Tao winced as he heard Kris’ name. This is the third time he’s done this, Luhan notes, but it hasn’t been all that he’s done. Throughout the whole day he’s been hiding behind various objects (be it desks, chairs, and the bookshelf), ran, or rather sprinted, the opposite direction whenever he saw Kris and dragged Luhan with him. In short, Tao broke into a sweat whenever he sensed Kris five feet away from him. Whenever Luhan looked back, he saw Kris looking like a kicked puppy with a long face as he kicked invisible dust on the floor.

                Luhan sighed. His heart is torn between confronting Tao or confronting Kris or standing on the sidelines and let the two settle the matter in their own hands. He wants Tao to be able to talk to him if he needs him and although it’s unbearable to see the two not talk or cuddle randomly, he doesn’t want to seem like he’s prying.

                “That’s it, I’m putting an end to this,” Sehun pounds the table with his fist and speaks through gritted teeth, “What did you do?”

                “Sehun, you cannot march to our table and expect us to talk to you,” Luhan rolls his eyes, trying to suppress the hint of annoyance from his voice, but it’s hard to control when his little brother always bothers him at home and at school, 24/7.

                “First of all, this isn’t your table. It’s the school’s property so I can do whatever the hell I want with it.”

                “Oh aren’t you the brightest light bulb.”

                “And second, if it has anything to do with Kris hyung, then you’re dealing with me,” this time, the wild maknae stomped his feet.

                “Sehun, stop being a brat and go away. It’s clearly obvious he doesn’t want to talk to you,” Luhan rolled his eyes, again, “You should go, you’re blocking the way for Suho.” He lifted his chin forward, making Sehun turn around at once. His cheeks puffed out and turned into a rosy shade of pink as he took one giant step to the left.

                “It’s okay Sehun, you’re welcome here anytime,” Suho’s smile made Sehun’s heart flutter and his smile widened more once he realized his apology wasn’t unheard.

                “Well if my good buddy here is allowed to be here, I’m sure I am,” an arm flung over Sehun’s shoulder.

                “Hi Jonghyun,” Luhan’s voice was almost a whisper when he spoke. This caught Suho’s attention. He nudged his friend as a silent plea for explanation. In return, he only received a lonely smile, not his favorite heart-pounding, heart-warming smile.

                “Thanks for tutoring me last time, it helped me a lot,” Jonghyun winked, pulling out a couple of ten dollar bills from his pocket. He inched closer to Luhan’s ear and quickly whispered into his ear so Luhan was the only one who heard him say, “This is for next time.”

                “That’s it; give me the money.”

                “What?”

                “That’s right, hand it over to me,” Sehun’s palm was wide open, his fingers rolling and unrolling in an impatient manner.

                “Why-“

                “You’re going to start getting tutored by me, unless you want to be beat up by his boyfriend.”

                “Oh really? Who exactly is his boyfriend, if I may ask?”

                “Yeah, who is it, Sehun?” Suho’s eyes narrowed into slits. It wasn’t until Luhan’s long fingers trailed down his arms that he realized he was clutching the table as if his life depended on it. His nostrils flared and he smiled slowly, reassuring his crush that he was okay. Sehun stayed quiet. He was dripping in a pool of sweat in his mind. Damn it, why does his mouth have to open before he thinks of the consequences?

                “Huh, you of all people want to tutor me? Do you know what tutoring exactly is?” Jonghyun sneered, lifting his nose up in a cocky manner, but it only made Sehun laugh to himself because he was so short. He could see into Jonghyun’s head and there was no sign of a throbbing pink brain in there.

                “Yeah, as a matter of fact I do. After all I learn from the best and Luhan’s the best.” Jonghyun suddenly felt his legs lift up from the floor to mid-air, “And hell if you touch my boyfriend one more time, you have another thing coming.”

                Gasps were heard from everyone in the lunch room. Luhan’s eyes bugged out of his face. Suho dropped the apple he was munching on. Krystal and Key, the new couple of the school who always looked as if they were eating their face off, turned to stare at Jonghyun whose mouth was hanging wide open.

                Tao, on the other hand, seemed composed and relaxed while absorbing what was going on around him. But being Tao, his mind was scattered with papers flying all over the place. He was confused as the other two sitting next to him. Jonghyun tried to speak, but the cat seemed to have caught his tongue as all the words he wanted to say came out in squeaky sounds.

                “That’s right. Now get out of here before I kick you out,” Sehun’s hand fell on his hip as he poked shorty’s forehead with his index finger. Pushing it slightly, Jonghyun stumbled backward, turning around in the process and getting back on his two feet. He scurried out of the cafeteria with his posse following him. The whole cafeteria was dead silent. No one dared to take their eyes off of the brat until he screamed and demanded them to get back to their business because the show was over. Oh great, just great. Luhan never wanted his last year in high school to be full of pointless drama, yet here he is being the center of drama itself. He made a mental note to beat his brother until he couldn’t move.

                “Hey cutie, want to get out of here?” Tao’s spine shivered when a hand went down from his shoulder blades to his low back. He only nodded; he was too astonished that Kai would come over to not converse with him, but ask him to go out with him. Not ask him out on a date, but for a friendly outing. Tao pouted at the thought.

                “Stop pouting,” was the first thing to pop out of Kai’s mouth once they exited the cafeteria, “I’ll take you on a date right now if you’ll stop pouting.”

                Oh? A date?

                “I hope it’s alright with you,” Kai’s hand extended towards Tao. Tao was still surprised. He couldn’t believe all his fantasies he’s been having about this young man in front of him was coming true.

                “Ah, sorry, I guess it won’t be a da-“

                “No, it’s a date,” Tao put his hand out shyly, only to be pulled into a hug by Kai. He inhaled his scent-a mix of clean laundry and something else, something sweet like flowers. It’s sweet and it makes Tao weaker in the knees because he really likes the smell of flowers and fresh laundry. It’s as if Kai was made for him.

                Kris clutched the left side of his heart as he hid behind the lockers aligned on the walls of the hallway. He stifled his sigh by biting his lip, his hand going through his disheveled blonde hair. He couldn’t believe it happened this fast. Yeah, it’s been a pretty good month or two since Tao’s been here and yeah, he guessed Tao would be swiped off his feet by Kai, the tan-skinned prince everyone dreams as their Prince charming. He just wished he would’ve had more time to be able to confess. Every single time he tried to confess to somebody, he flumps. He screws it up. First time he tried to confess to somebody was back in 7^th grade. This girl was so beautiful so he got her a dozen roses, but he didn’t figure out she was allergic to pollen and roses until she bloated like a balloon. The second time he tried to confess was two years ago. Kris does not even want to remember the memory. And to think that the third time is the charm. If only he had more time. Maybe he really needs to start listening to his mom about how time is precious.

                “Oof, sorry about that-oh no, I can’t believe this happened. I-I am so so so so sorry,” Kris’ thoughts were interrupted when a teenage boy, a pretty short guy with long hair bumped into him. It took him a while to process the fact the boy was squatting low.

                “Woah, what are you doing? You can’t do that!” Kris hissed. Red lights and sirens started to ring in his mind. Strangers are dangerous.

                “What are you talking about?” The stranger looks up, his glasses were on the tip of his nose and he readjusts them with a finger, “I can do what I want to do. I need to be thankful for everything I get so I have to treat it with care.”

                “No, just, uh-“

                “I’m only picking up my project, silly,” this time, the stranger smiles and his giggle-yes, he giggled- sounds like intricate bells on a church tower. Kris’ mouth forms an ‘O,’ as he realizes he really is corrupt before he gets on his knees to pick up the numerous pieces of paper. The name Yixing was scribbled in messy handwriting across all the papers. Their hands brush against each other and Yixing can’t hide his smile.

                “Here, I think this is the last one,” Kris gives the paper to Yixing who smiles and makes his eyes form half-moon shapes.

                “Thank you,” his white lab coat swishes as he stands up, “I’m Yixing, by the way.”

                “I’m Kris,” Kris’ voice booms in the empty hallway. The two stare at each other, both not knowing what to do next.

                “I guess I’ll be going. I need to turn my lab reports in. Nice meeting you, Kris,” Yixing bows his head before going. Kris bids his farewell before going to the bathroom to morn and mope about his lost, unrequited love.

a/n: it's midnight and I'm finally done with this chapter *applause* ha, anyways, I know some of you may be taken back by Sehun's actions in this chapter, HOWEVER....it shall all be explained later on so please stick with me and you will soon find out:)  hooray for cute Kaitao and angst Kris (actually...I don't like writing angsty characters, but it's Kris so yeah) and Kris meeting Yixing! BUT there's a twist and it will be revealed later on (bwahahahhahwes;lkfdjc)

What happened after Kris and Tao's kiss...will be revealed in the next chapter, I promise!

I apologize for incorrect grammar/spelling. I will look through it later tomorrow or during the weekend.

Thank you for supporting me all the time<3

Until next time,

your author xx