Black Magic

Nighttime

Chapter 19: Nighttime

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Yixing wasn't really one for revenge. He liked to think he was a mild sort of guy, not too opinionated, not too quick to blow his temper. He was a peace-maker, a Healer. More inclined to fix people rather than break them.

But watching the way Minseok slid the palm of his hand across Luhan's lower back was enough to have Yixing feeling a little less than peaceful.

He clenched his teeth and tightened his grip on the plastic tray in his hand, purposely stepping past the EXO dining table and angling toward a table in the far corner of the cafeteria instead. The water in his drinking cup was steadily solidifying into a heavy chunk of ice, tendrils of his power slipping through his control.

The Water Dragon took a seat beside Baekhyun, setting his tray down with more force than necessary, and the Fire Dragon blinked in surprise as Yixing's cup toppled sideways and hit the table with a weighty thunk. "Nice to see you actually eating," Baekhyun remarked dryly, picking up Yixing's glass from the tabletop and setting it straight; the water in the container liquified in Baekhyun's grip, but the outside remained frosty, even as Baekhyun released it. "Food is important, you know," he continued, choosing to avoid the obvious topic of Yixing's agitation. "You need it to live."

Yixing rolled his eyes and made a show of shoving a huge bite of steak into his mouth, chewing until Baekhyun backed off. "I eat," Yixing muttered defensively. "I had fruit for breakfast." But that had been over 12 hours ago, and lately Yixing tended to forget about lunch and dinner. He was so wrapped up in his recent research project that he often forgot what day it even was. Between translating old documents and going to class and responding to the frequent Dark Dragon attacks, Yixing hardly had time to have an appetite.

And when he'd finally found the energy to come into the Dining Hall, he got a firsthand glimpse of the school's newest couple, and now Yixing's appetite was all but gone. Again.

His stomach clenched in distress, responding to his twisted emotions. Yixing's water was frozen solid again, and Baekhyun had turned to speak with the Earth Dragon across the table.

Yixing sighed, left alone with his thoughts, and absently traced patterns in the frost on the outside of his glass.

Yeah.

Yixing's research was interesting, but he knew that wasn't his real motivation for immersing himself in it.

He was using his work as an excuse to disconnect himself from the people around him. And Yixing could tell he was starting to suffer the effects of such isolation. He'd lost a bit of weight, could often sense that his mind was foggy with exhaustion; he sometimes went almost a full day without speaking to another human being. And more often than not, his entire body would creak in protest when he stood from his seat in the Infirmary, stretching out after long hours of being crouched over his manuscripts.

He no longer used the library as a study location. Not after his run in with Minseok.

Call it a gut feeling, but Yixing had known the Minseok-Luhan thing was bound to happen sooner or later. That still didn't make it any easier to avert his gaze from them, to swallow around the words in his throat, ignore the silent pain that shot through his body every time he was around the two.

It was even worse that he couldn't find it in himself to hate Luhan. Because Luhan really wasn't a bad guy. He was smart, nice, a strong fighter who could potentially protect both himself and Minseok.

Yixing, in comparison, was pathetic and weak, a liability on the battlefield; his powers were only useful in the aftermath.

He swallowed his food out of necessity and then sat his fork back on the table, feeling slightly nauseous. Everything tasted bland in his mouth, unappetizing and gross.