“Missed me?” Baekhyun walked up behind Jongdae and draped his arm over the other.

Jongdae shifted away. “No. Have you been dancing?”

“Yeah. It’s nice when your partner knows how to dance.” Baekhyun started walking to the chocolate fountain, but Jongdae stuck his foot out, hooking his legs from under him. Baekhyun yelped, feeling a terrifying moment when he was falling helplessly for the ground. Just before his skull actually touched the ground, Jongdae caught him.

“Not bad, huh?” He was grinning triumphantly as he righted Baekhyun, like he’d spectacularly dipped the elder.

“Hey!” Baekhyun grasped the edge of the table with shaky fingers. His mind was still reeling from shock. “What…”

Jongdae brushed past him to the chocolate fountain, filling a bowl with chocolate and taking a plate full of strawberries. He brought them over to Baekhyun, who was sitting with his back to the wall, nearly hidden behind a white tablecloth-covered table. He placed the plate and bowl before Baekhyun as a peace offering.

Baekhyun glared at him, but he couldn’t ignore the food. He dipped a strawberry into the chocolate, chewing on it viciously. “You know I hate surprises, Jongdae,” he said after he’d eaten enough strawberries to calm himself.

Jongdae laughed, grabbing a strawberry. “Was it too good for you?”

Baekhyun rolled his eyes as he picked the green leaves off a strawberry. Baekhyun and Jongdae were both full of surprises. That was what drew them together in the first place. Rather than feeling threatened when he’d first met Jongdae (the idea that he’d met his match), they’d joined forces. But as much as Baekhyun enjoyed twirling others around his fingers, he didn’t like the feeling of being manipulated. And maybe…maybe he really had met his match somewhere down the line.

He leaned forward instead, peeking out at the dance room from behind the table. “Has anything happened?” Distractions. Distractions were always good.

Jongdae pushed Baekhyun back slightly. “Don’t lean too close to the table. You never know what’s down there.”

Sometimes, passionate couples would make out under the table, hidden by the long cloth. Other times, people would duck under the table and open bottles of alcohol. Baekhyun kicked at the tablecloth over the table closest to them. The cloth billowed a little, and his feet came in contact with empty air. There was no one hiding there. It was his turn to give Jongdae a triumphant look.

“Emma’s here,” Jongdae said, still scanning the faces of those in the room.

Baekhyun pushed his face up beside Jongdae’s. “You mean the one Taecyeon…”

“Shh,” Jongdae hissed as someone passed by their table. “Yeah,” he said when the person was out of earshot.

Taecyeon had been a senior the year before, and Emma, who was now a senior, was his ex. “God, I remember the graduation ceremony,” Baekhyun muttered. There weren’t that many opportunities for the two schools to meet each other, so Emma and Taecyeon had only been together for two months, at most.

“She’s with Zu Xin.”

“What? No.” Baekhyun squinted trying to identify the figures in the constantly moving mass.

“Yes.” Jongdae pulled out his phone, taking a picture. Baekhyun couldn’t deny the solid evidence. They were holding hands and smiling. “That’s 10000 won,” Jongdae teased, waving the phone in Baekhyun’s face.

Baekhyun slapped Jongdae’s hand away. They’d made a bet to see how long it would take for Emma to move on. “Let’s see if they last.”

“You have to pay,” Jongdae sing-songed.

“,” Baekhyun said, his tone light and playful. “I forgot my wallet.”

Jongdae pretended to consider that. “Fine. Tomorrow.”

“What about Irene?” Baekhyun peeked around the table again, searching said girl. Now that was one bet he could win. Maybe.

“She’s not here.”

“She’d look good with Sehun.”

“Sehun?” Jongdae repeated incredulously, staring at Baekhyun.

“Yes?” Baekhyun poked his best friend’s forehead when he continued staring. “What’s wrong?”

“That’s not going to happen.” Jongdae pointed to a corner of the room, where Sehun was standing. “See that? Setao.”

“Setao?” Baekhyun repeated slowly. “What’s that?” Jongdae had a tendency of making up words on the spot and blustering his way through the doubt, spinning in circles around logic until logic seemed to go around in circles too.

“Sehun and Tao. Duh.”

Baekhyun looked over at Sehun, just realizing what the ship name meant. Tao wasn’t even standing next to Sehun. “Really, Jongdae?”

Jongdae nodded, his confidence unwavering. “Of course.”

“They’re just friends.” Baekhyun hadn't even thought of them together. Then again, Jongdae seemed to pull most of his pairings out of midair. The sad part was, Jongdae was usually right.

“So are we,” Jongdae pointed out, poking Baekhyun’s face.

Baekhyun pulled away, scrunching his nose. “Gross.” That was a thought he didn’t want to think about. Ever. “Are you sure about this?”

“Yup. I’m not betting,” Jongdae added, before Baekhyun could put a price on their assumption.

“Why not? I thought you were sure.”

“Because.” Jongdae dipped his finger into the chocolate. Their strawberries were gone, and only the leaves remained on the plate. “I don’t want to.”

“Because you’re going to lose,” Baekhyun said, and Jongdae didn’t reply. Baekhyun didn’t question, though; Jongdae was full of contradictions, so this one didn’t surprise him. He no longer bothered analyzing them. Instead, he would file them away, in case they became useful one day. Not that he actually believed Setao was real, but with Jongdae’s random assumptions, you never knew. “Do you have a crystal ball or something? How do you know all about this?” He had even known that Hyunsik and Soyung weren’t actually together when they had the whole school fooled. And Jongdae managed to win most of their bets.

“I do,” Jongdae insisted.

“What about you?” Baekhyun leaned his head against the edge of the table, staring at Jongdae.

“What about me?”

“You know everything about other people’s love lives. What about yours?” Baekhyun raised an eyebrow in a silent challenge.

Jongdae looked away. “I don’t fall in love.”

“Really?” Baekhyun wished it could be that simple—choosing who to like and when to end your feelings for the other.

Jongdae nodded, but it lacked the unwavering confidence he had before.

Baekhyun frowned, knowing that he shouldn’t press, but the temptation was too strong and he couldn’t stop. “What about Junmyeon?”

“Junmyeon?” Jongdae repeated. He still wasn’t looking into Baekhyun’s eyes.

“You told me you had a crush on him last year.”

Jongdae’s head snapped up. “I never said that!” His eyes were wide with indignation. It was a reaction, though, so Baekhyun mentally complimented himself.

“Yes, you did.” Baekhyun grinned, leaning forward like a serpent closing in on its prey. “You told me that he was the hottest guy in the school.”

“It was an objective opinion,” Jongdae protested. Baekhyun didn’t believe him. Not even a little.

“And you told me you wouldn’t mind dating him.”

“What—I—” Jongdae seemed to be truly speechless, which usually was an impossible feat.

“So you wouldn’t mind…”

“We all know that Junmyeon—” Jongdae stopped himself before he could finish the sentence.

Baekhyun leaned forward, knowing he’d just missed some important information. “He what?” Jongdae shook his head, refusing to reveal any more, and Baekhyun pulled at his arm. “Come on, you can’t keep secrets from me! We’re partners in crime, remember?”

“He—everyone says Junmyeon is straight.”

Baekhyun snapped his fingers loudly. “Ha! See?” Jongdae gave him a confused look, and Baekhyun decided to let his revelation pass. “So?” He could tell there was more Jongdae saying.

Jongdae smiled, ending their serious conversation with a light laugh. “I just admired him. Come on; let’s go get some more strawberries.”

Baekhyun followed reluctantly, knowing that he couldn’t get anything more from the other no matter how hard he tried. “So, Setao, huh?”

Jongdae nodded knowingly. “Yup. Setao.”