The sun beat down hard on Jongdae who was sweating and huffing, hands braced against his knees as he tried to catch his breath. How he hated gym class. He wiped his brow with the back of his hand and squinted up at the sky. Being forced outdoors into the burning sunlight for physical activity had to be illegal, he decided.

“Jongdae!” the coach called out, “Could you come here for a moment please?!”

A groan passed through his lips before he jogged over to the coach’s side, a familiar student standing next to him in his perfectly fitted school uniform. Yixing.

“Yes coach Shim?” Jongdae panted.

“Yixing is here for you,” The coach checked his watch, “Hit the showers and then go on, alright?”

Jongdae nodded and turned to Yixing who smiled shyly at him.

“Hi,” he said softly, waving and joining the younger’s side as he walked towards the locker room entrance.

“Hey,” Jongdae responded quickly and quietly.

“This isn’t a bad time is it?”

“No, no. Perfect timing actually.”

Yixing grinned from ear to ear, “Good.”

“Uh,” Jongdae stopped in his tracks as he reached the door to the locker room, “You’re not coming in here too are you?” vivid memories of the last time he’d been in this exact same room with Yixing flashed through his mind no matter how hard he tried to push them out.

“Oh,” Yixing flushed, “I wasn’t… I- I’ll just wait for you. Over there,” he pointed to a nearby bench.

It didn’t take long for Jongdae to shower and go trot back to where Yixing sat on the bench. He shuffled his feet along the ground while ideas swarmed through his mind. What did Yixing want from him? Not that he wasn't grateful for him showing up and taking him out of class. The sunlight filtered through the tree leaves overhead and pouring down onto Yixing’s face. He looked almost angelic. Which was relatively funny considering the deceitful stunt he’d pulled only just last week.

As Jongdae approached the bench, though, all thoughts of the ridiculous antics fell from his mind. Yixing was fast asleep, eyes fluttering gently and the gentle breeze rustling through his hair. Jongdae’s breath hitched in his throat at the sight. How could anyone look like this? It annoyed him. He hesitated in tapping Yixing’s shoulder, he looked so peaceful, he almost didn’t want to disturb him. Almost being the keyword.

“Yixing-hyung,” Jongdae whispered, waving a hand in front of his face, “Yixing?” he gently reached out and touched the boy’s shoulder.

Yixing stirred and nearly jumped at the touch of Jongdae’s apprehensive fingers, “Oh!”

“Sorry, did I make you wait too long?” Jongdae frowned and sat next to Yixing who simply yawned and rubbed at his eyes, shaking his head ‘no.’

“I had a late night,” Yixing stretched, “Trying to figure out what a good headliner would be for the next issue. But, I seem to have drawn a blank. I wanted to talk to you to see if you had any ideas?”

Oh.

So this was why Yixing had come to see him.

“I haven’t put much thought into it,” Jongdae shrugged, “How often do we print these issues anyway?”

“Once a month, usually. Sometimes we do a small newsletter if something really exciting happens…” Yixing sighed, “I just want my last year on the newspaper to be a good one, you know?”

Last year, huh? Though he was curious, Jongdae wouldn’t pry into that.

“Is there anything interesting coming up? Besides the autumn festival, of course.”

Yixing thought for a moment, “Tryouts for the school musical, the first soccer game of the season which Chanyeol is already covering, hmm… I can’t think of much else to be honest.”

Jongade hummed, “It’ll come to us. We have another few weeks to prepare a story. It’ll be alright.”

Yixing smiled then, “You think so?”

“I know so.”

✐✐✐

Jongdae wished so much that he had never said those words to Yixing. There was only a week left until they were due to submit a draft to Junmyeon. And they still had yet to find a story. Ideas whirled through Jongdae’s mind as he sat in AP Music Theory, his pencil tapping against his bottom lip.

“Psst,” a voice startled him from his thoughts, “Hey, Dae.”

“Hm?”

“Chanyeol was supposed to help me take photographs this week for the festival, but it looks like he’s sick,” Ah, so that’s why class was unusually quiet today, “Will you come with me instead?”

“Sure,” Jongdae shrugged, “Why not?”

✐✐✐

The air was crisp, but not too chilly. Everyone sported their school sweaters and scarves with pride as the opening ceremony for the Autumn Festival began. Jongade hummed in amusement, the colours of the changing leaves made him sigh happily. This was perhaps his favourite time of year. He watched his warm breath form in the cool air before disappearing. A smile crept onto his face at the sight of the ‘free hot chocolate’ sign close by.

“Come on, I want to get a better shot of Mr. Lee addressing the entire student body from up there,” Baekhyun’s words came out muffled from behind his scarf, but Jongdae figured it out as the elder pointed to a slope on the school grounds and started climbing up it.

The wind was considerably colder the higher they got and Jongdae shivered as the brisk air wrapped around him. He could really use one of those free hot chocolates right about now. He imagined the creamy chocolate taste foaming on his tongue while the sweet marshmallows melted in his mouth. He was practically drooling at the thought until Baekhyun was grabbing his arm again and dragging him elsewhere. He started to think that maybe Chanyeol was faking sick to get out of being pulled everywhere.

“The Outreach club does a can drive every year, but they also take in cash donations to go towards a charity that they voted on collectively. This year I think it’s going towards World Vision? Anyway, they’re selling 50/50 tickets as an incentive to get more donations and it looks like it’s working out in their favour,” Baekhyun explained as they approached the large booth set up by the club.

A couple of the boys behind the table were calling out ticket prices while the others helped to stack cans of food in a pyramid starting from the ground up in the back. Jongdae admired their hard work for such a noble cause. One of the boys spotted Baekhyun with his camera and smiled, waving. He approached the table and leaned forward, resting his face in the palms of his gloved hands.

“Hello, Baekie, what can I do for you?” the boy smiled.

The boy, Jongdae noticed, was considerably taller than him with bleached blonde hair. His complexion was dark and Jongdae was almost jealous - he was never able to manage a tan like that. Though he was clearly a freshman, he looked like he could kick Jongdae's if need be. He also noted that the boy had a bit of an accent when he spoke, it was similar to Yixing’s.

“I told you to call me ‘hyung.’” Baekhyun frowned, “Jongdae and I were just wondering if we could get some photos of you guys for the school newspaper. Is that alright with you?”

“Anything for my favourite hyung.” the boy giggled and grabbed a few students who were at an arm’s length to pull them in for a group photo.

The boys smiled and Baekhyun snapped a few photographs before he formally introduced Jongdae.

“Zitao,” the freshman announced his name as he shook Jongdae’s hand, “Huang Zitao. I’m a transfer student from China. Baekhyun’s been my guide since I arrived during the summer. He’s very affectionate towards me and for that I’m thankful.”

Baekhyun’s face coloured, “Shut it, Tao. You’ll make me sound like a good person.”

“But you are a good person, Baekie.” Zitao beamed at him, “I don’t suppose you’ll want to take a photograph of me drawing the name of the winner too, hmm?”

Baekhyun shrugged, “Just text me when you’re ready to do the draw and we’ll come over to get the photograph.”

“Zitao!” Mr. Jo, the assistant coach and also a teacher sponsor for the outreach club, called, “We could use some help stacking these cans when you’re ready!” his smile was a tad too bright and overly friendly.

“I’ll be there in a moment!” Zitao called with a chuckle before bowing to Baekhyun and Jongdae, “That’s my cue to go. Enjoy the rest of your afternoon!"

Baekhyun linked an arm with Jongdae as they roamed from booth to booth. Jongdae felt strange doing this at first, but he figured Baekhyun was like this with everyone anyway. His theory was proven correct when Baekhyun started praising him for his height, complaining about how Chanyeol was always too tall to link arms properly with during the colder months. Jongdae laughed.

“They’re about to start throwing pies at teacher volunteers!” Baekhyun exclaimed, “Are you going to come with me?”

“I want to grab a hot chocolate, Baek, you know, before they’re all gone.” Jongdae replied looking in the direction of the booth and the extensive lineup with longing.

Baekhyun shrugged, “Suit yourself. If you ever get out of that line, I’ll be over by the band taking photographs of their performance.”

Jongdae nodded in response, vaguely paying attention. He was much too distracted by the notion of finally receiving his hot chocolate to care much for what was being said. Something about getting photographs of the band. He pushed it to the back of his mind as he joined the lineup for the warm beverage a little too excitedly.

Once he was able to approach the counter he came face to face with a familiar pair of eyes and nose and lips.

“Jongdae,” Yixing smiled meekly, “Here for some hot chocolate?”

Jongdae nodded, “Please,”

Yixing grabbed a cup and began pouring it slowly, “Are you here alone?”

“No,” he shook his head, “With Baekhyun.”

“And where is he?”

“He’s a bit caught up taking photos.”

"Where's Chanyeol?"

"Sick."

“Ah,” Yixing handed the cup to a delighted Jongdae, “Would you like some company? I’m due for my break now anyway.”

“Company?” Jongdae thought about this for a moment and nodded before he even realized he had, “Sure.”

Yixing sniffled and smiled brightly before taking off his apron and handing it to the student behind him. He quickly joined Jongdae’s side with a hot chocolate of his own, taking a sip before cringing.

“Ow,” he winced.

“Burn your tongue?”

Yixing nodded and Jongdae stifled a laugh.

“It’s not fwunny.” Yixing pouted, but this only made Jongdae laugh more.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” he giggled.

There was no response from Yixing and that made Jongdae nervous. He hoped he hadn’t offended him. He looked over his shoulder to see that the older student had stopped dead in his path, eyes trained in amazement at the sight of a small ferriswheel. Jongdae raised an eyebrow and rejoined Yixing’s side, looking up at the tall ride.

“Have you ever been on one before?” Yixing asked, his voice was distant and dreamy.

“When I was younger…”

“Really?!” Yixing looked at Jongdae in astonishment, “I’ve never been on one before!”

“Oh,” Jongdae shifted uncomfortably, “Well, here’s your chance then.”

“Will you get on with me?” Yixing asked quietly, his voice was barely a whisper.

“I-”

“Please?” Yixing looked down at Jongdae with the biggest, most pleading eyes the younger had ever seen in his life.

“O-Okay…”

“Yay!”

Yixing grabbed Jongdae by the crook of his elbow and led him over-enthusiastically towards the lineup, discarding empty paper cups along the way. Yixing managed to wiggle eagerly almost the entire time in the line, bouncing back on his heels whenever Jongdae tried to make him stop. Jongdae, on the other hand, was a little less enthused. In fact you could probably say that he was absolutely and completely terrified.

“Are you cold?” Yixing asked looking down at a shaking Jongdae.

“No,” He wasn’t, he was nervous.

“If you’re cold, here,” Yixing shly took off the scarf he was wearing and wrapped it around Jongdae’s neck, “It suits you.”

Jongdae blushed, he wasn’t sure if it was from the words, the gesture or the bashfulness of Yixing’s nature. Either way, he relaxed a little when Yixing slipped his arm around his waist, pulling him closer.

“If you’re cold, just say so.” Yixing smiled, “We’re partners. We need to take care of each other.”

Somehow, Jongdae didn’t think that this was something normal partners did in the real journalism world.

Almost twenty minutes in the lineup had passed and Baekhyun had fallen way into the back of Jongdae’s mind. All that consumed his thoughts now was how tall this ride was the closer he got to it. That and how Yixing smelled of sweets, the scent taking over Jongdae’s senses due to their proximity. Before they knew it, they were being locked inside one of the pods.

The ride moved slowly at, what seemed to Jongdae, a torturous pace. The pod was small and he could see everything around him, all of the school grounds, the city’s buildings and the countryside in the distance. He shifted further away from the edge and turned his gaze from the view to Yixing who he caught staring at him. Yixing's mouth formed an ‘o’ sort of shape and he looked mildly worried.

The pod jolted a bit and Jongdae quickly buried his face into Yixing’s chest, hoping to avoid the possible impending doom. Yixing let out a soft chuckle, Jongdae could feel it against his cheek. His face grew hotter as he came to his senses - he was clinging onto Yixing as if he were a scared little kitten. He made a move to slide away when Yixing suddenly draped an arm over his shoulders to pull him in even closer. His fingers slid against Jongdae’s until they were linked and Yixing was squeezing the boy’s hand reassuringly. Jongdae gulped.

They spent the rest of the ride in silence. Gasps and other sounds of excitement poured from Yixing’s lips in a hushed tone as he watched the scenery pass around them. The trees were a beautiful colour and the sights were enough to leave him breathless. Jongdae didn’t really seem to care that he was even on the ride anymore. Slowly, he grew comfortable in Yixing’s embrace, the elder’s fingers rubbing against his arm in a soothing pattern. Unfortunately, this still didn’t stop the nagging feeling in the back of his mind that at any moment the ride could come to a stop or that, even worse, he could fall out. However, these thoughts faded more and more as he cuddled against Yixing. Until, finally, they came to a stop at the ground once again.

As the man operating the ride opened the pod, Yixing jumped out and reached out his hand to let Jongdae take it for balance. Jongdae, rather, swatted at his hand and stumbled out on his own, walking over to the nearest thing for stability to keep his wobbly legs from buckling underneath him. He braced himself against a bench and felt his heart pounding in his chest at a rate that he figured might just kill him. He couldn’t tell if it was from the realization of how intimate he’d just been with his partner or from the altitude his body had been forced into. For a brief moment he thought it was a combination of the two, until Yixing pressed a warm hand against his back. His heart skipped a beat.

It was definitely Yixing’s fault.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were afraid of heights?” Yixing asked looking down at a blushing and quivering Jongdae, hand rubbing in a comforting motion across the younger's lower back.

“How did you- I- But- I…” Jongdae stuttered unable to come up with an answer before he heard a soft buzzing noise coming from his pocket, “One second,” he said quickly and Yixing nodded as he pulled out his cell phone to look at the text message.

Beagle Baek
Come to the Outreach booth, quick!

Jongdae blinked several times, reading the text over and over again. He figured it was time for Baekhyun to take a photograph of the drawing of the winner’s name and that he needed help with something or other to get his camera working again. Last time he had forgotten to take the lens cap off of his camera and Jongdae figured something like this might be the problem again. He made a beeline towards the booth, Yixing trailing along behind him.

“Baek, where are you?” Jongdae called out as he reached the booth only to find a panic-stricken Zitao.

“Jongdae, right?” Zitao asked, “And Yixing?” Both boys nodded.

“Where’s Baekhyun?” Jongdae asked.

“Come quickly,” Zitao breathed grabbing both their wrists and pulling them into the back of the booth that was hidden by a red curtain.

“What’s up?” Jongdae asked confused, “Are we doing the draw now?”

Baekhyun looked up with wide eyes, displaying almost the same amount of panic on Zitao’s face, only a little less so.

“They can’t do the draw,” Baekhyun said slowly.

“Why not?”

“Someone stole all of the ballots,” Zitao breathed out unevenly, “And I have no idea who.”

Jongdae looked up at Yixing who’s face only expressed complete and utter bewilderment.

“Looks like we’ve found our headliner,” Jongdae gasped out at what Zitao considered to be the inappropriate time and let him know this by hitting him over the head with his roll of unsold tickets.

Oh look! Another update with, finally, some ChenLay action! Wow, only took me forever. Ah, and if you'll notice, I changed it from 'spirit week' to an 'autumn festival' ~ sorry for any confusion! It's like 2am now so I'll edit this later... Well, I hope you enjoyed this update! Thank you for reading xoxoxo !!!