“Ummpphh…”  Dara groans out.  Sweat trickles down on her back, her chest heaving from breathing hard. She grunts “This…is….harder….than…I… thought”

Extreme stupidity brought her to her current situation.  She was too gullible to believe some urban legend in their school.

-oOo-

Dara lets out a sigh for the nth time as she stares dreamily at a guy seated at the table across them.

“Dara-yah are you eating the corn muffin? Can I have it?” Bom asks her spaced out friend. When she didn’t hear a reply, she takes the muffin and starts eating it.  “What are you looking at?” Following Dara’s gaze “Oh”

Dara glares at Bom “Yah! Yah! Yah! What’s with that reaction? Lee Min Ho is not worthy of such a reaction!” Smiling dreamily “Just look at him.  Tall, gorgeous, intelligent, popular”

“You know, there’s a way to end your agony” Bom says after nibbling on the muffin in her hand.

Dara perks up “What?”

“Approach Min Ho and tell him how you feel.”

Dara stares at Bom in disbelief at what she just heard “I can’t do that!”

“Then just continue suffering by looking at him from afar” Bom continued to demolish the remaining piece of muffin.

“Bommie-yah!” Dara cries out.

“There’s another way actually” A feminine voice quips.

Bom and Dara turns to see Tiffany had approached their table, looking down at them haughtily.

“No one’s asking you” Bom acidly retorts.

“Our school has this legend wherein if someone successfully touches the emblem of our school by the administrative building, and says the name of the person he or she likes. They end up together. Forever” Tiffany continues like Bom didn’t snap at her.

“Really?” Dara asks.

Tiffany smugly answers “it’s been proven”

“Yah!” Bom panics seeing the look of interest in Dara’s eyes “Don’t tell me you’ll believe something stupid like that coming from her?”

“I’m not” Dara answers absentmindedly.

“I’m not asking you to believe me or the story.  I’m just saying so.” Tiffany flips her hair back before she walks away.

Dara became quiet after that. Too quiet that Bom turns to face her and gives a stern warning “Don’t even start considering what I think you’re about to do”

“I’m not”

“Dara-yah!”

“I’m not thinking it. I swear!” Dara gives Bom a winsome smile, underneath the table though, she has her fingers crossed.

-oOo-

“I…should…have….uughh… listened to… Bom…” Dara pants as she inches her way on the tree branch to the school’s emblem.  She won’t be surprised if her thighs get covered with scratches.

She stretches her arm out. A smile appears on her face as there’s only an inch or two separated the tip of her fingers and the school emblem.

Don’t look down.  Whatever happens, don’t look down.

She has been chanting this inside her head, when she began climbing up the tree. A strong gust of wind blew, shaking the branch where Dara is sitting astride on.  It wobbled so much that Dara automatically lowered her head to grab hold on the branch.  It was a wrong move to do.

Black dots start to appear before her eyes, dizziness starts to consume her.  Her body sways to the side, her grip loosening, as she falls off from the branch where she is perched.

A student was rounding the corner and sees a girl about to fall.  Running towards the tree, he got there in time to break her fall, catching her in his arms.  Due to the hard impact, they both sprawled down to the ground.

Rolling the girl off of him, he wheezes to get air back into his lungs while he sits up.

“!  Who’s stupid enough to climb such a high tree?” Glaring down at the unknown girl lying unconscious on his side.  He can’t see her face, for it was covered by her hair. Brushing the hair aside, a devilish smirk appears on his face as he stares at her face.

-oOo-

“Uuunnghh…” Dara brings a hand to her aching head as she stirs.  Her eyes open up and see the clear sky.  She braces her hand against the ground, to sit upright.

“Good you’re awake” A male voice says.  Dara turns her head to the side and sees someone seated beside her, leaning against the tree. Half of the guy’s face is covered by a blue cap.  Yet there’s something awfully familiar with his lips.

“Who are you?”

His lips make a lopsided smile as the cap is removed revealing a pair of mischievous eyes. “I’m the one who saved you.”

 Dara could only gasp as she stares into the eyes of their school’s most notorious student in their school.    “Kwon jiyong” She feel she’s starting to sweat more than she did earlier.

“You’re heavier than you look”

“I am not!”

Seeing her pout, Jiyong starts to chuckle “Why were up the tree? Ah! Let me guess, you’re trying the school legend eh?”

“It’s none of your business” Although she’s annoyed at him, years of good manners drilled won. “Thank you for saving me.”

Standing up, she bows at him before she took a step forward.

“I can do better than the legend” He calls out.

Against her better judgment, Dara stopped walking and turns back, a curious expression on her face.

“I’ll be your go-between for Min Ho”

“Kyaaahhh! Not too loud! ” Dara runs back, kneeling at his side to cover his mouth, a horrified look replaces her previous expression “How did you know?”

Jiyong removes her hand “You’re too easy to figure out.  Besides, I always catch you ogling my friend”

“I am not ogling your friend!” Dara’s face turn red, but she tried to act indignant

“You were staring at him during lunch period”

“Fine! But I don’t ogle him much”

Jiyong raises a brow at Dara.

“Not always” with a seething stare as Jiyong’s brow raises another notch, she reluictantly mutters “I don’t ogle when I can’t see him. Is that enough?”

“So what do you say?”

“What’s in it for you? You’re not someone a person can easily trust” Dara’s eyes widen the moment she blurted out the words “I mean, you’re no angel, you know”

Crap! Did my brain fell off when I did?

Jiyong leans away from the tree.  By instinct, Dara closed her eyes as she waits for her punishment.  She was surprised to hear him laughing instead.  Opening one of her eyes to take a peek, she sees him shaking his head as he looks at her.

“You;’re really a novelty” He says after his laughter died down.

“Eh?”

“But you’re right to think that way.  I do want something in return”

Her heart began to pound hard against her chest.  And it seems like all the logic left in her flew out of the window she asks “What?”

“I’ll act as your go-between”Leaning closer to her, their faces almost touching “If you’ll let me use your body” Jiyong’s hand reaches upward to cup her cheek.

“Sure” Dara answers unconsciously, too excited to hear again about the idea that she can be close to Min Ho.

It took two minutes before her befuddled brain is able to process the second half of Jiyong’s statement.  

“You want my what?!?” Her arms automatically crossing over her chest as if to protect herself

“Your body” Jiyong sneers and with a wink says “You already agreed, there’s no turning back.”

Dara stares at Jiyong, who now appears to have sprouted horns on his head, holding a trident and letting out a wicked laughter. Because that's how it really is. She just made a deal with the devil..

___________

been having some issues with my demented brain....

that's why I couldn't post the updates for TMK & REBOUND....mianhe

anyways, this popped into my head this morning...hope this rids of my problem

and I always wanted to try a High School scenario...LOL

will post second half this week....i'm now back in RL....