In Arcadia, Missouri, at least in Huang Zitao's opinion, there were only two things worth noting: Truman High School and the Mel's across the street. Neither one of them bring Zitao any particular amount of joy, but they're the only excuse Zitao had to even go outside in this god forsaken town. Everyday, he went to school, then went off to Mel's to work, then came back home and slept. Nothing changed, and Zitao knew it would'nt.

He knew that some people at his school have a life. He hears whispers of things in the hallways, about how the different popular kids were off doing actual things. But as hard as Zitao tried, he could not find a single to give about anyone at his school and what they do ever. He talked to no one, and he'd like to keep it that way.

He hates his job slightly less, but only because he has a few people to talk to.

"You're late again Zitao!" his boss/manager of the only halfway decent restaurant in town, Yifan, yelled to the high schooler.

"You know your town is ed up when the most decent restaurant in town is a ing Mel's," Zitao thought. 

"Sorry, the stupid ing bus was late again!" Zitao yelled back, grabbing the apron off of the rack.

"Oh shut up and get serving," Yifan yelled jokingly.

"What's up Luhan?" Zitao says, patting the head chef on the back.

"How's school, loser," Luhan responded, looking up to smirk at the sophomore.

"Dude, I'm pretty sure that being a high school dropout does not make you cooler than me," Zitao said. Luhan just laughed and continued flipping burgers.

"Hey there," Yixing said, struggling to carry a huge box of something-that-looks-like-meat-but-probably-isn't into the kitchen. He looked dead tired, as usual. 

"Let me help you with that," Zitao said, running over him to help.

"It's alright," he said, placing the box down on the ground with a heavy breath.

"How's life?" Zitao asked, grabbing his hat and gloves and fixing his hair in the mirror.

"We finally saved up enough to get a crib for the baby!" Yixing exclaimed happily, and Zitao and Luhan cheered. Yixing's girlfriend was pregnant, and both of their parents refused to help, due to the fact that they were only high school seniors.

"Time to work you heads," Yifan said, walking into the kitchen and shooing Zitao out. He quickly grabbed a plate and left, not fearing Yifan at all (he was only joking of course), but rather the annoying yell of his classmates when they didn't get their food quick enough.

Now one might think that working at a disgusting fast food restaurant, surrounded by grease and heat and sweat and people might not exactly be Zitao's thing, but he has a goal: to get out of Arcadia, Missouri, no matter what the cost. He's started working and saving money now just to be sure. His peers may laugh at him now, but when he returns in ten or twenty years for their high school reunion, they'll be doing what he does now while he owns the entire Mel's chain. That's what keeps him going and fight the urge to run to the bathroom and wipe the sweat off of his face.

Another benefit to the job is hearing the school gossip without having to be involved in any of it. Sure, he may get teased a little bit for being a total loser, but no one really says anything that bad about him, because, well, he doesn't really do anything of interest. I mean, he doesn't care about anyone, but he still enjoys knowing all of their secrets. 

"Becky, did you hear? Oh Sehun finally got a girlfriend!" Nora said as Zitao handed her a plate of fries. They acted like he wasn't even there.

"I know right? It can't be! Sehun is too hot!" Becky responded. Zitao snorted loudly and rolled his eyes, and the two still didn't notice his presence.

Oh Sehun was the most popular guy in sophomore grade. Zitao had never really seen him before, but Zitao could assume that he was very boring. And annoying. And had a total face. Girls always go for guys with those faces. Zitao doesn't care about him, but it's nice to know who he's dating. They'll probably come here for their first date. He hoped they'd tip well. 

~~~~~~~~~~

A week later, a large group of people walked in. Zitao recognized a few of them: Kim Jongin, Sehun's boyfriend, Kim Jongin's girlfriend-of-the-moment, Kim Jongin's secret boyfriend, Kyungsoo (he caught them making out once and he was sure that no one but him knew), and Baekhyun (the guy Zitao had made out with that one time he snuck into a gay bar. They never spoke to each other ever again after that, except for Baekhyun always gave him these looks in the halls. Zitao could only call the look shame). There were two other people there: a small girl with dyed blonde hair, a golden cross necklace, and a pink sweatshirt, and a boy with his back turned toward Zitao. After a few minutes, he walked over to the group.

"Hello, what can I get for you all to drink today?" Zitao asked in his work voice.

"Wait, aren't you in math class?" blonde girl asked. Zitao squinted, then remembered. She was. She never paid attention, instead chose to put on lip gloss, which is probably the reason he had no idea what her name was.

"Yeah, I think we are," Zitao responded politely. The girl gave him a once over.

"Oh," she said condescendingly. Zitao rolled his eyes, then stared at the group expectantly.

"I'll just have water, thank you," blondie said with a tight-lipped smile.

"Um, I'll have a root beer," the boy next to her said.

"No, Sehun, you'll have a water too," blondie said, slapping his stomach. He sighed and nodded.

"I'll have a water then," he said. And suddenly, it hit Zitao. Sehun was ing gorgeous. He basically looked like a god. This freaking model was the Oh Sehun, the guy who Zitao thought had a stupid face, but he does have a stupid face and he somehow makes it work, and Zitao just wants to melt because holy . 

When he returned from his mind, the whole group was staring at him expectantly.

"Uh, could you repeat that?" Zitao said. Baekhyun, who's at the end of the booth, begins to speak when Zitao interrupts him.

"Can, like, all of you guys repeat that?"

~~~~~~~~~~

"Holy guys holy guys holy !" Zitao whisper-yells, bursting into the kitchen.

"What happened? Someone acknowledged your existence?" Luhan spoke. Zitao sighed.

"No? Dude, a freaking god has stepped into the building," Zitao responded.

"Didn't know you were crazy about Oh Sehun too," Yixing interjected.

"Did you see his face?" Zitao said incredulously. Yixing shrugged.

"I mean, I guess he is flawless and he does make me question my uality a bit, but everyone is in love with him," Yixing answered.

"I'm not in love with him, I just want to his face!" Zitao said loudly. At that moment, Yifan walked in the room and scoffed.

"Get back to work," he spoke. Zitao shook his head, grabbing the sodas and returning to Sehun's table.

"Are you guys ready to order?" Zitao asked, and they nodded.

"I'll have a bacon cheeseburger," Baekhyun said, avoiding Zitao's eyes. As he jotted down the order, he noticed blondie whisper something to Sehun. Not like he was staring at Sehun or anything. He took the rest of their orders before arriving at Sehun. 

"Um, I'll have," Sehun began, then stopped as blondie gave him a pointed look. "I'll have the house salad," he finished.

"Just.....a salad?" Zitao asked incredulously.

"Yeah, trying to watch my weight," the incredibly skinny boy said and chuckled sadly.

"Shut the up, I'm getting you a burger." The entire table stared at Zitao in complete shock as he walked back to the kitchen without even taking blondie's order.

~~~~~~~~~~

When the group was done with their dinners and desserts and had paid, Zitao collected the check. He was surprised to notice that they had left a large tip for the sophomore. He shrugged, and was walking back to the kitchen to get more food when someone grabbed his wrist. He was spun around to see Sehun standing in front of him, smiling when he realized that he was just a little bit taller then him.

"Thank you," Sehun whispered before pulling away, walking back to his friends, who were standing outside. Zitao looked back, face full of surprise, and it took him a few minutes to go back to kitchen after Sehun had left.

~~~~~~~~~~~

In Arcadia, Missouri, at least in Huang Zitao's opinion, there were only three things worth noting: Truman High School, the Mel's across the street, and Oh Sehun. Only one of the three consumed his thoughts for the week after their first encounter. He was just........ugh. Zitao had never really felt this way before, and he hated it. Not being able to control his emotions, to focus on leaving, when all he wanted to do was stay next to Sehun for the rest of time. Despite the many reasons that they could never be together, i.e. Sehun having a girlfriend, Zitao believed that maybe that thank you meant something. At least he hoped it did, because he couldn't stand the annoying looks blondie had been giving him in math class.

"What's up, loser?" Luhan asked as Zitao walked into the kitchen to slip on his uniform.

"Nothing much, dropout, how about you?" Zitao responded. Luhan just laughed, flipping over the beef (?) patty.

"Zitao, I think your boyfriend is here," Yixing said as he walked into the kitchen to drop off a huge shipment of a white solid the company claimed to be chicken.

"I don't have a boyfriend, what the are you talking about?" Zitao responded.

"The guy....isn't his name Sehyun or something?" Yixing asked. Zitao groaned.

"It's Sehun, and he's not my boyfriend," Zitao answered.

"Well, I hate his girlfriend. On Wednesday, when you had your day off, she asked for her salad to be redone three times," Luhan complained.

"What a piece of ," Zitao spoke.

"Much like this chicken here," Yixing added, dropping the box on the ground.

"Get to work, you lazy s," Yifan said, walking into the room. The three employees rolled their eyes, but started working anyways.

When Zitao walked into the eating area, he realized Yixing was right: Sehun was there, with his girlfriend, but no one else. Zitao walked over to their table immediately.

"Hello, what can I get you two to drink?" Zitao asked.

"I'll have a milkshake!" Sehun responded happily, smiling at Zitao. It was the first time Zitao had ever seen him smile, and Zitao almost couldn't stand.

"What flavor?" Zitao said. Sehun peered at the menu, then frowned a bit.

"Um, could you do, like, a vanilla and chocolate mix?" he asked with embarrassment. Zitao grinned and nodded. Blondie glared.

"Just water for me, thank you," blondie spoke in her y voice. Zitao nodded and went to go get their drinks. As he walked, her heard them bickering and smiled.

~~~~~~~~~~

"Why did you insist on coming to the place? You know I hate it," blondie said in a hushed voice, not noticing Zitao was standing right in front of them.

"Neither of us can drive, and you refuse to bike, so if you find a better restaurant within walking distance, tell me," Sehun responded. Just then, the couple realized that Zitao was right there and pulled away, blondie fake-smiling and Sehun not even trying to smile.

"We'll both have the house salad, thank you," she spoke, sickly sweet. Zitao ignored her, leaning down to look at Sehun.

"What would you like?" he asked. Sehun blushed, his eyes wide. It was then that Zitao realized that their faces were close together. Like, really close. He fought the urge to blush as well as Sehun spoke.

"Um, I'll have a regular burger," he managed to say. Zitao grinned widely, and he swore Sehun blushed more.

"I'll be back with your food in few minutes, alright?" Zitao said, smiling smugly before walking away.

They didn't leave a tip.

~~~~~~~~~~~

That night, at around twelve, someone burst into the Mel's. Zitao jumped up, the towel he was using falling to the floor. Usually, people didn't come in at this time, even though it was a twenty four hour Mel's. 

"Zitao!" a familiar voice said. When he turned around, Sehun was standing directly in front of him, picking up his hand and placing something in it. Zitao gazed at his palm in confusion, seeing a twenty dollar bill there.

"What's this for?" Zitao asked.

"It's your tip. I'm sorry I didn't give it to you earlier, it's just my girlfriend hates you and she wanted to leave but I don't hate you and she's very rude so sorry here's this," Sehun blurted out. 

"You guys didn't spend that much, I don't need all of this," Zitao said.

"No no no no no no....keep it," Sehun responded, closing Zitao's palm. Zitao's breath hitched because Sehun's hands were on his hands and now his fantasies were coming true. All that needed to happen now was for Sehun to wrap his arms around Zitao's waist and kiss him passionately. 

But of course, fantasies never come true, and Sehun awkwardly pulled his hands away when he realized they'd lingered a bit too long.

"So, um, see you around?" Sehun asked as he walked backwards out of the restaurant. Zitao shrugged.

"Sure," he responded. As soon as Sehun was gone, Zitao's eyes widened. How they hell did he know his name?

~~~~~~~~~~

Zitao liked to believe that his and Sehun's relationship had progressed. Although his girlfriend increasingly gave Zitao dirty looks, Zitao didn't really give a . Anyways, the looks Sehun gave him in the halls were enough. He tried to wave to him once (blondie had quickly slapped his hand down), but mostly, Sehun just stared, his eyes saying so many things that Zitao could not understand. It was okay though, because at least they were interacting, even in the most subtle of ways.

It was a week and a half after the "romantic tipping incident" (as Yixing had labelled it) when at three am, Sehun walked into the restaurant. He sat down at a random booth (seeing as how no one else was in the diner) and placed his head on the table, looking around expectantly. Zitao approached him awkwardly, wondering what the hell he could possibly be doing in here. 

"Hello, what can I get for you?" Zitao asked, his work voice wavering slightly.

"Zitao?" he asked quietly, sounding completely broken.

"Yes?" Zitao responded.

"C-could you sit with me?" Sehun asked. Zitao looked around the restaurant, making sure there were no other customers before sliding into the booth next to him.

"Is something wrong?" Zitao asked. Suddenly, Sehun started crying. Zitao was surprised that he just stared for a moment, before awkwardly petting his back.

"I hate my life," Sehun sobbed.

"Come on, it's not that bad. You having a loving girlfriend," Zitao said.

"She's a rotten gorilla and you know that," Sehun cried. As hard as Zitao tried, he couldn't help but chuckle.

"What," Sehun whined.

"Rotten gorilla," he repeated. That made Sehun chuckle for a moment, before his face fell again. 

"I know just what you need," Zitao said, leaving the booth and running to the kitchen.

"Could I get an extra large brownie sundae?" Zitao asked Luhan.

"Wh-what?" Luhan asked, sitting up. He'd fallen asleep, as usual.

"An extra large brownie sundae. And make it quick," Zitao said. Luhan stood up groggily, making the sundae and handing it to Zitao before quickly falling back asleep. Zitao quickly walked back to where Sehun was and pushed him the sundae. Sehun stared at it in wonder, his eyes widening before turning to look at Zitao. The taller boy pulled a spoon out of his apron pocket and handed it to Sehun. He sort of smiled, digging into the sundae.

"Is it good?" Zitao asked after a few minutes. Sehun nodded, gazing at Zitao.

"It's perfect," he responded, pushing the finished sundae away. Both of them knew that it was okay that Zitao didn't get any.

"So, are you ready to tell me what's going on?" Zitao asked. Sehun nodded.

"I hate my life. My girlfriend is an ," Sehun answered.

"Then why don't you just break up with her?" Zitao asked. Sehun sighed.

"Appearances," he answered.

" that !" Zitao spoke. Sehun shuddered.

"I can't," Sehun said. . 

"Are you too scared to break up with her?" Zitao asked. Sehun froze, his eyes wandering, looking everywhere but at Zitao. Zitao chuckled. "You are," he said with a hint of surprise.

"No, I'm not. I just have to keep up appearances," Sehun responded.

"Bull. Why should you have to keep up appearances? You're freaking Sehun, the most gorgeous person in Arcadia, Missouri," Zitao said.

"I could say the same to you," Sehun spoke. Zitao's eyes widened. Did he just call him gorgeous?

"Oh Sehun, are you flirting with me?" Zitao asked.

"See, this is why I have to keep up appearances," Sehun answered. Suddenly, it hit Zitao. Sehun is gay, just like Kyungsoo and Jongin and Baekhyun, and he has to get a fake girlfriend to make sure no one finds out.

"You are scared, just not to break up with her. You're scared to come out," Zitao said.

"Exactly," Sehun spoke, "We're all scared," he said, tone suddenly incredibly serious.

"So...you know about Jongin and Kyungsoo and Baekhyun?" Zitao asked.

"Of course. They're my best friends, aren't they? That's actually the main reason I came here today, to tell you that Baekhyun says he's sorry. For being scared," Sehun said  

"It's okay. It's all okay," Zitao said as Sehun pulled him into a tight hug. Despite the fact that the two hadn't known each other for very long, Zitao felt warm and safe in the other boy's arms. It almost hurt when they had to pull away.

"I have an two hours before I have to get up for school," Sehun chuckled. Zitao nodded, watching the tall boy leave the restaurant with a feeling in his stomach that he couldn't place.

~~~~~~~~~~

Three days later, as Zitao walked into the cafeteria, he was pulled away by Sehun.

"What's going on?" Zitao asked.

"The cafeteria smells like and my girlfriend's there, so we're going to eat somewhere else," Sehun explained. Zitao nodding, not really caring where he was going, but more focusing on the feeling of Sehun's hand lightly gripping his arm. It felt almost like heaven. 

The two jumped over the short barbed wire fence separating their school with the outside world and walked up the big grassy hill. When they were at the top, Sehun sat down underneath a big willow tree. Zitao followed him, sitting down and leaving a small space in between the two of them. Sehun closed that space, letting their legs touch.

"Much better," Sehun said, leaning his head back and listening to the sound of the tree rustling in the wind. Zitao leaned his head back as well, almost falling asleep from the complete calm.

"Why do you work so late?" Sehun suddenly asked, pulling Zitao out of dreamland.

"Saving up so that I can get out of here," Zitao answered calmly. Sehun nodded, leaning his head on Zitao's shoulder.

"I wish I had that kind of discipline," Sehun said quietly. They spent the rest of their lunch period in a comfortable silence.

~~~~~~~~~~

Zitao was happier than he'd ever been in his entire life. Even though he wasn't going out with Sehun, they were at least close friends. They spoke every day, much to the chagrin of Blondie (which, as it turned out, was her actual name), but neither cared. 

"I broke up with her!" Sehun shouted loudly as he burst into the Mel's at eleven o'clock at night. Zitao ran over to Sehun, pulling him into a tight hug.

"I'm so happy for you!" Zitao said. He was happy for himself too, but Sehun didn't have to know that.

"Get back to work, you lovebirds," Yifan said to the pair as he left the diner. They both blushed, but neither of them moved from their hug. Their faces were close, close enough for Zitao to rub his nose against Sehun's, close enough to lean in and kiss Sehun on the lips. They were just as soft and warm as Zitao imagined, and as he tried to pull away Sehun pulled him back in, smashing their lips together. They just stood there, in the middle of the Mel's, kissing with so much passion that they drove all the customers from coming in. The only thing that could stop them was Yixing coming and singing the "k-i-s-s-i-n-g song".

After Zitao's shift ended, he decided to walk Sehun home. It was a Friday anyways, so it didn't matter how much sleep he got (not that he would sleep much that night anyways).

"If I couldn't get out of here but you could, would you stay here with me?" Sehun asked all of the sudden. Zitao smiled.

"I might go crazy, but I would. I swear to god I would," Zitao said, hands interlacing with Sehun's as they smiled at each other, the rest of the world completely forgotten.

~~~~~~~~~~

"What's up, loser?" Luhan asked as Zitao ran into the kitchen to get his uniform.

"Just making out with my boyfriend," Zitao said smugly as he put on the uniform as quickly as possible. He was late to work, due to the fact that Sehun was always . Always. 

At that moment, Yixing walked into the kitchen, unusually silent, He quietly placed the box of powdered milk onto the ground before moving back toward the door.

"Is something wrong?" Luhan said, ignoring the burgers to look at Yixing. His eyes were red, and he looked so weak that he might collapse at any moment.

"We have no money. We just don't have enough money to pay for all of the doctor's bills, let alone all the baby stuff, if she even keeps the baby, and I'm working two jobs and my grades are in the dumps but I just don't have enough money," Yixing spoke, tears running down his cheeks. Luhan and Zitao said nothing, just petting his back comfortingly.

"It's not like we didn't use protection. It was both of our first times, she was taking birth control pills and we even used two condoms," Yixing choked out.

"Two condoms!?" Luhan said incredulously. Yixing nodded through his tears.

"Don't you know that if you use two condoms, they're much more likely to break?" Zitao asked. Yixing paused, then sobbed more. Luhan shook his head in disappointment.

"Why does education so ing bad in this country," Luhan said sadly. Yixing had stopped crying, but now he was shaking his head sadly.

"Hey Yixing, I have some news for you," Yifan said, suddenly walking into the kitchen. Yixing looked up at the tall man worriedly.

"Is something wrong?" Yixing asked.

"No, I decided that it was time you got a promotion!" Yifan said happily. Yixing stared at Yifan in disbelief, his eyes wide and mouth agape.

"What are you promoting him to?" Zitao asked.

"What was his job in the first place?" Luhan added. Yifan just shook his head.

"That means you'll get a raise of ten dollars!" YIfan said, ignoring the other boy's comments. Yixing grinned widely, silent tears of joy running down his face.

"Thank you thank you thank you thank you," Yixing said quietly, jumping up and hugging Yifan. Luhan and Zitao joined the hug too, and they all just stood there for a moment.

"Now, get back to work, you sons of motherless llamas," Yifan said, causing the other boys to laugh and continue on their way.

As Zitao and Yifan left the kitchen, Zitao pulled his boss aside.

"Did you hear our conversation before you walked in?" Zitao asked in a hushed voice. Yifan nodded.

"He deserved this anyways," Yifan said, and walked back into the kitchen to yell at Luhan. Zitao smiled and went on his way.

~~~~~~~~~~

"Wow, your boss really is nice," Sehun said. Zitao had just recounted to him what had happened earlier with Yixing. The two of them were sitting in a booth at three am at Mel's, Zitao resting his head on Sehun's lap as Sehun pet his hair.

"I already know he is, he just masks it with insults," Zitao responded. Sehun nodded and sighed.

"It really makes you think, doesn't it? Like, I know we're both gay, so we couldn't exactly get anyone pregnant, but what if something similar happened?" Sehun spoke.

"Oh dear god, I could never let that happen. I have to get out of here, I have to," Zitao said, a hint of fear peeking out through his voice.

"You know, you're stuck here for another two years," Sehun answered. Zitao sighed.

"Don't remind me," he spoke.

"At least you have me now," Sehun said.

"Barely," Zitao muttered.

"What do you mean?" Sehun asked worriedly, looking down at his boyfriend.

"Well, we're not out yet. No one knows about us. We can only interact when no one else is around. It's almost like we're not even together. Even Kyungsoo and Jongin came out," Zitao responded sadly.

"Will it make you hate this town less?" Sehun asked.

"Of course," Zitao responded. 

"Alright then baby. I'll make it happen," Sehun spoke firmly.

~~~~~~~~~~

As Zitao walked into his first class that morning, no one spoke to him, like usual. But today was his birthday, so he was craving a bit more attention than usual. He sighed, realizing this birthday would just as much as the last ones. Sehun was going to hang out with him that tonight, and it was his day off from work, but up until then it would be hell. He sighed again. Whatever.

As he sat down at his math desk (and ignored the look Blondie gave him), Zitao noticed something different about his desk. There was a post-it note on it, a pink one with sky blue sharpie on it. He picked it up and read it:

"Elevator buttons and morning air. Strangers silence makes me want to take the stairs. If you were here we'd laugh about their vacant stares, but right now, my time is theirs."

Zitao chuckled and grinned, stuffing the note into his pocket. Of course Sehun would write him love notes, with Taylor Swift lyrics on them, no less. But Zitao couldn't wipe the grin off of his face.

After class, when he went to his locker, another note slipped out of the metal slits. He quickly picked it up, and it said: 

"Seems like there's always someone who disapproves. They'll judge it like they know about me and you, and the verdict comes from those with nothing else to do. The jury's out, but my choice is you.

P.S. Meet me at the tree today during lunch."

Zitao giggled, blushing and practically skipping to his next class. 

When Zitao arrived at the tree, Sehun was already sitting underneath it, a guitar next to him.

"Wait, you can play the guitar?" Zitao asked with surprise. Sehun nodded, gesturing for Zitao to sit next to him. 

"Happy birthday baby!" Sehun said once Zitao was comfortable. Zitao smiled, wrapping his arms around Sehun's waist.

"Thank you so much for the notes," Zitao spoke.

"Don't worry, there's more to come!" Sehun responded. Zitao giggled and blushed, Sehun leaning over to peck his lips. After that, the two of them fell into a comfortable conversation, their hands perfectly intertwined. They were laughing loudly when Sehun sat up a bit, checking his phone.

"Oh wait! I have something to show you," he said nervously, realizing that there were only five minutes left of lunch. He ped the case and picked up the guitar, placing it in the correct position in his hands.

"This is just a sneak peek, okay? I'll give you the full version later tonight," Sehun spoke, and Zitao nodded. Suddenly, Sehun began to sing: 

"Don't you worry your pretty little mind. People throw rocks at things that shine and life makes love look hard. The stakes are high, the water's rough, but this love is ours." 

Zitao smiled widely, leaning over to kiss Sehun just as the bell rang.

"I'll walk you to class," Sehun said, holding Zitao's hand and walking back down the hill.

After a few seconds of being in the school (and receiving very confused stares), Zitao realized that they were still holding hands. Sehun was showing off that the were with each other to the entire school. Zitao turned to him, happy but still very shocked.

"Happy birthday baby," Sehun whispered, and Zitao thought he might float away.

~~~~~~~~~~

"Well look who it is, it's mister gay. Do you just go around, turning people's boyfriends gay for fun?" Blondie said.

"First of all, that's probably the lamest insult I've ever heard. Second of all, you're probably the worst girlfriend of all time ever, so I don't think it was me that made Sehun leave you. Third of all, I need to get to class, so can you please get the out of my way?" Zitao asked. Blondie's jaw dropped and Zitao smirked, pushing right past her. As he was walking away, Baekhyun approached him.

"Sehun wanted me to give you this," the small boy said, handing Zitao a pink note. It said:

"You never know what people have up their sleeves. Ghosts from your past going to jump out at me. Lurking in the shadows with their lip gloss smiles, but I don't care, 'cause right now you're mine." 

Zitao laughed, thinking about his earlier interaction with Blondie. And now, he realized, he truly didn't give a about her.

~~~~~~~~~~

"What are we doing?" Zitao asked as he plopped onto Sehun's bed.

"I have to finish my song first, and then we'll eat cake," Sehun responded.

"And then make out?" Zitao asked hopefully.

"Yes, and then we will make out," Sehun answered. Zitao chuckled as Sehun pulled his guitar out of its case and began to sing: 

"And you'll say, don't you worry your pretty little mind. People throw rocks at things that shine and life makes love look hard. The stakes are high, the water's rough, but this love is ours. And it's not theirs to speculate if it's wrong and your hands are but they are where mind belong and I'll fight their doubt and give you faith with this song for you. 

Because I love the gap between your teeth, and I love the riddles that you speak. And any snide remarks from my father about your tattoos will be ignored, because my heart is yours. So don't you worry your pretty little mind. People throw rocks at things that shine and life makes love look hard. Don't you worry your pretty little mind. People throw rocks at things that shine and life makes love look hard. But they can't take what's ours, they can't take what's ours. 

The stakes are high, the water's rough, but this love is ours.

A/N: odg I have no idea where this giant mess came from. but here~ hope you like it <3 sorry if its sort of incoherent and strange.

if youre wondering what the song is, it's called Ours by Taylor Swift (link here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZ34LlaIk88&index=9&list=PLoSd8Wbh5B24KNG9thMI1S2ggKB6ewqXL) 

if you are subscribed to my other fics, i.e. the biggest little city or five last hopes, i promise those will be updated soon~! i love yall!