It was cold.    Tao groaned and rolled over, pulling his blankets tighter, putting his head under the edge of his sheets, trying anything to retain some semblance of warmth. It wasn't working. His hands felt numb and hot, both signs he'd need to invest in some gloves of his own before the end of the week and stop stealing Kris's. He sits up slowly, his dark hair falling into his eyes, blurring his vision slightly as he groans again, accosted by the even colder air of the surrounding room. This wasn't supposed to happen! It was supposed to have been a mild winter with only a few light snows. A lie if ever Tao had heard one.   He makes a face, his nose crinkling, his eyes slowly adjusting to the half light of the room. He sits all the way up, biting his lip so as not to whimper as he slips off the top bunk, his bare feet making a dull thud on the wood floor as he walks over to the window, a thing he does every morning now. Tao has only been here a short amount of time, yet already it feels like home. That means only two more weeks of school before Christmas vacation; his mom had already called him a few times asking if he was coming home for the holidays. He hadn't wanted to tell her no so he'd said that he was 'still thinking about it'. He wasn't. He couldn't imagine spending the holidays with anyone else than his housemates.   They all had been getting along so well, there was no reason that wouldn't apply to the holidays as well. Tao adjusts his thoughts slightly, well, they'd been mostly getting along. Him and Kris had been at odds lately, always disagreeing over things and even when they did get along, Kris seemed distant and quiet, as if he'd only tried to be hospitable that first day and now he simply felt like Tao wasn't worth his time. Who did he think he was anyway?   Tao presses his hand against the cold glass, taking a few deep breaths and trying to forget his anger. It didn't matter anyway; him and Kris were just not meant to be friends, that should be okay with him. Should be. It wasn't. Tao is so lost in thought he doesn't hear Kris when he rolls over, yawning and getting up, his dark eyes blurry with sleep, his blonde hair tousled as if he just ran his hands through it. The first thing Tao notices when he sees him in his peripheral vision is that he's not wearing a shirt; he doesn't notice this for the obvious reason, but simply for the idiocy of the situation. Tao makes a face, turning so he can look Kris in the eyes.   "Are you insane?"   Kris glances up from making his bed, his dark eyes wide, his eyebrows arched.   "Excuse me?"   His voice is rough and low, his tone just aggressive enough that it makes Tao want to shiver. Just the cold, he's shivering from the cold. It has absolutely nothing to do with Kris. Absolutely nothing.   "It's like the north pole in here and you're walking around like it's Tahiti in summer..."   Tao pulls his thick sweater tighter around his body, repressing another shiver; this one actually from the cold. Kris half smiles, his eyes lighting up, but his lips curving only slightly.   "Are you really that cold? You might be sick..."   He walks over to the younger, putting his hand on Tao's forehead, his fingers cold, making Tao feel even worse. Kris makes a face.   "My hands are too cold, this won't work.."   Tao is about to tell him he's fine, just freezing, when he feels Kris's hands on his shoulders, pulling him in. He freezes, feeling Kris kiss his forehead, his lips soft. Tao makes a sound somewhere between a gasp and a growl as he pushes Kris back, hitting him up the side of the head.    "What was that?!?!"   He hears the shock in his voice and tries desperately to calm the pounding of his heart in his chest. Kris groans, putting a hand to his head, pain flickering across his eyes briefly, making Tao feel guilty for a moment for hitting him.    "I could ask you the same thing! I was checking to see if you had a fever. You don't! You're welcome..."   He glares at Tao, still rubbing his head and he turns, grabbing a tee shirt off the top of his dresser and slipping it over his head before walking out into the hall, mumbling something about trying to help someone and  learning his lesson. Tao slumps against the window, his cheeks still slightly flushed, feeling guilty but confused at the same time. Why had he reacted like that? Of course Kris was just looking out for him. What else would he have been doing? But for a moment, Tao hadn't pushed him away, for a moment he hadn't cared. What was wrong with him?   He sighs, running a hand through his hair and trying to put all these thoughts behind him as he pulls on a leather jacket over his sweater and makes his way downstairs for breakfast. All the others are already seated around the table, the square white linoleum surface covered with every sort of breakfast food Tao could imagine. He takes a seat between Baekhyun and Suho, smiling at both of them. He glances up to pour himself a glass of orange juice and sees Kris still glaring at him from across the table. He allows himself to be unnerved for a moment, but shoves it down. It wasn't his fault Kris had kissed him; well, sort of kissed him anyway.    "Baekhyun, I think something's happened to Lay...."   Tao glances up as he hears Suho's voice, arching his eyebrows, answering his concerns before Baekhyun can.   "Why would something have happened to Lay?"   Suho meets his eyes, apprehension reflected in their dark color.   "Because I sent him to the store two hours ago and you know how he gets lost, if anything ever happened to him, I don't know wha-"   A loud knock at the door interrupts Suho's train of thought. Suho glances up, not making a move to answer it; likely still lost in thoughts of Lay and the possibility of him being lost. Baekhyun gets to his feet eventually,Tao following after him as they both reach the door; Baekhyun taking the lead and opening it. Standing on the doormat is a very cold looking Lay; his arms full of bags of groceries, his blush colored hair falling into his eyes as he smiles, his dimples standing out even more against his red cheeks, his voice hushed.   "I've been back from the store for an hour, but I lost my key and I couldn't decide whether I should go back and find it or just knock...."   Baekhyun watches him for a second, amusement in his eyes,   "So, did you find it?"   Lay blushes an even deeper shade of red, shaking his head.   "No, but I didn't want Suho-eomma to think that I'm forgetful so I tried to find where he hid the spare, but I couldn't find that either..."   Baekhyun laughs, taking some of the groceries out of Lay's arms, passing them on to Tao and taking the rest, smiling warmly at the older boy,   "Don't worry, we'll tell Suho-eomma that you were shopping for my grandma too and that's why it took so long..."   Lay laughs softly, stepping into the house and closing the door after him, brushing snow off the collar of his coat. Tao smiles at him, following after Baekhyun and backing up his story about Lay's prolonged absence, pretending not to notice the way Suho smiles when he sees Lay walk in. Pretending not to care when Lay takes his seat, forcing him to sit next to Kris instead. Although Kris doesn't seem to mind. He seems, in fact, to be going out of his way to touch Tao, making sure their hands brush when reaching for toast, making sure their knees touch when Kris leans across the table. He must know how much it bothers Tao, how much he hates anyone touching him, especially Kris.   Tao tries not to wince and wants to sigh in relief when he sees it's almost eight o'clock. Time for him to leave for class. He gets up abruptly, careful to avoid touching Kris as he grabs his backpack off the couch, slinging it over one shoulder and turning back to the gathered boys, offering all of them a small smile.    "Well, I better be going. The first day of AP Psychology is today. Do any of you know the fastest way to get there?"   Channie shakes his head as do Suho and Lay. Xiumin looks up, an apologetic smile on his round face,   "Chen and I are heading in the opposite direction, we wouldn't have enough time to walk you over there..."   Baekhyun nods in agreement,   "I'm the same, I have to catch up on homework this morning before class, I don't have enough time. Kkaebsong, Tao..."   Tao shakes his head, smiling slightly,   "It's okay, I'm sure I'll be able to find it befo-"   Chen cuts him off, his dark eyes gleaming mischievously,   "Kris has Physiology this morning in the same department, I bet he knows exactly where your class is, don't you, Kris?"   Kris doesn't even look up from the newspaper he's reading,   "Of course I know where it is, what's your point again?"   Chen rolls his eyes, exasperation clear in his voice,   "My point is, why don't you take Tao there with you if you where it is?"   Kris groans, lifting his head, annoyance clear in his expression,    "Why do I have to be the one to tote the little rich brat everywhere he wants to go? Since when did he become my responsibility exactly? I thought pets were supposed to be a family effort..."   Tao's mouth falls open in shock at Kris's blatant insults, feeling his chest tighten. Kris glances up, brief guilt flashing across his face as he catches sight of Tao's expression,   "Tao, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that, I just-"   He reaches out as if he's going to touch Tao's arm, but the younger doesn't give him a chance.   "I think I know exactly what you meant. That's fine, I'm sure I'll find it on my own. Wouldn't want to waste anymore of your precious time..."   He flinches away from Kris's touch, wrapping his scarf around his neck and excusing himself quietly to the others. He turns and walks down the hall, closing the door behind him. He walks down the barely visible concrete path towards the school, the cold biting through his jacket almost painfully. He starts walking faster, hoping desperately that he's heading in the right direction, that he won't be late.   He pauses slightly, wiping the snowflakes off