As promised Jaehyun was there to clean up the next day. He really hated people being mad at him and therefore always fulfilled his promises when they were made. Jaehyun was kind of soft like that and really liked to hang out with new people, especially people he had never noticed before. Still, Taeyong felt like someone he had known for a long time. Like a distant friend you forget to talk to after a while because you both have other paths in life. But that didn't make sense at all, because he was sure they'd never talked before. 

Taeyong walked in to see the boy cleaning up, but in all the wrong places. It annoyed him as much as the boy's presence in the first place. Art rooms need to be messy and full of paint, that's what drives the process of art in the first place. He took the utensils out of Jaehyun's hands and put them somewhere else without talking or touching him. It was very important not to touch at all. Touching was wrong. 

"Hey, I was trying to help", Jaehyun said in a disappointed voice.

"Don't." Taeyong wanted him out of here as fast as possible. Being in the same room as someone like Jaehyun only made him feel worse about his social anxiety. At home they didn't buy his story of not being able to be around other people, which is why he wasn't homeschooled like he asked. They thought it was a 'problem' that could just go away by throwing him in the deep end. Guess what: it didn't go away. It only got worse.

"Are you still mad at me for yesterday?" Jaehyun walked behind Taeyong, determined to get an answer out of him. He felt like he needed the answer, now. He would go insane without it. 

"No. You're excused. Now leave." Taeyong tried to avoid eye-contact at all times. He was not good with that either. He hated people looking at him. Which is why he always dressed in black, as if he could blend in with his surroundings. 

"Stop running for a second", Jaehyun made the fatal mistake of grabbing his arm. Taeyong felt a pang of pain going through him as he was held. It physically hurt when other people touched him. Jaehyun caught on and let him go. "I'm sorry. I overstepped a boundary." 

"It's fine. I just want to be alone", Taeyong almost begged him to leave. He needed alone time. He needed to paint away his feelings right now. There was nothing else that could help him. Only painting. He had found that outlet years ago, without his parents knowing about it. 

"Okay, but I will be back", Jaehyun said in a low voice, reassuring him. The way Jaehyun could talk to people and reassure him amazed Taeyong. It amazed him so much that he just nodded yes without thinking. Great, now he would have to deal with this guy again tomorrow. As if life wasn't stressful enough already. 

Jaehyun left with a weird feeling. A feeling of discomfort. He had not even really touched the boy, but could see the pain in his eyes when he did. Taeyong seemed like a very special person with a lot of history. A history worth listening to. And that was exactly what he was going to do when he came back. He would earn the trust of this boy and earn the right to listen what ailed him. 

Taeyong took one of the canvasses and started painting his feelings. He took with his brush and added splashes of different colors to it. It felt so natural to paint like this, without thinking about details, just letting it be. It was the only thing he didn't need to think about while doing it. Whenever he was in social situations he had to think so much to do the right thing. It hurt his brain to always do that. It caused him to overthink. And overthinking is never a good thing. 

When he finished the piece he just started it looked messy. It was an array of bright and dark colors, like he was in a constant battle with himself. Which is what it felt like exactly. The anxiety showed in every of his brush. It was like looking into himself. This is why he painted: to get a clear view of the mess in his head. Whenever he did this, he could make sense of what was going on, of the different images in his head. It felt less chaotic to have it on canvas. 

Someone behind him coughed loudly, to make sure he knew they were there. When Taeyong looked around he saw Renjun standing there with half a smile. This boy was new at school, but seemed like a kindred spirit. He was already very good at painting and sketching. Plus he had been there for him when Taeyong was distressed from all the human contact that Jaehyun provided that first day. The only thing Renjun had that Taeyong would never even dare was his bright pink hair. It stood out everywhere he went and Taeyong envied his confidence. If only he could have it...

"That is so good, I can almost feel the emotion on the canvas", Renjun said in awe. The boy was always respectful of Taeyong, in every single way. "You must have been so confused to paint this..." 

"I am.. was, I mean." Taeyong started cleaning up. The day was coming to an end and he had had enough of all the social interactions for one day. He needed some alone time. Some time in his room to do nothing and talk to no one. Albeit there would be a mandatory conversation at home with his parents. There always was. 

"I'll clean up. You just go home", Renjun was being considerate of him and it made him feel a little more at ease around the freshman. 

"Thank you", Taeyong said from the bottom of his heart before getting his back and running to his car. Finally he would be alone. 

Jaehyun on the other hand had practice all night long. The first game was coming up soon and he had been slacking already. Since day one. Stopping by the art study made him skip some practices and the coaching was making him do extra time for it. Those who can't come to training need to be punished and educated on why they should come. 

"You're supposed to be one of our best players, don't you?" A nosy kid asked. He was a freshman and he absolutely didn't like the kid at all. He was good. Exceptionally good. But that didn't give him the right to be disrespectful to others. Especially if those others were older and more experienced. 

"Kid, you better concentrate on making the first game", Jaehyun said. It didn't happen a lot, Jaehyun snapping at people. But when it happened it meant he didn't like the person one bit. And that was a lot coming from him. Because he liked every single person all the time. 

"You better worry about making the cut. If you miss any more practices, they won't list you", Jeno said before running off to do more laps. 

It had been in the back of Jaehyun's mind too. The fact that he had been slacking meant he might not get drafted for the first game. It would mean losing the one thing that kept him going and might even get him into a good college. Not that his grades weren't top of the bill, or that he didn't commit to anything else. He just loved doing this the most of all. Which was why he was doing it in the first place. 

"Don't worry about it. You'll be fine. Coach knows how valuable you are", Johnny said while running next to him. Johnny, the captain, always stayed late with the people who skipped classes. Why? Because he believes it is his responsibility to get them to practice in the first place. And those people skipping meant he had failed. Failed at being a good captain for everyone. 

"Thanks. And sorry for skipping practice..." Jaehyun said to the person who felt like a brother. 

"No problem, as long as you don't keep on doing it. The past 3 years you have never skipped a single practice. I can cut you some slack now for acting out. But I don't know how much longer the coach can though." The warning hit Jaehyun. The threat was real and not coming from Johnny. It was from coach himself. He'd found some new players he could use if I decided to slack even more. 

Taeyong didn't know why, but he walked by the training fields before leaving. He could see Jaehyun running laps. And he knew why. Jaehyun had skipped practice to help him out. Which did cause him to think about things. Why would a person like Jaehyun be interested enough to skip practice? Did he really feel that guilty? It could not be something else because that would require Taeyong to be someone to someone else. And right now, he felt less like someone at all. 

Jaehyun saw Taeyong walking. Head bowed and cautiously watching where he went. Always avoiding people. No one else really thought a lot of it, but Jaehyun wanted to know why. What had happened for this boy to be so scared of other human beings? What could have been so bad for him to despise them so much? It would remain a mystery for a very long time. 

Taeyong caught Jaehyun's stare and looked back into those chocolate brown eyes. They had something captivating. Taeyong wanted to draw them, to never forget them. Instead he ran. He ran to his car, far away from the boy or the training fields. He needed space and for that boy not to mess with his mind again. 

Jaehyun saw him running. It made him want to run after him, but he didn't. He decided to give the boy some space. If Taeyong really wanted to talk, he would come to him. For now it would be best for both to concentrate on things they knew. And for Jaehyun this was football. Football meant not thinking and just doing. And it was nice not to think for once. He was thinking all day every day, never stopping because he had to keep his grades up. He had to make everyone like him and everyone proud. He would be a legacy to this school, that was all that was needed.