he bedroom was engulfed by darkness, the only source of light being the half-moon looking down from the sky. Baekhyun found himself staring at the ceiling sleeplessly once again, because of you. There was a lingering thrill tickling inside of his whole body. As soon as he recalled the memory of you leaning your head against his chest, his heart started stuttering. He could still remember the scent of your hair so clearly, the feeling of it brushing his skin was still fresh on his body. Turning to lay on his side, he sighed, wondering when he had become such a lovesick boy. He still needed to tell Jongdae, he could already hear his high-pitched teasing and see the mischievous grin he always wore on his face whenever Baekhyun talked about something of the sort.

The whole night consisted of Baekhyun restlessly tossing and moving endlessly in his bed. In his thoughts was a mental war, how was he going to act now? He wasn't sure that he would even be able to confront you with a straight face anymore. The memory still made his cheeks flare up and he thanked God because he didn't completely freak out then. Hence, Baekhyun was still having a hard time grasping the fact that he had actually hugged you. Until now, he hadn't even been able to imagine it. Maybe this was the reason why he was freaking out now instead.

After all, he could say that he had made some progress because he had somehow taken a grip on his constant blushing, and he wouldn't stutter as much around you as he sometimes would. Every day, Baekhyun would remember Jongdae's words about needing to man up. There was a time where he found it hard to accept those words. But sooner or later he realized how it didn't mean to completely change, he understood that if he wanted to be taken seriously he had to act like it. He didn't want you to find him weird, he wanted to be able to smile confidently around you, to charm you, to give you hints so that you could see that he liked you.

He found it a tiny bit ironic about himself because one moment he was hiding, the next he wanted you to know everything about him.

Not being able to quiet down the thoughts in his head, Baekhyun dragged his body to the living room, lazily sprawling himself on the couch and quickly turning down the volume of the TV so that he wouldn't disturb his sleeping mother. He ended up watching Korean dramas instead of sleeping, attentively taking in every action and way of speaking of each male character.

The truth was that he wanted to be different. Not a different person, Baekhyun didn't want to just look confident, he also wanted to be. Dyeing his hair had helped him gaining an ounce of confidence, but there was still a long way ahead of him. That's why he found himself studying the male protagonist of the drama, imagining himself doing the same things.

Baekhyun frowned at the sudden light that shone on his eyelids, groggily waking up, an instant sore pain rose in his neck because of the bad sleeping spot. One hand rubbed the sleep out of his eye while the other went to check the time. Baekhyun felt his eyes almost jump out of their sockets when he saw the numbers on the screen. Messily, he scrambled off the couch, throwing on the first thing he saw in his closet, jumped into his shoes, and ran directly to the school.

His breathing was so quick that he couldn't even call it breathing, more like gasping when he entered the classroom barely in time for the first period. Baekhyun's footsteps were heavy and tired when he threw himself on the chair next to you. You took him in with curious eyes, noticing how his hair was disheveled by the wind and how his shirt was buttoned all wrong.

Your intense gaze tickled on Baekhyun's body and so he decided to respond to your eyes and keep your gaze until pictures of yesterday eventually started flashing through his mind and you couldn't help but be reminded of the same thing when his cheeks got tinted in red. You both ended up turning your heads shyly away. Although the warmness on your cheeks, you couldn't help but take another glance at him, a chuckle escaped your lips before you knew it, because of the troubled look on his face and the messy way he had presented himself in was making him look adorably silly. With his glasses barely falling off his nose and the constant pout on his lips when he looked back at you with questioning eyes, not understanding what was so funny. The blush on his cheeks was still visible.

Unconsciously, your hand reached for his head, you surprised yourself when your fingers brushed through his wild locks completely, unaware of how you were making the rate of his heartbeat pick at an insanely fast speed. Baekhyun could only eye you with surprise and shock.

Your cheeks eventually heated up when you noticed his stare on you and you quickly looked away, which made his heart flutter because although he felt nervous, that one action had been so cute that he couldn't help the smile from spreading on his lips.

"I'm sorry- Your hair was really messy and I just couldn't-"

"Thank you," He said, offering a cheery smile that you always found so special, and you felt yourself smiling back at him with an unknown excitement blooming inside of you.

"Your shirt is also kind of messy," You pointed out and his eyes snapped in a panicked manner down to his chest just to see the jumble that he had made out of his shirt in the rush of this morning. His ears were fuming when he excused himself to the restroom. The teacher entered the classroom just a few seconds after Baekhyun himself.

Mr. Kim fixed the papers on the table and unenthusiastically announced the exams that were going to show up in a few weeks. Ignoring the protesting whines of the class he proceeded with annoyedly pushing his small glasses to the bridge of his nose with a finger while the other handheld a whiteboard pen to start explaining the things that were required to know for the tests.

Knowing that you wouldn't understand it when the teacher explained, you sneaked a glance on Baekhyun and nudged on his finger with yours, the sudden little action made chills run down his spine but he somehow managed to keep a straight a face when he looked over at you with curious eyes.

"Do you want to study for the test together then?" You whispered so that only he could hear, you knew that you would be able to pass a test if Baekhyun helped you with it. The suggestion made him way too happy, he wondered if perhaps a little part of you liked the idea of spending time with him more than studying after all. Although the question was simple he responded with a heartbreaking smile that was way too enthusiastic for anybody to believe that you were actually talking about studying.

"Fine, at the library after school?" Returning the smile, you simply nodded before turning your gaze to the teacher who was currently scribbling down incomprehensible numbers and letters on the board.

The library was as always, quiet and peaceful with the relaxing noise of pens scribbling onto papers and tapping of keyboards echoing in the walls.

None of you said anything for a while as you had been both too engrossed in your homework to say something. Although Baekhyun became done awfully early he didn't feel like voicing it out. Not only because you had barely sat there for half an hour, but mainly because he didn't want to leave. Didn't want to leave you. Baekhyun could sit there and take in your focused face for consecutive hours without getting a single bit bored, because every minute there would be something new to you that he needed to know about, to see more of.

Absentmindedly he leaned his cheek onto his palm as he slowly but certainly fell deeper into the daze that you were causing him, his dark orbs pulled themselves to your frame like magnets, no matter the many rushing thoughts in his head he couldn't bring himself to look away. Your face was concentrated and the way your frown was making a little crease appear between your brows made him want to put his finger there just to ease the tension on your face. And when lost strands of your hair fell in front of your face made his fingers twitch to pull it behind your ear himself.

It was such a sudden feeling that overwhelmed him but he wanted you. He wanted to get closer and show you that he liked you, there was a strange urge rising inside of him that almost startled him because it was a very different feeling from what he felt before, it was as if his emotions were turning wild and untamed.

Baekhyun's fingers twitched helplessly, his consciousness didn't say no in time before his hand had already twirled strands of your hair around his slender finger, your gazes met when you slowly turned your head and your heart froze at the moment, breath hitched inside of your lungs when you felt his warm fingertips brush against the back of your ear, the pen that was in your hand fell out of your weakened grip.

"Sorry..." His low voice faltered as his eyes lingered on yours before he shyly adverted them back on his textbook. "I couldn't help it," He continued sincerely, he could feel the tips of his ears steam and he wondered if what he had just done was perhaps wrong if you didn't like it when he touched you.

Despite himself, Baekhyun glimpsed at you from the corner of his eyes and the blush on your cheeks didn't go unnoticed, he didn't know where the confident feeling in his chest was coming from, but the troubled expression on your face made him almost feel relieved. He couldn't explain why he suddenly smirked so full of himself, it was just the fact that he made your cheeks go warm, the fact that he maybe, just maybe, had made you feel like you made him all the time.

Did that mean that he had an impact on you?

A little sigh escaped his lips as he finally directed his gaze elsewhere, he didn't notice the way you were staring at him from your seat. Your eyes were wide while unfamiliar feelings squeezed at your heart when you took in the foreign smirk on his face, that cockiness that barely ever took place on his soft features was making your heart tremble and your legs weak.

Suddenly you were both woken up from your deep thoughts when you heard the tapping noise of rain against the windows, the outside world now covered in gray clouds, you whined in protest.

"Ah, it's pouring all of sudden," You spoke through a pout, and Baekhyun's eyes switched from the window to you.

"You didn't bring an umbrella?" He asked and you could only shake your head in approvement, Baekhyun bit his lips thoughtfully and ran an absentminded hand through his dark hair.

"If you want, we can share mine," You looked at him with wide eyes, feelings of both excitement and nervousness washed over you.

"Is it okay?" The question was to him silly, there was no way he'd ever let you walk in the rain, mostly because, it was you and he wouldn't ever miss a single chance to walk with you. There was a grin on his face when he nodded confidently, "Of course," he chimed.

A few minutes later the two of you were already walking under the rain, droplets of water sliding like waterfalls down the fabric of the umbrella. The space under the shelter was cramped and you had no choice but to walk so extremely close. It was odd, his shoulders were tightly pressed against yours and yet he wanted to be even closer to you, he was almost in a trance, as if the warmth that was radiating from your arm to his was not enough, he desired to circle his arms around you, he craved to feel that warmth, your warmth, again all over himself.

"This is where I turn," You broke the silence and Baekhyun woke up from his deep thoughts and almost blushed at where his thoughts had been wandering to. But soon enough, you put him under another spell when your lips started moving again and his eyes were pulled to them like bees to flowers, he couldn't help but take notice of the moisturized texture of your plump mouth, biting his lip he started losing against the urge to lean closer...

He felt so out of himself but he couldn't help it, he didn't even know if he wanted to. You were looking so unusually perfect that day, with your hair slightly damp and the natural redness on your cheeks made him want to grab your face and warm it with his palms, everything about you at the moment made him want to repeat to you how much he liked you.

Your sentence slowed down the more you noticed how he wasn't really listening, you acknowledged the unusual way his eyes weren't gazing into yours but instead remained on the area on your chin.

The rain was still pouring when the two of you were without even realizing it, standing still and looking at each other. You called his name a few times but it was only a faint sound in the back of his head while there was an empowering voice in his head is repeating;

I Love You.

And while you kept trying to get a reaction from him, Baekhyun slowly drifted closer, his eyes were dark, darker than usual and his eyelids hooded drowsily over them. Everything was caught in a dally, everything from his every movement to your circumstances.

Then his vision darkened under his eyelids, the quiet noise of his round glasses bumping slightly into your nose was heard but faded quickly into the thick air.

You stood still with your feet glued onto the ground when you realized how he suddenly was standing so much closer than before. Although you couldn't get a grip on what was happening, you stood still when his mouth placed itself against yours. It was such a feather-light touch at first but then he leaned a tiny bit closer and the pressure of his lips on yours was suddenly so clear. His lips were scorching hot but you couldn't find it in yourself to even mind it. A warmth that out of everything was one of the most comforting things you've ever felt. For a little moment, you couldn' help but stare at his tightly shut eyes while your own was just starting to hood closed.

A cold rush made the hairs on your arms stand up and before you even got the chance to relax against his lips, they were already gone. The next thing you saw was his horrified and panicked expression, his hands flew to his lips as stuttering apologizes came out of his mouth.

"Oh my god, I am so sorry I didn't-" I didn't mean to do that, Baekhyun stopped himself from saying those words because he realized how it was just a lie. It wasn't like he didn't mean it, because he did mean every emotion and intention behind it.

With his lips hooked in his teeth, he gently pushed the umbrella in your hands, muttering the last apology before running away, letting his hair and clothes get wet under the pouring rain. There was a tiny feeling of guilt crawling up his skin, he was afraid that what he had just done was something that could make you feel violated. He had kissed you without your consent, a part of him was sure he had messed up big time, were you going to hate him now?

"Jongdae I need to talk with you," Baekhyun urged at the phone speaker as his back pressed against the bookshelves, he was currently standing in the specific spot where he and Jongdae would meet up to read comics together.

"Sure go on," Jongdae muttered absentmindedly and Baekhyun's eyebrow ticked.

"No Jongdae, I mean face to face," An inhuman noise was heard from the other side of the line and Baekhyun's hand went to desperately massage his temples.

"I'm not moving my ass just to hear about something you regret doing," Baaekhyun felt himself scowl at his best friend's words, although he was already irritated enough to just end the call, Baekhyun had another card up his sleeve to pull.

"I got the new comics,"

"I'll be there in five," Jongdae announced and ended the call directly after, Baekhyun huffed.

"What an ass-kisser," He scoffed to himself.

While Baekhyun waited, he opened the comic book, pushing the round glasses up his nose as he curiously stared at the amazingly drawn figures in each page, he easily got so absorbed into the book that he didn't take notice of the loud chatters coming his way, a far part of his brain brushed it away, thinking that it was probably just a group of friends aimlessly going through the library to kill time.

And they were, until they saw him.

"Look who we have here, it's been a while, Pinkiepie." The familiar voice stroke a flash of fear in Baekhyun's chest, the hands started trembling as his eyes widened. His were feet sealed onto the floor and as much as he just wanted to run away, his body had shut down with the fear and wouldn't just listen to his desire of leaving.

Baekhyun could hear how the footsteps became louder the closer the other male got, the weight pressing down on Baekhyun's chest got stronger and stronger, his lungs craving for more oxygen as his breathing suddenly became quick and short.

"What's up with the black hair?" The guy scoffed at Baekhyun's appearance, grabbing a strand of his hair and eyeing him with mocking eyes. Looking down on him as if he was dirt on the floor. The comment flared up irritation inside of Baekhyun and although he was close to panic, he still managed to slap his hand away.

"Cut it," he breathed out, his heart felt like it was being stabbed when the male's face became suddenly darker, obviously mad at the fact that he was for once saying something against him. The rest of his little gang was staring excitedly in the distance as if this was a show and Baekhyun was the miserable human and the other male the hungry lion.

"Woah, the kitty bit back?" He chuckled darkly, making cold chills run down Baekhyun's spine.

Baekhyun didn't say anything and the other male started making his way to him, with his fists dangerously curling next to his sides.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" The male sputtered, rage and irritation rising in his sound, just a few seconds later, his fist collided with Baekhyun's jaw, spreading an irony taste on his tongue, Baekhyun coughed roughly as he barely kept himself on the ball of his feet.

"Stop-" He tried again, but before he could even take a new breath, the air was knocked out of his lungs with a knee up his ribcage, Baekhyun's feet met each other and he went tumbling to the ground, gasping for air at the strong hit. His lungs were burning up and the pain in his jaw seared into his flesh, he could feel the blood-forming bruises on his cheek. Baekhyun told himself to stand up and punch him back, but he was too weak. He couldn't find the strength to stand up, because he was nothing else but scared.

"You go around and think you're great because you changed your stupid hair color?" He spat in with distaste his direction, his feet resting on Baekhyun's side as he spoke and looked down on him with ice-cold eyes.

"You will always stay the same useless, four-eyed bastard." Another kick met his limb and there was a loud scream echoing through the shelves, Baekhyun barely realized that it was his own.

"Shut up!" The enraged male hissed and sent yet another foot drilling into Baekhyun's stomach and hot and burning tears started prickling in Baekhyun's eyes,

"You're nothing," Baekhyun's eyes were shut together, preparing for the pain of the taller male's fist against his body, but it didn't come. Instead, there was a loud noise of skin slapping resounding.

Baekhyun barely managed to look up from the ground just to see Jongdae holding the boy's fist, his face was wearing a dark, murderous stare that Baekhyun had never seen in his whole life.

"Get the fuck out and if you touch him again, I will destroy you," Baekhyun's bully just stared back in Jongdae's eyes with the same amount of hatred, but it didn't linger for long before he gave up and tore himself out of Jongdae's grip, glancing one last time at Baekhyun before going away, his crew quietly rushing after him.

Jongdae grabbed Baekhyun's both arms and helped him up, His eyes were barely open and he felt how swollen his skin was getting because of the hits he hadn't been able to save himself from. Baekhyun could tell by the rushed and short movements that his best friend was mad at him, no, furious.

You were just walking through the library, looking for different history books when you had heard the very familiar voices speak from behind the shelves further away. The curiosity had been too much to handle and when you started heading there, you almost bumped into a group of tall males that didn't look too happy, so you quickly ran past them, stopping in your tracks when you saw Baekhyun and Jongdae, the tension between them was something you had never seen, hence, something you had never expected to see. Your back pressed against the side of the shelf as you tried to make as little sound as possible, suddenly involved in a situation that you were supposed to stay out of.

"How long has this been going on for?" Jongdae murmured lowly, his eyes were dark and void of any emotion that wasn't anger. He was taking long breaths to try and keep calm, all he wanted to do was scold his friend for letting this happen. He knew that Baekhyun wasn't the one at fault. But he knew that there was something that he had been hiding for a long time now.

"Just recently," Baekhyun answered, his heart was throbbing because the next thing he saw was his best friend's face drop completely, the disbelief in his eyes was almost unbearable to look at, the way Jongdae took a few steps away from him with curled fists next to his sides made him want to crumble.

"How can you just lie to my face?" The voice was like ice. Cold. The hurt was visible in every inch of Jongdae's body, Baekhyun felt sharp knives cut at his heart as it dropped deep in his stomach, watching his best friend turn his back and walk away.

More tears welled up in his eyes and the next thing he felt was anger and disappointment in himself. He almost laughed because his bully had always been right about him after all.

He wasn't that great after all, had he really thought that a simple thing as hair dye would make him suddenly great?

He wasn't even able to be a decent friend, who the hell was he trying to be? The regret was consuming him, he regretted everything. Everything. He regretted lying to Jongdae, he regretted getting so ahead of himself for nothing.

He wasn't worth anything.

He just hated himself.

Baekhyun's feet kicked the newly bought comic away, sending it flying to the other side of the corridor and his hands tore his glasses away from his eyes and the anger drove him to slam them into the ground as hard as he could. Looking down at the objects with hatred and tears as his chest rose and sunk quickly. Those objects who reminded him of his failures, as if they were the seeds to this bullying, the seeds to his worthlessness. Because he liked comics, because he wore glasses. Because he had pink hair and was stupidly in love with someone completely out of his reach.

Because that's what made him a complete fool.

You on the other side couldn't take it anymore, you couldn't bear to see him hurt that much. You turned around and made yourself visible for him, Baekhyun's wild eyes snapped to your figure and widened even more, his parted lips trembled in shock.

"Why- Did you-" The way his voice broke in the middle of his unfinished sentence broke your heart, without saying anything, you walked closer and picked up his glasses on your way, stopping in front of him.

When you looked up at him, you were able to see every single emotion flashing through his expression. Without any words, you carefully placed the glasses back on his nose. Tears started glazing his eyes again, he shook his head because the last thing he wanted was for you to see him in such a state, the last thing he wanted was for you to tell him to be the one he hated the most; himself.

He didn't know what to do when your hand reached for his cheek, too much had been happening and he felt too numb to even act.

And no matter how much he wanted to protest, he didn't do anything when you guided his head to the crook of your neck, he stayed still when you ran your hands through his tangled black locks.

-------------------------

Hello, everyone!

I am so sorry for the long wait that you had to go through, I'm starting to think that you deserve these updates so much more than I deserve your support.

Anyways, I really hope that this chapter was worth the wait and that you enjoyed it! There may be some errors but I hope that they're bearable.

As always I encourage you to leave a comment because I really love to see what you sweethearts think and feel! Stay tuned and much love // P🌸💖✨