One
For Heaven's Sake, Hit the Brake
"Guess what I have!" Luhan chirped, sliding into the seat across from Yixing.
"Is it a hole in your head? Because I just got this pencil and it's pretty sharp and there is no doubt in my mind that I could seriously hurt you if you forced me to."
Minseok frowned, scooting into the seat beside Luhan. "No, Yifan, I'm pretty sure that's not it." He had been coming around a lot more often and as much as Yifan liked the guy, Luhan had been talking more as a result so it would be a whole lot healthier for his GPA if the two would just shove off.
"Would you like to guess, Yixing?" The blond sang, wriggling in his chair.
"Did you get a job?"
Luhan's expression immediately sours. "No, you're both wrong." Then he slips his hand down his shirt and Yifan is just about to cover Yixing's eyes when he pulls out a medal.
Yixing, as a rule, is ignorant of personal space–except when it comes to necks, something sacred–so he leaned across the table and started toying with the shiny object. "Where'd you get it?"
Luhan practically beamed. "Listen well, and I shall tell you a tale of--hey, Yifan, where're you going?"
"Away."
"No! You have to stay and hear my story!" And as if Luhan's watery eyes weren't enough, Yixing and Minseok joined in as well.
Yifan slammed his books on the desk with unnecessary force and glared at them all before sitting down at the very edge of the table.
“Very good,” Luhan approved, “so, I was just sitting in the bleachers on the football field, minding my own business–”
Minseok loses it and has to cough to hide his laughs. Luhan seems concerned for a moment until a look of understanding passes across his face and he swats the man’s shoulder.
“Anyway, it’s the school championship–who knew?–and half the people on our team have the flu and right before halftime some jerk on the other team kicks an attacker in the shin. So all the players are wondering how they’re going to go on without enough players and I just happen to hear them, so I raise my hand and to my surprise they throw a jersey at me and tell me that I’m going to be a striker!”
“They had to make sure he wasn’t a middle schooler first.” Luhan hit Minseok for the unnecessary comment.
“Anyway, stuff happened and I made the winning goal and I got this spiffy little thing,” he looked at the medal fondly.
Yixing hummed. “So what you’re saying is that you completed your bucket list?”
“Bingo.”
“Wait, what?” Kris scooted back over, wondering where Luhan was taking this.
“I wanted to win a football match. I did,” the blond nudged Minseok, giving him a meaningful look.
“I’m going to tell my parents the thing I was talking about,” he announced, monotone. “I’m going up to see them this weekend.”
Luhan nodded to Yixing, “tell them what you told me this morning.”
The man immediately turned a dark scarlet, glancing away and fiddling with his slightly oversized shirt. “I entered my name into a small contest. It’s a dancing competition,” Yixing elaborated, voice trailing off. He winced when Minseok offered a loud congratulations. “It doesn’t mean anything! I might not even get a spot!”
Luhan scoffed. “Please. You, my friend, need a mirror. It’s in three weeks, Yifan. Mark your calendar because you’re going to be there. Front row.”
Yifan narrowed his eyes because Luhan was doing that thing where he avoided the topic and spoke too fast. “So wait, you guys are all completing your bucket lists? Aren’t you supposed to do that closer to your death? Like, right before?”
“There is no time like the present,” Luhan announced, ignoring Minseok’s sudden burst of laughter before the older man covered his mouth. “Besides, what was that about learning to ride it in a month? If I remember correctly, then you have two weeks left.”
Yifan blanched. “Wait. You were serious?”
Minseok grinned. “You sounded like you were. Something about being a changed man?”
Yifan attempted a smile. “Um. Ha. As if. I’m thinking about becoming an actor. Was it that good? I should try out for something. Hey, look at the time I really should–”
“You entered the blood pact, Yifan. There is no backing out.”
Yifan stared at Luhan in horror and disgust because when did that happen?
Yixing can read minds. “Eighth grade.” And oh god, middle school.
“Okay, okay,” Yifan raised his hands in surrender because giving in is much easier than arguing with Luhan. “I can find a place that gives lesso–”
“No,” Luhan objects immediately, mischievous grin back in place. “You said you’d get Tao to teach you.”
“I was being ironic.”
“Has anyone ever told you,” Yixing begins, resting his chin on a fair hand, “that you stop making sense when you get nervous?”
“I want to see you riding a motorcycle on your own in two weeks. Try to stay in one piece, too.” Luhan stands, prompting his posse to follow. “Hey, yours might actually be a bucket list!”
Yifan sputters.
“Why are you here, again?” Tao had his eyes closed when he heard the tell tale rustling of the overgrown shrub near the corner, meaning he wasn’t alone any more. But he doesn’t get an answer so he sighs and takes a long drag before forcing his eyes to open. Since any sight would be unwelcome, he groans loud and long when he is met with a vision of rainbow.
“Give me a cig.”
Tao shoves his box at the rainbow, hoping that it’ll make it go away, but the thing only gets closer.
“... give me a light.”
Resigning himself to this fate, Tao reaches inside his pocket and pulls out a stainless steel lighter, flicking the device until a small flame is produced because like hell he’s going to let anyone touch his stuff.
The newcomer takes in a breath of smoke and promptly has a coughing fit.
“Maybe smoking isn’t your thing,” Tao comments, taking back the rest of his cigarettes and pocketing them while watching the younger boy double over. It would have been alarming if it didn’t happen nearly every day.
“Shaddup,” the man shot back, taking another puff despite the fact that he was still coughing.
“You should really stop, though,” Tao mutters, only slightly serious. “If I have to deal with your bodyguard again, I’m not going to tolerate you any more.”
The cigarette slips from Sehun’s fingers and as the boy blows on his burnt hand, Tao slams his boot down on ash.
“He’s not my bodyguard. He’s just a family friend,” Sehun defends, still holding his injured hand a few inches from his face.
Tao rolls his eyes because if a family friend means babysitter to Sehun, then he’d be right. Tao can’t count the times that the shorter upperclassmen had tracked Sehun down to yell at him for skipping class and then, by default, Tao as well. Honestly, the black-haired man doesn’t even know why he puts up with the guy, he doesn’t–
“I brought you lunch,” Sehun grinned, kneeling to ruffle through his beat up bag before emerging with a brown bag. “I tried something new this time. My roommate’s friend is a culinary expert or something, so he gave me stuff to work with and–I don’t know. I think it . You’re free to try it, though.”
God bless Oh Sehun. He snatches the brown bag and breathes in the smell of meat and fried goods, shoving a cig in the other’s direction when it looks like the rainbow haired kid is going to ask for something. Tao motions towards the hair mid-bite and Sehun shrugs saying something about an existential crisis before toying with the heavily bleached locks and contemplating their next color.
The first person who tells Sehun that college isn’t high school Tao will drop kick into the cafeteria because he lives for Sehun’s lunch. Well. Not really. But they’re nice, at the least.
“Was it ok?” Sehun worried his bottom lip, holding his breath so as not to choke on a lungful of smoke.
“Pretty good,” Tao admits, leaning against the wall before slinking down, resting on his haunches. Sehun does the same beside him and Tao prays to god that the kid will grow out of this and start mimicking the babysitter next instead, or something. “So, how are your old man eye candies going?”
Sehun glared daggers. “They’re not that old.”
Tao shrugged. “You didn’t answer the question.”
Sehun sighed before launching into, “My family friend keeps bugging me about homework, so he’s absolutely no use. But other than that it’s kind of okay, I guess? I have two upperclassmen in my bio class who let me copy off of them and the one guy let me sleep on him while they studied in the library. Oh! But the one guy who used to buy me stuff, you remember him, right? He just stopped! Last time I saw him I tried to guilt him into buying me something to drink and he up and left!” He complained, pouting. “I don’t think he loves me.”
Tao chuckled. “Calm down. I’m sure you’ll find another sugar daddy.”
Sehun glared. “You find pleasure from my pain?”
“If I didn’t, why would I let you smoke?”
Sehun froze instead of shouting something back and Tao sighed from below him. Sehun deciding between fight or flee could mean anything from a bug to an assassin was behind Tao and he really wasn’t in the mood to deal with this, so he closed his eyes and brought the stub of a cigarette to his lips. Spending time with Sehun required more sleep.
“You’re Huang Zitao?”
Tao rose at the voice, spinning to face the man and hiding his surprise when the stranger was taller than him. Very rare. He breathed out one last time before dropping the cig and placing his boot on top of it. He looked the man over. Blonde, handsome, probably older than him. He turned to Sehun. “Is he here for you because I swear to god–”
Sehun backed up, doing a very good deer stuck in headlights impression. “I don’t know the guy.”
The man frowned, drawing Tao’s attention to his eyebrows.
“No. I came here to talk to you.”
Tao waved his hand in invitation. What, did the guy want to schedule an interview with his secretary or something?
“I was wondering if you could do me a favor.” He sounded unsure.
Tao glanced behind him to make sure he had backup in case this was a setup, but evidently Sehun had run away already. What a . He’d better come with two lunches tomorrow. “I’m listening.”
“I want you to teach me how to ride a motorcycle.”
“No.”
A/N
omg. So many subs. We love you all and I hope you liked the new chapter<3
Kojafras/SillyAh
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