“Excuse us, excuse us, excuse us,” Jenna was muttering every few seconds as we pushed and clawed or way through the heavy throng of high school kids – just to check our freaking mid-term scores. “Ah, sorry-” Someone paused to give us a dirty look before squishing back into the crowd. “Why do they have to post grades at lunch?” she said bad-temperedly, eyeing some poor freshman getting practically trampled to death. “You’d think that the school would come up with a better system after all the injuries that just spontaneously occur when grades get put up.” Someone else dug their elbow into my ribs, albeit accidentally, and yet I didn’t even bother to acknowledge it…

Other, more important things were at risk here.

Namely, my grade. GPA. Ranking. I cannot, would not, shall not lose this year, goddammit, I thought to myself confidently.

I had even studied.

When we finally reached the front, Jenna quickly swept her eyes over the ranking board.

A bead of sweat formed on my brow. She was silent.

A feeling of despair already clutched at my sides. “Don’t tell me! I can’t look!”

I peeked at the scoreboard anyway.

Nooooooo!!!

“Oh Kendra, 2^nd place again! Congrats!” Jenna tried to pat my frozen shoulder, grinning brightly. “Besides…” She carefully watched for my reaction. “it’s Kris Wu. And there’s always next year,” she added lightly.

Why…

“I mean, Kris, really. Who can beat him, anyway? He’s like a, um-” she thought for a second, racking her brain for he right word. “a, a god...really, don’t be too upset, K-” She saw my face and her words were lost in .

Internally, I was banging my forehead on the scoreboard, as if running a hole through it- no, the entire damn wall, would make any remnants of evidence of yet another failure just disappear…poof, just like that.

If only.

Jenna tucked a slightly mussed up golden curl behind her ear, cleared , and prepared to give me her annual work-harder-next-time speech for the loser. “Kenny, sweetie, I’m so proud of you~ See,” she pointed a manicured hand at the stupid board. “every year you come in before Lu Han and Chan Yeol and the rest of the guys-”

“-Except for that guy!” I was trying and failing not to choke in frustration.

Silently I rubbed my throbbing temples, I feel so tired, gosh darn it…

Every damn year.

Images and voices of the past flash through my mind, like my life could pretty much be summed up in a backwards tape. Freshman year, math counts mastery exam- Kris 100%, and poor lowly me, 98.5%… 6^th grade home economics class- My soft, divinely flavored chocolate cake vs. Kris’s soft, perfectly flavored, and perfectly decorated French pastries…2^nd grade was our spelling bee- Ughh bad memories, rather not think about it…and kindergarden…getting chased around by a freaking fly swatter during tag on the playground…

I just can’t win.

Might as well stamp the word 'FAILURE’ to my forehead and take a picture before the damning scoreboard, and file it away into the category Sophomore Year, Exams…

I glared at his name, proclaimed in perfect black letters, telepathically attempting to combust the stupid paper.

“Hmmm? Kenny second place again?” The smirky voice of Tao interrupted my mentally violent schemes. He was towering over my shoulder, squinting with interest at the paper.

“Shut up. Panda,” I snipped, then scanned down for his name. Hmmm…#3 as usual. “At least I’m top 2,” I leered up, the effect ruined somewhat as I still had to squint against the sun over his head.

Tao wasn’t fazed. “And still not the best.”

I tried to glare. “Like you have any right to lecture me.” But all I was left with was the thought of having actually worked, but still not earning the desired result. “I actually studied this time!” I switched tactics, whining vociferously to Jenna, who was preoccupied lecturing D.O. for dropping from his usual 4^th, having been surpassed by both Lu Han and Lay.

What a waste of my precious time…I could have beem putting in extra hours at Victoria’s Bar and Grill; or even passing out fliers in that horrendous monkey suit; I certainly needed the cash…but I chose to study! And ended up right where I started.

All because of that idiot.

Which he isn’t, obviously. Kris was anything but an idiot…I know, it’s sad…

Why can’t he just move to Kansas or something! He’d fit right in, anyway…

Kris’s unmistakable strong lean frame came into view, fist pumped and clapped on the shoulder by his friends. I paused my inner temper tantrum to study his calm reaction. Not that I was trying to piss myself off.

He paused briefly over my shoulder to survey the results. I took the chance to study his sharp jawline as his face remained impassivly blank. Until he smirked down at me over his perfectly sculpted nose, that is.

“Shut up,” I bit out, irritated, crossing my arms as if I didn’t give a about him. Or the dumb exam.

His lips quirked up ever so slightly. “I didn’t say anything.”

“Eh? Where is Kenny this year?” Chan Yeol tried to lean over my other shoulder to squint at the board. Luckily for him Baekhyun reached up to point, careful to brush his arm against Chan Yeol’s.

“Right there- See, #2 Kendra Chan…right beneath Kris…”

Ughh. Why me…

It just wasn’t fair.

A big black curtain of failure draped over my head. Why does Kris have to be a sophomore? Why can’t he skip a grade (or 3) if he’s so damned smart? Why does he have to always seem so calm? Why can’t I calm down?

I glanced over at Kris’s getting congratulated and fangirled over. Surprisingly, I wasn’t even that upset about my loss this year.

Well, if compared it to last year…but that's another humiliation all in itself...

I guess I’ve grown accustomed to it. Which is just depressing.

“Kenny? You feeling all right?” Jenna looked concerned, as she did every year. “You look kind of pale.”

I did feel kind of weird. “Nahh I’m just surprised. I don’t even feel upset…” I even managed to smile, which came out as some form of a grimace, but still.

“Hmmm…Why does all this feel so familiar…?” Tao pretended to look thoughtful as he his imaginary beard. “Like it’s happened sometime before…Oh, wait. It has. Just last semester. Remember how that turned out?” He snickered at the mere memory.

Before I could beat the idiot panda up, Jenna smacked him on the back. Hard. "Don't be a ," she said reprimandingly, as Tao gasped and hacked...resembling a puffer fish, in my biased opinion... "You're allowed to do that after you surpass Kenny for #2."

He had the nerve to look hurt, wide eyes blinking innocuously. "Don't kill me..."

"Don't make me," Jenna replied, unimpressed, prepraing to strike again.

"Wahhh I'm sorry~!" Tao, always the mature one, hid behind me, ducking down a foot or two. "Kenny, I'm sorry..."

I let out a huge sigh. Why do I get the feeling that this isn't about me? Perhaps I should leave these two to their own antics.

Just then the crowd shifted forward again, and I felt myself pushed sideways, then violently propelled forward and away...trying not to scream as I tripped over my feet and lost my balance for the scariest millisecond- which felt like light years...

If not for the pair of hands that grabbed my waist, I'd sooner have been trampled into a pavement pancake.

"Thanks," I muttered. Then looked up into the dark eyes of Kris. "GAHH!" I instantly struggled to upright myself, a flush creeping up my face.

Talk about embarassing...

His unreadable eyes never left mine, and he almost looked...expectant! What the! It was that look! Never have I ever seen Kris look at me (after beating me for the thousandth time on the dumb exam and then saving my life) in such an infuriating way.

How dare he stand there and look so impeccable and perfect even as I'm literally falling over myself all because of him!

"Just you wait!" I blurted out loud, face burning a bright red, fueled by embarassment and anger (at myself). "Next time, I won't lose!"

It wouldn't be until later that the very thought of this moment between us literally made me turn into an embarassed, fangirling blob on the ground.

But before all that, and before I could even make a hasty exit from my public humiliation, Kris Wu stood there, amused smile and twinkle in his eye, even after my very scary outburst.

"Maybe next time."