Yixing realizes his feelings for his childhood friend Mei. (Based on Maroon 5's It Was Always You. :) 

Genres: Angst.

Word Count: 2494

Characters: Zhang Yixing and Meilin (OC)

A few drops of water still lingered on his chiseled body as he stepped out of the shower, a much needed cold water shower which he hoped would clear his mind. It was an important day. He was now dressed in a well tailored suit, he fixed his tie and checked the mirror to see his reflection. He wasn't sure about how he felt. It certainly was going to be a long day, he didn't know if he had what it takes to get through it. Before stepping out he quickly grabbed the metallic watch on table and slid it on his wrist, the watch which she had given him for his birthday last year. 

His throat felt dry, a drink would have certainly helped. But he shouldn't, he was supposed to be driving. How did things get this way, he wondered. It had all begun with a dream he had months ago, a dream which messed up his entire life. A dream which made him realize what he had overlooked for so long. 

He had been in love with his childhood friend. And he never realized it.

How could he have been so stupid? How could he never realize it? All this while he had thought of her only as a friend and nothing else.

Of course, she was just a friend. He had known her since forever. He had gotten used to seeing her around all the time, in fact she was like one of the guys, considering how well she got along with all his other guy friends. They had nothing to hide, he knew everything about her and she about him. That's what he had thought until a few years ago. Turns out he was wrong, he had no idea of what was going through her mind.

He had never considered her a girl in the first place, he had never noticed how beautiful her hazel eyes were or how perfect her lips were. It was only in his dream that he had realized how alluring she was. Now it all made sense why none of his relationships never worked out. His heart was never satisfied. How could it be when all he wanted was her. Why couldn't he see it? He couldn't even think of all the time he had wasted trying to make all his relationships work when he could have been with her. Nobody was ever going to match up to her. She was irreplaceable, he had learnt it the hard way.

He glanced at his watch, he had to get going. He hopped onto his car starting the engine, it was certainly going to be a long day.

As he drove through the streets, his eyes caught a couple sitting on one of the benches, the girl was laughing out loud. Unknowingly a smile crept upon his face. Her laughter echoed in his mind, he had always made fun of her because she had the most ridiculous laugh ever. She would always snort before laughing and end up in laughing fits which would make everyone around laugh. Her laughter was contagious, he couldn't even count the number of times her laughter had cheered him up. Even when he was in his lowest of lows she could make him happy.

She would always poke his dimple, it was her favorite thing to do. He would get annoyed sometimes, but he was used to it. There was no one else who could do that except her. She would always put his happiness first before anything else. He could never forget how she had been there for him when he was dealing with his mother's death, he would have never got out of his slump without her help. He would always be indebted to her in many ways. Although it had taken him a few years to finally acknowledge the place she held in his heart, he now knew, he knew how grateful he was to have her in his life.

He ruffled his hair slightly as his car halted on a signal, there were plenty of thoughts running in his mind. He couldn't believe how many years it had been, they were just kids a while back and now they were all grown up. And growing up came with responsibilities. How he wished he could revert back time and go back to his childhood, he'd certainly cherish it more. Heck, if he could revert back time he would make sure to realize his feelings earlier and not waste so much time. 

She had always been his friend, nothing more nothing less. They had never crossed that line, because it had never occurred to him that he could possibly harbor feelings for that awkward girl in braces and thick glasses, who lived next door. Initially he had hated her, she was a pest that would never go away. But them being neighbors,not seeing her often was inevitable. To make things worse, their parents happened to be the best of friends, there was no way in hell he could avoid her.

He hated it when she followed him around in school. He didn't want to be seen anywhere near the 'metal mouth' as the other kids called her. It wasn't until he reached high school that he realized how stupid the other kids were and how wonderful Mei Lin was to hang out with. He had apologized to her for mistreating her and she had quickly accepted his apology, which happened to be one of her quirks, she could never stay mad at anyone for a long time. They had become the best of friends. Her braces had come off, every guy would have swooned over her, except they were scared of Yixing. Many had presumed he was her boyfriend so no one ever approached her. Come to think of it, everyone else probably knew they would fall for each other. Everyone except Yixing.

He got off his car as he reached his destination. The place looked beautiful, it was a traditional church with Victorian architecture, exactly how she had described it. He made his way through the front lawn which had a pavement that lead to the inside of the church. The banquet looked extravagant, with purple irises everywhere, they happened to be her favorite. He remembered asking her why she loved them so much, she had simply shrugged it off by saying that it happened to be his favorite color.

He pushed the door that was slightly ajar and there stood a girl with her back facing him, clad in a beautiful off-white gown with the most intricate design. He didn't need her to turn around to judge how beautiful she looked in it. He could say it with his eyes closed. She was always beautiful. Even when wore her hideous thick glasses or when she woke up in the morning when her face was all swollen and puffed up.

There were people moving in and around the room and the hall, everything was chaotic. Weddings were chaotic, people never knew what to do, there was always so much stuff to be prepared. 

Please Subscribe to read the full chapter