Luhan toyed with his pen as he stared at the piece of assignment in front of him. His heart was heavy, and his mind was filled with thoughts. A ray of sunlight rested gently on Luhan's arm. The boy turned his head and looked out of the window and gazed at the sky. There were some clouds hanging up at the blue sky, and some looked like cotton candy.

He diverted his attention back to his assignment. Spinning his pen, Luhan's mind was really messed up.

See, when Luhan went home the other day, he realised that there were nine petals resting on his table. He couldn't believe his eyes, but that was what stood before him. A pot of rose on the table, of course, with nine of its petals unattached. Was that madness? Or was it just him?

Not only that, Luhan had been having an increasing number of times he had headaches. He drowned pills occasionally and yes, it worked but Luhan really hated them.

A hand formed shape in front of him as a snap of fingers filled his ears. Luhan blinked a few times and sat up straighter.

'A penny for your thoughts?' Lay smiled.

'More than that.' Luhan joked and laughed. Lay chuckled and shook his head. He realised that Luhan looked more tired than usual recently. He wondered if the cause was Luhan's father.

'Hey, you alright? You know, lesson just ended and you were still staring at your assignment while the whole class just rushed out like a swarm of bees.'

'Oh nothing. Just some headaches now and then.' Luhan laughed it off and checked his phone. There was a message from Chen.

'I'm on shift today. See you in school tomorrow!'

Luhan quickly keyed in a message.

'Mind if you grab lunch with me?'

'I don't mind.' Luhan smiled. Anything to be with Lay.

---

Chewing used to be the easiest thing on the planet for Luhan. It was just simply the grinding of food using the teeth and movements of the jaw. However, he had body ache all over. He felt uncomfortable, as if he was being pulled everywhere and his muscles were screaming. Even walking drained his energy.

Luhan decided to push his food away. Surprisingly, he was already full. 

'Hey. Anything wrong?' Lay's eyebrows were knitted together and he did not like the expression on Luhan's face. Luhan was folding his arms, while resting his head on them. He closed his eyes, his eyelashes resting on his cheeks.

'No. Just tired.'

Lay didn't buy it. Luhan usually ate a lot more than this, and he usually looked more lively than this. Surely, something wasn't right, was it? He stretched out his hand and placed it on Luhan's forehead. It felt hot. No way, Luhan was having fever. A very high one.

'What on earth?! You're having high fever. I'm bringing you home to rest.' Seeing Luhan open his mouth to protest, Lay cut him off.

'No. I'm bringing you home. Let's go.'

---

With one arm around Lay's neck, Luhan walked slowly towards his apartment. He was having a headache, and the body ache wasn't helping him at all. He glanced at the shoe rack positioned beside his door. His father wasn't at home. Probably out to gamble again.

Fishing out his keys, Luhan opened the door.

There was nothing special about his house. The walls were painted white and the living room was pretty empty except for a small television and a chair. Some advertisements and newspapers were seen lying on the ground. However, apart from those, there was really nothing special about the house. It didn't make Lay feel cozy or welcomed either, if Lay were to be honest.

However, what made Lay felt like it was a real home was Luhan's room. 

Similar to the living room, Luhan's room was painted white. As Luhan opened the window, sunlight raced into the room, which made the room look brighter. There was a queen-sized bed, and opposite the bed was a wall filled with words, stickers, and mostly pictures.

Luhan proceeded to lie down on his bed as Lay walked over to the study table. His study table was neat. Besides a pot of rose, there were two jars. One was filled with money, and the other one was filled with pieces of folded paper. Lay tucked his hands into his pockets.

'Nice pot of rose you have there.'

Luhan, whose eyes were initially closed, immediately opened. He blushed and bit his lip. 'Thanks.'

Lay dropped his bag on the floor next to the study table. 'I'll go to the kitchen and get some stuff.' 

Luhan nodded and closed his eyes. Lying on the bed was so much better. He switched on the fan and smiled satisfactory. He really was grateful that Lay was sacrificing his afternoon just to take care of him. However, beneath that gratefulness was a sense of guilt.

Meanwhile in the kitchen, Lay found a small towel and wet it with tap water. After squeezing it dry, he ransacked the cupboards and found some leftover medication for fever. Lay smiled as he poured a glass of water and went back to Luhan's room.

'Eat this.' Lay handed the medicine to Luhan. However, Luhan shook his head.

'I don't want to. I hate them.'

All Luhan got was a flick on the forehead and a stern-looking Lay. He pouted at Lay with a pleading look but it was to no avail. Only did Lay smile after Luhan drowned the pill while squinting his eyes.

Lay folded the towel and placed it on Luhan's forehead as Luhan started to lie down.

'Will you be going home after I fall asleep?' Luhan blinked innocently at Lay and Lay's heart did a somersault.

'No. I'm staying here with you.'

Lay flashed a smile and Luhan, in which Luhan returned.

---

Bored. Lay was so bored. He walked around the room, explored the house, and even looked at every single picture on Luhan's wall. There were pictures of his late mother, himself when he was younger, and some photos with his father.

He even scrolled through social media with his phone. However, he was still bored. What caught his eyes was the pot of rose. Lay was captivated by it and just as he reached out his fingers to touch the petals, he heard Luhan mumble something.

Lay rushed to the bed and placed his ear near Luhan.

'Lay... I'm cold...'

Lay blinked. Luhan was already covered with the blanket. Biting his lips, he climbed onto the bed from the other side. He knew that he wasn't supposed to be doing that, and it was inappropriate. However, Lay could care less.He pulled Luhan into his embrace. Luhan snuggled comfortable and rested his head on Lay's chest. It was the first time Lay was actually cuddling with someone and he was on top of the world.

'Lay... I actually like you... a lot...' 

Having heard that, Lay smiled and dug his face into Luhan's hair.

'I know... I actually like you a lot, too...' 

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

A message from the author: 

Okay to be honest, I haven't been putting my best for this story I have been busy, and my life is currently messed up. I really apologise for this and I'm filled with regret but I promise to give my best from now onwards. I have a new plot for another story in my mind. Would you guys support me? :)