Chapter 3

“You’re ditching me?!” Sehun exclaimed at lunch. “Why?!”

Zitao shrugged nonchalantly. “I have something I need to do.”

“You’re being really shady, hyung.” Sehun pointed at him with a spoon and narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “It’s a girl isn’t it?”

Zitao laughed out loud. “A girl? Really? That’s what you think?” he rolled his eyes and stuffed a forkful of salad into his mouth. “You’re really bad at guessing, Sehuna.”

“Don’t talk with your mouth full.” Sehun said curtly. “And tell me what the hell is going on.”

Zitao swallowed. “What do you want me to do? Not talk with my mouth full, or tell you what’s going on?”

“Shut up.” Sehun grumbled. “Just tell me.”

“Nope.” Zitao shook his head. “My lips are sealed.” He pretended to zip his lips and lock them and then ‘ate’ the key along with a bite of his muffin.

Sehun sighed. “You’re so mean… You won’t even tell your best friend why you’re ditching him.”

“I already said!” Zitao insisted. “I have something I need to do! I just won’t be going to my house right away.”

It’s not like it was a complete lie. He wasn’t going home right away. He wouldn’t straight up lie to his best friend. The only thing Zitao isn’t willing to tell Sehun is about Jongdae. Because who knows what Sehun would think about it. He’d probably get jealous. Or be rude about it.

Sehun threw a grape at Zitao, not really intending for it to land in Zitao’s mouth, rather than just his face or something. But Zitao’s quick reaction time made it end up that way. Zitao grinned at his friend’s lame attempt at hostility.

“Fine.” Sehun said, crossing his arms. “I don’t care. I’ll get Jongin to walk with me or something.”

“I promise I’ll walk with you tomorrow.” Zitao replied.

“There’s no school tomorrow!” Sehun exclaimed in exasperation.

“Oh. Right.” Zitao scratched his head. “I’ll make it up to you sometime.”

“Let me come over and play with your puppy.” Sehun replied. “Tomorrow morning.”

“Why my dog?” Zitao mumbled. “Is that all you really care about in this friendship? My dog?”

“Or we can play video games…” Sehun added slowly.

Zitao wondered how long Jongdae would be staying over. Would it just be a few hours, or the whole night? If it was the latter, that would be a problem. But…he couldn’t deny Sehun again. And he probably couldn’t hide the secret much longer with Sehun’s curiosity, so it really wouldn’t matter, and all he would really have to do is explain to Sehun why there was a strange person who was visually impaired in his house. That wasn’t really that bad.

“Fine.” He agreed reluctantly. “But call or message me before you come. Don’t just barge in like a burglar.”

Sehun rolled his eyes but said nothing. He just continued to eat his lunch, muttering to himself. Zitao wondered exactly how sane his best friend was sometimes. Talking to himself like an idiot. Who does that anymore? Zitao sighed at himself and ate his own lunch, trying to focus his mind on Jongdae to make school faster.

After school finally ended, Zitao put his stuff away and went immediately down to the practice rooms to meet up with Jongdae. He subtly made sure no one was following him, because he was sure Sehun would do that if he was smart enough, and open the door to the room he had been in this morning. He looked around outside and closed the door. Jongdae wasn’t there yet.

Zitao sighed slightly and sat down on a stool in the middle of the room and, after realizing it could move, spun around in it like a little kid. God, how old was he? Five? Well…mentally probably. And no that didn’t mean he was mentally disabled, either. Everyone is mentally younger than they actually are at some point. Or maybe not.

Finally, Zitao heard the door open. He looked up quickly to see Jongdae carefully walking inside the room. Zitao rose to his feet silently to see if Jongdae would react like he did that morning. But Jongdae looked hesitant, as if he was unsure of whether Zitao was in the room or not.

“Z-Zitao…?” he called softly, probably not expecting a response.

“I’m here.” Zitao responded, walking towards Jongdae slowly.

A grin appeared on his once confused looking face. “You actually came!”

Zitao smiled and messed up Jongdae’s hair to let the shorter know he was nearby. Jongdae hugged Zitao on instinct, causing Zitao to chuckle and accept the hug, not even bothering to comment on Jongdae’s clinginess. Somehow, even if it had only been one and a half days, Zitao was used to Jongdae hugging him already. Which…actually sounded weird now that Zitao thought about it.

Zitao pulled away. “Are you sure your parents will let you do this?”

Jongdae shrugged. “I’m sure they won’t even notice.”

Zitao sighed, but put his hand on Jongdae’s shoulder to turn him around. “Okay. Well then let’s go, I guess.”

Jongdae nodded and grabbed Zitao’s arm. “Is…it alright if I do this? I don’t want to get lost…”

Zitao was taken aback at first, but nodded. “Sure. I wouldn’t want you getting lost either.”

Jongdae smiled. “Thanks.”

The two set off to Zitao’s house slowly. Jongdae had his walking stick that he was waving around at the same time as gripping Zitao’s arm. It was quiet at first, besides the soft sound of Jongdae’s walking stick knocking against the ground and anything in its way. But Zitao didn’t mind the silence.

“So you live alone?” Jongdae suddenly asked.

“Well besides my dog, Candy, yeah.” Zitao replied.

Jongdae laughed, “You have a dog named Candy? I may not be able to see, but I’m pretty sure dogs don't look remotely like candy.”

“Of course not.” Zitao agreed. “I just named her Candy because she was so small and...yeah...”

Jongdae nodded in understanding. “Ah. How old is she?”

“She’s really small.” Zitao responded. “Only a few months old. I’ve only had her for a month, but she’s already like my child.”

“Lucky.” Jongdae said. “I wish I had a pet. I’ve never felt any animal before…”

Zitao looked at Jongdae and smiled slightly. “Well today will be the first time you’ll get to hold a fluffy dog.”

Jongdae looked up, trying to find Zitao’s face without being able to see it. “I—I can hold it?”

Zitao laughed and tilted Jongdae’s head down slightly with his hand to have a steady gaze with Jongdae’s deep, dark eyes. “Of course. She won’t mind. She loves people.”

Jongdae beamed brightly. “Thank you, Zitao-ah!”

“Any time, hyung.” Zitao replied.

Jongdae sighed. “You’re the nicest person I’ve met in a long time…”

“Really?” Zitao said. He laughed. “You should tell my friend that. He’s constantly saying I’m mean.”

Jongdae blinked. “You don’t seem very mean to me…”

“I don’t seem very mean to myself either.” Zitao joked.

Zitao stopped in front of his house and made sure Jongdae didn’t walk ahead of him. “It’s here.”

Jongdae stopped too and nodded. “Okay. Is the pathway to your house narrow?”

Zitao thought for a second. “Uh…yeah. A bit. Why?”

Jongdae bit his lip. “I-if you don’t mind…I think it would be easier to guide me if I…held your hand. Because…It’s hard to move side by side on a narrow walkway…”

Zitao opened his mouth to reply, but Jongdae’s hand slid down his arm to find his hand and hold it loosely. Zitao blinked in surprise, but let it happen and led Jongdae up his walk way, trying to ignore his thoughts and sudden rapid heartbeat. He used his free hand to unlock and open the door and let go of Jongdae’s hand, gently pushing him inside his house.

“Careful.” Zitao said. “We wouldn’t want you to trip over Candy-ah or anything.”

Jongdae stuck close to Zitao, touching him for support whenever he could. Zitao lead him towards the couch and sat him down. Jongdae touched and felt the couch to understand what it was he was sitting on exactly. Zitao figured that was how Jongdae visualized things.

“Wait here while I go find Candy-ah.” Zitao said.

Jongdae nodded and sat, looking at nothing. Zitao thought how sad it must be to just see a dark void of blackness as he walked into his room. Yet Jongdae acted like a normal person. He took his disability so lightly as if it didn’t even matter. And maybe it didn’t. Maybe Jongdae found something else more important than seeing.

“Candy-ah~” Zitao called. “Come out, girl. You have a visitor.”

A white ball of fluff pounced from under Zitao’s bed. Zitao laughed and crouched down to meet the puppy's jumping. He picked up the puppy and petted her as he walked out to give it to Jongdae, muttering the usual things you’d say to an adorable little puppy.

Zitao sat next to Jongdae on the couch and put the puppy in his lap, holding her with on hand to make sure she didn’t run off. He put his hand on Jongdae’s shoulder to say he was back and next to him, and Jongdae looked over.

“Hold out your hands, hyung.” Zitao said.

“What…?” Jongdae seemed confused.

“Don’t worry. She won’t hurt you.” Zitao insisted. “Just hold out your hands. And I’ll let you pet her.”

“Oh.” Jongdae held his hands out obediently, shielding his nervousness and excitement.

Zitao put the dog in Jongdae’s hands and tweaked his position so the dog wouldn’t get uncomfortable and waited to see Jongdae’s reaction to Candy. Jongdae’s hand moved around Candy gracefully, carefully feeling and petting her fur, somehow knowing she was fragile.

“She’s so soft…” Jongdae mumbled. “And tiny.”

Zitao smiled. “I think she likes you.” He reached over to scratch Candy's head. “The only other person she’s met is my best friend.”

“Who’s your best friend?” Jongdae asked curiously, finding Candy's back and petting it slowly.

“His name is Sehun.” Zitao responded. “Annoying kid. Pretty nosey. But I can’t hate him, since he’s my friend and he supports me.”

Jongdae nodded in understanding. “I see…”

“S-sorry…” Zitao said quickly. “Did that make you…uh…” he trailed off.

“Jealous?” Jongdae offered. He laughed. “No. Not at all. I would say I want to meet him. But I can’t really see him…and all I’ll be ‘meeting’ is his voice.”

Zitao thought for a minute. “Say…hyung. Since you can’t see me…or anything. You have to try to visualize it just by knowing what it is…right?”

“Yeah. Pretty much.” Jongdae nodded in agreement. “Why?”

“Out of curiosity…how do you visualize…me?”

“You?” Jongdae tilted his head. “Hmm…well I know you’re tall. And you’re Chinese…but that’s really it. So I can’t judge.”

“And…how do you visualize yourself as?”

“I…remember I got my hair dyed once with the help of my brother, aka the only person in my family who cares.” Jongdae said. “So my hair isn’t fully brown anymore. I’m short…I don’t know. Tell me what you see and think of me.”

Zitao blinked in surprise. “W-what?”

“Tell me what you think of me.” Jongdae repeated. “Is it really that tough of a question? I mean—you can see me.

“Uh…” Zitao bit his lips slightly glad Jongdae couldn’t see the blush that was growing on his face. “Well…y-you’re nice. Respectful and honest… You have a really…really nice smile. Of course, you’ve got a beautiful voice…”

“Is that it?” Jongdae sounded a little hurt.

“N-no. No…” Zitao stammered. “I like your eyes. Even if they’re distant and glazed. I-it adds to the charm of them. And your jawline is really high and…nice…” He stopped abruptly and awkwardly took Candy from Jongdae’s arms for support. “I—I’m sorry. I sound stupid.”

Jongdae reached towards Zitao. “No…I want to hear more…Compliments…they sound better when they’re said in your voice…”

Zitao froze. Jongdae’s hand had found Zitao’s somehow. This was too much. And why was his heart beating so fast again? His grip on Candy tightened and he felt her squirm, then yelp and scratch his hand to get free. Jongdae heard the dog and quickly moved, wanting to help Zitao somehow.  Candy had found her way back onto Jongdae and was now trying to hide from her own owner. Zitao awkwardly apologized and quickly got up from the couch and ran into the bathroom, closing the door behind him, trying to get rid of both his feelings and his injury. He sighed and looked from his hand to his reflection in the mirror. 

Word Count: 2108

A/N: Ayy I finished this chapter before I had to go to bedd. Also I made a crappy poster. AYY. I sound like Fonzi from Happy Days now lol. AYY. Okay I'm done.

Anyways. This chapter...I guess was a 'bonding' chapter. And pretty much Zitao's slowly awakening feelings. Lol. I hope I can make this story short. But we'll see how it goes.

I hope you enjoyed reading this, and I really appreciate every single comment and subscriber I get. I also appreciate being told I'm one of the best taochen writers.. ^//^ Thanks for reading everyone! I'll try and get the next chapter done ASAP. ^^

EDIT: Changing all mentions of Tao's petcat Panda into Candy, seeing as he actually has a pet now.