#holilays

Daphne and Yixing had been texting for awhile. It had been a couple weeks since they had first exchanged phone numbers during passing period after spending all of their pre calc class talking about anything and everything. Daphne hadn't expected Yixing to be so amiable. He seemed distant when Daphne had first been seated next to him, eyelids droopy and mouth slightly open as if in awe of the teachers expertise. Daphne learned that he had just been sleeping with his eyes open, but it was endearing regardless. 

Wait, endearing? No no no, Daphne did not find this kid endearing. Just a friend. Only a friend. 

But before she knew it the new text alerts were going off almost every ten seconds and she and Yixing kept up a constant conversation, effortlessly flowing from topic to topic.

She learned that Yixing danced, and sang, and played the guitar, and the piano, and composed, among other talents and she also learned his love for beauty, their conversations occasionally punctuated with breath-taking pictures or videos of performers. But break-taking wasn't how Yixing described it. He described these things as beautiful or, actually, 'beautiyufl' or 'beautoful' or 'beautifl'. Daphne had pointed out his spelling mistakes of the word only once because it had brought about a long paragraph response of how he never really tried to spell beautiful but it was the only adjective he thought that fully suited the pictures and videos and it had become such a habit to not try to spell it, that the unique way of spelling had become beautiful in itself and every different way he spelled the word was a metaphorical way of showing how each thing he had sent her had its own equally unique form a beauty.

Daphne had been taken aback by Yixing's theory and, as more texts flowed into her phone's inbox, she had started the habit of paying attention to the spelling of each 'beautiful', finding the beauty in it one letter placement or addition at a time. 

Rumors of the relationship between Daphne and Yixing had spread throughout the school. Daphne had asked Yixing if it bugged him and he had only shrugged, telling Daphne to let them do what they please and that they will do what they please and patted her knee, stood up and motioned for her to come with him to class.

Yixing had come over to Daphne's house a couple times after they had been dismissed from school for summer break. The first time her mother gushed over Yixing's perfect Chinese and had scorned Daphne for her fluency in the language dulling in comparison. Yixing had chuckled to amuse her mother, to which he received a frightening look from Daphne. The second time, Yixing had given Daphne a hard time about how out of tune her guitar was. She told him to tune it for her and, once done, he had played a couple chords and hummed a few melodies to go along. 

Daphne didn't want to admit it to herself, but she had been entranced by him, by his voice, by his fingers gently plucking at the brassy chords and had tried vigorously not to smile at the time. She had smiled that night, however, when she had received a text from Yixing thanking her for letting him come over and telling her to sleep well, attaching a picture of a 'beauitful' sunset.

Sunsets turned to falling leaves, however, and Daphne found herself back in school, with Yixing by her side. Their time together had began to cut itself short as Yixing had decided to join soccer and they had pre-season practice from after school until 5 everyday. 

Daphne started receiving less pictures and less videos and less texts in general. Yixing would tell her stories about practice and Daphne would only give a short response, unable to help feeling left out. It wasn't that Yixing was popular now or that he had more friends, it was just time. Their wasn't enough time for Daphne anymore and, though she had been denying it for awhile, she knew that she was no longer Yixing's top priority.

So Daphne took a step back and watched the trees strip themselves of their summer jackets to reveal strong bark for winter. It was only mid November, but the days were getting shorter and Yixing's texts had almost stopped altogether. It wasn't until the first week of December that Daphne had received a text from Yixing. It was a long text, filled with a lot of 'sorry's and 'please's and Daphne had replied right away, accepting his apologies for his busy schedule and pulling him right back into her heart. 

The soccer season had ended, as playing in the snow was not preferable for the soccer players, but no problem for the basketball team inside the gym. Their last practice was the second day Yixing texted Daphne again, asking her if she wanted to grab some pizza. Daphne obliged, feeling her cheeks turn red and she hit send. 

They spent three hours at the pizza place, not as much eating as they were talking. They had caught up on what had been happening for the past two months and Daphne had felt a warmth that was she recognized as what she had felt over summer when Yixing had wrapped him arm around his shoulder after he scorned her about her out of tune guitar and had apologized when she feigned crying. But it may have just been the high temperatures or that fact that she had gotten a sunburn on her face or that their air conditioner had been out that day. 

But, whatever it was, Daphne had associated it with Yixing and it felt nice.

Their never-ending text conversations resumed and Daphne and Yixing started spending every moment they had together. Daphne had started to ponder whether or not the way she was feeling was what Yixing was feeling and was almost positive it was.

Christmas had come within the next couple of days after their winter break had begun and the day after Yixing had asked to come over, saying that he had something for her. 

Daphne had gotten Yixing something for Christmas, but she hadn't expected for him to do the same and, when he got to her house, Daphne didn't hesitate pulling him upstairs to her room, quickly pulling out a small box and handing it to him.

The card hanging of the side of it said "Merry Christmas - D" to which Yixing replied with a really bad attempt at sexual innuendo and Daphne had lightly punched his arm, urging him to open it. When Yixing opened it, he pulled out a purple guitar pick, his favorite color. He tossed it over in his hands a couple times before smiling at Daphne and giving her a tight hug and immediately handing her his present. There was no card attached to it and it was a small box, similar to the one Daphne gave him. She opened it to reveal a ring, the silver band winding up into a little knot at the top with a small diamond in the center. Yixing whisped to it her that it was a promise ring and Daphne asked what was he promising, to which Yixing pulled out a folded piece of paper and handed it to Daphne. All it read was:

1. Would you have sex with the last person you text messaged?maybe in a few years2. You talked to an ex today, correct?nerp3. Have you taken someones virginity?hell naw4. Is trust a big issue for you?yes5. Did you hang out with the person you like recently?actually were going on a date tomorrow sooo6. What are you excited for?tomorrow lol7. What happened tonight?I PLAYED WITH MY UNCLE WITH OUT NERF GUNS IT WAS SO MUCH FUN8. Do you think it’s disgusting when girls get really wasted?yes uugh9. Is confidence cute?yes10. What is the last beverage you had?perrier11. How many people of the opposite sex do you fully trust?two12. Do you own a pair of skinny jeans?ofcc13. What are you gonna do Saturday night?maybe go into la or have a sleepover with the bestie14. What are you going to spend money on next?my iPhone 5 or ps cs615. Are you going out with the last person you kissed?mhmm16. Do you think you’ll change in the next 3 months?probs17. Who do you feel most comfortable talking to about anything?my bestie or my bf18. The last time you felt broken?sometime last week19. Have you had sex today?hahhaha i wish