A/N: Oh, my lord. Guise, I am TERRIBLY sorry for the inconvenience. This is the real update, I pinky swear! I cannot thank you all enough for being so patient with me. In return, this is going to be a pretty lengthy update. The dance scene isn't in this chapter because I'm evil. LOL, no. There's just a lot that leads up to that point in the story. The dance scene will be in the next chapter, I promise. However, I must say that there is a particular scene in this chapter (well, a couple actually) that I enjoy.

Darn these conflicted feelings of mine, I thought begrudgingly.

---

Third-person POV:

It had been a little over two hours since Taemin left Key's humble abode.

Key was now perched on his swivel chair — the one which Taemin had taken a strange liking to. He was settled at his desk, trying to complete some homework before 8PM so he would have enough leisure time to do whatever he felt like.

His studious stupor was rudely interrupted as his cellphone buzzed obnoxiously, vibrating somewhat violently against the wooden desktop. Key gritted his teeth, glaring at his cellphone begrudgingly. Who would even have the thought of interrupting Key's valuabe time of study? Key sighed, unwillingly thinning the attention he had for his studies. He quickly snatched up the cellphone, staring at the words blinking back at him from the brightly-lit screen.

1 New Text Message From: Lee Taemin (my precious son <3)

Key's brows furrowed into a tight knot. Did Key not just see the boy no more than two hours ago? What could Taemin possibly have needed from the elder boy? Taemin was well aware of how serious Key was about his studies, thus the reason why they hardly ever texted each other, excluding the weekends. Key pressed a button, opening the contents of the new text.

Annyeong Key umma~! Long time no talk right? Keke ^^

Key sighed, but nonetheless, felt the corners of his lips twitch up into a grin. Although a bit disruptive at times, Taemin was just too adorable for words. A part of Key's irritation dissolved as he hastily typed in a respons.

Aigo Taeminnie...we just saw each other. I'm doing hw right now so this better be important -_-;;

And...sent. Satisfied, Key set down his phone, returning to his neglected calculus homework. However, nearly as soon as he had abondoned his phone, it buzzed violently once again. Key stared at the phone in shock, wondering how on earth Taemin could have replied with such haste. He was probably doing absolutely nothing at the moment. Key reached over for his phone, opening the new text.

Wow hyung. Y so serious? Heh~ anyway, it is important. It's about...er...someone...

Key pursed his lips in concentration as he typed in a reply. 

Someone, eh? Aigo, is my little Taeminnie in love~? lol jk...ur too young for that. What's the problem?

Key didn't bother to set his phone down because about thirty seconds later, he received another new text message from Taemin.

Well...there's no problem exactly...and yet there are so many. There's someone I want to be closer to but I cant help feeling so nervous >< when i try to talk to tht person he doesnt seem interested in what i say. But sometimes i catch him looking at me. It's really strange...I dont know what I ever did wrong. He acts so...cold :/

Key's face contorted into a mixture of amusement and concern. He had his suspicions on who Taemin was referring to, and he was confident that his suspicions would soon be confirmed. He was, after all, a pretty observant person. He hardly let things go by unnoticed. He typed in a somewhat lengthy response, praying that it would distract Taemin long enough for Key to complete a few of his math problems.

Taemin stared at Key's response, utter shock strewn across the porcelain feautures of his face. How in the world had Key known who he was referring to? Well, as they say, you cannot keep anything from your mother, for mothers knew all. And Key was a very motherly figure to Taemin, to say in the least. Taemin kept staring at the bold, black text blaring out from the screen of his cellphone.

Taeminnie..i think i have a good idea who that someone is. Read this carefully, araso? Whoever this person is...it's most likely that he just isnt used to opening up to people. I think it's a little overwhelming for him to have someone other than his immediate circle of friends try to be a part of his life. Ur a good person & soon he will see tht. Be persistant always! Whatever happens...do not give up on Minho. He is just confused about his feelings just as u r now. Dont feel discouraged. Taeminnie hwaiting~! ^^

Taemin sniffed. His hyung had known all along about Taemin's wavering feelings. Well, part of his feelings at least. He doubted his hyung knew the other part of Taemin's feelings that had once contributed to his conflicts. At least, he hoped that was the case.

Those feelings Taemin had once thought he had felt for Key were soon thinning into nothing but vapor, only lightly clouding his thoughts, causing him to go into a frenzy of anguish over what his true feelings were. Even then, the vapor was beginning to clear. At that moment, Taemin was now fully aware that the only affection he had for Key was only a very close, brotherly affection, how a donsaeng loved and appreciated his hyung, even a mother-and-son type of love.

He was certainly not in love with Key, not in the slightest. Taemin felt his nose scrunch up in distaste at the thought of being in love with his hyung. It wasn't that Key was a bad guy, of course. It's just that now it was clear that it would ahve been absurd, and feel somewhat like.... The thought almost made Taemin shudder. Taemin was not just a naïve little boy, either. As much as Key believed that little Taemin was oblivious to the world surrounding him, Taemin also had his moments of insight. It was obvious to Taemin that Jonghyun had feelings for Key, and Key had feelings for Jonghyun, as much as neither wanted to admit it.

Taemin sighed, wodnering why it was just so difficult for a person to accept their own feelings when it was clearly strewn across their heart, plain as day. However, people tried too hard to conceal their feelings, tried too hard to cover up the painful obviousness that was mentally etched onto them. Taemin had already admitted his own feelings for Minho to himself. All that was left to worry about is what Minho really thought of Taemin, and how he would react to Taemin's feelings.

Self-admitance was one thing, admitting it to another was a completely different ordeal. Taemin wasn't quite ready for that step yet. It would simply overwhelm Minho, considering he and Taemin were far from entitling each other as "simple friends". In fact, Minho may not even acknowledge Taemin's existance. That thought caused Taemin to go into a fit of depression that lasted about a half hour.

Alone in his room, Taemin pondered over his hyung's words of wisdom, letting them slowly sink into his brain, thus the reason why he never responded to Key's helpful advice. On the other hand, there was the whole dance fiasco to worry about. It was scheduled to take place on Saturday of next week. Today was Thursday, which meant a mere nine days until the day of the dance. Suddently, a brilliant idea flashed across Taemin's mind.

During those nine days leading up to the dance, Taemin was determined to accomplish three things. One, he would persuade Key into going to the dance. Two, he would pursuade Key into accepting to be Jonghyun's date. And most importantly, although Taemin was still uncertain of how, he would, without fail, get Minho to be his date.

The rest of the night had seemed to pass by very sluggishly. Soon enough, the coming Friday became the day.

Taemin groaned inwardly as he stared intently at the clock, willing the hands to go faster. Only a few more minutes until lunch. Taemin had the entire lunch period to convince Key to go to the dance. Even if lunch alone was not enough time, Taemin could always try over the weekend via cellular device. He would even follow Key home if he had to.

To Taemin's relief, the dismissal bell chirruped clamorously overhead, signaling the start of the lunch period. Taemin shout out of his seat eagerly. In his sudden haste, he accidentally bumped into his fellow classmate, whose name he knew was Minzy.

"Mianhe, Minzy!" Taemin quickly blurted, rushing past. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that her face was flushed a rosy pink. He heard the faint voice of the latter call out after him.

"W-wait, Taemin! There's something I-" she called out. Taemin frowned, but continued to head towards the cafeteria. He'd catch up with her another day to apologize for his abruptness. When he entered the lunchroom, he immediately spotted Key's deep plum colored fringe. He hurriedly barreled through the throng of hungry students.

"Hiya, umma!" Taemin greeted Key happily, plopping into the seat beside his hyung. Key looked up from his lunch, surprised to discover Taemin nuzzling his mushroom-y head into his neck. Key nearly choked on his food when Taemin suddenly grasped Key's feminine hand into his own, fragile one, clutching it lovingly.

"Uh, Taemin, what are you doing?" Key asked quizzically, gently prying Taemin off of his body. Taemin giggled cutely, scooching his seat away so the two were at a more comfortable distance.

"Are you not comfortable, hyung?" Taemin asked meekly. Key snorted, ruffling Taemin's hair.

"I'm just not into skinship," he responded, returning to his meal.

"With anyone other than Jonghyun sunbae, right?" Taemin blurted. This time, Taemin's blunt statement caused Key to sputter out his food. He also managed to choke on it in the process. Key coughed violently as Taemin gently began patting his hyung on the back. Once Key overcame his fit, he glared at Taemin.

"What the hell, Lee Taemin?" Key growled, clearly irritated. But that only caused Taemin to grin widely. Little reactions such as this were obvious signs of how much an affect Jonghyun had on Key, thus confirming Taemin's suspicions. Key definitely felt something for Jonghyun.

"You know I'm only kidding, umma. Gosh, I didn't expect you to freak out like that," Taemin insisted innocently. "So, are you going to the dance, umma?" Taemin continued, not wanting to beat around the bush. Key's shoulders rose then fell in a shrug.

"I..." Key began, staring down at the table. Taemin looked at Key expectantly. "I mean, I guess it would be fun. There's no harm in going, right?" Taemin nodded encouragingly in response.

"We don't even need dates, hyung. We can just go together as friends! No one would think it's strange."

"Araso, I'll think about it," Key said with a sigh. Taemin cheered silently to himself. He was sure that Key had already agreed, he just wanted to ponder over a couple of things. "But, Taemin, isn't there someone you want to ask?" Key's sudden question surprised Taemin, leaving him silent. He suddenly remembered the conversation he had with Key via text the prior night. Taemin sighed, looking quite solemn for a moment. However, he quickly put on a grin, shaking his head in assurance.

"It's alright, hyung. As long as we can go together, it will be fun, neh?" Key glanced at Taemin skeptically, the contours of his face strewn with concern, but he nodded in response, returning a reassuring smile. Relief swept over Taemin for two reasons. One, Key did not seem to want to pursue the topic of Minho any furthur. And two, Taemin had managed to convince Key to go to the dance. It was surprisingly easier than he had thought.

With eight days left, Taemin now only had two things left to worry about.

Never in Taemin's life had he been so eager for the weekend to pass. He had spotted no signs of Jonghyun last Friday. On that same Friday, at lunch, whenever Taemin so much as brought up Jonghyun's name, Key would immediately search for a new topic to pursue. There was no way Taemin was able to incorporate Jonghyun into their conversations. He was more than determined to get his two pabo hyungs to converse that very Monday. Taemin only had six more days left!

All week, Taemin had desperately tried to get Key to talk to Jonghyun, even if just once, but to no avail. It seemed as if Key had somehow gotten specialized sensors installed so that he picked up any sign of Jonghyun's presence. As soon as he even caught so much as a faraway glimpse of Jonghyun's bleached, auburn fringe, Key would make up some unbelievable, petty excuse and cowardly dash away, leaiving Taemin to sulk silently to himself at his utter fail. Taemin felt that he couldn't even bring himself to pursue any of the tactics he had planned out for him and Minho without helping his Key umma first.

It was already Thursday. Two more days. If he couldn't even get Key to agree to be Jonghyun's date, even with both of them already bearing unspoken, yet clear, feelings for one another (the two were just way too stubborn to admit it), what hope did he have in gaining anything from Minho? The way Taemin saw it, he'd have to act fast, otherwise Key might end up not going to the dance at all. The dance could be the turning point for both of their lives, possibly even Jonghyun's and Minho's as well.

When the bell rang, marking the beginning of lunch, Taemin quickly hopped out of his seat, making a beeline for the door. Just as he had emerged into the hallway, he was stopped when a hand grasped firmly onto his elbow, turning him around to face the bearer of the hand. It was Minzy. She wore a serious expression, but her cheeks were tainted with a noticeable red blush. Taemin groaned inwardy to himself, but not audible enough to let her hear.

He had forgotten about how he had ignored her last Friday. Whatever she wanted, Taemin had no clue. He supposed he would find out soon enough, though. Minzy cleared audibly, causing Taemin to snap back to attention. He put on the cheesiest grin he could muster, hiding his irritation. He really had no time for this.

"Err...hey, Minzy," he managed to say through gritted teeth.

"Taemin, there's something I need to ask you," Minzy asserted boldly, her voice surging with confidence. Taemin looked down at her wearily.

"Will you be my date to the dance?" Minzy half asked, half squeaked. Taemin's eyes widened in surprise. He had not expected this. Someone was fancying him? Feeling awkward, Taemin did not answer right away. Instead he let his eyes dart around for any sign of something that would aide him to escape Minzy's question. Immediately, out of the corner of his eye, a few yards away from where he and Minzy stood, he caught sight of Jonghyun, Onew, and...Minho.

As Taemin's soft, dark orbs connected with Minho's deep, captivating ones, he felt all thoughts slip from his mind. He was no longer standing in front of an eagerly awaiting Minzy. Everyone had simply vanished. Time and place did not exist. At that moment, it felt as if only he and Minho were there, both physically and mentally.

In Taemin's trance, he caught a foreign emotion engraved onto Minho's strong gaze. Was it...pain? Betrayal? He sensed bitterness as well, but the type of bitterness that emitted from Minho's eyes was different than the usual coldness that was evident. It was something much more brutal.

Taemin felt his own breathing cease completely as he held eye-contact with Minho for a few more seconds, but it felt like years before Minho finally tore his eyes away from the younger boy's. Without a word, he quietly slipped away from Jonghyun and Onew and sauntered off to who knows where.

Taemin felt that his throat had gone dry. Guilt overwhelmed him. Had Minho overheard Minzy's question? Is that why he had suddenly left? But why would it have mattered? Was Minho planning on asking Taemin after all? A plethora of questions Taemin knew would remain unanswered for some time coursed through his mind, making him feel weary.

Taemin snapped back to attention, letting reality sink in. He suppressed the urge to glare defiantly at Minzy. Instead, he answered her with six simple words.

"I'm sorry, but I'm not interested." He turned away, not waiting for Minzy's reaction, and sauntered off sluggishly towards the cafeteria. Jonghyun must have noticed Taemin, because he heard the older boy call out his name, trying to get his attention.

"Taemin!" Taemin ignored Jonghyun and continued on his way. He heard footsteps pounding behind him, then suddenly a hand reached out to grasp firmly onto his shoulder, stopping his pace. "Taemin, have you seen Key?" Jonghyun asked. Taemin shook his head, shrugging off Jonghyun's hand. Jonghyun grunted in annoyance, but then his expression perked up. "You always eat lunch with him, right?" Taemin nodded weakly in response. "Alright, lead the way." Taemin glanced at Jonghyun wearily.

"Uh, excuse me?" he inquired, not bothering to hide the annoyance in his voice. Jonghyun failed to notice.

"I need to talk to Key about...some stuff. You see him everyday, right? So let me just follow you." Taemin let Jonghyun's logic process, then he shrugged.

"Whatever. Sure," he said softly. Onew frowned, instantly picking up the negative energy emitting from the younger boy, while Jonghyun remained painfully oblivious.

"Taemin-ah, is there something wrong?" the older boy asked, furrowing his eyebrows in concern. Taemin shook his head mutely and continued walking along the crowded corridor, Jonghyun and Onew trailing after him. Taemin gritted his teeth, feeling immensely irritated as a flock of lovestruck girls seemed to pop up everywhere, gushing over Jonghyun and Onew. He stomped his way around a throng of girls, about seven or eight of them, who were pathetically bawling their eyes out at the mere sight of the two school idols.

Ugh...how disgusting, Taemin thought, scrunching up his nose in distaste. It took twice the amount of time than it usually would have to finally reach the school's lunch pavilion.

"Wait a second," Jonghyun said when they reached the entrance. "Has anyone seen Minho?" Taemin felt his heart stop at the mention of his name, but he felt somewhat relieved that Jonghyun wasn't a complete oblivious idiot and that he had noticed something obvious. Onew's eyes began darting around, searching for the tall boy.

"I thought he was following us," Onew muttered, frowning. Jonghyun shrugged then waltzed right in to the cafeteria. He and Onew had the dignity to hang their heads so no one would recognize them this time, much to Taemin's relief. That would only cause an unneeded and unwanted uproar.

"I don't see him," Jonghyun hissed impatiently in Taemin's ear. Taemin rolled his eyes.

"Maybe it's because your head's down," he retorted. Onew chuckled at Taemin's remark, earning a glare from Jonghyun and a furtive grin from Taemin. He enjoyed making his hyung laugh. Taemin finally spotted Key, sitting alone at a desolate table, as usual. A sudden rush of happiness surged through Taemin, and he quickly skipped over to Key. Jonghyun and Onew struggled to keep up with the younger boy.

"Hiya, umma!" Taemin chirped, plopping right onto Key's lap. Key threw his head up in surprise, not quite expecting his dongsaeng to appear so suddenly. Out of the corner of his eye, Taemin caught Jonghyun glaring at the two's suggestive position, and he was clenching his jaw in...jealousy, perhaps? This caused Taemin to giggle out loud in a mocking manner. Key smiled, not quite sure why Taemin was so giddy all of a sudden, but it made him happy, just the same. Taemin stuck his tongue out playfully at Jonghyun, much to Key's amusement. He gradually began to turn around, curious of the victim to Taemin's "mehrong".

"Taemin, who are you-" Key cut off his own sentence as he laid eyes on Jonghyun. All the color drained from his already pale face. "Y-yah...dinohead pabo...w-what are you doing here?" Key stammered unintelligently. Jonghyun's glare instantly melted into a cheeky grin.

"Annyeong, yeobo~ I missed you!" Jonghyun exclaimed blithely, abruptly shoving Taemin off of Key's lap. Adding to Key's utter shock, Jonghyun brashly slipped himself onto the latter's lap, audaciously wrapping two muscular arms securely around Key's neck. Jonghyun took the opportunity to stick his tongue out at Taemin, earning a dissatisfied pout from the dongsaeng. Jonghyun returned his attention to Key. All Key could do was stare at Jonghyun mutely, his eyes widened to the size of frisbees, his eyes glazed with shock and confusion.

Without warning, Jonghyun drew his forefinger and slowly, yet sensually, caressed Key's face from his temple down to his chin. Then, Jonghyun drew out his thumb and used the two fingers to gently tilt Key's face towards his own. He leaned his head in painfully slow.

"I missed you, yeobo. Why have you been avoiding me?" Jonghyun whispered coyly into Key's ear, earning violent shudders from the latter. Then, completely uncalled for, Jonghyun gently flicked Key's earlobe with his protruding tongue. All senses seemed to return to Key. The color of his cheeks was gradually increasing to darker shades of red. His cheeks started to puff out. The fine features of his face contorted into a flurry of detestation, animosity, and embarrassment. With a sudden movement, he roughly shoved Jonghyun off of his lap, causing the latter to plummet towards the hard, marble floor.

"YAH! GET THE HELL OFF ME, YOU PUNK! WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM? SERIOUSLY! WHAT THE F...!" Key screeched with ferocity, the veins popping out of his neck and temple, his face flushed a deep, scarlet red. Onew was absolutely guffawing at the sight of the two, his hands clutching tightly onto his sides as if he could instantly die of laughter at any second. Despite the fact that he had been forcefully pushed off of Key's lap, Jonghyun couldn't help grinning ever-so-smugly up at Key. He winked suggestively, causing Key to blush even more furiously, if that was humanly possible.

Taemin found that he really wasn't amused by the situation at all, considering that he was drowning himself in self-inflicted misery. The more he thought about what had happened with Minzy, the more the guilt gnawed his insides out. He was most likely just over-analyzing things, which he had a tendency of doing at times. But every time he remembered the way Minho had looked at him with such cold, forlorn eyes, it only caused him to sink even deeper into his dismal mood.

Taemin sighed, heaving himself off of the marble floor. He managed to slip away unnoticed, and hastily began heading towards the exit of the lunchroom, leaving behind an infuriated and stammering Key, an arrogant and proud Jonghyun, and a howling Onew. Relief swept over Taemin as he entered the abandoned corridor. Being in a room full of a lot of noisy people felt all too suffocating. He needed a quiet place to ponder over his feelings. One place in particular would meet Taemin's needs: the game room. Without a second thought, Taemin set off for the secret, sacred place.

He had a little trouble recalling the exact location, but he soon found it in a matter of minutes. Taemin eagerly strode inside, only to be surprised with who he saw. There Minho was again, perched atop of a bar stool, sitting silently all by himself. He looked so absorbed in his own thoughts. The room itself could have been drowning in flames and he wouldn't have noticed. Taemin felt himself draw a sharp intake of breath, and his heart seemed to have stopped beating entirely. Minho looked up to see the intruder of the room, and when his eyes set on Taemin, they seemed to be permanently anchored there.

"H-hyung, I..." Taemin started, his voice faltering. Minho continued to stare intently at Taemin. His eyes were glazed over with absolutely no emotion. They were, yet again, unfeeling. Indifferent.

"What are you doing here?" Minho snapped in annoyance. His voice was sounding as cold as ever.

"Jonghyun sunbae and Key hyung were too loud. So...I...I thought I'd come here," Taemin spoke softly. In a sudden movement, Minho stood up from his seated position on the stool and quickly strode over to Taemin. Taemin stood there, frozen, as Minho approached boldly. Much to his surprise, Minho drew both his hands and gripped firmly onto Taemin's shoulders, and began shaking him slightly as he spoke.

"What do you think you're doing here? Just because you came here once, you think you can just walk in whenever you feel like it? This isn't a place for you to play around. Get out, now. Leave." And with that, Minho gently shoved Taemin back, then made his way over to a nearby couch to sit.

Taemin was stunned at the sudden roughness and harshness of Minho's actions. However, he did not make an effort to leave. In fact, his feet were still planted firmly on the ground. Surging with a sudden confidence, he strode over to Minho, seating himself boldly right  beside the taller boy. Minho looked up in surprise.

"Didn't I tell you to leave?" Minho muttered in annoyance. Taemin's soft, dark orbs bored right into Minho's much larger ones. Minho did not utter another word, but instead stared right back at Taemin with as much force. There was a strange feeling of serenity as they continued to lock eyes with one another. It felt right, peaceful. Breaking out of his trance, Taemin took a sharp intake of breath before speaking. Time was wearing thin. It was now or never.

"I really like you," Taemin blurted, his face instantly flushing a deep, cherry red. Suddeny, he felt his eyes b with tears. They threatened to spill out at any moment. "I don't know if...if you'll be able to return my feelings," Taemin continued, his voice growing softer and softer. He was bracing himself for the cruel rejection he was expecting. However, he continued to speak on. "But...if the two of us...if we could..."

Taemin's soft plea of confession was cut off when a pair of strong, muscular arms suddenly enveloped him in a warm, loving embrace. The embrace was secure and protective, almost as if parting would cause Taemin to become lost in a foreign abyss. Yet it was tender and caring all the same, as if being too rough would break Taemin's fragile, skinny form. Taemin was not expecting that Minho would respond to Taemin's confessions in such an affectionate way.

The next words that slipped from Minho's perfectly plump, pink lips — the lips Taemin craved to taste — were enough to cease Taemin's breathing entirely, enough to refrain his heart from beating, enough to cause him to melt into an unrealistic world of bliss, a world of bliss so contrasting to the harsh reality of the physical world.

"Taemin," Minho whispered softly, yet seductively into Taemin's ear, causing voluptuous shivers to snake down Taemin's spine. He absolutely loved the way his name sounded when it was said in Minho's deep, soft, seductive, raspy voice. "Please...be my date to the dance."

One sentence, seven words, twenty four letters. All managing to be spoken so softly, so velvety, so smooth, so alluring, and so seductive all at the same time. It wasn't just a statement, it was a plea. There was such a gentle desperation evident in Minho's voice, as if saying no would shatter the boy into a million of unpieceable fragments. At that moment, only one tangible thought seemed to course through Taemin's brain.

I must be in dreamland.

A/N: Before you navigate off of this page, I have one VERY IMPORTANT announcement to make. I've come up with an idea for another story. Keep in mind that I came up with the idea around, like, 3AM. This idea was inspired by one of my favorite novels.

/le fap

/le unf

/le

PLEASE, TO ALL YOU MBLAQ FANS OUT THERE EVEN THOUGH I'M THE ONLY ONE THAT I KNOW DO YOURSELF A FAVOR AND CHECK THIS OUT: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ws3DrGUbzBw

And don't forget to comment and subscribe!