wilted flower ─ changlix ✓

four

"we only have one can of tuna left?" felix exclaimed in disbelief, rummaging through changbin's bag.

"one can of tuna, half a can of beans," changbin stated matter-of-factly, "and two bottles of water."

"this is barely going to last us a day! i'm sure we had more than this just last night!" felix couldn't believe his eyes, he had been so sure when he made the deal that they would have had enough food, but this wouldn't even last them one extra day!

he half-expected changbin to gloat at the fact that he was right, but when he looked at him, he only saw worry. of course, he should know that changbin wouldn't allow his adamantness to be right to distract them from the clearly concerning situation they were in.

"lix, i've been telling you this for days now. we're not going to have enough food to last us the longer journey," changbin explained as he stood up, "come on, let's not waste time. we can probably get in a few more kilometers before nightfall, yeah?"

felix nodded and stood up slowly, following behind changbin as they continued on their tedious path following the smoke.

part of him wished changbin would say something. anything to distract him from the fact that if they didn't move fast, starvation might catch up to them before the disease did.

as per usual, felix's mind began to wander. back to days passed, and memories stored in his mind. if this had been their old lives, changbin might have said something along the lines of "ha, i told you i'm always right. god, i'm so smart."

"binnie!" felix almost yelled as changbin scaled the wall separating his and his neighbour's houses.

felix didn't know who lived next door to changbin, but he knew they certainly wouldn't appreciate two teenage boys sneaking into their backyard in the middle of the night. changbin sat on top of the wall, his legs dangling on the other side as he looked back at felix.

"we can't just sneak into someone's backyard like this!" felix protested again, "we're going to get caught!"

"we won't," changbin replied in a hushed tone, "i promise."

"how do you know?" felix whispered back. there was no answer, and instead felix watched as changbin turned and jumped down and out of sight on the other side of the wall. felix started and ran up to the wall, "binnie? changbinnie?"

this boy is going to be the death of me, felix thought to himself as he took a deep breath and followed after, jumping and pulling himself up. those extra hours spent at the gym clearly served their purpose.

when he got to the edge of the wall, he saw changbin waiting for him on the other side with a wide smile on his face. from this view, he looked like an excited child, innocent and happy.

"do you trust me?" changbin smiled, reaching his hand out to help felix jump down.

"this isn't aladdin, you idiot," felix laughed, taking his hand anyways.

"i think you mean alabin," changbin said.

"i certainly did not mean that," felix deadpanned. he hesitated before jumping down, stumbling forward into changbin's arms.

"woah, easy there lix," changbin chuckled, barely giving felix time to stand upright before he was pulling him further into the unfamiliar garden.

felix's eyes widened in realization as changbin suddenly let go of his hand to bounce forward and yank the tarp off the rectangular section of the garden.

the still water of the swimming pool gleamed under the moonlight, and felix's mouth fell open, "we are definitely going to get caught! what are you thinking?"

"i'm thinking that i want to have fun," changbin replied, a mischievous gleam in his eyes as he gently took felix's hand again and urged him to stand by the edge of the pool with him. felix did so, but immediately realized what changbin was planning, "wait—!"

splash!

the cold from the water instantly seeped into his bones as changbin pushed him into the water and he barely stopped himself from gasping and ending up swallowing water. felix finally surfaced, spluttering as he tried to blink away the water from his eyes. almost immediately, another wave of water hit him as changbin jumped in directly after.

changbin surfaced in front of felix, his eyes sparkling with excitement, "you okay, lix?"

"i hate you!"

changbin's laugh echoed in the stillness of the night as felix struggled to regain his composure. both of their clothes were clinging to their bodies, and felix slicked back the mop of wet hair out of his shining eyes.

the two of them were standing almost chest to chest as they shivered in the chilly night air, and the moonlight showered them in a pale glow. in the light, felix felt as though he could see every detail of changbin's face, all the way down to his little chin scar.

and if he were being honest. changbin looked heavenly.

"it's cold," felix whispered, to which changbin only nodded, not breaking eye contact. the mood around them had shifted as felix tried to keep his gaze from dropping to changbin's lips. he was close enough to kiss him if he wanted, all he really needed to do was tilt his head down.

so naturally, he did the only thing he could.

he panicked, and threw water directly into changbin's face before swimming away.

although part of him regretted it, he couldn't help but crack up as he heard changbin spluttering behind him, "i'm going to get you for that!"

"consider that payback for chucking me into the pool!"

around an hour later, the two of them were shivering in changbin's room. changbin sat on the bed, his soggy clothes soaking into his mattress. felix stood in front of him, drying his hair with his towel as he looked at changbin, "that was crazy! i still can't believe we didn't get caught!"

"i told you, didn't i? you should never doubt me," changbin replied haughtily as he squeezed out the water from his shirt, "we wouldn't have gotten caught anyways, seungmin and his family are out on vacation. the house is empty for another two weeks."

"what?" felix said in surprise, lowering his arms from his head. he then hit changbin with his towel, "why didn't you tell me that before, you ass! i was so terrified the entire time!"

"well, where would the fun in that have been?" changbin smiled, catching felix's towel and pulling felix so he was standing between his legs, "it's all for the thrill."

felix nearly had a heart attack.

throwing the towel in changbin's face, he turned to hide his smile. "so, what movie are we watching tonight?" he asked, as changbin walked to the closet to take out some dry clothes for the two of them.

"i was thinking... aladdin?"

"what about some ice cream?"

"of course. who do you think i am?"

"it's a plan."

oh, how felix wished they could go back to that.

─ author's note 🌻

frustration level 100.

i have no idea why or how this chapter ended up so long, especially since it literally had no relevance to the plot whatsoever.

the entire time i was writing this i just wanted to scream bc i was like wHY CANT I JUST MAKE THEM KISS GODDAMMIT. but i got through it and so can you c:

i love you, peace out.

─ love from melelel !