Change

You feel yourself getting more aware of the surroundings. You hear the mechanics of the fan, you sense the blanket covering you. But what's weird is that you feel a hand on your waist, rubbing your side with a thumb. That is when you remember that Kai is next to you.

Your heart lurches to your throat because Kai is touching you. You know he is close to you, but not too close to be spooning you from behind. Unintentionally, you freeze and all too fast, the owner of the hand on your waist stops the action. Knowing that you have been found out, you flip yourself onto your other side.

As you do that, you cannot help but be aware of how Kai's hand trace your bare waist where your shirt had ridden up while you slept. His fingers brushes the flat of your stomach before resting on your side again. You are slightly glad that Kai hadn't taken off his hand. 

Slowly, you open your eyes and you see Kai looking at you intensely. His eyes are shiny as he peers down at you with a soft gaze. He ventures with a small smile that looks shy and bashful. You smile back, feeling your dry lips cracking. You open your mouth to say something, only to cough terribly.

Kai immediately scoots closer despite the germs you are emitting. His hand on your waist flies to the side of your face, warm and delicate. He seems worried with his furrowed eyebrows. 

"You look worse than you did yesterday," Kai observes. His morning voice is lower and huskier than normal. It's not the first time hearing it but it still gives you the butterflies.

"That's very nice of you," you grumble with a roll of your eyes. The boy chuckles and you grin.

As he pushes the hair out of your face, he combs through your mane. He is still looking at you like you're something so delicate, so fragile. And you are staring back at him, your eyes unblinking. You want to remember this moment; the feeling of his hands in your hair, the importance you feel with him looking at you like this, the intimacy you are sharing.

"You know," Kai starts shyly, his thumb rubbing circles softly on your cheek. You think he looks like a girl confessing to her crush and you bite your lip to refrain from laughing. Kai would never do that. "I—"

Your phone rings on the bedside table and the both of you jump. Kai groans softly, retracting his hand on your face. You frown at that but quickly turn to get your phone. The caller ID shows Chanyeol's name and you immediately answer it. You turn back to Kai as he trains his eyes on you intensely.

"How're you feeling, my princess?" The boy asks through the receiver.

"Worst but I'm breathing."

Chanyeol hums as he tries to understand what you mean by that. When he figures it out, he goes, "Damn... Is Kai with you? Please tell me that he's at least taking good care of you."

"I am!" Kai exclaims into the phone and you jerk to look at him in surprise, only to have your heart stop at how close his face is to you.

Kai gives you a smirk and you feel yourself heating up. You quickly stutter into the phone, "K-Kai's taking g-good-d care of me."

The boy next to you raises his eyebrows in amusement, seeing you stutter like this. You quickly avert your eyes. Chanyeol sighs presently, "Well, okay... I'll come by maybe tomorrow morning to visit you, okay? Maybe with Kai too."

"I think I've had enough of Kai," you joke.

"Hey!" Kai whisper-yells, burying his face into your neck and tickling your weak spot with his nose. He knows how scared you are of being tickled at the neck.

You feel a flurry of emotions even as you giggle. You like Kai. Heck, everyone likes Kai. But the thing is, it's not just an infatuation or a crush that you have on him. You honestly, truthfully like him. You didn't tell anyone about it because you don't want to strain the relationship between the both of you.

But this morning, you not only woke up to Kai, but also to a big question mark. Why is Kai being touchy with you? Even when it was just you, him and Chanyeol, he never gets this touchy. Except that time when he held your hand during the firework show. Does that mean he...

No, you have to stop thinking about that. The more you think about it, the happier you will get and the higher your hopes will be. Because Kai doesn't like you. You have to believe it. And you do. No one like Kai would like you back... Kai is a demigod sent from Adonis himself. And you... You're just a mere mortal who has average looks.

"Kai, stop tickling her!!!!!" Chanyeol screams in frustration but since he's not on speaker, the younger boy couldn't hear him.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" You shout as you wheeze with laughter.

Kai finally relents and moves back slightly, with mischievous eyes and a victorious smile on his face. You roll your eyes at him and he chuckles, your cheek with the back of his hand once.

"Let me talk to Kai, please," Chanyeol requests and so you do, after you say goodbye and after he told you to take care of yourself. 

You get out of the bed when Kai receives the phone and wash up, feeling rather uneasy because of that bubbling in your stomach from being so close to Kai. You decide to make toast and eggs, since they are the easiest to cook and the only things you know how to make. You remember having pancake mix, so you decide to make that as well.

"I want big pancakes!" Kai exclaims as he leaves the room. You jump a little and you see him grin, "Did I scare you, little chick?"

You scowl at him and go back to facing the pan. Kai stands next to you, his hip against yours. You are highly aware of his presence but your throat is too dry to say something. The male sees the stack of pancake next to you. He reaches behind you, his chest pressed again your back. You stop breathing. Kai finally grabs one pancake and leans away from you. You start breathing again.

"Yummy," Kai murmurs. You look at him and he looks back. The both of you have a blank look on your faces. But Kai snaps out of it quicker. He holds his half-eaten pancake out to you, offering you to eat it.

He feeds you and you try not to feel embarrassed. But it's impossible especially with Kai around. You speak, so that your shyness isn't so noticeable. "You can start eating, your plate is right there."

Kai hums in acknowledgment, but doesn't leave. You turn to him and he looks at you in question. You ask if it is because he doesn't want to eat and he replies, "I wanna watch you cook. You look extra pretty when you cook."

"Kai..." You sigh, the blush on your cheeks prominent. "Stop it."

"Stop what?" He asks while chewing his pancake.

"I don't know," you shrug. "Flirting? With me?"

"I'm not flirting," Kai mumbles. "I'm complimenting you."

"You do that to every other girl, too," you point out.

"Yes," he doesn't disagree. "But I only mean what I say to you. I always mean what I say when I talk to you." Kai leans down and whispers to your ear, "And I really think you look beautiful." He kisses your cheek quickly and stands erect again.

What. Just. Happened?

Did Kai just kiss you? In his sober, awake state of mind? What is going on? Are you dreaming? Or is today your birthday?

"Sweetheart, the pancake's burning."

"Huh? Oh," you quickly flip the pancake before he gets charred.

"What's going on in your pretty mind, hmm?" Kai wonders, tapping his finger on your temple.

"Are you okay?" The both of you ask each other at the same time.

Kai frowns, "What do you mean if I'm okay?" You shrug, suddenly feeling uncomfortable. The male reaches over and turns off the fire so you can't avoid his question. "Answer me."

"You're... I don't know," you shrug, picking at the handle of the spatula instead of looking at Kai. "A lot more... Romantic?" The moment it came out of your mouth, you start regretting it. You shake your head, "No, you know what, no. I'm just looking too much into it. You can't be—"

"So what?" Kai challenges. For a moment, you're scared that he is mad. You look up at him timidly and you see that he has an unreadable gaze. Then he says, "So what if I want to show my favourite girl some affection, huh? Is it illegal?"

"What—"

"Look, sweetheart," he sighs. "I know you've never told anyone but do you know how obvious you get sometimes? It's like a touch from me and you're blushing. Sometimes, all it takes is just a glance and I have you wrapped around my little finger."

"No..."

"See! You're red again!" Kai points out loudly. You flush even redder. The boy continues, "Even if you say 'No, you don't like me', fine. But I'm gonna do it."

He stops there and you are wondering what he means. Risking a look at Kai, he is staring at you intensely, waiting for the moment you give him your attention. But he still doesn't say or do anything when your eyes are on him. 

"Do...what?" You question softly.

You watch like a movie is being played in front you; Kai's emotions morph from an unreadable one to a confident one, then to an unsure one and finally into a playfully evil one. You don't know what he is thinking and it bugs you. But then again, he never tells you anything. Even though you know he talks to Chanyeol, he never talks to you about his problems.

"This," Kai murmurs, staring at your lips as he goes closer. He has to dip his head to get to your height and he has his eyes closed gently.

You are alarmed. Is Kai going to kiss you? You've always wanted it but now that the time is almost here, you realise that you don't know how to react to the situation. And his lips are fast approaching. Quickly, you shut your eyes tight, waiting for his lips to pound on yours. You don't need to wait for a second longer because you start screeching.

"Gotcha again, little chick," Kai is gurgling with laughter as his fingers attack your sides. You scream and kick but Kai's fingers don't stop tickling your sides.

You keep backing away until your back is against the fridge. Kai is all up in your space but you don't notice it from the tickling. You try to push him away but you are too weak from his attack and Kai is too strong physically. He has his hands on yours, keeping them locked behind your back.

"Kai," you gasp, laughing. "Stop... Kai, please!" You start screaming and laughing at the same time, making Kai snigger.

"Okay," the boy finally says. He stops tickling you, but his hands are keeping your hands secured behind you. "But—"

"I'll do anything," you breathe, looking at him solemnly. "Just stop tickling me."

Kai raises his eyebrows in amusement. You nod in all seriousness and he grins boyishly. He commands gently, "then, I want you to stay still."

"Are you gonna—"

"Stay still," the boy repeats softly as his face comes closer to yours. His eyes are fixed on your lips and you feel numb and excited.

You do stay still, only because you are holding your breath and anticipating every moment. You close your eyes on instinct. You feel Kai's hold on your hands loosen as they move to your hips. Your breath hitches when you feel Kai's supple lips on yours.

As reflex, your hands grasp onto his forearms tightly. You feel his lips move and you know that he is smiling. The kiss is a soft, gentle, innocent. He doesn't do anything other than meeting your lips with his. When he pulls back, you don't dare open your eyes.

"Remember to breathe, sweetheart," Kai chuckles breathlessly and you can feel his breath on your skin.

Finally, you take a deep breath and open your eyes. Kai is staring at you with dilated eyes that are sparkling like he is looking at something he fancies. He gives you a grin and you blush, looking away quickly. He laughs and lets go of your waist. He takes a small step back, in an attempt to create some space in between the both of you because you are obviously not breathing very well with him so close to you.

"Let's eat," he says, getting both your plate and his. Kai walks to the dining table while you put all the cooked pancakes on a clean plate.

Even as you walk to the table, you are in a daze. Kai sits next to you and starts eating. "It's good, sweetheart."

"This isn't the first time I've cooked for you," you mumble as you pick at your food.

"Well," Kai speaks with a mouthful as he looks at you blankly. "It is the first time you're cooking for me and only me." You blush again and you swear that you need to learn how to stop blushing around Kai. The boy chuckles and then says, "The next time it's my place and my turn to cook for you. Okay?"

"Huh?" You stare at him stupidly. Did he just say that? Did that mean...

"Yeah, the next time," he speaks slowly as if talking to a toddler. "You're—" Kai points to you. "—Staying over at my—" He points to himself. "—place and I—" Points again. "—will cook for you."

"Can you cook?" You blurt out. Kai glares at you and you shrug, "I don't wanna die of food poisoning."

"You think I'll let you get hurt? Much less die?" Kai questions you with an unamused expression.

You laugh, reaching over to squeeze his thigh. "Don't steal my idea now, Kai. Enjoy your food~"

"What does that—" Kai's expression morphs from a questioning one to a shocked one. His eyes are bulging and he starts hacking like he is dying of an illness. "What did you— I don't wanna die!"

"I was kidding, fool," you start giggling and Kai stops coughing.

"I know you wouldn't wanna kill me on purpose," Kai smirks cheekily. "You like me too much to do that." This boy doesn't stop making you flush red, does he? He cackles at your tomato face. "Eat up, sweetheart. Or I'll eat you," he not-so-ily threatens as he flicks his finger under your chin.