Kris swallowed hard before entering the small store. He knew that once he entered the store there was no turning back; after years of searching and waiting, the moment had finally arrived. He was going to see Tao.

He had pictured that moment several times ever since Tao answered his call instead of Amber. In fact, he was certain he knew exactly what would happen; Tao's eyes would widen in surprise and he'd might even drop whatever he was holding. His jaw would drop (because of Kris' amazing looks, duh) and his already high pitched voice would get even higher. And then he'd nervously ruffle his black hair and blush.

Well, to his surprise, Kris was utterly wrong. When he walked into the store he certainly didn't expect to see a Tao with extremely bleached hair sobbing in Amber's arms. Neither of them greeted him and his spectacular entrance was ruined; it was like he wasn't even there.

"It's gonna be alright, man", Amber was saying while patting Tao's back. "I'm here for ya, I'll help you out! Wanna hook up with someone?".

"Ahem", Kris tried to cough his way into the conversation but he miserably failed. He wasn't used to being invisible and he definitely didn't enjoy it.

The scene in front of him was a) awkward and b) extremely ridiculous since Amber kept making inappropriate jokes and Tao kept sobbing as if they didn't even listen to each other. However, Tao's grip around Amber's waist wasn't loosening and it took Kris five, incredibly loud "ahem"s to grab the tomboy's attention.

"What's going on?", he carefully phrased the question without letting out an actual sound.

"He broke up", Amber mouthed back and Kris wasn't sure whether Tao had noticed him or not because all he did was cry as hard as it was humanly possible.

The tall blond wasn't sure what to do next. That was the moment he had been expecting ever since high school, ever since Tao had rejected him to be with Sehun. He didn't even know if Tao had just broken up with Sehun or someone else, he just knew that Tao was single and vulnerable. When was he going to find such a chance ever again?

"Let's get some drinks", he said, raising his voice on purpose.

Tao's crying stopped and when he pushed Amber away, he revealed his red, swollen eyes. Kris had never seen him like this ever before; he looked broken and... empty.

"What?", Tao mumbled, obviously lost. Kris couldn't tell if it was his sudden appearance or his abrupt offer that puzzled the tall boy. Whatever it was, Kris decided to take advantage of it.

"You just broke up, right? Drinking should help, let's go drinking", he said naturally, as if it was no big deal. He had to be careful otherwise Amber would immediately know he lied to her about not knowing Tao.

The latter's gaze had now changed from puzzled to penetrating; Tao was staring so intensely at Kris that it made him feel like he was looking right into his soul. He's gonna say no, he thought. There's no way-...

"Okay".

"What?". It was Kris' turn to blink like a lost idiot.

"Let's go drinking", Tao repeated, "Just give me a few minutes to look less zombie and more human".

"I can't come", Amber suddenly joined in their awkward conversation, "I have to close up here".

"Can't you meet us there?". Kris wasn't sure if this situation made him excited or terrified; it's was like the two emotions had merged into a big lump that was now sitting in his stomach.

"Nah, man, I'm pretty tired. But you two should go; Kris, you wanted to meet my coworker and Tao, you could really use a drink". Amber was smiling as usual but something seemed off. However Kris was too dumbfounded by this turn of events to pay attention to his girlfriend; his eyes were fixated on the tall man with the bleached hair and slanted eyes.

"Yeah", Tao nodded, "Let's go. I'll be ready in like, ten minutes".

"O-Okay", Kris stuttered and hated himself because messing up your words is not cool.

Amber was silently observing until Tao left the room.

"So", she said once she made sure no one could listen to her other than Kris, "Is there anything you wanna tell me?"

"Um...". Kris wasn't really good when it came to lying and he was even worse at it when he was facing Amber, especially because he couldn't read her at all. Did she know everything? Was she just testing him? He had absolutely no way of telling.

His worried expression made her burst into laughter. "Relax, man! I'm just messing with ya!".

When Tao came out of the bathroom Kris recognized the boy he had fallen for years ago. It's amazing what a little bit of make up can do; in just a few minutes the redness around Tao's eyes and nose had vanished and the small amount of lip gloss on the boy's lips made them look incredibly soft and kissable.

All hail the mighty BB cream, Kris thought and laughed at his own joke. Tao gave him a weird look but decided to keep his comments to himself.

"Okay, you two, go and drown your sorrows in alcohol!", Amber shouted and threw her hands in the air.

As the were leaving, Kris glanced one last time towards Amber when she wasn't paying attention to them anymore only to find out that her huge grin was replaced by a lonely, vacant stare.

And before he knew it, Kris was feeling guilty again.

                                                                                            ___________________

"What are we going to say?". Chanyeol meant to keep this thought to himself but before he knew it, it had already escaped his lips.

"I don't know", Jongin replied, avoiding Chanyeol's eyes. He was the one who wanted to go there in the first place but the longer they stood outside the small store, the more lost he felt.

"Okay", Chanyeol sighed and after taking a deep breath he turned his head to face Jongin. "For now, let's go in", he said decisively and took a step forward.

Jongin nodded and followed him into the store only to find Amber sitting on the counter and staring at her palms. Lost in her thoughts, she didn't turn around to greet them.

"Yo, Amber!", Chanyeol shouted and waved even though they were already close enough to notice each other. "What's wrong?", he asked, worried that the tomboy hadn't responded in her usual high five way.

A faint smile appeared on her face but her eyes were still vacant. "Hey, 'Yeollie! Are you here to see noona?".

"We're looking for Tao", Jongin answered in his place. He didn't know who this Amber was and even though she was clearly upset over something, Tao was their top priority.

"Yeah, I thought so". Jongin had never seen someone smile in such a sad way; it was even more powerful than tears. Amber got off the counter and patted Chanyeol's shoulder.

"Well, sorry to disappoint you lads but Taozi ain't here. He went out for drinks with my man", she said and their confused stares made her chuckle. "My man's name is Kris", she added and when she realized both of them recognized the name, she snorted. "Yeah, I don't know if I should call him my man anymore".

"It can't be-...", Chanyeol gasped.

"...-that Kris, right?", Jongin continued, just as surprised as his friend.

The short tomboy let out a sound that was probably meant to be a chuckle but it sounded more like a sigh. "I was right, wasn't I? There's history between them".

The two boys glanced at each other, unsure whether they should tell Amber everything they knew about Kris because, oh god, they were a lot. After getting together with Sehun, Tao had explained everything to them; how Kris was his first love, how his dad disapproved of their relationship and managed to sent Kris away and finally, how Kris had cheated on him with another guy while being away. These two had one hell of a past and Amber was the first person who should know about it.

However, Chanyeol felt like he wasn't the one Amber should hear it from.

"What exactly do you know about them?", he asked, playing it safe.

"Not much", she admitted and ruffled her hair. "I could tell right away that something was off because I had never seen Kris so eager to meet someone before. So I searched his phone-... Yeah", she snorted when she noticed the boys' expressions, "I'm not proud of it either but my suspicions were driving me crazy. I searched his phone and found a call to my cell I had never answered and I immediately remembered that back then, I was with Tao. He was the only one who could have picked up my phone".

"Wait", Jongin interrupted her, still processing her words. "Are you saying you found out about their history just because of a phone call and a hunch?". For some reason, he thought that Amber would be quite dense but his first impression of her turned out to be completely wrong. She should meet Kyungsoo, he thought.

"Wait, I'm not done yet", she laughed and punched his arm lightly, as if they were fooling around. "I would be crazy, going around and calling people cheaters if I only knew this much, right? No, no, first I hit a new personal low; I also searched Kris' apartment when he wasn't around".

"And?", Chanyeol asked anxiously. "What did you find?".

Amber took a deep breath before continuing and that time, her smile didn't return.

"A photo".

"A photo?", Jongin repeated in disbelief.

"Yeah", she nodded towards him, "A photo of them hugging and smiling happily".

"They could have been just friends, right?". Jongin was trained by the all mighty Kyungsoo to never let anything slip by.

"Yeah, that's what I hoped before reading what it said on the back", Amber nervously ruffled her hair again and burried her face in her palms. However, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't hold back her tears anymore.

Chanyeol didn't ask another question; he just wrapped his arms around her tiny body and pulled her into a big, tight hug, hiding her crying face from Jongin.

"My ego once stopped me from saying it but that will never happen again. I love you", Amber's muffled words barely made it to Jongin's ears. He didn't need to ask whose handwriting it was because he already knew the answer.

Back in high school, Kris had tried over and over again to win Tao back by sending him old photos of theirs or letters, filled with his feelings. Sehun would get angrier and angrier with every envelope that appeared in Tao's hands until they were finally out of high school and free to move wherever they wanted to, away from their past. New address, new beginning, that's what they said.

But now Kris had found them again and it was at the worst time possible; what would happen if Tao finally accepted his feelings? A sudden urge to yell at the tomboy appeared and Jongin couldn't hold back.

"Why did you let them go?!", he shouted at her. "He's your boyfriend, right?!"

"Stop it, man", Chanyeol glared at him, still embracing her but Jonging wasn't done.

"How could you just let them leave?! Don't you love him? Aren't you going to fight for him?!". His voice was getting more and more vicious and every question felt like a punch on Amber's stomach. But she wasn't one to admit defeat.

"Yes", she calmly replied after softly pushing Chanyeol away. "I love him". Her whisper was so small, as if she had never said that out loud before."But", she continued after wiping her eyes with her sleeve, "I'm not going to fight for something that was never mine".

"But-...", Chanyeol murmured, "What if he doesn't choose you?".

Amber remained silent for a few seconds but when she noticed the tall man's serious expression she couldn't help but smiling. "Then I'll move on, man! Love doesn't always work out and that's life, yo!", she shouted in her usual, cheerful tone and pretended to punch an invisible enemy.

"But", she added in a more serious expression, "I was really hoping that life would let me have this one". Her eyes were about to tear up again and Chanyeol couldn't let that happen.

"I'll date you!", he declared in his loud, husky voice making both Amber and Jongin widen their eyes in surprise. "I mean-...", he continued, looking flustered, "You're amazing! You deserve someone who'll play basketball with you and will make you laugh and I can do that!", he shouted with bright red ears.

"Hey, hey, what are you saying?", Jongin hissed, "Baekhyun will kill you!".

But Amber's laughter shut them both up. "Oh, man", she barely managed say, "I'd rather die than have your babies man and I mean that in the nicest way possible! But thanks". Her huge grin returned as she kicked Chanyeol's . "Now leave!", she shouted, still laughing. "Both of you! I have to close up here!".

Chanyeol looked at her one last time before leaving, wondering whether it'd be best to stay with her.

"I'll be fine", Amber said, as if she had read his mind. "Go take care of your friend".

"Promise?"

The short tomboy grinned once again before sticking her tongue out.

"No".

                                                                                                     ____________________

When Luhan opened his eyes it was still dark outside, the light in his room was still on and the spot right next to him was still warm. He wanted to get up and switch off the light, close the curtains and wash his face but it was physically impossible for him to move. His whole body hurt and-...

No, that wasn't right. The physical pain was indeed intense but something in his chest hurt even more.

the light and the curtains, he thought. If I could stand, I'd go after him. The image of the ginger boy with the puffy cheeks and slanted eyes wouldn't leave his mind no matter how many times he tried to blink it away.

Yes, he'd definitely go after him. And then he'd create on hell of scene, yelling, cursing and even hitting Xiumin, if he was stronger than him. He'd unleash his inner monster and take out all of his anger and frustration. All the emotions he had been bottling up during the months he hid his love for Sehun, he'd let them all out.

Luhan snorted when he realized he could understand why Tao turned him into a punching bag; it had nothing to do with cheating or jealousy. Tao just needed to vent and Luhan was the perfect victim.

But he was done being the victim. He was done chasing after men who'd never care for him.

And then he remembered he knew where Xiumin worked; he could stop by sometime to give him a piece of his mind in front of the customers and his coworkers. It was the perfect place to start a fight.

No, Luhan thought, not this time. He wasn't going to waste another second of his life on that midget.

With a sudden and painful jump, he successfully managed to leave the bed. After standing still for a while, waiting for the pain to diminish, he carefully started walking towards the light switch.

"I am going to change", he announced at the empty room and after turning the light off, he turned towards the curtains.

"One step at a time".

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Author's Note: Yo, wassup! Fast update, right? I'm pretty proud of myself and I'm not even trying to hide it, haha

Okay, to those who are like "omg no taoris, tao needs to go to sehun" just chill, I know what I'm doing, I've got this, just trust me, shhh *pats your head*

I wasn't very meticulous with the proofreading so yeah, you're probably going to find tons of mistakes, I'm so sorry TT^TT

Oh and I may not always answer but I love reading your comments so please, don't feel bad if I haven't replied to you, it's just that I'm not really good at replying to compliments or just comments in general, this author is useless when it comes to words that are directed to actual people ;_;

Comments, Subscriptions and Upvotes are still greatly appreciated, I just forgot to mention it last time~