I hated the sport for many reasons. I had to hold up a huge bat and hit an itty bitty ball going past me at God-knows-what-speed. Bastetball was more enjoyable than this trash. Lu Han preferred Soccer, and Tao liked his wushu. Was my father on crack when he took us out all those times?

Another thing I hated about the game- he threw nothing but curveballs. They were the hardest things for me to hit, and I always got as frustrated as Tao, yelling at my dad for throwing so many when I wasn't prepared.

"That's life, nothing but curveballs." He laughed. "You were one of our biggest curveballs, Yifan."

~

Don't forget to remind mom to take Tao to his wushu class tonight. I'm going out with a friend.

I sent the text to my dad and got out of the car, anxious to be in front of Chanyeol's house. For some reason, I was really nervous about this whole situation. I didn't exactly know what kind of identity Chanyeol was giving me.

I knocked on the door and ran my fingers through my hair, trying to calm myself down. It's not like his parents were homicidal maniacs...right?

"Hi Kris!" A cheery voice greeted me as the door opened.

"Ms. Kwon?" I was so shocked to see her. Was I at the right house?

"Chanyeol said you'd be picking him up to hang out. Come in come in!" Her smile welcomed me inside the house.

I took a look around, trying my best not to judge. Contrary to the student body's popular belief, she wasn't a crazy cat lady that littered her house with pink furniture. Her house was actually pretty modern, even compared to mine.

"Ok-look I've gotta go now. I'll see you tomorrow. No, just a friend. Ok, ok. Bye bye." I heard the unmistakeable deep voice laugh from upstairs. Seconds later Chanyeol was racing down with his bright smile. He wasn't wearing his glasses. "Hey you found it!"

"Wasn't that hard. I didn't know you two lived together..." I looked from one to the other.

"I've raised Chanyeol since he was little. Did I raise the boy well? Has he been polite to you?" Her eyes narrowed, possibly debating to ground him.

"He's been very nice. I think we'll be great friends in the future." I smiled warmly. This woman always made a situation less awkward.

"Ok ok, let's get out of here before she starts talking about my first bath." Chanyeol started pushing me out the door.

"Oh please I would talk about the long time it took for you to get potty-trained first." Ms. Kwon winked.

"Oh my God!" He shut the door and ran out to my car. I followed, laughing at this joke.

"I'm sorry, Auntie's crazy." He apologized.

"She's funny."

His jaw dropped. "Don't laugh! It didn't take long at all for me to use the potty-" He cut himself off and looked away.

I laughed harder. "Dude, you can get in now. And don't worry, I won't say anything to anyone. My lips are sealed."

He huffed, opening the car door and slipping in. I got out my keys and got into the driver's side. "So...to the mall?" I asked as my laughter died down.

"Yep. Hope you brought a credit card." He smiled, his eyes dancing.

"Debit, but ok."

~

"What are we here for? Isn't Macy's on the other side?" That was the store my mom usually attacked each year before school...

"Changing clothes doesn't change a person. We have to do something a little more...permanent. Besides, you wear plenty of black and white and...gray. Damn, you dress really depressingly." Chanyeol mused as he led us around.

I shrugged. "My mom must think I'm a little teenage boy filled to the top with angst then."

"Here we are!" Chanyeol pointed ahead. It was a little Japanese...grocery store?

"I don't think bento boxes are gonna help me..." I muttered.

"This place has amazing deals, and everything we'd need! Except one, but we'll talk about it later." He stepped in and grabbed a basket to hold all of our items in. "Let's see what they've got in the beauty department..."

He ran away and I struggled to catc up with him. "Um...why are we..." I froze when my eyes caught sight of what was in his hand. "Hell no!"

He rolled his eyes. "Be glad I'm not grabbing purple hair dye. Anyway, blonde would be a fantastic look on you. Fantastic Baby!" He started humming the Big Bang song as he rummaged through other items on the shelf. "Hair gel too. Eyeliner is a cool look. Not mascara or fake eyelashes, your lashes are long enough. And make up remover... Um," he took another look at my face, "maybe...some chains?" He murmered to himself.

"Do I get any input in this?" I asked weakly.

"No." He didn't even hesitate.

"I don't know how to put any of this on..." I argued.

"I'll help you." He shrugged.

I felt a vibration in my pocket and checked my phone. It was from Lu Han.

Dr called 2 get me into phs ther. Kai is taking me now. Tao and parents and me wont be back till 10. Dont wreck anything.

Perfect.

~

"Hell. ing. No." I said through my teeth.

"But it's perfect! I mean, you're of age, and this place is totally clean. Trust me!" He jumped in enthusiasm.

A tattoo. A ing tattoo. What was I becoming, a ?

"As much as I've been appreciating your help so far, I am far from comfortable with this suggestion." I tried to reason.

"But it's such a great idea!" He kept going.

"A tramp stamp is a horrible idea." I rebuttled.

"It doesn't have to be on your ! It can be on your arm or chest or...not your ankle that's for girls." He advised. "Come on even I have one!"

My jaw fell to the floor. He...he was just fifteen. He was a kid. He was a freshman! But surprisingly... I found this really hot.

"You're a bad child! You've tainted your skin!" I said over-dramatically.

He laughed and winked, hoping I was being persuaded.

"B-Baekhyun..." He stuttered, obviously confused.

"I hope you have a good explaination." I turned around and saw a short guy, wearing way too much make up. He looked familiar, and I figured he went to our school. He looked me over, judging me to the max. "You're the one who has the brother with the disorder."

"Disability." I corrected, instantly on guard. "A disorder is something you have. A disability is something you don't."

He didn't seem to care. "Chanyeol, I'm waiting for your explaination."

The freshman cleared his throat. "Baekhyun, this is Kris, my friend. Kris, this is Baekhyun. He's a sophmore at our school."

"I'm his boyfriend." Baekhyun added, an annoyed smile playing on his lips.

I blinked, not expecting that. "Ok, nice to meet you?" I held out my hand but he didn't take it. I hated the bastard already.

"So...what are you two doing? At the mall? At night?" He played innocent, pretending not to assume anything.

"Oh we're obviously just standing out in front of a tattoo parlor. I'm sorry if it looks like I'm his face, it isn't what it looks like."

"Kris!" Chanyeol said angrily.

Baekhyun laughed humorlessly. "Oh it's alright Yeollie, I just wanted to find this guy's intentions. He's as straight as a flagpole, so I'm not worried anymore." The .

"Sorry to disappoint you-" He cut me off.

"Anyway, I need to go now. Bye Kris, it was delightful to meet you. See you later Yeollie!" He sang.

He walked ahead, almost passing Chanyeol when suddenly he grabbed the freshman by the neck and dipping him into a kiss. My eyes widened and I paled at the sight as Chanyeol completely melted into his boyfriend's kiss, even closing his eyes and letting his arms go limp.

Baekhyun, meanwhile, opened his eyes and winked at me. Not in a flirtatious way at all, a taunting wink that angered me to the bone. It was his way of telling me he believed Chanyeol was his property.

The kiss ended abruptly when Baekhyun pinched Chanyeol's , earning a yelp and a shove away. "Bye bye baby!" He sang and walked away.

Chanyeol's face turned bright red and glued his eyes to the ground, as if it suddenly sprouted baby unicorns from the carpet fibers. "S-S-Sorry he's...u-um well, yeah."

I grabbed Chanyeol's hand and pulled him inside the tattoo parlor before he could say anything else. "Help me pick out a cool design!"

Baekhyun. Let's see who has bigger balls.

~

"Ok, hold still, we don't want it to drip much more..." Chanyeol chided.

"This was such a terrible idea...what did I do in my past life to deserve this? Was I a e? Was I a murderer? Did I...eat carrots?!" I gasped.

He slapped me on my arm, giving me great pain. "Stop making fun of me!"

"Hey! I just got a tattoo there! No hitting!"

We were now in my bathroom, going through the "dyeing" process. I sat on the toilet lid while Chanyeol did my hair for me. I had to wear this huge piece of plastic so the dye didn't damage my clothes.

"You've done this before, right?" I couldn't help but ask.

"Duh." He pointed to his own brown hair.

"So...where's your tattoo?" I asked.

"Don't have one." He lazily replied.

"What?!" I was enraged now. "You lied?"

"Maybe, maybe not. You'll never know." He said, distracted by my hair.

A thought occured to me. "Oh my God. You have a tramp stamp."

He gasped. "No I don't!"

"You totally do. I can visualize it now. A tattoo that says 'I hate carrots!'"

"I'm handling the future of your hair, so play nice." He said lowly, if his voice could get any lower.

"I am sorry, please forgive me. You're tattoo is not a tramp stamp, but a beautiful piece of artwork that must make all the boys in town want to run up to you with chocolates in hand."

"That's more like it." He stopped. "Kris, if me being gay is uncomfortable to you...tell me now."

I held up my hands in defense. "My dad's views and mine are completely different. You can love whoever you want in my opinion, and I still think you're a wonderful person." My chest hurt a little as I thought of Baekhyun.

He nodded, going back to my hair. "Good, because I didn't choose to be gay. It's just who I am. Like Tao, I guess, in a way."

"Only being gay doesn't affect your learning capability." I corrected.

He laughed a little. "I'm not saying I have a disability, but I never chose anything. Not my eye color, not my height, and not what I was attracted to."

"I understand. Don't worry, I'm very outspoken and I never lie. Just the other day my dad made some rude remark and I went off at the dinner table."

"That had to be a lively event."

"Oh it was, you should have been there. Dad went all off on the Bible but I told him to it."

He burst out laughing, and I had to admire his face. It was...compelling.

"Ok, let's put this toner in and wash it out." He told me.

After he was done with my hair, he packed up his stuff to leave, but I grabbed his wrist, not wanting him to leave.

"Wait, um...I don't know how to put on eyeliner." I used the lamest excuse ever, but I needed him to stay.

He smiled. "Oh I know all about that. Come over here..." He propped himself up on the bathroom counter, spreading his legs. I shyly went up between them, not expecting this position.

"Now don't move." He said lowly, in that deep voice of his. He leaned in close to get a better look at my eyes. Unconsciously, my hands moved to grip his hips.

He gasped but shoved all of my guilty intentions out of his head. "Don't worry, I won't jab anything in your eyes. Now look down. You want to start at the very corner..."

I wasn't stupid. My mom had been putting on eyeliner since forever, And sometimes I had to do it for her. Thank god Chanyeol never thought of this.

While my eyes were down, I was embarrassed to the fact that I was staring at his crotch. God, what did I do to deserve this holy sight in front of me?

"Ok, now look up." Chanyeol said.

God, you're a ing tease.

~

"Gege?" A little voice said in the darkness. I sat up groggily and looked in the doorway.

"What is it, Tao?"

"Can I sleep with you tonight?"

I blinked. He hadn't done this for a while. "Yeah, is something wrong?"

He plopped into my bed and clung onto me. "No, I just miss you."

An overwhelming sense of guilt settled into my chest. I was paying more attention to Chanyeol than I was for Tao, wasn't I?

"I'm sorry. What can I do to make it up to you?" I whispered.

"I don't know. Let me think about it." I laughed, knowing it would never cross his mind again.

"Gege, do you like Chanyeol?"

I stiffened, not expecting this.

"Gege?" He asked again when I did not answer.

"...yeah. Yeah I do. But we don't tell anybody that. Not even Lu Han Gege."

"Why?" He yawned.

"Because it's my secret. You'll keep my secret, right Tao?"

"Mhm..." He sounded pretty tired, so I let him sleep.

I kissed his forehead, glad he could be so perceptive, but worried about it too. The more time I spent with Chanyeol, I spent less time with Tao. I needed to find balance.

~

Around 3 AM, I got thirsty so I went downstairs to drink some of the 7-up in the fridge. When I came back up, Lu Han's light was on.

I came in without knocking, seeing my brother sitting on his bed, a soccer ball in his hands.

"You look like a blonde monkey." Lu Han commented.

"Oh gee thanks. Not like I didn't do this at your request or anything." I closed the door and sat at his desk chair, knowing he didn't always like people on his bed. "What's up?"

"Oh...adult stuff." He said absent-mindedly.

"Lost your collection?"

"Haha. Actually, my friend is returning from China tomorrow. The one who works at the ice cream place and needed an extra hand. Well..." He pointed to his legs. "How do I explain this? He was really counting on me. Plus I need tuition money. If I had this job, it would be paid off in a heart beat. This...was just not my day."

I bit my lip, letting the caring side take over. "I'll do it."

"...what?" Lu Han surpressed a laugh.

"I'll work for you and get your college money paid off."

He stared at me. "You can't be serious."

Right, I had to be serious. Keeping Tao occupied, persuing a romantic interest, caring for my crippled brother, and working part-time. I could totally handle that.

"I am serious...I've never done anything for you. You were always over-loaded with stuff. Please let me do this." I pleaded.

"But-"

"Please."

He stared at me. "Ok. Um, thank you."

"Good, now get some sleep. I'll see you later, Gege."

As I turned to leave, he stopped me with "Kris."

I froze in front of the door. "Yeah?"

"Don't ever...try to be me, ok?" He said carefully.

I nodded, not fully comprehending. "Sure Gege. Night!"

__________________________

yep. Hungry now.