one. (1/1)

In between heavy pants, beads of sweat drip down his soft jawline. Baekhyun is exhausted as he saunters over to the bench mid practice. Slumped over with his elbows resting heavily on his knees, his chest rises and falls rapidly with every single harsh breath. He grabs a small towel to wipe away the sweat soaked clumps of hair stuck to his forehead.Attempting to regain control of his breathing, he forces deep slow breaths to circulate though his lungs as he watches his class mates finish out the routine. They all seem to flow so flawlessly in unison. For Baekhyun, he feels he has to work twice as hard as everyone else to get that provokingly effortless movement that they can so easily do.Baekhyun’s eyes are glued to his two classmates and close friends; Kim Jongin and Oh Sehun flash each other a sly smirk as they precisely mirror movements. Yes, he may be a little biased, but these two are the best dancers that Baekhyun has ever seen- they are with out a doubt possibly the best in the arts program. It is no surprise to him that they are at the front of the choreography.Not so subtly, Baekhyun admires the way they stand out against everyone else. Its like looking at a yin and yang. The two contrast one another perfectly and they definitely use it to their advantage when performing. Is it normal to feel slightly envious?The two are great at everything they do. They never need to over exert themselves to achieve a set goal and to say that frustrates Baekhyun a little, is an understatement.Baekhyun is always unnecessarily hard on himself. Since he was a boy he dreamed of becoming a performer. He worked day and night for his audition piece, perfecting every single step. Which proved to be worthy of something because being accepted into the Julliard art school three years ago was no easy feat. Only a small percentage of applicants are accepted into the Fine Arts program. Still, he didn’t feel like he had any ‘wow’ factors. He wears his lack of confidence like a blanket, swaddling himself and allowing it to constrict him.

How many years now has he been trying to work on that?He is not for a moment proud of his developed talent for cramming any real emotion deep, deep down. Though it does come handy at times, especially in college. Baekhyun does not let anything eat away at him too much- aside from is a-little-too harsh self criticism. But this breakup he has been dealing with for the last several weeks has him feeling like he he doesn’t even know who he is anymore.He can’t fully comprehend: Why is he still feeling this way? Why is that boy always in the back of his mind?

There is a wrenching ache in his chest makes an appearance whenever it pleases.

Everyone around him would agree, a person can only take so much. "Hey, you okay? You never take off like that." Sehun breathes heavily as he plops down on the bench, sitting a little too close to Baekhyun. His scent of sweat and clammy skin doesn't bother Baekhyun for a moment, though he nudges him gently to scoot over."Yeah, I just.. just needed a break." His breathing is beginning to ease up. Still slouched over his knees Baekhyun hangs his head down letting his damp hair fall freely away from his head. He takes his left hand and rubs the nape of his neck in a poor attempt to massage the stress away."You’re way too hard on yourself, you really need to chill out. I haven’t seen you do anything but over practice and hide for weeks. You know, it has been a while since you have gone out and have had some fun, Baek." Sehun whispered, his voice sympathetic but his face was set with that cold blank stare what he has mastered so well. Sehun leans back against the cool concrete wall. Shifting several times in search for any sort of comfort before smacking away Baekhyun’s pitiful effort at self care. Rubbing the back of Baekhyun’s neck with his thumb, he kneads small circles over the tense muscles."Seriously, was that one night with Hunnie the last fun thing you did? Pun fully intended." Jongin snickered, instantly ruining Baekhyun’s one calming moment he has had all day. His cheeks flushed hot at the cheap jab. Jongin invited himself to make himself comfortable on the other side of Baekhyun before pulling out his phone. Baekhyun let out a small low groan in his throat.“Hey! Get outta here! He’s mine to pick on.” Waving his free hand playfully to shoo Jongin away, Sehun reset his attention onto Baekhyun “Really though, I think we are overdue for a hangout session… something away from your couch and really far away from your Netflix account.”Its so natural to let a wave of ease wash over Baekhyun when Sehun is around. Looking up from his slouched position, the two finally make eye contact. “What? What’s wrong with a little Netflix and Chill?” His big brown eyes brightened up before disappearing behind his eye smile with the chuckle that escaped his mouth.“Ew, why! Who even calls it that anymore?” Jongin squints his eyes and gives his head a small shake, he is still resting his entire body weight against Baekhyun. Still attached to his phone, his fingers didn’t not stopped texting for a second - who knew he was even listening?Sehun is trying to look as serious as possible, which is incredibly difficult without laughing.“Baekhyun, I swear if I have to watch another rerun episode of Scarlet Heart, I am revoking your friendship badge.”“Oh, now don’t you try to deny it!” Baekhyun's voice squeaked, startled by Sehun tugging on a little section of his hair on the back of his head. Hard enough to cause the smaller boy to swerve his sentence but nothing to actually hurt him. Baekhyun sat fully up now, guarding himself from further Sehun attacks.“ Hey! You can’t be a brat just because Jongin is here, you like my couch and you know it!”A quick burst of laughter radiating off of the two allows Baekhyun to shove that creeping pain back down, for now."You know what? You’re coming to Junmyeon’s party this weekend. I didn’t think you would be interested, but I have decided for you that you are going. No offense, I love you, but you’re becoming a hermit, Baek. Plus, its a great way for you to get to know Junie better." Sehun grabbed Baekhyun’s forearm and gave it an encouraging shake with a little added in rare appearance of aegyo. He knows Baekhyun can never say no to him when he does that.Junmyeon just so happens to be Sehun’s newest indulgence, for the past four weeks.

Sehun has a tendency to revel in whatever his heart (or hormones) wants to pursue in that exact moment and Baekhyun gets a kick out of watching. Knowing that is anything ever did happened to Sehun, they would have to deal with the not so threatening wrath of Baekhyun.Right now what he wants is a wealthy and extremely handsome fourth year. A man of many talents quickly found that he has a knack for composition during his enrollment in the music program. He has helped compose and produce pieces for the NYC Hall before even graduating. Boys and girls alike, including Sehun fawn over his every move.Wow, Baekhyun is beginning to believe that he really is just plain and ordinary compared to every student here. “I, I don’t know Hunnie, I’m not really feeling in the mood right now.”“Bae, I am not taking no for an answer. And that’s fine if you’re not feeling it right now, its not until Friday night. You still have a few days to get in the mood. Plus, the whole group will be there.”“But, I don’t want to be the only...” Baekhyun’s voice lowered, that pain is bubbling in his chest again. “Single one there, that won’t be fun. You know I don’t like to be the odd one out, especially now that you’re going to be hanging on Junmyeon.”“Well then it looks like we will just have to find someone for you to hang out with, now won’t we?!” Sehun’s genuinely pure optimism never seizes to surprise Baekhyun.Once again, Baekhyun didn’t even think Jongin was listening. “Yeah, because that plan worked out real well last time.” Honestly, at this point, this is considered eavesdropping.“Jongin! Damn it go away!” Sehun yells across Baekhyun in his direction, it would be louder if he wasn’t stifling his laughter. “Bae, it will be fun, trust me. And just because Junie is there does not mean I would neglect my Bae! I am your best friend for a reason, am I not?”Baekhyun lets out a loud whine “Seriously? You cant do this to me!”Sehun pouts out his bottom lip and gives it a small quiver, melting Baekhyun into a puddle.“I cant believe you’re talking me into this. You’re really lucky I like you.”Baekhyun rolls his eyes only to be met with Sehun’s massively cheesy grin. He thinks that the younger boy is so cute when he smiles, it changes his entire appearance.-Baekhyun and Sehun reached the best friend level during the previous term. The two had interpretive dance class together and were paired together for a routine they were to perform at the semester end showcase. At first, they had no choice but to get to know each other during the long hours of practice they spent together.Without question, their similar traits made them a perfect match to wreck havoc whenever they were together. They were like two brightly colored jigsaw pieces, once the two were found in the sea of other pieces, there’s no question the two were made for one another.It did not matter the size of the wave they were riding. Big or small, they did it together. No hesitations.When things were good, they were unstoppable. Late night dorm parties and fast food runs at two AM; poor choices followed by class the next morning. Baekhyun quickly learned that choreography and a hangover do not mix. And no, he doesn’t want to talk about it.Or the time Sehun sprained his ankle streaking through the sprinklers, there may or may not have been a substantial amount of vodka involved. Baekhyun had never laughed that hard in his entire life. The kind of ugly rolling on the ground snorting for air with a cramp in your side laughing. With his right foot elevated under a package of frozen peas, the two were couch locked with delivery pizza and addicted to a sappy k-dramas. And yes, tears were shed.When things weren’t so good, they were down right unrelenting. Rock bottom is a place Baekhyun crashed into head on, he doesn’t know how he could have made it through his entirely blindsided breakup without Sehun there by his side. They spent long nights on Baekhyun’s couch watching mindless reruns, laying together and letting Baekhyun quietly weep into his shirt until his chest was soaked and they eventually drifted into sleep.If there were any boundaries in their friendship before that, they’re now nothing more than rubble on the ground.--For the past 72 hours Baekhyun has been thinking non-stop about this party. Unnecessarily working himself up, he is dreading going out. Pacing back and forth inside his mind, he can think one hundred different things that he would rather do than go out to a over crowded house party. Like do his dishes or vacuum and hes pretty sure his DVD collection needs reorganizing too.Sehun and Baekhyun are a recipe for chaos. So, what has gotten into him?That boy really messed him up.That pain in his chest was creeping back.Baekhyun sighed to himself as he sat up from his slouching position on the couch in his little apartment. This pain was beginning to become a nuisance. He was so tired of fighting it and so tired of allowing it to control his life. Sehun was right, he needed to have a little fun for once. Stop worrying about all the intrusive thoughts that engross him. Baekhyun knew it was time, time to try to get past this.Instantaneously his phone vibrated with a new group text message that contained more numbers than Baekhyun could comprehend:

‘Tonight is gonna be liitt- 8 pm! BOYB’ Baekhyun jumped up off of the couch with all of the enthusiasm he could muster and headed towards the bathroom to get ready. His feet softly padding across the carpet. Sliding his shirt up over his head and discarding it somewhere on the floor in the hallway before flicking on the light switch to the bathroom. His eyes winced for a moment to adjust to the blinding lights. His big brown eyes find himself staring right back at him in the mirror. Standing there with nothing on but his black sweatpants that loosely hang around his small hips, he takes a moment to stare at his bare chest. Looking at himself, he gives himself a small smile.Under appreciated, self love is something that is incredibly important to continuously practice. Baekhyun realizes, through the events that have taken place over the past few months, he has not taken time to love himself. He knows he has been too rough on his mind and has been pushing his physical body to its limits. That voice in his head reminds him that ‘it is going to be okay and that he will get there, eventually.’For the first time in a long time Baekhyun could say he liked who he saw in the mirror.He looks down and admires his toned stomach, brushing the palm of his hand along his soft skin. Trailing his hand down until his thumb latches onto the waistband of his sweatpants. He pauses there for a second before flashing a few quick strong man poses, silently giggling to himself. Its a fact, boys never grow up. A wide grin plasters across his face until his eyes crinkle shut.Twisting the faucet knob on all the way, the shower head delayed a few seconds before the hot water sputters out with forceful pressure. He watches the thick white blanket of steam flow over the shower curtain and fill the small room, clouding the mirror until he can not see himself clearly anymore. He collects himself with a deep inhale. Running his hands though his messy hair and closing his eyes, he lets out an audible sigh. Pulling the draw string of his pants he lets them fall to the ground, pooling around his ankles before stepping out of the fabric.You know what, yeah, lets do this. You need to stop moping around. Show them, show them all, especially the ones who doubt you! This is going to be your night, you're invincible Baek.Baekhyun's naked pep talk that deserved an award for how absolutely corny it was- but hey, it worked.Stepping past the curtain, the water temperature burns his skin, turning it a soft pink. He adjusted quickly, he loves the feel of the heat washing over him. Its cleansing, rinsing any lingering perturbation from him and down the drain, never to come back to him again.Maybe tonight could be the beginning of a fresh start.