♡ Chapter 3 ♡
~~~~
3:52PM
Students were crowded in the corridors, heading towards the nearest exit. It was the end of the day, and most people were getting ready to leave school.
Changbin was not one of these people. Instead, he was struggling against the flow of people, the library just in sight at the end of the corridor. Was this what it felt like to swim against a current? He wondered as he pushed his way past, almost falling into the library as he escaped the crowd. The momentum had him crashing into a shelf, struggling to maintain balance. As he brushed himself off, the librarian gave him a sympathetic look, with a quiet "It's rather chaotic out there, isn't it?" before turning back to her computer.
The library was near silent, quiet murmurs and the sound of pages turning all that could be heard. It was almost surreal, how peaceful it was, and Changbin let himself be immersed in it, feeling his heart rate drop to a much more relaxed level. He'd made it.
"Yo, Changbin!" Felix's voice -surprisingly deep, now that he thought about it- cut through the silence, as he poked his head out from behind a shelf. "Over here!"
Changbin walked over, and realised that Felix wasn't sitting down, his bag still on his shoulders. He must've just arrived too. "I got us this whole aisle, where do you wanna sit? The chairs, or the beanbags?" He said, eyes glinting in excitement, and Changbin clapped excitedly. The answer was so obvious it didn't need to be said, as they both collapsed onto the beanbags, letting out sighs of relief.
"So, Felix, how are you planning to find who sent the note?" Changbin asked after a few moments spent just dwelling in the comfort. Felix let out a thoughtful hum, shuffling around.
"Uhh, I-" Felix had grabbed his bag, rummaging around it, when multiple thuds came from the next aisle. "That sounded like a lot of books." He said, and Changbin nodded. They both sat up, debating whether to help whoever it was on the other side with a glance, when they heard snippets of conversation.
"It'll be fine." Changbin shrugged. From what he could hear, the people seemed to be managing at least... Reaching into his pocket to get the note, he focused back on Felix, who was gazing absentmindedly at a motivational poster. He had been pretty sure that there was something more to be figured out from the note, despite how impossible that seemed. "Here." Changbin held out the note, and Felix took it, shuffling closer.
Just as he opened his mouth, about to say something, the sound of footsteps started echoing through the library, approaching where they were sitting. Changbin looked at Felix, who seemed just as panicked, stuffing the note into his pocket. Giving him a quick thumbs-up, Changbin grabbed his maths test and a pen, just as the passersby stopped at their aisle.
"Hi, Felix!" Changbin looked up at the newcomers with a blank stare. Hwang Hyunjin and Kim Seungmin, two members of the student council, who he was sure he'd never properly talked to before. Seungmin walked over to Felix with a smile, and they started chatting. Chan had mentioned it before, but seriously, did Felix know everyone?
Changbin, meanwhile, tried to avoid eye contact, looking down resolutely at his paper. Seungmin and Felix were already having a conversation, and Changbin was left staring at a question he'd forgotten to answer, of all things. Wanting to avoid that pain, he instinctively looked away, with instant regret. Hyunjin was hovering awkwardly by the shelf, and when they made eye-contact, quickly shot him a smile. Gingerly, Changbin smiled back, and the look of surprise on Hyunjin's face at his reaction turned into a smile even brighter than before, eyes crinkling up happily.
"Hi Changbin." Hyunjin whispered exaggeratedly, setting the pile of books he was carrying down, and sitting down on the floor next to him. Even without the added height a beanbag would have given him, he was still taller than Changbin when sitting down. He didn't know why he took note of that. "What are you staying after school for?"
