Tell Me No Lies

『Real Life』

6 Months Later  ➳

The air was getting colder again. 

Which was nothing compared to what it felt like inside of my chest everytime I dropped into Ateez's dorm to see the boys. 

There was no way to describe the feeling that took over my body whenever Yeosang excused himself without a glance my way, disappearing along with any possibility of a good mood amongst us. 

Ateez. 

That was how I thought of them now, even though they were my best friends. They were also Ateez, worldwide famous boy group. 

They'd all grown in ways that I couldn't even fathom, despite having seen it with my own eyes. I was here at their dorms more often than I was at my own place, mostly out of the hope that the more I was around the more the ice cold barrier between Yeosang and I would chip. 

Maybe one day he would see me as his best friend again. 

"Hungry?" Wooyoung asked, pushing the left over half of his sandwich towards me. I caught the plate against my wrist, staring thoughtfully down at it. 

Chicken and cheese. 

"Nope." I flicked the plate sideways to Jongho who easily caught it and devoured the sandwich in moments. Wooyoung rolled his eyes and lifted the glass of water to his lips, staring at me as he sipped. 

There was an emotion in there that was there almost everytime he looked at me now. 

Guilt. 

He entirely blamed himself for the divide between Yeosang and I. 

"Y/n! You're here!" Yunho dropped down on my other side, slinging an arm around the back of my chair and flashing me a genuinely delighted grin as he settled into his seat. His long legs took up more room than anyone else when he sat at this table and there were multiple small bruises on the caps of his knees where they constantly banged into the edge of the table. 

And yet he still sat down here everytime, not one to miss out on socialising. 

"When isn't she." Jongho muttered around a mouthful of chicken, earning a disgusted glare from me. He just grinned, returning his attention back to the phone in his hands. It wasn't his, none of them actually had phones anymore which made contacting them a little more difficult. 

Maybe that was another reason that I spent more time here than my own place. 

"Guys, we've got practise." Yeosang shoved his head into the room, skillfully avoiding my hopeful gaze before ducking back out, his soft footsteps carrying him away, presumably to Hongjoong's room. 

I sighed heavily, dropping my chin onto the table. 

It hurt less and less now to be completely ignored, better than being on the receiving end of glares and spiteful words like at the beginning. But a part of me felt missing inside, like it couldn't ever be whole without him. 

It had nothing to do with my feelings for him, which had yet again been powerfully locked deep deep within the darkest corners of my mind. It was my best friend that I craved, that I missed. 

"He'll come around." Yunho said softly. 

I didn't respond - I didn't need to. 

Of course he would. Eventually he'd get sick of treating me like I was the walking plaque. Eventually he'd grow tired of ignoring his friends questions about me. 

But it didn't mean that our friendship would come back, that he could overlook what he'd heard. 

Wooyoung got up and left silently, his steps following the direction of Yeosang's. 

At some point Yeosang would also get sick of having to pretend to smile at Wooyoung on camera and not meaning it. Maybe their friendship would be okay. 

I hoped so. 

A/N ➳Just more of a filler chapter, to set up for the next chapter. I'm sorry I have to use such huge time jumps throughout this story! Hopefully it's okay - It was the easiest way to write it, otherwise it would've been like 50 chapters long!