Memories were made, then painfully wrenched away as they separated. What was once a valued friendship and vague romantic interest was now only something that he could see in his dreams. But by chance, they meet again, and struggle to pick themselves...
Before you mention it: In the book, Luhan's last name will be Xi. I know that his actual surname is Lu, and that his given name is Han, but that doesn't make sense in context here. :)
Crazy short chapter. I'm sorry, but it makes sense to end it where I did. :l
- § -
Of course, being the good friend—with slightly deranged intentions—Chanyeol liked to poke fun at Baekhyun. He constantly called the brunet 'Google', because Baekhyun seemed to know a little about everything.
"Hey Baekhyun! Help me with this math problem!"
"Do I look like Google? I can't help you with your every need." The brunet walked over anyways, never one to disappoint.
"I'll call you Google then." Chanyeol brushed the hair out of his eyes. "Sit."
Baekhyun shook his head in disapproval but complied. "What is it?"
"This!" Chanyeol pushed the worksheet in front the brunet.
"Ratios?"
"Yeah."
"What part do you not understand?" Baekhyun asked the question that Chanyeol knew was coming. It always came. And like always, Chanyeol response was:
"I don't know."
And accordingly, Baekhyun jumped right in. "So I'll start from the beginning, I guess. Here." He pointed to the first problem and started explaining the worksheet in a soft voice, as he slowly but steadily made his way down the sheet, Chanyeol nodded along and worked out the problems in a shaky script, pushed forward by Baekhyun's encouragement.
"Do you get it now?"
"Yeah. Thanks Baek."
Baekhyun bit the inside of his cheek at the nickname. "No problem. Good luck with the rest!" He held up two thumbs up and walked away to his own desk. The brunet sat down and pulled out a novel, delving into the pages and letting them pull him away from reality. Only, the spell was broken when he felt a tap on his back. "Oh Sehun, what do you want?"
"Help."
"With what?" Having gave up, Baekhyun shoved his bookmark back in between the pages and stood up.
"Come here." Sehun's already heading towards his desk, a computer sitting on the piece of wood.
"Okay." Baekhyun looked at the computer screen. "What's the issue?"
"How do I get the accents for the letters?" Sehun furrowed his eyebrows at his report.
"Here." The brunet grabbed the device and quickly inserted what Sehun was looking for. "Go to special characters. Oh, and for future reference, when I'm not around, use the help function."
"Okay."
Baekhyun sat down right beside Sehun, watching as the blond struggled with his report, occasionally pointing out grammatical errors here and there. "Capital I." He reminded his friend for what seemed like the hundredth time. But Baekhyun didn't really mind. The students here were a lot more bearable than his old peers.
His old classmates. Baekhyun shuddered. The brunet couldn't even begin to fathom what their intentions were. He grudgingly had accepted that some of them—a very select few—were bearable, but the others were less than adequate. Actually, one of his former acquaintances, Xi Luhan, had transferred here as well. Baekhyun had no idea until he unintentionally ran into the guy at some pep rally. Luhan was one of the okay ones, so he didn't really mind.
He didn't really talk with the pretty male too much, they had no classes together. The times they ran into each other during class change, Baekhyun only opened his mouth to check with Luhan about soccer practices. Luhan had been conveniently put on the same team as him. (It wasn't the school team.)
As soccer season kicked off, Baekhyun found himself growing closer to Luhan, but only slightly. The pretty boy was typically Baekhyun's choice for partner drills, seeing that they were fairly well aquatinted. His relationship with Chanyeol still kind of hung in the air. The giant had been acting a bit off lately, being more touchy and sensitive than usual. Baekhyun didn't know what was wrong and didn't bother to ask, assuming that it was only a phase. He noticed that Chanyeol scooted closer to him during the days where they watched movies in class, and the giant would occasionally brush their knees together.
One of the more memorable moments that Baekhyun had with Chanyeol was towards the end of the year. They were at the media center for orientation, and before going in, amidst the chatter, he had blurted out, "Chanyeol likes Baekhyun!" Which caused the entire class to snicker and for Baekhyun to profusely deny the daring statement. He was able to brush off the laughter easily, chuckling along and softly punching the giant in the shoulder. He never saw the hurt look on the giant's face, and believed it when the giant came around after the event and told him that they were only friends. Good friends, but only friends.
Baekhyun supposed that was when their relationship began to crumble. Chanyeol began to associate himself more and more with Kyungsoo, an okay friend of Baekhyun's. A pang of jealousy struck him ever time he saw them together, their head dipped in towards one another and Chanyeol's deep laughter bubbling from his lips. He never did anything, knowing that it was partially his fault. He opted to watch as his beloved friend slowly slipped away from him. By the end of the year, Baekhyun couldn't even find him to say one last goodbye before he transferred schools again.
Back to my local school again. It was nice knowing some of you. Goodbye Chanyeol.
And he turned away, confident that he'd never see the giant again. He'd never hear his laugh again, never see his smile again. The brunet assumed that he'd be forgotten. He was always forgotten.
Never forgotten, but purely a distant memory. That was what Baekhyun decided to do with Chanyeol. To shove him into the back of his mind and move on. He had more things to look forward to.
But he could never forget. He would never forget. He couldn't. Not after what Chanyeol had done for him. It would seem like a betrayal.
A betrayal that would stab the brunet straight through the heart. He was already mentally preparing himself for the disappointment he knew was sure to follow his return.
Nothing would ever replace Chanyeol. Sure, they could come close, but it would never be the same.
The brunet was afraid. Afraid that he would stranded in the dark again.
But he would have to learn to stand on his own two feet.
And on the bus ride home on that bright summer day, Baekhyun felt tears brimming his eyes for the first time in a long time.
- § -
:/
Yes, I did dramatize the importance factor. :l
<3
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