NUMBER ーchanlix ✓

46.

"Hey bitches- Lix?" Hyunjin's cheerful greeting lost its tone once he saw the Aussie's disheveled state.

"Jinnie, I'm gonna grab something to eat." Jisung announced, gently pushing Felix into the said boy's house. Hyunjin didn't question further, he responded with a nod and opened the door wide to let the spiritless boy walk in.

He didn't really have to question them, Felix's sore eyes and tear-stained cheeks, along with the unbearable look of sadness in Jisung's eyes were enough to hint that things weren't right.

"Hey Felix."

Felix lifted his head tiredly and was met with a very smiley Seungmin chilling on the couch. He returned the smile with a weak one of his one, causing Seungmin's face to drop. He's never seen the bubbly boy look so broken before. He patted on the sofa to gesture Felix over, to which he complied.

"Lix.. You know we're right here, yeah? It's okay to let it out to us."

To Felix, Hyunjin's words seemed to have pulled the last straw; his breath hitched, he felt his lips wobble downwards and dug his teeth into them to stop the movement; his vision blurred, and when the words 'it's okay to cry' left Seungmin's mouth in a whisper, Felix felt everything crash down once more; it all flooded out of control.
Tears burned its way down his red-dusted cheeks. He let out soft whimpers, bringing his knees close to his chest, where his hands tightly grasped onto the fabric, as if the action would heal the suffering inside. Oh how bad his heart ached.

Hyunjin watched quietly, taking in deep breaths, he couldn't understand what had happened, but the boy seated beside Felix wasn't dumb. After a long while, Seungmin broke the silence.

"This is about Chris, right?"

Felix held his breath, before choking out a sob. He aggressively wiped his tears, nodding to let Seungmin know he was right. Somehow his heart was capable of shattering all over again, even when it felt like the pain couldn't get any worse.

"Is it about the boy in his last post?" Seungmin inquired, and Hyunjin gasped finally realizing what was going on.

"It didn't end there, they may have.. kinda, sorta um, actually they had an argument and Chris blocked him."

Jisung trailed off as he walked over to the boys, one hand firmly gripping onto a bag of snacks and the other intertwined with somebody else's. Jisung let go of Minho's hand as he placed the bag onto the coffee table. He stood before Felix and cupped his best friend's face in his hands, tilting his head up so their eyes could meet. He used his thumbs to caress Felix's sore cheeks, who, in response, closed his eyes to the touch.

"We can get through this together, okay?" Jisung smiled, "but you gotta eat something first."

--

Hyunjin carefully placed a blanket over Felix's delicate frame, the boy had fallen asleep on the couch in a warm, comforting cuddle with Jisung, who's hands were busy playing with Felix's smooth strands of hair. Hyunjin settled on the opposite side, accompanying Seungmin and Minho.

"Just to clear things up, Chris isn't in a relationship." Minho announced, keeping his voice low but loud enough to gain the three boys' attention, "and he's definitely not with Jeongin."

"Speaking of Jeongin, who is that?" Jisung tilted his head in confusion.

"Someone real close to Chris- wait," Minho sat straight, "he could clear this up." He fished for his phone and began typing.

"What are you doing?" Seungmin shifted in his position to peep into Minho's device.

"Texting Jeongin about this. And maybe Woojin could help too."

"And who is that?" Hyunjin interrupted, a lost expression on his face.

"Chris's brother. He's also Jeongin's boyfriend, they've been together since forever." Minho replied, causing the three boys to go speechless.

"He has a brother?!" Once the realsiation sank in, Jisung screeched. Real loud.

"Oh god Jisung, quiet down." Seungmin face-palmed in disappointment as the said boy held his hand over his mouth apologetically. Jisung peeped to see if Felix had woken up, but his breathing was steady and eyes were still shut.

"Guys I have to get going, take care of him." Minho stated after taking a look at his wristwatch. He glanced towards his boyfriend for approval.

"Alright babe, thanks for coming." Jisung replied, Seungmin and Hyunjin waved at the older as he left.

"So Chris had siblings and we had no idea?" Jisung continued, turning his attention back to Seungmin, the only other person right now who could answer them about Chris.

"Well Woojin is not his real brother, he was adopted at a very young age." Seungmin revealed, earning perplexed gasps from the two boys intently listening. Silence fell upon them once again, until a barely audible voice spoke up.

"He's never told me about that.. Am I that unimportant?"

Jisung jumped at the unexpected voice and gulped, knowing well it was his fault Felix was awake. He didn't get up, he stayed in his position and his eyes fluttered open, although he could barely open them fully because of how much he had cried.

"No baby, it isn't like that." Hyunjin moved to sit next to Felix and reached out to ruffle his hair.

"You know what, I think I've decided.." Felix said, voice hoarse and low. He struggled to sit up until Jisung loosened his arms to free the boy from his embrace.

They waited for him to continue.

"I'm going back home.. I need a break."