The first person Lay met after finally leaving his room was Sehun.

Earlier, Luhan had barged into the room and prodded the sleeping Lay (actually asleep, for once), pestering him and forcing him awake. Lay knew his friend had good intentions, doing everything he could to drag Lay out from the gloominess, so he agreed to go socialize in the den later today. Luhan had cheered and, after updating Lay with the development of his relationship with Xiumin, skipped out the room happily.

Now, Lay faced a smirking Sehun.

“Uh . . . hi?”

The smirk melted into a grin as the boy sidled up to Lay. “So . . . did Suho go visit you? Like I said he would?”

“Yes,” Lay answered, rolling his eyes.

The grin widened even more. “I knew it,” he said.

They turned towards the direction of the den. While walking, Lay asked, “Anything interesting happen?”

“Yeah, Chen’s gone.”

Lay stopped dead in his track.

“What the ?”

“We thought he just locked himself in his room like you did, but Luhan went in and he wasn’t there,” Sehun explained.

Lay stared. “Why are you so calm?” he asked incredulously.

Sehun made a face as if suddenly questioning himself as well, and shrugged. “It happened a couple of days ago.”

A couple of days ago? “Oh,” Lay whispered. “I didn’t realize I’ve been out for so long.”

Nothing made sense.

“Well, anyway,” Sehun said, dragging out the word and tugging on Lay’s hand. “Let’s move on and think about happy things like sunshine and fluff.”

“Sehun, what the .”

As soon as they reached their destination, Sehun left Lay’s side for Tao. Lay surveyed the room and it was as if nothing had changed, but everything was off. There was Sehun and Tao, Xiumin and Luhan, chatting happily in their own world. Kris was in his usual position, watching over them silently. Suho wasn’t there, but his presence was easy to miss anyway. Jong- Chen . . .

Lay shook his head and sat down onto the floor next to his friends. He was pleasantly surprised to notice that Xiumin’s annoyance to Luhan’s affection was less genuine and more of an inside joke now. He was happy for them to become so much closer, but how long had he really locked himself in his room for? It felt like less than a day, but clearly, it was longer.

And he felt like an intruder in their little haven.

He looked around the room sadly again, his eyes falling on Kris. Somehow finding the courage, he pulled himself up and walked towards the mysterious man.

“Umm . . . hi,” Lay said, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly.

Two dark eyes glanced over at him.

“I was sitting with Luhan and Xiumin and they’re . . . them, so can I, uh . . .” He ended with vague hand motions, regretting his life choices while also hoping Kris would understand. To his surprise, Kris nodded and gestured at a chair nearby. Lay pulled it over and settled in.

He racked his brain for something to say. “Seems like we’re the only singles here, huh,” he finally decided on.

Kris studied him and Lay found himself staring back, not able to glance away. “You really don’t remember, huh.” His expression was unreadable, but his eyes were peculiar—a flash of bitterness, a twinge of nostalgia. “Xing.”

Xing.

Xing’er.

Yixing.

Lay gaped as a stampede of a thousand what the ing ’s charged across in his mind.

“No, I don’t,” Lay forced out. The other man leaned back in his seat and looked past Lay, as if he wasn’t there. “Tell me!” Lay demanded. “Who are you to me? Who am I to you?”

“Maybe it’s better this way,” Kris murmured, his eyes condescending, or maybe full of pity. “More peace, less pain.”

“Less pain?” Lay echoed. Anger flared inside of him, surprising himself, but it wasn’t too unexpected. Why the did everyone remember except him? It was as if they were all playing a game, dropping hints and talking in riddles, trying to see who could better confuse the out of him.

“How is it better to have white fog as your past? To not have a sense of who you are? Who are you all? Why are people randomly disappearing? Why the living are we here?”

For some odd reason, none of the others in the room heard his outburst. Or maybe they just wanted to avoid more drama. As it was, Lay breathed heavily and Kris continued gazing at him from half-lidded eyes.

“Well, you remembered your old childhood friend and that didn’t end well, did it?” Kris pointed out. Lay couldn’t tell if the man was mocking him, but the cool, casual tone grated against him. “It’ll start building up, and maybe you’ll end up hating me.”

“More than I hate you now?” Lay spat, although he wasn't sure if he really hated the man.

One corner of Kris’s lips curled upward. “Sure.”

Lay turned around and crossed his arms in a humph. So much for socializing.

And the emotional, mental turmoil continued. And so the world spun.

Lay was shoved up against a wall again, but this time, instead of a Kyungsoo who exuded pure iciness, it was Tao, face red from the anger burning inside of him.

“What- the . . . ,” Lay choked out.

“Stay away from Sehun,” Tao snarled. “Do you understand?”

Or else what? But all Lay could say was, “We’re just friends!”

The man applied more pressure and Lay let out a gurgle. “Just friends,” he mocked. “That sounds so familiar, but I’m not going to trust that this time.”

Stars appeared in Lay’s vision and he stared helplessly as Tao leaned in even closer. “Oh Sehun is mine,” he warned, enunciating each word.

With that, he stalked off and Lay dropped to the ground (like deja vu), massaging his neck. Energy sapped, he was too tired to even contemplate processing everything Kris and Tao said to him. It was all too, too much. 

He was going to see Tao’s venomous glare in his sleep.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Luhan smiles, all bright eyes and cherub cheeks. “This is my friend and his brother!” he introduces.

Lay smiles at the boys too, sweet and shy. “Hi, I’m Lay.”

Dark curious eyes peer at him and he falls into them, the world disappearing.

“I have a secret!” the boy says with hushed excitement. They are sitting in an alley, backs against the rough cement wall, protected in their fort of boxes and cans. Sun manages to peek in from between the towering tenements and the boy plays with an apple.

“What is it?” Lay asks. “Tell me, tell me.”

The boy leans in close and his hot breath tickles Lay’s sensitive neck. Lay giggles and shies away, but the boy grabs him and whispers quickly, “I like someone.” He sits back, beaming, and Lay nods in appreciation.

“That’s cool. Who is it?”

“Guess,” the boy says, nibbling on his apple.

Lay makes a face. He hates guessing because he hates being wrong. It’s embarrassing. “Is it a girl?” he asks, going for the safe side.

The boy happily shakes his head.

“You like a boy?” Lay asks, amazed, not even upset that he guessed incorrectly. “Is that allowed?”

“Of course it is!” the boy says with a pout. “He’s the young master and he’s really nice. He always lets me play with his toys and I really really like him. A lot.”

Lay makes a sound, happy for his friend but also a little jealous. He wants someone to like too, someone who treats him like he’s special. Someone other than his brother, that is. “I want to meet him . . . please?” he adds.

The boy nods and claps his hands. “You can meet him and we can play together. But you can’t like him too!” he warns. “He’s mine.”

“Are you sure he’s yours?” Lay teases.

“Yes!” the boy declares, taking a bite out of his apple. “Wu Shixun is mine and I won’t let you take him away from me!”

slow updates because i'm really busy and all my free time is spent marathoning descendants of the sun

also, i lost my outline so idk whats happening anymore oops >u<