After they had lost a match against Bangwong for Chanyeol's mistake, Baekhyun didn't speak to him whole day. Not even bitter remarks and insults. Nothing.
The rest of the team wasn't too happy about losing either, but since it was only a practice match, they got over it soon.
Kris ended up with pain in his left shoulder because he landed on that arm, so the coach forbid him to play for few days to prevent any serious injuries from happening.
Chanyeol wasn't hurt physically, but emotionally, if that was even possible for the Park Chanyeol. His pride was hurt, and he was angry at himself for letting his instincts and desires react instead of using common sense and his head.
Baekhyun had every right to be mad at him, he knew that. But it still bothered him, and he needed to talk to him, but the smaller acted like he was invisible, even when Chanyeol stood in front of him and called his name over and over again.
The team was free from any activities for the rest of the day, so Chanyeol decided to find the captain and talk to him.
---
Meanwhile, Baekhyun tried to avoid the giant under all costs.
He was sitting on his bed with his back pressed against the headboard and his headphones on his head.
"That son of a bitch." Kyungsoo hissed when Baekhyun described him Teamin's new moves and improvement. "He's a genious player, but he's an asshole." he stated.
"Yeah." Baekhyun laughed. "Even though I'd like to toss to him sometime, it would be so cool."
"Since when do you use works like cool? Get yourself together, Byun Baekhyun." Kyungsoo said seriously, but Baekhyun could hear jocosity behind his voice.
"And about that matter with Chanyeol, well, you have to understand him, Baek. He's the ace, after all, and sometimes it's hard to control your insticts."
"He's not the ace yet." Baekhyun said, furrowing his eyebrows.
"There's no official way to become an ace, so I believe he already is, but you don't want to admit it to yourself. You're being stupid. Dumbass."
"Hey! Don't call me that, idiot." Baekhyun chuckled.
"You can't say things like that about dead people, Baekhyun. Who's raised you so badly?"
Baekhyun felt so comfortable talking to Kyungsoo every day again that it became something normal to him. His conversations with his brother were only occasions when he laughed and acted like old Baekhyun.
He was becoming his old self, but the problem was that no one else could see it except the dead boy on the other side of the headphones.
The problem was that he was becoming his old self, but at same time he was sinking back in the past, ignoring his reality and people who were actually there around him.
His parents. Junmyeon. Chanyeol.
Baekhyun could've talked to Kyungsoo for hours if he wasn't interrupted by cabin doors opening and a tall figure entering.
Baekhyun's voice suddenly went silent and he pulled the headphones off his head, placing them behind his back.
He was always lame at hiding things, exposing and making himself suspicious by his stupid reactions.
Chanyeol cocked his eyebrow and closed the door behind him.
"Geez, chill, I won't steal your headphones."
Baekhyun's expression didn't change as he put the headphones back to his backpack and took out anatomy book.
"Baekhyun." he heard Chanyeol calling him, but he ignored him as usual, tracing the lines he was reading with his finger.
"Baekhyun." Chanyeol repeated, but again he got no answer as the smaller didn't even raise his head.
Chanyeol was always quite short tempered, and Baekhyun, unfortunately, only realised that when his anatomy book was abruptly taken from his hands and the giant landed in his bed, sitting in front of him and making the smaller pull back, his back hitting the headboard.
"Baekhyun." Chanyeol's eyes found his when he finally decided to raise his head. The look in Chanyeol's eyes told him that he wasn't there to joke around, but to talk about something serious.
"How can I apologize and make up for today if you keep ignoring me whole day?" he asked, pulling back a little so he could give Baekhyun more space.
"There's nothing to apologize for." Baekhyun said at both his own and Chanyeol's suprise.
"I know you're mad, don't even try to hide it."
Baekhyun sighed, pulling his fingers through his fluffy, brown hair.
"I am mad. But it's not like that matters, I can't punish you or something. I'll get over it."
Chanyeol didn't move from his bed after that, and Baekhyun sensed that there was something else bothering Chanyeol.
Since Chanyeol too was a part of the team he was leading, he knew that it was his duty to check if something was wrong. He always talked to all his teammates if something was bothering them, and he shouldn't make Chanyeol an exception.
"Is there... Is something bothering you?" he asked silently, making Chanyeol turn his head and look directly at him.
"No, I was just... I was thinking about something."
"About what?"
"About you." Chanyeol said and Baekhyun felt some wierd wave of heat rush through his chest up to his cheeks. What the hell?
"And me." Chanyeol added. "This thing today was... It was a stupid mistake, I know. But I feel like your every toss belongs to me. I know you feel it too, and everyone around can see it. I just don't understand... how." he finished awkwardly.
Baekhyun stared at him wordlessly, and for the first time he saw Park Chanyeol looking uncomfortable in the situation. Park Chanyeol, who always seemed so full of himself and self confident, looked embarrassed.
Suprising Chanyeol, Baekhyun chuckled lightly.
"You're so funny when you're embarrassed, Park."
Chanyeol sighed in relief inside when Baekhyun didn't push him away immediately. He resisted the urge to smile at him and kept his cool demeanor.
"Yah, I'm serious!" he whined, sounding like Jongdae for a moment. He pushed the smaller male's shoulder so he fell on his back, now laughing, and his hair was pushed back off his forehead in process.
Chanyeol kept sitting next to him and soon he found himself losing in Baekhyun's laugh.
Baekhyun still had a silly smile on his face when he spoke.
"To be honest, you're the first player who can handle my quick tosses, so yes, all this is pretty new to me too." he shrugged, sitting back up.
"So I guess you understand why I did what I did today." Chanyeol said.
"I kind of do, but if you ever do it again I'll hold back from tossing to you for a month."
"Fair enough." Chanyeol smiled, locking his gaze with Baekhyun's. Baekhyun's brown eyes looked soft, unlike usually.
Baekhyun was the first to turn away, clearing his throat.
"Khm, so, uh... I should continue reading this."
"Yeah, sure." Chanyeol said awkwardly, standing up from his bed.
Baekhyun comfortably sat up on his bed and leaned his back on the headboard, taking his anatomy book once again. He tried to focus on a skeleton drawing and names of bones written in Latin, but every attempt of doing so ended up in glancing at Chanyeol.
The latter had his earphones in his ears, laying peacefully with his eyes closed.
His black hair fell over his eyes, peeking out of his hood. Baekhyun examined his handsome features ( yes, he admitted it, it would be stupid to deny a fact like that) and he lowkey understood why all the girls were crazy about him.
Chanyeol definetely had his ways of getting to people. Behind his cocky personality and fuckboy status, he was a compassionate,bright and caring person, how crazy it sounded.
Baekhyun had noticed how Chanyeol was trying to become his friend. He had a whole bunch of people in his team who were already his friends, but Chanyeol didn't give him up when Baekhyun first rejected him and when he acted like an ass towards him.
For some reason that he didn't know, Chanyeol seemed to understand his situation.
After somehow successfully reading a chapter of his anatomy book Baekhyun heard Chanyeol lightly snoring next to him, and his hair raised up and down as he breathed.
Chuckling, Baekhyun stood up and pulled the earphones out of his ears, placing them and his iPhone on the cupboard.
He pulled the hood of Chanyeol's head, and his fingers unconsciously went through giant's soft, fluffy hair.
Baekhyun pulled his blanket over him, tucking it in, and Chanyeol grabbed it in his sleep, hugging it as he turned on his side.
So maybe handling the giant won't be so horrible anymore.
----
"Chanyeol-ah, are you coming to the party tonight?" Minseok and Luhan caught up with Chanyeol, who walked calmly towards the cafeteria.
"Yeah, probably, if the girls will be there too." he smirked at the liberos, who chuckled.
"Luhan found a girlfriend!" Minseok blurted out, earning a slap from the latter.
"You don't have to be the one to tell it that that to everyone!" he hissed.
"That's great,man, congrats!" Chanyeol tapped his back. "Not my kind of thing, but I'm glad when my friends get into relationships."
"But... You like boys, too, Chanyeol-hyung? That's what I've heard, don't get mad if I'm wrong." Luhan said quickly.
"I do." Chanyeol smiled. "You're not wrong."
"Baekhyun is gay." Minseok blurted out, like he wanted to indicate something by saying that. "I mean, not like that means anything, just because you both like boys doesn't mean you have to like each other but I was just stating the facts and..."
"I get it, calm down!" Chanyeol laughed at the libero, whose cheeks reddened.
"I know that Baek is gay. But just like you said, that doesn't have to mean anything."
The boys reached the cafeteria and entered it, and Chanyeol's eyes searched for an empty table, since they were the first ones out of their team.
"Right." Minseok confirmed. "We also think that Sehun is gay too, but he's scared to come out because of his parents and stuff."
"What are two of you, school's gossip girls? Is there something you don't know?"
"Pretty much no." Luhan shrugged.
Chanyeol rolled his eyes and laughed. They picked the food up and sat after their table, and soon other boys started to come in.
When Chanyeol left for the breakfast, Baekhyun was still sleeping messily. Before he left, he took the anatomy book that lied on his forearm and pulled the blankets over him. They both fell asleep in their clothes that night, too exhausted to change.
Chanyeol totally forgot that he even had his earphones in his ears when he fell asleep, and he didn't know that it was Baekhyun who put them neatly on the cupboard.
Since it was their last day at the camp and they didn't have any activities except for the campfire party, Chanyeol let Baekhyun sleep through the breakfast, making a mental note to bring him something to their cabin.
Baekhyun woke up in an empty room, and realising that, after doing all the hygiene and making his bed, he took out his headphones to talk to his brother.
"I can see you two getting somewhere." Kyungsoo said, satisfied after Baekhyun told him about his and Chanyeol's conversation from the night before.
"I guess. I can handle him now, at least."
"Yeah, yeah. I can see more than that, but I'll let your stupid brain figure that out itself, even though I know it will take ages."
"Wow. Your rudeness is limitless." Baekhyun scoffed.
"They didn't call me Satansoo for no reason, brother." Kyungsoo remarked. "Now tell me, are you going to that party tonight?"
"I guess." Baekhyun sighed. "I don't feel like it at all but I know the boys will force me into it so there's no point in trying to skip it."
"You're right. And try to spend some more time with them. With Junmyeon especially. You know he misses you."
"Yeah." Baekhyun said, standing up and trying to dress himself while talking.
"I promise I will try to get a little more social."
Kyungsoo concluded he should probably thank Chanyeol for Baekhyun's different behavior lately. He sounded brighter while talking to him, unlike the scared boy that didn't even believe he was speaking to his dead brother.
Maybe Baekhyun didn't realise it yet, but Kyungsoo could clearly see that his brother's old self was starting to peek out.
They talked to each other like Kyungsoo had never died and like he was still there. It made Baekhyun forget how his brother died and how his last days looked, the days that turned Baekhyun into a new, silent, and unrecognizable person.
He made one more step forward in forgetting.
-----
"Why did you eat my marshmallows?" Sehun whined at Jongin, seeing the older stuff a bunch of marshmallows in his mouth.
"Mpmhf." Jongin shrugged, and Sehun just slapped him, making everyone laugh.
Chanyeol was sitting next to Junmyeon, waiting for Baekhyun to appear. When he left their cabin the captain was still in the shower, and he yelled from the bathroom, informing him that he'll be late.
The boys who came formed a circle around one of the campfires. The party was held in an area surrounded by cabins because it was quite spacious. The girl decorated the trees with colorful lanters and Christmas lights, and there were tables with food and drinks all around.
Now he watched Sehun trying to hit Jongin and Junmyeon telling them to stop.
"Those two never stop." Junmyeon sighed desperately.
Yixing and Kris were talking about something that seemed serious, judging by their expressions.
Sehun let go of Jongin and started to talk to Luhan. In Chanyeol's opinion, Sehun acted like he had a crush on small libero, and it was painfull to watch how Luhan secretly exchanged glances and smiles with Bangwong's manager, his girlfriend. Chanyeol was suprised how strong Luhan's feelings were if he passed across the fact that she was Bangwong's manager.
Minseok and Jongdae were laughing together about something.
Jongin couldn't take his eyes off a girl that served the food, and Zitao was probably giving him advice on seducing her.
Chanyeol boredly sat with his legs crossed in front of him. He saw a few girls checking him out and trying to flirt, but some reason, he didn't feel like it.
Junmyeon was busy texting to someone, occasionally smiling at the screen.
"Hey guys, sorry I'm late." A voice spoke, and Chanyeol raised his head up, his eyes meeting their captain's skinny figure.
Baekhyun was wearing skinny jeans and a red hoodie, with bomber jacket over it since it was late November and it was quite cold at night. Chanyeol was suprised to see glasses rocking on the top of Baekhyun's nose.
He looked cute.
Chanyeol didn't even try to deny it, as he watched Baekhyun sit down in between Luhan and Sehun, smiling.
"He looks like this camp affected him in a good way." Junmyeon said, getting Chanyeol's attention. "He's changing."
Both boys sat with their eyes on Baekhyun, who looked genuinely happy while sitting with his teammates. Chanyeol noticed that Baekhyun still rarely laughed and sometimes he would wander in his own thoughs, but progress was there.
Baekhyun looked in his direction and caught his gaze.
Chanyeol smiled at him when the latter also kept his gaze on Chanyeol's.
Just when Chanyeol decided to go and talk to him a little bit, he saw someone approaching Baekhyun from the back, tapping his shoulder.
Baekhyun smiled politely at the newcomer, and Chanyeol only clenched his fists inside his pockets.
Jimin.
That brat was his greatest rival in his old team, and they hated each others guts. It wasn't just Chanyeol's personal opinion, the guy really was an asshole and everyone in the team knew it.
Chanyeol saw him leaning down and saying something to Baekhyun, after what Baekhyun stood up, and two of them dissapeared somewhere among other players.
Some wierd feeling of protectiveness woke inside Chanyeol's chest, and he wanted to go there and beat the shit out of Jimin.
But he had to control himself and his anger. He couldn't repeat same mistake twice, especially a mistake like that. It had caused him enough trouble.
Trying to figure out this new feeling that obsessed over his senses, Chanyeol stood up, leaving Junmyeon who was still texting the same person, and went after Baekhyun and his ex-teammate.
---
A/N
Hola! I just wanted to check out how everyone's doing, I don't have a habit of leaving these author notes
And also I'd just like to add something on today's chapter. You can see that I didn't make all Exo members gay/bisexual.
Here's why.
Lots of people might say that writing fanfictions isn't original and mature. To some point, it's true(you can find very bad and very good fanfictions around here).
I do write some original stuff besides this, and even though in his story I already have my charachter's names, I can still create their personalities, stories and all the details.
Now, to make story better, it has to be realistic in some views.
Using fiction, imaginary creatures and such stuff is something else, here I'm talking about making a story in real world with some not-so-usual elements.
Take your class, or a group of people you hang out with. For example I'll take my 13 friends that I usually hang out with. Out of those 13 people, only two of them are LGBT.
So don't you think making whole Exo( in this case a volleyball team, which is even less likely) wouldn't be so professional?
I won't go in their real life sexual orientations, none of us can know those for sure, but this story focuses on Chanbaek, and the rest of their sexualities are product of my own will.
I hope no one misunderstood this, if you did well, I can't help you there.
This is just a normal conclusion made by a writer that tends to be the best she can.