Taehyung sat in the back of his middle school classroom as the daily lessons went on. He diligently took notes for both him and Sehun, who had decided it would be cool to skip today but his father would kill him if he failed. He sighed and put the pencil down to stretch his hand as he felt it cramping up.

Exotyte History ended and Taehyung quickly packed up his things and headed towards the door. Soon as he stepped into the hallway, he felt a tap on his shoulder. Letting out a sigh, he turned around and relaxed when he saw Tao standing behind him with a sympathetic smile.

“Hey Tao. Everything okay?”

Tao had become on of Taehyung’s closest friends over the past few years. He was always a bit nicer to Taehyung but never around Sehun, for reasons he didn’t understand.

“Yeah. Sehun skipped again didn’t he?” The two boys started walking to their lockers in the crowded hallway. Taehyung held his bag close to him afraid the contents would spill out.

“Of course he did. And I’m stuck taking his notes again. Why does he hate me?” Taehyung responded as he opened his locker. He still hadn’t grown into his powers even tho the rest of his class had long since had them. Every day after school, his father Chanyeol, would help him to try and figure out what his magical power could be. Chanyeol had become protective over him ever since that first day of school when he was five and Taehyung had been curious of his father ever since.

“I wouldn’t say he hates you….more like...you’re an easy target to him since you know….you don’t have your powers yet.” Tao whispered the last part in case someone heard. Because of his father Baekhyun’s high rank, they excused him from in school magic practical classes, on his demand, so that he may practice at home away from prying eyes. It was the one way to assure that Taehyung wouldn’t be bullied in school. Or so they thought.

Sehun made Taehyung’s life a living nightmare since they met. Taking his father’s personally made lunches, making him do his homework. Sehun was the typical school bully, and Taehyung was his favorite target.

“Yeah, well I can’t help that. My father and I have been trying to bring it out but we’ve hit some snags in our lessons.” Taehyung said as they reached the lockers. He opened his with a quick touch to the handpad and began to exchange out his books and grab his lunches. He asked Chanyeol for two that day, hoping that Sehun wouldn’t mind if he actually had his lunch today.

“What is that?” Tao asked when he saw the second box Taehyung placed in another section of his bag. “Oh Taehyung don’t….you know Sehun is going to find that. You’re better off leaving this in your locker and going on a bathroom break during your next class.”

“You know that won’t work either. If I ever take a break during class, it’s only going to last no more than 5 minutes and last time I checked, our Exotyte biology class is exactly 10 from my locker.” Taehyung argued.

Tao placed his right hand against the side of his face and went into thought mode. “What if...you leave the second lunch here and go to the bathroom while Sehun eats the other lunch?”

Taehyung thought on it and his eyes went wide. “That’s actually not a bad idea. Alright. Let’s hope this works.” He removed the second lunch from his bag and placed it back in his locker, closing it then proceeded to lock it back in place.

They walked towards the cafeteria so that Tao could buy his lunch before heading to the courtyard where Sehun, Kai and Kyungsoo sat waiting for them.

“TaeTae! Glad you could finally make it.” Sehun said when he caught Taehyung walking over to him, Tao hot on his heels. “Got my lunch?”

Without a word, Taehyung took out the box and handed it to Sehun who grabbed it excitedly. “You father is the best chef on this planet. You know that?”

Taehyung gave him a tight lipped smile and sat down as he watched Sehun pick up his utensils and dig into the steak and vegetables that his father made him. He wished he could eat them himself but he knew that was a reach. The entire time during lunch, he snuck glances at Tao’s plate but all he could have, according to Sehun, was water.

“What’s wrong TaeTae? Hungry?” Sehun said finishing off the last bite of potatoes that were in the box as well.

Taehyung shook his head and stood up. “I’m just going to go to the restroom. I’ll be right back.”

Sehun raised a brow and nodded at Kai. “Fine by me. Kai you know what to do.”

Kai sighed and broke away from his lunch to stand up and follow Taehyung. Taehyung wasn’t that close to Kai as he was Tao. Tao let him get away with things he knew Sehun didn’t want him to have. Kai on the other hand was Sehun’s lapdog. He had to figure out a way to shake him off so he could eat.

“Uh...the bathroom is that way Park.” Kai said in a slightly annoyed voice.

“I know...I just...left something at my locker. I’ll meet you over there.” He looked at the other boy and saw that he wasn’t going to budge.

“What are you hiding? You know Sehun won’t like it.” Kai said grabbing Taehyung’s arm causing them both to stop in the middle of the hallway.

“Nothing. I just…”

“You just what?” Taehyung froze when he heard that voice. He turned to see Sehun and a guilty Tao standing behind him. “You were acting strange wanting to take a bathroom break in the middle of lunch. So I had Tao tell me what you were up to. Hand it over.”

Taehyung looked around and realized that they had stopped near his locker. “Can’t I even eat?”

“Not around me. No.” Sehun gave him a menacing smile. Taehyung was getting annoyed. He closed his eyes and took deep breaths before walking to his locker and opening it with the hand pand. He took the second lunch box out but he didn’t turn around. He had learned that when his emotions got the best of him that his green eyes would show and that was the one thing that his father Baekhyun never wanted to be known, though he still wasn’t sure why.

“Well? Hand it over.” Sehun said grabbing Taehyung’s shoulder but he shook him off. Sehun’s eyes went wide in disbelief before he activated his powers. Taehyung suddenly felt his air supply being cut short and he fell to his knees, clutching onto his neck and gasping for air. He dropped the box, the contents spilling out onto the floor beside him. He heard Sehun laughing before he spoke again. “You’re pathetic. No magic. No friends. Just a pathetic Exotyte. Even your face of desperation is pathetic.”

Taehyung continued to gasp for air. He still had his eyes closed but he could feel them changing to his hidden green. He turned around best he could and reached out, arm extended towards Sehun, and thought of Chanyeol’s words in his mind. Your power comes from your heart. Once you access that, the rest comes easy. He tried over and over and nothing happened.

“Sehun, maybe you should calm down.” He could hear Tao with urgency in his voice. No friends? Pathetic? What’s pathetic is you needing to bully me the way you do Sehun.

Everything stopped soon as he finished his last thought. Then, all of a sudden, he could breathe. He felt his eyes slowly changing back to his neutral brown color before opening his eyes slowly and looking around him. Sehun was lying flat on his back and a crowd had shown up in the hallway during the time that his eyes were shut. Tao looked at Taehyung with angry eyes while he knelt beside Sehun, holding him in his lap.

“Alright everyone! Stop crowding the hallway and get back to your lunch break!” A teacher parted the students and usher them along. Taehyung recognized Mr. Kim Heechul, the art teacher and froze. Mr. Kim looked at him and shook his head. “Of all times to get your powers huh? Well, better late than never. But we must send you home for the day.”

“What?” Taehyung was shocked at what he had just heard. “What powers?”

Mr. Kim looked at him laughed. “You mean you don’t know what…” The bell rung, signaling the end of lunch hour and soon students were rushing past them to their next classes, stopping every so often to glance at Taehyung in either curiosity or fear. “Never mind. I’ll have your parents explain. They’ve already been contacted and informed of the situation.”

Taehyung stood up and glanced over at Sehun who was still lying in Tao’s lap unconscious. He didn’t know what was going to happen from here on out but he knew that one thing was for sure.

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