↺ let me | zhong chenle (COMPLETED)

one | let me be your man

896 words

A dark-haired boy, who was sat to the left of the empty desk, lifted his eyes suddenly from the work lying on his table, seemingly startled at the sound of his name. His round brown eyes met yours, and the seal of his lips broke, causing him to sit there with his mouth half-wide open still staring at you.

"Chenle?" Mr. Ho called again.

"Oh, yeah, no, sure. That's fine," Chenle finally spoke out, shaking himself out of his three-second-long trance.

As you approached the empty desk next to the boy, he slid his bag along the floor out of your way, creating space for you to sit down and put your things away. He turned to you right as you sat down, greeting you with a soft smile.

"I'm Chenle, as you just heard." He scratched the back of his head, still making sure to maintain the eye contact between both of you.

"[Y/n]," you replied back, matching his warm grin.

"Where are you from?"

"I came from [your hometown], it's about an hour or two away from here."

"Oh really? I have some friends down there, I go there often to visit them!" Chenle says, a few shades of excitement lining his voice.

"Oh cool!" you reply back, starting to feel relieved that it hasn't taken too long to find a new friend.

"What other subjects are you doing? We might have some other classes together." Chenle leaned out of his seat and over your desk to get a better view of the timetable that lay on top of your other books.

"We have english and maths together too! You can stick with me, I'll help you around," he kindly invited, lifting his eyes to yours again.

"Sure, thanks Chenle."

The both of you hit it off, and your conversation left you both wishing the class hadn't yet come to an end. Luckily though, you had recess next which gave you the opportunity to keep talking.

Over the course of a few weeks, you learned that he's a music kid, just like you. He sings and dances too, but his main passion is piano. He likes to play basketball, he listens to EXO and SuperM, and he loves to cook as well – eggs are his specialty. The two of you found a huge number of things in common with each other, and there was never a dull moment while the both of you were talking. It seemed that you clicked with him quicker than you had with anyone, and the classes that you didn't have with him left you eyeing the clock waiting for them to be over just to see him again.

The final bell for the week rang on Friday, letting you walk out of chemistry and meet Chenle again who was waiting by your locker as usual. This time though, he had what looked like a small bundle of daisies tightly gripped in his fingers.

"[Y/n]!" He greeted, excitedly.

"Hey Chenle," you smiled back. "What's that?" you nod down towards the flowers in his hands, shoving your books into your locker.

"Well, uh," he paused, scratching his head and looking around. It wasn't normal for you to see Chenle seeming a little bit flustered and unsure. "I was wondering, if uh," he paused again nervously. "I really like you, [y/n], and was wondering if you wanted to go out and get ice cream or something... like a date," he said shyly, holding the bundle out towards you.

You smiled at the gesture, but your lips fell again as his proposal sunk in. Hearing those words come out of his mouth was something that both excited you, yet worried you. It was your biggest fear.

You hadn't exactly had the best luck with relationships in the past, and before moving to the new town you made yourself a promise you wouldn't get involved in any more. At least not for a long time, that is.

"Chenle," you said softly, looking up at his eyes which were gleaming into yours despite his obvious nerves. "I do really like you, but I," you paused, trying to find the right words. His smile fell a little, breaking your heart ever-so-slightly at the sight. He was your best friend after all, and you didn't want to hurt him. Even though the two of you had only known each other for a few weeks, you still cared for him deeply. It felt more like you had known each other for years.

"I can't be in a relationship right now. I'm sorry," you say regretfully, sending him an apologetic glance.

Embarrassed, Chenle quickly put his hands down again, hiding the flowers behind his back as if you had never seen them in the first place.

"Oh, I understand. It's alright, I'm sorry. Uh," Chenle looked down to his feet awkwardly, clearly seeming both a bit upset and self-conscious. "We can still be friends though, right?"

You playfully hit his side, starting to laugh at his sudden uncertainty.

"Of course, it won't change anything. I promise," you reassured him. "Don't worry about it." You smiled at him again, and gestured towards the exit a few metres away from where you stood. "Come on, let's go."

With that, the two of you stepped out and walked home together as normal.