that boy | hwang hyunjin | ✔

Chapter 2

"So, a new student huh," I huff as I walk next to Felix, making our way to the school's entrance to go home. "I really don't like new students."

"I do," Felix replies. "It makes things interesting."

"You think so? I don't like it at all," I firmly state. "A new student means changes and I hate changes."

Felix gives me a playful smile. "You're just scared that it's a boy that you can't resist, Chae."

"Look, Felix," I sigh, kind of done with his continuous teasing about boys. "You know very well why I want nothing to do with boys, right?"

My friend nods, eyes cast down in the realization that he went a little overboard this time.

"Yah, Felix," I call out as we walk through the main gate and onto the street, leaving the school and the gigantic mass of students behind us. "I appreciate your concern but it's just- I avoid boys because they are boys and I honestly don't think a boy will be able to change that and make me see the light or something like that."

"But Chaelin," he protests. "I'm a boy and I never hurt you, right?"

"But you're special," I mutter under my breath, almost inaudible and impossible for him to hear.

But it's true, for some reason he is special. Maybe he's still here with me because he was there before everything went wrong. Before my dad messed up so bad that I didn't want anything to do with boys.

My dad was an asshole. Always pretending to be that nice and playful and perfect dad, spending time with his family and children. He was that cool dad and everyone in elementary envied me because they wanted such a cool dad like him, too. I thought of him as a cool dad as well. But it all changed when I was around eleven years old when my mom told me dad wasn't our dad anymore. I still remember the devastated look on her face, the tears streaming down her face when she told us he had left us because he found another -a better woman.

Up to this day, my mom still believes that it's her fault that he left us because she wasn't good enough and he really found someone that was better than her. I still find her crying sometimes, telling me that she's so sorry that she did this to us.

It breaks my heart to see my mom like that. And all because of some stupid asshole that made it look like it was all her fault while he was being an unloyal dick, that bastard.

And Felix was there as that sweet boy next door, my best friend that somehow helped me through it all. But it wasn't enough to keep me from losing all faith in men and boys. I've sworn to myself to never get close to them in order to make sure that I don't end up getting hurt like my mother.

I couldn't do anything to protect my mother. But I can still protect myself.

And that's why Felix is the only boy allowed to come near me. I told you he was special and I mean it. If he wasn't there back then, I would've gone down along with my mom. He was the one that helped me keeping everything together, even though he was just a twelve-year-old kid.

"You're thinking about him again, aren't you?" Felix asks, his voice soft and deep and the usual brightness in it absent for now. His brown eyes looking up at me with sadness and concern. He knows like no other what I've been through. My mother never supported me and still doesn't. She can't even support herself, let alone her two kids. Felix used to be everything I had and he still is, in a sense. He was there and he knows everything.

"I am," I admit. "It's hard not to think about him."

And that's true. Every day I'm confronted with the mess he left behind. It's too big of a mess to be cleaned up by a broken mother, a little boy and a teenage girl with her best friend. So it's just there, an unavoidable obstacle in our everyday life. Waiting until it's cleaned up by a savior called time or just being there until we die.

Felix remains silent for a while until he suddenly grabs my arm, a bright smile present on his face again. "We're doing a movie night together," he states, already pulling me in the direction of his house. I just go along with it, trying my best not to stumble and fall as the boy picks up the pace.

Movie nights are some kind of tradition between us. Every time one of us is sad -which is always me since Felix is never sad, I swear that kid is shining brighter than our sun- or when we just feel like it, we go to the candy store to buy a shitload of popcorn and choose a bunch of movies and waste our entire night on it, only to show up with huge bags under our eyes the next day.

We do it a bit too often.  But do I mind? Not at all. These movie nights are the best thing and I really enjoy them.

"Wait," I blurt out between two heavy breaths. "You're going too fast!"

Felix immediately stops and gives me a boyish grin. "Oops, looks like I was a bit too enthusiastic," he chuckles.

"Where'd you get all that energy from?" I ask as  I rest my hands on my knees, trying to catch my breath.

"Dunno," the orange-haired boy shrugs.

As I feel like my breathing is steady enough, we continue our way to Felix' place. Fortunately, we live really close to the school grounds. It's only a ten-minute walk before you reach our street.

We mostly hang at his place and especially our movie nights are always being held when we're in his house. A mom that's still stressed out and a little brother whining for attention make the choice rather easy.

I love my family but I just can't be with them the entire time. It's wearing me out, physically and mentally. That's why I stay at Felix' place a lot. His parents completely understand and don't mind me staying over.

"What movie are we going to watch?" I ask as Felix unlocks the front door to his house. I swiftly enter after him and kick off my shoes before I stretch my arms and make my way towards the living room.

"You pick one," Felix' voice sounds from the hallway. A mere second later, he joins me in the living room and drops his bag to the floor with a dull thud. "As long as you don't make me watch Rise of the Guardians again."

"Hey, it's a good movie," I protest, throwing a pillow from the couch to his head. He swiftly catches it and neatly places it back in its original place.

"It is," the orange-haired boy agrees. "But not if you're forced to watch it every week."

"Fine," I sigh. "I'll pick another one."

I slip my phone out of my pocket and open Netflix to pick a movie while Felix retreats to the kitchen to collect some snacks for tonight.

I scroll through the app, my eyelid twitching as I scroll past Rise of the Guardians. I have to ignore it for now and it hurts. But then my eyes land on something better and I smirk.

Total Recall.

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Woo, the second short chapter in a row!
But you know, writing long chapters isn't my style, unless a lot happens in a chapter.