A/N: This is NOT the last chapter! (more notes at the end)

Now this was definitely not part of the plan.

Right now, Seungcheol and I have ended up back inside the crowded storage room. The exception being that this time, we are both hiding.

Long story short, our frantic chase somehow ended with Seungcheol flinging a water balloon at the principal. Yes, the principal. Also known as the one person with the sole authority to expel any student in a finger snap.

This was obviously an accident since the balloon was supposed hit me. But since I dodged Seungcheol's throw at the last second, the water balloon flew past my head and struck the passing by principal instead.

Yet as luck would have it, the balloon ended up smashing into the elder man's face, knocking off his glasses in the process. So despite the absolute horror of that moment, Seungcheol and I were miraculously given the opportunity to run away before the principal could actually see our faces.

And now, here we are, silently pleading for our safety inside a storage closet.

My heart is still pounding, but I could only concentrate on any possible sounds coming from outside. Seungcheol did the same, and has one ear pressed against the door. It felt like forever before we were both confident that no one was coming. We're safe, for now.

The two of us let out a collective sigh, and Seungcheol runs a hand through his still-damp hair. "Ah I can't believe this..." He utters and glances at me. "This is all your fault."

I narrowed my eyes before a scoff escaped my lips. "You're the one who hit the principal, Seungcheol."

He immediately holds up both hands in defense. "But who was the one that started this water balloon war in the first place?"

"You did." I reply, folding my arms in the process. "All thanks to your stupid dare."

Seungcheol quietly chuckles and his head to the side. He presses his lips together before inching towards me. I instinctively backed up, feeling my composure slowly being threatened by his closeness. Much to my dismay, Seungcheol didn't stop just there.

He lowered his head, moving until his face was right in front of mine.

"Shin Ahri." he whispered, successfully making me shiver. "I should have known you didn't have the guts."

It took all my might not to shove him back. Despite the chills happening all over my body, my mind was clear. I know what he's doing. In fact, I know this trick too well. He's tempting me to prove him wrong, and the smirk on his face says it all.

Several options were now running through my head. I could either play dumb, or knee in him the stomach, or play dumb and then knee him in the stomach. Anything works as long as it won't give him what he wants.

After a moment of quiet thinking, I decided to feign innocence. 

"You're right." I slightly pouted. "Maybe we should go apologize to the principal for hitting him."

The smirk on Seungcheol's face drops almost instantly. "You wouldn't dare..." He mutters.

"Why not?" I smiled in satisfaction. "It's not like I was the one who hit him."

His jaws clenched and I could of sworn his eye just twitched. He's is stumped, which is something that happens quite rarely. At the same time however, I was just as surprised at myself. Normally, I would never push things this far, but something just feels different right now, and my instincts are telling me not to let him have the last word.

I carefully watched Seungcheol as he straightened himself. Despite my calm exterior, I started feeling anxious about how he might respond. Seungcheol suddenly lets out a deep sigh and removes his hands from his pockets.

"Then...you leave me with no choice."

His words barely reached my ears before I notice his hands coming towards me. I had no idea what to expect, but his hands were suddenly at my waist. My eyes immediately widened, but it was already too late. The deadly torture has already begun.

I let out the most unattractive squeal when I felt his fingers tickling my sides. He quickly backed me up against the wall, purposely blocking me from escaping. My shrieks were muffled by his shoulders, which I had to hold onto in order not to completely fall over.

If there is one thing I absolutely cannot stand, it is being tickled. But being tickled by Choi Seungcheol is on a whole other level.

"YAH! CHOI SEUNGCHEOL!" I screeched through my involuntary laughter. "STOP IT!" 

Seungcheol's own chuckles filled my ears, as his lips hovered right beside my neck. 

"But you'll tell on me. I can't let that happen." Seungcheol mumbles while purposely blowing air on my neck.

Oh my GOD if only I could just punch him or something. I wasn't sure if it's the lack of oxygen, or his body heat, but my face is seriously burning. Plus, the amount of squirming on my part is making me feel really light headed. 

"Okay! I won't, now stop it!" I stammer and desperately try to prying his hands away.

To my complete and fortunate surprise, his hands stopped. But at the same time, light suddenly fills the room. I took every second trying to recover my breaths, but when I looked towards the source of the light, my breathing fell right back into a mess.

Someone just opened the door, and the person holding the door frame is none other than...the janitor. Again?

First at the classroom, and now here. This timing is just plain awkward. And embarrassing.

The expression on the janitor's face seemed more uncomfortable than last time's. I could have sworn he just muttered something along the lines of "kids these days", but nothing says disappointment better than the look on his face.

Blood began rushing to my cheeks, and I somehow felt thankful that Seungcheol's shoulder partly blocked my view. And as expected of Seungcheol, he looked casual as ever. He proceeds to grasp my arm before pulling me out the door. And it was like deja vu all over again. 

Once we walked far enough down the hall, I couldn't help but actually face palm.

"This is so embarrassing." I sighed in defeat. 

"Yeah well..." Seungcheol shrugs. "At least it wasn't the principal."

I shudder at that sudden horrible thought. If the principal had actually walked in on us in that state, no amount of explanations will save us.

"We would be expelled." I cringe.

Seungcheol loudly exhales and rubs the back of his neck. "Or worse, I'll be kicked out of the basketball team."

I almost shot him a baffled look, but then reminded myself that Seungcheol is actually captain of the basketball team. My eyes lit up in curiosity before I glanced at him.

"Ah...you guys have a game against Seoul Academy soon right?" I asked.

His worried expression suddenly shifts to a more positive one. "Yeah, in three weeks." he smiles, "Since we made it to nationals again, we're going for our tenth championship this year."

I felt this weird urge to giggle at his sudden cheerfulness. But I guess this must be really exciting for a team captain.

"And you're confident you guys will win?" I asked.

"Hell yeah, for sure." He beams before turning towards me. "You're coming to our game right?"

I momentarily stopped walking and shot him a blank stare. "Seungcheol, you practically dragged me to all of your games."

He quickly lets out a dramatic sigh and pouts. "That's because you're my lucky charm." he half-whines, to which I cringe in response. "Remember that one game where we lost because you didn't show up?" He adds.

My brows furrowed for a moment before I remembered that indeed, there was one time where I didn't go to his game. I had gotten sick since it was flu season.

"That's because I caught a cold." I retort. "Plus, you guys only lost because half the team was also sick."

Seungcheol groans, still pouting at me. "But you'll come to this one right?" He grabs my wrist and starts swaying my arm back and forth. "Right?" 

I swear, he's such a child.

Before I could respond however, the bell suddenly rings throughout the hallway. It's time for class again, and students began shuffling in and out of classrooms. Seungcheol and I quickly dropped our conservation and instead focused on getting back to class on time.

Right as we entered our classroom, I noticed Jeonghan and Mingyu lounging around my desk. 

"There you are." Jeonghan spoke as soon as Seungcheol walked over. "Where were you?"

"I was with this girl remember?" Seungcheol flashed a smirk and plopped down on his seat. I notice Mingyu giving me this weirdly suggestive look, but I just shook my head at him.

Jeonghan scoffs. "For this long?"

Seungcheol shrugs and rests his elbows on his desk. "Well you know..." he bites his lower lip."I was with her, and things got carried away and we-"

"Stop it." I cut in.

Mingyu immediately snickers and shuffles towards Seungcheol. "Anyways captain," he began, patting Seungcheol on the back. "Coach wants us at practice every day after school for the next three weeks."

Seungcheol glanced up with a frown. "Every day?"

"Every day." Mingyu repeats. “Until the big game.”

Seungcheol ruffles the back of his hair and puffs his cheeks.

"Come on captain, we gotta take home this year's championships remember?" Mingyu assures.

"Yeah, so instead of chasing Ahri all over the place, focus on basketball for now alright?" Jeonghan adds before grinning at me.

"I agree." I smile back and slid into my chair. Seungcheol kept groaning while I began fixing the sleeves of my uniform. I patted the ends of my blazer, only to notice something slightly off.

My wallet is gone. Did I drop it somewhere?

The door suddenly whips open, and Mr. Park immediately marches in with a strange look on his face.

"Everyone go back to your places and stand up!" He announced.

The rest of us exchanged curious glances before everyone went back to their seats. I pushed myself up, looking just as confused as the people around me. There was a brief moment of silence before the sound footsteps came from the door.

I turned my head towards the entrance, only to have my heart flop to my stomach.

The principal. The freaking principal just walked in. Oh my God.

“Students, please greet your principal.” Mr. Park announced, and the rest of us immediately bowed our heads.

My heartbeat accelerated, and my throat instantly dried up. I had this sudden urge to turn back and look at Seungcheol, but I couldn’t dare to move right now.

“Hello everyone,” The principal began. “No need to formal, you may all sit.” He smiled.

I half stumbled back into my seat and began taking slow breaths to calm down.

"I don't want to waste any class time, so I will try to make this quick." The principal spoke. “The reason I’m here is because…I had an interesting encounter with a few students a moment ago.”

I knew it. He’s talking about us.

“And one student happened to drop something. I’m here to return it.” The principal then holds up a small object between his fingers.

I narrowed my eyes and focused on what ever is in his hand. However, my breath hitched in my throat as soon as I realized what it was.

It’s a wallet. Or rather, my wallet.

My eyes immediately dropped down to my knees. I chewed my bottom lip, biting back the urge to just slam my head on my table. This coincidence just became one hell of a disaster.

The principal clears his throat. “There’s no student ID in here, but it does have this classroom’s number etched on in.” He announced. “So does this belong to anyone here?”

The class fell into a soft commotion, and everyone began casually checking their pockets. I had no idea how Seungcheol feels right now, and I am honestly too nervous to even look back.

Yes, Seungcheol was the one who threw the balloon, but it is me who just screwed things up. Plus this whole thing…is honestly my fault to begin with.

The only consequence on my mind is the two of us getting expelled. But for Seungcheol, he’ll also be forced to give up a team he worked so hard to build together. And that is just way too big of a sacrifice.

A hand suddenly falls on my shoulder, making me flinch in my seat. “It’s alright.” Seungcheol mutters, his voice soft.

I really wanted to shake my head, because no, it’s not alright. I don’t think I can ever bear with the guilt of Seungcheol leaving the basketball team. He’s the captain for crap sakes, and his team is even going to nationals.

His hand leaves my shoulder before he shuffles in his seat, and I knew he is getting ready to stand up and take the blame.

I squeezed my eyes shut and took one final breath to calm down. It’s decided. I can’t let Seungcheol get in trouble.

Just as the shuffling behind me got louder, I immediately bolted out of my seat. The class fell silent, and all eyes were now fixed on me.

"It's my wallet sir." I stated as calmly as possible, hesitating at whether or not to look up.

The longest and most aggravating minute of silence passed before the principal finally cleared his throat. "Well then...you may have it back." he inhales, "and I would also like to speak with you at my office please."

Curious murmurs suddenly filled the room, which only added to my anxiety. I faintly nodded and began moving away from my desk. However, a hand suddenly grasps my forearm, and I froze in my tracks. I slowly peered behind, only to see Seungcheol wearing a look I could not decipher. But in that moment, my lips formed into a small smile before I pushed his hand away.

The walk to the principal’s office was painfully quiet, and I would have never imagined that my life at Haknam High School would end like this.

We entered his office, where the principal mentioned me to sit in the chair before his desk. He then began shuffling through some documents, which I guess were my school records.

I fidgeted in my seat while a million incoherent thoughts flew through my head.

This is it. I'm going to be kicked out.

"Miss Shin Ahri." The principal began, glancing down at the papers in front of him. "You're a rather good student..." he paused to look through more documents."Good grades, clean record, and from what I can see, a responsible student."

The principal sets the papers down and looks at me. "So therefore I cannot understand your behavior earlier."

To be honest, I cannot understand my behavior either. Initiating a childish water balloon fight like that really isn't my nature, and neither is admitting my mistake to the principal in front of my entire class.

"I'm sorry." I uttered, since those are probably the only words I can say at the moment.

The principal sighs and folds his hands together. "Miss Shin, I can't help but think you're trying to cover up for another student."

My body froze. I drop my head and quickly closed my eyes to stop them from widening.

"Please tell me the truth."

I can't. I just can't risk Seungcheol's reputation. I drew in a sharp breath and peered back up. "No sir, I was the one who hit you...I mean, I wanted to hit a friend as a prank, but I accidently hit you instead." I swallowed, digging my nails into the palms. "I'm very sorry."

A period of nerveracking silence ensued before the principal finally spoke up again.

"Well, if that's what you insist." He states and begins collecting loose papers on his desk. "As for your punishment..."

My heart rate shoots up once again. This is it.

"You will be helping Mr. Park grade papers, every day after school, for the next three weeks."

I swear I must have the dumbest look on my face. That's...my punishment? 

"Treat this as your first warning. Just don't do it again next time." The elder man announced before standing up. "You're free to go."

I blinked several times, still trapped in a daze. It took awhile, but I eventually realized that my life has just been spared. I immediately stood up and bowed at the principal, thanking him multiple times.

By the time I exited the office, my mind kept spinning. I’m not even sure where my feet is taking me, but right before turning a corner, my face almost collided into something hard.

I almost fell backwards, but was swiftly caught by two hands around my shoulders. I glanced up, only to see Seungcheol standing before me with a strangely bothered expression. His breathing is slightly erratic, as if he just ran all the way over here. And is he ditching class right now?

"Ahri." He immediately spoke. "What happened?"

"Um I-"

"Are you okay? I mean, what did the principal say?"

"He let-"

"Please don't tell me that you're..."

"No Seungcheol, listen-"

"Seriously Ahri, why did you do this? This wasn't your fault! It was mine!"

"Seungcheol, you need to calm-"

"I'm such an idiot...I should have said something and-"

"Seungcheol!" I shouted, interrupting his mental breakdown. "Calm down."

However, as soon as those words left my mouth, I realized my hands have somehow ended up on either side of Seungcheol's face. I mean, it did stop him from freaking out a little.

"I'm fine." I announced while holding his face still. "I'm not getting expelled."

I watched as Seungcheol's expression softened. He exhales and closes his eyes. "Thank god..." he mutters before reaching for my hands. I thought he was going to them off, but he instead places his own hands on top of mine.

He remained silent for a while, letting his breaths fall back into a steady state. "Why did you do this?" He asked, eyes still shut.

I pursed my lips together. "I um..." My voice fades. "I didn't want you to get in trouble."

That isn't a lie. I mean, it truly is a miracle how I managed to escape with such a light punishment, but things easily would have been much worse if Seungcheol was involved.

His eyes fluttered open, and he slowly lifts his gaze to meet mine. "But why does it matter? This was my fault."

I was completely taken aback. "Of course it matters! The principal wouldn't have let you off so easily, and you know that."

Seungcheol lips parted, wearing a dazed look on his face. "Were you...worried?"

"Well, I didn't want you kicked out of the basketball team." I added.

Seungcheol fell silent, and his eyes seem to have widened in the most subtle way. I couldn’t tell if my senses are playing tricks on me, but his fingers began to wrap tighter around my hands.

“Ahri.” he began, lips forming into a smile. "I...didn’t think you’d care about me."

I felt a surge of warmth rush to my cheeks. Perhaps it’s the look in his eyes that made me speechless, but this strangely calm side of Seungcheol is making my heart flutter a lot more than usual.

His lips however, suddenly shifts to a smirk. "Looks like you’re finally in love with me.”

The look on my face drops almost instantly. I probably should have seen this coming. Once again, Choi Seungcheol’s smart mouth managed to ruin the moment. I scoff and pull my hands away, to which he simply chuckles in response.

“I’m leaving.” I deadpan before stepping past him.

“Aww come on, don’t be like that.” He whines through his laughter. He then grasps my left arm before catching up to me.

“Oh, and you never told me what the principal said.” He spoke.

I slowed my walking and sighed. “He didn’t say much. But I’ll have to help Mr. Park grade papers after school.”

Seungcheol nods. “For how long?”

“Three weeks, I think.”

Seungcheol suddenly stops walking and turns to me with an amused smile. “That’s funny.” He began. “I have after school practice for three weeks.”

Oh yeah, that’s right. The same amused grin suddenly appeared on my face. 

“It sounds like...we both got the same punishment.” I mused.

He grins cheekily. “Yup. Then let’s both work hard.” He states, holding up his palm. “Fighting!”

I chuckle at his awfully cheesy expression before high-fiving his hand.

Well this somehow turned out to be quite interesting.

A/N: Hello~ some of you might remember the poll regarding the length of this story. Most of you voted to have a long final chapter, and that was what I planned. However, a writer friend of mine suggested some additional plot devices which I thought would be interesting to add to this story. So in other words, there's a slight change of plans, and this story will span more than just 3 chapters.

I know some of you guys wanted a long update, and I'm sorry if this wasn't satisfying, but I'll try my best to update as fast as I can! (plus, there will be more coups I guess?)