LATE AUGUST OF 2007
• • •
"Hey, watch out!" A young Xia shouted at the group of boys as they chased each other to the other side of the playground.
Carefully she picked up the tiny bug from the ground where it had previously been rudely knocked off the tree.
The five-year-old girl cooed at the creature, telling it that everything was okay.
"What?" A male voice asked over her shoulder, panting from all the running.
Xia looked up and saw a boy next to her, attempting to look at what was in her hand.
"What are you looking at?" He more so demanded than asked.
He invaded her personal space without any hesitation, but the girl was more concerned for her new friend crawling inside her lightly clasped hands than for herself.
She turned away from the boy, giving him a glare.
Unfamiliar with other kids, especially this kid in particular, Xia didn't trust easily.
Chenle stared at the girl, noticing her discomfort. He backed up a bit to give her some space.
She eyed his actions, his now calm demeanor.
Maybe he wasn't so bad.
"You have to promise to not hurt him," Xia stated, still with her hands close to her chest in a protective manner.
"I promise," Chenle said sincerely along with a nod of his head.
He was only five (although he would proudly say 'five and three quarters' if anyone asked) but he understood when to be serious.
This was one of those moments.
As the girl slowly opened up her hands to reveal the caterpillar, he brought himself closer with caution.
"Can I...?" Chenle asked without looking up from the small creature, reaching his hands out towards hers.
Xia looked at the boy. His eyes were wide and curious like hers. He was the same height, and appeared gentle.
But what if he wasn't?
The little girl grappled with the age old question of trust, when to and how to.
Hesitantly she nodded, picking up the most precious thing to her in that exact moment — the bug — and transferring it into the boy's small hands.
His smile is pretty, she thought.
Chenle kept his hands where she could see them, so that they could both look at the caterpillar together.
"We have to put him back with his family," Xia told him, gesturing towards the tree where seven or eight other caterpillars were crawling around.
She gently led his hand with their new friend to the tree, her eyes trained on the insect but his were on her and her determined face.
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toxic | nct dream
Fanfiction[p.js] x [oc] x [z.cl] 'You're toxic, I'm slipping under' A random hookup with bass player Park Jisung sends Liang Xia into a downward spiral of toxic behaviors and salacious addictions. - Tags: love triangle arranged marriage affair smut best frien...
