our words || chuang2021 one-shots

撒娇 [sā jiāo]

撒娇 [sā jiāo]: To showcase cuteness. It is used to describe the special type of childlike cuteness, usually done to get attention.

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"Shoulders back and breathe! Five, six, seven, eight." Yetao clapped to the rhythm of the music, carefully watching Oscar's steps. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. Still wrong.

The clock showed a big red 20:00 when they walked into the room. Four hours later, a pause to eat some slightly frozen dumplings from the cafeteria, two bathroom breaks and Oscar still could not finish the routine without making any mistakes. How could someone be so charming yet so incredibly clumsy? Yes, the fake-blonde-boy was for sure talented when it came to creating lyrics, but his dancing skills were deplorable. That was exactly the reason why Yetao was not surprised at all -rather excited- when he was asked to help with his movements.

"I just can't do it. I'm not made for dancing". The way those words came out of Oscar's mouth reminded Yetao of a child who has lost his favorite toy and has no hope of finding it. "I'm probably leaving next week anyway."

"Nonsense." He knew Oscar was going to make it. People must love him already. "You can do it. Let's take another break, okay? It's just that... you're stressed." And to be fair, he was too. He did not expect it to take this long to make his friend learn the choreography and he needed to rehearse his own routine as well.

He grabbed his second bottle of yogurt of the day. To be honest, it was not that good and it didn't even remotely taste like peaches, but it was all they had and at least it had no fat so he wouldn't feel guilty boshing down a couple of bottles every day. He sat down in a corner of the room with the little white and orange bottle between his hands. His Class A shirt made him blend with the green walls. If it wasn't for his long black hair, now in a cute little bun close to his nape, you wouldn't be able to see him. He scanned the room. Fog impregnated the mirror and the wooden floor had traces of sweat right where he and Oscar had been dancing. Oscar. He was leaning on the mirror, looking at the floor. He looked upset rather than sad and Yetao had to hold himself from getting up and hugging him.

A sudden wave of blood rushed to the boy's cheeks. It was pretty evident that he liked the blonde-haired boy and he had already received comments from Keyu and Wangxing. Even Caelan had offered to transfer to dorm 801 and let Yetao sleep in the twin room with Oscar (since he spent most of his free time there anyway). It was so ridiculously evident that he was, in fact, surprised that Oscar had not noticed yet... Or at least if he did notice, he did not mention anything about it. Did he love him? Maybe, who knows. But Yetao knew that their friendship was more important than his feelings for the boy.

"I'm sorry Taotao" said Oscar, who had kneeled down next to him and was now resting his back against the lime green wall, his purple shirt making him stand out. He always did, but in a different way. And Yetao found that amusing. He was like one of those puppies at the animal shelter that looked so well groomed among all the other scruffy dogs. Or like that bobble hanging on the Christmas tree, the one that you are always drawn to whenever you light up the fairy lights. He was special and it pissed Yetao off because Oscar could not see his own potential.

"Why? You don't have to be sorry." Yetao had slightly turned his head to watch Oscar. The 22-year-old resembled a kid who cannot finish his math homework because he does not know how to multiply yet. "Hey, listen, how long have you been a rapper?"

"I don't know, ever since I can remember," Oscar replied looking at the ceiling while brushing his bleached hair out of his face with his fingers.

"Exactly. That's how long I've been a dancer too. What would happen if I tried to rap now?" Yetao left his unfinished bottle of yogurt on the floor and got up. He plugged the music in and tried to improvise a couple of verses before Oscar's laugh interrupted his rapping session.

"You were incredible. As always." The words filled his heart with a comfortable warmth, but he knew Oscar was just being politely nice.

"Bullshit. I am terrible. I can't even sing, no wonder rap." He said, laughing the compliment off. "And that's why you cannot become the best dancer in the world in just four hours." He helped his friend get up too. "Let's try one last time and then we'll go to bed. I'll help you out in the morning again if you want me to, I promise it's not a problem at all." And he was being completely honest. He was his best friend there and if this meant spending time with him he was not going to complain about it.

Yetao pressed the button and the music started to play. He watched Oscar's feet moving in sync, hitting every movement, including those that were difficult even for a trained dancer like him. "How did you just do that? I'm so impressed!" said a confused but in awe Yetao, who clapped vigorously as he approached Oscar and tapped his back. Oscar looked happier than ever and hugged him.

"I lied," Oscar whispered in his ear. What does he mean? "I knew the dance all along."

"Then why did you ask me to help you?" Confusion filled the long-haired boy's thoughts.

"Because this meant spending time alone with the boy I like" Oscar shrugged his shoulders and Yetao could've sworn that his heart had skipped a beat. Did he really just say that? And why does he look so incredibly cute right now?

They never broke the hug. And instead of going to bed, they danced the night away to the rhythm of their heartbeats, stealing kisses from each other when they least expected it and surrendering to the music of their feelings.