When Things Get Complicated

"Will you be my boyfriend?"

"Can I just kiss every single inch of you?" Chanyeol asked, breaking away from my lips for the first time in about ten minutes.

I laughed. "You can try."

He started peppering kisses down my jawline, my neck, stopping to suck and nip at some skin on my collarbone, like he was actually going to kiss every inch of me. The feeling of his lips on mine, my skin, has been something I've been dreaming of for years. Now that I finally had it, I realized it was so much better than I could've imagined.

"Hey, Chanyeol, Baekhyun was look—" Chen came into the lounge with Tiffany on his arm and immediately came to a screeching halt when he saw us on the couch. Tiffany's face looked like she had just seen a ghost. "I guess he found you."

"What the hell?" Tiffany asked, looking from Chen and back to us. "What... What are you two doing?"

The tips of Chanyeol's ears were pink again and I was blushing beet red, but neither of us moved to make space between us. He really did want to be with me, even if people knew.

"Uh... making out?" Chanyeol replied, smirking. "What does it look like we're doing?"

"But you two are... Baekhyun, what about Taeyeon?" Tiffany stuttered, untangling herself from Chen and coming to stand in front of us.

"We broke up." I looked back at Chen and he was just leaning against the doorframe, watching Tiffany get flustered.

"Does she know that you're—"

"Gay? That I'm gay? Yes, she does." I felt Chanyeol's hand against my own, which made me feel so much more confident in facing Tiffany. "She's okay."

She sighed. "I never would've guessed Chanyeol would be into guys..." He slipped his hand into mine, squeezing slightly, before gently resting his head on my shoulder.

"Come on, Tiffany, let's go." Chen came up and took her hand, pulling her toward the door. She didn't fight back or say anything, just letting him guide her away.

Once they were gone, I looked at Chanyeol. "Well...?"

He furrowed his brow. "'Well' what? I'm still here, aren't I?"

"Yeah, you are." I smiled, not able to stop myself. "And we're okay?"

"Of course." He smiled back, pulling me into him, one hand on the back of my head, running through my hair, the other still holding my hand.

Two days later we were back at school and it almost felt like nothing had changed, though everything had. I was back at my old regular table with my friends, laughing and talking about things that happened over the weekend and in our classes.

D.O had worked up the nerve to tell Yoona that he still wanted to be with her, but he wasn't going to sacrifice his friends for their relationship, and she respected that. They were still together, sitting at their respective tables with their own friends. The rest of the guys had pretty much done the same, following D.O's lead, and managed to keep their girlfriends as well.

Kai came and sat with us sometimes, but he also sat with his girlfriend and her friends. We'd all been surprised he'd finally settled on one girl, and it was even more surprising that the girl he'd settled for was Krystal Jung, who was quiet and kept to herself, pretty much the opposite of Kai.

Xiumin had found love in Victoria Song, each putting aside their competitiveness over the spot for valedictorian and seeing they had a lot more in common than just a love for academia.

As for me, having my friends know about what had happened between Chanyeol and I was surprisingly freeing. I used to think it would weigh down on me and they would push me away, but they didn't. Suho fussed at me for not believing in them more, but all of us were otherwise okay. So far, only my friends and Tiffany and Taeyeon knew about it because it was nice to take things slow, but I was sure the news would get out eventually. I was okay with that, and so was Chanyeol, and that was all we needed.

Once the weather started to get warmer, we started sitting outside in the courtyard. I was waiting for Chanyeol one day, talking to D.O, when he interrupted me, "So you don't care if people know?"

I was surprised by the suddenness of the question, but I knew what he was talking about. "No, I don't. Why?"

He nodded behind me and I turned around to find Chanyeol standing there. "Hey." I smiled, patting the spot on the bench next to me.

Chanyeol returned my smile and shook his head. "I need to ask you something first."

I was immediately confused, but I nodded. "What is it?"

His ears were turning pink and his cheeks were slightly flushed, so I was a little nervous about what was coming next. I'm not sure how I didn't see it coming, but the surprise was nice. This way, I hadn't had all day to get worked up about it.

He took my hands and pulled me up so I was standing in front of him before he took something out of his pocket. "Baek, the last time I gave you a ring it was so that you could give it to someone else." he said, looking down at his hands as he opened them, revealing his football ring. My eyes widened, and I looked around quickly, seeing that everyone outside was looking at the two of us. He brought one hand up and touched my cheek, turning my head so I had to look up at him. "This time, I'm giving you my ring because I want you to keep it on your finger all the time so that everybody knows you're mine."

My heart was beating so fast I thought it would burst out of my chest and my legs felt weak at the knees.

He took my hand in his hand and asked, "Baekhyun, will you wear it? Will you be my boyfriend?" I heard gasps and whispers all around us, as well as I few people that sounded pleased, which were probably our friends.

I used to think this whole ring thing that football players did when they asked someone out was so stupid. I still kind of thought it was stupid, honestly. But this wasn't just about upholding tradition; it was about not hiding anymore, about letting everyone know that we're a couple. Asking me out in front of people meant Chanyeol didn't care if people criticized us, and if he did, he wasn't letting it control him.

I smiled again, feeling the heat in my face, and nodded again and again. "Yes, I will."

He slid the ring on my finger and wrapped his arm around my waist, bending down to kiss me right there in front of the entire courtyard.