~~Double Update: Don't forget to read the previous chapter ~~

 Luhan was miserable. And not because he stood no chance with Mei.

Well, not entirely because of that. He’d be lying if he said the news had nothing to do with his current misery but apart from that, everything was falling apart.

Xiumin had yet to speak to him again after his unnecessary snappishness and Chanyeol and Baekhyun were acting like he was going to start foaming at the mouth and attack them at any moment. Only Lay was treating him with normally but even he looked reprimanding when his eyes landed on Oh Sehun, still sporting impressive bruises and his split lip swollen up terribly.

Luhan hung his head, ashamed.

There were two people waiting for them in the room. Suho, who was going to supervise their detention, was expected. What he did not expect was Coach, standing with his arms crossed, glaring at Oh as if this entire deal was his fault.

Luhan frowned. This attitude was beginning to grate on his nerves. He’d been in the wrong, even he knew that. And yet, these adults who were supposed to be smarter and make the right decisions, were acting like they were blind.

He squared his shoulders, marching up to stand next to Oh, to show his support. He had already been wronged by Luhan; Luhan wasn’t going to let him keep getting bullied in his name.

‘Sir?’ he asked, when it became obvious that Coach wasn’t going to let up his glaring anytime soon.

‘Ah, yes, Luhan…’ Coach looked at him, expression changing drastically. ‘My boy, if you needed to let off the steam, should’ve told me, son, we could’ve arranged something.’

Luhan gritted his teeth. ‘I wasn’t looking to let off steam, sir. I was angry.’  

‘At Oh?’ Coach asked immediately, leaning forward to grab his shoulders. ‘What did he do?’

Luhan met his teacher’s eyes squarely. ‘Nothing! Oh Sehun didn’t do anything to provoke me, I was just jealous of his friendship with Mei.’

It was embarrassing but Luhan was done being petty. Coach obviously didn’t like his answer. ‘So, he knew you liked her and yet…’

Luhan’s eyebrows shot up, disbelieving. ‘Oh and Mei are class fellows. Sir. And they’ve been friends since middle school.’

Coach frowned. ‘Hmph.’ He glared at Oh Sehun again, narrowing his eyes threateningly. ‘Don’t think you’ll get away just because Han is too decent and is trying to save your hide, you rascal. I’ll see to it that you get your due.’

With that warning ringing in the air, he slapped Luhan’s shoulder amicably before marching away. Luhan let out a slow breath, feeling frustration build up inside him again. What the hell was wrong with these people?

‘Well, that went better than expected!’ Suho chirped from the back, visibly relaxed now that the Coach was gone. He smiled at Luhan. ‘Thanks for sticking up for Sehun, Luhan.’

Luhan pursed his lips. ‘I didn’t do it for Oh…’ He side-eyed the guy. Oh Sehun’s carefully crafted poker face was firmly in place. ‘I just told the truth.’

Suho nodded, still smiling. ‘It still took guts. Thanks.’

Luhan shrugged.

They were assigned the task of cleaning up the corridors which was pretty tame but the school building had four floors. Five, if they counted the off limits fifth floor that led to the rooftop. And with the school emptying around three, there was an eerie silence in the hallways that always made Luhan a little jumpy, not that he’d ever admit it.

When wind suddenly blew, the door leading to the stairs shut with a loud bang and Luhan jumped in the air.

‘What was that?’ he squeaked, trying to sound strong. Oh Sehun, who’d quietly stuck by his side all this time letting him take the lead, shrugged but his eyes were questioning.

Luhan, who’d been surreptitiously observing him the entire time, had realized that in his own way, Oh Sehun was just as expressive as anyone else. You just had to look closely and he’d been looking closely, a mixture of curiosity and guilt pushing him.

‘Let’s hurry,’ Luhan muttered, trying not to show how rattled he was. ‘It’s getting dark.’

Oh Sehun didn’t say anything – of course not – but he eyed him contemplatively, making Luhan self-conscious.

‘What?’ he asked.

Oh didn’t reply but to Luhan’s relief, he picked up his pace, and they were done before it actually turned dark.

When they ended their work, there was a brief moment of awkwardness – at least for Luhan – where he had no idea what to say.

The amicable side of him wanted to offer to drop Oh Sehun home and the older side – Oh was his junior as well his assigned buddy in Suho’s new scheme, he was supposed to mentor the kid – demanded that he take him out for some food. And the guilty side of him was too ashamed and felt that such offers would appear either arrogant or vain, neither of which was true. He was genuinely sorry for treating Oh the way he had. His crush notwithstanding, no one deserved to be treated that way.  

By the time he’d come to a reasonable conclusion, Oh Sehun was already picking his bag up, about to leave. Luhan panicked.

‘Hey, why don’t you… uh, come with me?’ Luhan spoke, feeling nervous. He pushed it aside. ‘I’ll buy you dinner…’

Oh Sehun stared at him impassively for a moment before replying. ‘I can buy my own dinner, thank you.’

Luhan stared at him leave, a little dumbstruck. His tone had been neutral, just like his expression but something told Luhan that Oh Sehun was beyond pissed at his offer.

Which was baffling because he’d been genuinely offering him to buy dinne