First meeting, Baekhyun found Kyungsoo to be polite and quiet. Walking around campus, however, they find a lot of common interests, and Kyungsoo laughs loudly and often. They both practiced martial arts through high school, have a fondness for music and theatre, and prefer dogs to cats, although they both like anything cute.

It’s fun, eating off-brand pizza and chatting like old friends. Baekhyun’s missed the easy bond similarities can form.

Others have the same idea. There are a lot of new people on campus, freshmen and transferring upperclassmen. Old friends and new friends mingle as they continue their hunt for dinner or find parties celebrating a new year.

Baekhyun stares at the pebbled tabletop, arm hair raised on goosebumps. He feels eyes on him and imagines a whisper of breath across his neck.

“Baekhyun.” Kyungsoo taps his hand. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. I thought I felt someone staring.”

“They are staring,” Kyungsoo says softly. He nods over Baekhyun’s shoulder, and he doesn’t want to look, but his head turns on its own.

There’s a cluster of people in the outer vestibule of a dorm building, sharing drinks and turning to talk to one another in a way that heavily implies they had been staring.

“That’s weird.” Kyungsoo stands and crumples his paper plate and napkin. “Let’s go back. I have a class right away in the morning.”

“Really?” Baekhyun clings to the normalcy of classes. “Mine don’t start until the day after.”

“It’ll just be an informational thing, I’m sure, but I don’t want to miss it.”

The farther away they walk, the better Baekhyun feels, but then his mind has to remark on how they may have been wolves, and how nice would it be if they just stayed in their own dorm building? Not that they would, of course.

Wolves are free to go wherever they please, whenever they please.