𝑀𝑦 𝐸𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 | 𝐶ℎ𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑢𝑛𝑔

Chapter 25

Chenle still felt nervous, like someone would jump out at him from the shadows at any given moment.

He was discharged from the hospital two weeks after the incident, and since then he had been staying home. Jisung had been bringing him the work he missed from not being in class, and the two would stay in Chenle's room every night, spending half their time reading over Chenle's schoolwork and the other half of their time doing anything and nothing.

But Doctor Cha had told Chenle that he was meant to return to school eventually, and his mother had decided that after two weeks of staying at home, it was time for Chenle to return to some sort of normalcy, even if he was still injured.

Chenle didn't want to admit it, but as he walked into school with Jisung by his side, the younger male holding his backpack for him since Chenle's arm was still broken, a strong urge to run away overcame him.

He could feel the eyes of every student on him, hundreds of pairs of eyes closely watching his every move, and though he was used to receiving attention from his peers, it had never been this kind of attention. He was used to stares because of his popularity and looks, but this time, the looks he received were pitying.

Jisung led Chenle through the halls, ignoring the glances thrown their way, stopping only when they reached Mark's locker, where they found Donghyuck pressed up against the lockers. One of Mark's hands was tangled in his boyfriend's hair, and the other held his waist as they kissed deeply.

"It's 7:00 am in the morning," Jisung said dryly, and the two jumped apart.

"Nice to see you too, Jisungie," Donghyuck replied once he had regained his composure, "Oh, Chenle, you're back. I thought Jisung would be less annoying once you came back."

"Hyuck," Mark warned his boyfriend, then he (and Jisung could see the effort it took him to do this) turned his eyes from the male to Chenle, observing his condition for a moment, "You look better than the last time I saw you."

"That's not saying much," Chenle replied, "Last time you saw me in person and not over FaceTime was when I was still in the hospital."

"Just trying to be nice," Mark raised his hands in the air, in a motion that read 'I give up'.

Chenle had missed the friendly bickering, and as uncomfortable as he felt being back in the place that had started it all, he was glad that something good would come out of it. Even if that something was as insignificant as making dumb jokes with his friends, there had been a moment when Chenle had genuinely believed he would never have the chance to do so again.

Their conversation was interrupted by another one of their classmates, Yangyang, making his way towards them. Chenle wasn't very close with Yangyang personally, but he knew that Jeno and Renjun were friends with the male since they shared a few classes.

"Hey," He greeted them, his eyes flickering to Chenle before widening, "Oh, Chenle you're back? I guess that means the rumours can finally stop."

"What rumours?" He asked, a worried frown creasing between his eyebrows as his mind raced with possibilities.

"It's nothing bad, I swear," Yangyang was quick to reply, seemingly having noticed Chenle's discomfort, "Since you weren't at school there were a few girls who started a rumour that you had moved schools. I think Hyojin started it, actually. Another rumour came from someone who claimed they saw you in the hospital, they thought you had cancer or something. Anyway, it's good to have you back. The whole school was worried they lost their best basketball player."

"They're just worried to lose me because they think I'm hot," Chenle said, and Yangyang laughed.

"There's that too," He agreed with a laugh, "They're also wondering when you'll get a new girlfriend since you broke up with Haeun a while ago."