Tao never thought he was powerful or strong. He was a weakling without any bone in his body, until his parents forced him at the tender age of 6 to take up wushu. The young boy refused initially, and training was hard, until one faithful day in school where he met up with a certain handsome young boy.

                “What have you been doing Tao?” asked the blonde haired boy named Kris. Tao has always had a crush on Kris. Kris was handsome and smart. He knows 4 languages and seems to be mature than everyone. He thought Kris was the bee’s knees and he loved him from afar.

                “Wushu.” The boy replied dejectedly, rolling his eyes at the mention of that dreaded martial art.

                “Wushu? That’s so cool!”

                “Seriously?” Tao’s eyes sparkled.

                “Yeah, I mean any form of martial arts is cool. Wushu makes you strong and powerful. Wish I could learn, but basketball practice takes up all my time.” Kris said, shrugging his shoulders.

                After that day, Tao took Wushu seriously.

                The longer he practiced, the more he realized it was perfect for him. It was almost therapeutic for him. He loved using his muscles and sweating out whatever stress he had from school, and he had plenty.

                Tao was never the brightest kid in school, so his grades weren’t so good. Lay tutored him, and he made some kind of improvement, but it wasn’t really good as compared to his other friends. Kris offered to tutor him too, but Tao knew he could never concentrate if Kris tutored him. He’d be too busy staring at him.

                The rude kids loved to make fun of him too. Tao was a little bit of a loner outside of EXO, and he seemed emo sometimes too, always wearing dark clothes and plenty of piercings along with dark eyeliner. Tao was also pretty sensitive and shy, and didn’t really stand up for himself unless provoked. That’s why they made fun of him. Wushu made him physically strong, but he’s still weak.

                Right around high school, when puberty kicked in, Luhan and Xiumin had dragged Tao to go shopping with them. They claimed all of Tao’s clothes were never going to fit him since he grew so fast. Tao grew 6 inches in 2 weeks, and he was almost as tall as Kris and Chanyeol.

                “Tao, try this! The pattern looks great against your skin!”

                “Tao! Try these pants! Their awesome!”

                “Go put these shoes on and will you take off that brow piercing of yours?!”

                Tao tried on everything Luhan and Xiumin suggested and he looked at himself in the mirror. He was wearing a white tank top, a black tight leather jacket, pink neon tight jeans and blue sneakers. They all gasped at Tao’s new look. Even Tao stared at himself for a while.

                “Tao, I never knew your chest muscles were so defined.” Luhan murmured.

                “Yeah, and the pants make your legs look so long.” Xiumin said, dusting off imaginary dust off Tao’s shoulders. “How do you like it?”

                “I look…good, don’t I?” Tao smiled a little, checking his reflection. Tao was always very muscular, but he hid his muscles behind the baggy dark clothes. The tank top showed off his muscular figure and Xiumin was right, the pants did make his legs look longer.

                “Well, it’s your call Tao. Keep, or not keep?” Luhan breathed. Tao looked at his eager friends and smiled.

                “Keep.”

                After that, Luhan and Xiumin unleashed their shopping monster and bought virtually every piece of clothing out there and made Tao try it on. Tao was pleased with his new look and he thought it was fun to watch his friends fuss over him, but what’s more important, is that he hopes Kris would pay him even more attention.

                Tao got a brand new look for high school, and damn did he look good. From geek to chic, he got all the girls and even some boys staring at him. He got everyone’s attention except that one person he needed it the most, Kris.

                Kris saw his transformation and simply smiled, “Wow Tao, looking good lately.” But that was it. The boys maintained a close friendship, but that was it. No extra closure. Kris was the high school basketball captain, and he was always busy with the team.

                To be honest, Kris did notice Tao’s transformation. As a matter of fact, he always thought Tao was hot. Like, smoking y hot. What’s stopping Kris from making his confession? Cowardice. Just plain, pure cowardice.

                Hard to believe a man like Kris is afraid of making the first move, but he is. Basically because he just didn’t think Tao would be interested. Tao was always busy with Wushu, and he was always busy with his team, so the two couldn’t spend as much time with each other like Hunhan. He always got so jealous when Luhan bought Sehun a treat during lunch, or when Sehun lets Luhan sit on his lap and feeds him. Sure, he acted like he was disgusted, but he was secretly hoping Tao could do the same with him.

                When Tao changed himself and became more confident, Kris considered making the first move, but then all the girls and some boys were all getting in the way, making it difficult for Kris to make the first move. Things got even more awkward when one of his teammates confessed that he has a crush on Tao and was gossiping about him in the locker rooms.

                “So Myungsoo, you got a crush on Tao?” one of the team’s guard, Sunggyu said. The team had just gotten out of the shower and Kris jerked his head up when he heard Tao’s name.

                “Yeah, that guy is hot. And he’s pretty cute too, seems like he has a thing for pandas, isn’t that adorable?” Myungsoo giggled.

                “Dude, you seriously think you can top him? He looks like he can top you man.” Sungyeol said, rubbing his hair with the towel.

                “Well we’ll discuss bedroom arrangements when we actually get to it, but I like a challenge.” Myungsoo said and the team laughed. Kris gripped the sides of his locker until his knuckles turned white. He gritted his teeth and slammed the locker door.

                “Shut your trap, L. Get going guys or we’re going to be late to class.” Kris barked. The team looked at their team captain and followed his orders. You do not want to a pissed Kris. Pissed Kris is like a new version of hell.

                “Hey Kris, you’re good friends with Tao, right?” Myungsoo put his hand on the tall leader’s shoulder.

                “Yeah, why?”

                “Can you put in a good word for me? You know, just let him know, Kim Myungsoo is available and looking for him.” Myungsoo said, smiling at him. Kris scoffed and shrugged his hand off.

                “ off L, before I kill your position as point guard.” Kris gritted his teeth and stormed off, leaving his teammates confused and petrified.

                Talking about Tao in that way got him upset. Kris cursed himself. Why does he have to be so damn slow? Now other people want in on the catch. But Kris can’t help it, every time he sees him his knees get weak and his heart starts thumping. He can’t seem to even form a coherent sentence in front of the panda boy. Tao was just too adorable for words.

                College came on and both Kris and Tao excelled in different areas. Tao was the school’s wushu champion and Kris led the college basketball team to national victory. Word got out even the NBA was interested in him. Kris’s dream as a star NBA player was going to come true.

                No matter how strong and successful they get, they still couldn’t come to terms with their feelings for each other, which is honestly really pathetic. After college graduation, Kris got the offer to play for one of the NBA teams and Tao got the offer as a trainer in one of America’s top martial arts school. It would be the last time they would get together as EXO before leaving to fulfill their dreams. It would also be the last chance for Kris and Tao to get together before it’s much too late.

                And Kris knows just how to do it.

A/N: You guys know what to do! Tell me if you spot any mistakes. Sorry for the late update! School is such a ...