ROAD HEAD

This world would be a better place if it was filled with people like Sehun. People like Sehun are never upset and always take life head on. 

“I didn’t even know I was in their wedding,” he told me a few days later. “Jongin just told me that I needed to get my tux. And that I had to watch Bongie. Hey, did Bongie really hump Minseok’s foot?” 

We were working together again. And by working I mean studying. And by studying I mean that I was filing out Sehun’s US History study guide and Sehun was filling out my Trigonometry study guide. What? The kid wanted to be an engineer; he obviously knew a thing or two about numbers. Since it was exam season it wasn’t like we were swamped with customers. Only one kid had been in there in the three hours that I had been working to buy some pencils. Really, it was a slow day. 

“How did you know about that?” I asked, cringing in anticipation of the answer. 

“Minseok told me,” Sehun shrugged like it wasn’t a big deal. But it was a big deal because Kim Minseok had used some of his precious words to talk about me but then wasted them to talk about Bongie. “Did Minseok tell you about the baseball game next week?” 

That was definitely a predicament. You see, I really do like baseball. I played softball for a few years back in elementary school back when everyone was allowed on the team and you didn’t need actual talent. And then, Luhan played baseball throughout most of his life. So, yeah, it was one of those things that I really missed about home.

But then it meant that I would be at a bonding event with all males, and it’s not even possible to make that sound like a good idea. 

“Maybe I should give my ticket to Joonmyeon and then I could stay here and study,” I suggested, tapping my pencil on the glass countertop. 

“Why would you do that?” 

“Because I have to study?” 

“No, why would you give your ticket to Joonmyeon?” Sehun gave me a weird look. This was also the longest time that he had ever gone without eating. That’s how intense finals are at Hanyang; we don’t stop for food. 

“Because Joonmyeon’s a guy and you’re all guys and I thought that you could just have some really big man-bonding time,” I explained slowly and what the hell was I talking about? 

It was a good thing that Sehun usually just laughed at my innuendos instead of making a show while pointing them out. “Well, for starters, isn’t Joonmyeon pre-Med? He’s never going to be able to leave the campus if he wants to make it to Med school.” I hated it when Sehun had to point things out to me. I enjoyed being the one that he turned to when he needed a question answered. Which, yes, was really selfish of me, but so was the entire thing with Kyungsoo so there’s really no need to judge. “And are you trying to get Minah to kill you?” 

I kept up with the tapping. “Why would Minah kill me?” I mentally added ‘this time’ onto the end of that statement because it seemed like Minah wanting me dead was a common theme of the month. 

"Because she hates Joonmyeon," Sehun said matter­of­factly. Oh. Well, that made sense.

But I wondered if there was a different story than the one that I had always been told. This was the perfect time to find out.

"Why don't Minah and Joonmyeon like each other?" I asked. I mean, I knew the general idea but no one had ever bothered to go into specifics with me. Then again, I had never asked and it wasn't like Joonmyeon was just going to tell me because he's a guy and guys don't say important stuff unless you ask them.

Sehun made a face, trying to remember exactly what had happened. Which really because I was a grade above Sehun so it wasn't even like he was around when this happened. "It was something about some guy," he began. Well, that was no help.

"What about him?" I pressed on eagerly.

"It was­ is that cake?" Sehun hopped up from his chair and ran to the front door, which Kyungsoo was trying to open while carrying a large cardboard box.

I froze. Which really isn't a surprise because I'm not exactly the most assertive person around (obviously) and I wasn't going to go run and tackle Kyungsoo with a hug or anything, but I really did freeze up because he was there and I was not ready for that. If I was any other girl, I would have complained about how I didn't look good, but this is me and I normally don't put that much effort into my appearance. College isn't as glamorous as the movies always make it out to be.

"Is it cake?" Sehun was bouncing up and down like a puppy. How did he even think it was cake? That was the last thing that I thought of when seeing a box.

"Yeah," Kyungsoo smiled at us, shaking the drops of water out of his hair. It was raining, by the way. That was why Kyungsoo's hair was wet. Either that or he had just gotten out of the shower. Not that I was thinking about Kyungsoo being in the shower. That would have been weird. Wait, what? Yes, the rain.

"Where did you get the cake from?" Sehun exclaimed, completely forgetting about the story that he was supposed to be telling me.

"Minah put me in charge of picking a cake for her wedding," Kyungsoo said, setting the box down on the counter between my stuff and Sehun's. Oh my god, he was so close to me. I was not going to get any studying done now. Not that I was in the first place. "But I need your help."

The last time he asked for my help I ended up talking about oral . Maybe I should just sit that one out.

"Does this help involve cake?" That was (obviously) Sehun.

Kyungsoo laughed. "Yeah, actually, it does. All of these taste the same to me. Do you mind­"

"I am so on it!" he exclaimed, diving into the cake, leaving me to stand there awkwardly because that's what I'm good at. Maybe if I didn't say anything I could go off unnoticed.

"Hi, Avery," Kyungsoo chirped. Squash. He pushed the box full of various cakes so that it was closer over to Sehun and so that Kyungsoo himself could hop up on the counter to sit next to me. 

"Meurgh." That was me and I'm pretty sure that I was trying to say something along the lines of ‘Hi, Kyungsoo' but it clearly didn't come out as that.

"You look nice today," he commented and I couldn't tell if he was joking or not because I was in jeans and a white t-shirt. His t-shirt. The white t-shirt that he let me borrow that night of Chanyeol. I mean, Baek/Baekhyun. Anyways, yeah. I was in Kyungsoo's clothes.

"You can have this," I stammered. "The t-shirt, I mean. You can take it. Because it's yours." I butchered the hell out of that one.

"No," he shrugged. "You can keep it. It looks better on you."

I blushed. Typical me, blushing whenever Kyungsoo even opened his mouth. Was he flirting with me? Out of the two boyfriends that I had ever had, I'm pretty sure that none of them had ever bothered hitting on me. Which also makes me question my decision to date those two in the first place, but it's too late to change that now. Man, had it always been that toasty in there?

So I responded with some more unintelligible words and turned back to filling in answers on Sehun's study guide. At least the study guide wasn't attractive.

"Averyyy," Kyungsoo leaned over and breathed into my ear. Hot damn. "What are you doingggg?"

You mean other than trying to avoid having an asthma attack? Not much. I opened my mouth but it took me a good thirteen seconds for any sound to come out. "I­I'm studying. For my final." Well, it was Sehun's final, but something told me that Kyungsoo really didn't care.

"That looks boring," Kyungsoo commented. Had he always been that close to me?

"It's not that bad," I mumbled, avoiding eye contact because I have the social skills of a neanderthal.

"You're right, Avery. It's actually horrible." How had I forgotten about Kyungsoo and his hatred for everything even remotely connected to my major? "Which is why you should stop studying and instead eat cake with Sehunnie and me," he cooed, plopping a tiny plate with a piece of cake on it in front and a fork in front of my face.

I stared blankly at the item in front of me. I mean, it wasn't like I was really doing anything that important. And I do like cake and it wouldn't be there for much longer if Sehun kept inhaling food at the high speed that he did.

"Sure!" I exclaimed a little too brightly, exchanging my pencil for the fork.

"You should just get one of each cake," Sehun commented from the other side of Kyungsoo. "It's impossible to just be able to choose one!"

"Minah told me that I had too! She's planning everything else for this; I was hoping that she would do the cake as well! Cakes are all the same to me!" Kyungsoo frowned.

"Avery, which one are you eating?"

Hot squash, it was getting warm in there. Seriously, now. Either Kyungsoo was radiating heat (which really could have been a possibility because let’s face it he's that desirable) or Sehun had accidentally shut the AC off again.

"I, um, oh," I said with my mouth full, shoving the last piece into my mouth. It had an interesting taste to it. I should have said that I have manners, but Sehun and I eat like savages because there's normally no one in the store to watch us eat. And what I was trying to say was ‘I don't know,' in case that wasn't clear enough.

Kyungsoo picked up the cake chart next to him. "My lovely Avery over here is eating the coconut cake!"

Oh, my fricken' gosh, Do Kyungsoo just told me that I was lovely and his in the same freakin' sentence and I was going to ing die.

Wait a minute.

I was going to ing die.

Without much warning, I leaned over and spit the remainder of the cake in my mouth into the trash can.

"So the cake was bad? I thought that you liked it! You ate it all!" Kyungsoo frowned as I dug through my bag to find my seabird­covered water bottle (that he had bought me, by the way) and dumped half of it down my esophagus.

"No, no," I exclaimed, shaking my head frantically. "I'm allergic to coconuts."

Well, now I knew that it wasn't really hot in there and it was just me. And that I was probably going to die because my throat was going to close up and I would suffocate and meet my untimely death.

At least it proved that everybody (read: two people) in the store cared about me because both Sehun and Kyungsoo flipped .

", Avery, I'm so sorry!" Kyungsoo panicked, grabbing my shoulders to make sure that I wasn't going to keel over in front of him. Which would have been really embarrassing. "Are you okay? , I should have known! Are you alright?"

"Put your head between your legs!" Sehun screamed his advice, still eating the leftover cake. And sorry, Sehun, but I was trying to avoid any and everything that took place between the legs. I didn't want to make that moment more insane than it already was.

I was just si