3: Red, Sweet Misery [FLA (1/1)

Kris’ heart pounded through his chest. All he needed now was a response from Luhan’s lips. His eyes never backed down. The determination to know the answer was the only thing that kept him in the room. He wanted an answer, a yes or a no. In his heart, he wanted a yes. All the girls he had been with before have given him a yes, so he reasoned to himself that this situation would be the same. Luhan’s lips pressed together and then he took a quiet breath,“Kris, I can’t see you in that way. You’re a brother. We’re close like brothers would be, right?” An awkward silence swept into the room. The look on Kris’ face didn’t look displeased, but there was an odd feeling. Luhan felt pressured and attempted to talk through the silence. “You have Jessica. Although you and Jessica aren’t doing well, it doesn’t mean it’s the end of it all.But when things go wrong, I’ll be here for you. Kris, I’ll always care about you, but I can’t see you as a, well, lover…” The entire time Luhan talked, Kris was in his own world. Luhan’s words ran through his mind like an incantation; rejection spoken with pity.  He heard bits and pieces of Luhan’s explanation but the words came out chopped and skewed. He knew the elder didn’t mean to hurt him; it wasn’t Luhan’s personality.But, Kris’ ego was shot down in a heartbeat and he had never felt like a fool, or worse, a hopeless romantic. He then realized Luhan was still talking to him, and heard the last several sentences. “I hope this doesn’t ruin anything between us…I want to stay together as close friends. Kris…” Kris refocused himself onto Luhan. He noticed Luhan at the other side of the round maple table; hands folded together, eyes sternly on him.He didn’t want his rejection to influence his love for Luhan. Luhan was someone he had grown attached to unlike anyone else he had known. He wanted to preserve his memory of Luhan no matter what occurred; that included accepting rejection or anything negative that may come. Kris interrupted Luhan,“Hey...” Kris grimaced and reassured his worried friend.“Hey, don’t worry about what just happened. I was being weird, maybe even impulsive, who knows. It’s nothing serious.” He paused. “Want to go eat out tonight? I just got paid the other day and I know a good place. They serve some really nice Japanese food. Don't worry about the bill. I can take care of that.” Luhan knew that Kris was trying his best to repress himself, but the elder knew better than to prod at him. He respected his friend’s needs and went along with Kris’ plan.