This was actually written purposely for our maknae’s birthday and I got the idea while I was watching his Pathcode teaser. :) I hope you guys like what I came up with. Tbh, it’s one of the best ones in my opinion...and one I had the most fun writing. <3

OC - You

He was always there but never here; always late yet one step ahead. Somehow with me though, not really.

My relationship with Sehun was the epitome of the relationship status:

It's complicated.

Sehun was like the wind, unstable, erratic, changing from one course to another; always leaving... always disappearing. 

It all started when I was six years old, playing by the swings of the town's park but not really riding it, just looking because I was afraid of falling and getting hurt; the seesaw's being the reason for my ridiculous trauma. 

I watched the swing which was as still as the wind that summer afternoon. Biting my lip, simply itching to play--

"You know, it's more fun to ride it than just stand there and stare at it." 

I snapped up at the sound of the voice, my eyes searching till it landed on a boy leaning by the tree, looking amused and curious at the same time. He was tall, with dark hair and a steady gaze. He was wearing a gray shirt over faded jeans; paired with sneakers that looked run down and worn out. He approached me and I wondered how old he was. Probably as old as my older teenage brother. 

He crouched in front of me, his hands on his knees as he said, "You're supposed to ride it, little girl. Not stare at it."

"I am not little." I snapped, hating how I was always being called that. I was the youngest out of five, the smallest and was considered as the most naive. Despite that, I considered myself to be strong-willed and brave, just like my mom. My mother who raised us all by herself.

The boy smiled and stood straight, "Okay. What should I call you?"

I told him my name and he nodded, a small smile protruding from his lips. "Okay, Y/N. Do you want me to help you ride the swings?"

My gaze switched from him to the swings then back towards him again. "I--I can't."

"Why not?" He frowned.

"Because, it's dangerous!" I explained, my voice raising. "I could fall!"

"Not if someone will catch you." He said a matter of fact before maneuvering to the swings and holding his hand out towards me. "Come on, I swear it's more fun than just standing there."

I looked at him and wondered why he would offer to catch me when I hardly knew him. But my desire to play was too overwhelming that I couldn't help but take his hand and let him settle myself onto the swing's seat.

I gripped the swing's chains for dear life and closed my eyes. A low chuckle sounded behind me, followed by words I knew I would remember forever... 

"I won't let you fall." He said, his voice assuring and somehow I believed him. 

I nodded and smiled, my head craning to look up at him. "What's your name, mister?"

He smiled down at me and began to push me gently. My stomach somersaulted in excitement, my toes curling and my feet swung slightly. 

He was right. It was more fun. 

"You can call me Sehun." He said and I knew that name I would always remember. 

~~~

I didn't see him after that week. He played with me in the park every afternoon, teaching me how to cross the monkey bars, how to play hopscotch, and even how to ride the seesaw without falling.

Sehun was my best friend and I was devastated when one afternoon, in our usual meeting place by the tree, he was not there. I waited for him till the sun set, till night came and my older brother came to look for me and take me home. 

But he never came.

The same happened in the following days, with me crying as my brother took me home. He asked me why I always cried and I always answered: "Because my best friend is not here."

10 years later

I was sixteen and watching my friends as they talk about girl stuff: of prom dates and first kisses; driver's licenses and house parties; late nights and R-18 movies. 

I always found myself floating through conversations. It was like I was there listening and answering at the right moments, but at the same time I wasn't; my mind drifting towards somewhere else... A place I wasn't sure where, exactly. 

I found reading to be a good solution--a good excuse for my odd social behavior. It gave me a reason to keep my mind rooted, keep it still and not drifting off to places where it shouldn't be in. 

Sitting by the second floor steps of the old building at lunch, I opened my book and succumb to the world it has to offer. I've always loved quiet places, of spacious rooms that echoed the smallest of sounds. Somehow I found it rather calming--

"Aren't you supposed to be hanging out with your friends?"

I look up at the sound of the voice and almost choked on my own spit when I saw a familiar face leaning against the lockers opposite me. He looked exactly the same, except his hair is longer and his face was even more handsome than I remember. My eyes stared at him openly for I was unsure of my reaction. 

"You know, I've been to the campus garden.” Sehun told. “And I can tell you that it looked more fun in there than isolating yourself here." 

"I--" I gulped, willing myself to find my voice to speak. "I'm not really into the whole ‘hanging out’ thing."

"Why not?" He asked and I shrugged. I never really knew why. I just liked being alone.

Sehun approached and sat by a couple of steps below me. He looked at me then at the book in my hand. "That any good?"

I looked at the book then nodded slowly. 

"You seem unsure." He chuckled, the sound so familiar I felt an ache in my chest.

"Why did you go?" I suddenly asked, unable to hold it any longer. I saw his expression change, a dark cloud crossing his features. There was a pause that hung in the air, almost like smoke evaporating in the atmosphere. I bit my lower lip, a habit I have grown accustomed to, as I waited for an answer...waited for an explanation as to why he left without a goodbye. 

"What matters is that I came back, right?" He replied with a small smile and just like that, I have forgiven him. 

~~~

Sehun resumed his best friend duties, with a couple of months flying by in a blur of laughter, long nights, and afternoons that promised only the happiest of times--the most precious of moments. 

One moment in particular, was the most precious of them all.

"You ever thought about having a boyfriend?" Sehun asked as he laid back on the tree trunk while I turned to look at him just as I threw a pebble into the lake; the stone skipping three times before sinking. 

"A boyfriend?" I scrunched my nose and he chuckled as he laced his fingers behind his head.

"Yeah. I hear your friends talk about it all day." He drawled.

"Well I wouldn't want to be like that." I said as I approached him. "Having to talk about one thing seems incredibly boring and stupid."

I plopped down next to him and sighed, thinking about his question. The truth was, the desire to have someone to love was present yet I couldn't seem to pinpoint exactly why I haven't let anyone in; why I turned down all those boys who asked me to prom or those blind dates my friends set up for me. 

"You know, it's fun having a boyfriend too." Sehun suggestd and I looked at him questioningly. 

"You know, you always tell me fun things to do." I said. "Why not tell me something you want to do for a change?" I smiled suggestively.

Sehun looked taken aback by my question which made me giggle slightly. He suddenly seemed nervous and at a loss for words. 

"Well, I--" he started and I hummed as I fidgeted with my shoelace, prodding him to continue.

"I want to experience all these fun things..." He said and I was about to tell him that he could--

"With you."

At that I turned towards him and our gazes locked. Sehun was my best friend and we did everything together. He walked me to school, we read the same books, and we spent almost every single day together. 

That's when I realized, as our heads leant towards each other dangerously close, that I have fallen in love with him. Fallen in love with my best friend...

"Sehun." I whispered and I saw a flash of a smile before his lips met mine in a kiss. He tasted of caramel and summer delights; of promises that were never said yet truly felt. He tasted of love and I swore it was the sweetest thing I have ever tasted. I have never felt the need of wanting more till the moment his lips captured mine.

When we parted, I was in a daze and so was he, his eyes sparkling and his smile brighter than any smile I have ever seen him wear. 

"I'll take that as a yes?" He asked playfully and I nodded before pulling him in for another... and another...and another. 

~~~

The next morning, I woke up feeling lightheaded, like I was literally walking on clouds. I dressed up in a rush and even made myself to brush my hair and make myself look pretty.

Looking at myself in the mirror, I saw someone different: someone who looked happier and livelier. Someone more pink than gray. 

So this is what love does to you, I thought happily before skipping out of my room to meet Sehun at our usual place. 

~~~

Three hours.

It has been three hours since I arrived, the sun was already high in the sky and an X would've been marked on my name in my English class' attendance list by now. 

I took a deep breath and told myself over and over: He's just running late, maybe there was an emergency?

But a small voice in my head said otherwise. The voice of my six-year-old self in p