~Re-uploaded; Edited~

        "Kris, do you think you can start by making a flame?"

        Said boy looked uncertain at Chanyeol's request, unsure if he wanted to try something so risky. It had only been a month since he discovered his ability, and luckily he was alone by a pond when he burst into flames. Sadly, he wasn't always so lucky, which is why they were all currently gathered in the basement.

        Kris looked to Jongin and Joonmyun, who each had confident expressions. A small amount of water floated in the air beside Joonmyun, and Kris felt a little better knowing they were prepared. The two were an amazing pair due to their differences.

        Kris breathed in deeply, then raised his hands in front of him with his palms up. It was at that point that he realized he didn't even know how he was going to produce the flame, and he nearly dropped his hands to give up right then.

        "Imagine a fire." He heard Chanyeol say, as if the teen understood his struggle without him wording it. It made sense by the similarities of their abilities, and Chanyeol had much more experience at this than Kris did. Like the others, he was probably all alone, too.

        "You can feel it inside you, right?" Chanyeol went on, and Kris nodded. "Direct it to your hands."

        Kris did as he was told, feeling a little childish as he did so, since people only pretended to have such powers. However, he was grateful to have someone like Chanyeol there to teach him.

        Kris closed his eyes naturally in concentration, focusing on the energy that swirled in his system. It was light and airy, yet it’s greatness weighed down on him. He called upon it, guiding its flow past his neck, over his shoulders, and down his arms. His hands grew gradually warmer until finally, a small flame flicked into existence.         He grinned and couldn't help but do a little bounce at his tiny creation. "I did it!"

        "Calm down. Emotions have a strong effect on fire." Kris stopped at Chanyeol's rapid, stern words, focusing instead on keeping his fire stable. "Now put it out."

        Kris stared at his hands as images popped into his head. Water, a light switch, pitch blackness. Then he tried the opposite as before and tried directing the heat of his hands back into his body. Now that he was basically repeating the same process as before, it came a bit easier. After a few moments, his hands suddenly grew cold and his tiny flame was out in an instant.

        "This is a good start." Chanyeol said, revealing what’d quickly become known as his usual, big grin. "This time we'll have you try to make a bigger flame."

        Kris breathed deeply again, then he easily produced another small flame. "Good, good. Now think happy thoughts." Chanyeol continued.

        Happy thoughts... Basketball. Basketballs are orange. Orange is a happy color. As Kris continued down this track, he watched his fire grow to the size of a baseball, then up to a softball. His eyes grew wide as he made his flame bigger, then it became unstable as his thoughts suddenly wandered to his outburst in the streets. His vision became masked with the bright shades of orange and red that’d covered him only two days prior, and his chest constricted at the painful remembrance.

        It's all my fault. We're being hunted down, we're not safe. Joonmyun and Chanyeol lost their homes. Kyungsoo and Luhan won't be able to go back to theirs. How many more people are suffering because of me?

        "Kris! Kris!!" The tall teen blinked a few times as he heard his name being called and found himself covered in fire. He yelled out, though it didn't hurt. he was just shocked and maybe even a little scared. "Calm down Kris!"

        Chanyeol stood in front of him with Joonmyun at his side, but Kris couldn't think anymore. He didn't know what to do, even though it was pretty obvious that he should dowse the flames, and within moments, he was soaked from head to toe.

        Joonmyun had stepped in, clearly, and Kris was thankful for that. He sank down on the hard cement floor, not caring that he was sitting in a puddle of water. He ran a hand through his wet hair with a deep sigh, and Chanyeol's hand rested on his shoulder.

        "I think that's enough for now. How about a break?"

        Kris nodded, hanging his head into his hands. "Yes please..."

        The supermarket was bustling when Luhan and Kyungsoo arrived, as they always seemed to be. This one was unfamiliar to Luhan, as he’d never been to this area to shop, but it was easy enough given the simple fact that it was a store.

        Luhan scanned the aisles with wide eyes as he searched for the ingredients on the list Kyungsoo had given him. They’d sat together brainstorming for cheap meals earlier that morning, and after dividing up the rest of Luhan’s meager counter foods for brunch, they’d headed off to spend what little money they had.

        Now Luhan wandered through the store, pushing a cart full of food in front of him. He was just about done, and after double checking to make sure he’d collected all that he was assigned to, he began to make his way towards the cash registers at the front of the building.

        Kyungsoo was already waiting by the exit, bags of food at his feet. He was staring ahead, his hands in the pocket of his hoodie, but he perked up with a wave when they spotted each other. Luhan returned the wave and silently mouthed and apology for taking so long, then he hurried into an open checkout lane and placed his groceries on the conveyer belt.

        "Good morning. Would you like paper or plastic?"

        He looked up as the male cashier spoke to him and smiled easily. "Morning. I'll have plastic please, doubled up if that's alright."

        "No problem." The cashier began placing his purchased items in bags, and with nothing else to look at, Luhan found himself staring at the boy as he waited.

        Judging solely on looks, they were probably around the same age, and rainbow hair poked out from underneath the cashier’s slouching hat. He was taller than Luhan, with a slim nose and smooth looking skin that stretched out across a charmingly harsh jawline.

        "Excuse me, sir."

        Luhan jumped slightly as his thoughts were interrupted by none other than the boy he was staring at, and his cheeks flushed pink with the embarrassment of getting caught. "Y-Yes?"

        The cashier looked amused as he held out his hand, and Luhan stared at it dumbly before the boy spoke again. "Are you paying by cash or card?" He asked it as though it wasn’t the first time in the last minute, and Luhan was quickly reminded of how large of a fool he looked like. He couldn’t even bring himself to look at the cashier as he grabbed the carefully counted wad of money from his pocket and handed it over.

        A few seconds of flicking paper passed by, and then, "Is this all you have, sir?"

        Luhan's eyes went wide with surprise when he looked at the computer screen, which showed a good fifteen dollars was still needed to complete the transaction. He bit his lip as he fished through his pockets, searching for any bills he might've missed, but that was all. His earlier calculations must've been wrong, and he felt his face turn hot with embarrassment once again. He was just glad no one was in line behind him, and any other people were too busy to notice the mortified expression that surely covered his face.

        Luhan glanced pleadingly at Kyungsoo, who had a patient, yet confused expression on his face. The older male pulled out his empty pockets and Kyungsoo did the same in response, as it finally seemed to dawn on him that they had a small problem. With a sigh, Luhan turned back to the cashier.

        "Let's just take a few things off the list..."

        The cashier stared blankly at Luhan for a few seconds, and then his eyebrows drew just a millimeter closer in an expression that looked almost sympathetic. He glanced back and forth around the room a few times, then he pulled out his own wallet, to Luhan’s immediate surprise. He was shocked and rendered completely speechless as the boy pulled out a twenty and stuck it into the cash register with only three simple words in response. "I got you."

        "W-Wait... Don't do that." Luhan managed to stutter, his words faltering as he tried to figure out why the other boy was being so kind. "Take that out..."

        "It's fine. You look like you have a lot of people to feed." The cashier's eyes skimmed over Luhan's body. "You’re only a high schooler, right?"

        "Yeah, but I can take care of it myself. I'm close to graduating." If Luhan weren’t such a mess, he would’ve puffed out his chest for some sort of emphasis, but right then he could hardly keep proper footing.

        "Just let me help. I really don't mind." The boy insisted. "It's not like I help out every cute person I see, so just feel special. I won't die if I lose twenty dollars.”

        Luhan found himself blushing due to the boy’s words, and he averted his gaze once more. "Well, fine... Thank you... I guess I'll be going then." Unable to give an answer that was any less awkward, he grabbed all of the grocery bags securely in his hands, fully aware of the cashier's eyes burning holes into the back of his head.

        "Need any help?"

        Luhan quickly shook his head in response to the cashier’s offer. "I'm a man, so I can carry my own groceries." As he said this, he pulled the plastic bags off the counter with one big tug. It was a surprise to find them much heavier than expected, and a small yelp slipped past his lips when his arms swooped low to the ground before he could stable himself.  

        A muffled laugh came from the boy behind the counter and Luhan's skin tingled as he felt his entire body go warm. He glanced to the side to find a warm smile on the cashier's face as he tried to stop himself from laughing, and for a split-second, Luhan blanked out on everything other than the beautiful sight before him.

        However, the cashier worked to quickly cease his chuckling, though his handsome smile still remained. "Have a good day, Sir."

        Luhan couldn't find his voice after all that had happened and instead dipped his head as a farewell. He hurried to shuffle off to Kyungsoo, relaxing his posture only after they exited the store. He could only hope that Kyungsoo hadn’t witnessed any of what happened, but he got the feeling that the boy did as soon as he opened his mouth.

        "Are you okay?" His friend asked. "You’re all red."

        "Oh, really?  It must’ve been hotter than I thought it was in there." Luhan lied, looking to the side to hide his guilty expression. "I just needed some fresh air."

        He caught Kyungsoo nodding slowly from the corner of his eye, and their walk home remained comfortably silent from then on.

   Okay, so first I should say that I know nothing about any currency other than US dollars, so yeah... I also don't know what kinds of grocery stores they have in Korea.... I guess it'd be a writer's job to look up these things, wouldn't it? -.- 

   And I actually spent a lot of time wondering what the conveyer belt things in checkout lanes are called. I still don't know. I was at an art portfolio day at a college when I wrote this, and there was no internet, and no one else I talked to knew what it was. 

   Yeah, so I hope you enjoyed! I honestly don't know how it is, so i don't know if things are going to slow, fast, or if they just don't make sense. DX It may be boring, but I'm working on it, and I'm hoping to have cuter parts in some chaps, once everyone else is introduced of course. 

   I'm actually surprised I've updated as frequently as I have, and I'm hoping the chapters are long enough. I myself love long chapters, so I'm trying to do the same for you guys, though maybe you don't like long chapters.... If so, then im sorry!