Everyone looked older, or cleaner, or just in general better than them. Sure, Dongwoon was handsome. Yes, Mir was adorable as well. The problem was they were surrounded by normal kids – the kind that grew up with parents, went to high school with other suburban teens, and then applied for university with their friends or lovers.

Mir looked around, searching for a place to sit. There were two empty seats in the inner aisle and he turned around to tell Dongwoon only to find the latter greeting what appeared to be the Tech Crew director. Mir sighed softly, smiling and turning to get the seats before anyone else could.

Just as he turned around, his eyes widened and he stuttered back. The steps slipped from beneath him and he flinched. Falling down a staircase was the last thing he wanted to do, especially at freshmen orientation.

“Whoa there, you’re pretty clumsy.”

He blinked a few times, meeting a dark pair of eyes. Two hands strongly gripped his upper arms, holding him up. A young man was gazing at Mir with a little more than amusement in his depths. “N-Not n-normally,” he mumbled, looking away, “c-can you l-let go of m-me?”

“Why are you stuttering so much?” he chuckled, “Am I making you nervous?” The male moved a bit closer, lips tugging up in a smirk.

Mir shook his head, but didn’t bother to explain his dilemma with speaking to people. The only one who could make him act natural was Dongwoon. “E-Excuse me…”

“Why the hurry?” he asked, holding Mir a bit tighter, “We should get to know each other. Why don’t you sit with my friends and me?” He nodded at the group of equally attractive boys near the top of the aisle desks. “My name is—”

“—there you are. Sorry for running off,” Dongwoon’s voice appeared behind Mir. The hands gripping him so tightly loosened up and he tumbled back into his lover’s protective embrace. Mir buried his face in Dongwoon’s shirt, sighing quietly in relief. “What’s wrong?” the taller boy asked softly, rubbing Mir’s backside.

The stranger just looked at them, not exactly sure what to make of the obvious affection. He settled on checking out the cute boy’s apparent lover, eyes flashing with interest. They were pretty attractive together. They would probably be more attractive if they weren’t together though. “Excuse me,” the stranger said, fixing his expression to appear apologetic, “I was just helping your boyfriend. He was going to fall.”

“Thank you,” Dongwoon nodded, smiling halfheartedly at the other male. “My name is Dongwoon. And you are?”

“I’m Junhyung. Nice to meet you, too,” his eyes wandered over to Mir who was still fully buried in the taller boy’s chest, looking as small and precious as he had when he almost fell. Junhyung nodded at Mir, “And what’s his name?”

“This is Mir,” Dongwoon introduced, nudging his lover curiously. Whispering softly, he asked, “What’s wrong, sweetie? Introduce yourself.”

Mir chewed on his bottom lip, eyes shaking pleadingly. However, Dongwoon didn’t appear to get the message as he just pushed him to thank his savior. Sighing, Mir turned around, eyeing the handsome figure. “H-Hey…,” he said, turning back around and tugging his boyfriend towards the aisle.

Was it so wrong that he didn’t want to talk to someone who was hitting on him? Usually, Mir was clueless to things like that, but this person, Junhyung, hadn’t exactly made a point to be aloof. There was so much confidence in everything he had said and done. It had become obvious after a second or too that all he wanted was some action – and not the vicious, punching kind either.

“What’s the matter with you?” Dongwoon questioned as they sat down far away from Junhyung.

Mir shook his head, eyes flitting over to where the aggressive young man was sitting and blatantly throwing looks at him. “He was making a move on me…I think,” he responded, looking down at the desk top, “I didn’t know what to do.”

“Well, you shouldn’t be worrying about that stuff,” the taller boy remarked, smiling and leaning over to kiss him fleetingly on the lips, “All you have to worry about is me. If he tries to make another move, then just remember that I’m here to save you.”

“Yeah, I know,” Mir mumbled, flushing and returning the smile as he nudged Dongwoon out of his personal space.

The latter huffed jokingly, turning his face back to the front. Mir side glanced at Dongwoon and chuckled, his heart beating faster at how cute his lover was being.

They walked through the nighttime campus, stars twinkling high above their heads. Mir held the other male’s hand tightly, humming a soft tune as their laced fingers swung back and forth lazily. Dongwoon tucked the forms for Tech Crew under his free arm, turning his head to look at Mir.

“You’re really happy. Is there any reason why?” he questioned.

“It just feels too good right now, Mir murmured, “and I don’t think that it’s real.” He knew that it sounded pessimistic, but that was truly how it felt. They were basically bums coming from a foster program boarding school. How could they possibly be attending a halfway decent university?

“Don’t think like that,” Dongwoon scolded, smiling and stopping. He walked in a slow circle until he was standing in front of Mir, taking his other hand. A warm breeze rushed behind him, fluffing his light brown hair. “It’s not too good. We did a hell of a lot to get here so don’t even think that it’s too good.” Dongwoon pressed their lips together, tightening his hold on his lover’s hands.

Mir’s heart jumped and he took a small step forward, legs brushing against the other male. The magic didn’t last long though, as a voice cut in, “You two are really into PDA, huh?”

They broke apart in an instant, turning around to see Junhyung and his friends passing by. Dongwoon grinned at the statement, unfazed by the obvious taunting. “Yes, I really do like showing the world that I belong to someone.”

Junhyung’s smile faltered the tiniest bit and then he laughed. “What about you, Mir? Do you feel the same way about your boy toy?” His eyes sparked in the moonlight, gaze focused on the slender figure.

“Uh-huh,” he nodded, eyes flitting away from the powerful stare. It was discomforting to say the least. Why was Junhyung so interested in him? They had a split second moment together and then it had ended. Mir knew himself well enough to say that there was nothing special about him – nothing that should’ve been attracting rich, arrogant boys.

Dongwoon leaned in close to his boyfriend’s ear, whispering, “Do you want to head home? I bet there are some fun things we could do in the apartment…”

He blushed a deep red and he looked down, squirming a little. “O-Okay…,” Mir said quietly, wondering for the hundredth time what Dongwoon had turned him into. It was worse than Taemin’s pick up lines because these ones actually ended with Mir aching and groaning by morning.

A smirk graced the handsome boy’s features as he pulled Mir closer and led him faster down the road. “Good night, Junhyung!” he called over his shoulder, winking at the black eyed person.

Mir laughed softly, eyes shining with amusement. He didn’t say anything to Junhyung, nor did he hear a reply to Dongwoon’s taunting. It most definitely wasn’t the end, but for a while, they could pretend that that man didn’t exist. Mir had no desire to get caught up in a messy situation again.

Wasn’t college supposed to be a time of relaxation and new experiences? High school had all of the personal conflict and drama. So…life had to get better, right? Things like that disappeared once the setting changed, right?

…Right?