I lifted my eyes from the Physics book when his thumb ran across my scar. Sehun gently grasped my ankle in his hand as we sat facing each other on the couch, attempting to study before dinner. He absently smoothed the marred skin while remaining focused on his History book. A strange tingling spread up my ankle with each .

He lifted his head and found me watching his hand, but he didn't remove it. 

'Sorry we weren't able to talk,' I said, resting the open book on my stomach. 

'We still can.' He paused, and I watched nervously as he gathered his thoughts, searching for the right words. 'When I heard -'

'Do you like broccoli?' my mother yelled from the kitchen, the sound of water filling a pan in the background. 

Sehun pressed his lips into a smile. 'Yes,' he hollered in return. 

I raised my eyebrows when he looked at me. 'So.... you were saying?'

He flipped his eyes towards the kitchen where my mother was moving her hips to the classic rock station coming from the small radio in the window. 'It can wait.'

'Are you sure?' I tried to read his expression, afraid that waiting was only going to continue to torture him - and me.

'Yes, it can,' he assured me, leaning over and kissing me. I put my hands around his neck, not wanting him to move away. He pressed in closer.

'Ummm....' my mother cleared . Sehun pulled back, and my cheeks caught fire instantly. My mother's face was as red as mine felt. She darted her eyes towards at the floor and announced, 'Dinner's ready.'

Just then, the smoke detector went off in the kitchen. I waved my hand and coughed as we entered. My mother went to force the window above the sink open, while I grabbed a towel and fanned the screeching alarm. This had practically become routine for us. The alarm had gone off almost every time I'd attempted to cook.

'Stupid oven,' she grunted, pushing the wooden window up a half inch at a time. 'It must have fifty years of burnt food in there.'

'Do you need help?' Sehun asked, moving towards her.

'No, I've got it,' she grunted, pushing it up a bit more. She hopped down from the sink and smiled. 'You can sit.' The detector was silenced and I sighed in annoyance.

I sat down at the small table in the spindly chair facing the wall. The legs shifted slightly as my weight settled on it. Sehun sat to my right at the sturdiest of the three chairs. 

My mother placed bowls of broccoli and mashed sweet potatoes in front of us, then proceeded to fork a chicken on to each of our plates. 

'What do you want to drink?' I asked Sehun, pushing my chair back, the legs slanthing with the movement.

'Water's fine, thank you,' Sehun responded, fanning the smoke in front of him in amusement, while my mother and I acted like it was part of the dining experience. Well... it usually was. 

As I poured us two glasses of water from the gallon in the refrigerator, my mother settled on the chair across from Sehun with a large glass of red wine. I spotted the bottle on the counter, already two thirds depleted, and eyed her nervously. She still seemed to be okay, although she was busying herself inserting utensils in the bowls. 

'Help youself,' she said, encouraging us by placing a few stalks of broccoli on her plate.

I sat back down as Sehun scooped a spoonful of sweet potatoes. 

'How's basketball?' my mother asked, ignoring her food to take a sip from her glass. Then she continued in a rush, 'I love basketball. It took forever for me to convince SooJi to play since she was so obsessed with soccer because of her father. But she's actually pretty good at it. I never played, but I love watching it. Soccer seems so all over the place, and I can never keep up with where the ball is and why they're blowing the whistle.'

She stopped, noticing we were staring at her. I had had no idea she was nervous until this moment. 

'Sorry,' she grimaced. 

'It's okay.' Sehun consoled her with a smile, giving me quick a glance out of the corner of his eye. I pressed my lips together in apology. He reached for my hand under the table and squeezed it. 'Basketball's great.'

'Did you make the playoffs?' I could tell she was trying to concentrate on one sentence at a time, taking a sip after the question. Her cheeks glowed red. 

'Barely,' Sehun admitted, setting his fork down to answer her. 'We have an away game Thursday, and if we survi