a disabled person for being disabled, but it’s sick to make fun of anyone. He couldn’t believe he would take it this far. Actually, he could believe it. The guy was that insane.

Chanyeol stood up and walked over to Baekhyun and Jongin. Lyric noticed his slight limp and asked how he got hurt. “When we were on our way here we saw Alec and his friends and decided to get your crutches back. Baek snatched one out of one of the guy’s hands, and as I went for the other one the guy hit me in the leg with it. Baek then attacked the guy and-”

The principal and the school officer came barging into the library demanding for Chanyeol and Baekhyun to come to the office. “Lyric, we’ll talk to you later.” he said then grabbed Chanyeol and Baekhyun and pulled them away.

As they were going out of the library, three guys walked in. Jongin waved to them, signaling for them to come over. “I guess we’ll all just wait here for Chanyeol and Baekhyun to come back. It’s not like we know our way around and it’s probably best if we sit here with Lyric.” he said to the three confused guys. Just then is when they realized that Lyric was even sitting there.

“I’m Sehun.” the guy closest to Lyric said. The other two, Junmyeon and Kyungsoo, introduced themselves soon after. “Well, I’m Lyric. But it seems like you guys already know that.” she nervously laughed. Lyric was never the best at meeting new people, but Chanyeol and Baekhyun’s bubbliness made up for the awkwardness that she usually radiated. With both of them gone, it was just kind of weird for her.

Sehun and Kyungsoo talked to Jongin about what happened, while Junmyeon stayed to talk to Lyric. He was looking at her with that look she despised, pity. It was a look she often got though. Being in braces or a wheelchair usually brought that kind of attention. “I’m really okay, please don’t look at me like that.” she said absentmindedly.

He became shy and looked down. Cute, she thought. That’s what Junmyeon was, cute. He had dark brown hair with a hint of red and dorky glasses that framed gentle brown eyes. Lyric laughed while thinking to herself that these circumstances weren’t all that bad. She was rescued by an attractive guy and is now sitting in a room with three more attractive guys. “What is it?” he asked.

“I just think it’s kind of funny that I’ve heard so much about you guys and have been waiting forever to meet you and we meet like this. Jongin over there practically swept me off my feet and rescued me. It just seems like something that would happen in a book.” Lyric joked.

Junmyeon smiled the largest, genuine smile Lyric thought she’s ever seen and laughed.After a chatting with him awhile, the others came over too and talked to her. Talking to them made her relax, and not worry about what just happened. They made her feel comfortable. She soon realized why Baekhyun and Chanyeol were so excited to see them again. They were all great guys who were just as funny and sweet as Yeol and Baek. She could get used to having them around.

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A/N:

Thank you to all who is reading this, it really means a lot! Thank you for the comment as well  (✿ ♥‿♥)