That Friday after school was the very first dance practice of the year.

To say I was nervous wasn't completely false, since I was a bit on edge about what everyone there would think of me- not to mention the other nerves brought about by the fact that my mom would be returning home tomorrow... But after spending that entire school day up to the last bell fretting over it (along with lots of teasing from Sehun involving Taemin), I was pretty sure I was ready to face whatever is thrown at me.

10 minutes before that bell signalling the end of the school day, I was sitting in English class next to Taemin, as usual, and we were actually focusing on our work today- bummer, right? I will admit that I couldn't help but steal a glance over at him occasionally, loving the way he stuck his tongue out every so often as a sign of his intense concentration.

Sometimes that guy just baffled me. He tried to hard in this class, but he still didn't do well whenever we got back graded assignments. Oh well, not any of my business anyway.

It was funny now, though, watching him get adorably frustrated with himself as he worked away on his paper before giving up and placing his pencil down to take a break.

"Kai..." Taemin whined, turning in his desk to face me. "I don't get it..."

I laughed quietly, thankful that most of the class was talking as well to mask the sound. "What don't you get?" I asked, with the intention of helping him out with our work.

"English! I don't get English!" he said exasperatedly, sticking his tongue out at me and crossing his arms before his features fixated into his signature pout. I couldn't help but smile at the sight. "Hyung, you've already taken this class; you should be the expert here, not me!" He gave me an awkward grin along with a shrug as his response.

So that's how I spend the rest of the class time explaining the basics of English to a helpless student. Honestly, I don't know how teachers deal with kids who just can't grasp the concepts they're trying to teach, but at least Taemin was trying.

Once the bell did finally ring, Taemin groaned miserably. "Thanks Kai," he said dejectedly as he packed his books away.

"Well, do you understand it at least a little better now?"

"No... But thanks for trying anyway." I smiled and rolled my eyes. "Will you come with me to my locker before we go to dance practice?" I asked, looking up from my bag to glance up at him as I posed the question. "We've got some time," I added, just in case he was worried about time.

"I actually have to go talk to my friend," he said with an apologetic smile as he pointed to the door where one of the members of his 'posse' was leaning on the door frame. "Come, I'll introduce you two and then I'll see you at rehearsal, okay?"

I nodded my head, as disappointed as I was. I know that wasn't a rejection or anything, but I couldnt' help but feel just a bit self-conscious about Taemin and I's relationship as it was. No, we weren't dating- as much as I wish we were- but we were friends. And I've been trying desperately to spend more and more time with him so that we could truly become closer before I asked him out.

"Well, come on then," he said, walking towards the door once my bag was packed, and I followed. "Hyung, this is Kai. He's my friend from class, and he's also going to be on the dance team with me. Kai, this is Minho!" Taemin seemed cheerful to introduce the two of us, but I was rather frightened, to be completely honest. This guy was tall and intimidating-looking with the way his eyes dragged over me as if searching straight into my soul for impurities. If there was one thing I remembered from Sehun's explanation of these guys, it's that they were all incredibly protective over Taemin, and this one in particular looked like he could beat me up if he really wanted.

"Nice to meet you..." I said, holding out my hand, but getting more anxious with every second that it hung there in the air waiting to be taken, since he didn't seem like he'd grab it any time soon.

That is, until Taemin nudged him in the side with his elbow. "Hyung, be nice," he whined, causing Minho to look down towards Taemin with an unreadable expression before he looked back to me and grasped my hand, shaking it firmly. When he didn't let go right away, I was forced to look straight into his huge eyes in questioning, where I found something like an unspoken warning across his features.

Finally, he dropped my hand and turned to smile at Taemin, his expression changing instantly from threatening to friendly. "Let's go, Tae," he said, pulling Taemin away from me.

"Bye Kai! See you in a few!' Taemin shouted over his shoulder as he walked away. I said goodbye to him as well, but it was so quiet I wasn't even sure he heard it. Dazedly, I made my way to my locker, my mind still going over what had just happened. What exactly was Minho to Taemin? Maybe it really was just a really strong brotherly friendship going on, but I found that hard to believe with the way Minho treated me. 

Was he interested in Taemin, too? If that was the case, I don't think I'd stand a chance. Not that I'm any less attractive or anything, but they've known each other for far longer... Ah, who am I kidding? Minho might not even be gay and I'm just thinking too much. But then again, why would he have acted like that towards me?

What if he sees me as a danger to Taemin? Whatever it was, I was determined to prove that I was worth Taemin’s time and company. His friends were really that important of him, and he may not even go out with me if they don’t approve of me.

I made quick work at my locker, hoping to get to the studio early to make a good impression. A couple people were already there, but Taemin wasn’t yet, so I took some time to go change my clothes and stretch a bit.

Taemin came into the studio with Key, his friend who had been present during the auditions.

“Hey guys, I’m glad you’re all here. Let’s get started, okay?”

Taemin placed himself at the front of the room by the front wall of mirrors while Key walked silently to the back of the room to seat himself on the floor, his eyes trained on Taemin in the same protective look that Minho had possessed earlier.

Are they all like that? I wondered, suddenly unsure about whether or not I would actually enjoy meeting all of Taemin’s friends like he had wanted me to so badly. Of course I’d put up with it for his sake, but what if they didn’t like me? I could basically just kiss my chances with him goodbye at that point.

But I had to put those thoughts aside for the ‘here and now,’ where my mind needed to be on this dance practice and nothing else. We started out by introducing ourselves. Aside from Taemin and I, there were three others in the group- Henry and Luhan were both 3^rd year students, while Eunhyuk was a fourth year, which left Taemin as a second year and me, the youngest, as a first year.

To say that I was proud of myself right now would be a vast understatement, because who wouldn’t be? Out of all of the people who tried out for the dance team, only a small number had passed- me being one (and the youngest, at that). To think that I had earned such a coveted position in only my first year at this high school was really something to be proud of, in my opinion. My friends seemed to think so too; D.O. even told his parents about it, and they were very impressed as well.

Even Key introduced himself, even though 1) he already introduced himself at the audition, and 2) he’s not actually on the team. Taemin told us all, however, that he would be staying for a lot of the practices. I didn’t ask why he was always around, but I figured it was just an extension of this whole overprotection thing going on around Taemin.

I’d find out sooner or later.

Either way, Taemin decided that just because it was their very first time getting together as a team, that didn’t mean they had to go easy. It was still a strenuous rehearsal and I will admit- if only to myself- that I had a hard time keeping up.

I didn’t know why, though. Maybe it was the fact that Taemin was up there, sweating in those tight clothes and dancing his heart out, maybe it was because I felt Key’s eyes watching me even from behind me, or maybe I was just feeling a bit intimidated by the sheer amount of talent in that room. Whatever it was, I’d have to get over it if I planned on being professional about this.

By the time 2 and a half hours had passed, Key had finally cleared his throat, signaling to Taemin that he should probably wrap up. The scenario made me smile, even through my exhaustion, because Taemin seemed to just lose track of time when he was dancing. It was inspiring how passionate he got about it, though.

“Oh, sorry guys. I probably should have taken things a bit slower, but I’ve been missing this,” Taemin giggled, grabbing a small towel to wipe the sweat off of his face once he’d called practice off.

“Don’t worry about it, see you next week!” Eunhyuk called cheerily on his way out the door. He was followed by Henry and then by Luhan, who each called out their goodbyes to everyone left.

Fine, I admit I had purposely taken my dear time gathering my belongings so I could keep sneaking those secret glances towards Taemin’s sweaty figure. I didn’t think anyone had noticed.

Boy was I wrong.

“I’m going to go to the bathroom really quick,” Taemin announced before he left the room. Now that he was gone, I had no further reason to stall, so I began to make my way out as well, when Key’s voice stopped me once I’d reached the door.

“Kai, wait up a second.”

His voice sounded calm, but it was the kind of calm that was… too calm. The kind of voice mothers used to trick their children into admitting guilt when they do something wrong rather than confronting them straight out and telling them off. If anything, I just knew I was in for something. I just didn’t know what.

Without any other real choice, I stopped in the doorway and turned around slowly to face the older man who was now approaching me.

“Taemin’s a great guy, isn’t he?” Key had said simply, smiling a small smile that seemed entirely sincere- no sarcasm. “He’s always been a fighter. And I love seeing how he just loses himself when he dances. He’s pretty y like that, right?” he asked with a sly grin, at which point I knew Key had caught me checking him out.

“U-Um, I’m sorry, I- I don’t quite know how to respond to that…” I answered. This was likely one of the most awkward moments I’ve ever experienced in my life. Sehun had told me that Taemin treats Key like his mother- he even calls him that. So what do you do when your gay crush’s mom catches you staring at their “son’s” ? It’s… incredibly embarrassing.

“Kai, seriously tell me what you’re thinking. I know we’ve never actually held a conversation before, so you’re extremely uncomfortable right now. But besides that, I need to know- do you like Taemin? You’ve been spending a lot of time together, right?” Key asked, his voice holding absolutely no jest whatsoever. This was serious.

“Y-Yes… Um, I… I do like Taemin-hyung…” I replied, unsure of why I was even playing along with whatever this was. Maybe it was to make a good real first impression, though it seemed I really wasn’t doing a very good job of that.

“Then that leads me right into my next point. If this is nothing but lust, you better drop it right now, kid,” Key said menacingly, drawing himself close to me and pointing his finger accusingly at my chest. “He may not seem like it, but Taemin’s a fragile boy, and he sure as hell doesn’t need people messing around with his heart.”

“Look, Key-ssi,” I tried to defend myself. “I understand your concern completely.” Ah here we go, now I’ve regained my usual confidence. “Honestly, I do see where you’re coming from, but I assure you that my interest in Taemin-hyung has nothing to do with his appearance; I swear I’m not trying to get into his pants or anything. I admit I do want to date him at some point, but for now I genuinely just want to get to know him better…”

I seriously hoped that would do for an explanation. I figured being honest was the best way to go with this Key guy, since I didn’t have any hidden intentions to hide anyway. Those were my true feelings down to the dot.

Key wasn’t even given a chance to respond, however, as Taemin took that moment to return from the bathroom, having noticed the two of us in the doorway right away.

“Oh, Kai! You’re still here,” he called once he’d reached the room, and Key and I stood aside to let him in to pack up his stuff.

“Yeah, we were just chatting,” Key answered for me. He continued to speak while Taemin’s back was to us as he packed his bag. “I was inviting him to the café with the rest of us today.”

As Key said that, he looked to me expectantly.

And I was speechless. Was this a real invitation? I could tell he was waiting for a specific answer and he wouldn’t have it any other way, but I didn’t know what he was expecting. Maybe he wanted me to say no, and I was supposed to understand that this was his warning to stay away from Taemin, or maybe he wanted me to say yes, which could mean more than one thing. He could either have been honestly impressed by my answer earlier, or he just wanted to pick my brain a bit more with the other intimidating members of the group to hold me down…?

Unlikely, but not impossible.

“Uh, yeah, I’m sure that’d be okay…” I replied quietly, but loud enough to be heard.

“Oh, that’s great!” Taemin said happily as he turned around with his bag slung over his shoulder. I spared a quick glance towards Key, who smirked at me secretly.

What’s that even supposed to mean?

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Author's Note:

I'm just going to say what I said on my author's note from my other story- 

Basically, I'm sorry for not having updated in such a long time, I was busy training for a cirque audition I have in the states coming up, and it's what I would be, like, my career for the next few years, so I really really really want to pass that audition. It shouldn't hinder my ability to update too much, but the training period was really intense. It won't be like that in the future though.

Anyway, thanks for waiting patiently (or not so patiently...) and I'll get back as soon as I can (: comment, please! I like reading them XD

Bisous~ :-**