Kai had an arm wrapped around his girlfriend as she rested her head on his shoulder. They were sat at the pier, listening to the sound of waves crashing against the shore as the moonlight shone down on them. They talked about random things, shared secrets, just enjoying each other's company and closeness. It was moments like these that Kai loved the most. Being surrounded by nature and being with the person he loved. It was simple but he enjoyed the little things like that the most.
"Say," she mumbled, lifting her head from his shoulder to look at him, "You said on the phone you met Amber earlier today."
"Yeah, she came over to Sehun's place for lunch. I don't think she likes me very much though," he scrunched up his nose.
Victoria nodded slowly, a distant look in her eyes.
"Why?"
"Well..." she sighed, "We used to be kinda close. But some shit happened and we haven't talked since freshman year. I guess I just wonder how she's doing every now and again."
Kai lifted his eyebrows, "You were friends with Amber?"
"Aha," she hummed, looking straight ahead as if remembering something.
"I never knew. You guys make a weird pair."
Victoria scowled, "And you think you and Sehun don't make a weird pair?"
"You have me against a wall here," he chuckled.
"How'd you guys get so close anyway? You're like the most unlikely friends if I've ever seen any."
"Why do you say that?"
She shrugged, "You're just so different. And I don't think I've ever seen you even interact before. It's weird how fast you became so close.
"Huh. I don't know, he's just so... weird," Kai said with a smile, "He's quirky and fun and he's nothing like the stereotypical high school kids you see everywhere. Did you know he does martial arts?"
Victoria looked genuinely surprised at that, "Really? I'd have never guessed."
"Me too. Don't judge a book by it's cover, huh?"
She sighed, "You're right."
"Anyway," Kai grinned, brushing a stray her off her face, "Let's not talk about other people right now. I only wanna think about you."
"Ugh, don't make me throw up," she rolled her eyes, looking away from him but he gently took her chin and turned her face back to him again.
"I don't recall saying you were allowed to look away."
"Geez Kai, you know I don't like all this sappy stuff."
"Lies," he leaned closer, lowering his voice, "you love it, it just makes you shy."
Her breathing hitched as he inched closer, their lips only centimeters apart.
"Like hell it does," she whispered, but closing her eyes and giving in anyway.
He smirked before closing the distance between their lips. They molded together instantly, moving in sync with an unspoken rythm that almost matched the sound of the waves crashing against the shore. Kai's hands cupped her cheek as she pulled him closer, digging her fingers into his hair. It was a habit of hers, Kai had noticed, and he sure wasn't complaining. Slowly but surely, what started out as an innocent kiss became a hungrier one. He ran his tongue across her bottom lip and she glady opened up for him, their tongues dancing together. Kai's hands trailed down her body and to her waist, slowly inching down under her shirt to trace her soft skin. She shivered under his touch as her own arms wrapped his neck, pulling him impossibly closer.
They parted for a second to catch their breaths, the two of them panting into each others' lips before they connected again. Kai ran his hand up her abdomen slowly, admiring the softness of her skin. She moaned softly agasint his lips, which was only driving him crazier. She was being a lot more responsive to his kisses than usual that he found himself wanting to go a little further.
Just as his hand reached the front of her bra, Victoria gasped and suddenly shoved him away, her eyes wide and a look of panic in her face. Her lips were slightly parted and her face flushed. Kai stared at her in surprise and confusion as she slowly composed herself, running a hand through her messy hair and averting her gaze from him.
"I-I'm sorry," Kai said in concern, "I was going to fast." He reached his hand forward to cup her cheek but she flinched away from him. She saw the hurt flash in his eyes and quickly shook her head.
"N-No... It's not your fault. I was just... a little shocked. I've... never really done this with anyone else," she mumbled, placing her hand on Kai's.
"I didn't mean to scare you... It just kind of happened in the spur of the moment," he said awkwardly, "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," she forced a smile, looking away from him. "Um. We should go."
"Already?"
"It's ten," she rolled her eyes, "And I have a curfew. Come on."
Kai simply sighed and nodded in disappointment, standing up. The walk back to the car was silent and awkward. Victoria was avoiding his gaze and it looked like something was bothering her. Kai didn't want her to get upset so he didn't ask. They got on his motorcycle and she wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her head on his back as he drove her home.
"Thanks for today. I had fun," Victoria smiled at him as she got off his motorcycle when they stopped in front of her home. He simply returned the smile and nodded.
"Me too," he muttered, looking at her, "I'm really sorry about what happened today."
She quickly shook her head, waving her hand in the air dismissively, "Don't worry about it. Let's just pretend it never happened, okay?"
Kai nodded reluctantly, making her smile. She leaned in and pressed a small kiss to his lips before pulling away.
"See you at school."
"See you."
He watched her walk away and waited until she got into her house before sighing and putting on his helmet. She might have been pretending to be nonchalant, but something was obviously bothering her and he couldn't help but feel like it was his fault. He wasn't really sure what he was thinking when he touched her like that. In all the seven months that they'd been dating, they never really went any further than making out and some innocent touching here and there. Maybe he just thought it was okay since they'd been together for so long, but it obviously wasn't and he felt guilty about making her uncomfortable.
That wasn't it though.
She wasn't just uncomfortable. For a moment there, she looked... scared. Terrified even. That was what really worried Kai more than anything. Knowing Victoria, she always tended to deal with things alone. She didn't like showing vulnerability. And Kai could understand, he understood very well. His whole life was an act to hide his own vulnerability.
Once Kai got home, he parked his motorcycle and made his way into his parents' fancy villa. It was everything a dream home was like, decorated garden, picket fence and everything. His family wasn't much of a dream family though. Lisa was usually cooped up in her room, either watching dumb YouTube videos or reading her homo comics. His mother was a typical housewife, obeying every single word her husband said without complaint. Honestly, Kai felt bad for her. She usually had no say in things and only dropped her gaze to the ground, nodding obediently.
And don't even get me started on my father.
Kai's father was like a dictator if anything. He never used violence or raised his hand on any of his family (at least not that Kai knew of), but his icy, commanding tone was enough to have them wincing. His word was law and anyone who disobeyed him was in deep, deep shit. Of course he had his moments of compassion, but most of the time he was really uptight.
He let out a frustrated sigh as he walked into his house, locking the door behind him.
"I'm home," he called to nobody in particular, walking in and seeing his father in the living room, legs crossed as he watched the news channel.
He gave him a short smile, "Welcome back, Kai. Come, sit down. Let's talk."
Kai gulped. Talk? Talk about what? What did I do wrong? It wasn't me who broke the vase this morning!
He didn't seem angry though, so that made Kai relax again, but then again, looks could be very deceiving. He hesitantly walked into the living room and sat down on the couch across his father, staring at the floor.
"Yes, dad?"
"Your mock exams are coming up soon, aren't they?"
"Yes. In a couple of weeks," he responded quietly.
"Hm," he hummed slightly, "I was thinking. Maybe you don't need to go to college. You're already the heir to the company and you can just start working straight away once you graduate."
Kai's eyes widened slightly. No....No, no, no, no, no. Kai wanted to go to college. He knew he had to inherit the company, there was no getting away from that. And he was fine with it. It wasn't like he had any real dreams anyway. But he wanted to go to college because he knew that once he started working at his father's company, he wouldn't have any freedom. He wanted to have a couple more years of being young, being reckless, of having fun before he was condemned to working at an office for the rest of his life.
He wasn't ready yet.
"Well? What do you think?"
Kai jumped slightly when his father spoke, clearly waiting for an answer.
"I... I think it's better if I do go to college. I'll get to know more about business management and get some experience."
His father chuckled, waving his hand dismissively in the air. "Nonsense. You're the son of a big CEO, you have your whole life planned out ahead of you. You don't need all that, you'll get experience by working at the company. What good will a flimsy ceritificate with words written on it do you when you have all this?"
A lot of good, when your father doesn't own one of the biggest companies in the country. Kai thought to himself as he gulped. He knew there was no point arguing, once his dad had decided on something, there would be no changing his mind.
Ugh... might as well give it a try...
"I... Well to be honest," he looked up at his father's piercing gaze, almost flinching a little before forcing himself to continue, "I want to... know what college life is like."
His father studied his face for a while and Kai literally felt his heart thumping in his throat. It was so hard to get a read on what he was thinking. Is he going to castrate me? Burn me at the stake? Am I going to die?
Finally, he just shrugged, "We'll see about it later."
Kai blinked, a little surprised at the fact that he wasn't dead yet. He didn't agree but... he didn't totally refuse either so that's a good thing, right?
"Okay. Well, I'm gonna go now."
His father nodded shortly, "Alright. Good night."
"Night."
Kai walked out of the living room, shivering slightly before letting out a sigh of relief. He had no idea what his father was thinking and that scared him. All he knew was that it had been a long day and he just needed some sleep. He walked into his room, only to gasp when he saw Lisa sitting on his bed, arms crossed.
"Lisa, what are you doing here?"
"You're not gonna listen to that old hag are you?"
Kai frowned, "Let me guess. You overheard."
"Hell yeah I did. As if I didn't already hate him enough."
"Don't say that. He's your father."
"Father my ass. He's a dictator is what he is. And you're an idiot who listens to every word he says like a little bitch. And what's more, you defend him. Isn't it enough that he's not giving you so much as a say in your future, now he also doesn't want you to go to college?"
"I don't know, okay?! You're not making things any better by yelling at me."
"Why don't you fucking argue with him?!"
"You know I can't. He'd kill me."
"Are you forgetting something? You're his precious little son who's going to inherit his company after he becomes too old to run it himself. He can't hurt you. He needs you more than you need him. Unlike me, because I'm a girl. I can't carry the family name so I'm worthless in his eyes," she said sourly, making Kai flinch.
"You're not worthless."
She scoffed, "Tell that to him. Why do you think he doesn't give two shits about what I do? He's probably just waiting to marry me off to some random rich asshole and get rid of me."
"Lisa..." Kai didn't know what to say. Lisa always pretended to be unfazed by everything but he knew she was hurting. "That's not gonna happen."
"It won't, because I won't let it." she stood up from the bed, standing in front of her brother. "It's his fault you have anxiety and his fault that you're depressed. And yet you keep letting him control your life. I hate seeing you like this. Pretending to be someone you're not, worrying about how people think of you, when you should just be letting loose and having fun with your high school life just like everyone else. You need to go to college, Kai. You can't let him strip away the last sliver of freedom you have."
She was looking up at him with big, worried eyes and he couldn't help but feel warm inside. Even though she was a little rough around the edges with her way of showing love, he still knew she loved and cared about him a lot. And even when he always got a lot more attention from their parents, she never once got jealous or upset. She loved her brother dearly and so did he.
"I know..." he sighed, "Don't worry. I won't let him."
She held her pinky up, "Promise?"
"Promise." He grinned, curling his pinky with hers before pulling her into a hug.
"Love ya, sis," he mumbled.
"Yeah, whatever, love ya too. Maybe."
Kai chuckled and watched her smile before leaving the room. He felt his cell phone vibrate in his pocket and he pulled it out to see a message from Sehun.
Sehun:
If I say I feel nothing, doesn't that mean I felt that I feel nothing?
He held in a snicker as he flopped down on his bed, a smile stretching across his lips. There were also a couple of messages from Kris ranting about Kyungsoo and how his math teacher made him his tutor, so he now had to go to his house every other day for lessons.
At that moment, Kai felt thankful. He felt stupid for ever thinking he was alone because there were so many people that cared about him.
His best friend, Kris. His dance partner, Lay. His gym buddy, Shownu. His girlfriend, Victoria. His sister, Lisa. And Sehun, even though they haven't known each other that long.
He wanted to spend more time with these people. He wanted to go to college.
He wasn't going to give all that up for his father.
Amber glared at Kai from next to Sehun, who was too busy with his painting. She often came to the art club room to watch her best friend paint and just hang out but lo and behold, Kai was there too. She kind of hated the guy because one, he was spending way too much time with Sehun and two, she didn't trust him.
Amber loved Sehun, but to be honest, the guy was just so naive. People those days, and especially in high school, were fake and tried too hard to fit into stereotypes. They'd smile in your face one moment and talk shit behind your back the next. She'd know, she'd been through it herself. And out of all of them, there was Sehun, the only one who stuck around, who liked Amber for who she was. He didn't pretend to be someone else, he never back-stabbed and he was always honest. Quiet sometimes, but honest.
And the last thing she wanted was some popular kid pretending to be his friend then hurting him. He was already gaining quite a bit of attention with Kai hanging around him so much. Besides, something really irked her about Kai.
"If you keep glaring at me like that, you'll get wrinkles," he commented, smiling smugly.
"None of your damn business."
He shrugged, "I was just trying to be nice."
"You know what would be nice? If you could just leave."
"Aw, but then Sehun would miss me, right? I can't have that."
"I'm sure he'll be fine."
"I'll leave if Sehun asks me to."
As they were arguing, they didn't notice Sehun fuming in between them, having stroked his paintbrush the wrong way from the distraction.
"Can you two just shut up already? I'm trying to focus here."
Amber scoffed, "He started it."
"Excuse me? You were the one who was glaring daggers at me like you wanted me buried six feet under."
"Preferably alive," Amber added with a smirk.
"Sadistic much?"
"That's it," Sehun stood up, crossing his arms. "Out."
Amber grinned at Kai, "You heard the man."
"Both of you."
This time it was Kai who smirked.
"Come on, Amber. What do you say we go take a walk together?"
She sneered, standing up and glaring at Sehun, "Over my dead body." She then stomped off, leaving the two to stare at her blankly.
"She's really salty," Kai scrunched up his nose, "Why does she hate me?"
Sehun shrugged, "Amber has... trust issues."
"Huh..." Kai said thoughtfully before shrugging, "Oh well. I have to go now anyway. I'll see ya after school?"
Sehun blushed slightly, "Uh, sure, whatever."
Kai smiled, admiring his cuteness for a second before averting his eyes. Okay I really need to stop doing that. But I can't help it, he's too adorable. My heart... it goes doki doki. Okay ew, I need to stop watching anime, seriously.
"Good luck with the painting," Kai winked before leaving the art room, not before waving at Kris. He was sitting next to Kyungsoo as usual, who looked annoyed with him. As usual.
"The day you can draw a symmetrical pot is the day pigs fly."
Kris groaned, "It looks pretty symmetrical to me. And actually, the day you stop being so miserable is the day pigs fly."
"I'm not miserable."
"Are too. Ever learned how to smile?
Kyungso stared at him blankly, "Say something funny."
"Uh...." Kris was caught a little off guard with that. "Something funny."
"Didn't think so," Kyungsoo drawled, turning back to his painting. Kris couldn't help but feel embarrassed. Damn it! He challenged me and I failed.
"Come on, Kyung," Sera said from next to Kris, "You could at least teach the guy instead of insulting him all the time."
"I'd teach him if he had any talent to begin with. But you can go ahead and be my guest."
Kris balled his fists, unable to keep in his rage. Did he think it was funny to keep insulting him like that? Even after everything he made him do?
"Hey," Sera said softly, "Don't mind him, he's always like that."
"Gee, makes me feel better. What crawled up his ass and died, anyway?"
Sera let out a small laugh, "No one knows. Just don't take everything he says so seriously, he isn't that bad."
"He seems to treat everyone else just fine. What did I ever do to him?"
"Just forget it. Hey, what do you say I help you out?"
"I don't need help," he grumbled, arms crossed. She spared one look at his drawing and cocked a brow.
"Yes, you do."
Kris sighed and gave in, letting her teach him. He wanted, no needed, to prove himself to Kyungsoo. If he had to swallow his pride and let someone else teach him, then so be it.
I'm gonna show you, Do Kyungsoo.
Meanwhile, as Kyungsoo worked on his painting, he couldn't help but spare a few glances at Sera and Kris. She was guiding his hand with her own on the page, smiling and explaining something to him. Kris didn't seem as annoyed as he usually was with Kyungsoo and was actually listening to her attentively.
He couldn't help but feel a pang of annoyance at the sight.
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A/N I literally felt uncomfortable writing that kiss scene between Kai and Vic xD. Geez, I read to much gay stuff that straight people gross me out at this point (Mind you, I'm straight too). Also, I borrowed the "If I say I feel nothing, doesn't that mean I felt that I feel nothing?" line from an exosexo video, and if you don't know who that is then... GO WATCH HER VIDEOS LIKE, RIGHT NOW.
Anyways, hope you guys liked this chapter. Vote and comment! ^^