Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

With little to do with a cast on, Chanyeol had decided to devote himself to his actual major, spending all of his time either in his bedroom at home creating music and producing, or at his campus apartment creating music and producing. Currently he was in the former, and he layered a slower beat over a guitar rhythm he had recorded, thinking it might create the right flow he was looking for. As the pieces blended together, he unintentionally had created a mood that made him get lost in thought.

It was the side effect of creating music for him. He loved doing it, but inevitably when the right pieces of music came together, he was hit with memories or feelings that he was trying to keep his mind off of. But it was okay. He knew that’s how inspiration worked. He’d have to lean into those feelings and thoughts to create true art, so he let himself get carried away, thinking about the conversations he’d had in the past couple of weeks with people.

Part of him had hoped they’d just understand his decision to be left alone, but deep down inside, he knew that there was no way they could truly comprehend it. Still, he had to focus. He had to commit to not having any distractions in order to get his ankle healed, to get his mindset where it needed to be to play again, and to not allow anything to keep him from winning that championship next year.

Maybe he didn’t have to be so extreme, but what he needed more than anything was a break. A break from all the pressures that his friends had been putting on him to be himself, to be happy, to live up to their standards. A break from all the events and partying that would ruin his chances of a professional basketball career if he ever got caught. And most of all, a break from his biggest distraction—Kyungsoo.

His thoughts ebbed and flowed as he added more tracks together and, when he was done, he uploaded it to his Soundcloud to see what his followers thought of it. He didn’t use his real name on his Soundcloud, not wanting to call attention to it in case the NCAA decided to be dicks about it. He had come up with a name for himself a long time ago, DJ Loey, a play on his name, and his account had around 800 followers, which was amazing to him considering he didn’t even promote it or anything.

He tended to get about fifty or sixty likes on his songs when he posted them, and he always used that as a gauge for future projects, seeing what spoke to people and what didn’t. It annoyed him from time to time that the songs he put a lot of effort into and really felt strongly about got less likes than some of his songs where he was just playing around and decided to upload it anyway, but maybe that was part of the simplifying process that he needed to take note of. Maybe he needed to stop overthinking everything that he did.

***

“Did I overdo it?” Sana asked Chanyeol, standing in his room after having transformed herself into the cutest Hufflepuff ever. She wore yellow shorts, a gray Hufflepuff tee with the Hufflepuff crest in yellow on it, matching Hufflepuff knee-high socks with cute matching tennis shoes, and had her hair pulled back into a ponytail being held by a Hufflepuff hair ribbon.

“How could you overdo it?” Chanyeol asked, already dressed in his cargo jean shorts and red Gryffindor T-shirt. “You look perfect. Sehun’s going to love it. Especially because he’s a fellow Hufflepuff.”

She smiled and brought her hands up to her face to make cute little fists as she said, “I’m so excited. I love going to Harry Potter Land. I never go enough.”

Chanyeol chuckled and motioned for her to come over to him.

“Well when it’s your birthday, we can do it again,” he told her, placing his hands on her hips and leaning up so he could give her a quick kiss to let her know just how much he liked how she looked.

After last year’s Hunger Games -inspired celebration, this year, Sehun decided he wanted to get lost in the literary world of Harry Potter instead. Chanyeol was just happy that he had picked a theme park, where it would be easier for everyone to spread out instead of being stuck having to do activities together the whole time.

It wouldn’t have been a problem usually, except that Sehun had invited Baekhyun and Jisoo, as he always did, but then had also invited Rosé, Jongin, Lisa, Yixing, and Taeyong, along with several of his college friends. Chanyeol found out later that Sehun had actually invited Kyungsoo and Jongdae as well, but both had told him they’d treat him to their own birthday dinner since they couldn’t make it due to other commitments. Chanyeol was pretty sure they had made up the commitments thing to be nice in order to get out of seeing him.

Chanyeol hadn’t explicitly told Sehun that he had distanced himself from that particular group of people, and he knew that Sehun was still friends with them, so he didn’t bother mentioning anything about it to him. But now that the day had come, he was really hoping that he and Sana were able to just hang out with his parents away from the rest of the party.

They arrived at Universal Studios and pulled into valet, Sana handing her keys over to the attendant and then helping to get Chanyeol’s crutches out of the car and handing them to him. They headed straight to the meeting point, which was the iconic rotating Universal Studios globe at the entrance of the studio.

Sehun was already there with his parents and his college friends, including Johnny, who Chanyeol already knew. So, he was introduced to a bunch of new friends he had never met before: Mark, Jungwoo, Chaeyoung, the only girl among them, and Jaden, the only non-Asian in the group.

Chanyeol introduced them to Sana, and this ritual repeated each time a new person showed up. Chanyeol remained polite, though he stood by his parents and gave a simple wave when those he had cut out of his life said “hey” to him upon seeing him. He was happy when no one initiated further conversation, which may have been helped by him suddenly having a ton of topics to discuss with his parents to keep himself occupied.

“I’m so happy so many of you could make it,” his mother said to Sehun’s friends from college. “I know Easter is this weekend.”

“We don’t get time off for Easter,” Johnny explained, “So I wasn’t going to fly home just for two days.”

“I’m from Toronto,” Mark also said, “So I definitely wasn’t flying home.”

“Same,” Jungwoo said with a big smile, and then added “I’m from Jersey.”

“They’re from LA,” Sehun said, motioning toward Chaeyoung and Jaden, “So they weren’t going anywhere.”

“Well the three of you from out of town are more than welcome to join us for Easter if you like,” his mom said, and the three friends politely thanked her for the invitation.

“None for you two,” Chanyeol teased the other two, who laughed and said they were crashing anyway, which his mom said she had no issues with and insisted they join them as well.

“Actually,” Sehun said with a big smile, “Jaden’s our neighbor, kind of. He’s from Malibu too.”

“Oh really?” his mother asked, intrigued by this.

As it turned out, Jaden lived up in the hills overlooking the ocean, and when his father asked him who his parents were and what they did in case he knew them or had run into them, Sehun stepped in immediately to say, “We don’t talk about that.”

“We really don’t,” Jungwoo said with a laugh. “Jaden has no parents as far as we’re concerned.”

“It’s just Jaden,” Mark nodded.

His father didn’t quite know how to react to that, but he went along with it. That was until Rosé showed up, was introduced to everyone, and then pointed to Jaden with big eyes.

“Hey! Aren’t you—”

“We don’t talk about that,” Sehun said before she could finish.

“You’re just making me want to know what we don’t talk about,” Baekhyun whined, looking over from where he had been talking with Jisoo, Lisa, and Jongin. “Either stop saying it or tell us.”

“It’s my birthday,” Sehun said with a bratty smile, “I get to both keep saying it and not explaining it.”

“He has a point,” Johnny said, playing along.

Rosé being Rosé however let them all know what Sehun wasn’t telling them, which was that Jaden was the son of two A-list Hollywood actors that made everyone’s jaws drop when they were told who they were.

“Oh wow,” Jisoo said, looking surprised. “Oh my God, your dad’s one of my faves. I think I’ve seen all his movies.”

“We don’t talk about this,” his dad then said, putting his hand up with a smile on his face that made everyone laugh. But the point was clear, and Baekhyun helped him out with it.

“My parents are A-list actors in Korea,” Baekhyun told Jaden, “So I get it. If anyone mentions it again today, I’ll personally smack them for you. I know all these idiots well enough to not have a problem smacking them.”

“I appreciate that, man,” Jaden said with a thankful nod.

With everyone there and the introductions complete, they headed toward the VIP Lounge near the Will Call area. Chanyeol looked a little caught off guard when Jisoo joined them to walk beside Sana.

“Hey, how have you been?” Jisoo asked her.

“Good, how about you?” Sana asked her back with a big smile.

“Good and busy,” Jisoo stated.

They continued their small talk as they went inside the VIP Lounge where they got to relax while his dad checked them in. It was actually his dad who had insisted that they do a VIP Experience instead of just heading to the park, mostly because he was concerned about Rosé’s new celebrity status and asked Sehun if he thought it’d be a good idea so that they could reduce the possibility of her being bothered by people throughout the park. Sehun had said it would be a great idea, especially since some of the other people invited also had fans or were known and prone to being bothered. At the time, Chanyeol had thought he meant Jongin, but now he realized that he had probably been thinking about Jaden too.

Chanyeol was just happy to be off his crutches and sitting again. He made himself comfortable on the brown leather couch and grabbed one of the complimentary bottled waters while they waited to be checked in. Sana sat beside him, and Jisoo sat beside her as they continued to talk.

He didn’t pay too much attention and was happy for the distraction when he was approached by Chaeyoung who greeted him with, “Hey, fellow Gryffindor.”

Chanyeol smiled at her, having noticed her Gryffindor tank top that she wore with jean shorts.

“Hey,” he told her back, and played along. “Are you on the Quidditch team with me?”

“You know it,” she said with an even bigger smile. “I wanted to tell you that I love watching you play. Sehun makes us watch all your games. I can’t wait until next season to watch you play again.”

“I can’t wait either,” he assured her. “It can’t come soon enough. Do you play?”

“Not since like middle school,” she said. “I figured out by high school that I like watching sports a lot more than playing them.”

“That was around the time I figured out I like playing them more than watching them,” Chanyeol joked, and Chaeyoung laughed.

“Dude,” Jungwoo in his Slytherin shirt and black cargo shorts said as he joined them. “Can we sign your cast too?”

“Sure, go for it,” Chanyeol told him, “If you can find a Sharpie somewhere.”

“I’ll ask at the desk,” Jungwoo said, hurrying over to where Chanyeol’s dad was still checking them in.

“Babe,” Sana then said, resting her hand on his leg as she looked at him, “I’m going to go grab us some snacks from the snack table. Do you want a soda or anything?”

“No, I’m good with this water,” he assured her, and she got up to go check out the snacks with Jisoo.

He half-expected Baekhyun to sit next to him for some reason, but instead the seat was occupied by his mother who wanted to check up on him.

“Are you doing alright?” she asked him, “Do you need to use the restroom before we get started?”

“I promise you that I won’t need your help to use the restroom,” he told her with a chuckle. “I’m fine, mom.”

“I just want to make sure,” she told him, “It’ll probably be easier for you to use this one before you have to struggle to get the handicap stall out in the park with everyone else.”

“I’ll use it before we leave this lounge. Promise,” he assured her.

His mom got up when Sana returned with the snacks, and gratefully without Jisoo. Jungwoo had managed to get a Sharpie from the desk, and he and Chaeyoung took turns signing his cast while he ate his Danish and banana and looked at them amused.

“I’m taking a picture, okay?” Chaeyoung asked him. “I want to post it on my Instagram that I got to sign your cast. I won’t post it until later tonight, so don’t worry.”

“It’s fine,” Chanyeol told her, letting both her and Jungwoo take pictures. They ran off to show their other friends the pictures, which inspired Mark, Johnny, and Jaden to all come over and do the same, making Chanyeol laugh.

“Why does it feel like it’s your birthday instead?” Sana joked.

It felt even more like his birthday when their tour guide for the day came straight to him with a wheelchair.

“Your chariot has arrived, Sir,” the man said with a playful bow, and Chanyeol laughed at him and thanked him as his father joined them with a bunch of lanyards hanging from his arm.

The tour guide was then joined by another tour guide who was even more animated than him and who began to address their group.

“Hey, everyone,” he said, “My name is Will and I’m going to be your tour guide for your most excellent adventure at the park today. Since the group is large, I’ve asked my good friend Hayden to help me out. Everyone say, ‘Hi, Hayden’.”

“Hi, Hayden,” they all said, Chanyeol giggling at the cheesiness that always came with theme parks.

“Nice to meet you all,” Hayden told them, and then Will continued.

“So we have a special guest in the house today,” Will said, extending his arm toward Sehun, “The birthday boy. Happy birthday, Sehun.”

“Thanks,” Sehun said, looking a bit bashful all of a sudden as they all said “Happy birthday” to him and gave a round of applause.

“You’ll notice that this tall guy over here has got some presents for all of you,” Will said, motioning toward Chanyeol’s dad, “That is your badge, which will be your official ticket for all of the shows, rides, and experiences you’ll be having today. If you could pass those out to everyone, please.”

His dad started passing them out, giving Chanyeol his first, which he immediately put around his neck.

“We love free labor,” Will joked, and everyone laughed, Chanyeol’s mom laughing the loudest as her husband looked amused by the joke. “Just kidding, guys,” Will said, putting his hands up, “Now Hayden’s going to pass out survival kits to everyone. It’s crazy out there, you have to be prepared.”

Hayden passed out clear pockets that also could be hung around their neck, which included hand sanitizer, mints, and lip balm, which Sana cooed at when she received hers.

“So normally our VIP Experience involves a carefully planned agenda,” Will explained, “but since Sehun’s theme is Harry Potter, we’ve changed it around a bit for you guys because what the birthday boy wants, he gets.”

“Yay,” Sehun said, with a little fist pump.

“Yay!” Will said, joining him, then he said, “So our first stop will be to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, where you’ll be given an exclusive tour of the Hogwarts castle before getting to go on an unforgettable forbidden journey. Now’s a good time to use the restrooms and help yourself to a complimentary bottle of water before we find a good portkey to get us to Hogsmeade.”

“I love this tour already,” Sehun said, clapping to himself, and Johnny laughed and gave him a happy hug.

Chanyeol did use the restroom then, and then settled into his wheelchair after, which Sana insisted on pushing even though his father had said he could do it.

“We’ll take turns,” his father told her.

Sana smiled at him and told him, “Okay.”

Chanyeol knew that it wouldn’t take his intuitive and nosy mother long before noticing that things were a bit off. She thankfully waited until the Hogwarts tour was over and everyone was getting onto the Forbidden Journey ride before bringing it up. His mother had insisted that Sana go on the ride and that she’d stay with Chanyeol, who decided to not bother since there were other rides that he’d rather make the effort of getting out of the wheelchair for.

His dad decided not to go on the ride as well, which meant he was part of this conversation whether he himself had noticed anything or not.

“What’s going on?” his mother asked him. “I haven’t seen you talk to your friends since you got here, and they haven’t talked to you. Baekhyun and Jisoo didn’t even ask about your ankle or check up on you. Did something happen?”

Chanyeol sighed, not sure how to answer. He shrugged and said, “We’re just not talking right now.”

“Why?” his mother asked, looking shocked that she had been right in her assessment. “What happened? I should have guessed something was wrong when they stopped showing up to the house to check up on you.”

“It’s my fault,” Chanyeol told her. “Or my decision. I told them I needed some space right now to deal with everything. It’s hard to explain, okay? I just felt like I needed a break from everyone. But Sehun doesn’t know that, and they’re his friends too, so I didn’t want to ruin the day for him by telling him. Don’t say anything, okay?”

“I won’t say anything,” his mother said, “But you and I are going to talk about this later.”

Chanyeol sighed and said, “Fine.”

Once everyone got off the ride, they headed to the wand experience where, not surprisingly, Sehun was the lucky person chosen to test out the wands until he found the perfect one for him. And then everyone, except once again Chanyeol and his parents, rode the Hippogriff ride before they were all pulled together by Will and Hayden to take a group photo with the Hogwarts castle as their backdrop.

“We need a Slytherin-only photo,” Rosé insisted, giving her phone to Will to take a picture with just her and her fellow Slytherins—Baekhyun, Taeyong, and Jungwoo.

This inspired everyone else to do the same, Jisoo organizing the one for the Ravenclaws, which consisted of her, Yixing, and Jaden, and then Sehun rounded up his fellow Hufflepuffs, which included their dad, Sana, Jongin, and Johnny. Gryffindor was left for last, with Chanyeol in his wheelchair right in the middle and surrounded by his mom, Lisa, Mark, and Chaeyoung.

Once the pictures were taken, they were escorted down to where the backlot tours took place and were guided to their own private trolley, which his dad helped him get into on his crutches, Hayden taking on the duty of folding his wheelchair and bringing it on board for him.

Chanyeol didn’t want to be a huge inconvenience or burden on the tour, and insisted he didn’t need to get off at every stop and could just wait on the trolley, but Hayden wasn’t having it and said he would carry him in his arms if he preferred to make sure he didn’t miss anything. Chanyeol had laughed and told him it wouldn’t be necessary.

By the time they were taken to have their lunch, Chanyeol was starving and exhausted. He really couldn’t stress enough how much he hated crutches. He was grateful to be back in his wheelchair, in the air conditioning, and being pushed down the buffet line by his dad as Sana filled up his plate with whatever he pointed to or asked for.

They sat in their private VIP room, Chanyeol sitting at a table for four with his parents and Sana and enjoying every bit of his filet mignon and deviled eggs. Even with the awkwardness of not talking with his friends, he was having a nice time and genuinely enjoying himself. It was nice to be doing something other than being stuck at home or on campus, and it was nice to be spoiled by Sana, and Hayden, honestly. It was also nice to see Sehun with a huge smile on his face and animated as he talked with them, as if he really was a student at Hogwarts with all of his friends.

Because Chanyeol wasn’t interacting with the group, he got to observe their interactions with each other and found it interesting how Sehun was sitting at the table with the other dancers—Jongin, Lisa, Taeyong, and Yixing—while Baekhyun, Jisoo, and Rosé had been joined by Johnny at theirs. Mark, Jungwoo, Chaeyoung, and Jaden were together as well, but talking across the small space that separated them from Jisoo’s table, as Jaden and Baekhyun appeared to be getting along really well, talking with excitement about something across the space.

His mind couldn’t help but wonder about what if Kyungsoo and Jongdae had joined them. There’d probably be another table taken up by them, and probably Jongin and Baekhyun would have joined them, leaving the other dancers to themselves since Kyungsoo probably wouldn’t want to sit at a table with his ex. Or… both exes really. He suddenly found himself intrigued by how Taeyong and Yixing were interacting with each other, but they seemed to be hanging out just fine, invested in something Jongin was telling them all that had Sehun looking surprised.

After lunch, they were taken to rides and shows, Chanyeol making sure to not miss out on riding Transformers and The Mummy, but he had to skip Jurassic Park because he couldn’t risk getting his cast wet.

Sana decided to sit that one out to wait with him while everyone else, including his parents, went to ride it. She sat on his lap a bit to the side and leaned her head against his shoulder.

“Tired, babe?” Chanyeol asked her, wrapping his arms around her waist.

“So much walking,” she said with a small chuckle. “Sitting on you feels good though.”

“Maybe you can stay here, and my dad can push us both around,” he teased, and Sana laughed. “Once my cast is off, and I’m on the mend, we’ll have to come back so I can do more rides and things with you.”

“I’m down, but today has been pretty nice anyway,” she said, dropping a little kiss on his cheek before she leaned her head against his shoulder again. “Are you having fun?”

“I am,” he told her, “Are you?”

“I am,” she said, “I just want to make sure you are though. With the crutches and everything. And also, with your friends and the relationship you guys have right now. I saw you staring at them a lot during lunch. Do you wish you were talking to them and hanging out with them?”

Chanyeol paused to think about the answer to that, and he said, “No. I’m happy just hanging out with you and my parents. Honestly, I’ve never been the kind of guy to have a lot of friends or a big group of friends like that. That was a more recent development because of Jisoo’s friendship with Jennie, and Jongin dating Jennie and bringing his friends into it. But now that they aren’t together, well, it’s just nice to have a smaller group of people in my life right now.” He hoped he explained it well. It all made sense to him in his head, but he felt that he couldn’t really get people to understand it.

“Quality over quantity,” Sana said and nodded against his shoulder, “I’ve always been like that too. Even after joining a sorority, I still really only have three close friends I’ve made there. I prefer hanging out with just the four of us instead of everyone in the sorority when we have our parties and mixers.”

“I…” Chanyeol began, never sure how much of his weird personality traits he should really share with people, but she was his girlfriend now, and he supposed she should be prepared for anything. “I have an issue with getting overwhelmed really easily. I just don’t handle it all that great.”

“I can understand that,” she said, letting her fingers play with the bottom strands of his hair. “Hey, if you ever feel you’re getting overwhelmed by anything, let me know, okay? I’ll help make it less overwhelming however I can.”

“I will,” he told her. “But hopefully you won’t have to worry about it. I think I’ve got things under control right now.”

“I know you do,” she told him, “But still. I’m here when you need me.”

He gave her a little squeeze, and leaned his head to rest it against hers, enjoying this moment with them just being still while tourists bustled around them noisily from attraction to attraction.

That was until Jisoo emerged from the exit of the ride and told them not to move. She took a couple of pictures, then smiled at Sana and said, “You’re going to thank me for this. You guys look too cute. I’m sending them to you right now.”

“Ah, thanks,” Sana said with a sweet and cheerful voice, getting up from Chanyeol’s lap and pulling her phone out of her pocket to look at the pictures. “No, oh my gosh, I love these.”

“Told you,” Jisoo said to her with a knowing smile.

Sana showed them to Chanyeol, who thought the pictures were cute too, and he told Sana to forward them to him as well.

Once their lower lot rides were done, they headed back up to the upper lot to have dinner back up in Hogsmeade. At least they did after Rosé was stopped to have a picture taken with her, as was Jongin at one point. It wasn’t surprising that people had recognized them and started sharing on social media that they had been spotted there, so now it seemed that people were actively paying attention and noticing them more.

It was a good thing then that dinner at The Three Broomsticks was their final stop of the day, and Chanyeol’s dad went ahead and ordered them The Great Feast option to share as a family and all the butterbeer the birthday boy could possibly want. Sehun sat with them, having settled by his mom and across from Chanyeol at the table they were at.

“So,” Chanyeol said to him in between bites of his corn on the cob, “How does this birthday rank for you among your other birthdays?”

“A hundred out of ten,” Sehun replied without hesitation. “This is the best birthday ever. I can’t believe I didn’t have to wait in line to ride all my favorite rides. I want to do this every day.”

“Too bad it’s not your birthday every day,” Chanyeol teased him.

“We should do this again for your birthday,” Sehun then said with a smirk. “I can wait until October.”

“Nice try,” Chanyeol said with a chuckle.

“Sana, when is your birthday?” Chanyeol’s mother asked her.

“Oh, it’s in December,” Sana told her. “December 29th.”

“A Christmas baby,” his father remarked. “Do your parents combine your presents?”

“No, they make sure I feel like it’s two separate things,” she told them with a little smile.

“Do they live here?” his mother asked her. “Are you from the area?”

“Yeah, we’re from the South Bay,” she replied.

“Oh,” his father said, “Which part?”

Sana hesitated a little and then said, “Gardena.”

“Oh,” his mother said, not hiding her reaction, which was not favorable, but luckily not judgmental either if possible. “How nice.”

“There’s an incredible chicken wings place in Gardena,” his father said, as if trying to remember something, “I believe it’s on Crenshaw. They had these sweet hot wings that were remarkable.”

“Isn’t Tyga from Gardena?” Sehun said, looking very interested in this. “Do you know Tyga?”

Sana giggled at the question, probably to release some of the tension of his mom’s reaction, “I don’t know him, but we did graduate from the same high school.”

“Shut up,” Sehun said, his eyes wide, “That’s so cool.”

“Um, you guys graduated from the same high school as the Hadids,” Sana pointed out. “I think that’s even cooler.”

“When did you go to Gardena to eat wings?” his mother asked his father, and Chanyeol snorted.

“One of Raymond’s hospitals is down there,” his father told her, trying to not look too amused himself by her questioning. Raymond was one of their neighbors on their street that his parents got along well with, and his father explained, “I met him for lunch down there a few times so we could discuss some property he was interested in buying. I should set up another lunch just so we can go get those wings again.”

“You know who else is from Gardena that’s even cooler than Tyga?” Chanyeol decided to point out to make Sana feel more comfortable, “The greatest WNBA player of all time, and notable USC alum, Lisa Leslie.”

“Lisa Leslie is the best,” Sehun agreed emphatically.

“She’s amazing,” Sana agreed. “She didn’t go to my high school though.”

“Sehun,” Johnny called from the table behind theirs where most of the friends were eating, “Are we riding Forbidden Journey again after this?”

“Yes,” Sehun told him, “And then I’m buying my wand.”

“Sweet,” Johnny said, turning back around to the table who had apparently been in discussion about wanting to ride it again before they left.

Chanyeol worked on one of his spareribs as he glanced over to a smaller table to the side where Jisoo, Lisa, Rosé, Jongin, and Yixing had decided to sit. Baekhyun and Taeyong were at the table with Sehun’s college friends and once again Baekhyun was seated by Jaden, the two in conversation.

“Baek and your friend Jaden seem to really have hit it off,” Chanyeol mentioned to him, and a huge smile overtook Sehun’s face.

“I know,” Sehun said, “I knew they’d get along. I wanted them to meet so bad. They have a lot of things in common, and Jaden plays guitar, so they haven’t stopped talking about music since then. Jaden’s going to hang out with Baek and his band at their next session and jam with them to see if he’d be interested in joining the band.”

“Would Jaden want to do that?” Chanyeol asked, surprised. “It seems he likes his anonymity, and Baekhyun definitely wants his band to be successful.”

“Yeah, it’s what he wants to do,” Sehun confirmed. “He’s a Music major and a Black Studies minor. He’s literally in school to hone his musical craft and strengthen his activism instead of studying for a career.” Chanyeol knew his brother well enough to catch the awe in his voice as he talked about his friend, and Chanyeol found it really endearing. “But he has a Soundcloud and like five mixtapes, and he almost signed a record deal, but he believes in fate and said it didn’t feel right, so he just kept working on his own stuff, waiting for the right opportunity to come along. And Baek’s band is that opportunity.”

“Well it would be nice for that to work out for both of them,” Chanyeol agreed, “I hope their styles click.”

“Me too,” Sehun said, his cheeks rising and eyes turning into slivers at the idea. “I already told them I was going to lead their fan club.”

“I’ll join it,” Sana said in solidarity, and Sehun told her she could be his vice-president.

They wrapped up dinner so everyone could go on the ride in the Hogwarts castle one last time for the evening, and then they went to get Sehun’s wand, which he already had a few of, but wanted to get another for his collection.

“Do you want one too?” his dad asked Chanyeol.

Chanyeol already had the Harry Potter one, which was the only one that he had cared to get back when they had come once as a family and gotten their first wands, but he decided that he probably wouldn’t mind adding Ron Weasley’s wand to his collection, so he had his dad buy him that one while Sehun decided on getting Nymphadora Tonks’ wand since she was a fellow Hufflepuff.

“Would you like one too?” his dad asked Sana.

“No, I’m fine,” Sana said, even though she had been admiring how pretty Fleur Delacour’s wand was.

“Are you sure?” his dad asked her again.

“I’m sure,” Sana nodded, giving him a cute smile. “But thank you so much.”

He nodded at her and went to the register to pay for the wands, and Chanyeol took her hand and gave her a look.

“You know you want that wand,” he said. “I’ll just buy it for you.”

“I don’t want it,” Sana said, shaking her head also in a cute way, “I wouldn’t even know what to do with it, and I don’t have space for it. When we come back, just us two, I’ll let you get it for me then if I have the space for it.”

“Okay,” Chanyeol said, “But I do want to buy you something tonight.”

“You don’t have to,” she said, giving his hand a playful squeeze.

“But I want to,” he whined a little. “This is like one of our first real kinda dates as a couple. We should commemorate it.”

“Fine,” she said with a sigh, “You can just buy me a keychain or something then.”

Chanyeol lost his smile, a very vivid memory coming to him of Rosé’s birthday at the club and the Bigfoot keychain that he had gifted to Kyungsoo. He could see in his mind the way that Kyungsoo had lit up when he had seen it, and the sincerity of his expression as he had said he loved it.

“Or something else,” she said, sensing his shift in mood by his expression.

“Oh, sorry,” Chanyeol said, forcing himself to push that uninvited memory away. “I just suddenly thought of something I forgot to do,” he lied, and then he smiled at her again. “Um, what about a magnet? We can get matching magnets, and every time I look at my fridge, I’ll remember this great day with you.”

Sana giggled and then said, “Okay, magnets it is.”

They ended up getting magnets of their respective Hogwarts houses, and he put his on his fridge as soon as they got back to his apartment on campus. He was grateful when he changed into his boxers and T-shirts and passed out with Sana in his bed, exhausted from their long day, which had thankfully been fun, despite the awkwardness of not hanging out with his former friends.

***

Chanyeol had been dreading Easter Sunday and the conversation that his mother wanted to have with him, but brunch had gone well. Sehun’s friends had joined them for it, including Jaden who said he could hang out until it was time to go home for dinner. When Sehun and his friends had settled into their home theater area to watch movies, Chanyeol had gone to his room to elevate his foot and text with Sana to see how Easter with her family was going.

It wasn’t until that evening, after dinner was done and Sehun was saying goodbye to his friends, that his mom finally decided to bring things up, which Chanyeol had expected at that point. What he hadn’t expected was to be joined by his dad and his brother at the breakfast table where his mom had put out slices of the carrot cake and chocolate cake that were still left.

“Um, why does this feel like an intervention?” Chanyeol joked with a chuckle, feeling nervous all of a sudden.

“It’s not,” his dad assured him, pulling a slice of the carrot cake toward him to eat. “We’re all just curious about the situation with your friends.”

“Yeah,” Sehun nodded, already eating the chocolate cake slice in front of him, “It was so weird to not see you talk to Jisoo or Baekhyun at all at my birthday.”

“Wait, you noticed?” Chanyeol said, looking at his brother surprised. “I was hoping you didn’t notice. I didn’t want you to worry.”

“How would I not notice something that obvious?” Sehun asked him as if he had to be dumb for thinking that. “Why aren’t you guys talking?”

“I just needed some space,” Chanyeol said, knowing it was too much to hope for them to just accept it and leave the issue alone.

“Did they do something to you?” his mother asked, prying first.

“No, it’s not anything like that,” Chanyeol said, knowing they weren’t going to understand no matter what. They all stared at him, waiting for further explanation, and Chanyeol sighed, feeling frustrated that he had to talk about this at all. “Haven’t you ever felt like you needed to take a break from your friends before? I just needed a break. I want to focus on getting my ankle better and not have any distractions from my goals.”

“You say you want to take a break from your friends,” his mother said, “But then you went and got a girlfriend. Is this because of her?”

“What? No,” Chanyeol said, feeling annoyed that she had brought that up just like his friends had. “The two have nothing to do with each other.”

“I just don’t understand,” his mother said, letting out her own exasperated sigh. “Why would you push Jisoo away and get this girl instead? Why aren’t you just dating Jisoo already?”

“Mom, I’m never going to date Jisoo. Let it go,” he said, feeling himself start to get worked up. He needed to stay calm, but that was impossible when she brought things like this up.

“But why not?” she asked, “She’s beautiful, and smart, and perfect for you.”

“First of all, she’s like my sister,” Chanyeol pointed out, “And second of all, her and Baek were together, so it would just be weird to date her too. Even if she wasn’t like my sister, but she’s totally like my sister so it doesn’t matter.”

“Jisoo and Baekhyun?” his mother asked, and the look on her face reminded him that it wasn’t something that was common knowledge among their parents. But now that his mom knew, Jisoo’s mom was about to find out. Great.

“It wasn’t like super serious,” he tried to cover for them, even though he knew it was too late.

“You said they were together,” she pointed out, “How is that not serious?”

“It was… Why are we talking about this?” he then whined instead. “The point is, I’m never dating Jisoo. And that has nothing to do with my girlfriend, who is also beautiful, and smart, and perfect for me.”

“She’s from Gardena,” his mother said as if that negated the list.

“So?” he said, “Everyone’s from somewhere. There’s nothing wrong with Gardena.”

“You can do better,” she said, “You need someone on your level. In your league.”

“What league?” Chanyeol said, feeling himself getting very worked up as his emotions started to surface, causing him to get whinier.

“Mom,” Sehun interjected, not liking her words either by the expression on his face, “Sana’s really nice, and it doesn’t matter where she’s from.”

His mother looked as exasperated as Chanyeol felt, and she asked him, “What do her parents do?”

“Why does it matter?” Chanyeol asked her.

“We don’t even know if they’re good people,” his mother pointed out as if it was a valid point. “Have you met them?”

“Not yet,” Chanyeol told her, “But they sound like good people based on what she’s told me. Okay?”

“I don’t like that you’re dating this girl from Gardena when you’ve pushed away your best friends,” his mother then stated. “This doesn’t seem right. I don’t know this girl, but I think it’s suspicious that she’s infiltrated herself into your life when you were in a vulnerable position with your injury. Did Jisoo and Baekhyun not like her?”

“Oh my God,” Chanyeol said, reaching up to scratch his head and grab his hair in frustration.

“Your mother’s just worried,” his dad said, probably sensing that he was about to lose his mind from this conversation. “She’s just trying to understand what happened because she wants to make sure you’re okay.”

“I’m perfectly fine,” Chanyeol told him, and then he looked at his mother, “I’m fine. There’s nothing to be worried about. Sana didn’t just come into my life. I’ve known her for a while, and we were naturally headed in this direction.”

“But you never mentioned her before,” his mother said, not relenting just yet.

“Sehun knew about her,” Chanyeol pointed out, hoping for any help he could get.

“They’ve been seeing each other for months now,” Sehun told their mom with a smile. “They were just taking things slow, but she’s really nice, and I like her. I think Jisoo and Baekhyun like her too. Jisoo and her talked a lot during my birthday.”

“They did,” Chanyeol said, grateful that Sehun had remembered that fact. “And they like her just fine. The two things have nothing to do with each other. I really just needed some time away from them. I want time to myself and to devote to my new relationship and getting better for next season.”

His mother didn’t look convinced by this, and a quick glance toward his dad showed he wasn’t buying it either, but they let the topic drop, his mother reaching over to rub his arm and look at him.

“I just want you to be happy,” she told him.

“I am happy,” he told her, putting on a smile for her. In theory he was happy, but this conversation had left him feeling frustrated, so the fake smile was the best he could do at the moment.

She gave his arm a supportive squeeze and then pulled her hand away, cutting a piece of her cake and then asking, “So why are Baekhyun and Jisoo no longer together?”

Chanyeol groaned, which made Sehun snicker, and their dad seemed amused by all the reactions.

“Well,” his mother said, “It seems ridiculous that Baekhyun wouldn’t do what he could to hold onto her once he had her. She’s the type of girl you marry.”

“Baek doesn’t believe in marriage,” Chanyeol told her. “He has no intentions of ever getting married.”

“It makes sense,” his father nodded, “He’s seen what his mother’s been through. I imagine he has no interest in going through the same things.”

“That’s ridiculous,” his mother said, “He doesn’t have to make her same mistakes. If he married Jisoo, he wouldn’t have to worry about getting divorced.”

“Mom,” Sehun said, an eyebrow raised, “why are you so obsessed with Jisoo?”

“Great question,” Chanyeol said, looking at his mother with his own raised eyebrows.

“She’s the daughter your mother wishes I had given her,” his father said, looking amused by the tables being turned.

“Well, yes,” their mom said, “There is that. But also, she’s what every mother wishes her daughter would be like and what every future mother-in-law hopes their daughter-in-law would be like. One day, when you guys are married and have your own children, you’ll understand.”

“She’s not perfect,” Chanyeol pointed out to her.

“No one is,” his mother pointed out back. “But she’s exactly the kind of daughter I wish I had, and the type of girl that I would wish for my sons to marry.”

“I’m never dating Jisoo either,” Sehun went ahead and pointed out with a mischievous grin on his face, and Chanyeol snickered.

“Well of course not,” his mother said, “Although, why haven’t you started dating Rosé yet?”

“Are you serious?” Chanyeol asked his mother, looking at her as if she had grown another head.

“Yes, she’s a bit over the top,” his mother waved off, “But that’s because she’s young. She could use stability, and Sehunnie would be great for her when it comes to that.”

“I’m never dating Rosé,” Sehun stated, almost choking on his cake.

Their mom gave a long-suffering sigh and then lamented, “What am I going to do with the two of you?”

“Nothing,” their dad said. “They’re both doing fine. Chanyeol’s girlfriend seems like a very nice girl, and Sehunnie has great judgment in people and will pick the right person when he’s ready.”

“I will,” Sehun said with a smile and nod toward his dad.

“Exactly,” Chanyeol agreed as well.

His mother had no choice but to accept this for now, and Chanyeol was grateful that the conversation hadn’t gone a lot worse, which he knew it could have. His mom had a tendency to get riled up about things she felt passionate about, and Chanyeol’s love life was something that she always seemed highly invested in, which is why he knew that it was the right thing to do when he chose Sana over Kyungsoo.

There was no way he’d ever be able to explain to his mom that he was bi, or had feelings for a guy, and if Jisoo was his mom’s standard, then he knew there was no way he could ever date a guy and have her accept it. Even though Sana was from Gardena, he knew that his mom could accept Sana over time, especially if he didn’t give his mom any more reasons to be worried about it in the first place.