Fluffy WangXian Oneshots Book Two

All The Stars Are Brighter

They were twelve years old when they met for the first time.

Lan Zhan was sitting by himself at the back of the class, surrounded by two empty desks, one adjacent to him on his right, and the other one in the next row. This was where he always sat in every class, and in every class, he was given a wide berth.

Sometimes, he used to think there was an invisible sign on his forehead warning potential friends away, and unfortunately, they could see it. He was the odd kid out of everyone else, the loner, the iceman without the cool vibes of the superheroes he knew nothing about.

Until the teacher introduced Wei WuXian as the new transfer student in their class.

Lan Zhan had looked up and frozen.

Haunting silver eyes caught his, more beautiful than any sparkling crystals, as lively as a storm in winter, and for the first time in his young life, Lan Zhan became aware that his life was going to change forever.

There was a magnetic pull in the other boy that Lan Zhan had never experienced before, and he was powerless against its thrall.

He watches as Wei WuXian is made to greet the students in an embarrassing and cheesy little speech designed for them to get to know a bit about him, and he's so confident of himself, that he makes everyone laugh on purpose.

He is told by the teacher to take a seat, and Lan Zhan finds himself hoping that the boy will come and sit by his side, but he knows the truth.

Wei WuXian will choose the next seat over, because no one wants to sit beside him.

He drags his eyes away from the new boy and forces himself to concentrate on his book, telling himself that there's no point in having any kind of anticipation, because it's no use. There's no reason why he should set himself up for disappointment.

...and then the unthinkable happens.

There's a squeal of the chair legs grating on the floor, followed by the delicate scent of vanilla traced with lotus flowers drifting over him, and then Wei WuXian sits down.

Next to Lan Zhan.

"Is it okay if I sit here?"

Oh. He's even more beautiful up close. And then he smiles.

Lan Zhan nods, but he can hear the other students hissing at the boy in whispers, warning him away from his side, but Wei WuXian ignores them to stick his hand out.

"You can call me Wei Ying. What's your name?"

"Lan Zhan."

It's hard to think. The fountain of thoughts has well and truly dried up, and Lan Zhan thinks this new boy is going to think he's boring and that he's made a mistake by picking this particular place in the whole classroom.

Wei Ying takes his hand and they both gasp at the electric shock which travels up both their arms.

"Lan Zhan...I like that!" He says with a cheerful grin, and begins to get ready for their class.

That's how it began.

In the beginning, and especially in the breaks and at lunchtime, all the children would crowd around Wei Ying and listen to his wild stories, but every time Lan Zhan walked past, Wei Ying would make an excuse and wriggle out of their company to join him, catching up to him with the brightest laugh.

Lan Zhan didn't understand it, but he hoped things would never change between them.

Walking beside Wei Ying felt as if he was walking next to a star, blinded by his brilliant light, and it felt all consuming, like falling into a lava pit.