~Flash back: Circa middle school~

Myungsoo’s P.O.V~

                For the past few days I’ve found myself scanning the cafeteria anxiously hoping I’ll catch a glimpse of that cute boy. I’ve concluded that he’s at least one year younger, and I’ve always stuck to dating people my own age (and of the female gender) but damn he was cute. He had pretty brown hair that matched his big, doe eyes and soft, smooth skin. Well, I assume it’s soft.

                Does he even eat in the cafeteria? I scan the crowd, looking over every person at every table.
God, this is frustrating.

                “Hey, who ya’ looking for?” Dongwoo asks, nudging my arm.

                “No one,” I say, continuing to look around.

                “You’re obviously looking for someone,” Dongwoo nags, but I easily ignore him. It’s a skill I picked up after the first few years of our friendship. “Are you looking for that girl you made out with under the bleachers yesterday?”

                “No,” I say harshly. He should know that I don’t give easy girls a second though. What’s the point in chasing someone who wants to be caught? Girls can be fun, but they make it too easy. This is why it could be fun to go after a boy for a change. It wouldn’t have to mean anything; I’m not gay. It’ll just be an experiment.

                Dongwoo stares at me with a pondering look, attempting to read my mind. “Are you looking for that cute boy we saw a few days ago?” I turn and stare at him, dumbfounded, cursing myself for being so easy to read. I roll my eyes at him before turning back to the passing crowd.

                “Maybe,” From the corner of my eye I can see his face light up with amusement. “Just shut up and help me look,” Finding someone in the cafeteria shouldn’t be this hard. I know exactly where everyone sits. My table, here, is where most of the football players and cheerleaders sit. The table right next to us belongs to the soccer team and the one across form us, the lacrosse and swim team. This side of the cafeteria is pretty much dominated by the sports.

                Being on a team creates a special bond among people who may not have even talked in the first place. After I began to play football the other football players became my friends. I had plenty of friends before that but my team mates are the ones who I ended up spending most of my time with. That’s why every team sits together; not to make other people jealous or anything, as some might think.

                The other side of the cafeteria is a bit harder to classify, but it’s not impossible. My cute boy is probably sitting with all the other kids in his grade so I’ll just scan the groups of people in the grades below me. I’ll be bound to spot him eventually.

                “There he is,” I turn to Dongwoo in annoyance. There’s no way he was able to pin point him within a matter of seconds.

                “Where,” I ask, even though I know it’s not going to be him.

                “Right there, sitting with Kim Sunggyu and his friends,” I follow his gaze and when my eyes come across the boy he’s staring at my mouth drops. Why the hell is he sitting with people my age?! If I knew he was popular among the older students this would have been a lot easier.

                “God, dammit,” I mutter, both relieved and frustrated. At least I finally know where he sits now.

                “Are you going to go talk to him?”

                “No,” I can’t just go up and talk to him. What would I say?

                “Then why were you looking for him? You make no sense sometimes,” Dongwoo turns away, no longer interest in my affairs. “Hey, Woohyun,” He stabs the boy across from us with a pencil, “Myungsoo has a boy crush,” He blurts out, laughing.

                “Yah, shut up!” I scold, punching his shoulder angrily. Woohyun smirks.

                “Who”?

                “That cute boy over there, the one with the brown hair,” He points, gaining the attention of several of the people around us. I burry my face in my hands, embarrassed by the idiots I call friends.

                “Ohh, he is cute. Playing for the other team now, Myungsoo?” Woohyun asks, wiggling an eyebrow, sounding interested.

                “No way, dude… It’s just an experiment,” I say, trying not to sound too wrapped up in the matter.

                “So you just want to sleep with him to see what it’s like?”

                “How scandalous,” Dongwoo says stupidly and they both burst out into a fit of laugher. I roll my eyes.

                “I don’t know why I share things with you two,”

                I glance over at the boy every few minutes while subtly eating Dongwoo’s potato chips. He’s just sitting there quietly, watching each of his friends talk. I wonder if he’s shy. A few minutes pass before he stands up to throw someone else’s garbage out. I have to do something to get his attention. As he makes his way back to his table, I sit up straight and begin to stretch my arms out. I let out a loud, obnoxious yawn and a second later his eyes look up and meet mine. I can feel my heart begin to beat faster. Finally.

                Our gazes hold for several seconds longer than normal and I smirk before looking away, pretending to just be glancing around.

                “You’re so stupid,” Both of my friends mutter in unison, trying to suppress their laughter. Dongwoo begins to mock me, throwing his arms in the air and flexing his muscles in a dumb manner. “He probably thinks you’re so cool, Myungsoo,” Dongwoo says sarcastically, but jokingly.

                “Shut up idiots. I couldn’t just throw my arm around a girl or anything. What was I supposed to do? I got him to look at me, didn’t I?” I defend.

                “What an accomplishment,” I punch my best friend’s shoulder for the second time today.

                “Go say hi,” Woohyun urges and I shake my head no. I can’t do that. Kim Myungsoo is not the type of person to just go up to people. People come up to me. Plus, I’m not really friendly with any of the people he’s sitting with. It would be awkward.

                “It’ll be entertaining to see how this whole thing turns out,” Dongwoo sings out, “I hope he completely rejects you. Now that would be funny,”

                “Why am I friends with you?” I ask, slightly irritated. Dongwoo cuddles my arm, resting his head on my shoulder.

                “Because you love me,” I snort obnoxiously. A moment later the bell rings, signaling the end of lunch, and I watch as the boy with the dark brown hair stands and goes to leave the cafeteria with his friends, not giving a second glance in my direction.

***

                “Oppa,” I turn to see one of the cheer captains standing behind me, dressed fully in her cheerleading outfit. I recognize the girl instantly, thinking back to the time I took her out on a movie date in the summer. Her sun-kissed, gorgeous blonde hair falls all the way down to her waist and her model-like legs look amazing in that short mini-skirt.

                “Hey, Nana,” I smile at her, genuinely happy to have her company. I spent most of last year crushing on her.

                “Have you heard about the pep rally?” She asks, her soft voice filled with excitement. This girl is probably one of my closest friends; too classy to date. With a raised eyebrow I shake my head, giving her the cue to continue. “Each grade is going to be called out to the stadium near the end of next clock,” She seems pleased to be able to spread the exciting news.

                “Cool, are the cheerleaders going to perform?” They usually do alongside the marching band.

                “Not this time, it’s all going to be about fun and games. It’s supposed to be a reward for all the students who did well for the first marking period,” I swear this school district just likes to have pep rallies.

                “Are you going to participate in any of the games?” She rolls her eyes playfully.

                “Nah, I’m just going to find my friends and hang out with them,” The bell rings, “Catch ya later,” I watch her walk off before turning to make my way into class.

                “Hey, L. Joe,” I tap the boy sitting in front of me, not bother to listen to Ms. Han go on about the Korean War. The pink haired boy turns to me, appearing more than happy to be pulled from the trance of the boring lecture. “You’re friends with Kim Sunggyu, right?” He nods his head. “Who’s that younger boy he always hangs out with? The one with the brown hair and big eyes,” I get excited just thinking about him.

                “Oh, you’re probably thinking of Lee Sungjong, they’re always together,” Lee Sungjong. That’s a nice name.

                “Kim Myungsoo, please stop distracting other students and pay attention,” Ms. Han calls out in an annoyed, tired voice. Every student turns to stare at me awkwardly and I can sense L. Joe is suppressing a laugh.

                “Sorry, Ms. Han,” I say, not really bothered about getting called out. I’ll have you soon enough Lee Sungjong. I smirk to myself.

***

Sungjong’s P.O.V (Flashback continued) ~

                A moment after my class is dismissed for the pep rally I wander into the hall and instantly spot Sunggyu waiting for me near my locker. I approach him with a smile. “You waited for me,” It’s more of a grateful statement than a question. His arm latches around my shoulders.

                “Of course I did,” We follow the crowd of students out the doors of the school and head out to the newly-constructed football stadium perched on the small chunk of land across the street from the middle school. A police man has his car parked in the middle of the room to halt the traffic while he stands beside the crosswalk with a stop sign.

                “Are you going to volunteer for any of the events I ask and he nods excitedly?

                “Totally,” He’s so corny, “You’re going to do one with me right?” I let out an obnoxious laugh.

                “No,” Sunggyu responds to my sassiness by slapping me on the back of the head.

                 By the time we get to the stadium all of the older students have sat down in clumps all through the metal bleachers. The principal’s voice comes over the loud speaker, startling the students. “Our first event will be the 100-yard dash across the field. The first student to make it to the other side of the football field will be awarded with a free skip day pass,” My best friend’s eyes light up.

                I turn to the boy walking a little ways behind me. “Hey, Kevin, want to sit with me?” I ask. Since my best friend is most likely going to leave me within a matter of seconds I may as well find a new buddy.

                “Sure,” He smiles. Sunggyu turns to me.

                “Please do this with me,” He whines, trying to use his puppy eyes against me.

                “Hyung, doing that stuff is embarrassing,” I defend. I feel bad making him go alone but I hate these kinds of games. I’d have no chance against all those athletes already lining up on the first yard line.

                “No it’s not,” Sunggyu frown, turning towards the field. He mutters a soft ‘oh’ before running up to a student standing a few feet away. “Yah! Woohyun, do this event with me,”

                I turn back to Kevin once Sunggyu and the other boy walk off together, happily engaging in a conversation. “Want to sit near the top?” He asks, and I nod my head. We make our way to the fourth highest row and take a seat near a group of other students our age. The silence is quickly filled with small talk and I make sure to keep up with Sunggyu’s position amongst all the other participating students.

                My attention is drawn away from the others when Kevin whispers in my ear, “Are you friends with Kim Myungsoo?” I shake my head, slightly confused.

                “No, why,”

                “He keeps looking at you,” He nods his head in the direction behind me and I subtly turn to look. Myungsoo and his popular red-haired friend, Dongwoo I think, are chatting away with a group of girls a few rows diagonally across from us. I unconsciously frown when I realize it doesn’t look like he’s even interested in anyone in my direction.

                “He was probably looking at someone behind us,” Kevin nods and then turns back to the people around us. I continue to watch Myungsoo for a few minutes. He’s so cool; I guess there’s no wondering why he’s so popular. He’s handsome and I’ve heard that he has an amazing personality. Sadly, I don’t think he’d ever really be friends with someone like me.

                Just as I go to look away, Dongwoo looks over and his eyes meet mine. He quickly turns to Myungsoo and whispers something in his ear, making me feel awkward. They probably think I’m weird for staring.

                The bleachers erupt with a sudden burst of cheers and the runners on the field are already half way across the field by the time I realize what’s going on. I’ve lost Sunggyu among all the other racers and when the race ends I can’t even spot the winner as he crosses the finish line. This .

                “Don’t step on people!” Someone hisses and I turn to watch Kim Myungsoo and his friend come down the aisle right behind me and sit down right behind me. I look away quickly and try to involve myself in the games but the close, lurking presence of the two popular boys is rather unsettling. I wonder where Sunggyu wandered off to, he’s probably going to join in on every event now that he has a friend who is willing to do them with him. And here I am feeling uncomfortable and lonely. At least I have Kevin.

                A few minutes pass before I feel a tap on my shoulder. I slowly turn to the boy behind me and am greeted with a large smile. “Hey,” Dongwoo says, flipping his dyed, crimson hair out of his face. “How’s it going?” That’s a strange thing to ask a total stranger you’ve never spoken to before. I force a small smile.

                “Not much,” This is awkward. Kim Myungsoo is covering a hand over his face, averting his eyes almost nervously.

                “Cool,” Dongwoo seems to be overly enjoying this petty conversation. Why is he even talking to me? I watch him suspiciously for a few seconds before turning back around only to be tapped again a few minutes later. “Your name’s Sungjong right,” I nod. How the hell does he know my name? “I’m Dongwoo and this is Myungsoo,” His sings his friend’s name out extra enthusiastically.

                “I know,” I smirk. I wonder if he’s just talking to me to amuse himself since he’s so popular and I’m not.

                “Stop,” Myungsoo mutters, barely loud enough for me to hear. He seems irritated with his friend.

                “Lay off,” Dongwoo snaps, “This is going to be my new friend. Right,” He turns back to me with a pleading look in his eyes, as if he’s on the verge of winning an unspoken bet or challenge. I give him a look, not quite sure about his motives. His pushiness gives me the impression that his act is more for his friend than me.

                “Why would he want to be your friend,” Myungsoo hisses. That’s a bit harshly. It’s not like Dongwoo’s being mean or anything, even if he’s not exactly being genuine.

                “I’ll be your friend,” They both turn to me, mouths hanging open in shock. Dongwoo smirks victoriously. For the first time since this conversations started, Myungsoo looks me in the eyes. I can’t tell if he looks annoyed or disappointed. His red-haired friend’s smile just continues to grow.

                “He likes me better, already,” Dongwoo elbows the popular boy in the side, earning himself an intense glare.

                “I’ll be your friend too,” I want to smack myself for saying it so anxiously. They probably don’t really even care about being my friend, but I don’t want to be the reason why Myungsoo didn’t win some kind of bet with his friend, “If you want…” I turn back in my seat feeling awkward again. I can hear Myungsoo laughing and Dongwoo groaning out in defeat. They don’t bother me for the rest of the pep rally, and I’m a bit relieved they don’t, but I can still feel one of them staring. And by the sounds of Dongwoo’s excited remarks about some of the events I figure it’s not him.

                When the school bell rings out from across the street, students hurry to get back to the school. I follow Kevin down the bleachers, chatting with him a bit about the games and my strange conversation with the two, older students behind us. “They were so annoying,” Kevin whines, “I could barely focus on the games. It was almost like they were flirting with you,” We both laugh. I look around, hoping to find my best friend among the crowd. Frowning to myself, I give up, just hoping he’ll come to my locker at the end of the day so we can walk out together.

                “Yah! Just leave already,” Someone comes up beside me, making me jump in surprise. I turn to Myungsoo who’s yelling for Dongwoo to stop following. He seems pretty serious. After a moment or two, Dongwoo throws his hands up in defeat before blending in with the rest of the crowd behind us. I swallow nervously, why is Kim Myungsoo walking with me? The popular boy sighs out in frustration before glancing over at me.

                “I’m sorry we bothered you,” He seems to genuinely mean it, which is a bit surprising.

                “It’s ok,” I look ahead, feeling extremely nervous just by walking in him. Sure, I admire Myungsoo, but I never planned on becoming his friend. And the fact that we’re suddenly talking is a bit suspicious.

                “I’d really like to be your friend,” I turn to him, raising an eyebrow. “We weren’t just messing with you, well Dongwoo might have been, but I wasn’t,” His blurts out rather sheepishly.

                “Why?”

                “Because I like you,” My heart drops.

***