All Grown Up

Eight

"Hey!" Vernon chuckled as I sat beside him in class and I groaned, holding my head now.

"Hungover?" He asked and I glared at him.

"Just so we're clear, I said I didn't want to drink, and you goaded me!" I accused him and he gave me a weak smile.

"Sorry-"

"Are you Lee Chan?" I looked up and frowned as I saw some chick standing there.

"Who are you?" I asked and she bit her lip.

"Can you give this to Captain Choi for me?" She asked and handed me what was obviously a love letter. I glared at it then forced a smile, nodding some at her.

"Oh, thank you!" She said and left our row, going to her seat now.

"Are you really going to give that to him?!" Vernon whispered and I looked at him then forced a smile.

"Why wouldn't I?" I asked and he gave me sad eyes.

"Dino, do you remember last night at all?!" He asked and I felt my heart breaking some, but nodded and pushed the letter into my backpack.

"I'll give Cheol the letter later." I mumbled as the professor came in.

~*~*~*~

"A girl in class asked you to give this to me?" He asked as I handed him the letter and I nodded.

"Yeah, she did." I said and he smiled softly, opening the letter and reading it. I had the horrendous chance to watch his eyes light up as he read the letter and softly chuckled.

"Thanks, Chan!" He said and glanced at me, turning and going into his room and softly shutting the door. I flinched when I heard the door click shut then I went to my room and sat in bed, hugging my knees to my chest.

"Hey!" I looked at my wall as I heard Seungcheol's voice then I realized he was on the phone and frowned.

"Yeah, I got your letter!" Seungcheol laughed and I whimpered, putting my hands over my ears as I ducked my head. But I could still hear his voice, his laughter, as he flirted with that girl.

"Chan!" I looked up as Mingyu suddenly grabbed my wrists then I saw his eyes were wide.

"Come on, let's go!" He said as his hands moved and he brushed my cheeks off. I hadn't realized I was crying until he wiped my face clear.

"Wh-where?!" I sniffled as he pulled me up, taking me to the front door.

"I-I don't-"

"Hey, guys." We looked at Seungcheol as he came out and he smiled sheepishly.

"Are... are you going out?" He asked and Mingyu nodded.

"Yeah. Why?" He asked and Seungcheol scratched his jaw.

"Uh, I-I've got a girl coming over-"

"Okay. Come on, Chan!" Mingyu urged, pulling my frozen body behind him and dragging me out of the house. I don't remember getting into the car, driving, but we were suddenly standing in a nice hallway and Mingyu was frantically ringing the doorbell. When the door swung open, I saw Jihoon glaring at us, until he saw me.

"Dino?! Mingyu, what-"

"I'll explain inside!" Mingyu rushed as he pushed me inside and Jihoon caught my arm, holding me in front of him and looking so worried.

"Chan, hey, who made you cry?!" He asked and I whined, feeling my face crumple as I fell against him and started to sob.

"Shh, baby! Shh, I've got you! Hyung is here, Dino!" He soothed and grabbed my thighs, lifting me up. For such a shorty, he sure was strong.

Mingyu's POV
I watched as Jihoon tucked Dino in on his loveseat, the youngest passed out from crying, then Jihoon came over and Jeonghan eyed me.

"Mingyu-"

"I-I overheard Seungcheol talking to a girl. It's apparently some chick he's been casually seeing for a while. He invited her over tonight." I said and Vernon's eyes went as wide as saucers.

"A-a girl?! The-the one who gave Chan-"

"The letter to give to Seungcheol, yeah!" I sighed and Wonwoo looked so worried, grabbing my arm now.

"But you got him out, right?! Before he heard-"

"No. Seungcheol caught us before we left, said he'd invited a girl over. Chan... Chan went into a trance, I guess? He went silent until we got to the door. When he broke down, that was the first reaction I'd seen from him since I got him out of his room." I explained and Jihoon sighed.

"How can Seungcheol not see that Chan loves him?!" He asked and Soonyoung grabbed his boyfriend's bicep.

"I don't know!" I whispered and sighed.

"But this is killing Dino!" I said and Jeonghan huffed.

"We can't let Dino keep hurting like this!" He said and Soonyoung took a deep breath.

"We need to get Seungcheol to tell Chan his feelings! Even if he rejects Chan, it'll give him a chance to heal and move on. But he needs to hear it. Chan needs to know if he will ever get the man he loves or if-"

"Hyung?" We all looked at the living room then I went over, kneeling in front of the sleepy looking puffy Chan as he rubbed his eye with his hand.

"Did... Did I fall asleep?" He mumbled and I nodded, petting his ash blonde hair now.

"Yeah, Dino! It's okay, you weren't out long." I said and he smiled softly.

"Where is Cheol..." He trailed off as he seemed to finally wake up entirely then he pouted and I saw tears lining the bottom of his eyes.

"Oh, right!" He whispered and I sighed.

"I-I bet she's gone now. Do you want to head home?" I asked, but he shook his head.

"N-No!" He whispered and Jihoon came over, standing beside me and setting a hand on Chan's shoulder.

"You're welcome to stay here tonight, Dino. I won't mind, I swear." He said and Dino offered him a grateful smile.

"Thank you, Hyung!" He whispered and I sighed, pushing Chan's bangs back off his face, only for them to fall back into place.

"Try to sleep, honey." I urged and he nodded, laying back down and cuddling up to Soonyoung's tiger plushie now as he tried to sleep. I stood and eyed Jihoon then we went to the kitchen and the guys huffed.

"He sounds so... broken!" Vernon chimed up and Seungkwan gave his roommate a sad smile.

"We're here for him, Hansol!" He said and Vernon nodded.

"What do we do, Mingyu?" Wonwoo asked me and I shook my head.

"We need to show Seungcheol what he's doing to Chan. Even if it breaks Seungcheol, he needs to see how he's hurting his Channie." I said and they nodded, everyone on board with it as Jihoon made a group chat with the eleven of us, excluding Chan and Seungcheol so we could all plot together.