A thin layer of sweat drips and covers Sehun in a light sheen. It lightly dampens his hair and P.E uniform as he bends over, touching his toes. But he had just got done playing soccer; something he’s done more than a few times. So this sweaty heat and warm cheeks is a familiarity to him. After about fifteen seconds, he slowly stands back up and pushes his short, blonde hair from his face. He looks over at his best friend, Baekhyun, with maroon dyed hair.

“You done too?” Sehun asks as he rolls his shoulder.

“We’ve been at this for an hour,” Baekhyun laughs as he shakes his damp hair. “Whaddya think?”

“Cold shower?” Sehun offers, both shuffling over to their bags to get a drink. He pauses after he takes a large gulp, panting a bit as he watches the students that crowd around. He rolls his eyes when he sees lavender-haired stepbrother, Luhan, surrounded by his own little fan club. His eyes surrounded by eyeliner with subtle eyeshadow and some lip gloss. He stares at them for a moment before growing sick of the scene and walking off to the lockers. “I don’t get why they think he’s so special,” He complains. “We have three other Chinese exchange students, so who cares?”

“Hell if I know,” Baekhyun shrugs as they begin to strip. “Some people have a big thing for pretty boys.”

“I think it helps that he comes from a rich family.”

“Um...isn’t he your stepbrother?”

Sehun rolls his eyes again as he hops into a shower, shivering a bit from the cold water. “My mom married into it. So, to everyone else, I’m technically still poor trash.”

Baekhyun snorts. “I’d call you more middle-class trash.”

“Thanks, I appreciate it.”

“Better middle trash than low trash, Hun,” His friend laughs. They don’t care about using separate showers, not with each other. They grew up together and have already seen each other plenty of times. Not ually, of course. They’ll always be best friends and nothing more. No, his long-distance boyfriend, Chanyeol, already has that spot. But they always shower with each other after practice. It helps save water and time.

“Do you know when Chanyeol’s gonna return?” Sehun asks as he steps out, handing his friend a towel before grabbing his own. 

Baekhyun whines at that. “Noo,” He complains. “It doesn’t help that his stupid parents hate me.”

“They still don’t know about you two huh?” 

“No...they don’t even know Chanyeol’s gay,” he mutters as they dress back into their uniforms. “We’re taking it slow, you know? We plan on telling them after we graduate.”

“That’s smart,” Sehun nods in approval. After grabbing their school bags, they make their way toward the front of the school, where their regular lockers are located. He glances outside and sighs at his brother. He frowns when he’s approached by a girl he recognizes from his class. “Uh...can I help you?” She clears his throat and hands a letter to him. Confused, Sehun takes it and squints at it. “What’s this?”

“Um...could...you give that to your brother?”

His look of confusion disappears and it turns into a glare. He takes a deep breath and shakes his head. “No,” He tosses it, letting it flutter to the floor. “I’m not his damn messenger.” Sehun turns away from the surprised girl and leads Baekhyun out of the building, pushing past Luhan and his stupid fans. 

“Isn’t that your loser brother, Lu?” Some guy asks.

“How can you stand being related to him?” Some girl scoffs. “I’d rather talk to a wall than be caught dead talking to someone as low as him.”

Baekhyun reaches over and tightly holds Sehun hand, ushering him to keep his head up as they walk away. He knows it shouldn’t both but he can’t help it. It sticks to him, gets deep under his skin. He lets go of Baekhyun’s hand and wraps an arm around his shoulder. “Talk about some tight asses,” His friend scoffs.

“I don’t know,” Sehun mutters. “It’d be kinda nice to be a little...popular.”

“Really?” Baekhyun laughs. “You actually want to hang out with those losers?”

“No, not them specifically,” He sighs as he fiddles with his bag. “But it’d be nice to not live in my brother’s ing shadow. People look down on me because of him and I don’t know why,” He pauses. “No, I do know why. I’m not as pretty as him.”

His friend frowns and looks up at him, pointing a finger. “Hey, you shut your mouth. You’re a VERY pretty guy!”

“If you say so...are you staying over tonight?” Sehun asks, stopping when they reach his home.

“Sorry but I’m gonna video-call Chanyeol tonight. Got so much sweet gossip for him.”

“You mean you’re gonna flash him,” Sehun snickers at his friend’s red cheeks. “I’ll see you at school tomorrow. Good luck with Yeol and tell him I said hey,” He waves his friend off as he walks up his driveway, toward the front door. Their home is a typical light grey two-story house with a picture-perfect porch and garden out front. Ever since his mother married Luhan’s father, she’s been able to stay home and focus on her gardening. Sehun’s close with his mother due to growing up with just the two of them for most of his life. His father had left when he was a baby, leaving his mother to care for him herself. She struggled but she did her best and Sehun couldn’t ask for anything more. He smiles when he steps inside as the first thing to greet him is the delicious smell of dinner being prepared. “I’m home,” Sehun announces. The walls are yellow-tan and wooden floors, the hall decorated by some paintings and family photos. He glances at their wedding photo and swallows hard.

“Hey, honey!” His mother calls out. “I’m in the kitchen!”

He makes his way down the narrow hall, past the door to the laundry, downstairs bathroom, stairs, and into the open kitchen and dining room. His mother stands in front of the oven, mixing mysterious food into a pot. “Hello, Sehuna,” She greets cheerfully, her dark hair pulled up into an always neat bun; never a hair out of place. She puts the lid on her pot before wiping her hands and rounding to approach her son. “Did school go okay?”

“Mom, you don’t have to ask me every day,” He laughs as she wraps her arms around her son tightly. “School isn’t that bad.”

“I know but I know you have problems,” She sighs, going back to the food. “After the last parent-teacher conference…”

“Why? What’s wrong with my grades?”

“Nothing, baby; your grades are fine,” She waves her hand dismissively. “Your teachers are just worried that you’re not making any friends.”

Sehun leans against the kitchen courter and frowns. “I do have friends! I have...Baekhyun.”

“Annnd?”

“...Chanyeol?”

“This is what I mean,” She points out with eyes full of concern. “I want you to do well.”

Sehun watches as she takes a spoon and takes a bit of the food cooking. He accepts when she offers the spoon for him to try. “Delicious as always,” He compliments. “And I AM doing well, mom. My grades are good and I already know the collage I wanna attend; I sent that application, remember.”

She gives him an apologetic smile. “I know…” She shakes her head. “No, no, you’re right.” They both glance at the front door when it opens, Luhan calling out now. “Go on ahead, okay? I’ll call up when dinner is ready.” Sehun nods and leans over, gently kissing her cheek before grabbing his bag again and heads back down the hall. His stepbrother stops him before he can reach the stairs.

“Hey, wait.”

“What do you want?” Sehun asks with irritation. 

“What uh...did that girl want? From earlier?”

“She wanted me to give you a love letter...just another brainless follower, right?” He scoffs, shaking his head as he begins to head up the stairs. He shouldn’t be so mean to Luhan, he knows that. His stepbrother hasn’t ever done anything bad to him but, then again, he hasn't done any good either. Because if he put in a good word for him, he knows people wouldn’t look down on him like they do. It’s almost as if the lavender haired boy enjoys all of the attention. 

Sehun immediately turns to the right as soon as he climbs the stairs. Down this hall, there are four doors, two set by each other on each side. The first door to the right leads to the guest bedroom while the second door leads to Prince Luhan’s room. The first door on the left goes to the bathroom they share and beside it, Sehun’s sanctuary. He let out a soft, relieved sigh as soon as he enters his bedroom, shutting the door quickly behind him. His room doesn’t match the rest of the proper, pristine house. His walls are painted a navy blue and his floors are wooden. With his messily made double bed pushed vertically to the far right, tucked comfortably into the corner. Above his bed, on the wall, is written: “this mess is a place,”. A small, silly reminder from his best friend to try and be a bit tidy. It’s not like his room is a huge mess; He just sometimes forgets to properly make his bed or to pick up one or two articles of clothing. Above his bed and nightstand, right in between, are some of his photos he had taped up there; from selfies with Baekhyun, Chanyeol, and his mother, to proper family photos. Most of them are just with his mother but does have one or two with his new stepfamily. White Christmas lights hang around the top rim of his room, turning into good old regular decoration. He usually only has those lighting the place up due to the dim, comforting atmosphere it gives.

At the foot of his bed, on the right wall, is the sliding door that leads to his small closet. To the left of his nightstand is his desk, only used for homework most of the time. The only other thing on it, aside from his laptop, is his music player. The black couch pushed against his left wall is home to his backpack and most of his jackets; with CD towers on either side. He knows everyone uses like iPods now but there’s something nice and nostalgic about owning your favorite band’s CD. Aside from some posters and soccer trophies decorating the walls, there’s not many other decors.

“Home sweet home,” He hums as he tosses his bag and uniform jacket to the couch. He kicks off his shoes, not paying attention to where they land. He falls onto his soft, black blankets, answering his phone as it rings. “Shouldn’t you be talking with Chanyeol.” Sehun greets.

“I am!” Baekhyun laughs. “You’re on speaker- say hello!”

“Hey, you giant freak.”

“Hey to you too, goldilocks,” Chanyeol laughs, his voice slightly distorted due to his boyfriend’s laptop speakers. “Still handling balls?”

“The only balls I handle are soccer balls, dumbo. How’s America?”

“I like it here but I miss my little Baek!” He whines.

“Gross,” Sehun wrinkles his nose. 

“Hows his royal highness?”

“Luhan?” He sighs. “Some chick came up and gave me a love letter.”

“Aww!”

“To give to my brother.”

“Aww…”

“She actually had the gull to ing approach me! Like, Luhan was RIGHT outside,” he complains. “And his dumb friends are just as bad, if not worse; they look at me like I’m...trash!”

“I’ll kick their asses when I come back, alright?”

Sehun laughs at that. “Nah, don’t worry about it.”

“Sehun, dinner’s ready!” His mom calls out.

“I have to go,” He says, sitting back up. “Don’t get into too much trouble you two.”

“We will,” Baekhyun giggles. “Have fun with your awkward dinner.”

“Bye Sehuna,” Chanyeol puts in.

“See ya,” He says before hanging up. He stares at his phone for a moment as he thinks back on what his mom said. About how she’s worried that he’s not making friends. Trying to push that from his mind, he replaces the thought that he thinks every single day. “Tomorrow will be different.”

The next day, of course, isn’t any different than the normal. A regular Friday. He’s reminded of his unpopular and unpretty status, he contemplates trying out make-up, and then he kicks around a soccer ball around for an hour after school, sweating like a pig. The other difference is Baekhyun gushes about how Chanyeol’s coming back in time for Winter Vacation in about two weeks. “I can’t wait to be third-wheeled.” 

“What if you meet someone before then?” Baekhyun gasps happily at the thought. 

Sehun gives him a pointed look as they dress back into their uniforms; same as the day before. “That’s hilarious, so funny.”

“I’m serious!” His friend grabs his arm, making their way to the front lockers. “You COULD meet someone!”

Sehun glances out the school glass doors and wants to gag. “Oh, that’s nice.” Out front, Luhan’s arms wrapped tightly around a man’s neck, faces. “Is that Kris?” He snorts and shakes his head, turning his attention back to his locker again. He opens it and stuffs his books inside. “Look, Baek, I’m not holding my breath, okay?”

“Yeah but-” Baekhyun begins to say but something seems to stop him. Sehun furrows his brows, looking over as well now. He watches as one of the most popular heartthrobs approaches them, his hands buried deep in his pockets. He moved here about a year ago but he quickly climbed his way up the ranks and clawed into the cliche stereotype of jock. But his attractiveness is undeniable. With a sharp jaw and tousled dark brown hair, Sehun has a wonder, at the back of his head, how Kai’s tan skin looks wet. It’s disgusting but he always had a thing for sporty, sweaty men. He clears his throat. This man is way out of his league and he prepares himself for the question every hot guy asks him; “You’re Luhan’s little brother, right?”

“Hey,” Kai greets when he’s close enough. He raises a brow at Baekhyun’s strange stare. “Sehun, right? I’ve seen you around but I don’t think we met.”

“Why would we?” Sehun sighs. “I play soccer, you play basketball. You’re popular and I’m the loser. Stop wasting time and ask me about my brother.”

The jock raises a brow in surprise. “Excuse me?”

Sehun doesn’t bother to look at Kai, in fear he'll admire him again. “No, Luhan isn’t single. No, I don’t know if he’s unhappily taken. And no, I can’t give him your dumb love letter in hopes he’d leave his boyfriend for you; that’s your drama, not mine.”

Kai stares at him for a moment before his lips curve up into an amused smile. He laughs a bit and clears his throat. “I’m not here about your brother. I came here to see you.”

Sehun slams his locker, causing Baekhyun to jump a bit. “Really?” He glares at the jock. “It’s not bad enough your ing friends talk me but now you’re actively going out of your way to single me out?!”

“I think you have the wrong idea,” Kai chuckles. “Relax, alright? I just came over to say hi.”

“What?” Sehun furrows his brows in confusion.

“Kai, what’re you doing, man?” Someone calls out from nearby. Sehun recognizes him as a fellow popular jock, Suho. He’s standing with two other boys, Chen and Xiumin. That’s not their real name, of course, and Sehun isn’t sure why they go by those names. No one but each other knows what their real ones are. They’re sort of a different breed than Luhan’s group; they don’t seem as stuck up for douchey. “We still going?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Kai waves his hand at them before smiling back at Sehun. “See you around.” Baekhyun and Sehun both watch as the jock rejoins his friends, slapping all of their backs. He stares after them and crosses his arms. What the hell was that?