Take It Slow (NCT U's TEN)

Chapter Six.

Skye and Chittaphon were sat around a circular table on the far side of the lunch hall in silence as they ate their food. Skye looked up from her plate when she saw someone stand behind the seat between her and Chittaphon. Jaehyun gave her a smile as he held his packaged sandwich.

"Hey," He greeted, sitting in the chair between Chittaphon and Skye. Skye smiled at him, giving a slight nod.

"Hello, Jaehyun," Chittaphon replied, his voice laced with bitterness. Jaehyun frowned at Chittaphon then turned his head to Skye, his frown still apparent. Skye shook her head.

"He's annoyed because I complimented your basketball skills, not his," Skye explained, a quiet chuckle being released. Jaehyun gave a smug smile, patting Chittaphon on the back.

"Well, it is true. I'm better." Jaehyun shifted in his seat. Chittaphon opened his mouth and made a restrained noise, as if he was trying to say something but couldn't get the words out. He closed his mouth, returning to stabbing his pasta twirls. Jaehyun snickered. "I'm joking, Ten," He added. Chittaphon looked up at him through his fringe, keeping his head down. He stopped chewing for a moment, staring at Jaehyun for a few seconds before looking down and munching again. Jaehyun and Skye glanced at each other, both laughing. Chittaphon clenched his fist under the table as he heard their laughter.

He felt slightly hurt. He'd always been told his whole life he wasn't good enough; whether that be something like maths or basketball. He was always compared to Jaehyun. His looks, talents and intelligence always caught peoples' attention. People would ask him "so when will you grow as tall as Jaehyun?" or "why don't you ask Jaehyun to help you?". He knew they didn't mean it in a malicious way, yet he always seemed to get hurt by them.

He took up dancing because he found it intriguing, but he also started dancing because he couldn't be compared to anyone. No one else around him in his family or friendship group danced. He felt he could be free with it; not be judged. He wasn't blaming Jaehyun or Skye for making him feel slightly upset. They didn't know of his feelings. He hasn't even known Skye for three days, he wasn't expecting her to understand. He didn't expect Jaehyun to know either, seeing as though Chittaphon hadn't ever mentioned his thoughts to Jaehyun.

He sighed as he finished the last piece of pasta. Skye looked at him, realizing his mood had depleted. She gave a sympathetic look. Chittaphon started listening to the conversation Skye and Jaehyun were having.

"Yeah, you were really good!" Skye said to Jaehyun. Chittaphon saw Jaehyun smile from the corner of his eye. Skye leaned in closer. "But did you see Chittaphon's shoot?" She asked, her voice raised. She said this on purpose, trying to cheer him up from whatever he was upset about. Chittaphon felt his stomach turn warm at her compliment.

"Yeah, it was good." Jaehyun nodded. "But did you also see him fall over?" He asked after. The warm feeling in Chittaphon's stomach disappeared.

"Yes, of course," Skye answered. Chittaphon mentally kicked himself. "But that's fine, right? It shows he's human," Skye continued, tilting her head to the right. Chittaphon looked up from the table to look at Skye. "You also got up really fast. It was impressive." Skye smiled widely. Chittaphon returned the smile, feeling happy. Skye felt relieved that she had cheered Chittaphon up. Her smile faded when she saw Aria come into the lunch hall and cursed under her breath.

"What?" Jaehyun asked. Skye sighed.

"I'm sorry," Skye apologized in a rushed voice. 

"What f-"

"Skye!" Jaehyun was interrupted by a high pitched voice suddenly calling Skye's name. He let out an "oh," as he realized what Skye had been apologizing for.