Boink! The soccer ball bounced off the goal post as Minho frustrated glared at it. Ever since he found out (or at least suspected) that Krystal was L's childhood friend, he had became too distracted from his studies and his soccer practice. Coach was already furious with him, and he knew that if he didn't fix himself up, he might be kicked off from the team.

Well, like he was ever going to be in the team.

A soccer ball rolled to his feet, and Minho looked up. Jonghyun was already upset that he had to stay after school to help Minho practice. Minho gave Jonghyun an apologetic stare as he tried to focus on kicking the ball into the goal. He took a few steps back, and ran as fast as he could. Right when he was about to kick the ball, his mind went back to Krystal and L. He kicked the ball, but it bounced off to the side. Minho clenched his fist and gritted his teeth as he narrowed his eyes once more.

"Stupid ball! That ball probably has a hole!" Minho yelled frustratedly. Jonghyun raised an eyebrow, amused.

"So now you blame the ball for your lack of concentration. Honestly, Minho! Just kick the ball into the goal! It's not that hard! Look, even I can do it!" Jonghyun exclaimed. With a simple kick, Jonghyun kicked the ball into the goal in a breeze. He glanced to see Minho's reaction, and gulped quietly. Minho was seething his teeth, and he hardly seethed his teeth.

"How do you expect me to focus when…when…when all these things are happening to me?" Minho said, raising his voice.

"What thing? What's been happening to you? You've been acting weird since this morning. Did something happen to you or anything?" Jonghyun asked. He paused, and then his lips. "It's Krystal, isn't it."

Minho paled. "What?"

"It's Krystal, right? You're acting weird because of Krystal, aren't you?" Jonghyun questioned.

"N-No, it's not because of her," Minho denied. He was afraid of Jonghyun knowing about Krystal being L's childhood friend. If anything, he knew that Krystal (or maybe L) wouldn't like him spoiling about the news that L and Krystal were friends. Jonghyun scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"Don't lie to me, Minho. Obviously Krystal was been threatening you to be her savior or something."

Minho blinked his eyes. What? "What on earth are you talking about, Kim Jonghyun?"

"It's okay, dude. The whole school knows that Krystal's been bugging you and forcing you to do her homework, projects, and a bunch of other stuff."

"Stuff? Jonghyun, explain."

"There's no need to be scared or stressed out anymore, Minho. It's okay. I'll go talk to Suzy and tell her to fix things."

"Jonghyun, what have you been hearing? Krystal never did anything to me!"

"Maybe I should talk to L, though. L might think that I'm flirting with Suzy if he sees me near her," Jonghyun mumbled. He rolled a soccer ball to Minho, who caught with his foot. He narrowed his eyes and frowned, wondering what Jonghyun was thinking.

"Jonghyun, please! I need to know the rumors about me and Krystal. What have people been saying?" Minho pleaded. He was desperate. And Jonghyun knew it.

But he wouldn't show that he knew. "It's just some stuff, Minho. Look, I got everything taken care of. I'll tell your coach that you made ten goals yesterday, alright? Practice is over. I'm going first, okay?"

With that, Jonghyun jogged off, leaving Minho curious and his thoughts cloudy.

"Krystal, why?" L asked. He felt his brain bang against his skull, and rubbed his temples to soothe the pain. "Why would you go up to me when people are there? Especially when my mom is near me?"

The innoncent girl swirled her hot chocolate with a red, thin straw. She wasn't going to drink her hot chocolate from the straw. She just needed something to play with and avoid L's eye contact. She glanced up to meet L's distressed look, and quickly looked back down at her drink.

"We skipped school today," Krystal whispered quietly. L's clenched his fist under the table.

"Krystal, don't ignore me. Answer me," L replied. His voice was hard and cold. Krystal knew that there was no way to escape their current conversation. Krystal took a small sip from the coffee mug.

"You looked upset. I thought you wanted someone to cheer you on-"

"I'm fine," Myungsoo interrupted, slightly gritting his teeth. "There's a reason why I don't go talk to you and why I ignore you."

Stab. "Oh. I thought you just wanted some help-"

"I'm fine. I got everything under control. What would you do if Suzy saw you with me? She would think that we were dating. That's not good for anyone," L pointed out. Krystal felt her eyes water.

"I'm sorry," Krystal apologized, her voice low and quiet. "I promise I won't do such a terrible mistake again."

L stood still. Krystal was going to cry. He felt a pang of guilt stab through his chest. He took a deep, unsteady breath, and rubbed his face with his hands. It was like his childhood all over again. He kept quiet, and stared at Krystal with one eye.

No, it's exactly like the past, L thought. Whenever Krystal was crying about her parents fighting, he would always stand next to her, watching her cry. He never said a word. Not even a "it's going to be okay" or "it's not your fault." He was hopeless, and he was still hopeless after all these years.

L sighed and softened. He got up and swung his backpack around his shoulder. "Just…Just don't talk to me."

Krystal nodded her head silently as L walked away from Krystal, not saying a comforting word to his friend.

Not even an "it's okay."

Jessica looked up at the sky. The snow tasted bitter and raw, and the sky seemed to warn everyone in the town that a blizzard might start soon. Jessica heaved a sigh, and turned to her fake date.

"It's going to get dark. Pay up," Jessica said. The boy next to her blinked his eyes.

"But we didn't even make it to the party-"

"Look, there's going to be a storm soon. I doubt anyone is going to come to your party," Jessica interrupted with a serious expression.

"No one's going to come since you're not going to be there," the boy pointed out, frowning.

That's true, Jessica thought. "That doesn't matter. I'll come next time, alright? Just pay up for today. I walked with you for two miles, and my feet are aching. You don't expect the great Jessica to keep walking in this snow for another mile, do you?"

The boy hesistated, and scowled. He handing Jessica a pile of green cash, who happily called a taxi and drove away, leaving the boy deserted in the snow. Jessica heaved a sigh and asked the taxi driver to turn up the radio. The taxi driver obeyed and cranked up the value. Jessica rested her eyes and leaned her head against the window.

Time to go to Krystal's school and pay for her school fees, Jessica thought. Again.