Edited 12/31/14 

Sitting in the car on the way to school on Monday, Kibum thought about how interesting Sunday was. Sungyeol, who was sitting awkwardly in the driver's seat, had driven him to the TGA meeting, which was new. Myungsoo had insisted they spend time together to help Kibum warm up to Sungyeol. So far, that was failing pitifully.

When Kibum got to the meeting he found Hakyeon and gave him his promised Pie Junior; a fluffy elephant with a blue bow. Hakyeon preceded to tell him that he, surprisingly, started dating a man named Taekwoon who lived two houses down. He showed him a picture and, though cute, Kibum didn't fail to notice the horizontal scars barely visible on the arm wrapped lovingly around Hakyeon. Seems everyone had problems these days.

As Kibum got over the fact that Hakyeon, the guy with avoidant personality disorder, was better at the whole social life thing than he was, Hakyeon ed up his brain more by asking if he could go to Kibum's after school the next day. He stuttered out some half-choked explanation of his mom becoming concerned about him not having at least a few friends to rely on. Hesitantly, as he was deciding if Hakyeon would steal his , his baby boy specifically, Kibum said he'd pick him up after school.

Kicking the car door open with his foot, Kibum pulled himself up out of the car, quite thankful to be out of the stifling atmosphere he a Sungyeol never failed to create. Living with him was harder than Kibum thought it would be.

"I'll be here at 2:15 to pick you up," Sungyeol called from inside the vehicle. Kibum jerked his head in acknowledgement and shut the door. Not that he loved school or anything, but Kibum couldn't help but feel that it would be too soon when the clock struck 2:15. Sungyeol was nice, very caring and tender with Kibum in fact, but... well, no one can just walk into a child's life and expect open arms.

Kibum picked his way delicately across the parking lot, paying too much attention to the cracks in the tar covering older cracks. It distracted him from the prying eyes of his peers; he knew they were always watching him. Even more so after his altercation with Sekyung, who he had been looking out for like a hawk. He hadn't seen her since, but there was no way in hell she was just going to let that slide. She'd be back, and Kibum was going to make sure he was already two steps ahead of her when she did.

Sliding through the glass doors of the school's main entrance, Kibum weaved expertly through disgusting boys and the borderline s that were those nasty boys' baes. A shiver s down Kibum's back when two fruit loop females purposely brushed against him as they passed, giggling excessively at the minor contact. Great. Wonderful. Now I have an STD. Probably pregnant too.

Kibum had almost made it to the safety of his empty classroom when something, a monkey based on the way it clung to his body, slammed into his back. With an oomf]ph, Kibum lurched forward a few steps and grabbed at the limbs wrapping around waist. Kibum gripped soft thighs and had half a mind to back up into a wall as hard as he could.

"Good morning, Kibum!" Taemin sang in his ear.

"What are you doing?"

Taemin locked his legs and arms tighter around Kibum and planted a fat, wet kiss on his cheek. Seriously, if I get kissed one more time by someone other than Myungsoo, I'm going to flip every Goddamn table within the borders of South Korea.

"Just showing you how much I wuvvvvv you."

"And the occasion would be...?"

Taemin smiled wide against Kibum's neck, ticking the skin when he spoke.

"The frog prince has finally agreed to give this princess a shot 'cause of your advice. Did I just call myself a princess? Okay, that was a little gay, even for me."

Sliding off his back, Taemin turned Kibum around and gave him the mother of all back breaking bear hugs.

"Sa-rang-hae, Kim Ki-bum!" Taemin laughed, punctuating each syllable.

Kibum could feel his bones grinding and popping beneath the pressure of Taemin's hold. He was under the impression that his diaphragm no longer had room to relax and contract, therefore sabotaging all future plans of breathing. Kibum choked and tapped out, managing a horse, "Uncle, uncle!"

"Oh, sorry," Taemin snickered, releasing Kibum.

Rubbing his cracked sternum, Kibum glared nastily at Taemin. "I didn't do anything to merit such painful affection."

"Of course you did," Taemin snorted. "You helped me get through to Minho. Well, sort of. He doesn't trust me a hundred percent yet. I just have to be a good boy and sit pretty till he does."

"Good for you, I guess..."

Does not caring make me a bad friend?...All things considered, I'm gonna go with no.

Taemin puffed his full cheeks out in a pout. "You could pretend to be even a little happy for me."

"Sorry, but relationships don't really make me happy. I don't understand the... drama. Like, your problem, for example, could have been so easily rectified had he just sat down and listened to you."

Thinking about it, maybe that's why Kibum had next to no interest in Jonghyun. From the sidelines, relationships looked sticky. Even Sungyeol and Myungsoo's relationship was somewhat complicated. Kibum had no room for complicated in his already complex life.

When Taemin huffed in indignation, Kibum added, "You guys are, like, perfect height for each other, if that makes you feel any better."

"Really?!" Taemin squealed, and continued to babble about random, tootsie-teenage bull that was normally reserved for twelve-year-old girls. Kibum sighed and let Taemin gush, nodding occasionally to show the boy that, yes, he was actually paying attention.

Kibum got Taemin to migrate into the classroom to continue with his less than immersing rant about how ripped Minho was. Aish, was this boy mooning or what? What a gift the five minute bell was when it finally rang.

"Aww, oh well. I can finish at lunch."

"I would rather you didn't but, ya know, whatever floats your boat."

Humming as if in thought, Taemin decided that it would be a good time for a little blackmailing.

"Well, I could save my fascinating tales about Minho for someone whose ears I wouldn't mind see bleed- cough, cough, Jonghyun- but I think I should be given compensation."

Oh, Jesus Christ, what the does he want?

"What?" Kibum said with narrowed, pointed cat eyes.

"I want you to hang out with me after school. Like, we could go play at the park like we're six or something," Taemin giggled.

Of course, the one day I have plans...

"I'm supposed to go pick up... a friend of mine after school today."

Taemin blinked a few times, absorbing the new found information, before shrieking, "Awwww, hyung made a friend all on his own! What's his name?"

"Hakyeon. Cha Hakyeon..."

"Can I come too? I'll be good!"

Jutting his lower lip, Taemin put on the best pouty face he could. He clung to Kibum and begged with his big chocolate eyes that Kibum knew would work if he were Minho.

"I don't know if that's such a good idea. Hakyeon is kind of like me. New people scare him a lot. I'm sure he's pissing his pants about now thinking about actually leaving the sanctuary of his home to come to mine," Kibum said.

"I will be the sweetest most lovable angel ever," the younger promised. "Pleeeaaassseee?"

With a sigh, Kibum slouched in his seat. He should probably say no, but it would be easier to say yes. Hakyeon recently got a boyfriend, maybe he wouldn't do too bad with Taemin...

"You better be ing gentle with him, or I will personally kick your . Oh, and don't steal my stuff unless you want your own foot shoved down your throat."

"Sir, yes, sir!" Taemin laughed with a mock salute. The tardy bell rang right as his fingertips met his forehead.

"Dammit... whatever, I really don't care."

Kibum's day was relatively quiet. It felt odd. Taemin disappeared during lunch (probably to go get it on with Minho in a janitorial closet) and Jonghyun was nowhere to be seen. Granted, he didn't necessarily care that he didn't see Jonghyun- to the contrary, it was actually pleasant- but he found himself the slightest bit worried. He hoped the dinodog wasn't dead or something.

Thunking his heel against the granite wall he was sitting on, Kibum looked around for Sungyeol. Taemin was looking for him too, but Kibum was fairly positive the had yet to realize that he'd never seen Sungyeol before, so it would be next to imposible for him to pick his face from the rest of the crowd. Lucky for him, Kibum had seen the coffee snuffing nerd before. Every day since the move, much to Kibum's secret displeasure.

"Come on, Taemin, I see him."

Kibum stood and ambled over to where Sungyeol was trying to slip through the horde of students without tripping them with his lanky legs.

Is that... Oh, thank God, Buddha, or whoever the hell may be running this joint, Myungsoo's with him.

Kibum walked with a renewed vigor in his steps, glomping Myungsoo from behind when he made it to him.

"Oh, well, hello," Myungsoo chuckled, hooking his hands behind Kibum's back in a weird, backwards sort of hug.

"Taemin wants to come too, can he?"

Said boy came up from the side and puffed his cheeks cutely at Myungsoo. "Yeah, can he?"

Myungsoo looked somewhat surprised, but it was expected. Two friends over in one day? It's was a miracle.

"I guess..."

"Yay!"

Taemin hopped around them and all the way to the car as he followed behind. The two youngest plopped down in the back seat, one of them pretending to care about his loud dongsaeng's constant rambling. It was like that the whole way to Hakyeon's school. Nod, ignore, repeat.

The wheels ground a bit against the black asphalt as Sungyeol pulled the car to a stop. Swinging the door open, Kibum hefted himself out of the car and looked around for Hakyeon. It didn't take long to spot him. How could it when he was in the middle of a circle being shoved around, none of the spectators stopping to help the poor boy?

Tensing, Kibum walked slowly, like a prowling cat, towards the crowd. Myungsoo called out for him to wait but Kibum wasn't hearing it. The only thing he was taking in was the fist that connected with Hakyeon's stomach. What... in the name... of hell.

"Come on, homo, can't you fight back?" someone in the circle called.

"Too bad your little boyfriend isn't here to protect you today, huh?" shouted another.

Ah, of course. Go ing figure. Kibum didn't hear much of this at his school, but that wasn't the reality for most. It was hell to be gay in Korea. Sure, you could do it if you wanted, but be prepared to suffer the wrath of the people who looked down their noses at you. Something in human nature dictates that what you don't understand is bad, even if it's something as innocent as love. However cruel or harsh it was, this is the society they lived in.

Hakyeon was on the ground now, crying, but not voicing a word of his feelings. He cradled his pulsing abdomen in his arms and cowered away from the hand that grabbed for him. Some es gonna die today.

Kibum shouldered his way through the jeering crowd, purposely knocking people to the side in his anger. Was Kibum strong? Not particularly. Was he a fighter? Oh, God, no. But they may as well have just kicked Keikeu, because he could feel his usually suppressed mother bear mode kicking in.

Breaking from the circle, Kibum zoned in on the offender. With a fearsome growl, Kibum swung his leg up, high and fast, nailing Hakyeon's attacker square in the side of his ribcage. Much to Kibum's satisfaction, the man fell to the ground with a yelp, clutching his burning ribs. ing heathen.

Ignoring the groaning boy, Kibum grabbed onto a shocked Hakyeon, pulling him up and marching out of crowd with him in the safe confines of his arms. Obviously his grand plan wouldn't permit such a fast exit.

"Yah, you , get the hell back here!"

Uh, how 'bout no? Kibum guided Hakyeon from the steaming teenagers. Taemin, Myungsoo, and Sungyeol were all at the edge of the crowd, gaping at Kibum's sudden hostility. Kibum handed Hakyeon of to Taemin, who folded the sobbing mess into his arms and gently rocked him. Like the freaking ninja he was when need be, Kibum rounded on the boy stalking up to him and punched him in the nose. He howled as blood spurted from his nostrils, splattering against concrete.

"We should go," Kibum said softly.

And like he didn't do a damn thing, Key strutted with the expertise of a model to the car, keeping Hakyeon close. Was the strut necessary? No. Did it make him look like a ing boss? Yes, yes it did.

When they were all in the car, Sungyeol flipped a before anyone could figure out what happened and sped, responsibly, out of the parking lot. Myungsoo was quick to go into umma mode, crawling halfway into the back to fuss over Hakyeon's busted lip and bruising jaw. Hakyeon brushed away a few stray tears and told Myungsoo, "I'm okay, I'm used to it." It was the most heartbreaking thing Kibum had ever heard.

Given the situation, it was obvious Hakyeon needed to go home. He gave trembling directions to an upper middle class neighborhood where a women Kibum recognized to be Hakyeon's umma was watering snapdragons and bluebells. She looked absolutely horrified when her son got out of the car, thanking them a million times for helping him. They promised Hakyeon he could come over for the weekend before making their leave.

Taemin still came over and, oh, was he ever fascinated by all the Goddamn coffee they had in the apartment. Rolling his eyes, Kibum set out to find his little boy.

"Keikeu. Here kitty, kitty, kitty."

The cute fluff ball came thumping out into the hall on his stumpy legs, chasing a small dust bunny. When he finally caught it he sniffed it, sneezing in the most adorable way that jolted his whole body when particles flew up his nose.

Scooping him up, Kibum kissed his nose and cradled him close to his chest. Keikeu took the opportunity to on Kibum's shirt, purring contently. God, you're such a weirdo.

"Awwwww!!! That's the cutest thing I've ever seen!"

Taemin slid into the hall, pleading with his eyes for the kitten. Kibum, though reluctantly, handed him over, eliciting a squeal from Taemin as he held the kitten just above his face, pressing butterfly kisses to the baby's fluffy cheeks.

That was the gist of that evening. Taemin fawning over the kitten while he drank the various coffees Sungyeol was oh so happy (oddly so) to prepare for him. Kibum watched Taemin bounce around with Keikeu and couldn't help but think it was endearing. Taemin was energetic and bubbly; a really crazy but nice person to have around. He wasn't the smartest, but he was uplifting– someone Kibum wished he could enjoy more. To sum Taemin up, he was Korea's sweetheart.

Following the younger around the room with his eyes, Kibum sighed glumly. It was times like this his disorders made him feel the most depressed.

Here was a boy designed to make people happy, to light up rooms with his plush smile and gleaming eyes, and yet... Kibum could only feel little slivers of the boy's sunshine landing on him. No matter how joyous Taemin was, Kibum could only take mere fractions of the happiness radiating off of him to fill the cold place always lingering in his heart that even Myungsoo couldn't warm.

I am so freakin' sorry DDDDXXX.It was not supposed to take a month for this chapter to come out. Ya see, what had happened was there was a few weeks of summer break left and it dawned on me that summer was, in fact, almost over, and I got so incredibly lazy. I've been sooooo tired since school started, and I'm barely into a week and a half. Tt has been surprisingly tiresome. On a happy note, there is a foreign exchange student on my bus from China, or Korea, and Japan, or one of those countries, and he is the most adorable thing in my entire school. I don't know his name, and he doesn't speak much English, but I already have a funny story about him.

Ya see, he as sitting behind this kid named Zack on the far side of the seat. Zack said something to my friend, Jordan, and she as like BETCH!!!! Basically she hoped into the seat behind Zack (where the exchange student was) and just started wailing on him (it was a friendly beating, don't worry, although she was straight up punching him XD). Well, Zack was also on the far side of the seat, so she ended up pretty much in the exchange student's lap while she beat Zack. You should have seen his face, he had no idea what the hell had just happened. He did sort of laugh when it was over, so he was definitely amused, even though I'm not sure he really knew what was going on. He got that though, so whatever XD.

You might know what this means, but in the story I say Sungyeol "flips a ." Okay, I don't know about other states, as every place has their own kind of unique slang and way of speaking, but where I live, flipping a can be used to basically describe a really fast/hard turn, typically with cars.

Okay, in comes Taekwoon. I don't know if he'll be developed, but he is Hakyeon's boyfriend, so he gets a picture XD

And who would I be if I left out Pie Jr.?

Okay, I'm almost done. As an apology for taking so long, I've decided to give you guys a few hints on chapter fifteen. If you read these notes, you might remember me saying I had plans for that chapter in I believe the previous author's note.  If you do not want to know what is going to happen, then do not read the numbered points below. I am not responsible for ruining your day.

1. You're not going to like it by any means. In fact, you'll probably want to stab me.
2. It involves someone you probably like a lot

If this chapter is crap, I am very sorry. I really just wanted to get something posted for your guys. Sorry for mistakes, please comment, and thank you to all of you who subscribed. I think it's 56 of you now. I actually recognized one you because I'm subscribed to one of your stories, so that was kinda cool. Btw, to that person, if Joon and Onew don't kiss or something soon, I'm going to cry. Lmao, au revior people XD