Baekhyun jolted up in bed, gasping. He'd had that dream—nightmare, maybe, he couldn't be sure—again, and the only thing he remembered was the fading image of an unknown boy and the tease of a not-quite smile ghosting across enticingly pink lips. Flopping back into his pillow with an exasperated sigh, he rolled onto his side to catch a glimpse of morning light as it peeked through his curtain window. It was too early for human beings to be awake—it just wasn't right, in Baekhyun's opinion—but his alarm clock, which read 7:25 am, proved him wrong because he should have been up 15 minutes prior.

With a groan, Baekhyun threw a slim arm over his eyes to shield himself from the sun's glare, from the day to come, and from responsibility in general. At first, Baekhyun just didn't have it in him to go to class that day; but it was too close to the drop deadline, and then he thought of the owl-eyed disappointment he'd find on his TA's waiting face, and finally managed a graceless roll out of bed. He went through the usual morning routine—albeit a little faster than normal—but took a few extra seconds he didn't really have to pause wonderingly in front of the mirror. Baekhyun pulled his lips taut to form what was supposed to be a smile—it was early and he could only grimace, okay—and unconsciously found himself wondering who's grin it was that haunted his dreams. That interlude was only brief, though, because it was then 20 minutes short of 8 am and Baekhyun still hadn't eaten.

Stumbling into class exactly 22 minutes later, Baekhyun found himself trying to quiet his heavy breathing so as not to alert everyone and their mother that he was late for lecture. For any other class, two minutes wouldn't matter, but the Psych 101 professor had a habit of taking tardiness personally and then personally disciplining those students who came late. Today, though, Baekhyun was working so hard at being inconspicuous that he at first didn't realize his class had yet to even begin. He sank gratefully in his seat, bowed his head apologetically to the glare from TA Kyungsoo, and turned to greet a welcoming Sehun.

"You're late," Sehun said, smugly tapping his watch and raising an eyebrow at Baekhyun.

"Your point?" Baekhyun questioned his friend, raising his own eyebrows and glaring in response. Sehun just shrugged, so Baekhyun continued. "Class didn't start yet anyway, so I think I'm safe from Prof Huang's wrath." He glanced around the room and his gaze caught that of a still-annoyed TA. "For today at least," Baekhyhn gulped.

Sehun followed his friend's gaze and shivered. "Kyungsoo can be nice when he wants, but most of the time he's just terrifying. I don't know how Kris-hyung puts up with it. Must be the lips." He turned his face back toward Baekhyun and patted his shoulder comfortingly, as if Sehun hadn't just produced unwanted images of his TA's life in Baekhyun's brain. "Just count yourself lucky that you don't have a boyfriend who calls Kyungsoo his best friend; when you put Junmyeon and our TA together, they're an absolute nightmare."

Sehun was complaining about Junmyeon again, but Baekhyun knew his friend loved his boyfriend despite the blustering, so Baekhyun jokingly reminded him of that. "And anyway," Baekhyun added, "I'm not sure I'd mind putting up with our mildly scary TA if it meant I had a boyfriend of my own."

Sehun shook his head. "You say that now," he countered in disagreement, "but just you wait."

Baekhyun thought his friend was going to continue, but then Professor Huang Zitao walked into the room and all thoughts over conversation died instantly—the guy was just that intimidating.

Baekhyun's professor didn't mention his tardiness, nor did he apologize for holding his students to a hired standard than his own. Instead, he removed his jacket, rolled up his sleeves, and started speaking.

"Dreams," Tao said firmly, causing Baekhyhun to wonder if his professor could hear his thoughts about the smile from earlier. "What do they mean? Do they even have meaning at all? Why do some people dream and some people don't? Why are dreams so hard to remember?"

At this point, Baekhyun was practically gaping, but at the professor's next words, his mouth snapped shut faster than Sehun could say Junmyeon. "Okay people," Tao challenged, "you've been in my class for a month now, so you tell me."

A quiet girl in the first row raised her hand tentatively, but Tao overlooked her to call on Sehun as the latter was mid-yawn. "Um," Sehun thought out loud, messing with his newly dyed blonde bangs as he did so. "Well, I think I heard once that you only dream about people and places you've seen before." He paused. "Like, your dreams recap your day in a relaxing way, kind of, but only using a scenery and cast of characters that you're familiar with."

Sehun glanced at Baekhyun and mouthed "Right?", shoving his friend when the latter only shrugged noncommittally. Payback, baby.

Professor Huang had something to say about Sehun's answer though. "False," was the bored response from the professor. "It is widely held that dreams replay a person's day, but the human mind is a fascinating playground. Yes, you won't usually see anything unknown, but your mind also has a tendency to combine faces to create entirely new ones. Keeps things interesting," Tao said with a smile that disappeared as soon as he looked at Baekhyun. "Try again," he said forcefully, leaving no room for argument or excuse.

Baekhyun had to pinch himself to keep from squeaking in fear—there was a reason his last boyfriend, Jongin, liked to call him "little mouse"—and began racking his brain for something to say. "Do dreams have meaning?" he repeated Tao's earlier words slowly. "I think they do. At least, if you think your dream means something, then who am I to tell you that it doesn't?"

"I believe you're in the wrong major, Mr. Byun," Tao commented drily. "It seems like the brown nosing of politics would be more your style." The class tittered nervously, glad that they weren't the current victim, but dreading when their time inevitably came.

Baekhyun should have stopped there, should have let his sense of self-preservation keep him out of harms way. But he didn't. He couldn't. He had to say something else. "But what about prophetic dreams?" he asked his professor inquiringly.

Tao looked equal parts annoyed and interested, so instead of shutting the question down like he could have, he raised an eyebrow with disdain. "What of them?"

Swallowing hard, Baekhyun furrowed his forehead and tried to formulate a coherent response. "I mean, some people swear that large or important events in their lives have been foreshadowed by one or more prophetic dreams." Tao rolled his eyes, but Baekhyun hurried on. "And I know that, like, hindsight is supposed to be 20/20 or whatever, but how can a person know for sure?" Baekhyun wasn't sure if he had more to say, but a warning cough from Minseok, the class' other TA, derailed his train of thought and kept him from speaking further.

As it turns out, the cough from Minseok wasn't for Baekhyun anyway. Instead, the TA and the professor exchanged a glance as loaded as it was brief, and Tao refrained from snapping at his student at the plea in Minseok's eyes.

Weird, Baekhyun thought, catching the entire exchange and wondering what that was about. The curiousity disappeared quickly once Tao began to lecture once again, this time on the basic details and psychological theories behind dreaming. He didn't answer Baekhyun's challenge, but he didn't directly ignore it, either, and finished the lesson with a warning that they should all be at the next lecture if they wanted a response. Secretly, Baekhyun didn't think anyone else really cared about prophetic dreams, but since Baekhyun was the one who opened that can of worms, he figured the least he could do was go to class the next time in order to learn about them.

Unexpectedly, it turned out to be an entire week before Baekhyun got the answer he sought. Professor Huang had sent out a last minute email to cancel class, and Sehun had grumbled on and on about how unfair it was for Kyungsoo's recitation to still meet while Minseok's had also been canceled. Again, a curiousity struck Baekhyun, but he ignored it in favor of bigger and more important things to worry about—like his recurring dream.

There was still nothing to remember; it was only ever a boy and a smile, but that was worrying to Baekhyun because it was a smile he started searching for on every person with which he came in contact. It wasn't strictly possible, he knew, for the smiling boy in his dreams to exist in real life—Baekhyun had literally learned about that during the previous Pysch class. But as he sat in lecture that next Tuesday morning, bright and early at 7:58 am, Baekhyun wished that maybe, just once, his dreams could be prophetic.

That wish was blown away, of course, when Tao walked in at 8 am, followed by a disheveled Minseok one minute later. "So my TAs would like me to remind all of you that today is the last day for you to add or drop classes without getting a mark on your transcript." The professor grinned and it looked a little mean spirited—to Baekhyun, at least. "Basically, if you can't handle my class, this is your last chance to leave. Bye."

"Harsh much?" Sehun questioned, sliding in from somewhere unknown and grinning at a gawking Baekhyun.

"You were late!" Baekhyun gasped under his breath at his friend, noticing the fresh hickey displayed proudly on Sehun's collarbone. "Kyungsoo snuck you in?" he asked in disbelief.

Sehun shook his head no. "Minseok, actually," he clarified, suddenly about to burst with glee. "I might have noticed some swollen lips on a special someone that matched the hickey on someone else's neck. Say," he commented, changing the subject carelessly, "it's still a little warm out for Minseok to be wearing a scarf, don't you think?" He winked.

"You're wicked," Baekhyun whispered back with a grin. Their hushed conversation continued—Sehun had elaborate plans to celebrate his and Junmyeon's anniversary, so Baekhyun got to hear all about it—when the rattle of a door caught the class' attention and transferred it from a frowning Tao to a lone figure trying to open the wrong entrance.

Poor guy, Baekhyun thought sympathetically. He remembered his first day all to well—he hadn't been late like this guy was, but he hadn't been early either so there was a good number of students around to witness his utter humiliation. The guy eventually made it into the room, and Baekhyun was surprised to realize the student was a newcomer to their class, likely taking advantage of that day's deadline to Add the Psych class instead of Drop it—like Sehun and Baekhyun wanted to do.

"What. An. Idiot." Sehun quoted almost silently, matching the sarcastic dismay of the original speaker with almost perfect accuracy.

Tao glared threateningly at the new student, but gave him a pass since it was the student's first day and Tao didn't want to scare him away from the subject of psychology entirely. Instead, the professor finished pulling his notes and materials out of his bag, before turning toward the class to begin his lecture. "Last class," Tao started in a steady drawl, "Baekhyun offered some interesting food for thought. Isn't that right, Mr. Byun?"

Baekhyun sunk into his seat, wishing it would just swallow him up right there and remove him from his misery. To make matters worse, the new student apparently thought the empty space next to Baekhyun was for his and not Baekhyun's backpack, so now Baekhyun had the unwanted attention of the class for more than one reason alone.

Tao didn't wait for his student to respond affirmatively or otherwise, and launched into a long talk about the lack of valid support for prophetic dreams. As he did so, Baekhyun tried to let himself drift on the wings of daydreams but found that he couldn't—not with the pressing heat of the new guy's leg against his own. He turned to his right—toward his unwanted seat mate—and opened his mouth to hiss a strong warning that the guy moves his leg, or else.

But he couldn't speak because the very sight of his neighbor made his head blank and his words empty.

"I'm Chen," the guy introduced himself with a shy grin and Baekhyun could only stare.

Sehun, thankfully, intervened on his friend's behalf. "Sehun," he said with a gesture toward himself. "Baekhyun," he added with a smirk, poking his friend annoyingly on the forehead as he did so.

Baekhyun just opened his mouth and then closed it with a snap. He repeated the action again. And again. Finally, he took a deep breath. "I like your smile," he told Chen bashfully, offering his hand and a smile of his own.

Chen winked his appreciative thanks for the compliment before all three boys turned their attention back to the lesson in time to hear Tao's conclusion. "Dreams are only important or prophetic or about fate if you let yourself value feeling over science. There is no way to tell the future while awake, and there's no way to do it while dreaming, either."

As the last words left his professor's mouth, Baekhyun's hand shot up of its own accord, even though he was desperately wishing it really really wouldn't. "But Professor," he countered boldly, "I can totally tell the future."

Tao sighed but merely waved a hand in Baekhyun's direction to indicate he wouldn't stop him if Baekhyun wanted to continue to talk and sound like an idiot. Baekhyun could hear Sehun literally face palming in the seat on his left, but he could also feel Chen's gaze from the right, and so he just kept talking. Like an idiot.

"Or, I mean, my future at least. Cause I have had dreams about Chen's smile for weeks." He blushed brightly, but Chen seemed appreciative of Baekhyun's sudden confession, so he didn't stop. "And yeah, yeah, no such thing as prophetic dreams or whatever. Sure. But I'm gonna make damn sure our dreams come true." He was grinning now, despite the under current of life-ending embarrassment, and clarified for Tao and the rest of the class. "His and mine." Baekhyun turned to look down at Chen, who's ears were now a flushed pink but who was still smiling. "Mine and yours."

There was a chorus of awws and a pair of fake vomit noises that Baekhyun as pretty sure came from Sehun and Kyungsoo. Of the room's occupants, Tao was the only one not having it. Instead, he shut his laptop with a resounding slam and responded with force. "That, Mr. Byun, is not prophetic dreaming, or fortune telling. That's called wishful thinking." He paused for effect and Minseok, at least, chuckled at the subtle insult. "And the next time you think my lecture is a good place to get a boyfriend, think again because I can tell that a heavy loss of participation points might be in your near future. Understand?"

Baekhyun sat himself back down from where he'd stood in his over-excitement and Tao tapped his foot impatiently as the professor waited for agreement. Baekhyun, though, only managed to nod his comprehension once he felt a cool hand slip it's fingers between his and squeeze lightly in support. He really hoped it was the teasingly smiling Chen because Junmyeon was a surprisingly jealous boyfriend and the idea of holding hands with Sehun was just...ew.

"Fine." Tao was pleased, happy that he'd finally gotten his way. "Class dismissed."

At the lesson's close, Chen's hand squeezed Baekhyun's again, but didn't let go.