Previous chapter:

(From Chapter 13 -- stalking Luhan -- since 14 was a Krisho flash :3)

Despite the recent events, the five boys managed to leave the neighborhood peacefully, while at the same time savoring the quiet of the streets below. Soon enough,  the boys were too far away to hear the desperate cries of Kai.

“Did you hear something just now?” Chanyeol asked. “I just felt a shiver run down my spine.”

Xiumin laughed.

"I didn't hear anything."

“Must be your imagination, Yeol.” Kyungsoo said with a grin.

“I concur.” Kris said with a wink. "I heard nothing at all."

"Hm. I guess it's just me then," Chanyeol shrugged.

"Probably," Tao smiled, throwing an arm around Chanyeol.

Before long, Kai was already buried in the back of their minds.

Chapter 15:

Sehun swore his heart had almost jumped out of his chest when he turned around and met face to face with none other than Luhan. For an instant, he was thrown off course and unexpectedly lost his composure.

“Y-yah, didn’t I say 10 feet?!”  

It was the first time the two of them had made eye contact and for Sehun, it wasn’t a very nice experience. Sehun was a cold-hearted character after all. His eyes turned cold to hide the rush of emotions running through his head.

“S..sorry.” He heard Luhan’s voice falter.

Sehun felt a small pang of an unknown emotion in his chest as he heard Luhan apologize, but he ignored it. After all, his emotions have been on a rollercoaster within the past few days. He didn’t even bother to take time deciphering how he was feeling anymore.

Luhan was unusually quiet when Sehun recovered from the small scare and Sehun noticed him fidgeting, his hands definitely playing with something behind his back. He immediately felt uneasy and his mind flashed back to the image of his mother preparing a plate of sandwiches for Luhan the night before.

Though Sehun knew little of last night’s events, a heart-to-heart talk between his mother and one of his friends -- acquaintances, in this case -- always meant no good. No good at all. The feeling itself was so strong that a course of regret ran through Sehun, who suddenly found himself wishing he had stayed up a bit last night just to see what his mother was up to. What was the use of sleeping so early anyway? He could sleep in class the next day and his teacher could care less. In the school faculty, it was a ‘The genius sleeps, all shall hail,’ type of atmosphere after all.

Luhan’s voice cut through Sehun’s worried thoughts.

“Actually, I...have something to ask you.”

Sehun stared at Luhan with a bizarre look on his face. If anyone else had been there with them, though, they would have thought Sehun was shooting Luhan an intense glare.

Since when had Luhan ever asked for permission to ask me a question? And just what is he hiding behind his back?

He carefully scanned Luhan from head to toe for any abnormalities.

Washed his hair this morning since his hair dried unevenly. Uniform is a bit ruffled because he tried his best in gym but didn’t bother to change out of his button down shirt. No, actually, maybe he forgot.

Sehun paused to shake his head ever so slightly in disapproval.

Sleeves are rolled up because he had washed his hands free of dirt after class. Jeans are...well, skinny jeans. Typical. He must’ve been kicking some pebbles down the road as he was walking behind me. The fronts of his shoes are freckled with dust and bits of dirt.

Sehun’s criticizing gaze returned to Luhan’s face. In a monotonous voice, he replied.

“If it’s about being your Valentine’s date, I’m not up for it.”

Upon hearing the suggestion, Luhan’s cheeks reddened for a couple of seconds. Calm down. His cheeks soon faded back into the pale pink the weather had colored them with.

“O-of course not!” Luhan protested a few seconds late.

He was angry that an image of him spending his Valentine’s Day with Sehun had actually popped into his head. It made no sense. He already learned that Oh Sehun, the guy he had crushed on for a fast approaching 4 year mark, was in fact a jerk. Why was he still attracted to him? Nothing made sense at this point...but then again, since when did anything make sense? He bit his lip.

I guess it’s true that love beats logic...though I might not have a lot of that logic . . .

“Then what is it?”

Luhan took a deep breath.

Well, here goes nothing.

He pulled out the picture he had been fiddling with for the past 15 minutes on the way home (“home”) and as if the picture was a laughing bomb trigger, Luhan could not resist the fit of giggles bubbling up inside him as he took another glance.

Come on. Oh Sehun dressed in a frilly pink dress, carrying a purse. No one can beat humor like that. He’s too cute in pink. Wait. I did not just say that last sentence. Cut, cut, cut. Take 2!

He shook his head in a frenzy to get the weird thoughts out of his mind. (He seems to be doing that a lot these days...). Sehun’s eyes widened as he managed to catch a glimpse of the object Luhan was holding in his hands.

He instinctively dropped his backpack.

“H-how’d you get that picture?!”

He pointed at the picture in Luhan’s hands with his mouth shaped into a small ‘o’. Luhan was still giggling and tried to stifle them as Sehun attempted to reach for the picture in his hands. Sehun had to admit Luhan had quick reflexes when he effortlessly dodged his grasp.

(Luhan’s motto: Height isn’t what determines your success: it’s your heart!)

After all, Luhan always insisted he had his good points. His grades might not have been up to par but he was definitely an excellent soccer player. Sadly,  good grades were a requirement to get on a sports team, so he never really had a chance to show off his skills. Therefore, in the end, Sehun was sadly missing out on the full extent of his charm.

“Yah, you deer, stop squirming and stand still!”

He lunged forward in a futile attempt to grab it again. Luhan quickly retreated his hands behind his back and flashed a smile. The facade faltered a little when he suddenly processed the nickname Sehun had used.

This is weird...I normally throw a tantrum when people call me a deer. Oh god, am I really accepting the fact that people think I’m a deer?! Luhan, you’re really going crazy. You’re going crazy, I tell you!

“Yah, Xi Lu Han, are you really going to act like this?!”

Sehun’s voice cut through Luhan’s abstract thoughts as Luhan’s full name naturally slipped out of Sehun’s mouth. Anyone could tell how hard Sehun was trying to rid evidence of the photograph that showcased his nightmare past of a childhood.

Luhan stopped squirming for a couple of seconds to commemorate the second time Sehun had called him by his full name. However, those few seconds still weren’t enough for Sehun to get the photo back into his hands. The definition of an awkward moment popped into Sehun’s head as he realized that getting a photo back from Luhan was one of the hardest things he had ever done in his life. Reading English encyclopedias were nothing.

Sehun gradually stopped lunging forward after a minute or so, breathing out a sigh as it dawned on him the amount of energy he had used up on Luhan. He lowered his arms slowly until he touched contact with something warm. He looked down and immediately, a mixture of sarcasm and annoyance filled his mind.

It’s not like we’re filming a drama on the street or something. It’s not like a truck came zooming past either and put Luhan in danger. So why. Why exactly am I standing here like an idiot hugging Luhan? I think my brain cells are deteriorating. I can feel it.

Rather than using the term ‘hugging’ to describe their position (since Sehun “never” hugged anyone before), Luhan’s face was simply tucked neatly into Sehun’s chest while Sehun had his arms slightly around Luhan’s neck. For Sehun, the position itself was just screaming the word “uncomfortable”.

Luhan, on the other hand, was trying to make himself feel uncomfortable but as usual, his hormones just wouldn’t let him. His body yearned to spell out words like ‘cozy’, ‘pleasuring’, ‘warm’, and ‘home sweet home’ as he stood there in Sehun’s arms. As much as Sehun had wanted a truck to run him over, Luhan just merely desired to jump off a bridge and straight into the frozen Han River.

I should really just lock myself in my room and stop listening to my body’s muscles. What’s so good about standing in Sehun’s arms? ... Luhan, don’t answer that question.

Sehun awkwardly cleared his throat and took a few steps backward. It was enough that he didn’t favor skinship as much, but what irked him even more was the fact that he was the one who initiated the skinship in the first place.

If only he didn’t take out that photo for me to see...I could’ve completely avoided this and I would be in my room peacefully reading a Prostate Cancer textbook. Oh, the things I could have learned within this past fifteen minutes...

It took Luhan several seconds before he was able to break from his immobility and back off -- he was potentially disobeying his body’s desires to stay put. His body never listened to him when it came to Oh Sehun. At such moments, Luhan wondered why his brain even existed if his body could just stray off of his brain’s commands anyway. It was a mystery to the human body that he was sure even a doctor could not answer.

But then again, if that doctor was Oh Sehun...I’ll shut up now.

“Okay, how about this? What do you want from me? I’ll do any one thing for you if you give me back that photo you have in your hands right now.”

Luhan’s ears immediately perked up.

Anything?

He smiled his signature smile as he heard Sehun’s words.

“Anything, right?”

Sehun eyed Luhan suspiciously but couldn’t give up his offer after earning Luhan’s attention. It took up so much energy to reach the agreement he was at, and he definitely couldn’t back out now.

“Yeah, anything.”

Fireworks set off in Luhan’s mind.

“I have one request then...if you want this back, you’ll need to do as I say.”

He held the picture with his thumb and index finger next to his face and wiggled it around as if he were trying to tease Sehun.

“...What request?”

“You’ll have to tutor my friends and I for the upcoming semester finals.”

“Nehhh....wait, what?!”

Sehun’s eyes widened as he made eye contact with Luhan.

“Actually, this time I’m planning to make it onto the top 50 list. Do you think you can do it?”

Luhan’s smile was replaced with a mischievous grin. It was almost like he was mocking Sehun, relaying the message that both of them knew: “I’ve got you now. What are you going to do about it?”

“You are the most troublesome guy I’ve ever met in my life.”

Luhan laughed.

“I’m honored. Tutoring starts tomorrow after school, arasseo? Don’t forget!”

“Wait, what about the photo?”

“You’ll get that back once the finals are over, of course.”

Luhan tilted his head to the side for a second.

"But then again...if I don't make it into that top 50 list, I don't think you'll be the only one getting it back. I mean, wouldn't your friends love to see this?"

Luhan waved the photo in the air with a smile on his face, before running into the house. For the first time in what seemed like ages, Sehun felt like crying. Like he was faced with the most terrifying crisis in his life.

No way. That photo can't get out of his hands. But seriously...Tutor him and his friends from Class F?!

~*~

A/N:

The most delayed chapter I have ever posted on AFF, I am so sorry. (bows 90 degrees). It's unedited, but I hope you guys like it! High school work is piling up at the end of the semester and on top of that, I’m getting ready to go on a 10 day trip to China next Thursday. (Sidenote: As much as it would be nice to see EXO in China, I’m sure they’re coming back in Korea...TT_TT).

Anyway, once again, I am so sorry and I thank all the new subscribers who subscribed during my absence! Lol, I sound so formal. Okay, I LOVE YOU ALL <3 Keep throwing the support and I’ll try my best to update as much as I can!

P.S. If there's any ideas, comments, or anything you want to share with me, here's my fanfic chatroom! I'll reply ASAP :)

I'm also looking for anyone who can create a poster for this fanfic? Let me know if you can -- if there's multiple people, I'll use all of yours at some point ^^