Taemin sat at the lunch table that he, Jongin and a few of their friends usually occupied. He was the first one there as usual, never getting the school lunch like his friends would and simply having his own snack from home. Jongin usually did the same but as time passed and Taemin still sat there alone he figured he must be in line with the others.

 He had his lunch sitting in front of him but he didn’t feel like eating it. He was in a sour mood today, this whole week actually. Everything was just getting on his nerves and he had fought against going to school with his parents but had no real reasoning behind his argument other than he just didn’t want to go. He had been feeling uncomfortable being in school now, something was different there and he didn’t want to know what it was, he just wanted to get away.

 He tightened the bandana on his wrist. His timer, it had been especially bugging him this past week. It was constantly heating up and itching, driving him almost to the point that he wanted to tear of the bandana and rip it off of him.

 On Thursday Taemin had been walking through the hall at break trying to get to his locker when his wrist started to burn. His stomach churned and his mind fuzzed and he lost his balance, falling against the wall. He remained like that for a while until one of his friends noticed him there and helped him to a bench farther down. The sickness and uneasiness subsided the further away he got from the hallway. He went on with the rest of his day trying to pretend it never happened.

  Taemin felt uneasy as more time passed and again his wrist began to burn. He kept his head down and simply focused on peeling the paint off the table until he heard his name being called.

 “Taemin! What’s up man?” Jongin said as he came from Taemin’s left and sat down across from him. He settled in and set a bagged lunch on the table.

 “I thought you were in line.”

 “Oh no, I was at the office. I forgot my lunch but my mom dropped it off with the AP. But guess what.” Jongin paused waiting for the non-curious grunt from Taemin, “I ran into one of the new kids. He was there getting his new schedule cause I guess they messed up his classes when they first gave it to him. So I started talking to the guy, seems chill so far, and invited him to come sit with us today.”

  “Why would you do that?” Taemin lifted his head to scowl at Jongin who looked back at him confused with his sandwich already stuffed into his mouth.

Jongin jostled the food to the side of his mouth to reply, “Why not? I’m trying to be friendly. He said he has a sister, that interests you doesn’t it?”

  “No, why would it?”

  “…you like girls, duh.”

  “So you want to be friends with the guy so you can get to his sister?”

  “What? No. I want to just get to know the guy, you’re the one that would get with his sister.”

  “Okay I get why you think this may have been a good idea but it’s not. I don’t give a about the guy or his sister and I don’t want anything to do with them, alright?”

  “What the hell is up with you huh? You’ve been acting weird for days, man. And why do you seem so angry about 2 people you haven’t even met yet?”

  Taemin gave an exasperated sigh and bowed his head knowing he had no words to explain himself or justification for how angry he suddenly was.

  “Forget it, let’s just eat.” He said resigning himself to his lunch that was not appetizing in the slightest.

  After a while of uncomfortable silence between them, their other friends began coming and filled the air with conversation and laughter. Taemin tuned them all out and thankfully they seemed to know not to bug him right now. He had stopped eating, feeling sick again, and went back to peeling the table’s paint. Soon though he heard Jongin say a name, his voice reaching over their friends and into the distance. He heard the table quiet down to a mere murmur and saw Jongin rise out from his peripheral view. He left the table and came back with someone else, the new guy.

  They stood in front of Taemin so he was able to see the 2 pairs of legs without having to lift his head at all. He vaguely registered Jongin introducing their friends to the guy one by one but he couldn’t focus on the words even if he wanted to. His mind was racing and his heart was pounding and he could feel himself start to shake. He balled his fists and hid them under the table trying to hide the way they shook like an old man’s. He tried to even his suddenly shallow and rapid breathing and blink the spots out of his eyes. His wrist was burning, his whole body even. Something was terribly wrong and yet he couldn’t even seem to make his mouth move to say that it was.

  Then he heard Jongin say his name, heard him say to the guy that he was in a pissy mood and not to be bothered by it, heard him ask him to at least look at the guy and say hi. And so even though his mind was screaming no, his eyes slowly began to rise, taking in every feature of the new guy as they did.

  Toned legs peeking through ripped jeans that fit the thighs tightly. Hands clenched into fist, showing off their veins, thumbs hooked into the loops of the jeans, sculpted arms exposed by a short sleeved pale shirt. A smooth neck leading to a chiseled jaw that nicely showcased full lips and then … those eyes.

  And suddenly Taemin could see no more. A bright blinding light distorted his entire vision and without warning it felt as if a bomb had erupted within him and he cried out in pain. He felt something else but couldn’t say what it was and he could feel more than hear someone else scream.

  It felt like forever before the pain began to subside and the light began to dim enough for Taemin to open his eyes again. He could feel his friends beside him, someone’s hand on his arm, hearing them worriedly ask if he was okay but he couldn’t answer. The world he had open his eyes to was different, a world he had spent his whole live wishing to never see. Color.

  Trees, they weren’t just grey. Their trunks and bark were … brown? Names of colors came to him and even though he didn’t recognize them, they felt right. The leaves were green and so was the grass below them. The color of the school’s walls were brown but a different brown than the trees. The sky, oh it was a wonderful blue and the clouds a pure white and the sun? Oh ow no don’t look at the sun.

  Taemin looked around at the kids around and he couldn’t help be feel wonder and joy- and a little horror since no one’s clothes matched. One girl was wearing a polka dot orange skirt and a bright pink sweater- at this new sight.

  He looked back to his friends to see how bad their clothes looked but then saw Jongin …. And the guy beside him. He looked just as startled and amazed and his eyes were still wandering about, taking everything Taemin had just seen. Taemin unwilling looked him over again, noting that he was slightly tanned and that his jeans were a pale blue and his shirt a simple white tee and his hair blacker than he was expecting.

  “Taemin?” Jongin said and Taemin turned to look at him, “Are you alright?”

   Jongin’s face was filled with worry as he looked at Taemin and then looked the guy beside him. “Jonghyun?”

   The guy looked at Jongin and nodded slowly before letting his eyes wander again but this time, they fell on Taemin and met his own. The guy, no, Jonghyun’s mouth opened slightly with a gasp and his eyes widened.

  “You-” he started but then Taemin stood up and began backing away, shaking his head.

  “Taemin, what’s wrong?” Jongin said, walking around the table and towards him. Jonghyun followed right behind and Taemin’s heart filled with fear.

  “No, no,” Taemin said and he walked backwards faster, denying the reality of the situation, “It can’t be.”

  He stopped, looking around for the best way to escape. Should he run? To the left? To the right? Where, where? Before he could pick, Jongin and Jonghyun were in front of him and he felt a feather light, nervous touch on the back of his hand. Now frozen to the spot, unable to even pull his arm away, his eyes followed the hand up until he was looking directly into those eyes yet again.

  Those eyes … they stared right into his own and past that, looking inside of him and looking at every deep and dark crevice that no one else ever saw and suddenly Taemin felt completely and alone with only those eyes and their owner surrounding him, filling the air and taking up everything he could see. And then … they were gone and there was only darkness…