Chapter ONE

The grey smoke tinted with the slightest blue slowly curled around the lips, nose and overall face of a young man who despite having a cigarette well in mouth, could still maintain a smirk, all the while puffing onto the purple death stick. Zi Tao also known as Zi or Peaches, always thought it humorous that whatever was in his particular brand of cigarettes was slowly killing him while displaying a cheerful brand. The cigarettes themselves, while encased into a beautifully designed box with white striped with a purple background, could almost fool children into thinking they were not the popular poison but instead chocolate cigarettes. Oh, chocolate cigarettes, they had been a particular favorite of Peaches. He did enjoy them quite a lot when he was younger. Might even be the reason he enjoyed his obnoxiously expensive brand of real cancer sticks. Tapping the purple stick against his forefinger, he watched as the ashes slowly descended from the balcony of his third story condo.  

The ashes had flickered a bright orange before turning invisible to the eye as they went down, down, down. Thinking of death might help some people stop smoking, but not Peaches. Actually, he was almost curious to know if he could escape the death trap like his father had. His father, a heavy smoker since he was 15 was still well, had his lungs well in shape and he showed no sign of lung cancer or anything related to the Marlboros he smoke daily for years. Now much older, he didn't see the same temptation it had when he was a kid, when he was Zi Tao's age. 

Peaches, a name that came from his name but also the scent that seemed to follow him since young, had started smoking earlier than his father had. At age ten, the young Tao had took his first cough over the strong fumes and smoke of the cigarette which made him think just how disgusting it was. Only, since smoking was not permitted on school grounds, that every friend he made had almost no idea what the hell smoking was, that his father smoked-- it made sense at the time but because it was forbidden, he tried again and again, behind the shed at his private school where usually people went to hook-up, until finally it clicked. He had gotten an addiction. His first real addiction. Drawing was a close second, drawing had always been a passion of his, and his fingers always seemed to find some place to draw even if just imaginary lines drawn on the back of his arms, raising goose bumps.  

The school caught him a couple times, but never enough to actually charge him with anything. They could smell the smoke around him, the tell-tale sign that he was at least with someone who smoked. Only, they never found a cigarette in his possession despite trying to find them in his shared room or on his person. He had been such a model student-- before. Peaches remembers how they sighed each time he appeared with the smell clinging to his clothing like a second set, almost like a second skin. After a while they stopped questioning. What good did it do except wave their faults back into their faces. After all, a kid who wasn't older than 13 could fool them into searching his person and his room without ever finding something incriminating. 

The sighs had been the start of the rest of his decline, as they often referred his change. His decline had been gradual and had nothing to do with brutal parents or a hard to bear past. It was just his mind and body going through change into a much too controlled environment for his artsy personality. He could have been a great desk employee if his personality had been more controlled, but it was not. He was impulsive, gutsy and totally not made for a desk job. Therefore, he stopped listening his teacher's lessons. They were increasingly boring the more advanced they became.  

With no interest in math or science or anything related to… well anything except art and drawings and art history… He was stuck in a rut. His grades went low enough that he had to see people all the time, tutors and teachers and psychologists, but his grades were always good enough that they couldn't just ship him elsewhere. They knew and even Tao knew if he could just put a minimum of effort, he could get rid of the people on his back, but… Doing things that weren't picking his interests, that came as long monologues of information while hardly ever getting dirty, it just couldn't possess him to start working. 

Slowly, drawings were found on random tables all across school and despite the teachers knowing just who did those, it was not a big enough offense to stop the kid from coming to school. After all, the child's parent were on the school board and had money rolling around in the school. They knew if they kicked Zi Tao out, they would need to find other people to fund the sports and art departments. Tao had been not only a very artsy person but also very invested into the sport department. Going from martial arts to basketball and football, he was very popular in the same way the art nerds were unpopular. Still, that didn't stop him from hanging out with the Others as they were referred instead of the Jocks.  

As his memories were slowly passing through the lens in his mind, Peaches yelped strongly when the ashes of his cigarette had fallen completely to the ground, leaving him with a slowly burning filter and a burn on his finger. Throwing the remaining cigarette in a small container, he looked at his watch before making way across the balcony. He was going to be late if he did not get a move on. As his phone was vibrating from ignored messages, he stuffed it into his pants and made way down the stairs of the building with heavy steps, his combat boots clinking and clanking as he went along.  

The heavy rubber of his boots in the cold created ungodly sounds as he went down the metal stairs and the bedazzles rubbing and grinding into each other created an almost fairy-like music as he took step after step. His jeans, hardly covering any thigh at all, held on tightly at his hips while they swayed with each step, while his shirt, a burgundy muscle tee with the skull of an unicorn printed across it in white made his ensemble shocking for the regular passerby. Throwing a casually studded jean jacket, he was out the front door with a friendly wave to the older lady who lived under his apartment. 

Walking slowly towards his destination, he hardly noticed the looks he received as he strutted across the snow covered street. A grin was slowly etching its way on his lips as he saw the shop in sight. Walking in without a glance towards the new dance studio across the street, he waved his hands above his head with a loud crackle as he entered the shop, his Kohl eyes ready to bore holes into the brain of the one who would insist he was late. 

"Yo, my peeps!" he cried out with the most childlike grin someone his age, his stature and his appearance could pull off. While waving at everyone who was sitting around and hip bumping a couple of them, he grinned loud and clear when nobody said anything about him being slightly late. Not like he had a client right away, anyway… 

Bumping his hips to the shoulder of the man who took care of the clients who entered the shop, he sultrily sprawled himself across Baek Hyun's lap, who was comfortably sitting. While rubbing the older one with witty hands which were sharply slapped away with a chuckle, he could also be seen nuzzling his best friend's neck, happily tracing the necklace with his tongue which earned him a punch to the ribs and to fall down on the floor with surprising grace. 

"Baek!" whined Peaches as he sat on the floor, looking up at the other smiling with triumph from his chair.  

"No, whatever you are going to say, Zi. I don't care. The floor is your only companion from now on." 

"You are no longer fun since you've got yourself a girlfriend. You turd," whined out the younger again as he settled with Baek's legs, entrapping them in his grip. "Now, gimme what I want!" A revolting gag followed their display of friendship as Baek Hyun tried to untangle them while grinning foolishly at the owner of the shop. "Shat 'ap, Suho! I don't complain when I see you frolic around with Krissybear!" 

Krissybear while entering as that disgusting name was uttered couldn't help the blush from his cheeks as the people around started crackling like utter nuts, especially the one who said the nickname like he was a genius. Repressing the need to strangle the kid who was also his boss, he rolled his eyes as Peaches sent him fly-away kisses and couldn't help but snort when Chan Yeol started collecting the kisses by fake-catching them in a baseball mitt and hurling them out the window as Peaches started to whine that he was unloved to the only one who would coo at the disgusting sight that was Zi when he felt unloved, Lu Han. 

As Zi was cuddling Lu Han, the bell tickled soundlessly across the shop and they turned their heads towards the newcomers. Three people they had never seen entered the shop. While one looked like he was in heaven, one was looking like he was a bit lost if not a bit fascinated by the shop while the third looked mostly peeved at the first who didn't seem to mind one bit. 

"Good afternoon," chimed Baek Hyun as he saw the three people looking around with different expressions.  

"Nice shop, man. Yours?" Asked the one who seemed most interested but with a very blank face nonetheless. 

"Yeah, not really. I am just here as a servant to the real master here, Peaches." Nodding his head over to the two cuddling mess of people who didn't seem to mind them all that much, except maybe the one with the Bambi eyes who he presumed was Peaches. Nodding his head towards the Bambi eyed one, the guy shook his head and nodded towards the man-child who seemed way to comfortable and way too tattooed to even be that cute. 

"Eh?" mumbled out Se Hun as he noticed the feline eyes staring at him from their spot on the other's collarbone. The shop became eerily calm before Peaches got up from his makeshift bed and went to see them with what could only be describe as a charismatic smile. 

"Hey, the name's Peaches or Zi if you are kind enough. I am the founder of Duende Ink and these people behind me are my most treasured… people." A snort from the back followed the hesitation. 

"We know, Zi. You prefer your tattoos to us, to people in general. No need to try to come up with a wording to keep people thinking you are all that charismatic!"  

"Yah, you savage! I am very charismatic, I mean… I am even more so than Krissybear!" 

"That's not hard, I think a door has more charisma than that ."  

"Oh. You are very pretty, Peaches," came the soft voice of one of the new people, with a very airy voice, as if it was walking on clouds. 

"Thank you," blushed Peaches as he rubbed his neck with a very shy smile, his eyes sparkling happily. 

While everyone was making friends, the subject of why they were here came onto the table and two of the newcomers grinned happily while the other just looked on, curious and distrustful.  

"We own the dance studio across the street!" said the one who presented himself as Se Hun. The reaction was almost instantaneous, wow's and ah's were heard across the room until a small cough was heard. 

"There is a dance studio across the street?" said shyly the owner of the parlor, his cheeks turning crimson at the surprised attention. It had almost everyone talking at the same time, as they tried to explain how long the studio had been there and how it was far from news now, making Peaches bow while playing with his lip piercing. Only, unnoticed by many except a tall man with large ears, one of the dance instructors seemed a bit reluctant to be there, trying to pry Se Hun's attention from the loud gang. 

Chan Yeol had never been known to be subtle, even less so when he was offended. How not to be offended when the kid, at least as old as Peaches, looked at them like they were the savages and that they were out to kill out all the children in the world. With a roll of his eyes, he coughed a couple times gaining everyone's attention, even the little punk's and while staring at him, said: "If you want out of here, walk out. Nobody is holding you by a leash, kid. You are being offensive and I do not like when people look at my friends like that. Move it!" 

And the longer he talked, the rougher his voice sounded, his eyes glaring holes on the kid's forehead, his jaw clenching systematically, his balled fists not far along. The kid looked ready to pee his pants but instead got up and glared so hard while sneering, some of them reeled back at the attitude. He did not look so meek now that his jaw was set and his eyes hard. 

"I do not know why my friend keeps trying to befriend people like your lot. You are all the same." 

With those words, people got up ready to fight as the other two were being pulled towards the door. Se Hun shrugged apologetically and Yi Xing just smile knowingly at Peaches who just stared into space for a while until they were all gone except his crew. 

"Does he not like us? It is the shop? Too dark, right? Maybe the painting, or maybe I should go to get more colourful stuff, I knew something was off--" and as he babbled, Chan Yeol found his hand and pulled him against his chest, muffling the words that kept escaping the pinkish lips of the owner of the ink parlor.  

"Shhhh, Peaches. No need to change the décor again, it's perfect as it is. It's very colourful already, I think he just can't enjoy art, you know?" A shocked gasped followed the suggestion. 

"But he works as a choreographer! How can he not like art!" The rambling turned into a much better one and the people in the parlor sighed with relief. Peaches was the one with the strongest aura, the one with the most tattoos and the one who dressed as much as a delinquent as a school thug, but in all actuality… he was so fragile and sweet that they could only try to protect him with all their might.