It's been three whole months since he died. He ruined me. He ruined my mom. He ruined our family. He ruined absolutely everything. So, why is he still everywhere in my mind? Kris breathed in the cold of the winter night while the loud music inside his apartment slowly got quieter as his thoughts got louder. He let out a long sigh, creating a cloud of white air around his mouth. He thought he would finally be able to get some rest for the night, but before he got too lost in his thoughts again, a hard fist came in contact with his right arm.

            "Man, what the hell was that for?" He looked down at the shorter friend and grumbled while rubbing his hand up and down to soothe the pain taking over his right arm. Henry stared at him, arching his brows in an, are you kidding me manner.

            "You're joking right?" He cried out. "I organized this damn party for you and this is how you repay me? By sulking on your balcony? That's very sentimental of you, by the way." Henry gave him one of his signature smirks and continued complaining, "It's your birthday, man. Finally twenty three! Loosen up and have so—"

            Kris intervened before he got an even bigger headache, "Shut up, I get it. All I got out of your stupid speech was that you're annoying and I don't know why I still keep you around." The shorter friend frowned slightly at his tone but knew it was just Kris being himself. Just as he was about to shoot back a witty retort, a sudden thought hit Henry and he grew quiet, leaving them both engulfed in a void of silence.

            "Kris," Henry began but was cut off by his friend's cold gaze. No, Kris thought. He knew that Henry would ask if he was thinking about his father again—and he was, but Henry didn't need to know. Instead, Kris plastered on a fake smile—one that his roommate gladly returned. Cheers then rang from their apartment as Blurred Lines started playing. Henry's smile widened until small dimples appeared to the sides of his mouth. "This is my jam," He yelled as he wildly waved his arms around the balcony.

            Looking at his friend, Kris decided that he should at least pretend to be having a good time for his Henry's sake—no matter how ridiculous he was—so he grabbed his arm and dragged him back into the apartment where his partying friends greeted him with drunken smiles and hot breaths. Once Henry ditched him for a girl—which wasn't very long after—Kris walked around stiffly and awkwardly mingled in the tight room. But not long after, he found himself gradually relaxing and falling into the enticing music that never seemed to cease. Maybe it was a good idea to let go, he thought as he silently thanked Henry.

* * *

Numb—everything was just numb. A brief thought passed Kris's mind as he wondered if he was dead, but that thought was quickly dismissed when he felt a sharp pain in his head. Suddenly, he became lightheaded and his vision blurred as he desperately tried to pry his eyes open and pull himself up on the couch. He stood up and shook his head in an attempt to shake off the sick feeling building up at the back of his throat but immediately realized what a bad idea it was when he felt the bile rise up. , he thought. Kris tried to navigate around his apartment to find the bathroom but sought no success when his wobbly foot stepped on something wet and fell atop of it, hitting the floor as a bloodcurdling scream ripped through the morning air.

            ", , , , ," Another round of curse words followed the man on the floor's mouth. "Are you ing kidding me right now, Kris? You just stepped on my damn mouth and your foot stinks and tastes like a dog just took a on it." Kris was amused to say the least—even in his groggy state. All he wanted was to respond to the familiar voice but the bitter taste in his mouth kept him from doing so. Just as everything was about to spill out, Kris grabbed whatever was in front of him and spat his mouth's contents into it. A few moments later, a very much hung over Kris stretched out across the floor, still panting.

            "Sorry man," He managed to mutter out. "I was just trying to get to the bathroom but I guess you can see that didn't happen. Plus, why are you blaming me for your stupidity. You passed out on the floor in my apartment, for 's sake." Like a person without any knowledge of personal space, Suho's attempt at a mad face crept up into Kris's field of vision. Suho's hand neared Kris's face and as a result, a quick whack on his cheek sounded. His brows furrowed and he pushed Suho to the side without a word.     

            "I don't know why you're getting all pissed at me when Henry's nowhere to be found," Suho said innocently, staring at the ground while tapping his fingers in an uneven rhythm. Kris looked up and for the first time that morning, he actually looked at his ruined apartment. I take that thank you back, Henry, he said to himself.

            The newly twenty three year old attempted to stand up again and stumbled around in the same spot for a while before he got used to his surroundings. Below him, Suho stared up at him but quickly looked back down and rubbed his neck. Kris heard him mumble something about him being too tall and smirked while he guided himself around to the empty red cups and threw them into a plastic bag. Thirty two red cups later, Kris froze and stared at Suho incredulously, "Can you get off your lazy for once and help me?" The younger lad just stared at him and faintly shook his head. "-wipe," Kris muttered under his breath.

            A still groggy Kris stepped into the kitchen and threw the bag of garbage into the trash can. He was about to step out of the kitchen when his stomach let out a hungry growl. Being too busy cleaning up, the young man forgot about breakfast and when reminded, hands were furiously searching around the kitchen looking for something to eat. A blast of cool air hit Kris in the face when he opened the freezer, but to his happiness, he found a box of frozen macaronis. He snatched the box in an instant but just as he was about to pop it in the microwave, his eyes caught gleaming red numbers staring back at him—the time. "!" Kris dropped the frozen box onto his foot, still caught in the moment.

            No longer hungry, he tried to limp back into his bedroom as fast as he could. While Kris was finding something decent to wear, Suho peeped in and stared at his frustrated friend who was throwing clothes everywhere. Hearing a slight footstep from behind, Kris whipped his head around annoyingly, "Why the hell didn't you tell me it was three o'clock? You know I have work and don't use your stupid excuse of not having classes because it's irrelevant."

            Suho rolled his eyes and ignored his comment, "You know, if you're looking for your coat you're not going to find it," Kris raised a brow at him but turned back to face his closet when his hand got caught in one of the hangers. "Henry took it." The older of the two sighed in defeat and plopped down onto his bed.

            "Xiumin is going to kill me. His shift was done hours ago," Kris got up and took a spare coat from his closet. When he saw Suho slightly open his mouth to respond, he added, "No I'm not going to call in sick. Have you forgotten Xiumin was at the party yesterday too? He probably even saw me pass out. Either way, I need the money." Suho slightly cocked his head to the side as if it was a gesture for asking why. Kris's entire body became stiff and his eyes hardened as he was reminded of the reason. Taking a hint from his friend's body language, Suho tried to lighten the mood.

            "Well, as much as I love hanging out with you—which I mean, is a lot—I think I'm going to go home and take a nap before you start nagging me again. Have fun cleaning up the house and don't get too mad at Henry." Suho threw his friend a mischievous smile but Kris just looked back at him quizzically. Why would he be mad at Henry? He thought to himself. Remembering the time, Kris absentmindedly brushed it off and ushered Suho and himself out of the apartment.

* * *

Henry wrapped his hand around Amber's shoulder as they waited for the elevator to arrive. "You know you don't have to do this," Amber mumbled while staring at her wet boots. "You don't have to pretend."

            "I don't have to pretend to what—like you?" The older boy stared down at her short blonde hair and quietly laughed, "Amber Liu, I refuse to let last night just be a one night stand—even though we didn't do anything. I mean—" Henry stopped in midsentence, noticing that he was rambling. "You know what I mean," He finished weakly.

            Amber laughed and was about to say something else but was interrupted at the arrival of the elevator. They both stepped into the small gray box, standing close to each other in an attempt to try and maintain the little heat left in their bodies from outside. "You don't know what you're getting yourself in to, just warning you." Henry tried to control his quickening heart rate when she looked straight into his eyes and smiled, showing her set of perfect teeth.

            Henry returned the warm smile and leaned down a bit, his mouth hovering just above her ear. "I think I'm ready to find out," He said, barely audible. Even though he couldn't see, Henry could feel Amber's smile getting wider. With that, their hands closed around each other's and they stood there with dumb smiles plastered across both their frostbitten faces.

* * *

Kris and Suho approached the elevator and were about to walk in, but froze when two familiar faces stared back. Kris watched as their interlocked hands fell back to their sides without a word. Suho immediately broke the awkward silence that followed. "You look familiar," Suho drawled out while trying to pinpoint who the short haired blonde was through squinted eyes. He was about to say more but the two stepped out from the elevator, causing him to reflexively take a step back.

            Amber started to explain to Suho but was distracted by Henry's conversation beside her. "You're wearing my jacket, man. What happened to you—oh," Kris's mouth formed an 'o' shape when he saw Henry's jacket laid across Amber's shoulders.

            "Yeah, I lent it to her. Sorry, you can have it back now if you want," Henry shrugged off Kris's jacket and handed it to him. His roommate mumbled a small thank you before starting to tell them he had to go. Though of course, Suho interrupted him and managed to hold him back for even longer.

            "Why are you guys here? And what did you guys do last night?" Suho turned to Henry at the last question and winked, giving an excuse for Amber to speak.

            "We didn't do anything," the blonde intervened. "He just took me home and stayed the night because I was too drunk." Amber gave Suho a tight smile before turning back to Henry. "He slept on the couch," She added when Suho continued to give her a smug look.

            "Joonmyeon, we're just here to get her stuff. She forgot her bag here yesterday." Henry looked over at Kris, "I would've figured that you already started cleaning up. So, did you see it?"    

            Kris stared at the elevator doors and thought about the numerous ways Xiumin would kill him if he didn't get to the coffee shop soon. "I did clean up," He finally responded. "But I don't think I noticed a bag. What colour was it?"

            Before Henry or Amber could answer, Suho let out a small laugh. "Kris, I think her bag is the same bag you puked in to this morning."

            "Oh."