“Okay, is everyone here?” the teacher shouts.

“Yes!” all students on the edge of the swimming pool shout back, including Baekhyun and Chanyeol.

“Jeez, where is that guy?” Baekhyun wonders curiously but also slightly irritated.

“Who?” Chanyeol asks.

“Who do you think numbnuts? Luhan of course!”

“Oh, right,” Chanyeol remembers baring his teeth in an awkward smile. “Well, I don’t know. I don’t see him yet either.”

“Yet? Class is starting. Look, everyone’s getting in the pool already. We just got to go as well. Come on Channie,” Baekhyun concludes while pulling the taller guy with him by his arm. Not being noticed at all of course… is Sehun, on a bench a couple of meters away from the pool. Also Sehun is suddenly looking around missing someone. Where would he be? he thinks, slightly disappointed.

“Hey, Sehun~ah!” someone suddenly calls from behind Sehun. He turns around and he unintentionally smiles, but he shakes it off his face as soon as he can. He’s still feeling a bit weird about their last ‘conversation’ and especially the one after that with Kai. The blond guy then steps over the bench and sits next to Sehun. For quite a while Sehun simply stares at Luhan. “Oh, of course, you’re wondering why I’m here… fully clothed,” Luhan realizes seriously but with a chuckle at the end. “Well, I’m injured, so…” Sehun takes a short look at Luhan’s body and face but doesn’t notice anything notably odd. Again he stares at him. “Well, at least that’s what my note for the teacher says,” Luhan continues with a satisfied little smirk on his face. Sehun’s eyes get a little bigger. “I just… I didn’t really feel like swimming today, not at all actually… So I thought I’ll just join yóu, here.” For a little while Sehun looks down surprised, just one moment peeking at Luhan, wondering. He could realize himself too that he isn’t really feeling like swimming, that could just happen to be so, but… something still seems a bit weird about it. Suddenly they hear one voice slightly rise above all others.

“No, it’s nót funny! Just stop calling me Bacon!” they hear Baekhyun almost scream before he pushes Chanyeol in the pool. Luhan starts laughing right away but he lowers his voice, sort of automatically, when he hears even Sehun softly laughing. It’s not like he never did it before, but it’s still quite an exception when he actually laughs, which is a shame, since Luhan loves to see his smile. Trying to distract himself he looks at Baekhyun and Chanyeol again and again he starts laughing.

“Well, who would have thought that?” he jokes. “Guess Baekhyun is a lot tougher or rather persistent than we thought, right? Or the name Bacon just releases certain mysterious powers from deep within him,” he wonders with a bit of emphasize but without laughing, making Sehun chuckle softly again. Luhan simply watches him. When Sehun looks back he immediately averts his eyes, suddenly feeling a bit awkward, not sure why. “Hey um…” he starts just to break the silence. “You shouldn’t listen to Kai. You do know that, don’t you?” he asks thinking back to their last conversation. Immediately Sehun’s smile vanishes from his face and there’s nothing left that could be called emotion. Okay, I guess you don’t… “I… I didn’t… I’m sorry for bringing that up. Really, but… You know he doesn’t mean anything he says, so… Please just don’t worry about it too much,” Luhan says soothing. He sees the tension in Sehun’s body lessen a little already, but not enough. Luhan thinks for a while and then takes a good look around him. “You know what Sehun…” Sehun looks up curiously. “Let’s just get out of here,” Luhan proposes like he only realized the idea at the moment he said it. Slightly shocked Sehun’s eyes get big, with a look like he’s asking What do you mean? “Well… Let’s just go away, right now, and… take a walk or something.” He waits a little while for Sehun to react in any kind of way, but… nothing yet. “Come on, are you really having fun here then? I know Baekhyun was quite funny just yet, but… that’s it, right?” When Sehun still looks at him the same way Luhan sighs. Then he decides… this time he’s nót going to wait for what he says. He stands up, determined. “Come on, let’s go,” he simply says and starts to walk away, only to be held back after just a second. Sehun’s hand has clutched itself onto Luhan’s sleeve and the brown haired boy looks at him slightly afraid. Luhan looks back. “I know it’s not allowed, but… What does it really matter? How much could they punish us for…” Then Luhan suddenly thinks of something. “for just getting some ice cream?” Sehun looks rather surprised now. “Yeah, you know, I saw an ice cream stand on the way here, why don’t we just only go there for a moment? That’s not so bad, right?” he says while looking anticipating. Sehun thinks for a moment and keeps his hand on Luhan’s sleeve but does stand up now as well. Luhan’s smile grows when he sees Sehun has surrendered. He looks around him again and as the teacher is standing with his back towards them he sees this as a chance get away and he runs towards the building, Sehun being dragged with him.

Once they walk out at the other side of the building Luhan takes one deep breath of satisfaction and only then Sehun lets go of him. There isn’t really a lot of sun right now but it is quite warm. “Look, there it is,” Luhan says happily while pointing at the ice cream stand a couple of houses away. He takes Sehun’s hand, surprising him a little, and walks fast towards it. When they arrive two girls, seeming around their age, have just received their ice cream and are now paying the man who owns the stand. When they turn around, chatting and all, they first seem to just walk away immediately but as they see the two guys they stop for a moment.

“Well, hi there,” one of the girls, with eyes blue like water, starts with a smile.

“Um… Hi,” Luhan just says back.

“I’ve never seen you here before, am I right?”

“Yeah. What are you here for?” the other brown-eyed girl joins in. Luhan is not sure what to say at this sudden approach, but then just decides to tell the truth.

“Well, we’re actually here for school. We’re supposed to be having PE right now, swimming, but we’re both injured, so…”

“Aw, that’s so sad,” the blue-eyed girl says with a pout, staring at Luhan the whole time.

“Yeah,” the other repeats, while looking from Luhan to Sehun from time to time.

“But then… How come you’re here? Shouldn’t you just stay at the pool then?” she asks, not accusing but just a little curious.

“Well… To be honest, we should. But we thought it was worth it to break the rules for once for a bit of ice cream. I don’t think anything noticed so ssh, don’t tell anyone,” Luhan says while holding his finger in front of his mouth and showing a cute smile. Both girls chuckle with their hand in front of their mouths, seemingly attracted by his cuteness. Sehun smiles for a moment, surprised by Luhan’s way of acting, but soon that smile disappears as he realizes what it is that he sees. They’re only interested in hím anyways. But Sehun doesn’t realize that very soon the brown-eyed girl is looking at hím again.

“Well, it’s a shame we need to go now,” the blue-eyed girl starts again, still looking at Luhan.

“But maybe we’ll see you guys again some other time, right?” the brown-eyed girl continues while still looking at Sehun. He only notices a few seconds later and then nods, forcing a little smile on his face. The girl softly bites her lip before looking at Luhan for a moment as well.

“Yeah, maybe,” Luhan concludes with an anticipating smile.

“Okay, bye!” the girls both say simultaneously while waving at the guys as they walk away, quickly starting eating their ice cream as they notice a great amount is dripping down the sides already. Luhan waves back, but Sehun does nothing.

“Wow, that was um… surprising,” Luhan states a bit awkwardly but still with a smile. Sehun only looks at him for one second but next to that doesn’t nod or react at all. He just walks closer to the ice cream stand and takes a look at all the flavors. Luhan is a little bit confused about the fact that Sehun doesn’t react, but he doesn’t seek too much behind it. “Do you know what flavor you want? Ho, wait! No, I want to guess your favorite. Can I guess?” Sehun doesn’t look up but just nods, almost invisibly. “Hmm… I think it’s…” he says very slowly. “Chocolate! Am I right?” Sehun now, sort of automatically, looks up of surprise. A little, this time sincere, smile is formed on his face as he nods slowly. “Really? Yes!” Luhan says proud about his guessing skills. “One ice cream with mint flavor and one with chocolate flavor please.”

“Coming up,” the man of the stand says, still smiling because of the scene between them and the two girls he saw just yet.

“Mint is mý favorite flavor,” Luhan adds directed to Sehun again. When they receive their ice cream Luhan pays.

“It’s okay, this is on me. It was my idea, so…” Sehun just nods thankfully before giving the ice cream one but then waiting until Luhan is finished. Apparently the man can’t help but start about what happened in the end.

“So, it looks like you guys are pretty loved with the girls,” he says while looking at them from the corner of his eyes, pretending to be busy. Both guys look up a bit surprised but Luhan seems the most surprised of the two.

“What? Well- No, we’re just… We’re not-”

“Oh come on, don’t be shy. Especially yóu blond guy, you knew well how to have a conversation,” he says while laughing softly in admiration. “And at the same time so shy. I kind of support those girls on their opinion,” he continues in a joking way even though he means it. Luhan is slowly feeling more and more embarrassed.

“Oh, really, no. I’m not-”

“Your friend here seems to agree as well.” Luhan looks to the side and sees sehun continuously nodding. When he sees Luhan looking he immediately stops. Luhan keeps looking at him for a moment; confused, maybe even a little shocked.

“Yeah well… Thanks, I guess,” Luhan then just decides to conclude the conversation with. “We must really go now, so…”

“Okay. Well, have a nice day!” is the last thing the man says, with a big smile.

“Yeah, same to you,” Luhan says before walking away and Sehun follows him immediately. They just walk like that for quite a while, enjoying their ice cream, at the same time having that excuse to not talk to each other for a moment. When Luhan has finished his ice cream already, while Sehun is still eating, he can’t help but bring up the subject.

“Sehun… Why did you agree with him?” Sehun looks to the side once and then just slightly shrugs his shoulders. “You know, he’s not the first one who said it though.” Sehun seems rather surprised now. “My parents always say it. Even my sister, even though she doesn’t feel about me that way. Several people at my previous school said it too. Even…” He was going to say ‘Kai’, but only after starting his sentence he realizes it and thinks back to what he had said. Mister I’m-an-angel-and-everyone-simply-wórships-me. In the end he decides not to finish that sentence. It’s true, isn’t it? He tries hard to shake off the memory of Kai saying that. “I mean… Why do people say that? Why do they think that way of me?” Sehun holds up the palm of his hands as if saying Well, it’s true. “What? No! No, it’s not true. You know, it’s not that I hate it that people like me or something but this is just… weird, I don’t know. It’s just not true,” Luhan says stubbornly. Sehun simply shakes his head while looking at him. “Yah, it really isn’t true.” Suddenly Sehun points in the distance, towards the ice cream which is too far away to see anymore. “Yes?” First he points at Luhan and sticks his thumbs up. Then he points at himself and after a while waves his hand like he’s saying I’m nothing. “What?” Luhan starts more softly now. “No, Sehun. Sehun, I don’t want you to say things like that!” he says fiercely as well as a bit sad as he grabs Sehun’s shoulders and lets his hands stay there, making Sehun shiver at the sudden, quite rough, touch. “Why wóuld you even say that? Where were you when those girls were talking to us. You’re not thinking they only looked at mé, are you?” Sehun looks up at him again, with a look that says Of course. To Sehun great surprise Luhan suddenly, rather unwillingly, starts chuckling. “Are you serious? Sehun, that brown-eyed girl could barely take her eyes off you!” Immediately Sehun’s eyes get huge. “You can call mé ignorant but then seriously, what are yóu?” Slowly Sehun’s eyes get smaller again while he’s thinking back to the way that girl had looked at him. Is it true? Is it true that she… liked me or something? I mean… No. It can’t be. No, I-

His chain of thoughts is suddenly cut off by a certain… strange pain in his head. Luhan sees the look Sehun’s face is getting more painful every second. Sehun is feeling several pounds in his head and, to Luhan’s surprise, he soon reaches with his hands to the back of his head and clenches his teeth. “Sehun? Sehun, are you alright? Sehun?” Luhan asks more worried every time and tightens his grip on Sehun’s shoulders. As the pain worsens Sehun releases a few groans of pain. Then he even starts to feel a little dizzy. Shocking Luhan terribly Sehun’s face suddenly becomes emotionless again, but not as usual, and before he knows it Sehun’s eyes close and his hands slide down from his head to end up hanging like there’s no strength in it anymore whatsoever. Luhan has to adapt right away and carry all his weight, trying to prevent him from falling forward. Luhan knows what’s going on, but he doesn’t want to realize it yet. “Sehun? S-Sehun?!” he calls while slightly shaking his unconscious friend. “What do I d-” He quickly looks around him. , there’s no one here. No one! He takes his phone out of his pockets and start to dial, but then he realizes something. No. No, you know what… I’m going to take care of this myself. I can do this myself. And then Í will be ‘the one who helped him’. He still seems to have a hard time believing that I really care for him, so this is how I will prove it. If I ask people from school he’ll… No, I’m going to do it differently.

He holds Sehun’s upper back tightly with his right arm to then sweep his legs up with his left arm. Wow, bridal style. Who would have thought I would carry Sehun bridal style? Who would have thought I would even cárry Sehun? He sighs softly. Thank god you’re not that heavy. He slightly pushes against Sehun’s back so his head doesn’t hang loose backwards but slightly falls forward and lies against Luhan’s chest. The feeling going through him right now is indescribable, but he doesn’t really allow himself to think about those stupid feelings at the moment. He starts walking, trying not to smile. He can’t smile right now. He can’t smile cause he’s still so worried about him. He just keeps walking, all the time thinking… What could be going on?

After walking like that for quite a while Luhan realizes he really needs to relax his arms for a moment. He may not be heavy but after a while it definitely starts to work on your arms. As soon as he spots a bench he puts Sehun down on it slowly so he’s sitting up. When Sehun is finally sitting still he sits right next to him. He’s still completely unconscious. Luhan shakes his arms in front of him a little bit to get the life back in them. Then his eyes just wander off to the unconscious but still… beautiful boy beside him. Even though there is no sign of awakening at all yet he decides to hold his shoulder and shake him softly, with a slightly sad expression on his face. Still no sign. When Luhan looks  forward again it kind of surprises him when he sees Sehun’s head fall to the side in the corner of his eyes. He held his hands up already to push him up again, but then he feels his head lay on his shoulder… and realizes he doesn’t want it any differently. The first couple of seconds Luhan just holds his hands on his lap again, but he can’t help himself. He bends his head forward a little so he can see a bit more of Sehun’s face; his bangs, as usual, covering his eyes for the biggest part, his mouth now slightly open in a very cute way, his eyes closed, looking so serene. “So beautiful,” he whispers almost soundless while wiping a bit of Sehun’s hair from his eyes. On the one hand he truly wishes Sehun heard him say that, so he’d know that there really is someone who thinks he’s beautiful, but on the other hand of course, he’d probably be kind of freaked out and get the wrong idea. Well, isn’t that just the ríght idea Luhan? No! Damn it. Shut up! He was actually just going to remove his hand from Sehun’s face again, but then, sort of automatically, his hand only wanders to the side of his face and ends up at his cheek. He just can’t get over how mesmerized he is by this boy. He unintentionally feels himself lower his head towards the top of Sehun’s.

Then suddenly, just before his lips touched the top of his head… he feels a tiny bit of movement on his shoulder. He immediately removes his hand from Sehun’s cheek and completely sits up again. He bends his head forward again to be able to see Sehun’s eyes. The now finally conscious boy blinks a few times before slowly opening his eyes fully, still looking a little dizzy. “Sehun, you’re finally awake,” Luhan starts softly. Sehun carefully turns his head to look at Luhan and when he realizes he’s laying on his shoulder he sits up right away, feeling slightly embarrassed. “Hey, are you okay again?” Luhan goes on feeling his worries come up again. Sehun nods softly. “Um… Has this happened before, at least once?” Sehun seems to think for a little while but then shakes his head. “Well, then… Do you think you can walk?” Luhan asks as he stands up and holds Sehun’s arm with both of his hands, waiting for him to respond. Sehun hesitantly tries to stand up. Even though he loses his balance for just a second, next to that he seems fine. “Well, alright then. Let’s get you home,” Luhan states with a tiny smile. Still holding Sehun’s arm with one hand he slowly starts walking but to his big surprise he is held back and when he looks around… he sees Sehun staring at him with enormous eyes.

“Sehun, come on. Why… Why aren’t you moving?” Sehun vigorously shakes his head. “What? What is wrong?” Luhan thinks for a short moment. “You don’t want to go home?” Sehun nods confirming it. “Sehun… I know the way. I’m sorry for knowing where you live but I… sort of peeked at your information on the teachers computer screen when she was once talking to me about your extra lessons, and I… kind of remembered it… so… Well, at least you don’t need to worry that I don’t know the way. It’s not that far away anymore, is it?” he ends a little awkwardly. He must think I’m a stalker. I’m not a stalker, really! But I did... sort of… write it down. You never know when you’re going to need it! Nów is such a moment! Again Luhan tries to start walking but Sehun shakes his head again. Luhan thinks. “Or… do you not want me to come with you?” he continues a little softer. Sehun looks surprised and, again, shake his head with a look that’s saying No, that’s not it! “Then whát Sehun? Then what is it?” For a while it stays quiet and Sehun doesn’t react at all.  Then, after that long silence, Sehun points at Luhan and in the direction of the swimming pool. He then points at himself before pointing in the completely opposite direction, the direction of his house. “Sehun, why? No, I’m not going t-” Sehun shakes his head, softly now, with a suddenly very serious face. Luhan stands still for a moment, a bit flustered to see that kind of look on Sehun’s face. “Well… Okay then. I’ll just… I’ll just head back to the pool. It could be they’re already looking for us, so… Yeah.” is all he can say in the end and he walks away without looking back again, leaving a sad Sehun behind, not aware of the fact that Sehun feels sorry for being like that, for making him go away. I’m sorry Luhan, it’s just… it’s just not possible.

After he has unlocked the door he opens it. As he walks in he immediately drops his bag and heads for the couch. He really has to lie down for a moment.

“Sehunnie, you’re home!” his mother calls slowly but enthusiastically, like she’s just tired or something. Sehun stands still right in front of the couch. He turns around and looks back at his mother. She’s sitting, or rather hanging, at the kitchen table a couple of meters away. “What are you doing here honey? Come here for a second,” she continues with a sweet and quite high voice, almost just as slowly. Sehun hesitates for a moment, but then with a sigh he walks up to her. He stands opposite of her, leaning with his hands on the table. “Oh. What happened? You look a little dizzy?” He doesn’t react to her question but only gives her his well-known You’re drunk face. “Well… Yes, I might be a little drunk,” she admits slightly exaggerating while loosely holding up her hands.  I’m so not in the mood for this right now, Sehun thinks before turning around. “No! Sehun, please wait,” she almost begs. He actually just wants to continue and go upstairs to his room, but eventually he still turns back to his mother again. It stays quiet for a while though. “Just… Just give you mommy a hug,” she then says first with a pout and then with a smile and sticks out her arms as an invitation, releasing a drunk chuckle. Sehun keeps standing still, not moving a muscle. “Sehun… Please Sehun,” she continues a bit softer, her smile reducing already. Still… not a muscle. He knows how harsh he’s being, cause he knows it’s not just about a hug, it’s about a lot more than that. He then looks down, not wanting to see the look in his mother’s eyes, the look he has seen on her face so often already. “Sehun…” Slowly here eyes are getting watery. “Sehun, look at me. J-Just… Just look at me, damn it!” she suddenly shouts angrily. It doesn’t surprise Sehun. Nothing she does or says surprises Sehun anymore these days. As Sehun keeps looking down she sighs. “Why have you become so bitter towards me? Why to mé?” she says softly again. Now Sehun can’t help to look up at her, like he’s saying You know really well why. “No. No, I don’t deserve that Sehun and you know it!” Tears are slowly gathering in the corners of her eyes. “You know I never did… really did anything wrong. You know Í still love you.” He’s getting tired of it now.

He just sighs, turns around and slowly starts walking away. “Sehunnie, I still love you! Wait!” she almost screams while standing up, trying not to lose her balance. Sehun doesn’t look around when he hears her do so, he just keeps walking, but still slowly. But then he feels his mother’s hands on his shoulders, her rather hanging on him than holding him and stands still again, without turning around. “H-Honey… why won’t you just t-talk to me?” she asks softly while sobbing more every second. “Why won’t you talk to me?!” she screams desperately now. Finally Sehun turns around and looking in his eyes his mother now lays her hands on both of his cheeks. “Sehun, I just… I-I just want to hear your voice again. Please…” she begs almost soundless while finally a tear is running down her cheek. Sehun’s face stays emotionless. Look at her, standing there, so helpless… Soon he carefully takes her hands of his cheek, but when she sees he’s about to turn around again she resists. “No. Sehun, no! No!” she screams crying more and more while trying to grab Sehun and make him stay here, but Sehun resists as well. He tries to keep her hands off him, to stop her from embracing him, but she keeps going. And then he’s fed up with it. “Sehun, please- Ah!” she screams when Sehun takes her arms and throws her on the ground fiercely. He gives her one more fierce look. No. She doesn’t make a sound anymore, apart from her soft sobs maybe, but just clenches her teeth slightly and watches her son turn around and walk up the stairs, disappearing, as if he’s now officially disappearing from her life.

Sehun didn’t give himself a long time to rest. On the one hand he would have truly wanted to stay there in his bed, but on the other hand he just didn’t want to be there at that moment, in that house, what Luhan had called home. He chuckles inside at the thought. Sure, home… Eventually he just decided to go to school again, even though he wasn’t sure if thát was what he wanted either, but it seemed the best option out of the two. He might still feel slightly dizzy but he’s okay next to that. He walks into the school building and sees the next classes haven’t started yet. He’s trying hard to remember what class he’s actually supposed to have next when he suddenly feels someone grab his arm and is being pulled away. By this action his dizziness increases and with all the other people in the hallway and seeing only the back of the guy’s head he isn’t able to identify him yet. They soon disappear in the nearest toilet room. Only when he stands still he can focus his eyes on his surroundings again. He sees no one else is here, but the most important thing he sees is that the guy opposite of him is…

“Hello there Sehun~ah,” he says while pushing him roughly against the wall. Sehun hisses softly in pain. Kai… What does he want from me nów? “You know… I kind of missed you. Back at the pool this morning at a certain moment I couldn’t find you anymore. That was kind of a shame,” he says with a smirk while teasing his finger over Sehun’s chest a few times, up and down. He holds his other hand against the wall, next to Sehun’s head. Sehun is close to frozen. “You were gone. With Luhan, weren’t you?” Sehun’s eyes get a little big for a moment. Kai hisses in disappointment. “Okay, I must not turn around it too much. What I’m trying to say is…” he continues while holding his other hand on the wall as well, like he’s locking Sehun in between his arms as if they’re two walls. “I don’t like it. I don’t like it at all,” he says still teasing a little, but then his smirk disappears and a angry look appears on his face. Then he gets close to Sehun’s ear. “I want you to get rid of him,” he whispers in his ear. Sehun’s eyes get big of confusion and looks at Kai when he moves his head back again. “What? Does it surprise you thát much? That guy is just getting on my nerves,” he continues through gritted teeth. “There was a time...” he starts exaggerating. “that I could do whatever I wanted, without anyone stopping me. But then… Then there was your sweet little friend Luhan. And he kind of ruined the fun for me. So… now I’m asking you… to just get rid of him.” Sehun looks at him still a bit questioning but slowly realizes what he’s actually saying. “I want you to get rid of him, one way or another. Just say you don’t want to be friends anymore, or… I don’t care! It would just make my life so much easier. And by the way, you repel almost everyone,” Kai says likes he’s just stating a fact, which makes a shock go through Sehun’s body for a short moment. “It shouldn’t be too hard for you.” Slowly Sehun moves his head downwards and avoids Kai’s eyes. “You’re my little puppet… and there can’t be two people pulling the strings. Isn’t that obvious?” he continues teasingly as he lays his hands on both of Sehun’s cheeks, delighted by the complete control he has over this boy. “I just want you all for myself. You know that baby,” he concludes while taking one step even closer, Sehun still trying not to look at him, and with his hands still on his cheeks he slowly moves his head closer to Sehun’s. The closer Kai the gets, the harder it gets for Sehun to look away and eventually he looks Kai straight in the eyes, breathing fast, shocked by what Kai’s doing. Kai looks back at first but then slowly closes his eyes and just when he felt only the slightest touch of Sehun’s lips on his, someone opens the door and they both immediately look to the side.

“Kai!” He hesitates for just a second but then Kai takes a step back again and shows the blond guy his annoyance, although with a smirk.

“Well well, if that isn’t Luhan. What a surprise,” he says slightly sarcastically.

“What are you doing Kai?” Luhan continues fiercely like Kai didn’t say anything. Kai chuckles.

“Me? Oh, I’m just catching up with my little friend over here,” he says innocently while tapping Sehun’s shoulders a few times. Luhan thinks for a while and eventually decides he’s not in the mood for this. He grabs Sehun’s arm. Kai lets it happen.

“Come on Sehun, class is almost starting,” he states while looking at Kai angrily. Sehun gladly complies and as he gets closer to him he lets Luhan throw his arm around his upper back. They start to walk away already, but then Luhan hesitates for a second. “You know Kai… I think your teasing is going a bit too far these days. Everything you do is becoming one big tease. If you go on like this… how will we know when you’re being serious?” Not waiting for an answer, just leaving Kai to think about it, he walks away with Sehun next to him and closes the door. Kai stands still, staring blankly at the door, trying so hard to suppress that one thought that is about to sneak into his mind but in the end unable to do so. He… He’s right.

Luhan is sitting next to Sehun, of course. It’s not like they haven’t talked yet, but he hás hidden that something’s bothering him. This time Sehun didn’t notice, at least not yet. The whole time Luhan is thinking about Sehun; about the fainting, that he didn’t want him to bring him home, but maybe even most importantly that he had no idea that brown-eyed girl was interested in him. Of course that’s not really what it’s about, that she was interested, but it’s about a lot more than that. Apparently Sehun really thinks that no one loves him, that no one care for him, but that’s not true. At the moment there may not be many people who do so, but especially because of that it’s important for him to keep his eyes open so he notices when someone does. It’s not that Sehun isn’t alert. There just seems to be this one… idea in his mind, saying that he isn’t loved by anyone and will never be. It seems like that idea has completely taken control so his mind just blocks it even when it does happen, even right in front him. Luhan sighs. He just wants to know why. He wants to know why he would have that idea. It should be something that has been going on for years, or something really bad that happened in the past, years ago. He doesn’t know. He hopes… sincerely hopes Sehun will one day trust him and just like him enough to be able to tell him. He doesn’t hope for it too much though. But… If there was just a way to… not only to show that I care for him but also to just let him have fun, enjoy life a bit… Then the bell rings. Slightly tangled since he had been thinking so deeply he stands up and packs his stuff and so does Sehun.

“Do you um… still have any classes now?” Luhan asks as they walk towards the door. Sehun looks up and shakes his head, seeming quite relaxed. Well, then I’m definitely not going to throw any questions at him right now. “Me neither.”

“Hey Luhan!” he hears Baekhyun call. Luhan chuckles.

“You are always here exactly on time, aren’t you? I’d almost think you’re a stalker,” Luhan says as he and Sehun walk up to the two other guys.

“Hi guys!” Chanyeol now calls too. Then Sehun softly pulls Luhan’s sleeve. When he has Luhan’s attention he taps his bag twice.

“Oh, right. Well, I’ll just wait here, okay?” Sehun nods and then walks away. Luhan already wants to open his mouth again but Baekhyun interrupts him.

“What did he mean by that?” he asks a little curious.

“What? Oh, he just needs to go to his locker, that’s all.”

“Well, it looks like you don’t even have to talk to understand each other. That’s quite convenient in your case, isn’t it,” Chanyeol says joking, even though he means it.

“Yes, indeed,” Luhan agrees but he can only show a tiny smile. It’s… let’s say funny Chanyeol says that. With the little things, yes, they understands each other most of the time, but the things that really matter… are still one big mystery. Chanyeol does notice Luhan is a little sad, in some way, but he has no idea why.

“Um… Did I say something?” he then just asks. Luhan looks up again.

“No. No, it’s fine. I’ll just… see you tomorrow, okay?”

“Oh, um… Yeah, sure,” Chanyeol responds even more confused. After Luhan has turned around Baekhyun folds his arms and looks at Chanyeol beside him like he’s saying Good job numbnuts. “What? Why are you looking at me like that?” Baekhyun just shortly shakes his head and slightly pushes the tall guy with his elbow. “Ouch, what the-”

“Babo,” is all Baekhyun says, almost whispering, with an annoyed face but like he actually isn’t that surprised. “It’s… You know what, I’m not even going to try to explain you the whole thing,” Baekhyun says while looking forward again and shaking his head. Even though Baekhyun doesn’t know everything that happened or that Luhan and Sehun talked about, but he does know that Luhan is worried and that he has a lot of questions, a lot of things he doesn’t understand about Sehun. “Luhan, wait!” he calls while running up to the blond guy who’s almost at the outside door. Luckily Luhan stops right away and turns around. Chanyeol soon follows Baekhyun. “Hey, um… You know, Chanyeol and I were actually going to a karaoke room tonight, and first go eat somewhere together. Do you maybe want to come along?” Baekhyun asks, thinking it would be for Luhan to just go have some fun.

“Ooh, yeah, that would be fun! Just come with us!” Chanyeol joins in enthusiastically. Luhan thinks for a moment.

“Actually that would be really nice. I could probably have all my homework for tomorrow done in the within the next few hours, so after that I’m free. You really don’t mind?” he asks trying not to let Chanyeol see that his question is mostly directed to Baekhyun.

“No, of course not. It’s fine,” Baekhyun answers, knowing what Luhan is thinking. He knows Luhan thinks he’d maybe rather be alone with Chanyeol and that may be a little true, but it would also be a lot of fun with Luhan and they haven’t hung out like this in years, so it’s a good thing. Luhan nods in response.

“Okay then. So where shall we m-” Luhan stops to think for a moment. “Um… Guys?” Luhan then suddenly starts a little softer on a higher pitch. The two other guys look slightly confused.

“Yes?” they both respond simultaneously.

“Um… I um… I’m not sure what you would think of it, but… I’m just going to give it a shot.” Baekhyun and Chanyeol look at him anticipating. “Would you… mind if… Sehun would come as well?” They first look at Luhan with big eyes, then to each other and then back to Luhan.

“Are… Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Baekhyun responds. Chanyeol slightly nods agreeing and looks a bit questioning as well.

“Well, I-”

“You know we don’t hate him or something, but… As you might have noticed, he doesn’t talk that much,” Baekhyun continues seriously.

“I… I know, but… I just think it’s good for him.”

“Yeah, but-”

“Of course there are probably a lot of things about Sehun’s life that I don’t even know of, but from what I know I think today was quite a rough day for him, not physically but just… It seems like he has completely forgotten how it is to have friends, and to have fun.” The look on Baekhyun and Chanyeol’s faces slowly become a bit more compassionate. “So I think this would be a good chance for him to… well, to just have some fun.” Chanyeol nods like he’s thinking You háve got a point there. Baekhyun, who has got a longer way to go with liking Sehun than Chanyeol has, thinks for a while. Of course he sort of understands what Luhan’s saying. How he felt about Luhan, that it would be good for him to have some fun, is probably very similar to how Luhan feels about, but probably Luhan feels it even ten times worse, especially because of the feelings he has for Sehun. Why doesn’t he just admit it? It seems like he’s still fooling himself, telling himself that he’s happy just being friends with Sehun. I’m not stupid. I know he feels more.

“Well… Chanyeol? What do you think? I think it’s fine,” Baekhyun with a tiny but sincere smile, actually surprising both Luhan and Chanyeol.

“Um… I um… Actually it’s fine to me too,” Chanyeol says a little confused at first but ending with a big smile on his face. Luhan smile grows, more than he actually wanted it to, and is about to open his mouth again but Baekhyun is faster.

“But… There’s still one thing,” he suddenly realizes.

“What?” Luhan and Chanyeol ask in unison.

“Doesn’t Sehun first have to want and be able to go?” Baekhyun states like it’s kind of obvious. The other two then think for a moment.

“Yeah. That’s true actually,” Luhan agrees. “Well, he was going to be back after going to his locker so he should b- Sehun!” Luhan blurts out a little startled by Sehun suddenly standing next to him. Sehun looks at all the other guys like he’s asking What’s wrong? “Um… Sehun… Your timing is perfect. Actually I wanted to ask you something. And please, promise me not to immediately say ‘no’.” Sehun looks at him slightly suspiciously but then nods as sort of a permission to ask him. “Um… Do you maybe… want to hang out with us tonight, with the three of us?” Luhan waits for Sehun’s reaction for a moment but then decides to first tell a bit more. “Actually, we are going to eat something together and then go to a karaoke room.” Sehun looks rather surprised. “Yes indeed, I said ‘karaoke room’, but… Just come with us, just to have fun. I know you’re probably not going to sing or anything, but… at least you can laugh at ús,” Luhan says still seriously, making Sehun chuckle very softly. “But of course I understand if y-” He is interrupted as he sees Sehun simply nodding; not suspiciously, not overenthusiastically, like he would éver do that, but not hesitantly at all. Now it’s Luhan’s turns to look at him a little suspicious. “A-Are you sure?” Sehun thinks for just a second but then nods the exact same way. “And… And you don’t have anything to do tonight?” Sehun shakes his head quite fast. “Well, then…” Luhan says while looking at Baekhyun and Chanyeol for a moment. “That’s great,” he concludes with a smile, still slightly surprised but definitely happily surprised. When Sehun looks at the other two guys Baekhyun just nods with a smile and Chanyeol, as the happy virus he is, sticks up both of his thumbs while putting a big teeth-baring smile on his face. Now everyone has agreed to go they decide where they are going to meet and then all leave for home. Luhan smiles as he’s thinking to himself. I might think differently tomorrow, but… Right now I couldn’t feel more happy.