꒰🍒꒱4.3k words,,, this one is a ride and just the tip of the iceberg, enjoy (◕ܫ◕✿)!

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.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

Taehyun's eyes were getting droopy.

He hadn't had a well-rested sleep in days, staying up on calls with his three best friends just to talk about their classes. They had been doing this since they entered high school, but nowadays their talks always shift towards Taehyun's upcoming project. He knows they mean well and just care for him, it's just that he couldn't quite sleep like a baby every time he remembers the last thing he talks about before bed is the fact that he has to write a romantic song with the student that loathed him the most.

He was exhausted. He steals a glance at the clock to see if the school had ended already and sure enough there was an hour left. If his teacher wasn't going to let him out anytime soon, then he would rather just catch up on some sleep. He wasn't expecting anything to happen anyway.

His head rests against his arm on the table, facing the window were golden rays of light paint the sky in bright colors, dusting them with pink clouds. There was a dark cloud looming just nearby, and he silently thanked his sister for forcing him to bring an umbrella before school that morning.

"Nasty bruise you got there,"

Taehyun wakes from his dreamy state and shoots up, looking to where the source of the voice was coming from. Choi Beomgyu stands in front of his desk, peering down.

Taehyun, in his hazy, post-sleepy state, squints at how Beomgyu stands. His arms slacked at his sides and fingers lose- for once not curled into tight fists like the familiar sight he always sees. Red adorning his cheeks. Interesting.

He continues to stare for a little longer, probably not realizing how that only irked the older up.

"Say something god damn it!"

Beomgyu shouts, his voice echoing. his palms come down to the desk and Taehyun jumps in shock, flinching at the loud noise that rang in his ears. Beomgyu sighs when he doesn't get an answer, dragging his hand across his face to calm himself. There was something in the way he acted that seemed really intriguing to Taehyun. 

"I-," Beomgyu starts, followed by small mumbling. Taehyun remains silent, waiting for what he was about to say, and he wouldn't have heard what the older had said if he hadn't been straining his ears.

"'m sorry,"

"Huh?" Taehyun replies, dim-witted. To be fair, he hadn't expected the boy to talk to him, let alone apologize. Even if he did manage to strike up a conversation, he had expected a more hostile attitude. Beomgyu doesn't repeat his apology as he chews on his bottom lip instead, a hand in his pocket, and Taehyun doesn't bother him more. At this, Beomgyu gets agitated.

"Fuckin'," one of his hands raised, but he drops them again with a heavy sigh and a slump of his shoulders, "Nevermind,"

The silence was unnerving. Mostly because he just...stood there. Beomgyu didn't go back to his seat, instead, he stays at his spot like he was expecting something from him. Like he was waiting for an answer.

Judged. Taehyun felt judged, scrutinized under his gaze. He was getting uncomfortable. It was extremely awkward and he could tell the other felt the same as well.

Beomgyu's words were as clear as mud. The way the boy put his apology; a small mumble; before screaming at him made it sound foreign. Like it wasn't something that he would expect to be coming out of someone who he was never taught to use his inside voice. Or doesn't know his inside voice existed.

(But If Taehyun thought a little harder, it sounded like Beomgyu was actually guilty. His voice as soft as silk. Vulnerable. like he meant it. But as fast as it came, it was gone with a slam of a fist)

Yoongi had told them (just before he left with the jingling keys of their 'jail cell'), that he'll release them once they settle their differences. Taehyun quickly assumes that this was the reason Beomgyu apologized (or tried to, at least), out of the blue. But no one was there anyway, it was going to be useless. They weren't going to be attached to the hip with elbows hooked, singing on top of their lungs like they were best friends when they leave.

"uh, okay," Taehyun says with uncertainty, not knowing how else to respond. He was here due to the consequences of Beomgyu's actions, he wasn't going to be nice and receive a half-assed apology. But he also wouldn't press. He wanted to leave alive, after all. There are times where one has to keep quiet when being faced with adversity. This, for example, is one of them

"Whatever," Beomgyu replies, turning around to walk back to where he sat.

Their fights, in Taehyun's view, were childish. extremely.

To get it straight, Choi Beomgyu just picks on him for no reason (or one he doesn't know, if that's the case, it's still ridiculous) and now he was locked in detention for the first time in his eighteen years of his life on an act he didn't even do?

Taehyun was patient and calm and kind. But he was the type of person you did not and never want to see the other side of.

He was furious.

He wanted to know what was the reason he started acting like an asshole to him, what driven him to hurt not only him but his boisterous friend as well.

Oh God. Huening Kai.

Taehyun vividly remembers the day he had found Kai in the lockers, his phone turning into the least of his worries when he hears his best friend weep. Clinging onto the older boy the second Taehyun opened the door for what he assumed was half an hour, his body shaking like a leaf and his tears soaking into his shirt. It had taken Taehyun a while to calm the boy down by patting his back (which was a little awkward, considering the height gap the two boys had), and his shirt was soaked by the end of it. He didn't show it, but his heart broke at how scared his best friend was.

The memory easily gets him pissed, and Taehyun wasn't one to get angry easily. People could mess with him. Beomgyu could just spend his high school years being his tail and throwing rocks at him, but when it comes down to his friend... his best friend, at that, he feels anger taking over his usual calm demeanor.

His legs straighten before he could take hold of his irritation, taking him straight to where the other sat by the table in front. Beomgyu had his chin propped on his free hand, his table empty, save for a fairly thick test paper with a huge red F  in a circle on the top right corner. Taehyun could clearly make out a note on the top. see me after class, it reads. The paper was completely torn up by the strangely bright yellow cutter in the raven boy's hand. Taehyun doesn't know what he was seeking pleasure in. Playing with the blades or digging them into his paper and tearing them into bits. 

Beomgyu notices the sound of footsteps and he looks up, turning to where the sound was coming from. The confusion was written on his face when Kang Taehyun was making his way towards him, but the sight of his scrunched up face makes him break out into a grin. finally, something to entertain him.

"Well hello there,"

"What's your problem with me?" Taehyun hissed sharply, "Just tell me what it is, you've been picking at me since you saw me in the halls, and that was the first time I even saw you,"

"My problem? What's your-"

"I asked first,"

Taehyun stunned himself with his brusque tone but the thought of Beomgyu looking back at him with a smug and amused expression like this was some game to him only fueled his annoyance. Taehyun was usually stoic; unflappable. It seemed unfitting of him to snap. of course, if it weren't for his established feeling of protectiveness for his friends, considering he doesn't have a lot, to begin with.

When Beomgyu stays quiet, Taehyun takes his chance by blurting out his main point straight away,

"You- made hyuka cry,"

the other male must have thought the sentence was funny as he burst into laughter, the loud sound reverberated in the small, cold room, "What are we? nine? 'made him cry'?" he smirks, "What are you going to do, stand me in a corner?"

"You," he starts, "made him cry,"

"You," Beomgyu imitates, standing up, sounding less playfully than he had been two seconds ago. Their height difference wasn't big, actually, it was barely noticeable up close anyway, so he only had to look straight just to meet the other male's eyes, "said that already. You didn't plan this far, did you?" Now he looked bored, "don't worry, I couldn't care less about what you have to say anyway,"

Taehyun feels his vision clouding with red, "I-"

"That's cute," Beomgyu cuts him off, looking at the younger's (unintentional) clenched fist, "What are you playing at, buttercup? wanna punch me?" he adds with a playful teasing tone, poking at the younger's chest. A symphony of his laughter following as he throws his head back. Taehyun takes a deep breath, trying to keep his cool. He wasn't like Beomgyu, and he wasn't going to be.

"You're an asshole,"

"I'm flattered by the number of insults, Taehyun ah," his name rolls of Beomgyu's tongue so easily. He doesn't remember if he had heard his name come out of the older's mouth, but this one gave him a slight surprise. Beomgyu pays no mind, continuing, "Who is this Hyuka, anyways? Do you realize I make a lot of people cry as of late?"

"And that's something to be proud of?"

He shrugs, "is there anything else I can be proud of?"

Taehyun goes silent at that. And after the other's reply.

"So, you're not going to punch me?" Beomgyu retorts, snorting as he sat back down, "shame. 'thought it was kinda endearing,"

.

Taehyun reads the clock when the lightning strikes as it had been the only source of light there was in the room at the moment. The dark clouds had taken over the pretty yellow streaks in the sky now. Rubbing his eyes, he doesn't even remember when he fell asleep, nor the conversation he had with the older. or the fact he was still (or, is) in detention. He prayed it was some sort of dream when he read the time. It was eight in the evening.

Eight in the evening. Their school ended two hours ago. He slightly panics as a normal person should. He stands, trying to find out why the heck were they still inside the god dang room that was starting to get colder with the continuous sound of the drizzling rain on the rooftops. Taehyun stands up quickly, too quickly that it made the desk he had been laying his head on to fall down, down onto the floor with a loud rattle.

Beomgyu's eyes shot open and he jumps out of his seat at the noise, eyes shaking with fear, but when he sees the state they were in, he calms himself down, "dude, what the fuck?! If you wanted revenge, killing me with a heart attack is not id-"

"its eight in the evening," Taehyun breathes out, calmly telling him as though he was fine with it. of course, it wasn't. He was trying to keep a cool head, thinking of the possibilities and the worst-case scenarios. if Yoongi had done it on accident (which he really hopes was the case), he was just glad he was stuck indoors instead of outdoors, and that the next day was a school day. Though he didn't believe it himself, "Mr. Min didn't come for us... I think he forgot,"

"What?!" now Beomgyu was starting to panic. He really was one lose his cool quickly. He dashes over to the door, pushing the tables out of his way. His shirt got stuck one of them, but he ignores it and lets it tear. not that it'll create that much of a difference, anyway. Beomgyu was tattered even before he entered the classroom. 

The panicked raven was grasping the handle and trying to push it down and out. When it didn't budge, he steps back, only to run and ram his shoulder right into the door. It rattles the slightest bit. He does it again; futile. 

"Why- how the hell could he forget about us?!"

"He probably had an important thing to do," Taehyun says, "Maybe he's with Mister Jung,"

"Are you saying he's bonking that dance teacher while we're trapped in here?" Beomgyu asked, rubbing his shoulder.

Taehyun shrugs, "Possibly. Or-"

"Just... shut the fuck up,"

Taehyun looks down at his shoes that he could barely see, then his gaze shifted outside. The moon had already risen above the lit-up buildings, the glow emitted spilling through the windows and illuminating the tables the shape of the glass panes. Beomgyu's sharp, flashy cutter reflects the light onto Taehyun's eyes and he rapidly blinks, turning back.

"Can't we slot that thing in the door?" Taehyun asks, pointing to the sharp object. He had to be rational here. The only problem was that his bag was left outside, and the absolute worst part was that he could see it through the small window by the door. It laid itself by the wall, painfully close to reaching but no matter how hard he tried, he could never take a grasp at it with the wall in between, trapping them. He curses silently for leaving his phone in it.

"There aren't any gaps, idiot," Beomgyu claims, looking at the space between the doorknob and frame, "you have to slide the door before pushing it open. what kind of advance shit is this..." he trails off to himself by the end, scratching his neck, pulls back. Taehyun had thought the raven male had given up, but it had been on the contrary when he only rolled his shoulders back, running and slam his shoulder into the door once more.

"Then you shouldn't do that. If you have to slide it, it won't open that way," Taehyun states as if it wasn't the most obvious thing in the world, "you're just going to h—"

"Shut up. Just shut up, okay?" Beomgyu grits his teeth, his shoulder once again colliding with the wooden door that doesn't even budge an inch. The push does not work, nor does it rattle the door even the slightest. Taehyun watches as something akin to fear surfaces in his eyes and he stops and slumps, leaning against the wall and sliding down onto the floor, a mumble of what he could only assume was his array of colorful words leaving his lips, "This can't be happening, this can't...this is all your fault,"

"Me? I wasn't the one who was gone for almost a month because I was lazy," Taehyun dares himself to argue back, accusing him in the heat of the moment.

"I wasn't-" Beomgyu scowls at that, "I wasn't lazy, okay!? I was a-,"

Loud thunder boomed inside the class, making the two jump slightly. Silence pierces the cold air after.

Taehyun stands silently by the area where the moon shone, looking down at the raven boy who sat in the shadows, back against the door. He had pulled his knees to his chest, beginning to mumble to himself.

He doesn't know what to do, or what was happening. He walks over towards the door and gave it another firm push with his palms. nothing.

He exhales through his nose and looks down. Choi Beomgyu sat on the cold, dirty floor with his arms wrapped around himself as he seemed to shake more and more as each clap of thunder resonates within the empty school walls. Taehyun bites his bottom lip; a habit he does (which his sister always stops him from doing) whenever he was thinking. This wasn't what Taehyun expected from the person who laughed and called him nine for wanting an apology to act like when a thunderstorm came by.

"Beomgyu ssi-"

"Give it a rest," he hisses in annoyance. he sees Beomgyu take a deep breath, "It's locked,"

"Thanks for telling me," Taehyun answered in a no shit tone.

"And it's raining," 

"It's been- actually, yeah," he sighs and nods, "It's raining,"

Silence follows after. The slight drizzle turns into heavy rain, the sound of it pelting harshly against the window and thunder lighting up the room made it seem like a storm was coming their way; which most likely would. The light from the window now cast the shadows of the water droplets as they race down the panes. The erratic breathing from the two slowly calms down.

Taehyun presses his back against the surface as well, wanting to sit down beside him by the door. at least if it were to be opened the next day, he'd be alerted with him. He was glad the cool surface was big enough for both of their small backs. He slides down, and just as he hit the bottom, two hands come up to push him by the shoulder, making him stumble forward and fall onto his chest at the unexpected shove from the priorly silent boy.

"No," He breathes out, "Go away," 

Taehyun wants to argue because what the hell, he just sat there and Beomgyu decided to push him off? But a single glance from the older was enough to shut him up. and probably arise a hundred questions into his head.

Choi Beomgyu was hugging his knees, seemingly wanting to curl into a ball of himself. One of his hands gripped at his chest, crinkling the material of his already torn and dirty shirt. His eyes held rage, but if Taehyun squints hard enough, he sees the fear. The trepidation. As if the flash of lighting and being locked in brought memories into his head that messed him up.

"Go away!" Beomgyu repeats, his voice rising.

Taehyun merely nods, leaving the boy with curious eyes to the back of the classroom a little further away from the door. A corner, sandwiched with two enormous bookshelves, he sat down and rest his head.

.

Taehyun must've dozed off because, at one point, he was having fun, eating tteokbokki with his friends and Hobak on fluffy, cotton-like white clouds overviewing the lit-up city of Seoul in Hanboks, and the next he hears the sound of whimpering. And the first thing he sees were, not tteokbokki or the night skyscrapers, but a small puddle and a damp feeling on his head in the dead of the night.

His back cracked with every little movement he did. He looked up and when his eyes readjusted to the darkness, he remembers where he was. The cold tiles were a dead giveaway. He sits up and grimaces. Sleeping on the floor really wasn't the best idea, but was there really another option?

Taehyun feels something wet dripping onto his head. he looks up and a droplet of water lands on his nose. He quickly wipes it away, moving to dry spot. The roof was leaking and a small puddle was next to where he had laid down. Taehyun wipes his mouth to make sure he wasn't drooling and thankfully it was dry. still raining?

A roar of thunder proves his suspicions correct. He flinches, before standing up to brush himself. His school uniform was crumpled now, there was no way he could straighten it with a simple press with his palms. He tilts his head back when he felt his neck starting to ache.

The whimpering noise catches his attention again.

Taehyun looked around the room, and he remembers that he wasn't alone. he spots a small body by the door, unmoving. Taehyun assumes he was asleep until he reaches closer.

The sight of a shaking figure catches his attention as his feet bring him closer, pushing past the desks and chairs until he reached the dark wooden door in front of the class. Light from the thunder blinded him for a moment, the sound causing Taehyun to flinch and cover his ears. The flash seemed close. He hopes it'll end soon. He opens his eyes when the rumbling stopped, and let his eyes adjust to the darkness.

There wasn't anyone else other than Choi Beomgyu and him in the classroom, so he wasn't the least bit shocked to see him there. But what did raise his curiousness was the way he looked so vulnerable. You'd say he was what he had done to countless people, to him, was indeed a fact.

The other thing was, Beomgyu was awake. He wasn't asleep, nor was he having a nightmare. His eyes were wide open, staring into Taehyun's when he met them. They were glassy, like a mirror, and the only thing it was reflecting was fear. He looked as though he was afraid, terrified. Of the rain?  Taehyun can only assume that. He steps closer and he instinctively covers himself with his hands, and he realizes Beomgyu was scared of him.

Taehyun was taken aback.

"Hyung?" Taehyun calls out to the male, dropping the honorific. Despite staring into his eyes, it was evident that the older male was not looking at him. It was like his mind was somewhere far away. The rain pelted the windows harshly, and the thunder was rattling them with every shake. It was cold, and Taehyun merely wore his button-up school shirt. He silently curses for taking off his vest in the hallways before entering the classroom.

When he didn't reply, he stands up, not wanting to engage and most likely worsen what Beomgyu was putting himself through. He knew it was insensitive of him, but this was Beomgyu he was talking about. Taehyun assumes it was just the rain and thunder shaking up the petite boy, so he decided to find something around the class so the boy could at least sleep comfortably, even if he wouldn't remember Taehyun helping him in the morning.

To think such a scary (Taehyun would say big, but compared to his two other friends who had pinned Taehyun in the cafeteria not a month ago, he was a complete stick) person like Choi Beomgyu was afraid of thunder. The younger wasn't mean, but he found it quite funny.

He feels a strong, tight grip on his arm when he stood. He looks down and noticed the raven had shot up and grabbed him. 

"Hey, what are you doing-" Taehyun asked gently, trying to shake out of his grip, but his hold gradually got tighter, and tighter, "Stop- ouch, hyung-"

Beomgyu seemed to me mumbling incoherently, his eyes pressed tight. Lightning struck again and the boy shuts his eyes. Taehyun observes how his chest rises and falls, quicker, this time. His grip loosens a little, but the panic doesn't leave him.

"-mom," Taehyun catches one of Beomgyu's small mumbles, and he furrows his eyebrows

"Mom?"

"don't leave me," he bursts into tears, mouth falling to let out a suppressed sob, and Taehyun crouches down in sheer panic. what was happening to him?

"Hey- i-it's just thunder-"

"I had no choice," Beomgyu cries louder, and the thunder had struck right outside their window. The lightning did not come with the noise, instead, the came both together. Rattling the windows and shaking the floor. Taehyun couldn't hear what Beomgyu was whimpering out afterward as the rain seem to swallow the sound inside the room. His cries included.

He had remembered Hyerin telling him yesterday it would rain hard, but he did not expect a full-blown storm like this. Taehyun was a light sleeper and even sleeping with headphones wouldn't block out this noise.

He focuses back onto the shaking boy. Beomgyu had finally let go of his hand, hugging his knees and pressing his eyes into the dirty, torn fabric.

Beomgyu was not in the right mind, Taehyun could tell that far. He sits next to the boy carefully, not wanting him to flinch like he had before but it seemed like he was crying harder as time went by. He sits down next to him, back against the door and his shoulders touching. Taehyun wasn't good at comforting, not even to his closest friends, but he hoped that his presence there was enough to stop the older boy from crying.

It seemed to do the trick when Beomgyu slowly unwrapped from himself and slowly, as if trying not to be noticed, grabs Taehyun's arms. linking his elbows with the younger. Taehyun tried not to move, it took everything in him not to push him away and run for the hills. It was so... so weird to see him like this.

But Beomgyu doesn't do anything besides laying his head on Taehyun's shoulder, followed by sniffles and soon enough after minutes, (maybe hours? Taehyun had lost count when the lightning stopped, preventing him to see the time that was now cast with a shadow) light snoring.

Taehyun didn't get any sleep that night. He kept his eyes wide open, in deep thought with the weight added to his shoulder. The droplets of rain cast a shadow on the ground from the window, illuminated by the moon.