It was a great misconception that Zhang Yixing was troubled. In fact, he lived a pretty mundane life. Which brought many people to wonder why he hadn't spoken a singly word in eight years. There was a very simple answer. He didn't want to. His teachers learned to adapt to his form of communication. He wrote everything down. His peers saw him as weird or even took pity on him. None of that bothered him though. He knew that once he was done with school he could go somewhere and finally start his life. Besides, he didn't have to talk much at home. His older brother, Yifan, was deaf. He admired his brother and they could sit and converse for hours about any and everything.

“Yixing, it's your last year of high school. Aren't you afraid that you're missing out on too much?” Yixing rolled his eyes and signed back to his brother. “There's nothing to miss out on. A bunch of idiots getting drunk and catching diseases that a trip to the clinic won't cure. You can count me out. Parties are over-rated.” Smiling, Yifan shook his head. “Yes, because you've been to enough of them to make that statement, right? Yixing, I wish you'd get out more. I promise you that parties are a lot better than staying in this house. Mom and dad worry about you. I worry about you. We're related, so obviously you're good looking. Why not go on a few dates? Have with someone you won't remember the next day. Live a little.”

Yixing stared blankly, as he usually did. “I am living just fine, thank you. And why would I want to have and not remember it? That sounds like a bad Lifetime movie. Actually, it was a horrible plot on Switched At Birth. Nope, I'd rather e for the rest of my life than to have and not remember it. You're gross.” He sneered at his brother who only smiled in return. “Whatever, you should leave before you're late. Mom said that she'll be home late, tonight and Dad is cooking. So, I'll order dinner.”

Yixing smirked and nodded as he pulled on his jacket and waved to his brother. The high school was only ten minutes away from his home. The Zhang family wasn't extremely wealthy but they weren't struggling to make ends meet either. Yixing's mother was a nurse and his father was a professor at the community college.

Yixing pulled into the school parking lot and grabbed his bag before getting out and locking his car. First class of the day was his favorite. Literature was something that came easy to him. He loved to read and write. He sat in his usual seat at the front of class and pulled out his notebook and white board. The white board was how he communicated during class. All of his teachers had grown used to it and treated him like every other student.

The bell rang and a few stragglers rushed to their seats as the teacher smiled at the class. Mrs. Park was Yixing's favorite teacher. She loved her job and you could tell whenever she taught a new lesson. Her eyes lit up and she always made class something to look forward today. Yixing had no idea that today would be the day that he'd start dreading his favorite class.

“We have a new transfer student. Please, introduce yourself.” Yixing looked up and he swallowed causing his Adam's apple to bob. He was beautiful. He was short, probably the same height as him and his hair was dyed an ash blonde. The slightest trace of eyeliner lined his eyes and he smiled at the class. “Hi, I'm Byun Baekhyun and I have just moved here from Seoul. I'm eighteen and I hope that you will take care of me.” He bowed at a ninety degree angle and stood back up. A few girls blushed and giggled.

“Baekhyun, you can take the empty seat next to Yixing. Yixing, raise your hand.” Said boy was way too busy looking at the new boy to realize that he'd been given an instruction. “Yixing!” He snapped out of his trance and looked up. Baekhyun moved to sit beside him. “Hi!” He greeted him.

“Don't even bother. He doesn't talk.” Luhan spoke from the other side of Baekhyun. “You don't talk much, do you?” His question was met with a deafening silence. "That's okay. I can speak for the both of us." He replied, his pretty mouth forming a perfect smile. Yixing faced forward as Mrs. Park began to explain a new assignment. “So, we all know about ourselves, right? But how well do we know our peers? We see them everyday and we hear them but do we really know them? This next assignment is a partner project and your goal is to get to know your partner. Find out what makes them tick. Figure out what makes them laugh or the last time they cried.” She placed her hand over her heart.

“Find out if they've ever been in love or had their heart broken. Every class you will turn in a paragraph about something new you've learned. This will be a semester long project. Don't slack on this and treat it as an easy A. I want you to dig deep. Write about what matters. I don't care what their favorite food is. I want to know if there is a certain food that reminds them of a happy time in their life. At the end of the semester, you will write a short biography about your partner. It should be at least five pages long. Write it as if it will be the only thing that will tell people about this person when they are no longer with us. I want to feel like I know them, after reading your biographies.”

A couple of students groaned while some seemed to be excited about the assignment. Yixing was indifferent. He didn't really care to get to know any of his peers on a personal level. “Your partner will be to your left. If you are at the end of the row, your parent is the first person in the next row. You can start working on your first paragraph now. Every other paragraph will be assigned as homework. Use this class time productively. I want a paragraph from each of you on my desk by the end of class.”

Yixing was in the second row and the person to his left was the new kid. Baekhyun smiled brightly at him. “Well, this should be fun!”

Yixing stared at him and blinked slowly. He grabbed his whiteboard and began to write. “I'm eighteen. I have an older brother. I live with my mom and dad. I like to paint. I don't like to talk. No, there's no crazy reason why. No, we will not be friends. I like your shirt.”

Baekhyun read the board and snorted. “My mom bought it. I'll be sure to let her know that you like it. What do you like to paint and how old is your brother?” Yixing rolled his eyes and erased the board before writing a new message. “Did your mom buy your eyeliner too or is it hers? Pictures. Twenty.” He held the board up and Baekhyun shook his head. “I'm not sure if that first part was a jab at my eyeliner of if you really want to know if it's my mom's. Also, Captain Obvious, I figured that much and cool, I'm an only child. My parents realized I was pure perfection and knew that any more children would never live up to me.” He laughed.

Yixing could already tell that this kid would annoy him. As beautiful as he was that wouldn't be able to save him. “Definitely a jab. I paint whatever I feel like painting. And I don't think I like you.” Baekhyun gasped in mock shock. “Well, way to break my heart, Yixing. It's my first day and I've already made an enemy. This is a new record. But anyway, we should really do this assignment. So far, I've got that you're eighteen and you never talk. You have a brother and you paint .”

Yixing's jaw clenched and he looked away from the other boy. “Why did you move here? What are you into?” The sparkle in Baekhyun's eyes dimmed but he still smiled. “Well, um, my dad died and my mom and I moved to my grandparent's house.” He shrugged. “I like to sing. I was going to audition for a company but then my dad got sick and I decided to put that on hold and help around home. I play piano and I like to write.”

“I'm sorry about your dad. And I like to write too. You should think long about the auditioning thing. You'll barely be able to see your family and stuff if you make it. Could you really be away from your family? I couldn't. I going to the community college to stay close to home.” Baekhyun read over the words and nibbled at his bottom lip. “I don't know, actually. I wouldn't want to leave my mom after everything that's happened but it's my dream. You only live once. You could be gone tomorrow and then what? You spent your whole life thinking about about doing something and you never do it.” Baekhyun plastered his smile back onto his face. “So, why don't you talk? Do you hate the sound of your voice?”

“I don't remember the sound of my voice. And I don't talk because I don't feel the need to. My brother went deaf and I wanted to help him by learning sign language and when I turned ten I stopped talking altogether.” The other boy nodded and had to ask the question that was dancing on the tip of his tongue. “What happened to your brother? You said he went deaf, right? So, he could hear at some point, right?” Yixing shook his head. “We're not talking about him. This is about me. That's not any of your business. Let's just write about what we know so far. I'm done talking.” Baekhyun held his hands up. “Didn't mean to upset you. I'll just sit here quietly or whatever.”

Yixing nodded and started to write his paragraph. By time the class ended, Yixing had finished and dropped the paper on Mrs. Park's desk. Baekhyun did the same and handed Yixing a note with his number. “So we can do the assignment. I have unlimited texting. So, message all you want.” Yixing pocketed the paper and headed to his next class.

–

I don't really know if Yixing wants anyone to know who he is. He's placed himself

in a bubble and I don't think anyone can pierce it except his family. He seems to care a lot

for his brother. Yixing doesn't speak because he doesn't need to. His brother is deaf and maybe it's a

way to make him feel more comfortable. I haven't really figured that out yet. He has a bad sense of humor and he is meaner than

he looks. He stares a lot. Like a lot, a lot. It would probably be creepy if

it were anyone else but I kind of found it relaxing. Yixing his a dimple. If smiled, I'm

sure it'd look even better. I'm gonna get him to smile, one day.

Baekhyun is beautiful. At first glance, you see a boy with a smile as bright as the sun,

eyes that the stars would be envious of because of how they tend to twinkle. His hands shake

when he doesn't think you're paying attention and he has a habit of chewing on the bottom of

his pen. He smiles a lot and it's a beautiful smile because as stated, he is pulchritudinous. But

it's not real. His lips quiver, slightly, from forcing a smile for too long. He talks a lot but doesn't really

say much. His words get straight to the point and leave little to interpretation. He lost his father.

Not in the sense that he can't be found but in the sense that he'll never come back. He dreams

of being a singer but is afraid to burden his mother. Baekhyun is beautiful.

And that is chapter one. I am really excited about this story. 

I hope that you guys like it. I know this chapter is a bit slow but I just want to ease you into

the tone of the story and how the conversations will look. As stated in the forward, this story

is gonna be a lot different from Hotel Ceiling. I hope that you will still give it a chance!

~Kayalynn