Unexpected

by lovelunarchron

Please note: This Modern! AU features the characters in their mid-twenties. It is Rated T for some 'minor coarse language and minor suggestive adult themes,' mostly in dialogue or innuendo.

KAI

His car window began to fog up as he stared out at the passing buildings. The condensation from his breath wasn't mixing well with the freezing temperatures outside. A storm was apparently heading their way, and the number of salt trucks out on the road made it seem like this could be a big one. He closed his eyes, trying to imagine a blanket of snow covering the city streets. The thought didn't comfort him. No one around here knew how to drive in the snow, so traffic would likely be a nightmare tomorrow. He sighed, and continued to stare blankly at the tall buildings.

"Is everything okay, Sir?"

Kai tore his gaze from the window. Torin was looking at him curiously in the rearview mirror.

"Yeah," he mumbled, and turned back to the window. He felt rude for not wanting to engage in conversation with his father's private driver, but he was too irritated to care. His father was the one, after all, who had insisted that Torin drive him around this morning. The idea of being chauffeured around like a celebrity had always made him feel like a snob. Plus, Kai missed driving his own car. He liked the idea of being able to go wherever he wanted, whenever he wanted. It was one of the only times that he felt free from all the weight and responsibility that lately threatened to crush him.

Unfortunately, he'd been pickpocketed last night, and they'd stolen his wallet, which of course included his driver's license. His father always thought it was beneath a person of Kai's status to drive himself, so of course he'd jumped at the opportunity to send over Torin when he'd heard that Kai wasn't able to drive himself. Torin had shown up late in the morning and offered to take him wherever he wanted to go. Kai had almost sent him away, but he'd developed a soft spot for the driver over the years and had a hard time acting ungrateful around him. Torin had always been kind to him, and he always stocked the car with Kai's favorite snacks, even though he barely rode with him anymore.

Torin began turning down a familiar road and Kai perked up a bit. He needed some cheering up after that disaster of a party last night. He desperately wanted some down time to just hang out and not worry about his life. He worried way too much. And if anyone could cheer him up now, it was his best friend, Thorne.

They'd first met at the same awkward socialite events that their parents had forced them to go to when they were younger. Thorne had also grown up in a rather affluent family, though his father had chosen the military route rather than the family business route, as Kai's father had. Despite their similar upbringings, the main difference between Kai and Thorne was that unlike Kai, Thorne didn't have any problem disappointing his parents. His dad had tried to get him to enlist in the army more than once, but he'd threatened to desert almost instantly if he were forced to join. And knowing Thorne, he'd have had no problem doing it either. His best friend wasn't exactly the prime example of someone with a straight moral compass. Quite the opposite, in fact. Kai didn't have enough fingers on his hands to count how many times he'd gotten in trouble because of Thorne.

Thorne no longer saw his parents much, as they had basically disowned him after a string of bad behavior during college. That bad behavior had resulted in him dropping out before the college could expel him. But Thorne hadn't been fazed by his parents' rage and attempt to change him; he'd simply announced that he hated their lifestyle anyway and wanted no part in it. He still tolerated Kai's lifestyle, though—since Thorne liked to say that Kai was only there as a hostage rather than a willing participant—but Kai knew that it was only out of loyalty that Thorne still came along to some of the social events that Kai dragged him to. And Kai only took Thorne along because he couldn't stand to be there by himself. Just like the party his family had thrown for him last night—which just happened to have been his birthday party.

As Kai walked up the steps, he remembered when Thorne had chosen to buy this particular apartment on the opposite side of the city. The commute made it harder for them to hang out as much these days, but Kai still spent a considerable amount of his time at Thorne's place, preferring its simplicity to his gigantic penthouse in the heart of the city. Ringing the doorbell, he waited, wondering if Thorne would even be awake at this hour. He'd gone out looking for a more exciting party after Kai's had ended, and he'd likely been out until the early hours. To his surprise, Thorne opened the door, looking wide-awake and well put together.

"Well if it isn't the birthday boy himself," said Thorne, clapping Kai on the shoulder before letting him in. "Twenty-six years old, brother! How's it feel?"

Twenty-six years old. Kai felt like he was forty. Good thing he had Thorne to remind him that he was supposed to be in his prime years.

"How are you so awake?"

Thorne shrugged. "I kind of crashed my car this morning when I was coming home. Had to take it to the shop."

Ah. If anything would get Thorne out of bed in the morning, it was the idea of his car having even the smallest scratch on it. "The Rampion's on its way out, then?"

Thorne clutched his heart. "Don't even joke about that, man! She's gonna stay with me forever."

Kai tried to suppress his smirk.

"And, as my incredible luck would have it, I met this chick at the shop. I think she's gonna take good care of my baby."

"You met a girl at the garage?" No wonder Thorne was in such a good mood. Kai had been to Thorne's preferred auto repair shop on many occasions, and he had never seen any women there before.

"Yeah, she's their newest employee, I guess. Name's Cinder, and apparently she's related to Mr. Linh somehow. Didn't catch the whole story yet."

Kai's eyes widened. "The Mr. Linh, as in Garan Linh?"

Thorne nodded enthusiastically. "I know, right? Couldn't believe it myself. Maybe she traveled around with him when he used to race, and that's how she learned about fixing cars. I don't know. All the guys there said they've never seen anything like what she can do with cars. And let me tell you, Kai, she's pretty cute too."

Kai knew where this was going. "Next flavor of the month, then?"

"You know I like a girl who knows how to work on an engine." He winked, and Kai sat down on the couch, not wanting to acknowledge Thorne's crude joke. He didn't need any encouragement.

Thorne began describing the girl in detail, but Kai didn't pay a lot of attention. He knew he'd meet her eventually. Thorne was always open about the girls he dated—sometimes too open. He certainly had no problem bringing them back to his place, and since Kai spent most of free time hanging out with Thorne, often at his apartment, he'd met a lot of his "lady friends"—or so Thorne liked to call them.

Because Thorne didn't do girlfriends. He just never got interested in them enough to take it any further. Which in reality was a shame, because so many women wanted to be with him. He was like a magnet. Not that Kai had trouble attracting women either; he knew he could be charming if he wanted to, and no one could deny that he was rather good looking. But Thorne? Getting women to like him was like a special talent. He just had a way with them.

Usually Thorne's stories were quite entertaining, but at the moment Kai just didn't find it particularly interesting that Thorne had found a new girl on which to focus his attention. Suddenly, Thorne's presence just made him feel even more exhausted.

"I got her number," he said, when he had finished describing his interactions with Cinder.

"Good for you," said Kai, trying to sound enthusiastic.

"I think I'm going to invite her over tonight."

"Already?"

"Nah, not like that. Just to hang out, see if there's any spark." Kai was pretty sure that if Thorne wanted there to be a spark, there would be one.

"You should come too."

Kai groaned. "I'm not going to be your third wheel."

"Aww, come on, it won't be like that. I was planning on inviting some friends. I don't want this girl thinking I'm creepy. I'll tell her I'm having a party."

"Sounds like a plan." He was sure his face gave away his sarcasm even if he tried to hide it in his tone.

Thorne frowned. "You're not going to come, are you?"

"You know I hate parties. I do enough mingling as it is."

"Kai, you only hate parties because you go to the wrong kind of parties. The people are fake," he began ticking off on his fingers, "arrogant, entitled, condescending…" He crossed his arms. "Technically, business functions shouldn't even be considered parties."

Kai couldn't have agreed more.

"Let's be honest. You're too serious. You work too much. And you need to get out in the real world more!"

True on all points. But still… "That's easy for you to say, since you're not inheriting a billion dollar company that you have to run."

Thorne eyed him suspiciously. "This isn't about Levana, is it?"

Kai immediately went on the defensive. "Levana! What? No, of course not."

"Kai, we've been over this. We've gotta get you away from her. You know I appreciate how hott she is, but she's also the biggest bitch I've ever met."

Kai only slumped into the couch and ran his hands through his hair, wishing that he had never made the trek out to see Thorne this morning. This was the last thing he wanted to talk about. "If I agree to go to the party will you shut up about Levana?"

Thorne lit up, looking relieved. "Absolutely! But it's not really going to be a big party. Just a few friends, good food, new girl, you know."

Yeah, Kai knew. He'd been to Thorne's infamous parties many times, and he doubted that he could keep it small. But maybe Thorne was right. Maybe he just needed to get out of his head a bit.

Kai felt kind of stupid for having just worn his gray hoodie and jeans today. His hoodie was slightly worn and faded, and he was pretty sure that people who were out of college and had successful jobs were supposed to look more put together. He was used to wearing pressed suits to work, and casual attire for him still consisted of slacks, dress shirts, and a tie. Thorne could have at least warned him before he came over to put on something nicer. But at least it was only a dinner party; over the past several hours, Kai had managed to bring Thorne's big plans down a notch.

Kesley showed up first, toting the beer. Kai was surprised to see that Scarlet wasn't in tow. They were normally inseparable. He hoped it meant that she would be the one doing the cooking tonight, and maybe she was just out getting groceries. Her study abroad experience in France had made her quite the gourmet chef. This may have been a contributing factor to Kesley falling madly in love with her, because Kesley was always hungry.

He was always hungry, and he was always with Scarlet. At least, as long as Kai had known him. Thorne had met him in college first, in one of his more shady gambling schemes. Getting involved with Kesley's gang back then had been part of the chain of events that had led to Thorne's downward spiral. Though, if Kai were honest with himself, he knew that Thorne's trip down that road had started long before he'd met Kesley.

By the time Kai met Kesley, he'd been rather intimidated, particularly due to his mere physical presence and the reputation that preceded him. But, by then, he was already with Scarlet, and Scarlet tended to bring out the "gentler" side of Kesley, if you could call it that. After hanging out with them a few times, Kai was mostly only intimidated by just how much Scarlet and Kesley were obsessed with each other. Frankly, it was kind of nauseating sometimes. Everyone thanked the stars when they finally moved in together after Scarlet graduated from college.

"Where's your feisty redhead?" asked Thorne, shutting the door hastily to keep out the cold air.

"She's out picking up some food."

"Yes! I love the way your lady cooks. I'm glad it wasn't hard to convince her to do it on such short notice."

Kesley looked hungry just at the thought. "Me too."

Thorne relieved him of the beers so Kesley could take off his coat, and Kai noted that it was a light, summer jacket. Lucky genes. With a body mass like his, he probably wasn't even affected by this cold weather.

"Come on," said Thorne, handing them both a beer, "let's go chill a bit before the girls get here."

"Oh," said Kesley, "I forgot to tell you. Scarlet's bringing one of her friends."

"No problem, I think Cinder said she was going to bring one of her friends too."

"Who's Cinder again?"

Thorne popped the cap of his bottle. "The reason we're having this dinner party."

Kesley looked at Kai. "Oh yeah," he said, rolling his eyes, "this new one's got Thorne all hot and bothered."

Thorne punched him in the shoulder, and Kai couldn't keep from laughing. Maybe tonight would be good for his mood after all.