Sehun lives in a world of cycles and repetition, and Luhan lives in one of shattered monochromes.

Sehun prides himself in living a simple life, tainted with machinery and routines, each day repeating the last, each day nearly the same. Frankly, he likes it that way. He despises surprises and the unexpected, the exhilaration and fear of the unknown--he despises it all. He likes the familiarity. The feeling of his muscles moving without a second thought, like a piano piece practiced over and over again, until his fingers were stiff and numb--each note a projection of his memory, each phrase one he had played a thousand times before. He likes knowing the future and what was expected. He likes his world strictly bounded by black and white. He likes a world free of color, chance, and fate.

Then, he transfers to Seoul High and meets Luhan. Before he realizes it, he is thrown into a carousel of whirling colors, too dizzying, too exhilarating, and much too addicting.

Sehun meets Luhan the minute he steps into his new high school, in the midst of autumn wind and nervous jitters. He had been turning green from first-day-of-school butterflies when he hears a shout of “Watch out!”

He turns, mouth slightly open in confusion, just in time to see a blur of pink, white, and blonde fly into him. He tumbles to the ground unceremoniously, grunting as a heavy weight promptly lands on him, knocking the breath out of him. As he tries to orient himself, the body atop of him quickly scrambles off. Shaking his head slightly, Sehun sits up slowly, still stunned by the encounter and seeing stars. He’s vaguely aware of the obnoxiously pink bicycle lying next to him, the wheels spinning idly, before a voice snags his attention again.

“Are you okay?”

He turns his head towards the owner of the slightly accented Korean words, and comes face to face to a pair of large doe eyes blinking innocently at him, too close for his liking. He lets out a strangled noise before lurching backwards, away from the baby-faced boy and narrowly avoiding another bicycle passing through.

Sehun looks back to the boy who’s biting his bottom lip nervously, eyes filled with timid apologies and rejection. Sehun almost wants to reach out to him and say, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to,” until he realizes that his day is already veering from the norm, and it is barely 7:12 in the morning. He feels an unfamiliar pit of fear sinking into his stomach as he gulps and tries to meet the boy’s eyes.

A hand is extended towards him, and Sehun finds himself looking at yet another boy, evidently doe-eye’s friend. He realizes that he means to help him up a few seconds too late, and flushes, grabbing onto the hand and immediately letting go as soon as he is upright.

“T-thank you,” he stutters, his cheeks still tinged pink and eyes downcast.

“You’re wel-“

“I am so sorry,” the first boy exclaims, pushing his friend (who merely rolls his eyes) out of the way. “Are you alright?”

Once again, the boy is a bit too in Sehun’s personal space, causing Sehun to lean back and step away.

With a small cough, Sehun ducks his head and mutters, “It’s fine; I’m okay.”

“Are you sure?” The boy asks worriedly. “Do you need t-”

“I’m fine,” Sehun insists, a little harsher than intended.

He picks up his fallen backpack and bows to the two of them slightly, before making his way into the school.

“Wait!”

Stopping unwillingly in his tracks, Sehun blows his bangs out of his eyes with an exasperated breath and turns around.

“I’m Luhan,” the boy says, sticking out his hand and giving Sehun a million-watt smile.

Blinking uncertainly, Sehun just stands there, unsure of what to do, and becoming much too aware of the fact that this is not a normal encounter (after all, who crashes into people with their bicycles?), and since it isn’t, he really should leave and never talk to this Luhan again.

But, before he can make his escape, Luhan’s grin grows wider. He reaches over to grab Sehun’s limply hanging hand and enthusiastically shakes it a few times.

“It’s nice to meet you.”

And when skin touches skin and eyes meet eyes, Sehun feels a flash of warmth in the depths of his chest as he quickly loses himself in Luhan’s sweet, brown crescents.

It is on the third day of school when Sehun bumps into Luhan again.

The two boys meet in a flutter of scattered papers and hushed murmurs of “Oh my god, I’m going to be late” five minutes after the last bell rings. As students hustle out of the school, chattering about the ice cream parlor down the street, Luhan and Sehun push their way through the crowds, heading for classroom B226.

As if fate has a hand in their affairs, the two come running from opposite directions, one glancing at his watch, the other staring at the papers in his hand. At the last moment, something triggers both of them to look up, only to see the pupils in each others’ eyes dilate before a shower of papers rain down upon them.

Sehun vaguely registers the familiar pain in his tailbone from the impact of the hard floor as he watches the papers float down one by one, and he reaches out to grab one.

20XX Academic Decathlon Curriculum

“Ah, that’s mine.”

The paper is promptly snatched out of his hand by someone, and with a frenzied heartbeat caused by trepidation, he slowly lifts his eyes, and sees the doe-eyed boy standing a few feet in front of him.

“It’s you again,” he mutters unenthusiastically, moving to get up.

Luhan reaches over and takes his hand, hoisting him up with surprising strength.

“It’s nice to see you too,” he says with a twinkling laugh.

Sehun does not reply and merely stares at Luhan gathering up the scattered papers.

“What’s your name?” Luhan asks, looking up from the floor. “You never told me.”

“Sehun. Oh Sehun,” he says quietly, bending down and helping Luhan with the last couple of sheets.

“Thank you,” Luhan says with a pleasantly surprised tone. “Thank you, Oh Sehun,” he repeats, his smile growing wider.

Sehun nods in reply, and turns to look up and down the hallway, eyes scanning the classroom doors, trying to find the one marked B226.

“Are you lost?” Luhan asks, cocking his head and looking at Sehun curiously, with one hand on a door handle.

“I’m trying to find B226,” Sehun says slowly after a period of hesitation.

“Oh.” Luhan looks surprised as he pushed the door open. “It’s right here.”

The door swings open easily, and a blast of loud, boisterous voices hits Sehun in the face. The classroom silences abruptly as one of the students, a tall, curly-haired boy, shouts, “Hey, it’s Luha! And some kid!”

All the students, to Sehun’s horror, stop their conversations and antics and turn to look at him. The look in their eyes is one of mild interest, and Sehun couldn’t help but feel as if he were a specimen under the scrutiny of a biologist. With a gulp, he tears his eyes away from the class and looks up, only to feel a wave of dread swirl around him and settle in his stomach.

B226.

“I’m guessing you’re the new applicant?” Luhan says uncertainly, trying to catch Sehun’s eye.

Sehun doesn’t reply and merely stands there, gawking at the bronze plate above the door.

“Welcome to Academic Decathlon!” A boy dressed in a crisp white shirt and a grey knitted vest says, walking up to him and sticking out his hand. “Oh Sehun, I presume? I’m Kim Junmyeon, president of the Academic Decathlon."

Sehun wordlessly takes the hand and shakes it once. Junmyeon beams at him, before leading him to a seat front and center of the classroom (of course, right next to curly-hair), and pushing him into the chair.

“I hope you have a good year with us!” Curly-hair says.

Sehun barely has time to feel surprise bubbling in his throat from curly-hair’s unnaturally deep voice before the said boy leans over towards his table with an overly enthusiastic grin.

“My name is Park Chanyeol, and my hobbies include torturing mice and frying ants,” he says cheerfully.

Terrified, Sehun nods and utters a quick introduction, before scanning the room for any sign of familiarity. He spots Luhan at the front desk, sorting through papers while looking at him with concern. Luhan doesn’t miss the silent pleas Sehun is sending with his eyes.

“Don’t worry, he’s joking,” Luhan quickly says, reassuring Sehun and walking over.

Sehun shoots him a dubious look, and looks about the room once again, as if finding a way to escape. Luhan giggles at the gesture and places his arm around Sehun, ignoring his flinching.

“Don’t worry, you’ll like everyone soon enough.”

Sehun bites his lip and lowers his head wearily.

He knew he shouldn’t have moved from his old school.

He knew he shouldn’t have joined the Academic Decathlon. It was an extra class anyways.

“Luhan, can you introduce Sehun to the school and our class?” Junmyeon asks.

“Sure!” Luhan chirps, squeezing Sehun’s shoulders affectionately.

He knew meeting Luhan was not a good thing