“Are you sure you wanna do this?” Sehun asks as they find their seats and slide into the booth. “You don’t even know Chanyeol.”

“I mean, is he important to you?” Kai asks, sliding in beside him. 

“Chanyeol? He’s one of my best friends.”

“Then yeah, I want to. But why does he even wanna meet me?”

Sehun sighs. “It’s actually Baek’s idea,” He says as they’re handed some menus. “He wants Chanyeol’s stamp of approval on you before-” He stops himself, feeling his cheeks become warm. “I uh…”

“Before…” Kai grins. “We start dating?”

“I-I didn’t say that…”

“But you were gonna.”

“I wasn’t,” Sehun mutters, fiddling shyly with his menu. “N-nothing like that!”

Kai laughs and shrugs. “Whatever you say. Should we wait to order…?”

“Nah, Baek and Yeol always order the same thing,” He waves his hand, dismissing the thought. “Let’s just order, they’ll be here soon.”

Kai slowly nods as he looks over the food listed. “When did you guys meet Chanyeol?”

“Middle school. It was the first time Baekhyun spent more time with someone other than me.”

“Did that...bother you?”

“At first,” Sehun admits. “It’s selfish, I know…”

“I don’t think so.”

“No?”

“Nope,” Kai shrugs. “You two were glued to the hip all your life, right? It’s normal for you to get jealous and feel lonely.”

“Lonely…” Sehun hums a bit and glances out the window. He smiles when he spots Chanyeol and Baekhyun. Chanyeol gets out of the car, quickly rounding over to open the door for his boyfriend. “I guess I did.” He waves at his two friends, watching as they make their way into the building and towards the booth. Baekhyun slides in first, followed by his giant. “Whoa, nice new hair,” he compliments, noting Chanyeol’s newly dyed almost silver hair.

“Thanks!” Chanyeol smiles widely, leaning over and ruffling his friend’s hair. “Baekhyun had blonde hair in middle school and now you do...I realized my red hair was just getting kind of old and…” He looks at Kai. “Whoa, what’s Kai doing here?”

Kai raises a brow. “You...know me?”

“You don’t realize how popular you are in school, do you?” Sehun huffs. “He’s...um…” He blushes, unsure what to call him. A friend? His date? He looks to Kai for help.

“We’re just friends,” The jock says for him. “For now.”

“For now?!” Chanyeol looks to Sehun. “Sehuna!”

Sehun glares at Kai but he can’t stop the fluttering in his heart. Not yet. He looks back at his menu. “W-whatever! Let’s just order…”

Chanyeol takes a deep breath before speaking. “Kai, I’m gonna say this, even if you’re a popular kid,” He begins. Sehun groans and hides his face with his menu. “Just because you’re a cool guy doesn’t mean you can play with Sehun’s feelings; if this is a joke, I will find you and beat the out of you.” He always knows without looking at his friend’s face that he’s completely serious. 

He glances over at Kai, watching as he stares back at Chanyeol; probably to read how serious he is. When seeming to not find any hint of joking, the jock clears his throat nervously. “Well, I can assure you that I’m a hundred percent serious about dating him.”

Sehun can feel his cheeks heating up. “Let me guess, Sehun,” Chanyeol begins. “You’re getting the hamburger, fries, and a chocolate milkshake.”

“You know me too well,” He smiles sheepishly.

“Here’s a tip, Kai. Sehun really loves chocolate, no matter what form it’s in,” The giant chuckles. “He also really loves different kinds of meats.”

Kai gives Sehun a half-smile. “I’ll have to remember that.”

“You’re dead to me, Park Chanyeol,” Sehun glowers, causing his two best friends to just laugh. After rolling his eyes, Sehun slaps Chanyeol on the head with his menu before handing it back to the waitress. He lets his friends order for him, considering they know what he wants. 

“So, you were in America?” Kai asks.

“That’s right.”

“You’ll have to tell us some stories!” Sehun beams. 

Chanyeol laughs. “Sure, sure. I got you two gifts too,” he says. “New cleats, naturally. I’m sure you guys worked your last pairs to hell.”

Sehun purses his lips. “I won’t admit or deny that…”

“I knew it,” His friend chuckles and shakes his head. “I knew it.” He looks over to Kai and gives him a long, hard look. “So what’re your game, huh?”

Kai raises his brows. “What?”

“What’s your deal? Why ask our Sehun all of a sudden, huh?”

“Chanyeol!” Sehun scowls.

“What? I don’t want a damn repeat of middle school,” Chanyeol says. “So if this is Kai’s ed up sense of humor...”

The jock shakes his head, moving his hands to let their food be placed. “I already told you,” he says while chewing. “I’m dating him because I think he’s cute, funny,” He shrugs. “Talented.”

“Come on, stop,” Sehun grumbles, blushing a bit. “L-let’s just eat, guys.”

“So, you like him?” Chanyeol asks over the phone. 

“Like who?” Sehun plays dumb as he puts on the new cleats he had been given.

“Oh, come on,” He scoffs. “You KNOW who I’m talking about. A certain jock with uh a big, fat crush on you.”

Sehun shakes his head, looking at himself in the mirror. He gives the cleats a few kids, walking around the room a few times. They felt and looked pretty good. Black and white. Very expensive, from what he’s looked up. Chanyeol always tells him not to but he can’t help it, “I…” He lets out a sigh as he sits on his bed. “I...don’t know, Yeol. Liking people is really...useless for me.”

“Yeah, I know...but do you think you’d try this time? Come on, Sehun- Kai really seems to like you…” Sehun swallows hard, closing his eyes. He rubs his arm as he listens to his friend. He opens his eyes again when he hears that motorcycle again. He goes to the window and once again watches Luhan approaches Xiumin’s bike.

“I-I don’t know. Can I call you back, Yeol?”

“Sure, Sehuna. We’ll talk later, okay?”

“Yeah, good night, Chanyeol,” He says before hanging up. He dials another number, biting his lip as he waits. 

“Hey, Sehun,” Kai greets. “It’s a little late but I never mind a call from you.”

“Um…” Sehun smiles a bit at the last part. “I need your help.”

“Sure, anything. Are you doing alright?”

“I want you to come over tomorrow night, to my room.”

Kai clears his throat and laughs awkwardly. Sehun can just imagine how it looks. Adorable, for sure. “You...you want me in your room?”

“Yes.”

“Wow, that’s uh...straight forward.”

“No, Kai.” He takes a deep breath. “It’s...my step-brother.”

Kai goes quiet for a moment. “Your step-brother,” He repeats.

“You...can’t let anyone know.”

“This is getting pretty cryptic.”

Sehun rubs his face. “Can you...just meet me here tomorrow? Bring your bike.”

“I always do, sweet cheeks.”

“SWEET cheeks?” He laughs shyly. He rubs his cheeks, trying to get it to go away. “D-don’t call me those things…”

“Aw, why not?”

“Just...just be here with your bike, ok?”

“Why not get some dinner why we’re at it?”

“Dinner? Come on…”

They both go quiet for a moment, before Kai finally speaks up. “So, did I get the stamp?”

Sehun sighs as he sits back on his bed. “What stamp?”

“Chanyeol’s stamp of approval.”

He chuckles as he unties his shoes and pulls them off. “The first stamp of approval ever.” His heart flutters at the low laugh that comes.

“Good, good. I feel lucky.”

“Lucky…” He repeats quietly. “W-well, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“For dinner?”

Sehun smiles, already knowing he won’t give up. “Yeah, okay...dinner.”

“Alright, Sehun. I’ll see you tomorrow,” Kai says. “Night.”

“Night,” he mumbles. He slowly lowers his phone when it hangs up, staring at the screen. He looks at Kai’s contact photo; the one where Kai took his phone randomly and took a selfie. He winked and told Sehun to enjoy it. Sehun remembers scoffing and pushing him off his bench. 

Sehun looks back at the window and stares at it. “What the hell are you doing, Luhan?”

“Okay, okay,” Kai clears his throat as they head back for Sehun’s home. “Okay, the weirdest or luckiest way you’ve ever won a game?”

“Just soccer?” Sehun asks as he unlocks the front door and steps inside.

“No,” Kai shrugs. “Any game.”

Sehun slowly nods and leads the jock up the stairs. “Okay, uhh…” He thinks about it for a moment. “Oh okay! I was in middle school and we were playing dodgeball in P.E,” He begins. He ignores Luhan when he peeks out his bedroom door; so does Kai. “As you know, I’m the last one left on my team, as well as this other guy on the opposing team.” he opens his own door, letting Kai go in first. 

“Dodge ball?” Kai scoffs. “Aren’t you good at sports?”

“I’m a soccer player, Kai,” He shakes his head. “But um...I managed to dodge it this whole time but now it’s just the two of us. So um, I close my eyes and put up my hands when this guy throws his ball because I figure I’m gonna lose anyway,” He says. “Next thing I know, I open my eyes again and...turns out I caught it. Right in my hands.”

Kai raises his brows and scoffs. “Are you serious?”

Sehun shrugs. “I you not,” He laughs. “You should have seen the look on the guy’s face. He was so mad!”

“I can only imagine,” The jock shakes his head, grinning widely. “So uh...nice room.”

“Thanks,” He sighs, looking at the clock. “What’s YOUR room like?”

“MY room?” The boy purses his lips. “Why, you wanna see it?”

Sehun blushes and fiddles with his sleeve He goes to the window and mumbles. “U-um..well…” He shivers when Kai stands behind him, slowly leaning his arm against the window sill. 

“So did you need my help or uh…” He slowly smiles. “Did you just wanna see me?”

“Y-yes,” Sehun stutters. He gasps and looks down. “N-no, I mean both! Wait, no I…” He groans. He looks at the clock and is, honestly, thankful. “Okay, so um...every night at the same time, Luhan uh...sneaks out and…” He glances at Kai nervously. “And he gets on Xiumin’s bike.”

“Well, they’re friends.”

“I-I know but, he SNEAKS out. Not only that but he looks extremely suspicious while doing it,” He says. “Okay, come on.” He grabs Kai’s hand, ignoring when their fingers intertwine. He pulls him out of the room and back outside. “I want to follow them today.” Kai furrows his brow as they hide behind the building; peeking out enough to watch.

“Sehun, this is-”

“Shh!” Sehun waves, patting his face to shut him up. Just like before, Luhan quietly climbs down the tree by his window, landing softly. He glances around quickly as Xiumin rides up and stops. 

“What the…” Kai frowns.

“See?” He whispers as Luhan hops on Xiumin’s bike and they drive off.  “Come on, come on!” He stands up and runs over to Kai’s bike, grabbing one of the helmets. Kai hurries as well, causing Sehun to wrap his arms around the jock’s waist.

They follow Luhan and Xiumin to several stores, none of them buying anything due to the lack of bags; which Kai says is really weird for them. They walk out of the last place with Xiumin’s arm around Luhan’s shoulder. They seem to be having a deep, serious conversation. “What do you think they’re talking about?” Sehun whispers.

“Honestly? I don’t know,” Kai sighs. “Usually they’re laughing, shopping....sometimes like twenty bags,” He rolls his eyes. “God, shopping is REAL boring.”

“Yeah, tell me about it,” Sehun groans. “Baekhyun really likes it, so Chanyeol and I are usually left sitting on a bench somewhere trying to not have a snooze.”

“So you only shop from practical stuff?”

“Yeah, like,” He shrugs. “Well, cleats and other stuff.”

“I know what you mean, Taemin loves shopping but I can’t stand it.”

Sehun looks at Kai, smiling weakly. “Hey, how come I’ve never met him?”

“Tae?” Kai asks and Sehun nods. “Whenever he gets back from America.”

“So...does he know about me?”

Kai smirks. “You want me telling people about you?”

Sehun stares at him for a moment, clearing his throat as he leans back on the back. “I um…”

“He knows,” the jock says. “I do talk about you when we’re on the phone.”

“What uh…w-what do you tell him?” Sehun asks as he looks over, watching as Xiumin and Luhan enter a restaurant. They’ll be here for a while. Kai shrugs and crosses his arms. 

“I tell him…” He pauses him. “I tell him that you’re kind, talented...special.”

Sehun furrows his brows. “S-special?”

Kai stands up straight, slowly turning to face Sehun. He leans close and smiles. “Special...'cause you’re nothing like the others at school, you know? You don’t care about things like popularity-”

“Actually, I do care...a little.”

The jock rolls his eyes. “Okay, you don’t care enough to change who you are. I mean look at the party, you didn’t dress to impress anyone; you just came as yourself.” Sehun looks up when Kai gently sets his hand on his cheek. “You refuse to change yourself for other people and...that makes you pretty damn special.”

Sehun stares up at him, into his eyes; trying to find some sort of doubt or lie. His heart beats faster when he sees nothing but warmth. Something he’s not used to seeing it aside from Baekhyun and Chanyeol. “I…”

“Hey, is that you, Kai?!” They both look, watching as Xiumin waves at them. “Sehun too?!”

“Um…” Sehun laughs nervously as they approach.

“What...are you two doing here?” Luhan asks slowly.

Kai looks at Sehun. “Well, uhh…”

“We’re on a date,” The boy says for him. 

The jock clears his throat and nods. “Yep, a date.”

“Oh...you two...are still...” Luhan looks between them. “Dating?”

Sehun glares at him, not liking the tone in his voice. But he relaxes when Kai wraps an arm around his shoulder. “And why not? Look how cute he is!”

“Stop,” Sehun mumbles, pouting a bit when Kai kisses his cheeks. He’s not going to lie. He kind of likes the type of attention Kai gives him. He even finds him leaning into the Jock’s chest. But what he doesn’t like is the look Luhan gives him.

“Join us for a late-night dinner!” Xiumin offers.

Sehun scoffs. “N-no, I don’t think-”

“Yeah, let’s do it,” Kai cuts in. “We’ve been driving around a lot and I’m getting a bit hungry.” Sehun opens his mouth to argue but he shuts it when his stomach growls. He glares up at Kai but he stands regardless. Kai really owes him one.