11: Wait & Hope

Tao was beginning to question his purpose in life as he leaned against the counter at the Black Pearl Shop. Kris was practically best buds with his father now, and Tao wasn’t sure if he should be happy or pissed that the idiot had wormed his way into his family overnight.

After having a long talk with his father a few days prior, Tao felt lighter and less pressured by his father’s presence. So far they hadn’t argued or snapped at each other in days (minus a mild disagreement here or there), and although Tao had yet to admit it, he knew he had Kris to thank for it.

“Well there’s a look I’ve never seen you make before!” Luhan leaned onto the counter next to Tao and nudged his shoulder. “What’s got you thinking so hard, Taozi?”

Tao straightened his back, quickly busying himself with organizing a random rack next to the register. “Stupid idiot surfer invading every damn thing thinking he knows it all and stealing all the attention," he grumbled under his breath, "What about me? Nobody cares what Tao thinks or has to say. Oh no. ‘Cause that would just make sense. The next time I see that I’m going to squeeze his neck til his eyeballs pop out of his stupid freaking head. Haha… that’s a pleasant thought.”

Luhan stood off to the side, slack-jawed as Tao continued his incoherent rambling. “Well okay then. I’ll just leave you to it. Try not to scribble apocalyptic drawings on the walls. M-kay?” Tao looked up, only catching the very beginning of what Luhan had said, before going about his business.

Luhan his heel to leave and jumped when he saw Sehun standing on the other side of the counter. The kid was expressionless as he threw an M&M at Luhan’s head. It hit its mark with a pop! “Goddammit, Sehun!” yelled Luhan, rubbing the red spot on his forehead, “That hurt!”

“Payback’s a ,” replied Sehun, reaching into the candy bag for more M&M’s to toss into his mouth.

“Payback?” Tao snapped out of his trance, his interest suddenly piqued. He took note of Sehun’s stiff posture and lethargic movements. “Did Luhan finally kick your or something?”

Luhan snorted so loudly that it echoed off of the walls. “Something like that,” Luhan replied, shaking his head. The shop fell silent as a heavy uneasiness settled over them. Tao’s eyes narrowed into suspicious slits. Something was going on because his two friends were never this quiet.

“JUST WHAT IN THE HELL IS THIS PLACE!” Tao roared, throwing his arms into the air. “NOTHING IS NORMAL ABOUT THIS DAMN SURF SHOP!”

“Tao calm down.” Luhan gaped at his employee.

“I AM CALM!” barked Tao.

Sehun made a funny grunting noise in the back of his throat. “And you’re doing a fantastic job,” he supplied.

Tao chose to ignore that comment. “FIRST KRIS. AND NOW, YOU GUYS! I AM CONVINCED THIS PLACE WAS BUILT BY SATAN!” He pounded a fist onto the counter as if to finalize his point. Luhan and Sehun merely watched as their friend lost his marbles one by one.

“Um… Tao?” Luhan cleared his throat, “Why don’t you take the rest of the day off?”

“Yeah. And go change your tampon while you're at it.” Sehun smirked before popping a blue M&M into his mouth.

Luhan smacked Sehun on the side of the head. “Would you shut up!” he sneered through clenched teeth, “You’re gonna make things worse!”

Sehun shrugged off the abuse and rolled his eyes. “Whatever.”

“I’m fine!” Tao ran a hand through his hair. “I just… need to think.”

Luhan nodded, reaching over to pat Tao’s back. “I know. Which is why you should take the rest of the day off. I was thinking about closing up early anyway.”

“Really? Are you sure?”

“Yeah.”

“Won’t it hurt business?”

“Nah,” Luhan waved it off, “It’s been a slow day. I’ll just put a sign on the door before Sehun and I leave.”

Tao sighed. Luhan had been working him nonstop for the past couple of days. Plus he’d had to suffer through another one of Kris’ surfing lessons as the what-not-to-do surfing model (which had resulted in yet another mouthful of sand). Tao was also scheduled to help Kris prepare for the upcoming competitions, which meant they’d be spending a lot more time together. Tao had a sneaking suspicion that was the real reason for his wrecked nerves.

“Um…” Tao shifted from foot to foot, “Th-Thanks.” Luhan raised a brow at that, because it wasn’t in Tao’s nature to show gratitude.

“Yeeaaaah. You need to go home and chill for a while. Go go go go go! I’ll call you when I need you to come in again.”

“Right.” Tao walked out from behind the counter, shoulders slumped, and made his way toward the side exit. “You’ll have to call my house. I still haven’t replaced my cell yet.”

“Sure thing, Taozi. Now get your out of here before I kick you out.”

Tao laughed at that before flashing Sehun the bird. “And that was for the tampon comment you ing .” Then he exited the surf shop, grabbed his bike, and pedaled towards home, grateful for the ocean breeze which soothingly at his tanned skin.


-


He had the entire house to himself when he got home. Tao made a point to stay occupied with various activities. He fixed a quick dinner (aka sandwich), did his laundry (and maybe some of his dad’s too), and channel surfed for over an hour. All the while, Tao kept thinking about Kris. He didn’t know what his feelings were for the surfer, and to top it all off, didn’t know how to classify their friendship either. He spent nearly all afternoon trying to figure it out.

10 p.m. rolled around with a call from his father who stated that he’d be working late (something about meeting deadlines or whatever). Later that night, Tao took a shower and listened to music in bed until his eyes started to droop, then curled into the blankets and closed his eyes. He was exhausted, but the day could’ve been a lot worse had Kris been around. Thankfully, the surfer had taken a boat over to the next island to personally register for an upcoming competition, the last of the remaining two before the final showdown at Maverick’s.

Tao buried his head into the pillow when he realized that he was thinking about Kris again. At the beginning of the summer, he would’ve been thinking about how much of an Kris was and plotting various creative ways to end the idiot for good. However, as of late Tao’s thoughts had been venturing towards more dangerous territory.

He wondered what Kris would think if he knew he'd been surfing by myself in the mornings. Did Kris surf every morning before work with that stupid grin on his face? Was he really that good of a surfer? Tao had only ever seen him surf while teaching someone. How did his dad die anyway? Maybe Tao should ask him? Or maybe not. He probably wouldn't want to talk about it. And so Tao remained in bed, tossing and turning and thinking about Kris til it nearly drove him insane.

Tap.

Tao blinked at the moonlight shining in through his bedroom window.

Tap. Tap.

He sat up in bed. Something was making noise outside of his window.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

There was no way in hell.

Tao threw his blankets to the side and got out of bed, blanching when he looked out the window to discover Kris throwing a handful of rocks at his window. Tao yanked up the window with a huff. "Just what in the hell do you think you're doing?" he rasped, trying his best to be quiet, because his dad's car was in the driveway.

Kris waved eagerly. “I’m coming up!” he whispered back.

“What? No! Go away!”

Kris ignored Tao as he walked to the side of the house, looking this way and that for a place to crawl up. He hopped onto the bottom ledge of one of the first story windows and reached over to grasp the drain pipe. As soon as he tried to hoist himself up, the pipe pulled away from the wall with a loud squeak.

“Oh my god! You’re destroying my house!” whined Tao, “Go to the back door! I’ll meet you down there!” He abandoned his post at the window and tiptoed downstairs, careful to be quiet so he wouldn’t wake up his dad. Kris was already at the back door waiting, hair ruffled and smile bright. Tao opened the door slowly. “What are you doing?” he asked with a glare that could set a palms trees aflame.

“I wanted to tell you about today,” replied Kris, eyes alight with excitement as he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

Tao was taken aback by Kris’ demeanor but quickly gathered his wits so he could sneak him upstairs. Once inside the confines of his room, Tao walked past Kris and shut the window. “This couldn’t wait until tomorrow?”

“No,” replied Kris, still grinning. His clothes were wrinkled, hair windblown, and skin lightly flushed from sun exposure. “I signed up for the competition today!” he beamed before flopping back onto Tao’s bed.

“You told me that already.” Tao wormed his way onto the bed, kicking and pushing Kris with his feet in order to make room for himself.

“Yeah, I know. Guess I’m just excited.” Kris readjusted his position to leave more room for Tao before folding his arms behind his head and kicking his sandals onto the floor.

Tao scrunched up his nose, choosing to ignore the fact that they were on the same bed together. “Well good for you. Now go away. I was trying to sleep.” Tao yanked the blankets out from under Kris, curled into them and faced the wall with a huff.

Kris chuckled under his breath while poking Tao’s head through the blankets. “What’s the point in sleeping when we have to wake up in a few hours anyway?”

“First off, what is this ‘we’ you’re talking about. And second, who the actually wakes up that early?”

“From what Luhan’s told me, you do apparently.”

“That ing traitor!” Tao rolled over to face Kris, blood sizzling over Luhan’s betrayal.

“Why didn’t you tell me? I could’ve gone with you. Gave you some pointers or something.”

“I knew everyone would give me about it if they found out.” Tao took note of the Kris' grin and smacked him in the chest. “What?” he snapped a bit too loudly, “Gonna rub it in now?”

Kris’ smile slipped into a frown. “No. I just… thought you’d tell me is all.”

The surfer’s obvious disappointment doused Tao’s anger immediately, and with much dissatisfaction, Tao realized he actually felt about keeping a secret from Kris. “W-Well… I…” he fumbled for an excuse.

“Relax, Taozi.” Kris rolled onto his side and ruffled Tao’s bangs with his fingertips. “We’ll get plenty of surfing done in the morning since you promised you’d help me.”

“I still have yet to understand exactly how I’m supposed to help you.”

“You’ll see.”

“Gee… that’s so encouraging.”

Kris smiled, untucked a corner of the blanket, pulled it loose, and tossed it over his body. They stared at each other under the blanket for several seconds, moonlight casting a faint glow through the fabric until Tao launched into a fit. “Get out you idiot!”

Kris ignored the mini temper tantrum, threw an arm over Tao’s waist and pulled him closer. “Just shut up and go to sleep. We only have a few hours left to sleep.”

Tao’s entire body tensed. This was the closest they’d been to each other since the kissing incident, and just as he’d predicted, the heat of Kris’ skin made his pulse gallop like a racehorse. “I hate you,” he muttered, relaxing into Kris’ embrace. Tao could claim he hated a lot of things, but the one thing he couldn’t hate was how peaceful he felt while wrapped in Kris’ arms.

“Well I like you,” whispered Kris, chin settled atop Tao's shampoo-scented hair, “So just get over it.”

Instead of the usual fiery retort, Tao made a small noise of contentment in the back of his throat, and without thinking, re-positioned his head so that his nose was buried into the fabric of Kris’ shirt.

Kris sighed happily and closed his eyes. At least he’d managed to do something right, because going to sleep with Tao was probably the best thing in the world. Maybe even better than surfing. Which was saying a lot.


-

Tao woke up to persistent knocking on his bedroom door. “Tao! It’s time to wake up!” called his father from the hallway. Tao jolted awake. Kris’ heavy carcass was draped across his body. At some point during the night, their legs had tangled and Kris had rested his head in the crook between Tao’s shoulder and neck. Hot breath tickled his skin and sent a shiver rolling down his spine. “Tao? Hurry up and open the door. I have something I need to give you before I leave for work.”

“C-Coming!” breathed Tao as he pushed Kris with all of his might. The still sleeping surfer rolled off the bed and onto the floor with a loud thunk!

“What was that? Are you okay?” The door knob jiggled. Tao started to panic when Kris groaned.

“I’m fine! Just… give me a minute!”

“What are y--” Kris was cut off by a hand slapping his mouth shut.

“Hide you idiot!” Tao sneered through his teeth as he attempted not to notice how Kris’ hair stuck out in various directions. Regretfully, he found it sort of cute.

“Wha--?” Kris slurred, still unable to fully register the situation.

“Don’t ask questions and just do it!” When Kris stood, Tao pushed him to the tiny closet and shoved him inside. After hiding Kris away, he opened the bedroom door, making sure to keep a hold of the doorknob while he leaned against the door frame. “What’s up?” he asked with a forced smile.

Mr. Huang gave Tao an odd look because his son definitely wasn’t a morning person. “Sorry I didn’t get around to it sooner but… here.” He shoved a box into Tao’s hands. Suddenly, there was a loud noise within Tao’s bedroom which was followed by a muffled crash.

Mr. Huang craned his neck for a glimpse over Tao’s shoulder. “What was that?”

“Oh! That?” Tao laughed nervously, “My closet is a wreck and I need to clean it. I think I shoved way too much crap in there.” He waved off the incident before studying his father’s gift. “The newest model?” he asked disbelievingly.

Mr. Huang scratched the back of his neck. “Your mother’s always talking about how you’re into all of the newest technology, so I figured I’d splurge a little and get you something nice.”

Tao didn’t know what to say. His dad had done a pretty good job of picking out a phone. “Um… thanks.” He cleared his throat and nodded awkwardly. Thankfully, Mr. Huang seemed to take the hint.

“Right. Well, I’ll just leave you to it then. Be home by 8pm? I was going to order pizza tonight.”

“PIZZA!” exploded a voice from Tao’s closet. Mr. Huang jumped in surprise, but before he had a chance to ask about it, Tao slammed the door in his face.

“Sounds great dad, see you later!” Tao pressed an ear to the door. He didn’t relax til he heard his father’s retreating footsteps, followed by the slam of the door downstairs. Then he stomped over to the closet and flung open the door. “ARE YOU ING STU--”

“I swear the closet started it first.” Kris was scrunched up in the bottom of the closet. The pole which held the hangers had fallen, covering him in a tangled mess of designer clothes and accessories.

Tao closed his eyes and took a deep calming breath. “Get out before I decide to lock you in there.”

Kris was smart enough not to say anything as he twisted and crawled his way out of the closet. He peeled a t-shirt and belt off of his shoulder before gingerly placing them on top of the pile in the closet. “Sorry, I--”

Tao held up a hand. “Just… no. I’ll deal with this later.” He kicked several stray articles of clothing back into the closet and pushed the door shut.

Kris changed the subject. “Hey, what’s that?” He pointed at the box in Tao’s hands.

“A new phone, because unlike somebody, my dad realizes how much I actually need one.” Tao walked past Kris, sat on the edge of the bed, and started pulling out the box’s contents.

“Are you always this cranky when you first wake up?” Kris leaned against the wall by the window. Even though it was still dark outside, his grin lit up the entire room, a fact that Tao was less than happy to discover so early in the morning.

“No. Just when I get stuck sleeping next to an ugly sasquatch who destroys my closet and makes my sheets smell like coconuts.” Tao paused at that, freshly unwrapped phone in hand, before continuing with his task like he hadn’t just admitted to something really embarrassing.

“Coconuts?” asked Kris with a cocky grin.

“Yeah. So?” Tao tried to brush it off but felt Kris' eyes digging into the side of his head. “OKAY, FINE! SO YOU SMELL NICE. BIG ING DEAL. YOU SHOULD BE THANKFUL THAT I’M EVEN GIVING YOU A COMPLIMENT BECAUSE EVERYTHING ELSE ABOUT YOU !”

Kris erupted into laughter before plopping into the spot next to Tao. “See, this is why I like you.”

“AND STOP SAYING THAT!”

Kris's brow furrowed as he took on a more serious tone. “Why? Does it make you nervous?”

Tao scoffed at the other’s presumptions. “Wh-What?”

“Don’t be so shocked. If it makes you feel any better, it makes me nervous too.”

It was difficult for Tao to muster up a witty retort when he was being looked at so intensely, like Kris was trying to convey some secret message. It made Tao’s heart beat really fast. “I don’t know what you mean,” he whispered, clenching his new phone tightly.

Kris smiled softly as he ruffled Tao’s bangs, allowing his fingertips to linger there a beat longer than usual. “I know you don’t,” he sighed, “But you’ll figure it out soon enough.”

It’d taken Kris quite a while to figure everything out. All he’d thought about on his way back to the island was how much he wanted to see Tao just so he could tell him about the competition. Kris was even more excited to begin his training, simply because Tao had promised to help. And there were only so many Tao-this’s and Tao-that’s required before the truth could no longer be dodged.

Kris had his epiphany on the boat ride back home, right at the tail end of sunset. Perhaps it was because he’d met Tao at a similar time, when the sun had cast beautiful amber hues across sparkling ocean water. Or maybe it was because his heart always thumped wildly whenever he remembered the press of Tao’s lips against his own, sweet and salty and devastatingly warm.

And so Kris’ conclusion was this: He liked Tao much more than he had when they'd first met. He liked him far more than surfing and teaching and drinking beer outside of Luhan’s surf shop. But most importantly, he liked Tao as more than just a friend. But Tao was too blind to see it. Kris didn’t have much to work with, and he wasn't sure if it'd work out in the end either, but he was willing to wait and hope for the best.

And for the time being, that was more than enough.