Prisms | Stray Kids AU | Seungchan

6

Seungmin's eyes opened. The groggy state of his body prevented him from sitting up and forced him to stare at the bumpy ceiling. He laid there trying to recall everything that happened. Fuck. My mother. Seungmin's adrenaline started to course through his body again. His eyes darted around, recognizing he was back in his bed at the dorm. Jeongin and Hyunjin were not in their bunk bed when Seungmin scanned the room for the nth time.

His heart began to slow down realizing he was not in that hell hole anymore. Wait. Seungmin hastily looks down to see his abdomen. What the fuck? His abdomen felt completely fine, making Seungmin lift his shirt to see a series of scars that made the wrath of Seungmin's mom evident.

"Ahem" Seungmin shot his head up to see Chan with his elbow resting on the door frame with his head in his hand.

"Ch-Chan! Um, I- I.. I-"

"Explain. The others went to class, so it's only us two now." Chan's eyes softened as he made his way next to the younger, climbing into the bed to sit by him.

Seungmin let out a breath and recuperated his thoughts. He had to tell him now."Chan... I'm sorry you had to see that yesterday." Seungmin paused and tilted his head towards Chan. Chan nodded slightly, enticing him to continue. "My mother... she is, I guess abusive? She beats me, curses at me, and takes money at will." Chan's eyes darkened as his grip on the comforter tightened. "But, she wasn't always like this... We used to be on good terms until my father died.... They would go everywhere together hand-in-hand and had one of the deepest relationships that man could have. She still blames me for his death. I should have just kept my mouth shut so he could focus on the road... My mom has a valid reason for her hatred for me-" Seungmin's voice hitched as tears began to roll down his rounded cheeks. Chan released his grip from the comforter and palmed at Seungmin's small soft hands. "Yesterday, I guess she broke when she heard a-about my acceptance to this university. We didn't even g-get to talk to each other when she p-pounced on me." Seungmin spoke through broken hiccups, wiping away at his face to rid the tears. "I didn't want y-you to worry about me, so I tried to hide my wounds before you got there." Seungmin's eyes widened and captured Chan's gaze. "H-how did my wounds h-heal?"

Chan sat up and took both of Seungmin's hands in his, "I took you to the school's medical bay and got them to fix you up. Seungmin, I was so worried that you were not going to make it. You lost so much blood that night..." Chan stared at the beige wall that seemed to decipher his thoughts through the intricate puzzles his mind held.

"I'm sorry."

"Why are you sorry Seungmin? I should be the one that is sorry! I should have been there sooner." Chan's face was contorted with anger as he felt his feelings start an internal battle within himself.

Seungmin slid his arms around Chan's waist, planting his face into his back. Why am I such a burden? "Chan, thank you for taking care of me.."

Chan flinched. His expression was surprised by the younger's words. "I won't let anything happen to you again." Chan turned around, cradled the boy's head in his chest, and roped his arms around Seungmin's back to pull him deeper into their embrace.

Chan and Seungmin's classes were going to start up again in two hours, giving the two some time to get ready and freshen up. Seungmin slipped into his uniform and made sure his tear stains were nowhere on his cheeks. Chan followed suit and allowed the younger to hitch a ride in his car.

Seungmin walked into class a bit early, taking out his notebook to record notes for the Charms lecture their professor was about to teach. He tossed his bag on the chair and doodled every diagram, spell name, and description for each charm. Seungmin never really cared about his academics, but felt obligated to do something productive or else he would regret it later. Sitting through the lecture was an easy task for Seungmin, the other students, on the other hand, was a different situation. Most of the class was either on their phones, talking to their friends, sleeping, or straight up just leaving after the first five minutes of class. Seungmin paid no mind to them, zeroing in on the professor's words and gestures to absorb all the information he could process.