Short Stories- Kai ships only!

Tyunning- Framed

"I didn't kill him! Do you hear me? I did NOT kill Kai!"

The officers shook their head. One of them slammed their palms on the rickety metal table. Taehyun had been trying to tell them the truth for hours but it was hard to believe him. He too had no idea what happened to Kai Kamal Huening.

It all started when Kai was driving over to his grandmother's house for Thanksgiving. This was the first time the family was gathering together since his grandfather's funeral.

He just got out of his last mid-term final for college. The drive was going to be long. He loved his family but he chose a school eight hours away on purpose. They were a bit much at times.

Taehyun was working his shift as the gas station that Kai stopped into. He remembered the first time they met. Video surveillance confirmed that part of the story.

The town he grew up in had less than 2,000 people. It was the center of a farming community. Everyone knew everyone. Taehyun was not generally liked in it. For the most part, living in that town felt like being trapped in high school. You had the people everyone loved like Ms. Nancy who operated the family restaurant. Then you have the bullies like Mr. Worthington, who used his power as the high school football coach (and senior council member) to keep the status quo.

Taehyun was the nerd, the dork, the guy who kept to himself, not by choice but because he wasn't given one. People didn't like the way he challenged their world view. They didn't like his stance on politics but they mostly didn't like the fact that he was a known homosexual in their perfect christian community. That's why he actually enjoyed working at the gas station. He met people who weren't from his pathetic little town. People who shared his views and some who actually wanted to talk to him. Kai was one of those people.

Kai Kamal Huening needed gas halfway through his drive. He filled up his tank then parked on the side of the building. An energy drink and a couple bags of junk food were calling his name. The gas station was dead. It wasn't hard to find what he wanted in that small little shop. He paid for his items then got into his car. He was about to turn it on when he looked to his side to see an employee struggling with a heavy trash bag. Being the kind person that he is, he got out of his car to help him.

Taehyun was quietly cursing when he heard a sweet voice ask if he wanted some help. He looked up and found himself struggling to speak. His jaw kept opening and closing but no sounds came out. The guy adorably smiled then tossed his trash bag into the dumpster. Taehyun managed a weak "thanks."

Kai was mesmerized by the large doe eyes that kept staring at him. He decided to introduce himself. "Hi! I'm Kai! What's your name?"

"Taehyun..." He cleared his throat then spoke more confidently. "I'm Taehyun. Nice to meet you. Thank you for helping me."

"You're welcome!" Kai begun to walk back towards his car. He turned around after convincing himself he had some time to kill. "Sorry if this is creepy but can I ask how old you are? You look about my age."

"I'm 22. How about you?"

"Same age." Kai nervously scratched the back of his head. "I need to get going to my grandmas but do you want to hang out sometime? I assume you live around here. It would be nice to chill with someone my age after being with so many old people."

Taehyun smiled as he blushed. "I'm actually off now if you have time."

"Great! Okay. Um... do you want to come over to my grandmas with me? They won't mind. She makes too much food anyways."

"Are you sure they'll be okay with me?"

Kai tilted his head. "Why wouldn't they be? Are you going to rob them or something?"

"NO!" Taehyun started waving his arms. He calmed down after seeing how cute the other's grin was. "I mean... the people in my town don't like me. I'm gay..."

"Cool." Kai shrugged. "I'm gay too and I was still invited to dinner."

Taehyun didn't show it but his brain was bursting with excitement. Kai was the first person his age who shared the same sexual identity as him. He ran into the little store to put his uniform into his locker. After, he very quickly checked his hair and face in the bathroom. Worried he was keeping the other waiting too long, he ran back out to see Kai leaning against the car. Butterflies fluttered in his body when they made eye contact again.

The two quickly set off to Grandma Huening's house. Conversation with Kai came so easily. Taehyun found himself opening up to him. His mouth didn't have a filter. He started telling him about his community and his childhood. Things he had kept bottled up for years. The loneliness was gone now that he had Kai to talk to. Kai was more than happy to listen to everything he had to say too.

Security camera footage was unable to track what happened an hour into their drive. Kai opted to take the backroads to avoid paying tolls. That simple thing costed him his life.

The senior officer wanted to believe Taehyun but he was the last person seen with Kai. His prints were all over his body. Of course they were. They had sex in the car at the far end of a rest stop parking lot.

Taehyun was left alone in the room after the two policemen stormed out. There was a few photos of the injuries Kai had on his body. He was successfully able to identify a few from their time together like the scratches on his back. Another was a bruise on his knee from when he was sucking Taehyun off in the back seat. Others were from the real killer.

The backroads couldn't show the other car that purposely drove them into a tree. It hid the couple being pulled out of the car by a group of extremists. It masked Taehyun laying in a ditch, fearing for his life. The darkness of the night kept him hidden. The vastness of the forest's edge enhanced the last words he heard Kai say while he was still alive. He never forgot them. "HELP ME! OH MY GOD! HELP ME TA-"

Those words rang in his mind as he continued to stare at the photos. Taehyun didn't kill him. The officers knew he didn't kill him but they had no evidence to convict anyone else.

One of the rookie officers made sure of that. He was part of the extremist group. He was going to the river for kayaking with his buddies. That's when he saw the two at the rest stop. It made him sick. It made the group delay their plans to enact "what god would have wanted. To destroy those who sin against the Lord so they can face the judgement of the holy father."

Failing to find Taehyun was a mistake at the time. Now, he was the perfect person to take the fall for what they did.

Living in a small town had it's benefits. You knew the people in the next couple towns over, almost as well as your own. That means you know the jurors. People with the same mentality as you.

Taehyun Kang was going to go to jail for the murder of Kai Kamal Huening. He pleaded one last time as he was being handcuffed. "I didn't kill him! Do you hear me? I did NOT kill Kai!"