“Kris, come on! Hurry, hurry!” Lay all but shouted as he burst into the elder’s room. He looked entirely too excited for Kris’s liking.

“Where are we rushing off to?” Kris asked, his tone breaking away from boredom just long enough to allow his irritation to come to light. Lay seemed to wobble between emotions momentarily.

“You’re going to meet some of my friends.” Lay said, and Kris offered him a blank-faced stare.  The younger began looking uncertain. “Don’t you want to make friends?”

“No.” Kris said, turning back to the book in his hands.

“But...you need friends.” Lay insisted. “If you’re alone all the time...you’ll just end up being sad. Besides, school starts next week. You’ll need to know people.”

“Why?” Kris snapped. Lay seemed to be shrinking into himself.

“Because...you need to know people for partner projects...and...” His voice was smaller than his presence, and Kris finally favored him with a tired expression.

“If I go, will you stop bothering me?” The elder asked. Lay looked more than a little offended, and definitely upset, but he nodded anyway. Kris dog-eared his page and closed the book, setting it on the bed, then pushing himself into a sitting position. “Where are we going exactly?”

Lay’s whole face lit up, and Kris was momentarily reminded of a puppy about to get a treat. He watched as the younger crossed the room in a matter of moments, then grabbed his wrist and tugged him up off of the bed. Again with the touching. It never seemed to stop with Lay, or even the umma (who still refused to tell Kris her name). It was a culture thing, sure - but couldn’t they take a hint?

“We’re going to the mall, and we might go to the movies.” Lay spoke animatedly as they made their way out of the main part of the house and to the shoe mat. “Chen said D.O. and Chanyeol are going to be there, too.”

“How are we getting there?” Kris asked, noting that the car was gone. They were too young to drive anyway. What was this kid thinking?

“We’ll take a cab.” Lay said, as though he were surprised the elder had to ask.

“Where are you getting the money for that?” Kris asked, a single brow raised.

“It only costs about 700 won.” Lay said. Kris raked his eyes over the younger in silent scrutiny. “What?”

“Do you have some sort of disability?” Kris finally asked.

“No...” Lay said, blinking several times. “Why would you ask that?”

“How else would cab fare be so cheap?” Kris asked.

“It’s like this everywhere.” Lay said.

“Not in Canada.” Kris replied. Lay shrugged, then lifted his hand to signal the cab coming down the street. It pulled up in front of them, and Lay grabbed Kris’s hand again.

“Come on, hyung!” Lay said. He had an, at least in Kris’s opinion, unwarranted smile on his face.

“You know, we don’t actually need to rush everywhere. And I am not your hyung.” Kris said sternly, shaking Lay off of his arm as they slid into the back of the cab. Lay’s mouth dropped open for a second.

“Oh.” He said, looking down at his shoes. A moment later, though, he looked back up. “Since we’re both Chinese, should I call you gege instead?”

“No!” Kris snapped. “Don’t call me at all!”

Lay flinched at the other’s harshness. The only progress that had been made during the three weeks Kris had been living with them was Lay’s progress toward leaving Kris the hell alone, and that was minimal at best. The taller male turned to look out the window as Lay quietly offered an address to the driver.

When the car stopped in front of an ice cream shop, Kris was convinced that either Lay or the driver had gone batty. Weren’t they supposed to be going to the mall? He followed Lay out of the vehicle with a sharp scowl, subtly eying the ice cream flavors. Lay, somehow, took note of this.

“Do you want some?” He asked softly, and Kris redirected his gaze quickly. “It’s really good.”

The elder shrugged, and Lay moved to get in the short line. Kris followed silently, and by the time they made it to the front of the line Kris knew exactly what he wanted. He managed maintain an expression of perfect disinterest as the cone was passed out to him through the window, then as he sat and began eating his favorite treat - strawberry ice cream.

“Is it good, hyung?” Lay asked, sitting beside him with a frappe. Kris leveled him with a look, but Lay didn’t waver for the first time. Instead, he reached out and shoved Kris just a little bit. “People will really believe you are mean if you keep acting this way.”

“Who’s acting?” Kris asked, lightly smacking Lay’s chest. “Stop touching me.”

Lay pouted, and Kris rolled his eyes before refocusing on his ice cream. He was just beginning to make a dent in it when Lay suddenly jumped up from beside him and started waving his arm around in the air like an idiot. Kris absent-mindedly reached up took hold of Lay’s shirt, jerking him back down onto the seat. The younger turned to him in surprise, but Kris only continued eating his ice cream, a death grip on Lay’s shirt to make sure he didn’t do anything else to embarrass him.

“Hyung, what are-” Lay started to ask, but Kris cut him off.

“You look like an idiot waving around like that. I’m not going to be seen with someone so careless.” Kris said. “And for the last time, stop calling me hyung.”

This time, Kris got the effect he was looking for. Lay slumped, looking dejected as he turned slightly away from the elder. It took a moment for Kris to realize there were tears in the younger boy’s eyes, and when he did he almost felt guilty. Almost. It passed within a moment, and was replaced with anger within another.

“What are you crying for?” Kris snapped.

“I’m not.” Lay said quickly. He shook his head, then offered a smile to the elder, looking completely fine. Kris rolled his eyes, looking away from the younger. They sat in silence for a few moments before Lay suddenly jumped up again, pulling his shirt completely from Kris’s fingers. “Chen! D.O! Channie! We’re over here!”

Kris sighed, shaking his head and biting into the cone. Within moments there were three new people crowding around Lay, hugging him and asking him how he had been. It didn’t take long for the big-eyed one to hone in on Kris, and while he was generally quiet his eyes alone made Kris feel like he was being inspected. He raised a brow, his expression bored as he threw out the bottom of the cone.

“So, is this the new hyung you mentioned?” One of them asked, gesturing to Kris. The male in question shot Lay a sharp look, and he quickly raised his hands.

“He doesn’t like when people call him hyung.” Lay explained, then glanced around. “Kris, this is Chanyeol, Kyungsoo-”

“D.O.” The boy in question butted in.

“-and Jongdae.” Lay said.

“Chen.” The boy butted in. Lay rolled his eyes.

“And, guys, this is Yifan.” He said. Kris’s eyebrow twitched.

“Kris.” He said, looking more than a little annoyed.

“Right.” Lay said, nodding. When Chen’s arms went around Lay’s waist a few seconds later, it was almost unnoticeable. “Are we going to the mall?”

“Mm.” Chanyeol said, an elated expression on his face. Kris sighed. He could already tell it was going to be a long day.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

There we go. I updated two fics today! I'm pretty proud of myself. And, I'm going out dancing tonight, so I won't be on and/or writing anymore tonight. Enjoy~