Foxtrot {SVT Gang AU}

Enough

School started again on Monday, much to Chan's silent protest the night before. It was still early in spring, so he hoped there was a chance of a sudden snowstorm, resulting in a snow day. But of course, that Monday morning was warm and sunny.

When he walked into class, Jeonghan had a cheeky grin on his face and greeted Chan. Chan shyly smiled back before sitting down in his seat. He looked over and noticed that The8's chair was empty. He tried to dismiss it, but it lingered on his mind for a while. The class went on normally, but Chan got a test back. It wasn't a good grade, but no the worst. Chan shrugged it off. A lot had been on his mind lately, but he promised himself he'd do better next time.

That day at lunch, Chan was pulled over by Jeonghan on the way to the bathrooms. Jeonghan smirked wildly at Chan; it was obvious that he was up to no good.

"Dude, let's go eat on the roof," he said, "my friends are waiting up there for us."

Chan couldn't protest, as Jeonghan tugged on his arm rather hard, pulling him towards the stairs. They climbed them with 20-pound bookbags on and ended up panting after the 3rd floor. They were exhausted by the time the cool air greeted them. On the roof, sat Joshua, Seokmin, Seungkwan, and Jihoon. Jeonghan quickly joined them, laughing about something that happened earlier in class. Chan stood there, a little dumbfounded for a minute. Last week, he had virtually no friends, and now, five sat in front of him. He smiled softly and felt fuzzy inside again. 

Joshua stopped and looked over and Chan. He smiled warmly at him.

"Chan, get your butt over here!" He happily joined them with his school lunch. "Dude, don't eat that garbage, here," he laughed, handing Chan some ramyun that they made ahead of time. After looking around, he noticed that everyone was eating it. He took it, chuckling, and ate it. It was delicious. 

"So, I invited the new guy to join up too," suddenly said Seokmin. They all seemed pretty down with that idea, but Chan lost his smile. Sure, The8 wasn't that bad, but Chan wanted to stay away from the gang members as much as possible. Would it be rude if he got up and left? He grew pale at the thought of spending even more time with that boy. The8 gave him chills up his spine, like the feeling you got when you know someone is behind you, but you can't turn around. He was scared to the bone. 

Eventually, Joshua caught on. Since they were sitting close to each other, they talked the most in that short time frame. 

"Hey, you good? You look sick or something," he said in a worried tone. He raised an eyebrow at Chan. Joshua was someone who could always tell when something was up with Chan. He was a very observant individual, which made Chan wonder if it was a blessing or a curse. 

"Yeah," he replied. Maybe he should open up just a little? "I just get a bad vibe from the new kid."

"Hao? He's been pretty nice to me so far. He's in my art class. Pretty talented, actually. He helped me with a project yesterday," he explained. "But hey, you listen to your gut, listen to whatever it's telling you." 

Chan hummed in response. He looked off into the forest just beyond the school grounds, just past the baseball diamond and football field. The leaves danced in the spring breeze, bringing a relaxing melody of nature to the boy's ears. The calm relaxed Chan's distressed heart, which seemed to beat faster every day with the anxiety of life. He sighed out all of his tension and decided to let his mind flow with the breeze as the leaves did. Maybe he could dance then, too, just as they had.

The8 came up to the roof to join the boys. Now feeling at ease, Chan greeted him with the same warmth that the other boys had in their voices. The8 greeted each of them, then his eyes landed on his fellow gang member. The crowd fell silent. The8 chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck out of awkwardness. 

"You guys know each other or something?" asked Jihoon, a little desperate to break the silence. All eyes were on Chan and The8. His lungs once again filled with anxiety, going straight to his brain and flogging his mind like a bathroom mirror. 

"Ah, yeah! Chan and I hang out all the time!" The8 lied, laughing to himself. "Y'know, this kid knows how to fight. He looks like a softie, but, man, is he good!" The boy went on to tell extremely convincing stories about Chan getting into fights and provoking gangs. Chan smiled along and attempted to keep the beads of sweat trickling down his face hidden from the others. 

Once lunch was nearly over, the boys slowly broke off until it was only The8 and Chan. Chan looked down at the cement floor, not knowing what to say. A little dandelion was growing in the cracks between his feet. 

"Boss wants to see you tonight. 4 PM, don't be late."

He sauntered off the roof, kicking stray rocks along his path to the door. When Chan thought about his voice, it sounded much different than when he was bantering to his "friends". It sounded hushed, embarrassed, almost ashamed. He wondered for the rest of the day why. 

***

Hours and hours ticked by, despite Chan filling them so they would go by slowly. He did whatever he could: swept the living room, did all the dishes, cleaned his room. But the clock still chimed four times, signaling the worst time of the day. He left the house and marched out with fake confidence, hoping it would protect him from harm. 

He reached the worn-down facility and went inside, careful of every small step he took. He heard a distant yelling as he neared the staircase and stopped. He was terrified out of his mind to meet Hoshi again. He was scared of Hoshi would do with him. He steadied his shaking hands by grabbing onto the railing of the staircase. His shoes were suddenly made of lead as he took his first step. He swallowed his abhorrence and climbed up the winding stairs. 

He knocked on the ajar door, where he knew the beast was sitting in his den, waiting. 

"Hoshi?" Chan stuttered, pulling the door open more, revealing the small man's back. He turned around at an animalistic speed, an unnerving and spine-chilling smile plastered across his pale face. Just the sight of such a creepy smile made Chan's stomach churn. 

"Ahh, my baby is here," he warbled in a singsong manner. "I was wondering when I would see you next." There was silence. Hoshi's attentive eyes drilled into Chan's skull, leading the boy to feel intensely uncomfortable if that was even possible. His grin stretched wider and wider by the second. He crept closer to Chan to the point where he could feel his breath on his face. 

"I have something very special planned for you today."

"What is it-"

A blow landed directly over Chan's stomach, making him lurch forward in shock. Then another came down on his head. Before his brain could even process what was happening, there was another, and another, another, another, and another...

His body ached but he somehow lifted himself up and mustered up the courage to slam into Hoshi with his entire body. The man flew back into the wooden desk but managed to kick Chan down to the ground along the way. 

"Good, good! Fight back!" he laughed manically. Chan's emotions burst into a fiery rage. This was a game to him? 

The tiny boy shakily stood up and changed once more at Hoshi. He pinned the man against the far wall, landing punched to his left cheek. The entire time, Hoshi was laughing, chuckling. This only fed the flame in Chan. He yelled and took every emotion out on Hoshi. How his parents didn't care about him. How Hoshi got him involved with bad people. How The8 ruined his first friend group. Everything. 

"You had enough yet?"