“Well, this is inconvenient.” I said loudly, coolly sweeping the bugs onto the floor even though the last thing I wanted to do was touch them. I didn't want the bully, whoever it was, to think that this got to me. I hoped they'd leave me alone if I didn't react the way they wanted. Focusing on not flinching as they flew past, I continued my little show. “Ahh, poor crickets.”

They hit the linoleum floor with little tapping noises. The school janitor would probably not appreciate this, but I was too scared to carry them to the trash can. Touching them once was bad enough and at least the janitor wouldn't have to clean them using only his hands.

I heard something strange - like a kind of whizzing sound - and looked back to see a particularly raucous student with a couple dead crickets smashed against the skin of his arm. Luhan looked very satisfied, so I assumed it was his doing.

Thank you. Really, thank you. As soon as I could get the chance, I would tell him in person, that I promised myself.

I've never had anyone take my side before, even silently like this. Bullying had been a big problem when I was younger, but after hitting my growth spurt and finally taking on some muscle from all the martial arts training, it had ceased. Now it was only silent things like this, where I could only guess who did it. They were afraid of me. But it was better than being beat up for no reason. At least this way my mom never found out and could live her life with peace at mind. I owed her that.

Shaking the last few crickets off the books I needed for later and shoving the lunch box inside, I closed my locker and walked away.

They would not see me fall because of a few bugs. I was stronger than that. Even if I got scared, I could stand it. This was the new me. This was how things were going to be.

“Stay still.” Luhan said once inside the biology room. “One hopped onto your shirt and it's difficult to get when you're moving.”

There was one on me? A live one?

I tensed up and ignored the itching feeling as imaginary crickets crawled up my neck and arms, and Luhan plucked the bug from the folds of my shirt at once.

“Calm down! It's just a little insect. He's kinda cute too, see?” Luhan held it up in the air with his power, and I broke down and backed into the wall, glad we were in an empty room. “Inconvenient, isn't it?” he laughed, opening a window to float it outside.

I shuddered, scratching away the phantom tickling and sat down. Why hadn't the bell rung yet?

“We're here pretty early. Why did you want to leave so quick?” His eyes looked up at me expectantly, but I didn't know what to say. I was just being a coward, not willing to face a little discomfort in the faces of my new friends.

Shrugging, I remembered to thank him for squishing bugs at a student.

"My pleasure." he responded, grinning.

I brought out my textbook, checking it twice for leftover crickets before opening it to the section we were working on.

“What is this I heard about crickets?” asked Sehun, rushing inside the classroom.

Already? How did the news spread so fast?

“Tao got his locker cricket-bombed by some bullies.”

Tao?

“Tao?” Sehun was surprised too.

Luhan shrugged. “Why not? Zitao gets annoying to say. Anyway, that's not the point. He just got bullied! Aren't you going to get angry or something?”

The boy shrugged back. “It was just crickets. Tao is old enough to handle crickets, right?”

“Yeah,” I agreed. Crickets were nothing. “I've suffered worse. This, this is nothing.”

Sehun sat down on the table next to my book. “You've suffered worse?”

“Why would someone pick on you at all?” asked Luhan, copying Sehun on the other side. “You look like you could snap a person in half!”

“I think that's exaggerating.”

“Are you kidding? He just moves differently. It's like a kind of subtle power ready to spring, you know?”

Sehun laughed. “Why are you focusing so much on how he moves? You crushing on him or something?”

I had my head down as they talked back and forth, trying to tune into studying instead. It had been working for a while, until Sehun blew a bunch of air at my face.

“Pay attention!”

“What?”

“What is it you've suffered?” he demanded.

I was hoping they dropped that. “It's in the past. It doesn't matter anymore, really.”

The bell rang and a few students started to file inside.

“You better spill later, Tao.”

“Or what? You'll knock me to the ground?”

A whisper caught in the wind blew past my ear and said 'Don't test me, Huang Zitao'.

I swiped at my ear where it hit. “That's just weird.”

He smirked and climbed down, sitting in a chair across from me. Luhan stuck around on top of the table until the teacher told him to get off, saying there could be chemical burns in his pants that would show tomorrow if he wasn't careful. Seeing as how our teacher told us at the beginning of the year that the brown tables were for studying and the black counters were for chemicals and lab work, I wasn't worried. Luhan must've forgot though, picking at the back of his pants to make sure they were okay.

The bell rung for class to start and the teacher immediately put everyone in pairs again, this time choosing for us. I didn't understand what the point of this was, until he paired Luhan and Sehun together. He must have thought the very diligent Sehun was going to be a good influence on Luhan, who seemed to have a lot trouble keeping awake for studies. I normally let him sleep, but that must have been a mistake. The teachers at this school talked and shared secrets about the students amongst each other often. I'd be surprised if he ever paired me with Luhan again.

“Zitao, you can work with... Baekhyun.”

Baekhyun? Who was Baekhyun? I didn't even bother to get to know the students in this class at all. The teacher normally let us pick our own pairs and I got stuck with whoever was left over. I was glad when the student came up to me instead of me having to find him without knowing his face. That would have been embarrassing.

Everyone stood as they were put in pairs and we now moved to surround a single table where the teacher explained what we'd be doing.

“Homo.” came a whisper and bout of quiet laughter that followed, but the student who said it moved and I couldn't see who it was.

“What a lovely couple.”

“They even both wear makeup.”

Just eyeliner... But what the hell? They couldn't be annoying somewhere else? I was trying to focus on what we were supposed to be doing later - why weren't they?

The student, Baekhyun, clenched his teeth against the harsh the words. I hoped he wasn't used to this kind of thing. It was wrong no matter what the case.

“Ah!”

A student had his hands clasped to his eyes. Did Sehun hear who said it then? Or Luhan? They both could've sent something flying into his eyes.

Our teacher clapped his hands and stood, his usual signal for us to get moving. I had no idea what he said. What were we working on?

“Come on, there's an empty table over here.” said Baekhyun, indicating a table in bright sunshine that nobody wanted to use because the sunlight always heated up the black counter top until it was scorching to the touch.

“Why are we all getting marshmallows?” I asked as a student came around to pass them out in handfuls.

“You didn't hear? All the crickets escaped, so we're moving a bit ahead of schedule and burning these to measure the oxygen or carbon dioxide or something and actually I didn't catch anything after that...”

“So-”

“We're screwed. Marshmallow?” he asked handing out one and taking another to pop into his mouth. Chewing on the squishy mass of sugar, I flipped ahead a few pages, trying to find what burning marshmallows had to with anything we had been doing. It didn't quite make sense. I thought we were working on photosynthesis, a process found in plants. Marshmallows aren't plants.

Getting an idea, I whispered Sehun's name, wondering if it would work even though his table was on the other side of the room. Peeking over my shoulder, I saw Sehun's head snap up.

He heard that?

False alarm. Luhan told a joke or something. They were having a nice time without me, it seemed.

“Those your friends?” asked Baekhyun, another marshmallow held out. I took it, nodding. “You seem like an odd bunch. I don't mean to offend you or anything-”

“No offense taken.” I waved it away. “We do have something in common though. We aren't together for no reason.”

He thought about that for a while. “So you are all... gay?”

“What?”

“Why are you two not working? Use your class time wisely or you'll be sorry when it comes time for finals!” the teacher called out to us, leaving to attend to some troubled students. He didn't bother to look up again. He never did; it was an honest surprise he scolded us at all.

I looked away from the teacher and found Baekhyun studying me curiously.

“Was that it? Am I right?”

I shook my head. “I can't speak for anyone else, but so far I haven't been interested in dating at all yet.”

“Why is that?" he asked. "Are you really religious or studious or something?”

Why was this subject so interesting to everyone else?

“No. Me and my mom, we used to move around a lot. Creating lasting relationships is difficult that way.” I answered, giving up on my textbook for an explanation.

“But if you could find someone, which kind of person would you pick?” He leaned his head on his hand, fully interested.

“I-I don't really-”

“You don't know?” he finished for me. “It's a shame. You're very good looking. You could probably have your pick.”

I was blushing and fidgeting with one of the skewers we were supposed to use to burn marshmallows with. Dating was for people who weren't afraid to socialize and trust others with their feelings. I just wasn't at that point yet.

“You don't have to feel embarrassed.” Baekhyun told me, keeping his voice low and understanding. “You should try looking at the beauty of the world and searching for that something special that you want to keep near.”

“And if that something special wants nothing to do with me? What then?”

“It's tough. I, of all people, should know how tough it is. I had a crush on someone, a male someone actually,” he admitted carefully, checking to make sure I wouldn't react as harshly as those other kids. It wasn't my business what other people preferred, and I think that got across as he continued on. “He was really kind and had a great smile that would outshine everyone in the room,” The corners of his lips pulled upwards, even as he tried to stop them. “but after I confessed, he became my nightmare. All his sweet smiles turned into looks of disgust. And I would wonder, is it so repulsive to have someone like you?”

There were many things I was afraid of when it came to love and having the other person treat me differently had been one of them, but most of all, I didn't want to lose them like the small group of friends I had growing up. I tried not to let myself have any crushes after we started moving around and reasoned that I probably just enjoyed what they had to say and liked watching their reactions. And eventually, it became very easy to view everyone with the same attitude, replacing myself with a different person who couldn't absorb their kindness or thoughtfulness so I wouldn't have to grieve over losing them when we left again.

But now was different. I wasn't moving now and the world had become a smaller place wth more methods of communication that stretched across continents if it needed to. What was stopping me now?

Baekhyun looked up and turned away, trying to clear away the water building in his eyes.

What did it feel like to want to love someone? I couldn't remember.

“Right, so,” he sniffed and controlled himself quickly. “It's tough, but it will be worth it. I know it will.”

“I trust you,” I realized, feeling the truth in that statement as soon as I spoke it. “But I don't know why.”

“Maybe it's the same reason I trust you.” he replied, not elaborating further. “You know, we have gym together.”

“We do?” I didn't remember seeing him or even hearing his name before.

Baekhyun chuckled. “I knew you didn't pay attention to anyone, but this kind of hurts, Zitao.”

“Do other people not do that normally?”

“Of course not! Other students generally take note of everyone they meet, even if they don't want to. You really are quite the loner.” he said this without any venom or hate, which was so refreshing. It didn't feel like such an awful thing anymore. It was like I was suddenly allowed to be the kind of anti-social person I had always been. Sehun was also a loner, but we still liked him for whatever reason, so maybe it wasn't something worth being shunned over.

“Baekhyun,”

“Hmm?”

“Call me Tao from now on.”

He smiled. “Okay, Tao.”

The new me even had a new name. I felt like I was slowly becoming a normal person, even though that wasn't what was happening at all. What kind of normal person could control time? Though I suppose “control” wasn't even the right word, as I couldn't control what I did at all. Stopping that bee must have been a fluke, because any other time I tried to stop something, I only ended up looking like a fool who spent too much time poking ladybugs and flowers.

But I had a normal friend now. We talked and it had nothing to do with powers. Maybe there was hope for me yet.

***

All I could think about during my next class was talking to that student, Baekhyun and wondering what it'd be like to have him as a friend. Could I introduce him to everyone else in our group even though he was normal? How would he react to our powers?

Slowly, I had myself convinced that I shouldn't talk to him ever again and then I'd convince myself that this was a silly idea and he would probably really like everyone else. Why was I so indecisive all the time?

“-and they just weren't there anymore.”

“I heard something like that too! There was this kid in another school who-”

The whispers stopped and the students broke away from each other, leaving me clueless in the hallway. Were they talking about us?

We should be careful, I decided. Rumors like this could get out of hand.

“Why are all these students suddenly switching classes? They couldn't wait until the semester ended first?”

I could hear my math teacher's voice from the teacher's lounge as I passed it. Were we being talked about everywhere in this school? Why couldn't I catch a break from this?

That's it. I couldn't possibly tell Baekhyun about this.

...couldn't I?

The decision eluded me still, even after getting dressed and making it to the gym. A lot of students liked to dress slowly so they could have less gym time (our coach included), so there weren't a lot of people there yet.

“Tao!” Baekhyun waved to me and I smiled, lifting my hand to wave back, when I saw him get shoved to the ground by another student.

Ditching the smile, I yelled at the student to get his attention and stalked up to him with determined steps. He was faltering, but kept his ground, so I corrected this and swept his legs out from underneath him in a spinning kick. He landed with a satisfying thud on his back.

I leaned over him and lifted him by the collar of his gym shirt so I could speak in his face.  “Try that again and I won't be so kind.”

“Wow! Yeah, take that, you bully!” came a deep voice I recognized.

“Chanyeol? What are you doing here?” I asked him as he walked up to us, dropping the boy on the ground.

“We don't spend any time together anymore!” he whined, stepping with his long legs over the body of the bully who probably wouldn't feel like getting up for another three minutes or so. “Luhan and Sehun can't have you all to themselves! I switched so I could see you too.”

He stopped when he saw Baekhyun. “Who's your friend? He's absolutely radiant.” Chanyeol snorted.

He did have a happy glow to him, didn't he?

No, wait, scratch that. He was actually glowing. Light was spread across his skin and growing brighter.

I guess I didn't have a new normal friend.

***

Author Note:

In high school, my biology class really did have to burn marshmallows. We weren't allowed to eat them though and I think that had something to do with germs or chemicals from the counters...