The crash of a plate colliding with a wall echoed downstairs. Kai's parents were fighting. Again. It was only a matter of time until one of them took their anger out on him. On nights he was really unlucky, both of them would.
His dad was the physically abusive type. Beatings were common. Kai has been forced to drop his pants more than the average 17 year old should. Large scars decorated the back of his thighs. It often hurt to sit after the worst of them. If he didn't take it the first time, his dad always made it more violent the second time.
His mother was the mentally abusive type. Starving him was her favorite form of punishment. She constantly reminded him of how much of a failure he was. She bragged about how popular she used to be in high school. Boys lined up to be with her. Girls envied her. Now she was a beaten housewife with a son who had no friends. She got pregnant with Kai at 15 years old. The resentment started the day he was born. She always made sure to blame him for ruining her life.
Kai had his headset on at full blast. He was playing Call of Duty on his ps5 in his room.
The ps5 replaced the ps4 his mom enjoyed breaking when he didn't come home one night. She made sure Kai knew everything in his room could be destroyed at a moments notice. Sometimes she would trash his room for 'fun' if she felt like her son needed to be reminded of his place in life.
Kai put the game modes on shuffle. He was entered into a duo in war zone. In the past, his partners were terrible. This guy was actually good. He was extremely thankful for that.
They didn't say much beyond gamer talk. He turned his headphones down when the yelling stopped. That meant it was his turn at any moment so he had to be ready. He warned "my parents are coming to kick my ass, so sorry if I go AFK."
The guy playing with him asked "oh shit. What did you do?"
Nonchalantly, Kai stated "nothing. They hate each other so naturally they hate me." This wasn't anything new to him. He talked about it casually because it was his normal. He shot a couple of people then told his partner "nice one" when he shot the guy he missed.
The guy said "thanks. I'm guessing you're a minor then if you're still living with them."
Kai's character hopped onto an ATV. He started to drive when his partner got in the back. "Yeah. Can't wait till I'm 18. Got nowhere to go but anywhere is better than here."
"I'm sorry man. I'm Taehyun by the way. I'm 17."
"Kai. 17 too. Hold on a second." Kai removed one of his headphones when he heard thumping. One of his parents were coming up the stairs while the downstairs door slammed shut. Judging by the footsteps, it was his mom. "I think my mom is about to lock me in my room for a few days. I'll bail so you can find someone to help you win. You're really good."
Taehyun sent him a friend request. He didn't want to leave but that wasn't really his choice. When he saw he was alone in the game, he decided to exit out and wait.
Kai's bedroom door slammed open. The doorknob made the hole in the wall deeper. His ps5 was already in rest mode and his headset was burried under a stuffed animal. Now it was just a waiting game to see which punishments he would get delt with today.
His mom threw a box of Lucky Charms cereal at him then waved her key in the air. Her hair was a tangled mess from being pulled on earlier. She had a fresh bruise on her left cheek too. "THREE DAYS. YOU RUINED MY LIFE! YOU'RE LUCKY I EVEN GAVE YOU FOOD THIS TIME YOU PIECE OF SHIT!" The door slammed shut. The locks clicked with each turn of the key.
Kai was now stuck in his room for 72 hours with only a box of cereal as food. He turned his ps5 back on and was surprised to see Taehyun's party request. He accepted and they went back into another game. "Hey. Did you wait for me?"
"Yeah... didn't want to lose a good partner. So, what happened?"
"Got locked in my room for three days. I was at least given a box of cereal this time. Last time I wasn't given any food at all."
Taehyun cut his parachute. They landed near the jail then begun to hunt for supplies. "I know it's not my place but why haven't you called the police?"
"I don't have any family and I don't really feel like going to foster care. My birthday is in 10 months. I just need to hold out until then."
"Why don't you just stay with a friend?"
"Don't have any."
Taehyun felt really bad for him. To cut the tension, he started taking the lead in the game. They were taking out teams left and right. The fog started moving in. They found a helicopter and began to fly towards the center. After the two found a good hiding zone, Taehyun suggested "I can be your friend."
Kai quietly laughed. "Please don't feel bad for me. I'm really okay. Plus, you probably don't even live near me."
"I live in Boston. How about you?"
"Virginia Beach."
"Oh... I can still be your friend! I'm not on here too often though. School and stuff."
"Well. I'll be on here for the next three days. There's a squad to your left behind the hill. We should move."
Taehyun lead the way down the stairs. They went in opposite directions to take out the team behind the hill. As they progressed, he got to know Kai a bit more. He learned they were very different people but that's what made his partner so interesting to talk to.
Their duo ended up in 3rd. Taehyun was forced to call it a night because he had school the next day. He promised to come on tomorrow to talk to him some more.
Kai wasn't upset. He told him to have fun at school and thanked him for making his night a decent one. After Taehyun left, he joined a few other games. Call of Duty eventually got boring. He switched to Animal Crossing on his phone. It was 2am by the time he went to sleep.
When he woke up, he ate some of his dry cereal with one hand and grabbed the TV remote with the other. The TV turned on to reveal a message Taehyun left for him. "I can't game tonight but add me on snap!"
Kai scrolled through Taehyun's profile before he decided to add him. He saw how many friends the other had. It made him envious. He decided to add him thinking nothing would happen with it.
There wasn't a single post on his own profile. He only created the account so he would be ready to add friends his freshman year. Three years later, he got his first friend when Taehyun accepted. He was asked to send a couple of pictures of himself. Still not believing anything would happen, Kai threw a hoodie on and began to take mirror selfies.
Taehyun looked at the pictures in class. He couldn't believe Kai was real. He zoomed in on one of the selfies to see a two inch scar cut into his left eyebrow. The stories of abuse seemed more true now.
Soobin looked over and asked "whoa. Who is that?"
"No one!" Taehyun hid his phone away so his friend would stop being a creep. His smile returned when he saw that Kai sent him another selfie. The phone was clutched close to his chest so it would be harder for Soobin to see.
During lunch, Taehyun went to the bathroom to take a few pictures of himself. He deleted 7 out of 10 of them. The best three were sent before he returned to his friends.
Kai thought he was really cute but that's about it. He didn't get too attached to anyone since no one had ever bothered to get attached to him. That especially rung true considering how far away Taehyun lived. There wasn't a point of feeling something in his mind. He responded "cute, funny and smart. I can see why you have so many friends. It's okay if you can't join me tonight." He set his phone down and went back to eating his cereal. A hot shower was next.
Taehyun sent a flirty message. He got a bit sad when he didn't get a reply back. Classes kept coming. Other people responded except for Kai. He began to doubt if flirting was the right move. His phone chimed during a debate team practice. No phones were supposed to be allowed during a practice debate but he didn't care. The message read "I can't wait to talk to you tonight baby ;)" He was thrilled to see a flirty message back. Before he could respond, the debate coach got mad. He put his phone away then apologized.
Kai was sleeping on his bed when he woke up to the sound of the front door slamming open.
His father was yelling downstairs. The yelling at his mom turned into yelling for Kai. His dad yelled "WHO TOLD YOU THAT YOU COULD HAVE FOOD?!"
Kai knew any answer he gave wouldn't satisfy his dad. He weakly said "mom did..."
His dad stormed up the stairs then made him repeat it again. He then took the box of cereal and threw it at Kai's face. The contents exploded everywhere. Mr. Huening rushed back down to beat his wife for giving his child food. That only meant Kai was next in line for his mom's abuse for snitching on her.
Kai began to clean up the mess. A handheld vacuum got most of it. He had to do it in bursts in case his parents began to complain about the noise. The cereal was emptied into the toilet then flushed away.
His mom was furious for telling on her. After her own abuse was over, she ran up the stairs to destroy Kai's phone in front of him.
Kai watched the thing get broken to pieces. The parts got dumped into the trash and his door was locked again. He refused to show emotion when he joined the party Taehyun invited him to. "Hey."
"Hey! What did you think of my last message? I see you didn't respond to it. Was it too much?"
"I didn't see it. My mom broke my phone."
Taehyun was shocked to hear that. He failed to understand how Kai seemed so okay with it. "I'm sorry..."
"I expected it. Every time I get a phone, I expect it to be broken in a few months. Not like I had anyone to message anyways."
"Hey! You had me!"
Kai allowed himself a small bit of happiness. "That's true. What did you send me?"
"I uh. I sent you a shirtless picture of myself."
"Was there a caption?"
"It's embarassing to say out loud!"
Kai softly giggled. "Tell me!"
"I just said it was your turn next."
"I'm sorry I didn't get to see that. Can I ask you something?"
"Sure. What?"
"Are you actually gay or just messing around?"
Taehyun thought about it. He honestly wasn't sure. After a few moments, he found an answer that was good enough for now. "Bi. I've only dated girls in the past though."
Kai shrugged it off. "Alright." He noticed they still havent chosen a game to do. He began to flip through the different options to see if any called to him.
Taehyun felt awkward when Kai went silent. "How about you?"
"Gay I guess. I've never dated for obvious reasons. And you don't need to apologize every time you feel bad. I'm used to it. It's okay."
Taehyun had to stop himself from apologizing again. It was an instinct. "When do you think you'll get another phone?"
"Christmas? My mom might buy me one in a week. She likes giving me things to break in the future. I'm not sure why since it's a huge waste of money."
"I'm always here to talk to you if you need it. I hope you get a phone soon. I can send you the picture again if you do!"
"Thank you. It feels nice to have someone to talk to."
The two continued to talk as late as Taehyun was able to stay up. Taehyun came on every single night that he could. Talking to Kai was the one thing he always looked forward to. Playstation was their main form of communication. Kai went through 4 phones before summer came.
Taehyun found himself actually falling in love with Kai. That was crazy to him since they had never met before. He desperately wanted to meet him.
Kai always kept Taehyun at a distance even though he was feeling equally attached. His only friend became his escape from how shitty his home life was. Whenever they talked, he forgot about the rest of the world. It was just them.
The only thing Kai looked forward to more than talking to Taehyun was his birthday. The second he turned 18, he was going to run away. It had been meticulously planned out since he was 13 years old.
When August came, Taehyun convinced his friends to go with him on a vacation to Virginia for a week. He had to meet Kai. Soobin bet he was being catfished but Kai had sent too many selfies to make him think he was. His plane ticket was bought. His stuff was packed and ready to go. Now he was on the plane, anxiously waiting for it to land.
On the day of Kai's birthday, he threw his ps5, a few clothes, his charger and a blanket into a small suitcase. He still had absolutely no idea where he wanted to go but he figured the ps5 would give him enough money to buy a one way ticket out. He traded it in a pawn shop for cash then went straight to the airport. Kai walked in and began to browse the departing and arrival destinations for inspiration.
Taehyun ran off of the plane as soon as they landed. His friends chased after him. In their rush, Beomgyu accidentally dropped his suitcase against a wall. He picked it up then saw who he was standing next to. "Are you Kai?"
"Whose asking?"
Beomgyu didn't bother to answer. He yelled "HEY TAEHYUN! COME BACK!"
Taehyun ran back with the rest of his friends. That's when he saw him. Kai was real. He was even more attractive in person. Words couldn't come out of his mouth.
Kai stood there smiling like an idiot. He was an idiot who was very much in love. He offered his hand. "Hi. It's nice to finally meet you!"
Taehyun hugged him instead. He wrapped his arms around Kai's neck, still unable to believe he was real. "You're so much hotter in person!" He looked down to see a small black suitcase by his side. "Are you leaving? You can't be! I just got here!"
Kai kissed his forehead. "I was going to but now I don't have to. Where are you staying? Can I stay with you? I ran away."
"Yes!" Taehyun called everyone a cab. Kai got to know Taehyun's friends once they settled in their rooms. They all loved him as much as he loved them. He finally had a sense of friends.
Taehyun rested his head on Kai's shoulder the whole time. His heart couldn't handle how happy he was. Their hands intertwined while Yeonjun continued to tell an embarassing story about him.
Kai's escapism was now his reality. He had no idea what would happen when Taehyun's vacation ended. For now, he was just enjoying the best birthday of his life.