It had been 5 days since Kris and Kai's argument and Kai still had not let Kris back into their dorm room. Kris was temporarily staying at Sehun and Chanyeol's dorm. He couldn't focus on anything but Kai yet every time he tried to speak with him, he was ignored. Even in class, Kai had pretended like Kris did not exist and it was gnawing a hole into Kris's heart. 

At the moment, Kris was sulking up the stairs of Jefferson Hall. It was another boring day he couldn't talk to his best friend about,  then Suho approached him. 

"Hey gorgeous," Suho smiled widely, showing his trademark smile.

"Hey," Kris replied, half-heartedly without even casting a glance at Suho.

Suho frowned, "Why the long face? Kai still avoiding you?"

Kris shuddered. He felt his eyes watering but not enough to make tears fall. He missed Kai. Kris didn't even understand how one argument could make Kai completely drop him from his life. Kris felt off balance without him and even talking to Suho didn't give him the same joy that it once did. Not without Kai. 

Kris weakly nodded as they approached ChanHun's room.

"Well, if you need someone to talk to… I'm here." Suho said genuinely. It really hurt him to see someone he liked, so down. Especially, since he wasn't really sure how to fix it.

Kris nodded again with his eyes glued to the floor and then slunk into the dorm, closing the door behind him.

⚛ ⚛ ⚛

Everyone knew Kai was the reason for Kris's sadness, but Kai wasn't fairing too well either. After classes, he didn't really leave the dorm at all. He left only when necessary and then after that, he just went straight home and cried. Today was no different. Typically, after science class everyone would get together and eat lunch. Chanyeol had said it would be a new tradition but… Kai never showed. The first lunch he had with them a week ago was the last lunch he had with them. Kai felt he couldn't show his face knowing that Kris went and that Kyungsoo could possibly be there also. He heard Chanyeol's loud voice over Kris's and Suho's quieter ones in the hallway. He knew where they were going and when they left. When they left though, Kai broke down.

He folded his arms over his legs and sobbed into his knees. His best friend was hurting and he hated to see him hurt, but… Kris was too overprotective. Kai had told Kris plenty of times about it but, all those times Kris had said he was sorry and would stop but now Kris was pushing it. Kris just didn't listen and he didn't see anything wrong with being 'a little protective' as he called it. Kai suffered, plenty of times in high school for it. Especially when it came to picking teams in gym class, picking partners for class projects and even when the football team hounded him for telling their quarterback he was cute. 

Kai had to admit. Kris was always there for him, but he wasn't a lost little boy, he could take care of himself. Kris had a brother complex, that was obvious and that was why Kai needed to teach him a lesson. 

Kai wiped his eyes and then took a deep breath, "Why is teaching him a lesson, hurting me so much?"

⚛ ⚛ ⚛

Three days later, Kris had put on facade that led people to believe that he was not sad because of Kai anymore. He had not even tried to get back into his dorm anymore, at least not while Kai was there. He just waited patiently until Kai left, then he went into the dorm, got his textbooks and clothes, then went to class. 

Today, Kris was back in ChanHun's dorm, spinning in a rolling chair while helping Sehun with his algebra homework. He was playing some game on his phone to distract him from impulsively texting Kai, while Sehun tried to solve the equation.

"Kris, does this even look right?" Sehun asked, confused. He had been erasing and reworking the problem for 4 minutes straight. Kris leaned over and paused the Bubble Popping game he was playing on his phone. His eyes scanned over Sehun's work.

"You're doing the problem right, but you messed up here," he pointed to the solution for x, that Sehun had incorrect. 

Sehun groaned and erased furiously, "Dammit! This is gonna take forever!"

Kris smiled softly, yet distractedly, "Don't be so hard on yourself Hun, you'll get it. Actually, you already got it. You just need to be more careful." 

Kris returned to his game and then Chanyeol entered the room. He nodded to Kris and then went to peek over Sehun's shoulder.

"Cheonsa~" Chanyeol called.

"What?" Sehun asked, concentrating fully on his homework.

"Can you do me a favor?" Chanyeol kissed up Sehun's arms and then peppered smaller kisses on his neck. Kris cringed and turned away. Sehun paid Chanyeol's flirtiness no mind.

"Whatever it is, do it yourself." 

"Sehunnie~" Chanyeol whined, "I have to do something else and you're the only one who I trust enough to do it for me."

"Well, what do you want, Lanky Giant?"

"I resent that. Can you take notes for me in English class?" 

"I don't even know what's going on in there!" Sehun, erased some more and then tapped some numbers on his calculator.

"Please, cheonsa. Please~" Chanyeol wrapped his arms around Sehun and begged. He kissed from Sehun's shoulder blade to his neck each kiss punctuating a 'please', each kiss lingering longer than the last, before Sehun threw his arms off and turned around.

"Okay, geesh! Let me do my homework!" 

Sehun was turning red and looked grumpily at Chanyeol's bright eyes. Then Chanyeol leaned in and pressed his lips on Sehun's grumpy pout. Sehun's heart palpitated and he was surprised when Chanyeol didn't stop. How far was he planning to take this Sehun thought I mean Kris is right there! Chanyeol moved his hair behind his ear and left the room.

"Thanks babe."

Sehun bit his lip and looked at Kris who was giggling. Kris put an imaginary whip in his hand and cracked it. 

"Shut up~," Sehun grumbled before he turned back to his homework, "You would do the same thing if he was your boyfriend."

"Yeah, maybe," Kris said, "But I don't like Chanyeol I like Su—"

"Sehun, omg, that ing blonde Adonis has got him so wrapped around his ing finger that he won't even smile at me let alone speak when I approach him and I'm pissed the off. Like why is he so ing important that I can't even get within a foot of him without his ing Golden Retriever slash Pit Bull biting at my feet. I'm ing sick of his guard dog, Kai needs to put that thing on a leash!"

Kyungsoo burst into Sehun's dorm furiously, failing to notice Kris until his little rampage ended. Kris furrowed his brows.

"Excuse me," He stood up and faced Kyungsoo angrily, "Dog? Dog!"

Kyungsoo faced Kris just as mad, although the height disadvantage was a big factor, he didn't back down.

"Yeah, a dog! You're always sniffing behind him like a sick ing puppy!"

Kris's expression wavered. He had no idea Kyungsoo was like this, he always seemed so nice.

"You're calling me a dog when you're the one following him around like a ing sick neighborhood mutt that everyone ignores! I've known him longer than you have, how dare you challenge me for being a friend!" Kris spat.

Sehun stood up and tried to intervene, pushing Kyungsoo back out the room but failed soon after because Kyungsoo was firing right back at Kris.

"IF YOU WERE A REAL FRIEND YOU WOULDN'T BE LETTING YOUR FRIEND BE ALONE AND SAD BECAUSE YOU LEFT HIM!"

"I DIDN'T ING LEAVE HIM YOU DIP! HE KICKED ME OUT BECAUSE OF YO—"

"Kris!" 

Kyungsoo and Kris stopped shouting and looked at a jittery Kai standing in the doorway to his dorm.  Kai had tears forming in his dark eyes and he looked visibly shaken.

"Kai, I—" Kris looked back and forth between Kyungsoo and Sehun's hand holding him back from beating the living out of the shorter one.

"W-what are you even doing Kris," Kai sniffled, "w-why are you always yelling at s-somebody?" 

Kris tried to approach Kai but Kai moved further into the dorm so he stopped. 

"Kai, I'm sorry ok." Kris pleaded on the verge of tears himself, but his were from angry or at least that's what he would tell himself.

"You never learn do you?" Kai said quietly, shaking his head and closing the door behind him. Kris ran up to the door and knocked.

"Kai? Kai open up seriously, can we talk? Please. It wasn't me this time, please Kai, I learned. I did. Forgive me. I'm apologizing. Let me in please."

"Just stop it Kris." Kai's muted voice said from behind the door. 

"Kai, why don't we—"

"Just go." Kai replied coldly from behind the door. 

Kris stopped banging on the door and crumbled against it; slinking to the floor and burying his face in his arms. He cried silently as people from his dorm floor went back into their dorms whispering about what they just witnessed. Suho came out of his dorm with a bath towel wrapped around his waist and searched curiously for an answer to all the commotion. He saw Kris and instantly felt the urge to comfort him, just to be stopped by Kyungsoo storming into the dorm and pushing him back inside.

"Don't worry about him, he's fine." Kyungsoo said through gritted teeth before slamming the dorm's door shut. 

Sehun ushered everyone back into their rooms and pulled Kris back into the dorm. Kris fell limply against the wall and slunk back down to the floor, covering his face. Sehun rubbed his head gently and let Kris continue to cry. It was obvious that nothing he could say would stop Kris from crying so he just wanted him to get it all out. 

Kris felt the pain squeezing at his heart, sticking its long unkempt nails deep inside of it. At times like these, he wanted to talk to his best friend about everything that was troubling him. Kai would always understand and make him feel better, but now, Kai was the cause of his pain and he didn't even want to speak to him. Kris felt worthless. Kai had always told him to stop being overprotective. Kris didn't know it would lead to him losing his best friend. This was one of the worse feelings in the world. Kris wanted to go home.