A/N: I must have grown this habit for updating while everyone is already sleeping. Regardless, an update is an update. But seriously guise, wouldn't it be amazing if I could, like, finally reach 100 subscribers by my next update :O it would be pretty awesome huh? Also, feel free to add me as a friend or simply just make an effort to chat with me! I want a best friend on AFF, or something like that. I'm getting lonely on here, lol :( I hope all of you enjoy this chapter :)

And for what felt like the first time, it was genuine.

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Key's POV:

I had received a pretty good scolding from Professor Chung for arriving into science-lab half-way throughout the period.

She practically chewed me out for an answer, demanding a countless number of explanations, insisting that each of my excuses had no backbone to it and that I just come clean and fess up. Afterwards, I had grown weary of trying to cover for myself, so I stated that I had simply skipped out on class, and there were no further reasons than that. That finally got her to pry off my back, although she kept shooting looks of condemnation at me throughout the rest of the period.

Having science-lab being forth period, and in addition arriving into class when it was half-way through, lunch soon rolled around the corner. As soon as the class was dismissed, I shot out of my seat and stealthily hopped over the numerous amount of outstreched legs (and there was no doubt in my mind that they were all an attempt to trip me and make me fall over) as if it were all routine for me, and sadly it had become just that. A routine, that is.

Before Professor Chung could call me out to stay after class awhile as a punishment for my tardiness, I hastily zoomed out the door, flashing her an innocent smile as I sped past her.

As I entered the lunchroom, I lazily hobbled over to my designated table all the way near the back of the room. Secluded from nearly everyone, just the way I preferred it to be. I had barely begun digging through my messenger bag in search of my acclaimed bento box, when Taemin happily bounded over to our shared table.

He was balancing a tray stacked with all sorts of goodies which seemed too heavy for his slim, fragile arms to carry. Nonetheless, he plopped down beside me and released his tray onto the table with a loud thunk. Several dishes on his tray rattled upon the sudden impact, earning obnoxious, clankering sounds. Several heads turned to face the source of the noise, and numerous pairs of eyes set on Taemin, glaring at him in disapproval.

Overcome with a flush of embarrassment, I flashed a cheesy, nervous grin at the students and waved a hand dismissively as if to say "Nothing to see here, got it all under control." The students rolled their eyes and continued on with their mindless chatter among their exclusive groups of friends. Taemin had remained oblivious the entire time.

I sighed in relief then turned to glare at Taemin, ready to scold him. However, as I turned to face him, I noticed that he was bouncing up and down uncontrollably in his seat, grinning toothily. I forgot about being upset with him and I placed my hands firmly on his shoulders to cease his jitteriness.

"Taemin, what's wrong? Do you have to pee?" I asked, my voice hinting concern. Taemin shook his head furiously and grinned wider, the corner of his lips nearly meeting his eyes.

"Guess what, hyung!" he exlaimed clamorously, nearly screaming in my face. I threw my head back in surprise, and blinked a couple of times. After a couple seconds, I grinned at Taemin sheepishly.

"What, Taeminnie?" I asked slowly and cautiously.

"No, you have to guess," he chirruped, still bouncing in his seat. I chuckled at his stubborness, which I discovered to be cute. It seems that everything Taemin did was cute. I shook my head.

"Come on, just tell me," I insisted

"Nope, hyung. You have to guess. Guess, guess, guess!" I furrowed my brows in confusion.

Taemin could have been referring to a million things. Guessing would be pointless, I scrutinzed. He was bound to tell me eventually, either way. I shrugged.

"Forget it. You don't have to tell me," I said nonchalantly, removing the lid off my bento. I was dying with curiousity, of course. This was all just a tactic to get him to say whatever was on his mind without playing around. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Taemin pout in frustration.

"Fine! I'll tell you," he whined in defeat. I grinned victoriously, but quickly hid it and turned to face him with an amused expression.

"So what are you so excited about?" I pressed. Taemin's wide, toothy grin returned, but he had finally ceased the bouncing.

"There's going to be a dance, hyung!" he chirped excitedly. "Aren't you excited?" He was beaming up at me and his eyes glimmered with anticipation. He was probably expecting to earn a more enthusiastic reaction, but I simply stared at him blankly for a few seconds before turning back to my meal. He gawked at me as I ate silently.

"Hyung! Didn't you just hear me?" I gulped down hard on my food then I turned to look at him.

"Sorry Taemin, but dances just aren't my thing," I replied plainly before turning back to eat.

"B-b-but, hyung!" Taemin sputtered, clearly sounding distressed. "We have to go together!"

"Nope," I responded curtly, now suddenly becoming engrossed with my food. I didn't want to pursue the topic any further, but Taemin seemed to disagree with me.

"Why not?" I heard him ask stubbornly in a small voice which was barely audible. I sighed and put down my chopsticks. I tore my attention away from my lunch and looked him firmly in the eyes.

"They're stupid and overrated. There really is no point in going unless you've got a date, which we both clearly do not have. As if I have any chance on getting a date, anyway. No matter how old you are, how rich you are, or whatever, they . Anytime, anyplace. And I refuse to set myself up for further humiliation. I just absolutely hate school dances. I'm sorry, Taemin," I asserted with an ounce of finality. I sounded a lot harsher than I had meant to, but those were my true feelings about school dances.

Taemin's face slowly contorted into an expression of immense dejection and embarrassment, and his soft, dark orbs, shining with excitement just a minute ago, were now b with miniscule, pearlescent tears.

"Okay, hyung," he said softly, sniffling. "I was just hoping we could go together. You know, as friends. I thought it would be fun for us, but...." he peered up at me with the most adorable pair of puppy-eyes I had ever seen in my entire life. I felt myself go weak in the knees at his cuteness. Like seriously, they began to wobble uncontrollably. I could already feel myself slowly surrendering to his aegyo. "...but...you don't want to go with me!"

I gasped, horrified at the sight of his crumpling form, as he balled his fists and brought them to his face, silently sobbing into his knuckles. I dragged my chair to be closer to his side, wrapping my arms around his skinny form, patting his back soothingly. 

"Araso, araso! I'll go with you, neh? We'll have lots of fun, isn't that right? Aigo, Taeminnie. Please don't cry!" I continued to throw out several words of comfort to soothe the boy in an attempt to cease his sobbing.. Taemin buried his face into my shoulder.

"Thank you so much, Key hyung!" he squeaked into my shoulder, his voice sounding muffled. I his hair lovingly.

"Of course! Anything for my little baby!" I cooed, feeling completely worn out by Taemin's sudden outburst. I seriously felt like a mother, trying to calm him down like that. Little did I know, however, a devious grin bearing much satisfaction crept onto Taemin's lips. I was oblivious that his relentless sobbing did not earn fresh, wet streams of tears to flow delicately down his face. His cheeks were completely dry, as well as my shoulder. I had failed to notice, being too distracted.

And the dongsaeng wins again! Aigo, Key hyung is too easy, he thought triumphantly, as he continued to "sob" into my shoulder.

After a couple of minutes, Taemin finally pulled himself together, returning to his bright and cheery mood. He continued to chatter happily as if nothing had happened. 

Geez, this boy changes his mood too easily, I thought with a sigh as I half-heartedly listened to him drone on and on about banana milk and chocopies.

My thoughts were interrupted as a pair of strong, muscular arms s their way around my waist, and I felt an angled chin rest onto my shoulder.

"How's my yeobo doing?" a familiar voice whispered coyly into my hear, sending voluptuous shivers crawling down my spine. I shrieked, and on impulse I drew a hand and thwacked the culprit in the side of the head. He groaned as he pried his arms off from my waist, taking a couple steps back.

"Damnit, Key! Is that a way to treat your friend?" Jonghyun whined, rubbing his now sore cheek. I spun around in my seat and faced Jonghyun, my eyes ablaze with fury.

"Yah! Who said I was your friend? And you can't just go up to someone like that and whisper in their ear! Seriously, do you want to give me a heart attack? Aish, you dinohead pabo!" I screeched. Jonghyun smirked, and his hand, once rubbing his cheek, dropped to his side. Then he turned to Taemin. Taemin gazed up at Jonghyun skeptically and gulped.

"S-sunbae?" he asked uncertainly. Suddenly, Jonghyun strode over to Taemin and knelt down beside him, his hand gripping Taemin's shoulder gently.

"Would you please excuse us for one moment?" he asked, smiling kindly at Taemin. Wait a minute, kindly? And was he actually politely asking Taemin to leave? I suddenly felt uneasy at Jonghyun's sudden change in personality. He was being out of character. I sensed an oddity that hung in the air, so I decided to speak up before things got strange.

"Hold it, Taemin. You aren't going anywhere. What are you up to, Kim Jonghyun?" I badgered, searing with suspicion and irritation.

"Excuse me," Onew spoke suddenly, smiling. I barely noticed him. Taemin seemed to be oblivious to Onew's presence as well, and turned his attention towards the older boy. Minho stepped out from behind Onew, looking completely bored. I noticed that Taemin eyeing Minho. Minho's eyes flickered quickly to Taemin's face, then down towards the floor. Taemin's breathing hitched and he turned a light shade of pink before looking down at his lap.

Onew cleared his throat. All eyes turned toward him again. "Taemin, why don't you come with us?" Onew suggested, hinting a bit of force in his voice. Taemin gulped and looked up at me with pleading eyes.

"It's okay, Taemin," I said reassuringly, nodding encouragingly. After all, we both knew that Onew was a kind-hearted guy who wouldn't hurt a fly even if he was ordered to. Okay, maybe he would, but whatever. Taemin smiled at Onew then glanced over at Minho nervously. Minho seemed to return his gaze back to Taemin. Taemin squeaked then quickly got up from his seat, hastily binding himself to Onew's side.

"Where are we going, hyung?" Taemin asked uneasily. Onew draped an arm around Taemin's shoulder in a buddy-like manner.

"Taemin-ah, did you know that there's a secret game room at this school?" he whispered into Taemin's ear, but audible enough for me to hear. Taemin's eyes lit up in anticipation.

"A game room? Let's go, hyung!" Taemin chirped excitedly.

Onew gave a hearty laugh, dragging him away from our table. He turned his head and winked at Jonghyun and me before heading off, a dazed Minho trailing silently after them. I watched them as they safely exited the lunchroom before turning to Jonghyun, my arms crossed over my chest.

"What do you want?" I inquired, not bothering to beat around the bush. I raised an eyebrow expectantly, but Jonghyun continued to smirk at me. Suddenly, I felt his eyes trail up and down my body, greedily taking in the sight of me. His eyes were brimmed with what seemed like longing, but that must have been my imagination.

His gaze made it seem as if he were mentally unclothing me, which caused me to feel perplexed and uncomfortable. The seductive way he his lips weren't helping either. My breathing hitched as I felt something twitch in my lower abdomen.

No, there was no possibly I was feeling that way simply because of the way Jonghyun looked at me. I instinctively placed a hand over what seemed like a growing to conceal it and hastily drew my other hand and snapped my fingers in his face.

"Yah! Answer me, you dinohead pabo!" I demanded, my face burning red with embarrassment. Jonghyun snapped out of his daze and plastered on that stupid cocky smirk of his once again.

"Sorry, yeobo. You distracted me," he said coyly. I scoffed in disgust.

"The hell with the yeobo crap. Get to the point," I muttered impatiently, now using both hands to cover the developing bulge.

"There's going to be a dance, Key," Jonghyun said. I rolled my eyes.

"I know that. So what?"

"I'm going to be the host."

"Congratulations," I muttered sarcastically.

"The host needs a date," he asserted, his tone suddenly becoming serious. I glanced at him nervously, but quickly wore a hard-edged expression.

"You don't need to rub it in my face that you can easily get a girl, Jonghyun," I retorted, feeling exasperated. What was he getting at?

"I know," he said haughtily, waggling his eyebrows at me. I nearly smacked him for being so repulsively arrogant. "However, that isn't my point." I eyed him suspiciously.

"So what does this have to do with me?" I asked cautiously. He chuckled his low, playful chuckle, so similar to the merry sound of chimes clinking delicately against each other. I so very much wanted the sound of his gentle laughter to replay over and over in my head.

"Isn't it obvious, Key?" he proclaimed. A sly smile crept upon his lips. Those perfectly soft, plump, pink lips of his. I shook my head in response, dazed by his beauty. Why hadn't I seen it before? Sure, he was good-looking. Hell, he was hot. But there was no doubt in my mind that Kim Jonghyun was absolutely beautiful.

What was about to occur next was unexpected and unaccounted for. I hadn't anticipated that Jonghyun would reside from his seat beside me, only to kneel on a single knee right there in front of me. I wasn't expecting that Jonghyun would and draw his rough, coursed, hands and boldly remove my hands from my lap, grasping onto my fragile, nimble, and more feminine ones.

It had not crossed my mind that he would gaze up at me expectantly like that; his deep, brown captivating orbs boring into mine. The glint in his eyes held an inkling of desire and anticipation . But most of all, never have I ever thought that those words he spoke to me at that moment would flow so easily out of those perfect lips of his.

"Key, will you be my date to the dance?"

A/N: JongKey is in the air! You can practically smell it! I know I made Key sound pretty corny and dramatic toward the end, but I purposely made it that way to indicate the development of his feelings for Jonghyun. I'm pretty content with this chapter, but what do you guys think? I'd love to know :D

In the poll I made in the previous chapter, more than half of you voted that I pursure all three ideas for the fanfics! Wow, you guys are really supportive! Though, I have to admit that it would be nearly impossibly to work on all three. The order of when I will start on the new fics will be based on what got more votes (#3, #2, then #1). If you have any objections or suggestions or just a comment in general, please let me know. Thanks!