“How did you get my phone number?”

Like most days, Baekhyun is not in the mood to tolerate other people and this lack of desire to associate with people wholly extends to annoying first-year dance students.

“Sorry, Omelet, but I can’t disclose my sources.”

“That means it was Lu Han,” Baekhyun says confidently as he pushes open the door to the staircase at the end of his hallway. Sehun laughs on the other end of the line, confirming Baekhyun’s accusations.

“I’m going to kill him the next time I see him.”

The staircase is just as dirty and rundown as always. (Though Baekhyun knows the giant spiderweb that spans half of two steps could not have just formed overnight). He climbs down the stairs slowly and carefully, not wanting to risk falling through the floor and dying a tragic death that probably wouldn’t even make it on the front page of any news paper or program.

“Having so many murderous thoughts can’t possibly be good for your health.”

Biting back a laugh simply because he’s on the phone with Sehun and he’d rather die before laugh at something Sehun says, Baekhyun pretends to be flattered.

“Are you seriously worried for my health? How sweet, you are,” he jokes. In the pause between the end of his sentence and the other’s reply, Baekhyun pauses in the middle of the stairway.

“Hmm. Sweet. You know, that reminds me. I’ve always wanted to try chocolate off of someone’s body.”

Baekhyun averts his attention from the body sprawled out along the platform and the first three stairs leading to the ground floor.

“I am not stripping and letting you pour chocolate on my body,” he says.

Continuing down the rest of the steps and stalking up to the body, Baekhyun frowns. The man’s limbs are so haphazard Baekhyun can’t step around him without the possibility of tripping and falling on his face. Well, this is going to be fun.

“Did I ever say I wanted to do it to you? Don’t get ahead of yourself, Oatmeal.”

“You didn’t have to say it. I know you’d love to get a taste of me.”

Nudging the man’s temple with the tip of his boot, Baekhyun curses under his breath.

“Hey,” he calls, trying the wake the unresponsive man. “Get up. I have somewhere to be.”

“Who are you talking to? Are you sleeping with random men? Is this ‘the morning after’? Are you trying to make me jealous?”

“Shut up, Sehun. There’s some who thought it would be a splendid idea to pass out on the stairs and he’s blocking the path,” Baekhyun corrects the foolish one.

He lifts his foot and presses the ridged toe of his boot down on the man’s exposed left cheek until he’s confident it’ll leave indentations on his face.

“Most uncreative excuse I’ve ever heard. Was he good? Is his bigger than mine?”

Laughing short and more so like a scoff than anything, Baekhyun  moves his foot in order to wedge  it between the man’s body and the grimy floor. “Firstly, I didn’t have with anyone. Secondly, I’ve never seen your . Shut. Up. Se. Hun. God.”

 Channeling his  growing anger, Baekhyun snaps his ankle, sending the man tumbling down the stairs to the lower level.

“Still waiting for you to come it, by the way,” Sehun says and Baekhyun knows he’s smirking from his tone of voice. “But, I’ll talk to you later Toast, Lu Han won’t stop asking me about the answers to the universe. Apparently, he’s getting ice cream with that guy from PA.”

Baekhyun nods. “Tell him to not say anything too stupid.”

Sehun tells him it’s virtually impossible for Lu Han to go more than ten minutes without saying something stupid and Baekhyun agrees before they end the call.

Just as the sculptor fits his cell into pocket of his black shorts, he hears a groan from the man he kicked down the stairs. He grins.

“Rise and shine~”

He finds amusement in the way the man looks around the stairwell with narrowed, confused eyes. The man his lips before making a face and turning toward Baekhyun. Slowly, he blinks his eyes open, and when he does, Baekhyun’s desire to kill (and a small hint of deja va) rises in his body once more.

It’s hard to recognize someone who’s face you only saw for a few seconds in a blinding fit of rage, but those eyes…those eyes. Aside from the day his life was crushed into a million pieces, Baekhyun feels like he should know this face — those eyes — from some place else.

“We should have a slumber party.”

Minseok freezes with his mouth open and his spoonful of chocolate ice cream dripping onto the side of the cup holding the treat and the table. A slumber party? That’s a bad idea. A horrible idea.

“…What are we, teenagers?” He mocks upon snapping out of his temporary state of shock. Shoving the white, plastic spoon into the soft, slowly melting cream, Minseok reaches across the table to pull a brown, recycled napkin from the dispenser sitting in the center of the circular surface.

Barking out a laugh and leaning back into his chair, Lu Han crosses his arms over his chest. “We may as well be.” He nods his head. “Come on, I could wear my y Squirtle footie-pajamas and we could watch boorish movies filled with erted jokes and innuendos and eat popcorn and stay up to watch the sunrise and —

“And run around the building, knocking on strangers’ doors and running away, and press all the buttons on the elevators?” Minseok offers, indulging into another spoonful of his ice cream.

Lu Han straightens up, slamming his hands on the small table. Jumping in surprise, Minseok’s eyes flick around at the surrounding patrons who have turned to see what has gotten his company so excited. It’s embarrassing but it’s a part of the package deal when one wants to befriend a certain Chinese fool named Lu Han.

The small ice cream shoppe is cute and quaint. The walls are decorated with glittery pink and white stripped wallpaper, the tables are an offending white (the scoop shaped chairs, thankfully, are black), and the employees have adorably terrifying smiles glued right over where their mouths should be. Of course, Lu Han chose the setting for their outing today.

“Exactly!” Lu Han exclaims, much too interested in this slumber party idea.

“No,” Minseok rejects simply. “I refuse to run around as if I’m a small child.”

“But you have no problem with dressing like one?” Lu Han raises a brow and rudely extends his arm over the table (and more importantly, Minseok’s ice cream) to tug at the overflow of Kris’ hoodie around Minseok’s smaller body.

“ you,” Minseok says and he has enough acting skill to cover the uneasiness that worms its way into his stomach and wreaks havoc on his emotions. He smiles and laughs like he’s joking because Lu Han doesn’t need to know that the reason for his dress is a soft spot. A really soft spot.

Large grin overtaking his face, Lu Han takes Minseok’s spoon and digs out an ample amount of the melting dessert. He wraps his lips around the utensil in a way he most likely thinks looks seductive, but really looks stupid to Minseok.

“I’ve been waiting for the offer,” he teases and slips the spoon back into the cup. “All the better reason for a slumber party.”

Rolling his eyes, Minseok lightly presses his finger against the side of his cup of ice cream and pushes it into the center of the table. He’s not sure if he wants to eat it now that there are Lu Han germs all over his spoon. If he uses that spoon he’ll probably catch the stupid — because “the stupid” is a serious, communicable disease.

“So…” Lu Han places his elbows on the table and links his fingers so he can rest his chin on top of the surface they create. “My place or yours?”

“You have to stop with these terrible pickup lines.”

Shrugging, Lu Han takes another swallow of Minseok’s ice cream.

Yeah, he’s definitely not eating it now.

“What can I say? I’m just a natural charmer.”

Minseok scoffs. “More like a natural idiot.”

“Hey!” Lu Han pouts. “Since when did you get so mean?”

Mimicking Lu Han’s posture and resting his chin on his laced fingers, Minseok puckers his lips. “I’ve always been a little mean. It’s called tough love.”

“Tough love equates to rough . All the better reason —

“— to have a slumber party,” Minseok finishes. “If it’ll shut you up, we can have a slumber party,” He concedes.

Lu Han fist pumps. “Are you sure you’re not giving up because you secretly want to have rough with me?”

Minseok blinks. “I’m going to the bathroom.”

Lu Han says something about eating the rest of his ice cream and Minseok waves his hand as he stands and searches for the store’s restroom.

He’s relieved when he finds the bathroom empty. Walking up to one of the sinks, he cups his hands beneath the automatic tap. Once his hands fill with water, he bends over to splash the liquid over his face. Sighing, Minseok allows his face and hair to drip the clinging excess back into the basin.

He hates this. He hates being confused. He hates not having control over his life.

Standing straight and moving his wet hair off his forehead, he whines loudly and stomps his feet in a childish tantrum.

“This is all your fault!” He yells out to nothing and no one in particular. The thought of people being able to hear him outside the restroom develops as an afterthought. Cursing, Minseok lifts the lower hem of the hoodie and uses it to wipe the remaining water from his face.

He needs more ice cream.

Exiting the restroom and toeing back to his and Lu Han’s table with his head down, Minseok finds what used to be his ice cream, gone.

“I said I was going to eat it,” Lu Han defends upon noticing Minseok’s glances from the empty cup to his face. “Therefore, you can’t get mad at me. I warned you.”

Smiling, Minseok shakes his head and chuckles. “I’m not mad at you. I didn’t want it anymore in the first place,” he says and takes his seat. “But…would you mind getting me a small cup of strawberry and cake batter with rainbow sprinkles?”

“But you were just up. You could have gotten it after you left the bathroom!” Lu Han frowns, waving his arms around dramatically like he always does.

“I want you to get it. You were the one who suggested we go out today.”

Lu Han leans back in his chair and crosses his arms over his chest. “What do you think this is? A date?”

Minseok ignores his question, leaning on his elbows toward Lu Han with air blown into his cheeks. They stare at each other and Minseok watches as a dusty red slowly brushes its way across Lu Han’s face. Sighing, the singer relents.

Sitting back in his chair as Lu Han stands, Minseok can’t help the wide grin that stretches until his cheeks hurt.

“Strawberry and cake batter with rainbow sprinkles, right?”

“Thank you~” Minseok chimes.

He waits until Lu Han reaches the counter to order his ice cream before he laughs.

“He’s so cute.”