[IMAGINE] So guys this is the 2nd chapter of TaoRis Imagine Title : Alive Pairing : TaoRis Warned : Romance cr:uchouten ~Admin NeesaLu~ “What should I wear?” Tao looked down at the stuffed panda perched innocently on the edge of his bed. “Seriously, Po, this is important.” The panda remained unmoving. “Fine,” Tao huffed and went back to his closet. “You always ignore me when it’s important. Which is always. I’m starting to get the impression that you’re not real at all.” He took a pair of black, fitted jeans off their hanger, rolled them up in a ball and tossed them at Po. “Useless panda,” he grumbled, when the bear just flopped over onto its side. “Silver or black?” He pondered out loud. “Yeah. You’re right. Silver. I don’t want to dress like I’m going to a funeral.” He threw the jacket in question over to the bed as well, effectively covering his bear completely. He ended up pulling out a thin, revealing black tank top to finish up his attire. He loved wearing shirts like that; he could just see how crazy they drove Kris. “I’m meeting his friends today,” He told his suffocating panda as he slowly got himself dressed. He’d already, stupidly, styled his hair, and didn’t want to ruin it before Kris even saw it. “Grad school friends, Po.” He pulled the jacket off the bed and slipped it over his shoulders. It was one of those types with way too many flaps and pockets, but it hugged his figure in all the right ways; and he knew he had a good one. “You can breathe now,” he said sweetly, and then walked over to his crate to choose which pair of shoes he’d wear. He settled on a stylish pair of black hiking boots with three silver belt buckles running down the side of each. “I’m so glad I grew up attractive,” He sighed contentedly as he checked his reflection in the mirror. “And don’t laugh, Po, you know it’s true.” A loud buzzing sound flooded through his small apartment and he gasped in excitement. “Wish me luck!” He practically yelled to his stuffed panda as he grabbed his wallet and raced out the door. Kris was waiting for him in the lobby; it seemed a passerby had let him inside the building. He was dressed in a smart black blazer and light blue skinny jeans. It was quite a lazy outfit, but he looked absolutely stunning in it, especially with his newly-dyed sandy-blond hair swept off to one side. “You do this on purpose, don’t you?” Kris asked, his eyes raking up and down Tao’s body as if he was drinking in the sight. “Stop dressing in ways that will make everyone stare at you. I hate it when you do that.” Tao’s eyebrows furrowed; he wasn’t entirely sure if Kris was being serious or not. He decided to ignore the comment altogether, remaining silent as Kris took hold of his hand and lead him to the car waiting right outside the doors. “Don’t worry about your Korean,” Kris explained once they were nearing the restaurant. Tao glanced over at him; he’d been staring through the window before, wondering why the silence felt so cold. It didn’t feel much better now that he was talking. “Some of their Chinese is decent. They’ll be patient with you, so don’t try forcing yourself. The last thing you’ll need is to embarrass yourself in front of my friends.” “Are you embarrassed of me, gege?” The question had slipped from his lips before he could stop it; based on his coldness and everything he said, that had seemed like the most logical conclusion to come to. But now he just felt foolish. “No. Of course not. If I was, I wouldn’t be bringing you today at all.” He reached over from the driving wheel to give Tao’s hand a light squeeze. “They’re just a special bunch. I don’t want you to say anything that they can hold against you. They may think of it as light teasing, but it can get pretty harsh sometimes. I don’t want you to...” “I’m not 13 anymore,” Tao turned back to the window. “I’m not going to break anyone’s ribcages if they poke fun of me.” They’d fought about that once, many years ago, when Kris had gotten fed up that Tao didn’t seem to see any wrong in the actions. It was the only time they ever really argued, and it still left an uncomfortable rock at the pit of Tao’s stomach every time he remembered Kris’s face as he yelled. “Huang Zitao.” The car slowed to a stop, and it was only then that Tao realized they’d already pulled into the restaurant’s parking lot. It took him a few moments to meet Kris’s gaze. As much as he wanted to avoid it, he knew the other wouldn’t move or say anything until he looked. “What?” He asked coldly. “I care about you. That’s why I don’t want to see you upset. That’s all. Smile.” He reached up to tickle the tip of Tao’s chin, and Tao withdrew, giggling. “See, that’s better. Just be yourself. Show them all the same cute Zitao that I fell in love with.” “Okay, gege.” Tao smiled and Kris leaned forward to kiss him lightly on the forehead before unbuckling both their seatbelts. “Come on then. Let’s not put this off any longer.” - “Woaaaaaaaaaaaah. What a scary aura.” There was a general murmur of assent around the table at this expression. Tao stared down at his hands, blushing to the roots of his hair. He didn’t know if this was going to work against their first impression or not. “Trust me, he’s harmless.” Kris laughed at his friends, and rubbed at Tao’s back soothingly, obviously aware of his discomfort. “Didn’t you say he’s a martial arts master? One that could kill us in a single hit if he really wanted to?” “Well that was obviously an exaggeration,” Kris rolled his eyes. “But he is a martial arts master, yes.” “Well... technically, I could kill anyone in one hit,” Tao said quietly. There had to be about 8 people at the table, and they all scrambled closer to listen. “But it’s not likely that I’ll get it in battle. Maybe if you were still but... just...” He winced when he realized he was rambling, and inwardly groaned when he realized exactly what he had been rambling about. “Aw, cute, did he just talk to us all in Chinese?” Oh. He sighed in relief. Oh thank god. “What did he say, hyung?” “It’s probably best I don’t tell you.” Tao chanced a look at Kris, who didn’t seem very pleased with what he’d just said. He quickly turned back to the table, feeling embarrassed at his actions. “Sehun?” “You know my Chinese isn’t that good.” Someone on the other side of the table hissed. “Where’s Lay when you need him?” Another person asked. “He’d tell us.” “I can speak a li-little Korean,” Tao piped up, and everyone stopped talking to look at him. “Kris-oppa has been teaching it to me.” “Oppa?” The kid directly across from him practically squealed in excitement. “That is so cute, hyung. Where have you been keeping him?” Tao wasn’t entirely sure what he’d done to prompt that kind of reaction, but he’d obviously said the right thing. Kris’ entire demeanor relaxed and he even slipped an arm around Tao’s waist almost protectively. “China,” he said simply, and everyone chuckled at that. Tao took the chance to meet the eyes of the kid in front of him; he had big ears and really droopy eyes. The kid grinned at him when he caught him looking. “Hi, I’m Baekhyun,” he greeted. “We’ve heard a lot about you, Tao.” “Me?” Tao pointed to himself. “Thank you.” This earned another laugh. “Do you study?” Baekhyun asked him, slowing down his speech. Tao was extremely grateful for this. “No study.” He shook his head. “I’m a teacher.” “Martial arts instructor,” Kris clarified. “At Hong’s school.” “Oh, I’ve heard of that place,” Tao snapped his attention to someone a few seats away, someone with really pronounced lips. “Isn’t it supposed to be one of the best in the world?” “I know it’s the best in Asia.” Kris said proudly. “He’s the youngest instructor to ever have been hired there, at 20.” “I’m 19.” “20 in Korean years,” the mocking tone of his voice was hard to miss. Tao sucked in a breath and then pushed himself up to a stand. “Bathroom,” he mumbled in Mandarin, before hurrying away from the table. To add to his embarrassment, he realized a little too late that he’d gone in the complete wrong direction. He walked around the entire seating area just to avoid passing the table again. The bathroom, thankfully, was empty. He took slow steps towards the sink and leaned over it with both hands, feeling dizzy on his feet. When he looked up into the mirror he felt sick at his reflection. How stupid could he have been? Even his jacket felt ugly on him now. He unzipped it and shrugged it off his shoulders. He didn’t try to catch it as it slid to the ground and landed in a puddle at his feet. He turned on the tap and splashed water in his face, trying to regain control of his nerves enough to at least get back out there. It wasn’t working. The door banged open, and he looked up into the mirror just in time to see Kris’s reflection getting closer. “Tao? Oh my god.” It was a split second before he felt strong arms around his body, hands prying his wrists away from the sink. “Tao, are you okay?” He couldn’t bring himself to meet Kris’s eyes this time, no matter what. “I can’t do this,” he mumbled, shaking his head. “It’s too hard. I can’t think straight... I can’t...” “They think you’re great, Zitao. They just told me so. Come on, look at me.” He could only continue to shake his head. “I can’t. It’s not true... I’m just an embarrassment. I’m sorry.” “You’re not. How many times will I have to tell you this? I’m proud of you. I love you. I want to—” “You love me?” Tao questioned, he turned around slowly, to stare wide-eyed at Kris’s face. Kris nodded, like he’d never been surer of anything in his life. “I’ve told you a million times. You’re the one I want to be with forever.” “Then don’t stop me.” Tao looked boldly up into Kris’ eyes and took a step closer, pressing their bodies together. He didn’t waste any time in pulling the others head down, knowing Kris would escape the second he had an opportunity. Their lips only met for a split second before Tao felt himself being shoved violently back against the sink. He cried out, not in pain but in the shock that Kris had acted so roughly with him. “Why did you do that?” Kris hissed at him. “What made you think you could just kiss me like that?” “What makes you think you can play around with my feelings?” Tao bent to pick up his jacket from the ground and then shoved past Kris to get to the door. “You don’t love me if you can’t even kiss me.” Everyone looked up eagerly when he emerged from the bathroom, but he just rushed right by their table. He knew Kris enough to be sure that he’d at least stick around to apologize to his friends for his sudden departure, but Tao’s plan was to get out of there was quickly as he could, before Kris had a chance to catch up with him. - The Master of Pain. That’s what his instructor in Beijing had called him, when he’d successfully taken the first place title for the fourth year in a row at the national kung fu championships, youth division. He was a descendant of god that pain could not penetrate. That all seemed almost laughable now; because he was pretty sure that feeling in his heart was utter agony, and every time he imagined the events of the night before was another stab at the already bleeding wound. He had to control it, and he did it the only way he knew how. He couldn’t go to the school, since it was closed that day, so he cleared everything out of the way in his apartment—he even moved his futon and coffee table into the kitchen. The walls were reinforced with metal, so he decided they would be his victim. The raw sting each hit gave on his skin was a satisfaction he hadn’t felt, or even needed to feel, in many years. It could have been minutes; it could have been days that passed as Tao lost himself to his sport, his mind cleared of any emotion as he struck the wall again and again. He was vaguely aware that he was hungry, that he hadn’t eaten anything since lunch the day before, but he didn’t stop. Stopping meant losing his focus again, making him vulnerable to the thoughts of what had happened the previous night. There was a soft knocking sound in the distance. Tao slowed to a stop, looking around. He suddenly became aware of the fact that he was covered in sweat; his long, grey t-shirt, the only thing he was wearing, was clinging to his skin like a lifeline. He smirked in satisfaction as he brushed his soaking bangs out of his eyes. He felt so good. The knocking sound got louder, and he also realized that someone was shouting. “Hm...” Tao thought about pondering about where that noise was coming from, but he decided he didn’t care. The more pressing matter was that his water bottle was a few feet away and his feet suddenly felt like they couldn’t support his weight anymore. He took a tentative step forward, but of course he’d been right. He groaned as he fell forward on the floor, and chuckled deliriously when he heard something crack. “Was that a bone?” He asked the room at large. Suddenly, there was a loud crash and Tao was snapped completely back to his senses. He yelled out in pain as he rolled over onto his back and clutched at his wrist. Okay, maybe he’d gone too far this time. “Oh my god. Tao!” Kris’ face appeared in his vision, his usually stoic eyes wide and alert with worry. “I think I broke my wrist,” Tao mumbled. His eyes suddenly felt heavy, so he shut them. “It really hurts, gege.” “Of course it does, Tao, it looks like someone has beat you with a baseball bat,” He sighed and shook his head, reaching weakly with his uninjured hand to his chest. “This is what I mean.” He whispered. “Your knuckles... Tao... what did you do to yourself?” “I was...” Tao yawned and then adjusted himself into a more comfortable position on the floor. He could feel his body shutting down; he needed sleep. “Practicing.” “Ahjussi, call an ambulance now.” Kris yelled at someone Tao couldn’t see. The last thing he felt before losing consciousness was his body being pulled off the floor, his face pressed into the comfortable, safe warmth of Kris’s chest. ~end of chapter 2~
Posted on: Tue, 05 Nov 2013 15:45:23 +0000
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