The car comes to a gradual stop, and seeing this, I then begin to unclip my seat belt, to grab a hold of my bag. "Bye umma," I say, upon stepping out of the car.

"Bye dear," she warmly replies. "Have fun at school, and remember to make good choices!"

I raise an eyebrow at her. "But don’t I always do the right thing?" I say, in puzzlement.

Umma now stares at me with a skeptical expression. "If doing the right thing means falling asleep during class, then you're on the right path," she dryly comments. "Because honestly, if I receive another call from Mr Jung, telling me how you've dozed off again, then I will seriously have to give you a curfew."

My eyebrows crease at her comment, as I now go to glumly frown. "But it's not like I choose to fall asleep," I grumble. "It just...sort of happens?"

"Hmm," I hear her hum, in a disbelieving tone. "Just like how you sort of always, happen to stay up late every night, watching those cartoon shows, with Kai?"

"They're not cartoons, they're called anime," I defend, with a slight pout. "But how did you know?"

An amused chortle comes from her. "Oh, please," she flippantly says. "Do you really think I can't hear you squealing over the phone to him, about certain characters dying, or something? I am your mother, dear, and therefore, I know all."

I give her a weird look, just before hoisting the strap of my school bag, over onto my shoulder. "Then you must understand how intense Shingeki No Kyojin is getting right now..." I mumble.

Umma laughs at me, just before making shooing motions, as a way of telling me to hurry into the school building. I smile at her liveliness, finally shut the car door, and then give her another wave goodbye, just before making my way over towards the school gate.

It's another Monday morning, (oh how I detest Mondays) where all I want to do, is curl back up inside my bed, since everything is nice and cosy there. With how bright the sunshine is becoming, and how chirpy the birds nearby are tweeting, it's clearly obvious that it's still way too early for me to be awake. My eyes are half-lidded with fatigue, and I can't seem to stop the tired yawns, from slipping out of me, here and there. And as I continue my sluggish walk into the school building, all of the animated chattering, coming from the nearby students, proceeds to boggle my weary mind.

How in the world, can you all function so lively like this, in the early morning?

Because I need until noon, so that I don't feel so much like a dazed zombie.

Unless something really exciting happens, or if I see—

My train of thoughts come to an abrupt end, as I suddenly feel something lightly blow into my left ear.

"Boo," whispers a voice. "You're early for once."

Turning over to see the smirking face of my best friend, I don't hesitate, to give his arm a whack. "Dammit Kai, how many times do I have to tell you, to not sneak up on me like that?!" I huffily snap.

Kai chuckles at me in amusement, as I grumble away.

"Hey, beef brothers at three o'clock," I hear him swiftly inform.

Caught off guard by his sudden hush, I blink a little, just before turning my attention over to the said direction, and when my eyes land on a certain dark haired male, I can feel the usual butterflies, becoming active, inside my chest.

He's with Baekhyun, and judging by the way that the brunette is animatedly speaking, he must be telling him a joke of some sort. My heart does a little leap, as the corner of my lips now threaten to lift up into a smile, when I hear him laugh in response to whatever Baekhyun is saying. This goes on for a second longer, until I see the shorter male, suddenly whisper something to him, which makes him tilt his head in confusion. I'm a little curious myself, at what's being said, but the curiosity in me soon turns into nervousness, as I now see his quizzical eyes, look towards me.

And when I see a bright smile gradually appear on Tao's face, as he proceeds to give me a small wave, that acknowledgement, makes me gulp in excitement.

Is he waving at me, or is he waving at someone else?

And it's as though he's just read my mind, I suddenly hear Kai speak up from besides me. "He's waving at you," I hear him say. "Aren't you going to greet him back?"

Still feeling a little flustered, I quickly force myself to respond, and my gesture seems to amuse Baekhyun, as he's now chuckling away.

"Oh great, he was waving at someone behind us, wasn't he?" I worriedly mumble, with a frown.

Kai laughs a little, as he goes to shake his head at me. "No, he was definitely waving at you," he casually answers. "Baekhyun's just being weird again, that's all."

I now see Tao go to give his friend a slight shove, but the action just seems to make the brunette laugh even more.

"Hmm..." I quietly say. "Maybe you're right, since him and Chanyeol are besties."

"Exactly," croons Kai, with ease. "I'm always right, so because of that, we should hurry, since the bell's going to ring soon."

Giving his side a slight elbow, the two of us then proceed to make our way towards our classroom, just in time for the bell.

———————————————

A sigh of relief comes out of me, as I now set down my tray of food, onto the table in front of us. Kai takes the seat opposite of me, where he then also goes to mimic my actions, of getting himself comfy for his lunch. The two of us have just had an intense maths lesson, so our minds are completely drained, from all the problem solving, and complex graphs. There will be a test on the subjects that we've been currently studying, within the next two weeks, so I have to make a mental note, to start doing a couple of revision exercises a day.

But honestly, I can't really seem to find a situation, where I will be using a parabola graph, for...well, anything, really.

"Hey, so have you caught up, with Shingeki No Kyojin yet?" questions Kai, from out of the blue.

With a nod of my head, I hum out a sound of 'yes', as I continue to chew on my rice.

"Finally!" he says, sounding eager to further this discussion. "Isn't that cliff hanger frustrating?"

"Very," I agree. "And you know that bald man? Um...that...guy-whose-name-I've-kind-of-forgotten...uh..."

And even though I would probably make no sense to someone else, Kai knows what I'm trying to say, as he gesture me to go on.

"Oh yeah?" he prods. "What about him?"

"For a while, I thought he was secretly evil," I confess, with a little laugh.

Kai raises an eyebrow at me. "Really?" he asks. "I never really suspected him for anything."

Our conversation on the anime continues on, until we're both finished with our food.

And maybe it's a good thing that I've already eaten everything, because what Kai goes to ask me next, would have effectively made me choke—even if it was something as soft as the rice.

"So when are you going to tell Tao that you like him?" he nonchalantly questions.

My posture immediately straightens up, as I go to frantically shush him. "Hey, you can't just blurt that out like that!" I worriedly hiss.

Amused, the dark haired male chuckles at me. "What?" he cheekily says. "No one's around to hear, so it's okay."

I instantly shake my head at him. "You never know," I say, with a frown. "So just use our code words!"

Kai lets out a sigh, as he goes to playfully roll his eyes at me. "Okay, fine," he says, with mock annoyance. "For just how long, are you going to keep your crush on 'beef', a secret?"

And even though he hasn't exactly said his name, I can still feel my cheeks beginning to blush.

"I-I don't know," I stammer, suddenly feeling somewhat annoyed. "Why are you asking me this?"

Kai shrugs his shoulders at me. "Just curious," he calmly says. "Because I heard that he's moving houses soon."

My eyebrow arches up, in puzzlement. "Yeah, and?" I say, signalling for him to go on.

"Well, that means that he'll be moving schools..." comments Kai, rather slowly.

Surprised, my eyes widen a little. "Wait, what?" I confusedly say. "When did you hear this?"

"Today," he indifferently answers. "I overheard Baek—I mean, the other 'beef' talking about it, so yeah."

A concerned frown now appears on my face, as the thought of not seeing Tao at school anymore, begins to sadden me.

"And you know, if he moves schools, then it makes it harder for you to see him," remarks Kai, as though he’s reading my thoughts. "Unless you, I don't know, start talking more on a social networking website, but knowing you, you'd probably take a thousand years, just to start a conversation—"

"Hey!" I yell, flushing with embarrassment, as I know that he's right.

My interruption makes him laugh. "But anyway," says Kai, returning back to his explanation. "Don't you think that crushing on him for two whole years would be a waste, if you don’t do anything?"

I blink at him, but continue to keep quiet, and listen to what else he has to say.

Giving his head a slight scratch, he then frowns a somewhat uncertain frown at me. "I don't know," he says. "I mean, I just think that it's better for you to tell him now, then end up having all of these 'what if's building up in you, when he leaves."

That's true...

I guess he does have a point—I mean, the curiosity would probably end up making me drown in self-pity, for not taking the chance.

"And you know," continues Kai, now wearing a sly smirk. "You have a week, so it's all cool."

———————————————

As the days go by, I'm finding it really hard to concentrate on anything, but my confession for Tao. I've never really done this sort of thing before, so I don't exactly know how to go about in doing it. Kai has offered his help to me many times already, but because he just always ends up picking on me, and teasing me about it, I give up, since I just get so overwhelmed by embarrassment, to even speak. I've attempted to write down a confession letter or some sort, but the more I try, the cornier and weirder everything just gets, and...I'm pretty sure I've lost count, as to how many trees I've killed.

There's also the option of just openly telling him, but the thought of me actually saying how I feel out loud, just makes me so nervous, that my mind goes blank. I guess if jumping right in isn't the best option, then I could try to leave him some hints, as a way of building up my self-confidence, towards the last day. But even if I go to do that, it just doesn't feel right, and heck—I don't even know what kind of clues to leave, to not make things too obvious. Or too subtle, and I just—ugh, I'm so confused and frustrated right now, that it's making me so—!

A loud rumble from my stomach snaps me out of my thoughts, and the growling of it, makes me quickly stiffen up.

No one seems to be aware of the noise, except for Kai, who's currently trying to bite back that entertained smirk of his. I frown at him, but right when I'm about to complain to him about my hunger, the rumble happens again. It's a little louder this time, and as a reflex, my arms now go to place themselves over my stomach, hoping that the hug will silence down the roaring sounds. Kai's shoulders are now slightly shaking, and with the way that he's covering his face, I can tell that he's clearly enjoying this. The growling continues on, and with a mental groan of embarrassment, I find myself sinking a little lower into my seat.

And the heat spreading across my cheeks, only further tints my skin with some more pink, when I see two other males, now blinking at me

Checking to see if the teacher's attention is elsewhere, Luhan then leans forward a little. "Are you okay?" he quietly questions, with a somewhat concerned expression.

I show him a sheepish smile, and meekly nod back. "Yeah," I quickly say, with an awkward clear of my throat. "I'm just a little hungry...heh."

Chanyeol gives me an unconvinced look. "Dude," he mumbles, with a small frown. "Eat something, because it sounds really scary..."

His comment makes Kai snicker some more, as I now go to shamefully bury my head down onto my desk.

———————————————

When the ringing of the bell, signals the needed break time, I instantly straighten myself up, to begin packing away my belongings.

But just when I go to push my chair in, and am about to dash out of the door, I hear the teacher call out my name, asking for me.

It makes me mentally cry, but I force myself to temporarily dismiss my need for food for a little longer, as I now go to approach her. She tells me that she wants my help in carrying the text books that we've just been using, back towards the resource room, near her office, and I don't exactly have much of a choice, but to gloomily help her. I pick up a few of the thick books, and on my way out, I make sure to tell Kai that I'll see him a little later. And as I do this, in the corner of my eye, I can see Chanyeol and Luhan, talking to Tao outside, and the small smile on his face, makes me temporarily forget about being hungry.

I inwardly giggle to myself, and I guess due to my lack of awareness, it makes me suddenly collide into something hard.

The contents in my arms automatically spill out of my arms, dropping down onto the floor, and as I try to recollect my bearings, I suddenly hear my name being called out.

My dazed self suddenly becomes a lot more alert, when I look over to my left, to see two slightly confused, (but fairly worried) dark orbs blinking down at me.

I find myself letting out a squeak as a reflex, but then straighten myself up, with a timid “hi”. My meekness makes him laugh a little, just before asking me once more, if I'm alright. I blink at him a bit, and when it finally sinks in that he's just witnessed me walk straight into this wall, I'm once again, engulfed by embarrassment. Tao now goes to ask me how this happened, as I let out a tiny, nervous laugh. I can't exactly tell him that he's the reason, of me accidentally walking into this wall, and so I kind of mumble about me forgetting to watch where I was walking.

Which is slightly true, and he just laughs at me, while calling me a klutz.

So because his teasing makes me blush a little more, I now force myself to start picking up the text books, as an attempt to not explode into a cherry, right then and there. Tao helps me, and with his assistance, the books get recollected in a matter of seconds. I shyly thank him, and it makes him give me another one of his charming smiles, that are really good at making my heart do a weird loopy leap. He then asks me if I want him to help me carry these towards the resource room, but I quickly shake my head no, and tell him that I'm fine.

Tao blinks at me, with a tilt of his head. "Are you sure?" he questions, once more.

I nod my head at him a couple of times. "Y-Yeah!" I stutter. "It's okay—"

A sudden force, shoving my body forwards, makes me cut off my sentence, with a small, startled squeal.

"Whoa, sorry, I didn't see you there!" says a voice.

I look up, to see Baekhyun standing there, and...something seems to be quite off, about his apology.

And what makes this a little more unusual, is how Chanyeol and Luhan are snickering from afar, but I guess I know why, because when I turn over to see what I had bumped into, I'm suddenly aware that I'm in a pair of lean arms.

Tao's surprised eyes meet with my own equally wide ones, and when I notice that there is not much space between us, I abruptly squeak out an apology. I hear him mumble a soft, "It's okay," as a rather mischievous grin, gradually appears on Baekhyun's face.

A small frown now forms on Tao. "Hyung, watch where you're going," he complains. "It's not cool to bump into people like that."

Baekhyun responds with a chuckle, just before making his way over to Luhan and Chanyeol. The three are now taking amongst themselves, whispering about something, but because I have no idea what they're talking about, I now divert my attention back over to Tao. He looks just as confused as I am, but then resorts to shaking his head at them with a sigh. Picking up the books that I had dropped (for the second time), Tao then hands them to me, with a small smile on his face. I automatically return the gesture, as I accept the books in his hold.

"Sorry about that..." murmurs Tao. "I don't know why, but my friends have been really weird lately."

The perplexed expression on his face makes me laugh a little. "It's fine," I reassure. "Baekhyun's always been weird though, I mean, he really went to town with that light switch, during camp."

Tao's eyes light up with amusement. "You saw that?!" he eagerly asks.

I bob my head, with a chortle. "Kai showed me," I answer. "He still has that dance recorded on his phone, and he sometimes shows me it, when I'm feeling a little sad."

We both laugh at this, and it's not long, before I hear my name being called, once more. I can see my history teacher slowly making her way towards us, with an inquisitive eyebrow, and what she says out next, has my cheeks flushing pink with embarrassment.

"I hate to interrupt, but I really need to hand these keys over to another teacher," she explains. "You can continue flirting with him, after you've put these books away, okay?"

Her bluntness makes me stutter. "W-We weren't flirting!" I blurt out. "I kind of tripped, so he came over to helped me, and then—"

The teacher waves a careless hand at me. "No need to be so shy," she dismissively says. "You're teenagers, isn't that what kids your age are usually doing, or something?"

This just makes things even more awkward, and when I glance over at Tao, I can see him looking a little meek.

So before the teacher can smother us deeper into this awkwardness, I take a deep breath, and ignore the pink shade on my cheeks, to finally excuse myself from him. Tao blinks at me a little, before nodding his head at me, with a slightly awkward, "See you". From afar, I can see Baekhyun, Chanyeol, and Luhan, overwhelmed with joy, as the three appear to be laughing, and whacking each other's arms with immense amusement about something. They then eventually make their way over to Tao, and because I've now just turned a corner, I can't exactly see what's happening.

And the more I think about their odd behaviors, the more I strangely feel as though it's about me, and it kind of makes me want hide my face into these thick text books.

———————————————

At long last, the final class of the day is now finished, and after packing my books away, I soon join everyone else outside. As I'm absentmindedly walking towards the school's gate, I decide to take the less crowded route there. My feet eventually stop in their tracks, when I hear the sound of someone talking. It's a girl's voice, and when I see that a familiar dark haired male, is the one that she's talking to, I instantly switch on my stealth mode, to retreat behind the wall. I allow for a moment to pass, and when I feel that it's safe to look, I bit by bit, peep my head back out, for a slight peek.

"—my letter explains it better, but I just, um—" The shoulder-length haired girl suddenly holds out a pink envelope. "Please go out with me!"

Tao's eyes enlarge with surprise, as my hand clamps itself over my mouth, to mute the gasp being voiced from me.

My heart is now pounding away with a mixture of emotions, which include worry, and nervousness.

Why can't I be as brave as this girl?

It feels like a very long time has passed, as Tao finally answers her. "I'm sorry..." he starts off. "But I can't accept your confession."

The girl eventually lowers her arms back down to the side, with a crushed facial feature. "Why...?" she sadly questions.

An apologetic look now appears on his, as he coyly rubs the back of his neck. "Ah, that's because I...already have someone, that I'm interested in," he meekly reveals.

"O-Oh," stammers the girl. "I see..." She now lets out an awkward laugh, as she goes to hastily stuff her love letter, back into her book bag. "Um, well, t-thanks for your time," she shyly says.

Tao nods his head at her, and after exchanging a few more words, they then both head out towards the main pathway, for their separate ways.

I breathe out a sigh of relief, when I see that they're really gone.

And although I'm thrilled that he didn't say yes to her, I now feel myself sink a little, to know that he...well, already has someone that he likes.

My feet now move themselves out of the hiding spot, to then also make my way out towards the main walkway. I'm soon joined up with all of the other students, who are also heading home, but unlike how they're happily thinking of that, I feel as gloomy as ever, as to what I had just discovered. If Tao already has someone that he likes, then I'm probably too late.

Should I just give up?

Another sigh escapes from me, because my chances of being with him were already over, before it even got to start.

Although, now I'm curious, because I want to know who she is, because he's never really stated the type of girl that he likes.

"Hey, what's wrong with you?" probes a voice.

There, on my left, is Kai, who is in the middle of giving me a weird eye.

I deepen my frown at him. "Kai, I'm too late," I mope.

He blinks a little, not seeming to quite understand my sulking, so I continue on.

"Beef," I sadly say. "The beef already has someone that he likes, so my chances are non-existent."

Surprise makes Kai's eyebrows rise up. "Really?" he curiously says. "How do you know?"

I kick the nearest rock with yet, another depressing sigh. "Some girl from the year below us confessed to him just then, but he said no," I reveal. "She then asked why, and that's what he said..."

Kai is unusually quiet, and the expression on his face is unreadable. He then pulls something out of his pocket, and then hands it to me. "Here," he says. "Use this."

———————————————

A/N: I’m so sorry guys, I was supposed to be finished with this last month, but because I had been overloaded with a gazillion assignments and tests (and just so many things to do in general), I...didn’t have time for this, and made it look like as though I had abandoned it WHEN I REALLY DIDN’T :|

Anyways, I’m going to warn you guys now; since I didn’t write for a month, I kind of accidentally let myself go a bit crazy with this, and...it’s kind of turned into a two (I’m thinking maybe even three) shot, because it’s quite long, hahaha .__.

I’m just in the middle of spell-checking and etc for the next part, so please look out for it! ^^

And of course, thank you for reading!! :D