Any large group of high schoolers tends to draw attention out in public, even if most people knew of the nearby school. The students stay blissfully oblivious to the disdainful stares around them, swimming through their carefree youth with little regard for their surroundings. The group Kyuhyun was with was no different, their cheer competing in volume with the nearby street. Luckily, their noise didn't disturb many, as their destination was just a block away.

Walking on a relatively narrow sidewalk caused the group to split into pairs and triplets, with Kyuhyun and Lynn at the front. Lynn was teaching him some volleyball terms, as if he would ever really need them.

Suddenly, her voice dropped into a whisper. "I think Donghae and Nyx are right behind us now. We can switch you so you're talking to Donghae if you'd like," she said, doing a cheerful little dance. 

"That's gonna look kind of weird. I mean, they totally just saw you whispering to me and now you're moving around suspiciously," Kyuhyun grumbled. He wasn't a particular fan of having people know who he was romantically interested in, and this was exactly why.

"Nah, man, it's all good. I got this. I'm super discreet."

Somehow, Kyuhyun was not convinced.

Thankfully enough, Lynn was true to her promise. She waited for a short period of time before swooping into the pair behind her and taking Nyx away. Nyx quickly caught on to what she was doing. With some very impressive maneuvring, she and Lei almost herded Donghae into Kyuhyun. 

Kyuhyun caught Lynn's eye for one last second, where her eyes seemed to say, "See? Subtle." 

Donghae didn't notice anything. Kyuhyun was beginning to wonder if there was even a need to be subtle around him.

"So, are we going to be singing again anytime soon?" Kyuhyun asked, now that the four of them had settled into their new places in the group. 

Donghae considered it for a moment with an overexaggerated "hmm..." and a hand an invisible beard. It was a bit difficult to tell whether he was actually thinking or not. 

"Only if you join dance club!" Donghae announced. 

"Pass."

"Whyy?" Donghae sighed loudly, his entire body sinking slightly. "I thought for sure that plan would work..."

Kyuhyun smiled slightly at his dramatic response. "Well, I'll consider it. I just thought I'd like to use the practice rooms again - they're still so empty since school hasn't started." 

"Hmm..." Donghae grumbled slightly, "I still want you to join dance club... I'll have to find more people to join my force to recruit you!"

Kyuhyun sighed, wondering if it woud be easier to just give in. Despite the pressure to join the club, he couldn't help but feel butterflies, wondering why Donghae was so insistent on making him join. Was it, perhaps, that he was interested in him? 

Well, either way, joining would give him more time to spend with Donghae after all, but most of that time would probably also be spent with Lynn's insistent wing-woman-ship. "I guess I can stop by practice some time, but no promises to join," Kyuhyun finally resolved. 

"Yet!" Donghae instantly straightened up, grinning at Kyuhyun like a puppy that had just brought back a bone to its owner for the first time. "We'll get on you on the stage by the end of the semester." 

Kyuhyun began to feel like he was sitting on a sled that had just slid over the peak of an icy hill. 

Soon enough, the group arrived at the bubble tea cafe. They each took their turns ordering bubble tea and, for the hungrier ones, food as well. Despite the irritated glances from the employees, the group pulled some tables together to make space for all of them to sit down. Kyuhyun was sitting across from Donghae, since they were the first to finish ordering. Next to them were Lynn and Kibum, then Lynn and Rose. Siwon pulled up a chair to sit at the end of the table on the other side of Kyuhyun and Donghae.

Eventually, their food and drinks came and their chatter subsided as everyone tried a bit of each other's drinks and food (meals are the closest glimpse they might ever have to being in a communist society). Soon, their food dwindled and they returned to make conversation, milking out the last bits of their food so they had an excuse to stay longer, much to the employees' chagrin. 

Soon, a familiar song came on over the speakers. Donghae and Lynn's eyes immediately met in excitement, while Lynn and Rose made an "Oh, god" sort of face. The two jumped up and lept their way over to the open space in the cafe, where the tables they had moved were previously. 

Bubble bubble bubble pop. Bubble bubble pop pop!

Despite the femininity of the moves, Donghae did the moves with as much accentuation as Lynn, completely comfortable with the fact that the moves weren't exactly the most masculine ones around. Kyuhyun couldn't help but admire how comfortable he was just dancing like that, despite the stares of everyone around him. Well, that and the way his muscles were moving. 

Finally, the song came to and end. Lynn and Donghae took their spots at the table again. 

"That was a treat," Kibum said, flashing Lynn one of his killer smiles. 

Lynn returned the favor, "Yeah? I'm glad you liked it." 

Kyuhyun caught Nyx rolling her eyes. His phone buzzed, and he took a look at the notification to find a text from Donghae waiting for him.

"Both of them are such players. It's gonna be fun to see how this plays out." 

Kyuhyun looked up at Donghae with one raised eyebrow. Donghae winked at him. 

Kyuhyun started to text back, when another text appeared. He dismissed it for now - after all, romance awaited.

"I heard. Should we take bets on what happens?"

"I bet they get together and stay together for at least a year. This is like, straight out of an anime!"

"...what an optimistic prediction. Fine, I predict they make no meaningful relationship - either they don't get together or it's just a normal fling for both of them."

"If I win, you have to join dance club!" 

What a surprise. Kyuhyun thought about what he would want for a moment, 

"If I win, you have to ask me to homecoming." 

Donghae looked down at his phone the moment he received Kyuhyun's text. He gawked at it for a moment before looking up at Kyuhyun questioningly. Then, with a slight smirk, he texted a few letters and put his phone away.

"Deal."

"Hey, Kyuhyun, we're leaving. Are you coming or not?" Rose asked. 

Kyuhyun looked up. "Ah, sorry!" He threw away his trash and caught up with everyone else. They made their way back to the school with the same cheer as their previous trip. Finally, the seven of them sat on the concret out of the school, each of them leaving one by one when their parents picked them up. Finally, Donghae and Kyuhyun were the last two left, sitting against the brick wall as Donghae checked his phone to see when his parents would be coming. Since Kyuhyun had all the time in the world to spare, he decided to wait to take the bus home.

"So, homecoming, huh?" Donghae asked, leaning his head against the brick wall and rolling it over slightly to look at Kyuhyun.

Kyuhyun shrugged. "I haven't decided whether I'm going to say yes, you know." 

Donghae laughed disbelievingly and punched him lightly. "So, you're just going to reject me and make me look bad in front of the whole school? I see how it is." 

"Well, no. At least, probably not. It depends on how much heart you put into it." 

"Hmm," Donghae said. Silence fell over them, and Donghae checked his phone once again. "Kyuhyun, are you...interested in me? I mean - well, you know what I mean."

Kyuhyun felt his heart flutter. Amazingly enough, he couldn't tell exactly how Donghae felt about it. For someone who seemed so oblivious, he really didn't wear any of his emotions on his face. 

Finally, he decided to take the gamble. "Yeah. I guess I am." 

"I see." Donghae said thoughtfully. His phone buzzed again, and he took a look. "My parents are right around the corner. so I guess I don't have very much more time to do this." 

With that, he leaned in and gave Kyuhyun a light peck on the cheek. Moments after his lips left, a car turned around a corner.

"Oops, looks like they might have caught a glimpse of that," Donghae chuckled, "Well, Kyuhyun, I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Uhh...yeah," Kyuhyun nodded, his mind a blur as Donghae greeted his parents, who apparently didn't see what was going on at all. 

Kyuhyuhn sat, dazed, for a moment as he chided himself for not reciprocating Donghae's action somehow. Then again, he supposed he was short on time. As he waved his friend good-bye, he got up and walked towards the bus stop.

Pulling out his phone, he spotted the text he had received earlier that he had almost forgotten about. It was from an unknown number. Suspiciously, he opened the text, one eyebrow raised.

"5:30PM @ P5"

____________________

A/N: oh sheeeeit! I'm bringing this back, ezz!

Haha, alright, anyways. Romance is happeniing quicker than expected, but who is this mysterious texter? Is this fic not gonna be realistic fiction after all? Has Lynn and Donghae dancing to bubble pop triggered some unearthly event that will ruin Kyuhyun and Donghae's relationship? ARE YOU READY FOR SOME SURPRISE FANTASY (or something, I haven't really decided yet)?

who even knows anymore. this story is a damned mess and I will not stop until it is everything I want it to be.