-2 years earlier-

            Pulling your medium-lengthed dark hair into a small bun, you skip down the sidewalk, excited for the upcoming competition. You hurried knowing Tao was waiting, probably having been at the meeting place for awhile now. You knew Tao the longest, the both of you joined martial arts at the same time which made you friends from day one. When you two decided to start competing, you always practiced with Tao and was always partners for any self defense events. You both also promised to get black belts at the same time, which made the other students and teachers say that we were attached at the hips.

            You glance up at the bloomed trees that lined the streets as you hopped up to a simple-looking house. As you arrive at the door, you notice that he was waiting outside for you, leaning up against the wall. You call out to him as you reach him, making him look up at the sound of his name being called. “Tao! Are you ready for practice?”

            “BaoYu…” he sighs, standing up from the wall slowly. “Can we talk?” He glanced up at you quickly before staring back down at the ground, stepping away from you to lead the way. You both walk to the park just down the street from his house, neither of us saying a word until we reach our destination. You prop yourself up against a tree, waiting for him to say something while you shield yourself from the warm sun. After a few more moments of silence, you clear your throat loudly to grab his attention. “What is it?”

            “Ah, well… I was cast into S.M. Entertainment.” He mumbles softly. You smile knowing he’d make it, they’d be crazy not to have liked him! “Great news! I knew you could do it!”

            His lips shift into a slight pout as he shifts his weight and stares up at the leaves of the tree, still avoiding your eyes. “I have to go to South Korea.”

            That surprised you a little, but you quickly shrugged it off. “You have to do what you have to do.” You smile up at him while you watch him shake his head an looking back at you, his face not showing any signs of excitement. “It means I can’t do martial arts anymore.”

            Your breath hitched at the words. You didn’t see that coming at all.

            “What about your dream to become a martial arts master?” You voice squeaked slightly, trying to gulp down your fears. “And our promise?”

            He shakes his head yet again, his frown deepening. “I did the testing after I was cast. Master said I was ready and was honestly only being held back by my promise with you. So I decided that it was the best for me to get my black belt before I left for awhile.”

            Well, that stung. ‘How could he do this? After 11 years?’ You shook your feelings back and scowled up at him. “So that’s how it is. In the end, it didn’t mean anything to you.” He began to speak but you cut him off. “I am glad you are shooting for a dream of yours and that you have a real chance to get it, but I will not support you in whatever you’re going to do. I hope to never see you again either.” You glare at him before turning on your heel and storm home, shouting a 'good bye' over your shoulder and ignoring his calls out to you.

            The doorbell jolts you from your memories, making you sigh while you get off the couch and walk to the front door slowly. ‘It’s probably my brother, coming to yell at me for yesterday…’  When you open the door, instead of being yelled by your angry older brother,  you’re greeted by a sad, puppy-eyed Tao who’s pouting as he stares down at you.

            “BaoYu…”

            Your heart skips a beat to the sound of the deep, slurred voice you remember well. “What are you doing here?” You yell at him, hiding you second of weakness with your anger.

            “I wanted to see you. And, give you this!” He fumbles with his pockets a moment, hurrying in fear you’ll slam the door on him before he could hand you whatever he was going to. “I don’t want anything-“ he cuts you off before you could finish rejecting him by handing you a CD.

            “It’s our first album. I wanted you to see it.” His eyes shone sadly at you as you took it into your hands. You look down at it and stare at the shiny plastic case, the images of all the 6 beautiful boys posing together on the cover was peaking through the case. You grit your teeth, looking back up at him as you were about to shove it back in his hands when he held his hand up in front of you to cut you short.

            “I remember you said you wouldn’t support anything I do, but I want to know you at least had something once, even if you didn’t want it.” You glare at him more before giving in and tossing the CD onto your couch. “Fine. Anything else?”

            “I’d like to talk about what happened before I left…”

            “I have nothing to talk with you about, Tao. Goodbye.” You shoo him off as you shut your door on him. Leaning against the cool door, you sigh to yourself before you walk back into your bedroom, already ready for this day to be over.

~

End of chapter 2! I know I said this chapter would be longer, but I had to stop it here. The next chapter is going to be long and obnoxious and hopefully full of action.

A bit of warning tho: All the information that's going to be in the next chapter are all personal experiences from growing up taking mixed martial arts classes. So, although the stuff I'll be writing about most likely wasn't what Tao grew up doing, I'm hoping that it's close enough.

Also, for the next chapter, I'll mention this type of sparring gear! I'll put another link in the next chapter just in case, but if you want to look into it before the next chapter, it's there for you!

Thank you for the comments! And thank you for subscribing!! I am really thankful! :)