Daehyun took a sip of his soda as he surveyed the living room. It was rather packed with people loitering everywhere while the loud music blared from the stereo. He recognized just about everyone there, which wasn't really all that surprising. This was the typical routine around here for weekends.
"Hey!"
He staggered to the side a little before catching his balance, and helping the guy who hung on to him to stay on his feet.
"Why aren't you drinking?" Junyoung questioned while slurring his words. "Have a drink man!" He held up his hand, ing his own cup in to Daehyun's face.
Daehyun chuckled and gentle pushed the cup away. "I'm driving."
"Just crash here again." the guy insisted.
"Nah, I'm good." Daehyun glanced around the room once more. Many of them were probably going to do just that. Or walk to one of the other houses nearby to crash there.
"Okay sourpuss." teased Junyoung. "If you run out, there's more soda in the back." Then he straightened and staggered away to hang on someone else.
Chuckling, Daehyun took another sip of his drink. He wondered how long it would be before the party host made it back around to him and ask him to drink again. He was definitely going to have to tease Junyoung about his hangover in the morning.
A noise drew his attention across the room to the front door. He peered through the crowd to see who the new arrivals were. When his gaze landed on one person in particular though, he quickly looked down as his chest constricted. Swallowing thickly, he turned and went in to the kitchen.
He maneuvered his way past the people standing around in here, setting his soda on a counter as  he walked by. Then he opened the back door, stepped outside, and closed the door behind him.
Taking a deep breath of the night air, he headed around the side of the house to the front yard. He glanced at the opened front door to see more people hanging around on the porch. Nobody was paying him any attention. He turned and walked down the side of the road. The further he got from the house, The more he could here the rocks shifting under his feet and the less of the party music.
"Daehyun!"
He looked back and spotted two figures by the house holding this weekend's party. Yongguk and Himchan stared after him, with the latter throwing both arms up in the air as if to say 'what are you doing'. He merely waved back at them and continued down the road.
He found his car was thankful that he had parked far enough away that he wasn't blocked in. He got in behind the steering and inserted the key in to the ignition. Instead of starting the vehicle though, he sat back and closed his eyes.
It had been a few months now but it still felt like it was only yesterday. When his stubbornness had gotten the better of him and he made a big mistake. He could picture her tear-stained face clearly in his mind as he told her it was over. That he was breaking up with her. It took two weeks for him to realize how stupid that hasty decision was but by then, it seemed like it was too late.
He would see her around town with a smile on her face and he would wonder if it was forced or genuine. Whether she was still hurting or if she had moved on. Scared of what the truth would be, he never mustered the courage to talk to her. Couldn't even stay in the same room as her in case she approached him. If that happened, he wasn't sure he could stop himself from begging her to take him back.
Opening his eyes, he wiped at his cheeks before rubbing his hands on his jeans. Then started his car and carefully pulled out on to the road. The drive home was short but at the same time, it always took too long since he had to drive past her house. It was the only road that went to his place though.

Daehyun surveyed the outdoor seating area until he spotted the one he was looking for. Five other people were already sitting there and he made his way over to them.
"Hey." Youngjae greeted as he got close. "What happened to you last night?"
He took his seat and grabbed the extra burger from the tray. "Nothing. Just had some stuff to do."
"You sure?" asked Jongup before he got elbowed by Junhong.
Daehyun raised an eyebrow at the two of them. "Uh... yeah. I'm pretty sure." He glanced around the table to see the others looking at him. "Why? Did I miss something?"
"No." Yongguk stated and eyed the youngest. "Was a pretty mild party."
He furrowed his eyebrows before shaking his head dismissively. He took a bite of his burger when he remembered the promise he had made himself at the party. He grabbed his phone and scrolled through his contact list. "That reminds me though, I need to call Junyoung to . He was completely smashed within ten minutes." He hit the dial button and held the phone to his ear. He listened to it ringing while ignoring the fact that everyone was glancing at him. When it went to voicemail, he ended the call without leaving a message. "Didn't answer." He sat his phone down and started to eat his food again.
Out of the corner of his eyes, he watched as his friends turned back to their food one by one. They obviously wanted to hear how much he was going to give Junyoung and he didn't think anything more of it.

The rest of the week dragged by. He went to work and then back home, forcing himself not to glance at the house he dreaded to drive by. Not looking to see if her white car was parked in her driveway or not.
The worst times though were the chance sightings around town. When he would be getting gas and see her a few pumps down putting gas in her own car. Seeing her down a grocery store aisle so he would go down a different one to avoid her. Sitting at a red light and her car pulling up behind him. He would sneak glances of her in the rear view mirror despite telling himself to not look.
This week in particular was brutal though. She seemed to be everywhere he was. So when he heard about a party being held on a Friday instead of a Saturday, a day that he knew she worked, he made up his mind to go. To drink and relax. He even texted his friends and made them promise to show up as well. Been too long since they properly partied together with him always ditching the moment she showed up.
Friday night came and he drove over to the party. It was already in full swing with cars lining up and down the street. He managed to squeeze in to a space a few houses down and locked his car up before he set off walking.
When he reached the house, he went inside and headed straight to the kitchen. He found the assortment of liquor spread out on the counter and helped himself to a couple of shots before grabbing a beer. Then he went back out to the living room to mingle.
By the time he finished his drink, he was feeling sufficiently buzzed and significantly better. The only thing he was feeling annoyed about was that his friends hadn't shown up yet.
Leaving the group he was hanging out with, Daehyun made his way back to the kitchen. He took one more shot before grabbing another beer. Just as he took his first drink, someone clapped a hand on his back and he stumbled forward a step. He was quickly grabbed as he regained his balance and made sure he didn't spill any of his drink.
"Wow, how much have you had to drink?"
He turned to see Youngjae examining him. "About time you showed up. Let's do shots together." He started lining up a few shot glasses.
"Later, come on." his friend insisted and steered him away from the counter.
Daehyun staggered a little as he let Youngjae lead through the house. "Where we going?" At that moment though, Himchan joined them and he planted his feet even though Youngjae kept urging him forward. "Hey, you're finally here too. Come on, shots." He turned to go back to the kitchen but the other two guys forced him towards the front door.
"Let's do some shots at my place." Himchan offered. "Too crowded here anyways."
Out on the porch, they found the others and Daehyun grinned happily. "Where the hell you've guys been?"
"How drunk his he?" questioned Junhong with a disbelieving look.
"Gonna get a lot drunker now that you losers showed up." he retorted with a laugh. He attempted to re-enter the house but was forced out on to the lawn instead.
"Shots at my place, remember?" Himchan reminded him.
"Fine, fine." he said with a giggle. He pointed over to where he had parked and let them lead him across the yard.
They passed several other people, the party evidently spilling out of the cramped house. A couple of times he stopped to greet someone but a second later, he was pushed along by his friends.
Then all of a sudden, the rest of the world faded away. He came to an abrupt halt and refused to move another step. Even pushing against the ones who tried to force him to keep walking.
His gaze zeroed in on her, leaning against the side of the house. She was smiling and laughing, with Junyoung's arm around her waist while he kept leaning in to steal kisses.
"Dae.."
He turned and hurried away. His chest hurt so bad that it was agony to even breath. He had to get out of there before he did something he would regret.
Yongguk hurried past him and got in front of him. "Give me your keys."
Daehyun shoved him away while continuing to his car. Someone else grabbed his arm and he yanked it free. He heard voices talking to him but whatever words they were saying was drowned out by his pounding heartbeat.
He was grabbed once more and this time, he was the one being yanked. Forcing him to stop and turn around.
"You're drunk." Youngjae fired off, obviously worried. "Give us your keys. We'll take you anywhere you want."
Daehyun tugged free and went to walk away but stopped. A moment of clarity cut through his drunken state and he glanced at all of his friends. "You knew. You all knew."
Not one person said anything but their guilty looks were enough. Enough for the pain in his chest to increase. He turned around when he felt a hand on his shoulder and that's when he couldn't hold in his emotions.
Bringing his arm up, he swung and his fist connected with Youngjae's face. The younger man fell on to the ground while he was shoved backwards, separating the two of them.
"You knew!" he yelled accusingly at everyone. "You ing knew and you didn't say anything!"
"Daehyun," Himchan started and reached for him.
He instantly smacked his hand away. " you!" Then he stormed over to his car and went to the driver side door. Only to be pushed roughly away. When he regained his balance, he looked over to see Jongup pressing his back against the driver door.
"Move." he ordered as he got in Jongup's face.
Jongup shooked his head. "No."
He grabbed the front of the younger boy's shirt, intending to force him to move. Two arms wrapped around his chest though and pulled him off. Instead of letting go though, the person held on to him. As he struggled to break free, both of his arms were grabbed. He could barly move but he still tried to fight back. Until he felt his body giving up and he started having hard time breathing.
"Let me go. Let me go!"
He was finally released and he stumbled a few steps away. He tried to breathe in air but it was like his lungs weren't working. Even more, his vision began to grow cloudy.
"!" He punched the hood of his car before collapsing on the ground. A couple of ragged breaths and then he let out a pained sob as tears flowed down his cheeks. Every single emotion just poured out of him. "I love her." he wailed. "I love her so much."
A hand touched his back and he looked up to see Youngjae crouched down next to him. Despite the puffiness around one eye that was sure to bruise, he was still looking at him with pity. "We know."
Daehyun glanced around to see the others circling him with similar looks.
"Come on. Let's get out of here." Himchan stated.
He shook his head and swallowed. "I just want to go home." He stood up and dug his keys out of pocket. He held them out, offering them to whoever wanted them. When someone grabbed them, he went to the back seat of his car. He crawled in and laid down on the seat. Moments later, the car started and they were moving.
When they reached his house, he got out of his car just as a second vehicle pulled in to the driveway. His friends spilled out of it and he gave them a passing glance before he strode in to the house.
He heard them follow him as he went to the kitchen. Opening one of the cabinets, he started taking out several shot glasses and liquor bottles.
"Uh... Daehyun..."
He turned and pointed at Himchan. "You promised me shots." He turned back and twisted the cap off of one of the bottles. "So get over here and do a ing shot."
As he filled glasses, Himchan came up beside him and claimed one of them. Yongguk came up on his other side and gave his shoulder a squeeze. "Make me one too." the oldest declared.
After a couple rounds, someone started some music and cranked the stereo up. Between the thumping bass and the hot liquid going down his throat, Daehyun let himself get lost.

His friends spent the night and then left in the morning. By the afternoon though, he got a call telling him to meet up for burgers. When he was threatened with kidnapping, he reluctantly agreed and got ready to head out.
He drove down the street and like always, he forced himself not to look at her house as he passed it. He didn't need to see if her car was gone cause then he would wonder if she was at Junyoung's house. Of course as he thought about that, he wondered anyways.
As he neared the restaurant, his phone signaled a text message. He waited until he stopped at a red light before grabbing it to look at the screen. It was Youngjae, making sure he really was on his way. He could see the burger joint across the intersection and texted back that he was at the light.
He set his phone down and when he looked back through the windshield, he inhaled sharply. They were right there, sitting at one of the outdoor tables. Both laughing and smiling, sitting next to each other.
A sharp pain pierced his chest and he quickly looked down at his lap. He tried to in some air as his grip on the steering wheel tightened. This was the way it was going to be now. Instead of seeing her around town, he was going to see them. Together.
He blinked his eyes rapidly and focused his gaze on the light. It seemed like minutes went by before it finally changed. Then instead of going forward, he turned and drove away from the restaurant.
It wasn't long before his phone started ringing but he ignored it. A couple more turns and then the buildings faded away as he drove out of town. Only then did he feel a small amount of relief and he was able to breathe again. Without looking in the rear view mirror, he pushed down on the gas pedal so the car would go faster.

Song inspiration: Break Up In A Small Town by Sam Hunt