Save me from these monsters around me | Suggested by ohfriability 

The haunting words of those students didn’t help Baekhyun sleep for most of his nights. Not the way he found nasty notes stuck to his locker, not when everyone threw him dirty looks everywhere he goes. Every time they picked at him, Baekhyun wanted to turn around and give them the deadliest glare like little Kyungsoo had the first time he came to the school; everyone had left Kyungsoo alone since that glare and no one dared to upset him. Hell, now Kyungsoo’s one of those people all the cool kids wants to hang out with. If only Baekhyun could look half as fierce as Kyungsoo, or even half as brave, his life would surely be much easier.

Well, let’s say Baekhyun isn’t anywhere near as fierce or brave as Kyungsoo. When they shoot poisonous words at him, he could only flinch at every word, walk with eyes stuck to the ground. It somehow made those words come more often, each time more afflictive than before. Baekhyun tries not to let them bother him so much, but it was all he could think of when he wasn’t thinking up the answer to a math equation. Why doesn’t he have any friends, you ask? Baekhyun had friends. Well, one best friend is still counted as a friend. But that was before.

Baekhyun had known Kim Jongdae ever since he could understand. Growing up in a house opposite each other’s kept them close even though they had to go to different middle schools. Jongdae was a few months younger than Baekhyun and as far as Baekhyun knows, the younger loves sticking around him. They were inseparable; they even accompany each other to the bathroom if one feels that somehow a ghost might decide to appear if he was alone. Let’s just say that Baekhyun thought a while ago, that he would always have Kim Jongdae.

Of course, like many endings, he was left alone. It didn’t happen too quickly. At first it was just ignored missed calls, and then Jongdae would apologize for not picking up, always with an excuse that he got busy. The missed calls turned into unanswered doorbells. Jongdae said he wasn’t home, but Baekhyun knew he was; he’d seen the younger walk up his porch. By the time the both of them got into the same high school, Jongdae acted as if he didn’t know Baekhyun.

And the worst thing was that he had laughed along with the others when they make Baekhyun cry.

Baekhyun hates that he was so shy. His inability to approach anyone had made him a failure in life. There were many times he found himself looking at the mirror and practicing his talking skills, but even though it was only his reflection staring back at him, he couldn’t do it. For one, he hated the face in that mirror. The face of a useless boy with eyes too small that makes him an ugly piece of a human being, and covered with glasses too big. His mother said he was handsome, but all mothers say that about their sons.

It was another day at school, another lunch in the toilet, another torture Baekhyun had to go through. He loves school, really; he wants to learn and study so in the future he could have a good job with good pay and he wouldn’t be miserable because he would have money. The people in the school, however, made him hate it. When he first stepped into his math class, he was greeted with balls of crumpled paper thrown at his face, which he tried to dodge but failing because there were too many coming his direction. It only stopped when he finally sat, but even then, someone still continued to throw them at the back of his head.

It did stop, not when the teacher came and merely shoot them a glare, but when a certain, tall, blond haired boy lazily strode into the room. You may think that the tormentors stopped because their attention was now focused on the extremely good looking young male, which is probably half of the reason why, but Baekhyun knows the other half. If anyone could stop his bullies from further bullying him, it was Oh Sehun. Oh Sehun of the long legs and fair skin and blonde hair.

Oh Sehun is the most popular guy in school. This story might sound cliché to most of you but Byun Baekhyun doesn’t really care. In his dreams, it was Sehun and him; the popular one and the one everyone loves to hate. Simple, cliché, but Baekhyun loves the images that came to him whenever he hears Sehun’s name or like now, sees Sehun’s face. It was amazing how the words and glares stop when Sehun appears. He was popular among the students, had friends from the ‘it’ groups and nobody in school doesn’t know who Oh Sehun is. The girls drool over him, and the guys want to be him. It’s everything you would expect when someone mentions ‘popular’.

And the best part of this? Oh Sehun is Byun Baekhyun’s Prince Charming.

It started when Sehun first came to this school. He was new and quickly escalated to the top of the school’s ranking because of his looks. He was a year younger than Baekhyun, but people said he was too smart, that’s why he skipped a level and went straight to senior year. His intelligence didn’t bring him down like Baekhyun’s did. While people tormented him for being a geek and studying too much, they looked up to Sehun for being ahead in his years. Baekhyun hadn’t really liked Sehun when he first came, because he thought that it was just unfair. It changed, though, when Sehun asked his tormentors to stop when the younger caught them pinning him to the wall.

Sehun isn’t really his friend, no. At times when Sehun saved him, Baekhyun was only brave enough to say thanks, but his eyes never met Sehun’s. He was too shy, and his heart was beating too hard. Nobody in his life had ever defended him that way, not in school, anyway. And because Sehun did, because Sehun took the punch he was supposed to get when the biggest bully threw his fist at Baekhyun’s face, that now Baekhyun is provocatively and madly in love with Oh Sehun.

Now, Sehun ignored the waves from the girls and only greeted his male friends with a nod. He caught Baekhyun’s eyes and smiled, which was rare because other than being extremely gorgeous, Sehun was also popular for his pokerface. Sehun never smiles. And Baekhyun loves it that when Sehun does smile, it was always and seemed to only be directed at him. He could feel heat spread at his cheeks when Sehun took a seat beside him but he was also good at masking his emotions. He could some people snickering behind them, but it was silent again when Sehun glanced back.

“Hey,” Sehun poked at Baekhyun’s side with a pen, causing the blushing older to peek at him. “Babe, you free tonight? I was thinking you and I should go catch a movie or something.”

Baekhyun doesn’t know what breathing is. He knew he needed to but he forgot how to. It felt like his heart had stopped beating and his lungs no longer working. Sehun called him babe. Oh Sehun called him a freaking babe! And he just asked Baekhyun out. Or at least that’s what Baekhyun thinks because it sure sounded like it. But then a certain science test popped up in Baekhyun’s head and he remembered how he needed to pass it. He looked apologetically at Sehun.

But before Baekhyun could say anything, Sehun rolled his eyes. “I’m not taking no for an answer. You’ll pass every other test if you fail this one.”

What Baekhyun said next sounded differently than he had intended. “How would you know?”

Baekhyun wanted to regret the flirtatious tone of his voice but then a smirk curved up at Sehun’s lips and he looked straight into Baekhyun’s eyes. “Because I know how smart you are. And I like smart people.”

It was enough to melt Baekhyun’s insides. Everything in him screamed yes! He likes me back! But he also knows he couldn’t get his hopes so high. So he smiled at Sehun, and he thought about the test. It was just one test, and Baekhyun does want to pass it, but how could he ever say no to Oh Sehun? Oh Sehun, who had asked him out and indirectly says he likes Baekhyun. He bit his lower lip in thought, noticing Sehun’s gaze falling onto his lips before he nodded a yes.

Sehun disappeared for the rest of the day, but the words his tormentors threw him didn’t bother Baekhyun the slightest bit. All he could think of was movies, popcorn and Oh Sehun.

That night found Baekhyun staring a little too long at his reflection in the mirror, deciding whether or not he likes how he looked. He didn’t look anywhere near decent. Baekhyun groaned in frustration as he gives up, covering the mess on his head with a black beanie and topping his grey hoodie with a blue jacket, and not to forget his glasses. He wanted to get rid of them so badly, but he wouldn’t be able to see clearly for the life of him. And contact lenses are not his style, plus it was too last minute he hadn’t had time to get them even if he could tolerate them.

He hadn’t expected Sehun to come and fetch him up, but when he opened his front door, he saw a black porche on his driveway, and a tall, lanky male clad in black jeans and dark grey hoodie leaning against it. Sehun smiled when he saw Baekhyun, who couldn’t do much but stare with his mouth gaped open. He only blinked when Sehun reached him and took his hand.

“Come on, we’re going to be late for the movie.” Sehun spoke as he dragged Baekhyun into the car. Baekhyun tried to fasten his seatbelt in a mess of trembling hands and Sehun seemed to notice because the younger chuckled and reached out to help Baekhyun with the belt. After fastening his own, Sehun looked Baekhyun over, causing the latter to shiver under his gaze. “You look nice tonight, hyung. Glad to know I’m not the only one trying to look good.”

Baekhyun blushed fiercely and he hoped in the darkness of the car that Sehun wouldn’t be able to see the color in his cheeks. But Sehun laughed and shook his head and Baekhyun couldn’t help but guessed that Sehun already knows. The car started and Baekhyun covered his face with his hands in embarrassment, emitting a louder chuckle from the younger.

The movie Sehun was so excited about was that animation movie called Mr.Peaboy and Sherman. Baekhyun couldn’t help the giggle from escaping his lips at how Sehun clapped his hands when the movie finally started after all the commercials. Baekhyun barely focused on the movie, because all he could do was glance at Sehun from the corner of his eyes and listen to Sehun’s laugh. He was fully aware of Sehun’s fingers slowly grazing his and he didn’t pull away when Sehun’s hand grasp his. If anything, it only made his heart pump faster.

It was almost nine when the movie ended and Sehun insisted that he accompanies him to get a few scoops of ice cream before Baekhyun could go home. Baekhyun didn’t protest, because again, who will say no to Oh Sehun? Except Baekhyun doesn’t really like ice cream, so he opted to only accompany Sehun for it. This time he was able to say no to Sehun’s insistence.

“Do you know why I hated those people at school?” Sehun asked, finishing his ice cream and throwing the cup into the nearest trash can. They were walking along a pathway, almost deserted if not for a few group of people hanging around there. Baekhyun thought for a second; he didn’t even know Sehun actually hated those people. He thought Sehun liked them enough.

“I don’t know. They’re just a group of bad people?” He guessed, earning a grin from Sehun.

“No, silly. Because they always make you feel like you’re not as worthy as you really are.” Sehun stopped in his tracks when he saw that Baekhyun had stopped walking. Baekhyun, on the other hand, was sure he might faint from his vigorous hyperventilation.

He looked up at Sehun, who was smiling down at him and wondered, for the umpteenth time, why such a good-looking boy with a reputation to hold up would care for him. “Why do you always help me, Sehun?” He asked finally and Sehun rolled his eyes like the answer is obvious.

The taller closed the distance between them slowly, and when he spoke, his voice had somehow turned raspy. “Because I like you. And when you like someone, you don’t want them to feel sad; you don’t want people to hurt him.” Sehun looked into Baekhyun’s eyes, his hands going up to slowly take off Baekhyun’s glasses. “Because I want you to know that no matter how useless you think you are, in my eyes you are everything but.” His thumb caressed Baekhyun’s closed eyelid, making the older shudder under his touch. “Because I want you to know that no matter how you think your eyes make you ugly, to me they make you more beautiful than you already are.”

It felt like he was lifted up in the air at every word Sehun was saying to him. He couldn’t believe his ears and he couldn’t believe this was happening. He didn’t break the eye contact with Sehun like he had so many times before this, even when he felt Sehun’s hand cupped his face and lifted his chin up so their lips could meet. Only then did he let his eyes closed, the softness of Sehun’s lips against his causing his knees to tremble beneath him. The kiss was perfect, not exactly open-mouthed yet more than just a peck and when Sehun pulled away, Baekhyun couldn’t help but want more. He blushed when Sehun grinned down at him and then he did something he never thought he would ever be the first to do in a million years.

He tiptoed on his toes just so his lips could touch Sehun’s once again. He was only vaguely aware of his hands wrapped around Sehun’s neck, because all he could feel was Sehun’s lips moving against his and Sehun’s arms around him and pulling him closer.

Nothing could have been better than that very moment.

His glee, however, was short-lived.

Baekhyun found himself pinned against his locker with big, ugly hands fisted on the collars of his shirt. His left eye was closed because it hurt to open, due to that fist landing on it just a few minutes before. It seemed like hours ago when he turned around and spat at YiFan’s face. Yes, YiFan with the dirty blonde hair and big hands that was currently pinning him against his locker. He almost wished he hadn’t reacted to YiFan calling him gay, but he was proud that he did. It was once in a lifetime thing for him to be brave enough to spit at the Chinese male’s face.

Of course, his little reaction had caused the beginning swell on his left eye and for all he knows he might be able to see with only one eye for quite some time. He didn’t cry this time, figured he was a little too old for it – something he realized after the kiss he shared with Sehun last night – and thought that he should stand up for himself, which was to no avail because if he had been braver or stronger, YiFan would be the one against the wall. Somehow the fact that he didn’t cringe under YiFan’s glare made the Chinese more angry, thus the blow he threw at Baekhyun’s gut and causing the smaller male to slide to the floor as he released Baekhyun’s collars.

Baekhyun coughed on the floor, the oppressive pain in his stomach causing him to wince, which only made his swollen eye hurt more. He clutched at his abdomen and could feel his collars being grabbed at and lifting him up when he dropped back on the floor suddenly before he heard a loud thud of someone else falling. With his good eye, he saw that YiFan was on the floor next to him and someone else was gently taking his chin to take a better look at his face.

Sehun’s eyes filled with anger and concern as he noticed the darkening bruise on Baekhyun’s left eye. Quick as lightning, Sehun was gone from Baekhyun’s line of vision. The next second consisted of Baekhyun painfully watching Sehun straddle YiFan’s hips and blowing countless punches in YiFan’s otherwise handsome face. The latter whimpered and struggled underneath Sehun despite being older and bigger. Baekhyun didn’t need Sehun killing anyone this time so he quickly got up and pulled Sehun away from YiFan. Other students were already beginning to circle the commotion and someone had apparently called for a teacher.

Both YiFan and Sehun got suspended from school for a whole month.

Later when Sehun drove Baekhyun to a hillside and they both stood leaning against his car, Sehun held Baekhyun tightly in his arms. He was apologizing for something he didn’t do, and Baekhyun smiled up at him because his boyfriend – yes, boyfriend – was being ridiculous.

“Why are you sorry? You didn’t do anything.” Baekhyun smiled, touching the side of Sehun’s face.

Sehun frowned and pulled Baekhyun closer just to place a soft kiss onto Baekhyun’s swollen eye. It was soothing despite the sting and Baekhyun loved it. “Exactly. Maybe if I had just stuck around with you, this wouldn’t have happened. I’m sorry I wasn’t there.”

“Sehun, if you weren’t there, I would already be a bowl of minced meat. And yes, just a bowl. I’m that little.” Baekhyun tried for humor, but apparently Sehun wasn’t having any of it.

“You’re anything but little. You need to stop thinking like that. I was so angry he dared to even touch you. I was so worried. I love you, you know? You know that, right?” Sehun said spontaneously and Baekhyun could’ve missed the confession but he didn’t.

“You love me?” He questioned, eyes blown wide with happiness as he looked up at Sehun.

Sehun sighed, the beginning of a smile coloring his lips. “Yes. I love you. I know it’s too early to say but –”

He didn’t get to explain, though, because Baekhyun doesn’t need explanation. So he quickly leaned up and pressed a kiss on Sehun’s lips, shutting the younger up. When he spoke again, he could feel Sehun’s smile against his own. “I love you too, Oh Sehun.”

A/N: There you go. 3K words of something. I guess this makes up for the crap I wrote for the last prompt. And, ohfriability, I hope this was up to your expectations. I love school!au and I can't wait to write your next prompt too. Hehehe. Anyway. Hope you all liked this update. Thank you and love you.