"Wake up, Kai. Your friend Baekhyun is here."

At the urging of his mother's soft voice, the wavy-haired, dry-eyed Kai pushed himself upward and let his covers gather at his waist. He held up a hand as confirmation of his awakened state, and to get her to stop calling his name.

"I'm up," he said almost incoherently. He wobbled on his mattress and his mom smiled at him.

"I would have woken you sooner, but it's a Sunday and I didn't know he'd be coming by," she explained. She had noticed that he seemed shaken when he came home out of the rain the night before and she wasn't against letting her son have some much-needed rest. As such, she let him sleep in past nine a.m. and only woke him when his friend came by. Later, Kai would be sincerely grateful.

"It's fine," Kai told the aging woman, patting one of her hands as they rested on his covers. "Thank you." She nodded and said you're welcome before standing and letting him step out of his bed.

"Baekhyun's downstairs. Don't make him wait long!" she called as she left the room with a smile. Staring after her, Kai regained his energy and gave a small chuckle. Then he went about his room, grabbing some clean clothes to wear and fixing himself up in the mirror. As he looked at his reflection and combed his hair, the memories of last night came back to him.

The childish argument, the teleportation, and the awkward way he and Sehun had acted once he got back home... Those things were the source of the uneasy feeling sitting in Kai's chest. Looking back on how he'd blown up in Sehun's face about how distanced they had been lately, he could only hope that he hadn't made the rough patch in their relationship even coarser.

'I shouldn't be thinking about that right now,' he told himself with a shake of his head, 'Baekhyun's waiting. I need to relax.' After one final glance in the mirror, Kai made the trip downstairs clad in an off-white shirt, dark navy blazer, and black twill pants with a pair of black loafers in hand. While he wasn't exactly a showy person, he tried to look a little more than just decent most of the time. As it happened, nice clothes and lazy, thrown-together looked good on him, but he and his friends preferred to go just this side of fancy.

Downstairs, the same could be said for Baekhyun. Kai came down to see his friend looking at home on the family sofa in a graphic tee with an ed vest over it, plus a pair of black designer jeans. In his hands was a red beanie and his red high-tops were set by the door. Baekhyun's eyes lit up when he saw Kai, and the expression along with his outfit made him look both like a male model and a little boy. As the older boy scrambled to his feet and said his excited thank you's goodbyes to Kai's parents, Kai determined that Baekhyun was indeed more like a child.

"We'll be back soon," Baekhyun vowed as he backed towards the door. He and Kai slipped on their shoes and went on their way, but not before Kai thanked his parents for the permission to leave.

Once the door was closed behind them, Baekhyun let out a sigh. "I've been trying to unwind and hang out with everyone while I've got time, but it's been hard!"

"What are you talking about? It's almost summer break- what's the rush?" Kai raised an eyebrow as they walked along the sidewalk. Baekhyun crammed his hands in his pockets and scrunched up his nose.

"It doesn't feel like summer," he said, "but at the same time, it does. I don't know, university is different from high school, you know? I'm trying to even out my friend time and my book time before I really have to crack down."

"I know how you feel," Kai told him with a laugh. "But the high school seniors have it hard, too. I was surprised I got Sehun to come over yesterday will all the studying he's got to be doing." He was smiling when he first started talking, but that one memory flashed in his head again and he fell quiet and blank-faced. Baekhyun didn't notice and kept chatting away.

"Ah, that kid!" Baekhyun laughed, "I bet he gets it now- all the stuff you said before you graduated last year. And he'll have to do the college entrance exams just like we did. But that's in November, and it's only the beginning of June now." As they entered a park and spied some benches, Baekhyun's words began to slow down. "The weather sure has been weird, though... It's had the strangest effect on me." They sat down and now it was his turn to get all quiet.

"What do you mean?" Kai asked, looking at his friend sideways. Baekhyun flicked his eyes in Kai's direction and began to laugh stiffly.

"Aha... haha," he croaked, "I don't know if you'd believe me, man!"

There was a glint in Kai's eye when he said, "Try me." Baekhyun leaned back in the bench and persisted in looking in random directions.

"What would you do if I said something like..." his chest tightened and he wondered if he should be honest, and he managed to squeeze out a hesitant joking voice when he said, "I can control light?"

For a minute, Kai only stared. He began to avert his eyes just as Baekhyun had done. He looked down, then he tilted his head at Baekhyun, and then he looked down again.

"I can teleport," he said.

Baekhyun sighed deeply and threw back his head, covering his face with his hands. "See, man? I knew you wouldn't take me seriously!" Kai leaned over and patted Baekhyun's shoulder hectically.

"No, dude, no," pat, pat, pat, "I'm serious!" shake, shake, "Listen- you can control light, and I can teleport!" Baekhyun peeked out from between his fingers and inquired a weak "Really?" Kai insisted it was true. It took a little while, but soon the nervous mood from earlier was replaced with a bunch of hyper, freaked-out giggling.

"No way!" said one boy. "Yes way," replied the other. They went on like this with different variations for quite a while, delighted to have their new knowledge.

In another, nearby, part of town, a pair of older men stirred and got ready to start their day. Luhan sat up, yawned and squeezed his eyes shut in hopes of clearing his vision after sleeping.

"Ugh," he glowered, scratching his side, "Now I want some taro bubble tea..."

Lay was still lounging beside him with his eyes closed, but he was awake. "I don't have any tapioca pearls," he made known to the other male. Luhan made a noise that sounded like the beginning of "Bah, humbug!" and hopped to his feet.

"I'll go to that little shop I passed on the way here!" he declared. Lay opened one eye to look at him.

"It's been oddly cool out lately," he told Luhan, "and you usually get your bubble tea cold. Are you going to do that this time?" Luhan turned and gaped at his friend.

"Why wouldn't I?" his voice was wispy and challenging. He stared intensely for a few seconds more just because and then ran to grab a jacket and his car keys. "Do you want something?" he asked though he was facing away from Lay and in the doorway already. He already knew the answer through a slight (or really rather large) invasion of personal privacy into his friend's mind, but he was somewhat polite by waiting for Lay to actually say no before he rushed out the door.

The air outside was only slightly humid, and the sun was shining in the sky. It was cool and breezy and Luhan couldn't help but smile as he unlocked and got into his sleek little black car. Although he knew the trip would be a short one, he rolled the windows down for the ride. The smooth roads added to the overall peaceful mood and, as Luhan pulled up to the small cafe, he knew it was going to be a good day. He parked, stepped out of the car, and walked through the glass door with a smile on his face.

Inside, there were clusters of schoolgirls and a few guys, which didn't surprise Luhan. There had been a small number of girls and their friends and probably dates outside as well. It didn't bother him that he was likely among the oldest people there. It wasn't that long ago that he'd been in high school himself, and his warm appearance put people at ease.

He walked up to the counter and ordered his drink freely, earning flustered smiles and giggles from the ladies who worked there. The high school girls also ogled him from all sides, but the closest person to him was another young man who had ordered a bubble tea as well.

"Choco bubble tea?" Luhan inquired, looking over from the corner of his eye. The other light-haired boy looked around before realizing Luhan was talking to him.

"Oh, um, yes!" he stammered, nodding his head as he poked a straw through a hole in the plastic lid of his cup. He felt it proper to ask: "And you?" Luhan was happy to name the root that flavored his drink. "Not bad," the boy said. They each paid for their drinks and ended up exiting the shop at the same time. All the while, Luhan was picking up nervous, self-conscious vibes from the younger guy and thought he might try to ease his mind.

"Are you in high school?" he asked as he took a seat at one of the tables on the porch outside the cafe. Even without reading the kid's mind, he knew the answer was yes. Still, to lessen how weird the guy might think he was, Luhan waited for a voiced affirmative and gestured for him to join him at the table.

"Yes- I am," the blond rushed, trying not to chance disrespectful eye contact with Luhan but replying with vigor to make it clear he was paying attention as he reached for a chair. "And you?" he asked for the second time in minutes.

"I was a university student in China. Here, so far, I've only been working and traveling. It's interesting to see all you high school kids out here," Luhan smiled warmly, tapping his fingers again the lid of his cup. "By the way, what's your name?"

"Oh Sehun," answered the boy, bowing with as little awkwardness as possible in the chair before taking a long sip of his chocolate drink. Luhan went over the characters in Sehun's name in his head and felt his smile grow. "Serving the world meritoriously, eh?" he thought with a smirk. The kid's name was cool, but Luhan had people from different countries who thought his name was cute.

"I'm Lu Han," he spoke in a cheerful tone with a bow of his head. Right when he finished speaking, a great gust of air came by and threatened to knock his tea over. He was caught off guard by the strong breeze and by the word that invaded his mind. The word wind carried over from Sehun's head to Luhan's and Luhan thought to himself, "Yes, that's the word for air in motion," suppressing the urge to squint at the boy. But more scrambled thoughts made there way through Luhan's connection to the boy, and-

"Oh. That's why he was thinking about wind." This Sehun guy had powers. Hyper tingles rose up in Luhan and he had to force himself not to stare at Sehun with a goofy smile on his face. He wanted to gasp and he wanted to laugh, so he ended up with aching cheeks from smiling too hard. He picked up his cup, using one hand to hold the straw and hide what must have surely been an overbearing expression.

For some reason, the high school boy's eyes followed Luhan's hand, and soon each boy was staring the other right in the face. Luhan's eyebrows scrunched up, partly because of the unnerving feeling of being stared at, and mostly because of the taste of chocolate that had entered his mouth.

Very slowly, the elder of the two set down the other's cup. His eyes fell to the table and his mouth became an O.

"I am... so sorry."

Sehun had his shoulders hitched up and his lips pressed tight like he was either about to laugh or scream. "It's... alright." he said motionlessly, his eyes frozen on the cup now that he'd let them follow it back down to the table. Luhan felt his face getting red and was glad the boy had stopped looking at him. Sighing, he began to strum his fingers against the tabletop.

"Would you like me to buy you a new one?"

"No, no... No thank you."

"Are you sure? I wouldn't mind at all."

"It's ok, really."

"Seriously, I can just walk back into the shop really quickly..."

"It's ok, Luhan!" Sehun addressed him in the most proper way he could, but then he began to laugh. The conversation had sounded incredibly awkward and his smile had been building up from the beginning. "Really." he repeated. Luhan watched for a moment and then let out a breath of laughter.

"You seem like a nice guy," he told the younger man, using one hand to push himself up from the table, and one hand to reach into his back pocket. After fishing through his wallet for a couple of seconds under Sehun's curious gaze, he place a few papers on the table and slid them over to Sehun with both hands. "I spent a little more time here than I meant to, but you're very polite, so it wasn't half bad.

"I hope we meet again, perhaps over bubble tea! And don't feel afraid to talk about the wind." Luhan gave a full-face smile and a little bow. "Goodbye," he said, leaving the puzzled boy with enough bills to buy a large cup of tea or two, a little white card, and confusion over why he'd mentioned the wind. Before he had the thought or the nerve to question the college boy, Luhan had walked off to his car. At about the time that Luhan left, Sehun's friends approached.

"Hey, Sehun! Who was that just now?" asked Kai, coming to a stop beside Sehun as the blond tucked the papers into his pocket. Baekhyun went to stand across from them, leaning back a bit as to have a look down the road at the disappearing black vehicle.

"This guy named Luhan," Sehun answered. Kai nodded and moved to pull up a chair before Sehun raised a hand to stop him. "I'm done with my drink, you don't have to sit down." Kai grinned at him.

"Dude, we didn't even know you were up here. We didn't come to sit with you, we came for tea and shaved ice!" Baekhyun smiled cheekily and the boyish look he'd had at Kai's house was back. Sehun let his hand fall and breathed a faint "oh" of understanding as Baekhyun stepped over to the door. "I don't know what you want, Kai, so you'd better come in here, too." Kai whined jokingly and bumbled after his friend.

While his friends ordered their treats, Sehun peeked at the card in his pocket. "Hm," he thought as he put it back, "what a weird day." He observed the pretty color scheme of the small shop, the smiles on his friend's faces through the window, and the light from the sun shining through the clouds. "What a weird, bright day," he thought.