Out of all the things in the world Ten hated, he was getting dragged to do the thing he hated the most.
Ten is a simple guy. He's 21, has an apartment, he's living life. He's a jokester, but he's not good socially. He likes to make friends, he just can't communicate well. But that's aside the point.
***
10:35am
Ten pours himself a cup of coffee as he scratches his head. He walks over to the fridge and grabs his bottle of coffee creamer, slowly pouring the liquid into his mug as he watched the colours slowly shift and change from dark to light. The smell of warm coffee and his TV playing in the mornings was all he needed. Ten had no interruptions, and he lived alone. He sat on the couch, crossing his legs as he pulled the small throw blanket over his lap as he watched the screen.
His phone was sat on the coffee table in front of him. His phone vibrated as his eyebrows raised, swallowing his coffee as he set the mug down on a coaster and then picked up his phone. He scans his thumb print, then going to his messages as he squints a bit to read, considering the fact he's slowly waking up, his vision still isn't the best at the moment.
"Hey. So, we know you hate socialization unless it's with us, but they recently moved the 127 Club closer to your area, and it's a bigger building. The rest of us were planning on going to check it out and just to have fun, wanna come?"
Ten reads the message, sent from his friend Taeyong as he thought for a moment and bit his lip. He knows for a fact he can't stand big crowds, hell, even his friends know that for a fact. The last time they tried to take Ten to a soccer game, the guy nearly passed out from being anxious.
"I dunno. You know how I am in crowds."
"Respectable."
Ten raised his eyebrows at the response. Usually Taeyong would say some exaggerated paragraph as to why Ten should come with them, or even playfully guilt trip the boy, so the response from Taeyong actually took him back. He wasn't complaining though. If Taeyong wasn't bitching at him to join their plans, then he was perfectly fine with that.
***
2:17pm
Ten was now dressed in his usual wear. The male was in a long sleeve sweater with the sleeves rolled up, along with black skinny jeans and some old school Vans to finish off his simple outfit. Ten was cleaning up his apartment, humming softly as he fixed up anything that seemed dirty, but in reality his apartment was basically spotless. In the middle
of dusting, he heard a knock at his door as he turned his head.
"Coming!" He called out and set down the duster. He clapped his hands together and quickly went to the door, opening it up as his expression turned annoyed.
Standing on the other side was Taeyong, a smug grin on his face as Jaehyun, Doyoung, and Yuta were also standing alongside Taeyong.
"Hi." Taeyong simply greeted as he chuckled and took a step in, the others following behind Taeyong as Ten crosses his arms and raised an eyebrow.
"Taeyong, you know I'm god awful at communicating. You think dragging me to a club is a good idea?" Ten said sassily as Jaehyun 'Oohed' at the response.
"Ten, hiding yourself in your apartment isn't going to help you improve communication. You tell us you want to meet people, nows your chance." Yuta shrugged and nodded, a somewhat cocky expression on his face as Ten sighed.
His friends weren't wrong. Despite Ten being so socially awkward, he really did want to make some more friends. The only people he really did talk to in his life besides his family, was Taeyong and the rest, including their little siblings.
"I guess." Ten simply said with a shrug, rubbing his arm as the boys cheered playfully and laughed.
"First thing to do, we're buying you new clothes." Doyoung nodded as Tens eyes widened.
"I'm sorry, wh-" And with that, Ten was grabbed by the sweater and dragged out of his own apartment, Jaehyun grabbing the keys to Tens place and his wallet in the bowl by the door as he quickly followed.
Ten was shoved and squished into Taeyongs small car as the 5 of them made their way to the mall. The most Ten had ever gone to was the mall honestly, either there or the nearby places he'd like to eat. He only went to the soccer game since he was dragged there, which is exactly what's happening right now.
"We have to dress you up nicely. You're going to make a lot of new friends and you might even pick up some girls." Jaehyun nodded as he turned in his seat to look back at Ten, grinning as he smiled. Ten nodded, barely. He was nervous and somewhat regretting his choice with his friends, but what's the worse that could happen.. Right?
***
4:03pm
Ten was being dragged by Jaehyun, the male holding Tens wrist as the five of them were scurrying around the different stores. Taeyong and Yuta were in charge of finding clothes that looked decent enough for Ten to wear, as Doyoung was the one criticizing the outfits.
"C-Can you guys cool it with the clothes?!" Ten yelled as Taeyong and Yuta were piling clothing on top of clothing in their arms.
"We need to find a perfect outfit! Don't question our authority." Taeyong said playfully as he pointed at Ten, chuckling softly as Ten rolled his eyes and groaned.
"C'mon I'm already sick of this! It's been like two hours!" Ten complained more and more. At this point, Ten was considering just running and hiding with the mannequins. He loves his friends to death, but sometimes they could just be too much for him, and that was one of those moments.
"Try these on, then show us when you're done." Yuta said as he nodded, smiling widely as he placed a bundle of clothes in Tens arm as Jaehyun let him go. The four shoved Ten into the dressing room, Ten squeaking and stumbling in as he looked at himself in the mirror and sighed.
"It's been two hours.." He whined to himself quietly, sounding like a little kid. He knew there was no point in trying to escape this, annoying kidnapping his friends dragged him to, so he might as well go with it.
It probably took another hour for Ten to finally please his friends with the outfits, so they had finally bought him a whole new outfit and accessories.
"That wasn't so bad, was it?" Jaehyun asked teasingly as he chuckled, taking a sip from the straw stuck in his drink as the five were now sat at the food court, their bags beside their feet as Ten shrugged and scratched his head.
"Could've been worse. We could've just plainly dragged you out of your apartment while you were still in your pajamas." Doyoung added on as he smiled and nodded, taking a bite of the food they were all sharing. Honestly, it could've been worse. They could've broken into Tens apartment, raided his cereal, they could've done more that just drag him to the mall on an annoying shopping spree.
"I guess. But the fact is, you guys are still dragging me to a club that I have no intention of wanting to go to what so ever." Ten sighed and sipped his drink.
"Ahh, don't stress it. This is your way of opening up and meeting someone." Taeyong nodded and leaned back in his seat a bit, resting his hands behind his head as he grinned.
Ten hasn't dated since high school. Hell, it was barely even dating. Taking out Taeyongs sister to prom because he had no date, wasn't dating- Especially since she was a college student, who was engaged, and they had to get a guest pass for her.
"Good luck trying to get me to meet someone." Ten mumbled and frowned, taking a larger sip from his drink as he set it down.
***
8:56pm
Ten and his friends were finishing up their outfits and hair in Tens bathroom, as Ten was in his own room. He adjusted his blazer and moved his hair out of his face as he sighed. Ten had settled with a black blazer, a white shirt underneath and his hair parted in the middle. He had on a necklace, as well as black skinny jeans with rips, his shoes black and casual dress shoes. Ten then sprayed some cologne on himself, taking a deep breath as he opened his door and walked out to his living room.
Taeyong, Yuta, Jaehyun, and Doyoung were all stood there, fixing up small things while taking pictures and talking random nonsense. Their heads turned once they saw Ten, Taeyong gasping and screaming as he ran to Ten and held his hands tightly.
"MY BOY, YOU'RE GROWN!" Taeyong exclaimed like a mother as Tens eyebrows raised and eyes widened.
"Calm down, all I did was pamper myself more than usual." Ten nodded as Taeyong sniffled, faking his tears as he wiped his eye with a finger as he giggled.
"You look so good my son, you'll do fine tonight." Taeyong nodded and smiled, taking a step back from Ten as the boy examined his friends outfits
"Taeyong..That choker is a bit..Kinky." Ten commented as Taeyong looked down at the strap hanging from his neck.
"I mean, just a little." Taeyong commented as he laughed, along with the others as Ten shook his head and smiled. His friends were dumb, but he loved them.
9:37pm
Ten and the rest were soon in line for the new 127 Club building, Ten looking around as the line grew longer and longer. That sense of regret was filling him again, the male fiddling with his fingers as he looked down at his hands as Doyoung nudged him.
"Chill out, you'll have fun." Doyoung nodded and grinned as Ten sighed a bit. He really did want to have fun, but his anxiety and awkwardness was taking over him he could barely speak to his own friends.
The doors soon opened as people began to scurry in, Ten taking a deep breath as he followed behind his friends and into the club. Once Ten entered, his mouth dropped. The building was huge, filled with an amazing bar with hundreds of drink choices, the tables and booths neat and extremely detailed, even the stage was huge. You had a few poles here and there for fun, but the club wasn't a strip club. In Tens thoughts, he turned his head, only to realize that he was alone.
His eyes widened. He lost his friends, and he had no idea what to do. His first idea was to call them, but with all the loud music, he knew none of them would answer their phone. Ten felt like a little kid who had lost their mom at a mall. He didn't know where to go, who to talk to, and with his social awkwardness.. He wasn't going to get far.
Ten managed to find his way to the bathroom, stumbling in as he breathed heavily and ran into the biggest stall. He felt like throwing up, but it probably wasn't the best idea at the moment.
"Taeyong I can't handle this and it's only been 30 minutes."
"Doyoung where are you?"
"Yuta, please walk me out or something."
"Jaehyun please text me back soon."
Ten had texted all his friends, but failed to get a reply from even one. He groaned, leaning his head back and shaking it as he covered his face with his hands.
"Oh god, why did I agree to do this.." He said to himself as he whined, frowning. Why did he feel like crying? It's just a club, a night out, yet he was horrified. After about 10 more minutes of self hatred and arguing with his own thoughts, Ten took a deep breath and stood up. He fixed his blazer, cleared his throat, and opened the stall.
"It's just one night.." He said to himself, then walking to the door as he opened it and stepped out. He was hit once again by the loud music and voices of people laughing and talking. Ten slips his hands into his pockets, walking around the club as he soon makes his way over to a stool by the bar. He sits, looking around as he holds his hands together and rests them on top of the countertop as he is soon greeted by a bartender.
"You look extremely tense." The male joked, smiling a bit as he held a glass in his hand and a rag in the other. Ten was at a loss for words. Someone is literally talking to him and he can't even respond with a simple answer.
"Yes." Ten simply says as he mentally face palms. 'Christ.' He thought in his head, causing the bartender to laugh.
"Oh god. Let me guess, friends drag you out?" He asked and cocked an eyebrow up, Ten sighing and nodding as he rested a hand on his cheek.
"I don't...Socialize." He nodded, having to speak a little louder due to the loud music.
"Yeah, I can tell." The bartender nodded, setting the now clean glass down in front of Ten as he turned his back, grabbing a bottle and pouring it for the Thai male.
"Don't worry, it's not as bad as you think. Friends dump friends here all the time, you learn to talk to someone sooner or later." He grinned at Ten and nodded, pulling out another glass and pouring one for himself.
"My name's Sicheng, but my work name is Winwin. I have a lot of people eating at my ass, so I tend to use a fake name." Sicheng nodded and chuckled, picking up his glass as Ten did the same.
"My names Ten.. It's my first time out at a club so thanks for being nice to me." He nodded, Sicheng clinking their glasses as he downed his drink quickly where as Ten was taking baby sips.
"You're adorable, so I'm sure you'll make friends quickly." Sicheng nodded and crossed his arms. Ten looked at the male and examined him. His outfit matched with the other workers. A white button up and black jeans, a black apron around his waist and a messy bowtie with his name tag on the right side of his shirt, crooked. His hair was light brown and a bit messy, but it was presentable.
"I wouldn't say I'm adorable.." Ten mumbled as he tapped his glass lightly, pouting a bit as the sight made Sicheng laugh.
"You just proved my point." Sicheng nodded as he reached into his apron, taking out a pen and clicking it as he grabbed Tens hand quickly and scribbled on it.
Ten was taken aback at Sichengs sudden action, his eyebrows raised as there was a small grin on Sichengs face as he wrote on Tens hand.
"That's my number. If you ever wanna hang out outside of the club, just text me." Sicheng nodded and smiled as he took his empty glass, Ten left with his glass that was still half full.
"Now go enjoy the night, I have to get back to work. That drink is on me by the way." Sicheng nodded and winked playfully at Ten, smiling and chuckling as Ten smiled and nodded. He took a few more sips of his drink as he then set the glass aside, getting up and beginning to walk around.
***
10:56pm
Ten was now sat at a table, alone and by himself as he sighed. He crossed his leg on top of the other, looking at his phone as he scrolled through his feed. He saw photos Taeyong and the rest had been posting throughout the night as he chuckled, liking them as he continued to scroll.
"At least they're enjoying." He thought to himself, shutting off his phone and slipping it into his pocket. He rested his elbow on the table, his hand on his cheek as he looked around at the different people in the club. There were actually quite a few gay and lesbian couples, and it made Ten happy knowing no one was judging them. They seemed so free and happy, like there were no cares in the world. As Ten was in his thoughts, he could hear a couple of girls nearby him talk over the music.
"Can you believe how good the music is now?!" One of them squealed as Ten turned his head a bit to listen in more, staying quiet.
"That's because they got a new DJ! The old one got fired from so many complaints, I heard the company hired one of the best, and you can clearly hear the difference." Another girl added on as she giggled.
Despite Ten never being to a club before, he had to admit the music choices and the way the music was being projected was quite good. The bass wasn't too intense and the DJ seemed to play a wide variety of song choices. Some were old, some new, some American and some from other countries. Ten stood up, looking around to see if he could spot any of his friends again as he checked the time. It was almost eleven, and Ten knew he'd be stuck here for even longer if he couldn't find at least one of his friends.
Ten began to wander around the club once again, carefully pushing past people as he bit his lip. He sighed, pulling out his phone as he tapped on his contacts and began to call Jaehyun. The phone rang for a few minutes, then there was an answer.
"Yah!"
Tens eyebrows raised as he heard Jaehyuns yell, Ten putting his finger to his other ear to hear more clear.
"Jaehyun?! Where are you! It's late, I want to go home!" Ten yelled into the phone as he moved to the side, now resting against the wall as he breathed heavily. In the background of Jaehyuns line, you could hear someone throwing up and people arguing as Ten blinked a bit.
"Yeah uh... We're in the bathroom. Taeyongs a wreck so I'll drive us home. Just meet us by the front door!"
With that, Jaehyun hung up as Ten looked at his phone, shutting it off once again. He quickly turned his head, making his way to the front door as he passed by the bar again, seeing Sicheng as he stopped in his steps.
"Hey!" Ten called out as Sicheng turned his head, smiling once he saw Ten and chuckled. Ten waved as Sicheng waved back, making his way to the door as Jaehyun was waiting there, Doyoung and Yuta carrying a drunk Taeyong as he groaned.
"Jesus you're a mess." Ten joked as Taeyong frowned and looked at Ten, trying to point at the male.
"I a-am nowwwt~" Taeyong slurred as he gagged again, Yuta and Doyoung holding him up again as they nodded and shook their heads.
"Alright, lets get you in the car." Yuta nodded as Doyoung motioned his head, opening the door as the three stepped out of the building, Jaehyun spinning the keys around his finger as Ten was following behind. Before Ten stepped out of the building, there was a voice over the speakers.
"For a personal favourite, here's a song from my favourites list." Soon, Black Suit began to play as Tens eyes widened.
"This is my favourite song.." He mumbled to himself, stepping back into the club for a few minutes. As Ten looked around, he felt his heart stop and his breathing hitch. From afar, the DJ was standing up, adjusting the bass and volume of the music as he held his headphone to one ear. For some reason, Ten couldn't take his eyes off of him, he was completely captivated.
Tens head tilted to the side as he looked at the DJ. He watched him run a hand through his long hair, the pieces falling perfectly back into place as his lips were pouted and head bopping perfectly to the beat of the music. Hell, Ten didn't even realize a new song had already started playing.
"Ten! What the fuck I thought you were right behind me! Let's go!" Jaehyun said as he was breathing heavily, grabbing Tens wrist as he pulled him out of the club. Ten stumbled, following behind Jaehyun as his thoughts were only about the DJ. He couldn't get him out of his head, he didn't know why. He was a stranger in a club, so why did he affect Tens mind so much?
"Get in." Jaehyun sighed as he opened the passengers seat for Ten, the Thai boy getting in as he buckled up. Time went by fast as Jaehyun dropped Ten off, Ten entering his apartment as he shut the door behind him and made his way to his room. He tossed his keys aside, throwing himself on his bed as he laid there, staring up at the ceiling. The scene at the club just replayed in his head, and granted it wasn't a big thing, but it just wouldn't leave. The way the males hair looked, how focused he was on his work, it just made Ten so intrigued.
***
12:01am
Ten then grabbed his phone from his pocket, seeing it was at 9 percent as he grabbed his charger quickly. He looked at his clammy hand, seeing the faded and scribbled numbers and words as he quickly typed them into his phone, then sending a message.
"Sicheng? It's Ten. I know this is a random question, especially since we just met... But who's the DJ?"
Ten waited, the boy being half awake and half asleep as he sighed. Considering how smeared the pen was, he wasn't surprised if he had entered the wrong number and texted a complete stranger. He then locked his phone, setting it aside as he pulled the covers over himself and didn't bother to change. As he shut his eyes, he heard his phone buzz. Ten immediately opened his eyes again and grabbed his phone, tapping on the notification.
"Hey! Glad to see you texted me haha. And the DJ? His name's Johnny."
***