If nerves could speak, Minseok's nerves would be screaming. The judge's final decision would be announced in an hour, and there Sehun was eating a chocolate croissant. I'm gonna kill this kid.

"How can you eat at a time like this?!" Minseok decided to let his nerves say what they felt like saying, sadly Sehun was the one they were unleashed upon. "Seriously, is there ever a time you don't eat? I need my best friend right now, this is a life changing experience for me, and my best friend is eating a chocolate croissant instead of holding my hand! Why don't you just live in the hotel kitchen that way at least YOU'LL be satisfied!"

*cough*

Ohmyinggod.

Minseok may have just quite accidentally let out frustration that was building up from waiting for the announcement of the winning artist on Sehun, and he was pretty sure at least 50 of the 100 contestants heard him do it.

Just then, Sehun walked away from Minseok and through the crowd of staring people. What have I done? But before Minseok had the chance to panic, he once again saw his sometimes childish yet hilarious and food-affiliated best friend making his way back over, this time without the chocolate croissant.

And just like that, Sehun intertwined his fingers with Minseok's, leaving a smile on the face of the older.

"Sehun, I didn't mean.."

"I know you didn't. I get it. I'm sorry."

Across the room, a certain Bambi looking boy glared at the two. 

Waiting for the final decision was torture, as much as Minseok tried to convince himself that an hour would be here before he knew it, and he would either walk away with $1,000 and an oppurtunity of a lifetime (for an artist), or he would go home and probably cry and eat ice cream at Sehun's. Either way, the results of the contest would be here before he knew it. Minseok didn't think about the quality of his work compared to the other contestant's, and simply tried his best to distract himself...by any means.

"Sehun, where's your friend you wanted me to meet?"

"Oh right! Uhh.." Sehun replied, standing on his tippy toes to glance across the hotel lobby, before finding his target. "He's over there by the fountain. I'm telling you hyung, his art is amazing. If there was a second place, I would want him to take that title."

Minseok noted how Sehun's expression changed when talking about the boy, he became quite flustered and he spoke of the boy as if he was the most intelligent and attractive person in the world.

"So what are you waiting for? Bring him over!" Minseok said, giggling slightly and pushing a hesitant Sehun who sighed and went into the crowd to find his new friend.

"So are you two an item?" a voice appeared next to Minseok, who was relieved to see Luhan. The boy was like a nerve remedy, and was able to talk to you and get your mind off of anything. Minseok enjoyed his presence.

"Oh, no. Sehun's been my best friend since we were kids. He's like a brother." Minseok explained. Luhan's face seemed to lighten up at the explanation, and he sipped the wine in his glass with a nod.

"I can't really hide my excitement, if we're being honest." Luhan said, taking another sip of his wine and looking straight into Minseok's eyes.

Minseok gulped and suddenly felt like he was placed in a microwave. But he just laughed as awkwardly as possible and prayed Oh Sehun would return to him soon.

"Hyung! I'd like you to meet Byun Baekhyun, he's the artist in the contest I was telling you about." Sehun said, gesturing to the shorter, dark haired boy. Baekhyun was tiny, around the same height as Minseok and his style was very alluring.

"Nice to meet you." Baekhyun smiled wide as he extended a friendly hand to Minseok, who kindly returned the hand shake.

"I saw your portfolio, and I really love the message you give in your drawings. Especially the one with the carousel. It almost reminds me of something my mother once said to me: 'The carousel never stops spinning. You can't get off.'"

Minseok nodded in fascination with Baekhyun's vast imagination, and truly wanted to laugh because the drawings he had in his portfolio didn't exactly have a message. More like a warning sign to let the judge know how bad his work was. But Minseok decided to accept the compliment.

"Thank you, your work is very authentic. I look forward to seeing what the judge has to say." Minseok replied heartily, before realizing Luhan was still standing there the whole time.

"Oh I'm sorry, this is Luhan. He's also in the contest, his art is very unique and definitely winning material." Minseok said, catching Luhan's attention who waved the compliments off with a small laugh.

"That's not true, I think many people have art that is winning material, but I don't know if I could say the same for myself."

"You'll see, I think you'll be surprised." Minseok said, trying his best to reassure his new friend.

The four boys stood together patiently as the judge silenced them to announce that the contest has now begun, and he would return with the winning announcement shortly.

Minseok could've peed himself had Luhan not caught the nerves building up inside him, and dismissing them by reaching out for Minseok's hand.

"For good luck."

Minseok blushed in return, but smiled anyways, knowing that whatever happened this experience is something he would treasure always.

Shortly after, Sehun told Minseok he was going over to look at some of the other artist's work with Baekhyun, and Minseok nodded in response. The only problem was that he couldn't stop his stomach from doing cartwheels as a certain boy who just happened to still be holding his hand spoke.

"Have you ever been to the Louvre?"

Puzzled, Minseok shook his head. He felt embarrassed, but he hadn't done much research on Paris before coming.

"We should go after this is over, if you'd like to accompany me."

"I'd like that." Minseok said, even though he was worried that the Louvre was a Parisian bar or strip club.

Returning to Minseok and Luhan was Sehun and Baekhyun. They smirked at eachother in unison upon noticing the intertwined fingers of the boys in front of them. Neither of them said anything about the matter however, because Minseok would've probably killed Sehun later if he had.

A few moments later, a shushing of the crowd drew the four boys' attention to the front of the lobby where the judge stood, microphone in hand.

"Thank you for being patient. I have the results to the contest, and I must say this year's contestants were the best I've seen in years. You should all be very proud of yourselves."

Luhan squeezed Minseok's hand gently, and had Minseok not looked up, he wouldn't have noticed the split second of fear in Luhan's eyes. He could tell how badly he wanted to win, and Minseok battled with himself over whether or not he wanted himself to win, especially after seeing Luhan's passion for art.

"The winner of this year's contest is..."

Minseok bit his lip as hard as he possibly could, and squeezed Luhan's hand unknowingly. This was it. This could be the determining factor in Minseok's future. Drawing was not only a passtime, it was his life. Even if it wasn't the most unique now, he would improve. Minseok told himself these encouraging words despite feeling like his stomach would fall out of his . He glanced over at Sehun, who was now holding Baekhyun's hand, and nodded at Minseok, which to him meant a sign of good luck. 'You're gonna need it' he could hear Sehun say now in his sarcastic Sehun-typical voice.

"Kim Kibum!" applause insued as a blonde male approached the judge, taking the check for $1,000 and being handed his portfolio, who Minseok didn't even remember looking at.

He couldn't help feeling defeated, and he could tell Luhan felt the same as his grip on Minseok's hand loosened.

"No way!" Minseok heard Sehun say from across the room, with a pouting Baekhyun standing idly by his side.

"Damn. You were cheated out, Minseok." Luhan said, now turning to face Minseok.

"Me? You should have won! Your art is better than anything I've ever seen!"

Luhan smiled at the boy, and let go of his hand to pull him into a strong hug unexpectedly.

"Don't give up, even if you lost. I'm not giving up either. If anything, this makes me want to work harder." Luhan said, still holding a speechless Minseok in his embrace.

Minseok said nothing, and took note of the fact that Luhan smelled like vanilla. He never realized how much he loved the scent of vanilla until now.

After releasing his hold on the smaller boy, Luhan once again placed his hand in Minseok's and more or less pulled him to the outside of the hotel. Minseok did his best to turn his head to motion for Sehun to call him later, but he wasn't sure if that message was recieved.

"It's a beautiful day. Did you still want to check out the Louvre with me?" Luhan asked, hair shining in the sunlight. Minseok couldn't even believe a boy as radiant and as magnificent as Luhan.

"Of course, I have the whole day to kill."

Luhan smiled in return, once again pulling Minseok across the busy streets of Paris, hand in hand.

"So to be clear, the Louvre isn't a strip club...right?"

END

A/n: Thanks for reading! n_n This story was very fun to write, I wrote it in less than 24 hours and I'm really happy with the way it turned out. I hope you're not too disappointed with the winner D: And I also hope you can picture your own sort of ending to Minseok and Sehun's time in Paris, and whether or not they keep in touch with the boys they met there. Who knows, maybe I'll write a part 2?

-Connor