Kris pulled a book from his backpack along side the lunch he had packed and headed down the hall to the cafeteria. He had only been able to identify one person in the last class before lunch, and that had been Tao. So far, they had every class together, but had only spoken to each other during that first class. If Kris was going to tutor him, that would have to change.

He took a seat at the first table inside the lunch room door, absently noting that it was empty, and dropped his lunch on the table before propping his feet up on one of the other chairs and opening his book. His fingers unconsciously dug into the lunch bag, looking for some sort of nutrients to feed his mouth, and his eyes traveled over the same line four times, not absorbing anything as he thought about how exactly he would approach the tutoring situation.

When he had been learning English he had the added bonus of immersion, and while he still struggled occasionally with it, he had a much better grasp than most, and he could usually catch his own mistake. With Tao, though, there was no added bonus or special circumstance. People weren’t going to openly praise him the first time he said something correctly - at least not at school - and instead of encouraging him, they would test him and tell him to do better.

Honestly it was the worst way to learn a language. Especially if it was your second language. If there was no way to apply it, then it would fall right out of your head. If it was a third or even fourth language he would at least have a method worked out for himself, but somehow Kris was certain that Tao only spoke Korean. He sighed, dog-earing the page and pulling out his notebook. Since he couldn’t focus on his book, his best bet was to start out a plan of action to help the other.

He wasn’t sure the other would have someone to speak English with, and he was wary of offering himself as a conversation partner. Too much talking lead to emotions, emotions lead to attachment, and Tao already had too many emotions, making him a dangerous acquaintance to have. Already he could feel the stirrings of anxiety in his gut, but he pushed it away, unwilling to have one of his rare meltdowns in such a public place. No one could know he was like this - if they did, things would only be worse for him.

He tried to immerse himself back in the task at hand, but it was useless. He was already vanishing into his head, and when the bell finally rang to signal lunch was over, he was more than just a little grateful. That is, until he looked around himself and realized something - he was completely alone. Not even Lay had come to sit with him, and with the lunch period being thirty minutes, it stung. There would have been plenty of time to find him, had he wanted to - which only cemented the idea that he had done a fantastic job of pushing everyone out.

Great.

He got up, schooling his face into a blank mask as he threw out the majority of his uneaten meal, only holding onto his drink. He wanted to go back to the house and sleep, but instead he found himself making his way through the halls and toward his next class, his book in his hand, ready to be opened once the teacher hot boring.

He didn’t even make it into the classroom, however, before someone grabbed hold of his wrist, bringing him to an immediate stop. He turned, a bit confused, to face the stranger touching him. Well, he wasn’t exactly a stranger. Kris recognized him as the one who had been comforting Tao earlier that morning, but he wasn’t sure if Xiumin knew who he was, which made the encounter a bit surprising.

“Yes..?” Kris asked, really looking at him now.

He looked Chinese, more so than himself or Lay, and it threw him off for a moment. He had a round, flat face and chubby cheeks, and his eyes were huge. Like Luhan, Kris couldn’t help but note that he looked so much younger than he was. Had Lay not told him, he would have thought that Xiumin were one of the underclassmen, not about to graduate.

“You’re Lay’s new gege, right?” He asked, looking at Kris very seriously. The younger nodded, though he didn’t really like the way the term was tossed around so carelessly. “And you’re the one who’s going to tutor Tao?”

“Yes.” Kris said, nodding again. The elder let out a heavy sigh.

“Listen.” Xiumin said, finally releasing Kris’s wrist in favor of crossing his arms. “Tao is...he’s very sensitive. It doesn’t take much to make him cry. He wears his emotions right out on his sleeves. Even if he gets frustrated with himself, it can be enough to set him off...so, what I’m trying to say is, if he starts crying don’t panic. Don’t be mean to him or anything, but don’t take it personally if he does get upset.”

“I know he gets upset easily.” Kris said, looking uncomfortable. Why did Xiumin think he was going to care about Tao or his emotions? This was strictly school. “Learning a second language is hard, though. Does he realize what he’s in for?”

“Well...he already speaks two languages.” Xiumin said, biting at his lip for a second. “He was born in China, so-”

“Was everyone in Lay’s group of friends born in China?” Kris asked suddenly, and Xiumin grinned before shaking his head.

“No.” He said. “Only Lay, Tao, and Luhan. The rest of us were born in Korea.”

“Oh.” Kris said, looking away. “But Tao speaks Chinese?”

“Mm. Mandarin.” Xiumin replied. “Why does that matter?”

“The second language is always the hardest.” Kris explained. “For me, it wasn’t as hard, because I was only learning another form of Chinese, and I really didn’t have to learn much of the written language, because the two are similar. English was much harder, because it was completely different, but that made Korean easier, because I already had experience with something so different.”

Xiumin looked surprised, and Kris suddenly felt embarrassed. He’d definitely spent too much time in Canada - he was bragging, now. And he didn’t usually say so much about anything, but his one bit of pride came from his ability to speak so many languages - though he rarely spoke to anyone in any of the languages available to him.

“Does that mean he has an advantage?” Xiumin finally asked, and Kris nodded.

“It means he’ll have more of an idea of what works for him, and what doesn’t.” Kris confirmed, glancing over at his class. Xiumin followed his eyes, then let a small smile grace his face.

“Is that your class? We have it together with Tao and Sehun.” Xiumin informed him absentmindedly. “And Lay, too.”

Kris felt his stomach tighten slightly at that comment. He nodded anyway, though, and followed the elder to the classroom. There were only two open seats: One beside the window, clearly separated from everyone, and one squeezed right into the clump that made up Tao, Lay, and another boy they were talking to - Kris had to assume it was Sehun. He opted for the seat near the window, calmly pretending he didn’t know the four boys whispering to each other at the center of the room.

“Gege!” Lay called out, but Kris ignored it, assuming he was talking to Xiumin. He was wrong. “Kris gege, are you okay?”

Kris looked over at him with a bored expression and nodded before turning to look back out the window, his cheek resting on his palm. A moment later a shadow fell over his desk, and he glanced up with a raised brow at the stranger standing before him. There were so many of them in this place, and he wasn’t sure he could keep up.

“Go sit with your brother.” He said, pointing to the now empty seat in front of Lay. “I think he’s worried about you.”

“I’m fine here.” Kris said, turning back to the window. The stranger sighed.

“Go sit with them.” He prodded, and Kris sighed and nodded, not wanting to cause a scene.

He moved across the room, settling into the seat in front of his didi. Lay smiled at him, but Kris remained blank faced as he flipped open his book. The elder’s lack of response confused the younger - Kris had been...not exactly friendly...but the distance he had been forcing on them seemed to have diminished throughout the day - so why was he suddenly acting this way?

“Gege?” Lay said, leaning forward and tapping Kris’s shoulder. The taller turned his head to see what the other wanted. “Are you mad at me?”

There was a slight wavering to his voice that had Kris turning around completely to make sure the other wasn’t about to start crying. Lay had a slightly vulnerable expression, but he didn’t look ready to begin the waterworks, so Kris relaxed slightly before shaking his head. Lay looked slightly appeased, but he was clearly waiting for something. Kris turned back to his book.

“Kris ge.” Lay said, and Kris sighed.

“Mm?” He grunted, and Lay took his time responding.

“I tried to find you at lunch.” Lay said, and Kris’s eyes froze on the page. He shrugged slightly, as if he were unconcerned by it, but the younger put his hand on his shoulder. “Taemin said you ate by yourself.”

“I didn’t notice.” Kris said, moving his eyes to make it look like he was reading, though he wasn’t absorbing anything. Lay’s fingers twitched slightly.

“Will you-” Lay started to speak, but was cut off by the teacher.

“Wu YiFan?” He called out. Kris looked up, then dog eared his page before closing the book and approaching the teacher.

“I prefer Kris, if you don’t mind.” He said, and the teacher nodded.

“Alright.” He said, holding out a note to the teen. Kris took it with a confused expression. “I know you’re from overseas. Can you read Korean?”

“Yeah.” Kris said, nodding and bowing slightly before returning to his seat. Lay was leaning over his shoulder a moment later.

“What is it?” He asked, his chin on the elder’s shoulder. Kris had to remind himself not to shake the younger off, and instead gave a one sided shrug before unfolding the paper. It was a request for Kris to go to the school therapist’s office during his free period. “I wonder why she wants to see you...”

Kris raised a brow at him, his expression clearly displaying his disbelief. The woman had probably taken one look at his file and decided to take a look at the emotionless freakshow herself. He shook his head, wondering what she would do, what any of the caseworkers or psychiatrists would do, if they knew his defenses had been crumbling since about 3 months before he left Canada.

For once, he was actually feeling things - and he hated it.

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A/N: Sorry this took so long! School is killing me!