Stay ~ A Stray Kids Fanfic

Minho

Minho's POV
Same Day

Our steps line the hallways until the faces of other students staring and murmuring begin to annoy the hell out of me. I walk closer to Jisung who is still shaking vigorously.

"Hey, it's okay. I'll make sure nothing happens to you," I whisper to him. His teary eyes look up to prevail a face of devastation. "I promise." The addition to my words resulted in me clasping his hand tighter.

In the office, there weren't enough chairs in the bland room. Changbin, Hyunjin, and I stood while Seungmin and Jisung sat on chairs used by parents when discussing a behavioral problem with a student.

I suppose we were the behavioral problems now.

I made sure to keep my hands on Jisung's shoulders, maybe to help whatever unsettled nerves lingered in him.

It's all I wanted in that moment: to help.

"This is a serious offense, I may remind you," he begins, the framed pictures of his family gawking at me from the side. Hyunjin leaned against the wall with his arms crossed. He seemed so unaffected when I bet that hurt like hell.

"Yes sir," Seungmin and Changbin say, the rest of us dragging behind.

He sighs a long, irritated breath. Jisung's shoulder rose and fell at such an unhealthy pace. I'm surprised he hasn't passed out yet.

"What were you boys doing on the roof? What kind of disrespect do you have?!"

His fists slamming on the desks didn't seem to help my friend. I only wanted to pull him out of there or slap the cranky man myself. Especially after hitting Hyunjin.

The artist still held his brushes and paints close to him. As long as that tarp stayed covering the mural, whatever lie we told would become the true story.

"We were bored," I say. His eyes burn into me with deep rage. I just flick an eyebrow up and continue. "It's Friday. We all want to go home, so we apologize for this incident."

"This incident?!"

Changbin eyed me a look that told I clearly wasn't helping. "I think it's unfair," I try again. Everyone's breathing seemed to seize, even Jisung's. "You shouldn't be allowed to hit a student like that."

Now Changbin was really trying to shut me up.

Before the storm came down on us once again, a knock is heard at the door before opening to reveal the student council president. "Mr. Lee I just finished copying papers for the-"

He stops, eyeing us all with great confusion. "Homecoming...am I interrupting?"

He seemed to have gotten the hint of the atmosphere, for he slowly backed out the way he came. However, he's stopped by the Principal shooting out of his seat. "No, Chan. Please come in."

Chan eyed each and every one of us, especially Hyunjin at the sight of dried tears and a red cheek. "Now this is a student you all should strive to be."

Mr. Lee grips Chan's shoulders, allowing his posture to straighten. His face read uncertainty. I couldn't blame him; he didn't even know what we've done. "The face of the high school...and yet you boys choose to walk all over your careers like it's dirt. Have you no honor?"

I almost laughed at that...almost.

"We didn't do anything illegal. We just wanted fresh air, sir," Changbin chimes in. Chan seemed to have pieced everything together with a single, long nod.

"Fresh air?! Why you-"

"Mr. Lee," Chan cuts in with a wave of his hand. "If I may, these students are peers that I work with, and I have never found any sort of major fault amongst them."

     'Weird. He didn't even know me.'

     But that look, that passion in the way he spoke struck something in me. Something I never realized was there. "I beg to differ, Christopher Bang."

     The President only straightened higher in preparation for his debate. It was then I noticed Jisung's shaking coming to a halt. Hyunjin was also fixed on the President, and Changbin, with my ball cradled in his arms, earned a warm smile from Chan.

     "How about this," he starts, my posture straightening at Jisung's hands going up to mine and covering them. Even with the warmth transferring to me, my eyes stayed fixed patiently on Chan. "They join my Film Club. Community service, you could say, since no one seems to want to do it anyways."

     'Film club?'

     My heart sank in frustration. The agony it would be to go from film club to practice everyday. I didn't have time to make movies and be on a computer.

     My fingers jolted, as if electricity coursed through them, at the thought of not being able to run around and get sweaty. "The film club?" Mr. Lee seemed to echo from my thoughts.

     Chan beamed brighter than ever before elaborating. "Yes sir. I can assure you a whole semester of progress in their behaviors, if you really think I'm the model student to do so-"

     "A whole semester?!" Changbin, Seungmin, and I repeated. The taste really didn't sit well now.

     "Why of course! I think we'll have a joyous time," he pats Seungmin's shoulder. The newspaper boy just sulked in disappointment and nodded.

     Meanwhile, Mr. Lee was still thinking on the idea. Jisung tugged at my fingers harder, the fidgeting ceasing to come to an end. 'Is his anxiety this bad?' I flipped my palms open to give him better grip...anything to help.

     The old man inhaled angrily. "If you think it's a worthy punishment-"

     "Oh, I do very much, sir. In fact," he ushers Seungmin and Jisung to stand. They do as he says, my hands draping down to my side. The more he picked of the hem of his shirt, I more I wanted to hold his hands again. "Let me give them a quick tour during homeroom. We have 15 minutes left. I hope you don't mind."

     That smile seemed to be magic because the principal nodded and dismissed us immediately. He probably wasn't even convinced, but instead annoyed by how long we had been in his office.

     The second the door closed behind us, I caught up to Chan and studied his resting face. "Film club?" Was all I said to bring back his smile.

     "I saved your ass. You should be thanking me," he says, adding a quick pat to my head. "Now, I find it to be unfair how hard he hit you, Hyunjin."

     The brunette stares into the back of the blondes head. "How did you kn-"

     "Your cheek is heavily inflamed," he explains, our footsteps echoing around the empty halls. "I've seen him use force, but when I saw your wound and Jisung's shaking-"

     "You know my name." A realization rather than a question. Chan just turns back and nods affably.

     His hand grasps the handle of the photography room and holds the door open for us. "I know all of your names. I'd be a bad student council President if I didn't."

     I was the last to enter, mostly because I wanted a better look into his expression. That smile wasn't real...it was some sort of mask. And I wanted to see who was hiding behind it.

     "Now," he begins, patting my back inside and closing the door behind him. Before us sat 2 classmates eyeing us with sheer confusion. "I believe I've found us our 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th member."