TIME SKIP : ONE WEEK LATER

Kai and Taemin became increasingly close. Kai went to Taemin's house almost every day to work on their science fare project. The two spent a lot of time together, and had become very comfortable in doing skinship with eachother, which they did often and openly. 

Kai woke up one morning from the feeling of someone petting his hair. He looked up to see his mother. 

"Good morning," she said sweetly.

"Good morning."

She smiled at her son and continued petting his hair for a few seconds, but she suddenly stopped.

"Mom, what's wrong?" Kai asked, seeing the distressed look on his mother's face.

"You always come home late ever since you met Taemin. You always go to his house after school, don't you..."

Kai stayed quiet.

"Did you...find out anything about him?"

"N-no, not yet. I'm still trying to get closer to him before anything."

"I know it's annoying, dear, but please try to understand."

He looked at his mother affectionately. "I know mom, you only want what's best for me." 

His mother smiled and told him to get ready. After washing up, he ate breakfast and left for school. 

When he arrived, he went to his locker and was surprised to see that Taemin wasn't there. A few minutes later, Jonghyun came by and pushed Kai on the locker.

"Listen. I've had enough. I don't know who you are or what you want from him, but stay away from Taemin. Get it?! Quit touching him so much."

"Why are you so obsessed with him? Ever since the first day, you've been glaring at me  but why?

"Because Taemin is mine!" he said, as he slammed his fist on the locker.

"Just leave us alone."

Jonghyun scoffed. "Alright fine, let's make a deal. A match of soccer, one VS. one, tonight after school. If you win, I'll leave you two alone. If I win, you have to stop touching Taemin and not be around him all the time. Deal?"

The bell rang. "Deal," Kai said, pushing Jonghyun away to get to class. Just then, Taemin had arrived and approached the two.

"What's going on here?" he asked, concerned.

"Nothing," Kai reassured, as he grabbed Taemin by the wrist and led him out of the locker room. "I can't come over directly after school today, I have something to take care of. I'll come by later," he explained.

"It doesn't have to do with Jonghyun, does it?"

Kai thought for a second. If I tell him the truth, he'll get worried. "No," he lied.

For the rest of the day, Kai could only think of his upcoming soccer match against Jonghyun. If I lose, I'll have to distance myself from Taemin, and I don't want that. I definitely have to win this so that Jonghyun will leave us alone. 

"Is anything wrong?" Taemin asked, noticing how Kai had been so absent-minded throughout the day.

"No, it's nothing really."

Taemin wasn't convinced. "You'd tell me if anything was bothering you, right?" he asked, softly holding the back on Kai's neck. Kai nodded.

Before he knew it, school was already over. When the final bell rang, Kai began to feel very nervous. He walked Taemin at the school gate, where he was supposed to wait for Jonghyun. 

"I'll see you later," Taemin said before leaving, as he hugged Kai. 

Jonghyun joined Kai a few minutes later with a soccer ball in his hands.

"Ready?" he asked. Kai nodded. "Let's go."

Kai followed him to the soccer field behind the school. When they got there, Jonghyun set the ball in the middle and explained the rules once more.

"Ok, best 2 out of 3 wins. If I win, you have to spend as minimum time with Taemin as possible, and you have to stop touching him. If I win, I'll leave you two alone."

"Right."

"I'm known as the soccer champion of this school, but that doesn't mean I'll go easy on you," Jonghyun added.

After shaking hands, the match begun. Jonghyun was in the lead. He tricked Kai into thinking he'll kick the ball a certain direction, but then he'd kick the ball elsewhere. He was very good at deceiving his opponent. Kai was too nervous to see through his tricks. Before he know it, Jonghyun had already scored a goal. All this running back and forth that Jonghyun made him do made Kai out of breath. 

"Is that all you've got?" Jonghyun teased, while scoffing.

A little voice in Kai's head kept talking. What are you doing, Kai? You know you're better than this. Why are you so afraid? The only time you should be afraid is if you're losing. You still have two matches. Come on. Do you really want to lose Taemin? Don't you want Jonghyun to leave you alone? Losing is not an option, you have to win! He closed his eyes and took a deep breathe. When he let it out, he let go of all his worries and doubts. 

He faced Jonghyun once again, readying for the second match. This time, he kicked the ball first. He ran passed Jonghyun in one swift movement and moved towards the goal. Jonghyun quickly ran after him, trying to catch up. Just as he was about to kick the ball from him, Kai kicked the ball in the net. When Kai looked back at Jonghyun, he noticed fear on his face. 

They both went to the center once again and Jonghyun readied himself for the third match. Come on, Kai, it's the final match. You can do this. Just analyze Jonghyun's moves and you should be able to look through them. 

Jonghyun kicked the ball from Kai. He ran towards to net, getting closer and closer. Suddenly, Kai caught up to him and was about to snatch the ball from him. Jonghyun, determined to win at whatever cost, tripped Kai, causing him to fall. Jonghyun got a hold of the ball again and ran towards to net. 

When Kai looked back at Jonghyun, he felt like giving up. Jonghyun was too close to the net, there was no way Kai could catch up to him. Suddenly, Taemin appeared in his head, the way he felt around Taemin, the way he felt tingly inside whenever Taemin would touch him. The voice in his head returned. Get up, get up, get up! 

Kai got to his feet in the blink of an eye and ran to Jonghyun. He was quickly catching up to him. Soon, he was right by his side. Just as Jonghyun was about to kick the ball into the net, Kai kicked the ball away from him. Jonghyun fell but quickly got back up. He ran after Kai, but Kai was faster. He sent the ball flying and enter the net. That was it. Their match was over. Kai had won.

They both collapsed on the ground and breathed heavily. Kai was smiling widely, proud of his victory. Once he caught his breath, he approached Jonghyun and offered his hand for a shake. Jonghyun glared at him more than he had ever done before. 

"Good match," Kai said. 

Jonghyun spit on on the group and just stared a Kai's hand, refusing to shake it. "Get the out of my face."

Kai turned around to leave, too happy to be concerned with Jonghyun's bitterness.

He got changed and left the school, heading towards Taemin's house. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: No TaeKai moments in this chapter, sorry >.< This might seem like a filler chapter, but it'll be relevant to the story later on. Thanks for reading! Comments are always welcome so don't hesitate to share your thoughts and what you think will happen! Have a great day