Balcony

The next day, the call to the principal’s office never came and the type-two leader refused to even glance in Kyungsoo’s direction. Kyungsoo expected that though. He figured the leader would make up some exciting little story for his bruises and cuts that would be up to par with his popular image. After all, it’s easier to lie. It also doesn't hurt when lies can be so much more interesting than the truth. The painful truth, in this case, being that the new kid managed to beat up a popular all-star athlete.

Kyungsoo could feel eyes lingering on his healing cheekbone when he entered the classroom the next day. However, no one bothered asking what had happened or how he was. Kyungsoo in return was relieved. He lied so often that he would take any chance that avoided the making of tall tales. It was so easy to make up stories, too easy.

The first half of the school day went by without hitch, though there was a small amount of awkwardness due to the leader’s obvious discomfort towards Kyungsoo. Kyungsoo left the classroom with his lunch and typical book in hand, attempting to ignore any attention drawn to him.

The state of the boxes remained the same, no matter how much Kyungsoo wished that they would magically revert back to their original forms. Kyungsoo took one deep breath in and got under his box. The smell of aerosol paint had sunken into the cardboard and it was relentless as it abused his senses.He tried to reassure himself it was just a tiny flaw in his haven. He could ignore the smell. After all, he still had the familiar four walls soothing and embracing him.

Kyungsoo ate his lunch with one hand and read his book in the other. He became so enraptured with the building plot line that when a knocking hit the side of his box, he jumped. Unfortunately, the small scare caused Kyungsoo to drop his book. Frowning due to the fact that he lost his page, Kyungsoo pushed the side window open and gave the bright-eyed Kai a sharp and irritated gaze.

“What is it?”

“Come out,” Kai smiled, looking eager.

“Why?”

“You’ll see if you come out.”

Kyungsoo searched Kai’s eyes for a moment, hoping to see a better answer. When his search came up dry, Kyungsoo bit his lip and looked down to the closed book in his lap. Since he already lost his page, Kyungsoo supposed it wouldn’t hurt to see what had gotten Kai all excited. So, placing his book and lunchbox aside, Kyungsoo lifted up the box and got out from under it.

Kai was sitting next to his box with a large bucket to the left of him and a stack of newspapers on the right. “I said I’d fix it.” Kai beamed, “I don’t know why I didn’t think of it earlier. I mean, we could have painted over the boxes completely, but this is a far better, cheaper and fun idea.”

Kyungsoo glanced between the bucket, Kai, and the newspaper and attempted to add them together and find the relation. “I don’t get it,” he said after a few moments.

Kai’s smile turned into a smirk. He ripped off a piece of a newspaper page and dipped it into the bucket. He pulled it out after it was thoroughly soaked with white liquid and then slapped it onto his box. The piece of newspaper easily hid everything beneath where it was pasted, spray paint graffiti included.

“Get it now? It’s called paper mâché,” Kai said as he demonstrated by sticking another piece of newspaper onto his box, “oh, and also-” Kai fiddled around with his back pocket and pulled out a pair of scissors. He ripped a portion of the newspaper and started to cut. He quickly chopped out a star, dunked it into the bucket and smacked it onto his box, “-you can do that. Neat, right?”

Kyungsoo felt his breathing hitch. His eyes alternated between his box and Kai’s. He wasn’t quite sure how to react. “Does it cover up the smell?” he asked.

“Not completely, it’ll probably smell more like glue for a while.” Kai replied, continuing to cover his box in different newspaper cut-outs, “so, are you going to join me? I only have one bucket.”

Kyungsoo gulped as he processed the invite. After releasing a long sigh, Kyungsoo dragged his box over and sat on the other side of the bucket.

As soon as he got one piece of the newspaper on and marveled at how well it covered the graffiti, Kyungsoo felt himself picking up his pace. He didn’t bother cutting out nice designs like Kai; all he knew was that he wanted his box covered from top to bottom. With the smell of the putrid paint diminishing and having been replaced by the light scent of glue, Kyungsoo felt his spirits lift one newspaper piece at a time.

Kyungsoo absentmindedly dunked a piece of newspaper in the bucket at the same time as Kai and their hands touched. Both were surprised by the contact and dropped each of their pieces of paper into the liquid mixture. “Sorry,” Kyungsoo muttered and took one of the pieces out. He was about to stick it on his box when he realized that he had Kai’s heart-shaped paper in hand. “Oh, um sorry. Here,” Kyungsoo offered Kai the dampened heart back.

Kai smiled and shook his head, “it’s okay, you can use it.” Kyungsoo pulled back his offered hand and gazed down to the heart. He examined the wall he was close to completing and tried to figure out where to put it. With lack of creativity, he simply smacked it right in the center of the wall. Kai laughed through his nose and mumbled, “cute,” before turning to Kyungsoo with an excited expression, “Hey, I have an idea! How about you design one of my walls and I design one of yours?”

Kyungsoo stared at Kai for a few seconds before comparing their boxes. So far Kai had completed two walls and they were mostly covered with pretty cut-out shapes. However, Kyungsoo’s two completed walls were solely made up of ripped pieces of newspaper. “Are you sure? I mean, it’s not going to look as pretty as the rest of your box,” Kyungsoo replied hesitantly.

“That’s fine. It'll give it more character. So, come on, let’s swap,” Kai picked up his box and motioned for Kyungsoo to move his. Kyungsoo sighed before shoving his box over to Kai and watching Kai place his box down in front of Kyungsoo. With the swap done, they both began cutting and ripping away.

Kyungsoo did as he had with his own box, tearing random pieces of paper and sticking them on. However, as he drew closer to completion, he snuck a glimpse at Kai's progress and was left in awe. Kai was almost done creating some sort of paper mâché masterpiece. His wall held an image of a very detailed and well-made cat (was it--oh gosh, it was even texturized for heaven sakes!).

“A cat?” Kyungsoo blurted out before he could stop himself. He quickly glanced away and focused on hastily sticking more pieces of newspaper on the box in front of him.

“It's because you remind me of a stray cat,” Kai chirped out after a few seconds.

Kyungsoo froze before he sent a questioning gaze to Kai, “I do?”

“Mhm,” Kai nodded and continued on with finishing the cat, “you both have this kind of independence about you and you both know how to look out for yourselves. However, you have a hard time trusting anyone beside yourself.”

Kyungsoo, on any other day and with any other person, may have felt offended. But, realistically, he knew Kai was right. Kyungsoo looked back to his nearly finished wall and was displeased to find it so lacklustre in comparison to Kai's. He knew he couldn’t compete with Kai in terms of artistic talent, but he'd at least rather go down fighting. So, he started thinking of what Kai reminded him of. Images of Kai ran through his mind but there were no sparks for an idea. Then, an image of Kai smiling popped into his head and it just stuck right on. Kyungsoo leaned back and took in the view of the sky. He relaxed when he felt warmth beam down from the sun and onto his face.

That’s when it hit him. He knew what Kai reminded him of. So, Kyungsoo grabbed a large piece of paper and started carefully ripping a large circle. With that done, he dipped the large circle into the bucket and waited until it was completely coated with the watery glue. After that, he pasted it on the box. With the leftovers of the circle, Kyungsoo made small triangles and placed them around the circumference of the circle. When Kyungsoo finished, he felt a small swell of pride in his heart.

“Is that a sun?” Kai asked, curiously taking in Kyungsoo’s creation, “why a sun?”

Kyungsoo immediately flushed. Like hell was he going to admit that Kai reminded him of the sun. “J-just cause. The sun’s nice,” Kyungsoo stuttered out and started fidgeting with the small clippings of newspaper within his hands. Kyungsoo felt Kai’s stare nearly penetrate through him for a few moments before Kyungsoo got the nerve to turned his head and meet Kai’s eyes, “what is it?”

“Do you like stars?” Kai asked with a straight face.

Kyungsoo knitted his eyebrows together in confusion, “Um, I guess so. Yeah, they’re nice. Why?”

Kai’s lips broke out into a grin, “Good, meet me here at 9 tonight.”

“What? Why?” Kyungsoo quickly shot out, warning signs flashing in the back of his mind.

“Don’t worry, you’ll love it. So, you better show up or I’m going to come find and drag you here.”

Before Kyungsoo could ask further questions or decline Kai’s invitation, the lunch bell rang. Kai smiled one last time towards Kyungsoo before sitting up and grabbing the handle of the bucket, “I have to run and put this back in the janitor’s closet. So, I’ll see you later tonight.” And Kai got down from the roof, leaving Kyungsoo to attempt to organize his feelings and thoughts.

When he got home from after school, his mind was a mess. His second rule was screaming at him, telling him not to even dare take a foot outside the house. On the other hand, another part of him was saying: well, the outing was inside the school's premises. So, he wasn’t technically breaking his second rule. Oh, who was he kidding with that one?

Being friends with Kai was nice, but he didn’t want their relationship to evolve any deeper. They got along great and they talked fine. However, Kyungsoo was getting worried. He didn’t want to start getting attached to Kai. In fact, that was the main thing he was trying so hard to avoid all these years. He didn’t want to get attached to anyone because, when the time came to move again, he’d have to leave them. Having hurt himself in the past by leaving what he thought were good friends behind, Kyungsoo didn’t have any desire to re-experience that pain. And as time went by, he found himself wishing that Kai wouldn't have to experience it either.

A ray of hope peeked through Kyungsoo's turmoil. Kyungsoo did know what to expect and was confident he could protect himself against it. He also thought that Kai could understood this as well. After all, Kyungsoo did warn Kai that he wouldn’t be around for long.

So, Kyungsoo came to the conclusion. Yes, he would meet Kai for whatever surprise he had planned that evening. And while Kyungsoo was at it, he would make sure to tell Kai that they needed to take a step back and slow down. That way, they wouldn’t start having certain expectations with their relationship.

After having dinner with the family and finishing his homework, it was time for Kyungsoo to head out. So, dressed in jeans and a light sweater, he walked out of his house and headed toward the school. What he didn’t expect, or more so forgot, was seeing the school’s gates closed. Kyungsoo trekked around the school until he found a low enough fence area and climbed over it. He made his way over to the old storage building and onto the roof.

There, leaning against his own box, was Kai looking through a hand-held telescope. Hearing Kyungsoo approach, Kai collapsed the telescope and smirked Kyungsoo's way.

“You made it.”

“Wouldn’t want my parents to worry about my kidnapping,” Kyungsoo dryly replied back. Kai snickered lightly and leaned his head back against his box, staring up to the stars.

“Surprise,” he whispered and held up the telescope, “I thought having a companion to stargaze with would be fun.”

Kyungsoo scoffed and walked over to where Kai was. He sat down a few feet next to Kai and grabbed onto his box that was lying within arm’s reach. The box completely blinded Kyungsoo until he popped the sunroof and side window open.

When he opened the window, he saw traces of a frown marring Kai’s face. “What’s wrong?” Kyungsoo asked, “Are you cold?”

Kai laughed aridly, averting his eyes, “no, it’s fine.” He slid the telescope open and handed it to Kyungsoo through the side window. Kyungsoo took it and thanked him. Kai gave a smile that dropped quickly. Kai then got under his own box and pushed his side window open. Kyungsoo eyed him, still not understanding his change in attitude. That’s when he remembered that he shouldn’t bother with something like that and that he should be trying to distance himself. So, to distract himself from the guilt building inside, Kyungsoo finally peeked through the eye of the telescope.

It was a beautiful view. Although the telescope was small and it didn’t have impressive magnification power, it still took Kyungsoo’s breath away. “Wow,” he whispered and felt a small smile break through his lips.

“Do you see the big dipper?” Kai asked. Kyungsoo moved the telescope around, but he sadly couldn’t see the constellation.

“No,” Kyungsoo mumbled and pouted minimally as he continued to look for it. He gave up after a few more fruitless seconds. He looked to Kai helplessly and found Kai trying to hold back his laughter.

“Don’t be so upset about it, it’s just a constellation.”

“But, I still wanted to see it,” Kyungsoo retorts weakly.

“You can see it better without a telescope anyways. Only the seasoned professionals know how to find constellations with telescopes.”

Kyungsoo raised an eyebrow at that statement, “Oh? And are you one of these seasoned professionals?”

“You could say that,” Kai smirked right on back. Kyungsoo snorted and handed the telescope to Kai through the window.

“Okay, prove it. And don’t try to pull a fast one; I’ll know when you’re lying.”

Kai’s smirk widened as he took the telescope, “Gladly.” And he peered through the telescope's eye and directed it to the sky. “Ah, found Cassiopeia. It was named after the wife of Cepheus, who was a king long ago—” Kai continued finding different constellations and informing Kyungsoo fun little facts about each of them. Kyungsoo listened intently as he took in the night sky. After a few more minutes, Kyungsoo started to feel the cold seep in through his clothing. He wasn’t exactly dressed for a cold night and he wasn’t expecting to be outside for so long. He hugged his knees closer to himself and kept an ear on what Kai was explaining. Another minute went by and Kyungsoo tried hard not to make his shivers and chattering teeth obvious.

“—usually you can find the Leo by looking for a backward question mar- Hey, are you okay?” Kai pulled the telescope away from his eye and squinted at Kyungsoo through the dark.

Kyungsoo rubbed his arms and smiled lightly, “Yeah, just cold.”

“Oh. Do you maybe…want to come in here? I have a blanket and my box is big enough for the two of us.”

Kyungsoo’s eyes nearly fell out of his sockets. His face started to feel a little warmer with the blood rushing to it. On impulse, Kyungsoo found himself quickly declining Kai’s offer. Kai only nodded in return, a blank expression appearing before he quickly started looking through the telescope again. Some more minutes went by and Kyungsoo was only getting colder. Sneaking a few glimpses at the occupied Kai through his window, his bodily needs overcame his mental insecurities. He got out from underneath his box and knocked on Kai’s. “Can I come in?” he asked weakly and attempted to gulp down some nerves.

Kai’s face immediately brightened and a genuine grin appeared, “Of course you can.” And he lifted the box up. Kyungsoo crawled in and was squashed right against Kai and a cardboard wall. Although uncomfortable to others, Kyungsoo loved the warmth radiating off of Kai on one side of him and the feeling of cardboard on the other. Kai shuffled a little, trying to find a comfortable spot and rearranged the blanket so it rested across the back of both their shoulders.

“So,” Kai whispered out, “How do you like the stars?”

Kyungsoo couldn’t help but grin as he looked up through Kai’s bizarre “open roof concept”. “They’re great. It’s sad I never stopped to admire them before,” he whispered back.

“Not even once?”

“Maybe when I was younger, but not anymore,” Kyungsoo sighed.

“Why not?”

“I don’t really get out much now.”

Kai rested his head against his knees as he gazed at Kyungsoo, “What do your parents do?”

Kyungsoo blinked a few times at Kai’s question. It was a little unexpected, “They’re both fiction writers. So, moving around doesn’t really affect their work as long as they have an internet connection where they are.”

Kai nodded and peered to the sky again. He handed Kyungsoo the telescope and Kyungsoo took it gingerly. He placed it to his eye and took in the stars.

Kyungsoo's senses were filled to the brim. His eyes were indulged by the sight of beautiful stars, his nose tingled with the smell of cool air and Kai’s scent, his body kept comfortable by the cardboard and Kai’s warmth, his ears soothed by the sound of crickets and Kai’s steady breathing, his taste buds delighted by the humidity in the air and Kai’s lips on his own.

Kyungsoo's eyes popped open in shock. With the telescope tightly gripped in hand, Kyungsoo turned and bent his head down in order to stare at an apprehensive looking Kai. “What…was that?” Kyungsoo forced out.

“I don’t know,” Kai replied back through rasps, “did you like it?”

“Did I—I, I don’t know,” Kyungsoo stuttered out, his face becoming more boiling hot by the second. Kai leaned toward Kyungsoo and their lips met again. Kai took Kyungsoo’s upper lip between his own two lips and pressed lightly for a few seconds before pulling away.

“How about now?” he asked, this time much closer to Kyungsoo.

“I-I don’t know, Jongin.”

“Do you dislike it then?”

Kyungsoo his lips, “I’m not sure.”

Kyungsoo was lying. Kyungsoo was straight up lying. Whoever said it was easier to lie was right. Because Kyungsoo didn’t dislike it. He didn’t dislike it at all.

(Revised chapter 09/09)
throws confhettiii. Yayy first two kisses, nawww. Some of you may find that quick but um, yeah. I can do what I like okay! >> Lol, I was kind of surprised when I looked at my timeline and realized it was time. Oh well. Hopefully everyone liked it. :)
Um....What else to say. OH! I know! Shameless promotion! Do you like BAEKYEOL and do you like ? Well guess what! I wrote a oneshot ty spin off for my fluff baekyeol fic. If you haven't read it, don't worry, you can read the oneshot without being confused :) Click here guys!
Another thing: Wanna see where I'm at with my writing? Wanna know why I might be taking so god damn long? Check me out on twitter: PurpleandPluto and I also have a tumblr, but I haven't really set it up yet >>
Also, sorry for the long wait on this one guys. I've been working everyday since last tuesday and my next day off is this Thursday. So, hopefully expect another update then!

Okay, comment replies nowww:

@aimee2304 - :D Glad you like he's a fighter ^^
@myna92 - :O Thank you, I'm so happy you like it /letears
@Drawingfishies - HII there, lol. Yeshhhh, I'm glad badass Kyungsoo is getting a good response. I was worried people wouldn't like him :'( LOL, no babies at the end of this update, but I hope you still like it.
@PurpleSwils - Ouch, your feels sound painful. YES, thank you for liking Spitfire D.O (lolling at my own invented nickname for him) Lol, your interpretion of Kai and Kyungsoo in this fic makes me sooo happy. I'm super glad you see them this way (although it might be a little tortorous). Let's continue riding the Kaisoo ship together ~~
@darkrose123 - Yayy, thank you :) I'm glad you like it so far, I hope I can continue to please you...and maybe shock you some more? Who knows. Lol, badass Kyungsoo developed when I realized that people aren't always nice to new people, so I thought some more and created Spitfire D.O. ><'
@taesteful - Heh heh, he's a wimp :P
@ExoticVIP - Lol, I don't think you realize how much my Dr.Evil side came out when I read a bunch of comments worrying for Kyungsoo. I wanted to cackle at my laptop. Like, evil villian "I have a plan" style. Anyways, I'm glad you like Spitfire D.O ^^'
@sunshining - Teehee, yayy thank you. And yes, anyone who messes with Soosoo will feel our wrath...it won't be pretty.
@kate64100 - /cries, thank you for such a nice comment. I'm glad you seem to like everything so far. I hope you'll continue to like it :')
@b2sttimetofly - The fact that you took the time to comment makes me giddy. THANK YOU ~~<3 YOUR COMMENT IS MORE THAN SUFFICIENT!
@SHINeeLuv1 - Surprise! Ahaha, hopefully you're okay with Spitfire D.O :) AND I KNOW, RUFFLING HAIR IS AWESOME AND IT'S TOTALLY JUST AN EXCUSE TO TOUCH YOUR LOVER. *coughcough* Done. LOL, Taemin/Kai slip there? It's okay. I forgive you. Yayy, I'm glad you find their personalities match them. For me, I don't think I can write them too OOC you know? I kind of saw Kyungsoo having the potential of being a perfect fighter because,boy, can he glare...not that he does it often cause he's such a sweetiepie <3 Okay, confession, I everytime I listen to My Lady (okay, slight exaggeration but very close to the truth) Thankkkkss for liking this much love, okay? xoxox
@MrsKkamJong - "Chill bro, I got it" Totally had the perfect strutting image of D.O cause of that LOL. And good luck with your allergies :) Ahaha, thanks for pointing that moment out. It's one of my random fluff moments I came up with in the middle of writing. And trust me, if I could get them married, I WOULD. Lmfao, OH NO WHAT HAVE I DONEEE D:D:D:D:
@lovefaith - I COULD have had Kai come to the rescue..but yeah, it's cutie kicking Kyungsoo so much more interesting to read? Lol, self complimenting *smacks self* LOL, superhero Kyungsoo. Special Weapon: KILLING YOU WITH CUTENESS D:< YOU WILL NEVER WIN.
@wookiekyuie - Yeshh, thanks for liking him. I realized after creating him how much I'm going against the weak and vulnerable stereotype that is D.O XP
@tami-- - Thank youuu, lol.
@vanndee13 - YAY, good. I'm glad :D
@DBSKforever5 - Ahaha, it's sort of true. I mean, he's getting all angry about boxes....and for Kai's sake teehee. Anyways, yes leader is immature cause he's a dumbo. He's probably not going to make much of an appearance anymore. That section is donnnne. Onto other conflicts teehee.
@yangie - /sniffs. Rweally? You rweally think so? Thank you for saying that :') My feels for your comment.../huggles
@IshidaMichaelis - We're all just so thankful for each other *hugs* LOL, surpised you, did I? GOOD XP Bahaha, getting a little too ahead of yourself, but...I understand. I can't wait til I get to it either. Anyways, hope the last part was a nice but veryveryveryvery small preview for you.
@myloveisinfinitex3 - I liked that you used mind blowing in your comment, you get brownie points ;) And I'm glad you like Spitfire D.O so....*throws more brownie points* You rule ;)
@supergirl94ily - Air...you know, after Kaisoo came along, I started wondering the same thing XP Lol, that's true but nope. Didn't work out that way cauuuse yeah :) Lol, Kyungsoo is still a little snarky, though not by much. AND I tots gave you some Kaisoo love by the end of this update. So, HA. And essays are always welcomed in my comment section *arms wide open* I am ready to receive!
@woobabylove0904 - Yayy, glad you like him...and the gif ;)
@MissEe502 - Surprise surprise teehee ^^ Yayy, hopefully you like their progress in this chapter as well ;)
@blaaah - Ahaha, now you make me wish I added a frying pan within the beating with your umme reference LOL. <3
@JuliaYes - HII there, glad you found this and thanks for subscribing! ;) yeah, I surprised a few people who D.O but, people seem to be taking it all right. /fliptables NEVER FEEL SORRY FOR LEAVING ME A COMMENT. I love all comments and I /love/ replying to them! It's completely fine. Thanks so much btw, ~~<3
@14blackbirds - Sniffling, thank you. I'm glad you support my badass Kyungsoo. I know he breaks the mold a little, but thank youuu <3 I hope you'll continue to like this fic :)
@krazi_Muzique - Score, now you shall think of Kaisoo everytime you see a box! *POOF* LOL, I'm glad you like those parts <3 They're some of my favs too. OMG motha fluffa, can I steal that off you? I love that! Thanks so much for the awesome comment, much love coming your way ~~<3
@shellfish - :O PSSST, I love you and your comments. Omg, this might work out to be a beautiful friendship :P
@chippawabrike - Can I admit that I liked that you called me comrade? Like seriously. Lol, Thank youuuuuu <3

Comments replies = done! One important thing before I go: COMMENTS MAY TAKE TIME TO REPLY, BUT I LOVE DOING IT SO DON'T APOLOGIZE EVER! NO MATTER THE SIZE, I LOVE ALL COMMENTS. Except those who bash Kaisoo, you guys can all just leave...or face the wrath of Spitfire D.O. XP
Kay, done! I'mma leave you guys eyes with something :