Lay walked around upstairs in search of Luhan.

The long hallways stretched out in front of him, almost completely dark if not for the dim back up lights flickering above.

"Luhan?" Lay called out, his footsteps echoing down the empty hallway. 

There was no response.

Lay tried sending a couple texts to Luhan, but he received no answer, which only made him more worried.

What if Luhan was hurt? Or what if Kyungsoo was hurt and Luhan needed help? 

Lay's train of worried thoughts were cut off, however, when he heard light footsteps. He was at the end of the corridor now, and when he spun around towards the sound he saw the silhouette of a person standing at the other end.

"Luhan!" Lay said, starting towards the person, but they just stared back at Lay, face covered in shadows, before turning and walking out of sight down the next hallway.

"Hey!" Lay called out, jogging after the person.

But when he rounded the next corner an empty, dim hallway was all that stood before him. Shaking his head, Lay passed up that hallway, walking quickly down the main corridor. He was simply going in circles up there, passing empty classroom after classroom. Pausing at the beginning of yet another hallway, Lay felt a cold sliver of air ghost over the back of his neck and he spun around again.

The figure stood at the end of the hallway Lay had just passed, face still covered in shadows. Slowly, the silhouette lifted an arm, pointing down the nearby corridor before turning and heading in that direction.

"Luhan?" Lay shouted, heart thudding uncomfortably in his chest. Seriously, why wouldn't Luhan just wait for him instead of playing this chasing game? Lay went sprinting back down the corridor, sneakers slapping against the hard floor until he skidded to a stop where the figure had just previously stood. Looking down the corridor, Lay sighed when he saw no one. He was just starting to turn, however, when he caught a glimpse of some dark object lying at the end of the hallway. Squinting, Lay's breath caught in his throat when he realized what it was.

A person.

A small figure laid still on the ground, not moving at all from what Lay could see.

Sprinting down the hallway, Lay dropped to his knees beside the person, gently rolling them over. It was Suho, eyes closed but soft breaths emitting from his slightly open mouth. Lay's brow furrowed in confusion.

"How did you get up here, Hyung?" Lay whispered, not expecting an answer but voicing his question anyways. Suddenly, Lay heard a shout and his head snapped up, glancing around himself. Scrambling up from Suho's side, Lay took off towards the sound, something nagging at the back of his mind. As he rounded the corner Lay realized what it was.

Suho'd had no wound on his leg. 

But before Lay could dwell much on the thought, the sight in front of him made him stop. 

At the very end of the hallway, a lone figure sat in a chair, head tilted down. Lay knew who it was before the figure even raised his head. Chen's dark eyes stared back at Lay from under his disheveled bangs, mouth covered in duct tape just like before. 

Without hesitation, Lay took off down the hallway towards Chen, a painful feeling in his chest.

He was halfway down the hallway when Chen met Lay's eyes and slowly shook his head, just as the lights flickered out above him.

"No!" Lay cried out, finally leaping into the darkness where Chen had just sat. But Lay simply stumbled through empty air, no trace of Chen left at the end of the hallway. He let out a sound of frustration, slamming his fists against the stone wall in front of him. 

Lay ran his hands through his hair, breathing hard as an uncomfortable knot settled in the back of his throat.

"What is going on?" Lay shouted, his voice echoing through the empty hallways, just as he heard yet another shout from the end of the hallway. Heart leaping up his throat, Lay turned and sprinted towards the shouts, legs burning from his nonstop sprinting. 

Bursting through the double doors, Lay took in his surroundings. He was near the two sets of stairs that led back into the lower areas of the school, the balcony area that spread between the two tall staircases revealing the darkness below. A section of the balcony had no railings to it, and Lay remembered in the recesses of his mind the fact that that section had been under construction recently during school. The very thought of school seemed unreal and faraway to Lay. Suddenly he saw a tall figure walk into the area, heading towards the elevators across from the balcony, and Lay knew it was Kris.

"Kris!" Lay shouted in warning, but the other had already stepped inside the elevator, doors sliding shut behind him. Lay held his head in his hands, squeezing his eyes shut. 

'This can't be happening, not again' he thought in panic, opening his eyes.

That was a mistake.

Because across the balcony, standing at the edge of the railing-less portion, was Xiumin, Kyungsoo standing directly behind him.

And before Lay could even open his mouth, Kyungsoo shoved Xiumin over the edge into the darkness.

Lay couldn't tear his eyes away as Kyungsoo looked up at him, expression blank, before waving a hand in his direction and stepping over the edge, falling into the dark abyss as well. 

Lay screamed, sinking to his knees as his chest heaved with heavy breaths.

Lay closed his eyes, palms pressed against the floor, until he heard soft footsteps ahead of him. Reluctantly, he raised his head, and gasped.

The scenery around him was different, he was still in a corridor, but it wasn't the corridors of his school. These corridors were, if possible, even darker, the ends of it fading into a wall of darkness in front and behind where Lay knelt on the floor. Looking closer, Lay saw the same figure standing at the edge of the darkness in front of him.

"Luhan" he whispered, more of a plea than a call, and for once, the figure stayed where he was. Lay's heart pounded in his chest as he stared harder at the figure.

Suddenly, the person started walking, slowly, towards Lay's kneeling figure, while Lay let his head hang down in relief that he wasn't walking away from him again.

Faster than Lay thought possible, the footsteps came to a stop in front of him, and he looked up.

"Lu-" he started, but stopped when he realized the person in front of him wasn't Luhan. The hair was too dark, the face more angular, everything more familiar.

It was himself.

Lay almost fell backwards as the full realization hit him hard, and an almost absurd urge to laugh rose in his throat. His double looked down at him, eyes dark but interlaced with a trace of sadness. 

Lay let his head drop to his chest as he shut his eyes again, as if hoping that this time when he opened them Luhan would be standing in front of him. 

Cool fingers slid under his chin, tilting his head up until his eyes met the other's again. Lay's breath caught in his throat as his double leaned forward, not allowing his gaze to stray, until he felt the ghost of a breath graze across his ear. 

"This isn't real" his double whispered, and shivers ran up Lay's spine as he stayed frozen in his kneeling position. And then the cool fingers disappeared as his double pulled back, giving Lay one last dark glance before continuing past him up the hallway. 

Lay suddenly remembered how to breathe as he scrambled to his feet, turning to follow himself up the increasingly darkening hallway.

"No wait! Come back!" Lay shouted after his own receding back, starting to sprint after the figure. He was just about to reach out to grab the other's arm, however, when something slammed into his side and he went down. 

Luhan had come to a stop at the top of the stairwell, breathing hard as his eyes had scoured the area for Lay. Something was wrong, he'd figured that out when Chanyeol had said that Lay had received a text from him.

A text that he had never sent.

Luhan heard a scream from the area where the balconies were, and he instantly knew who it was.

Lay. 

Sprinting down the hallway, Luhan skidded to a stop when he saw movement across the room.

Lay was kneeling on the ground, head tilting up and eyes staring at something in front of him. Luhan watched as he scrambled to his feet, turning and running after something with a shout.

Right towards the area of the balcony with no railings, the dark abyss below it just waiting for Lay.

Luhan's stomach dropped as the 'hint' ran through his mind once again.

'Sometimes your biggest obstacle is yourself' 

Now it clicked in his mind, but then Luhan was off, sprinting as fast as he could for Lay. 

His heart thundered in his eardrums as he watched Lay reach out for something, barely two feet from the edge of the balcony. 

The distance between the two seemed to stretch out in front of Luhan, the air rushing out of his lungs with each slap of his shoes against the floor.

Lay took one step closer to the edge, the other foot poised to take the final leap. 

Luhan threw himself towards Lay.

The two collided, Luhan managing to knock Lay off course and to the side now as he panted on the ground next to the other's limp figure. Turning his head to the side, Luhan began to sit up as relief flooded through his veins. 

And was promptly slammed back onto the ground.

Lay's blank eyes stared down into Luhan's shocked face, no trace of emotion present at all. Something prickled at the back of Luhan's mind and then he remembered what it was.

Lay's eyes held the same look Kyungsoo's had when he'd pushed Xiumin down the stairs.

"Lay" Luhan choked out, hoping to spur some recognition in his friend. 

But then he felt the hard tile beneath his head suddenly be replaced by thin air as Lay slid him partially over the edge. Luhan yelped and felt his stomach drop as he looked over his shoulder into the darkness. Turning his head to look back up at Lay's blank face, Luhan tried to get free. But it was no use when he just felt himself slide even further over the edge. 

"Lay, don't do this, I know this isn't really you" Luhan said quickly, staring into Lay's eyes for a trace of anything.

But Lay just kept the blank look on his face just as he swung one leg off of Luhan.

Luhan's heart thudded at this change, hoping Lay was going to let him go. 

But then Lay's blank expression twisted into a smile and he shoved Luhan's lower half over the edge. 

Luhan screamed as he fell, gasping as a sharp pain tore through his arm.

Looking up, he saw Lay's smiling face staring down at him, his arm held by Lay in an iron grip. 

It was the only thing keeping Luhan from falling into the darkness below.

"Lay, please! This isn't you!" Luhan shouted at Lay, swinging precariously over the side of the balcony. His legs tingled as if the darkness was beckoning him down, down, down.

"This isn't real, Yixing" Luhan whispered in defeat, neck straining from looking up at the other and arm in complete agony.
Suddenly Lay's smile vanished and he blinked as if regaining his vision.

The hold on Luhan's arm loosened and he fell just a couple more inches down. Luhan gritted his teeth, tensing for the fall. 

But then Lay's grip came back with more force than before and Luhan heard a gasp above him before he was being pulled up. He felt strong yet shaking hands grasp him under the arms before he landed on the hard floor, groaning at the sudden relief in his arm. Turning his head to the side, Luhan saw Lay sprawled on the floor next to him, eyes squeezed shut and mouth slightly parted as his chest rose and fell rapidly. 

"Yixing?" Luhan asked cautiously, fearing the sight of Lay's blank eyes meeting him when they began to open.

But Lay's eyes weren't blank at all as he turned to meet Luhan's gaze. They were full of pain, and terror, and sadness.

A small sob broke past Lay's lips and then the tears spilled over.

Luhan rolled to his side and wound his arms around Lay's shoulders, feeling his heart break as Lay's arms in turn circled around his waist as he pressed his face against Luhan's chest. 

"I'm-sorry--Luhan" Lay sobbed into his shirt, curling up inside Luhan's embrace. He just kept repeating those short words as he sobbed harder, and Luhan could only hold him closer as tears of his own streamed silently down his face.