Taemin was torn.

“Forget about him, already,” Jonghyun muttered, sipping his banana milk.

“Why should he? Things might change...” Jinki, always the optimistic one, mumbled fiercely, approaching his 2 best friends.

Taemin shook them off as he finished his lunch. “I don't need you guys to tell me what to do...”

The three sat in comfortable silence as they waited for the person they were referring to.

“There he is,” Jinki pointed bluntly at the brunette who entered the cafeteria. But Taemin refused to sneak a glance.

“With his guard puppy by his side,” Jonghyun whispered almost inaudibly as a feminine boy followed closely after their target.

Now, Taemin chose to take a look. And his heart broke all over again.

His Minho Hyung stood patiently in the lunch line, Kibum Hyung animatedly talking to the tall, handsome figure.

Soft, chocolate-brown hair, long eyelashes, well-muscled arms, sparkling-fair skin, Minho was blessed with beauty and the number of girls (and boys) drooling over him was just proof of how popular he was.

Jinki noticed the way Jonghyun's eyes lightened up when he caught sight of the school's Diva Key. He also saw the way Taemin's eyes widened and how difficult it was for him to rip his gaze from the boy who had left him for “freedom”.

But Taemin was a strong boy, and both of his closest friends knew that.

Wiping at Taemin's non-existent tears, Jonghyun followed his dongsaeng out the school's balcony double doors. Neither noticed the 2 pairs of eyes that followed them out the exit.

“You're not alright,” Jonghyun whispered as he set the weightless boy on the balcony railing.

“I am,” Taemin glared at the sky, not wanting to reveal his anger to his friend who had only shown him kindness throughout the days where he'd been moping over his lost love.

“No, you're not,” Jonghyun muttered as he grabbed Taemin's chin and forced his gaze on him. “You're stronger than this, Taeminnie... Don't let him affect you!”

“I know,” the explosion that Jonghyun had been waiting for finally occurred as Taemin jumped up and began pacing the balcony. “I get it! I'm acting like a girl! I've been touchy and irritated for too long, and you're worried!”

“But I'm trying, okay? It's been two days already, and I'm going against all the things I believe in...” Taemin's voice faded as the tears fell down his expressionless face.

“Everything you said is true,” Jonghyun blew Min's bangs from his face and wiped away the tears as the adolescent calmed down. “You even said yourself, that you hate when people remain in love with the one that hurts them.”

“But I can't help it,” Taemin scoffed, self-pityingly. “I guess I know how Bella felt for Edward when he left.”

The two burst out laughing as the sadness subsided. And that all-too--familar silence came. Not that awkward silence that gets everybody jittery and strangely talkative, but that comfortable silence that calms your heart and makes you feel at peace.

“... I'm really okay,” Taemin sighed, a small smile on his face as he laid his head on Jjongie's shoulder.

“Are you sure of that?” Jonghyun looked over at the boy he saw as his beloved brother.

“Trust me, I'll never let this happen again,” Taemin chuckled.

He wasn't lying.