Genre: romance, slice of life

Prompt: -

Synopsis: Kim is trying hard to help his best friend overcome his shyness around girls, so he sets up a group date at the local karaoke bar. Unfortunately for you, you're one of the unwilling victims in Kim's plans. You expected this to go badly, but you never expected that you would be the one who caught Kai's attention. You're more than happy to help him overcome his shyness, though!

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Your eye twitched at the hand wrapped tightly around your wrist, narrowed eyes sliding up the toned arm to the culprit. "Why do you have to involve me in this?"

Kevin glanced over his shoulder at you, looking as annoyed as you felt. "Because you're one of the scariest people I know."

"Gee, I never knew you had such a way with words. I'm surprised the girls aren't falling over themselves just to hear you speak!"

He scowled at the remark but chose to keep his mouth shut.

Silence fell over you as you made your way to the park. For what, you had no clue.

When you finally reached the destination, your eyes landed on a few familiar faces; Blonde pretty boy Kim, who looked rather chipper. The brunette introvert Kallum, who wore the same blank expression as always. Brunette number two aka the dorky Kaleb, who looked excited and ready to go. And finally, the raven haired Kai, who looked rather nervous and unhappy to be here.

It wasn't until this moment that you realized you needed to stop making friends with people whose names started with the letter K.

Your gaze followed Kaleb's and you raised an eyebrow at the four girls standing off to the side. They were huddled together, whispering amongst themselves and glancing at the group of boys.

You were starting to put the pieces together so you yanked your arm free from Kevin's grasp, glaring at the red-head. You were ready to demand an explanation when you were suddenly tackle hugged by a blonde blur, knocking you back a few paces.

"I'm glad you could make it! Now we can go!" Kim's grip around your body disappeared and he hurried over to the girls, ushering them along. Kaleb followed happily with Kallum at his side. Kai kept his distance, walking a few paces behind them.

Kevin gripped your forearm in a gentle but firm hold, leaning down so he could whisper in your ear. "Kim is trying to find Kai a girlfriend, but he's useless when it comes to girls."

You bit back the smart remark that begged to be released. "Okay... so what up with the group?"

"Kim needed two more guys and, when he asked Kallum, Kaleb said he would do it. He ended up having to beg Kallum before he would agree." He scoffed, shoving his hands into his shorts. "Then Kallum threatened me with that damn dog, so I had to come along, too."

"And I'm here because...?"

"They were short one girl and I wasn't about to get set up with some chick I didn't know."

"Lovely. I knew I should have ignored your call."

He sent you an annoyed glare, but you weren't entirely sure it was meant for you. "If I have to suffer, you can too!"

"You're such a good friend, Kev."

"Shut up."

"Come now. Is that any way to speak to your elder?"

"Shut up."

Kim led us all to the karaoke bar, where we squeezed into one of the rooms. The women were sitting on the left while the men were on the right. Meanwhile, I was sitting on the floor beside the men.

To say that the atmosphere was awkward would be the world's greatest understatement. The only ones talking were Kaleb and Kim, along with their dates. Honestly, you were fine with Kevin not talking to you but the silence was a bit killer, especially with the aura that both Kevin and Kai were giving off.

You rested your elbow on your crossed legs and propped up your cheek against your palm, playing with your shoelace to pass the time. It did little to help as time seemed to tick by agonizingly slow. God, you wish Kim would just pull the plug already. His little plan obviously wasn't working. Even when his date said something to him, all Kai would do was nod. He wouldn't even look at her!

Your cell phone buzzed in your pocket and you shared a glance with Kevin before fishing it out and flipping it open. Why in the world was Kim texting you when you were in the same room?

Kim: Why are you sitting on the floor?

You held in a snort as you typed in your reply. Because I refuse to sit next to some girl I don't know.

Kim: Participate, please~? :(

You glanced up and caught Kim's frown. No matter how tough you liked to believe yourself to be, that look was not something you could easily overlook. You sighed before getting up off the floor, only to plop onto Kevin's lap.

He grunted at the added weight. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Shut up," you muttered before forcing a smile as you addressed the girls. "So! What do you gals do for fun, hmm?"

"Shopping!" They giggled in unison.

You hung your head in disbelief, the corner of your lips twitching. 'I can't work with this, Kim!'

"U-Umm..."

Blinking, you looked up at the girl sitting across from Kai. She was a small thing, with hair the color of seaweed and eyes that shimmered like emeralds under the low light of the karaoke booth. Thick rimmed glasses were positioned on her face, helping to hold back her bangs that had fallen from the braids' grip. She fidgeted nervously but managed to meet my eyes with confidence in her voice.

"I-I'm on the debate team at school."

Your eyes lit up and you leaned forward. Hope! There was hope after all! "That's cool, right, Kai?"

He jumped when you nudged him in the side, his face turning a bright red as his hands tightened around his slacks. "Y-Yeah..."

You twitched again. That fool had no idea what he even agreed with! Kevin snickered, probably at your irritation, but tried to cover it up with a few coughs. A swift nudge to the ribs had him coughing for real.

"What's taking that idiot waiter so long?" The blonde sitting across from Kim whined, crossing her legs which caused her already short skirt to ride up her leg. She ended up flashing Kim, but she didn't seem to care. She wasn't the type to care. "I'm hungry, Kimmie!"

"I'll go check and see what the hold up is!" You jumped up, a little too eager, ignoring Kim's sharp look. Seeing how miserable he looked, you figured you'd spare poor Kai, as well. "Give me a hand?"

His blue eyes snapped up to meet yours as if to make sure you were speaking to him. You held your hand out in confirmation, figuring he might need some help un-sticking himself from between Kevin and Kallum. He seemed to hesitate, swallowing hard before slipping his sweaty hand into your own. It proved just how nervous and uncomfortable he really was.

You pulled him up with ease, not bothering to spare the others a glance before you turned and left the room, pulling the younger boy along behind you. Only when you were a safe distance away did you release his hand.

"Sorry if you wanted to stay. Just seemed like you were pretty uncomfortable."

"Ye-Yeah. Thank you."

You glanced at him curiously. "You really didn't wanna do this, did you?"

"I don't have time for... for girls."

You chuckled at his response and he glared at you, unamused.

"What's so funny about that?"

"You're only saying that because you don't know how to handle them. That's why Kim was trying so hard to help you."

He didn't respond, instead turning his head away.

'Whoops, I think I pissed him off.' "Well, what do I know?" you laughed, rubbing the back of your head sheepishly. "I don't know you well enough to say either way. I was just going by what I've heard from Kim."

"It's not my... my fault that I can't t-talk to girls," he muttered in a soft voice. You almost didn't hear him.

"You're talking to me, aren't you?"

"That doesn't count!"

"How so?" you raised a brow curiously.

"You're different. It's not like I'm ta-talking to a girl when I talk to you!"

Did he just call you a guy? You think he did. This kid was about as useless as Kevin... Kim really wasn't kidding about him.

"I-I mean..." he stumbled over his words, eyes wide and face bright red. His mouth opened and closed as he tried to form words, but none came.

You laughed again, waving him off. "Don't worry about it. I know I'm not the girliest thing out there. I'm one of the guys and it's easy to forget that I'm actually female."

"I'm sorry..."

"I'm not so easily hurt, so relax." You hadn't realized he had stopped walking until you glanced over and found the spot next to you vacant. Before you had the chance to turn around, arms wrapped around your body from behind, pinning your arms to your side. The embrace was awkward and you could feel just how tense his body was. It was actually pretty surprising, considering how good looking he is.

You tapped his arm curiously after a minute of silence. "What are you doing, Kai?"

"I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like it came out. I just..."

"I said it's fine," you patted his arm again, expecting his grip to disappear or at least loosen up a bit, but he tightened it instead.

"The truth is... I always get nerv-nervous around you. I never know what to... to say or do and I always get j-jealous when I see how easy it is for... for Kim to ta-talk to you. I just wanna smack him!"

"You should. Holding in your anger is bad for your health, ya know." You were dead serious, too. You love Kim to death, but he could get on your nerves something fierce. He needed some tough love, especially after tonight's little escapade. "Your problem is that you think too much."

You pried his arms off, turning around to meet his confused gaze. His cheeks were alight with red and something burned in the depths of his blue eyes, but you couldn't make out what it was.

"You think too much about what to do and what to say, and you end up psyching yourself out. Don't think so much. Be impulsive and just say or do whatever comes to mind. You can think about it later on."

He looked down at the floor, seeming to think about what you told him. When he looked up again, there was a fire burning in his eyes. You didn't move as he reached forward, grabbing your shoulders firmly and pulling you into his body. His lips crashed onto your own, his hand sliding to the back of your neck to keep you in place. 

Your body was thrown into shock. Was Kai really kissing you? It seemed like a dream.

After a few seconds, he pulled away enough to create a few inches between your lips. Having him so close, you realized just how good looking this boy really was. With his spiked black hair and intense blue eyes, his strong features and his well-defined brow. He was almost god-like in looks. Kind of like Kim, but more masculine and rough.

You still hadn't moved and he took that as a bad sign because he began to pull away. It was then that you realized what needed to be done.

Your hand grabbed the back of his neck to stop him in his tracks, fingers sliding through his silky hair. His eyes widened in surprise before your lips collided again, this time with more passion and want. The grip around your waist tightened as your lips moved in sync.

The kiss began to heat up as he pushed you against the wall, his muscled body making you groan in satisfaction as it molded against your own. You guess the sound snapped him out of whatever trance he had been in because he jumped away from you, eyes wide as saucers and his hand covering his mouth.

You licked your lips to get another taste of him, chest heaving up and down as you attempted to slow your rapidly beating heart.

The passionate air that you had just been bathed in slowly started to fade away, making way for an air of awkwardness that you weren't quite sure how you could break. You didn't know how he felt, so you didn't know what step you should take next. For all you knew, he could have been just using you for practice.

"I'm s – "

"Don't say it," you scowled, rubbing the back of your head. "There's nothing to apologize for."

"You didn't pull away."

"Did you want me to?"

"...no."

Surprised by the answer, your eyes met his. The shock had faded and there was determination burning in them again. A couple of steps was all it took before he was directly in front of you, his lips hovering over your own once again.

"I still feel... nervous around you."

You grinned, throwing your arms around his neck. "Hmm, we'll just have to keep practicing until you're not nervous anymore."

"What about... Kim?" he breathed out.

"Who cares. He'll find out eventually," you muttered, capturing his soft lips again.

This time, you didn't let him get away.