Days passed, and the more I thought about it, the more it made sense that I really don’t need to tell Kai anything. What D.O disclosed with me was something between him and me, and he was merely informing me of something he thought I ought to know. It made my stomach feel fuzzy knowing that Kai had gone through tremendous amounts of change all for me. Now I’m determined to be the best girlfriend I could possibly be for him.
Kai’s birthday is right around the corner, and it occurred to me that I should talk to D.O and the other guys about it. So I text D.O, and he replies after a short while.
Hey D.O, are you guys doing anything special for Kai’s birthday?
We are, actually. We don’t know what, though.
Can I join?
Of course. Come to the park tomorrow at 2, and we’ll arrange it.
I can feel myself getting excited to plan Kai’s birthday. It sounds horribly cliché, but I really want to throw a surprise party for him. The most challenging part would be keeping him from finding out. Right at that moment, my phone vibrates. Speak of the devil.
Hey want to do something?
I sit on my bed, and think. Kai can read me easily. I tell him everything, and he knows when I’m hiding something. If I hang out with him and the topic of his birthday comes up, I would ruin the surprise before there even WAS one. So what to do?
Before I could consciously decide, my fingers started typing by themselves.
Sorry, I think im coming down with something. I’m going to sleep it off.
I re-read my message before pressing send, and congratulate myself on a good lie.
Aww :((
Then what about tomorrow?
Sure, but I’m going to go out with my parents after lunch.
I toss my phone on my pillow and put my head in my hands. Waaaahh I feel terrible! Knowing that it’s for a good cause doesn’t ease my conscience.
That’s fine! We should just watch a movie. I’ll be there around 9.
Then I’ll see you tomorrow :)
At precisely 9, the doorbell rings. I answer it, and Kai is standing there with a box of chocolates and a plastic bag.
“I hope you’re feeling better.” He says, handing me the box of chocolates.
“I am. Thank you.” I take the box, and let him in.
We make our way to the lounge, and as Kai sets up the movie, I open the plastic bag to find all sorts of junk food. We settle on the couch, as his favorite movie starts to play; Pirates of the Caribbean. I lean my head on his shoulder, and he wraps his arm around me. I revel in his warmth, and the comfort I get from being so close to him.
The movie ended too quickly, and before I know it, I’ve closed the door behind Kai as he leaves. I need to meet the boys soon, but just like last time, I leave early. It turns out that the boys had been at the park for several hours. They were playing soccer again. They see me approach, and meet me at the gate.
“We’re going to my house to plan. Kai might walk past here on his way to work.” Chen says.
“I thought we were going to my house?!” Sehun yells.
“Your house smells funny.” D.O comments. Sehun turns to stare at him, his face expressionless. It turns out, D.O is just as good at keeping an expressionless face, because they stare at each other for a while, before Chen decides to break it up.
“So D.O agrees. And Luhan doesn’t care. So lets go!” He says. We start walking to Chen’s house, D.O, Luhan and Chen joking around, and Sehun pouting the whole way. It was strange to be around these boys, especially since I’m not with Kai.
“How long until we get there?” I ask.
“Not long! 3 blocks max.” Chen replies.
Luhan looks back at me, and slows his pace to match mine.
“So, TJ, right?” He asks. His voice is unexpectedly soft and gentle. I can’t help but compare it to Kai’s low, rough voice.
“Yeah. And you’re Luhan.”
“Yep.” We fall into an awkward silence, and Sehun walks faster to catch up to D.O. He hits D.O upside the head, but then gives him a side hug.
There isn’t much to talk about, but it occurs to me that I should at least try to get to know Kai’s friends.
“So, um, are you guys all in the same class..?” I try, and that’s all that matters.
“Yeah. Well, for most of them. We have classes that we selected separately as part of a ‘self-interest’ thing we have. Other than that, though, we’re all in the same class.”
Before I get the chance to ask any more of my awkward questions, we arrive at Chen’s house. There’s a nice garden in the middle of the yard, and a driveway that curves around it. We walk up the driveway and walk in. I feel relieved that no one’s home, so that no one can question me.
We all walk into the kitchen, where there is a counter top that separates the kitchen from the dining area. I take a seat on one of the stools, and everyone does too. Chen walks around his kitchen fetching food and glasses.
“Ok. What are some ideas we have for Kai’s birthday?” D.O says.
“Let’s do what we did last year!” Sehun chimes in. “Except instead of just throwing water balloons, we should shower him in glitter after it!” Luhan laughs and says, “I agree! Or we should throw feathers on him.” I listen to them come up with ideas, each more cruel than the last.
“What do you think, TJ?” Luhan says.
“Huh?” I look at him in surprise. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t listening.”
“What do you think we should do for Kai’s birthday?”
“Uhh…It sounds kind of stupid now, actually. But I wanted to throw him a surprise party. Like, we should ignore him the whole day and then surprise him when he goes home.” Chen’s eyes light up when he hears my idea, and already I can see him plotting something.
Several minutes of silence, and I can tell Chen has his idea.
“I have it!” Everyone swivels in their chair to look at him, and he gives us a triumphant grin.
“We’re going to run with what TJ suggested, but with a twist. So here’s the plan.”
