#i am actually two seconds away from losing my one (1) remaining marble?

[shadowthestoryteller]

Some civvie: "And that is how you find the perfect watermelon!"

Omega: "My dad just slaps it and knows"

*camera pans to Hunter standing ominously over a bunch of melons*

Hunter, harshly: "Who do you work for?" *smacks*

Echo, in the background:

[fortheloveoffanfic]

Protective Service

John Wick x Reader (A/n- More or less a filler chapter to for a hint of backstory and sexual tension. Welp)

Masterlist   Chapter 1   Chapter 2

Warnings- Brief mentions of murder and rape

Chapter 3 Tell Me Your Past.......

Their almost kiss had weighed heavy on John's mind well into the next week. It made him feel guilty, like even if his wife was gone, doing that with someone else would be cheating on her, and worse yet, with someone like Y/n, Helen's polar opposite? He couldn't do that. Helen was good and kind, she was like flowers in spring, but Y/n……...Y/n was like a blazing, untamed fire; chaotic and dangerous. Hot. But he tried not to think about that last part too much. 

In the moment, when they were leaning in and she'd seemed more vulnerable than he'd ever seen her, it felt like a good idea, he was finally willing to admit the spark she'd ignited when they first met. But when Donavan interrupted, sliding into the vehicle next to her, John had come back to his senses, reminding himself that she wasn't waters that he wanted to charter. 

Pushing away the less that professional thoughts about Y/n had only been made harder when John heard them that evening, confirming his suspicions. The echoed sounds were muffled, but his trained ears could hardly miss a thing and John was actually surprised that he hadn't pieced things earlier. Donavan was always so protective, he hovered over Y/n like a watch dog and always seemed to bend at her whim. At first, John had thought that he was, like some of her other workers, loyal to a fault and too scared to oppose her. But there was something in the way he'd put his hand on her back as they walked into a room, and in the way she always let Donavan have the slight bit of say, it was clear she held him in higher esteem than she did the others. 

Knowing that Y/n probably had someone else should have deterred John, Donavan didn't really like him anyway, but instead, it had fueled his feelings. He was jealous when she took Donavan's hand as they got out of the car or when he was the one helping her in and out of the coat. Of course, there was no way of telling what the true nature of their relationship was, they didn't appear as affectionate as more conventional couples, but he did know that whatever it was, they were definitely more than friends. After all, friends didn't leave your bedroom at three am with their shirts off and their pants unbuttoned. 

The jumble of thoughts had haunted John every night before he succumbed to sleep, and when he'd bumped into Donavan on his way out in the wee hours of Wednesday morning while he'd gone to get some water, things had only gotten worse for him. Usually, it was easy to focus on work and push aside everything else, but that morning, it was easier to think of anything but. 

They were running late too, long after John had gotten ready, waiting in the living room for Y/n to emerge, he'd gotten a call from Donavan, asking where they were and why they hadn't reached yet. After a brisk, stiff exchange, John had been the one to disconnect first, easing his cell into his inner breast pocket before sighing as he started down the hall. 

His steps were silent, as they usually were and as he drew near Y/n's room, his brows knitted as he realized that her door had been left a crack open. That was odd, she never left her door open. It shouldn't have been possible for someone to get in with him knowing; John knew the inner workings of that place like the back of his hand, upon his employment; he'd re-vetted her staff, linked the hall cameras to his phone and obviously, if something had happened, he would have heard. 

Still, everyone was flawed, maybe he'd made a mistake. Thinking the worst, John reached for his gun, holding it at his side as he neared her room, his ears searching for anything out of the ordinary, while his eyes scanned the surroundings. Even at the door, nothing seemed out of place. Though, when John peeked into the room, that was a different story.

She was fine, thankfully and when John's eyes fell on her, Y/n stood in front of the silver framed, full length mirror, the front of her chiffon shirt unbuttoned, her brown leather skirt, tight on her hips and short at it ended above her knees. She was barefoot too, her heels laid out at the foot of the bed, and if John's eyes weren't betraying him, he could have sworn that he saw glassy eyes and a few tears reflected. 

Y/n didn't seem to notice, her stare vacate and fixated on her own reflection. Part of him wanted to call out, but most of John’s mind had evaded better sense and he was, for all intents and purposes, leering. Hesitantly, he moistened his lips, his wandered gaze enthralled with her appearance; soft waves framing her face, plump lips agape and perhaps most notably, pert breasts accentuated by black silk and lace. It was wrong to linger like that, practically ogling, but John didn’t think he could help it, he was already entranced.

He stayed like that, half hidden by her barely opened door, though still visible through the sliver, showing no signs of moving. Eventually, Y/n caught on, and she raised her head, locking eyes with him through the mirror, almost daring him to keep staring, especially when she dragged her lower lip between her teeth seductively, carelessly letting her fingers graze the edge of her open blouse, her nails just barely ghosting over the swell of her cleavage and then her stomach, before she finally turned around, moving to close up the top of her shirt. 

By the time she was facing him, Y/n had already done the first two buttons and was quickly moving onto the third, any signs of tears now gone, save for the singular droplet that had remained on her cheek. Even that was quickly brushed away though, “Everything okay John?” She quipped as if she hadn’t caught him staring mere seconds ago.

Clearing his throat, John turned his gaze before facing Y/n again. If she was going to pretend that it hadn’t happened, he'd show her that he was better at that game. “Yeah,” he nodded coolly, just remembering he’d taken out his gun and putting it away, “Next time tell me when you’re running late,” he huffed, “And Donavan’s worried about you.”

“I-” Sighing when he abruptly started walking away, Y/n let her hands fall to her sides, not bothering with an explanation as John stalked down the hall and she yelled, “We’re leaving in fifteen minutes!”

The day had been long, and Y/n’s mind had been a weary mess for all of it. By the end, when the sun was just about to retire and the sky had just started taking on a burnt orange color, she’d decided to call it a day, harshly dismissing Donavan’s concerns and offers to accompany her as she left a few hours earlier than she usually did, though, requesting someone else’s company as she neared the waiting car. “Will you go somewhere with me?” Y/n probed as they settled in, hating how utterly vulnerable she’d sounded.

“I go where you go,” he offered stiffly, his gaze trained slightly off to the side, discreetly looking out the window, trying to work out where they were headed. They weren’t on the usual route, instead, they were headed in another direction, to the suburbs; specifically Oyster Bay. "Where are we headed?"

"I thought you go where I go?" Y/n shot back brashly, not looking his way, instead toying with the petal of a deep red rose from a bouquet she'd gotten. She hadn't mentioned who the flowers were from, nor had Y/n outlined why she'd been given them, though John supposed that it wasn't his business. 

With a heavy sigh, he rubbed one of his palms up his thigh, trying to quell his annoyance. Why couldn't she ever just answer a question directly? "You can't just go somewhere and not mention it beforehand. I'm your security, not your secretary."

"I know," she gritted, trying to loosen her hold on the beautiful bouquet so the flowers wouldn't be ruined. "It doesn't matter anyway, we're already here," the car had stopped in front of the gates of a cemetery, the only population being that of stone and marble headstones, some with flowers and keepsakes among them while others were painfully barren. "Are you coming or not?" Y/n got out, taking the flowers but leaving her handbag, not even waiting for John as she casually walked off. 

It didn't take long to catch up with her though, and soon enough, John was meeting her where she stood, near two matching grave markers, each constituting deep grey marble in a rounded arch, with gold engravings displaying who was buried beneath. He'd found her lingering in front of one, the clearly older one, while the other just was about a foot and a half away. She'd already placed the flowers in a little holder, tracing the arch of the cold stone before standing again. 

Meredith Cecilia Romanov  1969-1999 Mother and Wife Gone, but never forgotten.

"This is my mother," Y/n swallowed thickly, not really sure why she'd chosen to tell John, and definitely not wanting his sympathy. Tears were hard to fight, and just maintaining her disposition was a trying task, even as she continued, words coming without permission, "Today's her birthday, she would have been fifty."

Out of her periphery, Y/n could see John starting, not the way he had that morning, with the swirl of lust on his dark eyes. That time, it was exactly what she'd dreaded; pity, though, mixed with something else, something like…...understanding. "I'm sorry," he managed, almost raising his hand to reach out before remembering that it wasn't his place. 

"Its okay," she shrugged, sniffling softly, "It was a long time ago," blinking quickly, Y/n swiped under her eye dismissively, "I barely knew her, and I…..I've learned to accept it." In a way her father couldn't.

"Doesn't make it easier," it was a plight John knew all too well, the pain and suffering of losing someone prematurely, before you'd done with them everything you wanted to. There was so much he'd wanted with Helen; peace, a home, a family. And he knew part of Y/n felt some semblance of the same, like she'd been robbed of everything they could have shared. And she'd been so young too, probably no older than ten when she’d found out her mother was gone, forever. "How did it happen, if you don't mind me asking."

"Its……" She trailed off absently and Y/n's eyes went vacant and glassy, "It was….horrible." There couldn't have been another way to describe it, at least not at the top of her head. 

"That covers a lot of ground," John noted, hoping that she'd open up a bit more, so he could be a little closer to her. He knew it was wrong, she was his boss and far beyond his reach, especially with Donavan in the picture. But then again, Donavan wasn't the one standing in the cemetery with her.

Briefly, she glanced at him, before turning away to explain, "I was seven, and she…..as far as I know, went shopping …...it was around my dad's birthday, she went to get him a gift or something, I guess. They snatched her, at the mall. People looked for days, he looked for longer, hoping she'd be alive," despite her efforts of staying steady, her voice broke, "She wasn't, and on his birthday, he got this box…...and a note, ‘happy birthday, from your wife’. It was bad, he knew it was bad, but he still screamed when he opened it; it was her left hand, ring and all still there."

"Fuck," John breathed under his breath. He'd heard the rumors, the little whispers that had said that had spoken of how Meredith had passed, but most of them had seemed too fictitious to be true. He was quickly realizing that they were true, every single one of them, "I'm-"

"When they found her body, in a canal, near the Eastside River," Y/n continued, surprising him, "She was barely recognizable, and the autopsy said that she'd died from severe blood loss after everything they'd done. And that she'd been raped, more than once, by more than one man."

"Y/n," John gasped. He'd done terrible things, killed with his bare hands, but none of them could have ever been that horrific. What had happened to Y/n's mother, it was…..unspeakable, terrible, and there was probably not one person in the world that he could think of as deserving a faith like that. "Who did it?" If he could, he'd take revenge for her, not that it would matter. It wouldn't bring Y/n's mother back.

At his question, Y/n huffed a dry chuckle, memories of Saturday washing over her; the reason she'd been so angry. "The fucking Irish," she breathed, taking a moment before straightening her back, pocketing her hands in her grey coat, and turning to walk away.

*****

Tagging-@harrisongslimited @magnificentclodpiebanana @keandrews @greenmanalishi  @rdjloverxxx @danceoftwowolves  @planetkt @wheretheriversrunintothesea  @jupiterdawngirl​

[equalitae]

L i k e  I   W o u l d (III)

Pairing: Baekhyun x Reader

Genre: Angst, lots of swearing (lol)

Song to suggest: Hold Me – Eric Nam

Synopsis: I was doomed from the very moment I met him.

It was a mistake that I didn’t regret, but that I profoundly wanted to undo in the deepest part of my heart. I tried my best to untangle myself out of that mess, but he was right.

No one knew me like he did. No one would love me like him.

Word count:  6,4K

Part 1 -  Part 2 - Part 3

A/N: Well, hello! Welcome, finally, to the last part of LIW!  Before you start reading, i want to profoundly apologize for taking so long in posting it, but i had a writter’s block and i hadn’t been feeling like posting yet  :(

Even so, i fought it and came up with this! I’m really sad to finish it, but excited for you to read it!

  I hope you enjoy a lot and if you do feel free to give it some love!!   Requests are open! Just remember to read the r u l e s before requesting! See you soon! 

equalitae, x.

My room began to feel like a prison for more time than what I could count.

The curtains remained closed and the bare rays of sun that trespassed them were the only source of light that crossed into the loneliness of it. The dishes piled up in the sink, dirty and untouched, probably already reuniting bad smell and bugs. The clothes scattered around the room, also unwashed and forgotten, and I was already running out of shirts to wear.

My day had become a routine that consisted in waking up, eating breakfast, showering, doing homework and finally crying myself to sleep. The winter break was almost finishing, and I wasn’t sure if I would be able to leave the safety of my place to the public eye. I was running out of food and clothes, but I still didn’t feel with energy enough to do the chores and become a whole once again. I was crushed, converted into dust that was being flown away by the wind in a blink of an eye. My ego, hopes and feelings were a complete mess. I felt used and thrown away, but I still thought about the tattooed artist.

My thoughts still revolved around him even when I hadn’t heard from him in quite some time. The days after our last encounter consisted mostly in him constantly visiting my room, relentlessly knocking to my door and begging for my absolution. I spent all those hours sitting on my door frame, quietly sobbing and wondering why things like this happened to me. I felt weak, and every second that passed carved deep into my flesh, causing me an incessant desire to open that door and forgive him.

I wanted to feel him close to me and the way his body heat caused my skin to bristle. I wanted to feel his soft lips, making my heart go nuts and my head cloud. I needed to know he thought about me just by the way his soft eyes stared when he thought I wasn’t looking, even though I could feel his burning gaze on my skin. I wanted to smell like him once I left his place, covered in his essence and presence. His sole existence caused thousands of reactions in me that I couldn’t explain but needed to turn off unless I wanted to leave with my heart more crushed than before.

Byun Baekhyun was a pleasure that felt so good but hurt so bad.

After a few tries, his knocks stopped. The lonely shadow in the door frame wasn’t there and his begs weren’t heard for the longest time. I started to miss his presence, but I knew that if I came back to him, I would be giving up on my pride and what made me myself. He was the one who decided to play with me, he was the one who decided that lying was his best shot; and I was the fool that believed all his words completely unaware that sweet lies were part of his vocabulary.

And now, lying still on the floor covered by clothes, I was looking at ceiling with a million questions and scenarios crawling into my brain like ants looking for sugar. I was unaware of how much time had passed until I barely heard the door being unlocked and set of keys clashing against each other with the movement. I remained still, knowing who was inside my place and not even bothering to check if he had a knife with him.

“What the fuck, Y/N?!”, was all he said. I could feel his anger from meters away with his usually resting eyes burning holes in my body like lasers.

I opened and eye to peek at his shocked expression, before closing it again calmly. He didn’t more nor said anything for the longest time before he walked closer to me with harsh steps. Once he stopped, I opened my mouth to salute him, but I was suddenly being pulled up by an unknown force that carried me in a bridal style, -much to my surprise. I opened my eyes widely and started to protest, but he stepped into the bathroom and threw me into the cubicle, opening the shower in a blink. The cold water hit me instantly, waking me up from my conscious dream, and I quickly snapped my head to him.

“Do Kyungsoo!” I shouted, mad. My pajama was now wet, and it was sticking to me like a second skin. I felt uncomfortable, but I was wide awake now and knew that I had to confront him. Soo stepped back and crossed his arms, raising an eyebrow unbothered as he inspected my appearance.

“Do me a favor and wash yourself up. You smell like death.”

“Hey-”, I protested again, but he raised a finger to stop me.

“Once you are done, we are going to talk.” He closed the door behind me, leaving me by myself freezing under the cold water but aware that if I didn’t hurry, he will come in and drag me out of the bathroom. I sighed loudly and started to strip out of the now ruined outfit I was wearing.

When I had showered, I dried myself up and covered my body with a pink robe, walking silently into my room to find a prepared outfit over my now done bed. I closed the door behind me, and started to dress up with the black skirt and grey sweater he had put together for me. Once I had even put my knee-length socks on and had my hair combed, I left my room with soft steps. The sunlight was covering my whole living room, and I could see the mess I had made over the last few days. Kyungsoo was in the kitchen sink, taking care of the last remaining of unwashed dishes, mumbling something to himself.

I picked up the clothes scattered in the room, not saying a word but aware that he knew I was there. After a few minutes, everything was on the laundry bag and now I could see the khaki carpet under my feet. He reunited the forgotten boxes of fast food I used and threw them into the trashcan with a disgusted expression in his soft features. I felt ashamed, but I helped him with the cleaning; and when we were done after an hour, he looked at me with a disappointed look in his eyes. He pointed to the sofa, asking me silently to take a seat and started talking of what was actually happening. Then, he took my small hand in between his much larger ones and I suddenly felt naked under his burning gaze full of concern and care.

“I’m sorry.” He stated. “I hadn’t take care of you in the last few months and I ignored what was happening without noticing it would hurt you this much.”

I began to shake my head. “You don’t need to be sorry. I was playing with fire, I knew that, but I still got burned.” My voice was really low, mostly caused by my lack of energy, and I with a loud sigh, my head hung low. “I am drained, both mentally and physically. I had given everything I got to him, trying to fit in my head why he would have had done this to me and which were his reasons to approach to me the way he did the first time we met.  I thought he was genuinely interested in me and this could be the relationship I had being waiting for so long.” A low chuckle left my lips, “Just see how everything ended up.”

“He is my friend, Y/N.” Kyungsoo ran a hand threw his, now shaved, head. “Baekhyun has being a friend of mine for the longest time and I didn’t think he would do something like this to you.”

“What about her?”

“Min, you say?” I nodded my head, biting my lip. “She is just someone we saw every few reunions. She met Baekhyun in high school and stayed with him after that. She was sticky, following him and dragging him with her everywhere. They were just kids, so we tried to understand their weird accord.” With a frown, he pouted. “Why don’t you tell me what happened between you two, so I can understand?”

And so, I did. I told Kyungsoo about how I had met him in the elevator, how he had rose my pulse in a mere second and how I was weaken on my knees just with his slow smirk. I told him how our relationship had become closer after the first time his skin touched mine and my mind clouded with dreams. I told him how I had slowly fallen for a red-haired angel that owned every part of me without even asking for it, making me part of him from the very first moment we crossed paths. I was attached to him and breaking our bond felt like I was ripping my heart out of my chest and like I was throwing it on the bare floor with ease. My time with him had being enough to make me naïve and unaware of what was behind that marble-carved sculpture Baekhyun was.

Kyungsoo stayed in silence, nodding every few times to let me know he was listening carefully. He didn’t change his expression throughout the whole story and his caresses on my hand never stopped, only becoming more frequent by the time my voice started to shake. I was losing my composure, falling apart as I remembered the memories that I had saved in the darkest part of my brain, imprinted on me like a tattoo. My body begun to heat up, just as my eyes started to tickle and fill with water. I was angry. Angry at myself for being so stupid. Angry at him for playing with me and then throwing me away like a chewed toy. And angry with the universe for doing this in my face with a big “Told you so” after sending so many mixed signals.

Being the golden boy of the campus had its benefits, but I already understood why. He was a dark angel that crashed just in front of me, showing himself to the world as an incomprehensible and mysterious artist that caught everyone’s eye just by passing by. He had a trap and I had fallen deep into it with no opportunity to liberate myself, doomed to stay in his claws for as much as he wanted me to. The silent cries became louder and the vibrating sound inside my ears was cutting me open, leaving me with nothing else than broken porcelain and dust for me to repair. And I wasn’t sure if I would be able to…

 And that is how, going back to the start, I left the history class once it was over.

Seeing Baekhyun holding some else’s hand and telling her how beautiful she was made my heart reduce like raisin and my chest hurt like a whole bitch. He seemed better now, happier; since the winter break was over, and he apparently had cut all his strings with the past that haunted him. Me, myself, had been dating a guy for some time, and even when it wasn’t anything serious, I still didn’t feel prepared enough.

Once that Kyungsoo had left my apartment the day after he found the mess I was, he had somehow fixed me up, showing me how I was still the same girl I had always been. I felt secure and ready to go out and face all of those who knew that our relationship was over, but once I stepped inside our first class together after weeks of not knowing where he was or what had been of him, all my walls fell showing the little girl that was broken and still trying to glue all the pieces together. Once I saw how he had changed me and how I had “changed” him, the air left my lungs faster than what it took me to fill them up. The safe façade I was portraying wasn’t more than that, a façade. Good enough to convince everyone else around me, but not enough to convince me that I was okay and finally ready to let all those memories go.  

And so, I was immerse in my thoughts that I stood still in front of a tree, admiring at the branches like they were the most precious creation on earth. There were no birds standing on them, meaning the cold was too much for them to even come outside on a clouded day. The soil beneath my feet was wet, covering my shoes on mud and a few strands of grass that I didn’t bother to clean. It was drizzling, a few sprinkles of water falling over me and making the humidity of my hair to turn into a frizz mess. I didn’t care, though, as I raised my face to the sky, so a few droplets of cold water could fall over my face, luckily waking me up from this mess with a special someone by my side on a cold morning. It didn’t, of course, but it was good enough to make my shoulders fall a little and the air return safely to my inner self.

The low steps behind me weren’t heard, neither were noticed the hands that held my waist after that, making me almost fell into the ground out of the surprise. The warmness of a body covered me up as a familiar face entered in my visual field, calming the rapid heart beating I was currently having. The softness of his glowing features was there, as his bright and big smile took my attention for a second. His dark eyes were shining, as he inspected my face like it was unknown for him. His soft hands held me without an effort, as if it was a natural action for him to hold me like this, making my body warm up. I sniffed a little, catching a mild scent of his cologne, recognizing it instantly as I placed my tiny hands on his broad chest.

The pompous material of his long coat tingled in my fingers, as I imaginary-drew slowly on the dark-colored lapels of it. A black turtle neck sweater raised from underneath it, causing a sophisticated look on his muscular figure. I ran my eyes from the tips of my fingers, through his long neck to his pointed chin, his rosy lips, buttoned nose and, finally, his shiny dark eyes. They were behind a pair of golden specs that I clearly knew he didn’t need but used to decorate his already pretty face. Strands of his silky black hair hung right over his eyes, barely touching his shaped eyebrows.

I saw him shifting his feet over the soil, pulling me closer to him as his soft lips touched my skin in graceful kiss on my forehead. I smiled content, holding his coat even harder than before, feeling the small movements, his chest did as he took long breaths of air.

“Where have you been, Y/N?”, his sweet voice said, catching my attention. I blinked, fully aware now, as I enjoyed his presence in front of me.

“I just finished my history class,” I responded, trying to avoid the sour tone in me as I remembered a certain red-haired. “What about you, Xiumin? Are you done now?”

He nodded happily, reminding me of a puppy. “I just finished my last English class, thankfully. I’m free for the rest of the day.”

I smiled knowingly, winking at him as I placed my now warm hands on his nape, playing with the short hairs that were in there. “Does it mean you’re all mine for the day? Hmm?” Xiumin chuckled under his breath, catching the tip of his tongue under his white teeth with amusement. I admired the way his shaped eyes almost disappeared as he smiled, remarking more of his rounded cheeks and true happiness while doing so. I close-smiled too, feeling strangely calmed too.

“It depends on what you have planned to do.”

“Is that a challenge?” His nose almost touched mine, as he got closer to my, probably blushed, face. I raised an eyebrow playfully, following his little game.

Xiumin shrugged, nonchalantly. “Maybe…” As he finished his sentence, his humid lips touched mine in a kiss, as his warmth engulfed me up completely. I kissed him back, almost standing in my tip-toes to reach his lips, but contently accepting the sudden show of affection the black-haired boy was giving me. He sighed happily, pulling me even closer, if that was possible, as if he wanted to merge with me once and for all. I had met him less than a month ago, mostly because Soo obliged me to, but I had enjoyed the time together. We both just had ended difficult “relationships” and weren’t looking for a “serious thing” right now, as if we were just playing around and enjoying what the future might bring for us.

I suddenly felt a strange sensation in the back of my head, so I pulled away from him for a bit, enough for me to catch my breath, and turned my head to see what was happening. I didn’t see anyone, though, since almost everyone was inside to keep their warmth, and Xiumin and I were the dumb enough to stand outside in the cold. The tips of his fingers touched mine, reaching for my hand to hold his, while his pink lips left a soft kiss in my jawline. I directed my eyes to the floor we stepped on, as his body pulled me beside him to the food trucks near the university. He told me about his day and I listened to it carefully, pushing the image of Baekhyun holding someone else out of my mind. The conversations with Xiumin always flowed easily, as if we had everything to talk about but at the same time nothing to share with each other. I knew something was off, something was missing, but I did my best to not follow those thoughts and just force myself to think about someone else other than him.

Xiumin had made his way into my life in an easy way. We both had met when we were too broken to even think properly, and had put each other’s pieces together for long enough that we shared time together often even if we didn’t have anything to do. It felt comfortable, easy to do, and I appreciated that after the constant roller coaster being with Baekhyun was. I liked the steadiness of it, keeping it simple and familiar to the point it felt like a constant thing. He seemed to enjoy it too, looking healthier and better than the first time I had met him, and I felt content I could help someone as good as him beside me.

He was in the middle of telling me a story, when my phone suddenly buzzed with a call of an unknown number. I frowned a bit, as he eyed my phone with a curious expression, as he sipped a gulp of his lemonade. I stood up, holding my finger up in a sign to ask him to wait, and walked far enough to listen to whoever was on the phone.

“Hello?”, I mumbled to the speaker. Someone on the other side of the phone inhaled with force, and coughed a bit. I bit the tip of my tongue, in order to distract myself, as I waited for the other person to finally identify.

“I can’t believe you replaced me already.”

A breath stuck in the back of my throat as I heard him inhale air again. The tips of my fingers started to tickle once again, and I almost dropped my phone

“Baekhyun?”, I mumbled, incredulous.

“Was it easy?”, he responded, avoiding my question even when I knew the answer. I frowned with confusion.

“What the hell are you talking about?” I felt frustrated, angry again with him. I wasn’t a toy for him to play whenever he wanted to, and knowing he was just looking for me because he felt threatened with his position as the one who broke my heart. I had seen him earlier with her, and now he seemed to have seen me with Xiumin, talking to me for the first time in a long time.

“You clearly know about what, Y/N”, he chuckled dryly with no humor at all. I clenched my fists in an unconscious manner, almost hearing my head clicking with several thoughts and ideas related about how bad I wanted to hurt him. About how badly I wanted him to know how much it hurt and how broken you felt once you were left by someone you trusted with every bone in your body.

“What do you want?”

“There are thousands of things I want, sweetheart”, he joked around, playing with my patience. “One billion won, for example.”

“Don’t we all…”, I rolled my eyes. “Stop fucking up with me and just tell me what you want.”

“You.”

I froze in place, opening my eyes as wide as I could. I felt my hands starting to tremble, feeling unsure of how to react. “W-what?”

He sighed with defeat. “I want you, Y/N.” Baekhyun stopped for a moment. “I wanted you before and still want you now. I haven’t stopped wanting you.”

He sounded so done, so… sick. His usually cheerful voice was soft, almost as if he was whispering every single word with a strange sensation of calmness and tiredness unusual in him. It almost made my heart clench. Almost. But I knew that it all was playing pretend and he was just pulling a show for me to fall all over my heels for him once again; believing all the crap that left his mouth, following him as if he was the legendary pied piper the old stories tended to tell.

“Stop it, Baekhyun.”, I barked. “Fucking stop and let me alone. Just get out of my life and live yours as however the hell you might want to.” I was sure I was almost red out of anger. How dared him to give himself the right to annoy me again after it took me so long to get over what he had done to me. I wanted to shout, kick and destroy everything I had in sight, clearly furious at myself for letting him have such a control over me not minding the past.

“You know I can’t, Y/N.” His voice suddenly felt too close, and I had to stop myself from turning around and placing my tired body against the wall. I was drained of whatever emotion I could ever hold on my body, feeling almost empty and ready to shut down. I sighed loudly, sensing a tight knot forming in the middle of my chest, crushing my lungs with ease. I needed to get rid of him, completely forgetting he once existed and made part of my short amount of life. He hadn’t been with me long enough but had managed to destroy me in such little pieces, not even the strongest glue in this world would be able to keep them back together.

“Baekhyun…”, I murmured again, eyes as tight closed as how they let me. The grip on my phone left my fingers almost numb.

The harsh breathing on the phone stopped, as he hung the phone as quickly as possible. I stood there, defeated and breathless, with half of my phone still clinging to the tip of my ear and the other hand hanging motionless from the edge of my blouse. I could see Xiumin still sitting on the table, eating his sandwich distractedly as he read something on his textbook and wrote on his notebook. My own plate of food was right in front of him, untouched and getting cold, but I couldn’t pull myself to go sit and eat it with him. I didn’t feel right anymore, and all I wanted was to go back home and sleep. I pushed myself off the wall and started to walk, before a hand placed itself over my shoulder, stopping any intention I had of going back with the dark-haired boy.

I followed the fingers that pressed the flesh on my shoulder, crashing with a familiar set of tattoos drawn over the skin. The long-sleeved shirt he was wearing was something I had given him a few weeks after we started this chaos. It was a stripped black and red shirt, mostly common but that somehow managed to fit as if it was made just for him. His red hair seemed like if he hadn’t combed it before coming here, and the lilac ovals under his eyes attracted my attention like a beacon. His usual rosy-plump lips were dry and ripped, as if he had bitten them too many times to even consider it healthy. His dark eyes stared at me with an expressionless face, and I could feel my skin burning there where he touched it.

“Come with me”, he ordered. His light tone was covered by a serious sound that came right from the back of his throat. His hand moved from my shoulder and closed itself around my wrist, pulling me a little bit closer to the heat of his body. I couldn’t find what to say, not when I could finally smell his cologne after weeks and feel his warmth after missing it so much it almost cut me open. The muscles in his jaw twitched as he observed me silently, asking in a silent request if I would follow him even when he knew I was badly hurt. My wrist slipped from his touch and I closed my hands in fists both at each side of my body, so I wouldn’t be able to unconsciously pull them up and finally feel the softness of his skin that I have been craving so much to touch.

“Leave me alone, I already asked once.” I responded instead.

He sighed exasperated and ran his fingers through his hair, as if he wanted to tear them out. His eyes closed with force as he spitted his next words one by one.

“Go back there and tell him you need to leave, and come with me.”

I chuckled with no humor at all. I couldn’t believe his words –no, I couldn’t believe him. And even so, I stared at him directly in the eye, looking for answers of questions I hadn’t even formulated yet. Looking for reasons to stay, to listen what he had to say, and just follow what he told me to do. I knew I was reckless and stupid, following him like a dog with the tail in between my legs, but it had been so long, and I just wanted to finish all the hell he put me through, so I would be able to continue with my life as I wanted to. If I left him behind, I would be able to start over where I had left it before his red hair, tattoos and meaningless words craved so deep into my flesh I was almost afraid I could never get completely rid of him.

I walked back to the table, fully aware his burning gaze was still lingering on my back, and placed myself in the empty booth left. Xiumin looked up, instantly smiling in my direction with warmth and a tiny sparkle in behind his dark eyes. I smiled back, crossing my fingers together as I prepared myself to tell him an excuse to leave and follow a certain devil that kept getting in my way. His hand placed itself in the table, caressing my knuckles softly, searching something in my eyes.

“Is everything alright?”, he wondered. “You look a little bit pale.”

I nodded carefully, smiling to reassure him as I took his hand in between mine. “I just had to take that call. Soo just called me, he needed a hand back at home. It’s okay if I leave you here and end the date for the day? I will pay you back, I promise.” As I expected, he smiled widely and nodded cheerfully, not minding if I had to leave him.

“It’s totally fine! I understand.” His soft lips placed themselves on the top of my fingers as a slight kiss. “Send Kyungsoo a hug for me.”

I stood up, and surrounded the table ready to give him a warm hug. He stood up too and engulfed me in between his arms, kissing the top of my head with fondness and ran his fingers over my back, sending small tickles to my spine. As we pulled apart, he nodded in my direction, and waved before sitting back in the table and continuing what he was doing earlier. I let a breath I didn’t know I was containing leave my lungs, stepping outside the small place and spotting Baekhyun right beside the door with a lollypop lazily hanging from his lips. His eyes were closed, and his head was pulled back, both of his hands in his back pockets. I cleared my throat, catching his attention before walking beside him to wherever he wanted to go.

He stopped in one of the design classes, opening the door with a small key that was hidden in his wallet, and left the door open for me to go inside. I inspected the whole class, ignoring his presence, as I visualized the last clothing designs the students were doing. There were some delicate drawings, followed by colors and explosions of imagination and creativity. Drafts were thrown and pasted everywhere, unintentionally decorating the class with their presence and as a form of inspiration for those who didn’t know what to do with those minds of theirs.

“That was pathetic”, he murmured out of the blue. I blinked repeatedly, confused while I concentrated myself back to him.

“What do you mean?”

Baekhyun chuckled, “You and him. It’s pathetic.” He sat himself in the main desk, staring at me with a smirk drawn over his features and both of hands behind him to support his body. I put my hands in my hips, frowning profoundly.

“I don’t see what none of that has to do with you”, I growled. “What I do or not do with someone is my problem, not yours.”

“Of course, it is my problem, sweetheart.” He chuckled. “Specially if it affects me directly.” He jumped back on his feet, walking slowly in my direction, like a lion following his prey with caution, scared it would run away.

“It affects me directly because he is involving himself with you.” Baekhyun’s nose suddenly touched my cheek, running till it caressed the core of my ear. “It affects me directly because he is the one who gets to be with you and he isn’t me.” I opened my eyes widely, and I stared at him with a serious expression. I was beyond pissed.

“What did you want me to do?” I shouted as I pushed his chest with as much force as I could. He barely seemed to notice, not even moving a bit. His face was scrunched, and I knew he was trying really hard to not scream at me. The veins in his neck were pulsing and both of his hands were fists pressed against his sides.

“Did you expect me to wait?” I continued. “You left me, Baekhyun! You never looked back and threw yourself to those girls like candy!”

“I left you because you asked me to!” He shouted back, losing the little sanity he had left. “I was the one all heartbroken when you kept living your life! I needed to distract myself!”

“Dist-distract yourself? Baekhyun, please! You and I both know that it wasn’t just a distraction!”

“Of course, it was! I had to get rid of your smell, rid of your kisses, rid of you!” By now, he was breathing so heavily that I could see his chest move in rapid ways. “I had to find a way to get rid of all of you, so I decided to find someone to replace you.”

“Seems like you did a pretty good job. Your flavor of the month is ten times better than what I ever was to you”

He looked away. “She is not you, Y/N. She wasn’t, isn’t and will never be you.”

“That’s what you said when I found out you were cheating on her with me. When I found you calling her, her memories, and when I found her fighting for you. Aren’t you ashamed Baekhyun? You played with the both us like toys.”

“That’s not true. I wasn’t happy with her. Not as how I was with you. I need you more than I need the air I breathe, Y/N. Don’t you fucking get that?”

His arm extended, taking my hand into his. I looked at him in the eye, searching for answers, something that made me think differently, but I found nothing else than dark holes looking away.

“I-I’m happy, Baekhyun. He makes me happier than you ever did”, slipped from my lips. It was a lie, a sweet lie that not even I believed, I barely knew the guy but Baekhyun didn’t know that, but I had to get away. I had to kick him out of my life, because if I kept him in it, I would’ve end up destroyed. His face hardened as he pressed his lips in a thin line, and his jaw tightened as well.

With a quick move, he took me by the wrists, twirling them with his fingers, barely applying any pressure on my skin. His large delicate fingers caused me a tickle that traveled through my arm, paralyzing me for a light moment. He towered over me, looking me right in the eye without saying a word.

He pulled his grip, dragging me towards him, and searching my eyes with his. I tensed my jaw, unsure of what to do and reluctant to his touch. It wasn’t that I didn’t want it, God knew I did. My body begged for his touch, his attentions and his caresses; but I couldn’t fall like this. I had to be strong and avoid looking weak in front of him.

His eyes softened almost immediately, when my eyes finally crashed with his and he brought his mouth near my hair, his soft lips brushing my ear. I breathed heavily and closed my eyes. Baekhyun knew what he was doing, and he used it against me. This was a fight I was going to lose sooner or later.

“You can lie to me as much as you want, Y/N”, he said softly, assuring that I couldn’t move. “Fuck. You can lie to yourself as much as you want, too. You can believe all the nonsense leaving your lips.”

I shook my head, not knowing what to do. What was he doing?

“You can tell me that you love him more than how you ever loved me”, he continued. “But they’re not more than empty words. We both know that at the end of the day, I’m the one you look for.”

A thread of brown hair appeared in my thoughts, but it was rapidly appeased by a sense of heat running in my arm. Baekhyun’s breath felt even closer and his body positioned behind mine, making my back crash against his hard chest. I felt my knees weaken, but I refused to show it. His fingers trailed to my collarbone, where they softly pulled from the fabric, uncovering my skin.

“He doesn’t know where’s your soft spot is.” Baekhyun whispered again, kissing a path from my collarbone to my neck. There where the heat and the tickles hit me harder every time he kissed me. There where my pulse was running every time he was close, just like now.  

“He doesn’t know where to find your weaknesses, Y/N”, he kept wandering in my neck with the tip of his nose. His hot breath couldn’t help but crash against it. “He doesn’t know where to touch your skin properly. He doesn’t know shit about you, even when he swears knowing you more than me.”

“Baekhyun…”, I finally said, unsure of my words. I couldn’t think clearly, since my mind kept spinning. It was always like this around him, it was like this since the very first moment I saw him. I was just too stupid to see it. Till now.

His hands slipped in mine, caressing them slowly, intertwining his fingers with my fingers. It felt so good. So… right. The ways his hand fitted perfectly with mine, making me feel protected and secure. I didn’t doubt that with Baekhyun I was feeling new things that I had never felt before.

“Don’t talk”, his thumb rubbed my knuckles, barely touching them. “It’s okay if you want me, because I want you too. Stop trying to avoid it, stop thinking. Just let it be.”

He surrounded my body and placed his hands over my waist. His eyes bored into mine, in such a way, that I saw myself drowning in their darkness. Millions of emotions swirled in them, overwhelming me. Unconsciously, I set my arms over his shoulders, caressing his face with the tips of my fingers, fascinated by the beauty of his face.

“He will never love you like I do.”

And when he silently asked for permission to kiss me, I nodded. Baekhyun smirked before crashing his lips against mine in a desperate manner; and someway, somehow, I knew he was right. I wouldn’t be able to find someone who pulled me in such a rollercoaster as Baekhyun did, nor someone who ignited a fire inside me that almost turned my bones into ashes, and my blood completely boil. He turned a spark in me that I’d never felt before, and I was sure no one else would be able to do it either. Somewhere in my subconscious, I had clear he was the one for me; specially when every piece of his body fit perfectly with mine. His lips, his fingers, his chest. Everything seemed like a finally resolved puzzle, and I had let it complete itself without even noticing it. 

And now, there was no way to undo it ever again.