A/N: Hey everyone! Look, I didn't completely fall off the edge of the earth! Don't worry, I'm still working on A Little Too Late, but I wouldn't be myself if I didn't have multiple WIPs. XD So here's this cheesy light-hearted(ish) little romcom! I hope you guys enjoy!
Special thanks to my girl Lovinglolipop0402 for being my proofreader! ❤
"I know, I know, Qiren. The boy is an awful influence on your Zhan. I'd put a stop to it immediately if I could, but you know how Fengmian is with him."
Wei Ying freezes mid-step, one foot hovering a few inches over the stairs, as his adoptive mother's voice drifts up from the kitchen. He shouldn't listen to this; Aunt Ziyuan will kill him if she realizes he's listening. But… then again, maybe she won't. Maybe she wants him to hear. She certainly isn't trying to keep her voice down as she continues to list every way in which he is ruining his best friend's chances at a good life.
His face grows warmer and warmer as he sinks down to the steps, arms drawing his knees close to his chest. Echoes of every instance in which he and Lan Zhan have gotten into trouble side by side are laid out before him as he listens. Is he really so awful? He knows that he doesn't always make the best choices, but Lan Zhan has never seemed to mind… Right? Sure, their relationship had started off rocky, starting with the fact that he insisted on calling Lan Zhan by his full name and not simply Zhan as most people did, which had annoyed the other boy to no end. But they had eventually fallen into a routine, and now they are practically inseparable, especially at school. But Lan Zhan is nice; so nice. Has he just been putting up with Ying all these years? Does he resent him for every time they've gotten sent to detention because of him? Maybe he is a terrible influence. Maybe he's only dragging Lan Zhan down with him.
He doesn't notice the tears until they begin to hit his wrist, causing him to jerk to his feet, one sleeve of his worn sweatshirt converting into a makeshift towel as he swipes it roughly across his eyes. He readjusts the bag slung over his shoulder before running down the stairs, taking two at a time with his head down until he's out of the door, uncaring of whether anyone sees him or not. All he wants is to get to school and find Lan Zhan at their usual meeting place and pretend that everything is still alright.
Everything is not alright.
Ying hopes it will get better. It doesn't. The day seems to drag on, thoughts pulling him deeper and deeper into himself until even Lan Zhan tries to pry him for answers with far more emotion than even Ying has ever seen from him before.
The day after only seems to be worse, followed by the weeks, and the months.
Yanli and Cheng try to get him to talk to them, but he can never bring himself to say the words. As if repeating what Aunt Ziyuan had said that day will solidify as truth.
No; no one will know the words that have weighed down his heart since they first reached his ears. Not his siblings, not Huaisang, Qing, or Ning. And especially not Lan Zhan. He decides almost immediately that he would rather die than tell his best friend to his face that they can't be friends anymore because he isn't good enough for a Lan to befriend.
As time passes, Wei Ying strays further and further away from his best friend, sitting at other tables during lunch, moving to desks on the other side of the classroom at every opportunity. He even begins to leave as soon as the bell rings without a second glance towards Zhan when once he would have drawn out their time together for as long as possible. Eventually, Zhan stops trying to get his attention, falling back into habits gone unused since his freshman year.
And so that's it; unbeknownst to the two young men, senior year is spent in misery for the both of them: Wei Ying, for doing what he thinks is right; Lan Zhan, for agonizing over what he could have done wrong. Graduation comes and goes, photos of two unhappy graduates prominent in both family albums, and when the time comes, after a long, empty summer, Zhan leaves for his first semester of college.
It's Winter Break before he returns home, and his first words spoken to his brother outside of their uncle's presence are inquiries of Wei Ying. How is he? Is he enjoying college? Or has he dropped out as he has always joked of doing?
Of course, he doesn't use nearly so many words. He hasn't since Wei Ying had stopped wishing to hear his voice.
He isn't sure what he expects - or hopes - to hear in reply. But what he receives is certainly not it: Huan is not sure how Wei Ying is; he has dropped out of college, like he's always joked of doing, but for what reason, no one knows. In fact, no one knows much of anything aside from his siblings, who refuse to divulge so much as a hint to even their parents.
Zhan's heart drops as he registers the rest of his brother's words, the tone matching the concern that he finds in Huan's eyes.
Wei Ying is gone.
A/N: If you want to keep up with me or just pop in to say hi, come see me at ❤
