"Now, continuing on page—Luhan, thats the third time this week." The class looked up from where they were following along in their books to one of their peers slinking into class late as usual, his uniform disarray, contrasting the formal look of his classmates'. Luhan rolled his eyes and shrugged his backpack off, already having made it to his seat.

"Luhan," their teacher continued, as Luhan sighed under his breath. He always hated how she said his name. "Care to share with us what the theory of motion is?"

Luhan blinked slowly, annoyed. "No, ma'am."

"Didn't think so. Linger after class alright, we have something to discuss," she finished, before directing her more engrossed students' attention back to the lesson. They turned their pitying eyes from Luhan and back to the board, all but one, whose gaze lingered before turning back to their book with a small sigh.

~~~

At the end of class, Sulli was slow to pack up her things, as usual. It was the signal of lunch time, and lacking personal humility, Sulli would never openly walk alone alongside her classmates silently displaying that she didn't have any friends to meet with. No, that would be mortifying, therefore she lingered around and pretended she had work to do or reading to catch up on, it was easier that way, she sighed to herself as she closed her book, noting that all her classmates were gone and the coast was clear. Well, all but—

"Luhan, I feel like you're not applying yourself properly. You and I both know you're very capable of this work." Her teacher's voice snapped her out of her reverie, her eyes widened as she looked up to see she was stuck there in the middle of class during Luhan's private meeting. She winced and tried closing off her ears as she gathered up her things and shuffled towards the door. Her teachers voice continued, "Though you may not agree, academics are just as important to your future as sports, if not more."

"Hm," Luhan made a non-committal noise, shuffling his feet slightly.

She sighed. "You're a smart kid, Luhan. I'm just concerned you might need extra lessons to catch up now, and there really is no extra time for me to extend, you see." She eyed him sternly, before looking around thoughtfully.

"Miss Choi," her teacher called out suddenly and she'd nearly dropped her stack of books to move her line of vision to the teacher's desk. Luhan looked up in confusion as if he hadn't even known she'd been there.

"You've got a great handle of the subjects, don't you?" Sulli blushed and stammered out an agreeing noise. "Good, then it would be a breeze to tutor your classmate here, would it?"

Sulli widened her eyes and looked up in horror. "But Ms. Jung, I.. Uh.. but how would I..." She trailed off, sending her teacher a pleading look to no avail.

"You can use the classroom during lunch, and all the supplies you need," she gestured toward the board and projector. "I'm sure you can handle it, Sulli, I wouldn't ask you if I wasn't confident in your abilities." She smiled fondly before adding on, "And this will count for extra credit, of course."

Sulli smiled nervously, eyeing Luhan momentarily with a gulp. "Okay, I'll do it."

~~~

The following afternoon was their first session together. Ms. Jung had left them alone happily and the resounding silence and awkwardness ensued. Though Luhan was bounds more popular and social, despite how off-putting he seemed in class, (Sulli had seen him interact with friends in the halls so she knew he had it in him) Sulli took it upon herself to swallow down her fear of social creatures and make to speak, since he didn't seem too keen on doing so, instead eyeing her amusedly and awaiting her move.

"S-so, should we start?" She walked up to the board and wrote down a series of subjects. "These are the subjects you test the most poorly in.. I think we should start with english for a bit and then move on to science."

Luhan had moved his seat close to the board while she'd been talking so Sulli jumped in shock when she finally turned and noticed his proximity. Luhan chuckled and Sulli wondered exactly why, but didn't dwell on it as Luhan was leaning back, exposing his neck as he pulled at his tie and doing that intense staring thing and—"Alright," he sighed. "So, are you going to teach or.."

"Teach, right," Sulli squeaked brightly, earning another chuckle from Luhan. 

The rest of the session went surprisingly easy; though Luhan was prone to distraction he was actually as quick a student as their teacher had noted.

The students filed back in class, as well as Ms. Jung, who secretly sent Sulli a questioning glance as if to ask how things went. Sulli responded with a curt nod and unsure smile, her teacher smiling proudly in response before calling the students to attention. Sulli's eyes slid to Luhan briefly before snapping back when she realized he was looking in her direction too.

~~~

"Hey what was your name again?" Luhan asked during their next meeting as he munched on a sandwich.

She blinked. "It’s Sulli," she answered. She didn't expect him to remember her name, though it disappointed her deep down, but she was at least nice enough to reply meekly. She idly went back to flipping through her notes, getting her lesson plan in order.

Luhan nodded and swallowed his bite. "Right, yeah, I knew that.." He paused, humming. "Sulli. Sulliiiii. Ss—"

"What are you doing?" Sulli set down her stack of papers to shoot a questioning look over at Luhan.

He tilted his head thoughtfully. "Your name... does anyone call you anything else?" Luhan said it like he'd been puzzling over it for a while.

Sulli eyed him. "No, just my name," She smiled tightly.

Luhan frowned. "Well don't your friends call you anything? Like, a nickname?"

"Not really," Sulli mirrored his expression, looking up in thought. "I don't really have.. well, except my brother.."

"What?" Luhan sat up, interested.

"He calls me something, but its a little embarrassing," Sulli admitted.

"I want to know, though," Luhan pouted.

"Fine," Sulli braced herself with a breath. "He calls me Sulliver. Like the giant, Gulliver, you know? Because of my height." She frowned at Luhan's failed attempts at hiding his laughter.

"What? I think its cute." He dropped his hand from his mouth to reveal his dazzling bright teeth.

Sulli flushed, picking up her papers and standing with a sigh of irritation. "Lets get to work, okay."

He chuckled and scooted up in his seat while loosening his tie, as he had a habit of doing, "Yes ma'am." He drawled mockingly. Sulli moved to hide her face at the board silently flustered from all the sudden attention.

The bell approached pretty quickly after that, (sadly, which Sulli would never admit out loud) and students began filing in again, which meant Luhan would go back to being another classmate. She couldn't help but imagine he was more, though, when he didn't quite treat her the same way they did.

"Later Sulliver," he'd winked before moving back to his seat. After blinking in a momentary daze, Sulli reddened at the use of the nickname. She knew she shouldn't have told him.

~~~

At the end of the day, Sulli packed her books into her bag, her usual 100% test score tucked safely in her folder as she prepared to exit class. She didn't even realize anyone was still in the classroom. She'd come to expect the class all but ran out the door on Fridays, but she looked up to find Luhan smiling down at her.

"Sulliver, check it out." Luhan slapped his test down onto her desk, a red 'A' emblazoned across it.

"Well look at you applying yourself," Sulli grinned, peering up at him proudly.

"Yes I know, I'm awesome," he smiled back. "You were a lot of help too kid," he punctuated with a ruffle of her hair. Her eyes widened as she instinctively batted at his hands with noises of complaint, which he ignored, choosing to tickle at her neck while he was at it. She squealed and almost toppled over in her chair, earning howls of laughter from Luhan as he continued his onslaught of her ticklish spots.

Sulli's shrieks were interrupted however when a loud call echoed into the space. "LULUUUUUUUU, are you coming to practice or what?" Sulli looked up with wide eyes to see three of who she assumed were Luhan's friends all gathered in the doorway.

"Yeah, jeez the bell rang like 20 seconds ago guys," Luhan laughed, waving his hand at them dismissively. They made sounds of disapproval but clambered back down the hall noisily.

Luhan turned back to Sulli, an apologetic smile on his face. "Sorry, they were probably worried because I wasn't halfway into my uniform already," he chuckled and Sulli joined in after a moment. "I'm gonna–" Luhan vaguely gestured back towards the door.

"Yeah, thats fine," Sulli smiled tightly. "Have a nice weekend." She looked down to her desk quickly with a small sigh. Though Sulli wouldn't admit it, Luhan was growing on her. He's the only one that talked to her like.. a friend.

"I guess we don't really need the sessions anymore.. since I've pretty much got it now. I mean, I don't need to make you waste your lunch hour anymore," Luhan explained, hovering at her desk.

"I guess that’s true," Sulli smiled tightly, a heavy feeling settling in her chest.

"Yeah," Luhan fiddled with his pockets momentarily. "Hey, um, let me see your phone."

Sulli looked at him questioningly but reached in her pocket and presented it to him.

He punched in some numbers and waited idly before handing it back with a grin, "There, now you have my number. You can use it if you need anything, I owe you one, kiddo."

He waved and gave one of his dazzling smiles before he was jogging out the door to catch up with his friends.

Sulli stared after him for a while until she decided with a huff that she'd better get going. She collected her things and brushed past the empty desks towards the front of the classroom where Ms. Jung finally noticed her presence.

"Oh Sulli, you're still here," Ms. Jung smiled. "Good, I wanted to thank you for all the improvement I've seen in Luhan. You should really consider tutoring, it’s a great addition to applications."

"Oh, I.." Sulli momentarily flustered for words before Ms. Jung continued.

"Here," Ms. Jung grabbed a sticky note and scrawled some numbers on it before handing it over to Sulli's hesitant grasp. "Just call me if you're interested, I know plenty of places in need of tutors."

Sulli nodded and slipped the paper into her pocket. "Thank you, Ms. Jung.."

Ms. Jung smiled fondly, adding, "And you can use it if you ever need someone to talk to."

~~~

Thanks for being a friend—

I miss our sessions already—

Sulli sighed and deleted message after message. They all sounded impossibly lame. He probably just asked for her number in case he needed her to help him study anyway, nothing more. Or some other reason that had nothing to do with staying in contact because he might like her or enjoy her company. Whatever the rationalization, it didn't stop the feeling of missing him.

She threw her phone down with a sigh and turned back to her studying. About an hour later Sulli set down her bag of veggie chips and peeked at her phone, confused that a message had come in. It was Luhan, she realized.

Hey are you going to prom?

Prom? She sent back, staring at the device and crunching on her chips anxiously. 

Yep, the thing that all schools celebrate. Tomorrow night. That. She could hear his chuckle in her head.

Oh, that. I wasn't planning on it..

You should! I owe you don't I? You should let me repay you with a dance at least..

No thats— Sulli's fingers hesitated over the keys, ready to turn him down, when another message came in.

And don't even think about saying no like I know you're probably doing! No one rejects Luhan and gets away with it ^^

Sulli sighed, "Guess I have no choice then.." she frowned. She deleted her previous text and responded with one last message.

Fine, see you there

Sulli sighed and threw herself back on her bed, closing her eyes and trying to calm her heart beat. 

Her eyes shot open soon after. "Crap, prom is tomorrow."

She cursed Luhan silently at his last minute invitation as she tore through her closet looking for something appropriate to wear. Suddenly she popped up from her closet floor with an idea that just might work. She dove for her phone and lifted it to her ear, waiting apprehensively for the end of the dial tone.

"H-hey, Ms. Jung... I don't suppose you have a prom dress lying around?"

~~~

"You're lucky I'm chaperoning.. otherwise I wouldn't have this around." Ms. Jung chuckled as she led Sulli to where the dress she thought would be perfect for Sulli—at least that’s what she declared excitedly over the phone—hung against her closet door.

Ms. Jung ped the large, dress-shaped bag to reveal a pink gown. It was pretty and flirty and Sulli wasn't sure if she could even pull something like that off.

Noticing her hesitation, Ms. Jung placed the dress in Sulli's arms. "I couldn't decide between dresses, but I think this one really suits you."

"This is really—"

"I want you to wear it Sulli," Ms. Jung smiled. "Now, go try it on," she said excitedly while pushing Sulli towards the bathroom.

Knowing Ms. Jung wouldn't take no for an answer she took the dress and got ready, and later had Ms. Jung help her with applying her makeup because she couldn't understand the stuff herself, and soon they were in the lobby of the prom venue where Sulli was trying to gulp down her fear of social situations and just walk in.

She gulped and looked up at Ms. Jung who understood her immediately. "Take as long as you need," she smiled comfortingly. "I'll see you inside later." And with that she headed inside while Sulli stared at the closing doors after her. A moment later she decided to find the bathroom and try to calm down somehow. It was empty when she entered, to Sulli's relief, but sometime while she was within the stall a gaggle of girls flooded in, their excited voices and shrieks and the sound of high-heeled clicks reverberating off the walls, making Sulli all the less eager to exit, which is why she waited silently where she was until the group was gone.

Sulli figured everyone had left by the time she went to open the stall, but just then a voice floated over from the sinks. Sulli froze with her hand on the door as she listened cautiously.

"Did you hear about Luhan?" 

Her eyes widened, ears burning with curiosity.

"You mean..." Another voice perked up.

"Yeah, asking that dork to prom tonight." The first girl scoffed.

"So weird… he must be going through some phase."

"Well you know he should have been here with Tiffany right?"

“Whatever, she ended up bringing a hotter guy anyway. But that geek totally doesn’t stand a chance with him.”

“Ha! He probably only invited her because he felt bad.”

“The dork deserves it, it’s probably the only action she’ll ever get,” the girl chuckled. “Ready?”

“Yeah, maybe he’ll even let her down gently,” the other girl giggled as she followed the first toward the exit. With scuffling sounds and the swing of the door closing, Sulli exhaled and sagged against the stall door. 

"What am I even doing here," she mumbled. 

With a reluctant sigh she dragged herself out of the stall, preparing for what had already proven to be the beginning of the worst night of her life. All she knew was she couldn't face Luhan after what those girls had said. Too many people were talking about them and this just wasn't something she knew how to handle. To add to that, she might have just been some kind of charity case and didn't matter to Luhan at all. She gulped, hoping for the sake of what her heart could take that it wasn't his intention, but her odds weren't looking too good. Someone that good looking couldn't mean anything good for a girl like her. 

Her phone buzzed and she jumped. "It’s just a text Ssul, calm down," she murmured to herself as she pulled her phone out. 

hey sulli, where are you? can i tlk to you

Sulli's whole body froze. Luhan wanted to talk to her. She was in no way prepared for this. What would she say? What was he going to say? She looked down at her phone as it buzzed again.

i know you're here sulli, yuri already told me she saw you get here. please just talk to me?

Great, now there was no escape. She stared at her reflection and gave a little scream of helplessness. Nothing was going to allow her to avoid him forever she reasoned, so she might as well just hear him out now. The longer she waited was just going to be more agonizing for her. If she got the pain out of the way sooner, she could begin to move past it. With that she she took a deep breath and exited the bathroom. And ran right into a dapper Luhan.

His face brightened after he realized who he was helping stand up straight. "Sulli, I've been looking everywhere for you!"

"O-Oh, well you found me.." Sulli chuckled nervously.

"You.. look great outside of your uniform," Luhan smirked, much to Sulli's embarrassment. 

"Uh.. you too," Sulli admitted, gaining a cheek splitting grin from Luhan.

"Hmm.. I don't suppose you got any of my texts then?" Luhan looked down nervously.

"Oh.. Those.." Sulli said softly, causing Luhan to peer up at her.

He sighed. "Yeah.. Sorry.. I was worried. Some people have been talking and I wanted to make sure they didn't say anything to hurt you. And I couldn't find you so I thought—"

"Is it true?"

Luhan blinked. "What?" 

She sighed. "What people are saying.. that you asked me here..instead of your date.."

When she saw Luhan's distressed expression hadn’t changed she began to panic. "I—"

"They're wrong right?" Sulli interrupted with a laugh. "I mean I cant believe people would make up a rumor like that.. ha." Her smile faded when she saw that Luhan's face remained serious.

"Why would you think that?"

"I thought tonight.. this.. was just about a dance.." She shifted uncomfortably. 

He looked at her incredulously. "Sulli, if that was all I wanted, do you think I would go through all this effort?" He sighed. "I didn't mean for you to find out that way.. and I meant to be honest with you but.."

"I.. just didn't think I was your type.." She said softly, looking down at her feet.

He chuckled, making Sulli lift her eyes to see Luhan smiling as usual. "I didn't think so either," he mumbled amusedly to himself, as if it were an inside joke.

He looked up at her puzzled face and smiled brighter. "Come with me," he said and pulled her along with him before giving her a chance to object.

“Where are we going?” Sulli tried not to focus on how Luhan was currently holding her waist.

“Hmm, where a girl like you deserves to be,” he smiled charmingly and there was not much Sulli could say to that when her stomach was busy turning in circles.

He led her to the dancefloor and she could feel about a hundred people’s eyes on her.

Luhan noticed her looking around self-consciously and pulled her close to reassure her. “Just pretend it’s just me here,” he said next to her ear, and that did no help whatsoever for her rigid posture.

He eventually coaxed her enough that her legs didn’t look like they were made of lead and soon Sulli was able to relax and just have a good time. Luhan was a big help of course. He knew just what to say to get Sulli to not take herself so seriously. He also had a way of making her feel like she was the only one in the world and it was starting to become one of Sulli’s favorite things about him.

“Hey do you wanna maybe get something to drink?” Luhan yelled during a particularly loud song.

“What?” Sulli yelled back.

“Drink!” he mouthed, with a hand motion of putting an invisible drink to his lips.

“Yes, I’m so thirsty now that you mention it!” Sulli spoke over the music. He laughed and grabbed her arm to lead her out of the crowd. She looked at his hand that held her protectively while they waved through people and smiled fondly.

“Here,” he handed her a cup, which she proceeded to gulp down immediately.

“Wow, you really were thirsty,” he laughed.

“It’s all that dancing,” A girl’s voice came up beside them.

“Yuri! Hey this is Yuri, Sulli. Sulli, Yuri,” he motioned between the two formally.

Yuri smiled. “Hey, about time I met you. This big dork won’t shut up about you.”

“Hey!” Luhan pouted. “She’s lying, don’t listen to her,” Luhan tried to reassure Sulli while Yuri mouthed that she was telling the truth to Sulli behind him. Sulli shared a secretive smile with Yuri while Luhan babbled on. Somehow she knew she could believe her.

“Alright Luhan, don’t get your underwear in a wad. I’ll leave you two lovebirds alone now,” Yuri smiled.

“I like her, “Sulli said decidedly.

“I’m glad,” Luhan grinned down at her. “She’s like my kid sister,” He explained. “I’ve known her since I was little and now I can’t get rid of her. Luckily we get along alright.”

“Right,” Sulli grinned.

“Well, now that I’m done being embarrassed—”  

“Luhan! Stop being shy and introduce us to your girlfriend!”

“Yeah, I spoke too soon.” He sighed. Sulli laughed and nodded in agreement. “Okay, then are you ready to meet the team? Because it looks like they’re dying to meet you..” He glanced over to his group of friends nervously.

“I’d love to,” and for the first time Sulli pulled Luhan along with confidence.

Sulli met an eager Sehun, Minseok, Jongdae, Joonmyeon, Tao, and Yixing, who she thought were especially lovely towards her considering their normally rowdy personalities. They also cleaned up really nice. Luhan was thoroughly teased, much to Sulli’s amusement—It paid to be the one enjoying someone else being laughed at for once, which she explained while she stole him away from his buddies for another dance.

One moment however she had her head nestled on his shoulder and the next he was being called to the stage. Unsurprisingly, he won prom king, while Tiffany won queen. He looked at Sulli, reluctant to let go of her, but with a gentle push and a hushed “go” Sulli assured him that she would be fine. He shot her an apologetic look and left for the stage to be crowned.

She beamed up at him proudly as he continued to make eye-contact with her throughout the procedures. Finally, he was walking up to her eagerly to sweep her into his arms for the court dance. It was untraditional that the king and queen were there with separate dates, but what about their relationship had been traditional so far?

Sulli had never imagined that in four years she would go from lonely and invisible to the center of the dance floor on prom night with a star soccer player in her arms (and the rest of the team close by to make immature comments and kissing noises). Things just have a way of working out perfectly when you least expect it.     

~~~

two months later

"Luhan.." She glared fiercely. "I'm warning you.."

He smiled slowly and took a step forward. “Luhan don't you dare—”

“And he goes for the goal..”

"Luhan—"

“And scores!”

"AHHH!" Trying to protect her face and avoid the ball at all costs, Sulli waved around blindly and seemingly tripped over nothing, not surprising herself in the slightest, falling straight to the ground.

"Oh god, we got an ouchie," Luhan scrambled around noisily in his bag while Sulli lifted her face from where it was planted into the grass.

"Oh come on, was that even physically possible.." Sulli rolled over and groaned, clutching her knee to her chest.

"Shh, I got you." Luhan seemingly found what he was looking for and had sat down next to her, placing her head in his lap and a cold bag to her aching knee.

She hissed in relief and relaxed momentarily while Luhan her hair. "I told you it was a good idea to bring ice packs.."

He smiled down at her. "You always know what’s best."

She squinted up at him as he helped her up. "You're never conning me into helping you practice again."

Luhan winced. "Honestly I thought you'd make a good goalie.."

Sulli gave him a judging look before storming over to her sports bag. "I'm fast sure, and I'm tall, maybe even a little strong, but that doesn't mean i'm the most--"

"Sulli watch out!"

"Coordinated.." She groaned, rubbing at her forehead after successfully walking into the goal post.

"Coordination, right..” Luhan pulled her hand from her head to place a gentle kiss on her head, squeezing her hand in his comfortingly. “We'll work on that.”

[an] for those that wanted sulhan, this is devastatingly late and im sorry ;~;

also for readers waiting for the minsul theres 1 or 2 chapters left and I'll be working on that kay? Okay ;u;