chenle

a day at the mall takes a turn for the worst. luckily chenle is there to prevent things from going from bad to worse. (trigger warning: public shooting)

1025

-

"okay, you know what...get out of my car."

"mom, really? it's honestly not even that serious. i only took ten dollars!" you complained, as your mom chided you for stealing money from her purse...again.

"get out before i strangle you child. go spend my money at the mall or something." your mom replied, extremely serious.

you gazed out of the window from where you were parked in the bank parking lot. the mall was just a thirty second walk from the bank, and it was calling your name. you looked at your mom uncertainly.

"run along, i'll still be here when you finish. service is really slow today." your mom said as she reached over and unbuckled your seatbelt.

"fine, fine." you opened the door and got out of the car, "why are you so eager to get rid of me?" you asked playfully.

"you were a mistake, the condom broke." your mom replied jokingly as she hastily closed and locked the doors, knowing that you'd retaliate.

you gasped loudly and hit the window, "i'm telling dad!"

you smiled as your mom laughed hysterically in the car, the sound quieter than it should have been since the windows were closed. you turned in the direction of the mall and began your journey across the parking lot dodging cars and avoiding strangers like the plague.

when you entered the mall you had one thing on your mind. food. you knew just the place to satisfy your craving for sweets. the cookie factory. you navigated through the bustling mall with minimal difficulty. you were kinda small so you just fit anywhere.

when you arrived in the doorway of the shop the smell of freshly baked goods overwhelmed your senses. the shop was really relaxing and aesthetically pleasing. it was also relatively empty compared to other stores. in addition, whoever it was that controlled the music had really good taste. 'face' by woosung played quietly through the speakers (what a bOP).

you walked up to the counter and noticed a young boy, about your age, attending to the woman in front of you. you looked him up and down throughly. from his dyed orange hair to this white adidas. his name tag read: chenle and you spent about three minutes trying to pronounce it in your head.

chEn Lee? chEn lEi? cHon leh? cha- nope.

"hi, welcome to the cookie factory may i take your order?" chenle spoke with a bright, friendly smile on his face.

"hmm...what do you have for ten dollars?" you asked, leaning against the counter. you and chenle were the only ones in the shop at the moment, so you could take however long you wanted.

"well, we have ice cream, cookie cake, regular cake and donuts."

you stayed silent waiting for him to elaborate.

"five pints of ice cream is ten dollars as well as a box of donuts. all of our medium sized cakes are $9.99," he explained.

you looked up at the menu indecisively.

"okay, can i have a medium sized cookie cake with buttercream icing."

"of course, your order should be ready soon."

chenle disappeared into the kitchen for a few minutes before coming back.

"how old are you?" chenle asked, trying to make conversation.

"i'm (your age)."

"ha, i'm a year older than you." he replied jokingly. chenle sniffed the air. "can you smell that? your order is almost ready."

"it smells amazing. i-"

you were cut of by the sudden sound of blood-curdling screams. alarmed, you looked at chenle wide-eyed. he only shrugged in response. the screams continued, so chenle hurried to the shop entrance in curiosity.

his face suddenly went pale.

"get behind the counter." he instructed, his voice wavering in nervousness.

"what's the matter?" you asked, your heart rate increasing.

"i think there's someone with a gun." he spoke quietly as he rushed over to you, grabbed your arm and pulled you around the counter where the two of you crouched onto the floor.

you heard the shots as clear as day. they seemed to be getting louder with each passing moment. you huddled closer to chenle, your heart beating wildly against your chest.

the gunfire had ceased. the silence was oddly more menacing then the piercing gunshots that had previously sounded.

the sound of footsteps made you stiffen up once more. the footsteps seemed to be right at the shop's entrance. the sound stopped for a moment, and then continued. the steps seemed to be approaching the counter that you and chenle hid behind.

you could hear the sound of a gun being reloaded. you had never been this scared ever in your entire life.

chenle held you tighter and pulled you closed to him as you struggled to control your breathing. the two of you jumped ever so slightly upon hearing the gun bang against the countertop.

the footsteps continued. the gunman was about three steps from being able to see the two of you.

you could feel the rapid beating of chenle's heart quicken to a speed that didn't even seem humanly possible.

one more step.

you squeezed your eyes tightly. images of your short life flashed through your mind as your tried to prevent yourself from crying.

suddenly, there was the sound of many footsteps and walkie talkie noise. whoever it was that stood nearly a meter away, began to retreat.

"we found him." an authoritative voice spoke. "put your hands up now!!"

a gun was dropped.

from what you could tell, there seemed to be a struggle and finally there was silence accompanied by the sound of metallic clicks.

chenle bravely peeked over the counter.

"psst." he whispered to alert one the police officers.

you peeked out as well, finally feeling calm enough to move. you had never been more relieved in your life to see a man in a uniform.

-

a/n: this sucks, and i was desperately trynna end it. blah.