A/N: Well, it's been a while! Hope you all enjoy this chapter, and thank you so much for subscribing!

Chapter 3

Sehun couldn’t sit still in his chair, let alone eat the food in front of him because his mind kept drifting back to thoughts of Luhan. The boy definitely didn’t look like a senior. Sehun thought he was much too fragile looking for someone with such a sharp tone.

Remembering the large, sparkling eyes the strange boy possessed, he pictured staring into them for hours, losing himself in them. He could hear the boys laugh even now, in the loud canteen.

The laugh was interrupted by a shout of “Oh Sehun!” from a familiar voice. Looking up, Sehun saw the tall boy from the shop grinning down at him as he walked towards the seat next to him.

Kai shot a confused look at Chanyeol. “You know him? He’s not even in your year!” Chanyeol only smiled in reply, his large hand resting on Sehun’s hair, ruffling it.

“We met each other yesterday at the store. He interrupted my manhwa, which is a shame because I was getting to the good bit!” Rolling his eyes, Kai smiled at the boy who was currently laughing.

“Wow, Sehun, I knew you’d like my friends! I guess I should introduce you to the rest,” Chanyeol pointed towards a boy with amazing cheekbones, who in return made a funny face. “That’s Jongdae; he’s kind of an idiot but you get used to him after a while.”

“Hey!” The boy replied, swatting Chanyeol’s shoulder from where he sat next to him. Kai snorted at this, causing the two boys to glare at him. Sehun had no idea how to react in such a situation; he’d never been around so many people at once.

Looking at him, the boy, Jongdae, smiled. “Nice to meet you Sehun,” nodding awkwardly, Sehun smiled back. Glancing upwards as another boy came towards the table and sat next to Kai, Sehun almost shook his head in shock. How many more people were going to join them? Was Kai really this popular?

The new boy glanced at Sehun, his eyes widening in confusion. “Suho, this is Sehun, he’s new to the school.” Kai said before Sehun could introduce himself. He didn’t know whether or not to be thankful when the boy smiled happily at him, extending a hand for Sehun to shake. Taking it reluctantly, he felt his whole arm be thrown up and down as the boy, Suho, shook it vigorously.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you Sehun! I am Suho, the nicest one here!” Sehun didn’t know whether or not the boy was joking, and the sarcastic laugh that left Jongdae’s mouth didn’t help clear any of his confusion up.

“You’re only nice when you buy us food, gramps.” He replied in a condescending tone, causing the boy to scoff in shock. Sehun found himself laughing at the interactions that were taking place on the table, a new warm feeling settling in around him.

“I like food” Sehun said awkwardly, his voice shaking slightly. Everyone on the table stopped to look at him, surprised the boy had spoken. Chanyeol was the first to react, laughing and placing a hand on Sehun’s back.

Suho looked at Jongdae in satisfaction, almost getting up from his chair in triumph. “See! In your face, Jongdae.” The latter rolled his eyes, and Kai laughed through his bites of food.

Suddenly, the canteen fell silent, as the doors opened and a boy made his way inside. Sehun recognised him as Kyungsoo, the quiet boy from before. The boys at the table exchanged wary looks with each other, stiff in their seats. Sehun was once again in the dark, and had no idea what was going on, so decided to watch Kyungsoo as most people in the room were doing.

The small boy made his way to the canteen line, waiting behind two girls patiently. They exchanged scared looks with one another, shifting away from the boy. A large boy stood up in anger, walking towards the three.

“, why’s Yongguk getting involved?” Jongdae whispered, his voice sounding alarmed. Everyone in the canteen seemed to be holding their breath, waiting for someone else to make the next move.

“Hey, Satansoo, get away from Jieun!” His deep voice echoed around the room, everyone’s eyes darting to Kyungsoo, to see how the small boy would react. Sehun felt something inside him crack as he looked at the boy’s large eyes, filled with fear.

Kyungsoo’s mouth opened, his lips trembling as he stared at the tall boy, not knowing how to handle the situation. Fresh tears pooled his eyes, threatening to fall.

Yongguk seemed to notice how the boy’s large eyes had turned glossy, his face contorting into one of pity, which he swiftly masked with anger. “Wow, now you’re going to cry to make me look like the bad guy?” He scoffed, taking one step closer towards the small boy, ignoring Jieun’s glare.

“You’re the bad guy, you’re pure evil! Don’t you remember what your parents did? YOU’RE THE DEVIL, NOT ME.” His voice rang in Kyungsoo’s ear drums, numbing him. The tears ran down his face, and small whispers travelled around the room, as everyone watched in shocked.

Sehun wanted to stand up and defend the boy, but a small boy with a fiery glare beat him to it. Standing up almost immediately after the words had left Yongguk’s mouth, the boy stormed towards him, pure fury radiating from him.

The slap echoed around the room, followed by an ear shattering silence. Yongguk stood, with wide eyes, staring at the boy, who glared back.

“Don’t you dare speak to Kyungsoo like that ever again,” he seethed out, his hand wrapping around Kyungsoo’s wrist protectively.

“Baekhyun…” Yongguk trailed out, but was silenced by the small boy who Sehun believed was called Baekhyun’s glare.

“You disgust me,” he spat, dragging Kyungsoo out of the room behind him as he stomped away. Once the doors closed behind him, the girl, Jieun, punched Yongguk’s chest, scoffing and walking away with her friend. Sehun turned to his friends, confused out of his mind. What on earth had Kyungsoo done to deserve such hatred?

“Well… my next lesson’s History, what about you Sehun?” Chanyeol said, changing the subject. Nodding awkwardly, Sehun got out his timetable for Chanyeol to inspect, who laughed in delight. “You have most lessons with Kai, apart from gym and maths.” Chanyeol continued, smiling up at Kai, watching the boy fist pump the air happily.

“Looks like we can be partners for most lessons then!” Kai said, resting a hand on Sehun’s shoulder, who smiled at him, nodding. The bell rang almost a second later, signalling the end of lunch had approached.

“Come on Sehun, English’s next!” Following Kai out of the door, he glanced around the hallways, not sure what he was looking for. His eyes rested on what looked like a door to the boys toilets, and they widened as the door opened, and Luhan came out of it.

His eyes were puffy and red, his uniform scruffy. Sehun looked away almost immediately, a weird feeling travelling through his body, making him shiver. Slowly glancing back, he watched Luhan’s back as the boy walked away from him, turning a corner and disappearing out of his sight.

Kai followed his glance, a small, knowing smile appearing on his face. “Come on Sehun, you don’t want to be late!” Nodding quickly, he followed Kai, but he couldn’t stop his mind from wandering back to thoughts of Luhan.

Sehun welcomed the small droplets of rain that landed on his hair, dampening it while getting rid of its fluffiness. He’d always felt at peace when listening to the rhythmic sounds of rain falling around him, and today was no exception. His joints relaxed as he walked down the pavement, slow and calm footsteps guiding him back home. His hair clung to his forehead as he felt himself get thoroughly drenched, and he couldn’t help thinking that for April the rain was quite persistent. Last he’d heard, spring showers were only supposed to last a couple minutes. He didn’t find himself complaining, nonetheless.

Sighing happily, he felt his eyes close, but before he could fully let himself block out the world surrounding him, he caught sight of a blue umbrella further up the road. Curious, his footsteps quickened, bringing him closer to the figure the umbrella belonged to.

As if the other could sense the nearing footsteps, they swirled around, their eyes landing on Sehun. Not knowing what to do, the tall boy smiled awkwardly, raising a hand to wave at him. He tried to ignore the erratic thumps of his heart and the internal beating he was giving himself for looking like such a weirdo in front of him.

Luhan’s eyes narrowed, before they widened in recognition. “Oh, it’s you,” he drawled out, looking the blonde boy up and down. Bringing down his umbrella as a shield, he faced it towards Sehun, sidestepping so he was blocking Sehun’s path.

“Are you armed?” He questioned, and Sehun couldn’t help but stutter in shock. “Got any more explosives with you?” Luhan continued, and to his shock Sehun let out a loud laugh, which echoed along the quiet street.

Shaking his head as an embarrassing blush covered his cheeks, Sehun tried to stop his dorky laugh from further creeping out the small boy. Holding his hands up to show Luhan they were empty, he choked out a “no”.

Feeling a weird new kind of warmth envelop his body, Luhan couldn’t help but smile at the tall boy, raising his umbrella. “Um, it’s raining…” Luhan said, not knowing what else to add onto his sentence. Sehun nodded in reply, smiling softly.

Luhan looked at the boy, taking in his features. He was so attractive it was almost intimidating. He looked like his glare could cut through layers of skin and pierce your soul, yet all the expressions he made were soft and innocent. The boy’s blonde hair lay limply on his head, and Luhan finally got his voice back.

“Um, you shouldn’t stay out in the rain, you’ll get sick!” He said, holding his umbrella up. “Here, you can share this with me.” Sehun only nodded and took a large step closer to Luhan, hunching his shoulders under the shelter of the umbrella.

Luhan felt a shiver run down his spine from the close proximity between the two. Slowly walking towards the end of the street, his steps aligned perfectly with Sehun’s. An awkward silence fell between the two, but neither one truly felt awkward. Much to Luhan’s surprise, it almost felt normal walking home with someone rather than trailing the streets alone.

Sehun on the other hand, felt pure panic take over his senses. He was so close to the angelic boy he was almost surprised he hadn’t turned into dust from the bright aura he was exerting. Sehun couldn’t help but think about how fluffy the elder’s hair looked, and how nice it would feel if he were to run his fingers through it…

“So, do you live around here?” Luhan’s voice shocked Sehun out of his daydream, and he realised his hand had been mere centimetres away from Luhan’s scalp.

Stuttering awkwardly, the boy choked out “Yeah, um, just around this road, actually!” Luhan slowly came to a stop, shooting a confused stare in the direction of Sehun.

“That’s weird.” He stated, chewing on his bottom lip. Suddenly, Luhan remembered that the house next to his had been put on sale a while ago. He also remembered the moving vans he’d seen a couple of weeks ago.

As the gears in his mind worked, he brushed off the thought, since it was simply too coincidental. He probably didn’t want to let Luhan know where he lived, so paraphrased his sentence to make it vague.

All the while, Sehun tried to think of a reply, but his mind failed him. What did this mean? Did Luhan think he was weird? He wanted to hit his skull in frustration for causing the awkward silence around them to return.

Sehun followed Luhan as he turned right, his shoulders dropped sluggishly. He was ready to just run the rest of the way home if the situation got any more unbearable. What startled him was when Luhan stopped mid-footstep, and looked up, his eyes so bright Sehun was surprised his corneas hadn’t burned.

“Did you move here a few weeks ago?” He questioned, watching Sehun’s face for any kind of hint. The other boy nodded slowly, not knowing what else to do.

Deciding to walk a few paces in front of the small boy, Sehun looked around, catching sight of his new home. Pointing to it, he smiled crookedly. Luhan’s mouth slanted open in shock, realisation flashing clear in his eyes. Shaking his head in disbelief, his feet travelled towards Sehun, who was crossing the road.

Once he’d caught up to the boy, he felt a light blush travel across his cheeks. So, they were neighbours. A small voice inside of Luhan’s head told him he shouldn’t care. This kid was just a weird freshman who liked minor explosives and smiling dorkily. But, as much as Luhan wanted to walk away from the tall figure and act like he didn’t exist, he couldn’t help but watch him walk towards his front door, unlocking it.

As Sehun turned around and waved to him, Luhan’s heart quickened, a small smile forming on his mouth. He waved back, then realised what he was doing. Turning around swiftly, he looked down at his reflection in the puddle formed in front of him, glaring at himself. This boy was nothing but a stupid freshman; he should treat him like the others. Nothing about him was special. But even as Luhan tried to will himself to believe that, a small part of him already knew the young boy had made an impression on the senior. For some unknown reason, he felt comfortable around Sehun.

Walking towards his door, he listened to the key clink into place, and gingerly pushed it open. Sure to step over the bottles of alcohol that littered the floors of the passage and living room, he made his way up the stairs silently, quickly glancing towards the couch, praying that the figure lying on top of it wouldn’t wake.

Once he’d closed his room door behind him, he was able to breathe again.

A/N: I tried to add in a little dash of angst... welp. There will be more angsty moments to come, so please anticipate! I'm so sorry this update took years, I've been having quite a bad slump in my writing with exams and studying occupying the majority of my time now. Thank you so much for reading and I'll try my best to update this soon! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, please leave a comment if you did! <3