[EXO FANFIC FOR TAO] Coincidences

Part 7

The next day. And the next. And the next. Tao was too busy to hang out with you. But luckily, you had been busy at the time too and wasn't sulking in your bedroom on your computer.  On the first day, you had woken up to a call from Tao saying that he was busy and would try to hang out with you soon. You had easily forgiven him because you knew he was working hard. You had told him to take care of himself and that you were also busy. The call had ended soon after and even though you forgave him, you still felt a little sad that you'd have to wait another day to see him.  You had fallen asleep again right afterwards and then woken up later to visit your cousin. You had spent the day with her. 

The second day, he was too busy once more. But this time, you were prepared. You said it was okay because all the fans were waiting for their comeback.  Today, your grandparents had asked for your help to aid them in their mission to clean the house up a little before more family arrived. Aunts, uncles, cousins, even nephews and nieces, were coming over for dinner. It was a loud and busy day.

The third day, you actually had nothing to do. But for the past two days, you had woken up early to meet your family, etc., so you end up taking a nap early afternoon. Then had gotten a call from another cousin who was only a year or two older than you and she wanted to go shopping with you. You had went with her and bought souvenirs for friends back at home. You couldn't forget about them, of course.

But the next day, you get a call from not Tao, but from Chen instead. You pick up and a chorus of voices say hello to you. They're all calling me? You think to yourself. They invite you to hang out with them and then you hear Tao's voice only slightly louder than the rest. You imagine how this must look. Luhan, Chen, Xiumin, and Lay must be the ones calling. Kris must be in the back with his head in his hands, laughing at them. And Tao must be slightly embarrassed at having gotten you in this mess. Tao tells you that his phone ran out of batteries and that the group wants to go shopping and they want you to come with them.

"Sure!" You say over the noise.

One of them says that they'll pick you up really soon, and then they shout "SEE YOU SOON!" and they hang up. It's so cute that you start laughing and then you quickly wash and get changed. True to their word, they're here in just half an hour's time. They welcome you happily and you get in the car and sit next to Tao (who just happens to have an empty seat next to him). They start driving to a busy shopping district and immediately, chatter fills the air. 

One of the members make a joke about you hanging out with Tao more than the rest of them. And then suddenly, Xiumin looks at you and says, "Wait, aren't you two dating?" You fall silent, your expression freezes, and you look at Tao. Fortunately, he's busy arguing with Kris about something so he didn't hear what Xiumin just said.

"What?" You say. "No!" You laugh it off. It sounds a little nervous, even to you, but Xiumin doesn't catch it. He laughs too and starts to tell a story.

 The car stops and you all get out. It's early afternoon and you're happy to finally go outside even for just a small shopping trip.  At least it's with friends. Shopping trips in China were usually with your mom, grandparents or cousins. But now that you have friends here too, the vibe is a little different. A little more hyper, a little cheerier. A little more like you can fit in. 

Luhan and Xiumin want to go to a small electronics store to get phone keychains, etc.  After five minutes, (having not even walked into the store yet), you realize how crowded their life must seem. Fans were all around them, taking pictures. It's not as if they were touching them or actually approaching them, but they were there, all the time, surrounding them. 

You all walk into the small store and start walking around looking at different phone accessories. You're doing more looking than buying and you see a small keychain that you like. You wonder why they wanted to come here. Before you can even take another step towards the cashier to get the small keychain you like, Luhan tells you that he's done and starts to pull you with him to the exit. They're acting like kids today.  You smile.