space cadet
stranger things! au: except there’s nothing to do with stranger things other than it’s in the 80s and they play dungeons and dragons. basically an excuse to write a fluffy 80s chanyeol who’s head is in the clouds 98% of the time. pure fluff
wordcount: 6k
note: i’m sorry for not uploaded in so long, i’ve had a lot of stuff to do with starting uni etc, hopefully i can write a lot more now though, i’ve got a lot of ideas!
You remembered that night like it was yesterday. The cold air brushing against your flushed cheeks as you snuck away from the group of kids you were supposed to be playing with. They were just sitting down on the grass talking about nonsense you didn't care about. You wanted something else, like an adventure, though perhaps not the physical kind - you were worn out from your gym class at school.
You just kept walking, down the street of houses you had never gone in and never would. Further away from your house and the group your parents had pushed you to sit with. It was when you reached the end of the road when you heard it: gleeful shouts and the mechanical sound of pedals on a bike being turned incredibly quickly. Probably too quickly.
"Hey! Chanyeol look out!" A shout from further away met your ears and you turned just in time to dodge the bicycle skidding in your direction, the boy riding it frantically trying to stop with wide eyes.
The boy's bike tilted when he swerved and he, unfortunately, hit the ground with a large crash, a gasp escaping your mouth as you rushed over to see if he was alright. The two other boys reached their fallen friend and you, one of them trying desperately to hold in his giggles.
"Baekhyun I know you want to laugh." The boy on the floor, Chanyeol you presumed his name was, groaned as he sat up under his bike. "Just go ahead."
The boy who had been trying to restrain his amusement let go, a bubbling laughter escaping him as he slapped his knees. You, however, kept your eyes on Chanyeol, who was wincing as he tried to push the bike off him.
Deciding to help since it was slightly your fault that he was now lying on the floor with his bike on top of him, you pulled on the handlebars to lift it up, the bike being heavier than expected, but the third boy, the one who wasn't Baekhyun, helped hold it up too.
Chanyeol got up, his eyes finally landed on you, a sheepish grin on his face. "Sorry, I am a good rider I promise."
You smiled at his words. "Are you alright?"
Chanyeol simply shot you a wide grin, unusual for a boy who had been flat on his back under a bike five seconds earlier, but you let that slide. He then picked up his bike from where his friend had left it on the floor. "I'm Chanyeol by the way, that's Baekhyun and this is Jongdae."
The two other boys he'd introduced beamed and waved at you. Already they seemed a lot more enjoyable than the kids you were with just five minutes earlier. You then realised you hadn't introduced yourself, so you did, telling them your name eagerly.
"What are you doing on your own then?" Baekhyun asked, a baby-like pout on his face.
"I-"
"She can come play with us!"
"Chanyeol," Jongdae whined, frowning at his taller friend. "You said we were going to play dungeons and dragons. Girls don't like that."
"Hey! Why don't we ask her if she likes it or not?" Chanyeol fired back, a determined look on his happy face. "Do you like dungeons and dragons?"
"Yes!" Your excitement was clear in your voice, noticing the proud grin that landed on Chanyeol's face as he heard your answer.
"See! Let's go play now." He said, nodding over to the direction he'd been heading to on his bike. "Your parents would be okay with that right?"
"I'm fifteen, I don't think they'd mind." You replied with a shrug, watching as Chanyeol climbed onto his bike. "Besides, they're out for the night."
"Ugh," Jongdae whined. "She can come but I don't wanna be dungeon master again, you both complained last time."
"Oh Jongdae, you were awful, talk about bad storytelling." Baekhyun retorted, nudging the other boy as he climbed onto his bike.
Chanyeol turned to you with a contagious grin before motioning to the back of his bike; as a message for you to climb on. You looked at him rather dubiously, eyebrows raised as a challenge. After all, the last time you saw him on a bike, he'd ended up on the floor. Thus, you weren't sure how you being on the back of it would help him regain any strength. But, Chanyeol just smiled and motioned for you to get on.
"It'll be fine. I'll catch you."
And with his chaste words, you climbed on and didn't look back.
Now you were back. On that very street, you met that gaggle of young boys who had somehow managed to ingrain themselves into your brain. You'd left town just a couple of months later in aid of your father's job, the thought of Chanyeol's airy smile haunting your brain. You thought you could have become good friends with those boys, but your family life had made it difficult to keep in contact.
Now you were back and a small part of you wondered what they would be doing now, just after finishing high school. Would they be back from college? Would they have a job? Somehow you couldn't picture it, especially Chanyeol. His head was too far up in space for him to have an office job. You pictured him in an amusement park or even an elementary school; his grin working well with the young children.
You craved something special too. Some part of you wanted to go into game creating but you knew how difficult that would be, especially with the competitiveness of that market recently. This decade had been the burst of arcade games; you adored them and wanted your own input. Hopefully, you could find a part-time job while you worked on your own thing for a while.
This small town could allow you the freedom you needed to do that.
"Do you want to take a walk around?" Your mother asked, her voice cutting through the air as you jolted out of your thoughts swiftly. She was basically telling you to get out of the way. "The moving men are going to start bringing in the boxes. I heard there's an arcade around here."
This immediately peaked your interest. "Oh? Is it close?"
Your mother placed her hand on the kitchen counter, her gaze pointed as she nodded towards the door. "I wouldn't have suggested it if it wasn't. Get out and have some fun before we force you to unpack everything later."
She gave you a smile before flicking her hand in a shooing motion, eager to get you out of the house. Which, you were quick to do, grabbing your Bowie tote bag from the arm of the sofa: you needed money if you were going to spend the afternoon at the arcade.
Your walk to the arcade was short, it was nearby like your mother had said, and the bright sun was soft and warm with the mid-spring wind brushing against your face and hair as you headed towards the town centre.
The arcade was next to the cinema: Robocop was on at 7pm today. Your gaze brushed over the cinema and landed on the smaller building next to it. The doors to get in were large and glass, framed with blue and red. Lights from the games were visible through the translucent windows and a bubble of excitement flooded through you. Your eyes looked to the name over the top of the doors. Space Cadets may become your new favourite place in this small town.
Taking in a deep breath, you pushed open the door, faith that new George Michael song echoed through the air, the sound of Pacman acting as an extra bass. A wide grin spread over your face as you took in the masses of games, your feet taking you straight over to the Defender station, one of your all-time favourites.
Surprisingly, the arcade itself was less busy than you'd expected, clumps of friends hovering around popular games like Space Invaders, Sonic the Hedgehog or Donkey Kong. You figured it would get busier as the afternoon progressed, though the town wasn't too big so you couldn't picture too many people finding themselves here, especially on a Thursday afternoon.
Grabbing your coin purse from your bag, you fished through for the required amount before slotting it into the machine, tingles rushing through you as you placed your hands on the controls.
You'd finished a few levels, your knack of the game flooding back to you when you felt a presence behind you. Brushing it off as someone waiting to play the game, you ignored it and carried on playing. You wanted to get as high a score as possible.
"Wow, you're good." A voice cuts into your focus and you groaned as you pressed down too slowly, allowing an alien to hit your spaceship. "Oh. Sorry."
You span around, a frown on your face. "You don't sound sorry."
The boy in front of you was grinning wildly, a striking black and red mullet framing his arrogantly handsome face. But his good looks were not what you were thinking about at this moment, he'd just distracted you and you were about to beat the game's high score.
"You're right I'm not sorry." The boy pointed at the leaderboard, at the top name: ByunKing. The name you'd almost stolen the title from. "I can't have you beating my record, it took me a month to get that. I don't want a newbie coming in and taking that from me."
You raised your eyebrows in a challenge. "Well, maybe you should get practicing. You can't distract me every time I get close can you?"
The boy just smiled, unphased by your retort and holding out his hand as a greeting.
"I'm Baekhyun, nice to meet you," Why did that name sound familiar? His smile grew wider as you shook his hand hesitantly and told him your name.
"I used to know someone with that name. My friend used to have the biggest crush on her, understandable she was a-"
"Baekhyun, what are you doing? You can't pick up any girls with that haircut, so why try?"
"I'm not chatting her up Jongdae, I was watching her play." Baekhyun whined at the new boy, a cat-like grin curled onto his lips. Baekhyun and Jongdae? Surely it wasn't them. You would have recognised them earlier if it was.
"Watching me play?" You scoffed. "More like sabotaging me because you don't wanna be beaten by a girl."
Jongdae let out a loud laugh at your words, immediately smiling at you as an act of gratitude for insulting his friend. They both had a familiar air around them and you couldn't help but wonder if they were those young boys you'd met almost seven years ago.
"You weren't going to beat me." Baekhyun frowned and huffed, his bottom lip poking out in exasperation.
"You should keep telling yourself that, Baek, it might help you sleep better at night and I won't be getting phone calls at 2am because you spilt coffee over your pillow."
Jongdae's retort had caused an amused smile to fall onto your lips and you watched them both argue with a friendly banter, throwing insults back and forth, rather loudly. It almost made up for the fact Baekhyun had ruined your gameplay. Almost.
"Shut up Jongdae- that happened once. Besides, wasn't it your idea to put salt in it in the first place?-"
Jongdae wasn't given the chance to answer because a large figure came into view, his long body leaning against the arcade machine.
"Baekhyun, we both know it was you who wanted a cake that reminded you of the ocean." A deep voice vibrated through the air, causing the three of us to look at the large figure standing by the machine. "Nobody made you change the recipe."
His face was divinely structured, large eyes, smooth skin and a splash of youth as his lips curled into a mocking and smug grin. There was something familiar about the curve of his lips, though you couldn't think of anybody you'd met before who was quite this handsome.
"I hope you're not disturbing my customers, here at Space Cadets we have a game courtesy that we only talk to players who are not playing." This statement seemed to be directed to Baekhyun, before the tall male looked at you, his eyes widening as he stared right at you.
Baekhyun introduced you, telling this man your name before continuing: "and Chanyeol, I wasn't disturbing her. It was a mutual decision to stop playing."
But neither of you were listening to the smaller mullet-adorning boy anymore. Your gaze was fixed on this man, Chanyeol, his intense stare making it impossible for you to look away. It couldn't be. What sort of coincidence would occur for the two of you to meet again on your first day back?
"Chanyeol?"
"Thana?" The sound of your old dungeons and dragons character leaving his lips caused a gasp to leave not only your lips, but the two boys who were watching this encounter curiously.
Baekhyun yelled and pushed Jongdae's shoulder violently, Jongdae shooting him a swift glare as he ducked out of the way of another one of Baekhyun's outbursts. His eyes were wide as he stared at you.
"I knew I recognised you!" He managed to land another hit on Jongdae's shoulder and the poor boy moved closer to you to get away from his loud-mouthed friend. "I knew it!"
"Who else would be able to beat your score on Defender?" Chanyeol rolled his eyes before sending you a stunning smile. "I wouldn't expect anything less from our long-lost friend here."
A flush sent warmth to your cheeks and you shrugged in response to Chanyeol's compliment. The whole situation felt surreal. You were really standing in an arcade with the three boys who had been part of your most cheerful younger memories. And to top it off, Chanyeol was beautiful.
You knew you'd always had a subtle crush on him and some part of you was thankful you'd moved away, knowing if you'd still known him as he was blooming you would probably have fallen in love with the nerdy giant.
"You've grown." Was all you could say.
Jongdae snickered but Chanyeol shot him a dirty look before grinning again, a flutter filling your stomach as you saw an innocent gleam in his large eyes.
"I've been eating my spinach."
It was such a simple response but it allowed all the warmth you'd missed from him the past few years to come flooding back. You didn't even realise that the two of you were essentially ignoring the noisy boys who were reacting animately to the situation. You simply looked at him, taking in his godly-carved features.
You didn't even notice when the other two boys scooted off, whispering to each other about Chanyeol finally making a move, or how much of a coincidence this was, or even how it was unfair that you were still better than Baekhyun at everything.
"How have you been?" Chanyeol asked, cutting through the silence that hovered over the two of you. "It's been a long time."
You nodded, giving him the stereotypical answer that you'd been good. You didn't tell him that you'd missed him, that would have made it awkward, so you kept it simple, glad that you could see him in front of you and it not be a dream. At least you hoped it wasn't.
"So, you work here?" You asked curiously.
Chanyeol grinned. "I don't just work here. I co-own it!"
"Co-own!?" You exclaimed. "That's totally boss!"
The tall boy gave you a wink, that wasn't really a wink as he scrunched up half of his face to do it. But it was cute nonetheless. He then tapped the arcade machine he was leaning against as if to say carry on. But you didn't want him to leave, you wanted to carry on talking to him.
"How long have you been here for?" You asked, causing his eyes to widen just a fraction at your eagerness for a conversation.
He went back to leaning against the machine, though he seemed a lot more visibly relaxed, as if now he knew you wanted him there. And that knowledge brought him great relief and warmth.
"It's only been open a couple of months but it's doing well. I'm just really glad I opened it because this town was so boring before, so now kids actually have something to do that doesn't involve throwing rocks off a cliff."
You smiled at him, enjoying how passionately he spoke about the arcade. He looked down at you, his soft eyes gleaming with a glee that was practically contagious, you felt an overwhelming burst of pride for your old friend.
"Actually - I finish in about an hour," Chanyeol stated, as if coming to a sudden realisation. "We can go get some food somewhere and catch up if you want- I mean, if you don't want to that's fine too but .. I think it would be nice-"
"I'd like that."
Just like he'd said, Chanyeol finished in an hour. After changing from his red and blue polo which was the arcade's uniform (he was supposed to wear a red cap too but apparently he'd lost that) he wandered the arcade in search of you. You'd moved from machine to machine, and he found you at a Space Invaders machine, frowning in concentration with your tongue poked out slightly as your hands moved diligently about the controls.
A small smile fell onto his lips as he watched you, not wanting to make a sound. Maybe you could beat Baekhyun's high score. He wanted somebody to knock ByunKing off the top spot on at least one game. You could do it. You looked so relaxed, like playing games was a sixth sense to you.
It was a couple minutes later when a smile broke out onto your face and you allowed yourself to lose. You grinned at yourself and turned around, your eyes widening in shock and a ragged gasp escaping your lips as you took in Chanyeol.
"Don't creep up on me!" You whined holding your hand over your chest. "You gave me a heart attack you absolute broomhead."
Chanyeol's own eyes widened as he heard your exclamation, his grin widening as he struggled not to laugh.
"Sorry. I didn't want to disturb your game."
You looked back at the arcade machine, a smug smirk suddenly making its way onto your lips. "Oh. You're going to have to break the news to ByunKing that I've beaten his high score on Space Invaders and Robotron."
Chanyeol just stared at you in shock. You'd managed to destroy Baekhyun's months of hard work in just an hour. Not that it was too surprising, back when you used to play with them you were always a step ahead of everyone.
"Actually- I want to be here when he comes back and realises he isn't top anymore." You smirked and cocked your head. "Anyway, don't we have somewhere to be, space cadet?"
And with that, Chanyeol was smiling irridescently at you and leading you out of the arcade to the old diner which you were sure had been here since you were last in the town, but you weren't sure. Especially as it looked a lot cleaner and the menu had finally seen sense and added ice-cream to it.
You let Chanyeol lead you to a table, he seemed to know where he wanted to sit, so you just followed. He slid into the booth, immediately picking up the menu that was slotted between the bottles of sauces. Sitting yourself down too, you watched as his eyes darted over the food choices, trying not to smile otherwise that might look a little creepy. You couldn't help it, he was rather adorable.
"What do you want?" Chanyeol looked up at you.
It was almost as if it was normal. You hadn't seen Chanyeol in years yet it didn't feel anything but natural when you ordered together, uncoincidentally it was the exact same thing. Chanyeol teased and said that at least you wouldn't need to steal any of his, to which you gasped and said that you definitely still would steal his.
It felt so natural, so calm, and you were so glad you'd bumped into him. Moving back had unnerved you, but now you knew Chanyeol was still here, you felt you could feel back at home.
The two of you talked intrepidly over the food you'd ordered, deciding to just put both plates in the middle and share it all. You discovered Chanyeol was hoping to go into game design, much like you, though you felt Chanyeol would have a much higher chance at it. He was so creative when you first knew him, and it appeared that it had only grown.
You could see the passion he had for gaming and creating games in the way he spoke animatedly about opening the arcade. The way his wide brown eyes sparkled as he waved his hands about trying to explain the latest idea he had for a sci-fi game. At one point he very nearly knocked his soda off the table, but he caught it just before any damage could be done.
"It kinda sucks that we don't have phones ourselves," Chanyeol stated as the waitress took your empty plates away. "I mean, we could have kept in touch after you left. I would have sent letters but I don't think that's fast enough."
"What like a phone you can carry around?"
Chanyeol nodded enthusiastically. "Imagine, if I saw a dog I could immediately ring you or even send a message straight away! How cool would it be?"
"I think that's some back to the future kinda stuff." You stated, moving to pick your denim jacket off the seat beside you.
Chanyeol already had his jacket on and was watching you slip yours on over the striped polo which he thought was very cute, but he wouldn't say that, if he did he wouldn't be able to stop saying it, so he kept quiet and watched you with a small smile instead.
"We should do this again." Chanyeol stated once you were both leaving the diner.
You simply nodded in agreement. Chanyeol had his arm draped casually over your shoulder and you couldn't help but notice that his arm felt a lot heavier on your shoulders than it actually was. A stubborn reminder that it was there.
"How about this weekend? I have Saturday off from the Arcade." Chanyeol said. "What would you want to do?"
"Rollerskating?" You'd seen adverts for roller skates on television and still found it irritating that you hadn't been in such a long time. You also kinda wanted to know whether Chanyeol would be as clumsy on the rink as he was on normal ground.
Chanyeol rubbed the back of his neck but nodded. "If that's what you wanna do, it sounds fun to me!"
You smirked. "Are you scared?"
Chanyeol's eyes widened at your words and he shook his head adamantly in refusal.
"No. I've just never been rollerskating before."
You grinned widely at him. "Well now's your chance to try something new."
The smile that Chanyeol sent back in your direction was enough to send warmth through even the coldest places on the planet. It definitely sent warmth through you and you felt the fizzing reminder of a potential crush from your early teenage years come back.
Fortunately, you'd been busy the rest of the week repeatedly moving furniture and unpacking boxes. It was fortunate because you know if you'd been doing nothing your mind would constantly wander back to the tall lanky boy's smile whenever you sat down. So, fortunately, you'd been without many distractions the remainder of the week.
No distractions definitely did not include the phone calls from Yoonhye, who coincidentally was pre-occupied with her own love life, so; your thoughts were distracted by her heart-filled ramblings. It was nice too, hearing a familiar voice, especially since, aside from the three boys you'd met again, there was nobody you recognised in this town. Even the owner of the diner had changed. However, you did think you'd seen the librarian before, though you weren't sure if it was a library in which you'd seen her.
Either way, your mind had been far away from Chanyeol until this morning, when you'd looked at the calendar above your desk and seen his name written in red felt-tip. Once you'd seen it, your heart pounded in your chest, almost like an alarm.
So here you were, an hour away from 6pm, debating whether to wear your beige cords with a salmon jumper over a white polo, or your navy three-quarter length jeans with a yellow 'talking heads' top and denim jacket. You opted for the second choice, knowing you could probably stash your jacket somewhere in the roller rink.
It didn't take you too long to do your hair and makeup, knowing that your hair would end up out of place anyway. Now, you were sitting in the living room, trying to plug in the Famicom in case Chanyeol would come round one day and decide he wanted to play video games.
When the doorbell rang, you felt a rush flood through you, knowing you were going to see that beaming smile on the other side.
"Grab the door will you, Sweetie?" You heard your mother shout from the kitchen and you did so.
Behind the door was the tall boy you'd been thinking about since 9am this morning. Looking extremely adorable in his black courderoys, a baby pink t-shirt and a black corduroy jacket. You gaze automatically went up to his warming smile before it rose slightly higher and you gasped, stepping out of the house and closing the front door behind you.
"You dyed your hair?!" You exclaimed, tempted to run your hands through the pale pink locks.
Chanyeol rubbed the back of his neck as the two of you reached his car which was sitting at the bottom of the driveway. "I didn't dye it on purpose. I lost a bet with Baekhyun - and you know him."
You just grinned. "It suits you."
"Really?"
"Mmhmm, looks rad."
Chanyeol's smile was even wider than it had been when you opened the door, and that unavoidable feeling of a crush erupted again in your stomach as you climbed into the passenger seat.
"No bicycles?"
"A car is quicker." Chanyeol retorted. "Besides, don't girls like cars?"
You smirked a little at his words as you looked out of the window. "They're alright. Why? Do you need your car to get you all the girls?"
"I'll have you know I have people falling for me all the time."
That you believed.
"That's what happens when you trip people up with your incredibly long limbs Mister Chanyeol."
You heard Chanyeol huff out a breath of air in an attempt to hide his chuckle, and then it was quiet. A nice quiet though. You used this chance to talk in Chanyeol's profile as he drove diligently down the road.
It was odd to see him so serious. It suited him in a strange way. His bottom lip stuck out in a slight pout as his large eyes remained on the road, his long fingers flicking the indicator swiftly. You drank in the sight of him as the orange hue of the sunset gave his skin a golden glow. It was almost like a painting. A painting, or artwork for a game, a very detailed game with exquisite graphics. Not the sort of game you would ever see any time soon.
Chanyeol noticed you looking at him, but he didn't say anything. He refused to look at you in case he got distracted by the sparkle in your eye, or the soft heat of your smile, or the shine of your hair. You were perfectly indulging and that was dangerous while driving.
He vowed he'd take your appearance fully in when you both reached the roller rink.
Which, incidentally, was around the next corner. He could see your excitement build up and he only hoped he could get the hang of this hobby fast. He definitely did not want to fall flat on his ass in front of you. That would be embarrassing.
Once you were inside, you headed over to the welcome desk, where you'd hand over your shoes for a pair of rollerskates, not rollerblades, you didn't think you were quite skilled for that level of balance yet; or ever.
When Chanyeol had swapped his shoes, the two of you walked over to one of the wooden benches by the side of the rink, the low blue and purple hues of the lights making it difficult to see. As a result, it was difficult to tie the laces of the roller skates, and you held back a smile when you saw Chanyeol fumbling with the laces.
"You should double knot them," You suggested, wiggling your ankles so that Chanyeol could see you'd finished.
Chanyeol's pout was adorable and you almost showed your adoration on your face, you were just thankful the dark lighting made it easier to hide your expressions. "I never learnt how to do that."
"Well, let me show you then." You patted your lap so Chanyeol could swing his leg up and rest his foot on your lap, your fingers demonstrating how to tie his laces securely. "Is this why you always tucked your laces under the front of your shoes?"
Chanyeol smiled sheepishly. You couldn't help but grin back at him.
"It's never too late to learn." You stated, gently pushing Chanyeol's feet off your lap and patting your thighs before standing up.
At first, you felt a little wobbly, the change from solid footwear to wheeled shoes was unusual but it only took a few seconds for you to get used to it. You guessed the couple of years you spent at the retro 50s diner as a waitress while at college was worth something. Moving your gaze from your own feet to Chanyeol, you had to bite back a laugh.
Already the boy was clinging onto the barrier that surrounded the rink, the two of you not even inside it yet. It was clear that while you were an experienced 'veteran' when it came to rollerskating, Park Chanyeol was not. To you it was as endearing as it was amusing and you held out your hand so you could lead him safely onto the rink. Chanyeol took your hand gratefully, his fingers crushing your own as you pulled him forward.
"I've got you," You said with a wink just as you got onto the rink.
"No it's okay I've got this." He said, his voice suddenly shooting into a higher pitch as he placed too much force into one of his strides, his arms flailing as he lost control of his feet. Hastily, you grabbed onto his hand, pulling him towards you with a firm grip, your eyebrows raised at his flushed cheeks and a sheepish smile.
"You've got this?"
You grinned as Chanyeol pouted in annoyance and muttered under his breath, his spare hand holding onto the barrier of the rink. In order to help him, you held out both of your hands, beckoning him to hold onto them.
"You're not going to learn if you're scared." You told him, as he hesitantly placed his hands in yours, pushing away from the side of the rink.
"I just don't want to fall." Chanyeol shot back, his eyes slightly widened and his bottom lip jutted out as he sulked a little. You simply smiled.
"Don't be scared to fall," You winked before stationing yourself in front of him, while you helped him, you'd keep close to the side, out of the way of the experienced skaters who usually looped around the centre of the rink. "It's best to keep your knees bent."
Demonstrating, you crouched slightly, waiting pointedly for Chanyeol to imitate your actions; he did. Then, you pulled backwards, Chanyeol's eyes widening as he started rolling. You knew he wanted to move his feet but you shook your head, crouching again to demonstrate the stable position.
"Don't try to walk, you've got to push sideways with your feet." You mimicked the action you were trying to help him learn before letting go of one of his hands and coming round the side. Then, you repeated the action, letting Chanyeol copy your movements, which he did.
"I'm doing it!" He exclaimed, his legs less shaky now as he gained confidence.
You loosened your grip on his hand, though you didn't let go of it. Chanyeol was still unsure on his feet, despite his extra confidence and you wanted him to keep that confidence. However, you did notice that he was speeding up quickly, not gradually, which for an amateur skater probably wasn't the best thing to do. Especially when the end of the rink was getting ever closer.
"Chanyeol - careful..." Your voice trailed off as Chanyeol's ankle locked and he slipped slightly, his grip on your hand tightening swiftly, dragging you down as he fell, letting out an oof as he hit the hard wood of the rink.
You gasped as your elbow hit the floor, shocked when your head fell on something slightly softer than the wooden flooring. You backed up slightly, your eyes meeting Chanyeol's as he gazed down at you in a slight daze.
"Hey there," He said with a smooth wink and your eyes widened.
"Did you do that on purpose?" You huffed, frowning and pushing yourself off him. Chanyeol's soft lips quirked into an amused grin and he cocked his head, sitting up on his hands as he looked up at you, innocently. "I know you, Park Chanyeol."
"Don't you want to get to know me better?"
Your eyes widened at his blunt words and you let go of his hand that you'd grabbed in order to pull him up off the floor. He fell backwards with a hard thud and frowned up at you in playful distaste. "Not funny?"
The corner of your lip twitched slightly, trying to keep the smile that was trying to form itself at bay. You held your hand out again and Chanyeol made a point of eyeing it warily, causing you to kick at his feet.
Pulling him up you smiled. "Let's try this again?"
Chanyeol nodded, his warm brown eyes twinkling. Winding you up was something he'd always enjoyed doing; he loved watching the soft pink rush to your cheeks as you looked at him, more flustered than you liked to admit. He was glad you were back, the old crush he had on you rushing back.
"We should have a reward system." He stated, about to make a bold move.
Your eyebrows raised at his words and you folded your arms over your chest, ready to reject whatever his suggestion would be. "Oh really?"
"Every time I complete a lap, you have to give me a kiss."
While you really should have said no and hit his shoulder softly for even suggesting that, the twinkle in his eye stopped you and you found yourself smiling at him and agreeing, your eyes drifting down to his own lips as they formed a triumphant grin.
"Let's get going then."
As he spoke, he stooped forward and let his lips brush against yours, ever so slightly. The touch was so light you barely even felt it, but you felt the heat rush to your cheeks as you looked at him with wide eyes.
"That one was for good luck." Chanyeol's smile was so wide that you found it impossible to be mad at him, knowing full well that you wanted to feel that kiss again. So you just shook your head and motioned to the rink.
"Go on then, space cadet."
And with that, slowly, but surely, Chanyeol was off, determined to win another kiss from you.
