Throughout the entire bus ride, I can’t stop thinking about Kris.

                I’m just asking to get beaten up now, aren’t I? I flung ice cream at him like a total . He’s going to hate me with a passion now. I should have just sat there and pretended I didn’t do it. But he probably would’ve known anyway, since I was the only one at the table directly behind him… I was doomed either way. I’ve never been bullied before, and I bet it’s not going to be fun experience…

                “Ready?” Luhan asks, bringing me back to my senses. The bus has stopped and it’s time for us to get off. It only takes us a few minutes to get to the apartment complex, and the area already seems familiar to me. Luhan skips ahead, talking about Sehun and how cool he is. He was very happy when I gave him Sehun’s cell phone number, since he was too bashful to ask him for it in person.

                “Luhan, do you have a crush on Sehun?” I ask, enjoying the embarrassed look on his cute face.

                “N-no.” He stutters out.

                “Sure you don’t.” I say. Luhan smacks my arm playfully. We climb the flight of stairs and head to his apartment. When we step through the door I almost feel like I’m home. The place just has a familiar, welcoming smell. I set my things down in Luhan’s bedroom and then make my way back into the living room. I sit down on the couch and wait for Luhan to come back.

                “So Tao, do you like anyone in particular?” Luhan asks from the kitchen.

                “Why do you want to know?” I ask.

                “Well, since you keep bothering me about it, I thought I’d bother you about it a little.” I can almost hear him smiling.

                “Fair enough.” I say. “But there’s no one I really like, sorry,”

                “No one?” He sounds shocked.

                “Nope.” I can sense he’s disappointed, but it’s true. There’s really no one I like. I’ve had a few crushes in the past, but none that have lasted for more than a few weeks. My father always told me to focus on my studies. I honestly just never had the time to pay attention to anyone, and I was always afraid to take an interest in someone because of my father. I knew he would be disappointed in me if he ever found out.

                There’s a lot of things my father doesn’t like. He used to get irritated when I would spend my summers playing outside and going to the park with my friends. He thought it was a waste of time; so now, I spend my summers studying and reading. He didn’t approve of my hobbies: dancing and singing; so now I don’t attend practices anymore. I’m no longer allowed to hang out with half of my middle school friends because he didn’t believe they were worthy of my friendship. And I lost my best friend in elementary school because his father was a homoual. My father made sure I was removed from any of the classes I had with him. The hardest thing I had ever done was completely ignore all my best friends just because my father found something unfitting about them or their families. This is why none of my recent friends have ever met my parents.

                I wish I could live with Luhan and his brother.

                “What do you want to have for dinner?” Luhan asks, coming around the corner corner with his head tilted to the side.

                “Whatever you or your brother would want.” I say.

                “Ramen it is.” He says, cutely and walks back into the kitchen. 

                “What’s your brother like?” I ask, leaning my head back to stare up at the ceiling.

                “Well, he can be annoying but he’s a really hard worker.” I can sense Luhan having difficulty finding the right words to describe his brother. “I guess he’s kind of a trouble maker but he's gotten his act together recently. When our family started having money troubles, he began working a lot but his grades suffered. A couple of years ago, he ended up failing so many classes he had to repeat a grade. He's doing well now though, so I guess everything worked out."

                “So, you get along him?” Based on what Luhan said, it sounds like he has a lot of respect for his brother. They must have a decent relationship.

                “Most of the time.” There’s a bit of humor in his voice. I’d like to have a sibling. It seems like it would be fun. If I had a brother or sister I wouldn’t always be so lonely at home. I stand up and walk into the kitchen to watch Luhan finish up cooking. 

                I hear the door open and close and suddenly feel nervous. Luhan looks up for a moment but then focuses back on the plates of food. I don’t know why, but I have a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. “Tao, go say hi.” He says.

                “B-but your brother doesn’t know me.” I say quickly, feeling unnecessarily awkward about this whole situation.

                “I told him I was having a friend over. He’s probably seen you around anyway, go ahead.” Luhan pushes me out of the kitchen with one hand, while balancing the bowl of ramen in the other.

                 I stumble back into the living room and my heart almost gives out. Standing only five feet away is no other than Kris. His eyes and mine widen at the same time. .

                “Kris, this is my friend.” Luhan comes out and walks into the living room, oblivious of the growing tension. My eyes flicker back to Luhan and his extremely scary brother, who I didn’t even know was his brother. Kris’ eyes harden and his face goes back to its usual ‘’ face. "His name is-"

                “Tao. I know.” It’s really weird actually hearing Kris talk. His voice is deep yet soft; not exactly what I was expecting it to be.

                I watch warily as Kris walks past me and hangs his jacket up in one of the small closets. I realize I can’t stop staring at him. Now, only seeing him in a skin tight guinea-t, I realize how muscular and strong he looks… I’m not sure if I find that to be a good thing, or a bad thing… probably a bad thing.

                “Tao.” I realize Luhan is pushing at my side. This is a big realization moment for me. I mentally face palm myself for acting so stupid. “You can sit down if you want. You don’t have to stand,”

                “Ok.” I blurt out and sit down on the side of the couch that is farthest from where Kris is standing. All I can feel is shock. Kris is Luhan’s brother…? Why didn’t Luhan ever say, ‘my brother is Kris, that creepy third year student who likes to shove you into your locker?' That would have made things a lot easier…

                Well, I guess it isn’t that hard to believe… Luhan’s brother would be a third year student, since he had to repeat a year. And every time I’m with Luhan I feel like I have some kind of preotection against Kris…

                How am I going to survive this night!? Kris hates me, and now I’m in his house…

                “Kris, sit.” Luhan says before walking back into the kitchen. Reluctantly, Kris sits down at the other end of the couch. My entire body is rigid and I’m trying to not to move a muscle. I want to draw as little attention from him as possible. I glance over at Kris. He doesn’t look as uncomfortable as I am. Through the corner of my eye, I can see him readjust the position of his legs in an almost automated action. I wonder if he feels awkward, because I most certainly do. Or maybe he’s just thinking about the perfect moment to beat me up.

                After a few minutes, Luhan comes out and serves us all dinner. He then sits down between Kris and I, making me feel a slightly safer. He turns on the TV and begins to flip through the channels. It’s almost humorous how unaware Luhan is about this whole ordeal.

                A half an hour passes before we’re all done eating. I curiously watch as Kris stands up and picks up all the bowls before heading into the kitchen. Instead of paying attention to the TV drama we’ve been watching, I listen intently to the kitchen faucet turning on and off. Kris must be washing the dishes… “Do you think he needs help?” I ask.

                “He’s fine. It’s his turn to do the dishes.” Luhan looks over at me suspiciously. “Don’t worry.”

                “I’m not worrying.” I say quickly, and I can see Luhan give a faint smile.    

                “Let’s go to my room.” Luhan stands and pulls me up. He grabs onto my hand and begins to lead us out of the room, but we stop in the door way of the kitchen. “Gege, we’re going to my room.” Kris glances over at us.

                “Ok.” His eyes flicker to mine and I swear my heart is starting to beat faster. His eyes don’t look as intimidating as they usually do.

                “Come on, Tao.” Luhan pulls me away and we head down the hall and into his room. I close the door behind us. “Will you be alright if I take a quick shower?”

                “Yeah, go ahead.” I say and sit down on his bed. Luhan smiles and heads out.

                “Tao.” I sit up and take my earbud out. I’ve been spending the past few minutes lying on Luhan's bed, listening to music. I thought about how weird it is being in Kris’ house. Sure, it’s Luhan’s house too, but it’s hard to even get over the fact that they’re brothers. They seem like complete opposites. Luhan’s so kind and Kris is… not. Being in this house makes me nervous. “Tao.” I realize it’s Luhan who’s calling me. I walk into the hallway and see him peeking through the crack of the door.

                “Yeah.”

                “Can you get me a towel?” He asks.

                “Sure, um, where are they?” I glance around.

                “In the closet at the end of the hall,” I turn around and discover the closet at the end of the hall. I run and grab a towel from the pile and then hurry back to give it to Luhan. “Thanks.” Luhan says with a smile before closing the door again. I turn around and begin back towards Luhan’s room when I realize Kris is a couple of feet away, about to walk into his room. He looks up at me and I freeze. We stare at one another for a few moments before he simply walks into his room. God, this is so creepy.                   

                I can feel my heart beat going crazy.

***

                                When Luhan comes back from his shower, he sits at the edge of the bed and starts drying his hair with the towel. “Why didn’t you ever say your brother was Kris?” I ask and he looks up, seeming a little surprised.

                “I didn’t think you knew him, and I guess I just forgot to ever say his name.” He says, thinking. “So, you guys do know each other?”

                “Uh, no, not really. We’ve just seen each other around school... I was surprised he even knew my name.” The last part was true.

                “He seems to like you,” Luhan says bluntly. I can’t help but laugh, even though it comes out sounding rather forced and almost hysterical. Luhan must find my laugh funny because he starts to laugh along with me.

                “Sure.” I say. Like I’ll ever believe that.

***

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A/N- I'm almost done with the next chapter, so expect another update within the next couple of days!^^

You all guessed it, Kris is Luhan's brother!! ^-^ hehe. Don't forget to comment!♥ Love you guys.