Ten didn't know how he would face Taeyong again after having the elder comfort him for thirty minutes and miss half of first period. He felt better than terrible – but still terrible, and Taeyong was only making it worse. It was difficult for him to stop crying once he has and he can cry for hours, but Taeyong's silent but comforting body somehow eased his tears. He had forgotten he would see Taeyong later on the day so when Taeyong walked him to his class, he was fine.

But now he was flushed standing in front of the library door, debating whether to go in or not. His hand kept retracting from the doorknob and he knew he probably looked ridiculous from a sightseer.

"What are you doing?"

Ten jumps and steps forward, nearly crashing into the door before he caught himself. He turned around and saw the last person he wanted to see right now – Lee Taeyong. He laughed nervously and shrugged it off, opening the door for Taeyong and pushing the other inside. He cleared his throat as he walked behind Taeyong, staring at his back and how the boy was so lanky.

Taeyong turned around as if he was hearing his thoughts and Ten quickly glanced away to anything but him, nearly crashing into a book shelf before Taeyong moved him out the way. Taeyong sighed and Ten flinched, making the other furrow his brows and pinch his bridge before speaking.

"You don't have to be so... Embarrassed, okay?"

Ten nodded his head but he didn't hear a word he said. He was just nodding for the hell of it, to get Taeyong to look not directly at him and to hide away from his piercing gaze. Taeyong wasn't sold however and nudged Ten to snap out of it.

"Stop it before I'm not as forgiving," Taeyong muttered before he turned back to walk again.

"What the hell does that mean?" Ten blurts out, slowly returning to his narcissistic and noisy self.

"What it means," Taeyong simply responds.

"You're stupid," Ten says flatly.

"You're insulting me after I helped you?"

Ten blushed when Taeyong turned around to face him again and he noticed. He knows he did because Taeyong quickly averted his eyes away from his face to pretend he didn't see it and remain oblivious. Ten chants to himself in his head to stop getting flustered around him.

"You didn't help me at all. All you did was hug me and – " Ten stops there, not wanting to say out loud what else Taeyong did or else he would get embarrassed again and do something stupid. Being with Taeyong always brought out his most idiotic sense.

It was Taeyong's turn to be flustered now and he scratched the back of his neck as he looks away. "How could I have helped you in any other way? You were a sobbing mess."

"I..." Ten trailed off when he thought of what to retort back but he couldn't think of anything. He was right and it was a first for him to admit that. Ten could never muster out any logic when he was crying.

Taeyong smirked when he realized it was a victory against the feisty, short boy and turned away again to walk over to their assigned area. With a good distance between them, Taeyong spoke loud enough so the other could clearly hear him, "Just rest for now."

Ten would argue not to but quite frankly, he was exhausted and he did do most of the work for two weeks. He plopped himself down on the floor flimsily and watched as Taeyong worked diligently and never spare him another word or glance. After several minutes had gone by in utter silence again, Ten sighed loudly in hopes of getting Taeyong's attention.

Taeyong didn't. He remained focus on ordering the books and tossing away sad, ugly ones. Ten frowned and sighed even louder, watching Taeyong's back the whole time. This time, he hesitatated to turn around, but he remained still, driving Ten insane.

"Taeyong," Ten cooed from below where he sat, "Taeyong~"

Taeyong finally turned around and nodded his head at him 'what.' Ten pouted and groaned, "I'm bored."

"Go on your phone then," Taeyong stated simply.

"My mom cancelled my plan because..." Ten stopped when a look of guilt creeped onto Taeyong's face and he skipped explaining that his mother took his phone because of their fight. He continued after that, "I want to talk."

"... About what?"

"Yuta," Ten says, "Doyoung. You."

"Me?" Taeyong's voice is higher than usual and Ten chuckles, earning a glare from the other so he could shut up. The younger didn't listen and let the laugh slip out his mouth shamelessly.

"You told me you wanted to be close to me, didn't you?" Ten asks when his laughter calms down.

"Not... Like that."

"Not like how?" Ten hums in slight amusement from watching Taeyong's cheeks turn beet red.

"... Whatever you're assuming it to be."

"How do you know what I'm assuming it as, huh?" Ten chuckles, "Close to me as in mentally or... Physically?"

Taeyong turns away from the other and walks away, never answering the question. Ten laughs but it wavers and his lip trembles – he can't tell what interpretation Taeyong meant and both of them made his head hurt and skin burn with longing.

Ten stands up and follows Taeyong, who's feigning the look of being busy. Ten comes up behind him and stares up at the taller boy – who isn't that very tall in actuality – and cracks his signature wide smile when he sees the blush is still apparent, if not more.

"Get away from me," Taeyong mumbles as he scoots away from him.

"You didn't answer my question," Ten whined. He doesn't know why he feels so suddenly confident and boastful around Taeyong like the day he beat him up but it's uncontrollable and his mouth rambles on before he can think of what he was saying. "If it's such a difficult question to answer, then just tell me the one you think I'd want to hear."

"Neither."

Ten shook his head as he leaned his head on the book shelf and stared at Taeyong, "You're wrong."

He could see the way Taeyong's jaw clenches shut, how his jawline is so prominent and sharp that he has to stop himself from gliding his finger on it before he embarrassed himself again. Taeyong's eyes shakily look elsewhere, the points of his ear peeking through his dark brown hair turning bright pink. Ten smiles satisfied with himself, although he's oblivious that he looks the same. He loves the battle of superiority with the other and how he's winning right now.

He steps closer and tilts his head at Taeyong, waiting for the response. Taeyong takes a half step away but doesn't take it yet, as if he's anticipating what Ten will do.

"Don't do anything you'd regret, Ten," Taeyong finally speaks as he finally looks eye-to-eye to the other, "I won't be anyone's sloppy seconds."

Ten's mischievous smirk disappears and he smacks Taeyong's shoulder, his mind instantly making assumptions of what the other meant. Although a part of him was happy that Taeyong didn't make a clear decision because truthfully, Ten didn't know what answer he would prefer hearing coming out of his mouth. Or rather, he wouldn't admit it to himself that he wished at any given moment Taeyong would push him against the book shelves and –

"You're such an ," Ten abruptly spoke between his thoughts as he turned away from the elder, "I don't want to get close to you that way. And don't bring Jaehyun into this."

Taeyong scoffs, "Jaehyun? When did I ever bring him into this?"

"I – uh – I just thought since you said sloppy seconds – "

Taeyong cuts him off, "You and Jaehyun have a dirty past, don't you two?"

Ten blushes and smacks his shoulder again, "It's none of your business."

The elder boy turns to face the other's direction and raises a suggestive eyebrow, "Are you sure? Am I not your business?"

Ten blushes bright red and he punches Taeyong's shoulder for the umpteenth time with weak fists, "B-Back off! Of course you aren't. I don't –"

He stops midway when he realizes he's losing to him again. Taeyong was always so sly and unexpected.

"What me and Jaehyun had isn't important right now," Ten said as he tries to tame himself, "You hurt Jaehyun. Don't you feel any remorse?"

Taeyong shook his head, "Not at all. He hurt someone very important to me, he deserved it."

"However he hurt that person, it isn't the same as this. You're jeopardizing his chance with Doyoung, the one person he seems to actually be in love with."

"You're so two-sided," Taeyong chuckled dryly, "It still hurts, doesn't it?"

Ten bites his tongue to hold his mouth for going off on the other because yes, it still hurts. It hurts knowing you wasted time on someone who never once had eyes on you. It hurts not being the center of one's attention for once.

"What really happened between you two?" Taeyong curiously asked, at the right moment where Ten felt most expressive.

"He... He screwed me over really bad first year," Ten mumbled as he takes a deep shaky breath and exhaling to calm his nerves, "He fooled me into thinking we had anything special."

"You two... Dated?"

"Sorta. We were on and off a lot, and he was never faithful. I don't know why I stuck with him, I was so dumb to believe him when he said he loved me..." Ten trailed off, "That's why I guess I want him to settle down with someone because I wouldn't wish that kind of pain on anyone. Maybe you, though."

"And I would wish unrequited love on you again."

Ten stared at Taeyong, how his expression seemed to soften as he stared at the ground but the softness was rigid still, as if he were to ask him what he meant by that it would shatter the glass ground he was walking on. Still, he was curious. The expression seemed to almost be a direct at himself and he wasn’t sure what unrequited love could Taeyong be referring to if it were him. Perhaps it could be this... Someone?

"He hurt me a lot Taeyong," Ten says after a pregnant pause of silence, "But it was nothing unexpected. He's a boy, that's what they do. I just wish I knew that before. Anyway, that's not important. I just hope maybe Doyoung can change him, for the better. They both need better ing attitudes."

Taeyong sighed and nodded, "Well, I'll explain to him later. But shouldn't you be afraid of him breaking Doyoung's heart?"

Ten takes a moment to think about it and begins to wonder why he was so supportive of this idea of the two being together. Jaehyun had a bad history and Doyoung had no history at all when it came to relationships – if anything he should be against the idea – but he thinks about the way Jaehyun's face always seems to change when his friend's name is mentioned. The possibilities of Jaehyun hurting Doyoung was high – but so was the bizarre idea that maybe Jaehyun can have Doyoung feel love for once.

"If he hurts him – I'll hurt him," Ten says after Taeyong frowned at the boy in deep thought.

Taeyong simply hums with a subtle smirk, "Shouldn't you apologize to Yuta as well?"

" that hoe," Ten snarled, "He's so extra. Like you."

Taeyong ignored his direct at him and shook his head, "Things won't get better if you avoid them. Go talk to him now, or else I'll... Physically get close to you."

'Well, I guess I won't go to Yuta now,' Ten thinks but he shakes his thirsty thoughts away when he recognizes Taeyong is right. Things won't go anywhere between the three of them if they all remain resistant and petty.

"Thanks, Taeyong..." Ten mumbles feeling his face get flushed, "Dammit. I was planning to not tell you anything but I did. You tell me something back and make it even."

Taeyong chuckles, "What the – why should I?"

"Because you tricked me and it's not fair! You always do this and it's annoying."

"Well, sorry for being curious and concerned. I didn't realize you were curious about me?"

"I actually really am," Ten says matter-of-factly, "Like how you're still alive right now when your reputation should be dead."

Taeyong glares at the other, "I thought we said we would forget about that."

"I didn't know your tragic reputation was a part of that too."

Taeyong nudged Ten with his shoulders and looked away. Ten stared at the boy, feeling himself get flustered all over again for the umpteenth time. It was growing tiresome with how Taeyong made him feel, frustrating even.

"You should go apologize now," Taeyong changes the subject, "The more you wait the worse it gets to do it."

Ten bit his lip and sighed, "What do I even apologize for? I didn't do anything wrong. Well, maybe but –"

"No," Taeyong speaks firmly, "You did do something wrong. Just apologize to him."

Ten glared at the other, "I'm going to tell him you helped me. It'll prove him wrong."

"Don't."

Ten shook his head firmly. He didn't want to lie about Taeyong, not when he was so comforting to him when no one else was there. He was the last person he'd expect to treat him so carefully and kindly, he wanted to share it to the entire world that would listen. His wild imagination could never guess the past few weeks with Taeyong, whose image had changed so drastically in the Thai boy's eyes. He then did something drastic – unconsciously as he peered down at Taeyong's hand and saw it was empty.

Ten intertwined his fingers with Taeyong before the other could reject it, staring up at Taeyong to see his reaction.

"What are you – "

Ten stood on his toes and grabbed the back of Taeyong's neck, forcing the other to lean down a bit and close the gap between them sooner. Ten tilted his head perfectly so there weren't any mishaps and puckered up his lips right before he placed them on the elder's. The kiss was soft, nothing extreme but something.

Ten kissed Taeyong for a few seconds, hoping the other would return the favor but the lanky boy wouldn't budge. He remained frozen, even his hand remained the same. Ten then ran his hand through his hair and tilted his head the other way in hopes Taeyong would get the hint.

Taeyong abruptly leaned away from his kiss, pushing the other away and making him go back on his heels. Taeyong musters any sort of words to comfort and apologize to the other - who looks as if Taeyong told him his dog died.

"I-"

Ten didn't care to listen. Instead he turned around and walked away quickly, to escape the embarrassment of rejection filling his heart and pulling his spirit down.

Mark heaved a deep sigh as he wandered the cafeteria alone, scanning who to sit with so he didn't look pitiful eating stale pizza alone. But the cool kids were too cool for him to sit by without Taeyong; the epitome of cool, and he knew no one else.

Thinking of Taeyong made him upset. He was flabbergasted over how he reacted to his juniors, and how he pushed him away for the short Thai boy in his Korean class with no second thought. Up until now it was Taeyong and him against everyone else, but suddenly it had become Mark Lee; a third wheel.

He would not let that happen, even if it costs him everything. Being a loser was one thing but a third wheel was absolutely the worst. Being a third wheel was merely a grim reminder of what you could have but are too ugly to. You stand by the side of a couple that always wishes you weren't there so you're more than unwanted. You're hated.

Then, his rational sense spoke up in his head. Taeyong clearly had his reasons. He needed to trust his friend – his only friend since moving here. He didn't want to believe in Jaehyun saying he was being used. Taeyong had no reason to use him like that.

"Hey, Mark."

Mark glanced over beside him and saw first the wide, bright smile of the boy walking beside him. Mark smiled back but it was shaky because of his nerves.

"Why are you alone?" Jaemin asked.

"Taeyong is in lunch detention..." Mark said sadly, "So I don't know who to be with."

"Oh? Why not sit with us?" Jaemin smiles as he leads Mark to his table without any time for Mark to give a direct response.

"O-Okay!" Mark chokes out while Jaemin pushes him forward, clinging to his tray with one hand.

He was surprised Jaemin came up to him. It wasn't as if the two haven't texted each other since Mark got his number, but all of their texts have simply been asking what was the homework and if Jaemin could copy it.

Jaemin led Mark to a table full of first years just like him, some that were recognizable in a few of his classes. One of the boys looked up, an eye smile forming when he smiled at Jaemin and patted a seat next to him for the pretty boy to sit at.

"Hey guys, this is Mark. Remember him?"

They all sni