Everyone liked to look at Zhang Yixing.

He was quite an attractive boy, with almond-shaped, chocolate brown eyes and side-swept brown hair, with fair skin. He had dimples to die for, and a cute grin to match, that is, whenever he truly was grinning. 

His attire was his usual school uniform: dresspants and a crisp, white polo shirt. But he usually had something a bit out of place-- a pair of headphones that rested around his neck like a scarf. This was when the teachers weren't around. When they were, the headphones magically disppeared.

But that wasn't the reason why everyone liked to look at Zhang Yixing, and they weren't just looking; they would flat-out stare at the boy. It wasn't for his attractiveness, or for his oversized headphones. 

They thought he was the weirdest kid they had ever seen: he would constantly stare off into space, his eyes extraterrestrially vacant. His lips would slightly part, his eyes would slightly widen more than usual, and he would barely breathe as he stared at absolutely nothing. Someone had once described it as "As if he were watching the best movie ever, and he's so into it that if the world ended, he'd never know until the movie was over." 

But this movie never seemed to end, and no one could snap him out of looking away from it. Teachers, exasperated by his trances, gave up long ago. His peers got a kick out of them at first, but now shied away from him, thinking that he was a drug addict or was mentally diseased. But still they looked at the teenager, who was lost in his oblivion.

The truth was, Yixing wasn't mentally diseased, and he was certainly not on drugs... Or so he thought - unless the unending hole called "love" was a drug, then he certainly had his overdose.

Yixing was constantly spacing out, lost in his own world, which, in fact, wasn't empty at all as others seemed to think.

It was filled, and it was filled with thoughts of you.

He was in love with you, and he couldn't escape your unknowing grasp. He thought you were the most beautiful human being to walk on this earth. Your smile made him melt from the inside out. Your eyes sparkled with this undying beautiful light. You were becoming everything to him, like an addiction, and whenever he wasn't lost in thought, he would gather up the courage to look at you, and muster up what was left of that courage to talk to you.

Unfortunately, there was never enough. So just looking, as if you were a too-expensive, gorgeous porcelain doll in a shop window, would have to suffice.

The first time you saw Zhang Yixing, or Lay, as you heard he liked to be referred to, you, too, couldn't help but give him a second glance. You didn't really know him; rather, you knew him indirectly, through rumors. Indeed, he was gorgeous, but that wasn't what made you turn your head toward him again.

It was because he was staring at you. And you had to check just to be sure that it was you he was staring at. 

It was the look in his eyes that caught you off-guard. His usually vacant stare was soft, tender... As if staring at you might cause you to break. It was an adoring look, but it sent a shiver down your spine that made you pause. You couldn't quite understand how his gaze made you feel, but you knew it was strange.

Now that you had noticed him the first time, you began to notice him a second, a third, an umpteenth time since then. Again, the strange feeling his eyes left you was present each and every time.

And today, you were the one staring at him, well, the back of his head, as he was looking absentmindedly at the blackboard in his classroom. The bell had rung a few minutes ago, signalling the end of class, and he hadn't once moved. You had already left the class, and you were standing just outside the door, watching him. Then you felt a hand on your waist. You turned around.

"Hey you."

His deep voice was enough to weaken your knees. He smirked down at you, his plump lips matching a crooked smile. His dark eyes pierced into yours with such a ferocity that you couldn't help but smile goofily back.

"Oppa~" You looked dreamily up at your boyfriend, Kris. 

Kris was the embodiment of perfection. He was every girl's dream boy, with his tough exterior and romantic ways. He was the ultimate smooth-talking badboy that every female would swoon over, yourself included. He was your obsession and your crush for the past two years, but you could never get your hands on him - he'd constantly have his hands on other girls, and many different ones at that. You blindly figured he was only trying to find the right one, with him trying out a new girl what seemed like every week. And when he finally asked you out, you jumped, no, leaped at the opportunity to be his, ignoring the fact that he had dumped a girl two hours beforehand.

He was all yours now. You were all his, and as you thought about this, you smiled wider and hugged him tightly.

"I missed you," you cooed. Kris patted your head awkwardly, before clearing his throat.

"You wanna go get something to eat?"

You pulled away. "Now? But I have class in a few minutes!"

Kris raised a brow. "You're going to take class over me?"

You paused. In the three weeks that the two of you were dating, he'd gotten you to skip class several times, and the absences were beginning to tally up. Your teachers were beginning to become concerned, as your grades were starting to drop, and too many absences meant suspension. That was the alst thing you wanted.

Still, it was Kris, after all. You'd do anything for him. So you smiled up at him. "Of course not! Let's go eat!"

You had better things to do, better places to go...

Better people to look at.

Little did you know, as you turned away from the door and walked away, Lay's eyes were on you once again. They weren't tender this time, but instead they were sad, dark... He turned back around and sighed, shaking his head, before standing up and heading to his next class.

Indeed, you were a too-expensive, gorgeous porcelain doll in that shop window, but you had a "sold" tag attached to your chest where your heart was, and your buyer wasn't handling you properly. It made Lay sick.

But little did he know, the buyer would drop that beautiful doll and send the broken remains back.

~*~

You and Kris sat opposite each other at a small table outside of a cafe. Kris was silent as you gabbed on about the day, the color of the sky, anything that came to your head, all the while eating the cake that you bought. Meanwhile, Kris eyed you from over his crossed hands as they rested at his lips, his elbows propped on the table. He wasn't really listening to you, or looking at you. He was staring in your direction, but he was looking at what was behind you:

Sohee, a girl who went to school with the both of you. His eyes narrowed and a smirk was concealed beneath his fingers.

"Oppa?" Kris's eyes didn't move, but he responded to your call. "Hmm?"

"I asked you three times; how is your day going so far?"

Kris kept his gaze on Sohee, but lowered his hands so that one rested on the table, and another made its way to his pocket. 

"I think we should break up," he said casually. You nearly choked on your cake.

"What?"

"I said, I think we should break up." Kris pronounced every word carefully, and he now looked at you. 

You stared at him in shock, feeling the color drain from your face and tears prick the corners of your eyes. You began to stammer.

"W-why? Did I d-do something?" 

You received no answer. Instead, Kris tilted his head to the right. "You should get back to class."

You felt your heart tear, and you gasped aloud. "Kris-oppa!"

"Get back to class, ____."

Surprisingly, your legs began to move and you did as you were told, though your brain wasn't registering and your heart was shattering. A tear escaped your eyes, and you found yourself looking back at the boy who broke your heart. Another gasp was let out by you when you saw him stand up, walk over to where Sohee, your classmate, was sitting and begin to strike up a conversation.

Anger clenched your heart as you realized he dumped you for another girl.

Just as he had always done...

~*~

"So like I was saying, I feel so much for Miyoung that there's no way I'll ever be able to forgive her ex-boyfriend." Lay listened intently as his friend droned on about his girlfriend of three months.

"I just hope I don't go to jail..." His friend looked down. Lay shook his head, before propping his head up with his hand, his elbow resting on his desk.

"Nonsense; just don't egg the guy's house again. He doesn't know who did it the first time, and he has a lot of enemies to begin with, if you count Miyoung-ssi's friends. If you do it again, and continue to send him hate letters, he'll find you and you'll get in trouble.  Just focus on Miyoung-ssi. Be glad you have her."

His friend smiled and nodded. "You're right. Thanks Lay. Like they always say, 'you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone'."

Lay smiled, his dimples showing and nodded. "Exactly!"

"Man, you're the best person to talk to. You always have the best advi-- Oh boy." Lay's friend's eyes left Lay, and looked over his head at the door. He shrugged, shivered, and shook his head. 

"What is it?" Lay turned around, only to see you walking into the classroom. His eyes widened when he saw your tear-streaked, pallor face as you turned to fall into your seat. You buried your head in your arms, and people around you began whispering. the girls were snickering amongst themselves.

"What happened?" Lay's eyes were full of alarm as he turned back to his friend.

"_____-ssi got dumped." As the words left his lips, Lay's eyes widened.

"When???"

"About an hour ago, I guess? They say Kris dumped her for Sohee Park."

"Oh, god..." Lay cringed as sympathy rushed over him. His friend shrugged again.

"Hey, she was the one who was obsessed with him. I think she deserved it."

"She didn't deserve it; you know how Kris is with girls..." Lay's forehead creased as he looked at you from under his fringe. His friend shrugged.

"That's true," he said. "So why don't you go talk to her? Use some of your 'healing powers' on her?"

Lay blushed slightly and looked down, chewing the inside of his cheek. "I..."

The bell rung, signalling not only the end of class, but the conclusion of school for the day. Lay looked up in alarm as he saw his fellow students rushing out of the room. Lay stood up, and was suddenly pushed forward toward you. He let out a small gasp of surprise.

"Go," his friend urged. "Before she gets away!"

Lay turned to look at his friend, eyes wide and lips parted in shock, before turning around and gulping. He inhaled, exhaled, before carefully walking over to you. You hadn't moved; instead, you had remained in your seat with your head buried in your arms. 

Lay had never approached someone before, let alone you. He was the distant type of person, and he was already an outcast for his strange behavior.  He felt his heart grating itself against his ribs as it made its way to his throat, and his palms began to sweat. His skin began to grow cold and he bit his lip before speaking.

"Um," Lay started, his voice too shaky for his liking. He cleared his throat. "Excuse me."

"Go away. If you're going to laugh at me, go away," was your muffled reply.

Lay's nervous expression softened at your broken voice, and he reached out. His fingers were trembling as he touched strands of your hair, your shirt, and finally your shoulder, where his hand rested there. 

You looked up at the touch, and your eyes met Lay's. Your eyes widened in shock upon seeing him, of all people, and then you saw his expression.

It was such a sympathetic look that you only wanted to cry more. 

Lay didn't give you the chance to, as he began to speak again. 

"If you need to talk to someone, I... I'm here," he stated softly. You looked at him confusedly, as a remaining tear fell from your eye. Frowning, you stood up, wiping your eyes and sniffling. Instinctively, Lay reached into his pocket and pulled out a packet of tissues. He handed them to you wordlessly.

"Thank you," you whispered, and you took one out of the package and dabbed at your eyes. After a moment, you looked at him.

"I'd... I'd like that," you choked out. Lay smiled sadly, as he put an arm around you. He was surprised to find that his nervousness was gone.

"Let's go somewhere to talk, okay?" Lay saw you nod your head as you dabbed at your eyes once again, and he gently led you out of the classroom, and out of the school.

~*~

"I was stupid."

The two of you had found a quiet place in the park to talk, and you were sitting underneath a tree, beneath its shade. Your back was against the tree's trunk, and you had brought your knees to your chest, hugging them as your chin rested on your knees. Lay was sitting in front of you, his legs crossed and his hands in his lap. He watched you as you spoke, listening closely to what you said, as well as memorizing your voice.

Your voice was beautiful. He had only heard it in the distance before, or faintly in class, but up close.... Never. Lay's heart melted at every syllable you spoke.

It was only another painful reminder of two things, one of which being that he was still in love, and the second being that he may never hear it again.

His heart clenched internally at the thought of never speaking to you again. After you had vented, would you just leave him alone and act like nothing happened? It made Lay sad.

Yet he ignored the pain; the entirety of his attention span was concentrated on you.

"Stupid? How come?" Lay asked. You closed your eyes.

"I fell for a boy whose ways weren't going to change," you replied, hugging your knees just a little tighter. "I thought that if he went out with me, his ways would change and he'd stick with me... It was my dream to have him as my boyfriend, so I ignored all of the bad things about him and tried to see the positive things in him." You paused, thinking about it. "Even though I know that, why did I fall so hard for him?" 

Lay was silent for a moment. "Everyone has their reasons for liking someone," he spoke. "What was yours? What was your reason for wanting him so badly?"

You thought again. "I think it's for the fairytale experience." Upon seeing Lay's confusion on his face, you continued. "Every girl likes to have their own, magical ending. For example, a lot of girls want to be swept off their feet by the perfect guy. That's a fairytale ending. Another is changing the badboy into an angel, who will then sweep the girl off her feet... I think that's what I wanted with Kris. I wanted to be the one to change him, all the while getting this attractive guy all to myself." You frowned. "And the cool thing about it was that everyone wants the guy you have, and you can sit on your throne of glory and look at everyone who can't have that guy... It's a nice feeling, but..." Your eyes began to water again and you fell silent. You looked down, before you felt Lay wrap an arm around you comfortingly. You looked up, and he was sitting beside you now, looking at you patiently.

You sniffed. "I lost a lot of friends," you sobbed. "Now I'm alone and... And it ."

"Oh..." Lay's expression softened once again. "Come here." He gently pulled you forward, and hugged you. 

You straightened yourself out and returned the hug after some hesitancy, feeling his arms wrap around you tighter upon your response. Once you did so, you felt something encircle through you. It was so warm, and so comforting. It made you want to fall asleep; you were so relaxed.

The warmth of Lay's embrace was calming you down, and yet making you feel more emotional at the same time. You felt Lay's chin rest on your shoulder, and his hand rub your back comfortingly, delicately tugging at the strands of your hair.

"____-ssi," he started. "People don't change. They may say they do, and they may even act like they have, but it doesn't last long. Kris will not change." He felt you stiffen slightly. "I know it's hard for you to accept that, but I know that you know it deep inside.... And someone as caring, as loving, and..." Lay inhaled, feeling his heart lurch. "...And as beautiful as you shouldn't waste your time with a guy who doesn't know how to love. He never will if he continues to do this to girls like you."

You blinked several times to keep two more tears from falling, and you pulled away from him. "Yixing-ssi..."

"Call me Lay," Lay requested. You nodded in understanding, and somehow felt your heart beat a little faster.

"Lay-ssi... You're so wise. How do you know all of that..?"

Lay was taken back. He looked away from you to look at the ground as his expression mellowed out. He looked back up after a moment, with a slight smile on his face.

"I just... Let's just say I know a little bit about love," he whispered. You looked at him.

"Are you in love?" As soon as the question left your lips, you wished you could take it back. "I'm sorry; I don't mean to be nosy--"

"It's okay," Lay reassured, raising his hand to silence you. "I... Yes, I've been in love... For a very long time," he said softly, smiling bitterly. "I can't tell you who, but I'll just say that I know... How you feel." Lay looked down, before looking up again. 

"____-ssi," he started. "You're not alone. I'm here, if you ever need me."

You were quiet, before nodding once again. "I'd.. I'd like that."

~*~

Six months had passed since that day, and boy, were you grateful.

You and lay became closer as the days passed, and were soon best friends. The two of you were inseparable.

Kris had dropped out of school, and you hadn't seen him in three months. You hadn't thought about him in two.

He became a distant memory, and became even more so as he faded away from your life more and more. What was replacing him was Lay, which you didn't mind. You quickly realized that Lay was right, and last you heard, he was still picking up girls and dropping them off like flies. In the meantime, your grades improved, you gained new friends, and some old ones returned. You were surrounded by happiness and love...

And Lay.

You were surrounded by thoughts of Lay. Over the course of six months, you began to see Lay as a different person.

He wasn't a weirdo. He was actually very sweet, kind, caring, sympathetic, and a great person to talk to, not to mention very handsome and cute.

You liked looking at him.

You liked watching him dance his heart out.

You liked laughing at him for his forgetfulness, and then laughing with him when he admits his fault.

You liked hugging him, feeling his lithe, strong arms around you.

You liked thinking of him.

...

You liked falling for him.

And now you loved him.

You smiled to yourself and blushed as you thought about this, as you walked up Lay's driveway. The two of you were hanging out today, and your heart bubbled with excitement as you opened the door and let yourself in.

"Layyy~!"

Getting no response, you pouted, and closed the door behind you.

"Lay?" You walked up the stairs to the living room, and there he was, sitting at the dining room table...

Staring off into space. You giggled to yourself and walked over to him.

"Hey, you!" Knowing you'd get no response, you simply came up from behind him and draped your arms over his shoulders, your hadns clasping together over his chest. Lay blinked in surprise, before looking up at you.

"_____! I didn't even hear you come in! I'm sorry," he laughed. You shook your head and rolled your eyes. 

"It's okay, you goofball." You tapped his forehead before breaking away from him and heading to the refrigerator.

"There's cookies in there," Lay called. You nodded and clapped in response. Lay grinned at you as you rummaged around in the fridge for them.

"So what were you thinking about?" you called over your shoulder. Lay didn't reply, and you half expected him to be staring off once again. 

However, as you turned around, you saw that he was smiling sadly, looking down at the table. Your hands detached themselves from the cookies and milk and left them in the fridge, before you closed the door and turned to him, leaning against the refrigerator.

"Thinking about that girl again?" You couldn't help but feel your heart tear as you knew Lay liked someone; rather, loved someone. You had discovered that when he was spacing out, he was thinking of that person.

Lay laughed softly, not looking up. "You know me pretty well, huh...?"

You shrugged, and walked over to him. "I'm still dying to know who it is," you said playfully. At this, Lay looked up.

"No," he replied, smiling. You pouted.

"Come onnnn," you whined. Lay shook his head and sealed his lips. 

"Lay... Layyy~" You poked his side, prodding at his ticklish spot. Lay gasped.

"You stop that," he warned. The mischeivous look in your eyes only got more fierce.

"___--ahhh!" He moaned as he was tickled again by you, and you had access to both of his sides. He stood up and began running, with you chasing him. 

Fortunately, his house was small, and he couldn't get very far before being cornered. You were inches from him, hands outstretched.

"Tell me, or the neck gets it," you threatened, knowing that he hated his neck being touched. Lay cringed.

"Not the neck~" Lay's eyes grew wider as he felt your hand touch his chest and move slowly up toward his neck.

"I'm not touching you," you teased. 

"_____, we don't have to do this," he started. "I'll cut you a deal, and it'll be a good one, I promise!"

You stopped moving your hand, and you grew sullen and backed away. Lay let out a breath he was holding. You were silent for a moment.

"Why don't you want me to know?" you asked. "Why are you hiding this from me?"

Lay's expression constricted, before he shrugged. "You'd get weirded out."

"Why?" You were now facing him again, getting closer to him, taking note that he was backed up against the counter.

"Do I know her?" you asked. Lay paused, before nodding.

"How often do you see her?" you asked.

"Everyday." Lay's reply caused your heart to sink.

"Well..." You decided to shoot for one last question before backing off. "How often do I see her?"

Lay began to blush. "Everyday."

You blinked once, twice, before nodding. 

"I see... Okay, I'll figure it out for myself." You backed off and turned away from him, beginning to walk toward the refrigerator again to get those cookies and hopefully change the mood and the subject. The truth was, you didn't want to know who it was, who it was that was making Lay blush, making him zone out. You were just going to have to toss your feelings aside, and--

Lay's hand caught yours before you could take a step more. He tugged on it, causing you to turn around and be pulled back. He let go of your hand and gripped your arms as you nearly ran into him, and blushed at how close you now were. You, too, were blushing madly, out of embarrassment and at the closeness as well. If you leaned in just a little bit, you could kiss him.

Lay's eyes were piercing into yours, and you couldn't help but stare back. The intensity of his stare was filled with something you had never seen before. He opened his mouth to speak after a moment of studying your face.

"You see her everyday if you look into a mirror," he whispered. Your eyes widened, and your lips parted slightly with shock.

"Lay?" Before you knew it, his face was drawing closer to yours, and you could feel his warm breath on your skin. And as your lips touched, you felt a shiver run down your spine. 

He kissed you softly, tenderly... Quickly. He pulled away, and looked at the ground sheepishly.

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

You were out of breath, and felt faint. It was you, this whole time? This whole time, it was you he thought of, for all those years as he had discussed with you... You couldn't believe it.

But you wanted to. So badly, did you want to. You reached out, and lifted his chin, causing him to look at you. His eyes were wavering.

"Lay...You love... Me?"

Lay nodded, though it was barely noticeable. "____, I love you. I've loved you for as long as I can remember. You're beautiful, and all I'll ever need...And I'm sorry for not telling you, and I'm sorry for telling you. Because either way, I ruined what we had..."

"But you created something new," you whispered. Lay looked at you.

"What?"

You leaned in, and your lips landed on his. You could faintly hear him gasp, but felt his arms tighten around you as he began to respond to the kiss, his head tilting to the right as his lips melded with yours, kissing you deeper. One of his hands was gripping your waist while the other entangled itself in your hair. His lips were soft as they pressed against your own, and it sent a shock through your system.

You pulled away from him. "You created something new," you murmured. "Because I love you too."

His eyes sparkled and he smiled at you, and you smiled back. As you looked into his eyes, you now understood what that emotion was that was swimming there, this whole time.

Love.

~*~Author's Note~*~

Yay~! It's done T_T I hope you guys liked it, and didn't think it was too much of a catastrophe ><

Thank you to all who subscribed before this was even posted T_T You guys are amazing <333