"Okay, transcripts, hourly rate, ugh, financial aid. What else? What else? Oh! The scholarship..." Chan mutters to himself, scribbling onto a sticky note.
Summer was supposed to be fun. It was stereotyped to be relaxing, soothing, refreshing. Chan was feeling anything but. He was frustrated, angry, depressed, anxious. More or less stressed. Very, very stressed.
His hands trembled while holding the pen, clicking the top of it profusely. He chewed his lower lip, tugging at some skin on it.
"Fuck, the tires. Fuck. Oh, the doctor. Gotta call her. Fucking pills. Why do you have to be so depressed? Why can't you be normal?"
He degrades himself under his breath while his heart's beat quickens inside his chest.
"Gotta stop at the bank too. Shit, the address for the financial aid office too. Why can't they get it themselves? Fucking hell."
His right leg bounces at a rapid pace under the desk, the lip chewing getting harsher. Tears were beginning to build up behind his eyes. He rushes to write down other things on his to-do list, only writing it in case he forgot later on.
"Chan."
The thoughts stopped. His leg stretched out and his hands went into his lap. The lip was let go, pursing together as he looked up. A single tear falls, but he wipes it away quickly.
Changbin stood there, his eyebrows bunched together with worry. "What's got you so stressed, baby?" He comes over, flattening his boyfriend's tense shoulders.
Before the frustrated male could answer, a lump forms in his throat. He bites his lip again, swallowing. Looking down at the list, he holds it up for Changbin to see.
The younger takes a second to read the messy hand writing. He grasps the paper, sticking it to the wall above the desk. "Let's go watch a movie, yeah?"
"N-no, I need to get this stuff done now because there are deadlines and if I don't, then I never will and this is important."
"How about we do it together, baby," Changbin suggests, rubbing the back of Chan's neck.
The elder's jaw clenches shut, but he nods anyway. He didn't want to breakdown. He didn't want to cry about it.
"Alright, let's see. Transcripts?"
"H-have to go to the high school for that."
"Okay. Tomorrow at two? Write it in your calendar. Hourly rate? That for work?"
"Yeah, they messed up my paycheck. My raise was supposed to be fifteen an hour, but it was only that for a week and changed to twelve and back up to only fourteen. I-I don't know how or why or what my raise was supposed to even be. Twelve was my starting, but it shouldn't have gone back down to that."
"When do you work next?"
"Tonight at six."
"Alright. Talk to your boss. Bring your pay stubs and show her. Do you have them with you?"
Chan nods, scrambling to pull them from his messy desk. He sets them up in order. "See? Paid fifteen for a week, twelve for two weeks, and fourteen for the last five weeks."
Changbin frowns, looking at the time stamp for all of these. "Definitely talk to your boss. I'm sure she'll be just as confused as you. She's a good woman, so I'm sure it'll get taken care of. You can do that tonight, don't forget. Put these in your bag to show her."
Chan does as told, stuffing the pay stubs into his tiny backpack. "Financial aid, the scholarship, and the address are things I have to go to the college for. They've been fucking up everything and I don't really know how to deal with it."
"That's okay, kangaroo. Have your parents look this stuff over and they'll help you. I'm sure your dad or mom will go up to the school with you, if need be."
"Okay. My tire on the car keeps loosing air and I don't know why."
"We can take it in tomorrow morning while we're out for your transcripts. We'll drive separately since I think it'll take awhile to fix. You probably have a small hole in it."
"A-and the doctor. It's the weekend, so the office won't pick up. My pills aren't working and my wrist has been hurting a lot worse lately."
"You said they made you sick, didn't you?"
"Yeah. Sick, drowsy, dizzy, light-headed."
"Shit. You can call them on Monday. You're only taking half right now, yeah? Ever since you got really sick?"
"Mhm."
"Okay. Could you stick it out until Monday?"
"Yeah."
"Good. Is that everything?"
"Oh, we have to stop at the bank. I got money from dog sitting, so I'd rather deposit it than have it on me."
"We can add that to tomorrow too. For now, we can relax until you go to work tonight."
"Are you sure? What if-"
"Sweet pea," the younger interrupts, giving him a look to say that he needs to take a breath. The younger takes his lover's hands in his own, rubbing the backs of them with his thumbs. He could feel the trembling, but said nothing about it. "Take a few deep breaths with me."
They do that together. Inhaling, holding, and exhaling. Chan's heart seems to slow to a more normal pace and his legs don't feel fidgety. His lips are only stinging now as a cause of his chewing, but they'll heal in a few days.
"Does Shrek sound good for now?"
"Yeah," Chan breathes out, relieved that he didn't have the stress of choosing a movie on his shoulders either. He didn't know what the mood was for what genre or how funny it should be or what actors were supposed to be in it to their liking. Changbin always chose for him when he knew he was overwhelmed.
Yeah, Shrek was good for now.
•How was this?
Stressed as fuck and I need a Changbin please 🤲🏽🤲🏽🤲🏽•
