Felix's POV:
December 22
Changbin actually sits with Innie and I on the bus now, and it feels so nice to have him here with me. I think he actually likes Changbin, but still wants to be mad at him because he feels like he needs to protect me. I already told him that I forgave Changbin for everything, and I don't think he wants to believe me at all. It's ok, I know he'll come around eventually.
Like right now, when Changbin came over to our lunch table and sat down, Jeongin just crossed his arms over his chest and pouted a bit. And then after a few minutes, it went away. Especially when Changbin winced, putting his hand over his stomach as he tried to eat his food. I scrunched my eyebrows, about to speak, but Jeongin beat me to it, "What's wrong?"
I glanced over at him, looking at the pout on his face and how he raised an eyebrow like he was genuinely concerned. Changbin clenched his fist under the table, "I don't know. I had this weird pain in my side last night and it hasn't gone away."
My eyes widened, "Do you need me to take you to the nurse? Do you need something? I-I can get you—"
"Babe, I'm fine..." He cut me off, giving me a little smile for reassurance, "It doesn't hurt that bad, ok?"
I pursed my lips, "Are you sure?"
He nodded, and then Jeongin spoke up, "You might have a stomach ulcer..." He said, taking a huge bite of his sandwich, "Did you have ice cream as a late-night snack or something? My friend told me about this."
Changbin shook his head, "I'll be fine. I probably just pulled a muscle or something at the gym."
"So, are you gonna take a break?..." He paused for a moment and then shook his head. I closed my eyes and sighed, "I swear, I will tell Channie and he'll make you stop."
He rolled his eyes, "It's not a big deal, ok? If it hurts more, I'll stop. How about that?"
I hesitated for a second, and then eventually nodded, "But you have to be honest about how you're feeling."
He nodded, leaning over to kiss my cheek, "Promise, I will."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
I smiled when I heard the door open, knowing exactly who was coming inside. I was in the middle of making dinner, so I couldn't move from my spot as I yelled, "Binnie! Hyungie! Dinner's almost ready!"
I heard the footsteps coming closer, and Chan walked into the kitchen first, "Yongbokkie, can you please smack some sense into your boyfriend?"
I scrunched my eyebrows together, but then I saw Changbin slowly walking into the kitchen. He was holding onto his side, seeming like it was worse than earlier today. He just rolled his eyes, "I'm fine."
He took a few more steps, reaching out to hold onto the edge of the counter for support. I was quick to stop what I was doing, taking off the gloves I had on and leaving them on the edge of the mixing bowl. I went over to him and gently placed my hand on his shoulder, "I-I think we need to bring you to the hospital—"
"I'm fine..." He cut me off, standing himself up. He straightened his back, scrunching his nose for a moment before taking a breath and relaxing a bit. He took his hand away from his side and then forced a smile, "See?"
I sighed, "Really?"
"Yes, ok?" Changbin was quick to reply.
Chan just snickered to himself, "Changbinnie is stubborn~" He sang in English, reaching out to playfully poke him.
Changbin was quick to push his hand away, "Don't touch me." He said, a hint of our Australian accents coming out.
Chan and I both giggled at the way he said it, teasingly mocking him, "Ooohh... Don't touch me~"
Changbin pouted, crossing his arms over his chest, "Now, I'm so sensitive because I'm so hungry."
I chuckled, turning back to the food I had left behind. I slid my hands back into the gloves as I mocked him again, "Because I'm so hungry~"
"Yeah, I'm hungry. I'm hungry!" He raised his voice, surprising me a bit.
I turned my head to him, watching as he reached his hand out and tugged at my sleeve like a little kid, "You're always hungry!" I said back, and then he just moved closer to me.
"I'm hungry!..." He yelled, coming up behind me and giving me a hug, "Pego pa!"
I laughed, and I saw Chan wheezing on the other side of the counter. I turned my head and kissed Changbin's cheek, "It's almost done, ok? I only just started to mix the bibimbap."
Chan wiped away the fake tears from his eyes, taking a few breathes to calm himself down, "Did you fry the eggs already?"
I shook my head, and Changbin was quick to say, "I'll cook the eggs..." He took his hands away from me, taking a few steps over and placing himself by the stove, "I'll cook the eggs."
"Says the guy who was too scared to crack an egg last time." I mumbled as Chan was just laughing, making his way over to the fridge to get the eggs.
"I'll cook the eggs..." Changbin said again, giggling from how he was just repeating it over and over, "I'll cook the eggs."
I just rolled my eyes, smiling wide since he was being adorable. It only took Chan a minute to grab the eggs and a pan, letting it heat up first on the stove. I was still mixing the bibimbap with my hands, listening to their conversation, "Have you ever cracked an egg before?"
Changbin shook his head, and Chan giggled, "Ok, ok... You just take it and hit it a little against the side of the pan until there's a crack. And then you separate the shell with your thumbs."
Changbin just nodded and grabbed one of the eggs, about to crack it on the pan, but he hesitated instead. He chuckled to himself, "I'm anxious."
Chan giggled, "You're fine. Don't worry."
He had to hype himself up a little bit and then tapped the egg against the edge of the pan. It didn't crack, so he tapped it again, and again, and again. I smiled, teasing him as I leaned over and said, "One hour later~"
Chan smiled too, watching as Changbin finally cracked it open. He separated it with his fingers, and it plopped into the pan. I chuckled since Changbin was so excited, especially since there wasn't any shell, "Wow~ Did you see that?!"
I nodded, and he was quick to pick up a second one, taking his time to crack it and put it in the pan. He smiled to himself, "It's so easy, easy."
I just giggled lightly. My boyfriend is adorable.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
December 23
Today's the last day of school before winter break, and I'm pretty excited. Christmas is always fun at our house; or well, really the day after Christmas is the best. Since our parents normally don't show up, we just invite a bunch of friends over and have a big dinner party the day after so they can still spend time with their families. Last year was totally awesome. We ate so much food and the played games until one in the morning. I guess it's not really your typical ideal Christmas, but we love it so much.
Chan and I were already at the bus stop and have been waiting for a few minutes. I always make Channie come out early with me so I can spend more time with Changbin. I know it's sounds kind of silly, but the more time I can spend with him, the better my day is in the end. But he's not here yet, which sort of surprised the both of us. Usually he's the first one here, and he even sometimes comes to our house in order to walk down the street with us.
I felt a bit relieved when I saw him walk out of his house, but he was slow getting down the stairs. I couldn't really tell, but I think I could see how he was still holding onto his side in the distance. It made me nervous as he walked over to us, taking a few steps closer to him when I couldn't hold back anymore. He was hunched over a little, pressing onto his abdomen to lessen the pain, "I-Is it worse?"
He hummed, "A little, yeah."
I pursed my lips; not the answer I wanted to hear. He reached out and held onto my shoulder, feeling how he squeezed a bit as we took the extra few steps over to Chan, "I'm taking you to the nurse as soon as we get to school."
He shook his head, "I-I'm fine."
Chan scoffed, "No, you're not. Look at yourself right now."
"I-I don't have health insurance, ok? It costs a fortune just to go and get a check-up." He replied, making both of us go still. I mean, I know insurance is a huge factor with the price, but can he not even get proper healthcare like he needs right now? Isn't there some government program that can help with all this? God, he shouldn't have to suffer just because he doesn't have money.
I opened my mouth to say something, but the bus came flying down the street before I could get a word out. It was a struggle for him to even get on the bus in the first place, going really slowly up the stairs. Chan and I let him go in front of us so he could go at his own pace, making his way to the back of the bus where Innie already had seats open for us. I saw how his eyebrows were scrunched as Changbin and I took our seats next to him.
Changbin took the window seat, wincing when he plopped down in his seat. I sat down between him and Jeongin, watching as he leaned forward and put his head against the seat in front of us. I felt so bad for him, just wanting him to be alright again. I reached my hand out, placing it on his back and rubbing circles in between his shoulders. Jeongin finally spoke up once the bus started moving, "Not any better I guess?"
I shook my head, "Can you please tell him that he needs to see a doctor?"
He nodded, looking at Changbin as he replied, "Hyung, I'm serious. You might have a stomach ulcer! They need to be treated right away or it won't be good. O-Or what if you have appendicitis? That's even worse!"
I pursed my lips when Changbin just shook his head, not bothering to say anything. I spoke up, "Please, babe? I'm really worried about you."
"I'll be ok..." He winced when we hit a pothole, needing a second to regain himself, "I-I promise."
I didn't want to believe him, hesitating to nod in response, "O-Ok."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
I decided to stay behind after school and wait for Changbin and Chan to finish working out. At lunch, Changbin wasn't doing much better. He could barely even do anything in gym class either. I just wanted to make sure he was alright. I know Chan will keep a good eye on him, but I want to make sure he's still alright too. I was able to do homework in the cafeteria for a while before one of the janitors made me leave. I knew it was getting late anyways, so I just decided to sit outside and wait for them.
It was cold, giving a little shiver every few minutes from being out here. I didn't really know what to do so I just decided to watch the traffic on the street next to our school to pass the time. The leaves on the trees would rustle every once in a while from a breeze passing by. I guess this is all kind of distracting me from what I really care about... Gosh, I just hope Binnie is alright.
I heard the door open behind me, spinning my head around to see one of their teammates walking out. I was quick to stand up from the bench I was sitting on, crossing my arms over my chest to keep myself warm. A few more of their teammates came out, my eyes going back and forth to try to find them, but they weren't there. It wasn't until most of their teammates came out that I started to get really worried, wondering about where they could possibly be.
I tried not to get to worked up about it, holding my ground as more people came out of the double doors and it wasn't my brother or my boyfriend. I let out a little breath of relief when I finally saw them walk out of the door, but Changbin was holding tight onto Chan's shoulder as they walked. He was walking slower than this morning, a small limp in his step. It made me sprint over to him, "Oh my god..." I said under my breath, wrapping my arm around him to try and help him walk, "Bin, this isn't good!"
"L-Lix, I know..." He replied, whimpering a little from the pain, "It hurts so bad; i-it's so much worse."
"Fuck—Ok, sit down..." I said, bringing him over to the bench I was just sitting on so he could take a break. He winced as he sat down, instantly hunching over and putting both of his arms over his stomach. I could see how his eyes were glossed over from the pain, so I brought my hand up and placed it on his cheek. I rubbed my thumb underneath his eye, worriedly saying, "W-We have to bring you to the hospital."
"D-Don't call and ambulance. They're too expensive..." He said and then whimpered, clenching his jaw to try and hold in the pain, "I-I have someone who owes me a favor, ok? I can call them."
I widened my eyes, "You can't be serious right now—"
"I'm not fucking kidding, ok! Ahh—God, this hurts!..." He yelled, "They'll pick up, I swear."
"Behind every beautiful thing, there's some kind of pain."
- Bob Dylan