Tao's POV

“-struck by lightning-”

“-made completely from ice-”

“-that weird blizzard last week-”

“I'm telling you, he disappeared in thin air-”

“-convenience store that was broken into yesterday-”

“-I bet it was them.”

“Those freaks.”

“Using stupid magic tricks, thinking they're hot -”

“Gay freaks. Heard they attacked that kid and duct taped him to the ceiling-”

“-and he was covered in black marker-”

“-started a fire in the gym-”

“Homos.”

“-ice-”

“Fags, all of them.”

Whispers. So many that I couldn't keep track were following me as I left my garden bench and headed down the halls and up the stairs to the roof. Baekhyun would just have to wait for me a little longer. Something made me go there, telling me that I needed to be there for whatever reason.

And that's where I found Sehun, slowly packing up the remnants of his lunch. Alone.

He saw me and immediately pulled a packet of gum from his pocket, slipping a piece past his lips. He never looked up after doing so, just chewed silently, not moving even as the bell rang for lunch to be over.

“I'm sorry.” I said, sitting next to him. “I don't actually think it was your fault-”

“It was.” he interrupted, lifting his head barely.

“No, it wasn't.” I moved his lunch over to scoot to the spot in front of him, hoping he'd look up, but he simply turned his head away. I sighed and said, “Sehun, everyone's powers are starting to grow out of control. Even Lay's did yesterday-”

“Lay... What did he do?” Sehun spoke softly, stern eyebrows twitching in a slight show of confusion and worry. But still, he didn't look up.

“Ah, well-”

He looked up. Sehun was looking straight at me. Why did I hesitate? Why didn't I just say straight out that everything was fine? Why did I mention Lay at all? Sehun knew that I went to see Lay right after the accident yesterday, so why-

“What did he do?” Sehun asked a little more firmly.

“He, uhm- He healed me...”

“And?”

“A-And it hurt, but Sehun-” I grabbed one of his hands before he could get too worked up and placed it at my neck, sliding it down to where the first lines of scarring used to be. “I'm healed, really healed.”

His eyes glossed over, shining wetly as he gentle fingers over the area. “How much did it hurt?”

A lump built in my throat at the memory. My own voice begging to die sticking out strong in that blur of pain and apologies.

Sehun's fingers felt nice and soothing though. I shrugged my shoulders noncommittally in answer and closed my eyes at the feeling, willing myself to relax.

“That much?”

At the sound of his choked voice, I looked up. Sehun... Sehun was crying.

“I should have been there,” he said. “I shouldn't have left you alone like that- should've apologized and went with you, Tao-” He threw his arms over my shoulders, nearly knocking us both over with the force of his hug. “I won't do that again.”

He sounded a little silly- crying while chewing gum. That was okay though; I could fix that for him.

Holding his waist on either side, I managed to pull him back. I moved in close to his tear-stained, confused face, silently telling him what I wanted with slight nudges of our noses together. After the initial surprise, he responded well, pulling back his arm so he could card a hand through my hair. I smiled and waited, letting him be the first to lean in. He wasn't the only one who could put actions before words. Just this once, I wanted to be petty and give him his own medicine.

As he kissed me, I couldn't help but think that this was the best kind of revenge. The sweetest and-

Well, the fruitiest. Sehun's gum tasted delightfully fruity on my tongue. I wondered how long it would take him to notice that I stole it from him. Indeed, he seemed not to notice when he pulled away, so I made sure to blow a nice, small bubble before he could sit down again.

The look on his face was priceless.

“Was your jaw starting to hurt from all that gum?” I asked him innocently, blowing another bubble and failing because I started to laugh at his shocked face.

When he sat back down, he sat down on my lap instead of the cement with his legs wrapping around me. I sobered up quickly at this, blushing because I never thought he'd seek his own revenge. A little worried about what he was planning, I looked into his eyes to ask, only to bite my tongue on accident when his hands s up the back of my shirt.

In meager defiance, I bit his lip like he did to me a couple days ago, but he used this chance to take the gum back. I admit, it was a very strange feeling to see him chewing happily on gum that had been in my own mouth. I shivered, feeling strangely at a loss without something to chew and was surprised by a single finger trailing down my spine in one long line.

“Okay, okay,” I squeaked, involuntarily arching my back from the ticklish feeling as his finger went back up. “I lose.”

“What are you talking about?” Sehun smirked, blowing a bubble and it back in his mouth. “I'm just taking what's mine and checking your back to make sure it's healed like you said.”

“Brat.”

“Narcissist.”

“Aren't you talking about yourself?” I scoffed.

He smiled, pulling my neck down to meet him. “Aren't you?” he laughed with a flash of canine, and I took his lips before he ever got the chance to do so to me.

“I'm late for class-” he said too soon, breaking away.

“So then, be later.” I suggested, kissing him again. “Don't you want to beat the number of Kai's kisses by a landslide?”

I only realized what I said when it was already too late. Sehun froze before climbing off and spitting his gum out right then and there. “Did he kiss you again? He is dead meat-”

“No! I didn't mean- ah, that was stupid. Sehun-”

“Don't lie to me!” he shouted and I was terrified to see the grey color filling his eyes and replacing the brown.

So this was how he was going to be? Would it kill him to listen?

Speaking calmly to his snarling face, I said, “Nothing happened, nothing new. I already chose you, Sehun.”

The wind picked up until it was nearly howling and picking up debris. “Is leaving you two alone like putting food in front of a wild dog and expecting him not to eat it?”

I could have forgiven him for this, but still, he chose not to listen when I asked yet again. Anger bubbled in my chest, but I pushed it down, clearing my head so I could calmly and quietly kick his for being such an idiot.

And then I felt it. A click.

More clicking.

No, it was time. Time was ticking and I could feel it against the thrum of my own musical pulse. If I just jammed the gears-

The world stopped for me, Sehun amidst a whirlwind of dust and debris, veins sticking out on his forehead and neck.

I would have celebrated, in fact I was already smiling, but my body chose to cough up blood instead. How did I hurt myself this time? Did I swallow something sharp on accident?

I stopped asking myself stupid questions and searched Sehun's pockets for his gum in a hurry, stuffing the entire packet in his mouth without bothering to unwrap it.

***

Kai's POV

Me and Kyungsoo were having a very serious debate in class over the use of graduating high school (and I was winning) when I felt a strange twinge in my chest, a pull of some kind.

“What's wrong?” Kyungsoo asked as I rubbed the spot.

“I just feel weird.” I answered, shaking it off, about to give a brilliant and strong argument.

But Kyungsoo was frozen. And so was everything else.

“Tao?” I called out, stretching my neck to look around the room for him. I didn't see him anywhere, not even out the window or down the halls. A shadow I never summoned wrapped around my hand and I followed it when it vanished.

And I ended up on a rooftop, watching Tao shove a whole packet of gum in a frozen Sehun's mouth. I laughed at the scene as everything started to play again, until Tao doubled over and coughed blood into his hands.

“What did you do?” I asked Sehun, rushing to Tao's side. Hurriedly, I brought out my phone and called Lay while the airhead took the packet out of his mouth and edged in closer, confusion written all over his face.

“Lay, where are you?” I asked into the phone, turning Tao's face to see it up close. He looked very pale. Frightened, I asked again when he didn't answer fast enough. The greenhouse, he said he's in the greenhouse with a class. “I'll meet you in the courtyard outside. Lay, hurry.”

I hung up and took Tao in my arms carefully, not knowing where the injury was.

“Take me with.” said Sehun, brown eyes pleading with me.

“I can't move three people.”

“Just try-”

“Sehun, he needs healing and you are delaying this-”

“Please,” he tugged on my sleeve and I cursed myself for noticing the red his eyes. “I can't leave him alone like that again.”

Oh Sehun, you little .

“This better ing work.” I growled, grabbing at the neck of his collar and summoning the shadows to come get us.

Every bone, muscle, tendon, ligament, and stretch of flesh on my body protested the extra weight, asking that I lop something off and leave it behind or I stop somewhere nice and near like over by the door of the rooftop or even just one floor down on top of the desk where two teachers were secretly smooching up a storm.

No, I had to go farther than that. I grit my teeth and reached out, further and further until I felt sure that something in me snapped and broke, maybe even shattered.

And then I was free.

On the courtyard.

With both Sehun and Tao in one piece.

Good.

With a thud, I hit the grassy ground and my world went black.

***

Tao's POV

It was nice that Sehun wanted to come with, but he could have walked and met us there. Now Kai was unconscious and there were two bodies to lug around instead of just one. I pushed him towards Kai, telling him between coughs to carry him because I could force myself to walk on my own, but Kai couldn't. I spotted Lay coming out of the greenhouse on the other side of the courtyard, Kris in tow and straightened up painfully to meet them.

My lungs were burning from coughing so much, but more than that, something felt really off. I stopped after a few more steps, getting lightheaded.

“Forget it.” I told Sehun when he looked at me in fear. “Let them come here.” I dropped to my hands and knees, spitting out the iron taste in my mouth.

“Sehun, what's going on?” came Baekhyun's voice from not far away. Maybe he felt the need to leave the storage room like I felt the need to visit the rooftop. If so, then he might end up somewhere strange and painful, because that's exactly what happened to me.

I could feel my heart rate dropping out of it's usual rhythm, Time ticking on at a steady pace against it. It was too slow and Lay wasn't getting here fast enough.

This might be a horrible decision.

It might also save my life.

I stood up on wobbly legs and blinked slowly, letting Time take over my entire body until it was frozen in place.

***

Why hello, big empty void. So nice to see you again.

My mind supplied images for me so I wasn't just looking at blackness all around. Here I was, standing in the dark. Over there was a long golden strand that thrummed with each musical pulse. Next to that stood a giant face of a clock, many more mini faces of all sizes spread out all around behind it and around it and creating a kind of wall to this dark room of mine. Gears moved everywhere at different speeds between them.

Time was so very complicated. It didn't just push forwards, backwards, or stop. Time had many tempos and many worlds to look after. Sometimes it would break it's own rules and merge worlds or repeat moments just to make things easier.

So this was why it was so hard to control. It took a very clear mind to see all the subtleties in the masterwork. Even as I watched, the image grew, including more and more clock faces, more and more gears.

But what was wrong with me?

Tao, I think I know.

An image of Kai stood behind me and I turned to meet him, surprised by what my mind told me he carried. In Kai's hands, he held a clock face that had many bent pieces of metal sticking out the back. Before I could ask why he had it, red electricity short-circuited and buzzed along it's surface.

My memories...

I had to take my nightmarish memories back?

But I only just got healed.

I'm sorry. I tried to take your pain away. I didn't know I was taking anything more. Lay is trying to wake me up, so I can't stay. Tao, be careful.

Kai handed me the broken clock before fading away. Turning back around, it seemed like every bit of space in my dark room was filled with metal gears and ticking, ticking everywhere. Ticking so much that my images wavered. I couldn't focus on any one set of ticks and tocks and I felt like I was going crazy just trying.

So then where was I supposed to put these broken memories in this mess?

***

Author Note:

I hope this isn't getting too confusing for you guys...