Holla~~Gosh...i feel sooo horrible for not updating much..hahh~~~but i hope this chapter will make up to it:) Please do enjoy it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The bell rang. Cleo sat rigid in her chair, not planning to move any earlier. She pretended to find something in her bag as the class slowly disappear to the cafeteria.

Busy she was pretending, her eyes fell onto a set of shoes before her. Gulping, she looked up to the owner and her heart sank. The girl from her class who had tripped her earlier smirked down at her.

"so, you're hanging out with Jjong oppa? I don't like it," she flicked her hair off her shoulder as her eyes burned Cleo with every word she spoke. The blood from Cleo's face drained. Cleo has never really had the guts to stand up for herself.

Trying to brush it off, Cleo zipped her bag up and tried to walk round her. But even before she could take her second step, the girl stood in her way.

"I'm talking to you," she hissed.

"But I have nothing to say," Cleo replied before brushing past the girl. Feeling a little triumph inside, she smiled at herself only to get it erased off her face as the girl yanked the back of her collar.
Cleo fell down to her as she coughed non-stop. The yank had managed to momentarily block all the excess of oxygen to her lungs. Her eyes teared up.

The girl glared down at her before hissing, "Paws off him". With that she her heels and marched out the class, leaving Cleo to register what she had said.

XXX

"Yah! Taemin ah. What's with the long face?and gosh! You're so pale, did you see a ghost or something??" jonghyun asked as he placed his sandwich back onto the plate staring at his maknae. Taemin shrugged his shoulders and slumped onto the empty seat beside Minho. Everyone on the table including Alice, Leah and Bell eyed the said boy curiously.

Taemin was cheerful that day but it came to a halt after having another accidental meet-up with the girl he feared, Lorita. Her words burned deep into his mind, "I hope you never exist". Taemin was confused. He had no idea why the hell she was so against him. He did not remember doing anything bad to her ever. The more he thought about it, the more he was confused. But he never got the courage to confront her straight-up. Her flaming glare and hard grimace made his will deflate. He was simply afraid of her.

She seemed...Dangerous.

It had been going on For a few weeks Since the first day they were there. He really needed someone to talk to about this but he just cant seem to be able to. He didn't want to make them worry or make himself seem so weak. Well after all, he was afraid of a girl.

Shuddering, he turned back to the people at the table and put on a masked that comes with a plastic smile on the lips. With that, the rest soon looked away and continued what they did before he interrupted.

Taemin's eyes travelled around the cafeteria when it landed on someone that made his heart dropped; Lorita. He choked on his own saliva causing the rest to look at him quizzically. He managed to choke out a few words which they heard something about him needing to go to the toilet, before he jumped off his seat and escaped out of the cafeteria.

Taemin speed-walked down the corridor, trying to get as far away from Lorita. Just as he turned a sharp corner, he went painfully straight into someone. He knew the impact was big on the other person as it caused the person to fly back and fall to the floor whereas he stood there, totally unharmed.

He gasped as he watched Cleo groaned, touching a spot on her head where he believed his burning elbow had collided into. While he apologized non-stop, he helped Cleo up onto her feet. He left his hand on her upper arm until she had finally steadied herself. She groaned abit more before looking up at him with big eyes. Taemin had never knew she had such big doe-like eyes. But then she started laughing. She laughed so hard that she doubled over, her hands on her knees. Her laughter rang in his ear and tingled through his whole body, triggering his laughter too. For awhile there...Taemin forgot about his problem.

~~~~~~~
They sat on the bench by the back gate out in the open autumn air. He inhaled deeply while Cleo sat there watching the dried leaves take its flight down to the ground. Both of them sighed at the same time.

"Hey, is something bothering you? You seem so down nowadays," Cleo whispered as she peeked a glance at Taemin's gloomy face. She saw him stiffened. After a long pause Taemin sighed once again.

"More like someone," he muttered under his breath yet Cleo still managed to catch that.

"Someone? Ouh..and may I know who?" Cleo questioned, sliding closer to him. He
glanced at her once, doubting her. But the way her doe-like eyes stared at him with so much sincerity and concern that he soon felt defeated and his guards fell.

"Lee Lorita Jung," the name itself sent chills down his spine yet he could not help but to ponder upon the fact that Cleo's face changes when he said the name. Indeed, Cleo straightened up as her eyes grew wider.

"L-Lorita...you mean Lee Lorita Jung?? You know her?" Cleo stuttered. Taemin's head snapped at her direction.

"She's my classmate....wait...you know her?" Taemin leaned towards Cleo. Cleo nodded at the question but then she shook her head as if not being able to accept the fact.

"Taemin-shii, you have to be careful around her....she-she's rather violent," Cleo warned Taemin which only made the boy even more confused hence he started asking her what she meant by that.

"well don't you know about her?" Cleo asked as Taemin only shook his head. "well apart from being my scary classmate, am I supposed to know her outside?" Taemin continued. Cleo looked shocked. Aparently Cleo was shocked to hear that Taemin did not know who Lorita is.

"Well, from what I know...she used to be a trainee in SM. But under some circumstances she failed..."Cleo shrugged her shoulders. Taemin was then the one who looked shocked.

"SHE WAS A TRAINEE FROM SM??!!!" Taemin yelled so loud Cleo had to close her ears to protect her eardrums.

"Gosh! You really don't know??!" Cleo sat staring at him. Taemin could only shake his head furiously.

"Well it was about 2 to 3 years ago, when I first move in with my aunt and uncle, they wouldn't stop bragging that we were living beside a star. I laughed at first but as they kept on insisting and showed me her, I started believing. I talked to her once in awhile, hell we're freaking neighbors!

But as months passed, she did not come home as often and it seemed then that she was preparing to debut in a two-member group, consisting of herself and Onew-shii."

Taemin gasped.

"she had been training for about a year plus and when we found out that she would be debuting in a months time, we cheered and congratulated her. We even had a party. Yeah, we were that close.

But then just within a few weeks before her debut with Onew-shii, the company and the CEO had a big discussion and a few arguments here and there. It was believed to be that they were concerned of the group's popularity and future successes. Majority did not have the trust that she could even make it. Hence that's when you guys came in.." Cleo whispered her last sentence, not wanting to hurt Taemin.

However, Taemin's mind was not there. He had wondered off to the past when he was still a trainee.

~~Flashback~~

"So we believe that the 4 of you plus Lee Jinki will be able to debut in a male idol group which will confirm be a big hit!" the CEO punched the air with a big grin. He turned to him and smiled widely.

"Taemin-shii, you will do me proud," Taemin trembled. His palms were sweaty and clammy and he swallowed his non-existent saliva, trying to dampen his dry throat.

He was their newest trainee yet he had managed to impress the CEOs with his dancing and acting skills, and just a month of training, he was already listed to be debuting soon. But he had never imagined to be so soon as he was suddenly called out of the practice room and met up with 3 other boys who looked not much older than he was.

He was told that he would be debuting in an idol group with 4 other members. They walked down the corridor to head towards the meeting room to sign the contract.

When they entered. A boy who looked not much older than he was, sat nervously on the leather couch.

"Ahh~,Jinki-shii, you've made it. Meet your new group members," the guy said with so much happiness and confidence that Taemin was confused on how to react as he watched the boy sitting before them stared at them with wide eyes. His face crumpled as he began tearing. He stood up suddenly and managed to croak out a name. A name Taemin could not really catch.

"Ouh forget about her. We'll find her a new girl group for her to train with. But you...you are my treasure!" the guy hugged the boy before giving them the instructions and they signed the contract.


Taemin washed his hands by the sink before staring at his reflection. He looked thinner and the dark circles under his eyes made him look so sick but above all he was happy by the fact that his hard work was finally going to be paid off. Hence he smiled widely at himself before pushing the door open.

Just as he turned round a corner, he was startled as he collided into someone..a girl. She did not even spare a glance at him and brushes passed him. She was too fast for him to get a good look at her face but he did saw the tears that glistened against the lights as they ran down her red cheeks. His head snapped to the front as the boy from before came running towards him.

It was Jinki.

Jinki gave him a long hard look before he rushed passed him and ran after the girl calling out a name. A name Taemin had heard him mentioned in the room.

Lee Lorita Jung.

~~Flashback ends~~

Taemin snapped out of his mind. He was staring up ahead.

"ouh gosh! No wonder she hates me. I-I ruined her dream...." Taemin whispered as his tears spilled over the brim. He could not believe that Onew hyung knew her. And he felt this sudden surge of guilt building inside him.

He turned to Cleo who was staring at him intently.

"Taemin, are you okay?" she asked as she placed a comforting hand onto his slumped shoulder. Taemin nodded.

"She must have been so hurt."
 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

hehe....my major exams are finally over. I'm sooo happy!hhahaha but gosh...had listed down the things I wanna do but so far I've just completed one thing for sure....to catch up on my sleep!hahaha so anyways...please do comment my lovely readers. I need your support and opinions:) thank you thank you:))