Friday came too soon. Tao wanted the science lesson to last forever so he could make up a suiting excuse for ditching the party at Lay’s. However, the bell rang relentlessly and sent Tao out to meet Baekhyun with no excuses made up.

“I just don’t think I should be wasting my time doing something so…”

“So social?” Baekhyun had been hurt by his use of the word ‘waste’. To Baekhyun, having fun was vital. He was so socially skilled, too. Quite popular with all the kids.

“It’s not like you’re gonna die if you get bad grades once. You live to learn!” The words sounded weird coming from Baekhyun. He really wanted Tao to come. Chanyeol joined them.

“Channie, can you explain to boring Tao that he can’t not come to Lay’s party tonight?”

Chanyeol looked like someone who had just been told to reveal his most private secret. Unwilling.

“I suppose you won’t know if it’s fun unless you’ve… tried…” Chanyeol looked Tao in the eye for a split-second, and Tao felt weirdly threatened by the small boy standing beside him.

“Well… If you really want me to come, I’ll come. But I won’t stay all night.” Tao felt like he had just agreed to dance on a table. He too, was unwilling.

----

Tao was panicking. He owned almost only black clothes, but it was still different from the grey and green school-uniform. Tao felt like he needed to shine. Especially in front of Baekhyun. He grabbed a pair of torn, black skinny jeans and a loose black top. He wore a black coat over it. He spent 10 minutes getting his hair to fall over his dark eyes - accented by just a little bit of black eyeliner - just right. Finally, he was ready. Even though he felt like he was about as ready as someone about to jump off a cliff.

He walked to Lay’s place - it wasn’t too far away. But he was new in town and somehow managed to get lost. As he was considering knocking a door and asking for directions, he saw a familiar face. Chanyeol was walking towards him at the other side of the road.

“Hey!” Tao yelled. He caught Chanyeol’s attention right away, but he didn’t answer till he was right next to him.

“Hey Tao. Lost?” Chanyeol sounded mildly uninterested.

“Yeah, I thought it would be easy finding the place, but all these houses look the same.”

“It’s alright, I know where it is.”

They walked in silence. For several minutes. Tao felt uncomfortable. He really didn’t know why Chanyeol disliked him.

“So, do you think Baek is there yet?” Tao was at a loss for subjects, so he started at the one thing he knew they had in common.

“Maybe… I haven’t been talking so much with him lately. Whenever I talk to him he talks about you. How good you are at singing and how interesting it is to have someone from a different culture to talk to.” Chanyeol looked down.

“Oh.” Tao didn’t know why Chanyeol was telling him this.

“It’s like… we used to be so close. We used to spend every day together. I thought we were gonna be together forever, I guess I’m stupid. I don’t know why he suddenly changed.” Chanyeol knew.

Tao knew. Tao was the reason Baekhyun hadn’t had time for hanging out with Chanyeol.

This silence lasted until they reached Lay’s house. There are a lot of people, and Tao can’t seem to find Baek. He loses sight of Chanyeol too, and goes to sit on a chair in a corner. The music is too loud and people are too. Tao recognizes a lot of the people from school. He says hi to Lay, who is incredibly drunk.

Baekhyun is nowhere to see, and the house is so stuffed that Tao thinks it best to just stay where he is. A tall boy with a handsome face and blonde hair enters the room. He’s wearing all black just like Tao, and it suits him. He’s pouting, but as he sees Tao, he looks intrigued. They lock eyes for a moment, and Tao looks away. He can see from the corner of his eye that the blonde boy is moving his way. He takes a seat next to Tao, and Tao looks the other way.

“Hey you.” His voice is kind of soothing.

Tao turns his head and finds that the boy is closer than he thought. He backs off a bit. “Hey.”

“I’m Kris… I don’t think I’ve seen you before.” Kris is handsome. Where’s Baekhyun?

“I’m Tao. I go to school with Lay, Chanyeol and well, Baekhyun, if you know them. Hey have you seen Baekhyun?” Tao doesn’t want to seem rude, but he can’t help it.

“Yeah, he and Chanyeol were sitting on the stairs outside. They were talking. It looked pretty serious. Actually I think Chanyeol was crying? Or maybe I just misunderstood.” 

Crying? Why would Chanyeol be crying, he and Baekhyun were best friends.., what had Baekhyun said? Or maybe Chanyeol had said something.

“Well, you’re handsome. And… Chinese?” Kris didn’t seem drunk. Maybe he was just straightforward. And damn, was that accent still audible? Baekhyun had said it wasn’t.

“Uhm thanks. You look good as well.” Tao didn’t really know what to say. He’d never flirted with anyone before.

“Do you want to go and see if there’s a free spare room upstairs?” Yep, he was straightforward. Tao didn’t really want to go with Kris, but maybe he’d see Baekhyun if he got up and walked around a bit.

Kris took Tao by the hand and led him to the stairs. No sight of Baekhyun. But Chanyeol was talking to Lay in the kitchen. It was hard to say because the lighting was bad, but Chanyeol’s eyes did in fact look a bit red. Like he had been crying.

When they got upstairs, everything got considerably quieter. Kris found an empty room and led Tao inside.

“Look, Kris, you’re very handsome-“ Tao said as Kris sat on the bed.

“It’s alright. Tao, this doesn’t have to mean anything.” But that was his deal. This meant something to Tao. This meant a lot. And this was something he wanted to save for Baekhyun.

“You like Baekhyun?” Kris asked, out of nowhere.

“How did you- I don’t know, it’s- he’s so nice to me. I don’t know.” Tao did know.

“Everybody likes Baekhyun. Chanyeol, you, all of the boys.” Now Tao was unsure - was Kris really drunk? He sounded like it.

“Kris, I’m gonna go, sorry.” Tao left in a hurry, like he was late for a train. He almost ran all the way home. He was confused. He thought of Baekhyun. Of course! Chanyeol had been crying because he had told Baekhyun that he was in love with him. Or why would he be crying if that wasn’t it?

And who does Baekhyun like if he doesn’t like Chanyeol? Was there… someone else? Was Tao that someone else? Then again, Kris had sounded like Baekhyun could get all the boys. The again again, Tao was 50 % sure Kris had been drunk. And Tao didn’t even know Kris, why should he trust him? Maybe Chanyeol and Baekhyun had just had a fight. Maybe Baekhyun had been crying too. Maybe Tao should back off, Chanyeol and Baekhyun had been friends since… forever. Tao had moved here 6 months ago.

Everything was a blur. Tao sneaked inside the apartment as silently as possible, slipping off his clothes and going to bed immediately. All he wanted to do was to sleep.