I began to question a lot of things by Monday.

Things like Oh Sehun having not said a word to me in two days. Now, okay, you could be thinking “you don’t usually speak with each other” or that two days is not a big deal, but he usually speaks to me—insults me. But for the past few days, the only words I had gotten were picks from Luhan and Baekhyun, and Tao on occasion. Jongin ran back and forth between classes and the parking lot so fast I barely registered he had been there. It just wasn’t normal that no one bothered me. Maybe I was moving so fast like Jongin that no one had a chance to bully me.

The bad thing was that I couldn’t even be calm and enjoy the time of not being bullied for the fear I held of something coming for me. I even waited until the last minute to use the bathroom—on the third floor of the school where hardly anyone goes—just in case Taeyeon decided to corner me again. I feared Sehun had gotten back to her with word of what happened in the locker room and at Luhan’s house, but if so, she hadn’t done anything. I kept in mind that anything was possible.

Considering there was a series of tests coming up for the seniors, it was very plausible that Sehun was studying and focusing more on that than pathetically bullying me. And believe me, I wanted to believe that. But I couldn’t and I wouldn’t. Something just didn’t feel right.

It wasn’t until Tuesday evening, after classes let out, that Sehun started acting like himself again. Mr. Grouchy was back. Except, he wasn’t after me and it was weird that he was after Kai.

“We’re having another away game this week,” Tao was saying, trying to take the basketball away Park Chanyeol, who was waiting for him and Taehyung to get their things so they could go to practice together.

Luhan, who was busy talking with Baekhyun, turned around. “Shouldn’t you go practice for that game?” he asked rather snappily.

Seeing his distraction, Chanyeol ducked away and then turned back to hit Tao in the head with the ball, resulting in a major pout from the Chinese boy.

“Get your things, we need to go, like Luhan said,” Chanyeol said, pointing at Tao’s locker.

I wasn’t sure why I was lingering. Maybe it was partially the fact that it was raining outside and I was waiting to see if it would let up. Maybe I had just been too distracted with eavesdropping on Kai and Sehun’s conversation. Well, maybe not eavesdropping, because they talking loud enough I could hear from where they stood at Sehun’s locker, not even a foot away.

Receiving the instructions from their captain, Tao and Taehyung took off for the gym. A moment of eye contact with Taehyung shot me back around to face my locker. Remembering how our last meeting had been pretty tense, I wasn’t really up for another and was thankful he was instructed to leave for practice. Although I wished we could resolve matters eventually, right now was not the time.

“Just consider it. It only comes once a year,” Jongin urged, leaning on Taehyung’s now closed locker.

Sehun scoffed, his torn up locker door blocking my view of him as he dug through the contents. “Yeah, thank God for that,” he said.

I heard Jongin sigh. “Sehun, I’m serious. It’s your eighteenth birthday, let’s do something fun and celebrate it,” he said, practically whining. He even stomped his foot for emphasis.

Thoughts wandering around, wondering why he wasn’t going to celebrate his birthday, I picked at a torn piece of paper poking out of my history book. I should’ve been going to catch the bus, but I was too stunned by the fact Sehun had a birthday. All this time, I had been under the impression that Satan has sent a stork to the Oh’s residence sometime in April, gifting them with his spawn.

I flinched and quickly acted like I was doing something important when Sehun slammed his locker.

“Can’t you just leave it alone?” he snapped at Jongin. “I’ve had enough people bothering about celebrating and I don’t need anyone else nagging me about it. Least of all, you! Now leave it!” Staring a stumped Jongin right in the face, he slung his bag over his shoulder. “Forget about driving me home. I’ll just take the bus.”

I started to direct my eyes elsewhere when he turned and stomped off, but he didn’t even seem to notice I was there. Jongin did, however, and awkwardly looked away when he caught me watching.

“He always has a stick up his rear end at his birthday,” Luhan commented with a frown.

Baekhyun sniggered. “And you just want an excuse to get drunk,” he said, punching the older one in the shoulder.

As they broke into a small wrestling match in the hallway, I closed my locker, having already gotten all my things. So his birthday was comi