His mom is slightly shocked, to say the least. She pulls Chanyeol aside after Baekhyun is sat on the couch -- wrapped in two blankets -- to warm up. Baekhyun seems comfortable enough; his cold hands tremble on the warm sofa and dark eyes study the interior of Chanyeol's living room. Chanyeol feels a fondness at the scene. A boy he'd never expected to actually exist, sitting in his house; it's surreal. 

"Who is he? Why doesn't he have a house? Has he eaten? Do you know his parents?" her questions come out rapid-fire. He's unable to even process each question before she's asking the next.

"Wait, mom, let me explain--" 

"No, you will answer my questions first," she sighs. "Has he eaten?" 

Chanyeol shakes his head. She seems to be distressed the most by this fact, clutching her heart and pushing Chanyeol towards the living room. 

"He's sleeping here tonight, and I'm going to feed him, and we're going to work this out. Go get him warm clothes. He's blue." 

Chanyeol walks past Baekhyun, who isn't actually blue, to go get warm clothes. The boy notices him and jumps up, leaving his blankets in a pile on the couch. Baekhyun follows behind him carefully and quietly. As they approach the taller's room, Baekhyun reaches a hand out to grab for Chanyeol's sleeve. 

Chanyeol can tell what the shorter wants to ask before he does. 

"My mom says you're sleeping here tonight, and you have to eat dinner with us," he explains, pushing some of his older, woolly pajama pants and a t-shirt towards the smaller boy. "Sorry, my clothes are way too big for you."

Baekhyun doesn't seem to mind and looks at them happily, giving Chanyeol a dazzling smile.

The taller feels his breath catch in his throat and, God, there he goes again. 

It doesn't help that Baekhyun doesn't seem to care that bathrooms exist and instead takes off his school uniform to change immediately, in front of Chanyeol. 

Chanyeol tries his best not to look, especially when Baekhyun's pale skin is exposed to the cold air, because he doesn't want to think about how soft Baekhyun's skin must feel. But Chanyeol almost prefers the awkwardness of Baekhyun changing because once he has the oversized clothes on, he looks so comfortable and cute that it makes his stomach flip.

In his dreams, Baekhyun had always been wearing a casual outfit. Never a school uniform or cozy, oversized pajamas. And definitely never standing in Chanyeol's room. It was enough to make him feel blushy and uncomfortable all over again. 

--

Dinner is awkward, mostly because Baekhyun is quiet doesn't seem like he has answers to any questions. Chanyeol's mom forces him to eat at least ten spoonfuls of soup and a slice of bread, but Baekhyun prefers to watch others eat, as Chanyeol soon figures out. 

"So, Baekhyun, how long have you been going to Chanyeol's school? I don't remember hearing your name," his mom brings it up casually. Baekhyun stops the spoon of soup he'd been blowing on midair and thinks. 

"Four days?" it comes out as a question. Chanyeol can't stop staring at the way Baekhyun eats, the way he smiles softly when he zones out during the quiet spaces in between bites and conversations. 

"Four days?" Chanyeol can tell his mother is shocked. 

"Then, when did you move here?" 

"Uhm," he seems to be adding something together in his head. "About seven days." 

Chanyeol is uncomfortable with the image of Baekhyun sleeping outside in the cold all of those days, and is suddenly so thankful that he decided to follow him. 

"Why'd you move here?" 

"Not sure," is his only answer. This causes Chanyeol to look over in confusion, studying the innocent look on Baekhyun's face. Well, at least he doesn't look like he's lying. 

"Do you have parents? Siblings?" Chanyeol asks suddenly, frantically. The thought that his younger sibling might still be out in the cold had never even crossed his mind, but now that it had, it was gut-wrenching to think about. 

"No, just me," Baekhyun says casually around his spoon. Chanyeol can feel his mom's piercing stare across the table. 

She seems to calm down as she watches Baekhyun eat more than his required ten spoonfuls, a motherly smile spreading out of relief. However, Chanyeol doesn't miss the look she shoots him right before he goes upstairs for bed. 

A sharp look that would normally make him fear for his life. But he knows his mom is too nice to do anything when there's a guest -- especially a cold, adorable orphan. 

So instead of fearing, he scurries upstairs to his room, Baekhyun's quiet footsteps trodding behind him.

It's awkward getting ready to sleep. Chanyeol shows him where the bathroom is, where extra wash cloths are, and tells him what toothbrush he can use. 

It all goes in one ear and out the next. 

Five minutes into Baekhyun's bathroom time, Chanyeol hears a frantic scream and he immediately jumps up. The first thing that runs through his mind is that Baekhyun is hurt. He just fell and broke his neck and his beautiful eyes have tears in them and I don't know how to unbreak a neck.

His imagination is stopped, though, when he reaches the bathroom and knocks. Instead of a broken necked, crying Baekhyun, a very Baekhyun answers the door. 

"I can't get this to work," the smaller boy says in an exasperated tone. "I just burnt my foot when I tried to step in." 

Chanyeol averts his eyes and suddenly he thinks that the ceiling is very interesting. He focuses on the crack in the corner closest to him and he traces it with his mind. He will do anything to avoid looking down at the boy in front of him again. 

"Cover up," he orders, and he can tell his voice sounds awkward and thick. Baekhyun looks down and seems to realize that being around others isn't as normal as he'd previously thought, and he nods quickly, reaching for Chanyeol's oversized pajamas again. 

"Sorry!" Baekhyun says in that soft voice. Chanyeol's heart constricts when he looks back down and the smaller is in oversized, comfy clothes. Focus, Chanyeol, focus. 

He turns to the steaming shower and turns the hot water down slightly, until it's warm enough for humans to use it. Baekhyun stands close to him and takes in the steps of working the shower properly. 

"Thank you, Chanyeol," Baekhyun whispers, and when Chanyeol looks, he's smiling up at him. It's like the dream. The exact smile, the angle, the boy before him. 

"Anything for you." 

It slips out. Chanyeol feels all the blood in his body rush to his cheeks. Why did I say that why did I say that why did I say that

Baekhyun doesn't seem to notice if it's awkward, though. Instead of dwelling on Chanyeol's words, he's fascinated with watching the water pour into his open palm. Chanyeol can see him reaching to take off the oversized t-shirt, and he immediately backs out of the bathroom. 

"Be careful," he says more to himself than Baekhyun as he pulls the door shut. 

-- 

It's been twenty minutes. Twenty minutes of silence. Chanyeol had come back from his shower to see Baekhyun laying on the floor in his make-shift sleeping bag bed, staring out the window. He'd said goodnight to the boy (who was even more quiet than usual, he noticed) and shut off the lights. He crawled into bed and tried to focus on anything besides the soft breaths of the smaller boy just a foot away from him. 

Thus, twenty minutes of silence had gone by before a voice broke through the quiet. 

"Why did you follow me?" 

Chanyeol doesn't know what the say. He starts to panic. Lie? Tell Baekhyun the truth? Bring up his dream?

"I," he stops. "I-" 

"Nevermind," Baekhyun sounds peaceful, his smooth voice coming out lower than before. "No matter why you did it, thank you for bringing me here." 

Chanyeol grunts in response, unable to form proper words. His stomach is filled with the entire butterfly house. Hearing Baekhyun speak, knowing that his face and warm body are nearby, brings fluttering to every particle of his being. 

"I know I'm weird. I heard some kids from class talk about it. I'm trying to not be, really. I'm just still learning. So thank you for helping me." 

Still learning? Learning what? How to work a shower, how to go to school? Chanyeol's mind races with possibilities of tragic backstories, of adventures that caused Baekhyun to walk shyly into his life. 

The sadness that's present in Baekhyun's voice makes his heart clench uncomfortably. He can almost picture Baekhyun's smiling face turning into one of pain. It's so odd, he thinks, I've never thought about what he'd look like sad. I hate it. I hate it so much.

"Don't talk like that!" Chanyeol sits up, looking down at Baekhyun for the first time since he'd walked in. The smaller boy is bundled up in blankets, hair puffed around his face, cheeks still pink from his shower. 

Baekhyun sits up, too. His soft hands hold onto the side of Chanyeol's bed -- something that doesn't go unnoticed by the taller; in fact, it makes his stomach flutter in a completely different way, but he disgresses. 

"Who said that you were weird?" Chanyeol is so unhappy. The thought of someone insulting Baekhyun courses through his veins as pure anger. He runs his hands through his hair before settling them back down to grip his blanket with fury.

"I am weird, though," Baekhyun's voice rings with sincerity and sadness.

"Was it that ing idiot Junmyeon? I swear, he just says anything because the teacher likes him, and he thinks he's the top of the class--"

Baekhyun places a cold, calming hand on top of Chanyeol's. The effect is immediate: Chanyeol's heartbeat of rage turns to one of shyness, of anxiety, and he gulps hard.

Chanyeol can't stop staring at how small and pale and soft Baekhyun's hand is compared to his own. He wants to hold it. Before he can dwell on every curve of the shorter boy's hand, the boy is squeezing Chanyeol's middle three fingers in comfort. 

"It doesn't matter! I'm weird, but I'm learning," Baekhyun says it so matter-of-factly that Chanyeol nods, believing him. "And you're helping me. That's all that matters. You're my only friend. You're the best person I've ever met."

Chanyeol wants to laugh because, really, how many people could Baekhyun know for him to top the list? But he also wants to cry because the look in Baekhyun's eye proves to him that he's being honest. He really is the only person who has ever helped Baekhyun. 

When Baekhyun pulls away from Chanyeol's hand with a faint blush, Chanyeol looks away distractedly, forcing himself to instead focus on sleep. I don't have time for this he's so cute and if I get nervous I can't sleep and then I won't wake up on time to wake him up and then -- 

"You should sleep. We have school tomorrow," Chanyeol reminds softly.

The boy nods and turns to burrow back into his sleeping bag. Chanyeol hears Baekhyun shuffling around under the blankets, and his heart flips when he makes a satisfied sound as he finally gets comfortable. 

"Good night, Chanyeol," his voice is as light as a feather. "Sleep well." 

Chanyeol lays still until he can hear Baekhyun's breathing even out. He thanks himself over and over for following Baekhyun, and mentally buys his mom a thousand bouquets for letting Baekhyun stay. His mind flits to beating up Junmyeon for a second, but it passes when Baekhyun makes a soft dreaming sound. It calms down the storm raging inside of him enough for him to match his breathing to the other boy's, drifting off.  

That night as he falls to sleep, all he can think about is Baekhyun's soft hand and the smile on his face and the thought of waking up with the boy of his dreams a foot away. He thinks waking up isn't so bad. He might become a morning person. 

-----

its been almost a week,,,,, but school happens.. have this awful chapter....im so sorry 4 this!!!  wish i was a good writer lmfao

if u like it pls inspire me to keep going !!! im always up for making friends,,,,reading comments,,, upvotes,,, subscribers.,, all that good makes me happy and encourages me to keep going even when my weeks r busy like this one! i love u guys bye im gnna go drift off to sleep thinking abt bbh too <33 

(oh also!!! does anyone have ideas on why bbh is the way he is? any theories? hmu i wanna hear what u guys r thinking while reading.......winky emoji)