Deep End

Part 6

Pushing his friends out in front of him, Changbin slipped on some slides, threw his wallet in the beach bag and softly closed his front door.

He paused for a moment, still conflicted on whether he should follow his friends or stay with Felix. Taking into consideration that, aside from his meltdown when he admitted to seeing Chan the day before, Felix did seem a bit brighter, so maybe it should be fine to go. Perhaps now that it had been confirmed that Chan was seeing someone else, it had flipped Lix's mindset from 'what the hell is going on, has something happened to Chan, what do I do?' to 'ok, I was dumped, now I have to just get on with my life'. With that thought, Changbin decided that Lix might want some time to himself to work on the confirmation of Chan's rejection. Not to mention, it had been a few weeks since the gang had hung out together and had some fun. While Felix was in abject misery for the past several weeks, it hadn't been a walk in the park for Changbin either. Trying to support his friend without cursing out Chan aloud, hadn't been easy. The past few weeks had felt like a fog had surrounded the flat and its occupants. After seeing Lix smile this morning however, it was as if the fog was just starting to dissipate a little, and you could see a faint ray of sunlight trying to break through. Giving Felix some time to himself while he works out his feelings in his new song, might be the start of true healing. Plus Changbin needed the break too, and their friends were very talented at making him laugh.

Hyunjin and Jeongin dumped their towels down on a vacant spot near the jetty. Minho set up the umbrella he'd bought and Jisung placed the cooler pack nearby. The boys spread out their towels and got comfy, idly chatting about their lives. It had been a while since they'd spent any real time together so this comfortable catch up session brought a smile to Changbin's face. He laid down on his side and noticed Minho and Jisung smiling at each other as they glanced downwards. Changbin followed their glance and realised they were holding hands.

'Yah! Is there something you two need to share?' he shouted.

Jisung blushed so much that he resembled a tomato. Minho just grinned and held his and Jisung's hand up.

'Um yes, we made it official last night. Jisung is now my boyfriend.' At that sentence Jisung shot Minho the sappiest look and grinned.

Jeongin snorted 'You mean it wasn't official after Binnie Hyung's flat-warming party?'

'We've been taking it pretty slow. I mean, I knew how I felt, but I wanted to make sure Sungie felt the same,' Minho stated, as he kissed Jisung's knuckles. 'But I guess it was pretty obvious to everyone but me huh?'

'Completely and utterly obvious,' Hyunjin said as he laughed. Changbin and Jeongin nodded vigorously, while the tips of Minho's ears reddened.

Throwing himself back on his towel, Hyunjin flung out his arms and sighed dramatically. 'I'm SO single!'.

Changbin laughed and caught the eyes of the others, then flicked them to the waves. One almost imperceptible nod later, saw them all take a limb and run Hyunjin over to the water. After getting him to a deep enough point, they dumped him in.

Surfacing, Hyunjin spluttered, pushed back his collar length hair from his face and eyed his friends as they stood there laughing. What erupted then, was an epic splash fight - something that featured quite regularly in their younger years, but not so much lately. Eventually, exhausted, they headed back to their towels.

Jisung handed round bottles of iced tea and the boys gathered their collective breath. Jeongin sat up and smiled wryly 'I wish Felix Hyung had come along'.

A sigh escaped Changbin's lips and agreed. 'I think he's doing a bit better, but I don't think he'll want to come to the beach anytime soon. He told me he saw Chan here yesterday with someone else.'

Sitting up sharply, Hyunjin growled 'Oh you're kidding'. He slapped his forehead and continued 'This is all my fault.'

Everyone except Changbin looked at Hyunjin with a confused expression. Hyunjin realised it was time to explain.

'I, um, had a fling with Chan about 6 months ago. It wasn't for very long but it was pretty intense. He warned me though - said I shouldn't let him love me as he's ruined every relationship he's ever had.'

'I can see why too. He comes on so strong and so quickly... but then it fizzles and he moves on to the next person. It's like trying to love a tornado. He comes in and causes a huge swathe of destruction in your life, then disappears - leaving you to pick up the wreckage.'

'Not that I had that, but I could see it coming, so I broke it off at the first signs,' he continued.

'I didn't say anything to you guys because I was a bit embarrassed. Changbin Hyung only knew because Chan wanted an introduction. Chan wanted Hyung to produce some stuff for him.'

Hyunjin ducked his head down, speaking in a low voice, 'Maybe if I'd told you all, Felix mightn't have fallen for his shit. I feel so responsible.'

Looking at Hyunjin, Changbin realised he was not being the slightest bit dramatic. He really did regret not giving Felix any warnings and thus allowing Lix to fall down the rabbit-hole that was Chan. Moving to give Hyunjin a hug, Changbin reassured the taller boy that it wasn't his fault at all. That it's not required to tell everyone all about your life, just in case something bad happens in the future.

'It's 100% not your fault at all, Jinnie.' Changbin assured him. 'Besides I really do think that Lix might be starting to feel better. He was smiling today at breakfast, well, before I invited him to the beach and found out he'd seen Chan. He's also working on songwriting again. I heard him last night and I think he's working out his feelings. It's a tear-jerker from the bits I heard, but it sounded amazing.'

The boys sat in silence for a few minutes, contemplating the new information they'd just heard. Jeongin then spoke up, saying ' guys, I don't feel like seeing a movie right now, how about we go to the Arcade for a bit. I need another chance to try beating Minho Hyung on the Dance Dance Revolution game.'

Minho laughed, 'Not a chance in hell, Innie!'