"—so like I was saying, Yifan and I are gonna go see that galaxy movie because he's obsessed with stars and furries and creepy talking plants or something, and I was wondering if—"

Chanyeol cuts his friend off before he can go any further.

"Sorry, I'm going out with Sehun that night."

Baekhyun gapes at him. Dramatically. Everything Baekhyun does is dramatic. To be fair, he's a drama major.

"You have a date?"

He bounces on Chanyeol's bunk excitedly, like a little kid. Chanyeol still lives at the dorms; he and Baekhyun used to be roommates, but Baekhyun moved into an apartment with his upperclassman boyfriend right before second semester began, leaving Chanyeol roommate-less.

"It's true," Chanyeol says. He's been crushing on the studio dance major for a while now and finally grew the balls to ask him out. They'd already been hanging out at the dorms together, loitering in the lobby and playing handheld games, or visiting each other's rooms, usually when Sehun's roommate, Jongin, was around.

But now Chanyeol has taken the Next Big Step in their relationship and invited Sehun to dinner, and at a fancy restaurant, no less. Much to the music major's surprise, Sehun had agreed without blinking. Chanyeol managed to stutter the words, "Friday at six," and succeeded in not vomiting his heart all over the floor.

"Why don't you two go with us then?" Baekhyun claps his hands together. "It'll be so much fun!"

As much as he loves his best friends, they have a habit of being overtly embarrassing. "I think I'll pass—"

There's a soft knock on the door before it's pushed opened. Chanyeol usually keeps the door to his dorm ajar, propped with whatever's lying around his room, despite complaints from his neighbors across the hall about being too loud and playing his guitar too often.

A very tall boy – taller than Chanyeol, even – walks into the cramped 10x16 room, having to duck his head to avoid hitting the doorframe as he does so. Chanyeol can sympathize.

"Hey, Baekhyun told me to swing by," Yifan says, shrugging the book bag off his shoulder and onto the floor. He has to use his foot to shove aside a mound of assorted papers, textbooks, and clothing to make room for it. After Baekhyun moved out, Chanyeol's things quickly spread across the vacated section of the dorm. It was even worse when they were living together. Baekhyun has a lot of stuff.

"To try to convince me to be the third-wheel on another one of your dates? Sorry bro, I was just telling your boyfriend that I've got a date of my own to go to," he explains, turning in his computer chair and putting forth the effort to sound as smooth as possible. He probably just sounds like a prick.

"Aww, you're getting sick of us already, Chanyeol?" Yifan jokes, stooping down to wrap an arm around Baekhyun's shoulders and pull him in for a kiss on the cheek. Baekhyun giggles, delighted.

"We're just too cute for him, darling," he coos, eyes squinting into crescents.

Chanyeol frowns. "You guys are gross. How do I put up with you?"

"Because you wouldn't know what to do without us!" Baekhyun exclaims, as if it's more obvious than the week-old, half-eaten ham sandwich lying on the floor by his foot.

"Congratulations, though," the upperclassman says. "Is it with Sehun?"

Chanyeol's eyes turn slightly buggish. "How'd you know?"

"Baekhyun's told me about your little crush." Chanyeol shoots the tattle-tale a glare. Baekhyun and his insufferable mouth. Yifan shakes his head. "I can't believe you hid it from me for so long, man. I thought we were friends."

"I didn't know you even knew Sehun," he admits. Sehun is in Chanyeol's economics class, which is how he met him. He was known as "the cute guy" (only to Chanyeol himself, of course) until Chanyeol finally summoned up the courage to ask the sleepy boy his name. It's an eight o'clock class, so Chanyeol – despite being an early bird – forgives him. Of course, Chanyeol had missed the opportunity to catch the boy's name on the first day of class, the only time their professor took attendance.

"I tutored him last semester in algebra," Yifan discloses. "He's really good at it now. I think he always was; he just needed some motivation."

Baekhyun snorts. "It's because he thought you were hot."

Yifan shrugs his broad shoulders and grins. "That too." He takes a seat next to his boyfriend, letting the smaller boy clamber into his lap.

"Where are you guys gonna go?"

Chanyeol rattles off the name of a high-class French restaurant, which boasts four stars.

Yifan whistles. "Damn."

Baekhyun swings his legs impatiently, leaning in.

"That's really romantic and all, but what are you planning on wearing?"

Oh, . Chanyeol hadn't thought about that.

On normal days (i.e. all the time), Chanyeol wears whatever is lying around, which mostly consists of ratty hoodies and ripped jeans. When he's in his dorm room, however, he'll oftentimes forego pants. He doesn't own a single pair of slacks, never mind a suit jacket.

"I'll let you borrow one of my outfits," Yifan says helpfully. They're pretty much the same size and height, so it'll work.

"Thank you. You're a true bro."

"No problem. I don't want your date ditching you before you even pick him up."

"You all put so much trust in me," Chanyeol says.

"Don't this one up, Park," Baekhyun advises him.
 

Chanyeol tries on Yifan's suit in their apartment. He glances down to assess the difference, the expensive fabric feeling foreign against his skin and on his frame. He stumbles in a makeshift circle, trying to get the dark material to settle naturally. Baekhyun cackles.

"Lookin' sharp, Park!"

His lips go taut. He just hopes it's enough to impress Sehun.

Chanyeol tries to act casual around Sehun, he really does. But there's something about the boy that makes him flustered and his heart start to beat too quickly. He also gets sweaty. Like, really sweaty. He'll probably have to get Yifan's suit dry-cleaned before he returns it.

Chanyeol picks Sehun up at his dorm at six, just like he promised. Sehun's dorm is on the other side of campus, and the reservation isn't for another hour. They have to drive to the restaurant because there aren't any public transit substitutes available. Besides, taking his hot young date in a cab, subway or bus? Not classy.

He doesn't have the most reliable means of transport, however. Chanyeol winces lightly as his car sputters and creaks to a stop in front of Sehun's dorm. It probably needs a lot of repairs, but it'll have to wait another few months because of the money he'll be spending on their dinner tonight. He just hopes it doesn't decide to break down anytime soon.

The boy spots Sehun's roommate in the window before the door opens and Sehun walks out, waving a goodbye. Sometimes Chanyeol gets a little jealous because Sehun and Jongin seem so close, and they dance together a lot. Chanyeol's witnessed them practically doing body rolls on top of each other. It was pretty awkward.

Chanyeol gets out of the car long enough to open the passenger door for Sehun, bowing clumsily as he does so.

"M'lady," he says. Sehun snickers and slips inside, settling into the well-worn interior.

Sehun is dressed remarkably. His tailored suit accentuates his tall, lithe form, and his white-blond hair is styled up from his sharp forehead. He looks mature. Chanyeol feels like he's in the presence of a young prince.

"You look good," Chanyeol comments. His fingers dance around the steering wheel nervously, his lips.

"Thanks," Sehun replies. "You do, too."

"Not as good as you," Chanyeol blurts out.

Sehun utters a soft laugh. "C'mon, hyung. Let's go get some food?"

"All right," he says. He turns the key and the engine starts without much hesitation.

Good girl, he thinks, patting the wheel gently. It's gotten him through high school and three years of college, and nearly a decade with its previous owner. It isn't the most reliable come long drives, but Chanyeol puts a lot of faith in his old car.

The restaurant is about forty-five minutes away, give or take. Their university resides within a rather small town, and all the places that are worthwhile are in the city. They have to drive through the country to get to it. Chanyeol convinces himself that it'll be a scenic drive, full of long deserted country roads lined with trees.

He tries to maintain conversation with Sehun as he drives, navigating through endless fields of grass and wheat. It's taking a little longer to get to some of the landmarks Chanyeol saw on Google Maps, however. He peers through the gradually setting sun's rays reflected on his windshield, hands gripping the steering wheel tighter than usual. He didn't take a wrong turn somewhere, did he?

The vehicle begins to slow, and Chanyeol glances down to make sure he isn't taking his foot off the pedal. Sehun looks up from his phone, eyebrows furrowed somewhat.

"Do you know where we are, hyung?"

"Uh, of course!" Chanyeol replies encouragingly. The car grumbles. "We're like, on the edge of the city limits. We should be there soon!"

". . My phone doesn't have service anymore."

Keeping one hand on the wheel, Chanyeol takes his phone from his pocket and checks it. . He's dead in the water as well.

"We'll be okay," he says. "There just isn't a cell site nearby. It's sort of desolate out here, isn't it?" He chuckles.

Sehun stares out the passenger window. "Yeah," he murmurs.

"Twenty minutes," he assures him. "Then we'll be there."

The car jumps, making a loud noise as it does so.

Sehun sits up further, previously reclining in the sunken seat.

"Hyung, what was that?"

"Maybe I ran over something?" he squeaks.

"Maybe you should pull over," Sehun suggests.

Chanyeol is filled with dread. What if he ran over a cute animal? He'll never get over the guilt. He checks the rear-view mirror to make sure no one's coming and edges over, letting the wheels hug the side of the road.

Getting out of the car, he backtracks the short stretch he'd driven. Nothing. The road, the ditch, and the grass surrounding it are clear. There aren't any potholes that he can see, either, or any debris lying in the road.

He heads back to the car. Sehun's fiddling with his phone again, though he can't imagine why. His phone still reads no service.

"There's nothing there," Chanyeol tells him.

"Weird." Sehun shifts in his seat. "Maybe it was just your car."

"Probably," he agrees. "She's a little rusty." He turns the key, but the engine doesn't follow suit. There's a hollow clicking noise as he tries again.

Oh no no no no, god, please.

The driver frantically attempts to start the car several more times before Sehun stops him.

"Hyung, cut it out. It's not gonna work."

"But—but—" he tries pathetically.

The younger boy frowns, shakes his head. Chanyeol slumps in his seat, defeated.

"The engine might be dead . . . or the radiator? Maybe the battery, I'm not sure," he babbles, getting out of the car a second time. He lifts the hood, can't figure it out, and lets it drop. Sehun is equally useless. They never had the fathers to teach them all about automotives, he guesses.

This is terrible, Chanyeol thinks. They have a reservation at that stupid ing restaurant with the French name and they're stuck in the middle of nowhere without any means of communication. Anything can happen. An alien abduction might happen. Chanyeol is too young to die.

Maybe if they can get the car moving, then the engine will start. He's seen it done in movies. Movies are mostly based on truth, right?

Sehun climbs into the driver's seat as Chanyeol goes around back. He instructs the dance major to turn the key and step on the accelerator once he gets it rolling. At least, he thinks he remembers that's how it's done.

There's a ton of resistance when he tries pushing the car from behind, and he can actually feel his borrowed suit getting all wrinkled. Yifan is going to kill him. Baekhyun will just sit there, looking on and laughing.

The two of them work on getting the piece of junk car to start for nearly fifteen minutes before a sedan drives by. Chanyeol starts waving his long arms and yelling after it, and the passengers must have felt guilty, because they switch to reverse and stop in front of the poor stranded souls.

Two men step out of the car, a couple that doesn't look much older than Chanyeol and Sehun. One is taller than the other, with honeyed curls and delicate features. The other, the driver, is pale with cherubic cheeks and dark spiked hair.

"Hello, friend! What's the problem?" the blond asks, practically skipping toward Chanyeol.

"Car won't start," Chanyeol replies.

"Do you know what's wrong with it?" The other man follows, giving the stationary vehicle a look-over.

"No," Chanyeol admits, miserably. "We have a reservation at Clair de Lune at seven and it just died on us."

"Oh no!" the blond exclaims. He turns to his partner. "Minseok, we've got to help them! It's their first date!"

Chanyeol lets his face fall into a confused expression. "How did you know?"

"I'm psychic," the man tells him, completely serious. "I'm Lu Han, by the way. This is my fiancé, Minseok. He knows a lot about cars, so he should be able to get you guys up and running in no time! What're your names?"

"I'm Chanyeol, and that's Sehun in the car," Chanyeol says. His date still hasn't emerged, preferring to keep his distance from the strange Lu Han.

Minseok opens the hood and inspects the damage. He fiddles around with a few things before straightening, wiping his hands on his shorts.

"The battery's drained," he concludes. "It's pretty corroded, too. When did you last change it?"

"Um . . ."

He smiles faintly. "It's okay. Let me get the jumper cables out of my trunk; hold on."

"Thank you so much," Chanyeol says emphatically.

"Where do you guys go to school?" Lu Han questions.

Chanyeol tells him.

"Oh, that little place? You guys should transfer to the one in the city, that way you don't have to drive a car. I think yours has had it, honestly. Do they even make that model anymore?"

"Don't discourage him, Lu Han," Minseok says, handing him the cables. Lu Han studies them quizzically. "Just hold them for a second while I get things set up, honey," Minseok instructs him gently.

After connecting the cables to their respective cars and waiting for nearly twenty minutes, Chanyeol's car battery successfully holds a charge. Sehun comes out from his hiding place to join them while they wait, but keeps mostly silent with his arms crossed over his chest. Lu Han tells them about his and Minseok's first date to pass the time. His fiancé grumbles, embarrassed, and Chanyeol tries not to laugh.

When the engine roars to life, Lu Han throws his arms up in the air.

"Yippee!"

"I really can't thank you enough," Chanyeol tells the older man sincerely. He bows, showcasing his gratefulness.

"Hey, it's no problem." His eyes move to Sehun, watching him retreat to the car. "Go back to your dorm. The car's going to die if you stop it again. You'll need to buy a new battery tomorrow, because this one's pretty much kaput after the drive back. Besides, I don't think your reservation is even good anymore," he tells Chanyeol, glancing at his watch. Minseok's expression softens, extending pity toward the young couple. "Sorry."

"Awww, maybe next time," his fiancé says. "Good luck, you two!" Lu Han giggles, waving goodbye before they head back to their car and drive off.

Chanyeol climbs into the driver's seat, feeling numb. So much for this date.

He shifts into drive and presses down on the accelerator, turning the car around. Minseok gave him directions on how to get back so he doesn't get lost again.

Sehun, in the meanwhile, hasn't said a thing.

Chanyeol feels like a failure. He tries to tell himself that it isn't his fault, but it kind of is.

"Hey, Sehun . . ." he begins, momentarily at a loss for words.

"Hyung, that guy was weird," the younger boy states simply.

Chanyeol blinks and tries again.

"I'm really sorry this happened. Like, really ing sorry. I ruined it."

"It's not your fault, hyung," Sehun assures him. "Don't worry about it."

Sehun is hard to read sometimes. Chanyeol still doesn't know him well enough. He clutches at the wheel, and then relaxes his grip. "I just wanted to impress you," he whispers quietly.

"It's okay. Really. I kind of didn't want to go to some stuffy restaurant where I couldn't even read the menu, anyway. I thought it was fun and I liked spending time with you . . . it was funny watching you panic." He laughs. "Besides, you don't have to impress me, hyung."

Chanyeol realizes all those pained expressions Sehun was making throughout the evening weren't because he was annoyed or bored; it was because he was trying to hide his laughter.

"You little brat . . ." he says, pulling into the dorm's drop off/pickup zone. He lets the engine idle, careful not to bring it to a complete stop. There's no one here, anyway.

When he's least expecting it, the dance major leans over and kisses him on the cheek. Chanyeol's heart rate speeds up at least a hundred miles per hour.

He's momentarily rendered speechless, his inner fanboy losing his over the small peck on the cheek.

Do something, Park. You probably look like an idiot.

So he says again: "You little brat!"

Sehun just smiles, his eyes curving into half-moons. He looks beautiful.

Chanyeol returns Sehun's kiss, but on the mouth this time. Sehun opens his eyes for a second until he closes them again, kissing Chanyeol back.

Chanyeol determines their first date didn't end up to be a disaster after all. Making out with Sehun in his piece of car is better than eating snails any day.