3 (1/1)

"So then the ramen pulled out a gun, and suddenly, it was like I was standing in quicksand. I couldn't run. But when I looked down, it was a pit filled with cotton candy—the blue stuff, not the pink stuff—and it had started to rain Mountain Dew Code Red. Right when I was sure I was going to go under and suffocate, the fucking Godfather showed back up and ninja chopped me in half. That's when I woke up."    "You have the weirdest dreams, Kris."    "Honestly, they don't even surprise me anymore. But I'm starting to think they're stress dreams, brought on by all the crap I have to deal with."    "Oh?" Luhan laughed and took another sip of his bubble tea.    "We're not that bad," Lay mumbled from where he lay sprawled across the other couch, cheek smushed into the cushion.    Kris rolled his eyes as he reached for another slice of pizza. "You're fine when you're not with Kai. But Kai when he's sleep-deprived? He's a child, I swear. And you're just as bad when you're with him while he's like that. That boy needs to be supervised. One of these days, I'm gonna give his mother a call."    "There ya go!" Luhan exclaimed. "Nail the mom, shove the husband out, and discipline the kid!" Kris glared, and Luhan just shrugged at him. Lay wrapped his arms around his pillow and turned his face away from them. "Yah." Luhan kicked Lay's leg from where he sat sharing a couch with Kris. "You've been doing nothing but sleep ever since you came here. Get up!"    "I don't sleep when I'm with Kai," Lay mumbled.    "Just be glad you didn't get stuck with Kai," Kris said, finishing off another slice of pizza. "Chanyeol said the dorm fire in their building was some dumb jock's fault, but I don't believe him. His room was one of the ones affected by it, and I just think it couldn't be a coincidence that it happened while Kai was staying there. How much longer are you letting this bum stay with you, anyway?" He said the last with a nod in Lay's direction.    Luhan chuckled. "Not much longer."    "Minseok said he didn't mind me staying here longer," Lay said, his voice muffled from the couch cushions.    "So? I want you out. You don't even pay for all the food that you eat."    "Hyung?" Lay rolled over to look at Kris. "Can I stay with you?"    "Hell no."    "Please?" Lay pouted, widening his eyes dramatically in his best puppy pout.    Kris just chucked a pillow at his face and got up to refill his water glass.    "You know that doesn't work on him," Luhan laughed.

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"I have no idea what he does anymore. I hardly see Kris in the dorm, and he never has a whole lot to say." Tao sat cross-legged with his back against the trunk of a tree, fiddling with the blades of grass in front of him.    Baekhyun, lying on his stomach, propped himself up on his elbows to look at his distraught friend. "Maybe he can't tell you what's going on."    "What do you mean?"    "Maybe he deals drugs," Sehun suggested with a serious face.    "Seriously?"    "Yeah, maybe he's the one supplying those weird friends of his with whatever makes them so crazy."    Tao frowned at his younger friend and looked to Baekhyun again. "What do you mean?"    Baekhyun bit his lip and pondered this further. "Well... Maybe he's seeing someone he can't be seen with. Like a politician or something."    Tao raised a brow at this. Seriously?    "Or!" Sehun interjected again. "Maybe it's an older, married woman!"    "Or!" now Baekhyun was joining in Sehun's madness, it seemed. "He's an undercover CIA agent!"    "He's training to be a bull fighter!"    "He's a narc!"    "He's sleeping with one of his professors!"    "I don't know why I still come to you guys for advice," Tao sighed.    "My out-of-the-box thinking," Sehun replied.    "My pretty face, invaluable life experience, and unique insight." This from a grinning Baekhyun.    "Mm yeah, that has to be it," Tao said, smiling. "Hey, so what happened the other night? I didn't get a chance to ask you guys about the fire."    "Yeah, some idiot set his dorm on fire. We had to evacuate at like three in the morning. We ran into Kris's friends there, too. Kai and Chanyeol. Oh! I forgot to tell you!"    "Hm?"    "Chanyeol is freaking precious."    Tao laughed. "Is he your new flavor of the month?"    Baekhyun shrugged. "Maybe I'll keep this one." He paused for a moment and turned to look at Sehun. "Hey, weren't you part of that joke Kris had Suho and Kyungsoo pull on Kai?"    Sehun's eyes widened suddenly. A moment later, he leapt to his feet and ran off, yelling over his shoulder, "I have to go do something! I'll see you guys later!"_____________________________________________________________

Kris had been in a restful sleep when something startled him awake. His brow furrowed as he peered through the darkness, searching for what had woken him. After a few moments, he slowly climbed out of bed and left his room. As he walked through the darkened common room, however, something got caught on his foot and he paused to try to release his limb. It wasn't happening, though; not when he was as groggy and blind as he was. So he stumbled over to where he knew the lightswitch was, bumping into something in the process, and switched it on. The light flickered on, and a "manly" shriek escaped his lips when he realized he'd bumped into--and was now face to face with--a murderous-looking Tao.    "Holy mother of—Tao!"    He stumbled backwards in time to dodge Tao's flying fist, and landed on his ass when the shirt still caught on his foot impeded his ability to walk.    "Tao!"    Tao paused, blinked, and looked down at Kris. "Gege?" the younger boy said, giggling softly. "What are you doing on the floor?"    Kris blinked. And thought about it. "Reliving my nightmares," he muttered finally.    "Hm?"    "Nothing. I'm gonna kill Kai and Lay."   A/NI realize there's been very little actual taoris interaction in this so far. I'm surprised you all haven't left me yet :PRest assured, though, I have things planned! It'll start to pick up more after this one.

It's kind of funny... Kris has been in the kaisoo story line and already in the baekyeol (second chapter, not yet posted) side story a lot more than in the taoris... that shall change soon, I promise!Anyway, thanks for reading! Let me know what you think, who your favorite character is, how much you liked/disliked Heechul's appearances, anything!