*kiss me...kiss me...kiss me...*

                "Ah!" Ella sat up from her bed, drenched in sweat. The image of her kiss with Jin Young still lingered on her mind. It plagued her in her dreams every night and she was losing a lot of sleep because of it. She quietly stepped out of bed and dragged her tired body to the washroom, glancing at the clock on the way. '3 am. That's 2 hours of sleep. Better than yesterday, at least.' She took a quick shower, enjoying the comforts of the warm water massaging her tense, tired muscles. Stepping out of the shower stall, Ella looked at the mirror. A girl with sunken eyes and hollow cheeks stared back at her. It had been two weeks since, but her lack of sleep was definitely taking its toll.

//

[MC Tales: Jin! Yous a meanie, you know that, right? Ella, whyyyyy?!?!?!? *Tales, you know why, stop asking.*]

//

                Lately, Ella was trying to avoid Jin Young. He noticed it, Sandeul noticed it, and the entire school noticed it. But, it was near impossible for her to succeed since she was his tutor. It was her responsibility to help him raise his marks on the midterms, which were in a few weeks time. She couldn't let her teachers down. She couldn't let him down.

                'What do I do?' she sighed kicking a stray rock at nowhere in particular. Goosebumps prickled on her arms as the wind picked up. Winter time was just around the corner and she was looking forward to the holidays for once in her high school career. It would be her escape from him, an escape from the emotions she shouldn't be feeling. 'Is it possible for our hearts to love two people?' she frowned.

--

                Jin Young trekked to school alone, again. For the past two weeks, Ella had been avoiding his texts and calls. The only times he saw her was at their lessons after school. Other than that, he doesn't see her all day. Although he felt a little hurt from her actions, he was relieved as well. He was scared of what he might do if they spent anymore time alone other than in lessons. Her soft lips haunted him in his dreams, like his did hers. The short contact was more than enough to forever engrave the moment into his memories. Not only that, it confirmed his feelings for her. There was no doubt about it. He looked at her and saw a girl, not a slave. But, like most things in his life, she was something out of his reach, blocked by a brick wall called friendship. Sandeul was an important person in his life, one of his best friends. Their group needed the both of them. He couldn't jeopardize their friendship, and possibly their future career, over a girl.

                The school grounds were empty in the morning. Clouds hovered above, threatening to drop a heap of snow onto the unsuspecting civilians below. With 2 hours to spare before his class, Jin Young made his way towards the music room, suddenly in the mood to write a song.

--

                Ella got comfortable in one of the seats in the library with a book opened on her lap. Students came and went minding their own business. Silence surrounded her, unknowingly lulling her to dreamland, a place she had missed.

--

                "Ella. Ella, wake up. Class is about to start," Sandeul shook her lightly. She didn't budge, mumbling incoherent words and shifting in her seat into a more comfortable position. He chuckled at her zombie state and decided to let her sleep some more. The bags under her eyes made him sigh with worry. What was bothering her so much as to prevent her from sleeping? Ella stirred in her sleep again, furrowing her eyebrows at something in her dreams.

//

[MC Tales: I'm sure we know from what.......*coughJincough* Just in case it wasn't clear the first time. IT'S ENTIRELY YOUR FAULT BUDDY! Eek, don't hurt me. I'm important to this story, right? *silence* Ouch.....]

//

                'What are you thinking about?' Sandeul wondered, lightly taking her hand in his. She continued sleeping, undisturbed. He carefully intertwined their fingers, marvelling at how soft her skin was despite the harsh temperatures of winter slowly rolling in. Reaching over, he smoothed out her brows, lightly tracing them down to her nose. He stopped at her cupid's bow, contemplating whether he should go any further. With trembling fingers, he softly traced over her lips. It sent tingles up his fingertips, leaving him wanting more. 'I wonder...' he leaned in, closing the gap between the two. Just as he was about to make contact, he stopped. 'No. This is wrong. If I kiss her, I would be taking advantage of her,' his head hung in defeat. Conscience won this time around. Sandeul sat down on the floor next to her, watching her sleep away her worries. His eyelids grew heavy and he fell into his own dreamland.

--

                Ella jumped up in her seat, startled by the sound of the bell. 'Huh? What time is it?' she held up her wrist and squinted at the numbers. Her eyes shot open in shock. 'Oh Shoot! It's break time?! I slept through the first two periods?!' she scrambled out of the seat, only to be pulled back down by an unknown anchor. She looked at her hand and softened at the sight. Sandeul was sleeping on the floor, head resting on his arm on the couch; his hand still tightly grasping hers. 'You stayed with me this whole time? No wonder I had such a nice dream,' she reached out and his hair. The sudden contact and disturbance of his hair woke him up. He instinctively grabbed her hand and slowly opened his eyes.

                "Good morning, Oppa," Ella smiled at him. Warmth spread through his chest.

                "Good morning," he barely managed to croak out. He smiled back, earning the same response from Ella. She looked down at their linked hands, trying to hide the blush that was creeping onto her cheeks. Sandeul saw her red face and followed her gaze down to their hands. 'Oh crap, she looks pissed. Maybe it's because I'm holding her hand?' he abruptly let go, assuming he was the cause of her anger.

//

[MC Tales: Angry? Really, Deul? You think she's red with anger? Awwwww, how cute.]

//

                "Sorry about that. We should go to class," he awkwardly scratched the back of his head. Ella stared at her now empty hands. 'Why did he suddenly let go like that?' she looked up at him with wonder. Did she do something wrong? Did she hold his hand too tightly? She snapped out of her thoughts when he waved his hand in front of her. "You okay? You sort of zoned out just now," he raised an eyebrow at her. "What were you thinking of?"

                "Oh, it's nothing. Let’s go," she boldly grabbed his hand, her insides bubbling with happiness. If he wasn't going to initiate the skin ship, she figured she would take the first step. Sandeul beamed from behind, elated by her sudden gesture. He couldn't help but tighten his grip on her. They walked through the hallways hand in hand, ignoring the stares from their fellow peers. They were too absorbed in their own world to take any notice.

--

                Jin Young strolled through the halls alone. Well, technically, he wasn't alone. A hoard of fangirls was trailing behind him, squealing with every move he made. If it were the beginning of the year, he would've loved it. But, all he felt now was annoyance. The girls never did this before. 'Maybe it was because Ella was here with me. I stopped paying attention to them all together,' he thought, wincing at their high pitch screams. Fed up, he plastered a fake smile and turned around, facing the large group of girls.

                "Ladies, ladies, ladies. I appreciate the love today, but I'm feeling a little down with the weather. Could I ask a favour of you guys?" he shot them his best eye smile.

                "OMG, OF COURSE!"

                "Anything for you, Oppa!"

                "Yes! I'll have your babies!"

                "Um, okay...Anyway, I was just wondering if I can get a rain check for this guerrilla date. Postpone it for tomorrow? Is that okay with you guys?" he put on his best pout. Girls dropped like flies, completely knocked out from what they had just witnessed. The one's still standing just barely managed to nod their heads, paralyzed from the shock of his gesture. Smirking, Jin Young waved at them and turned around, heading to the second floor. He stopped in his tracks and his jaw fell open. 'What the he-'

//

[MC Tales: LANGUAGE, JIN]

//

                He shook his head and rubbed his eyes, hoping to erase what he had seen, hoping that maybe, it was just a mirage. But, to his luck, there they were, walking towards him in their own little world. Their eyes never left each other, the warmth and love oozing out of their bodies attacked the bitter, single students in the hallway. Jin Young fought back the urge to up chuck his breakfast and looked away. 'Are they official? Did he already ask her to be his girlfriend? What did she say? Ugh, what love can do to you...' he longingly looked over at the pair before walking off.

--

                "So, midterms are in a week. I assume lessons will halt after they're over," Ella awkwardly flipped through her novel, trying hard to start up a conversation that wasn't kiss related. It was pretty obvious that he wanted to talk to her about it, even a two year old could tell. But, she didn't want to talk about it. No, she just wanted to forget. Seeing him everyday made that difficult though. The way he looked at her, like he was looking right into her thoughts scared her. She was afraid that he would find out that she constantly thinking of him, dreaming of him. ‘I shouldn’t be, though. I dislike him, don’t I?’

                "Yeah, they're in a week. I don't know. It's up to you and the teachers. Also, depends on whether or not I pass my exams," he shrugged, looking up from the worksheet she had given him. Her heart couldn't help but skip a beat. No matter how much she disliked him, he did get her first kiss. There's a sentimental value to that, for her at least. 'He probably just wants to tease you, most likely tell you what number you are in the long list of girls he had kissed before,' she sighed and continued flipping through her book. She had stopped trying to read the words on the pages for about an hour or so. The thick atmosphere made it difficult to concentrate and always distracted her from her readings. Her thoughts constantly nagged her to talk to him, but her stubbornness told her to ignore it.

                "Okay, lesson's over. I'll see you tomorrow," she scrambled out of the room with her pre-packed bag. Jin Young watched her hasty get away. A bitter feeling swept over him. 'Why are you trying so hard to avoid me? Or are you just excited to see Deul?' he slowly packed up his belongings in thought. Why was love so hard? Especially for him. Never had he felt this way for a girl. But, he just had to screw it up from the start. 'Enslave her and make her feel like crap. Good job, bud.'

--

                "Ella! Wait up!" Sandeul jogged after her. She managed to find a place in the packed hallway and stopped there. "Thanks for waiting. Hold on, let me catch my breath." Ella giggled as he double over.

                "You weren't even running, Oppa. Why are you so tired?"

                "I was so! Didn't you see how fast I was going?" he pouted up at her. She broke into another fit of giggles and eventually started laughing aloud. Sandeul straightened up and pouted at her. A quick glance over at him made her laugh even harder.

                "Don't pout, Oppa. You don't look cute," she held her aching stomach. He continued to pout and watched her laugh. A smile tugged at his lips, but turned into a sly smirk instead. Without thinking twice, he lightly pushed her against the lockers, trapping her with his arms on either side of her. The sudden movement took her by surprised. All eyes were on the couple now. Ignoring their stares, Sandeul leaned in and stole a soft kiss. Ella's eyes fluttered shut. 'My second kiss. And in front of all these people!' she ducked her head shyly, a blush colouring her pale cheeks. Sandeul was all smiles. He rested his forehead against hers and smiled sweetly at her, which she returned.

                "Ella?"

                "Yes, Oppa?"

                "Can I ask you a question?" Ella felt butterflies in her stomach. She knew what he was going to ask her, but the real question is, was she ready? He took her silence as rejection and his face fell. "Pretend I didn't ask," he mumbled and stepped back. Ella held his hand.

                "Um, ask me another time? I'm just not ready today. You understand that, right? I promise I'll give an answer next time, no hesitations," she squeezed his hand reassuringly. His expression was blank and Ella started to panic a little. 'Is he really that upset? Does he want an answer now?' she took a deep breath to prepare for something she wasn't ready to say, but she didn't have to. He suddenly smiled his usual, bright smile.

                "Why didn't you just say that in the first place? Normally, a girl would keep quiet if she wants to reject the guy," he wiped his brow and pulled her along to class.

                "Sorry, Oppa. I'm new to this confession, love thing," she sheepishly scratched the back of her head.

//

[MC Tales: aodfbcheiwodjcmxowprjfdkslwofjfjdksowjdhcjdosldj.....]

//

                "Ah!" Jin Young kicked the trash can on the side of the road in frustration. He watched as it fell, rolling a couple of feet down the road. Its contents poured out of the lidless bin; the odour of decomposing trash was picked up by the wind and wafted the unpleasant smell into his face. 'Love stinks,' he scrunched his nose in disgust. He examined the plastic and trash strewn across the pavement. 'Ironic how well this describes my whole life. My feelings were kicked aside and my heart was broken into pieces, thrown out and left hanging, forgotten. I was never good enough to anybody and am considered garbage, failing at everything in life.' he sighed and closed his eyes to wallow in his own sorrow. Images of Sandeul and Ella's kiss flashed through his mind. It pissed him off, but it hurt his heart more. He opened his eyes, a determined look sparkled in his eyes, a complete 180 change from the defeated look he had earlier. 'I'm going to do whatever it takes to get her. Watch out Deul, its game time,' he smirked at the school, turned around, and walked out the school gates, all while plotting out a plan.

--

[MC Tales: Ohhhh, time for a little drama. Hope all turns out well in the end. Tata for now!]

2 weeks wait....not bad, huh? XD Ah, I don't know what I was thinking while writing this chapter. It's all over the place, I know, but eh, what can I do? *rewrite it, that's what* BLAH, TOO LAZY. 

Ah, I'm currently drowning in projects, assignments, and term papers T^T WHY NOVEMBER SO BUSY?! ONLY 4 MORE WEEKS.......one more month and I'll be home freeeeee~~~~~~~ Until January....PFT. 

My blurbs are so lame LOL

See you in the next chapter!

-greenninjapanda GNP-