“Ughhh. It’s so hot,” Lynn complained as she lay down on the (slightly cooler) metal bleachers. Kyuhyun, Nyx, and Hazel were sitting in that order on the step above her, Kyuhyun and Hazel watching the boys’ soccer practice and Nyx glancing down at Lynn distastefully before looking back to the practice as well.

“Shut up, you’re annoying,” Nyx kicked Lynn in the thigh.

“OH. So, what’s with you and that Kibum guy, huh?” Hazel asked, punching Lynn.

“Oww~ Why am I being bullied so much,” Lynn pouted, “And ah, he’s cute, but I mean…he’s shorter than me. And I wouldn’t want to lead him on.”

“…Lead him on,” Kyuhyun muttered under his breath.

The three girls turned to look at him with curious faces. “Did you say something?” Nyx asked.

“Nothing, it’s just – “

“Stupid. Don’t say anything if you’re not going to follow through with it.”

“I was about to – “

“THEN DON’T SAY ‘NOTHING,’” Lynn chipped in on the bullying.

“…Right. Well, I was just saying. Usually, Kibum’s the one leading girls on. He’s a bit – well, a lot more than just a bit – of a player,” Kyuhyun explained, “I mean, did you not notice him flirting with you yesterday?”

“With me?” Lynn blinked, “Oh? I thought he was just joking around. Or head over heels in love with me – you can never really tell with most guys.”

Ah…an extremely dense narcissist?

“Oh, Lynn,” Hazel rolled her eyes, “So, what about you, hmm, Kyuhyun? Any girls?”

Oh. That’s awkward. “Uh…I’m gay,” Kyuhyun said. It was pretty much a commonly accepted fact among others in his grade, but he supposed since these people probably hadn’t even heard of him before…

“Oh, really?” Lynn blinked, “Ah, does that mean…you’re here for someone on the soccer team?” Her interested seemed significantly more piqued now, which actually concerned Kyuhyun quite a bit.

He took a moment to pick his words, “Well, you could say that.”

“Oh my gosh! Who is it?” Hazel asked as she looked over at all of the guys on the team. “WAIT. Lemme guess. Umm…That guy! With the blond hair?”

Kyuhyun looked over at the person she was pointing at, “Um. No.”

“Oh, dangit…” Hazel went back to thinking, “Um…”

After about three more failed guesses, Nyx cut in, “Is it…Donghae?”

Silence.

“HA. I KNEW IT,” Lynn pumped her fist in victory.

“WHAT. What are you talking about? I was the one who suggested that!” Nyx argued.

“What? No, it was totally me? I’ll check the chat record tonight!” Lynn protested.

Kyuhyun was about to request for the two to quiet down, but then decided that it didn’t really matter since they weren’t yelling anything particularly telling out loud. “You guys…thought I liked him before you found out I was gay…?”

“…Well…” Lynn shrugged and lowered her voice, “More like shipping. After we saw you guys, we were like…’WE SHIP IT.’ Though actually, I see Donghae and Eunhyuk together more often, so you’ll have to step up if you want to beat him~”

Hazel looked at them with a disgusted expression, “Eww. Don’t ship my brother with people. You guys are so weird.”

“…You little freshie…”

“I think this is the first time any of our ships were more than just like…bromance ships, though,” Nyx pondered the subject for a moment, “This’ll be interesting.”

“How do you know Donghae, anyways?” Hazel asked.

“…Actually, I just met him yesterday. Though technically I saw him for the first time the day before that. So it’s not really a real crush or anything like that,” Kyuhyun coughed. “So…how about you, Hazel?”

“No allowed to date,” Hazel rolled her eyes, “It’s so annoying. My parents don’t let me do anything!”

“Yeah, this kid isn’t allowed off of school property. That sooo much. I’m gonna sneak you out one day,” Lynn insisted.

“Just because you guys are juniors,” Hazel rolled her eyes.

Nyx raised an eyebrow, “Uhh, we were allowed off school grounds when we were freshmen, too. Kyuhyun?” Kyuhyun nodded. “See, you’re just weird.”

Hazel made a face at both of them and turned away huffily, going back to watching the guys playing soccer. Not long after, the boys started warming down and packing up their stuff.

“Ah, let’s go~” Lynn said, stretching, “Really, I don’t know why I wait here with you every day. Watching soccer is amusing, I guess, even if I don’t understand what’s going on at all~”

“Because you love me,” Hazel said quite bluntly.

Lynn rolled her eyes, “Yeah, yeah, fine.” With that they went down the bleachers, stopping on the other side of the gate where the soccer players were packing up their stuff. “Donghae~ Eunhyuk~”

“Hey, Lynn~” Donghae and Eunhyuk waved.

“Hey Lynn,” Kibum called, a step behind the two.

“Hey,” Lynn called back with a wave. “Donghae, Eunhyuk, have you started making choreo for this year’s dance club yet?”

They looked at each other, “We have seniors for that~ We don’t have to worry about that until next year, Lynn~”

“STILL. You should practice. And practice teaching. Teaching is hard~ Wanna go practice now?”

Donghae blinked, “Ah, I have something to do, actually. Sorry! In fact,” he looked behind Lynn, “I’d better be going now, see ya!” He stood up and ran towards the entrance, a bit bulkily due to the sports bag he was carrying.

“Hmm, that’s interesting~” Nyx muttered from behind Lynn as she watched Donghae and Kyuhyun walk away together, “Fast little kid, isn’t he?”

“Haha, wish him luck~” Lynn whispered back to her.

- x -

Donghae looked through the windows of the door, “Wait. How are we going to get in again?”

“I have a key,” Kyuhyun shrugged, “The chorus teacher knows me super well. And well, I’m a pretty good thief.” He said nonchalantly, pulling a lanyard out from his pocket and unlocking the door.

“…Does that mean he gave a key to you or you stole it?”

“Whatever you want to think,” Kyuhyun shrugged as he the lights. “So, you wanna just do it here, or go into one of the practice rooms in the back? There’s no one here over the summer, so it doesn’t really matter that much.”

“Let’s just do it here. The acoustics are probably better, anyways,” Donghae shrugged. “Wow, there are three pianos in this room. That’s impressive.” He sat down at one and lifted the key cover up.

Kyuhyun blinked, leaning on the side of the piano. “You play piano?”

“Ah, just a little bit. Actually, not really at all, anymore,” Donghae sighed, “I wanted to pick up guitar, actually, but I never really got around to it.”

“Hm. I can play something.”

“Wait, I thought we were coming so you could show me your singing,” Donghae complained.

“…Am I not capable of singing while playing piano?”

“I dunno, you tell me. Isn’t it annoying to sing while sitting down?”

Kyuhyun shrugged, “It’s not a big deal. Just limits my range a bit. It probably won’t matter. Most pop songs don’t use such huge ranges.”

Donghae made a face, “Ah, that’s fine, then,” he stood up, and Kyuhyun usurped the piano seat. He took a moment to pick a song, and then started playing, his fingers dancing across the black and white keys.

“Oh, I know this song, I think. What’s it called…”

Instead of answering, Kyuhyun started singing the first few lines, closing his eyes as the hollow tone escaped through his lips. There was just a bit of resistance in his throat, since he hadn’t quite warmed up properly, but the sound was still quite lovely, and he knew it.

After he finished the first verse, Donghae joined in softly. Kyuhyun looked at him, and nodded in acknowledgement so that he wouldn’t be so hesitant. By the time the chorus came around, they were singing together at about the same volume, their voices blending together quite well.

Suddenly, a clashing note came from the piano, causing Kyuhyun to jump and their singing to stop abruptly, “Ugh. Sorry. I wasn’t paying attention.”

Donghae laughed, “It’s all good.”

“You didn’t tell me you sang, too,” Kyuhyun said.

“Yeah, but I don’t really take any lessons, so,” Donghae shrugged.

“I can tell.”

Donghae blinked at him for a moment, “…Was that an insult?”

Kyuhyun remained expressionless, “I don’t know. You tell me.”

“That was an insult, wasn’t it?”

“It’s up to you,” a small smirk appeared on Kyuhyun’s face.

“…”

“I’m just teasing. You’re pretty good,” he paused, and then added, “For someone who hasn’t had lessons.”

“What’s that supposed to mean – Ah, forget it,” Donghae tapped the highest key on the piano absentmindedly. “What other songs do you know?”

“Um…” Kyuhyun played the first three measures of a song, “Recognize this?”

Donghae shook his head. “Nope.”

“Hm. Let me see…” With that, he started playing another song. Donghae nodded in recognition. “Alternate parts, and together at the chorus?”

“Got it.”