The bell rung ear-splittingly loud as the gates of the school closed shut. Chanyeol sandwiched himself between the hundreds of students jammed in the hallway, alternating his stares from the piece of paper between his fingers and the lockers hanging against the walls. He heaved a sigh of relief once his eyes landed on the black locker with his code on it. He zipped open his bag, emitting a small, silver lock and entered his combination before hanging it on the handle.

After stuffing his newly given book and leather bag inside, Chanyeol locked his locker and was ready to leave, but the mass of screaming and squeaking girls filling the hallway prevented him. The girls seemed to be rushing to the main door, and Chanyeol felt the urge to take a look at what they were running for. He didn’t need to move from his place because the screaming mass was walking towards him, or specifically, towards the end of the hallway he stood in.

His eyes landed on a couple of guys walking down before they widened. There he was, his neighbour with the noteworthy, striking red hair and dazzling stoic features. He was followed by an even taller blond guy with a cold façade, they walked amidst the flood of girls with such a ‘Bad-’ attitude, that even Chanyeol couldn’t look away.

He was awed by their handsomeness, and up close, as they walked right in front of him, Chanyeol couldn’t help but admire their wax like skin and frosty white complexion. Before they turn to the corner to leave to their classes, the red haired one spared a glance at Chanyeol for just one second, and it was enough for Chanyeol to realize something was off about them. The boy’s eyes flashed some sort of golden hue before he looked away, disappearing around the corner and leaving Chanyeol staring behind him in confusion.

“Football team…” A voice sounded from behind him, cutting his trail of thoughts. Chanyeol turned and was faced with a cute looking, honey-blond headed boy, with a 12 year old face.

“Come again?” He raised a brow at the latter.

“The boys you were practically drooling on just now…” He paused to chuckle at Chanyeol’s reddening face. “… They’re juniors. From the football team.”

“I’m not gay, okay?!” Chanyeol defended, then felt extremely stupid for saying that once the latter started chuckling again.

“I don’t blame you man, everyone around here can’t get their eyes off of Taekwon hyung, his hair is awesome!” He gave a wide, toothy smile and Chanyeol felt a rush of familiarity and warmth upon seeing it.

“The red haired one is the Captain of our school’s football team, his name’s Jung Taekwon, but people prefer to call him Leo around here. The other, blond one, His name’s Kris Wu, Chinese, arrogant, and the Vice Captain. I’d stay away from them if I were you, especially Kris, he’s kind of a bully when he’s irritated, which is all the time!” He explained.

“Right…” He looked away, his eyes wandering around the now nearly deserted hallway.

“Freshman?” The boy asked again, and Chanyeol turned to him, nodding slowly.

“Cool! So we’ll be in the same class, since we’re locker neighbours! That’s kind of how it works here…” The latter smiled again and Chanyeol just stared back at him, an awkward smile forming on his lips slowly.

“Okay, uh…” Chanyeol didn’t know what to call him, he hoped the boy would catch the hint. Thankfully, he did.

“Oh, forgot to introduce myself! I’m Han Sanghyuk, or Hyuk to make it simple!” He extended a hand and Chanyeol took it, mirroring Hyuk’s smile with his own.

“Park Chanyeol, or Chanyeol to make it simple!” He copied.

“Smart .” Hyuk chuckled and led him to class.

Chanyeol had to introduce himself to the class, feeling a little proud when a few girls giggled and eyed him, he could hear a few girls in the front row talking about how handsome he looked at it kind of gave him a boost in confidence.

He sat next to Hyuk the whole time, and the boy let him sit along with his group at lunch. Chanyeol was introduced to Hyuk’s best friend, Lee Jaehwan, or Ken as they now called him, and his other two best friends who were juniors, Lee Hongbin, and Kim Wonshik, or Ravi.

Chanyeol was also happy to learn that Hongbin was his neighbour. He lived with his older cousin, Leo, in the house opposite to theirs. Both their parents live abroad and had sent them to Korea to be raised properly in a Korean environment. Chanyeol was a bit sceptical about that part, because as far as he’s heard Hongbin talk, the boy when it came to English.

It was easier than he imagined, high school, making friends, but he was always focused on not letting anything slip or revealed about his powers or identity. And fortunately for him, the whole first week passed smoothly with no trouble and a lot of girls showing interest in him. Chanyeol was a bit confident that nothing could go bad with this school year.

That was of course, until on the third week, when a new student arrived to class.

Kim Joonmyun.

He had the fairest of complexions, reminding Chanyeol of Leo, Hongbin’s cousin. He had that glint in his eyes, and that aura around him, from the way he dressed and the way he introduced himself to the class with his hands in his pockets, and the branded, leather bag over his shoulders, he seemed like a snuck up rich kid in Chanyeol’s eyes.

“Wow! Even the way he walks screams ‘Rich’!” He heard the guy on his side, Kibum, say to one of his friends. Chanyeol had to roll his eyes in irritation.

To his luck, Joonmyun chose the desk right in front of him. His blazer was crisp and squeaky clean, he sat with perfect posture and arranged his stuff in order on his desk. He never moved his eyes away from the teacher, not until the bell rang, and Chanyeol was surprised when Joonmyun turned to him with a smile.

“Hi!”

Chanyeol eyed him in confusion, usually a person would talk to the other sitting next to him, not behind him.

“Hi…” Chanyeol nodded slowly.

“I’m Joonmyun!” Joonmyun’s smile widened a bit, and Chanyeol couldn’t help but swallow a lump in his throat. The guy looked perfect in every way, his face was warm and sweet, yet he didn’t look like a naive nerd. Joonmyun’s hair was styled into a quiff, a bit similar to his but his was a bit messier, not a single hair escaped its place when it came to Joonmyun’s.

“I know.” Chanyeol commented and tried to look away, but Joonmyun spoke before he did.

“What’s your name?” Chanyeol hesitated a little before answering.

“Chanyeol…”

“Okay.” Joonmyun said before turning to sit straight, seemingly noticing that the teacher already entered the class for their next lesson.

Chanyeol stared at his back for most of his classes, until lunch time came, and the boy couldn’t feel any more relieved than he was when he and Hyuk walked to the lockers.

They were talking about some girls when Chanyeol’s wide smile turned into a straight, thin line. Apparently, Joonmyun was his other locker neighbour, and he halted in his steps when he noticed him putting his things in the locker next to his.

Hyuk stopped as well, turning to look at him with a raised brow.

“Chan?” Hyuk called and the boy looked back at him.

“Aren’t you coming?”

“Oh, uhhh, how about you go without me, I remembered I had something to do so…” He smiled awkwardly and turned to walk to the cafeteria.

Chanyeol grabbed his lunch and went to the back stairs, sitting at the third step with his back leaning on the wall and munching on a chicken sandwich while sipping some chocolate milk, weird combination, but Chanyeol liked it that way.

The sound of steps made him turn, only to see Joonmyun staring back at him with a calm expression. Really?

“Oh, sorry… I didn’t know someone would be sitting here.” Joonmyun apologized but sat on the first step nevertheless, making Chanyeol stare at him in confusion.

“So, are you new to this school too?” Joonmyun said as he picked his chicken sandwich and took a generous bite.

“Yeah, moved here a few weeks back…” He answered and took a bite himself.

“Oh, so you started the year here!” Joonmyun gave him another warm smile, and Chanyeol just nodded, not sure what else to do.

“You like it here so far?” He then asked, picking his orange juice and taking a sip.

“It’s cool, better than my old school so…” He shrugged.

“Well, this school is definitely better than my older one, I used to hate it there!” Joonmyun pressed on the word ‘hated’ a little, perking Chanyeol’s interest.

“Yeah? Why?”

“I was a bit different and all. It’s a boarding school in Gangnam, so you could imagine the snobby rich guys bullying the weird kid all the time!”

“You? Bullied? I thought you were rich yourself.”

Joonnmyun chuckled at Chanyeol’s indirect confession of regarding him as the rest of the rich community.

“I am, as rich as they are if not even more, but…” He paused to draw some air and let it out as a heavy sigh. “It’s hard being different in such a society Chanyeol.”

Chanyeol? Addressing him so casually already? And why was Joonmyun acting like that? He looked no different than any of the other rich people he saw. Even the way he ate his sandwich, with the napkin spread perfectly on his lap screamed ‘spoiled brat’ to Chanyeol.

“Unbelievable, huh?” Joonmyun gave a knowing look at him and the boy had to chuckle.

“A bit, I’m sorry.” Chanyeol confessed and the boy shook his head in amusement.

“Would you believe me if I tell you I came here because I was expelled?” Chanyeol’s eyes widened.

“For what?”

“Flooding the gym, and my class, and my dorm room…” The boy chuckled and Chanyeol stared at him in disbelief.

“Why would you do that?” Chanyeol’s lips were tugging into an amused smile. Joonmyun laughed to himself before shaking his head at the boy.

“The question is how, Chanyeol…”

“Then how?” Chanyeol smiled in interest.

“I’m not sure myself, kind of an accident.” He smiled and they felt the need to stop talking suddenly. Chanyeol examined Joonmyun’s features and felt a tug in his heart, not the uncomfortable kind, but the ‘I think I know you, you seem familiar’ kind.

“By the way…” Joonmyun broke the thick silence, smiling as his eyes fell for a second to his shoes then back to Chanyeol. “Call me Suho, Joonmyun’s just too boring for me.”

With that, he grabbed his stuff and walked away, leaving Chanyeol staring behind him for a little while.

After saying his goodbyes to Hyuk, Chanyeol walked to his house alone, like he does every day. He wasn’t yet comfortable about the idea of walking with Hongbin and Leo, so he was satisfied with the 10 minute walk on his own.

Upon reaching a significantly empty street, Chanyeol’s ears perked on the sound of a shuffling of feet right behind him, even when turning to a corner, he could still hear it. His eyes turned red out of instinct, and he felt his body getting warmer. Lots of thoughts ran through his mind, thoughts of which reminded him how his father taught him to deal with danger without using his powers.

All his plans involved kicking danger where it would hurt the most, then taking advantage of his long legs for running away. Cowardly, but works on keeping his identity a secret.

Chanyeol rounded another corner and felt a jolt of fear run through his chest when the steps came closer. Swallowing a lump in his throat, he took a deep breath and turned around suddenly, only to be met by a shocked Joonmyun.

“Suho?” Chanyeol raised a brow at the said boy in confusion.

“H-hi!” Suho lifted his hand awkwardly then rubbed his nape in a sheepish manner.

“Are you following me?!” Chanyeol balled his fists, Suho seemed nice, but he wasn’t comfortable around him still.

“No! I… I’m not sure, honestly.” Suho took a step back.

“What are you not sure about exactly?” Chanyeol then marched forward, anger apparent on his face.

“Why your eyes are red…” Silence seeped in, thick and shocking. Chanyeol wanted to run, to get hit by a car or something. How stupid was he to reveal something like that? What was he thinking? Oh, here’s the answer, he wasn’t!

“You’re an