what's up, diyue?

catch me

dylan said 'bye' to the people he'd been talking to for the past thirty minutes and threw his empty cup in the trash as he made his way through the house, saying 'excuse me' every now and then. he had been at this party for a few hours now, but he'd only spent less than ten minutes with the person who invited him. this was why he was not fond of parties; there were simply always too many people at one and he had always preferred a smaller gathering. quality over quantity he'd always say and he wouldnt have come to this one if it werent for her.

tonight was one of the last few nights he would get to spend with her so of course he showed up. and yet, she was, at the moment, nowhere to be seen.

''where the hell is she?'' he mumbled to himself as he continued to walk towards the back of the house where he'd heard some commotion happening. the noise and laughter got louder as he got closer to the open door leading to the backyard.

''she must be here,'' he thought to himself. and as he walked through that door, he saw that he was right.

shen yue was standing on a patio table, in the middle of the spacious yard, laughing her ass off while reenacting some scene from god-knows-what new weird internet video she had recently seen to a engrossed crowd of friends and acquaintances. she was glowing. the sight of her laughing was so mesmerizing that dylan couldn't take his eyes off her, like always.

he slowly walked down the terrace steps and stood a little to the side of the crowd. still watching her, he pulled out a pack of cigarette and lighter from his jacket pocket and lit one up. as he stood there smoking, he turned his head to scan his surroundings. the party was at its peak now that midnight was just around the corner, and the autumn night felt crisp and sobering. people were scattered in small groups all over the property: drinking, playing games or just hanging out talking. he shook his head at the sight. ''how in the world does she know this many people?''

"catch me!" he heard a familiar voice shouted. dylan instictively turned his head. the crowd had dispersed from where they were gathered and shen yue was getting ready to leap off the table in his direction.

"what? yue! N-- ''
she jumped anyway. and before he knew it she was in his arms and they both fell onto the grass, her on top of him.

dylan grimaced, ''UGH. was that really necessary?"

"i'm excited to see you!"

"i've been here the WHOLE time!"

"yeah, but i'm ALWAYS excited to see you, wang hedi!"

"you're drunk."

"AM NOT!"

dylan rolled his eyes, ''that's what the drunk says.''

''dont you roll your eyes at me, xiao wang!''

dylan glanced down at her head that was still resting on top his chest, '' you cant even see my face--''

''i can feel you rolling them, didi. that's what you do.''

''what? what do you mean that's what i do? that doesnt even make sense--''

''shhhh. can you please stop talking and let me rest for a bit. i'm getting sleepy.''

''you cant go to sleep now, yue. this is your farewell party.''

''i know. thats why, stay quiet and let me rest for a bit.''

dylan sighed and looked down at the head on top of his chest again. he resisted the urge to gently pat her hair and whispered, ''fine.''

.
.
.

as they lay there quietly, dylan wondered how his life would be without her next to him. sure, they could still talk and see each other via video call. but things would not be the same. with their celebrity schedules, it had been hard enough to find time to hang out in the same time zone. what more now that she's gonna be on the other side of the globe, chasing her dream to become one of china's top future filmmaker.

he knew winning that scholarship meant the world to her and he would do anything to support her. including letting her go. dylan exhaled a deep sigh and felt the pressure on his chest getting heavier. he moved his torso to nudge her awake.

"are you gonna move now? you're heavy."

"nope."

this time his hand went up and he gently caressed her hair. her head moved.  "you're too skinny, di. your sternum is hurting my cheek."

he gently tugged on her hair. "then you're welcome to stop using my chest as your pillow, miss moon."

"just a while longer. hmmmm. i'm gonna miss this."

dylan closed his eyes and quietly said, "then don't go."

"don't."

"i don't understand why you can't just stay, yue. we have lots of good programmes here too ...''

"we've been over this, di"

"i know..."

"you said you would support whatever i decided."

"i did. and i DO support you ..."

"it's only 2 years ..."

then shen yue lifted her head off of his chest and pressed her lips on his. dylan's eyes widened in surprise at her boldness. in the years that they'd known each other she was rarely the one to ever initiate anything intimate, let alone their first kiss.

"i will come back, wang hedi. promise."

she pushed herself off his torso and stood up. eyes twinkling with unspoken thoughts, she looked down at dylan and extended her right hand. dylan shook his head and ran his fingers lightly on his lips.

"nah, i think i'll lie here a while longer."

she smiled, nod her head and left him there with his thoughts.

as he listened to the sound of her footsteps in the grass fading away, he brought his arms behind his head and laid there, staring at the inky indigo sky. he pressed his lips together, and smiled. that felt like a promise all right.

( 30 november 2021)
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author's notes:

so the first version of this fic were written almost 3 years ago. i remember i was in the taxi on the way to the airport and i started seeing this scene of yy jumping off a picnic table while shouting 'catch me' to didi who was caught completely off guard and then they both fell on the grass and stayed there in momentary bliss. i texted this to bpinksso, typed a short version on my notes app and it stayed in the drafts folders for years, never shown to anyone else. until now.

in celebration of the #diyueloveplaylist project that i am participating in, i have dust up this draft and wrote the completed version i've had playing in my head for years. i hope this fic made your day (or night) a little brighter. and be sure to check out the stories in the #diyueloveplaylist project book over on @myhappyending95 's page. there will be one new story (one of which is mine!) or photo edit posted each day starting tomorrow til january 3!

as usual, thank you for reading. be well, be happy and stay safe! love, always.

p.s.: i should mention that this scene could stand as a prequel to one of my fics that is in the whirlwind book: 'somewhere only we know'. theyre sort of written to be in the same diyue universe.