Midterms meant one thing, a slow painful death. While Yixing would love to say he wasn’t dying, staring at the piles and piles of Electromagnetics reviews, he realized that yes, he was dying. Everything from quarters past were going to be on this midterm. And obviously, that was because he hated his life, and decided to major in electrical engineering, it was possibly the worst decision in his life.

Why did he think it was a good idea? Staring at all the notes, review sheets, and printouts he had scattered on the living room floor, he knew he was ed. His final autumn quarter was going to be destroyed because of midterms. He was going to fail all his classes, he would have to stay an extra summer quarter, and probably die because he tried to be an electrical engineer.

Damn it, sometimes, he wished he decided to major in computer science like he thought he was going to pursue. Somewhat of a mess, he ran a finger through his blonde hair, and groaned. He was going to blame this all on Baekhyun when he came in. That was what he was going to do. That was practical. It was something Baekhyun was used to. He was totally going to see this coming. Trembling to even pick up one of his old review sheets, he continued to question his existence on this planet.

Procrastination and performance anxiety were the reasons why he was never going to pick up these papers. And at this point, he wanted to pray to whatever deity existed to get him out of this tornado of midterms. And as he started to pray his “Hail Mary” because that was what Baekhyun taught him, there was a loud kick to his door. A smirking Baekhyun was in tow with an annoyed Jongdae.

“We’re going to the other campus. Get your , you nerd,” Baekhyun insulted. This was different. It was very different. Yixing never saw Jongdae annoyed, or in fact, Baekhyun smirking because he won against Jongdae. Sure, him being called a nerd was something usual, but there was just no way Jongdae lost against Baekhyun. It was like the rules of their bromance.

“Should I even ask?” Yixing scoffed as he started to pick up the mess on the floor. He could just imagine Jongdae opening his mouth but closing it in fear of the retaliation Baekhyun might come up with.

“Jongdae doesn’t want to admit he doesn’t have as many connections as I do. Oh, and we’re going to crash a frat party tonight too,” Baekhyun stated in triumph. Looking away from his mess, Yixing stared at Baekhyun in disbelief. Baekhyun had more acquaintances than Jongdae? That didn’t even seem possible. Every time Yixing was on campus with Jongdae, he was saying hi to fifteen different people. Whenever he was on campus with Baekhyun, he managed to avoid anyone and everyone because Baekhyun was a shy little butterfly who liked people to say hi to him than the other way around.

“He just knows people at the other campus because he went there for a quarter, and he’s shoving it in my face,” Jongdae grumbled while kicking an invisible pine cone on the ground. There was the pouty Jongdae they all knew so well. After the weeks of being so hyped up on this bucket list, it was finally starting to slow down, and Baekhyun was putting him in his place.

It was true though. Baekhyun did a cross-campus program where he could go to the bigger campus for a quarter for his nursing requirements. He came back from those classes barely alive though. And Yixing told him to not get carried away. But of course, Baekhyun did, and he suffered a bad grade point average because of it.

Yixing and Baekhyun called the campus Baekhyun decided to go to the other campus because it wasn’t their home campus. The college they went to was just a branch of the ‘other’ campus. It was where all the fraternities were, all the big programs, the competitiveness, and the population was. While a lot of other people thought that campus would be better, it just turned out to be different. The college itself was its own city and something else entirely. For Yixing and Baekhyun, they enjoyed their little campus, the small population, and knowing almost everyone. It may not have the appeal of a big and bustling city like the other campus, but it had its own perks and its own city vibes. It was trouble for Jongdae though.

The smaller population meant everyone knew everyone. It also meant all his flings knew each other, and that was no good for him. It was weird that Jongdae didn’t transfer over to the other campus at the end of last year. He had the grades, had the capabilities, and could have done a wonderful job there, but he chose to stay here, near the two of them. That, and the other campus had a 24 hour library, something Jongdae would have used to its advantage.

“Jongdae really wants to use that 24 hour library,” Baekhyun read his mind. Just like that, it all made sense why Jongdae wanted to adventure towards the other campus. The three of them shuffled out of the tiny apartment and towards the bus stop.

Also weird, Jongdae wasn’t driving.

“Too much money,” he complained as they waited for the bus. It wasn’t that bad though. Fifteen dollars just to park all day? That was the city life. Students here had to pay for parking after 90 minutes when classes were 125 minutes long. Their campus had a lot of problems that they were never going to get the answer for. As the bus rolled towards the green bus stop, all Yixing could remember were the days when he took the bus back and forth from his internship back to the apartment.

Every night he finished around 12am, and he had to catch the last bus to get back to the apartments. On days he stayed over time, he had to uber back. That was his summer. A constant back and forth of an engineering internship, and trying to find time to sleep. It was a miracle he didn’t sleep so much on the bus to the internship, or even back. This was different. He was being dragged by his two friends to the sister campus, and forced to study in the library that Jongdae wanted to see with his own two eyes. Not that it was a bad thing, it was just that he didn’t expect this would be the reason for him to go back on the bus.

As Baekhyun and Jongdae continued to banter as they shuffled into the bus, he sat behind them, his eyes staring blankly out the window. The conversation the two of them were having started to become white noise as he reminisced about his internship days. He wasn’t sure how he even lived through those days. His summer quarter included running from classes to the buses then straight to his internship for hours. Did he really need those credits? Did he really need to be doing this day in day out for a whole two months? Even he didn’t have the answer to that.

But now he was here, right behind the boys who were trying to spice up his life by dragging him to a frat party, or forcing him to study for midterms at the big campus in town. How was he even supposed to know that this was going to happen?

“Yixing, is that a smile on your face?” Baekhyun asked as he turned in his seat to face the boy. “I thought you hated buses,” he continued, tilting his head in curiosity. It was true. After the fiascos of catching the last bus, or trying to get on a bus right after class, he honestly didn’t want to ever get on a bus ever again. That was why he was praying that Baekhyun brought his car, but he didn’t. So he had to bring his. And Jongdae only drove them if it involved a degree of greatness. That, and he was just terrible at driving that was longer than thirty minutes.

“Yeah, but I’m with you guys so it’s okay,” he answered. Shook by his answer, Baekhyun held a hand up to his mouth. Jongdae then turned to face him too with a smirk on his face. Of course Jongdae would have a smirk on his face, it was just his natural resting face.

“You sentimental piece of ,” Baekhyun snorted before flinging his notes at Yixing. It was starting to be Baekhyun’s catchphrase at this point. And all Yixing could do was just shrug his shoulders before picking up Baekhyun’s nursing notes and passing them back to him.

It didn’t take long for the three of them to get off at the right stop, take another bus just to get to the other campus, and then get lost on that campus. It was a big campus, and Yixing hated spending his time on that campus because there was always something going on there. Baekhyun was the same way, but Jongdae didn’t really care because he was too busy trying to find the Harry Potter Library, the library of all prestiged fame.

And the moment Jongdae did, the other two were dragged into the majestic library of wooden tables, fancy lamps for studying, and windows of stained glass. The mocha shades of brown surrounded them, and while Yixing would be one to complain that this was all for Jongdae’s aesthetics, he had to admit that Jongdae’s desire to see this place was not overrated. The moment he came in, he felt like he had to study and get ready for the mess of midterms he had in the next few days.

After fiddling around with sitting arrangements, taking out the necessary notes, and finally getting Baekhyun and Jongdae to finally shut up, he plugged into the midterm studying zone. And for once, he wasn’t hating the fact that he had to study. Instead, being surrounded by the scents of old books, the lights that hung above them like chandeliers, and his two friends who were doing the exact same thing as him, studying for midterms, made him feel at peace. It didn’t take long for him to be focused.

And it lasted about an hour or so before Jongdae somehow disappeared, Baekhyun was on his phone, and he just couldn’t take in anymore electrical engineering material. So, it was time for a break.

from; taewoo

to; yixing

Are you on main campus?

What the hell? Sure, the two of them had been texting since their lunch date three weeks ago, but it was mostly about the project they were working on. This friendly encounter was something else.

from; yixing

to; taewoo

yeah? what’s up?

from; taewoo

to; yixing

i think i see you.

Whoever was up there was not doing him any favors. He was sure that he had the best luck out of their trio, but all of a sudden, fate decided they’d see each other somewhere else. Looking around, he tried to figure out where Fate would be messing with him now. And as he surveyed the area, he noticed a figure looking at him from the balcony. There, up there, he was right there, and all the color left his face.

from; yixing

to; baekhyun

kill me. that grad student is here.

from; baekhyun

to; yixing

you mean your crush????

that some spicy .

yo, st. valentine is on your side.

from; yixing

to; baekhyun

i hate you.

from; baekhyun

to; yixing

duly noted, you lovestruck moron. go talk to him.

And as if on cue, Jongdae came back with four cups of holiday Starbucks drinks. Yixing judged him. Jongdae was incredibly picky when it came to coffee, and he always complained that Starbucks was terrible. But now he had four cups of it, and if he thought he was going to get away with this bull, he was going to be sorry.

“Yo, it’s buy one get one free for holiday drinks. Of ing course, I’m gonna rob Starbucks,” Jongdae explained before giving Yixing two of the cups. He wasn’t sure why Jongdae decided this, but when he saw that signature smirk, he wanted to pour the steaming hot Gingerbread latte on his head.

“You ing picked this day because you knew Taewoo would be here, huh?” Yixing quickly came up with the conclusion. No, there was no such thing like fate. And if there was, then Jongdae was king of bringing people together like this.

“Well, Kikwang is on the same project, and those two commute all the time so yes,” Jongdae hummed before pushing him away from their table, and pointed towards the stairs. “Go talk to this handsome grad student you’ve been crushing on. I didn’t buy everyone Starbucks out of the kindness of my heart, damn it,” Jongdae pushed. And just like that, Jongdae pushed the peppermint mocha to Baekhyun before sitting down and glaring at Yixing. This was it. This would be their second real meeting between the two of them.

Sighing, Yixing dragged his feet towards the grad student. When he got there, Taewoo gave him one of the sweetest smiles he could muster. Jongdae, king of fate, was really pushing it today. He was absolutely going to kill him if it was the last thing he did.

“That for me?” Taewoo asked, pointing at the coffee cup in his hands.

“Uh, yeah, actually,” Yixing answered, handing it over to him with a somewhat palpitating heart. Great, this stupid crush of his was going to make him spill a drink. But Taewoo only chuckled, and it sounded like electrical engineering making sense in his head. This is what made sense to him.

It was like eating sushi with him all over again. Conversation just flowed so smoothly that he forgot that he had to worry about his midterms. This was good. This was the break he needed. And he actually had to thank Jongdae for it.

Damn it. Jongdae was always the reason why this kept happening. Bloody hell.