Indebted To You (A BaekYeol Fanfic)

Part XIX

Baekhyun

A sense of normalcy had finally returned to my life--well, I guess it was a new normal, you know, the kind where my dad and I no longer felt like we were indebted to someone, my friends were still as chaotically good as ever, and I had a boyfriend, who despite any assumptions people had about him based on his class, had become one of my favorite people in the world. 

Senior year was almost over and I had finally decided to go to school for art, though I didn't specifically know where that would take me. Chanyeol, not surprisingly, had received acceptance letters from most of the universities he applied to. In the end, surprisingly, he decided to go to junior college to get his general education courses out of the way until he figured out what he wanted to do after that.

I still dreaded hearing the sound of my alarm clock in the morning, but it didn't bother me as much because I knew I had a lot to look forward to every day. After I got dressed and left my room, I found my dad out in the kitchen, skimming over the morning paper and leisurely sipping on some coffee. He was still dressed in his pajamas from the night before.

"You didn't have to wake up with me, dad," I said as I set my bag down on the floor near the chair I typically used. I walked over to the pantry to get a box of cereal and then over to the cupboard for a bowl. "You haven't had a proper day off in how long? You should be enjoying it by sleeping in."

"It's fine. I wouldn't have been able to sleep much past eight anyway. I'm so used to being up early," he replied, laying the paper down on the table. "I can make you breakfast if you want. You've been eating dry cereal all week."

"Which I very much happen to enjoy," I said as I sat down with food. "It's your day off. Relax, dad. Go for a walk, take a nap, watch TV all day. Don't worry about me, worry about you."

He scoffed, adding in a chuckle at the end. "I'm your father. I'll always worry about you," he said, making a smile appear on my face right as I put a spoonful of cereal in my mouth. "Is Chanyeol still picking you up today?"

I hummed and nodded affirmatively, waiting until I swallowed my food to speak. "I'm pretty sure he just wants to flaunt the car Mr. Park got him as an early graduation gift, but I think my friends would have quite literally attacked me if I passed up a free ride."

"They sound like good friends to me then," my dad said, earning a laugh from me. 

We kept talking as I ate breakfast, and then when Chanyeol texted me and said he was outside, I got up and set my bowl in the sink. My dad walked me over to the door and waved at Chanyeol, who got out of the car to greet me. I waved to my dad and then got in the passenger's seat. Chanyeol closed the door for me and I sat my backpack on the floor between my legs as he came around to the driver's side.

"So?" he said, smiling widely at me once he got in. "Isn't it great?"

I tried not to smile as I looked at him but failed, succumbing to the smile and laughing. "You're such a spoiled brat," I said, pinch his ear a little. "But yeah, it's nice. I like it."

"Good because you'll be in it a lot," he said as he buckled himself in. "I started a new list of date ideas, and plus, I figured it could be a good place to get some privacy if we ever want any."

"Unbelievable," I huffed. "Is that honestly the first thing you thought of when you got this?" He didn't answer me, but the smile on his face slowly fading gave me all the response I needed. "Park Chanyeol, get your mind out of the gutter!" I hit on the back of his head.

"Okay, ow," he said as he chuckled and rubbed the spot I hit. "That was my first thought, but it was up there." I rolled my eyes and looked away, shaking my head a few times. "Oh, don't act like you didn't think it, too."

"Of course I did, but I would never say it out loud like a pervert," I replied, earning a loud laugh from him. 

"Whatever, just buckle up. I'm still getting used to driving it, so you better make sure you're in tightly," he said, but I couldn't tell if he was joking or not, so I listened. 

He managed to actually get me to school without triggering my anxiety too much, but I became very confused when we pulled up and saw Kyungsoo standing with the others. 

"What the fuck is going on?" I asked Chanyeol as he parked the car. He just grinned and unlocked the back doors. 

"WE'RE SKIPPING SCHOOL, BITCH!" Sehun said as he opened the door and sat down. "Damn, Chanyeol, this is a nice graduation gift."

"Thanks," he said, chuckling and glancing back at him. 

"Move over some more," Luhan said as he got in next, squeezing in next to Sehun. Chanyeol's car was big, but I was still concerned that it wouldn't be able to fit all of us as I watched Xiumin get in next. But it seemed to work out perfectly when Kyungsoo took a seat on Kai's lap.

"We all ready?" Chanyeol said as he looked back. 

"Fuck yeah!" Sehun shouted excitedly, Luhan just clapping and nodding beside him. 

"How did you convince Xiumin to skip with us?" I asked, turning in my seat look back at them as Chanyeol began to pull away.

"Believe me, it took a lot of blackmailing and harassment on my part," Sehun answered and Xiumin just rolled his eyes when I looked at him. 

"So where exactly are we going?" I asked next, moving back to my original position.

"Who cares?" Luhan said. "Let's just see where this baby can take us!"

I laughed and turned my attention to Chanyeol. "We're gonna get in a lot of trouble for this, aren't we?" I said.

"Yeah, this is probably the last time I'll be able to drive for a while," he replied with a few nods. He glanced at me and chuckled moments later. I smiled back and placed my hand on top of his, at which point he laced our fingers together. I laid my head against the headrest and stared at the window.

For the first time in a while, I wasn't worried about where we would end up. Instead, I just decided to shut up and enjoy the ride.

A/N

Okay I may have underestimated how much editing this story required lol. I ended up shifting the plot a lot more than I anticipated, but even though it took a little time, I like how it turned it out. I hope you guys feel the same! I'll be editing the sequel/spin-off next, so pray for me because I have a bad feeling about that one, too lmao.

Thanks for reading! xoxoxo