“Welcome to L.S.M. High!”

Tiffany gaped at the short girl greeting her the moment she stepped out of the registrar’s office. She was a transfer student, after all. She didn’t know anyone… at least, not yet.

She stared at the girl some more. The girl had short, brown hair with blond streaks at the tips.

She looks like a rebel! Oh god, is she like one of those students who’ll try to ask for some kind of bogus student fees?

Tiffany snapped out of her thoughts when she heard the girl laugh.

“Don’t worry. I’m not some prankster trying to get your lunch money. I’m Kim Taeyeon. I’m the Student Council’s public relations officer… so I’m like the welcoming committee. You must be our transfer student, right?”

“That’s right,” Tiffany nodded with a relieved smile and held out her hand. “Hwang Stephanie… Tiffany or Fany for short…”

“Nice to meet you. I’m a sophomore, too,” Taeyeon shook her hand and smiled back. “Come, I’ll show you the dorms then I’ll give you a quick tour around the campus.”

“Okay.”

Without another word, Taeyeon helped Tiffany in carrying her luggage and led her to the elevator of a huge lavish building with marble floors and expensive-looking paintings lining the walls every few meters.

The building was more like a hotel than a school dormitory.

“You’ll be rooming in with me and another person, by the way,” Taeyeon said as they stepped off the elevator on the tenth floor. “It looks like you’re from a more than average family, too. My friend and I had to split the rental in half, because no other student could afford to room in with us. It’ll be good to split it three-ways this time. More pocket money for us…”

Tiffany chuckled. “Well, my parents just don’t want me to get a room by myself. They think I’ll burn the room down or something.”

Taeyeon stared at the girl. “Am I supposed to be worried?”

“No worries, Tae – I can call you that, right? – It’s just because I can’t cook. Seriously though, it’s not like I’ll have the patience to try to cook when I can just go to the cafeteria, right?”

The short girl shook her head in amusement and laughed. “Maybe your parents just want to make sure you have company. And yes, you can call me that… …Ah, here we are. Room 1003.”

Taeyeon stopped in front of door with gold letters embossed: Room 1003. She put the key on the keyhole, pressed the passcode numbers on the security device, and turned the doorknob after the beep. “This is our room.”

“Woah,” Tiffany couldn’t help ogling around the room. The door opens into a mini hallway leading into a lounge complete with TV and stereo system. There was a small staircase from the lounge, which leads to transparent doors opening out to a balcony. A mini kitchen and dining room were on the far right. And on the left, there’s another hallway – leading to the bedrooms, Tiffany guessed. “Talk about having a suite for a school dorm room…”

Taeyeon chuckled. “I had the same reaction last year. Too good to be true, eh… Well, that’s why it’s expensive.”

“I’m seriously gonna call my Dad later to thank him for this…”

“You must be our roomie,” another voice sounded.

“Ah, Hyo, this is Tiffany,” Taeyeon introduced as Hyoyeon walked over with a smile.

“Kim Hyoyeon, also a sophomore,” she shook Tiffany’s hand.

“Nice to meet you,” Tiffany smiled back. “So how about that tour now? I don’t wanna get lost tomorrow on my first day.”

~+~

DAMN. I should’ve asked for a tour inside the school building first, not the whole campus. Where’s Taeyeon the P.R.O. when you need her? Aish.

Tiffany sighed as she paced through the hallways, her class schedule on her hand. It didn’t help that she woke up later than usual because her jetlag wasn’t making it easier for her to get comfortable and sleep.

Now, most of the students were rushing to their classes, not leaving Tiffany any chance to ask for help. Nobody cares about lost transfer students.

Where the hell is the bridge to the annex building??

Tiffany sighed again in exasperation and blew the offending hair strand that got to her eyes.

I still got 15 minutes. You can do this, Tiffany. You’re not a top student for nothing.

The girl reassured herself as she took a deep breath, trying hard not to panic. Once she calmed down, she smiled encouragingly to herself and started walking as she looked back down at her class schedule.

…

“WHERE DID HE GO?!”

“I SWEAR I SAW HIM GO THIS WAY!”

…

A sudden ruckus caught Tiffany’s attention. Being the curious girl that she was, she looked at the direction of the voices.

At the end of the hall were a group of girls looking frantic as they looked from left to right. They spoke among themselves loudly, and suddenly, they were all heading towards her way.

Tiffany took this as a cue to go before she gets crushed by a stampede of girls. She hurriedly turned away and strolled towards the other end of the hall, a secluded corner of the building where she knew a staircase was located.

As she rounded the corner, a hand immediately pulled her by the collar of her trench coat.

“WHAT THE H–”

“SSHH!” the culprit hissed as he clamped a hand over .

Tiffany’s eyes widened as she realized who he was. She was stunned to say the least.

The guy’s hair was longer and unruly, and he looked blindingly gorgeous with his hazel eyes and well-defined lips… Tiffany could never be more certain that it was him.

It was none other than Jesse Jung, the first boy who crushed her juvenile heart.

…

“I THINK I HEARD SOMETHING!”

…

“,” Jesse flinched as he heard the voice and the footsteps sounding nearer and nearer by the second.

He quickly opened his backpack and took off his sweatshirt.

Oh god.

“Yah, what are you doing??” Tiffany hissed hysterically as she watched him, her eyes traitorously darting towards his muscular biceps. His plain white shirt was literally hugging his forearms snugly, and Tiffany swore she would’ve fanned herself if it wasn’t for their current situation.

Tiffany wasn’t dumb. She figured out who those girls were looking for.

“YAH!” she hissed again as Jesse ignored her and shoved the sweatshirt in his bag.  

He pulled out a bonnet and hastily placed it atop his head, covering his shiny blond hair. After throwing his backpack down a few flights of stairs, he finally looked up at her and grinned. “Today’s your lucky day, babe.”

“Wha– mmmf!”

Tiffany gasped and her eyes widened once again as she felt his lips against hers.

He’s kissing me!!

Tiffany lost all her logic as that thought registered in her mind. She didn’t even notice her class schedule paper falling to the floor. All she felt was his soft lips and his warm hand as he pulled her arms to wrap around his neck.

Seeing her eyes closing, Jesse smirked against her lips. He wrapped his arms around her waist and slowly pushed her against the wall, trapping her in his arms. He boldly nipped at her lips and kissed her even deeply.

“Woah…”

“Omona…”

The footsteps stopped as voices hushed at the scene in front of them.

“O-Okay… he definitely didn’t pass here,” one girl said. “Let’s go the other way! Hurry!”

The others murmured their approval and they all ran back to the direction where they came from.

The moment the sound of footsteps subsided, Jesse pulled back and sighed in relief, leaving Tiffany with her eyes still closed and her lips slightly parted.

“Whew! First days are always crazy,” Jesse muttered absentmindedly.

Hearing his voice, Tiffany’s eyes promptly opened. “YOU!” she pushed him hard on chest.

Jesse rolled his eyes in a manly fashion as a haughty grin crawled to his lips. “I know, I know. I’m Jesse. I know my name well, you know.”

“YOU JERK! You freakin’ kissed me!!”

Jesse raised an eyebrow, shocked that a girl actually called him a jerk. “Ha! And you kissed me back, you… you whiny girl!”

Tiffany’s ears perked at the familiar word coming from his mouth. After years, this boy still described her as ‘whiny’. But she’s not gonna bear that this time, not anymore. “The name’s Tiffany, you arrogant, egocentric jerk!”

“Whatever! Keep your voice down before you damage my eardrums, Bigmouth! And stop calling me a jerk!”

“Fine, I’ll call you Bighead then!”

Jesse forced an amused laugh, though it irked him that a girl not only called him a jerk, but also had the audacity to insult him even more. “What’s your problem, Bigmouth? I kissed you, no big deal! You should be thankful!”

“Ha! You’re really so full of yourself, aren’t you?”

“Obviously, you’re new around here because you don’t know me. Of course, I’d be proud of myself. With talent and looks like this? If you were Jung Jesse, you would be, too.”

What an egomaniac. Tiffany wanted to strangle him on the spot at that remark. “I don’t care who you are in this school. I want an apology!!”

“An apology? Apology for what? I should receive a ‘thank you’ for giving you the best 30 seconds of your life,” the blond boy replied with a smirk. “But you know what? Never mind. ‘Cause I know you liked that kiss… or you wouldn’t have kissed me back.”

Tiffany’s heart thumped hard against her chest as Jesse leaned closer to her, his face inches away from hers. She couldn’t exactly deny his claim… because she did enjoy it. But she wasn’t about to admit that out loud.

She didn’t have to, actually.

Jesse saw right through her. He could feel her breathing slow