a/n: this is a prequel of sorts to “why don’t you come on over”. written because i know a couple asian girls who think they’re white but love bubble tea i don’t know okay but i had to write this. zitao has dirty blonde hair in this. PS. I AM SO SORRY THIS IS LITERALLY JUST SEHUN AND ZITAO BEING BITCHES TO EACH OTHER AND HAS NO COHESIVE PLOT PLEASE DON’T LOOK AT ME. pps. this is sonya's fault because of reasons.

Zitao pressed the buzzer, bouncing on the balls of her feet in anticipation.

“Chanyeol? I wasn’t expecting--” the other girl’s voice is clear and pretty over the piano music in the background, despite the static of the intercom. Zitao tugs awkwardly at her short shorts, suddenly worried that her roommate won’t like her.

“Uh, I’m actually Zitao? I’m moving in?” she prays to god that she doesn’t sound like an idiot (even though she knows she probably does).

“Oh, Zitao! Stay down there and I’ll help you bring your up your stuff, okay?” The line cuts off and Zitao tugs her shorts down a little more, hoping to cover some of her exposed thighs. This is so fucking awkward-- she should have taken Jongin up on her offer to help her move in.

The door swings open, nearly knocking one of Zitao’s boxes over. A short girl comes out, pulling her light brown hair into a ponytail. She’s in a purple plaid shirt and her shorts are nearly as short as Zitao’s-- the taller girl breathes an internal sigh of relief. 

“Hi, I’m Byun Baekhyun!” She gives Zitao a winning smile, eyes crinkling cutely as she hauls a box onto her hip. "Luhan!" Baekhyun waves over Tao's shoulder. "Help me with these boxes."

“But Baek darling, I just got my nails done. I’ve got a date tonight!” A girl with bouncy brown curls crosses her arms, biting a perfectly glossed lip. Her skirt’s tinier than tiny and she looks like a doll with her doe eyes pink cheeks.

“But Lu darling,” drawls Baekhyun, hoisting the box higher on her hip, “I’ve got a new roommate and you have a date every night.”

“Uh, hi? I’m Zitao.” Said roommate scratches her neck awkwardly.

“Baekhyun!” Luhan squeals, reaching up to pinch Zitao’s cheeks, “You didn’t tell me your new roomie was such a cutie!”

Baekhyun grabs Luhan around the waist, successfully pulling her off Tao. “Christ, Luhan, not everyone is as gay as you. Now help me with these boxes or take your VERY VISIBLE ass somewhere that isn’t my apartment.”

Rolling her eyes, Luhan picks up a box, bending over farther than necessary in the process. Zitao has to fight back a blush-- Luhan’s not her type, but she still has a really cute butt. “Yeah, yeah, I’m not even like, full gay. Versatile girls have more fun, darling.” She winks at the both of them before sashaying up the stairs.

It takes almost a week for Zitao to get all her things unpacked, mostly because whenever she’s unpacking, Luhan appears to rummage through her stuff, usually leaving piles on Zitao’s belongings on the floor when she leaves.

“Jack Kerouac, huh? I wouldn’t have pegged you for the reading type at all, actually. A little too punk, not quite hipster enough.” Luhan’s seated on Tao’s bed, legs crossed to reveal her pink panties.

“Luhan, kindly shut the--” Zitao’s sarcastic reply is cut off by the buzzer. She leaves Luhan in her room to pick up the phone. “Who is it?”

“I’m Sehun, are you Baekhyun?” The girl’s voice gives nothing away.

“Uh, no I’m not. Let me get her for you.” Zitao covers the mouthpiece with her hand, leaning backwards over the couch to yell for Baekhyun. “Hey Baek, there’s a Sehun at the door, do you know her?”

“Sehun? Yeah, can you go down and let her in?” Baekhyun’s voice is muffled by the door and what’s probably her pen in her mouth.

“Alright.” Zitao makes her way downstairs, barefoot. There’s a blonde girl at the door; her sailor shorts, cropped top and white vans are making Zitao ridiculously uncomfortable. Tao pushes the door open, standing in the doorway with her arms crossed and using her hip to keep the door from closing behind her. “Uh, are you Sehun?”

The girl’s eyeroll is condescending as hell. “Does it look like anyone else is here? Just help me get my shit upstairs.”

Zitao eyes her matching luggage (three suitcases: two large and one small, plus a backpack) dubiously before picking up both suitcases. Christ, this girl is a bitch. She’s going to have to have a talk with Baekhyun later. Once she’s ascended the stairs, Sehun trailing behind on her phone, Zitao kicks the door, still carrying both suitcases. “Luhan, open the door you slut.”

The door swings open and Luhan peers out, wrinkling her nose when she catches sight of Sehun (who’s still on her phone; Zitao glances back and catches a glimpse of Twitter. Figures, she thinks). “Who invited the white girl?”

Sehun looks up, flicking her hair over one shoulder. “I’m Korean, you bitch. You don’t see many white girls with the name Oh Sehun.”

“Could’ve fooled me,” mutters Luhan under her breath. Zitao’s inclined to agree. “Baek, is this your girlfriend? I didn’t know you had such shitty taste!”

Sehun pushes past the both of them, rolling her eyes so hard Zitao thinks she might burst a blood vessel. “Please. Like any of you are even close to my type.” She casts a dismissive glance over Luhan in her tiny skirt and Zitao in her all-black attire.

“Yeah, and what’s your type?” challenges Luhan over Zitao’s heavy sigh, “White girls?”

“Christ, Luhan, cut it out.” Baekhyun’s apparently decided to make an appearance, leaning against the kitchen counter. “Also, I’m not gay.”

“Too bad,” snorts Luhan, “You’re outnumbered.”

“No I’m not, Zitao’s not gay either.” Baekhyun twirls her pencil between two fingers.

“Actually I, uh, I’m gay too.” Zitao clears her throat awkwardly. “I uh… Yeah.”

“See! “Not everyone’s a gay as me” my ass. They’re both gayer than I am.” Luhan huffs. “Anyway, I have to go. Have fun, Zitao.” She bends over to pull on her shoes (completely unnecessary-- she’s wearing flats) and wiggles her fingers at them as she leaves.

“Well,” Baekhyun sticks her pencil back into her ponytail. “You two are sharing a room. Don’t be too gay, alright? I don’t need to hear that.”

“She’s not my type,” they both answer immediately, glancing at one another.

“Fuck, Zitao, why are all your clothes black?” Sehun crosses her arms, inspecting the closet they now share. 

“Huh?” Zitao sits up from her bed, pulling out her earbuds. “What’d you ask?” 

Sehun shoves Zitao’s clothes to one side of the closet, making room for her pastels and florals “You need a color other than black in your wardrobe,” she informs Tao, “All this black is depressing.” Sehun tosses a pink-and-white floral hi-low skirt at Zitao, who catches it deftly, holding the fabric delicately with two fingers.

“Um, no thanks? This thing is going to make me look like some wannabe hipster chick.” She tosses the skirt back into Sehun’s arms, grabbing for her iPod.

“Seriously, Tao, you’ve got nice legs, it’ll look great on you.” Sehun hides her embarrassment with a characteristic eyeroll. “Besides, it’ll be a nice contrast with your skin tone.”

Zitao snorts. “My skin tone? I don’t think I need to look any darker than I already am. I’m more a Jia than a Bora, you know? And anyway,” she stands up to stretch, shirt riding up her stomach to reveal toned abs, “I thought I wasn’t your type, white girl.”

“I’m not a fucking white girl,” Sehun turns her back on Zitao, rolling her eyes.

“Yeah yeah, whatever you say, Sehunnie. I can practically hear you rolling your eyes.” Zitao steps up behind the shorter, flicking her blonde hair.

It’s like a cliche schoolgirl anime when Sehun turns around to find herself face-to-face with Zitao, tilting her head back to meet the taller girl’s aggressive stare. Only instead of blushing and looking down, Sehun rolls her eyes. “I don’t date cynical little shits.”

“Oh that’s funny,” sneers Zitao, “Look who’s fucking talking, bitch.” She makes a mental note to spill coffee on Sehun’s white fucking vans tomorrow morning. The girl’s entire existence irritates her for reasons Zitao doesn’t want to dwell on because they’re probably really stupid. Whatever; her reasons aren’t stupid, it’s Sehun who’s the stupid one.

Sehun can’t stand Zitao’s fucking black clothes and her goddamn attitude and her stupid fucking half head of air and the fact that she’s so fucking attractive in all the wrong ways. She can’t decide if she wants to cut off Tao’s stupid half-shaved hair or yank it and pull the older girl closer. Not to mention Tao’s got this infuriating smirk that kind of makes Sehun want to kiss her. But you know, only kind of.

“Are you fucking kidding me Zitao,” deadpans Sehun, glaring at the clothes strewn across the bathroom floor, “Are you like, a guy or what?”

“Whatever, Sehun. You leave your dishes in the sink; what’s the difference? At least my clothes don’t smell like kimchi and oil.” Zitao pokes her head around the doorframe, a towel wrapped around her torso, shoulders slick and wet from her dripping hair. Sehun licks her lips subconsciously, rolling her eyes.

“Yeah, well at least my dishes don’t smell like sweat and hair dye.” Sehun eyes Zitao’s dark roots, which are starting to grow in in harsh contrast to the bleached dirty blonde locks. “Speaking of which, you need more.”

Zitao leans casually against the doorframe, like she’s not clad only in a towel. “Actually, I was thinking of going red. Burgundy, maybe. What do you think?” She twirls a wet strand around her finger, examining it. Her towel’s starting to slip, and she uses a tanned hand to keep it up.

“I don’t give a shit. Do whatever you like; it’s none of my business if you want to kill your hair.” Sehun huffs, turning away from the taller girl to stare at her reflection. When she looks back, Zitao’s gone.

Zitao wants to rip that casual sneer off Sehun’s face because she fucking knows the younger girl isn’t unaffected, and frankly she’s tired of her shit. She’s going to need to up her game, so--

“Luhan what the fuck.” Sehun is standing in the doorway, blocking the brunette’s path. “Why are you even here.”

“Calm your shit, hun, I’m not here for you. Taozi, let’s go.” Luhan pulls her hair over a shoulder, eyeing Sehun boredly. “And why don’t you re-dye your roots?”

Sehun huffs, brushing past Luhan on her way out. “I like it this way.”

“Jie, are you ready to go?” Zitao pulls a loose Sleeping With Sirens tank over her head. The armholes are cut low enough to show her neon green bandeau and her skinny, skinny jeans are held together by mere threads in some spots. She shoves a twenty down her bra and pockets her phone, slipping her feet into loose flip-flops.

“Yeah,” replies Luhan, typing furiously on her phone, “My friend Jongdae’s gonna join us too. Hey, don’t look at me like that!” she protests when Zitao looks at her incredulously, “You’ll like her.”

“Yeah okay whatever. Hurry up and let’s go!” Zitao grabs Luhan by the wrist, dragging her outside. 

It turns out that Luhan’s vehicle of choice is a Mini Cooper (“I wanted a Vespa, because they’re cute, but I don’t want helmet hair all the time,” confesses Luhan, to which Zitao can only roll her eyes because of course). 

It’s nice and air-conditioned inside the movie theatre. Jongdae makes snide comments about the characters the whole time and Luhan keeps stealing her popcorn, but Tao has a good time. They go out for Starbucks afterward and Jongdae perches herself on top of Luhan’s car, peering over her grande green tea frapp at Zitao. She’s a small girl, almost as small as Luhan, and just as skinny, with sharp cheekbones and an even sharper tongue. Jongdae’s hair is jet black and falls just past her shoulders.

“Sorry you had to ride in the cutesymobile,” she says with a grimace, thumping the side of Luhan’s (pink) Cooper. “You don’t have your own ride, huh?”

“I’ve got a skateboard,” laughs Zitao, sipping her venti iced coffee. It’s black, and Luhan says she’s crazy, but then Luhan’s drinking a vanilla frappuccino. “But no, back home I always got rides from my friend Jongin, and my parents would never pay for a motorcycle.”

“Motorcycle?” Jongdae raises her eyebrows, clearly impressed. “So all the ripped jeans and shit aren’t just for show. But hey,” she leans forward, barely keeping her balance, “Baek’s boyfriend knows a guy who’s looking to sell. You should talk to her.”

Zitao grins around her straw. “Thanks, Jongdae.”

Luhan sighs loudly, drumming her fingers against the hood of the car. “Ladies, I’ve got somewhere to be and I’ve got to take Zitao back to Baekhyun’s, so--”

“I can take her,” replies Jongdae almost instantly. “Don’t worry, my car’s much cooler than Lulu’s.” she adds with a wink, hopping to the ground.

Luhan sighs again, sliding into her car. “Alright Zitao, I’ll see you later. Don’t let Jongdae get you into trouble, m’kay?” 

“Have a little faith in me, Lu!” Jongdae twirls her keys around her finger idly. “C’mon, my car is like a block away.” She starts off down the street, Zitao trailing behind.

Jongdae’s black Prius drops Zitao off in front of the apartment building. As Zitao’s entering the keycode, she hears Jondgae shout something from across the street. She turns to find the shorter girl leaning out the open window black hair spilling over her shoulders.

“Wait, Zitao!” Jongdae beckons Tao back to the car. “Give me your number!”

Zitao plugs her number into Jongdae’s phone and lets the older girl enter her number as well. “Bye, Jongdae! It was nice to meet you!” She flashes a smile before jogging back across the street and entering the building.

“Hey, Baek.” Zitao flings herself onto the older girl's desk chair, nearly tipping it over.

Baekhyun barely looks up from her notebook, tucking a stray hair behind her ear. “How was Luhan today? Or should I be inquiring about Jongdae, hm?” She glances up, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively at Zitao.

“Unnie! How can you say something like that?” Zitao whines, tossing an eraser at the brunette.

The older girl throws her a “bitch please” look, returning to her furious scribbling. “As if you couldn’t tell that Jongdae was totally into you. You’re definitely her type.”

“Are all your friends gay?” asks Tao incredulously. “Are you sure you’re straight?” she adds after a moment of thought.

Baekhyun rolls her eyes and Zitao fleeting thinks that Sehun is rubbing off on both of them in the worst possible way. “Luhan’s not gay. And she’s also turned me away from even the slightest lesbian tendencies.”

“Understandably so,” acknowledges Sehun from the doorway.

“FUCKIN--!” Zitao actually topples off the chair in surprise, hissing at the pain that shoots across her skull. “Give some warning, whore.”

Sehun flicks her hair behind her shoulder. “I’m so sorry your lame ass can’t hear anything, Zitao. It’s no wonder you couldn’t tell Jongdae was coming on to you.” She sneers at the taller, who at the moment is sprawled half beneath Baekhyun’s tiny desk.

Zitao leaps to her feat and makes a grab for Sehun’s fucking blonde hair. “You fucking bitch!” She chases Sehun into the living room, a resounding crash filling the apartment over Baekhyun’s cackles.

“Owww,” whimpers Zitao as Sehun dabs the cut in her cheek. Their earlier shenanigans had ended with both girls on the ground after Zitao tripped over the coffee table, knocking over Sehun’s pencil jar and literally scratching her face on a pencil. It’s going to be a very sad story to relay to Luhan.

“Don’t be a baby,” reprimands the younger, hitting Tao lightly on the knee. “It’s your own fault, anyway.”

“My fault?!” she shouts, “If you hadn’t--”

“SHUT THE FUCK UP.” Sehun leans in and kisses Zitao, hard, and hell fucking no, Sehun’s been watching too many fucking dramas, this isn’t happening, Sehun tastes like fucking vanila, Sehun is stupid, Sehun’s--

Sehun is really fucking cute and even though she’s a brat, Zitao thinks she could get used to this.

a/n: i give up on everything ugh. i promise that i will get around to writing something that is not exo. eventually.