Meeting

Chanyeol didn't want to feel jealous of how easily and smoothly Chen and Xiumin had got together. They'd literally just slipped into boyfriendness in the space of two seconds. But then again Chen had always been smooth, so had Xiumin actually. He ran a hand through his already messy hair and sighed. His love life was the complete opposite to theirs, the only thing he knew about the adorable boy from the beach was his name. 

"What are you doing here?" Someone asked and Chanyeol looked up from pointelessy kicking rocks as he strolled around the neighborhood. 

"Kris?" He was surprised, he'd thought the older boy had transferred to America.

The tall boy, the only person in their group of friends that could match Chanyeol in size smirked. "The one and only."

"You're back." Chanyeol stated obviously and then laughed. "Welcome back old man."

Kris had been Chanyeol's friend; one of the less excitable members of the group, but definitely one of the more cocky ones, he was smart, handsome and had girls fawning over him, but he was also cold and closed-off, making it hard for anyone to get close to him, but he'd left for America two years ago and Chanyeol wasn't afraid to admit that the both of them were terrible at keeping in touch with each other. The older boy walked over and Chanyeol grinned widedly and him and before Kris could push him off gave a him quick hug. The chinese boy rolled his eyes as Chanyeol pulled back but smiled back at him anyways as they began walking again. 

"You never answered me." Kris matched Chanyeol's steps, not asking where he was going, there was only one place Chanyeol went when he was upset. 

The beach.

"Reflecting."

"That's new." Kris said jokingly and Chanyeol smiled sheepishly, he did have a reputation for acting rather than thinking. 

The two of them walked in silence until the gravel eventually turned to sand and Chanyeol closed his eyes, the sea breeze blowing against his face. So relaxing, until...

"YOU ING MORON!"

"Ow Baekhyun that hurt!"

"You deserved it for being such an idiot!"

"I'm sorry okay! It just kinda happened..."

"This type of stuff doesn't just 'sort of' happen Zitao!"

Chanyeol and Kris looked at each, the former with a glimmer of hope and the latter more with confused fear.

"I think it might be him." Said Chanyeol and Kris stared at him. 

"What?"

"Come on." Chanyeol began to walking towards the noise but Kris stopped him.

"They're obviously sorting something out."

Chanyeol waved him off. "It's a public place, they're probably just playing and got overexcited or something."

Kris knew Chanyeol was a . Or at least he could have some pretty ideas. But he also knew he was as stubborn as a mule and once he wanted something he'd go to the ends of the earth to get it. Kris on the other hand couldn't care less, being born a genius, rich, handsome flirt had made the later part of his life easy for him. He preffered not to think of the earlier years. 

He followed Chanyeol who walking in the general direction of the shouting which had turned into talking.

"Hey!" Chanyeol called out and Kris heard an intake of breath and then someone else answered.

"Hello!"

"Tao!" Kris heard a high-pitched hiss but Chanyeol was too excited and was already bounding over to where the answer had come from. 

"Chanyeol?" Baekhyun was shocked when the brunette came flying over the dunes of sand, curly brown hair and light brown eyes shining when they landed on him. 

As soon as Chanyeol saw the small boy he remembered him introducing himself, which was accompagnied by an acute feeling of guilt that he'd actually forgotten his name. But he hadn't forgotten that face. 

"Baekhyun, what a surprise." He quickly hid his excitement, deepened his voice and fixed an overconfident smirk on his face. 

"Oh my god. It's Chanyeol. He's come back." Chanyeol then realized the other boy he'd met a few weeks ago was also there, and he began to doubt himself. 

Were they together?

"Thanks for that Captain Obvious." Baekhyun answered and his eyes focused on the approaching figure of Kris over Chanyeol's shoulder, the latter turning around and introducing Kris quickly.

"This is Kris, my friend." 

Kris nodded as a greeting and the boy that was not Baekhyun smiled cheerfully at him. 

"I'm Tao and this one's Baekhyun."

"You never called." Chanyeol tried to be casual, but his eyes betrayed him, staring intensely at Baekhyun who looked self-conscious and opened his mouth to answer but nothing came out. 

Tao rarely saw Baekhyun being at loss for words, the older boy almost always having a quip or comment about anything and everything. Obviously the sight of two guys that were basically twice his height had traumatized the poor boy and Tao shook his head, poor Baekhyun. He decided it'd be best if he took over for his best friend and wrapped an arm around him in a comforting manner.

"He did want to call you back." He said to Chanyeol and let out a sigh. "But your numbers got washed away when he washed his hands to make us dinner. Which was rice, and it was really nice by the way. He was really quite distressed when he realized they weren't on his skin no more."

Kris hadn't been particularly interested in the conversation until the boy called Tao started talking. Korean was by no means an easy language to learn and it was evidently not this boy's first language. He had an interesting way of phrasing things and the tempo of his speech as well as his accent was intriguing. Kris had travelled all over the world yet he'd never heard anything like it, it was like a mix between chinese and something else. 

"Really?" Chanyeol hid his delight at not having been blown off and tried not to look too happy that Baekhyun had been 'distressed' when it'd happened. 

Baekhyun on the other hand, was anything but delighted. When the very person who'd been on his mind since their first encounter had shown up once again, at exactly the same time that he and Tao had been arguing about the latter letting his powers get away from him and essentially turning himself into a beacon for hunters or worst, was suspicious to say the least. Plus Baekhyun didn't believe in coincidences. And then Tao went on a spiel about how Chanyeol's 'numbers' had been washed off and how he'd made rice for dinner as Baekhyun had been too shocked to answer. 

"What to do?" Chanyeol was pondering the situation and then brightened. "What highschool do you two go to?"

"The local one." Said Tao, not knowing it's name, and wasn't their only one in this town anyways?

"Which one is the local one?" Chanyeol wasn't 100% sure what to think of Tao, and was wondering how to ask if he and Baekhyun were dating, as it looked like the other boy wasn't answering any of the questions for some reason. 

"The biggest one?" Tao seemed to be confusing himself and Kris stepped in, he couldn't watch this trainwreck of a conversation anymore. 

"EXO highschool?"

"Yeah." Tao nodded. "That sounds right."

"I go there too!" He looked at Baekhyun who finally seemed to come out of out his daze. "What year?"

"Second." Baekhyun quickly answered before Tao could, he didn't see the harm in disclosing that information. 

"Me too! How did I not see you there?" Chanyeol mumbled to himself.

"I prefer to keep to myself."

"Really? I'll just have to look for you then."

"That's fine. You probaby have better things to do than look for me."

"I really don't."

Baekhyun wasn't sure how to answer that and it didn't help that Tao had found it hilarious, as had Chanyeol it seemed, and now the two of them were roaring with laughter (what kind of person laughs at their own joke?) and Baekhyun shrugged Tao off with a scowl.

"Seeing as we go to the same school, we'll probably see each other there." Chanyeol once again, tried not to look too happy. "So I don't suppose I need to give you my number again, you'd probably lose it again anyways."
 

"No I wouldn't." Baekhyun answered immediately annoyed and then clamped his mouth shut, he wasn't sure he meant that how it sounded.

Or had he?

Nevertheless Chanyeol grinned. "Really? Should I give it to you again then?"

"You'll see him at school." Kris interrupted and pulled on the hood of Chanyeol's hoodie. "Come on, Kai's probably locking up soon."

"Okay, okay." Chanyeol began to walk away and let a genuine smile slip past his confident exterior. "I'll see you at school Baek!"