C H A P T E R .o2 - The Future

Across the road from Ann, a group of eleven SM trainees walked out of the shop they were browsing. One of them, Kai, glanced around briefly and saw her crouching against the dark pillar. 

"Hey...isn't that Ann?" He tilted his head in curiosity. 

Briefly telling the rest of the group, he headed towards the 'mysterious' girl. The closer he was, the more his suspicions were confirmed.

"Ann...?"

Ann lifted her head to look for the owner of the voice.

Kai stood there in confusion, "What are you doing here...?"

His familiar voice was soothing to her. Suddenly, she longed for his warmth and reassurance.

"K-Kai," A choked sob escaped from .

"Hey, are you crying?" Concern threaded his voice as he crouched down and gazed at her. "What happened?" 

She quickly wiped the tears from her face with her sleeve. 

"I - I had something in my eye..." She looked down, praying he'd believe her.

"You're terrible at lying," Kai replied bluntly.

"I - " She bit her lip as another wave of tears threatened to escape. "T-Tao - he..."

"You broke up, didn't you?" Kai guessed quietly. It wasn't hard to guess - one glance at her face was all he needed. As well as that, he had noticed the tension between the two during the past fortnight.

Ann nodded, hugging her legs. He sighed softly, wrapping an arm around her shoulder, "C'mon. Stay with us for a while."

She stood up with wobbly legs and allowed him to lead her across the street. The group was waiting. They hadn't noticed her puffy eyes yet.

"An-An," Luhan greeted her gently. 

"Lu-Lu..." She whispered back.

By now, they could see her face clearly. The fact that she had been crying was written all over her face.

"Are you okay?" They questioned consecutively.

She wasn't sure how to reply. Like Kai said...she was terrible at lying.

"I - "

"She fell down," Kai interjected. His eyes betrayed no emotion. "Don't worry."

"Are you hurt?!" Lay opened his mouth in shock, scanning her legs for bruises. Kai quickly stepped in front of her, successfully blocking her body from sight.

"Nothing to worry about," He said casually. "Let's go."

"Where are we going?" Ann blinked.

"To the Seoul Plaza," He replied, smiling. "We're having some fun tonight."

"But I thought we were going to the dance - " Xiumin began quizzically. 

Kai nudged him hard. Ann knew he was doing this for her and she was grateful. 

"Tch," Baekhyun pushed past her icily. "I don't get why she has to tag along."

"I - I'm sorry," Ann muttered, looking at her feet, only to be ignored.

"An-An, don't worry about him. He isn't feeling well," Luhan explained.

Ann nodded in return, trying to smile. She knew Baekhyun didn't like her. She never knew why, he just didn't.

"Come on," Kai put a hand on her back and wordlessly led her along.

The Seoul Plaza wasn't far from their current location; in fact, a ten minute walk would be more than sufficient. Every night, the Plaza was jam-packed with teens and young adults enjoying themselves. Shops lined the whole area and the best feature was a beautiful circular stage rising from the very centre. 

The group walked at a steady pace. Once they were one traffic stop away, Luhan lightly took her hand.

"Be careful when crossing the road," He chastised, since she was looking around without paying attention. One look at his eyes told her he had figured out what had happened between her and Tao.

The lights flashed green. They began to walk across the street, Ann trying to think of an explanation to tell Luhan. One which wouldn't make him kill Tao. Nothing. She couldn't think of anything.

"An-An, hurry up," Luhan chided as he passed her. "I expect you to tell me what happened. Soon."

She nodded slowly, quickening her pace. The few seconds it took to cross the street felt like hours to her; hours filled with anxiety and guilt. She should lie to Luhan, yet he was her bestest friend in this hell-like city. But deep inside, she knew she still cared for Tao.

Ann sighed and breathed in deeply, trying to clear her head. She would concentrate on having fun tonight.

Her and Tao - that was in the past now.

There was nothing else she could do...apart from embracing the future with open arms.

A/N :

Once again, thank you for reading! 
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T w T /sobsobsobsob/

This story is going rather...slowly isn't it? We're sorry, we just at writing.