(Baekyeol) Comparisons (part 2)
part 1
Over the span of the next few weeks, Chanyeol shows up in Baekhyun's classroom of business almost everyday, with or without any homework for him to do. Baekhyun would love to say it annoys him. It should, really, that this strange person simply showed up one day and now he's running Baekhyun's life like a nucleus controls a cell, and Baekhyun should probably stop making comparisons that sound a lot cornier than he means. But it's not like it matters.
Baekhyun hates people. Period.
But then again, maybe Park Chanyeol isn't a person. Maybe he's a robot, or an alien, or maybe he's something else entirely that doesn't even exist- and Baekhyun is starting to not make sense, which is probably all Chanyeol's fault, too.
Actually, a lot is Chanyeol's fault. Like how Baekhyun can't really pay attention in his classes because he's too busy thinking about how he's going to see that stupid giant after school, and his grade in calc has slipped to an A- because of it, and even though he really should care (because this is Byun Baekhyun; his brain is his source of income), he somehow, well, doesn't.
"I swear," Joonmyun says, eyeing the two boys with a mixture of amusement and disbelief, "You're, like, attached at the hip."
"Are not!" Baekhyun and Chanyeol exclaim, stopping to look at each other before bursting into laughter.
That's the thing: when Baekhyun and Chanyeol are with other people, they act like four-year-olds on an afternoon sugar rush right after their mothers have given them popsicles for a successful feigned nap-time. The moment they're alone together, though, is when Baekhyun starts to get nervous and blush a lot and stumble over his words and well, then he just sounds like a four-year-old (maybe with a stuttering problem, too).
"No, you really are," Jongin laughs. Him and Joonmyun are sitting at a pair of desks across from the others. "I mean, you act like a married couple or something," he adds with a smug smirk, his laughter coming out slightly maniacal when Baekhyun’s blushes brightly.
“Yah, Kim Caveman, how do you know how a married couple acts?” Baekhyun hastily retorts, arms folding across his chest. He is not about to let Jongin of all people mock him for liking Chanyeol just a little bit.
Ok, well maybe he likes Chanyeol a lot. But it’s not like he’s going to admit it out loud.
“It’s because he’s been around Joonmyun and his phone for too long,” Chanyeol sighs sadly, and Baekhyun’s hostile posture weakens as he snorts and holds back giggles.
“Dude, that was harsh,” Jongin says, a crestfallen expression on his face.
“Welp,” Chanyeol shrugs, ignoring the I will fucking end you glare Joonmyun gives him. “Baekhyunnie and I are more like mortal enemies in comparison to you and that iPhone.”
“Dude,” Jongin says again.
“If you say dude one more time, I’m going to stuff my calculus textbook down your throat,” Baekhyun interrupts him.
“Wow. You two are the most abusive people I have ever met,” Jongin sniffs, hands instinctively flying up to protect his air passage.
“You really are perfect for each other,” Joonmyun bitterly adds under his breath, and again, Baekhyun’s cheeks are blushing brightly.
“Thanks!” Chanyeol says with that wide grin of his, “We're getting married this summer, we'll be sure to invite you to the wedding~” He winks as he drapes an arm over Baekhyun’s shoulder, and the shorter boy’s whole face is impossibly red now, all the way down his neck.
Marriage? Even as a joke, the thought makes Baekhyun weak in the knees.
“Yeah, but I’ll only come if there’s cake,” Jongin says, pouting.
“Forget it, I’m poor,” Chanyeol says, “There won’t be cake.”
“Don’t lie, Eggs,” Jongin’s eyes narrow, “I’ve seen how much your parents give you each week.”
“But I spend it all really quickly!” Chanyeol whines, and Baekhyun can hardly think with his voice that close and, well, just Park Chanyeol in general that close.
“Why? Because you’re always so busy using your homework as an excuse to come see Mr. I’m-the-smartest-douche-in-the-school?” Jongin asks sarcastically.
“Y-yah!” Chanyeol exclaims, wrenching Baekhyun to his senses. Has he ever heard the tall boy’s voice sound like that? He looks at Chanyeol’s face and withholds a gasp to see that Chanyeol is blushing. “That’s not-”
“Don’t try to deny it, I know what you’re playing,” Jongin continues, catching on to Chanyeol’s obvious discomfort, a smirk tugging at his mouth. “The thing is, you’re actually-” Baekhyun doesn’t realize Chanyeol has let go of him until he sees the tall boy cross the room and throw a hand over Jongin’s mouth, muffling whatever he was going to say.
“Stop!” Chanyeol begs. “Please!”
“Come on, Jongin,” Joonmyun says, an amused expression on his face. “That’s enough revenge for now. It’s not your place to give up someone else’s secrets.” Jongin pouts as Chanyeol gingerly moves his hand.
“Aw, but it was getting good, too,” Jongin sighs with a pout. “Fine. You’re lucky, Eggs, I was so ready to rat you out." Baekhyun gives him an alarmed look. What's that supposed to mean??
"I hate you!" Chanyeol wails, burying his face in his hands.
Wait, what... just happened???
✿
After that, a girl comes in to ask for Baekhyun's help on a project, and Chanyeol gets up and leaves, so Baekhyun has no chance to ask him about the strange sequence of events.
In fact, Chanyeol proceeds to avoid Baekhyun for the rest of the week. He doesn't come to their usual lunch table, and he stops coming to the classroom to hang out after school.
And this is about the time Baekhyun begins to think that he and Chanyeol are symbiotic, and that it is impossible for him to function without Chanyeol, and really, he's wondering how he ever survived before without that stupid smile and stupid hair and stupid laugh because obviously Chanyeol has become a remarkably big part of his life without even having to try.
Byun Baekhyun is miserable and suffering a B+ in calculus to prove it.
Jongin and Joonmyun, on the other hand, find their poor friend's despair absolutely comical.
"You're so in love," Jongin teases, dodging a weak punch that Baekhyun throws at his ribs. Ugh, Baekhyun really does not have the energy to deal with stupidity right now.
"Leave him alone," Joonmyun laughs, "He's already in enough pain."
"I'm not in love, and I'm not in pain," Baekhyun mumbles, his voice muffled against the calculus textbook he is currently supposed to be using to study but instead is just resting his head on it.
"Poor Bacon,"Jongin says, exhaling dramatically. "Without his Eggs, he's just a side dish. He can't be a full meal." Joonmyun laughs, but Baekhyun's not paying attention.
Bacon and eggs? Another comparison? No, Baekhyun really has had enough of those.
He is not bacon, or a romantic animal during mating season, or a beetle terrified for his life.
And Chanyeol is not eggs, or a math equation, or a verb, or a peacock, or a robot, or an alien, or even a giant for that matter.
Chanyeol is Chanyeol and Baekhyun is Baekhyun.
And, well, Baekhyun is just madly, hopelessly, head over heels in love with that stupid head of frizzy hair and those eyes that shine like stars and that smile that lights up the whole world like the sun's rays- and maybe some comparisons are OK, if Baekhyun really can't stop himself.
It's not that bad if he doesn't hate every single human being in the whole world, right? And a B in calculus isn't that bad... right???
“... Hey, Bacon? Earth to Bacon,” Jongin is saying when Baekhyun remembers he isn’t alone.
“Huh?”
“Wow, you’re really good at spacing out, it only took you, like, half a minute to realize I was talking to you-”
“Where’s Chanyeol right now, do you know?” Baekhyun interrupts, and Jongin’s jaw stays open mid-sentence as he stares at Baekhyun.
“Um?” Jongin says.
“I think I saw him in classroom C104 on the first floor,” Joonmyun supplies, nudging Jongin in the back and causing him to produce a high pitched whimpering sound. “I think he was talking to the pre-calc teacher? That was about 10 minutes ago, so if you hurry, you might be able to catch him.”
“Oh,” Baekhyun says, surprised by his friend’s readiness to help. Hadn’t he just been teasing along with Jongin...?
Oh well, it’s better not to question and just run down the stairs as fast as his legs can carry him (normally he’d calculate the speed, but now isn’t a very good time to be focusing on something so insignificant), skid to a halt outside the classroom (again, he could have calculated the amount of friction needed to make such a sudden stop, but more important things need attention), and look inside to see Chanyeol still talking to the teacher.
“... So congrats again on getting the best test score. Really, I think you’re the only student who ever gets full credit, plus the extra credit. I owe you a pizza or something,” the teacher is saying with a laugh.
“That’s OK,” Chanyeol laughs as well, smiling, “I just do my best.”
…..............
Wait a second.
Park Chanyeol.
Best score on a test.
Pre-calc.
That’s what Chanyeol had been having Baekhyun help him with.
…........................................... So this was the big secret?
This is what Jongin had meant by making up excuses to come see Baekhyun?
Chanyeol is actually smart???
At that moment, Chanyeol turns away from the teacher to see Baekhyun standing in the doorway to the classroom. If possible, his eyes grow wider than Baekhyun has ever seen them, and the tall boy’s whole face turns bright, bright red, maybe even redder than Baekhyun’s ever blushed.
“B-B-Baekhyun!” Chanyeol stammers, gulping. “Y-you didn’t- I mean, why are you-?” He doesn’t finish because Baekhyun is crossing the room, taking hold of his arm, bowing briefly to the teacher, and then towing that idiot of a giant out of the classroom.
Actually, he’s really glad it’s after school hours since that means the hallways are pretty much empty, which means he doesn’t have to feel too embarrassed about capturing that stupid perfect mouth belonging to one Park Chanyeol in a (romantic, if he does say so himself) kiss.
And well, if he’s being completely honest, for a moment there he feels like he’s stepped into a cliche scene from a drama because Chanyeol kisses back after a split second of being totally caught off guard, and Baekhyun’s stomach is doing somersaults and he’s pretty sure he can hear an orchestra playing somewhere, and maybe fireworks going off, too? But it all feels so surreal and kind of perfect and just utterly and absolutely un-Byun Baekhyun that he doesn’t even know anymore.
But then Chanyeol is ruining it by pulling away, blushing brightly again and staring at Baekhyun with those stupid, perfect wide eyes and ugh, Baekhyun really just wants to kiss him all over again.
He wonders if it’ll be just as magical a second time.
“You- I mean, I-” Chanyeol stutters. Maybe Baekhyun will have to do the talking.
“So you were hiding from me that you’re actually really smart,” he says, and Chanyeol immediately shuts his mouth, looking down at the floor to avoid Baekhyun’s gaze. “Did you really need to lie to me?”
Chanyeol pouts slightly. “Well, um, I thought... It’s not like we had any classes together... And you didn’t even know who I was, so I felt awkward just talking to you out of the blue!” Baekhyun sighs, repressing a smile and shaking his head.
“You, Park Chanyeol, are awkward,” Baekhyun says, and Chanyeol sniffs and straightens his gaze and actually, now Baekhyun is realizing how awkward this really is because Chanyeol is quite a bit taller than he is and has been leaning down to be at the same eye level as Baekhyun. “But so am I, so I guess it’s OK,” he adds, blushing in defeat. Chanyeol grins a little. “And besides, I prefer someone who’s smart over someone who’s stupid, anyway.”
“Well, I kinda guessed that much after I started coming to see you more,” the tall boy mutters, taking the liberty to resume his full height and wrap his arms around Baekhyun, lacing his fingers together and resting his hands against Baekhyun’s lower back. “You got kinda, um, bitchy with the other people that came to get you to do their homework.”
“Well,” Baekhyun takes a deep breath, since he’s now also realizing how truly stifling it is to have Chanyeol this close to him, not to mention touching him (and are his arms really that long? Because that’s almost down to Baekhyun’s-), “They’re a different story. But I was never bitchy to you, was I?”
“Maybe once or twice,” Chanyeol says, making a face, and Baekhyun gives him an outraged look.
“I was not! I definitely recall only ever being-“ he’s cut off when Chanyeol kisses him again.
And normally he’d be annoyed at getting cut off, because he’s Byun Baekhyun, and cutting him off is just rude. But this is Park Chanyeol, the one person who can make Baekhyun feel like his name should actually be Kim Jongin aka the Caveman.
“Ohmygod, I knew coming to check on you two was a good idea!” says the voice belonging to said caveman, “Hurry up, Joonmyun, they’re making out!” Baekhyun reluctantly tears his mouth away from Chanyeol as they are joined by Dumb and Dumber, otherwise known as the-walking-dick and my-iPhone-is-my-wife.
“Aw, hyung, you missed it,” Jongin whines, folding his arms as Joonmyun gives him a look. “Come on, kiss again,” he commands, and Chanyeol laughs while Baekhyun closes his eyes and shakes his head.
“Now, Jongin, you can’t just ask people to kiss,” Joonmyun says.
“But-“ Jongin starts to say.
Baekhyun’s not really interested in listening to an idiot speak, though. He’s more attuned to the way Chanyeol’s eyes are still taking him in, the way Chanyeol’s lips pucker outward slightly, the way the tall boy’s arms are still wrapped tightly around him. He’s more interested in the way a third kiss would feel, especially when the first two were so fucking good.
“Hey, Baekhyun,” Chanyeol whispers, face leaning dangerously close to the shorter boy’s, “I’ve got a question for you.”
“Hmm?” Baekhyun murmurs, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. He can hear Jongin saying something stupid in the background and Joonmyun’s laughing, but he’s too mesmerized by Park Chanyeol to really care.
“If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?”
Baekhyun blinks a few times. What? Why was Chanyeol asking such a random, irrelevant question? Sometimes he really made no sense at all.
“Of course it makes a sound,” Baekhyun scoffs, frowning, “Just because no one hears it, doesn’t mean-“ He’s lost to a squeak as Chanyeol kisses him again, this time more deeply, and he’s leaning a little too far so that Baekhyun’s starting to lose his balance.
And maybe that’s what he meant by “tree falling,” because Baekhyun’s worried he’s going to fall over, so maybe he’s the tree, except he’s not sure what that makes Chanyeol, and there’s also the fact that Jongin and Joonmyun are standing there, gawking at the two of them.
Well, Chanyeol’s lips feel perfect against Baekhyun’s, so what does it matter.
Not to mention Baekhyun decided he wouldn’t make any more comparisons.
✿
“Eggs, you should have just let me spoil your secret that one time,” Jongin says from where he’s sitting on the couch. The four friends are all situated in Joonmyun’s living room, watching TV, although the only one who’s actually paying any attention whatsoever to the flat-screen blu-ray television is Chanyeol. Baekhyun has no idea why, since a rerun of some corny drama is playing, and honestly it’s a little painful to watch.
“Yeah,” Chanyeol mutters, and it’s clear he hasn’t heard a word of what Jongin has said, which could be for the better, Baekhyun thinks.
“Seriously, though, it would have saved both of you that week of torture. Bacon was a wreck, let me tell you,” Jongin laughs, and Baekhyun blushes as Chanyeol looks away from the TV to glance at him.
“Sorry, Baekhyunnie,” Chanyeol says, pouting, and maybe he was listening after all, but ugh, Park Chanyeol should not be allowed to pout because he is going to make Baekhyun’s heart explode.
“It-it’s ok,” Baekhyun mumbles, looking down at his lap. He inhales sharply as Chanyeol reaches over and laces their fingers together, and Baekhyun raises his gaze to see a smile playing on his boyfriend’s (ah, it really feels so good to call Chanyeol that) lips as he returns to watching the TV.
“Nauseating,” Joonmyun says sarcastically, a distasteful expression on his face. “Well, I’m thirsty. You guys want drinks?” The other three boys grunt a yes.
Joonmyun excuses himself, getting up and heading to the kitchen. Out of the corner of his eye, Baekhyun can see Chanyeol fidgeting, which is pretty normal oddly enough, but suddenly the tall boy is letting go of Baekhyun’s hand, standing, stretching and striding idly over to Jongin to say something and well, Baekhyun watches him stealthily pick up Joonmyun's iPhone from the couch where Joonmyun had left it on. Baekhyun snorts, smiling innocently when Jongin stares at him, unaware of the tall boy’s evil deed, and Baekhyun and Chanyeol share a knowing look as Chanyeol returns to his seat beside him.
Presently, Joonmyun re-enters carrying a few cokes and passes them out before sitting back down. Baekhyun fights laughter when the older boy doesn't notice his iPhone is missing.
A minute of silence passes, during which Baekhyun observes Chanyeol browsing through Joonmyun's text messages. Baekhyun is seriously curious as to what they say, considering the older boy spends every waking hour of the day typing them, but before he can prompt Chanyeol to show him, younger boy is speaking.
"Message to Kim Jongin: I'm thinking about you right now, baby," Chanyeol reads aloud, face staying straight as the other three stare at him. "I'm really horny. Text me when you get out of class~ Heart~" Baekhyun snorts and Joonmyun's face goes scarlet. "Are you hard for me?~ Heart~" Now Jongin's face is red, too, all the way to his neck and ears. "I've got some kinky ideas for tonight~ Can't wait to try them out~ Heart~"
Joonmyun lunges for the device but misses when Chanyeol leaps up and holds it out of his reach.
"Message from Kim Jongin: I'm excited~ But you have to do most of the pleasuring this time because you made me do it all last time~ Heart~"
"Park Chanyeol," Joonmyun says through gritted teeth, "Give me my phone back before I kill you with my bare hands." Chanyeol ignores his threat and keeps reading.
"Still feeling horny? I can think of a few things to help~ We can-"
"Park Chanyeol!" Joonmyun shouts, making another grab at his phone, but the tall boy dances out of the way. Joonmyun chases him around the room while Jongin whimpers and buries his face against the couch.
Baekhyun is now certain he never wants to know anything else that Joonmyun is saying in his texts. He's also certain he hasn't laughed this much in a long time.
Park Chanyeol, he thinks with a smile.
“And you said we act like a married couple!”