[M] Star Lost || Changlix

11 - hidden in plain sight

Changbin's POV:

October 2

I was getting my stuff together after soccer practice, going slow since I didn't want to go home. I never want to go home in the first place, not if my parents are going to be there. They think I'm invisible anyways, the only thing they really care about is where they're going to get money to buy more drugs. They've been behind on payments on the house for a while, and they just took out a third mortgage. I need to get out of there, but for now, I don't have anywhere else to go.

I've caught them steeling my money sometimes when they need a quick high. And sometimes when I catch them, I get into an all-out brawl with my father. I don't know what to do anymore. Going to boarding school couldn't get me away from them, and somehow, I ended up back here. I was just happy that I could have a room that wasn't full of junk. A place where I actually felt safe for once. That was until I got kicked out for—

"Hey, Changbin-ssi..." I heard, snapping me out of my thoughts. I turned my head towards the voice, seeing Chan walking closer to me. He had his bag over his shoulder, giving a little smile as I finished putting my shoes on, "I wanted to catch you before you left."

I raised an eyebrow, "Well then you caught me, I guess." I replied, putting the straps of my backpack on my shoulders and standing up from the bench.

Chan laughed, saying, "I just wanted to say thank you for standing up for Felix the other day..." He brought his hand up, anxiously rubbing the back of his neck, "I appreciate it, so thank you."

I smiled lightly to reassure him, "No problem. That guy is an ass."

Chan nodded, "He just doesn't know when to quit."

I scoffed, "He really doesn't."

I looked away when we both fell silent, the awkwardness seeping in. I flashed another smile and went to walk around him, but he stopped me, "Wait..." I paused, lifting my head up to look at him, "I-I don't want this to sound nosy, but is everything alright?"

I scrunched my eyebrows, "Yeah. Why?"

"I just umm... I don't know you very well, so I didn't know whether you're always this quiet or if something else was going on."

I gulped, "Yeah, I'm fine."

Lies.

Chan nodded, "Ok, umm... Wanna walk home together?"

I raised an eyebrow, "You walk home?"

"Yeah. I mean, I don't drive to school. My dad just has one car, and he needs it for work, so it's usually a miracle when I'm able to use it. He's on a business trip for the next few days anyway."

"Oh... Well, we can walk together. We're only a few houses apart." I replied, and Chan flashed me another smile right after.

He nodded, both of us making our way out of the locker room and out of the school. I can tell now why he's so popular. His big flashy smile and his friendliness really helps to set him apart. And from what I can tell, he's not a screwup; he's not a dumb jock; he's actually really nice and I can tell why people like him.

"So, umm... What do you do for fun?" Chan asked, the silence must've been bothering him.

"I like to write music. Saved up to buy the software on my laptop."

Chan turned his head to me, eyes wide, "Me too! Oh my god, my best friend and I sometimes spend the whole day just producing tracks!"

"Really?" I asked, smiling since I never get to talk to people about this.