in silence ᴰᴼᴵᴸ

１８.

Taeil didn't understand it, everything made his little brain confusingly ran its brain cells around as he thought about it more and more. If he would get at least a glimpse of the boy throughout the last two weeks, but no. Doyoung didn't even show up at the theatre, Taeil knew it because he always scanned the whole area to see if he wasn't just hiding in the darkness and it made him sad because the boy just simply didn't come. He shouldn't care that much but he did, the teacher finally wanted all of them to perform the whole play, meaning he would have to sing and he really wanted to show it to the younger that yes, he – Moon Taeil, can sing. Maybe he was just too selfish.

"Taeil, are you okay?" Johnny cut off his thoughts by asking softly, his hand on older's shoulder, slowly caressing it.

"Sorry, it's just–" Taeil bit his lip, "The timing was bad. It makes me feel insecure, how he did not show up the day we talked about it, as if he knew we would. It's weird."

"I know." Johnny sighed.

"I kind of regret telling you that." Yuta suddenly said. He's been quiet since morning and now he was staring at both of his friends, both of them staring at him in confusion.

"I just wish I stopped before–"

"No." Taeil cut him off, sounding irritated. "We want to help him, right? With this, we know where not to step and which topics to avoid."

"Listen, I don't even think Sicheng told me everything. It felt bigger than just a car crash."

There it was, he said it after two weeks of not talking about it, the topic that seemed suddenly forbidden.

Doyoung had a car crash, with him losing the ability to speak either because of some brain damage or because he was traumatised. Nevertheless, the boy survived crash his other friend didn't. It made Taeil worried even more because he was also more interested. The question is, how bad it was and did Sicheng told them the truth? Taeil wanted to know it and the feeling he couldn't just ask Doyoung was eating him up.

"Let's not talk about it right now." Johnny sighed as he took a quick look at the clocks, the next and last class starting in two minutes.

Taeil laid his head back on his arms on the table. He travelled with his eyes around the room, observing all the Christmas decorations and details telling the students that the Christmas Eve is dangerously getting closer and closer. In other words, the December 24th was in five days, school closing in four.

Taeil bought gifts for everyone, he wasn't like Yuta, looking for sold things everywhere two days before the day. He even got one for Doyoung, about a month ago but he had no idea how to give it to him. Should he finally call his mom and ask? He couldn't just walk to his house and hand it to him or leave it in front of the door and run away. Although the last option seemed comfortable for him, it was just impolite.

A sigh left his mouth. Maybe he was just too petty about it, maybe Doyoung is ill or they went for a trip somewhere without phone connection and he's just being too dramatic.

He will try to go there today.

✈✈✈

The weather has calmed down a bit after strong blizzard which occurred for the past week. Taeil loved snow, the small mysterious pieces of frozen water flying around, chasing around and running in the air like little kids until they sat on his gloves, melting slowly into the fabric as if they never existed. The boy would maybe pray to be like them, the life would be much easier, but when he saw them flying into Yuta's mouth he changed his opinion.

"I still don't understand how do you manage to eat them." Johnny laughed with a hand covering his mouth so he himself wouldn't get some lunch in the form of frozen water.