"Well, bye hyung, thanks again!" I called after Taemin. He waved and smiled back at me. "Don't thank me, you deserved it!" And with that, he was off, leaving me alone, still standing quite shocked by the announcement board.

I'd made the dance team, along with only three other people- not including Taemin... But still. A dance team of five people. They seriously weren't lying when they said it was hard to make this team. I just knew my determination would pay off!

"Kai!"

I turned to the source of the voice calling out my name to see D.O. making his way towards me.

"Hey hyung!"

"What are you doing over here?" he asked me.

I grinned at him and pointed to the list posted to the board beside me. "See for yourself!" He approached with an amused smile on his face and followed my finger to the paper I was indicating. It took him a moment to realize what he was looking at, but I knew he got it when I heard his gasp.

"Oh my god, Kai, that's amazing! I didn't know you were that good of a dancer!" He said in genuine excitement for me. "You've so got to show me, sometime."

I had a hard time keeping my huge smile under control. This was a great moment, really- I'd spent time with Taemin, landed a coveted spot on the school's dance team, and hearing all this praise was so confidence-boosting.

"Th-thanks hyung," I responded.

"Wow, I just- wow!" he continued. "Oh yeah, I was going to tell you- me and the others are going out to get something to eat and then maybe see a movie or something."

My smile faltered for a moment before I brought it right back up, trying to hide my disappointment and not wanting to be embarrassed. How stupid was I to think that I could make all these friends in 2 days and automatically be accepted into their group? I can't intrude on their outing, and it'd be way too awkward if I just went back to D.O.'s house and hung out with his parents until he got back... What was I supposed to do while-

"You in?"

"Hm?" I asked him in confusion at his question.

He just laughed a little at me. "I mean, are you coming or not?"

My eyes widended. "C-coming?"

"Yeah, do you want to come with us?" he asked as if it should have been obvious to me that I was invited. "Of course I want to come," I replied as casually as I could. He smiled at me and grabbed my arm. "Great, come on then," he said as he began to pull me through the after-school hallway traffic. I sighed inaudibly, relieved that I was uselessly worried about not being accepted when I clearly was. These were great friends to have, truly.

Once outside the school building, D.O. let go of my arm and I followed him to the rest of our group waiting by the road. Our group... Sounds nice, doesn't it? "Hey guys," Sehun called, waving animatedly to the two of us approaching.

"Hey, ready to go?" D.O. asked once we reached everyone else. They nodded and I followed along quietly as they all led the way down a route that seemed to be very familiar to all of them. It must be something they do together very often, like routine for them.

I didn't realize I'd totally tuned out of their conversations until Sehun looked back at me excitedly. "Kai, that's awesome!" he yelled, holding his hand up for a high-five. I reciprocated half-heartedly.

"What?" I asked, sounding stupid.

Sehun just giggled at me. "D.O.-hyung told me you made the dance team! That's so awesome! I'm so happy for you!" I smiled again, liking the recognition I so deserved. "Thanks, Sehun, I'm really happy too." They all laughed light-heartedly at my spaciness and I just had to roll my eyes playfully and continue to follow them along.

We did have a great time at a cool little cafe and then heading to the movies where we ended up just buying tickets for whatever movie was starting next. Their spontaneity was quite amusing, to say the least. All in all, I was glad to be getting closer to these people I'd like to be better friends with. I was really happy when they all gave me their numbers, too, which proves that it wasn't just me forcing myself upon them. They really did want to be my friend too.

It was all so settling. I'd been apprehensive about moving and starting a new life, but now I wasn't too certain about my uncertainty anymore. That may sound complicated, but I was making friends here. I was beginning to have friendships here that I hadn't screwed up... yet. Obviously I was convinced that I'd do anything to avoid losing these nice people, but sometimes, the temptations were too strong.

I didn't want to jeopardize my friendships, and I didn't want to have to live in the constant fear and worry that I used to, but... I loved the attention they gave me. I really liked them all worrying about me and making sure I was feeling comfortable with them. Besides, the attention of being the 'new guy' would eventually wear off, so then what?

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

It was now the weekend following the first week of school, and I was mentally exhausted from just a week of high school. There was so much homework and the teachers are never very lenient. I always looked forward to hanging out with the guys after school, though, to really get my mind off of working. They were really fun to be around, and I liked being able to return home with D.O. even if it was just to do homework, have dinner, and go to sleep. He and his parents were so kind to me, as well.

It made me almost wish my life could stay like this forever. Eventually, though, my mom would be discharged and I'd have to go back to live with her, not to mention how much more careful I'll have to be around her in the future. 

But for now, I didn't have to worry about that.

D.O. woke me up early on Saturday morning, much to my annoyance, telling me to get dressed and meet him in the kitchen. I complied easily enough, since I didn't want to be a nuisance on him and his family, but I still hated having to get up so early on a weekend.

Once I'd trudged into the kitchen, I saw D.O. sitting there at the table with an excited look on his face. "What's got you like this so early in the morning?" I grumbled, grabbing myself a glass of water.

"Well, we're going out today with the guys!"

"Where...?"

"Shopping first, then to the amusement park! And then we're all going to go to dinner together after that. How's that sound?" he said, waiting impatiently to see my reaction to his plans for the day.

"Sounds like a blast. Wake me up in three hours to start," I mumbled, turning around to go back to bed when he ran to me and grabbed my arm, turning me back around to him. "Come on, Kai, it's not that early. Just come with us! Suho will be here in ten minutes to pick us up, so hurry up and get something to eat!"

I was only obeying his orders because I was too tired to object.

Not because I was super excited to be included in such an awesome day with my new friends.

Of course not.

Somehow, I managed to wake up enough to finish my breakfast and grab my wallet from the bedroom before Suho showed up with everyone else already in his car. D.O. and I piled in and then off we went! The mall was really close to the apartment complex where D.O. and I lived, so it only took a matter of minutes before I was once again being dragged around by these guys through rivers of people.

I didn't think many people would be shopping in the morning, but I guess I was wrong. Seoul is much, much larger than my old town, so it'll take a lot of getting used to.

"Kai, come sit with me!" Sehun complained after nearly two hours of shopping. He was getting exhausted, I could tell. I laughed as I followed him over to a bench while the others entered yet another shop. "I'm so tired," he whined, leaning his head over onto my shoulder.

Giggling once again, I pat his head fondly, "There, there, Sehun. You've got to keep your energy up for this afternoon, remember," I advised him, not wanting him to be too tired to go to the amusement park. It seemed that was enough to make him perk up, and he sat up immediately with a wide grin. "Oh, I forgot about that!" he said happily.

We chatted mindlessly for a couple minutes before he got a devious grin on his face that frightened me to my very core. "So..." he began. "How are you and that Taemin?" he said, drawing out some of his words as he wiggled his eyebrows at me, making me scoff and roll my eyes. "I don't know what you're talking about, man," I said, trying to play it off cool.

"Of course you do, why else would you be blushing?"

My hands shot up to my face, holding onto my cheeks half to hide them from his sight and half to feel them to check if he was telling the truth. He was, of course. Just my luck. "I'm not blushing, it's just hot in here," I grumbled unconvincingly.

"Okay stop with the excuses, just tell me now! Have you been talking to him a lot?"

"Well, dance practices haven't started yet, but we have the same class last period..." I said quietly, avoiding all eye contact with the sly boy next to me.

"Ohhh," he said suggestively. "So I assume you guys talk every day now, am I right?"

Not trusting myself to say something normal, I nodded my head awkwardly, still averting my eyes. "I see, I see," he continued knowingly. "So when are you going to ask him out?" Sehun asked me nonchalantly, as if it'd been something we'd been planning for weeks.

"What?!" I exlaimed, turning to look at him in shock. It was one of those moments where if I were drinking water, I was sure I'd have spit it everywhere. "Well, you like him, and you guys are friends now, right? So... Ask him out!"

"Sehun, you can't just say things like that!" I complained loudly, putting my elbows on my knees and my face in my hands.

"Why not?" he asked. "It seems like a pretty obvious match to me. You're like that strong, kinda quiet, protective type in all the animes and he's the adorable girlfriend. It makes total sense in my opinion," he said with a shrug, and I turned my head to the side and peeked up at him through my fingers, hoping my expression read as 'you're an idiot.'

"I don't know if you noticed this, Sehun... But I'm a boy. Taemin's a boy, too. Of course I'm gay, but that doesn't mean he is too. You can't just confess to a guy, you know. It could totally ruin a friendship," I explained, pulling my face out of my hands and just resting my chin on my fists instead.

"Well of course he's gay," Sehun shrugged again, speaking like I should have known that. "Can't you tell?"

"Just because you think he seems gay doesn't mean he really does like guys," I explained to him, to which he just laughed. "No, I mean, he really is," Sehun elaborated. "That's why he was bullied when we were in middle school. It's because he came out." With that, he flicked me on the forehead and I sat up straight again.

"Seriously?" I asked, eyes going wide.

"Dude, do you honestly think I'd lie to one of my best friends about his crush's ual preference? What kind of do you think I am?" he asked in mock offense. "Besides, how could you not have figured this out by now?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "I don't know, it's not like he ever talks about himself anyway. I mean, I'd love to get to know him, but now that I think about it, he's been able to discreetly avoid practically every question I ask about him..." I answered. I didn't even realize that until I started speaking, but thinking back now, it was so true.

"Huh. So he's one of those mysterious guys, or what?" Sehun asked, genuinely curious.

"Well, I don't know. I mean, he's not the drawn-back, introverted kind of mysterious guy, so I don't know what it is..."

"That's hot."

"Sehun!"

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I was absolutely shot by the time the day was over. It had been so much fun, but I was still exhausted as D.O. and I walked back into his flat and made our way slowly towards his bedroom for the night. We both showered quickly before settling ourselves in our respective beds for the night.

For the life of me, though, I couldn't get Sehun and I's conversation that morning out of my mind for the entire day, and now that I actually had time to sit down and think about it, I realized that it really bothered me. I say I have a crush on this guy, but I know nothing about him other than the fact that he's a great dancer and has a very protective group of friends. He was held back in English, and he has an odd love for banana milk (I may or may not steal several glances at him during lunch period...), as it seems to be all he ever has for lunch.

All of that aside, I knew nothing about the guy, and if I was serious about starting a real relationship with him, that just wouldn't do. All I know now is that if I was going to eventually ask him out or something...

I have to actually know him first.