Sehun grabbed his toothbrush and squirted a ridiculous amount of toothpaste on it because it simply didn't matter. Right now he was focused on his mission to ignore the gnawing ache in his chest. He simply wants to forget about the reason why that ache is there in the first place. It's cowardly of him, and it reflects poorly on him as a person, but honestly, at the moment that's all he wants to do. To ignore. To forget.

 

As he brushed his teeth, he kept his eyes on his reflection in the mirror. He noticed that he didn't look as angry as he felt, which, now that he thought about it, was a good thing. It was hard enough for him to tell Luhan that he was mad, but if he actually looked the part..... Sehun shook his head and continued brushing.

 

The door opened and Sehun turned his head only to find Luhan staring right at him. Sehun could see the confusion in his eyes. He could also see a hint of hurt, and Sehun feels that ache again. Sehun willed himself to look away – to ignore it. He turned his attention back to the mirror in front of him, and focused on brushing, his hand moving rapidly.

 

“We have to talk,” Luhan said, voice completely serious, but Sehun could sense a little hesitation behind the words.

 

Sehun doesn't say anything.

 

“Fine – after we brush our teeth,” Luhan said hurriedly as he entered the bathroom and grabbed his toothbrush – a Bambi one that Kyungsoo had gotten him for his birthday.

 

While Luhan kept his eyes on Sehun's reflection the whole time, Sehun didn't bother to look at the other boy. It was easier that way. He had a strong feeling that if he was to look at Luhan, all of his anger would crumble, the ache would consume him, and he'd just end up feeling like a horrible, jealous boyfriend – which is not what he wants to admit right now. No.

 

Sehun finished and quickly left the bathroom, ignoring the surprise look on Luhan's face.

 

“Se--hun,” Luhan called out, voice muffled due to the paste in his mouth. “Wait.”

 

Sehun turned off the lights in their room, pulled back the covers and got under it. He just wanted to sleep. To get this day over with.

 

But Luhan was having none of it.

 

The older boy flipped the switch as soon as he entered the room and pulled the covers off of Sehun. “Sehun, we have to talk,” Luhan demanded. He got on the bed and sat next to Sehun, his eyes fixed on Sehun, who was refusing to meet his eyes. “I need to know why you're --”

 

“I'm tired. Can we not?” Sehun snatched the covers back, surprising Luhan, who looked like he couldn't believe what was happening.

 

“Sehun-ah, I'm – I'm sorry,” Luhan said, voice alarmingly desperate. “I'm sorr--”

 

Sehun snapped his head around to look at Luhan.

 

“Don't apologize,” Sehun said, his voice cold. “That's the last thing I want to hear right now.”

 

“But I--”

 

Sehun abruptly sat up. “You don't have to apologize for something you didn't do wrong.”

 

Luhan furrowed his eyebrows. “But --”

 

“You had fun today. There's nothing wrong with that. So don't,” Sehun stated plainly.

 

“Sehun-ah, I don't understand...”

 

“You got to meet one of your idols. You got to see his studio. Heck, you had dinner with the man. I'm sure you had an awesome time, so please don't say sorry. It doesn't make any sense for you to.”

 

“But you're mad, and I don't want us to fight and --”

 

“We're not fighting,” Sehun deadpanned. He laid back down, doing his best not to show his discomfort. His head was throbbing, and he honestly was too tired for this. “I'm tired, Lu. Please turn off the lights.”

 

“Sehun, you're not being fair,” Luhan said, his voice cracking. “I need you to tell me why you're mad. Is it because I came home late? I'm sorry about that --”

 

“You're an adult, Lu. I don't care if you come home late,” Sehun said, cutting Luhan off.

 

What he said couldn't be more far from the truth though. He did care.

 

But not because Luhan was late – that doesn't bother Sehun. It was the reason why he was late.

 

“Well then what is it? Tell me,” Luhan pleaded.

 

Sehun looked up at him. Luhan's misty eyes were staring back at him, silently begging him, and he almost wanted to just tell him. To spill everything.

 

He doesn't because he knew that he'll just be releasing his frustration out on Luhan, and his boyfriend didn't deserve that. He knew that if he was to tell Luhan how he felt when Luhan came home with Jinho, he'd end up yelling at him, and that is the last thing Sehun wants to do.

 

With a sigh, Sehun turned away to sleep on his side. “I can't.”

 

“Why not?” Luhan quickly asked, and Sehun could hear him shifting his position on the bed.

 

Sehun squeezed his eyes shut. “I just can't. Not now.”

 

“Then when?”

 

“It's late. We have classes tomorrow. It's best to just go to sleep,” Sehun answered, dodging the question entirely. He pulled the covers higher and pretended he was close to falling asleep.

 

Luhan didn't say anything for a while, and Sehun got the feeling that he was thinking about the best way to approach the situation – to continue or to give in. When he suddenly felt Luhan getting off the bed and walking towards the light switch, Sehun almost couldn't believe it. For sure, he thought Luhan would continue to try to get answers out of him.

 

The lights went out and for three painful seconds everything stilled. Sehun felt his heart beating increasingly fast when a horrible thought occurred to him – what if Luhan wants to sleep somewhere else? It has happened before. And though he doesn't want to face Luhan, he still doesn't like the idea of his boyfriend sleeping somewhere else.

 

But thankfully, Luhan didn't because Sehun felt a dip in the bed from behind him. When Luhan doesn't say anything, Sehun decided that maybe Luhan was respecting his decision not to talk about what was bothering him. Maybe Luhan was giving him time to figure everything out – to sort his feelings in a way that actually made sense because right now, nothing was clear.

 

For a while, Sehun heard Luhan tossing and turning. Occasionally, he would hear Luhan sigh into the darkness, probably out of frustration at him.

 

Sehun couldn't blame him though. He himself didn't understand exactly why he doesn't want to talk about it. He just doesn't.

 

Eventually, Luhan stopped moving and turned to face Sehun. He could feel Luhan's eyes boring the back of his head.

 

“Sehun-ah,” Luhan softly called out. “Can't --” He paused for a second. “Can't you --” He stopped mid-sentence as if uncertain on whether or not he should voice what's running through his mind.

 

A few seconds later, Sehun heard Luhan huffed and then suddenly he felt a warm body pressed against his back.

 

Wrapping an arm around Sehun's stomach, Luhan, rather quickly, stated, “Even if you're mad and won't talk to me, this is how I'm used to sleeping, so deal with it.”

 

Though Luhan sounded determined, like he wasn't going to let go even if Sehun asked him to, Sehun could sense the underlying uncertainty in his voice - the slight fear that Sehun might push him away.

 

Luhan pressed his face into the nape of Sehun's neck. “It's your fault I'm like this,” Luhan mumbled. He didn't say it in a way that was meant to place blame, but rather to state a fact.

 

Sehun didn't say anything, nor did he move away. He allowed Luhan to press his body closer to his own, to tighten his arm around him, to cuddle him, to breathe down his neck, and to eventually fall asleep with the words Night Sehun-ah whispered against his skin.

 

And Sehun feels that ache again, but this time it's infinitely worse.

 

The next morning....

 

Beep beep beep beep beeeeeep

 

Sehun groaned and slowly opened his eyes, expecting to see his annoying alarm clock on his nightstand, but instead he saw honey brown hair, and lots of it. Sehun's eyes widened. When did I? He looked down only to find his arm wrapped tightly around Luhan's waist and his legs tangled with Luhan's.

 

BEEEEEEEEEPPPP

 

Sehun smacked the annoying alarm clock before turning his attention back to his boyfriend, who was sound asleep. He doesn't remember how he got like this, but somehow during the course of the night, they ended up sleeping in their usual, tangled positions. 

 

With eyes trained on Luhan's face, Sehun noticed that the boy went to bed wearing what he wore all day yesterday, which must have been really uncomfortable. He noted that Luhan was also slightly frowning in his sleep, and he doesn't know whether he should smile because the older boy looked absolutely adorable frowning in his sleep, or feel sad because he's most likely the reason behind that frown.

 

“Mhm.” Luhan stirred, his hands Sehun's shirt as he snuggled closer. Sehun slowly ran his fingers through his boyfriend's tangled hair. More out of habit than anything else, Sehun leaned in, ready to peck Luhan's lips, but just as he was centimeters away, he stopped.

 

Zzzzzzzzzz. Zzzzzzzzz. Zzzzzzzzzzzz.

 

Sehun spotted the vibrating cellphone sticking out from under Luhan's pillow. He took it out, and the name Jinho flashed across the screen.

 

Jinho?

 

Zzzzzzzzzz. Zzzzzzzzz. Zzzzzzzzzzz.

 

Another text message from Jinho received.

 

Sehun doesn't even realize that he's dropped the phone by the time the third message is received. He is, however, horribly aware of his stomach twisting with a familiar ugly emotion.

 

Untangling himself from Luhan, Sehun quietly got up and left the room.

 

******

Beep beep beep beep beeeeeep

 

Luhan quickly covered his ears and mumbled, “Sehun-ah, turn it off.”

 

As soon as he said that, he expected the beeping to stop because Sehun knows he's not really fond of alarm clocks, especially ones that go off in the morning.

 

But the beeping continued for another solid minute before Luhan could open his eyes. BEEEEEEEEEPPPPP

 

Luhan rolled over to Sehun's side and smack the alarm button irritatedly. “Stupid clock,” Luhan grumbled into Sehun's pillow. It took him exactly three seconds to realize that something was off. It's been forever since he's actually have to turn off an actual alarm clock because usually it was Sehun who woke him up. Sehun.

 

Luhan abruptly sat up and looked around. He frowned. He's not here.

 

Thinking that Sehun was probably downstairs eating breakfast, Luhan quickly got up and ran to the bathroom.

 

Last night Luhan didn't sleep well at all, so it didn't come as a surprise when he actually felt glad to be awake in the morning. A large part of him was happy about being able to hopefully fix things between him and Sehun.

 

When he ran down the staircase and into the kitchen, he expected Sehun to give him a hard time at first, due to the boy's stubbornness that hasn't disappeared since they started dating, but he didn't expect this – Sehun was already dressed, backpack slung over his shoulders, and ready to leave.

 

“Oh, you're leaving?” Luhan asked, voice unable to mask his disappointment.

 

“Yeah,” Sehun answered, standing a few feet away from him, hands clutching the shoulder straps of his bag.

 

“Then I'll go change real quick and we can leave together,” Luhan said, already turning around to go back upstairs.

 

“Don't,” Sehun said. Luhan turned around to look at him questioningly. “You should really eat breakfast first,” Sehun continued.

 

Before Luhan could object, Sehun gave him a forced smile that immediately shut him up. Luhan's stomach lurched at the sight of Sehun having to force himself. “I'll see you later,” he said before he left the kitchen.

 

And Luhan could only stand there, that excitement he felt earlier quickly disappearing as soon as he heard the front door closed. A few of the other boys who were sitting at the breakfast table exchanged confused glances at one another, unsure of what they just witnessed. The only two people who understood was Baekhyun and Chanyeol, both of whom looked worried for the older boy who still haven't moved from his spot.

 

“Uh hyung, what do you want to eat?” Kyungsoo asked, hoping to dispel the awkwardness that was currently floating around the kitchen. He made a move to get up, but Luhan shook his head.

 

“It's fine. I'll just eat cereal.” He got himself a bowl and walked over to the table with his head down to avoid the others' gazes.

 

Thankfully, the others didn't ask him anything and continued with their breakfast, glancing at him every now and then to check to see if he was okay. Luhan kept his eyes on his cereal, mindlessly swirling the spoon, and occasionally he would eat a little.

 

After what felt like forever, he heard the others leaving one by one. They bid him bye as they left, and Luhan nodded in acknowledgment. Eventually, it was just him and Baekyeol who were left in the kitchen.

 

“Hyung,” Chanyeol started.

 

“Your cereal is getting soggy,” Baekhyun finished.

 

“Oh.” Luhan placed his spoon down and frowned.

 

“Aishhh. You're cute even when you're sad,” Baekhyun said, folding his arms across his chest.

 

Luhan looked at the two when he suddenly realized something. “Wait. You're not....mad at me?”

 

Baekhyun raised his brow. “When was I mad at you?”

 

“Last night when Chanyeol was holding you back.”

 

Baekhyun and Chanyeol looked at each other for a second before they turned their attention back to Luhan. Chanyeol grinned while Baekhyun facepalmed himself.

 

“Hyung, that wasn't directed towards you. I could never be mad at you because come on, look at you!”

 

Luhan blinked rapidly, a small smile slowly making its way across his face. “That's good to hear. I was worried you wouldn't --”

 

“Want anything to do with you?” Chanyeol completed. “Hyung, that's never going to happen. We'll always want you.” He gave Luhan a grin that caused Luhan to feel slightly better about the current situation.

 

“If it wasn't me, then who was it that you were mad at?” he asked.

 

“Uhhh.” Chanyeol looked at Baekhyun, who answered unenthusiastically, “Jinho.”

 

Luhan quirked his eyebrows. “Jinho? Why?”

 

Baekhyun sighed. “Hyung, did Sehun tell you anything?”

 

At the mention of Sehun's name, Luhan's face fell. Baekhyun, who noticed, quickly told him, “Don't worry hyung, that's just how he is when he's upset.”

 

“But he won't tell me why....And he won't let me apologize either,” Luhan confessed.

 

“He'll tell you soon when he's ready. Right now, he's just being a twit because he's Sehun,” Chanyeol said.

 

“It's a maknae thing,” Baekhyun added with a smile. He reached over to rub Luhan's hand. “He'll get over it and you can go back to being sickeningly sweet together. My bet is that he'll be back to normal by the end of the day.”

 

“And if not, you can just hit him,” Chanyeol said, smacking the table as demonstration. “Knock some sense into him.”

 

Luhan chuckled, expression suddenly brighter. “That does sound appealing...”

 

Baekhyun and Chanyeol laughed. “Yeah, definitely.”

 

When the trio got to their university, Luhan quickly waved bye at the other two before he rushed over to the courtyard in front of the music building in hopes of catching Sehun before he went to class. He spotted his boyfriend a few yards away.

 

“Sehun!” Luhan shouted while navigating his way through the throngs of students. “Sehun!”

 

After shouting Sehun's name a few more times, Luhan stopped trying to catch up to him when he realized that it was pointless. Either Sehun doesn't hear him or he doesn't want to see him. Luhan really hopes that it's not the latter because that would hurt.

 

As he watched Sehun getting ready to turn a corner, Jinho suddenly appeared, blocking his view of Sehun.

 

“Hyung, what are you doing here?”

 

“Um..” Thinking that Sehun was probably long gone by now, Luhan shook his head. “Nothing.”

 

Jinho gave him a look that said he was unconvinced. “Is everything okay? Did you not sleep well? Your eyes are kinda puffy and you look tired.”

 

Luhan's hand unconsciously reached up to touch his face. “I look horrible?”

 

Jinho chuckled. “Nah. You always look great.”

 

Luhan dropped his hand back to his side and gave Jinho a small smile. “Liar.”

 

Jinho grinned and raised his right hand. “It's the truth. I swear.”

 

“Hmph.” Luhan looked over to where Sehun was earlier, and though he knew Sehun wasn't going to be there, he was left feeling disappointed nonetheless.

 

“Let's go,” he said finally.

 

It's useless and a bit pathetic but Luhan looks over his shoulder one last time before he walked away with Jinho, secretly hoping that Sehun would reappear.

 

He didn't.

 

And Luhan walked away knowing that today was going to be difficult for him, but just how difficult he doesn't know yet.

 

******

I'll just text him, Sehun thought as he walked towards his classroom building. After leaving without Luhan, he instantly felt bad. He could only imagine how Luhan must feel. He took out his phone and typed a message.

 

Hey

 

He quickly deleted it because that was stupid and he doubted a simple “Hey” would make Luhan feel better.

 

How was breakfast?

 

He deleted that one too because it was even more stupid.

 

How are you feeling?

 

He deleted that one as well, but not because it was stupid, but because he's not sure Luhan's reply would give him any sort of comfort. It would most likely make him feel worse for being such a jerk this morning.

 

Are you at school yet?

 

After contemplating on whether he should send the message or not, Sehun deleted it. Luhan was bound to be on campus by now, so it didn't make sense to ask him that.

 

Is there anything you want to eat for lunch? I'll buy it for you.

 

Sehun quickly deleted that because it sounded like he was trying to bribe his boyfriend with food, which as appealing as that was (Luhan does have a weakness for free food), it wouldn't clear his conscience.

 

I'll pick you up after your first class.

 

Deciding that the message was somewhat decent, Sehun was about to press send when someone tapped him on the shoulder. He turned to see one of his classmates, who was also a member of his club, standing behind him.

 

“Luhan is calling you,” the classmate said, gesturing towards the direction of the courtyard.

 

“Oh.” Sehun craned his neck to search for his boyfriend's honey brown hair, and when he found him, the older boy was with someone –

 

Jinho...

 

Luhan was talking to Jinho and Sehun suddenly felt his insides churned. His face darkened when Luhan touched his face while saying something that caused Jinho to laugh. And when Luhan smiled at Jinho, Sehun decided that it was enough.

 

Turning around, he tucked his phone back into his pocket and turned the corner.

 

The message still left in his draft box.

 

******

Luhan was sitting in his second class of the day, and though he tried to focus, his mind kept drifting elsewhere. It's sad, but Luhan's been checking the clock every few minutes, counting down to when he'll possibly see Sehun again. But of course, even time was torturing him. Tick. Tock. He still has at least an hour left before he's free to look for Sehun again. The wait was slowly starting to make him uneasy.

 

He hasn't received a message from Sehun at all, and it bothered Luhan so much, he doesn't know what to do. As much as he wanted to be the one to text Sehun first, the thought that Sehun would probably ignore his message prevented Luhan from ever pressing send.

 

While the professor was in the middle of lecturing, Luhan turned his head to look out the window. He decided that it was a good idea to sit near the window today because he could actually distract himself from those unpleasant thoughts of Sehun.

 

But then he spotted Sehun, and unwittingly, he leaned forward to get closer to the window – to get a better look. Sehun was walking with Hongki, and the two of them were discussing something. Luhan immediately noticed that Sehun seemed fine. In fact, he was actually laughing along with Hongki.

 

Luhan felt his heart dropped.

 

Sehun was fine, as if nothing was wrong, and here he was, unable to focus in class. Unable to get his mind off of the boy who didn't even want to walk with him to school this morning.

 

He was beginning to think that maybe Sehun did hear him call his name earlier, but he simply refused to acknowledge it.

 

Luhan bit his lip. His eyes were still trained on Sehun when the younger one suddenly smiled and playfully smacked Hongki on the back. And even as Sehun walked farther away, even as Sehun was no longer in his line of sight, Luhan continued to look out the window.

 

“Hyung,” Jinho whispered from next to him.

 

When Luhan doesn't answer, Jinho nudged him on his side. “Hyung.”

 

With a defeated sigh, Luhan turned his head away from the window. He really shouldn't have looked.

 

“Are you okay?” Jinho whispered in concern.

 

And normally, Luhan would just lie and say he was okay, but this time he didn't feel like doing that, so he quietly shook his head.

 

No, he wasn't okay.

 

He looked down at the empty sheet in his notebook, crestfallen. Sadly, it appeared he was the only one bothered by their lack of interaction.

 

He picked up his pencil and looked towards his professor. He wanted to take notes, but he had no idea what was going on. Jinho, who kept his eyes on him the whole time, pushed his notebook closer to Luhan's.

 

“Here,” Jinho whispered with a smile.

 

Luhan whispered a soft, “Thanks.” He began writing notes because it was the only way to keep himself busy. To keep himself from feeling miserable.

 

But a small part of him knew that it was futile.

 

******

“Hyung, are you not going to lunch?” Jinho asked when class ended and Luhan had not gotten up. The boy had been staring at his phone ever since class was dismissed.

 

“No. I think I'll just go wait for my next class to start.”

 

Jinho sighed. “What's wrong?”

 

Luhan placed his phone inside his pocket, got up and swung his backpack over his shoulders. “I'll see you later,” he said before he started walking away.

 

“It's about Sehun, isn't it?” Jinho asked. Luhan stopped.

 

Honestly, Jinho knew that Sehun didn't take the whole late outing too well. He could see it in his eyes when the boy had opened the door. Luhan may not have seen it as a date, but Sehun probably did. Even though they were joined by Kwon Min Kye, the other aspects made it reasonable for someone to consider it a date. They drove together, toured together, and had dinner together. Sehun would of course see it as that. Jinho wasn't going to argue with that logic because to him it was exactly that. It was his chance to give Luhan something he wanted. His chance to show Luhan something he's never seen before.

 

Jinho walked over to stand in front of him. “Did you two get into a fight about yesterday? If so, I can just go tell him now that it was all my fault you got home so late, and I'll apologize for everything else.”

 

Luhan shook his head. “It's not your fault.”

 

“So you did get into a fight,” Jinho stated.

 

Jinho had known that the couple had gotten into an argument as soon as he saw Luhan this morning. His facial expression when Jinho had asked him if everything was okay made it quite obvious that it wasn't. And also the fact that he was alone with no Sehun in sight. That was a dead giveaway.

 

But he felt that it would be best if he asked first instead of assuming to allow Luhan the chance to tell him – to comfortably talk to him about what was wrong.

 

“I'm sorry Luhan hyung.”

 

“No, don't apologize.”

 

Jinho reached over and placed both hands on Luhan's shoulders. “Is he ignoring you?”

 

Luhan kept his eyes downcast. “He hasn't texted.”

 

“So you're going to skip lunch because of that? Hyung, no.” He grabbed Luhan's wrist and led him out of the empty classroom. “You're going to need energy if you're planning on yelling at Sehun for being an insensitive brat.”

 

“I wouldn't say brat,” Luhan mumbled.

 

Jinho turned to look at him, surprised that Luhan was still somewhat defending Sehun. “Do you want to go eat with him?” he asked. Please say no. Please.

 

Luhan slowly shook his head. “He probably doesn't want to see me,” Luhan muttered in a voice that sounded nearly broken.

 

Jinho felt his face heat up, and his heart flaring. “Well, you're having lunch with me then.”

 

When they got away from the buildings, Luhan asked where they were headed.

 

“Soccer field,” Jinho answered as he picked up his pace, eager to get there.

 

“What? Why?” Luhan asked, trying his best to keep up with Jinho.

 

“Because it's nice outside, and I figured you wouldn't want to eat at the cafeteria since Sehun is probably there.”

 

Luhan stiffened at the mention of Sehun's name. “But I don't think this is a good idea...”

 

“And why is that?” Jinho challenged.

 

“Well...It...It'll be just the two of us,” Luhan answered.

 

“Is something wrong with that?” Jinho asked.

 

Luhan pondered over Jinho's question, and upon deciding that there wasn't anything wrong with eating lunch with a friend, he replied, “No, I guess not.”

 

“Great because I don't think I can finish all the food by myself,” Jinho said with a cheeky grin.

 

They finally arrived at the soccer field, and Jinho tugged Luhan's arm all the way to the center. “It'll be like a spontaneous picnic.”

 

“Are you sure this is even allowed?” Luhan asked with one eyebrow raised.

 

Jinho chuckled. “You have to trust me sometimes, hyung.”

 

He sat down and patted the spot across from him. He opened his backpack and started taking out the lunch he had packed. “I hope you like chicken sandwiches, fruit salads, cookies, and orange juice.”

 

Luhan sat down and gawked at him as he took out the items. “You brought all of that? For yourself?”

 

Jinho wanted to tell him that he actually always bring this much food in case Luhan was ever hungry while they were in class or when he was willing to eat lunch with him in Sehun's absence.

 

“Yeah. I have to stay late today to discuss something with my professor, so I figured I pack more than usual,” Jinho lied.

 

“Then I shouldn't eat it,” Luhan said with a frown.

 

Jinho laughed because even though Luhan said that, his eyes were glued to the chicken sandwich that Jinho was holding.

 

“It's fine. I can just buy something from the cafeteria later.” Jinho handed Luhan the sandwich and a napkin. After taking a look around the field (probably checking to see if anybody else was there), Luhan began eating the sandwiches that Jinho was more than happy to give him.

 

After the third sandwich, Jinho noted that Luhan had a problem with crumbs – the boy was dropping them everywhere. He would have wiped the crumbs that were stuck at the corner of Luhan's mouth, but before he could, Luhan would wipe it himself. With a pretty flushed face, Luhan would admit, “I'm messy.”

 

Jinho laughed. “At least you know.” He handed him another napkin, which Luhan accepted with a childlike grin that caused Jinho's heart to beat wonderfully faster.

 

They started talking about spring break, and as much as he tried, it was hard for him to ignore the way Luhan's eyes sadden when he talked about his plans – plans that included Sehun.

 

Jinho tried to not let it get to him, but he would feel incredibly irritated whenever Luhan would sneak a glance at his phone, which was lying on top of his bag on the grass – a spot where he could easily see if someone was to call or text.

 

It was blatantly obvious that Luhan was hoping Sehun would text him, maybe to ask him where he was – to be concerned about him.

 

Jinho felt like chucking his orange bottle across the field whenever Luhan's lips would slip into a frown when he sees the empty phone screen. No calls. No messages.

 

Jinho doesn't understand how Sehun could act like this towards Luhan. Even if he was mad at him, shouldn't he at least wonder where Luhan was? Didn't they always have lunch together whenever their schedules allowed for it? Isn't he the least bit worried that Luhan might be skipping out on lunch? (Something that would have happened if Jinho wasn't there to convince him otherwise)

 

He really doesn't know how to treat you, he thought as he watched Luhan finish his cookie.

 

Jinho held up another cookie for Luhan. “Do you want another one?”

 

“No thanks. I think I've had enough. Aren't you going to eat one? You keep offering them to me.”

 

“That's because I'm bribing you,” Jinho said with a mischievous smile. “You know – come to my side, I have cookies.”

 

Luhan laughed. “I'm not that easy to persuade.”

 

“Gotcha,” Jinho said with a nod. He zipped his backpack and stood up. “You ready to go back?”

 

“Mhm.” Luhan shot up and smiled. “Thanks Jinho.”

 

“No problem hyung.”

 

They were walking off the field when Luhan asked him, “Why would you bribe me anyways?”

 

“Because I want you on my team,” Jinho replied without hesitation.

 

“Oh really?” Luhan, who was sadly under the impression that this was a joke, playfully asked, “Who's on the other team then?”

 

Sehun.

 

“My biggest opponent,” Jinho said as he continued walking. 

 

“And who is that?”

 

Jinho stopped in his tracks. “So does that mean no?”

 

“Maybe,” Luhan teased.

 

“Well that was a waste of cookies,” Jinho declared jokingly, to which Luhan laughed.

 

Though he was hoping Luhan would say that he'd be on his team, even if he didn't know what that implied, it was still nice to see the older boy laughing again.

 

Jinho felt content.

 

At least for now....

 

******

“Call him.”

 

“Why should I?”

 

“Because he's not here.”

 

“And?”

 

Baekhyun glared at the maknae sitting in front of him. “And you need to get it together, Sehun.”

 

Sehun doesn't say anything, instead he continued swirling the soup in his bowl. Baekhyun noticed that the couple have a lot of similar habits. It was actually adorable.

 

“Yeah Sehun. Don't you want to eat lunch with Luhan hyung?” Chanyeol asked as he took a bite of his apple. “Just text him if you don't want to talk to him.”

 

“Obviously if he's not here already, he doesn't want to eat with us,” Sehun countered, his eyes still avoiding theirs.

 

Baekhyun sighed. “He wants to come, but he's afraid you don't want to see him. He doesn't want a repeat of what happened this morning.”

 

“Which reminds me,” Chanyeol piped up. “You for that.”

 

“Whatever,” Sehun grumbled.

 

“You know he couldn't really eat this morning,” Baekhyun said. The slight pause in Sehun's movements didn't go unnoticed by Baekhyun or Chanyeol. Why are you so obvious, Sehun?

 

“Yeah, what if he skips lunch as well?” Chanyeol asked. “Aren't you at least worried about his health?”

 

Sehun finally tore his eyes away from the bowl of soup. “He's an adult, so he can take care of himself.”

 

Baekhyun rolled his eyes. “Yeah you say that, but if Luhan hyung was to pass out from malnourishment, you'd be flipping tables.”

 

The flicker of alarm across Sehun's eyes was exactly what Baekhyun was aiming for. He continued. “So be a good boyfriend and call him here.”

 

Sehun frowned. “Why don't you do it?”

 

“Because we're not you,” Chanyeol answered. “He wants you to want him here. Get it now?”

 

Sehun doesn't say anything, but Baekhyun did catch him glance over at his phone for a quick second. He was disappointed when Sehun doesn't reach for it. Seriously?

 

“Wow. Come on. Is this about pride or something? Because I will tell you now that Luhan hyung is someone worth getting your pride stomped on. A million times over. So quit being an idiot and call him!”

 

“I can't!”

 

“Why not?” Baekhyun asked agitatedly. “Are you that mad at him?”

 

“I'm not mad at him,” Sehun corrected with a deadly tone.

 

“Then why are you mad?”

 

Sehun slammed his spoon on the table, his tough exterior cracking.

 

“BECAUSE I'M INCAPABLE!” Sehun shouted.

 

The other students in the cafeteria all turned to look at their table. Though Chanyeol looked uneasy from Sehun's outburst, Baekhyun was ready. He didn't flinch when Sehun continued to voice his frustration, his pain.

 

Phase two was collapsing – giving way to phase three. The explosion phase.

 

“I FORGOT OUR DATE! EVEN THOUGH HE KEPT TALKING ABOUT HOW MUCH HE WANTED TO GO THERE, I FORGOT!” Sehun shouted with his fist clenched. “I LET HIM DOWN AND – WHY COULDN'T I JUST REMEMBER?!”

 

There was a split second of tense silence as Baekhyun and Chanyeol waited for Sehun to continue.

 

“He waited,” Sehun eventually choked out, his voice hoarse from the shouting. “And what's even worse is the fact that I couldn't make up for it... I'm mad that all the time and energy we spent buying the tickets went down the drain because --” Sehun closed his eyes for a second, his face contorted in pain as if what he was about to say could hurt him physically.

 

“Because Jinho beat me to it.” Sehun looked at Baekhyun with eyes so broken, he wanted to just reach over and give the maknae a hug.

 

“I couldn't even – I felt so useless. More than anything, I was mad at myself.”

 

“Sehun,” Baekhyun whispered, surprised that Sehun was being so candid about his emotions. He expected an outburst, an admission of how he felt, but this – Baekhyun didn't expect this. This was new.

 

“It also didn't help that Jinho's surprise was ten times better,” Sehun said with a strained smile. “A chance to meet his favorite photographer?...I can't compete with that. And it was so frustrating knowing that I couldn't...Then I thought about the two of them spending time together, and it.. It was extremely unsettling because I'm the boyfriend. I should have been there, not Jinho. I should be the one to make him feel better, not Jinho. And when they came back together, it really felt like I was the third person. And that -” Sehun paused.

 

“That was hard to take in.”

 

“Well, it's not something that should have been in your head in the first place,” Baekhyun said after careful consideration. “You should know this better than anyone, but I'll say it anyway – with Luhan, it'll always be you. You may feel that Jinho beat you, that you failed as a boyfriend, but it's not true, Sehun. It's not.”

 

“It certainly felt like I lost.”

 

“Lost what? A non-existent game? It's not real, Sehun. There's no competition. If you start to believe that, you're giving Jinho a chance - something he wants so badly. Don't.”

 

Sehun kept his eyes on the table when he said, “It didn't feel like he did that to beat me, to upstage me. It felt like he genuinely wanted to make Luhan happy, to cheer him up. In that moment, he was the better person. And that made the fact that I was the reason why Luhan needed cheering up in the first place so difficult to accept.”

 

“Ignoring him isn't going to make it easier. It won't make you feel better,” Chanyeol said.

 

Sehun sighed and stood up, apparently he couldn't take it anymore. “I have to go.”

 

“Talk to him,” Baekhyun said. “Tell him what you told us.”

 

“Yeah. It's up to you to fix this,” Chanyeol added.

 

“I'll see you later,” Sehun said before walking away.

 

Baekhyun and Chanyeol watched as Sehun made his way out the cafeteria, ignoring the questioningly gazes students were throwing his way.

 

Baekhyun knew where he was going, and what was going to happen.

 

It was the end of phase three.

 

“Is he going to talk to him?” Chanyeol asked.

 

Baekhyun shook his head. “Not yet. He's going to the gym.”

 

Chanyeol raised his eyebrow. “The gym?”

 

Baekhyun's eyes remained glue to the cafeteria's entrance, his lips twisting upwards into a smile.

 

“Yeah. He has to think about what he's going to say. And in cases like these, he needs to unleash any other pent up emotions to himself first, before he faces Luhan hyung. Working out is simply his way of tiring himself, so that in the end, he'll be force to think about things he'd ignored until now.”

 

He felt a wave of relief hit him as soon as he said those words.

 

“Like what? Didn't he already spill everything a minute ago?” Chanyeol asked, confused.

 

“No. He hasn't admitted to being jealous of Jinho. He knows he was jealous the second Jinho and Luhan hyung showed up together, but he chooses not to believe it. He doesn't want to start being wary around Jinho because that would definitely shake up his understanding of their friendship.”

 

Baekhyun turned to face Chanyeol and beamed. “But now it's impossible for him to see Jinho in the same light. Things are going to be tense between them. It's going to be interesting to see how he handles it. Honestly, I can't wait!”

 

Chanyeol chuckled at Baekhyun's beaming face and ruffled his hair. “You look proud.”

 

“I am,” Baekhyun admitted. In fact, he's never been more proud of their maknae. To release his frustration is one thing, but to fully admit how incapable he felt is another.

 

It was hard to see Sehun so vulnerable as he talked about his feelings, but it was completely necessary. It was the only way for Sehun to realize that emotions aren't meant to be ignored and hidden. They're meant to be expressed. 

 

“Should we buy something for Luhan hyung?” Chanyeol asked as they emptied their trays.

 

“Yeah, in case he didn't eat anything.” Baekhyun pulled out his phone and smiled. “No updates on a passed out Bambi, so that's good.”

 

Chanyeol grinned. “I guess Sehun won't be flipping tables today.”

 

Baekhyun laughed. “Yeah. because I was kinda looking forward to that.”

 

Intertwining their fingers, Chanyeol smiled and fondly said, “I'll flip tables for you any day, Baek.”

 

Baekhyun gave his boyfriend's hand a gentle squeeze before he replied, “Don't. You're not secretly rich like Sehun. You can't afford to pay for the damages.”

 

Chanyeol huffed. “I can afford to flip at least one table.”

 

“Maybe a small one.”

 

“Yah!”

 

Baekhyun giggled as Chanyeol stared at him incredulously. The taller boy opened his mouth to argue, but then Baekhyun gave him a peck on the lips, so Chanyeol eventually dropped the matter by stating that a small table was still a table.

 

The couple made their way out of the cafeteria after buying Luhan a lunch set. They headed towards Luhan's building, and when they entered, Baekhyun spotted the older boy first.

 

But he wasn't alone.

 

Baekhyun groaned, causing Chanyeol to eye him curiously. “What's wrong?”

 

“Jinho.”

 

 

 

 

~~~~~~ HEY GUYS! REMEMBER ME? Lol. SO SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING IN FOREVER! It was just really hard for me to focus with EXO coming back and all (YESS FINALLY!!! ♥) I've just been too excited, so it was hard to write an angst chapter. I know. Lame excuse! But it was so hard to sit down and write. I was spazzing 24/7 ever since their comeback was announced! But now I'm slowly calming down. Can't wait for the album to be released - I pre-ordered mine!! YESS!!! PARTY!! 

Okay as for the chapter - WOW. It's long, yes. Angsty, yes I like to think so. Lulu, LET ME HUG YOU! NOW!  A little cute Baekyeol moment at the end :P And uh Jinho. Smh. Jinho, no. No. Sehun T_T asdfhghjkl. That was sad, but now you know why he's like that. He's not mad at Luhan, he's mad at himself. Awww. And he's just being cautious around Luhan because he doesn't want to yell at him out of frustration. Baekyeol - WOW. They're such supportive hyungs. I can't. Too much love going on. And I like how Baekhyun knows Sehun really well :) 

Next chapter - Baekyeol vs Jinho Round 2. And then we have Sehun-Luhan-Jinho interaction. EXCITING!!!! Btw, I feel bad that I've finally updated, but I'm giving you such an angsty chapter. Lol. Ah well. 

 

Thanks for waiting guys! I really appreciate it :) 

 

AWWOOOOOOOOOOOO. AH SARANGHAEYO! Lol. (Even if you don't like Wolf, you gotta admit, it's catchy.)