[ILC/018] Dangling On a Strand of Almost-Friendship
Title: Dangling On a Strand of Almost-Friendship
ILC/Pairing Assigner: kendayawind & shadowcrawler12
Pairing: Kihen
Rating: PG-13
Genre: AU, Humor, Romance(?)
Disclaimer: I don't own them, SME does. Plot is mine.
Challenge: Initial Line Challenge
Summary: They can't get by a single day without reminding each other just how unimportant they are to the world (but Kibum cares more than he allows himself to show).
Warning: Monstrously long title, anyone? UNBETA'D.
“Just because it has to happen, doesn’t mean I have to like it.”
Kibum slumps his shoulder against the lockers, his backpack hanging loosely over his other shoulder. Henry glares at him, grabbing his books from their shared space, and slams the locker door shut. He twists the combination knob very violently for the extra effect. Kibum rolls his eyes.
“Or agree to it. I mean, seriously, money is totally over-rated and you, you, make it that much harder to be motivated otherwise.”
The older boy sighs, rather loudly, and crosses his arms over his chest. “Look, Henry,” he mumbles, and Henry swears it is every last bit of monotone he has ever heard put together in one (very boring - or bored, maybe both) voice. “This is for a project - a senior seminar, mind you - and neither of us have very much of a choice. Capiche?”
Henry hears the ridicule dripping from the boys lips in rather large droops in the last, very accented word. Capiche? Really? “Didn’t they say you lived in the States?”
“Didn’t they tell you not to get into other people’s business?” Kibum countered.
“Likewise to you, but, argh, it doesn’t matter,” Henry groaned. “I had no choice when it came to locker-mate choosing because I was a week late into the term, but I refuse partnering up with you for the damned senior seminar.”
Kibum straightened out. “Wait. You were a week late? Didn’t notice.”
“We have, unfortunately, every single stupid class together. Every single stupid teacher made me do a super stupid self-introduction. How did you not notice?” Henry narrowed his eyes, throwing his arms around dramatically in disbelief.
Just as Kibum parted his lips to say something (most probably nasty), Henry held out a hand to silence him.
“Never-mind, don’t answer that. To a person who’s basically invisible to the rest of the world, I don’t expect anything less of you.”
Kibum scoffed. “I’m the invisible one? You’re the one everyone ignores.”
Henry sucks in a breath, but can’t find anything to say in self-defense. Kibum almost instantly senses the uneasiness creep up in Henry’s eyes. He shifts uncomfortably on the soles of his feet.
“Look, that’s not the point,” he exclaims awkwardly. Henry is surprised by the minor bit of flustered-ness he hears (but doubts that he heard correctly) in the older boys tone. “The point is, if you agree to work at the cafe-”
“Host club,” Henry adamantly corrects.
Kibum pointedly ignores him. “-the cafe with me, not only can we make a few bucks, which I happen to know you could really use,” he explains, while he also ignores the suspicious look Henry throws at him, “we could use it as the ‘earning-experience-in-social-interaction-with-people-outside-of-our-comfort-zone for the seminar. It’s a win-win situation.”
“I’m extremely tempted to ask the adviser if speaking with you counts, because honestly you are the odde-”
“Shut up. Meet me at the cafe today right after class ends. I’ve already secured us both a job there and there’s no backing out.”
Henry takes a deep, frustrated breath. He wishes he could pull out all his hair, but that would endanger him for a receding hairline that he absolutely cannot afford. He’s too cute. “Why don’t we just go together?” He cocks a brow.
“Because that would make it seem like we’re friends or something,” Kibum says, as if it were the dumbest question he’s ever heard.
Henry rolls his eyes and turns to leave. “Right, yes, of course. However did I not realize that, when the entire student body does not even know you exist?”
“Says the nobody,” Kibum smirks, and starts walking beside the younger boy.
They continue surviving with each other on bad impressions and childish arguments, as always, but they both have smiles on their faces.
Smiles that cut through the judgements of society and slice deep into their skin, to their hearts.
-----
To read kendayawind's Kihen, click here!
-----
[ILC17: Hyukmin] ♦ [ILC19: Kyusung]
-----A/N: This felt a lot longer when I was writing it up (and I finished it before the deadline! :D), but apparently it's only ~635 words. Disappointing. Hm. And yes, I abused italics. How else would I be able to make this mildly, if at all, interesting? >_>; Anywho, thanks for reading! ^-^
ILC/Pairing Assigner: kendayawind & shadowcrawler12
Pairing: Kihen
Rating: PG-13
Genre: AU, Humor, Romance(?)
Disclaimer: I don't own them, SME does. Plot is mine.
Challenge: Initial Line Challenge
Summary: They can't get by a single day without reminding each other just how unimportant they are to the world (but Kibum cares more than he allows himself to show).
Warning: Monstrously long title, anyone? UNBETA'D.
“Just because it has to happen, doesn’t mean I have to like it.”
Kibum slumps his shoulder against the lockers, his backpack hanging loosely over his other shoulder. Henry glares at him, grabbing his books from their shared space, and slams the locker door shut. He twists the combination knob very violently for the extra effect. Kibum rolls his eyes.
“Or agree to it. I mean, seriously, money is totally over-rated and you, you, make it that much harder to be motivated otherwise.”
The older boy sighs, rather loudly, and crosses his arms over his chest. “Look, Henry,” he mumbles, and Henry swears it is every last bit of monotone he has ever heard put together in one (very boring - or bored, maybe both) voice. “This is for a project - a senior seminar, mind you - and neither of us have very much of a choice. Capiche?”
Henry hears the ridicule dripping from the boys lips in rather large droops in the last, very accented word. Capiche? Really? “Didn’t they say you lived in the States?”
“Didn’t they tell you not to get into other people’s business?” Kibum countered.
“Likewise to you, but, argh, it doesn’t matter,” Henry groaned. “I had no choice when it came to locker-mate choosing because I was a week late into the term, but I refuse partnering up with you for the damned senior seminar.”
Kibum straightened out. “Wait. You were a week late? Didn’t notice.”
“We have, unfortunately, every single stupid class together. Every single stupid teacher made me do a super stupid self-introduction. How did you not notice?” Henry narrowed his eyes, throwing his arms around dramatically in disbelief.
Just as Kibum parted his lips to say something (most probably nasty), Henry held out a hand to silence him.
“Never-mind, don’t answer that. To a person who’s basically invisible to the rest of the world, I don’t expect anything less of you.”
Kibum scoffed. “I’m the invisible one? You’re the one everyone ignores.”
Henry sucks in a breath, but can’t find anything to say in self-defense. Kibum almost instantly senses the uneasiness creep up in Henry’s eyes. He shifts uncomfortably on the soles of his feet.
“Look, that’s not the point,” he exclaims awkwardly. Henry is surprised by the minor bit of flustered-ness he hears (but doubts that he heard correctly) in the older boys tone. “The point is, if you agree to work at the cafe-”
“Host club,” Henry adamantly corrects.
Kibum pointedly ignores him. “-the cafe with me, not only can we make a few bucks, which I happen to know you could really use,” he explains, while he also ignores the suspicious look Henry throws at him, “we could use it as the ‘earning-experience-in-social-interaction-with-people-outside-of-our-comfort-zone for the seminar. It’s a win-win situation.”
“I’m extremely tempted to ask the adviser if speaking with you counts, because honestly you are the odde-”
“Shut up. Meet me at the cafe today right after class ends. I’ve already secured us both a job there and there’s no backing out.”
Henry takes a deep, frustrated breath. He wishes he could pull out all his hair, but that would endanger him for a receding hairline that he absolutely cannot afford. He’s too cute. “Why don’t we just go together?” He cocks a brow.
“Because that would make it seem like we’re friends or something,” Kibum says, as if it were the dumbest question he’s ever heard.
Henry rolls his eyes and turns to leave. “Right, yes, of course. However did I not realize that, when the entire student body does not even know you exist?”
“Says the nobody,” Kibum smirks, and starts walking beside the younger boy.
They continue surviving with each other on bad impressions and childish arguments, as always, but they both have smiles on their faces.
Smiles that cut through the judgements of society and slice deep into their skin, to their hearts.
-----
To read kendayawind's Kihen, click here!
-----
[ILC17: Hyukmin] ♦ [ILC19: Kyusung]
-----A/N: This felt a lot longer when I was writing it up (and I finished it before the deadline! :D), but apparently it's only ~635 words. Disappointing. Hm. And yes, I abused italics. How else would I be able to make this mildly, if at all, interesting? >_>; Anywho, thanks for reading! ^-^