[l.m x l.dh] [stalker au]
ೃ⁀➷ in which mark, a transfer student,
finds himself in more trouble than
he thought after ignoring advice and
pursuing the school's most hated boy
↷ mature themes
━ ma...
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Donghyuck was doing as he usually would most afternoons after school, which consisted of wandering around the streets aimlessly to buy time before running into the malicious clutches of whatever demon could've possibly been home on the day. There was a permanent shadow hanging over his head and his shoulders, like an evil spirit who would only allow rotten luck to reach him whilst eating up the ounces of good he could've possibly received.
On this evening though, the clouds were particularly threatening. It felt as though rain was on the way, but he wasn't ready to face the music. It was either he got splashed by the inevitable puddles that would form, or smacked by the Devil's reincarnate upon his return home. Both sounded crap, so a third route was desperately in need of being created.
As it seemed, for once some sort of higher being above was listening to his thoughts. His miserable, angry and confused thoughts. His slumped figure was trailing defeatedly and exhaustedly towards a curb he tended to sit on every once in a while to clear his head, when a familiar duo were found to be blocking his path amidst a conversation. Initially, the blonde told himself; run. Get out of here now! But that was so silly, wasn't it?
At least one of them was Mark Lee; a boy he respected better than anyone else.
Their lips were moving as they spoke to one another, but the teenager was too far away to actually define what it was they were muttering about. Could it have been school? Their toxic friend group? Perhaps the miraculous timing they'd chosen to leave today when Renjun and Jaemin made sure to empty the contents of his stomach to discover a substance that was never even there? Somewhat doubtful, he thought, Mark doesn't look like the type to allow bullying to get out of hand. Or perhaps I've misread him, and he's no Samaritan...just perfectly ordinary.
It was hard being the very bottom of the chain. It was like looking up to the other links in the line, and some of them being regretfully useless or ugly yet still higher than him. People like Chenle were those insecure and fake latches...designed to look good yet disintegrate when pulled from the package. Hyuck watched as he smiled softly to Mark and waved him off, separating to walk down the street in the opposite direction to the older. Perfect, he grinned, pulling his bag further up his arms and trying to support the weight he'd been lugging around for hours straight.
Chenle disappeared along with the cars whizzing downtown to get home after a rough day. A single spit of rain descended downwards from the heavens and streaked across Donghyuck's cheek. He'd been right. It was time to see some downpour.
More lashed down, droplet by droplet until it was starting to gather in sloshy patches upon the pavement. He watched quietly though, simply noticing that Mark wasn't moving yet. He was staring up at the sky and allowing it to drench him ruthlessly. Was he upset? Did he have stuff on his mind? It seemed that way, for he ran his fingers through his fringe and flicked the saturated locks off his forehead. What is he doing? The younger wondered, subconsciously tugging at his hood and pulling it over his head to both shadow his face and shelter him uselessly from the rain.
The Korean-Canadian started to walk, stepping around the puddles to edge down the street much quicker now. Hyuck wasn't even sure why he moved forward as well...but he did. One foot in front of the other, and with this he left behind some of his self-deprecating thoughts and constant anguish. He maintained a safe distance behind the older, never breaching the five metre length. What am I doing?
A grey tinge had enveloped the clouds now, flooding a darkness across the town — not that it affected the already dingy atmosphere that was ever-present. Mark shielded his head with his hands, not a viable option for him as his clothes were starting to stick to his body. Donghyuck wanted to run over and pull a textbook out for him, hold it over his head and at least do a better job of protecting him from a cold. But that was absurd, so he stuck with the unplanned following instead.
There were a few twists and turns down the line, the route taking them towards a batch of houses the blonde actually knew. A part of him wondered where it was a random, new family would've or could've moved into around here, and why they chose this shithole in the first place. The buildings themselves were cute structures with wooden front doors, neat gardens without much flora, and in general a lot of maintenance to keep everything nice. It was a huge step up from the estate the victimised student resided in, with its gross houses, walls that hadn't been finished getting painted, people who either turned a blind eye to obvious abuse or just abusive neighbours in general. Even the little kids who would run around outside when the sun was up looked like porcelain dolls that had been shattered and glued back together — barely keeping the façades up.
Mark started to jog down the pathway towards wherever it was he lived. Now that Hyuck thought of it, he felt he'd been around here recently. Probably to hide, really, but dejá vù nonetheless. He too picked up his pace, but only to power-walking so that he couldn't be heard over the raindrops pounding the ground.
Eventually the older boy stopped, standing right outside one driveway in particular. The younger panicked when he started to look around, and ducked in behind a bush in someone else's residence. They wouldn't have cared, and most likely wouldn't have even noticed.
Mark's hazel eyes were flickering over the row of homes again, like that one day he came back and felt that sensation of prying eyes. His throat constricted, but once was unusual, twice was uncanny and three times was no coincidence. Was he heading towards the third account soon? His typically unbothered heart was suddenly that of a paranoid one, which was terrifying.
The younger blinked expectantly and couldn't help but stare. He really liked looking at him. Why, he wasn't sure....he just enjoyed it. Another section of his brain was making excuses for his actions — that he was looking out for Mark; making sure he got home safe. That was valid, wasn't it? What does it look like inside? He wondered before glancing upwards around the other side of the bush and eyeing up the house itself. Seemed like a safe space to live in at least.
"Hello?" The ravenette called, still standing under the unforgiving weather. "Seriously, is someone there?"
Yes. I'm here, Hyuck almost answered, I'm making sure you get home. But obviously the taller couldn't hear his thoughts, and looked utterly petrified. He didn't want to go in. He didn't want to lead someone to his family.
Alas, he'd been forced to run inside regardless since catching his death in the rain was even more stupid than yelling at nothing. Donghyuck merely observed his entrance and disappearance, now made fully aware of where he lived. Interesting.
