WARNING: MENTION of drug use.

Best Friend - fifteen&seventeen;

Taemin is in high school when discovers how broken Kibum is.


Taemin and Kibum are lying outside in Kibum's backyard. It's currently around eleven-thirty and they're star gazing.

"I still don't understand why we're doing this. Not to mention we have school tomorrow," Kibum complains while moving closer to Taemin in an attempt to steal some of his body heat.

"I start high school tomorrow, hyung. I'm just working off the nerves," Taemin replies and wraps an arm around Kibum's waist.

"Tch, working off? We're just lying here."

"We can do other things," Taemin wiggles his eyebrows at Kibum, who makes a disgusted noise and pushes his forehead away with a finger.

"Ew, why are you so erted? I miss my five-year-old Tae-baby."

"I miss my seven-year-old hyung, too," Taemin pouts and Kibum chuckles.

"I kinda miss the old me too, Tae-ah. Everything's so different now that it's like we're two different people," Kibum whispers and buries his head in the crook of Taemin's neck.

Taemin looks down at the top of Kibum's head. "It doesn't matter, hyung, as long as we're together."

-

School has been going on for over two months now and Taemin is seriously bored. He thinks back to Kibum's words about high school being different from elementary and middle school and disagrees with it. The only thing that is different is the public displays of affection that go on constantly.

Taemin asks to go to the restroom and is given permission. He walks and does his business purposely slow to waste time and when he finally comes out of the restroom, he is shocked at the sight in front of him.

Kibum and some boy are kissing. The other boy is pinning Kibum so tightly against the wall that Taemin wouldn't have known it was him had he not seen the dark purple streaks in his midnight black hair.

"Ahem," he decides to intervene.

The boys immediately spring apart and turn to face him. The way they sigh in relief simultaneously when they realize he isn't a teacher is almost funny. Almost.

"Tae-ah, what are you doing here?" Kibum asks, stepping in front of the other boy, who is shamelessly staring Taemin down.

"This is school, hyung," Taemin deadpans, voice completely serious.

"No, I mean, here." Kibum gestures around him.

Taemin points behind him to the boys' restroom, "I had to pee."

"Oh, well then, uh-"

"Don't get caught," Taemin says and walks off, ignoring the older boy.

"Wow, what a ." Taemin hears the boy say once he's taken roughly ten steps. He only rolls his eyes.

"Shut up, Kihyun. He's right. Now go to class," Kibum scolds and Taemin smiles when he hears him.

-

Taemin knocks on Kibum's front door and waits. He knocks again to the same result. Tired of waiting, Taemin tries the doorknob. Surprisingly, it's unlocked.

"Hello?" he asks as he steps into the house. It's completely dark and the only thing that lets him know that someone is home is the music blaring from upstairs. Judging from the few English curse words that he picks up, he decides it Kibum. He knocks his bedroom door once, twice. No answer so he just opens it.

"!" Kibum exclaims and shoots up from his lying position on his bed, momentum making him almost fall off. He snaps his head up after the shock and exhales angrily when he sees Taemin. "Tae-ah! You scared the hell out of me."

"Hyung, what are you doing?" Taemin asks and fans the cloudy smoke away from his face, coughing a few times.

"Stress relieving," Kibum answers and lies back down on his pink bed. "Feels great. You should try it." Kibum winks at Taemin before blowing smoke in his direction.

Taemin bites his bottom lip. The contrast between Kibum and his bedroom so painfully different. Grown-up Kibum, dressed in all black and wearing eyeliner with a cigarette clipped in his fingers, and his pink, still child-ish bedroom.

"What's wrong?" Kibum asks and sits up again.

"Why?" Taemin manages to ask.

"Why what?"

"Nothing," Taemin looks away.

"Why am I like this?" Kibum reads Taemin's mind.

"No..." Taemin denies anyway.

"Life isn't easy, Taemin. Well," Kibum gives Taemin a once-over, "maybe for you, it is. But not for everyone else."

Taemin continues to awkwardly stand in the doorway, foot digging into the carpet.

Kibum sighs, "Fine." He stubs his cigarette out on his bare desk, throws the remainder of the stick away, and opens his window to chase out the smoke. "Come here," he demands once he's done. Taemin reluctantly obeys. "I'm sorry," Kibum apologizes and pulls the younger boy into a hug.

"For what, hyung?"

"Not being the Kibum you used to know."

"That's alright. I like this Kibum right now," Taemin pulls back to stare into Kibum's eyes.

"Really?"

"Yeah," Taemin replies before leaning in to plant a kiss on the older boy's lips.

Their lips fit perfectly like pieces to a puzzle and the way they move with--not against--each other is a beautiful symphony.

Kibum pulls away first and sighs before falling back onto his bed, hands flying out beside him. Taemin looks down at him, the taste of and Kibum's unique taste still lingering on his tongue.

"I want to go back in time," Kibum says quietly.

Taemin lies down beside Kibum. "Why?"

"Everything was much simpler when we were seven and nine, huh? Except for the fact that you refused to be my baby," Kibum pouts.

Taemin smiles at the memories. "I can by your baby now, Kibum," he says, the word 'baby' taking a different meaning in his sentence than it did in Kibum's sentence.

"You wish."

"I do," Taemin shamelessly agrees and Kibum hits his arm playfully.

-

Taemin is in his room doing his homework when he hears sobbing from downstairs. Worried, he hurriedly goes down and follows the cries to the kitchen, only to stop short at what he sees.

His mother isn't the one crying, it's actually Mrs. Kim, Kibum's mother.

"I am sure it is just a phase. He is only a teenager and still trying to find himself," his mother comforts Mrs. Kim.

"What have I done wrong?" Mrs. Kim asks, voice cracking multiple times.

"You have done absolutely nothing wrong."

"Then why?"

"I cannot answer that but I promise everything will be alright in the end," his mother assures and then it falls silent except for the cries of Mrs. Kim.

Taemin sneaks back into his room and lies down on his bed. He knows, he just knows that Kibum was the subject of that conversation. A dreary feeling starts bubbling in the pit of his stomach as that thought takes over.

-

"Your mom came over yesterday..." Taemin informs as he and Kibum are walking to school.

"Oh? What for?"

"Um," Taemin hesitates, "just to talk."

"Hm," Kibum hums and kicks a small rock in front of him away.

There's a long pause and Taemin breaks it, "Have you been getting into trouble, hyung?"

"Depends on what you mean," Kibum says nonchalantly, pulling his phone out of his pocket and checking it.

"I dunno. Just trouble."

"Then no, I have not been getting into trouble," Kibum answers, annoyed. Taemin grabs onto Kibum's wrist to stop him from walking.

"Hyung, we're all worried about you."

"What for? I can take care of myself," Kibum argues and pulls his hand away.

"You sure?"

"Why are you trying to act like an adult, Taemin?! You're younger than me so don't even try," Kibum seethes.

"Then act like you're older than me, hyung! Stop your stupid, childish actions!" Taemin yells back.

"Tch, whatever," Kibum only scoffs and start walking away.

Later that day, Taemin is informed by a friend that Kibum was caught smoking on campus and therefore suspended for two weeks.

-

"Hi, Mrs. Kim, I have Kibum's homework," Taemin holds up the bundle of papers and she lets him in. She smiles at him but he notices that she's lacking that special spark that has always been in her. He then remembers that Kibum also has that spark and that he hasn't seen it for the better part of a year.

"Hyung?" he asks through the door and receives no answer so he tries the doorknob. It's locked. He leaves the pile of papers at the door and goes back downstairs.

Mrs. Kim is sitting on the couch, silently watching reruns of dramas. Taemin realizes that in all his time of knowing the Kim's, he's only seen Mr. Kim a handful of times. He thinks to his own family, where all three of them have dinner together almost every night and sighs.

Taemin sits down beside Mrs. Kim and says quietly, "Everything will be alright, Mrs. Kim, you know that, right?"

"Will it?"

"Yes. Kibum hyung is just confused right now. He'll come back around."

"I hope so," Mrs. Kim sighs and hesitantly turns to Taemin. "Can I...can I hug you?"

"Of course, Mrs. Kim." Taemin smiles brightly and is then engulfed in a tight hug.

-

There's school today but Taemin manages to convince his mother to let him stay home. He waits until Mrs. Kim has left for work before he walks over and knocks. Kibum opens the door.

"What?" he snaps, one eye closed to block out the sunlight and the other barely open.

"Where were you last night?"

"Partying."

"Why?"

"Cause I can," Kibum answers and turns around to walk back to his room. Taemin enters and closes the door behind him. He walks to Kibum's room and winces at the strong smell of alcohol and puke that hits him.

"Ew," he mutters.

"Shut up," Kibum says and dives back into his bed. "I'm hungover and I am not ready to deal with you."

"I don't care," Taemin responds. "You need to stop, hyung."

"This again," Kibum mutters from under his blanket.

"I'm serious. You've changed."

"Change is inevitable, Tae-ah."

"Don't call me that. Someone like you doesn't deserve to call me that."

Kibum scoffs and rolls onto his back. "I'm the one who came up with it so it doesn't matter if I deserve to or not."

Taemin walks to the bed and straddles Kibum. "Do you see what you're doing?!"

"What?! What am I doing?!" Kibum yells back and tries to push the younger boy off.

Taemin pins Kibum's hands down. "You're hurting the people around you who care! Pretty soon we're all going to get tired and stop caring!"

"I don't want your care!"

"Your mom cries every day because of you! Don't you think that's enough?!"

"Well, I'm sorry that my life isn't perfect! I'm sorry that someone as perfect as you has to deal with someone as messed up as me!" Kibum cracks and tears spill out.

"You can still stop all of this, Kibum. You can still change everything," Taemin says softly.

"No, I can't," Kibum cries.

"You can," Taemin assures.


Taemin was in high school when he discovered how broken Kibum was.

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THIS STORY HAS 33 SUBSCRIBERS AND MY FAVORITE NUMBER HAPPENS TO BE 33. Well, 3 is but 33 is double the fun. :)

Ah...once more, I am going to talk about my fail writing: it's hinted that Key has started to do 'things' and I didn't elaborate well on it in the story so I just wanted to say a little more here. Key has started to smoke (not tobacco, but ), party (hard-core), and just rebel overall. He doesn't really care anymore and is just having fun (well, at least I hope he is after everything the people around him have gone through). Yada, yada, yada, long story short: he's gotten into the wrong crowd.

ugh, sorry everyone, my elaboration note must be so wacked up. I'm so tired right now. It's only 11:33 (hah, 33!!!) pm right now where I live but I'm so beat. Blame it on school and because I had guests come over earlier today. I was cooking and cleaning for hours. D:

Okay, I guess I'll stop here. THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO READ/COMMENTED/SUBSCRIBED (or just clicked on this). I love you all~

Until next time, my lovelies~

-hanny