Hey guys *^.^* Sorry for the long wait for an update, but I hope you all enjoy this chapter! I recommend listening to your favorite dance song while you read if you want to add some background music for the scene *Winks* And as always, please comment<3 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The group in front of them is cocky.

            Sehun swallows thickly, hyperaware of the crowd around them on the floor, everyone screaming and shouting and holding cups full of drinks or with their phones out, ready to capture the action on video even though Sehun specifically remembers one of the three judges saying something about no photography or videos because the flash would distract the dancers, and oh jeez, Yixing is motioning for the DJ to start the music, and everything is so loud and so bright and they’re still in the same room as they started off in because that’s where they had been assigned, and Kai is moving away from him to take his spot.

            “Breathe,” Sehun thinks, taking a shuddering breath and trying to stop the train wreck of his thoughts.

            “Focus on something else,” his brain commands, survival instincts kicking in. “Find the story in the picture.”

            And in the three seconds Sehun has before their music starts, he drinks it in.

            Their competition is another group of three boys. One of them looks to be about as tall as Kai’s boss, Kris, with floppy brown hair and a very wide grin, and the second one Sehun’s eyes land on is scary as hell, with jet black hair, dark eyes, and quite a few glittering piercings in one ear. The third boy, standing in the middle, obviously the leader, is shorter than the other two, and smaller, with a delicate figure accentuated in skin-tight dark jeans and a decorated hoodie that sparkles under the lights. But even though he looks fragile with his sharp cheekbones, Sehun can see competition, raw and rough, shining from his cat-like eyes, ferocity written in every curve of his body.

            The three of them are watching Sehun, Kai, and Yixing with obvious anticipation, sometimes letting out calls and shouts across the floor, to which Kai and Yixing respond just as enthusiastically, voices and smiles as sharp as glass, used to the bantering that always occurred before a dance battle.

            The leader glances at Sehun, who hasn’t been joining in on the insulting and has instead been bouncing on the balls of his feet nervously. A sly smile lifts the cat-like mouth, and then he’s cupping his hands around his mouth, leaning forward.

            “What’s wrong with that one?” he asks, loud enough for everyone around them to hear, even over the noise of the crowd surrounding the floor. “Are you a little nervous, rainbow? Or afraid you can’t keep up?”

            Sehun swallows thickly, aware that the jabs are just meant to throw him off, and that the guy hasn’t just singled him out for the hell of it, but because he hasn’t been responding to anything else.

            But that doesn’t stop the image of Kang-Dae from entering his mind, and it makes Sehun’s throat close up and he can’t choke out the words he needs to.

            “He doesn’t need to say anything,” Kai butts in, hand moving to curl protectively around the back of Sehun’s neck, and the other boy follows the movement with curious eyes. “It’ll all be said after he kicks your and sends you home crying.”

            Yixing makes an impressed noise, close to a whoop, smirk dancing across his mouth, and the other boy’s eyes flick towards him.

            “I’ll make a deal with you,” he calls out suddenly, eyes sparkling with mischief, and Yixing points to himself questioningly. The guy nods, his mouth quirking up deviously. “Yeah, you.”

            “What is it?” Yixing asks, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning back, looking bored as always.

            “If we win, which we will, don’t worry, you agree to let me take you out,” the boy responds, grin so wide now that Sehun can see the tips of his canines and he truly looks like a cat.

            For a moment, both teams stand in shocked silence, Yixing’s mouth falling open slightly in surprise before he clamps it shut again quickly.

            Kai breaks the silence, fingers still brushing the back of Sehun’s neck, who’s fighting back the crazy urge to laugh out loud because he’s never seen Yixing look so taken aback by someone before.

            “Damn,” Kai says, whistling lowly and looking at his best friend slyly. “Are you sure you want to win now Xing?”

            Yixing, recovered now from his initial disbelief, glares daggers at Kai before turning back to the leader of the other group.

            He stalks forward until he’s a few feet away, sticking his hands in his pockets.

            “What, too scared to take it?” the boy asks, giving Yixing a once-over that makes Sehun blush. Kai laughs beside him, fingers brushing across Sehun’s warm face, and Sehun bats his hand away, focusing on what Yixing is saying.

            “No,” Yixing says slowly, as if debating something. “I’m just worried you won’t be able to find your gigantic ego after I’m done.” He pauses, giving the other boy his own slow glance, eyes coming back up to the shorter one’s face.

            The other boy laughs lightly. “I like you,” he says, stepping forward. “We’ll see who’s looking for their pride after this, beautiful.”

            Yixing laughs drily. “It’s on,” he mutters, before turning around and returning to his group, Kai giving him a high five before the DJ says into the microphone, “Okay, since the flirting is over, can I start the music now?”

             The crowd around them laughs, Yixing waving off the DJ with a flick of his hand, and now Sehun is beginning to panic again, and Kai is letting go of him, moving again to stand in his place, the two of them situated a little bit behind Yixing, forming a triangle.

            Sehun is running the choreography through his head, and Kai winks at him once right before the music starts, and then Yixing is moving, pulling off the opening steps with a determination that Sehun can feel in his bones.

            Kai follows, his steps jerking in to fit with Yixing’s, mirroring them as the song hits a second strong beat after the first one.

            And Sehun is thinking too many different things at once.

            Like how flawless and graceful Kai and Yixing look dancing next to each other, as if the music is controlling them, every move sharp and accurate and just a little bit perfectly imperfect, smudges of mistakes coating everything.

            Or how the other group is watching with feigned disinterest while the rest of the crowd whoops and hollers and shouts, a mess of words and whistles.

            And most of all, Sehun is thinking about what Kai had said just moments before.

            “He doesn’t need to say anything. It’ll all be said after he kicks your and sends you home crying.”