Hell and Back (EXO x Reader)

Sticky Situation (Trial 16)

Chapter warnings: none

Word count: 1104

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Chanyeol was now understandably very nervous. The last trial did not look pleasant at all, and he didn't have healing powers like Lay. Not only that, but he had been so calm and cool about it, even as he was bleeding and assumedly in pain. Chanyeol was only a year younger, but right now he felt like a little kid looking at a role model. How could he hope to be like that? The trials were only getting worse, after all.

The limited power was Baekhyun, and Y/N wasted no time clicking Chanyeol's name, completely oblivious to the fear in his eyes and the clenching of his fingers at his side. The boy didn't take out his own phone, scared to see what he would have to face. Humming as the words popped up, Y/N skimmed it.

"Alright, Happy, it says you have to dip your hair in glue." At this, Chanyeol let his eyes, which he hadn't even realized he'd shut, flit back open.

"What?"

"Yeah, that's it." She shrugged. "You just have to dip your hair in glue."

"Like... all of it?"

"Maybe? It doesn't say."

"Does it specify what kind of glue?" Kyungsoo asked, pulling out his own device.

"Um...no. There's like, no detail. And the dropout price is another $50 up, as always- $600."

"Don't look so worried, man, you got off easy." Lay put a hand on his shoulder. This only served to make him feel worse. Now he felt stupid for ever being a baby in the first place, to the point where Lay of all people felt the need to comfort him.

"I mean, we all probably have glue at our places." Sehun mentioned.

"Or we can just go into a store again." Kris decided. "But not all of us," he added. "Too chaotic. Just send someone in."

"I'll go get the glue." Suho agreed, "Just drop me off back at that grocery place, it'll only be a minute."

"Bring back a bottle of something-" Xiumin joked as he opened the door.

"Man, it's like, not even two in the afternoon." Kris mentioned.

"And you get annoying when you're wasted." Sehun added. Suho didn't acknowledge any of them, simply rolling his eyes and shutting the door behind him. As they waited for him in the parking lot, Luhan began talking to her under his breath.

"This is getting kind of tedious, don't you think?"

"How do you mean?" He shrugged, as if he wanted to say something, but wasn't sure how. Maybe he just didn't want to offend her?

"I don't know, we're running around all over the place, backtracking, completing all these random little tasks. someone could get hurt, like Lay, and they're going to get worse, but even now it's just a lot to deal with." Laughing brokenly, he looked towards the window, like he didn't want to make eye contact with you. "Sorry, I know if it's such a problem for me I should just drop out, but-"

"No, no-" she cut him off. "You're fine. You're allowed to not like what's happening. We're a team, though, if you need help or you want to talk about it, just say something. And worse case scenario, even if you have to leave, you can still get the wish with us, right?" It was like a knife in the stomach for her to have to say that, but she couldn't think of anything else. She'd deal with it later. That's what she had to keep telling herself.

"I couldn't do that." He muttered. "Everyone working hard and me taking advantage of it? I don't know if I'd ever be able to feel good about it."

"Well, I understand, but let's just not think about it right now. The worst we have to worry about is driving to the same grocery store twice, right?" Before he could answer, the car door opened again, soho holding up a plastic bag dangling from his fingertips. Inside was a bottle of glue, as well as a pack of styrofoam bowls.

"Hey, what happened to the drinks?" Baekhun asked in a purposely annoying voice.

"You can't even hold your alcohol." Chen reminded him.

"You're all insane." Luhan mumbled, leaning back to let the boys push past each other to see. Suho twisted the glue cap so that the hole was open, turning it to pour it into one of the bowls. As he did this, Kyungsoo pointed out that he could simply unscrew the entire cap and pour about a thousand times faster. Realizing this and doing so, he emptied the rest of the bottle into the bowl. It was a clear craft glue, so it wasn't as strong as construction adhesive but a bit more potent than kid's glue. Looking back to Chanyeol, he held up the bowl awkwardly.

"Maybe just come back here?" Chanyeol suggested.

"Oh, yeah, that would work better." Some of the boys exited the car, allowing for Chanyeol to sit on the left side of the middle row, and Suho on the right. Leaning over it, he asked, "How much are you going to do?"

"I don't know..." Chanyeol responded. "As much as I need to, I guess." Leaning over with the right side of his head hovering awkwardly over the bowl, still held out by Suho, he let a single lock of his dark, soft hair fall into the sludge. Pulling it out with a look of disgust, he tried to keep it from dripping on his skin, allowing the excess to fall into the bowl. At the buzz of a notification, Y/N looked to her phone.

"It says you have to keep going." Chanyeol groaned, the paste cementing itself to him already.

"Fine..." He did a second piece, and then a third. The trial still wasn't clear. At this point, he had been forced to sit up, allowing it to drip down the side of his neck in little beads. Rolling his eyes, Kai grabbed the bowl out of Suho's hands and set it down on the man's lap, grabbing Chanyeol's shoulders and turning him perpendicularly.

"Wait, what are-"

"Shut up, you're taking too long." Kai growled with annoyance. Before Chanyeol could even protest, Kai pushed his chest so that he was leaning backwards, directing his head towards the paper bowl. Suho lifted his arms awkwardly, looking down at the boy as he made room.

"Kai!" Chanyeol complained as the cold sludge seeped nearer to his scalp.

"Calm down, it's just glue. You'll be fine. Did the trial clear?" Looking to her phone, she nodded. "Alright, let's keep going then."