"Are. You. Serious?". Disbelief had left Sehun speechless. Was he dreaming? He certainly hoped he was.

"What, you don't like it?". Tao rushed to the closest mirror and started to nervously comb his freshly dyed hair with his fingers.

"You're so... blond".

Tao rolled his eyes and stopped staring at his reflection only to glare at his boyfriend. "Yeah baby, that's the plan. So? It looks good, doesn't it?". He wasn't expecting that kind of reaction from Sehun. Yeah, he knew he'd be surprised but he had hoped he'd be a bit more enthusiastic about his new look.

Finally Sehun smiled and gave Tao what he wanted. "Of course it looks good, everything looks good on you".

The boy glanced one last time at the mirror, obviously content with the compliment. It wasn't exactly the change he was longing for but it was a start and as long as his boyfriend was on board, he didn't need much more to be happy.

"How did you-... When-...?". Sehun was once again at a loss of words so instead of verbally expressing his questions, he simply pointed at Tao's head. His hair were not only extremely bleached, to the point they looked silver but also shorter and Sehun felt like it'd been years since he last saw his boyfriend's eyes clearly.

"Amber took care of it", Tao grinned, "Baekhyun wanted to help but I refused. I don't trust him with sharp objects, especially around my face".

Sehun chuckled picturing Baekhyun with a pair of scissors, chasing his boyfriend around their apartment and shouting stuff about how beauty means pain (he had used that line several times when Sehun let him pluck his eyebrows, a decision he regretted everyday).

"As for the 'when'...", Tao continued, "Amber came after work, while you were still studying with Luhan".

"Man", Sehun exhaled and ran his fingers through the dry, blond stands, "Maybe I should ask Amber to dye my hair as well. She did a really good job".

Tao took advantage of Sehun's vulnerability and wrapped his arms around the boy's waist, pulling him closer while he was still admiring Amber's work. "You could do that", he whispered, "but I should warn you; she won't do it for free".

"Oh, really? How did you pay?". The hands that were previously exploring Tao's hair were now locked around his neck.

"I'm covering her shift whenever she wants to for a week".

"Well then, I'll take up on that offer and raise it to two weeks. Seems fair, right?".

"Sehunnie, are you forgetting that you don't work with us?", Tao giggled and softly kissed his cheek. "How on earth are you going to cover for her? Oh, wait". The sudden realization plummeted in Tao's stomach. "You said you wanted to work... Don't tell me... You want to work with me?"

"Why not? You can get me a spot, right? The owner of the shop likes you, she once said to me that you bring tons of customers. Plus, we'll see more of each other without me, skipping classes or you, leaving work early. It's great, isn't it?".

Tao softly pushed Sehun away and with palms still pressed against his chest, he looked right into his eyes. No, he wanted to say, it's not great.

"Are you serious?", he asked in disbelief, feeling like they had switched roles. "Sehun, do you really want to get into retail? I mean, sure, it's a small clothing store but you know you still have to interact with actual humans, right?"

Sehun took a step back, distancing himself from Tao's touch and ruffled his hair. "What do you mean? Are you questioning my social skills?".

Tao didn't want to take this too far but he couldn't help snorting, something that awaked Sehun's anger. "Sehun, baby, I don't mean to offend you", he started saying, knowing that Sehun would get offended nonetheless, "but you are using the word 'skills' way too often and I don't think you comprehend its definition".

That was it. Sehun's blood started boiling and if Tao wanted a fight, he'd be more than pleased to give him one.

"Are you forgetting who was the most popular kid in high school? Oh yeah, you probably wouldn't know since you had zero friends to talk to, let alone gossip". Just then he realized that he sounded a lot more mean than he intended to but he wasn't going to apologize, not before Tao.

"High school? Oh, please. You know everyone liked you just because you were rich". Tao sensed he should stop since he was entering a dangerous area but for some reason, he didn't. "And even that you owe it to your parents!".

The mention of that word was enough to make Sehun explode.

"Excuse you?! Who are you to talk?! You only graduated because your dad was the ing principal so don't you dare tell me about-..."

"Yeah, so-ing-what?!", Tao shouted, unable to believe that Sehun dared to bring up his dad. "That was years ago Sehun, why don't we leave high school behind for a moment and look at the present? I cut all contacts with my dad and I still have friends, I have a job, I can live my ing life on my own! You, on the other hand, a university student, haven't made more than one friend since graduating. What do you call that, huh? Social skills?!". Without realizing it, Tao was moving towards Sehun while furiously waving, making it seem like he was threatening him.

Unfortunately, Sehun wasn't one to step back. "Leave high school behind?", he growled, "Tell me Tao, what do we have if we leave high school behind? What is our relationship without those memories?! We are broke, I need to get a job and instead of helping, you decide to dye your hair some ridiculous color and make fun of my attempts to actually give a about our situation and change it!".

"You ing CAUSED the situation!", Tao yelled, unable to hold back. "You and your childish fights with your parents! You know what, Sehun, you want to prove that you're independent so badly that you end up ruining everything. So why don't you just accept the fact that you NEED your parents and their big, fat checks?!"

Sehun glared at Tao with flaming rage. "To be honest", he whispered, dipping every word in poison, "I don't think I want to be in this relationship anymore".

Tao remained silent for a few seconds, trying to cope with the shock Sehun had given him. Were they fighting a lot? Sure. Did their fights often get nasty and personal? Of course. But neither of them had ever even thought of breaking up. If Tao was calm and able to assess the situation, he'd easily see that Sehun didn't mean it, he didn't mean any of it. But Tao wasn't calm.

"Then leave".

His tiny whisper made Sehun widen his eyes in surprise.

"What-...?"

"I said leave". Tao looked up and managed to fixate his eyes on Sehun's, despite the silent tears that were streaming down his cheeks. "Leave, ing LEAVE if you can't take it! Go ahead!", he suddenly shouted and pointed at the door.

But Sehun didn't move an inch. His expression was blank, like he didn't understand what Tao was saying. The latter couldn't possibly comprehend what was going through his boyfriend's mind at the moment. Was he actually considering leaving? Was he going to do it?

Tao pictured the scene in his head. Sehun turning around, smacking the door behind him, breaking their countless promises and declarations of love, leaving him alone and broken. Just the thought of it made his heart ache so badly and the words that escaped his lips described perfectly what he felt.

"I can't take this anymore".

Before realizing it, he had closed the door behind him and as he was running down the building's stairs, wondering where he could go and who he could trust, Sehun's desperate scream echoed in his head.

                                                                   ______________________

"You're an idiot". Amber had agreed to meet him at the park two blocks away from his apartment and thanks to her skating skills, she was there in no time.

Tao didn't know who else to call since nearly everyone he knew was Sehun's childhood friend and didn't feel comfortable confiding in Kyungsoo. He wasn't that close with the tomboy sitting next to him on the wooden bench but she had agreed to meet him in the middle of a very cold night so he felt good about his decision to contact her. However, she wasn't the best at advising others or handling personal matters; Kyungsoo was by far the best when it came to that.

"You should've just said 'Yo, Sehun, we're cool and everything but I don't want to work with my boyfriend'. Simple and straightforward".

Tao snorted, looking bitter. "Yeah, because a response like that wouldn't start a fight".

Amber removed the hat she was wearing backwards (that girl always wore a hat, even after the sun was long gone and Tao couldn't understand why) and ruffled her short, black hair. "Sure, it'd start a fight but you should be honest with your boyfriend, you know? Honesty is the best policy, man".

"Ah, yes, exactly what your successful relationship has taught you... Oh wait! You don't have one!", Tao said and received a punch on the ribs.

"Don't turn against the person who skated four blocks just to console your sorry ", Amber scolded him but her playful smile didn't indicate any signs of actual anger. "And for your information, I just started seeing someone so haha, joke's on you".

"Wait, you're seeing someone?". He had never imagined Amber dating because she was so cool and friendly with every person she met. Plus, she called everyone "bro", something that, for Tao, was an instant turn off.

"Yeah, he's really dope, he likes basketball and stuff so I guess we're a good match but-..."

"Whoa, hold on a sec. You're not a lesbian?"

Amber stared at him for a few solid seconds, unsure whether she should get angry or not when she finally started laughing.

"I am what I am bro!", she shouted and opened her arms as if her words had liberated her and she was ready to hug the dark sky. "I love who I love but we ain't here to discuss my ual orientation, are we?"

"Why are we here?", Tao asked, still giggling because of her sudden change of attitude. That girl wasn't good with words but she sure knew how brighten your mood.

Amber's hands fell on her sides and she heaved a long sigh, like Tao's question was hurting her brain.

"Don't get philosophical with me dude, come on! We're here for a reason or some , I don't know".

"No", Tao said and laughed at her hurt expression, "I mean why are we sitting at the park, in the middle of the night when it's freezing cold?".

"Ah!", Amber shouted and her eyes lit up with happiness once again, "That question I can answer! The dude I'm seeing is currently sleeping at my apartment and I didn't want to wake him up with your crying".

"Hey!", Tao rushed to defend himself, "I'm not crying!". But Amber's wide grin forced him to finish his sentence. "...Anymore".

"Yeah, but you're emotionally unstable which means that you're like a grenade of tears", she said and patted Tao's back. "And I'd rather you explode while eating pizza than in front of my boyfriend. I don't want to scare him away".

"Whatever", Tao mumbled and got up to follow Amber in the dark, "He's weak as if he's scared of a man crying anyways".

                                                                     ______________________

"Yo, Chanyeol, my man, what's up?". Amber's greetings were always a bit too loud, something that made Tao and pretty much everyone around her uncomfortable but if there was one person that could possibly live up to her intensity, it was Chanyeol.

"Hey, Amber!", he shouted right back at her and accepted her 'bro hug' in front of the whole restaurant.

"Look at you all fancy in your work clothes!", Amber continued and the two of them started chatting cheerfully, making Tao feel like he was lost in a whole other universe. Sure, Chanyeol gave off a completely different vibe in his white, button up shirt and black bow tie but Tao never thought it'd be enough to erase his existence and that's why he pretended to cough a little bit to remind those two that no matter how fun their bubbly world was, they needed to land back on reality.

"Oh, Taozi!", Chanyeol finally noticed his presence, "What are you doing here? Do you want food? Because if you do, you'll have to wait a bit, my shift ends in about an hour".

"Ah, thanks but this time, we're actually paying", Tao replied and tried not to be offended by Chanyeol's surprised look.

"Yeah!", Amber furiously nodded and patted Tao's chest a tad too hard. "And we'll get the 'friends discount', right?"

"The what...?", Tao was still trying to catch his breath after Amber's hit. "Chanyeol can't do that, right?". But his friend's foxy smirk implied otherwise.

"That's my homie!", Amber yelled with enthusiasm that filled the room and violently hugged the tall man with the pointy ears again. "Tao, go sit over there", she then said and pointed at an empty table, "I just saw some people I know, I have to go greet them".

And after throwing her phone at him she took off, yelling some names Tao had never heard before. As he sat down all alone he caught himself being envious of Amber. He always described her as "way too loud" or "incredibly lively" but the truth was, he admired her more than he had realized. She was able to roam around, meet people and make friends in a matter of seconds and not one of them would ever badmouth her. Anywhere she went, she knew people and even if she didn't, she'd meet some like it was no big deal and that was something Tao was never able to achieve.

Huh, he snorted when he remembered what he had told to Sehun about friends. I'm not really in a position to talk, am I? As Chanyeol was blissfully taking his order, it dawned on him; he didn't have any friends either. Amber aside, everyone else was his friend just because he was dating Sehun, not because they liked him or felt close to him.

So yes, in the end, he admired Amber and how sociable she was but she did leave him alone with her phone and when the screen flashed the word "BF<3", he couldn't help but pick up. She deserved a small prank for leaving him all alone, didn't she?

"Hello! Amber can't talk right now, she's too busy thinking of a good brake up line! How may I help you?"

"Who is this? Are you Amber's gay coworker, she said she was going to meet you". The deep voice from the other side of the line took Tao three years back, when he was still a high school student, enjoying his first love. Could it be...?

"Kris?"

"..."

"Oh, sorry", Tao rushed to explain, "I thought you were someone else". He was ready to hang up, embarrassed for his mistake when the man finally replied.

"Tao?"

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Author's Note: Chapter two is finally done! I hope you like Amber and I hope you like Kris because I love them both to death. Plus, Amber is super fun to write. I hope her bubblyness makes up for the big taohun fight~

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