22 days | felix lee

XVII | scold

━━☆⌒*.

"I'M GOOD," He pushed away the food that Jeongin offered him, turning back to the notebook that sat in front of him. His eyes darted across the page repeatedly and he could feel his friends worriedly look at him, having never seen him so upset before. When Felix was upset, he became reclusive and he was determined on hiding his sadness; it was painful to watch the sun dim.

Seungmin furrowed his brows at Felix, "You sure? You usually don't turn down Jeongin-ah's food." The boy remarked. He could definitely sense something was up, but he wasn't going to pry unless it was incredibly necessary; all of the boys respected his privacy just the same. "Y-Yeah, I need to study for this literature quiz."

Bullshit. Minho's eyes narrowed. They shared the same class, so of course, he knew Felix's lie was absolute trash. They didn't have a test whatsoever. "Ah, let's go to the library to study together, Felix-ah. There's this book that she mentioned; I want to read over the summary before we take the test."

He swung his arms around his shoulder, not even letting the boy refuse.

His friends looked at him and he just sent a small nod to his boyfriend, leading the freckled male to the library. They were just a few feet from it before he abruptly stopped, shoving Minho's arm off of him. "I-I don't want to go there." His voice cracked briefly and he swallowed harshly, the brown-haired boy's eyes softening at the sight of him.

"Why not?"

"I already went there yesterday; I don't want to go again." He lied.

"Felix-ah," Minho set a hand on his shoulder. "I won't push you to talk, but it's better to talk than to bottle it up, yeah? I'm here for you and so are the rest of the boys; please just talk to us." His voice was as soft as his gaze, the aspiring dancer chewing on his bottom lip as he looked at his friend in a pitiful manner.

Felix's head dipped and he clutched his journal tightly. "She usually hangs out in the library, I don't want to go there." He said, his voice cracking again as Minho sighed and swung an arm around his shoulders like before, leading him outside this time. Surprisingly, the outdoor corridor of the school was empty.

It was early in the morning before any of their classes, so it was fairly convenient to see it so empty. "Okay, now talk to me," The brown-haired male said, crossing his arms as he watched his friend move and take a seat at one of the lunch tables outside, hands hanging in between his knees as he slumped forward.

He explained everything that happened the day before, Minho slowly taking it in as he nodded. "Do you want me or any of the others to talk to her?" The question was simple yet bold; a request that could potentially drag the truth out of her as well as perk him up a bit. However, he knew better.

"No, it's my issue. I'd rather deal with it on my own," Felix smiled weakly as Minho's eyes softened. There was a moment of silence before Felix spoke again, continuing the topic. "She even opened up to me on Friday and I told her to have lunch with us yesterday but after what happened. . . " He trailed off, a frown still on his lips.

Minho checked his phone quickly after Felix finished, texting Jisung back before setting a hand on the Australian's shoulder. "C'mon, we have to go. Class is going to start soon." It hurt for him to say that and only see Felix become even more upset, but he couldn't do anything about it. They headed towards their English class, Felix slowly turning to look at him.

"Hyung,"

"Hm?"

"Is there any advice you have for me?"

His voice was soft and he sounded fragile, eyes already glazed over with unshed tears as he tried to cope by looking at the rim of his desk. Underneath it, his fingers constantly intertwined and pulled apart, a sickening feeling in his stomach. Minho licked his lips, looking at his friend. "Don't give up. If she chooses not to listen to you, that's on her. It was just an accident."

He spoke up quietly. His words didn't seem to do much encouraging. Sure, Felix already knew that he had to talk to her at this point (easier said than done), but what if she chose to never talk to him again? Of course, he couldn't blame her; she was going off of what she saw, and based on what she said earlier, it's not like he could get mad at her for being defensive.

Minho pursed his lips, diverting his attention to the lesson that was going on. He was never the best at giving advice or empathizing with someone else, so it always felt a little awkward for him to do things like this. No doubt he would go to hell and back for his friends, but sensitive situations like this always made him feel a bit. . . off.

"Thanks, hyung," Felix's voice cut through the slight tension and awkwardness as Minho swallowed and nodded, curling his right hand into a fist before uncurling it. The rest of the class went by like a blur and this time, Felix could tell why. His mind kept trailing to her and the fact that he had math with her soon didn't exactly help his anxious self.

"Do you want me to walk you to your next class?" Minho offered, eyes still soft.

Felix shook his head, managing to give a light smile to his friend before tightening his grip on his backpack. The two split and he found himself taking extra long in the hallway before making his way into his math classroom. She didn't pay his entrance any mind, eyes still honed in on the worksheet in front of her.

Felix pursed his lips and settled into his seat, setting his bag down as quietly as possible before slumping forward. He couldn't wait for this day to be over.