❝I Love You, Kris Wu❞

ღ Chapter 04 ღ

*6 months later* 

Exo K sat in the auditorium of Claire's high school. Today was graduation day and also the day where all the seniors would get their college results. Over the 6 months that had passed, Claire found a passion for acting. Hoping her audition tape and high school report card would land her a spot in Seoul's College of Performing Arts, she applied for it. Her other option was a famous acting school all the way in the states. 

Kai smiled happily as he watched Claire walk up on state. She received her diploma and waved it up in the air. Sehun and Chanyeol clapped loudly as Suho proudly took pictures. Kyungsoo got teary eyed as Baekhyun thumbed her up from afar. Claire's parents sat a few rows back, they took dozens of pictures and clapped loudly. 

Her fellow model friends were also in the crowd, being that she was one of the youngest models under Vogue and Victoria's Secret; the models got teary eyed. It was like watching their little sister graduate. 

Over the course of 6 months, Claire also developed a close friendship with Exo K. Sehun would always bring her out for bubble tea when she was having one of those bad days where she'd miss Kris so badly out of no where. Kai checked up on her and called her all the time to see how she was doing. Suho was like a big brother to her while Kyungsoo always cooked for her whenever she got sick. Chanyeol was her number one resort when she needed and good laugh and Baekhyun was there to judge her acting.

To help with her acting career, Claire met  with a few Youtubers quite a few times to do skits. She was often the lead female role in them, from being happy to sad to angry, Claire did well with all emotions. However, this wasn't it, she had lots to learn. 

Claire walked out of the auditorium to find Exo K, her parents and all her friends. She was showered with bouquets of flowers and gifts. Exo K held them all as she nervously opened the envelope. "Guys...." She took a deep breath before ripping it open. 

"...I..I GOT IN, TO BOTH. MOM I GOT INTO BOTH. DAD! I GOT INTO BOTH OF THEM." She jumped happily. "I HAVE A FULL SCHOLARSHIP TO THE ONE IN THE STATES..." She yelled. 

Kai smiled. "Congrats!" 

Suho slung his arm around her. "I told you you could do it!" 

On the way home, Eunmi walked with her as their parents trailed behind. "I got a package from Jongdae today...Did you get anything?" 

She shook her head. "From Kris? No..." 

Eunmi grinned. "Check." She said before stepping in. "I'll call you!" 

Claire took off her cap and gown and set it down on her bed. "College." She sighed. "The real world." She looked around and noticed a card on her desk. 

"Hey baby...Come to my room." 

She raised her eyebrow. "I'm assuming this is from...Kris?" 

Claire took made her way upstairs in Kris's house. She opened the door to his room. There was a huge box in the corner. She dug into her pocket for a pair of keys. She pried open the box just to have a bunch of Styrofoam come out. There was a huge teddy bear. It had a graduation cap and all. "Congratulations!" Was written on it's stomach. 

Claire chuckled and sat down on the floor as she read all the cards Exo M had written her. She was so distracted she didn't hear Kris open the door. 

"Why are you reading Tao's first? Do you enjoy making me jealous?" 

Claire froze when she heard his voice. She dropped the card and turned around. 

"Hey Claire Bear." 

She stood up and ran into his arms. It wasn't long before she started crying. "Kris...What the hell...why didn't you tell me." She cried. 

Kris hugged her tightly, he didn't want to let go. "I missed you so much, I'm sorry I couldn't make it to your graduation...I got here 10 minutes ago." He explained. "I snuck out...I wanted to see you so badly." He whispered. 

Claire pulled away, her vision was blurry because of all the tears. Kris's lips crashed into her hers.

Claire sat in between Kris's legs as they watched a movie. "When are you leaving?"

"Let's just say, I won't be here tomorrow morning." Kris said. He slipped his arms around her. "I missed you so much you don't even understand." He mumbled. "I had trouble sleeping almost every night because you weren't here with me." He sulked. 

"I'm moving." Claire whispered. 

"What?"

"I'm moving to Los Angeles...I got accepted into a acting school there." She said. 

"We're gonna be 16 hours apart." He said.

"I know...I"m sorry...I didn't think-"

Kris silenced her with a kiss down her neck. "Shush, don't apologize. You need to promise me that, no matter what, you won't fall in love with anyone."

"It's hard to fall in love with anyone else when you exist...How are the girls in China?" She teased.

Kris cringed. "Not my type, I like this girl though, and her name is Claire." 

Play This or This

Claire rested her head on Kris's shoulder. He had his arm around her. She feared falling asleep because she knew that once she woke up, Kris wouldn't be there. She clung onto his shirt like she always would. Kris watched her until she fell asleep. He held in his tears until Claire was in a deep slumber. 

His eyes teared up and his throat burned from holding in the cries. The way she'd hold onto him lead a bunch of memories through his head. Kris looked at the time, he had to leave in a few hours and he wasn't ready. Was this the right decision? Going to China to pursue his dreams...Was this right? He didn't know if he could keep this up for another 3 years. He didn't know if he could do it.

He hugged Claire tightly, he didn't care if his tears made the back of her shirt damp. Kris didn't care if crying was unmanly. Being separated from Claire killed him inside more and more each day. He didn't realize how much he needed her until today. His phone vibrated in his pocket, he had set an alarm to remind him that he had to go back. 

He slipped out of bed and knelt beside her. His missed her sleeping face so much. Kris stared for a few minutes before getting up. He grabbed his car keys and left. 

Kris went for a drive, the highways were dark and no one was there at this time of day. He drove fast and let his tears flow. How is Claire doing? Will she be okay? Can she wait another 3 years? Will she forget about me and find someone else? Does she still love Kai? A bunch of questions floated around in his head. 

He got back to the dorm at around 5 in the morning. Chen had just gotten back to visiting Eunmi and he looked exhuasted whereas Kris's eyes were puffy from crying. 

"Hey guys..."

"Oh Kris." Tao pointed to his eyes. "Were you..."

"Shut up." Kris grumbled. "I miss her."

Claire woke up next day tangled in Kris's blankets. She looked around and just like she expected, Kris was gone. 

She hugged her knees. "He left." Claire whispered. 

✎Author's note 

❝Sneak Peek:

Claire looked up when she heard the warm and friendly voice. "Hi...I'm Joseph...Joseph Thao. I'm guessing you're Claire? Nice to meet you. I'm gonna be your roommate from now on."

So this is what Kris was scared of...❞