The last three weeks of the semester is hell, to put it bluntly. Luhan, being the smart guy that he is, however is unfazed by all the chaos and suffering his friends are going through and breezes through cramming like a pro.

"Sehunah..." He calls out while watching TV inside their apartment. The younger boy doesn't respond so he calls out to him louder this time, "SEHUN-aaaah!!!"

"What?!" Sehun replies from his room (Luhan insisted to keep his door ajar in case Sehun faints from lack of sleep due to studying for the exams), "Sehun-ah, I'm hungry."

"I'm studying so please bother someone else. Probably someone outside our circle of friends because you're the only one smart enough to be relaxed."

Luhan pouts, "Well, Kris is probably the only one as smart as me."

"Well, yeah. And he's probably tutoring HIS BOYFRIEND right now." Sehun glares at Luhan from his bedroom's doorframe before closing and locking himself inside.

"You're a meanie!" Luhan yells at Sehun before gathering his keys and heading outside to buy something to eat.

Luhan is thankful that the cafe he and Sehun frequents is just a ten-minute walk from their apartment because he's seriously hungry and it's rather too early for dinner. He checks his watch, it's only 4:30 in the afternoon and he realizes Sehun hasn't eaten too so he decides that even if the younger was mean, he's not gonna let him starve to death.

The bell chimes when Luhan walks in, he scans the room and if that bell just didn't announce his entrance, he would have ran out and looked for another place to get his food. Luhan sees Tao and Kris in one corner of the cafe, and the blond looks at Luhan for a second, then Tao looks up from his notebook to see where Kris is pointing. The raven-haired boy manages to wave his hand awkwardly at Luhan, Kris smiles and nods and Luhan hates that he's walking towards the couple now as if it's compulsary to be nice to them (to Tao, actually) and at least have the curtsy to greet them both.

"Hi, hyung." Kris starts, "Where's Sehun?"

"Home. He's studying too and I was hungry and he didn't wanna come with me, so I just.. I'm sorry, I'm rambling." Luhan smiles, he's been forced to witness the blooming lovelife of Tao and Kris by their friends for the past weeks now and NO, he's still not comfortable watching Tao be happy with Kris and him be miserable in silence (at least when the couple is around). But, to be fair, he's become more than an acquaintance to Kris now, Luhan would like to believe that he and his god-personified are friends. That's enough, for now. "And hi, TAO."

There's a bite on Tao's name but the youngest tries not to flinch and manages to smile, albeit awkwardly. "Hi, g-gege."

Tao, on his part, can be feeling similar to Luhan as well. It's torturing to be scrutinized under the watchful eye of his angel-faced friend. Or it could be Tao overreacting to Luhan's action's towards him, but he's still honestly scared of the older boy when it comes to his relationship with Kris. 'If only things were simplier.'

"So," Luhan starts as he sits across Kris, "looks like you aren't studying too." The blond smiles and stretches his back before wrapping one arm on Tao's waist, "I do. But I'll tutor him for the first two hours and then the next 2 will be my studying time here alone."

"You're left alone?" Luhan asks, completely ignoring the fact that Tao is just next to Kris (well, to be honest, Tao wants to be invisible right now so he tries his best to study while the two talks). "Well, yeah. It was a bad decision for this week but I insisted. When Tao-er is done reviewing he'll go back to our place to unpack. We haven't finished unpacking yet so our place is a huge mess to study in."

"Wait! Kris-ge! Don't!" Tao bolts up and covers Kris' mouth.

Luhan's eyes widen in shock, while Tao's eyes widen in fear. After a few seconds, Luhan asks, "Our place? Unpacking?"

Kris nods then removes his boyfriend's hand from his mouth, "Yeah. We moved in together yesterday. We live a couple of blocks away from here."

Tao sighs in defeat then buries his face in his palms, not meeting Luhan's gaze. The younger just hears him say goodbye only to Kris, 'Ah, I see. I - I see... Uh, look at the time... I just. I have to... Uh, bye.' and then he hears him walk away.

"Tao-er, is something wrong?" Kris asks, patting his boyfriend's back whose face is still buried in his palms. "I'm fine. Just... Stressed from all these studying."

-----

Luhan doesn't know how he managed to reach their apartment in record time (he doesn't count but he's sure it's less than 10 minutes). He fumbles on the door's lock with his keys and when it opens, he runs towards Sehun's room, "Sehun-ah! Open the door! Open the door!"

"Go away!"

"Open it! Please..." His voice is breaking, just like his heart all over again. Sehun immediately opens it when he hears a soft sob from Luhan, "What happened?!"

Luhan hugs Sehun, clings on the younger's shirt as he cries his heart out, as if all the pain he had to bottle up just so he can please his friends by watching Tao and Kris together has escaped. "Sehunah... Sehunaaaah..."

"Hyung, what's wrong?!"

"... They moved in together..." Luhan almost chokes on his words, and sobs harder wetting Sehun's worn out white shirt.

"Who moved in together? Tao and Kris?"

Luhan pushes himself away and looks at Sehun in rage, "You knew they were moving together?!"

"No. But I know you'll only be this affected if it's them. So, is it them?"

Luhan nods, Sehun wipes the older's tears from his cheek, "I know Tao needed a new roommate since his roommate is transferring schools. I didn't know they were moving in together."

"Aren't they too fast?! They're dating less than a month!" Luhan argues, Sehun sighs, "So? If they aren't a couple and just friends for less than a month and they needed someone to share the rent, would it make a difference?"

"... Why aren't you supportive of me anymore? We're bestfriends..." Luhan pouts, defeated, he starts crying again.

"Hyung..." Sehun scratches the back of his neck, "There are different kinds of bestfriends. The one who supports EVERYTHING you do, and there's the one that will support you AND slap you in the face when you're doing something wrong."

'There's also the one who falls in love with you.' Sehun thought, but Luhan doesn't have to know.

"You're gonna slap me in the face?!"

Sehun smiles as he wipes Luhan's tears away from the older's face, "Not literally."

Finally, Luhan smiles and hugs Sehun tight, "You're amazing. You're awesome. I'll die without you."

Sehun hugs him back, 'I'm already dying while I'm with you.'

-----

It's Friday and exam week is over. It's also finally the day all of them got the time to get together for dinner.

"Finally!!! It's over!" Chanyeol cheers, his voice booming as he walks to their usual table. Baekhyun is next to him while Kris, Tao, Kai and Kyungsoo are already sitting down.

"What's wrong with him?" Baekhyun asks Kris whose boyfriend's face is buried in the crook of the taller's neck.

"He's asleep." Kris smiles, "He hasn't been sleeping properly."

"And how would you know?" Kyungsoo asks while sipping his on his milk tea.

"Oh. Right. We moved in together last week."

"WHAT?!" Their friends ask in unison, waking up Tao in the process, "Huh? What happened...?"

"Hey, Tao-er..." Kris greets his boyfriend and fixes the younger's hair. "I just told them we moved in together."

Tao sighs, facepalms, then looks at the wide-eyed people staring back at them, "Come on, guys. It's not a huge deal. I needed a new roommate and so does he. Kris-ge is even staying for his training and Zhou Mi-ge isn't so the rent will be costly. Really, it's not a big deal." Tao smiles at them, Kai smirks, "You know that it kinda is. I mean, if it's me and Kyungsoo, or these weirdos," Kai gets hit on both shoulders by Chanyeol and Baekhyun, the tanned boy laughs it off, "it wouldn't matter. But, if it's you and Kris-hyung it does!"

"It does?" Kris asks, an eyebrow raised.

Kyungsoo nods, "Does he know?"

"Who knows?" Kris asks again, curiosity killing him.

"He does. Just, I don't know what to do anymore." Tao responds, he shakes his head then picks on the plate of dinner Kris bought.

"Aren't you gonna tell me anything about this?" Kris asks between annoyance and worry, Tao caresses the older's cheek, "At home. Okay? I promise, I'll talk to you about this tonight."

"You mean to tell us you've been dating a month..." Baekhyun starts, "Three weeks. Officially." Tao corrects him and Baekhyun just rolls his eyes, "Alright, 3 weeks, and you haven't told him?"

"I'm here, guys." Kris tells the group, Tao holds his boyfriend's hand from under the table. "I didn't think it's necessary. But, okay. Wow, thanks guys, now after I talk to him about this, we're both gonna be awkward with him."

"Awkward with whom?" Luhan asks as he and Sehun take their seats, Tao shakes his head, "Uh, n-nevermind me, ge."

"We'll be back, okay?" Sehun tells the group as he and Luhan put their bags on their seats then walks to the counter to order their food.

Kris looks at Tao in confusion, he squints his eyes and subtly points at Luhan, "With him?" The older whispers and Tao just smiles timidly. "Why?" Kris asks insistently on hushed tones, Tao glares at his boyfriend. "Right, at home. Yes."

About an hour later, everybody's gathered on their table, some students still wonder how everyone got together as part of this rather peculiar group (for one, they aren't in the same year levels, and most importantly, they have Kris who's just a whole different level of popular compared to the rest of the bunch).

"Hey, Tao?" Yixing calls out, the called boy looks up from his phone, "Yeah?"

"When's your flight back to China? I'm going back too, so I think I'd love to join you."

Tao smiles genuinely, "Awesome! At least my flight won't be boring! I'm leaving in 3 days."

"Perfect!" Yixing and Luhan exclaims at the same time. The group looks at the doe-eyed boy, "...right? Perfect. You're not gonna be alone and Kris won't have to worry about you, right?" Luhan tries to save himself, he grabs onto Sehun's arm just in case he dies of embarrassment (in front of Kris) eventually.

Kris raises an eyebrow, then turns to Yixing, "I will hunt you down if something happens to Tao-er."

"Calm down, bro. I got him." Yixing smiles and gives Kris a thumb's up, as if it's reassuring enough.

Then Tao and Yixing talk about the flight schedules, Kris eating silently next to his boyfriend, Minseok and Jongdae are looking at the brooding blond.

"Hey, Kris." Minseok calls out to get his attention, the jock looks up, "You okay?"

Kris shakes his head, "This is just new to me."

"What's new?" Jongdae asks, the rest of the guys turn all their attention to the conversation, except for Tao and Yixing who are still busy with their plans.

Kris chuckles, "I never had a relationship this quite serious before."

"What do you mean?" Luhan asks, nevermind that this is about Tao, since he's still curious.

"I just..." Kris laughs, Tao rolls his eyes from next to him and moves further a little, he and Yixing are already talking about meeting up even in China.

"I never even thought about living together with my ex. And we were together for 2 years. If you know what I mean..." Kris looks at Tao, "I want him with me all the time, in all my waking days."

"You are brutally cheesy, bro. Ew?" Kai exclaims, Kyungsoo hits him in the arm, "Waaaay to ruin it."

Kris laughs again, "I really, really just want this to last. I want this to be my last."

"We'll help you with that." Sehun tells Kris, Luhan turns to him asking a big 'WHAT!?' inaudibly. The younger just shrugs and turns back to Kris

"Way to go, Sehun!" Chanyeol who's sitting nect to the maknae claps his hand on Sehun's shoulder, "Make sure we win, okay!?"

"Shut it, Chanyeol."

"Chanyeol-hyuuuung!!!" The lanky boy whines, Sehun just rolls his eyes, "You aren't hyung enough for me."

Joonmyun checks his watch, "It's getting late, guys. Let's go home. The beach vacation is still a go, okay? We'll make plans when everybody's back from everywhere."

-----

They all walk separately, Sehun notices the silent treatment Luhan is giving him while on their way back to their place.

"Hyung, something wrong?"

Luhan ignores him and walks ahead of the younger, huffing and puffing as if trying to contain his anger. Sehun just trails from behind, he knows Luhan is at least mature enough to take the impending argument locked inside the corners of their own apartment.

When they reach their home, Luhan heads straight to the bathroom to shower, Sehun waits in his room, hoping Luhan will leave him enough hot water. About 20 minutes later, Luhan steps out of the bathroom, still ignoring his bestfriend. Sehun decides to freshen up first before getting into this civil war.

"What did I do this time?" Sehun asks 15 minutes later (he had to choke down his scream when the water turned cold, thus cutting his shower time in half) while towel-drying his hair.

"What do you mean you'll help Kris with that?! You want to make their relationship last?"

"Yes."

"What? Why?! What about my feelings? What about me and Kris?"

Sehun shakes his head, "THERE IS NO YOU AND KRIS. When are you gonna get that fact over your head?!"

"Ah! I told you, I will make him mine!"

"Then leave me out of it! Can't you see how madly in love Kris is with Tao?! Who in his right mind confesses his inner thoughts about his lovelife to a group of 12 guys?" Sehun is seriously getting tired of hearing about Kris from Luhan, everyday he asks himself when it will ever end, but the older just won't shut up about it.

"Stop making Tao uncomfortable whenever you're around, please. You are turning into a bully, Luhan-hyung. And if you don't stop, I swear I won't be here to watch you transform into someone I don't know, I would NEVER want to know."

"This is just word vomit, Sehun. You don't mean that."

"But I do."

"You don't. I'm your bestfriend and you will stay by my side." Luhan insists, Sehun breathes sharply before turning away and heading straight to his room.

"What are you doing?!" Luhan asks after he follows his bestfriend inside the bedroom and finds him packing his clothes.

"You can't dictate what I should do or who's side I should be on. I'm going back home."

"You're not leaving! You can't leave me! You know you can't!" Luhan stops Sehun from packing by taking out the clothes from the younger's bag.

"Stop it, hyung! You're being a kid!"

"You're not leaving!" Luhan grabs the bag from the bed and throws it on the floor, "You are not leaving. You can ignore me all you want for the rest of the sembreak, forever if you despise me that much but you're staying."

"Watch me." Sehun leaves the bag and just takes his phone, keys and wallet.

"OH SEHUN!"

-----

"You're not even in a relationship but this could be the break up of the century." Kai snickers as he sets up the couch for Sehun's sleepover.

"Shut up Kai, I'd run to Tao's then I remember he and Kris are living together."

"You seem to trust Tao so much." Kai adds as he walks back to his room and come out again with a pair of pajamas and a towel, "He knows you're in love with hyung, huh? Knows as in you confessed unlike us who just insist that you are."

"I guess we're all just part of this mess."

"Right. You're phone's vibrating." Kai looks at the said device shaking on the coffee table, "and it's the love of your life."

" my life. I don't know what to do anymore." Sehun buries his face on the pillow, "I hate this."

"I'm bad with these kind of problems because me and Kyungsoo is a match made in gay heaven." Kai fumbles with his phone, "Let me call back up."

"You will not. Leave me alone. I just needed to stay the night."

Kai smirks, "My place, my couch, my clothes. MY RULES."

-----

"Are we gonna talk about this or not?" Kris asks as he watches Tao pack his bags for China, "you can't hide this from me forever."

"I'm really not sure if you need to know." Tao sighs then turns to Kris, "it's complicated and a bit stupid at the same time."

Kris pulls his boyfriend close, "Tell me and I'll be the judge."

Tao pouts, "I don't want..." Kris cuts him off with a kiss, Tao giggles, "What are you doing?"

"You're just so cute right now. Fine. Let's talk about it when you return from China. No pressure, Tao-er."

"Whatever." Tao pulls Kris closer for another kiss, "I'll miss you, ge."

"Me too." Kris pinches both of Tao's cheeks, "You tell ALL you need to tell me when you get back, okay?"

"I promise." Tao smiles, "You have to promise me one thing because this, I have to tell you now."

"What is it?" Kris asks as he removes his hands from Tao's cheeks and let it rest on his boyfriend's waist.

"It was.. It's scary and risky being with you, and yet I'm here. Please, don't break my heart when I'm gone. It's only two weeks, so please?"

Kris beams and gives Tao a kiss, "I will never."

-----

"Wow, Kai. You outgayed yourself with a slumber party. Really?" Sehun remarks as he finds Kyungsoo, Baekhyun, Yixing and Joonmyun in the living room of Kai's apartment (he's the only son of a rich CEO so he can afford a studio flat w/o a roommate).

"This is not a slumber party. We came to help a friend in crisis." Joonmyun defends himself but sighs in defeat when he finds Baekhyun doing cornrows on Yixing's hair.

"You were saying?" Sehun asks.

Kyungsoo comes out of the kitchen with a bowl of fruits, "Okay, we're ready when you are, Sehun!"

"Ready? Yes. I WAS ready to sleep."

"Really? By the way, hyung called me on my way here. He said you weren't aswering your phone."

Sehun shrugs, "I really just want to rest and I'm gonna leave tomorrow."

"You can stay here as long as you want, bro. I'll be in Busan anyway. JUST, no in my room." Kai offers his pad, "At least I won't have to worry about robbery."

"I don't have any extra money to pay for another rent."

"You don't have to. You just have to tell us the truth and you can use this as your hiding place from Luhan-hyung." Kai smirks as he pulls Kyungsoo close to him. Sehun groans, "WHYYYYY??? Why do you all torture me this way?"

"The question is why do you torture yourself this way? Things could be less complicated if Luhan-hyung knows." Yixing comments and everybody else agrees.

Sehun groans, "You're not ever gonna let me live this down, won't you?"

"Nope." Baekhyun answers without looking up from Yixing's hair. "You don't have to start with how you fell in love with him, that's too much information and we already got the gist of it. Tell us why you're here. All Kai told us was that you walked out of your apartment like those in the movies."

Sehun facepalms.

'Movies. Right. Wouldn't Luhan just love this?