“…. You didn’t return my calls last night.” Minji said, sipping her tea slowly.

It was after practice and all Luhan wanted to do was enjoy a relaxing coffee so he hesitated before indulging his girlfriend’s whining. He didn’t want a scene in the middle of the campus coffee shop, so he responded quickly with, “It was initiation night, no cellphones allowed.”

Minji seemed dissatisfied by the answer. “Oh, that’s why your team was all hyped up today. But, why didn’t you return my text after?” She demanded, her eyebrows furrowing in discontent.

Luhan felt under attack and it was essentially an ambush. He had been nothing but attentive and engaged in their relationship lately; it had been exhausting.

“Stop it, Min. I was tired. I went to bed. It was nothing personal.” Luhan snapped, getting defensive.

“Don’t you dare, Luhan. I won’t ‘stop’. I care about you and mostly I care about us. You’ve been distant lately and it tears me apart. Especially when I see how much you care about that soccer team. It’s like you’re more interested in them than you are in me.” She spat, her fingernails curling under her hands like they were becoming claws.

“That’s because I do care about them! You never have respected my friendships with my teammates.” He retorted, slamming his hands down onto the table.

The table shook between them as the tension filled silence settled. Luhan glared at Minji, resentment reining his every breath.

---

In the middle of the silence, Sehun, Kai and Kyungsoo entered the coffee shop, without noticing the arguing couple.

“That practice was brutal. Everything hurts.” Sehun complained, rubbing his head.

Kai laughed before reminding him, “Sehunnie, you ran into a goal post last night. I think that’s more what it’s about. Xiumin ran us pretty easy today compared to normal.”

Kyungsoo giggled at Kai’s remark before being entranced by the baked goods that the glass case held. He pressed his little nose to it and his salivary glands went wild.

“Anything look good?” Kai teased, crouching down to Kyungsoo’s level.

Kyungsoo’s eyes shimmered with wonderment before he murmured, “Everything.”

It was Sehun’s turn to have a chuckle as he shook his head at his friend.

“Can I take your order?” The barista, a girl with a bright smile, asked.

 Sehun was surprised by her spritely manners, but responded, “I’ll have a chai tea latte. I’m not sure what these two crazy guys want.”

He gestured to Kai and Kyungsoo to give the girl reference. She winced sympathetically for Sehun; her patience helped keep his own in check.

“I’d like a non-fat Americano misto, please.” Kai said, sweetly, standing up straight.

“Kyungie, what d’ya want?” Sehun asked.

“Hot chocolate and a chocolate croissant.” The boy muttered, mesmerized still by the food.

“What he said but with please at the end.” Sehun translated to the barista. She nodded in understanding. Kai laughed and Kyungsoo pouted stubbornly.

“That’ll be six dollars.” She said and Sehun pulled out his wallet.

But before he could pay, Kai had the cash out on the counter.

“You can pay next time! I want to treat the initiation annihilator and the best cheerleader in the world.” Kai explained defensively.

Sehun just shrugged. Kyungsoo, on the other hand, gave Kai a quick hug. It was so swift that if Kai didn’t have the tingling sensation remaining on his skin, he would’ve thought that he only imagined it.

“Thanks Kai.” Kyungsoo piped up before rushing over to where the orders came out.

Sehun smirked at the smitten look on Kai’s face. He gave the goalie a supportive pat on the back in passing as he joined Kyungsoo to wait for their drinks.

“So, Kyungsoo, that was quite the hug you just gave Mr. Kim Jongin.” Sehun said, wiggling his eyebrows.

Kyungsoo’s mouth just dropped open in horror. “Don’t you even suggest a thing like that, Sehun. Especially not when Kai is within a metre of us.” Kyungsoo objected, punching Sehun in the arm.

“He’s still paying. Chill out.” Sehun muttered, rolling his eyes at his friend. Kai was chatting with the girl and Sehun swore he saw a flash of jealousy in the little cheerleader’s eyes.

“You know I hate it when you say that and you hate it too.” Kyungsoo grumbled, crossing his arms defensively.

Kai walked over, finally done paying, and raised an eyebrow at Sehun when he saw Kyungsoo.

 “What did you do?” Kai asked Sehun.

“Nothing!” Sehun objected, holding his hands up to prove his innocence.

Kyungsoo only looked happy again when their order came out.

Back at the table, the tension was putting a strain on Luhan and Minji’s coffee date.

“I don’t know if I can do this anymore, Luhan.” Minji muttered, staring down at her coffee cup.

Luhan sighed, realizing that a chapter of his life was coming to an end before his eyes. The part that shocked him was that he didn’t really care; he wasn’t afraid of the changes that were to come, frankly, they excited him. Some were even already in motion…

“I think that I’d have to agree.” Luhan admitted, solemnly. He reached a hand over to Minji and she took it, like always.

They were caught in a routine that both of them were afraid to break, but for their sanity, they needed to. They owed it to each other as best friends to end their misery. They didn’t work and that was just that.

“This has been growing for awhile, Luhan, and you have to know that I do love you. But I don’t think I meant to love you romantically anymore, I think we’ll just have to be friends.” She stated, fresh tears in her eyes.

Luhan’s heart crumpled as her tears fell. Minji would always be his best friend; he just couldn’t lie to her any longer and neither could she.

“That sounds perfect to me.” Luhan responded, using his thumbs to gently wipe the tears from her brown eyes.

It was such a relief to be free of the deceit that had been driving him for the last couple months.  He had feared that they were on such different pages but if he had just talked to her in the first place, their torment would never have been so prolonged.

“Good. Well, then, I need you to be honest with me.” Minji said, her sadness dissipating and a new found excitement was in her eyes. It scared Luhan. He suddenly felt very vulnerable.

“Okay…” He mumbled, afraid of what was coming.

She smirked, “Oh, calm down, you. It’s just a question.”

“JUST ASK ME!” He whisper-screamed, the anxiety taking hold of him entirely.

A flicker of mischief danced in her eyes before she asked: “Do you have feelings for S-“

“Hi guys!” Sehun greeted, smiling brightly at the couple, or the two people he thought were still a couple.

“Oh, hey, Sehun.” Luhan said, distractedly. He desperately wanted to know Minji’s question but now he would have to wait even longer.

Kyungsoo and Kai walked up to the table as well. Kyungsoo was munching on a chocolate croissant that had covered his face in chocolate. Minji giggled at the mess on Kyungsoo’s face and he openly scowled at her.

“Sorry, you’re just too cute.” She explained. Her tone was nothing but appreciative instead of patronizing as Kyungsoo had expected it to be.

Okay, maybe I can tolerate this girl, Kyungsoo thought, and went back to chowing down on his snack.

“Isn’t he though? Kai, don’t you think so too?” Sehun teased making Kai blush like a mad man.

Luhan was missing quite a lot because he was so caught up in his thoughts.

What the hell had Minji been asking him? Who did she think he had feelings for? Sohee? Sae Ra? Sunhwa… wait, he didn’t know anybody named Sunhwa… Seo Eun??

“I think Mr. Captain is currently on a different planet.” Kai said, pointing everyone’s attention away from him and toward Luhan.

Sehun reached down and waved his hand in front of Luhan’s face. Sehun could see Luhan pulled away from his thoughts and back into reality. Luhan’s breath hitched when he realized how close Sehun and his own face were to each other.

“Oh, …” Luhan stammered. S… for Sehun.

Minji just grinned knowingly, her predictions now beautifully confirmed.

A/N Thank you to all the people who sent me support for the last chapter! I really hope I didn't ruin your reading with my dramatics!!! But seriously, it means the world to me that people actually care! And just to reiterate, this fanfic is top on my priority list, mainly because it is my most popular, so this will be the last thing I take a break from. Hopefully I can keep you updated as I go in and out of hospital!! Thank you all again *mwah* *sends cookie and hug*

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