The Art of Cheating | changlix

Question 12

Bang's Café
-

It had been a week after the trial that Changbin had finally came out of his room willingly. He saw Felix working on some homework at the dinner table.

Looking over Felix's shoulder, he snaked his arms around himself. He didn't know whether Felix could just sense his presence or if he was breathing too hard that Felix heard him. The boy smiled, his face bare and clean of any product. The way Changbin liked it. He always liked seeing his freckles, as not many other students, or people in general, had any.

Changbin would count his freckles one day.

"Hey, Bin. What's up?" Felix asked, turn around completely to face Changbin. Felix always gave Changbin his full attention now, and Changbin was so comfortable with it.

He had developed a fear of being center of attention recently, but it never came out when Felix paid attention to him and him only. He was tense twenty-four-seven and under the freckled boy's gazed, his whole body subconsciously relaxed.

"I have an appointment, don't I?" Changbin asked, completely unsure. He knew it was Saturday, when he would usually have an appointment, but with the court case being that previous Monday, he was unsure.

Felix nodded, turning his upper body to look back at his laptop to check the time. "Yeah, you have one in a hour."

"Then shouldn't we be going?"

Cocking his head slightly, he looked up at Changbin through his bangs with curious eyes. "It only takes twenty minutes to get there. But if you wanna go early-"

Changbin shook his head, warmth spreading through him. "No, I wanted to go grab something to eat with you. Chat like normal people for once in our lives."

Felix gave a soft smile, making his eyes crinkle and his freckles even more noticeable. He nodded his head in a yes motion, and got up from his chair. He begun to put away his homework, leaving his books and papers neatly on the wooden dining table. He swiftly passed Changbin, who stood there watching the taller boy in a confused awe, and grabbed his jacket.

Changbin had to be called out of his trance of amazement to even notice that the front door of his house was open, and Felix was standing outside. "Are you coming? If we're going to eat, we should leave now so we're not late," he said, walking down the walkway and into the driveway.

"Yeah! Hold on!" Changbin called, running down the dark halls of his one-story house. He made it to his small room, grabbing his jacket from his desk chair.

Once making it back outside, Changbin caught up to Felix, who had stayed at the end of the driveway for him. "Let's go," Felix said.

The walk to the small, serene coffee shop that was near the therapist offices took about twenty minutes, leaving them a plenty of time to enjoy a bite to eat and a refreshing coffee. Not only was the food amazing, but the environment of the shop was tranquil, its lighting dim, but bright enough to be able to work on something for school. The walls were a creamy brown, like coffee with a decent amount of creamer. The tables were wooden that had been painted a macaroon cream white, which was complemented well by chairs of the same color.

Those weren't the only reasons why Felix like this place so much, as he knew the owner. He was pleased to see the blonde behind the counter, drying some measuring cups.