Chapter 41: Invitation

*Sou*

I stared down at my phone. Sehun hadn't called me at all last night, even after I informed him that I was doing well. Did I do something to upset him? Perhaps he got jealous because his cousin carried me away like a bride. I chuckled just thinking about it.

"Sou!" Sayuri yelled as she ran past the front gate alongside Kai.

"Feeling better now?" Kai asked.

"Hey," I said, waving at her. "And yeah, I'm feeling better." Sadly I still had a test to take.

"That's good to hear," Ava said, appearing behind me. Sehun accompanied her too.

"Sehun! I missed you!" I said, hugging my boyfriend.

My boyfriend laughed drily. "Same."

I blinked. Why did he sound so distant? Was he really mad at me?

I gasped as I caught him wincing as I let go of him. "Wait, you're hurt, aren't you?"

He turned away. "I'm okay. It's just that you hug too tightly."

"Liar! You tell me to take care of myself, but what about you? You went ahead and got hurt."

Ava put her hands on her hips and sighed. "Yeah, the fool would've died if I hadn't decided to trail him."

Sayuri gasped. "Wait, is that why you cancelled our date?"

She frowned and nodded. "Yeah."

Her girlfriend smiled. "You're a good friend, Ava."

Ava looked away. "Am I?"

I tilted my head. What had her down in the dumps today? Actually, she'd been behaving odd since yesterday. Then again, Ava had always been a bit weird. I laughed. Maybe I was just overthinking things.

"Thanks for caring for my boyfriend," I said, patting her on the shoulder. My cheeks warmed. "And me, the other day."

Ava smiled weakly. "Don't mention it. Someone has to care for you dummies if you aren't willing to do so yourselves."

I grumbled. Why did she have to ruin the moment like that? She was the real dummy here, not me!

She giggled. "How about I help you study since we're here a bit early?"

I pouted. She was one of the smartest students in the entire school, but I didn't want to be left owing her something.

"I rather Sehun teach me."

Sehun smiled. "Sure."

I blushed. "Thanks."

Ava wrapped an arm around Sayuri and walked off.

I blinked. Why did she seem jealous? Hmph! I always knew she liked Sehun, that vixen! She already had a nice girl like Sayuri as a partner! Just how greedy could one person be? Then again, was I really one to talk? I got all excited when Purpura kissed me last night...

I shook my head. Ugh, that guy! He drove me bonkers sometimes! I sighed. Didn't he know that I already had somebody? I wasn't going to betray Sehun, regardless of how good of a kisser he was!

Kai sighed as he watched the girls.

"You okay?" I asked, blinking.

He looked down on the floor. "I'm fine."

I wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "Cheer up, Kai! You'll find someone else who loves you!"

His face reddened. "W-what?"

I laughed. "You can't hide it from me! It's clear you have a crush on Sayu."

"B-but Sayuri has someone already."

Sehun shrugged. "True. But if Ava and her ever break up, you should be there to support her." He winked.

I blinked. Why did he sound as if he knew they would break up eventually? Oh, was it because of Ava's sucky personality? It really was a major turn off! Couldn't she at least treat people a little better? Hmph! Always acting as if she was superior to everybody! She was no more valuable than me at the end of the day! We were both descendants of the Quartz Clan, born as second children too. And while my grades weren't anywhere as good as hers, I was smart in my own way too!

My shoulders slumped. Although, it felt like most didn't see it.

"You okay, buddy?" a voice called out.

I turned around and saw Sekin and Rena.

"You're feeling better now?" I asked, eyeing Kai's sister.

Rena turned away. "A bit."

"Come on, Sis. Sou isn't a bad guy, no need to be so cold to him," Kai said, frowning.

She sighed. "Kai. It's best you don't hang out with his group. They aren't that good of an influence."

Kai closed his eyes. "I like spending time with them."

"You barely know them, though."

I let go of Kai. She was right, we did barely know one another.

"Hey, Kai. Wanna hang out?" I asked, turning to look at him.

Kai's eyes widened. "Y-you want to hang out?"

I nodded. "Yeah! A guys' night out!"

Rena glared at me. "Don't corrupt my brother."

Sekin sighed. "I think you're overreacting, Rena. Sou is a good kid. He wouldn't even think of harming Kai."

"Maybe not physically, but what about morally? I don't want Kai to become gay like him. He already turned your cousin."

Sehun huffed. "Sou didn't turn me gay. He just helped me discovered an attraction that I didn't know existed before I met him is all."

Rena scoffed. "That sounds like turning to me!"

"Rena, stop it," Sekin said, glaring at her.

"Why should I? It's clear Sou's been a bad influence on your cousin since he met him!"

I turned around and walked into the classroom. My chest ached as if it were on fire. It had been a while since I'd felt like this. Was I really a deviant?

"Enough, Sis! I won't let you talk about my friends like that!" Kai yelled. He was shaking.

Rena furrowed her brow. "Kai."

Kai turned around and ran into the class, tears in his eyes.

I held a hand toward him.

Sehun patted me on the back. "Hey, Kai! If you still want to hang out, we can."

He looked over his shoulders and smiled a bit.

"Oh, hang out, huh? Can Ava and I come too?" Sayuri asked, glancing at us.

Sehun laughed. "We originally planned to make it a guys' night out, but sure!" He looked over at his cousin and Rena. "You two should come too."

What? Why was he inviting Rena?

Sekin smiled. "I would love to."

"Why me?" Rena said, staring at the floor.

I nodded. What was Sehun thinking, inviting her? She hated my guts more than Ava did!

"It'll give you a chance to get to know Sou better. Maybe then, you'll see that he isn't such a bad guy," my boyfriend said. He glanced at me and winked.

My face reddened. Sehun...