Sehun was a good person. No, scratch that, Sehun was a great person. The fifteen year old was not very popular, but he was certainly well known thanks to his kindness. But every person should live with his own shortcomings and those of Sehun were written all over his skin. The fifteen year old had come to cut himself for three years to shift his inner pain to a more physical pain, and even though his sadness was sometimes very obvious, nobody ever realized what was going through his mind.

Sehun now depended on his two companions, Kim Jongin and Chinese exchange student freshman, Huang ZiTao. Both were very well known throughout the school as ZiTao practiced martial arts, and Jongin was recognized in the field of dancing. It was very obvious that Sehun was the black sheep within their circle of friends; his only talent was to pretend that everything was fine.

During recess periods within the institute, Jongin, Tao and Sehun gathered away from the crowd to eat German pies of bacon, ham and cheese, and chicken and mushroom, but Sehun preferred spaghetti pie. He always got angry and frustrated when the seller with a German accent said there was no spaghetti pie, and he had to toe the line with an algae cake.

Sehun remembers it was a Friday when Jongin spoke about the rumor of a new exchange student to come to school the second semester, and Sehun grumbles that it was enough to have to put up with Tao, and that the school had enough exchange students.

"They say he failed a year," adds Jongin while chewing a piece of meat. "And that he should have graduated long ago."

"What year is he in?" Tao question.

Jongin responds with sarcasm that he would be in the last year, and is Sehun himself who throws that question that makes Tao and Jongin throw wondering looks on him, "And how is he? Handsome?"

"I mean, all exchange students are handsome," Tao says. "Me, for example."

Jongin made his sarcastic laughter and glanced at his chicken and mushroom pie. Despite his constant sarcasm and sometimes irritating comments, Jongin was Sehun's best friend, and spent almost all their time together. Almost. When Sehun wasn’t in the bedroom he shared with an older boy, Do Kyungsoo.

Do Kyungsoo was unique, and had many features that made him someone recognizable. But there was one detail that made him different from most of its peers this year. One word: small. Kyungsoo was short, shorter than most peers and even most of the boys in the lower years. But this was not an obstacle for him, for his height was compensated with his powerful voice. Sehun never said it, but he loved to hear him sing in the shower.

Besides Jongin, Kyungsoo also commented on the new student constantly.

Sehun wonders, what's so special about an exchange student?

It is not until the second semester that the exchange student appears at school, and the whole world seems to spin the opposite side designated and as to Sehun, things started to change since his arrival. Kyungsoo befriends the young guy instantly, and Sehun threatens him saying that if he brings the boy to his bedroom, he would cut off the water every day after bathing. Very within, Sehun felt intimidated.

The young man named Lu Han came from a privileged school live from Beijing. Lu Han was handsome, and a little shy, but still, his popularity rose impressively when it reached the second week of his arrival.

The affection Sehun felt for Lu Han was only impression for his talents in sports. The boy was very good at football, and even ping pong, but Sehun did not happen to recognize until the institute took a table.

The table that would originally for college students was taken over by young mediocre and sweaty boys, including Park Chanyeol, Do Kyungsoo, Minseok Kim, Kris Wu and finally, Lu Han. Lu Han's talent in tennis was actually impressive. The young boy fit perfectly into the typical stereotype that the Chinese were always good at ping pong and other games. Park Chanyeol, the best player and student of the junior year said, 'Lu Han is even better than me.'

Sehun tries to convince himself that he is not impressed with Lu Han (the man does not seem to lack anything) and simply admires his beauty and talent from a safe distance. And for weeks, he just looks at him, and realizes every day that he is letting himself fell into a deep feeling of admiration and something more serious, perhaps even attraction ... No. Of course not. Sehun cannot feel drawn to him, it is prohibited, both are men, right? Is it prohibited?

But Sehun can’t just deny it. He can lie to the whole school, but not to himself. Lu Han had something, something that would get him in trouble.

"Honey ..." Kyungsoo sings while crossing the bedroom door. "I'm home."

"Honey my ." Sehun complains and looks back to his computer.

"What are you doing? Watching ?"

"Yes ..." Sehun responds. "But it's too strong for you, you're not man enough."

Kyungsoo launches in Sehun’s bed and lies down on his right arm. "Speaks the guy who is enamored of the foreigner..."

"What? Who? I? Foreigner? HA! Have not even spoken! I bet he doesn’t even know my name! I do not know what you mean!"

"What?" Kyungsoo frowns. "You’re always with him and Jongin in recess."

"Ah ... Tao."

"Yes, Tao." Kyungsoo roared. "Who did you think I was talking about?"

"No—Nobody”  Sehun nervously turned his gaze to the computer. "I ... I have to finish something for Languages. So ... You ... Go do your stuff."

"Go..." Kyungsoo sighs. "You got nervous. What is it that goes through your head, young man?"

"Nobody."

"I never said it would be a person!" Kyungsoo jumped out of the bed. Sehun was already shaking his head and trying to accommodate ideas that made sense. "Let's see ... What's wrong? ... You have a Crush on someone?"

"No. .. For whom would it be?"

"Aigo, with your expressions are terrific!"

But his trembling voice wouldn’t free him from this mess.

"No way…” Kyungsoo looked straight at his eyes, and at this point Sehun was being close to having a . "You like the… The new one? The Chinese? No way!"

"I do not like him!" Sehun says. But he knows he can’t fool his roommate; the man was freaking good at deciphering things. "I mean, what proof do you have of that?"

"I've seen you sit closer to the ping pong table now ..." Kyungsoo sayds. Sehun smiles tightly and rolls his eyes, he is about to explode and let’s not mention the lots of homework left to do. "So… Well?"

"Absolutely not!" Sehun responds. "Now get out! I have to do homework for languages."

"Want me to help you?"

"What? Why? You at languages!"

"I’m not talking about that, idiot." Kyungsoo sits alongside Sehun, one leg over another. "Lu ... That! I'll help you with it! We always play ping pong together."

"Lu Han!" Sehun says. And curses within himself for being so obvious about his attraction to the foreigner. "How? You guys rarely talk."

"Lu Han!" Kyungsoo laughs. "I'll help."

"I’ll think about it."

"Do not take too much, eh!"

The last person Sehun would ask help to was Do Kyungsoo, so avoiding him the most he could was the first option. But soon Kyungsoo noticed, and was now constantly shouting the name of Lu Han when Sehun was near. The 16-year was equal to or less mature than all those in the tenth grade.

Sehun realized that attraction soon evolved, and now he could not help turning to see Lu Han every time he passed by.

"No way." Tao said covering his mouth. "How—? No…"

"I can not believe you have not noticed before." Jongin said. "Did you really think Sehun actually adapted interest in ping pong out of the blue?"

"No." Tao responds. "But I didn’t think he would adapt interest in the player!"

"You have to accept that he is quite handsome." Jongin added.

"Can you shut up?" Sehun finally erupted. "What do I do?"

"Why are you worried? I mean... You're pretty social." Jongin says. "Any guy would want you."

"Of course not!" Tao laughs. "I don’t think Lu Han has that… Preference."

"Who knows?" Jongin says. "Handsome men tend to be… you know."

"Shut up! Shut up..."

Sehun soon realizes that there is only one thing to do, and that is to learn table tennis. Now, ping pong wouldn’t only bring Lu Han and Sehun into the same path, but Sehun also wanted to work his arms out… Or he tried to convince himself of that. Sehun knows this was only to attract the Chinese student that was always running around his head, and whom he always turned to look at every time he passed by.

Sehun enters the library with his Vaio in hand and starts searching for information about the game, nothing complicated, just basic things. Sehun knows that the theoretical part is the hardest, but he had to at least try.

"In game play, the player serving the ball commences a play. The server first stands with the ball held on the open palm of the hand not carrying the racket, called the freehand, and tosses the ball directly upward without spin, at least 16 centimeters (approximately 6 inches) high. The server strikes the ball with the racket on the ball's descent so that it touches first his court and then touches directly the receiver's court without touching the net assembly. In casual games, many players do not toss the ball upward; however, this is technically illegal and can give the serving player an unfair advantage."

He carries a notebook with different graphics and drawings intended to memorize for the following three days, and he convinces himself that he doesn’t need Kyungsoo’s help to understand table tennis, or ping pong.

Do Kyungsoo comes late in the evening that day, and he finds Sehun studying and repeating the tactics he had scored earlier in his notebook.

"The upper surface of the table, called ‘pitch’, is rectangular, with a length-"

"Sehunnie!" Kyungsoo goes and hugs him from behind. Sehun pushes and turns. "Okay… You’re angry today. I understand…"

"I’m not angry… I have to study."

"Is that ...?" Kyungsoo furrows his brow. "A table ...? Are you studying the theory of ping pong for…? Or is this physics homework?"

"Get away ..." Sehun responds, pushing Kyungsoo’s stomach.

"If you want to learn to play table tennis, you need to practice." Kyungsoo laughs. "The theory will not help you. You must go and practice, if you want, I'll teach you, or... "

"No, no, no ... Absolutely not." Sehun responds. "To you I will not ask for help."

"I will tell Lu Han to help you, then."

"No ... I do not want to see Lu Han" Sehun says. "Not until I learn to play ping pong as good as him."

"Bad." group Kyungsoo e. "Practice and you will be perfect, but for now this not the right way."

"Well… Teach me then."

Discard the theories you read on wikiHow. Discard the explanations Kyungsoo gave you that made you feel more confused. Sehun is going to go to a place where Kyungsoo practiced in every Saturday. That day, he would really learn. With enough practice, he may have enough confidence to challenge Lu Han, or even approach him. But he knew it would take time, and patience, especially from Kyungsoo (this would be a huge challenge for him)

The place they were at was quite small, yet comfortable. The place was covered with a blue color that made Sehun dizzy and Kyungsoo excited. There were five table tennis, which Kyungsoo called 'my babies', and at this point, Sehun wonders if Luhan is as strange as Kyungsoo was at ping pong. Sehun could not help feeling uncomfortable, but found it easy to adapt to Kyungsoo’s weird comments. He noticed Park Chanyeol and Kim Minseok were there too.

"Hey ..." The way Kyungsoo talked to them was casual and informal, but still heard him respectable to their friends about the senior table tennis players. "Sehun wants to learn."

"Really?" Park Chanyeol spoke and gave a confident smile. "You like ping pong?"

"Sure!" Sehun responded with confidence and excitement. "I—I want to learn."

If they only knew why.

Neither Chanyeol nor Minseok promised to help Sehun, so when they forgot their existence to battle each other, he did not bother to grumble; him and Kyungsoo just went to another table, and Sehun watched attentively to the other players in the area. "It's easy." Kyungsoo says. "I'll be nice because you’re a beginner."

"Just start." Sehun says and looks intently at the ball Kyungsoo throws.  He only has the chance to throw himself back when the ball almost hits his face and opens his eyes like two deep bowls.

"Again." Kyungsoo says while laughing and points to the ball that was trapped against the net that separates the different tables of the premises. "Throw."

"H-how?"

"Throw it." Kyungsoo says, and manages to catch the ball almost perfectly. He starts talking to Sehun about angles and concentration, but Sehun silences him, telling him to simply teach and to stop chatter. Sehun knew the theory by memory and Kyungsoo’s charge was to teach him the practical stuff. Finally, Kyungsoo throws the ball, bounces, and then hits it with the racket, bounces again and falls on Sehun’s side. "Try it yourself."

Sehun nods and bites his lip to not surrender to nervousness, and imitates Kyungsoo. It is not quite easy, not that hard either. Everything was on the force applied when striking the ball, and making sure it bounced before falling across the network. Kyungsoo hits the ball softly and falls near Sehun. "It can only bounce once, if it bounces twice that’s a point for me." Kyungsoo says when the ball bounces twice and three times before Sehun hits the ball straight at him.

By the time the game finished, Kris Wu has had to pick up the ball Sehun has thrown too far (or failed to even hit) a million times. Kyungsoo doesn’t seem to mind, but Sehun’s ears feel like boiling from the shame. He can’t be blamed though, and he isn’t. All the players had once been in his position, and other unfortunate had been on Kyungsoo’s.

After a while, Kyungsoo left to get water, and left Sehun alone with the blue table. He noticed someone crossing the net, and that was Kim Minseok.

“You never play at school.” He began, making moves with his fingers for Sehun to throw the ball at him, and catching it perfectly when it reached close to him. “Why not?”

"I'm ashamed to fail in front of all those guys who are real good at ping pong."

"Why? It's not like you've played lots. I mean ... I'm sure they will understand if you do it wrong, because you're a beginner.” Sehun threw the ball and hit it. Minseok was surprised of how good he hit the ball and how good he moved. "You have a good teacher."

"Kyungsoo?" Sehun chuckled. "He is as useless as trying to use flour to make milk."

Minseok laughed and threw the ball again.

They played for a while, until Kyungsoo arrived and practically kicked him off the table. It didn’t matter though, they were all from the same circle of friends, and no one really cared if someone crossed the line, because they all cross the line constantly, and no one notices when someone does something that really crosses the line further than any other.

Kim Jongin was present that day too, and Kyungsoo forced him to play against him.

Sehun felt fuzzy inside when Kyungsoo hugs Jongin when he messes up, or when he insists him to play a little longer, and even when Jongin sits on Kyungsoo’s little legs. Sehun wonders if someday he'll be this close to Lu Han, but soon wakes up from his daydreaming as Kyungsoo calls him to play once again. Sehun feels nice that he has something that will help him stop thinking on the Chinese guy that is constantly bugging around his head.

It was a Saturday morning when Sehun finally noticed that maybe Lu Han was attracted to him too. Lu Han’s eyes were transparent like that. Sehun left his bedroom with a black flannel and purple trousers, and went near the ping pong table. He noticed Lu Han staring at him, and died a little inside. Sehun figured that maybe he was over-reacting, but he could swear that he had seen him staring back at him more than twice that day. Maybe he had stared at him even more times, and maybe he just didn’t notice.

He hated not being able to sense when someone was looking at him like ZiTao did.

Sehun is still unable to take the confidence to talk to Lu Han, the irrational fear of rejection kept him as far from him as possible. Kyungsoo tells him to talk to him about ping pong, or even asking him to teach him, but Sehun is too scared to try.

Maybe someday Sehun will leave the fear behind and finally approach him, but for now… He’s not sure if he’ll take the risk.

A/N: Please support me with this one-shot! And enjoy :3