dunk shot | z.cl

n i n e

"Lele what the heck am I supposed to pack?"

"I don't know? Your uniform?"

Kaili momentarily stops digging through her dresser, aggressively throwing a tank top at her best friend.

"No dip Sherlock"

"Hey you can't yell at me! You totally would have forgotten it!"

"Shut up"

Chenle gets up to place the top in her suitcase, although he stops as soon as he peers into it, throwing the tank top down and snatching something out of the bag.

"Is this the bear I got you in elementary school?!"

She ran over to the boy, trying to get the stuffed animal out of his hands.

"No"

He ignored her denial, knowing it was a lie, inspecting the plushy carefully.

"I didn't know you even still had him!"

She turned around and Chenle thought she was going to let him have it, until he felt her jump onto his back from her bed, hands grabbing at the stuffed bear.

He let her have it, opting to use his hands to keep her from falling off his back while she held the bear.

"Mr. Huggies is good luck"

She felt him laugh more so than heard it, and his hands slipped under her thighs for security while he walked over to her closet.

"I can't believe you named it that"

"Shut up I was seven, Mr.Huggies was genius for a seven year old"

"Not very creative"

This time Kaili used Mr.Huggies to smack Chenle in the head, and he laughed as he looked at her in the mirror on her closet door.

"You're really going to take him with you?"

He saw her reflection smile down at the bear, and he could have sworn her eyes were sparkling.

"Of course I am. You got him for me before my first competition, and he's going to be there when I win a national championship."

He smiled back at her, touched that she had remembered and kept the grubby gear for the last eleven years.

"You're such a sap"

"Oh shut up!" She laughed, jumping off of his back and going back to her search for clothes.

"I would take the plushy you got me before my first game, but I lost him and still haven't found him"

Kaili laughed at his response, she still remembered when he called her the next day freaking out and insisted on her coming over so they could look for the bear together. They didn't find it, and ended up making more of a mess, tearing his house apart looking for a $4 stuffed bear that they could easily replace, but it was so important because it was from her.

"I'm still mad about that"

He ruffled her hair, and she smacked his hand away when she saw the giant mess her locks had become.

"Don't you have to pack too?"

They were both leaving for nationals tomorrow, Chenle had been at Kaili's house the entire day, and she knew him well enough to know there was no way he would have packed early.

"No, my mom is doing it because she didn't trust me not to forget something important"

Kaili laughed, that sounded exactly like Mrs.Zhong.

"Smart woman"

By now Kaili had finished throwing her entire wardrobe into the floral bag, and she was doing a mental check to make sure she had everything.

"Hey Lili?"

"Give me a sec Chenle, I need to make sure I didn't forget anything"

He rolled his eyes but let her go on anyway, laughing when he saw her zip up her bag triumphantly.

"Why are you laugh-"

The rest of her sentence died in her throat when she saw him holding her uniform up on a hanger, the very important item not in her bag.

"I'm not gonna forget my uniform" he mocked in a nasally voice, swinging the hanger around as he did so.

"Oh shut up!" She snatched the hanger out of his hands, moving to put it in her bag, "and I don't sound like that," she added nonchalantly on the end.

"Oh Lili, you're lucky you're pretty"

She ignored the way the compliment made her stomach flip and opted instead to chase him out of her room, the two teens thumping down the steps at a pace that was way too fast to be safe.

"Easy there kiddos," Mrs.Xiao called as they entered the kitchen, then quickly followed by "shouldn't you be getting home soon Chenle? You know you're always welcome to stay here, but with leaving tomorrow I figured your mom would want you home"

The boy in question looked down at the watch on his wrist, eyes quickly going wide at the time he saw.

"Oh shoot, yeah I got to go"

Kaili laughed as he quickly grabbed his things, running upstairs to grab his phone before coming down just as fast as before.

"Lovely seeing you again Mrs.Xiao, bye Lili, I'll see you tomorrow! Text me later"

He ran by in a hurry, kissing Kaili's cheek and yelling an innocent "love you" as he headed out the door, no doubt running the entire way back to his house.

She stood there staring at the doorway where he had exited.

A small sound like a giggle broke free from her throat, and she slapped her hand over her mouth, although she could feel the smile still on her face.

Her mother raised an eyebrow, but said nothing at the sharp glance from her daughter.

Kaili's phone lit up from a notification, and she checked the text from Chenle, reassurance that he had gotten home okay and a reminder to text him before she went to bed, signed off with another heart.

Kaili made eye contact with her mother before quickly typing back a response, clicking her phone off and throwing it on the table.

"Don't say anything"

"Just seems like you're finally realizing what I've known all along"

Kaili ran away before her mother could say anything else, but she heard her laugh echo through the house as she got ready for a shower.