"I see progress," Chen sang as he walked down the staircase.  

"Shut up," Luhan mumbled.

"Whatever you say, Luhan." Chen giggled as they reached the bottom of the staircase. Without hesitation, he pulled his phone out of his pocket when a particular ringtone echoed.

"How about you? Xiumin huh?" Luhan smirked and nudged Chen. Chen wrinkled his nose and jokingly pushed Luhan's arm away.

"Shut up before I... Oh look! Your lover's walking towards us."

Luhan looked up and made an eye-contact with Lay. Oh, those warm and soft eyes... They never fail to make Luhan fall for Lay over and over again each day. Luhan blinked a few times and before he knew it, he was only a few inches away from Lay's chest. Flushing, he looked down.

"Hey there, Lay! You can have Luhan all afternoon. I'll be taking his shift today. Enjoy!" Chen winked at Lay and gave him a friendly punch on the shoulder. Luhan flushed even more.

Without hesitation, Lay flashed  a bright smile at Chen and slapped him lightly on the shoulder. "Geez, thanks a million, Chen! Will treat you some other day." Chen winked once again.

Oh that wink. No one would ever understand how much Luhan wanted to punch Chen. Even if Chen was his best friend. However... A date with Lay? Was it considered as a date? Luhan's heart danced around with nervousness.

"Bye Luhan! And Lay too!"

Luhan's head snapped up and the next thing he knew, Chen was gone and Lay's arm was around his shoulder. Luhan's eyes widened and bit his lips. Chen was so getting into trouble the next day.

"Do you mind going grocery shopping with me?"

Of course, Luhan would never reject Lay. He simple couldn't. 

---

"Holy mother of cows what on Earth do you think you're doing?"

Luhan gaped at Lay. See, Lay grabbed a carton of orange juice, finished it, and hid it among some other cartons of orange juice. What was more, Lay did not even plan to pay for it, let alone confess. There was no way Lay was getting away with this.

"What? Come on, don't be a chicken. I mean, there are no cameras around either." Lay shrugged and proceeded to grab some chocolate.

"Please tell me that you are going to pay for those chocolate." Luhan stared in disbelief.

"Of course." Lay walked alone the aisle and selected some canned food.

"Those aren't healthy..." Luhan shyly mumbled while following behind Lay.

"What?" Lay stopped in his tracks and Luhan bumped into his chest just as Lay turned around. With huge eyes, Luhan slowly looked up and saw Lay staring directly into his eyes. Their faces were so close to each other Luhan swore it was just like the other day when he had detention after school.

"I said t-that... canned food... isn't healthy for you..." Luhan whispered with difficulty as he was nervous, his breath tickling Lay's lips for a moment. Lay laughed it off and continued walking.

"It's alright. As long as you're with me, I will always be healthy."

What? Always be healthy? As long as Luhan was with him? What kind of joke was that? Luhan didn't find it funny. He found it... shocking. Did Lay even know what he was talking about?

Little did he know that Lay was already planning his birthday celebration in his mind.

---

"Is there something on my face?"

Luhan's eyebrows were knitted together when Lay 's eyes didn't leave his face after thirty seconds. Which, by the way, was a long time to Luhan. The both of them had decided to grab some food before they left the shopping centre,a nd Luhan ended up in a seat facing Lay.

Lay blinked a few times before reaching his fingers towards the side of Luhan's lips, brushing the grain of rice away from his pretty face.

Luhan swallowed. Oh, why did that grain of rice just had to stick to the side of his mouth? His cheeks turned hot and he immediately looked down at his food.

"You're so cute when you eat." Lay laughed, which brought a sweet sound to Luhan's hear. Luhan played around with his fingers.

When he looked at Lay, Lay was still smiling, and his dimples made Luhan fell for him harder.

--- 

The bus ride home was silent. There was an old man sitting in the front and a lady standing. Apart from them as well as the bus driver, there were only Lay and Luhan. Enjoying the moment sitting beside Lay, Luhan closed his eyes.

Lay's headphones were on as he stared out of the window. The scenery was definitely appealing, and the moon shone brightly in the night sky. Trees seemed like they were flying past as the bus propelled forward. A small nudge forced Lay to shift his focus.

"I'm alighting at the next stop. See you in school tomorrow." Luhan flashed a smile with happiness clouded in his eyes. Lay dreamily glanced at Luhan's eyes more a moment, wondering how perfect it would be if time stopped.

"Oh. Sure. Bye." Lay waved as Luhan proceeded to the exit when the bus stopped.

Once again, Lay's heart sank as the bus ride went on, travelling alone.