Sehun pants as sits on the grass, wiping the sweat from his eyes and face. He knew he’d win but he didn't think it would have been this hard. He looks over at Kai as he falls over as well, laughing through his heavy breathing. “Holy crap. You’re...awesome at soccer.”

“I should be,” It’s Sehun’s turn to laugh. “I’ve been playing it since I was a kid. I have several trophies in my room,”  He says. “What were you thinking?”

“Well,” Kai rolls over onto his side and groans. “I know you play soccer and all but uh...I figured it was a hobby or something. I didn’t think you’d be so...serious about it.”

Sehun smiles as he watches the jock lift his leg and begin to stretch it. He’s not sure if this is still some prank but he has to admit, he did have fun. He pushes his blonde bangs from his eyes and sighs. The night breeze feels refreshing on his skin. Kai finally sits up and pushes his bangs as well. He grins at Sehun, letting out a satisfied breath. Just as he thought. He knew Kai would look good all sweaty. He bites his lip. This might be a mistake but why the hell not? The guy’s been super cool to him ever since he met him. Even when he told him off, he quickly backed up and seemed to understand. He still doesn’t trust him but he could at least give him a try. “Kai, uh…” He mumbles as he picks at the grass; staining his hands with dirt and green. “About that second date…”

“Yeah?”

He shyly averts his gaze. “I don’t like fancy restaurants,” He says. “I prefer things like cafes and diners...and my favorite food is sushi.”

Kai slowly grins. “Wait but...you won.”

“Yeah…”

“And you want...to go out again?”

“Yeah...b-but you can't pay next time,” Sehun stutters. “We have to split the bill or I’ll feel too weird…”

“Okay, that’s fair,” Kai nods and finally stands. “Totally understandable.”

Sehun can’t help but smile a little again, standing up as well. “Hey, tomorrow’s Monday…”

“And?”

“Do you think it’d be okay if I were to, I don’t know, come find you at lunch?”

Sehun stares at him. “W-why?”

“So we can river dance,” The jock laughs a little as he grabs the ball and leads Sehun back to the car. “To eat lunch with you.”

“But why would you...want to eat lunch with me.”

Kai tosses everything in his backseat. “The same reason I asked you out on a date?”

Sehun fiddles with his dirt-stained hoodie. “Which is…?”

“Because I think you’re cute.”

The compliment makes his cheeks heat up and looks away. He clears his throat, softly thanking his date when he opens the door for him. “I guess that’d be alright,” He responds. He glances at his phone clock and gapes at it. Nearly one in the morning. He knows his mother told him to stay out as late as he wanted to but he didn’t think he would. When did time pass? They started playing soccer at ten. “Won’t your friends think it’s weird, though?”

“Why?” Kai asks as he turns the car on and begins fiddling with the radio.

“I’m not really...well-liked by most of you popular kids.”

“Eh, popularity doesn’t mean anything to us,” The jock shrugs. “My friends are the one that helped me get the confidence to ask you out. I was nervous, you know?”

Sehun leans back .”I find that hard to believe.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re...I don’t know, one of the hottest guys in the school. Not to mention one of the most popular...I hear a lot of girls talk about you.”

“You think I’m hot, huh?” Kai teases playfully. He smirks a bit at Sehun’s red cheeks. “Well, for them but I'm not interested in their type.”

“Girls…?”

“Snobby es,” He says honestly. “I hate snobs and people that think they’re better than everyone else. So they have a lot of money? Who cares? Their personalities stink.”

Sehun slowly nods, watching as Kai begins to drive off. “I don’t...I don’t want to ask but-”

“I’m not strictly gay,” Kai interrupts. “For me it’s...more about personality, you know? Being attractive helps but, yeah.”

The boy feels his heart flutter a bit. “I see.”

“What about you?”

“Oh,” Sehun laughs nervously. “I...only like guys.”

“That’s cool,” Kai shrugs. “Does your folks know?”

“My mom does,” He admits. “I uh told her during my freshman year. And I don’t give a if my stepdad knows.” He surprised even himself with that last part. He’s used to talking this way with Baekhyun but with a stranger; no less a date? “Sorry…”

“Don’t be,” Kai smiles at him briefly. “You don’t have to explain to anyone why you’re all bitter about family.”

Sehun gives Kai a strange look. He’s not exactly what he expected at all. “Thanks.” 

As soon as Kai parks the car and turns off the engine, they sit in silence for a few seconds. “Hey, look,” The jock sighs. “I know you took a bit chance coming out with me,” He begins. “Thanks. I uh...I really had fun.”

Not that he wants to admit it but so did he. He was ready for the guy to laugh and point at him; taking photos as his friends pop out. “I…” He sighs. “I did too, Kai. Thanks…”

Kai gets out first and heads over to the passenger side. “Come on, I’ll walk you to the door.”

Sehun shyly climbs out, hugging his hoodie to his chest tightly. “This is it,” He thinks. “This is when the cameras come out and the laughter starts.” Anxiety fills him as he walks toward his home. And at his own house too. At least at school, he can run from them and hide. But this is his sanctuary. This is where he runs to and cries. His stomach drops and he can feel himself begin to tremble as soon as they stop at his front door. He turns to face Kai, reading himself for what comes next. What he expected. 

Sehun flinches when something gently and briefly brushes him. Kai leans back and sheepishly smiles after giving his cheek a soft peck. He clears his throat. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Sehun.”

“S...see you,” He gasps softly. He stands and watches as his date heads back to his car and gives him another wave before driving off. He slowly leans his back against the door and stares forward with wide eyes. Nothing happened. No cameras. No laughter. He touches his cheek. What just happened?

Sehun feels a bit dazed after last night. It was dumb and small but that kiss on his cheek lingers in his mind. No. Nothing may have happened last night but he can’t discount that it’s not a prank. “Sehuna?” The boy blinks. “Sehun!” 

He shakes his head and looks up to his best friend. “What?”

Baekhyun sighs. “What’s with you? You’ve been all weird since your date with lover boy.”

“Sorry,” He mumbles, pulling some texts books from his locker. “What’d you say?”

“I asked how your DATE went! The only thing you told me is that you got back around one in the morning,” He says. “What the hell did you guys do?”

“We played soccer.”

Baekhyun stares at him. “I know but I figured...that lasted for thirty minutes while you kicked his ?”

Sehun laughs a bit. “Nope. It lasted for a while,” He shrugs “It’s weird but Kai might have a secret talent for soccer. Maybe he played at his last school or something.”

“Wow, saucy. You guys played soccer for like three hours.”

“Hey, I had fun,” Sehun admits. “While we played, I didn’t even once think about the whole joke thing,” He explains. “But then, you know, all that came back to me when he walked me to my door.”

“And…?”

“And he…” He mumbles the last part so Baekhyun couldn’t hear.

“He what?”

“He…” Sehun looks around. “Kissed my cheek.”

Baekhyun raises his brows. “He kissed your cheek?”

“Yes,” The boy whispers, gently shutting his locker. “I...agreed to go on a second date.”

“You did?!” His friend laughs. “Sehuna! That’s great!”

“Also, he might join us for lunch; whoa, time for class,” Sehun coughs but Baekhyun grabs him before he can runoff.

“Whoa, whoa! What?!”

Sehun sighs. “He asked me if we could eat lunch together and I...I don’t know, agreed.”

Baekhyun slowly grins. “That...is perfect!”

“It...is?”

His friend nods enthusiastically, beginning to walk with Sehun when the bell rings. “I have to go at lunch, remember? My doctor’s appointment?”

“Baek, noo! You have to reschedule!” He begs.

Baekhyun shakes his head and laughs as they head inside the classroom. “Nope, sorry! My doc is pregnant and I won’t be able to get a check-up until she returns. See the bright side; you get to spend time with lover boy.”

“Loverboy?” Someone from nearby scoffs. Sehun lets out a sigh and turns to see one of his many bullies. “Who’s loving you, huh?”

“No one,” Sehun mutters.

“No one?” Some girl laughs. “Yeah, right! Rumor is that Kai took him out on a date!”

“Kai?!” Another girl gasps. “There’s no way Kai would go out with someone like you, Sehun! Someone probably just made a bet!”

“Oh!” Her friend giggles. “Maybe it’s a pity date!”

“Shut your mouth!” Baekhyun snaps. 

“Baek, it’s fine,” Sehun pulls on his friend’s arm, dragging him to their seats in the back. 

“You es are just jealous cause Kai would rather go out with Sehun than some fake, -kissers like you!”

The girl's gasps in unisons, looking at each other. “H-how dare you!?”

Some guys laugh beside them. “Say what you want, idiot. But we’re not gonna take from a guy whose mom needs financial help from the government!”

“You leave my mom out of this!” Baekhyun hisses.

“Hey,” Some jock speaks up. “I bet she has to the principal’s just to stay in school!”

“That’s hit!” His friend snaps, standing up and quickly getting in the guy’s face. “Say that one more time and I'll make you eat my ing fist!”

“Enough!” Someone shouts, getting in between BAekhyun and the other jock. Kris gently pushes them both away. “Seriously, that’s enough, guys.”

“But Kris-”

“No, you’re giving us a bad name,” Luhan’s boyfriend interrupts. “The hell is wrong with you?!”

The men mutter and look away, seemingly full of guilt. But Sehun wouldn’t reach that far. He sighs and shakes his head. At the sight of Kris and a few moments later, the teacher, everyone seems to separate and take their seats.  Sehun leans over to his friend and rubs his arm. “Hey, are you okay?”

Baekhyun sniffs and nods. “I’m fine.”

“For what it’s worth,” He whispers. “I think you totally could have kicked his .”

His friend laughs and shakes his head as he dries his eyes; possibly tears of anger. “Yeah right. that guy is at least six foot tall and has muscles shooting from his .”

“Yeah but...you’re all petite, spry, and scrappy.”

Baekhyun grins and nods. “Thanks…”

Sehun smiles at his friend, regardless of how hard their words hit him. About Kai and a bet. He swallows hard. Was he right all along? Is this all just a joke to him? He guesses he’ll just have to find out.

Sehun tries not to tremble as he slowly sits at the place Baekhyun and he always goes during lunch. It’s a peaceful bench that rests under a tree beside the field. Isolated and quiet. Perfect for the two of them. Chanyeol used to sit with them too before he went to study in America for a few months. He tries to remain calm as he pulls his lunchbox from his bag. Due to being able to stay home, his mother has been able to make his lunches now. No more cheap, gross cafeteria food for him. He goes off-campus for lunch sometimes but it’s too nice here.

He sets his food on his lunch and pauses when he sees Kai lightly jogging over; stupidly waving at him with a big grin. Sehun blushes and fiddles with his bag. “S-stupid.”

“Hey, Sehun,” Kai greets as soon as he’s close enough. “Baekhyun’s not joining us?”

“No. He had a doctor’s appointment,” He looks at Kai and then at his empty hands. “Where’s...your lunch?”

“Oh um,” Kai smiles sheepishly as he sits. “I usually go out with my friends to eat. I didn’t think this through.”

Sehun raises a brow. “You didn’t think LUNCH through?”

“No,” He admits. 

“What about homemade food?”

Kai scoffs. “Homemade lunch? Like my parents would take time from their busy schedules to care about that stuff. Why bother?” He laughs dryly. “They just throw me money and call it quits.”

Sehun can’t help but feel bad for him. Hr’s lucky enough to have a caring mother and yet it seems Kai doesn’t. He bites his lip and glances at his food. Opening his food, he looks around his bag for something. He pulls out a spare plastic spoon he keeps just in case his other one breaks. “Here,” He says, handing it to him. Kai watches in confusion as Sehun scoots far enough to let the box of assorted foods. Rice, pieces of beef, and other things. “You can have some of mine.”

“That’s nice but I don’t wanna take your food,” The jock says.

“I don’t mind,” Sehun mutters. “I usually can’t finish it by myself and it’d make my mom happy to know other people enjoy her cooking…”

Kai looks at him, almost as if he’s looking for any kind of doubt. When seeming to find none, he sighs. “Only if it’s alright with you.”

He shrugs as he grabs a spoonful of rice. “I offered, right?”

The jock fiddles with the spoon, looking shy as he does so. It makes the boy smile a bit. Sehun watches him carefully as he takes some of the beef hesitantly and brings it to his mouth. He looks surprised after he swallows it. “Whoa, this is actually pretty good.”

“Why are you so surprised?”

“I guess I just don’t have home-made food that often,” He admits. He groans a bit as he tries the other assortments. “Wow!”

Sehun looks at him oddly, laughing a bit as he watches the man enjoy the food. “You know, junk food isn’t good for an athlete,” He says as he pulls out a bottle of water. “You should take care of yourself.”

Kai shrugs now as well. “Hey, I take care of myself. I just...really like fried chicken.”

“Fried chicken?” 

“Yeah, it’s my favorite.”

Sehun clears his throat, feeling his cheeks heat up a bit. “We could...get some if you want. For…our second date,” He offers. “I haven’t had some in a few years.”

Kai’s eyes light up at this. “Really? You don’t mind?”

“Sure,” The athlete grins. 

“Cool!” He nods. “I’ll show you the best place to get some!”

Sehun smiles at him. He watches as he continues to eat and talk more about the many foods he likes. He can’t help but become a bit infatuated by the way the jock looks. So carefree and easy-going. Confident and kind. But something pops in his head that makes his smile falter. 

“There’s no way Kai would go out with someone like you, Sehun! Someone probably just made a bet!”

Kai seems to notice his suddenly pained expression and frowns. “Are...you okay?”

“Y-yeah, of course,” Sehun clears his throat.

“Really…?”

Sehun averts his gaze. “Y-yeah.”

“Sehun…”

The athlete sighs and shakes his head. “It’s dumb.”

“Hey, come on. Your feelings aren’t dumb,” Kai says as he sets his spoon down. “Tell me.”

Sehun bites his lower lip as he brings his knee to his chest and holds it. The other one kicks at the grass. “It’s something someone in class said…” He begins. “Someone...found out I went on a date with you.”

Kai frowns. “Is that bad?”

“No, no!” He says quickly. “I-it’s fine, it’s just...one of your friends laughed at me. She said the only way you’d ever...ask me out, was because of some bet.”

Kai stares at him for a moment. “I see,” He sighs. “Well, I don't have any female friends. So whatever that chick said was complete bull and she’s probably salty that I didn’t ask HER out,” He huffs. “I’m tired of this .”

“W-what ?”

“These...people,” The jock complains. “They just on my reputation and they act like we’re BFFs or something. Like, even with...you.”

Sehun raises his brows. “With me?”

“I’m worried all those idiots are gonna...I don’t know, drive you off.”

He smiles weakly. “You’re worried about that?”

“Can you blame me?” Kai asks. “You have a reputation for being super suspicious and paranoid.”

Sehun scoffs as he grabs his now empty box and stuffs it back in his bag. “I have a reputation? I figured mine was being ugly and poor.”

“Ugly?!” Kai exclaims. “Did you seriously just call yourself ugly?”

He jumps a bit, startled by the jock’s sudden shock. “W-well, other people-”

“Other people? Those stuck up idiots?” Kai scoffs. “ what they think. You’re cute, Sehun.”

“C-cute?”

“Yeah,” He chuckles and stretches his legs. “I don’t like superficial kinds of pretty.”

“You mean like Luhan?”

Kai smiles apologetically. “He’s your brother, sorry.”

“Don’t be,” Sehun smiles. “We’re not close.”

“Right...why do you think that is?”

Sehun goes quiet for a moment, thinking about that. “I guess we just never...clicked?”

Nodding, Kai stands up. “Walk with me?”

“Huh?” He looks up and nods. “Sorry, sure,” he clears his throat and stands, grabbing his bag.

“You can leave that in my car if you want.”

“I-is that okay?”

“Sure,” Kai shrugs. “You have P.E next, right?” When Sehun looks at him oddly, he laughs. “I only know because we’re in the same class. Anyways, you can get your bag after school, if you want.”

“Well, I guess that’d be okay,” He accepts shyly. He tries to ignore the glares he gets when they walk past a group of girls. He shrinks under their angry stares and clutches his bag tightly. Kai doesn’t even look at them as he talks cheerfully, leading the way. But he doesn’t walk in front of or behind him. Instead, he walks beside Sehun. It’s strange and tiny but it’s a gesture he appreciates regardless. It makes him feel equal. He glances at Kai’s hand and wonders what it’d be like to hold.

Sehun listens to his family as they sit at the dinner table. Luhan talks about how his winter vacation plans and what he wants to do with Kris; about how the guy has so many romantic things planned for them. 

“Namsan tower?” Sehun thinks. “Anyone can go there, even without vacation; what’s so special about that?”

“What about you, Sehun?” His stepfather asks.

“Huh?” Sehun looks up from his plate. “M-me?”

“Yeah, do you have any plans for vacation?”

“Um…” Sehun swallows his food before responding. “Chanyeol’s gonna come back soon, so Baekhyun and I are gonna throw him a small get together.”

“That’s sweet, Sehuna,” His mother smiles. “Nothing romantic going on?”

He immediately thinks of Kai and it makes him blush a bit. He clears his throat. “Nope, not really.”

“Really?” Luhan raises a brow. “Not even with Kai?”

Sehun glares at his stepbrother but his parents look surprised. “Kai?” His mother asks. “Is that the nice boy that picked you up?”

“What? Sehun actually had a date?” His stepfather chuckles.

“Maybe,” Sehun whispers. “I-I don’t know. It’s not huge.”

Luhan scoffs. “Not huge? You guys were eating lunch together,” he reveals. “You guys were SHARING food.”

His mother raises her brow. “You shared your lunch? Honey, you hate sharing food.”

“He...forgot his own lunch; I was just being nice.”

“You kept your stuff in his car,” His stepbrother grins. “I saw you two walking out together after P.E; you EVEN skipped soccer practice! That doesn’t sound like nothing to me.”

“Sehuna! You skipped soccer?!”

Sehun groans. “Look, all I know is that I'm spending winter vacation with Chanyeol and Baek.”

“But what about when they wanna go off on their own?” Luhan asks. “How’re you going to spend it then?”

He really hates his brother right now. “I’ll probably be working on soccer,” he mumbles. “The college I want has pretty high standards.” He sets his chopsticks down. “You know what I think is interesting? How everyone miraculously knew that Kai asked me out.” He watches as Luhan’s chewing comes to a slow. “You don’t know anything about that, do you?”

“Was...that a secret?”

Sehun stares at him. “You just decided to tell everyone?”

Luhan shrugs. “I don’t know, I guess? I thought it was cute...”

“Cute?” He glares. “Cute as in ‘Oh, look how cute that is. Sehun thinks he actually has a chance with Kai’ cute?”

“I...I don’t know! You just didn’t seem like his type, I don’t know!” His stepbrother tries to explain.

Sehun goes quiet for a moment. “I don’t seem like anyone's type, huh? Well, I’m sorry for not being as pretty or PERFECT as you!”

Sehun’s mother gasps. “Sehun!”

“That’s enough you two,” Their father sighs. “No fighting at the table.”

“Okay! Let’s go upstairs and I’ll yell at you some more about how your friends are jackasses! Oh, how about how Kris had to stop YOUR friends from calling Baekhyun’s mom a !”

“Enough!” Their father raises his voice. “Sehun, go to your room; you had enough dinner.”

“I lost my ing appetite anyway,” He snaps and angrily stands up. He stomps from the dining room and up the stairs. He doesn’t bother to hide his anger, slamming his door. He stops and stares at his room. He gets he was kind of rude to Luhan but of course they’d take his side. Perfect, precious Luhan. He rubs his eyes, sighing when his phone rings. Without checking the id, he picks it up. “What?”

“Do you answer like that all the time or is it just me?” Kai laughs from the other line.

“O-oh!” Sehun sits up straight. “Kai, sorry!”

“Hey, sorry for calling so late.”

“Late?” Sehun looks at the clock. “It’s only eight, you know.”

“I know but isn’t...this kinda weird?”

Sehun shrugs as he goes to his bed. “I don’t know; Baek calls me at three in the morning sometimes.” His heart flutters when Kai laughs.

“Three? Wow,” he chuckles. “But it’s different. He’s your best friend, right?”

“Been stuck with the guy since childhood,” he confirms. “Do you...have anyone like that?”

Kai hums a bit and seems to shift around a bit. “Taemin,” He reveals. “We met in middle school,” Sehun remembers seeing Taemin around but he doesn’t seem very into sports. Mostly because he walks around in eyeliner and carries a guitar.

“So why the random call?”

“Oh, sorry. You left your jacket in my car,” He says.

He gasps and looks around. Why didn’t he realize that before? He groans and falls back. “Sorry,” he mutters. “Can I get it tomorrow?”

“Sure, you can grab it before school. I usually hang out by the fountain in the courtyard. You can come grab me and I’ll get it for you.”

“With...with your friends?”

Kai laughs. “Yeah, they’ll be there too.” Sehun goes silent, string up at the ceiling. He takes a deep breath and closes his eyes. “Sehun?”

“I uh...I’m just nervous.”

“Don’t be. My friends are nice.”

“No, I mean about...other people,” He sighs. “I just…” Sehun listens as some strange shuffling comes from the other lines; as if Kai is shifting around to find a new position. He wonders what he looks like right now. Is he wearing a tank top and pajama pants? Or is he still in his uniform? What about his room? Is it messy? Or is it neat? 

“You still think this is all a joke, huh?”

“Yes,” He admits quietly. 

Kai lets out a long sigh. “Well, how about you at least give me a chance?” He offers. “Let me try and prove to you that this is real.”

Sehun bites his lip and slowly sits up. “H-how...would you do that?”

“Well, what fun is it if I tell you?” He laughs. “Just uh...give me a chance?”

He goes to his window and stares out at the night sky. He scoffs when he notices Luhan, watching as he quietly makes his way over to a motorcycle. He furrows his brows when he notices the drive. It’s not tall enough to be Kris. He just shrugs it off, though. Maybe it’s a friend of his or something. Luhan gets up on the man’s back and they drive off. He wonders if their parents know. “Okay,” He smiles weakly. “But don't make me regret it…”

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

Kai sure does love food

“You won’t. I promise.”