It's short, but I guess you can think of this as a prologue of sorts. Read the author's note at the bottom please

"You're late," Sehun huffed, dropping his fake glasses on the lab station as he rubbed his eyes tiredly. Tao blinked and closed the science room door behind him. He shrugged off his back pack and dropped it on the floor before approaching the boy.

Sehun motioned to the chair in front of him and Tao gladly took it, "Sorry, had to stay after and ask my professor a few questions on next week's assignment."

"You could have texted me."

"Phone's dead."

"," Sehun deadpanned and picked up a beaker containing a glass of translucent purple liquid. He swirled it around a couple of times, wrote something down in his note book and then slid the glass to his raven haired friend.

"What's this? Did you combine two different brands of Gatorade to prove a point?"

"Something like that."

Tao eyed him suspiciously, but nonetheless drank the liquid. His face scrunched at the bitter taste and he almost spat it out, but the younger boy rushed around the table and slapped a firm hand over his mouth. Tao whined and began choking, having no choice but to swallow the nasty drink.

Sehun didn't let go until he saw his throat bob and felt him exhale roughly through his nose. Tao shoved the younger boy back, practically onto the floor as he gripped his neck and took in greedy breaths of air.

"What the are you doing?!" Tao snapped, "What was that?!"

"That was just a concoction I made up a few days ago," he adjusted his coat, still wearing the white protective material, "It'll help relax your vocal cords so you can hit lower notes, not that it'll do much since your voice is so high."

"You ! Was I your guinea pig?"

"Maybe," Sehun leaned forward and eyed him carefully, "Are you feeling any burning sensations in your esophagus and/or lower intestines?"

"What!?"

"No?"

"N-No!"

"Good," Sehun smiled, "Then you'll be fine. Effects, if any, should wear off in a couple of days."

" Sehun," he coughed, "You could have ing asked me."

"And if you said no?"

"Then I would have said no. Jesus, give me a choice here."

"And then my new 'energy drink' would have been left untested and I would never know if I could make a profit on it or not," Sehun smirked and patted his cheek lovingly, "Come see me tomorrow and let me know if anything has changed."

"," Tao muttered and hit his hand away before grabbing his bag and high tailing it out of there.

--

That happened two months ago. An energy drink that should have lasted an hour at most, has lasted longer. In fact, Tao was still feeling the effects of it now. It was supposed to be positive though, Sehun did say they would affect his vocal cords in a way that would help him reach lower notes. Tao naturally has a fairly high pitched voice so if did work it would be a great help, wouldn't it?

Only it didn't. In fact, it screwed Tao over so bad that he had to drop his music minor and pick up one in business.  No, the drink didn't make him sound like an oompa-loompa or Batman. It gave him... a sort of strange power.

Tao didn't believe in the supernatural (don't ask about ghosts though, that's a special case), he thought super heroes were just a producers way to cash in on a franchise. So when he woke up one morning with a yawn that ended up breaking his windows, he thought he was dreaming.

Sehun didn't have much of an explanation for it either. His response, word for word, was "That wasn't supposed to happen". It did little to calm Tao's nerves and when he was asked about a cure, the aspiring scientist merely shrugged.

The once out going martial artist was labeled the universities ghost. He never spoke unless spoken to by a professor and distanced himself from a large portion of the population. He kept few friends, lost many, but strange enough wasn't too bothered by it.

He's originally Graphic Design Major, and that doesn't really require a lot of talking on his part. Nothing really changed but his social group and, regretfully, his interest in music. He thought he could deal with this alteration for... however it long it lasted.

And that would have been the case if Wu Yi Fan hadn't stepped into the picture.

"Just talk to him," Baekhyun, an senior that clung to him in his programming class, sighs heavily. Tao tears his gaze away from the basketball player and shakes his head rapidly, "Look, I get that you don't talk much and you're an introvert and all that jazz-" (Tao has to roll his eyes) "-But  you'll never get anywhere if you remain the quiet little rumor that passes through every ones lips."

"I'm fine as I am," He lies, his voice barely a whisper. Sure he's exaggerating a bit, Tao can talk at a normal volume if he focuses, but sometimes his emotions get the better of him and that leads to a few unexplained broken glasses.

"... I just don't understand you sometimes," Baekhyun huffs again. Baekhyun doesn't know about his predicament, obviously, so he wouldn't. Not that he blames him or anything; The object of his hatred has yet to arrive actually.

"How are classes for you going?"

"Alright... this girl in my dance class, Kim Taeyeon if you know her, started talking to me the other day."

"Oh?" Tao raises a brow, "She cute?"

"Like you care, but yeah," he smiles wistfully, "She is."

"Lucky you then."

"Jesus Tao," Baekhyun nearly snaps, "I can see you looking at him! Just go talk to him!"

"No!" Tao yells a little too loudly, dodging Baekhyun's attempt at a push on his arm. There is a subtle crack and a boy a few tables away complains about his glasses. That's not it, it never is, and some other students stare in confusion at the spider-like fractures on the lounge windows.

"Don't ," a new voice enters the conversation, "He'll do what he likes, you shouldn't force him to do anything he doesn't want to do."

Tao's wide eyes immediately turn into a glare and he spins around, "Sehun..."

"I learned the hard way, and I regret it deeply," the second year sighs, sitting down beside his raven haired friend, "What's up?"

"Nothing really. I talked to a cute girl and Tao oogled a guy from the basketball team. Didn't they make it to the semi-nationals? We should go watch a game," Baekhyun grins, "What do you say Tao?"

"I say you."

"Language."

"Who?" Sehun looks towards the table where Yifan is studying with his circle of friends. He has his blonde hair pulled back in a pony tail and has a pen resting between his teeth as he reads a passage silently from a textbook. Tao thinks he's never seen a more attractive sight and looks away.

"The ponytail next to your arch-nemesis," Baekhyun supplies, "What was his name...?"

"Luhan?"

"That's the one!"

"Oh," Sehun narrows his eyes. He's had a rivalry with the Chinese exchange student since the it second semester. They constantly try to outdo each other both in class and outside of it. Tao has walked in on Sehun's private lab time more than once and seen Luhan working at a lab station across the room. You'd think they'd be good friends with their common interests, funny how things work out like that.

"Hey... Aren't you late for Chem?" Baekhyun frowns, glancing at the clock.

"," Sehun mutters and stands, adjusting the strap of his bag. Tao can't help but notice Luhan do the same frown across the room, "Tao, I need your help with something. Meet me after school?"

Tao gives him a look, "Is this what I think it is?"

"It is... hopefully."

"Okay, you have my key. Just let yourself in."

"Thanks."

"Way to be vague again," Baekhyun glares, "Am I ever going to be invited to one of your after school sessions?"

"Not until Sehun cleans up the mess he's made," Tao smiles, and Sehun pauses briefly before adjusting his glasses (which are still fake) and nods.

He leaves the two and heads off towards the front entrance. Luhan happens to meet him there; the two glare at each other before walking together silently. Tao snorts and glances back over to Yifan. The elder looks up just in time to catch his eye and the two hold a steady gaze until Tao realizes that holy crap he's looking at me  and quickly turns to Baekhyun, acting like he just remembered something important to tell him.

"Nu-uh," Baekhyun smirks, "Don't act like I didn't see what just happened. You can't turn to me to avoid him."

"He caught me staring," Tao hisses, "I can't look again."

"But looking away makes it more obvious."

"Then I'll just leave," Tao decides, standing up.

"Oh yeah, that will help you."

"S-Shut up."

"Look," Baekhyun begins as Tao shoves his books into his bag, "One of these days I will force you into a conversation with him. You'll talk, he'll realize he's gay for you, and then you two will run off into the sunset and adopt scary looking babies."

"Hyung, you're being ridiculous."

"No, I'm being realistic."

"How will one conversation make him realize he's gay for me?" he scoffs, walking around the chair, "Honestly? He's obviously straight as hell-"

"That isn't confirmed!" Baekhyun throws back quickly. Tao pauses and looks over his shoulder, "Don't assume anything. Hell I assumed you were some emo serial killer that hated everyone, but you're just a shy guy looking for your voice."

"Oh Baek," Tao chuckles, "I'm trying to lose it."

"What?"

"Never mind," the raven haired male waves him off and heads back to the door. His cheeks burn because when he turned to look back at Baekhyun, he noticed that Kris was still looking at him.

Damn it all to hell.

--

"What kept you?" Sehun asks the moment Tao steps through his front door. The boy glances at him before closing the door silently and slipping off his shoes.

"I was busy," he says, leaving it at that,.

"Right... well anyway, I've been working on a suppressor for you-"

"A suppressor?" He snaps. While Tao is home, he doesn't have to worry about being loud since he replaced most of the glass with plastic and wood substitutes, "What about a cure? A cure you promised me two months ago?"

"Well first I need to see what will affect your voice before I start throwing chemicals together," Sehun pulls out a small bottle of pills and a notebook from his bag. He slides the bottle towards his friend and flips to the middle of the book where a bunch of names Tao has never seen is written.

"What's in it?"

"Chemicals you wouldn't even be able to pronounce," he taps his pen impatiently, "Swallow one already."

"And what if it makes it worse?"

"Then it makes it worse, but it'll revert back to what you have right now. Remember, these are temporary."

Tao scoffs and swallows the pills dry, "Where have I heard that before?"

Sehun's face softens, "I'm really sorry man."

The martial artist shakes his head, "What's done is done. How do we know if this works?"

The young scientist reaches into his bag and pulls out a bundle of clothes. He unwraps them carefully until a small shot glass is revealed and places it on the counter. Sehun has tried carrying normal cups in his bag before, but the moment Tao greets him from the front door they shatter. He's learned to take extra precautions.

"Don't say anything for about five minutes. I tried making these fast acting so we can see results sooner. I'll let you know when to speak. Sound good?" Tao nods and makes himself comfy on the couch. Sehun joins him, putting the glass on the coffee table and claiming the love seat, "Great... So now I can rant to you about today."

"Oh god," Tao mutters.

"Ah, ah, ah, no speaking! So when I walked into Chemistry today with Luhan behind and what do you know? The only available seats in the room is at a lab station. So he and I had to sit with each other for an hour and fifteen minutes. An hour and fifteen minutes! That's like days in chem class!"

Tao makes a gesture to say 'You poor soul' sarcastically, but Sehun doesn't catch it, "So then I decided to take a few extra notes on the suppressants. I ate a few myself just so I could see if they were poisonous or not, you're welcome, and he noticed me. Then he pulls out the same thing! Well not really the same thing because all of my notes are private but he was working on some too!"

"Well I highly doubt he gave anyone a sonic voice like you did, stop over thinking it."

"I need to find out what he's working on," Sehun concludes, "I need to-"

"Figure out a way to fix me before you do anything to get back at your freaking doe-eyed rival, who you obviously have the hots for!" He yells, and the cut cracks before exploding off into glass splinters.

A pregnant pause fills the air. Sehun stares at the mess while Tao rubs his eyes.

"Great... Doesn't work."

"I did say it was a prototype," the young scientist mumbles , gathering the shards in his hands. Tao tells him to step back before he cuts himself and leaves to retrieve a small vacuum from the closet. Sehun watches solemnly, "... I'm trying Tao. I really am. I didn't intend for any of this to happen. If I had known... hell I would have dumped it down the drain."

"I know Sehun-ah... I know. Sorry for getting mad. I'm just a little frustrated is all."

"I would be too," he pats his shoulder lightly, "I haven't given up though. I won't rest until I can fix you. Please wait a little longer."

"What choice do I have?" Tao stands. The two lock eyes and stare at each other silently. The only noise in the room is the echo of cars passing by three floors down. Tao eventually smiles and threads his fingers through his black hair, "You messed up my apartment."

"It was only one glass. I brought you something though," Sehun reaches for his bag and pulls out a plate, "Present. It's got ninja pandas dancing on it, reminded me of you. Don't worry about breaking it; It's made of plastic."

"Thanks," he chuckles and takes it with one hand, "I'll add it to the others."

"As soon as I fix you, which I will," Sehun starts as he packs up his things, "I'll buy you any sort of glass dining wear. "

"So you'll get me that limited edition Kung Fu Panda china?"

"Don't push it."

--

Tao types furiously away at his computer. Both Baekhyun and Sehun said they had more important things to do today than keep him company, what was so important he didn't know. All he knows is that they're jerks and deserve to get run over by a bus, but that's wishful thinking. Tao is annoyed, hungry, and tired. His essay is taking forever to finish, seeing as he keeps having to glance back through his chaotic scribbles and decipher them. He thought it paid to be a fast note taker, but that's not the case when you can't even read them.

He thinks about texting one of his classmates for help, and then realizes he doesn't know anyone in class. It's one of the few subjects where he can get away with being a loner... Another thing he's wrong about. Tao groans quietly and rubs his eyes. He's happy the library is open 24/7, he has a feeling he'll be spending most of it in the back table.

He hears his computer sing a small tune for his notifications and quickly shuts the volume off. He had forgotten to do so earlier, but the librarian isn't anywhere near him so at least something is going his way.

He checks the tab it came from and is surprised to see someone messaging him on the school's website. It was mainly used for online classes or turning in assignments electronically. The messaging option was thrown in there last minute for students needing to get a hold of teachers and vise versa. It isn't used often, not by Tao because he doesn't want to bother with people who spread rumors about him, so whoever messaged him had to have known he was be online.

From: Wu Yifan
You look frustrated, need help? By the way, this is Yifan from jogging.

Tao's stomach drops. He spins his head around and sure enough, Yifan is sitting at a few tables behind him. The elder has his fading blond hair tied back and is wearing those ridiculous glasses that only make him more attractive. He looks comfortable in his black sweater and raises a hand to give the boy a slight wave when they make eye contact.

Tao is too stunned to do anything but blink and turn back around. He stares blankly at the message, rereads is twice before he begins freaking out in his head.

He firsts starts out by blaming Sehun and his obsession with dangerous liquids, then Baekhyun for getting a social life outside the two, and then himself for leaving Yifan hanging for about five minutes.

From: Huang Zitao
Sorry, forgot how to use a keyboard for a minute.

, that's not funny. Tao what the are you doing? He's gonna think you're a weirdo and, Tao stops scolding himself when he hears a light chuckle behind him and glances over. Yifan is smiling, Wu Yifan- the man considered to be unapproachable- is smiling.... And typing a response.

From: Wu Yifan
I get like that sometimes too. What are you doing?

They're having a conversation. Tao has half a mind to whip out his phone, text Sehun and tell him that holy they're having a conversation. Of course he doesn't do that because Yifan might think he's weird... So he does it under the table.

To: face
WHAT IS HAPPPENINGMDLX???_?

Yifan is still waiting for a response though, .

From: Huang Zitao
Trying to type an essay for history. It's difficult to discuss the Korean War when I wasn't taught anything about it before coming here. The other students know it like the back of their hand. I'd say that gives them an unfair advantage.

Yifan laughs again and Tao thinks he's doing something good to elicit this kind of response.

From: Wu Yifan
I know how you feel. I'm from Canada and let me tell you there isn't much war to be discussed, aye.

Tao snorts under his breath. His phone buzzes with a response from Sehun and he regrets texting him in the first place.

From: face
I kno. Im logged on frm ur account. Don't it up.

Hahaha canada aye?? Ask him if he apologizes 2 his phone whnvr he hits te screen. W8 nmvd I got it

Tao drops his phone and goes back to his computer. His face flushes when he sees a response he most certainly didn't type.

From: Huang Zitao
Lol, what did they teach you? How to make maple syrup and survive in the snow with a hokey stick?

Oh no. Oh ing no.

To: face
GET. OFF. MY. ACCOUNT.

From: face
How about no.

Tao stares heatedly at his phone and tries to type a proper response, but Yifan had already replied. Tao almost doesn't want to read the message, but he has no choice.

From: Wu Yifan
Interesting, I didn't know you could type without using your hands.

Tao's face heats up and he wants to die. He doesn't have the energy to type a response, but Sehun has that covered, unfortunately.

From: Huang Zitao
It's a skill he's picked up from training in the mountains, not as impressive as hokey sticks though.

I mean I.

.

Hi. I'm not Tao.

Tao is gripping his phone tightly and brooding over the many ways he's going to kill Sehun when he gets home, all of which involve his wushu staff and a bucket of mayo (Sehun's favorite).

From: Wu Yifan
I kind of got that lol.

"So talking should be more private," Tao's heart almost flies out of his chest and he looks back to see Yifan standing beside him, backpack slung carelessly over his shoulder and a small smile on his lips, "May I join you?"

Tao nods because there's no way in hell that he can turn down someone he's always admired. However he realizes that talking to him is going to be difficult. He thanks the gods that they're in a library where being quiet is mandatory.

"Sorry about that," his voice doesn't crack, awesome, "My friend is a ."

"I know what you mean," Yifan laughs, "My roommate is more than a pest, he's like an itch I can't scratch... An itch that berates me and steals my food."

"You poor soul."

"Yes, pity me."

Tao laughs lightly, "To be honest, I didn't think you knew who I was."

"Of course I do," Yifan scoffs playfully, "You always stay in the back when we run. Why is that?"

"I don't know," he shrugs. The reason he does though is fairly simple, so he wouldn't have to talk to anyone. Tao may be at fault for pushing people away and ruining his social life, but he has good reason to. He wouldn't want anyone's glasses breaking into their eyes from a simple greeting, "but you always run ahead of everyone."

"I like to be fast."

"And I take my time."

"Touché," Yifan nodded thoughtfully, "So how is that essay?"

"A pain. It's due tomorrow though."

"What else do you have left?"

"Conclusion."

Yifan stares blankly at him,"... Isn't that the easiest part?"

"If you repeat yourself then yes, but that's not the point of a conclusion," Tao sighs, "My professor is badgering the class to do more than just restate the intro."

"Oh, you have Jang?"

"Yes."

"I had him last year," Yifan pulls out his laptop and taps on the keyboard. The machine glows and he logs into his settings before pulling up his documents. Tao watches with curiosity as the male clicks rapidly on different files. He lets out a breathy 'Aha' when he finds what he's looking for and scrolls to the bottom of the page. There is a brief moment of silence while Yifan reads and Tao doesn't really know what to do with himself until the elder closes the computer again.

"Write a reflection," he begins, turning his attention back to Tao, "Talk about how it's affected us even today. State the changes it's created and what not. That'll show Jang you have a complete understanding of the subject and give you high marks."

"Really? I never thought of doing that..." Tao mumbles thoughtfully, already typing out the remainder of the paragraph. Listening to Yifan gave him an idea, he's read up enough to know how the war changed the relationship between the Americans and the Koreans and how it's impacted culture today.  His fingers blaze across the keyboard and for a moment he forgets Yifan is there.

It isn't until he notices the man reaching for his phone that he remembers where he is, "What are you doing?"

"Giving you my number," he hums, "So if I ever miss anything in fitness jogging, you can tell me what it was."

Tao raises a brow, "You mean besides running?"

Yifan's hand freezes and Tao doesn't mean to laugh at his wide eyed expression. He only laughs harder when he tries to retort back, "We don't only run."

"Oh yeah? What else do we do?" Tao controls himself but wears a smirk on his lips.

"Um... We... Shut up," Yifan knocks his shoulder and packs up his things, "Text me if you need any other help in Jang's class."

"Alright. Thanks for giving me advice now," Tao bow's his head slightly, "I really needed it, or else I would have been sitting here all night."

"Well that's never fun to do alone," Yifan frowns before it's replaced with a soft smile, "If you ever find yourself here again at... 11 at night, give me a call. I'll keep you company."

Tao's face pales when the basketball player sends him a wink and leaves him sitting there alone. It isn't until moments later, when the boy is long gone and Tao is still staring blankly at thin air that he processes the fact that Yifan winked at me. What the is that supposed to mean?

His thoughts clear though when he looks down at his phone and sees a crack there. , I bet my laughter earlier did this. That's never happened before though, ugh. At least my computer is fine. Tao continues to wallow over his phone as he packs his stuff up and leaves the library, focusing on getting home without any more trouble.

Hey! Sorry this is short, but thats because i have a question for you. For starters, I'm not giving up on Taoris, sorry to scare you. I'll continue to post sparratic updates here for as long as i have ideas. Thanks for the support, sorry :C

For this particular story I would like to post it in different POV's. One part would be in Tao's, anotehr in Kris's and vice versa. However, I can do this in a few ways. I can made this a mini series and just post updates like a normal fic (i don't know how long the chapters would be. They'd be longer than this though because this is just to peak your interest and give BG info, like a prologue should) or i can write it all at once and post it in two or so parts. However that would take a while to actually complete. The Mini series wouldn't/ shouldn't be more than five chapters, that i can promise. So what do you think? Please let me know.

not exo related i know, but i need to appreciate this bby every once and w hile. My bias is Sunggyu, but before he took my heart Woohyun had it. This little bugger will always hold a piece of it.