“Hey Hana what cha- whoa!” Sehun accidentally banged his back on Hana’s bedroom door in an exaggerated attempt to avoid Hana’s flying piece of clothing. He looked towards his left while shutting the door and picked up the potential unintentional weapon, Hana’s black shorts. He observed the clothing and for no apparent reason put it in front of his waist to see how it would look on him. Hana, who had originally pulled out from her cupboard to bow an apology, stared at her cousin with a weird gaze. Sehun looked back up and saw his cousin potentially judging him and gave an adorably dumb smile before tossing them on her bed. Although belatedly, Hana bowed to her cousin and Sehun picked a random shirt from the floor and threw it on her head, her view now completely due to the obstruction from the fabric. 

“I thought I told you to stop apologizing for everything dummy. Especially to me.” Sehun reminded and Hana pulled her shirt away with a huff. She rolled her eyes at her cousin and continued rummaging through her cupboard. Sehun walked towards her bed, stepping over the clothes that were scattered on the floor. Sehun wondered what had his usually neat cousin carelessly tossing her stuff everywhere. He casually lied on her bed, his legs hanging and touching the floor as he propped himself up on his elbows and watched his cousin go crazy. He tilted his head as he saw her struggle. Hana was about to have a breakdown. After agreeing to Lay’s plan last night she didn’t bother on what she would wear, anything she wore usually would be fine. It was a group gathering after all. But later today, when she asked Lay when Baekhyun and the others would get there, he simply said it would be just the two of them since the others were ‘busy’.

Less than twenty minutes ago, she realized she’d be going to the arcade alone with Lay. Suddenly Hana felt like she had nothing to wear. She groaned the second she opened her closet. Everything was black, white or grey. And the colors that she would’ve normally worn without hesitation before suddenly looked too bland and boring to her. She didn’t have many clothes to begin with, but the ones she did have, she didn’t feel like wearing them.

Sehun tilted his head as he saw his cousin helplessly staring at the almost empty closet. They heard a buzz and he saw Hana dash towards it. He saw her smile at her phone before she put it back down and bit her lip as she stared at her scattered clothing. Her room looked like it belonged to Cruella Devil, the floors were covered with black and white with occasional grey, and there were a few shoes upside down on her bed, those too were black.

Hana sat at the edge of her bed next to Sehun with deflated shoulders. Nothing, she had nothing to wear. Well technically she DID. She just didn’t like what she had. When did she even buy so much black anyways? She hardly ever went shopping, and the few times she did, the only colors she bought were black, white and grey? Why did she even get only these colors in the first place? She groaned and collapsed on her bed. Sehun chuckled as he lied down next to her and stared at her face. Something about the way Sehun stares at her always annoys the heck out of Hana. She glared back at him after he stared at her for a minute and he gave her that toothy grin of his and Hana instantly smiled. Her cousins sure had a certain effect on her. Well, that’s childhood bonding for you. If you’ve had someone with you since diaper years, of course they’d know about all of your buttons.

“So….” Sehun started as he momentarily looked away. He shortly looked back and found Hana staring towards the ceiling.

“What’s got my clean freak stressed enough to trash her room with…..” he craned his neck a little and kicked the closest piece her found, “clothes.” Sehun relaxed his neck and Hana huffed before covering her face with her hands. Why was she so stressed anyways? It was just an outing. A usual outing. Nothing new. She could wear whatever her closet had to offer, then why did have such a hard time deciding? It was a regular outing, just her and that…… dimple person. This was probably the first time they’d be alone out. Well, second actually. But considering that the trip to the convenience store was not exactly planned, this would be their first official ‘alone’ outing. She wanted it to be a little….different? and she had no idea why. Just the mere thought of being alone with that guy had her head going crazy. Hana may be introverted and anti social, but she was still a girl. There was a time when even she was ‘normal’ and she knew how crushes worked. It did take her a while, but it hit her in the face pretty hard. It hadn’t even been long. She realized it on the day they went to Baekhyun’s house. Lay had been ignoring her and it bugged her to no ends. She was irritated that day but not because Baekhyun was now in on her secret but because a certain someone paid no heed to her for no apparent reason. That day even after they were back to normal and back home, she couldn’t concentrate. She considered the possibility of her having a crush on him but didn’t want to accept it. Finally, during the early hours of day when the sun was sneaking out into the sky was when she accepted the fact that yes, she did have a crush on him. But just a crush, a minor crush. She figured this was probably another sign that showed her improvement. But her crush seemed to be getting bigger and bigger, and recently whenever they made contact she would internally erupt with butterflies. Of course she’d have a crush on him, Lay was a naturally likeable guy. But she tried to limit her ‘feels’, because although the secretly unicorn loving boy was all a girl would want in a guy, Hana was the exact opposite. She hadn’t even said a word to him and they had known each other for six months already.

So would a perfect guy even consider crushing over a girl who never even properly spoke to him? Yeah, no. Hana had already eliminated all chances of him returning her feelings way back. Therefore, she was just happy to be by his side as his friend, as long as she got to see his perfect smile, she’ll live. But when Lay informed her of their ‘it’ll only be us’ outing, she was both freaking happy, freaking nervous, and freaking hopeless. In short she was freaking out. Moreover, she had nothing to wear. She knew Lay probably didn’t even consider this outing to be special, it was an arcade for crying out loud, but she couldn’t help but feel this….thing, this certain feeling that urged her to become a typical girl and make an effort to look pretty for once at least.

Sehun was beginning to get worried. He had accepted the fact that any verbal response from Hana would still take days to come, but he at least expected something physical. He propped up on his left elbow and faced Hana with a worried gaze.

“Hey, you alright?” he quietly asked and Hana slowly nodded after a while.

“Then what’s up? Why does your room look like mine and what’s with the depressed expression?” Sehun pulled her hands away at the last part forced him to look at her. Hana pouted at him and he automatically squished her cheeks. She hit back his hands and he chuckled. She giggled before sitting back and Sehun followed suit. In a way that represented the wisdom Hana was sure Sehun didn’t posses just yet, he patted her shoulder and repeated his question with a little adjustments.

“Tell me what’s on your mind hmm? Hun brother will help take you out of your misery.”

Hana sighed. She didn’t really have an option did she? This was one of those numerous times when Hana missed Yuri awfully. Yuri would know what to do in these situations. But right now Hana only had Sehun, and she wondered if it was alright to tell him she was getting all worked up over an outing with a guy she had a hard core crush on, especially just on their second day back home.

“ How about I guess wildly and you nod at the right one?”, she reluctantly nodded at his suggestion and Sehun excitedly repositioned himself. Telling Sehun would probably make it easier for her….probably. Besides, as far as Hana knew he had already met Lay twice and hopefully had a good impression of him. Yeah, this wouldn’t be bad.

“Ok! Let’s go! Guess number 1, you feel like dressing up?” Hana paused for a while before shaking her head as a no.

“No?...um..ok.. You…were looking for a specific shirt? Although all of them look the same…” Sehun mumbled the last part as he glanced over the floor once again. Hana shook her head again.

“ Specific shorts?”

No.

“Shoes?”

No.

“You lost something?”

Nu-uh

“You idolize me and realized that you wanted to make your room look exactly like mine?”

What the heck?

“Why do I feel like that expression means ‘what the heck’” Sehun stated and she nodded because hell yes it does. Sehun was slowly growing desperate and commenced a guessing spree that would literally be considered ‘wild’.

“You had a random urge to empty your wardrobe?”

“You were counting how many pants you own?”

“You wanted to create a mess?”

“You’re planning to donate some to charity?”

“You wanted to buy make-up?”

“I think I got it! You’re gonna build a fort?! Can I join?!”

No

No

No

No…t a bad idea though…

How does this even….

Wait what?

Hana shook her head grimly and the excited demeanor of the boy faltered. He was running out of possibilities and Hana was still indecisive whether she should reveal the reason to her cousin or not. She figured if he guessed it right then well and good but if he doesn’t then oh well. Sehun wrecked his brain and a tiny part of him was still a little disappointed that the fort idea wasn’t it, damn that would’ve been fun. However, judging by the amount of clothes the girl owned in the first place, it wasn’t even possible.

Finally, not to mention fortunately, Sehun had decided to take the boring approach, in other words, a logical approach which required him to actually consider realistic ideas and options while using his head. He stared at his cousin’s restless eyes before running his eyes across the floor once more. What could it be? How dire could the situation be that princess organized had sprawled her stuff literally across the entire bed room floor?

Sehun’s life for the moment was made easier when he and Hana jumped due to a certain sound which Sehun recalled as a message notification. He saw how Hana hastily grabbed her phone, the small smile, the tiny lip bite, and after probably sending the text, the return of her previously mid crisis state. It all snapped into place when he was able to peer at Hana’s phone screen and grab the name of the sender. He remembered Lay. A bit too perfectly actually. Well, it’s not every day when you see flying phones hitting people’s heads. The second time Sehun saw him was the day he met Hana. Although the shock of seeing Hana in an unexpected situation kept him from paying attention to anyone else, he did notice the brunette being all protective over the girl.

He didn’t know Lay personally, they had met only twice and both the times their meeting was cut short. Luhan had already explained Hana’s condition to him and his mother in great detail. The older also mentioned how Hana’s new friends were greatly responsible for their cousin’s recovery. Typically, he’d be cautious and protective, but Sehun had already seen Hana’s friends, and considering that Lay was among them, he figured that he’d probably be a nice guy. He trusted his cousin anyways and knew her well enough to know that she won’t be attracted to just anybody. Luhan was currently briefing his mother once more about what he was told by Fei since the lady didn’t fully grasp the entire situation the first time. Sehun had already understood and engraved all the details in his head so he didn’t find it important to stay back and listen to the entire thing all over again.

There was a creepy smile on Sehun’s face by the time Hana locked her phone and kept it aside. Instantly the girl knew that he was onto something, she partially hoped it was another one of his ‘let’s build a fortress’ ideas.

“Oh I think I know now…..” Hana gulped and Sehun wriggled his eyebrows.

“You’re going on a date. Aren’t you?” the instant the words left his mouth Hana’s eyes widened and she could feel her face heating up. She was stunned for a while and Sehun’s chuckles slowly turned into laughter. How did he even know? But this wasn’t a date, Hana reasoned. This was an outing. Yes, just an outing, only with Lay. With that clear in her mind Hana shook her head and Sehun instantly stopped.

“Excuse me but what?” Sehun looked at her dumbfounded and Hana shrugged. He was so sure this time, he knew he was right then why was the girl nullifying his assumption? Sehun waited for Hana to answer but then internally groaned, she couldn’t reply anyways.

“No no no. This HAS to be it. You’re all worked up because you have to go out with that dude with brown eyes right?” Albeit the fact that everybody she knew had brown eyes, Hana still nodded because she understood the boy her cousin meant to refer to.

“HAH! SEE! Then you ARE going on a date!” Hana shook her head and Sehun who was previously smiling wide for his victorious feat deflated. He grew confused with the contradictory signals his cousin was giving him. So she was frustrated because she was going out with Lay, but it wasn’t a date? If it wasn’t a date then why was she all worked up? And if it IS a date then why is she denying it? Sehun figured it’d be better to just ask her.

“I’m going to have to ask you to write down what the fridge is going on alright? Are you or are you not going on a date?” Hana huffed as she got up and grabbed a pen and notepad from her desk, a little annoyed at her cousin’s behavior. She started scribbling and when Sehun’s curiosity got the best of him and he tried to peek at the paper, Hana just glared to put him back in his place with a pout.

“O…kay…tell me if I get it right ok?” Sehun asked as he lowered the paper from in front of his face to get a clearer look at the attentive Hana in front of him.

“So this Lay person is one of your new friends, and he’s been a great help and support for you even though he doesn’t know it, and he has a cute smile and an adorable dimple?......that information wasn’t really necessary….” Sehun trailed off as he glanced warily at Hana who glared in return.

“Ahem. Anyways, so far so good?” Hana nodded in confirmation and Sehun pressed his lips into a fine line before nodding.

“And you ended having a crush on him? And he recently, when he expressed his desire to take you to the arcade, you said yes. Am I correct?” once again Hana nodded.

“You thought that it would a group gathering but in the end it turns out it’ll only be the two of you. Plus, you’re sure that he does not reciprocate your feelings therefore it is not a date and just a ‘friends outing’. To sum it up your room looks like the remnant of a war because you have no idea what to wear since you’ve never been to the arcade?” He concluded and the girl sadly nodded as he eyes beseeched for help.

“C’mon munchkin it’s only the arcade. You can wear whatever you want.” Sehun offered but Hana shook her head before holding the paper in front of his face and pointing towards a specific line, causing the boy to squint in order to read it.

“ You want it to be different from the usual outing?” Sehun asked and the girl nodded.

“ So you want it to be different….but it’s not a date…?” Sehun asked and the girl gave him a confirmation smile. To be fairly honest Sehun had no idea what was going on. The only part he understood was that his cousin had feelings for her friend and she was convinced that they’re one sided, however he begged to differ, he saw the ‘Lay’ person that day and the way he reacted to Sehun wasn’t how someone who is ‘just a friend’ would react. However, the part where this was a simple hangout with a friend but still wanting it to be different was the portion that flew over his head. She wants it to be like the usual, but different at the same time.

This was pretty much why Sehun never bothered understanding girls, they always complicated stuff. He mentally concluded that Hana liked the guy, and Lay in return also liked her, or at least that’s what he felt.  Taking another look at her clothing the boy cringed. She needed color in her wardrobe. The bulb in his head lit and his eyes widened. Her problem was simple actually and Sehun knew the perfect (and the only) solution. He gave a slumped Hana yet another creepy smile causing the girl to look at him questioningly, however, not questioning his idea, but his mentality.

“Hana I think you should wear your shoes.”

 -----

 “Could you please stop staring at the mirror?”

“I’m not staring I’m fixing my hair.”

“For the past fifteen minutes?”

“Shush dragon.”

Kris sighed as he watched his brother move around strands of his hair. It didn’t take a genius to know that his little brother scored a date and since it was his first he let him hog the mirror, but as nice as Kris was, Lay was beginning to annoy him a little.

“Do I look fine?” the younger asked as he turned towards his brother with an unsure expression.

“Are you sure? Because I feel like this-“

“You look fine.”

“But the shirt-“

“This is the fifth time you changed. I get it it’s your first date ever but could you please not act like an insecure girlfriend about this?” Kris silenced Lay with his words and the latter could feel his cheeks getting warmer. Lay turned around towards the mirror to avoid letting his brother see the tint of red but it was already too late since he could hear Kris chuckling.

“It’s not a date..” Lay mumbled and Kris snorted.

“Yeah, sure it isn’t.” the elder rolled his eyes and Lay spun around.

“But it isn’t! We’re just going to the arcade together as friends!” He defended and Kris rose his eyebrow.

“Well, since it’s a friends outing then why just the two of you? What about Kyungsoo, Baekhyun and the others?” Kris enquired and Lay stuttered before answering.

“T-they were busy.”

“All of them?”

“…….yes.”

“ Did you even ask them to come along?” Lay stood with his mouth ajar, at loss of words and Kris chuckled.

“I knew it!”

Lay bit his lip and messed up his hair causing Kris to frown, he would have to spend another twenty minutes staring at his brother’s back as he fixes his hair. Lay knew he had been caught; any further arguments would be stupid. He walked towards his brother and dropped next to him.

“It’s not a date” he said again and Kris rolled his eyes,” but, I do think I have a crush on her.” he finally confessed and Kris who was looking around stared back at him. Lay had spent hours thinking about this. It’s normal to be confused about your feelings, he knew that, but he believed that what he felt was nothing special, that it was just a platonic emotion. However, ever since Jongdae told him about the image he had of Lay’s relationship with Hana, it got him wondering. He thought back to all those times he had spent with her. The tiny shot of happiness when she first replied to his message, the warm feeling when she first smiled; they were all engraved in his brain. The time when she accidentally fell on him, he remembered it clearly. He thought she had the most gorgeous eyes and the cutest nose. Her features were twenty times better to look at within close proximity. Even the restless nights he spent thinking about that melody that he heard her play were fresh in his mind. Hana had only brought him good memories so far, apart from the unexplainable burning he felt when he saw her hug Baekhyun, or every time he sees her getting a bit too comfortable with any male other than himself. Baekhyun had made it clear that he did not like anyone, or to be precise “anyone with long black hair who could play a piano”, therefore Lay was at a little ease. But then the dejected feeling he felt when she left with her cousin, and every other time when she was supposed to be around but wasn’t made Lay feel that he may have a crush on her.

Kris knew long ago even though he hadn’t met the girl that his brother had feeling for her. So for Lay to only realize it now was quiet slow for him in Kris’s opinion. He was glad though. Albeit late, Lay had finally realized the spark he held for the Hana.

“Took you long enough” Kris scoffed and Lay raised his arm in frustration.

"What do you mean 'took you long enough'?" 

“Because it did you idiot! I knew you liked her long before and all I ever did was see you texting! Now imagine how quick the people who have actually seen you interact with…Hana (?), would’ve figured it out!” Kris stated and Lay stared at his brother with an unexplainable expression before looking straight ahead.

“I ‘am an idiot.”

“Indeed you are.” Lay playfully glared at his brother and Kris shrugged with a smirk.

“But Kris?”

“Hmm?”

“I don’t think she likes me.” Lay’s voice was low but the way Kris shifted positions confirmed that Kris had heard him.

“Why do you think so?” Kris asked as he looked at Lay with his head hung low.

“She…she doesn’t talk…to anyone actually. If she doesn’t even feel comfortable enough to talk to me, what makes you think she will like me back?” Lay voiced his concern, and Kris’s eyebrows furrowed.

“Why doesn’t she talk?”

“Her aunt told us that…..she stopped opening up to people ever since her parents died in an accident. She said that Hana became an introvert and because of that she became shy and now she would hardly talk to anyone…..”

Kris had a hunch. The names of the girls were same, both their parents died in an accident, both of them had aunts….could it possibly be that it was the same girl? Luhan’s cousin? Kris wasn’t sure; however, with a wide chance of them being the same, there were high chances that they may not be the same girls. Kris brushed off the possibility for now.

“Look bro. if she wasn’t comfortable being around you, she wouldn’t have befriended you and back backed out of this whole winter whatever thing a long time ago. She obviously likes your company which is why she agreed to go out with JUST you. And besides, don’t worry if she doesn’t talk, she’s a girl. As hard as it maybe for you to believe, but amidst the ocean of loud chicks, there are also the shy, quiet ones. Plus I’m sure she’ll start talking sooner or later, who knows, she might say something to you today?” Kris reasoned. He was right, there were a lot of girls like that, plus Lay understood her situation. He had come to know how much her parents meant to her when he saw her state at their death anniversary. The blow was indeed huge and so if the girl developed a shy personality after that, it was understandable. Lay did find it extremely odd, how even in their months on knowing each other, she hadn’t said a word, but who was he to say? He probably would’ve reacted the same way if it was him in her position. Besides, it’s not like she lost her ability to speak right?

Lay nodded as his brother’s words sank in. he looked back at him with a smile and raised his fist to bump it with his before uttering a thanks. Kris smiled as he saw his brother get up with a lively air rather than the previous depressing one but his smile fell as he saw the younger walk towards the mirror again. Kris huffed but let him be, his mind trying to come up with various possibilities of how both the girls were different from each other. Although he did not refuse to believe the possibility, he found the coincidence hard to accept. 

-

i think this update took longer than i intended it to....

hmm....

since this is my first time i'm not really so sure about the whole....realisation of feelings thing so i hope this isnt too sudden. its about time he realised...right? 

lol

anyways 

enjoy ^_^