Foxtrot {SVT Gang AU}

Help Wanted

Vernon finally showed up to class that following week. Everyone was keeping their eye on him though because it was odd that he would come into class and . . . actually worked on the things the teacher gave him. 

"Hey," he greeted Chan as he walked into class with his torn-up jeans, Nirvana tee with his uniform blazer over top in an attempt to look like he actually went to that school. His exposed knees looked rather scabbed over and bruised like he was recently roughed up by someone else. Chan looked up in surprise to see his classmate. His face also took on a similar appearance, being all red and inflamed.  He stood with his hands shoved deep into his pockets and his shoulders hunched over, casting a shadow over Chan. 

"Uh, hi?" replied Chan, a little taken aback by his new acquaintance. 

"Um, sorry about that project, I guess," he rubbed the nape of his neck and looked away from Chan's gaze. His wandering eyes finally landed on the new kid: The8. He was in his own little world looking at his phone, mindlessly scrolling through each post on whatever social media platform he used. "Who's the new kid?"

"That's Th- I mean, that's 'Hao'," said Chan, looking over at his classmate. At that moment, Chan realized that The8 has moved over to Vernon's former seat, right in front of  Seungkwan. The8, at hearing his name, looked up at Vernon and removed his single headphone that was blaring some heavy music. 

"What's up?" he asked, looking up at Vernon with innocent and confused eyes. 

"You're in my seat, man."

"I'm sorry," he started, "but is your name on it?" That's when all Hell broke loose between the two. Vernon swung at The8, but having been in a gang where fighting was a must, he ducked with a straight expression, stood up, and backed away from the enraged teen. He put his hands behind his back and seamlessly dodged every fist and foot that came at him. 

"What the-!" yelled Vernon, who was only seeing red at that point. He shoved a desk towards The8, but he gripped its edge and tossed it to the side, all while staring intently at Vernon. A small crowd had gathered, not only from the students that were in the class but also from students that rushed in from the hallways, all holding phones out to record the exciting fight between school bad boy, Chwe Vernon, and the new kid, Hao. The spectators yelled and cheered for each side of the fight, and some smaller fights broke out in the crowd as everyone was packed like sardines. 

Chan's homeroom teacher burst into the room, nearing ripping the door off of its hinges. 

"Hansol! Principals office, now!" he screamed over the roaring crowd, reaching through the swarming students to grab a hold of Vernon's collar and yank him out of the forest of fists. Vernon fought against the older and larger man but to no avail. He was tugged out of the room, still throwing punches and profanity. "And the rest of you, break it up or else I'll get you too!" 

The crowd slowly dispersed and the room reached a reasonable level of chatter. The8 lifted his desk that had flown across the room and placed it back where it belonged. He was silent the whole time, but Chan had a nagging desire to make sure he was okay. It was a conflicting feeling, where he wanted to because he was a good person, but didn't want to because of his personal hardships. Chan eventually got over himself.

"Hey, man, are you good?"

"Ah, yeah, no worries," the boy said, replacing his fallen books on the desk again. One of his paperback textbooks had a large crease down the front. The8 scoffed and tried to sooth the crease back down to normal, but it seemed like the book would have a scar after the exchange. "Thanks."

***

Later that day, Chan's friend group had lunch on the roof again. It was a little cloudy that day, but Chan didn't mind. The heat from the nearing summer was getting to be a little too much, so the overcast helped the boy's feel cool, but not too much to the point they got the chills. Much of the conversations that they had were about the fight that morning, and Chan was their witness to interrogate like he was on trial. He filled them in on all the details and debunked the rumors. On many occasions, they accused Jihoon of being involved, but he kept telling them "no!". After all, only Chan and Jeonghan really knew him. Seokmin and Joshua seemed especially scared since the story about Jihoon killing a hampster was circulating around the school. 

In his usual fashion, The8 showed up late but greeted the group with great hospitality. After the group praised him on the spectacular fight and his amazing agility to dodge all those punches, he sat uncomfortably close to Chan and nibbled at his lunch. 

"Hey," he said as he sat down. "I know things are a bit tense between us, but I'm honestly not here to do you any harm. The truth is, I'm only here because Boss told me to be here."

"Okay?"

"What I'm saying is when we're at school, let's be friends," he smiled awkwardly at Chan, unsure how to form his friendship speech. Chan knew he was being sincere, and he agreed, but he knew he couldn't fully trust The8. He did work for the man that beat Chan up and threatened him to be in a gang. The8 held out his hand and Chan took it hesitantly. The two had some small talk before exchanging numbers as friends would. The group soon broke up, person by person, until only Jeonghan and Chan remained. As Chan was packing up his belongings and prepared for the next class, Jeonghan spoke up. 

"Channie, I don't know what happened to you the other night," he said softly as he also packed up, "but after what I saw today, I think Hao had something to do with it. I'm not asking you to say anything, but if you ever get in trouble, I'll come and rescue you, okay?" Chan couldn't say anything. He just froze and listened to Jeonghan's kind words. Jeonghan was always looking out for Chan, but what could Chan do in return? He felt guilty for asking for help without returning it. Jeonghan ended the speech by saying, "I'll see you later," and walking back down the school's stairs. 

A/N: I was listening to Smile Flower while writing this ending and I'm a little emotional now :( Also I am starting a job tomorrow and school starts soon. I will try my best to upload regularly but it's not guaranteed. Sorry, my friends :( I love this story so much, so it will be a top priority. Love you all