“Thanks,” Kyungsoo blushed as he stepped past Kai out the door.

          “So, uh, are you ready to go?” Kai cleared his throat and regained control of his words.  “Sehun says he can’t wait to see you.”

          “Ready as I’ll ever be I guess.”

          The two boys walked in silence to the location of the party, one focusing on staring straight ahead of himself, the other constantly stealing furtive glances at the other.  When they finally made it to their destination, both of them felt an immediate sense of relief.

          The door was opened for them, and with an exclamation of “Kyungsoo!” Sehun flung himself at the smaller boy and gave him a friendly hug.

          “What, you’re not even going to greet me?” Kai whined.

          “Kai, you’re old news.  Kyungsoo here’s the hot new commodity, your novelty has worn off.”

          “Wow, glad to hear you like me so much.”

          “Don’t get your in a twist, come on in and meet everyone,” Sehun said as he lead the two of them into the house, his arm slung casually around Kyungsoo’s shoulders, leaving Kai to follow along awkwardly behind them.

          “This is my cousin Luhan,” Sehun began as they neared a boy with honey colored hair and a deer-in-the-headlights look, “This is his house we’re at.”

          Kyungsoo and Kai greeted Luhan politely, while he smiled at them amicably and returned to his conversation with the boy next to him.  The boy Luhan was immersed in conversation with had the appearance of a vicious little hamster that would likely bite your finger off as soon as you reached a hand over to pet it.  Kyungsoo felt himself shy away from the stranger on the couch until Sehun said, “And that’s Minseok.  Don’t worry, he looks fierce, but he’s a pretty down-to-earth kind of guy.”

          “Oh,” was Kyungsoo’s only response.

          “Aaanywaay,” Sehun drew out, turning away from the two on the couch, “There’s Joonmyeon, Lay, Tao, Jessica, Seohyun, and last but certainly not least, Kris,” Sehun pointed to each person he was naming as he named them, and Kyungsoo found it easy enough to remember.  He wasn’t sure whether he felt more or less comfortable about the fact that there were so few people here, but at least it wouldn’t be difficult for him to remember names.

          Sehun released Kyungsoo from his grip, telling him to have fun as he wandered off to try to flirt with the girl that Kyungsoo thought was named Jessica.  As he departed, Kai shifted closer to Kyungsoo.

          “I told you, small party, right? What do you think?”

          Kai was so close to Kyungsoo that he had a difficult time getting his thoughts together well enough to form a coherent sentence, but he manage to get out a brief, “Yeah, it should be fun.”

          “Hey, do you want anything to drink?” a deep and unfamiliar voice inquired.  Looking up, Kyungsoo saw a remarkably tall boy standing in front of him, his chest at eye level with Kyungsoo’s face.

“Hey, what’s up?” Kai greeted the boy.  “I’m Kai, and this is Kyungsoo, we’re friends with Sehun.”

“Oh cool, cool. You must be his friend from dance, yeah?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“What about you, Kyungsoo?” He looked down at the boy in question with an intense look as he tried to draw him into the conversation too.

“I actually have only met Sehun once before this, I was just sort of drug along by Kai.”

“Ah, okay then.  I’m Kris, by the way, it’s cool to meet you.”  As he said these words, Kris’s eyes never left Kyungsoo’s.

“Yeah, you too,” Kai answered, shifting closer to Kyungsoo.

“So, Kyungsoo, would you like a Coke or something?  It’s kind of warm in here,” Kris ignored Kai.

“Yeah, thanks Kris,” Kyungsoo smiled up at him.  As Kris walked away to grab him a soda, he was suddenly reminded of Jongdae’s words about looking for someone else to date in order to get his mind off of Kai, and he thought that Kris just might be that someone.

Granted, he didn’t yet know if Kris was gay or not, but he did seem to be expressing interest in him.  Plus, Kris was definitely the kind of person Kyungsoo could see himself with; he was sweet and gentle, but seemed as if he also housed a wicked sense of humor, not to mention he was a god in his appearance.

When Kris returned, he handed Kyungsoo a cold can of Coke, and as an afterthought, handed Kai a slightly warm water bottle.

“Thanks Kris, this is great,” Kyungsoo smiled, popping open the tab.

“Yeah, great,” Kai mumbled behind him.

“Kyungsoo, do you want to sit down?  We don’t need to stand here awkwardly,” Kris smiled at him charmingly, and when Kyungsoo responded in the affirmative, Kris lead the way over to the couch.  Kris sat on the end, body turned slightly towards Kyungsoo who was next to him, and Kai sat on the other side of Kyungsoo, arms crossed over his chest petulantly.

“So, Kyungsoo, what do you do?  What is it that is so lucky to fill your time?” Kris inquired, leaning towards Kyungsoo almost imperceptibly.

“Well,” Kyungsoo began, “I’m a Senior in high school.  There’s really not much more to me than that.  I read a lot, and sometimes, if I have the time, I like to do boxing.”

“Boxing, huh?” Kris smiled down at him.  “I bet you’re really strong then.”

“You bet, check out these guns,” he responded jokingly, flexing his arms for him.

“Hahaha, Kyungsoo, I can’t see anything through that jacket.”

“No?” He wondered, flexing again and looking down at his own arms.  This time as he flexed, Kris reached a very large hand over and put it around his arm, squeezing slightly.  His hand was warm and easily wrapped the whole way around Kyungsoo’s bicep.

“Wow, no kidding, maybe I should take up boxing, I have wimpy noodle arms,” Kris smiled as he flexed his own arms, which were by no means wimpy or noodley.  Kyungsoo, sure now that Kris was flirting with him, reached out and squeezed Kris’s arm as he had done to his.

“They don’t seem too weak to me.  I bet you could lift me with just one arm.”

“Anybody could Kyungsoo, you’re so little and cute.”  Kyungsoo blushed at the compliment while Kai just scoffed.

“So,” Kyungsoo ignored Kai and his pouting, “What about you Kris, what do you like to do?”

“I’m actually in college already.  I’m a linguistics major, but during my free time I play soccer with Luhan and Minseok, and some of our other friends.”

“Wow, soccer, huh?  I can see that, you’ve got that long, lithe soccer player build.”

“Yeah, I’m pretty good, too.  I could have gotten a full-ride soccer scholarship if I had wanted, but I decided that studying and learning new languages was my true calling.”

“Wow, that’s so cool!  So if you study languages, how many do you speak?”

“I speak Korean, Chinese – both Mandarin and Cantonese – and I also speak English as I’m actually from Canada.”

“Wow, holy crap, that’s amazing!” Kyungsoo exclaimed.  “I only speak Korean, but I know a little bit of English here and there.”

“Yeah?” Kris smiled at him, “Say something to me, I want to hear it.”

“Alright, but you can’t make fun of me for it,” Kyungsoo pouted cutely.

“I wouldn’t dream of it. Now go on, I want to hear.”

“Okay,” Kyungsoo took a deep breath and then began in English, “You’re really handsome, mind sharing with me some of your good looks?”

Kris laughed good-naturedly and pushed Kyungsoo’s arm, allowing his hand to slide down and rest on Kyungsoo’s small thigh.  Responding in Korean, he said, “That’s not half bad, but I don’t need to share my good looks with you, you have plenty of your own.”

Kyungsoo blushed hard and said, “I really can’t believe I said that, I’m so embarrassed.”

“Why, what did you say?” Kai butted in, not having understood Kyungsoo’s English, and thus not having understood why Kris was telling him he was cute.

Both Kris and Kyungsoo ignored him however, and continued on with their conversation.  “So, Kyungsoo, what kind of movies do you like to watch?”

“I’ll watch pretty much anything, why?” Kyungsoo couldn’t help but notice that Kris’s hand was still on his thigh.  He may not be Kai, but Kyungsoo definitely liked Kris.  He was sweet and funny, and he knows what he wants and isn’t afraid to show it.  And most importantly, he was gay, Kyungsoo knew for sure now.  Kris was gay and Kai wasn’t; Kris liked Kyungsoo and Kai didn’t; Kris was honest with himself and Kai wasn’t.

Though Kyungsoo’s feelings for Kai were strong, he had already decided that route was not a viable option, not like Kris was.  He may not be experiencing butterflies at Kris’s touch like he does whenever Kai even just brushes up against him, but there was a definite attraction there.  Kris was really handsome, and Kyungsoo couldn’t deny that it felt nice when Kris touched him, and it felt even nicer for Kris to be so nice to him, and to so clearly express an interest in him.

Yeah, Kyungsoo thought, I could definitely grow to really like this boy.

He was pulled from his thoughts as Kris continued to talk.  “Well, I was just asking because that new Marvel movie is coming out soon.  You know, Guardians of the Galaxy?  Anyway, I just thought maybe you’d like to go see it with me?”

“Like, on a date?” As Kyungsoo asked this, he could feel Kai stiffen beside him.

“Yeah,” Kris’s already large smile grew even wider and even more endearing, “Like a date.”

“I think I’d like that,” Kyungsoo’s own smile grew larger in response.

But before Kris could say anything back, Kai suddenly spoke.  “Kyungsoo, can I talk to you?”

Kyungsoo turned his head to look at Kai, but his expression was unreadable.  “I was in the middle of a conversation, can it wait?” Kyungsoo found that he didn’t have the patience for Kai acting like a tonight.

“It’s important, please?” And now Kai’s face showed nothing but earnestness and Kyungsoo relented.

“Fine,” he sighed.  Turning back to Kris, he said, “Can you give us a moment?  I’ll be right back for your number.”

“Sure,” he responded as Kai and Kyungsoo stood up.  “I’ll be right here waiting,” but his smile wasn’t as bright, and his narrowed eyes were focused on Kai’s tan form.

“Come on Soo,” Kyungsoo grabbed a hold of Kyungsoo’s wrist and lead him out into the kitchen where they could have some privacy.

When they got there, Kai let go of Kyungsoo and immediately began pacing back and forth as Kyungsoo remained immobile, watching him in his restlessness.

“What’s going on Kai, is everything okay?”

Kai stopped his pacing, turning to look at Kyungsoo.  “He’s flirting with you.”

“Well I should certainly hope so!” He responded.  “Otherwise my own flirting would be extremely embarrassing.”

Kai stepped a little bit closer.  “You shouldn’t flirt with him.”

“And just why the hell not?” Kyungsoo was beginning to grow angry.

“You’re too good for him, Soo.” He took another step closer.

“Well maybe I’m tired of being ing single.  You know, it’s a pretty nice feeling for someone to actually express interest in me.  And besides, he’s smart, funny, and nice, not to mention incredibly handsome!” Kyungsoo almost yelled.

Kai took another step.  “You wouldn’t be a good match.”

“If not with him, then with who!?” Kyungsoo could almost feel his ears steaming in frustration.

Kai took one more step forward, and now he was almost pressed up against Kyungsoo.  The latter tilted his head up so that he could properly glower at the former, but before his brain could even register their proximity, he felt a pair of warm lips encase his own.

Kai’s full, plush lips were soft and velvety, and Kyungsoo’s heart beat violently in his chest.  This was the best sensation he had ever felt, and Kyungsoo felt as if his heart would burst soon.  His whole body tingled, from his head down to his toes, and he felt so incredibly light, that he half expected to float away like a balloon released from its tether.

No sooner had Kyungsoo responded to the kiss than he felt his happy bubble shatter, and the light feeling was replaced by his limbs filling with lead as he was shoved back violently by none other than Kai himself.

As he slammed into the island in the middle of the kitchen, Kai shouted venomously, “Get off of me you filthy little !”

Kyungsoo stared at him, tears forming in his eyes and threatening to escape.  He could see Kai’s chest going up and down rapidly as he took quick shallow breaths.

“You know Kai,” Kyungsoo began softly, tears now freely falling down his face, “You’ve said and done a lot of things to me, but none of them have ever hurt as bad as that just did.”  And with those words said, Kyungsoo turned and left the kitchen, walked past everyone in the living room, ignoring their concerned questions, and left out the front door.

Kyungsoo walked in the cool night air, now sobbing violently.  He didn’t want to go home, instead, his feet lead him towards Jongdae’s house, a place he knew he would find warmth and comfort.

When he got there, Kyungsoo let himself in and made his way to Jongdae’s room, crawling into bed beside his best friend.

The sensation of the mattress dipping, coupled with Kyungsoo’s stifled sobs, woke Jongdae from his slumber.  He rolled over to face Kyungsoo, pulling the smaller boy close to him and rubbing soothing circles onto his back.  “Oh Soo, what happened?”

“K-k-kai!” He managed to stammer out into Jongdae’s broad chest.  “H-he kissed me!”

“Isn’t that what you wanted though?” Jongdae was confused by Kyungsoo’s reaction.

“B-but after he did it, he p-pushed me away and called me a f-f-!”

“Oh, my poor baby Soo,” Jongdae crooned into his friend’s hair.  “I’m so sorry.”

“I-it’s not y-your f-f-fault,” Kyungsoo cried, “It’s m-mine.”

“No, shh, don’t say those things,” Jongdae said, drawing him closer into his chest.  “This is all Kai’s fault, not yours even a little bit.”

Kyungsoo didn’t answer, instead crying harder into Jongdae’s warm chest.  Jongdae let him, deciding not to push any more tonight to find out the whole story, knowing that what Kyungsoo needed from him now was for him to just be there.

As Jongdae cuddled Kyungsoo, rubbing his back and humming soothingly, Kyungsoo soon enough dropped off into an exhausted slumber.

P.S. Krisoo for the win! I ship it almost as hard as I do Kaisoo