Luhan didn’t know why he was so angry.

Okay, that wasn’t true. He knew exactly why he was pissed and that annoyed him even more. He liked to think he was a mature enough person to not hold petty grudges against people but the desire to bash Oh Sehun’s face had yet to recede.

He hit the wall in front of him angrily, ignoring the pain shooting through his arm.

‘You okay?’ Xiumin called from the stall beside him. His friend had picked on his fuming mood when he’d dragged him away for an aggressive, one-on-one penalty challenge.

Luhan huffed. He’d hoped that the game would calm him down; if not, at least the shower afterwards would work. But he still felt angry. And hurt.

It was stupid, he was being stupid. It wasn’t like Mei had told him she liked him to get close to Sehun or anything (as had happened one times too many with Chen) … though how it could’ve worked when he wasn’t even friends with Oh was beyond him.

She’d probably liked him way before Luhan entered the scene. The thought made him want to puke.

‘Luhan?’ Xiumin called again, sounding concerned.

‘I’m fine,’ he responded even though he was anything but. ‘Just… give me a couple of minutes.’

He heard Xiumin shut off the shower and walk away and closed his eyes, consciously trying to empty his mind.

The image of Mei smiling brightly up at Sehun immediately appeared behind his closed lids, clear as if they were standing in front of him. And Sehun was smiling back at her which made it even worse.

He’d admit Oh Sehun hadn’t been on his radar before this. He knew of the kid as a troublemaker, only because of the Student Council President who’d been trying to recruit him for a new buddy-system-esque scheme he’d designed for delinquents; he’d wanted Luhan to take Sehun under his wing. Luhan had even agreed because if he could help a kid, then why not?

But that had been before he’d known about Mei’s crush on him. And he didn’t have to know Sehun well to get that the boy rarely smiled – his reputation preceded him. To see him smiling back so openly…

And did he have to scrunch his eyes like that? Giving eye-smiles, pfft… that was just playing dirty. No wonder Mei had been so quick to jump to his defense.

Just thinking about it made him sick, made his stomach churn with something vile and petty. He hated Oh Sehun and his stupid eye-smiling face, he hated Mei for defending him like that. But he hated himself even more for getting this worked up over a stupid crush.

Yes, it was his first but he was a grown-up, practically an adult; he was a senior, for frick’s sake. But the feelings inside him were uncontrollable and he punched the wall again, this time breaking skin. He ignored it as well, pushing his hair back forcefully and shutting the water. His movements were forceful as he yanked the towel to throw around his waist, stomping to gather his clothes.

Xiumin observed his movements. ‘You want to talk about it?’

He pursed his lips but shook his head. He was irrationally angry right now, he’d probably end up snapping at his friend for no reason.

‘Is it about Mei?’

Luhan yanked his shirt on aggressively instead of replying.

‘You should tell her how you feel,’ Xiumin advised and his calmness rubbed on his nerves the wrong way.

‘Mind your own business, Min!’ he snapped, turning on his heel and marching off. Part of him felt guilty, regretting snapping at his friend who was only concerned and probably dispensing sage advice. A larger part, though, was still too irked and annoyed to really care.

He was moody even when he got home, climbing straight to his room and closing himself in. His cellphone pinged several times, indicating texts. The distinctive tone he’d set for Mei pinged several times, making his stomach clench. He turned his phone off, going out for a late jog to wear himself out completely. He only came back when he couldn’t move anymore, collapsing into bed and falling into blissfully dreamless sleep.

Sadly, the morning brought all the memories with it and he woke up feeling like hell.

There were so many emotions churning inside of him – jealousy, anger, annoyance, irritation at himself and others and the stupid, stupid crush that wouldn’t let him rest. He hated that he’d cheered up at the sight of Mei’s texts, at the thought of her concern for him.

When he arrived at school, the usual rush of students only got on his nerves; it worsened when he noticed Xiumin’s absence amongst his friends hanging around his locker, waiting for him to show up. Lay, he could tolerate – probably because the guy could get along with the crankiest of people, too laidback to bother anyone – but he was in no mood to listen to Baekhyun and Chanyeol’s useless chatter.

Especially when it revolved around a comparison between Luhan and Sehun and why the younger was a better choice for Mei.

‘For once in your lives, just shut up!’

Luhan slammed the locker door angrily, making it bounce back. The outburst was so out of character for normally amicable boy that everyone in vicinity, including Mei, fell quiet. Luhan’s eyes met Mei’s shocked ones and he cursed, turning and stomping off.

He ignored all calls of his name and walked out.

…………………………………….

The entire school was abuzz with Luhan’s morning altercation.

‘What do you think happened?’ Minyoung asked Mei while they waited for the teacher to enter the class. ‘With Luhan?’

Mei shrugged. ‘I don’t know, he was weird yesterday too.’

‘You met him yesterday?’

‘At the rooftop.’

Minyoung brightened at that but Mei stalled her friend before she could delude herself about Mei meeting Luhan secretly after school or something. ‘I was with Sehun, we had to take st