Fateful Encounter

I tossed and turned all night. I couldn’t forget about Luhan’s heartbeat, and I could still feel the touch of his warm hand on my waist even hours after. My heart beats faster thinking about it, and I decide to shower before I go crazy. Plus its Monday, time for school again. With heavy feet, I sluggishly walk to school, and get there just in time to hear the bell for homeroom ring. I walk to my locker, and prepare myself for a long day.

The bell rings for lunch time, and I make my way towards the tree where Kai and I regularly eat lunch. As usual, he’s already there. I feel my lips widen as they usually do whenever I see him, and I feel like doing a dance. Why did I even for a second think anything was going to happen between Luhan and myself? That’s crazy talk.

I sit down next to Kai, and he wraps his arm around me.
“Guess what?” He says.
“Mmm?” I rest my head on his shoulder, and start unwrapping my sand which.
“I got a skateboard! Chen’s going to teach me how to ride it.” He says excitedly. He starts to ramble on about his skateboard, and I let him talk as I eat. I treasure the moments I get to spend with Kai, especially the moments when he’s passionate about what he’s talking about.


Tuesday whizzed past, and on the Wednesday, my parents drop me off at school before driving to the airport. And just like that, I’m home alone again. I watch their car disappear around the corner of the road, and I walk into school.
As I walk to the tree, it’s strange that Kai isn’t there. I get a bad feeling in my gut, and I nervously wait for him, but he never showed up.

Are you ok?

My text was left unanswered, and I checked frequently. At the end of the day, I felt as if I would be sick. My stomach kept churning, and I couldn’t sit still. As I left the school grounds, I see a head of rainbow hair, and without thinking, I sprint towards it.
“TJ! HURRY!” Sehun yells. I get to him, and he grabs my arm. We sprint to a car, and get in.
“Hey mum, this is Kai’s girlfriend.” Without a word, Sehun’s mother drives away from the school.
“What’s going on?” I ask after finally getting my breath back. But I don’t get an answer.

Sehun’s mum pulls up at the hospital, and my stomach drops.
“Sehun, what’s going on?” I ask, starting to get annoyed that he won’t answer my question.
“I don’t know. Honestly. I was told to get you and then come to the hospital.” Sehun looks me in the eye, and I know he’s telling the truth.
We walk into the lobby, and Chen is waiting for us. When he sees us, he hurries away and we follow him quickly.

In room 301, lies Kai’s still body. An IV drip is in his arm, the heart monitor beeps steadily and his head is wrapped in a bandage.
“W-what happened?!” I look around the room frantically, but no one wants to answer. I feel a body beside me, and I turn around and see Luhan.
“Chen was teaching Kai how to ride his skateboard.” He says quietly. “Kai became overconfident, and started going faster. He didn’t stop in time, fell down some stairs and hit his head. We…we don’t know the verdict yet..”
My stomach drops, hot tears well up in my eyes, and I let them flow freely down my cheeks- not even bothering to wipe them away. My head reels and I don’t quite know what to do with myself. My whole world is crumbling. I feel my feet stumble when I try to take a step forward, but strong hands grip my waist. The same hands that left a hot mark I couldn’t stop thinking about just days before. I need a hug. And my parents aren’t here to give me one, so I do the only thing I can and hug Luhan.

Notes