trinkdufreak | Title: La Douce Deni

Title: La Douce Deni part 8
Pairing: OnHo (Onew and Minho)
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Minho is a college freshman and has a crush on a junior named Onew. What happens when the usually popular jock asks the people-phobic nerd Onew out on date?
A/N: part 8 for this fic~ thank you to those that have been avidly reading this! hope you enjoy ^^ and i hope this chapter is not boring...

He hadn't cried this hard since his mother died.

He hadn't felt such extreme pain since his father had sat his two sons down and told them their mother was gone, and she could never return. He remembered that moment, that realization. He had been faster to react then his brother, Donghae going in to a numbing shock for a day. Minho had immediately broke down, his body rejecting this new information and trying to expel it from thought. It was an overload, too much to handle, so his body threw up what it could to sustain itself. He felt his heart hammering and trying to escape from his chest, it did not want this, it did not accept this.

But it was true. His mother was gone, and she was not returning. Ever.

It was a similar feeling as he watched Onew walk away, the pounding in his chest and the initial break down that made him nauseous. His vision became blurry with the salty water gushing from his eyes, the uncontrolled noises his throat was making as it constricted in pain. Onew was gone, and he was not coming back. Ever.

He hadn't thrown a tantrum since he was seven.

Hitting and screaming whatever he could until someone or something did what he wanted. Grabbing at his mother's skirt, raising his small fists at his father, and pulling his brother's hair. He would screech and wail, making his breaths labored and his face red. His brain constantly telling his body to thrash and grab in anyway possible until what he wanted was gained.

It was a similar reaction now, his knuckles were bruising and bloodied from hitting the black pavement beneath him, pulling his own hair, slapping at the wind and kicking at the air. And it would not give him what he wanted, it would not give in. He screamed and roared unintelligible cries, begging and demanding what he wanted. But it was not given.

Onew had left him.

Onew was not coming back to him.

He was not worthy enough for Onew to be his.

Because he was not worthy, Onew had left and was not coming back.

It hadn't started that way of course, he had started out numb. Standing there and trying to take in what had just happened. He was trying to wrap his mind around how bad things had gotten so fast.

He scarcely remembered Key and Jonghyun running up to him. He didn't remember when they'd gotten there, but he did remember Key screaming at him about 'how could he?', and a hard blow to his face that sent him to his knees. It hurt, but not in to comparison of what he was feeling inside. He watched Jonghyun pull hid deadly boyfriend away from a kneeling Minho, throwing him in the direction of the way Onew had gone. Before Jonghyun left, he had knelt down beside him, hand firmly grasping his shoulder and whispering in his ear,

“I know you didn't mean to...I..Its going to be okay...I'll see you around.” and then he ran after his hysterical boyfriend. And that was when his breakdown and tantrum had started. Because it was not going to okay, nothing was okay. Everything was wrong and not okay and he could not handle this.

He didn't know how long it was until he was found. But he felt two pairs of arms trying to contain him. Trying to contain the rage and anguish that was growing with every cry and every kick. He hit the arms, grabbed at the bodies that tried to stop him. He pulled and kicked and screamed, cried and pleaded. He did not want to feel this, it hurt to feel this, Onew made him feel so much.

Donghae had finally come out of the house. Donghae was the one to remove the people trying to contain him. Donghae was the one to sit and wait for the feelings to simmer down. Donghae was the one to pick him up when his body had no more strength, when his throat was too soar, to pick him up and carry him like the baby he was acting like. He wrapped his arms around his older brother's neck, his legs locked around his waist as he carried him back to Kyuhyun's house. His eyes were still not dry, his pathetic whimpers in to his brother's shoulder making his shirt wet. He was pathetic and unworthy, that kept him crying for a few more hours.

The party was long over by the time Donghae had carried him back to Kyuhyun's house. He laid on the couch, the same damn couch, and waited for his brother to take him home. He laid like a dead corpse. If only he were actually aloud to rot in to the ground. Finally his brother came back for him, trying to pull him up so he could walk, but like the rotting spoiled child he truly was, Minho resisted until Donghae was forced to pick him up again, uttering to him how pathetic he could be sometimes. Another round of cries and whimpers came out. And it continued on when they got home, Donghae rushing past their still awake parents as fast as he could with a full grown man in his arms. He was glad his father understood his warning look and was able to pass them by and go upstairs, laying Minho on to his bed. He had a gut feeling, and took down the curtains in Minho's room, letting his younger brother wrap himself in them, the crying reaching its peak. Minho was clutching his pillow with one hand, screaming as loud as he could in to it, the other was gripping the curtains like life depended on it.

And that was how he fell asleep.

Morning came much later, his eyes sore as they opened. The memories were still there, fresh and stinging. But he had no tears to cry, just the aching in his chest. His hands were tightly fitted in his thick curtains, the smell making the face of a beautiful woman dance around like a light fog behind the ache in his brain. The ache was still dull for the moment, but with every waking second it was growing, starting to form in to what it was in the first place. Before he could think of a way to numb the ache, Donghae came in to his room, and told Minho to spill it, everything. So Minho started from the moment he had seen Onew in the back of his school's theater. And ended with what felt like the second worst day of his life.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Donghae was sitting quietly, absorbing all the information and details he had just been dealt. He now knew everything about what had happened between his brother and this Onew. He understood why his little brother was a complete mess, from Minho's point of view Onew had ended up being his greatest opportunity and greatest accomplishment. And then it had all came falling down.

“You know you have to change right?” he asked Minho, who was still lying in his bed staring at the ceiling. Minho knew that he did, of course he did. That was what he had been trying to do, for Onew he wanted to be the best person possible.

“You have to change for yourself.” Donghae added, reading his brother's mind like he always did. The younger sighed with exhaustion, knowing how much effort this was going to take. And without an appealing goal like Onew? It would be much harder.

“Hyung, you're supposed to tell me that Onew will give me another chance, or to try and win him back! Focus on him, not on me. I don't want to focus on me.” Minho pouted in distaste.

“But you don't have Onew right now.” his older brother wasn't careful about the sentence, he said it plain and simple, the truth was the truth. Minho only nodded, and Donghae continued.

“The way I see it, Onew was like a kick start for you to grow up, get rid of your dumb reputation. I know it seems great to just...drink your life away and party, sleep with everyone whose willing, but you have goals Minho...”

“I was perfectly fine in high school, I had good grades.” Minho retorted with a loud humph.

“This partying is going to catch up to you. Don't stick on this forever. You messed up, you didn't keep your promise. Do better.” Donghae's voice was serious but gentle. Minho nodded. They vaguely made out their step-mother's voice downstairs calling for Donghae to come down for a minute to help her with something. He told his younger brother he would be right back and left.

The second he left, the second Minho felt the ache rising again. He had a need to make it go away, make it disappear. The only way that Minho had learned to make pain disappear was to numb it.

His need was to drink, to go out and find someone who wanted him.

He knew his brother had some bottles in the small wooden cabinet next to his bed. The minute he had turned 21 he had gotten a liquor cabinet of his own. Minho's instinct led him to get up from his bed and go in to his brother's room, aiming for the small wooden cabinet next to Donghae's bed. He assumed his brother would have something strong to drink, his job meant he played with big boys who were men and drank 'manly drinks'. He mentally planned to later call Kyuhyun to take him out to party more, if not he had other friends he could call to take him to parties. He needed to find someone pretty, someone who wanted him in every way.

His hand barely opened the small wooden door, when a force yanked him back and he fell to the ground. He looked up to see a very angry Donghae,

“What the fuck do you think you're doing you idiot?” his brother could be quite scary with his eyes ablaze, his teeth gnashing an angry bite.

“Just want a drink hyung?” his voice sounded dead but a hint of surprise, because he was pretty sure Donghae was a supportive and understanding older brother no more than two minutes ago...

“You're a fucking idiot. Grow up!” his brother moved to grip Minho's shirt and shook him violently, knocking his brain about a bit. He couldn't help it, his brattiness came out naturally around his brother.

“Don't want to.” he smirked as Donghae growled with an obvious threat to beat the crap out his little brother with no regrets.

Donghae dragged his younger sibling up from the floor and tossed him on to his own bed with a loud huff of 'sit down, shut up and listen'. Minho watched Donghae pace back and forth, the only way he could gather his thoughts, until he stopped and faced his little brother. Minho saw the rage and disappointment that was fueling his anger, but he also saw the affection lighting his eyes making them soft around the edges.

“Minho, I love you. You are my little brother, you are my best friend. I care about you so much it's probably going to kill me one day...but you need to grow up. Stop turning to sex and alcohol to solve your problems, to make you feel accepted. Stop it! I know you're hurt right now, heartbroken even. This guy you crushed on, he doesn't want you now,” Donghae paused. His stare was burning in to Minho's memory, begging Minho to understand this and to get this message as clearly as possible.

“He doesn't want you because you let an ex-boyfriend sit in your lap and kiss you. You did that. Take some responsibility. You fucked up, there are consequences. You let Taemin kiss you. And you need to own up to it. You messed up, he does not trust you, it might be that you don't get another chance.” Donghae's tone had become more calm now, and he want to sit down next to Minho and put a comforting hand on the younger man's shoulder.

“But that doesn't mean that everything ends now. Don't just give up and decide to be the drunk playboy you were before, you are so much better than that. I know it, you know it. Yeah, you don't have Onew anymore...

But that doesn't mean you become an old sponge. Because nobody wants an old sponge Minho.”

It felt like his brain had been a room, a dark room. The door had been locked, the lights turned off, and Donghae had found the light switch. Click. And then it all seemed clear. Like his mother had always said, no one liked an old sponge. He wasn't going to mope about and go back to his old ways. He had gone through the last couple of months with out any parties, any heavy drinking, no random sexual intercourse, and besides Onew he had been solely focused on his academics. Not that he wasn't a decent student in the first place, but he had been so insecure...

Ah! He had been just as insecure as Onew had been about people. Yes in a different way, Minho wanted to be accepted in every way by everyone. When he felt like no one was there, when he felt completely alone, he would go out and party, go out and get completely shit-faced and get his frustration out with sex, hold someone close to not feel so alone...now that he thought about it...it had gotten worse after his mother had died. Sure he had always had several relationships, but after his mother had passed...he just couldn't take the pain. He couldn't stand to sit around and think about how she was gone, how she wasn't there to love him, how he would never be held by her again. So he drank, so he had sex, so he pushed it all away.

“Oh.” he breathed. Now it made sense. He was insecure, just like Onew was. He was guarding himself, just like Onew was. He was fucked up, just like Onew was.

“Make sense?” Donghae asked, the hope lacing his words. Minho looked at his older brother, the man that was desperate to make Minho understand this, realize what he was doing.

“Perfect sense.” Minho muttered, and got up from his brother's bed and walked in to his room. Donghae didn't question him when he he shut the door and locked it. He went to his own bed and held his curtains to his cheeks. The curtains that his mother had played peek-a-boo with him when he was barely old enough to walk. The curtains that his mother opened every morning to wake him up, the curtains she would use to help Minho build a fort when he was little. So many tiny memories wrapped up in these stupid curtains, and up until last night he hadn't touched them since she had left. He wouldn't. He couldn't.

He wrapped them tighter around his body, encasing his limbs tightly. He dreamed of his mother that night, she was crying. She never cried in front of him, but she was, and scolding him like she did when he was small. Telling him to stop it this instant, that's enough, no more.

When he woke up, his eyes were red and irritated. It was time to grow up.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The end of January had arrived, so Minho packed back up and said goodbye to home. His father told him to take care of himself, not to cause too much trouble, his step-mother had suffocated him in hugs until he finally squeezed her back just as tight. His grandparents had hugged him together, not being indiscreet about shoving some money in his pockets before he got in to Kyuhyun's car.

Donghae gladly drove Kyuhyun and Minho up to school the weekend before school started. Kyuhyun was perfectly fine sleeping in the backseat of his own car, letting the sibling converse and fight over his radio the whole way.

They drove up Friday night. Donghae helped them move in, adding the new microwave and expensive coffee maker he had bought Minho for Christmas. Kyuhyun's parents had gifted a new black futon to go in their living room, convenient enough so that Donghae could spend the rest of the weekend with them. All day Saturday the trio relaxed, going downtown to shop near the fashion college, eating at local low-key diners that Kyuhyun swore by, and ending they day with video games where they hacked off the heads of zombies.

Sunday was more of getting down to business. They fully unpacked, walked down to their campus bookstore to get any supplies or books they had forgotten or needed. They double checked their schedules online, jotting down the classroom number and the times. Minho had an 9am Philosophy class, Kyuhyun had an English class at the same time. They planned to go to bed at a decent time and get plenty of sleep before the second semester started, but not before dinner.

While Kyuhyun was ordering their food over the phone, Minho was surfing through the television channels. Just as he settle on a reality show Donghae jumped up saying he had a call from work he had to take and headed out of their dorm. Minho turned up the volume, watching in interest the couple fighting about how one slut had done this and I'm so sick of your shit blah blah blah.

An hour later the food had arrived, Kyuhyun had ordered Chinese food, Minho's stomach rumbled when he smelled it from the kitchen. He immediately rose from the couch and attacked the plastic bags to find what was his. Fried rice and orange chicken was just what he needed. His smart roommate had ordered extra white rice on the side and two large bottles of Pepsi to go with it. The roommates sucked down the food, chomping and slurping while they laughed at the idiots on their TV screen. And then it hit him...

Where had Donghae gone?

“Did Donghae come back yet?” he asked Kyuhyun with a mouth full of chicken. His roommate shook his head and continued to watch the screen. How long could a call take? It had been almost two hours...Minho stood up, making sure to get one last bite of his rice before walking over to their front door to see if his older brother was still outside on the phone.

He swung the door open, and looked outside briefly. The hallways was completely empty, the lights shining brightly, every door down the hall closed. Where had his brother gone? Had an emergency for work come up? But he wasn't going to be able to leave until tomorrow...they had arranged rides with friends of friends who were heading back in the same direction...Donghae didn't have a ride anywhere until tomorrow...so where was he?

Minho sped-walked back to the couch and picked up his phone, messaging his brother.

To: Hyung

From: Dongsaeng

--Where did you go?--

He waited a couple seconds, and then almost put his phone down when it lit up and buzzed.

From: Hyung

To: Dongsaeng

--I'm right outside your door...in the hallway...--

What? No he wasn't...Minho's brow furrowed in confusion, and he carefully put his phone back down and walked over to his front door again. He reached for the handle...

and Donghae came bursting in with a loud yell that sent Minho screaming in panic and backing up a great distance.

“What the hell Hyung?!” he glared at his smiling brother, he looked too happy.

“Scared ya?” Donghae smiled bigger and chuckled when Minho retorted that he was not scared and he did not get scared of stupid little pranks like that. He ignored the loud giggles of his brother and his roommate as they kept imitating what he looked like when he jumped back from the door. When Minho had grudgingly finished his food, he said goodnight and headed in to his room.

As he laid down, he thought about the next day. What would it be like? It wasn't like he hadn't thought about it since his little epiphany. He thought about what it would be like to see Onew again. He wondered if the rest of Christmas break was enough time for maybe Onew to calm down, not be so upset with him. Maybe their bond he had worked so long on was still a little intact. He missed his nerd. He missed him like a child missed their favorite stuffed animal. And although he was worried about Onew completely hating his worthless guts, he was not going to lie about being excited to just see his face. To see his pout, his darling eyes, that long hair that was silky and disheveled. He missed watching Onew study with five huge books laid out in front of him, a pen lodged in his mouth and a highlighter pressed in to his cheek. He missed watching Onew struggle with spaghetti, twirling not working, his eyes brightening at the sight of chicken in any shape or form. He really liked it when Onew was able to ramble on and on about one subject he was interested in. He loved when Onew snapped and let out oh-so humorous sarcasm. And of course, he love love loved it when Onew smiled.

He snapped out of his thoughts when his door opened and a sleepy Donghae waddled in. Donghae plopped on to the floor, Minho sitting on his bed and waiting for whatever his older brother had to say.

“How ya feeling?” Donghae mumbled, leaning his head on to the bottom of Minho's bed.

“Fine.” he answered automatically.

“Fine never means fine Minho.” his brother really needed to stop knowing Minho like the back of his hand. It was a tiny bit irritating.

“I'm fine...if fine is worrying about to tomorrow...and the rest of the semester...”the two brother's eyed each other and laughed easily.

“Don't worry so much little brother, you'll be fine. Just remember what I told you hm?” his brother's eyes were drooping as he talked.

“I know, never drink again.” Minho chuckled. Donghae's head popped up with a confused glare.

“That's not what I said! I said don't get drunk.” his brother pointed a finger at him, Minho nodded. They sat in comfortable silence for a few seconds. Minho trying to muster up his courage to actually fall asleep and face tomorrow. Donghae was almost asleep as his head nodded down and his eyes fully closing. Minho smiled, he loved his brother too much. And he couldn't thank him enough for always being there for him, picking him up when he fell, defending him when he was wrong, cleaning up his messes with no complaints. Donghae kept his secrets, listened to his whining, and guided him when he was out of hand. He was Minho's best friend.

Donghae had fallen asleep, his light snoring filling his room.

“I'm scared to see him tomorrow. But I'm excited too.” Minho whispered to the sleeping form on the floor. His brother didn't answer him, so he continued.

“I'll do my best to follow what you said Hae, I want to...I want to be better than I was...I'm going to be better than I was.” he said with a firm voice, determination flowing out easily. He watched his brother snuggle in to the sheets hanging from the side, his nose twitching in his dreams.

“Thank you Donghae, really. Thank you. For everything you do for me, love you.” Minho smiled and patted Donghae's head, before kindly throwing one of his pillows to the ground and an extra blanket over his sleeping sibling. As if Donghae knew Minho's actions in his dreams, he laid back and settled in to the carpet floor. Minho's smile faded, his thoughts immediately running to tomorrow's fears and hopes. He sighed, knowing that he might was well have a full night's rest and laid back, forcing his eyes closed. His last thoughts were of Onew, Lee Jinki, his nerd.

He was going to be better.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The first class had been okay, he actually looked forward to people's different opinions for Philosophy. His professor had a bit of a monotone voice, but it wasn't going to kill him. Kyuhyun had met him for a brief lunch to bitch about how hard his English class was going to be before rushing off to his Math class. Minho didn't have a class until 2 in the afternoon. He took his time heading out of the cafeteria and walking towards his dorm.

He knew he would have to pass by the library on his way back. He knew it, and he tried his best not to stare at the clean building. The building itself wasn't what made his heart jump, it was what he knew about it. If he knew Onew well enough, he knew his nerd had made sure there was study time in the middle of the day, and where else did he do his hardcore studying? The library. Minho sensed him, like Onew's energy was emanating from the building's wall and shining through the windows.

And when the fuck did he get inside? He did not recall walking up the steps and getting to the very back. He tried so hard not to walk toward that section of books, the books that Onew would hide behind with his pile of books and turtle shell backpack. He knew he would be there...which was probably why his mind had decided to go in to auto-drive and take him right across from the man hunched in the corner.

The first thing he noticed was that Onew had died his hair, and grown it out. His hair was much longer, full and touching his shoulders. It was also extremely lighter, not the deep brown almost black. He was a light brown now with pieces of honey brown peaking as highlights. Its was still aloof though, not styled in any sort of way. Onew must have gotten new glasses over the break, he had new frames at the edge of his nose. His beige hoodie was rumpled, and his jeans were fitted. He was resting his head on his overly stuffed backpack. He had about three books laid out, his notebook before him and his highlighter and pen stuck in one hand. But...

he wasn't studying. Minho knew what Onew's face looked like when he was in the zone, he looked focused. His lips would pout and his eyes did this squint thing, his left hand would tap randomly. But Onew now was just...staring. Like something was on his mind, like he was trying to figure out a hard riddle and couldn't find the answer. His eyes were dead staring at a book, not reading it though.

Maybe he was...thinking about Minho?

No, that was ridiculous.

But he followed the out of reach theory anyways. If Onew was thinking of him, that meant he still maybe possibly not in particular but just maybe had the smallest of smallest chances to go up to Onew, kneel, and beg for forgiveness. He could beg, he told himself. Would he ever beg to Kyuhyun, his brother, his father? Hell no. Onew? If it meant talking to him again, then as many times as possible and he would say everything and anything, cry, degrade himself and curse himself. If it meant talking to Onew again, being his friend.

Maybe he couldn't get a date him, maybe he couldn't get Onew to ever give him a real chance like before. He asked himself, could he live with that? His eyes bore holes in that perfect person who stared off in to space...yes. Yes he could live with that. If only to be by Onew's side, to be apart of his daily routine once again. To make him laugh, to study with him, to dote upon him...not his lover. Not his boyfriend, just a friend...he could live with that.

Oh god his feet were moving, oh god he walking when had he started walking? Did his brain know this was a bad idea? Did it realize what a stupid thought it was to start walking toward the man who had screamed and told him to basically fuck off and that he fucking hated Minho. Not a good idea, abort mission immediately. Why were his feet still moving? Of fuck it.

“Hey! Minho!” a loud voice called from his right. His head snapped from the hypnosis that was Onew and looked with alarm at a smiling guy waving at him. A common friend, his name was Chad. They had hung out several times at parties, he had two classes with him last semester. He held his liquor well, knew how to make jokes, had a car. Good guy overall. And Minho had never hated him and wanted to kill him more as he called Minho again, smiling like an idiot. He wanted to punch his face in and cut that smile off of his stupid face because Onew had gone out of his staring off in to space trance. His whole body had tensed, his jaw had locked, his eyes had had become lit with a sense of panic and rage combined. He looked up, god he looked up and actually laid eyes on Minho's frozen form. Caught mid-step, heading in his direction.

Please don't leave, please just wait I just want to talk.

Onew got up, stuffing his notebook in to his back pack and a few of the books as well. Minho began to walk faster, but was stopped by Chad walking up to him, trying to say hello and wanting to catch up.

“Chad, I can't right now.” his words were rushed as he patted his friend on the shoulder, assuring him that he wasn't trying to insult him in anyway, and took off after the retreating figure. Onew was well ahead of him, his hair bobbing with each rushed step. Minho didn't even know what he was going to say to him, and here he was chasing him down.

Onew had made it out the back doors, easily galloping down the steps and heading right in a light jog.

“Onew!” Minho called out, hoping maybe he would stop like a deer in headlights if he knew Minho had followed him out. Nope. He didn't look back, didn't even give him the fingers. He kept jogging away, trying to get as far away as possible from Minho. He was too far ahead, and Minho didn't see the point in following someone who had made that much effort to get away from him. He watched with regret as Onew's form grew smaller and faded in to a crowd of people.

“And what the fuck do you think you're doing?” a very irate voice hissed from beside him. He was surprised to find Key glaring at him as he sat gracefully on the side of the steps. Minho made a quick note that Key was really pretty with no make up on, and then focused on the obvious glare the pretty male was sending his way. He didn't doubt that if they were totally alone, Minho would be dead right now. He tried to muster a smile and wave, but thought better when Key scoffed at him and continued to glare at the younger.

“Hi Key.”

“Fuck off.” so he'd lost a fan boy. Oh well. He watched Key stand up from his sitting position and stomp right up to get in Minho's face.

“You will not go near my cousin. Do you hear me? Do not go near him, do not touch him, do not talk to him. Or there will be serious consequences.” Minho knew that technically he could beat up Key if he wanted to, he was twice his size in muscle mass and pretty sure Key had never been a real fight since grade school...at least a fight with another guy.

But he also knew that he never would beat up Key. Not with the furry and rage that was glistening in his eyes. Because that furry and rage meant he was willing to kill someone for the sake of Onew. And Minho couldn't even be angry at his words, he could only respect them, because Key was trying to protect Onew, not bring harm to the older man. Which was of course was the opposite of what Minho had done.

“I just want to explain myself.” he sounded like a small child be scolded.

“There is nothing to explain. I saw it, Jonghyun saw it, Onew sure as hell saw it. You kissed some red-headed slut Minho. Onew doesn't want to talk to you or see you or ever have you in his life ever. Ever. Get it?” he felt small, he felt stupid...and weak...and guilty all over again.

“I get it.” he gave in to the scolding. Key just nodded, placing his hands on his hips and deciding what to say next, because it seemed he had a lot to say.

“Its not that I hate you Minho.” his voice wasn't as snippy now, still authoritative, but not so much attitude lining each word anymore,”I mean I'm pissed off obviously. You...you promised me! You promised Onew! And then you...ugh!” Key shook his head, trying to control his emotions.

“Until Onew says he wants to talk to you, I won't let you get anywhere near him. I can't. I won't.” Minho nodded at Key's understandable words.

He was left on the stairs by himself. He sat down where Key had previously been. He should have known this was coming. That even if he tried to get back to Onew he would be forced away by the people who were closest to him.

They didn't want to see him hurt again. And he couldn't argue with that.

He got up, and headed to his dorm, taking time to grab a small snack before his next class.

When Kyuhyun asked why he was so down, he lied and said he had a ton of homework.

He was going to ignore the whole situation. He was going to follow his brother's direction and focus on himself. He would improve himself.

That night when Kyuhyun asked if he was interested in going to a tutor every Friday afternoon with him so they could stay ahead of their studies this semester, Minho agreed immediately. It was something to take up his mind and distract from any parties. He then planned out his weekends accordingly. Saturdays would be his gym and laundry days, Sundays would be his homework days. And of course during the week he would focus solely on his studies and any extra curricular activities he could fit in to his schedule to occupy himself.

So his week was quite hectic and packed to the max.

He found his nose stuck in a book more often then watching his soccer games. His family had protested at first, but then he tried out for the school's soccer team and made it. He had soccer practice Monday to Thursday from 6am to 8am.

He had a 9am to 10:15am class and a 2pm to 3:15pm class on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Tuesdays and Thursdays he had three classes; 10am to 10:50am, 11am to 11:50am and 1pm to 1:50pm.

Just for kicks and to pack his schedule even tighter, he joined his school's recycling club. The club met Mondays at noon till 1pm.

He found a job at his school's bookstore, he worked the afternoon shift following his classes. After his last class of the day he would head to work and stay until closing at 7pm.

Friday's he would meet Kyuhyun at the library in one of the educational rooms after work and be in tutoring until 9pm. The tutor session was composed of himself, Kyuhyun, a sophomore girl, and two other boys plus the graduate student who was tutoring them.

He would go home, finish up any homework he had left, eat, shower, ignore all irrelevant thoughts and feelings, and be in bed no later than 11:30pm. Saturdays he would head to the gym around 10am and be there until noon. He would eat something small in his dorm, do his laundry and then look over notes just incase a surprise quiz showed up. Sometimes Kyuhyun convinced him to come watch television with him, or play a video game or two. Sometimes he gave in, and sometimes he plunged his nose in to a book so that only literature would occupy his mind.

On Sundays he would first call his brother to catch up, almost dial or text Onew and then stop himself, and then head to the public computer lab to do more studying and get ahead in anyway he could.

He had done this for about a month now.

Minho knew he was running low on energy, he knew he was tired as fuck. But he looked on the bright side, he didn't feel nauseous from drinking, and he didn't have to make sneak runs to the school's clinic to test himself any more. On another posotive note, he was starting to find his true friends in the school. The senior that had asked him out during the orientation still talked to him, but a guy he had helped drag home after a party didn't bother with him anymore. It was kind of refreshing in a way. He was getting solid grades in all his classes, he was getting his own income. With the help of Kyuhyun he had learned to manage it better and had was able to actually buy coffee for his new coffee maker and put it to good use. He was getting used to this new life, this responsible life. And he kind of liked it. And just as he was slowly closing the Onew drawer, coming to peace with the thought that Onew was probably better off with out him, he got a text on a Saturday as he was waiting for his clothes to dry.

From: Jonghyun

To: Minho

--Can we meet somewhere to talk?--

And the drawer was yanked open, every memory and hope came spilling out and on to the floor.

What a mess.

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A/N: yay there it is~ quicker than last time right? riiighht??? cuz i got that wi-fi yo! wooooot~ did minho seem like he was becoming a better guy? i think he did, he was really determined to join that recycling club, i told him the chest club but he just wasn't having that hehehe
hope everyone is doing well and doing good so far in their school year! luckily I had time to post this cuz I have like hours upon hours of accounting homework to do. its about 8:30 pm where I'm at and I just know I'll be up till about 4am. no biggy, its the usual. anywho i hope you enjoyed and i didn't bore you to death with my boring writing OTL comments are much appreciated ^^ <333

The Inconspicuous Asshole

Beware Douchebagery and Fuckery

Title: La Douce Deni

Title: La Douce Deni

no subject