[Neo Zone] Population: 23 Kids

Creepy Mirrors

Lucas scrunched his nose in distaste, an action caught by Xiaojun. The two of them were just sitting together in the cafeteria, so the action could've been dismissed as a reaction to the food they were eating, except Lucas had finished eating a couple minutes ago whereas Xiaojun had barely gotten through half his lunch.

"What was that for?"

"What was what for?"

"The nose scrunch."

"Oh. There's too many mirrors in here."

Xiaojun didn't need to look up to confirm that, but there were a lot of mirrors in the cafeteria. The teachers said it was so they could better keep track of the students, but it was almost disturbing to see yourself so much. That's why no one ever sat next to them.

"There are too many."

Lucas just nodded, not saying much after that. Xiaojun was almost done with his lunch when he decided he was done with the silence. Especially if it was coming from Lucas.

"You want the rest of this?" Xiaojun motioned to the bit of noodles he still had left in his bowl, Lucas sliding the tray closer to himself with a slight smile.

"You're too quiet. What's up?" Xiaojun leaned forward with his forearms resting on the table, his attention entirely directed at Lucas. If he was going to be this quiet, he was going to make sure he got an answer no matter what.

"I just really don't like looking at myself in the mirror this much with everyone around. It makes me feel thick." Lucas shifted slightly in his seat, and Xiaojun leaned back.

"It makes me feel too thin."

"I'd rather be too thin than thick."

"You're not even that thick."

Lucas shrugged. Now that he had mentioned it, Xioajun started feeling a lot more uncomfortable in front of the mirrors. He caught his mind trying to compare himself with the other kids he could see, and that's when he knew they needed to change seats.

"Let's go sit with Doyoung and WinWin, staying here won't do us any good."

Yeah, Doyoung and WinWin were with their own crowd of people in the middle of the cafeteria, but because Lucas and Xiaojun ended up with a lot of their classes together, they never really made other friends. They were also the only other ones in the school from their cult, so they didn't have much of a choice.

With no hesitation, Lucas gathered his things and stood up from the table, waiting for Xiaojun to do the same. They dropped off their trays where they were supposed to on the way over, Lucas coming behind Doyoung and wrapping his arms around him.

"Mind if we join you? The mirrors are creepy." He whispered the last part, but Doyoung would've agreed even if he hadn't given a reason.

Xiaojun took the seat next to WinWin as Lucas sat in the other free space on the end by Doyoung.

"Guys, this is Xiaojun and Lucas, my brothers." WinWin introduced to the small group.

"I didn't know you had brothers." One of them commented, and Xiaojun pretended to be offended.

"You haven't talked about us before? How rude."

While Xiaojun and WinWin were busy bickering and the other kids at the table were entertained watching them bicker, Doyoung leaned closer to Lucas so he could hear him whisper.

"Next time that happens, look yourself in the eye and tell yourself to stop being so mean. If you're thinking things you wouldn't say to a stranger, tell yourself you're just being mean."

"How did you-"

"You said the mirrors were creepy. I don't need to be a rocket scientist to figure out what that means."

Lucas just froze, not sure how to respond to that. Doyoung grabbed his hand and squeezed it reassuringly, humming Breathing by Ariana Grande just loud enough for Lucas to hear it.

"I'm just being mean." Lucas mumbled under his breath, making Doyoung smile slightly.

"Because you're Lucas and you're too handsome for your own good."

Now Lucas smiled slightly, repeating the words in his head. It helped, sort of, but that was enough for now.

When Johnny and Jaehyun were about to do a workout together, Doyoung made them include Lucas and Xiaojun. He knew they would hype the two of them up the entire time, a good boost to their confidence and self image.

Doyoung just wasn't aware it would make Xiaojun and Lucas a little too confident later on.