Yixing stopped by the dance studio on his way home two days after Scarlett reappeared. Like he'd predicted, Jongin was practicing in the stuffy, wood walled room. 

 

Trails of sweat plastered the younger's hair to his forehead and beat up sneakers screeched harshly on the polished floor, marring it with grey, rubber scuff marks. 

 

Yixing watched the freshman's lean body twirl and slide fluidly and Yixing noted his talent. 

 

He was good. He was very good.

 

Sultry music flowed through the speakers and the woman's rough voice laced the shimmering air.

 

The song ended and Jongin finally noticed his audience. 

 

"Oh Hyung!" Jongin grinned, revealing his bright smile to the stoic boy. 

 

"You're talented." Yixing stated the obvious. "How long have you been dancing?" 

 

"Since grade school." Jongin smiled. "Thank you. What did you think of it though? It's a new dance we're learning in class."

 

"You've mastered it pretty well." Yixing admitted. "But that part where you spun and hit the ground," He moved closer to the boy, suddenly feeling comfortable around the younger. Yixing demonstrated the dance move, adding his own little hip at the end. "Your form was late in responding to your arms."

 

Jongin watched him carefully, giving him a nod and a smile at the end. "Like this?" He twirled on his toes and hit the ground lightly, before jumping back up and copying Yixing's added movement.

 

Yixing motioned for him to repeat it and Jongin complied.

 

 Before the dancer could complete the turn however, Yixing pulled his arms up higher.

 

Jongin kept his arms raised and finished the move and Yixing applauded lightly.

 

"Hyung, why aren't you in the dance department?" Jongin questioned, wiping the perspiration off his brow. 

 

Yixing shrugged, fiddling with the zipper on his windbreaker. 

 

"What do you major in anyway?" 

 

"Financing." He answered seriously, wincing when Jongin cracked up in front of him and consequently ended up rolling around on his sides on the scratched floor.

 

When the younger had finally composed himself, he stood up shakily, dabbing at his watery eyes. "Oh Hyung, what a waste. Why are you in financing? You looked like you wanted to vomit just by saying the word." 

 

Yixing bit the inside of his cheek and tched. "I just am." 

 

"Well, you should join the arts. You're handsome enough to be a model, Hyung. Why aren't you an idol or something?"

 

"I could ask the same of you." Yixing muttered.

 

"I'm not idol material." Jongin replied good-naturedly. "I don't want to be a singer on a stage. I just want to dance." He threw his arms out on the last word in an exaggeration.

 

Yixing rolled his eyes but was surprisingly not fed up with the boy yet. Jongin was simply too bright to ignore just as Scarlett was too loud to block out.

 

Why was he thinking of her now?

 

"Hyung, come practice this with me." Jongin grabbed his arm and dragged him away to the center of the floor and Yixing put the flame haired girl out of his mind.

 

。。。

 

Exactly three exhausting hours later, Yixing fell forward onto his bed, sighing when his sore muscles hit the almost soft material. 

 

He debated on getting up to check his messages but decided against it when he realized he really didn't want to get back up.

 

Yixing fell asleep soundly, but the nagging sensation of a message he was supposed to check buried itself in the back of his mind and in his dreams.

 

The next morning, he'd forgotten all about the uncomfortable prick in his consciousness. After, paying for a cheap box of cereal in the convenience store below his apartment, Yixing swiped the phone book and snuck it up to his apartment.

 

Once within the safe walls of his shabby home, Yixing flipped through the names until he found the one he was looking for. 

 

He wrote the address down on his wrist and exited his apartment, missing the green screen of his voice message machine light up with the arrival of a new missed call.

 

Yixing walked down the familiar road until it turned strange with the sights of unfamiliar houses and new people he'd never seen before. 

 

The house he was looking for was actually a complex set of dorm rooms built ontop of each other; all in all a much better accommodation than Yixing's shoddy building.

 

He checked the number on his wrist seven times before hesitantly knocking on the green door.

 

Green? Why did they use green? There were so many better, brighter colors to use.

 

He was just about to give into the desire to run away when the ugly door opened to reveal a tall boy with a pissed off expression.

 

"Oh," Yixing's tongue suddenly felt thick and he flushed at his accent which suddenly sounded much more prominent.

 

The boy raised an eyebrow and Yixing wa tempted to slap the princessy look off of his face.

 

"LuHan? I thought this was LuHan's address." Yixing blushed harder when he mispronounced some words.

 

Immediately, the boy's eyes widened and his lips formed an 'o'. "Hold on." He turned and yelled something into the apartment and received a familiar voice hollering something back.

 

Yixing watched as face he'd known for so long appeared in the doorway and watched as the face transform into shock, and then into joy.

 

"Yixing!" LuHan exclaimed, embracing the boy.

 

"Ge." Yixing patted the older on the back, years of missing his friend crashing on him suddenly.

 

"What are you doing here? How did you find me? Wait, I'm being rude. Come inside!" 

 

The blonde ushered Yixing into a cozy room, the faced boy watching them stonily.

 

"Yixing, this is SeHun, my roommate. Hunnie, this is Yixing, the friend from China I told you about." LuHan chattered happily.

 

SeHun raised another eyebrow, unimpressed. 

 

"Well," LuHan paused at the sudden awkwardness. "But Yixing, how have you been? We need to do some serious catching up! Wanna grab a bite? There's this to die for cafe downtown with the most delicious bubble tea ever! Hunnie and I go there all the time, don't we?" LuHan didn't wait for the other to confirm it. "Let's go and then talk! Oh wait, I forgot. You still don't like sweets that much? It's ok. We can still go have a looksies and talk. C'mon!" 

 

Yixing had barely opened his mouth before he was dragged out the door again by a chipper LuHan.

 

The serious boy named SeHun thankfully didn't follow them.

 

LuHan plopped down on a bench after a few moments of walking an they sat in silence for a number of minutes.

 

"How's your family?" Yixing asked eventually.

 

"Dad's still fishing and Mom is still nagging him to get a better job." LuHan laughed.

 

"What about Li Ru?" 

 

"We broke up shortly after I left China." LuHan smiled faintly.

 

"I'm sorry." 

 

"It's fine. We're still friends and I get into contact with her every once in a while."

 

"It's a shame. She was one of the few girls who was actually prettier than you."

 

"Shut up!" LuHan exclaimed loudly, punching Yixing on the shoulder.

 

Yixing let a slight smile slip through. "What about Tao? Or Yi Fan? Are you still in touch with them?"

 

"Yi Fan moved to Canada a while ago, but he visits every once in a while. And Tao is still being Tao; his punches are still a but he cries like one if you ever reciprocate one." LuHan giggled. "But what about you? Have you made any friends here? You're not being all weirdly anti-social again, are you?"

 

"I have friends." Yixing stated defensively.

 

"Name some." LuHan challenged.

 

"My friend at the university: Jongin." Yixing stuttered. "And... Scarl- Jia Li."

 

LuHan looked at him doubtfully but changed the subject regardless. "How are you anyway?"

 

"What do you mean?"

 

"You know what I mean."

 

"I'm fine." Yixing sighed. "Really." He insisted when he saw the look LuHan was giving him. "My friends, they're really great." He smiled faintly. 

 

"Well," Luhan gave him a bright smile. "I'm glad." 

 

Just then, a Kara song Yixing didn't know the name of sounded loudly from LuHan's pants pocket. 

 

LuHan flushed a bright red before fumbling with his trousers to answer the traitorous phone before his embarrassment became too great.

 

"That was SeHun." LuHan explained once he'd hung up. 

 

Yixing nodded in understanding. 

 

"I have to go, but I'd really like it if we keep in touch this time, Yixing. We can go out for coffee or something. Do you have a cell phone? Give me your number and we can make plans." 

 

Yixing entered his digits into LuHan's phone and walked with him back to the dorm. 

 

"I'll definitely see you again, Yixing. Promise me." LuHan smiled when he received a nod of approval.

 

The two parted and Yixing returned to his apartment somewhat reluctantly.

 

He grabbed his mail which consisted of exactly one official looking letter from the rusted box next to his door and entered the small apartment.

 

The nagging feeling was back in his head and he shuffled over to his voice message machine. 

 

"Yixing," He started at the familiar voice, not expecting to hear Scarlett on his landline. 

 

"Yixing, I'm sorry I can't make it to the cafe anymore. I guess sometimes life is ironic, huh? Anyway, I want to see you one more time before I go into surgery. The doctors say I have a fifteen percent chance of coming back out but that's better than zero, right? Yixing, I don't want to die. I'm scared. Please come see me? I know I sort of barged my way into your life but I figure one of us at least has to live. Yixing, I'm so scared. I don't want to die. I'm at the local hospital. Room 365. Please come see me one more time."

 

Yixing felt himself go cold and he checked the time of the message: 7:47 P.M last night.

 

There was another one from this morning and Yixing pressed his shaky finger against the play button.

 

"I'm about to go into surgery. Yixing, I'm so scared. I don't want to die. I really don't want to die. I'm scared." There was a muffled sob. "I'm not old enough. I haven't lived enough. I don't want to die." Unfamiliar voices leaked through the speakers and there was a pause. "I have to go." Another pause. "I don't want to die. I'm so scared. Please let me live. Yixing, don't worry. I'll live. I'll live for you. I have to. I don't want to die. I need to stay for you. Don't worry. I'll fight hard. Bye, Lay. I'll see you soon. I promise."

 

Yixing's eyes burned with the effort not to cry and his throat was uncomfortably thick. He hurt all over.

 

---

 

A.N

I know I took way too long to upload this TT TT I had the chapter written but I didn't have any time to upload it. The story only has a couple chapters left and I'm a bit sad. (My bby *sniff*) 

The next chapter will be a bit of a filler chapter before the final.

Have a Lay for sticking around :D