There was a long line of… people loitering around his locker and Luhan suppressed a sigh. This was beginning to get on his nerves.

Xiumin, correctly interpreting his reluctance, patted his back supportively. Taking a deep breath, Luhan marched purposefully towards his locker, right at the end of the corridor.

There was the unmistakable sound of multiple confetti explosions the further he went down, followed by thuds of people falling to ground. He ignored them all, not glancing left or right, nor stopping until he was right in front of his locker and putting in his code. 

He’d been sort of flattered when it’d initially started happening – right after he’d transferred here and joined the football team – but now, three years later, it was past old and just plain tiring.

At least his class and teammates had stopped exploding confetti in his face.

‘Hey Luhan!’ The excited shriek of one of the newbie teammate was followed by an exploding sound.

Or not, Luhan thought grimly.

‘Just ignore that…’ The new guy, Chanyeol’s face was burning red but he flashed his signature megawatt grin at Luhan. ‘It’ll go away.’

Luhan wished more of his ‘fans’ were this easy going. This was the third time this week that Chanyeol had had a confetti-sion in front of him but the guy hadn’t let things become awkward between them.

It was also probably because Chanyeol was just a big-hearted guy as Luhan distinctly remembered him having an explosion in Teacher Sandara’s class, when she’d bent near him to explain something.

It was such an embarrassing thing, the confetti burst. But soon as one hit puberty, the confetti-sion became a very real possibility. It was an equivalent to having one’s period or growing pubic hair, only much more publicly humiliating. The moment you developed a crush on someone, your clock started ticking and if your feelings got too unbearable, it’d all be over in an embarrassing display of confetti.

Of course, the psych people tried to convince you that it was healthy and nothing to be embarrassed about. But tell that to the shy girl who had an embarrassing crush on the class bully. The poor thing had burst into tears, and hadn’t shown up for a week afterwards.

He supposed once people grew up, it’d be just another funny story to tell over dinner or tell your story to your grandchildren but living it was hell.

The funniest thing was that he hadn’t even had his first explosion yet and he was nearly graduating.

Perhaps his disinterest stemmed from the fact that no matter where he went, he had to live in second hand embarrassment from people who had no intentions of confessing to him and their feelings got the best – or worst – of them.

He was popular, always had been and he supposed he could see why. He was good looking – Xiumin rolled his eyes at the understatement – smart and athletic. He still didn’t get what the hype was all about.

Baekhyun and Chanyeol, who’d joined him after his rather dramatic entrance, made noises of protest. ‘Don’t sell yourself short,’ Baekhyun advised him, wrapping an arm around his shoulder and turning him around, so he could see the disaster that had wreaked through the locker hallway.

Girls and a good sprinkling of boys were either on the floor, getting up or being helped up while the floor was covered in a mess of confetti.

‘You did that.’ There was an undertone of awe in Baekhyun’s voice that made Luhan uncomfortable. He didn’t like this much attention, not from anyone. And he didn’t particularly enjoy causing so many broken hearts.

‘I’m sure they’ll get over it.’ Lay sidled next to him, handing him the books he’d forgotten to pick up. ‘Why is Chanyeol hiding behind Xiumin?’ He asked mildly, glancing back at the said duo.

‘He’s exploded again in front of Luhan.’

‘Hmm… I didn’t even know it was possible to have confetti-sions for the same person more than once…’ Lay wondered aloud.

‘Neither did I.’ Luhan muttered, perhaps more embarrassed than Chanyeol.

‘To be honest, he did say you remind him of his ex-girlfriend.’ Baekhyun said seriously, then immediately ducked to avoid Luhan’s incoming punch.

‘Technically speaking,’ Xiumin appeared beside them, done consoling Chanyeol. ‘there is no limit to the number of confetti-sions, since you can crush on the same person again. It’s just that for most people, once is enough. They either get together or get over it, so it doesn’t become an issue.‘

It made sense, Luhan supposed. Lay smiled at Xiumin, a dimple poking in his cheek. ‘So basically, Chanyeol is having repeats because neither is a viable option right now?’

‘Yup!’

Both his friends jumped out of reach so he couldn’t land a hit on either. Grumbling, Luhan started marching towards the stairs, eager to get away from the suffocating locker hallway and away from the people who had too many feelings in their hearts.

Just as he turned, he bumped into someone, knocking them over and sending their bag and things tumbling away.

‘Yikes, sorry…’ Dropping down, he helped sit the person up.

‘It’s okay!’ The voice was unexpectedly soft, and he looked up in surprise to find a girl crouching next to him. Long hair fell on her face, so he couldn’t see her features clearly.

‘Here, let me…’ He started helping her gather the things she’d dropped. The books told him she was one of the sophomores. ‘I’m really sorry, I wasn’t looking.’

She smiled, finally turning to look up at him. ‘It’s really alright. I wasn’t looking either.’

‘You’re not hurt anywhere, are you?’ he asked, helping her stand up. She dusted her skirt and straightened. ‘No, I’m not. Thanks for asking, though.’ She extended her hands and he blinked, realizing he was holding her books. ‘Oh, here.’

‘I should get going or I’ll be late.’ She moved past him, then turned to wave at him. ‘Thanks a lot, though. See you!’

‘Yeah.’ He returned her wave, a bit curious. There was something strange about this entire interaction but his mind couldn’t pinpoint it.

‘This has got to be a first.’ Baekhyun’s voice echoed in the rapidly emptying hallway. ‘A girl talked to Luhan and it wasn’t a confession.’

‘And she didn’t even explode.’ Chanyeol sounded envious.

That was it, Luhan realized. The girl had talked to him normally. It was a normal, typical interaction without any fuss from either party. He’d bumped into her, apologized and helped her up. She’d accepted his apology without any hassle, thanked him and gone her way. No