Kris walked in confidently. After all, with his height and good looks, he couldn't help but walk in confidently. The rest of the people in the room were standing. Kris didn't count but he estimated that there were about ten of them there. He was easily the tallest of all of them. The only one who was remotely close to his height was a very angry looking boy with dark hair and equally dark eyes. And it looked like all of the rest of the boys were staring at him. He glanced at Kris when he appeared in the room, and Kris had to admit that even he was a little taken aback by the boy's intense glare.

                “Ah,” a man Kris hadn't noticed before began a little nervously, “should we start now?” The boys looked around at each other and came to a silent consensus that they should sit. The man looked relieved.

                “I'm Park Jungsu, and I'll be your homeroom teacher this year. You all may know that this school system is a little different in that you aren't grouped by age, so you won’t be using honorifics, and you'll all be staying in the same suite. So, uh, since you'll all be living together starting today, why don't you all introduce yourselves? Give your name and...a hobby. I'll start. I'm Park Jungsu, and I like to run the school's radio show. How about you next?” He pointed to a wild-looking boy next to him.

                “Okay I'm Chanyeol and I like to bake especially desserts,” he said very quickly. Jungsu smiled and pointed to the next boy.

                “Ah, my name is Suho and I really like to read,” the boy said, smiling nervously.

                They went around the circle, Kris barely paying attention until they got to the violent-looking boy.

                “Tao,” he said gruffly. “Wushu.” He didn't look at anyone, but rather at his own outstretched feet. The next boy looked slightly frightened of him, but went on.

                “My name is Luhan and I like to sing,” he said in a rather nice voice. Jungsu nodded encouragingly.

                “You're next,” he said, motioning to Kris.

                “Alright. I'm Kris, and I have a talent for languages,” Kris said, leaning back in his chair.

                “Good! And you, you’re last,” Jungsu said to the boy on his other side.

                “I’m Yixing, but I go by Lay. I’m good at video games.”

                “Alright! So now that we know everyone,” Jungsu said, “we’ll go get you settled into your dorm.” He led them out of the classroom and they all followed him in a general pack towards the attached dorms.

                “There are twelve of you, but there are seven rooms in the suite. So you’ll have to pair up, and two people will get their own rooms. Start thinking about who you want to room with.”

                Kris glanced around as the boys started mumbling to each other. Chanyeol had latched onto a boy whose name Kris didn’t recall, and Luhan had shyly stood next to the kid who Kris remembered as Sehun. Suho and a guy with high cheekbones paired up, and the kid who looked like a hamster paired up with a boy with big eyes. Kris was left to choose from an arrogant-looking boy, Tao, or Lay. Evidently, Lay thought Kris was the safest choice as well.

                “Wanna room?” Lay asked casually. Kris looked down at him and nodded.

                “Sure,” he replied. Tao looked pouty as usual, and the arrogant-looking kid seemed fine to be on his own.

                It didn’t take long for them to arrive at the dorms, and Jungsu checked them off as they entered.

                “Alright, so Chanyeol and Baekhyun, Sehun and Luhan, Chen and Suho, Kyungsoo and Xiumin, and Lay and Kris. Kai and Tao have their own rooms,” Jungsu said smilingly. “Okay, Tao, your room is the one in the back, and Kai, yours is this one here. The rest of you can choose which you want. Alright, I have to go work on some school things, but your personal belongings will be delivered in about an hour. My number is on the fridge, so call me if you need anything. I’ll see you all tomorrow!”

                Jungsu waved kindly as he left the building, and with his absence came an extremely awkward aura.

                “Uh,” Lay began, “so…does anyone cook? Because we kind of need to eat…”

                “I DO!” Chanyeol cried. “I do! We can have cakes and cookies and pies and tarts and—”

                “That’s not real food, though,” Sehun complained. “I want like kimbap and noodles and stuff.”

                “I can cook that,” Luhan piped up. “I’m also pretty good at Chinese food.” Sehun’s face brightened.

                “Awesome,” he smiled, and Kris noticed a slight blush appear on Luhan’s face.

                “I could help,” Baekhyun added. “I cook too.”

                “Okay, so why don’t we delegate out responsibilities?” Suho suggested suitably. “Luhan and Baekhyun can be on food duty, and—”

                “I can be on dessert duty!” Chanyeol smiled.

                “Sure, you can be on dessert duty. I can clean. Does anyone want to help with that? Maybe two more people?”

                “I guess I could,” Chen said. Kyungsoo also raised his hand slightly.

                “Alright, so that’s me, Chen, and Kyungsoo on cleaning duty. Laundry?”

                “I’ll do it,” Sehun said. “Hey, Xiumin, why don’t you help me with that?”

                “Okay,” Xiumin agreed.

                “What’s left?” Suho asked.

                “Groceries?” Lay suggested. “I can do that. Kai, do you wanna do shopping with me?”

                “Fine,” Kai replied. “But then Tao and Kris have nothing to do.”

                “I can just do anything,” Kris said. “Whatever needs to be done.” They all looked at Tao, who just glared back.

                “O-okay,” Suho continued, looking away from Tao as all the rest of the boys had already done. “So let’s get started then.”

                “What do you guys want for dinner?” Luhan asked. “I’m up for anything as long as Lay and Kai can find the ingredients.”

                “Fried rice!” Kyungsoo suggested. Chanyeol nodded in agreement.

                “Okay, fried rice it is,” Luhan confirmed, and Baekhyun agreed.

                “Come on, Kai, let’s go get the ingredients. The store is really close.” Lay and Kai left, and the cleaning team started to get the things they’d need to make the beds. The rest of the guys who had nothing left to do sat in the living room awkwardly.

                “So,” Sehun began. “So…”

                “Yeah, we all want to know too,” Xiumin said. “How come you all are here?”

                “My mom says I need an alternative learning experience,” Sehun said, rolling his eyes. “How about you guys?”

                “I was having issues at my school,” Luhan said shyly. “So yeah, my parents switched me here.”

                “I was the issue at my school,” Chanyeol laughed creepily. “So I got moved here.”

                “I feel like that’s it for a lot of us,” Kris said. “I was the same way.”

                “Kyungsoo and I used to go to the same school,” Xiumin muttered, “and the teachers hated us. Hopefully it’s better here.”

                “Hopefully,” Baekhyun agreed. They sat in silence for a few more seconds. Kris looked over at Tao again, only to find that he was nowhere to be found.

                “Hey, where’d Tao go?” he asked. The other boys didn’t even look up.

                “Who knows?” Xiumin said. “He’s creepy.”

                “Yeah,” Luhan nodded, “he really scares me.”

                “Doesn’t he look like he’s about ready to murder all of us?” Chanyeol asked.

                “I know,” Baekhyun said, “his glare is terrifying.”

                “Good thing he’s rooming alone,” Sehun said. “I’m so glad I don’t have to room with him.”

                Suddenly, they heard a clatter, and Suho rushed into the room.

                “Oh god, he’s got a sword,” Suho cried as Kyungsoo and Chen appeared behind him. “Tao’s got a sword. I am not cleaning his room. I am not cleaning his room.”

                “A sword?” Chanyeol asked. “Like, an actual sword? Maybe he is going to murder us!”

                Luhan looked terrified and Sehun scooted closer toward him.

                “Why does he have to be in our class?” Luhan complained. “Why are we stuck with him?”

                “And I thought we were the scary ones before,” Kyungsoo said, looking at Xiumin, who nodded. “I’m just going to stay out of his way and hope he doesn’t chop my head off in my sleep.”

                “Yeah, just don’t anger him,” Chen said cautiously.

                “So I guess we’ll just…clean everyone else’s room then,” Suho stammered. Kyungsoo and Chen nodded and the three of them disappeared again.

                Kris wasn’t sure of all of this. Sure, Tao looked scary, and even though he was the tallest of them there (besides Kris, of course), Kris couldn’t be certain that Tao was actually like that. And didn’t Tao say he did wushu? Didn’t they use swords in wushu?

                “Hey, Kris, do you know how to set up the video games?” Xiumin asked, awakening Kris from his thoughts.

                “Uh, yeah,” he replied. He stood and walked over to where Xiumin and Chanyeol were fiddling with the television. He absentmindedly connected cables and suddenly Baekhyun and Sehun cheered. Xiumin and Chanyeol looked up and joined in the cheering when they realized the television was working.

                “Thanks!” Chanyeol said, clapping Kris on the back. “Lay’s gonna be so happy when he gets back. I bet he creams you at Mortal Kombat!”

                “We’ll see,” Xiumin said proudly. “I’m pretty good myself.”

                “Well, we can see now,” Baekhyun laughed as Kai opened the door, followed by Lay.

                “Yeah,” Kai said, clearly continuing with a story, “and so then I told her, no, of course not. It wasn’t an accident; I did it on purpose, and—”

                “HI GUYS,” Lay said in a very loud, exasperated voice. “We’re back and starving, so if you could start cooking that would be sweet.”

                “Sure,” Luhan smiled, and Baekhyun and Chanyeol got up and followed Luhan and Lay into the kitchen.

                “Hey, which single was mine again?” Kai asked. “Is it this one back here?”

                “NO!” Sehun and Xiumin cried. “That’s Tao’s room, don’t go in there, he’s going to kill us all.”

                “What?” Kai asked. “He’s going to kill us?”

                “He has a sword,” Sehun explained.

                “Whoa,” Kai said, backing away from the room slowly. He turned back and sat down on the couch as Lay reappeared.

                “Yes! The games are working. Who dares to challenge me?” he asked.

                “Me!” Xiumin said.

                “You’re on,” Lay smiled as they started to play. Kris stood up and walked into the kitchen, where it looked like Luhan was doing all the work. In fact, it didn’t look like Baekhyun or Chanyeol were cooking at all. They were both sitting up on the counter chatting about who knows what.

                “How’s it going?” Kris asked Luhan. “Looks good so far.”

                “Thanks,” Luhan smiled. “I like cooking.”

                “Even when you don’t get any help?”

                “They’ll help if I ask them to,” he laughed. “Anyway, it should only be a few more minutes until everything is ready. Do you think you could set the table?”

                “Sure,” Kris nodded, opening the cupboards to find plates and cups, which he set out on the table. It was a nice suite they lived in. He set out twelve places, as well as the kimchi and a pitcher of water.

                By the time he’d finished, Luhan was done with the rice.

                “Guys!” he called, “Dinner’s ready!”

                “Come on, Lay, finish him, finish him!” they heard Chen cheer.

                “No, no, you got this, Xiumin!” Kyungsoo said.

                “Yes!” Lay cried. “Ha! Told you you couldn’t beat me.”

                “Just wait,” Xiumin said menacingly as the boys walked into the dining room. Eleven of them sat, and suddenly Tao appeared in the doorway. Everyone went silent.

                “Oh, Tao,” Luhan began bravely, but Kris could hear the hesitation and fear in his voice.

                “What?” Tao growled, glaring venomously at Luhan, who suddenly burst into tears. Tao glared at the rest of them and his heel, walking back out of the dining room.

                Kris couldn’t accept that. Luhan hadn’t done anything wrong. In fact, he was being friendly. While the rest of the boys comforted Luhan, Kris followed Tao, even though Suho warned him not to.

                He pushed Tao’s bedroom door open violently.

                “Hey!” Kris yelled. “You can’t just—” he stopped.

                Tao was crying.

A/N: Welcome to my first EXO fic. I know it used to say oneshot, but I quickly decided that this would take a lot more than one chapter, so...yeah. Multiple. 

Also, thank you guys so much for subscribing already! I apologize for not being able to thank you all individually...I got like 25 followers overnight and it's a little overwhelming. Fabulously overwhelming though. I hope this lives up to your expectations. It's moving slowly now but I promise it'll get better.

If you don't already read my fics (which I'm sure most of you don't), I like to reply to all the comments I get, so here goes:

@kawaiikimbap: OMO your bias? Mine too :) Yeah this pairing is all over tumblr and I love it.

@deathangeL_se7en: Me too :D

♥ Exie