xoxo

For the next few days, Baekhyun was still shocked to the core that it was Chanyeol who he had met during the summer, and Chanyeol who had somehow turned him a little gay.

The shock slowly resided as more 24-hour blocks passed, and now Baekhyun was sitting in class as usual, writing down notes and listening to the professor.

He checked the date on his phone and noticed that it was October 20—which meant that Chanyeol's birthday was in a little more than a month.

He drifted from paying attention to thinking about what he should get Chanyeol for his birthday, every idea in his head too little and too insignificant.

Pencils? He seems like he wants pencils... No, what are you talking about?! No one wants pencils for their birthday!

M—Maybe a guitar pick? No, he has a billion of those.

Baekhyun furrowed his eyebrows as he thought of something that Chanyeol would enjoy, and then he began thinking back to what Chanyeol had told him his hobbies were.

A lightbulb appeared in Baekhyun's head. Wait, does he still even like that? Baekhyun wondered before he shook his head. Well, he's going to have to accept it anyway.

~

"Let's go on another date," Chanyeol proposed while they were walking back from their classes together, hand in hand.

"A date?" Baekhyun questioned and Chanyeol nodded.

"Is that always your reaction when I ask to go on a date?" Chanyeol asked with a scoff and Baekhyun crossed his arms with a pout on his face.

"Today? And where?"

"Yup, today. It's the perfect weather outside, right?" Chanyeol asked as they pushed open the doors to the building, the slight wind blowing Baekhyun's bangs out of his face and scattering the coloured leaves on the ground.

He looked up at the cloudy autumn sky, the fluffs of white blocking out the sunlight and instead allowing Baekhyun the view of the picture perfect blue, accompanied by the clouds that cast their own shadows. "It is," Baekhyun breathed, returning his gaze to Chanyeol. "Perfect, I mean."

Chanyeol grinned at him. "Then let's get back to the dorm and drop off our stuff, afterward, we can decide on where to go."

Baekhyun agreed and shortly after, they arrived at the dorm that was still messy from homework. He didn't remember the last time he'd cleaned it, but he brushed the thought off as he placed his bag on his desk in the bedroom.

"I'm going to change, alright?" Baekhyun called and Chanyeol told him he'd be waiting at the front.

Baekhyun decided to dress freshly because the weather outside didn't seem all too bad. It was windy but not cold at all; the perfect weather.

After Baekhyun changed into a pair of shorts and a dark t-shirt, he met up with Chanyeol who was at the front and waiting.

Chanyeol gave him a cheeky smile. "Where to, Baek?"

"Let's go... Anywhere. Let's go on an adventure," Baekhyun suggested, almost like an order.

That day, Baekhyun didn't feel like going somewhere like a cooped up restaurant, or the cliché 'sitting and watching the sunset'.

He felt like going somewhere where he could yell stupid words and listen to it echo around him—so maybe, 'sitting and watching the sunset' could work, but only if they were sitting at the edge of a cliff... Which was highly unlikely.

"Anywhere, huh," Chanyeol repeated, his lips pursed in thought.

"Yup," Baekhyun confirmed as he took off on his own, forcing Chanyeol to follow behind him.

Baekhyun climbed onto a bus and sat down, Chanyeol taking a seat not too long after.

For some reason, everything around Baekhyun was making him slightly irritated, like the fact that the bus seats were a little too short, and the material on the chairs was rough and not to his liking at all.

"Are you serious? Go anywhere? No plans or anything?" Chanyeol asked and Baekhyun nodded. "...Just the two of us?"

His eyes searched Baekhyun's, and Baekhyun smiled at him softly.

"Just the two of us," Baekhyun reassured and Chanyeol smiled at him, similarly to the time when Baekhyun told him that they were boyfriends again.

Baekhyun noted in his mind; when Chanyeol smiles like that, it means that he's extremely happy.

Baekhyun turned to look out the window, the scenery passing by him at a moderate speed and mixing in the colours of the falling leaves.

Baekhyun wouldn't be too keen on writing this next fact down because it was a little too complicated for him to understand, but it was somewhere on the lines of when Chanyeol smiles like that, somehow, it also made him smile...

He came to a conclusion on the bus ride: if they were going to go on a date, Baekhyun would do whatever he wanted. He wasn't going to act like Baekgyu... Just for today.

Long hours of pretending to be Baekgyu was as tiring as a part time job, and Baekhyun needed some time to calm down; get a breather and be himself.

Although it wasn't the greatest idea to do it while Chanyeol was with him, he thought, what was the harm? It wasn't like Chanyeol was suddenly going to stop and exclaim that he was Baekgyu's twin.

After Baekhyun saw a change of scenery and a small forest of trees surrounded by fencing, he pulled on the overhead string and the bus came to a stop.

He jumped up and made his way out, tapping Chanyeol on the shoulder because the idiot had nodded off to sleep in the less than 15-minute bus ride.

Once Chanyeol was standing behind him and the bus had driven off, Baekhyun took a deep breath and let it out, feeling somehow rejuvenated that they had arrived somewhere he never even knew existed. The sun was now out and although not high in the sky, it still highlighted the colours until it was almost blinding.

Baekhyun grabbed Chanyeol's arm and pulled him along, running through the grassy field and almost tripping in a gopher hole on the way.

"Baek—"

Baekhyun didn't listen to him and kept going, fully planning on exploring the little forest full of life. He eventually slowed down until they were walking at a normal pace, the long grass tickling Baekhyun's legs.

Chanyeol stopped and pulled Baekhyun with him, stopping the smaller in his tracks. "It says 'Restricted Area: Authorized Personnel Only'," Chanyeol pointed out. "That means: we can't go in."

Chanyeol was gesturing over to the wired fence in front of them, looming over them menacingly and giving off the air that it wasn't to be messed with.

Of course, to Baekhyun, the sign on the fence didn't mean anything—because a meter away was an opening.

"Oh come on, there's a hole in the fence for a reason... It's destiny," Baekhyun stated overdramatically, causing Chanyeol to roll his eyes.

"I thought you didn't like breaking rules?" Chanyeol asked and Baekhyun scoffed.

"Old times, Chanyeol..." He locked gazes with Chanyeol, his eyes brighter than usual. "How about you just forget about it all for a moment," he waved at the forest in front of him, "and just come with me?" Baekhyun asked and Chanyeol looked at Baekhyun for a moment before he began chuckling.

Baekhyun took that as confirmation and he smiled, taking his hand out of Chanyeol's to climb in the opening, the taller following closely behind.

"You know," Chanyeol began once they were through, "I've always wanted to do this type of thing with you," he stated as he grabbed Baekhyun's hand and entwined their fingers.

Baekhyun hummed in response as he now allowed Chanyeol to lead him deeper into the greenery. Even though it was a small forest, Baekhyun heard the buzzing of life, the loud rustling of grass, and bushes fluttering in the wind. The tree branches hung low and Chanyeol sometimes had to duck under, causing Baekhyun to snicker and mutter some words about how he was too tall for his own good.

They didn't really talk that much, except for the occasional: "I think a mosquito bit my leg." Baekhyun was actually enjoying just walking to nowhere in particular, it made him feel alive.

Sometime during their little trip, Baekhyun, being the uncaring person he was, tripped over a tree root while he was inspecting red berries. Chanyeol tried pulling him up but instead fell back with him in tow, ultimately landing both of them into a bush.

Baekhyun groaned when a branch poked him uncomfortably in the back, but he didn't really care about that, though, as he blindly reached to where he guessed Chanyeol was. As his hand came in contact with Chanyeol's cheek, he felt something wet and he sat up quickly and uncomfortably, seeing red on his hand.

"Oh my god, Chanyeol! You're bleeding!" Baekhyun almost screeched at Chanyeol who was laying beside him.

Chanyeol reached up and checked himself, wondering why he didn't feel any pain. After seconds of silence, Chanyeol burst out laughing when Baekhyun was still panicking.

"A—Are you alright?!" Baekhyun questioned worriedly and Chanyeol sat up, shaking his head to rid his hair of anything dirty, still laughing.

"Idiot," Chanyeol said as he picked something off of the bush. "It was only the berries," he stated and Baekhyun blinked dumbly as he looked at the little red fruit in Chanyeol's palm.

As recognition finally seeped in, he whined and hit Chanyeol's hand. "I was worried!" He exclaimed and Chanyeol laughed again.

"Well, you worried for nothing," he mentioned and reached up to Baekhyun's hair, taking out some of the little leaves that made their way into his black locks. "How about you? Are you okay?" Chanyeol asked as he looked back at Baekhyun's eyes.

Baekhyun froze in his spot at their distance, and it suddenly felt as if it was his first time seeing Chanyeol. Chanyeol's dark brown eyes looked at him questioningly, accented by a hint of worry and Baekhyun forgot how to breathe for a second.

"Uh—well, yeah," Baekhyun said as he quickly stood up, brushing himself off and hoping to shake off his thoughts.

He reached his hand out and Chanyeol took it, standing up with Baekhyun's help.

Chanyeol checked his hand and suddenly grabbed Baekhyun's, turning it over and looking at it. He tsked and Baekhyun looked down also, noticing a cut on his palm.

"Oh," Baekhyun said quietly and Chanyeol shook his head at his uncaring boyfriend.

Baekhyun felt a tingly feeling fly through his arm and travel the rest of his body, caused solely by the hold that Chanyeol's hand had on his own.

"How did you not notice this? We have to get it cleaned and banda—"

"But what will happen to our date?" Baekhyun asked, feeling disheartened.

The smaller really wanted their small outing to continue, because even if it had only been around 20 minutes of blind exploring, it had magically brought a huge load off of Baekhyun's shoulders.

Chanyeol looked at Baekhyun's sad face, thinking about what to do. "We could always clean this up and come back—"

"My parents said that wiping your cuts on leaves cleans them," Baekhyun cut in and resisted the urge to laugh at his fake statement. "I could do that and we could continue?" Baekhyun said and raised a suggestive eyebrow at Chanyeol who was giving him an 'are you serious' look.

"No. That would probably just make it worse because of the bacteria on the le—"

Baekhyun took his hand out of Chanyeol's and waved it around. "I know..." Baekhyun looked at Chanyeol up and down. "Why did Baekgyu fall for this nerd?" Baekhyun asked as an afterthought and Chanyeol just tilted his head cutely, opening his mouth to ask what he meant. "I don't want to go back," Baekhyun quickly changed the topic and Chanyeol frowned. "I mean, we already got this far and it would kill the fun," Baekhyun pouted.

The smaller could see Chanyeol about to deny so Baekhyun narrowed his eyes, daring him to even say no. Chanyeol gave him a hard stare too, but Baekhyun didn't back down, determined to stay in the forest.

Chanyeol eventually sighed, "I guess we could always clean it later..."

Baekhyun smiled at him happily and Chanyeol returned it, a little concerned. "I'm only doing this because we haven't spent a lot of time together lately," Chanyeol clarified.

Baekhyun nodded and grabbed Chanyeol's hand on instinct, a small thought floating inside his mind.

At least I can hold Chanyeol's hand with my other hand...

They continued their little stroll through the forest with Chanyeol holding onto Baekhyun's hand tightly and watching his footsteps closely.

Baekhyun laughed and Chanyeol just smiled in response. "You're so overprotective," Baekhyun commented.

Chanyeol let out a small chuckle, thinking back to what had happened earlier. "You're just... Tiny, like a little puppy. You tripped over a tree root and cut your hand," Chanyeol pointed out.

It was sad that what Chanyeol said was the truth—for Baekhyun had always been the clumsier-than-average person.

Every once and a while back at home, his parents would find a mess on the ground and Baekhyun would come rushing in with a mop, paper towel or anything cleaning-related, saying sorry as he cleaned up the things that he spilled.

"For your info, you pulled me back," Baekhyun said with a small laugh of his own.

The little incident back then would surely be something that Baekhyun remembered after he left Chanyeol... And at his own thoughts, Baekhyun felt himself get a little sad, his smile dropping.

"You didn't always seem this fragile," Chanyeol mentioned and Baekhyun nodded, holding back any words that would be able to blow his cover.

Just as he was feeling sadness and fear creep in—something that usually happened a lot nowadays—the two of them broke into what seemed like an opening.

It was just a circle of grass, no bushes or trees, just a place that looked like where you'd set up your tent to camp.

It was the perfect place for Baekhyun to stand in the middle and yell out his problems, although it would be covered up so that Chanyeol would not figure out.

They went to the middle and Baekhyun took his hand out of Chanyeol's, shocking the giant as he cupped his hands around his mouth and began yelling.

"My name is Byun Baek!" Baekhyun yelled, completely satisfied as his voice bounced back, slowly disappearing. "And I hate actors!"

If he was alone, that wasn't at all what he would have said. Instead of saying that he hated actors, he would have said that he hated acting.

Everything was fake, to the movement of one's fingers to the way one would act like they were having fun.

When acting, every emotion that someone would usually have was swallowed by the waves of artificial madness, and instead, they'd place a pristine version of themselves for everyone to see—and once they're pulled too deeply into the current, they find themselves smiling six feet under the roaring waters, still faking it where nobody could see anymore.

Baekhyun was afraid that the same would happen to him; that he'd one day begin thinking that he was actually Baekgyu, and not himself anymore. He'd begin acting like someone completely different from who he was born as... And then no one would ever be able to tell the difference between the two twins.

Baekhyun clenched his fist as he stared at the ground, spiting everything that was a part of his life, wondering what he did to deserve it.

Baekhyun wasn't expecting it, but Chanyeol began yelling too.

"My name is Park Chanyeol!" He took a pause to take in a deep breath. "And I think actors have a purpose!"

Baekhyun blinked at Chanyeol in confusion, and the giant turned to him with a smile on his face.

"What...?" Baekhyun questioned and Chanyeol shrugged, the same grin still plastered onto his face.

"The way you said you hated actors... I don't know why, but it made me sad," he stated. "You said it like you're really hurting, and I just wanted to change your opinion."

Baekhyun bit on his tongue and after hearing Chanyeol's words, the wind picked up and the rustling of the leaves increased, now being the only thing Baekhyun heard.

Chanyeol cupped Baekhyun's face like he was the only thing he saw, and then he spoke in gentle words that Baekhyun wouldn't have caught if every cell inside of him wasn't focusing on Chanyeol.

"You can act...

If it's going to help someone."

Chanyeol engulfed Baekhyun into a gentle hug as Baekhyun stood there speechless, his mind slipping in and out of reality.

Chanyeol didn't even notice, but he said the exact words Baekhyun needed him to.

Baekhyun's knees almost buckled at the sheer force to cry but he held himself up, clinging onto a string he didn't want to let go of; and that was the feeling of Chanyeol holding him like he was everything.

No one predicted it, but the two of them felt a drop of water on their head—which quickly escalated to multiple, before it seemed like the rain came down in bucketfuls, soaking their hair and the tops of their shoulders. The trees weren't nearly big enough to give them any coverage, so they didn't have anything to stand under and wait it out.

The rain sounded loud, each small tapping of water on leaves mounted so that they could barely hear anything, if any of them were even talking.

Chanyeol swiftly grabbed Baekhyun's arm and began running, determined to escape the forest and find some shelter.

Baekhyun only followed behind as everything around him became soaked, and he barely registered the hot drops sliding down his face, still water, but completely different from rain.

As they ran through the forest, almost slipping on wet grass, Baekhyun thought: Hey, rain can't be that bad,

because it hides the tears that couldn't be hidden.

xoxo

Ooh, Baekhyunnieeeee, what a sad path you're taking *single tear*

I won't change the path I've made for Baekhyun thought ;-;

I hope you enjoyed this pretty weird chapter!

Welp, I gotta bounce!