Valentine's Day was approaching soon, and although Claire used to not care much for this day, she was somehow excited. It may be because Melanie, who was a board member of the student council, was hosting a "Crush Can" drive. The rules were that you paid a certain amount of money to send a can of soda, which was called a crush can, to someone of your choice. If the receiver wanted to find out who sent them the crush can, they had to pay a dollar extra than what you paid. Or, the sender could pay an extra two dollars when they purchased the crush can, and he or she would remain forever anonymous.

Claire wanted to send these to her friends on Valentine's Day. Since most of her friends were single and were fully aware that they wouldn't be receiving anything special on Valentine's Day, she wanted to remind them that even if they don't have a significant other, someone cares about them. Of course, she realized that some of them may take too seriously and be upset when they realized it was she who sent it, so she instead decided to label this as a prank. So, a few days before Valentine's Day, Claire held a huge wad of cash and walked to the crush can register table when Melanie wasn't running the cash box.

A sophomore, Jan, happened to be tabling at the time. "Hey Claire! Want to get a crush can for someone?"

"Yeah! Actually, I want to get a few, is that alright?" Claire asked.

"Of course? How many do you want?"

Claire thought for a moment and counted how many people she wanted to give them to. There was Melanie, her two other suitemates, and a few freshmen. Chanyeol and Sehun were also included, simply because Chanyeol was alone this semester with Anna being abroad, and Sehun was her silly "brother". She thought about getting Kai one, but she knew he would take it seriously. She wasn't even sure if she had true feelings for him, even though she very much enjoyed his presence. Her confusion was driving her insane lately, so for this little occasion, she decided to skip him. "I'll get twelve, please?"

"Wow, that's a lot," he laughed. "Can I get their names?"

"Sure! Please don't tell Melanie I'm getting her one though..." she pleaded.

"Of course not!" he smiled as he began to jot down names.

"Thank you so much, Jan," she sighed as she gave him the cash. "Can I ask where the donations are going to?"

"They're going to the local food drive for the homeless people living in the county," Jan replied.

"Awesome. Thanks again!"

"Yep? Sure you don't want to remain anonymous?"

"Nah, they can find out who sent them the crush can when time comes," she grinned. "See you around!"

Claire skipped back to the library, happy that she had successfully pulled this "prank" on her friends. Now, all she had to do was wait for their reactions.

*

A week passed, and the crush cans arrived in the mail of those who received them. As her friends excitedly told her that they received crush cans, Claire was elated as well. She didn't receive one, but she didn't think too much of it, since it's just a cute gesture and not necessarily one of seriousness.

Melanie, on the other hand, couldn't stop rambling, and insisted that Claire tell her if she knew anything. "Come on Claire," Melanie pleaded, "do you know who sent this to me?"

Claire shrugged, "Not sure, do you want to find out?"

"Ahh," Melanie shook her head and grinned, "what if someone just wanted to troll me? What if someone was serious?!"

"Well, it could go either way right?" Claire pointed out. She wasn't about to give away the little fact that she kept secret. 

"True..."

"At least you received one," Claire smiled at her best friend. "It means someone cares about you, even if that person is a troll."

"I guess? But when it comes to trolling, I keep thinking of Jan and Rob in the council. They're the friendliest trolls ever..."

"Did you ask them?" Claire wondered.

"I did. They kept insisting they didn't send me the crush can," Melanie pouted in frustration.

"Well, maybe they actually didn't," Claire responded.

"Sure?"

Claire shrugged, "If they keep repeating they didn't, they probably didn't, right?"

"I guess. Okay, I'll go tomorrow and find out who it is!" Melanie pumped her fist in the air.

"Alright," Claire laughed. She couldn't wait for her best friend's reaction.

*

Kai: Where are you?

Claire: I'm in the library. What's up?

Kai: Ah, can I join you?

Claire: Of course! I'm in my cubicle.

Kai shut his phone and made his way to the main campus library. He laughed when he approached Claire's cubicle. There were bags of ramen, chips, Chocopie, and Pocky sticks all along the top shelf of her cubicle. A large jar of citron honey tea, which he gave to her, also sat on the shelf, along with two mugs, a box of green tea, and a soup bowl for her ramen. Every time he comes over, the pile seems to increase. "Yo, food hoarder," he whispered as he approached.

Claire looked up and glared playfully, "Yo. And what do you mean, food hoarder? I need this energy to survive."

Kai set his things down in the empty cubicle next to hers and laughed, "You just always have... so much food..."

"You can help yourself to some if you want," she smiled.

"Okay," he grinned.

Only a few minutes later, Claire's phone rang. She saw Melanie's caller ID, and had a feeling what it was going to be about. "Hello?" Claire greeted.

"YOU'RE SUCH A TROLL, CLAIRE LU! OH MY GOD I CAN'T BELIEVE I FELL FOR IT!" Melanie screamed on the other side.

Claire winced from the high volume and quickly turned it down. Kai looked at her in confusion as she continued, "Ah, I guess you know?"

"Oh yeah, I couldn't believe I didn't guess at all that you sent it to me! You're such a troll," Melanie pouted.

"But you love me anyway!" Claire smiled.

"Of course. Your poker face though! I didn't know you had such a good poker face!"

"Well, you never directly asked me if I sent it to you. That would have made it hard for me to hide from you," Claire teased.

"Oh, shut it," Melanie snorted, and Claire could only imagine her friend sticking her tongue out. "Thank you though, for sending me one! I'm sorry I didn't send you one..."

"No worries! I wasn't expecting one," Claire grinned. "Just be happy it was me and not some creepy dude who's been eyeing you for a while, haha."

"Geez, I don't even want to think about it," Melanie pouted again, and Claire laughed out loud. Kai's eyebrows were raised even more now. Claire took a glimpse at him and stuck her tongue out.

"Anyway, I'll see you tonight?" Claire continued, "I have to get back to work."

"Yeah, me too. Thanks again, troll," Melanie teased.

"Gratitudes accepted. Love you!" 

The two bid goodbye, and Claire hung up before placing her phone at the edge of the cubicle. She noticed Kai's eyes on her, and turned to face him, "What's up?"

"You trolled Melanie?" was his first question.

"Ah, well, I guess?" she started, "I sent her a crush can, and she never thought it was me who sent it."

"Ooh, you're good," Kai grinned.

"Haha, thanks," Claire smiled. "Say, did you send anyone one?"

Kai looked at her questioningly. "No, why?"

Claire shook her head and continued to smile, "Nothing. Just wondering." She gathered her tea bag and mug, and continued to feel his eyes on her. "I'll be right back! Gonna get some tea. Want to come with me?"

"Okay."

As they made their way to the coffee and hot water station of the library, as they turned a corner, Claire found herself in front of the last two people she wanted to see. The two had their hands linked together, and the girl's other hand held a large bouquet of roses. The other girl caught Claire's eye, and quickly looked away.

Claire felt the male's eyes on her, but she quickly walked away and left Kai with them. When she reached the station and turned her head back, she noticed Kai smiling while sharing a hug with the male. Feeling uncomfortable, she quickly made her tea, and ignored Kai and the other two while she made her way back to her cubicle.

Kai was worried. Claire was suddenly acting weird, and he didn't know why. It wasn't until his friend asked him, "Yo, Kai, you alright?" that Kai snapped back to reality.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Is Claire okay?"

"I don't know, Suho. Why?" Kai asked. As he peered into his friend's eyes, he noticed guilt laced in Suho's irises.

"Nothing..." Suho started.

The girl next to him touched his arm. "I'm heading in."

"Okay, I'll find you later," he nodded.

Kai and Suho stood there for a moment, not knowing what to say. Kai then looked into Suho's eyes, "Are you happy?"

Suho broke out into a smile. "Yeah, I am."

"I'm glad," Kai nodded. "Say..."

"Yeah?"

"How did you and Hyerin meet?"

"Ah," Suho started, "Claire introduced us."

"Claire?" Kai was surprised. "I didn't know you guys were friends."

Suho shrugged, "More like she and Hyerin were friends."

Kai took note of the "were" in his friend's response. He was curious as to what was going on, but he knew Claire was uncomfortable. He looked back at his friend and nodded, "I see. Well, I'm going to go back in. You coming?"

"You're not going to get hot water?" Suho asked.

"Nah, I changed my mind."

And so ended the conversation between Kai and Suho, and the two walked their separate ways once reaching the cubicle area. Once Kai arrived at Claire's cubicle, he noticed her head in her arms as she sprawled on her desk. "Claire?" he whispered.

Claire looked up, and sweater imprints were visible on her face. "Oh, hey Jongin."

"You alright?"

"Yeah, I'm okay."

"Sure?"

She nodded. "I'm sure."

Kai sighed. "Okay."

Another short period of silence fell on them as Claire absentmindedly stirred her tea and Kai stared at her. Claire looked into his deep brown orbs, touched by the concern coming from them. "Something you want to ask?"

Kai shook his head, "No, I don't have anything to ask, and I don't know what happened with you, Suho, and Hyerin, but I know something happened." 

Claire sighed, "Nothing happ-"

"Claire, please," he spoke again, his voice strained in frustration, "Please don't say nothing happened. If you don't want to tell me, you don't have to tell me anything, but know that I'll be here for you, okay?"

She looked at him. His face was now closer, and she could hear his deep breaths and feel the warm that radiated from his body. Claire nodded hesitantly and bit her lip. "I know. Thanks."

Kai smiled sadly. "I know I don't usually talk much, but when I'm around you, I want to say these things," he started.

She was about to reply, but he shook his head. "I don't want to pry into your personal business, but when you're upset, I am too."

Claire felt him pat her back, and her eyes filled with tears. She nodded and bit her lip again to try and prevent the tears from falling out. "I'm sorry..." she whispered, her voice thick with sadness.

"Don't be," Kai whispered back while rubbing circles on her shoulders. He felt a kind of sadness that he hadn't felt in years. All he wanted to do was engulf her in a hug and protect her from all the worries of the world, but all he could do at the moment was rub circles on her back and hope that she understood his concern. 

Claire's hands were balled in her lap as tears slowly ran down her cheeks. She knew Kai cared, but she couldn't tell him yet. Not when she was in so much emotional pain. In due time, she would tell Kai everything. But at the moment, she was going to deal with the sadness of betrayal on her own and become a stronger person, both mentally and emotionally. 

Hey everyone! Here's the next chapter. Suho, Hyerin, and Claire have a history, and Claire's in emotional pain because of it. This "history" will slowly unravel over time, but I felt like this was a good time to introduce Suho and Hyerin into the story. Thank you to all of you who are following my updates! "Nothin' Like You" reached over 200 views! I'm incredibly happy, and I hope you all are too! Happy Saturday :3