“I’m tired of this tension.” Kris grumbled quietly, sipping his pitch-black coffee. “It’s getting on my nerves.” Lately, everyone had been careful to not say anything that would set Baekhyun or Chanyeol off, since both of them could be quite brutal when provoked.

Tao heard Kris and giggled. “We should do something fun then.” Luhan’s acute hearing picked up the two lovers’ secret conversation. “This better not be one of your crazy, Korean drama scenarios.” He raised an eyebrow. Tao shrugged and whispered something into Kris’s ear.

“Let’s go swimming, everyone.” Kris said in an awkwardly loud voice, getting the attention of Chanyeol and Baekhyun, the two who refused to look at each other. Sehun caught on to Tao’s “idea” and grinned. “That’s a great idea! I know a great indoor pool close to the university.”

He was answered with silence, making the atmosphere even more awkward. Tao made his puppy eyes. “I’ve never gone swimming before! I really want to go.” Luhan sighed, rubbing his temples. “We’re totally getting into trouble.” He muttered.

Kris rubbed the back of his neck. He was supposed to go along with Tao’s plan, but he wasn’t sure how to do it. Instead, his words came out choppy and forced. “I think it will be fun. We should go.” He glanced at Tao, who nodded happily. Luhan smiled a little bit. “It’s set then, this Saturday at 2:00pm.” Sehun grinned. “Great! Chanyeol, Baekhyun, you coming?”

Baekhyun shrugged. “Sure.” He continued stirring his raspberry cheesecake Frappuccino with a shot of vanilla as if it was the most interesting thing in the world. Chanyeol glanced at him and looked away immediately. “I’ll go.” He answered simply.

Tao grinned and clapped his hands. “It’s a triple date then!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As soon as the six handsome boys stepped onto the pool deck, the girls who were there immediately stared with blushing faces and wide eyes. “Why did we choose today?” Kris groaned. Tao giggled. “It’s not like you don’t like the attention.”

Luhan was stood next to Tao, his face dark and angry. Kris prodded him in the shoulder. “Something wrong?” He said. Luhan pointed, and Kris followed his finger. Sehun was talking, or rather flirting, with a group of bikini clad girls. He seemed to be having a fun time, smiling and laughing. Tao grinned. “You’re no match for those girls. Go kick them to the curb.”

Luhan crossed his arms, the steam coming out of his ears almost visible. “Fine. I’ll do that.” He stomped over to Sehun and yanked his arm. “Hey! What are you doing?” He said, pouting cutely, for that was Sehun’s weakness.

Sehun glanced at the girls, then back to Luhan. He took Luhan’s chin and tilted it upwards for a short and sweet kiss. “Baby, you know I love you best.” Luhan’s face went red, and he stomped away. Sehun chased after him with a grin, leaving the group of squealing girls.

Kris facepalmed and muttered something about PDAs, while Tao laughed hysterically. “Why do find this funny?” Kris asked, extremely confused and frustrated. Tao wiped his eyes and looked up. “Cause they’re so adorable!” Kris felt his heart melt at Tao’s smile. To cover his embarrassment, he looked away and ruffled Tao’s hair. “Let’s get you a lifejacket so we can go in the water.” He mumbled.

Baekhyun played in the shallow end, while Sehun and Chanyeol were having a diving competition. They performed expert dives, flipping and spinning, unknown to Baekhyun’s watchful eyes. In fact, he was watching like the fangirls, his eyes wide and a slight blush on his face.

Kris gently placed Tao in the water, the latter squealing in delight as the cold water lapped at his skin. He put his hand down in the water, creating small splashes. “This is so much fun!” He grinned, splashing Kris. Kris laughed and raised his arms to protect himself from Tao’s splashes. “I’m glad you’re having a good time.” He said, playfully splashing Tao back.

They watched as Luhan joined in the diving. His sleek, thin form allowed him a cleaner entry than Sehun, who was well built and muscular. Tao paddled over to Baekhyun. “Why don’t you go dive with them?” He asked, innocence written all over his face.

Baekhyun looked away. “I don’t really want to…” he said. Then he looked up, and saw Sehun playfully jumping on Luhan in the water. He moved his gaze to Chanyeol, who was standing on the diving board, the goofy smile he always wore now gone. Baekhyun’s eyes saddened for a second, before he made up his mind and hopped out of the water.

“Baekhyun?” Tao asked, watching Baekhyun walk towards the deep end. Tao paddled over to Kris. Kris had a worried look on his face, but calmed slightly when Tao touched his arm. “We shouldn’t intervene. If something happens, Chanyeol should be the one to help.” Tao said. Kris looked at him with wide eyes. “Did you plan this out?”

Tao shook his head. “I have a feeling though.”

Baekhyun climbed the stairs to the tallest diving board, 15 m into the air. He slowly walked to the very edge of the platform, immediately regretting his decision. No. You must do it. Baekhyun told himself. He glanced down quickly, the pool suddenly seeming so small, so far away. A queasy feeling grew in his stomach, but he chose to ignore it.

Luhan stopped splashing Sehun and looked up at the 15m diving board. “Hey, isn’t that Baekhyun?” He said. Sehun squinted. “Oh yeah, that’s him. Did he finally decide to join in the fun?”

Chanyeol, however, had a horrified expression on his face. “Baekhyun!” Chanyeol yelled. Baekhyun flinched slightly at the sound, but it didn’t shake his resolve. He was going to make this jump, even if he wasn’t a strong swimmer, and even if it was just his broken heart clouding his judgment.

With one great leap, he jumped off the platform and into the air. He was falling, feet first, and fast too. The pool got bigger and bigger, until the water engulfed him completely. He entered with a big splash, and he went deep into the blue pool water.

He didn’t come back up.