Free of Charge // Baekchen

Reticent

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Reticent

reticent: inclined to keep one's thoughts and feelings to oneself; restrained

~*~

Jongdae jumped when his phone vibrated against the nightstand. After wiping his tears, he grabbed his phone and checked who it was from. It was none other than Baekhyun.

Other Half: hey you awake?

Jongdae: yeah

Other Half: i miss you

Jongdae: i miss you too

Other Half: are you upset at me? is that why you've been avoiding me?

Jongdae: i've been busy with school

Jongdae: does it seem like i'm avoiding you?

Other Half: sometimes but i understand. school's a bitch

Other Half: you okay?

Jongdae: ofc, why wouldn't i be? :)

Other Half: i'm worried about you

Jongdae: well i'm doing perfectly ok. there's nothing to worry about

In all honesty, Jongdae wanted to tell Baekhyun his feelings, about how he would be moving because he couldn't handle the tension in the house anymore. Jongdae wanted Baekhyun beside him to comfort him, but Jongdae couldn't find the courage to ask him. Jongdae knew Baekhyun would feel responsible and take the blame and unnecessary guilt, so Jongdae kept quiet to himself. Jongdae was avoiding Baekhyun. Sometimes during lunch at school, Jongdae would hide in the library or stay in the restrooms longer than necessary. He didn't think Baekhyun would notice.

Jongdae's shoulders trembled as fresh tears emerged from his eyes. He set his phone down on the bed and wiped his cheeks. He wanted to be alone.

His phone suddenly vibrated when Baekhyun called him. Panicking, Jongdae attempted to clear his throat and rid of any evidence that he'd been crying. After about the fifth ring, Jongdae answered his phone, "Hello?"

"Hey, you mind letting me in? I'm outside and it's kind of cold."

Jongdae slowly sat upright, "What? You're here? Why? Do you know what time it is?" Jongdae didn't and glanced over at the clock. It was an hour after midnight.

"Yeah, I figured he'd be asleep and you can sneak me in, but I can always head back."

"Just wait, I'll be down soon."

Jongdae carefully crept downstairs and cracked the front door open where Baekhyun was standing out on the porch with his hands stuffed in his coat pockets. Even in the dim lighting provided by the porch light, Baekhyun could tell Jongdae had been crying. "Don't make any noise," Jongdae whispered. Baekhyun nodded, not that he'd planned to alert Jongdae's parents of his presence. "And take your shoes upstairs with you."

After shutting Jongdae's bedroom door and making sure it was locked, Baekhyun tightly embraced Jongdae, the former on the verge of tears. "Why didn't you tell me you were having a hard time? I'll always try to be here for you, don't you know that?"

"I was trying to be strong," Jongdae choked out. Unable to hold back, Jongdae broke into a sob, his cries muffled against Baekhyun's coat.

Maybe he was wrong; maybe he did need Baekhyun's presence.