One month, three days, and twenty hours.

Lee Felix had disappeared on a Friday, one month and three days ago, and Christopher Bang felt like he was going absolutely crazy.

The dark haired boy sat in his bedroom, jotting down notes in the harsh light of his laptop. It was for his government class, which to be frank, he was growing very tired of.

Although, he was kind of tired of all of his class at this point.

He'd texted Jisung to come over an hour or so earlier, before chucking his phone onto his bed, not wanting it to distract him from his class work. Chan already knew that his best friend would arrive at some point, as the boy never had anything to do.

As if summoned by the thought of him, a tapping came at Chan's window, the Australian not even bothering to look at who it was.
"Come in, it's unlocked," he called out, followed by the sound of his window being pushed up.

"Wouldn't it be easier to just give me a pair of keys?" came the complaining voice of Jisung, who dragged himself over the windowsill and practically tumbled onto Chan's carpeted floor.

"You'll have to prove I can trust you with that first," Chan gave a warm, teasing smile as the younger boy padded over him, leaning over the back of his chair to peek at his work.

"What class is that for?" Jisung answered, burying his face into Chan's dark curls for a moment. He'd always seen Felix do the same, and had never understood the appeal until recently.

Chan sighed. "Government. The teacher is gonna beat my ass if I don't turn this in by midnight."

"Damn. Sucks for you," Jisung said, lightly ruffling Chan's hair before backing off as to give the other space.
He'd never been as much of a cuddler as Felix, who always had himself wrapped around Chan like some sort of human blanket. He could tell Chan missed it too, in the way that he now would linger just a bit too long in their hugs, or let Jisung mess with his hair longer than usual.

Yet, recently they hadn't been talking about Felix as much. Jisung hoped it was a good sign, in that Chan seemed to be dwelling on it less, but knew deep down the real reason his name became harder and harder to say.

It was slowly becoming more and more real, that he was gone. Before, they'd talked about him with a sort of optimism, that he would only be gone for a short time. Over a month without a sighting, however...
They couldn't help but have grim thoughts.

"Oh, by the way Channie," Jisung spoke excitedly, shaking the boy's chair. "You know what day it'll be soon?"

"Hm?" Chan hummed, paying more attention to finishing the sentence he was writing than his best friend's blabbering.

"My birthday!" Jisung emphasized the words with a sort of excited jazz hands.

"Oh! Right!" Chan remembered immediately, giving the other a gentle pat on the shoulder. "What are we gonna do this year to celebrate?"

"Well, I dunno. Last year was pretty fun! Remember, when we went out to skate and waited until around midnight so that Felix and I could both—" Jisung instantly stopped talking as he saw his friend's happy expression falter.

"Oh, shit," Jisung swore. "Sorry, I didn't realize..."

"It's fine, Jisung," Chan only rolled his eyes, his usual comforting smile back on his face. "I remember. If you want, we could go out skating again this year. Just us two?"

Jisung grinned back.
"Yeah, that would be great," he agreed, bending down slightly to wrap his arms around Chan's shoulders in a sort of back hug.
"Thanks, Chan."

"Of course. I love ya, Ji," Chan teased, poking his best friend on the cheek affectionately.

"Eww, I love you too," Jisung swatted the other's hand away.
"Now hurry up and finish your homework so we can fuckin' party!"

Now, at this certain time of weekend night, one would expect any self respecting youth to be doing as Jisung would: partying, relaxing, or having an overall great time before the monotonous start of school once more.

Hwang Hyunjin was evidently not one of these people.

The boy sat on the couch of his motel room, lazily flicking through channel after channel on the television screen as he had been doing for what felt like the past hour.

And Lee Felix knew that, because he'd been watching him do so, wondering what channel Hyunjin would ultimately end up choosing. It was almost fascinating, how indecisive he seemed. Felix was more invested in seeing what show Hyunjin would pick than he would be if he were actually watching a program.

"Hey, Felix," Hyunjin called out after a moment, grabbing the younger boy's attention.
"You feel like watching a movie?" he asked when he saw Felix look towards him quizzically.

"Uhh, sure?" Felix responded. "Which one?"

"Play a little game with me, would you?" the long haired boy replied. "Give me a number from one to ten."

"Uhh, seven?" Felix chose, watching Hyunjin click some button on the remote seven times.

"Okay, now give me a number between one and five."

"Two?" the younger answered, seeing Hyunjin click twice before selecting a movie.

"I have no idea what this is but I hope it's good," he said as he leaned back against the couch, letting the movie begin to play.
Felix, who'd been sitting in a nearby chair, stood up and wandered towards him, taking a seat on the sofa as well.

As the film started playing, Felix got comfortable, snacking on a bag of popcorn which Hyunjin had grabbed earlier. The boy sitting next to him stole a few every so often, bearing a mischievous smile every time.

The movie, to be quite honest, was way better than expected. It seemed to be an old, romantic, French classic—with subtitles, of course—and its cinematography was undeniably good.
It was just a little too straight for Felix, but he wouldn't be caught dead complaining about that in front of the other boy.

A good while through the film, Felix nearly jumped as he felt a weight on his shoulder, and soft hair brush against his neck.
He glanced to the side to see Hyunjin, leaned up against him, and froze for a moment at the realization.

"Umm, Hyunjin?" he whispered warily.
No response came, and thus Felix peeked at his face, seeing the other boy completely asleep.

"Oh..." he said mostly to himself, leaning back against the couch where he'd been. Should he move the boy? He didn't want Hyunjin to wake up and be embarrassed about it, as Felix knew he would be.

Yet, for some reason... Felix didn't really want to move him.

The movie continued playing, not that Felix was paying attention to it anymore. He gingerly reached up and took a lock of Hyunjin's long hair into his hands, twirling it for a moment before carefully tucking it behind his ear.

All at once, it struck him how long it had been since he'd seen his best friends. And god, he missed being held.
He was always the most touchy out of his friend group, and Chan had always satisfied Felix's constant need for cuddles.

Oh, how his every limb just ached to touch someone. He looked over the tall boy next to him, fast asleep, and immediately shot down any ideas of trying. As much as he was dying for a hug, he couldn't do it to someone who hadn't okayed it first.

He let out a disappointed breath, before allowing himself to do one thing. Felix leaned his head against Hyunjin's, deeming that as fair game since the elder was passed out on his shoulder.

Next thing he knew, he'd fallen asleep too.

He didn't know how many hours had passed, but when Felix found his consciousness returning, he realized he was in a very different position than he had been.

He'd awoken, expecting the feeling of the sofa below him, but as his fingertips brushed against soft bedsheets, he immediately knew something was off.
He sat upright, realizing the fact that he was in bed, with a thick blanket draped over him.

Which would've been normal, had Felix not been sleeping on the couch for the past month.

He scanned the room around him, still dark in the early morning hours. Felix's shoes, which he'd been wearing while watching the movie, were placed next to the bed, although he knew he definitely hadn't removed them himself.

A soft sound of rustling fabric brought Felix's attention to the couch across the room, where a tall figure laid draped across the couch, seemingly asleep.

Felix's mind went blank.
Had... Hyunjin carried him to bed? And if so, when? And why?
He also felt slightly flushed at this, thinking that the gesture was so... kind? Unnecessary?

He felt a little guilty for having stolen Hyunjin's bed, but he laid back down against the pillow, deciding he could have this gift for one night.

Soon, he slipped back into the land of dreams, just a little bit more cheerful than usual.