It was the third time this week that Yixing skipped classes. He couldn’t help it; it was the rainy season. He never skipped classes unless it was the rainy season. Everything about rain fascinated him – the sound, the smell, the way world looked and the way it made him feel.  As soon as he heard the calming sound of the raindrops hitting his window, he could feel his inspiration raising again. Sure, he got inspired quite often even from the littlest things, but the inspiration he got from the rain was exceptional. His whole brain came to a halt, but not in the I-don’t-know-what-to-do way, but more like the I-have-nothing-to-think-about-and-I’m-content way. In these moments it felt as if Yixing’s body was moving on its own, but rather being annoying, it was enjoyable.  He would take out his sketching notebook, the pencil and the eraser and begun designing shoes. His only thoughts were whether this shoe should be black or red, or whether he should add some ribbons or not. Nothing bothered him and his only wish was for that rain to never stop.

He was sitting in his favorite park bench, which was right beside the narrow river that flawed through the park. He sat there a few minutes just enjoying the view and the smell before taking his notebook and pencil from his backpack, and sketching. Today he felt like sketching orange wedges with flowers printed on them. He was so concentrated on sketching the wedges that he nearly didn’t notice someone else sitting on the other side of his bench. He looked up to see a boy around his age with wet hair and messy school uniform. There were some raindrops on his eyelashes and Yixing wondered for a moment if a person could actually have such long eye lashes. The boy seemed to have noticed his staring, since he turned to look at Yixing with a polite smile. Yixing tried to smile back before turning to look at his notebook again, ignoring the blush on his cheeks. They stayed like that for an hour or so. Yixing was sketching shoes, while the boy beside his was reading something. None of them made any noise. Suddenly the boy got up, gathered his bag and the book and left the bench not before directing another polite smile at Yixing.

Yixing really wished he could see him again. He hoped he would.

xxx

It wasn’t Yixing’s fault. It really wasn’t. He had no control over the weather and it was not as if he skipped classes regularly, only when it rained. So the fact that he skipped classes again the next day wasn’t really something to blame him for. Maybe a just a little, but he knew that school couldn’t give him what he wanted. His teachers didn’t care about the types of shoelaces or the patterns on high heels. All they cared about was Algebra and English, and even if he was a straight-B student, he only did it so his big brother would have one less worry. Yifan wanted him to study well and go to a university, even if it was the last thing Yixing wanted. Was creating and designing shoes a weird job for someone in this century? Maybe. The thought, however, never bothered him. He just wanted to design shoes and see people wearing them. That was enough for him to be happy.

He was sketching another pair of wedges when he felt someone walking in front of him. The person sat beside him on the same spot like yesterday. His cloths were messy just like yesterday and there were a few footprints on the back of his backpack, which he was currently trying to clean. Yixing briefly wondered if the guy got into a fight. He didn’t seem the type, but it was a quite stupid to decide you know someone after seeing them twice in a week, especially if you never talked before.

The boy finished cleaning the footprints from his backpack, then opened it and took out the book along with a can of beer. He opened it, then pulled out a bar of chocolate from his bag, ate it too before starting reading. Yixing wasn’t a big fun of spirits especially bear, but even he knew chocolate and beer had to be a weird combination. For a second, he thought that the boy was a weirdo, but as long as the boy didn’t bother him, it didn’t really matter, so he kept sketching.

His eraser fell on the ground. He tried to reach for it when he felt soft fingers on his hand. He looked to his left and saw the boy sitting very close to him in the same position as Yixing trying to reach the eraser. Yixing pulled his hand away as quickly as he could. The boy chuckled softly before handing the eraser to him. Yixing didn’t look up and just thanked him. The boy didn’t go back to his part of the bench immediately.

“You design shoes?”

The question caught Yixing off guard. He didn’t think the boy would talk to him, or that he’d have such a nice voice for the matter.

“Yeah. It’s sort of a hobby,” said Yixing still looking at his sketches.

“It is too good to be a hobby,” said the boy in a way that made Yixing think he meant something else. Yixing knew exactly what he wanted to say.

“Some things aren’t easy.”

“They aren’t,” the boy seemed to have caught on that Yixing didn’t want to discuss it and went silent.

For a few seconds that is.

“Jongdae,” said the boy stretching his hand for a handshake. “I can’t have you calling me ‘the weird guy who drinks beer with chocolate and yes, I saw the way you looked at me when I ate it.”

“Yixing, and you have to admit it is a weird choice,” said Yixing shaking his hand.

“Me admitting it is a weird choice won’t stop me from eating it.”

Yixing decided that he definitely liked the boy’s smile. But it disappeared when the boy heard his ringtone.

“Oh, crap, I totally forgot about her. I have to go now. See you soon, I guess. Bye,” said the boy – no, Jongdae in one breathe before gathering his stuff and running out of the park.

Yixing didn’t want to admit it to himself, but somewhere deep down in his soul he hoped Jongdae wasn’t talking about his girlfriend.

xxx

Fifth day. He skipped classes for five days. Yifan must be awfully pissed, which is why Yixing decided to stay in the park a bit longer than he usually would. Anyways, the rainy season would end soon and he would be forced to go back to school so Yifan was worried for nothing.

“Wedges again?” asked the voice right beside him. When did he even come? The boy was sitting close to Yixing and Yixing would have minded it if it were someone else, but for some reason he didn’t mind having the stranger with bad taste buds taking up his personal space. “Do you have a thing for them or something?”

“I just think they look good also they are fun to design.”

“If you say so.” The boy sounded amused as he took out two cans of beer and two bars of chocolate from his bag, “I can’t let you judge my taste before even trying so here you go.”

Yixing just scrunched his nose.

“I’m not much of a drinker, sorry. Also I don’t have to try it to imagine how disgusting it must taste. Why would you torture your body like this?”

“Excuse you, it’s an excellent combination and I’d fight anyone for it.” Jongdae looked cute pouting.

“Is this why you look like a mess every time we meet?” asked Yixing hoping Jongdae wouldn’t get offended.

Jongdae looked down at his shirt which was torn around the shoulder and the black pants which knees were dusty.

“Is that why you stare at me?” teased Jongdae. Yixing felt blush creeping up his neck.  “If it means anything, that jerk had it coming. The only person who is allowed to make fun of Kyungsoo is me.”

“Is he your brother?”
“Not really, we just grew up together. We have been friends as long as I remember myself and even if I often make fun of his big eyes, that doesn’t mean that jerk has the right to call him ‘owlish freak’.”

Jongdae looked angry for a moment, remembering the fight he had with the guy, but then smiled, when he remembered how Kyungsoo put that idiot in a headlock and made him beg for mercy. His best friend may be tiny but he was a force not to deal with. Although this never stopped Jongdae from trying to defend his friend’s honor when the latter wasn’t around to do it himself or just didn’t care enough.

“Ah.”

They didn’t talk after that. Yixing continued sketching though this time he explained certain details to Jongdae who kept looking at Yixing’s design asking him what was this or that.

xxx

Just this once more, thought Yixing as he entered the park. This was the 6^th time he skipped classes. He wondered if Yifan had any other punishment up his sleeve bedsides taking his laptop.  It didn’t matter. He didn’t have friends whom he contacted after classes so he mostly used his laptop to look up new designs for shoes. Oh well, he would do that in the public library, no big deal.

He was passing the tiny bridge on the river when he saw Jongdae. He wanted to greet him before he saw a girl sitting beside him. She laughing and trying hard not to blush at something Jongdae just told her. She had long, wavy brown hair, big eyes, a long nose and tiny mouth. These features would look weird on anyone else but the girl pulled that off nicely. She was very attractive.

Yixing felt something stir inside him. He knew what that feeling was but he really didn’t want to deal with it. It was pathetic enough possibly having a crush on a stranger you saw five times, he didn’t need to lose the last bits of his dignity being jealous over a stranger who apparently had a girlfriend. So for the first time since middle school Yixing spent the rainy day locked up in his room listening to music.
 

xxx

He didn’t go to the park for a week. No, it wasn’t because of Jongdae and his girlfriend. He did feel terrible after seeing them together but after a day or two he pulled himself together and did everything not to think about the boy with dead taste buds and cute smile. He didn’t go to park because the rainy season was over. He had no real reason to go there, so he went to school and then straight home just like his brother wanted him too.

On the next Monday, however, it rained again. Yixing was on his way to his school when he felt something hit his head and when he looked up he felt the raindrop on his face. In a few seconds the drizzle turned into a heavy shower and Yixing felt the same happiness as a person lost in a desert seeing on oasis would. His gloomy thoughts left him and he crossed the road heading to his favorite park with a smile on his face.

When he approached the bench, he saw someone sitting on it. He couldn’t properly see that person’s face, but they had their head resting on their hand as they were reading a book. There was a can beside him.

Yixing hesitated for a moment before deciding his pathetic tiny crush wasn’t worth it and went to take his favorite place. As soon as he crossed the bridge Jongdae looked up and upon noticing Yixing smiled the biggest smile Yixing had seen on him. Yixing thought he was looking at the sun, as the warmth was spreading through his whole body.

“Long time, no see.”

“Nice to see you too,” Yixing sounded a bit fake to himself, but Jongdae didn’t seem to have noticed.

“Why did you run away last week?”

Crap, so his escape didn’t go unnoticed.

“Um… I had stuff to do.” Yixing begun touching his neck - something he did every time he had to come up with a lie.

“On a rainy day? On Friday?” Jongdae didn’t sound convinced.

“I had stuff.” Yixing was pouting.

“Okay if you say so.” Jongdae still didn’t sound convinced.

They were silent for a few minutes before…

“Why isn’t your girlfriend with you today?” Yixing really should have kept his mouth shut.

“What girlfriend?” Jongdae sounded surprised.

“The pretty girl that was with you that day. I saw her with you and thought that you were on a date or something so I went home.”

“Didn’t you say you had ‘stuff to do’?”

Yixing should really stop talking.

“Um…. Don’t you think the oak tree looks good today? I mean look at the leaves, so pretty.”

“And here I thought I was the weird one,” said Jongdae farrowing his brows.” Anyways, she isn’t my girlfriend. She is my cousin, Krystal. She moved here recently to go to the same collage as her girlfriend Amber, so I was showing here around. “

“So she isn’t your girlfriend?” Yixing sounded too excited. Tone it down, you prickle.

“Of course not, I’m not that gross. But why do you sound so excited?” asked Jongdae with a smirk on his face.

“Oh, look at my wrist I gotta go,” said Yixing while looking at his watchless wrist before sprinting out of the bench. Or at least trying, since Jongdae grabbed his wrist.

“I knew it.”

Yixing turned around so quickly he thought he’d get a whiplash. Jongdae’s smirk turned into a huge smile. They stared at each other for some time before saying.

“Knew what?”

“You liked me too.” Jongdae sounded far too happy for someone who was weirded out by him. What if he wasn’t weirded out by the prospect of a newly made friend having a crush on him? Did he really have a chance?

“You do.”

Crap, was he talking aloud?

“Really?” Yixing held his breath waiting for the answer.

“Yeah, really.”

Yixing could breathe again. They began staring at each other again, before they heard Jongdae’s ringtone. Jongdae let go of Yixing’s hand and Yixing missed the warmth on his hand.

Jongdae talked on the phone as Yixing stood on the same spot not moving. Jongdae quickly finished his phone call, then took Yixing’s pencil and wrote something on Yixing’s notebook.

“Sorry, I need to find Krystal. She may have a full scholarship and the highest grades in her old school, but she is very dumb when it comes to finding places. She managed to get lost on the way from her dorm to the flower shop and they are like two streets apart. I have to help her, but we can talk later. Call me,” said Jongdae in one breath before rushing out, not forgetting to smile on last time to Yixing.

“I will,” said Yixing to no one in particular.