Wildfire And Rain

Chapter Fifteen

Tears.

He recoils from Taehyun's body as if he'd been burned. Tearing himself from the other's soft hands. "Leave, please." His voice is raw, it hurts even his own ears. He's grossed out with himself, with his overwhelmed emotions. He had it under control, himself under control.

Show as little as possible, he reminds himself. Those feelings, he doesn't have them, he can't. It's not him.

He's bad.

Bad.

Bad.

Taehyun is good.

His eyes stop on Taehyun's hand. His wrist is red, a bruise already forming around it. He's done it, he hurt him. He always hurts.

He hurts.

He's hurting.

It hurts.

"You." Taehyun swallows his heart hammers. He just kissed Kai, and that seemed to not leave his mind. "You keep pushing me away... it won't do. "He exhales. "I'd-I'd give you space if I thought... that maybe you were bothered with me. But you're not, so... I'm not sure why..." he trails off, losing his train of thought the more he sinks into Kai's black eyes. He shakes his head, snatching his bag back to him. "I'll be back with tomorrow's notes."

He leaves, just like Kai requested.

So why does he feel like he's been punched in the gut when he sees Taehyun sneaking out the door? Leaving Kai to handle the storm of emotions inside of him. Outside, he hears talking.

It's Beomgyu's voice. His eyes widen.

No....

Oh, no.

The door opens, revealing a Beomgyu that looks like a deer that's been just caught in headlights. He looks at Kai, fearfully.

"Taehyun knows."

...................

He sits in the cafe, the furthest seats in the place, secluded from the rest of the customers. His leg bounces anxiously as he sips his coffee. He looks at his watch.

Beomgyu is running late. Literally. The boy enters the cafe, breathless as he walks over to the table, smiling apologetically. His smile is tight, forced. He looks just as nervous. "Sorry, lecture was sort of an overkill, the professor is a talker." he sits down, sucking his cheeks in. "I'm sorry." He laughs awkwardly. "I'm not too sure where to begin."

"That's okay." Taehyun's not sure if he's ready for what Beomgyu will say either. This is all just very confusing and not at all what he thought would keep him busy in college. He was supposed to study, not get into... whatever this is. Kai, blood, attackers, Beomgyu. It's too much, too little information. Too many questions.

He hopes Beomgyu will answer some, not leave him hanging.

"Don't you want coffee?" he questions.

Beomgyu clears his throat, pulling his hands out of his pocket to rest on the table. "No, I'm nauseated," he answers truthfully.

"Oh." Taehyun wonders if it's because of him and what he saw yesterday. "Sorry."

Beomgyu sighs. "No, I should be. I lied to you... "his eyebrows scrunch together. "I'm actively lying to Soobin and my boyfriend. I have been for such a long time, I'm not sure-" he quickly panics and buries his face in his hands, sliding his elbows across the table.

"I won't say anything to them both if you're worried about that. You can trust me."

Beomgyu groans. "I know. "He lifts his head and nods. "No, I know. I just, it's so complicated. You must think I'm a terrible friend."