A/N: Title taken from the song of the same name by Steps

Today was going to be far from ordinary.

Really, Luhan and Xiumin should have realized it the moment they reached Kris’s house so that they could all head to school together. Kris owned a car, courtesy of his relatives from Canadian, but barely used it, opting instead to walk to school or take the public transport with his best friends and since his house was closest to the school, it was the agreed meeting place. Kris had always been someone who was punctual, hating to be the cause of delay… which did not explain why he wasn’t waiting outside like he normally did. The two had easily reasoned that something else had caused his delay. Maybe he ran out of shampoo. Maybe his alarm clock was lagging because the batteries were weak.

Or maybe he really did just oversleep.

They were beginning to think that oversleeping was probably the answer when a good ten minutes had already passed and there were still no signs of Kris. Grumbling under his breath about how he didn’t want to be late for the first time ever, Xiumin had marched up to the front door, ready to bang on it when it suddenly swung open

And in a blink of an eye, two jaws looked like they were going to hit the floor.

Kris paused in the midst of locking up his house when he noticed the looks they were giving him. “What?”

“I… Uh…” Xiumin widened his eyes, wondering if he was just seeing things. “Your…”

“What he’s trying to say is that you’re later than usual.” Luhan subtly stepped on Xiumin’s foot, ignoring him when he glared. “I thought we’re going to be late.”

The tallest of the trio snorted, double checking if the doors are locked. “It’s still really early.”

The two merely shrugged in reply and Kris took it as his cue to lead the way to the nearby bus stop. As they stared at his departing back, Xiumin and Luhan couldn’t help but exchange twin incredulous looks and they had every right to do so. Kris had always been, no pun intended, a man in black. He was clad in black from head to toe; something that they knew was because of his mourning for his family. Sure, from what they saw from childhood photos, he wasn’t the type to wear yellow or orange to begin with but at least he wore reds and greens and grays. His preference to black clothing was something that they had always taken as a sign… a sign of the many barriers that he had built around him.

But today was really far from ordinary.

They realized that now.

Because Kris was wearing a blue shirt.

It wasn’t really a typical shade of blue; more like a shade of blue that was bordering on black. It was that shade of blue that would look like black at first glance but when you take a good look at it, it was still blue. It was the only thing out of the ordinary in his outfit; his dark washed jeans and his Topsider were both black. It puzzled Luhan and Xiumin greatly because it had been a long time since Kris had worn something that wasn’t black.

“Hey!” Kris yelled a couple of meters away from them. “Are you two going to just stand there or are we going to go to school?”

Xiumin and Luhan exchanged a look again. They were stunned to say the least. Not really saying anything in reply, the two caught up after their best friend; the awkward silence reigning for a while. Quietly and inconspicuously, the two debated on asking Kris about the sudden change in style, going as far as to even play rock paper scissors behind Kris. Xiumin grumbled under his breath when he lost, clearing his throat as his exchanged a fleeting look with Luhan.

“Uh… Kris?”

“Yeah?”

“Err…” A beat passed. “Why are you wearing a blue shirt?”

Kris paused in mid-step and his two friends flinched, anticipating a faceoff with one of his many grumpier sides. What they didn’t expect was for a look of wonder to cross his usually stoic face, a clear indication that even he was wondering why. But what with Kris being Kris, the look disappeared as quickly as it showed and he continued to walk.

“I ran out of shirts.”

Xiumin snorted, opening his mouth to call out a lie but a pointed look from Luhan stopped him; the two silently following Kris’s lead. It was obvious enough that, though seemingly insignificant, the change of shirt color meant something. They knew that and they were sure Kris recognized it too. For so long, black had, in a way, defined Kris, became synonymous to him. But now, he had chosen a color that looked black at first glance but at a closer look, it was actually blue. They were pretty sure it reflected Kris somehow. What changed then?

It was in silence that they boarded the bus and it stretched all the way to school. It really didn’t surprise Luhan and Xiumin when people openly stared and whispered amongst themselves as soon as they saw Kris’s new ‘look’. If it bothered him, he really didn’t show; his face as impassive as normal though the corner of his eye would twitch in annoyance every now and then. Kris had always been the mysterious guy in black for everyone and no matter how the shade of blue of the shirt was close enough, everyone still noticed the difference.

“There you are!”

A voice that was so familiar to them exclaimed as soon as they entered the hallway and a locker door soon closed, revealing Sooyoung. If the reaction that Kris had garnered on their way outside was amusing, Luhan and Xiumin found the look on Sooyoung’s face to be just plain priceless. Sooyoung had trouble concealing her surprise; her eyes wide and jaw nearly hitting the floor. And she stayed that way a moment or two longer than she probably would’ve liked; so much so that Kris grew self-conscious under her stare.

Kris made a face. “Is there something on my face or what?”

Fortunately, Sooyoung snapped out of her trance quickly and shook her head. “I was looking for you. Do you want to change anything with our thesis statement or can I write it down on the index card already?”

“I think it’s good.” He answered honestly; the now group of four walking once more. “I think Mr. Kim’s going to approve it right away.”

“Really?” An eyebrow arched. “You really think so?”

“Well, you came up with most of it. It’s perfect.”

If it was at all possible, Xiumin and Luhan blinked in unison at Kris’s reply. Did he just… compliment her so o