It was four nights before the musical’s opening and Mr. Jung still hadn’t suspected a thing about the switcharoo plans, which thrilled both Chen and Jongdae. Most of the students were aware and the stage-hands and technicians knew too. They all also knew to keep it a secret, otherwise Mr. Jung would protest and probably call off the whole thing until he could find, ‘more professional actors to works with.’ (said by Mr. Jung, during the last musical he had worked on at a previous school when one of the actresses fell and broke her leg.)

“Why don’t you take a rest from rehearsing?” Yixing suggested after Jongdae had returned from testing out the lift again (this time it worked without a hitch).

“That sounds like a good plan,” he hummed, “I’ve been working too hard, I think…”

“I agree,” Yixing frowned and held the younger by his shoulders, “You’re definitely tired.”

“Mm,” Jongdae nodded, “Why don’t we do that double date thing tonight?”

“Do you want to?” Yixing titled his head to the side, “Wouldn’t you rather sleep?”

Jongdae grinned and shook his head, “I’ll sleep in tomorrow since it’s Saturday. I want to spend some time snuggled up next to you right now,”

Yixing blushed, “But Minseok and Junmyeon will be there too…”

“I didn’t say that we would cuddle during the supper.” Jongdae pressed a quick kiss against Yixing’s mouth, “Will you sleep over at my place tonight?”

“Really?” Yixing’s eyes widened, “Would your parents be cool with that?”

“I wouldn’t ask otherwise.”

“They know we’re dating?”

“Yes, of course,” Jongdae hummed, “They’ve known I was gay for a while now… They like you, Yiyi, don’t worry.” he said caressing his arm, “They’ll let you use the guest room.”

“But why?”

“They don’t want us doing anything scandalous in the bedroom,” he winked and Yixing’s face flushed as red as a tomato.

“I-I’ll let Junmyeon-hyung know then…” Yixing fumbled with his phone to send a text message to his hyung.

✐✐✐

Junmyeon clucked his tongue in frustration as he tried to clean up the club room. A few chairs were sprawled about and the shelves and other surfaces desperately needed to be dusted. Not to mention the strange substance that had leaked out of Chanyeol’s backpack earlier that afternoon oozing across the floor. They both had no idea as to what it was until the younger realized it was leftover from his chemistry experiment. They had freaked out for a while unsure as to which chemical it would be, but quickly realized it was just sugar-water.

Minseok picked up a broom and started sweeping, the dust filled the room and he coughed, quickly opening a window to try and get some air circulating. The sun was not as bright as it had been during the day, but it was still lighter now that summer was quickly approaching. Junmyeon groaned as he fell onto the floor having almost stepped on a peculiar camera bag belonging to a certain photographer who was nowhere in sight. Minseok looked up from the floor and grinned at the position his boyfriend laid in, limbs sprawled on the floor and a look of dissatisfaction on his face.

“You okay there?” he called out with a laugh.

“You’re an awful boyfriend,” Junmyeon whined and sat up, rubbing his head, “Stupid Baekhyun and his stupid camera,” he mumbled in indignation before he looked up at Chanyeol who was trying very hard not to laugh too loudly, but not succeeding. Junmyeon glared at him.

“Sorry, hyung,” he snickered, “You need some help?”

Junmyeon sighed, “I’m fine. Baekhyun won’t be though,” he grumbled pulling himself off the floor, using the table to help steady himself. He reached down and picked up the camera, “Does anyone know where that boy is?”

Minseok shrugged, “Beats me.”

“I should text him,” Junmyeon decided and pulled out his phone to reveal a message from Yixing, “Oh.”

“What is it?”

Junmyeon read the message aloud:

Zhang Yixing-dongsaeng
Jongdae wants to know if we can do that double date thing tonight? Please say yes, hyung! ^^

“Say yes then, hyung,” Minseok laughed and continued to sweep, “I’ve got no plans for the night. Plus it sounds like fun.”

“Alright then, we’ll have to go now though, to get ready in time.” Junmyeon looked at his watch and then at Chanyeol, “Mind running this camera to Baek? I’ll have to lock up in a few and he’ll freak if it’s left in here.”

“That’s true,” Chanyeol hummed, “Where is he anyway?”

“Oh right, I forgot to text him,” Junmyeon stumbled with his phone, but managed a relatively coherent text. A response came almost immediately.

Nuisance #2 (Baekhyun)
Storage closet with Sehun ;)

Me
No seriously, where are you?

Nuisance #2 (Baekhyun)
No seriously, we’re in the theatre arts storage closet

Me
I don’t want to know. I’m sending Chanyeol with your camera.

Chanyeol raised an eyebrow at the messages, clearly annoyed, “If Baekhyun is nuisance number two, then who’s number one?”

“You,” Junmyeon deadpanned and handed the camera bag to Chanyeol, “Run along. We’ve got to get going.”

Chanyeol rolled his eyes, but stepped out of the room to bring the bag to Baekhyun. He was annoyed by the messages, what the Hell was he doing in storage closet with Sehun anyway? ‘It shouldn’t be him, it should be me with Sehun.’ the thought passed his mind and he flinched, stopping dead in his tracks.

What the-

That only annoyed him even more. Why did he care about what Sehun was doing anyways? Annoying Sehun with his stupid smiles, stupid lisp and stupid doe eyes… And his stupid pretty lips…

Chanyeol, cut it out!

He yelled at himself mentally and grumbled as he finally neared the theatre arts room. It was relatively abandoned, the last of the musical group leaving to go rehearse elsewhere or probably to crash on their beds for the weekend. He swung the bag by its strap as he entered the room, looking for the storage closet. It was at the back and it only took him a few long strides to make it there.

He could hear a light hum, a small tune that definitely didn’t belong to Baekhyun. It sounded like Sehun’s voice and it made Chanyeol’s heart rate pick up just a tiny bit. He couldn’t sing well, but his voice was deep and smooth unlike when he spoke in giggles and hushed voices to him. He sounded confident and Chanyeol wondered why he didn’t speak like that more often.

“Baekhyun-ah,” Chanyeol sing-songed as he opened the door only to come face to face with a scene he wish he hadn’t.

Baekhyun’s slender fingers were wrapped around Sehun’s bicep, the younger staring directly into his eyes as words flowed from his lips like a melody to Chanyeol’s ears. That didn’t stop the pang of jealousy that hurt him, the two were too close for his comfort. He wanted to rip them apart, take Sehun away from there…

Why do I care?

“Oh, hyung,” Sehun blushed, pulling away from Baekhyun, “What are you doing here?”

“What are you two doing in here?” Chanyeol asked accusingly.

Sehun giggled, “I asked you first, Chanyeolie-hyung!”

He was too cheerful, Chanyeol didn’t like it.

“Here’s your camera.” he said annoyed as he let it drop onto Baekhyun’s lap.

“Want to listen to me rehearse some lines, hyung?” Sehun was grinning so much his eyes turned into little crescents and Chanyeol loved the way his lips curved into a smile.

“No.” He muttered, “I don’t care. You two can go back to rehearsing if you want.”

“Chanyeol,” Baekhyun said slowly, recognizing the envy in the taller’s voice, “We really were just going over his lines. He’s really good, you should listen-”

“I’ll hear them at the musical,” he said abruptly and walked out of the room, making it to the hallway just after he heard Sehun’s soft voice calling out to him.

Do not turn around, Park Chanyeol.

“What do you want?” Chanyeol asked angrily looking behind himself at Sehun.

Idiot…

“C-Chanyeol-hyung,” Sehun sniffled, “Where are you going, hyung?” he reached out with thin fingers and tried to wrap them around Chanyeol’s wrist, but he yanked his arm back.

“Why don’t you just go back with Baekhyun-hyung?” He muttered, eyes narrowed at the boy.

“It’s not what you think, hyung! Baekhyun-hyung really was just helping me go over my lines! I wanted you to, but - but, I know you don’t like me… I wanted you to anyway, because you’re my favourite…” Sehun’s cheeks were a light pink as he trailed off, but the older didn’t seem to notice.

“Oh, I’m your favourite hyung am I?!” Chanyeol spat in annoyance, “I suggest you go back with Baekhyun-hyung, you guys were so closer earlier anyway.”

“Chanyeol!” Sehun cried, “It’s not what you think! I don’t like Baekhyun-hyung like that! I’m saying that I like you!” there was a sharp inhale of breath as he realized what he'd blurted out before his voice fell a little quieter, eyes growing a little wider, “I like... you.”

Oh.

Chanyeol was silenced by the words of his dongsaeng once more. This seemed to be becoming a regular habit with Sehun and he wasn’t sure if he liked it or not. There was, however, one thing he liked for sure, and that was the way Sehun fidgeted with his hands nervously, the way his hair parted at the side and the look in his eyes when he blinked up at him. He liked how Sehun always paid attention to him and how smart he was, how he laughed at his jokes and how he talked about bubble tea like it was heaven sent. Not to mention the pale skin and the pretty pink blush on his cheeks that complimented him so well and, okay, so it was more than one thing, but -

“Hyung,” Sehun whispered again and that startled Chanyeol out of his reverie, “Hyung, I’m sorry, I should just go -”

Chanyeol silenced him by letting his lips slide against the shorter’s. Sehun had always been so annoyingly clingy, but maybe that’s why he couldn’t stop himself from liking the boy. He really couldn’t help himself when he pressed kisses against Sehun’s mouth eagerly, the boy’s lips had been teasing his thoughts for so long now and knowing that he liked him, he had to. It was timid and small and Chanyeol was shaking, worried that maybe he had kissed the boy too soon. Nervously, he rested his hands on Sehun’s waist and pulled away from freshman who stared up at him in shock.

“Ch-Chanyeol,” Sehun stuttered, fingers tracing over his own lips in disbelief, “Why?”

“Sehunnie,” Chanyeol breathed out slowly, his cheeks were flushed red and his awkward confession slipped off the tip of his tongue, “I - I like you too.”

A small grin spread across Sehun’s face before he reached up with his hand and gently caressed Chanyeol’s face, “Hyung,” he sighed blissfully and pressed his lips against the elder’s.

“I don’t want you rehearsing lines with Baekhyun anymore,” Chanyeol mumbled against soft lips, “You’re coming with me,” he let his hand slip into Sehun’s and tried to pull him along.

“Wait, wait,” Sehun giggled, “Chanyeolie-hyung, wait,” he squeezed the elder’s hand to get his attention, “I need to get my script back from Baekhyun-hyung first,”

Chanyeol blushed, “Oh, okay…”

Sehun giggled again and kissed the corner of Chanyeol’s mouth, “I’ll be back in a sec, okay hyung?”

Chanyeol easily became light-headed by the situation, but felt himself grinning anyway as he watched the younger run back out of the theatre arts room, papers clutched in his hands and a smile spread on his face as he reached for the elder’s hand once more. Perhaps Sehun really wasn’t so bad after all.

✐✐✐

The restaurant that Junmyeon picked happened to be the one of the ones that Minseok’s parents own and operate. It was a first class place, so the need for suit and tie was demanded, but that didn’t phase either of the boys. Jongdae smiled to himself as he straightened the collar of his shirt and fixed his tie. He brushed his hair back and decided that he looked good enough for this date and was finally ready to rejoin the group at their booth.

He slipped out of the bathroom and sat next to Yixing who looked absolutely breathtakingly handsome, in Jongdae’s opinion. He pulled off a suit well. Jongdae let his fingers lightly brush over Yixing’s as he reached for a menu and the elder grinned sheepishly at him, whispering a hushed, ‘you look amazing,’ in the younger’s ear as he leaned over.

“Should we order an appetizer?” Junmyeon suggested more so than asked, but he let the last syllable of his phrase lilt up anyway.

Minseok reached out with a hand and took Junmyeon’s in his, the way he did it was so natural and warming. They kept nothing a secret, they were bold in their movements.

“Whatever you want, Jun,” he hummed, running his thumb over the back of the younger’s hand.

The blush on Junmyeon’s face did not go unnoticed, but he smiled and nodded, “Alright, hyung.”

Hearing Junmyeon say ‘hyung’ was a foreign concept to both Jongdae and Yixing. It was not often that he did so, mostly referring to Minseok as, well, Minseok (if not adding ‘hyung’ at the end every now and again). So when Jongdae and Yixing both looked at him in mild surprise, he didn’t understand why. He just smiled awkwardly and let his fingers intertwine with Minseok’s as if he had no real conscious awareness that he was doing it. It was endearing and Yixing was jealous of the skinship that their hyungs so easily displayed.

Jongdae had been so absorbed in the menu that it nearly made his heart leap out of his chest when a hand gently rested over his own, fingers lacing between fingers perfectly to fill the gaps. Jongdae didn’t move to stop it, he just let it happen, glad that Yixing was comfortable with this public display. A smile flittered over his lips as he let his eyes glance over the items, Yixing’s warmth a lingering feeling of affection that was always there by the reminder of his careful touch.

There was no nervousness from that point onwards. Junmyeon and Minseok held hands over the table, only letting go once their food arrived. Though this was a double date, there was nothing uncomfortable about having to impress each other. They were all friends, but it was somehow different than any other time they hung out at school. This was affection and happiness in it’s purest form. Enjoying one another’s company and being perfectly content to sit in silence.

Jongdae loved it and delighted in the idea of many more dates like this in the future.

Yixing, on the other hand, seemed to have something on his mind that was nagging him behind his dimpled smiles and cheerful eyes. Jongdae noticed it, but he didn’t want to bring up his boyfriend’s troubles in front of their hyungs, especially not on a date. He decided he would ask him once they got back to his place.

“This was fun,” Junmyeon smiled as they left the restaurant, “I’d like to do it again sometime.”

Minseok nodded, “You two are more tolerable outside of school,” he chuckled to himself as Yixing flicked his arm and clucked his tongue.

“I’d love to as well,” Jongdae nodded, placing his hand in the crook of Yixing’s elbow and leaning against him happily, “Wouldn’t you like to Yixing?”

The elder nodded, but he stayed silent. He chose to, instead, press a light kiss against Jongdae’s forehead. The younger hummed in gratification of the caring kiss.

They parted ways after Minseok had dropped the two youngest off at Jongdae’s home before leaving to bring Junmyeon back to his house (they had assumed as much at least, but later discovered that the two had spent the night together, but wouldn’t talk about it. They figured they knew what the two had been up to after Junmyeon stuttered and blushed while Minseok stayed quiet, face red as he pulled his boyfriend closer to him).

“Yixing,” Jongdae said as they entered his room and began shedding layers of clothing to change into pyjamas, “Is there something on your mind?”

“What?” Yixing was startled by the question and nearly thrown off balance by it as he struggled with taking off his shoes.

“It looked like there was something bothering you during supper, are you okay?” Jongdae asked in earnest as he removed his jacket, hanging it over his desk chair.

“Oh, I was just thinking about the future…” Yixing hummed and Jongdae blushed.

“Really?” he fidgeted nervously, “What about it?”

Yixing sighed as he pulled off his jacket, hanging it next to Jongdae's, “I was thinking about us and university…”

“Ah.”

University, that meant parting ways… Since Yixing was a year older than him, he knew it was inevitable that he would have to leave soon for other schooling. He had hoped that maybe he would consider moving to Korea to attend university here, but that was wishful thinking on his part. He wouldn’t push Yixing to do that, he’d support his dreams.

“Would you break up with me?” Jongdae asked suddenly and Yixing could feel his stomach churn in an unpleasant manner.

“No,” he shook his head fiercely, “I’d want to at least try a long-distance relationship first…”

“I hear those things never quite work out,” Jongdae frowned and fell back onto his bed, ignoring how crinkled his shirt would be afterwards. He would just get it dry-cleaned.

“Realistically… No, they don’t.” Yixing said dejectedly, “But I want to try, with you.”

Jongdae sighed, “We don’t have to talk about this yet, we have a whole year ahead of us,” he looked up at the elder and smiled unkowingly, “You’re not leaving until after you graduate.”

Yixing didn’t know how to respond to that. It had seemed Jongdae had forgotten all about that almost slip up during the art show about only being allowed in the program for three years. He wouldn’t argue with it right now. He just hummed and nodded, curling into Jongdae’s side sleepily. This conversation could wait for another time, when they weren’t both cuddled on the bed together, happy after an amazing evening out.

Jongdae kissed Yixing’s nose, “I’ll show you where the guest room is,”

Yixing smiled appreciatively, “Thank you, Dae.”

The way his said those words made the younger feel like he was thanking him for so much more than that and it made him pleased to hear it.

“Goodnight, hyung.” Jongdae whispered, lips pressed against Yixing’s.

“Goodnight,” Yixing breathed, kissing Jongdae once more before he left for bed.

✐✐✐

The opening night of the musical went smoothly, without a single hitch. No one noticed the change between Jongdae and Chen on stage. The second night their cover had almost been blown when Jongdae hadn’t quite stumbled far enough back onto the lift and so Siwon grabbed him again, pushing him roughly back onto the square. Jongdae mouthed a thank you at him as the lift moved downwards slowly and Chen emerged from behind a prop to take place where his partner had disappeared behind the crowd of actors throwing fake punches.

As it turned out, Cherry was being played by Krystal Jung - Mr. Jung’s niece from the States. She was amused by the entire situation and told Jongdae that she quite liked Chen and his lovely voice. She also, apparently, thought he was cute in wanting to save his first kiss. She didn’t wish to offend Jongdae, she had said that after the first time they kissed on stage, but she explained that she’d much rather be kissing the latter. Jongdae just laughed, it had everything to do with him having a boyfriend and being entirely gay.

“I’ll set you two up,” Jongdae chuckled after their third showing, a matinee that junior high students had attended.

“You will?” Krystal had beamed in excitement.

Jongdae nodded, “That’s what friends are for. Just don’t tell your uncle you’ve been kissing me this whole time and you’ve got yourself a deal.”

She snickered, “No worries there, friend,”

The last showing of the musical was Friday of that week. Jongdae felt the anxiety boiling in him as he stood backstage out of view from Mr. Jung. They had planned, all of them, to reveal the two actors during the final bows. If anything, Mr. Jung would just give them both detention. After the final performance, what more could he really do?

Mr. Jung, the quickly discovered, could have cared less. The musical had been a complete success so that when two Ponyboys bowed after the final act, he just laughed and applauded even louder that he had at any other night. He was most amused that the two of them had been able to pull off something like this without him even noticing. He called it ‘professional,’ told the two boys that they were both ‘skilled and qualified for such a role.’ He then told Jongdae he’d liked to see him backstage to ask if he’d be interested in a leading role in the musical for next year. Jongdae was more than happy to oblige.

✐✐✐

Yixing had gone to every single performance of the musical. He knew all the songs by heart by the end of it and was convinced he knew most of the choreo too. He was proud of Jongdae, even though he hadn’t been recognized at all for his efforts until the final night. He snapped a photograph with his phone when both Chen and Jongdae bowed together. It would be a nice add-on to the article about the musical, he decided.

He tried to keep the thoughts of the newspaper in his mind as he nervously made his way backstage. Junmyeon had talked him into telling Jongdae about it right after the musical. The elder has said, ‘You can’t keep putting it off because you’re afraid to ruin happy moments. The moment you tell him will be an unhappy one, I know that, but you have to tell him. Otherwise, you will always find a reason that the moment cannot be ruined. You’ll make it worse if you leave it for too long.’ Yixing had to admit that those were among the wisest words that Junmyeon had ever said to him.

So, he stood just outside of the dressing room, waiting as actors and few actresses left in haste, off to celebrate at the afterparty - or to get ready for it. Yixing didn’t care either way, he just wanted to get into the room and admit everything to Jongdae as soon as possible, before he forgot all he wanted to say. It was all coming up so fast, he couldn’t stop himself from shaking, the nervousness and anxiety fizzing in his chest and making him feel sick.

He peered into the room and saw Jongdae with his back to him. He faced a mirror, the lights around it washing out his face from the view.

“Jongdae?” Yixing said slowly, “Jongdae, I have something to say to you.”

“Yixing?” the boy asked, but he didn’t turn around, it looked like he was busy trying to get makeup off of his face, “I’m not-”

“Just listen for a second,” Yixing took a deep breath, “First thing first, I want to you know that I love you. I know you know that, but I just wanted to say it again. I can never stop saying that. And I don’t want to lose you, we talked about it-”

“Yixing, listen-” Yixing thought Jongdae’s voice sounded a little higher than usual, but he assumed it was from having sung so much on stage. He ignored it.

“No, no,” Yixing silenced him, “I need to say this, right now. We talked about a long distance relationship before, and, the thing is… The program I’m in only spans for three years. This is my third year and once it’s over… I have to leave.”

“Yixing-hyung, stop-”

Yixing barrelled on with his explanation that wasn’t going anywhere according to how he’d rehearsed it in the bathroom or, embarrassingly, in front of Junmyeon. He ignored the protests of the boy in front of him and didn’t seem to notice the creaking of the dressing room door behind him either.

“I’m just going to say it,” Yixing placed his hand over his heart, hoping to God that it would stop beating so loudly in his head, “I’m going back home to China at the end of next month.”

“H-Hyung?” That deeper voice definitely belonged to Jongdae, but it was strangely coming from behind him.

The boy ahead of him turned around in his seat, jaw dropped and eyes wide as he stared at Yixing, makeup remover in one hand and tissue wiping at his face in the other. Half of his makeup was smeared everywhere and thought they looked alike, Yixing realized that this was not his boyfriend. Yixing wanted to gasp and scream at Chen for not telling him that he was not Jongdae sooner, but his throat was dry as Jongdae spoke his name behind him.

“Hyung?” his voice was timid and he turned around to look Jongdae in the eye, “Hyung, did you just say you’re going back to China…?”

“J-Jongdae, I thought you were-” he took a careful step forward and reached out, but Jongdae took a step back.

“Next month, Yixing? Is it true?”

The hurt flashing in Jongdae’s eyes was something Yixing knew for sure would haunt him forever.

“Jongdae, please listen to me,” Yixing took another step forward, but Jongdae turned and bolted from the room, a stream of tears washing away his makeup.

In that instant, Jongdae wanted to be anywhere, but where Yixing was.

Right now, you're probably wondering to yourself, 'why is there such a big portion of text about ChanHun?' The answer is simple: I couldn't help myself. For some reason, I wanted this confession in the story and I thought it was kind of cute idk, I just really wanted to clarify their relationship?? Anyway, I hope that the ChenLay feels at the end make up for it all haha... Again, sorry for all the delays in my updates and the inability to actually sit down and edit any of it. I cry. /whispers/ Pease don't be too disappointed, but I think the next update will be the last... Thank you so much for reading! xo ^^;