Hi guys, I'm going to Spain tomorrow, and still not sure if I can take my laptop, so sorry if I disappear for a while. I'm there for three weeks, so be patient :)

Please don't hate me for jumping forward in time XD :)

One year later.

It’s the start of another year and as I arrive on campus I find myself filled with excitement at seeing my friends again after the summer break. I spent the summer in China with my parents and it was a relaxing time. I asked them how long I have until they want me to come home to start working for the family business and their answer was even better than I’d expected.

They don’t expect me to start my training for at least another ten years. For the moment they are satisfied that I am doing this business degree and are willing to let me do my own thing for a few years. “You need to live a bit before you’re ready to take over. That way we can be sure you will not resent it,” were their words.

Since then I have looked towards the future with more anticipation. I know what I want to do when I finish university and I’m doing evening training sessions for it starting this year. I don’t resent studying business because it will help me in the future to get a job working for more powerful people as I will have knowledge of how their job works.

I walk into the lobby and glance around before heading to get the key to my room. I’m sharing with Baekhyun again this year, all seven of us; Baekhyun, Luhan, Chen, Joonmyun, me and Jongin with Kyungsoo, have arranged to room all in the same section of the building. I’m looking forward to this; it will be nice to be so close, though I hope we don’t get sick of each other too quickly. We even get to share a kitchen, which I’m really glad about because Kyungsoo is an awesome cook.

I walk down the corridor on the ground floor towards the elevator, unwilling to lug my huge suitcase up the stairs to the second floor.

Just as the door is closing, someone slips in. My eyes widen when I see who it is, but I try my best to push down the uncomfortable feeling that fills me and just ignore him. Sehun glares at me silently when he sees me, and we ride the elevator in awkward silence. I can tell he’s angry about something, but remain silent, not wanting to encourage him to take his anger out on me.

Besides, that would just result in me beating him again and I want to avoid any repeats of last year. There were several rumours going around about me and Chanyeol’s gang, saying ridiculous things like we were from rival gangs, me from a Chinese one based in Seoul and them from some gangster mob.

Everything got blown out of proportion and it all happened because of the bruises we all had at the same time. At first people thought we were on the same side until I bumped into Lay in the canteen and… had a fight… yep. Mature I know, but he totally hit me first.

Sehun gets out before me, on the first floor, and I let out a sigh of relief when the doors close behind him and the tension in my body dissipates. I reach my floor and walk out into the corridor, turning right, pulling my suitcase behind me. My room is the second one along from the kitchen and I decide to put my suitcase inside before seeing if anyone else is here yet.

When I go in, I see that for once I’ve beaten Baekhyun here. I dump my suitcase by my bed, choosing the one by the window again; Baekhyun seems to like having the bed nearest the bathroom so he has less distance to walk in the morning when he can barely function.

Deciding to check out the kitchen, I head out and as I get closer I can hear voices coming from inside. I recognise them as Jongin’s and Kyungsoo’s and brace myself for the sickening cuteness they usually show. When I walk in I see Jongin backhugging Kyungsoo who is busy preparing fruits; as a snack I assume. Jongin has his chin resting on Kyungsoo’s shoulder and his face is pressed into his neck.

I make a retching noise from the doorway and they turn, faces breaking into smiles when they see me. “Tao!” they say in unison. I smile back and walk in. I peer round them at the food, “that looks nice” I compliment. Kyungsoo smiles and turns to continue his work. Jongin detaches himself from him and joins me at the table, sitting opposite.

We chat about the holidays, and I discover he spent most of his time staying with Kyungsoo in a holiday house in the countryside. I roll my eyes saying, “You just can’t stay away from each other can you?”

I hear Kyungsoo chuckle from behind me and turn to see him bringing the fruit over. He sits down on Jongin’s lap, ignoring the various seats available and I smirk when I see Jongin smiling to himself about it. These two are just too cute.

I’m just taking my second piece when I see Kyungsoo glance behind me and grin. Twisting around in my seat I see Luhan and Baekhyun standing in the doorway with Chen and Joonmyun peering at us from behind them. I smile in welcome and they come in, slumping down into the seats, tired from travelling. Apparently they spent the last few days together and that’s why they all arrived together.

I look around my group of friends, all smiling and laughing as they catch up with the latest news, and smile happily. I’m so lucky to have found such good friends here, especially when most of the people from my past are here too; that makes these people all the more important to me.

It’s late when we all finally head to bed. Kyungsoo is rooming with Jongin, obviously. Luhan is lucky enough to get his own room, and Chen is with Joonmyun again. I hear Baekhyun groan from behind me and turn to see him sprawled face down on his bed. I smirk and throw a towel at him, “go wash before you sleep.”

He turns his face towards me, glaring, before complying.

I rifle through my suitcase, grabbing the stuff I need for the night. Getting changed quickly whilst Baekhyun is in the bathroom, I set an alarm for 9:00 the next morning, thankful that we have another day free before the lectures start up again for the second year, so I can get a little lie in.

That night, I stare up at the sky out of the window and watch the stars as I drift into a deep sleep.

I wake up the next morning when something soft hits me hard in the face. I groan, and that’s when I finally hear my alarm. I force my eyes open and reach out, slamming my hand down on my alarm clock to shut the damn thing up. I look down to see a fluffy rabbit with only one ear faceplanted on my chest. I glance over at Baekhyun to see him glaring at me from under his duvet. I wince; Baekhyun is scary when he’s tired.

“Sorry” I murmur, before dragging myself out of bed, wincing at the sudden loss of warmth. I walk carefully over to his bed and hold out his teddy that he’d thrown at me. I place it on the edge of his bed and step back, staying out of reach. He reaches out, snatching it up before burrowing unto his duvet again with one last glare.

I let out a sigh of relief when he goes back to sleep, and proceed to change into some baggy work out clothes. I go into the bathroom, brushing my teeth and splashing cold water onto my face before running my fingers through my hair and yawning.

I grab a bottle of water and my Ipod before quietly letting myself out. We’re still in the same building as last time, thankfully, and I head up to the roof. This has become routine to me over the past year. Every morning I get up early and head to the roof to do my exercises and practice my Wushu and other martial arts.

I love the feeling of my muscles burning and enjoy the cool wind on my face. It’s a nice way to wake up and start the day, in my opinion. Not many people know of this place, and those that do know now know to avoid it during the early hours before lectures. I’ve placed my claim on this place. I smirk at the thought as I finish my stretches and drop down onto my arms, starting my routine with press ups.

Two hours later and I’m sitting in the kitchen having breakfast, my hair still wet from the shower. I’m soon joined by Luhan who looks at me blearily before shuffling to the cupboard to grab some cereal. It’s pretty obvious that he’s just rolled out of bed and I roll my eyes as he starts shoving food into his mouth with his eyes clamped shut as though he’s sleep eating.

It’s unfair that he looks so good even in this condition. Over the last year he’d been asked out by a large range of girls and boys, but he’d turned them all down. I’m not really sure why, because there were plenty of really nice and cute guys among them, but I never asked. I guess he’s just not interested.

An hour passes and eventually Kyungsoo and Jongin are the only ones not here. We’d all planned to go into town together today before we got swamped with work, so I’m sent to get them up. I stop in front of their door and raise my arm to knock. I freeze and my eyes widen as I hear sounds that sound suspiciously like moans. I knock hard, “yah! You guys, get up!” before turning and making my escape.

I must look pretty shell shocked when I walk back into the kitchen and sink down into my chair. Conversation stops as people turn to look at me. “Are they getting up?” Luhan asks.

“Um,” I reply usefully.

Luhan’s eyes widen, “were they…?”

I just look at him silently before he pats my back comfortingly and I rest my head on the table “I really did not need to hear all that. I’ll never be able to look at them in the same way again.”

They laugh at me sympathetically.

Twenty minutes later we are joined by a sheepish looking Jongin and a slightly flushed Kyungsoo. I smile as Chen teases them, and when everyone’s finished, we all decide to meet up in ten minutes to head into town.

We convene at the elevator and pile in, laughing. As we reach the first floor, the door opens and we fall silent. Sehun is standing out side with Chanyeol. There’s a tense, awkward moment before Sehun waves his hand impatiently, telling us to just go. Luhan reaches out, hitting the down button with slightly more force than necessary.

I glance at him and am surprised to see him glaring at Sehun. Switching my gaze back to Sehun I see, as the doors close, Sehun looking right back at him, face projecting some strange mix of emotions that I can’t quite describe.

Apparently I’m not the only one who noticed the strange atmosphere, and Chen asks Luhan quietly, “are you ok?” Luhan gives him a curt nod before plastering a smile on his face.

Meanwhile, Baekhyun places a hand on my arm in silent comfort and I shoot him a grateful smile. After spending a year here already, I've grown used to seeing my ex-bullies around and no longer feel so vulnerable when I see them. That’s not to say I’m comfortable when they’re near me; I still have to fight the urge to punch something.

As we head towards town, walking together as a bunch, I get lost in my thoughts. There’s one thing I have been wondering about for a long time now; where’s Kris? Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad he’s not here to torment me because I know I’d have a hard time staying composed around him, but it’s weird that all the others are here, but he’s not. I guess he went somewhere else to study.

I hear a shout to my left and turn to see Baekhyun play fighting with Chen, who he currently has in a headlock. I laugh when Chen starts begging to be set free. In the end, Baekhyun lets him go on the condition that he goes eyeliner shopping with him. I roll my eyes at this and once again wonder why Baekhyun has such a strong obsession with eyeliner. I’ve seen him plenty of times without it, we’re roommates after all, and he looks great without it too.

We split off into two groups, Baekhyun and Chen heading off to the nearest makeup store, and the rest of us planning to just window shop and wonder around the town. As we pass a toy store, Luhan grabs a toy off the rack outside the front window and holds it up next to me, comparing me with it. “Look! It’s Tao,” he says playfully and the others laugh, crowding around to get a better look.

It’s a panda, and I give a half smile, reminiscing back to the time when my friends in high school used to call me Panda Tao. Luhan insists on buying it and forces me to carry it around with me. “It’s a present” he says. I roll my eyes as we walk through the streets and grab food from the street vendors along the way.

We pass an expensive looking shop and my spirits pick up when I spot a simply gorgeous Gucci bag. I grab the nearest arm, Joonmyun’s I think, and give it a tug, effectively informing him of where I’m going, and then rush eagerly into the store. I find the bag section and immediately spot the one I’m after. I reach out to grab it and turn it over in my hands, examining it. Oh man this is so awesome.

Luhan catches up to me and laughs when he sees what I’m holding. I turn to grin at him happily, and see that Baekhyun and the others have rejoined us, the group clustered behind Luhan.

I’m just waving the bag at Baekhyun, who grins back at me, obviously approving of my taste, when I hear a voice from the other side of the shop. I freeze, eyes widening and body tensing as I recognise it immediately. No, no, no, it can’t be.

I turn slowly to look behind me and breathe in sharply. The bag in my hands falls to the floor as my fingers lose their strength. Only three or four metres away, talking to a shop assistant, is Kris. I can faintly hear my friend’s worried voices and vaguely register that Baekhyun is looking between Kris and me, obviously working something out.

I hiss out a breath in horror when Kris’s eyes shift and he looks me straight in the eyes. I see recognition flicker in his eyes, but I am already turning away. I ignore the worried voices behind me as I walk quickly but unsteadily towards the toilets in the store, struggling to control my breathing and feeling as though I’ve just been punched.

I shove open the door and go straight into the nearest cubicle. I lock it behind me and put down the toilet lid, sitting on it with my head between my knees, trying to fight back the sudden urge to throw up.

I hear the main door opening, and can make out Baekhyun telling everyone to wait outside; he won’t take no for an answer and I can hear people’s worried muttering. I hear him shut the door and stop outside the cubicle I’m in. He calls my name softly, and the care I can hear in his voice undoes me and for the first time in years, I allow the tears to pour out of my eyes. I force myself to lift my hand and flip the lock as Baekhyun’s voice gets more and more desperate.

He's silent for a moment and then slowly pushes open the door, entering and locking it behind him. I keep my head down, fighting to regain control of my emotions as memories I had fought to forget resurface. Seeing Kris’s face again had torn down the walls I’d built around those memories within seconds and as images flicker through my mind I can feel myself suffocating under their weight.

Baekhyun says nothing, only pulling me into a tight hug as I sob my heart out, letting all the pain from the past pour out. When my tears finally stop, I bury my face in his neck, trying to slow down my breathing. , this hurts.

He rubs my back comfortingly and I allow myself to relax in his arms. Eventually I pull away, ducking my head so he can’t see my face, which must be a total mess right now.

He reaches out, gently placing his fingers under my chin and lifting my head. I avert my eyes, refusing to look at him. He sighs and brushes his fingers under my eyes, wiping the tears away, before grabbing my hand and pulling me out of the cubicle, over to the sinks.

I wince when I see my reflection; my eyes look terrible and my nose is red, my cheeks blotchy. He smiles at me kindly in the mirror, “wash your face.”

I do as he says, my movements slightly robotic.

He grabs a paper towel and gently pats my face dry. “Don’t worry, I’ll fix you up.”

He gives me a gentle push and I hoist myself up so that I’m sitting on the surface by the sink. He grabs his bag, fishing around inside for a second before pulling out a smaller bag. He opens it and takes out a small tube of what I recognise as BB cream.

I lift my eyes to his in alarm, not liking where this is going. He smiles at me and steps in front of me before I can escape. “Close your eyes and trust me,” he says. I comply reluctantly, letting him do whatever he wants. Whatever he does has got to make me look less of a mess than this.

His fingers brush over my face, smearing the cream over my skin. When he’s satisfied, I hear him put it back in his bag. I’m about to open my eyes when I feel something soft swipe over my eyelid and I freeze. Oh no, he isn’t, I think, even though I know he is.

Knowing it’s best to just let him do it, unless I want to go around with only one eye done, I keep still.

“Open your eyes,” he says. I do, and he glances back and forth between my eyes, before telling me to close them again and touching up the eyeliner on my right eye. When he’s satisfied he steps back, pulling me off the worktop and spinning me around. “Open your eyes.” He whispers.

I do, nervously, and gasp quietly. Woah, I think in shock. I look great.

I turn to Baekhyun, giving him a grateful, albeit sad, smile. “Thank you Baek. I don’t know what I’d do without you.

He smiles, satisfied. Then his expression darkens. “Was he one of the guys from before?” he asks gently. I sigh, trying to control the surge of hurt that wells up in me again, before answering “yes, that was Kris; the leader, and the main reason I had to return to China.”

Baekhyun’s eyes widen and then narrow in anger. “Bastard,” he mutters.

He reaches out and pulls me into a tight hug before saying, “we’re here for you, don’t forget that.” I give him a watery smile, letting him cheer me up.

We’ve been in there for at least twenty minutes before we exit the toilets. Luhan is waiting outside with Kyungsoo and Jongin and they snap their heads towards me, worry written all over their faces. Luhan approaches me, unsure of himself, before saying, “I sent the others to get cake. I know how much you love cake, and you looked really shaken up.”

My lips twitch into a grateful smile, touched and I lift my head to shoot him a look to tell him this. Their eyes widen when I flick my fringe out of my eyes to clear my vision. I hear Kyungsoo gasp and turn to look at him in confusion, “woah, Tao,” he says. “You look hot!”

My eyes widen, and then I chuckle softly when Jongin turns to Kyungsoo, saying indignantly, “Kyungsoo! You’re my boyfriend, not his.”

They start bickering and I look on with a small smile, filled with love for my friends.

I really am lucky.

As we walk out of the shop, Luhan hands me a bag and, opening it, I see that he’d bought me the bag I’d wanted whilst I was in the toilets. I gasp and turn to him in surprise. He just smiles and shrugs smugly, and I grab him, hugging him happily.

The rest of the day goes by smoothly, with no sign of Kris, and I feel myself relaxing as I have fun with my friends, messing around and playing like kids again. We finish the day with karaoke, and I discover how crazy they can actually be.

That night, the nightmares return, but unlike those years in high school, I have Baekhyun to help me get through them. He clambers into bed with me, having woken when I’d yelled out, snuggling under the covers and my hair until I drift off again, into a more peaceful sleep.
 

Thanks for reading :D Please leave a comment because I love hearing from you all :)

Also, please don't hate me for not making Kris go to the same Uni, my main plot is actually after they finish Uni so......

Thanks, and bye, possibly for a while, but hopefully not  :)

<3