I accept the white card, with a pink border around it. "'Buy one get one free'," I blankly read out. "You're suggesting that I eat my sadness away with frozen yoghurt, or...?"

"Something like that," responds Kai.

His indifferent reply makes me stare at him for a bit. "Hmm, okay then," I mumble. "Let’s go get some froyo."

I'm about to start walking, when his answer pulls my attention back over to him.

“Who says I’m eating with you?” he muses.

I frown at his teasing voice, and crease my eyebrows together. "So you want me to eat by myself?" I disappointingly say.

An impish twinkle now appears in his dark orbs. "No, you’ll be eating with Tao," is Kai’s simple reply.

My jaw drops to his smirking face. "W-What?!" I splutter. With his hands on my shoulders, I'm now being forcefully steered forward. "Hey, what are you doing?!" I hiss.

Kai laughs at me. "Giving you a little push," he answers. "Literally; come on, this is the perfect chance for you to get closer to him."

"But this is too sudden!" I retort. "I don't even know what to do?!"

I hear another chuckle, just before a small sigh emits from my best friend. "You just ask him, “hey, do you want to go and get some ice cream?” and then show him the coupon or something," he coolly says. "Easy, right?"

And because we're now approaching closer, and closer, towards the said male, all I can seem to do, is notice just how nervous I'm feeling.

Tao is in the middle of talking to Baekhyun about something, and when he sees me and Kai coming nearer, he acknowledges us with a smile. Baekhyun is now snickering about something, and when Kai gives me another push forward, I see him bid his friend goodbye. The brunette is now jogging over towards Kai, and as Tao and I watch the two of them continue to walk out of the school gates together, the two of us both share an equally puzzled expression. And it only seems to get a little stranger, as Chanyeol suddenly emerges from the blue to join them, like he had been waiting.

"Everyone has been so weird lately," mumbles Tao. He then turns to me, to show me his further confusion, with a scratch of his head. "Is there something going on?" he ponders out loud. "Because I'm curious now."

My lips tighten together in thought. "I want to know as well," I state. "Baekhyun and Chanyeol are always weird, but...there's been something a little off about Kai."

Tao tilts his head at me. "Really?" he says. "Like what?"

I shrug a shoulder. "I don't know," I answer. "He's just...being really persistent."

This seems to add more to Tao's curiosity. "About what?" he questions.

I blink at him for a bit, and then let out a nervous laugh. "Oh, just...uh, stuff," I lamely say.

"Can I ask about the 'stuff'?" probes Tao.

The innocent look on his face makes me stutter a little. "Um," I squeak out. "It's a little...hard to explain?"

Tao pouts a little, appearing to be somewhat disappointed. "Aw, okay..." he quietly says. With how his expression has just suddenly lit up, I'm assuming that something has just clicked inside his head. "Hey, do you want to team up, and find out what our friends seem to be hiding from us?" he offers.

An image of us both decked out in black, and silently snooping around a building, by doing impressive acrobatic skills, suddenly appears in my head, and it makes me stifle back a giggle.

But Tao seems to take my sign of amusement as me mocking him, because he's now frowning a little.

"I might not look it, but I can be really secretive, when I want to be!" he hastily announces.

My James Bond thought now morphs into something else, where instead of us being dressed in sophisticated dark outfits, a red bandanna with white poker dots, is tied around our heads, to cover our hair. Big, dodgy sunglasses conceal half of our faces, as in our hands are two tree branches, that are used to help 'hide' us. I can't help but laugh a little more at my imagination, and before Tao can get the wrong idea that I'm laughing at him, (I'm not exactly laughing at him, am I...?) I quickly agree to his proposal, and it makes him smile in delight.

The two of us eventually decide to say our goodbyes, so that we can head on home, but the little card that I've been holding in my hand, instantly reminds me of what I was initially supposed to ask him.

"No wait!" I blurt out. "Let’s get some frozen yoghurt. I mean, can you get yoghurt?" I blink a little, and then shake my head. "Ah, what am I saying?" I mumble, frowning at my slip-up. "Of course you can, I mean as in, um—do you want to go and get some frozen yoghurt with me?" Feeling incredibly embarrassed, all I can do is timidly smile at him. "I have this coupon thing, for the new froyo place that just opened up and...yeah?"

Tao stares at me for a moment, until I see the corner of his lips quirk up a little. He doesn't do a very good job in hiding his laughter, because it soon slips out from him, and it makes me blush. It's now my turn to be frowning at him, as he muffles back his amusement, only to fail.

My expression eventually softens though, but the giddy feeling in me gradually comes to a stop, when he finally regains his composure, to answer me.

"I actually can't," he apologetically says. "I'm supposed to be helping my mom with some packing, so yeah..."

Oh, that's right...

I quickly perk myself up with an understanding smile, to hide my disappointment. "It's okay," I immediately assure. "I'll um, save it for later or something?"

Tao nods his head at me, and when I manage to spot my mother's car making its way into the school's car park, I'm then forced to say my goodbye to him.

All I can seem to think about right now, as I make my way out of the school's gate, is how Kai's froyo plan had failed, and that this just might be something that the universe is trying to tell me—that what I want to do, isn't going to work out like how I want it to.

———————————————

Friday.

It's now Friday, and normally, I would be really happy, but I'm actually feeling quite the opposite. I'm miserable, because my plan to tell Tao about how I feel has had no progress, whatsoever. There haven’t been many opportunities for me, to get him by himself without it looking a little suspicious. I think Kai's given up, and is tired of my shyness holding me back, because he's suddenly stopped pushing me forward, and just doesn't really talk about it anymore. I mean, it's kind of understandable—even I'm angry at myself, for finding this to be a lot more difficult than it actually is.

Argh, I don't know, everything is so weird.

Why is everything so weird?

I don't even know the purpose of this pointless train of thought—

"Hey," pokes a voice, on my right. "Are you sleeping with your eyes open?"

With an unamused expression, I then turn over to face the platinum blonde haired female. "Why?" I dully ask.

Amber blinks at me. "You just seem to be...'extra' zoned out, today," she says. "Is this about a guy?"

I find myself almost choking on my own saliva. "What makes you think that my mood is affected by a guy?!" I question, in bewilderment.

"I don't know," she responds, now leaning back into her chair. "Krystal always gets that weird 'faraway' look in her eyes, when she sulks to me about her boy troubles."

"I see..." mumbles my voice.

Right at that moment, the bell signals that it's the end of the day, where we're now allowed to go home. Everyone is gathering their belongings together, and as soon as it's all packed away, they slowly begin to file out of the classroom. Amber and I eventually join the rest of the students, down the corridor, and then out into open space. I know that I'm not being picked up today, so I take my time in walking out with her. We go on to make some small talk as we head towards the school gate together, (such as if we have any plans installed for the weekend and whatnot) to soon end our chatter, with a simple farewell.

As I watch Amber make her way over to Henry, it makes me think of Kai and I sigh—he won't be walking home with me today, because of dance practice.

With that thought in mind, I gradually shrug off the disappointment, to start my trip home. It's probably better to not have him here with me now, as I'm still feeling rather gloomy about not making any progress with Tao. I wonder how his friends must feel about that. They'd probably stay in touch, since they're such a close group. Speaking of his friends—I never really got to find out what was making them all so weird, because it seems as though whatever it is, is now gone. Or that they've just decided to stop, with their odd scheme of some sort?

My lips purse into a frown, as I now force myself to shake the curiosity out of me.

Psh, boys—whatever, I'll just ask Kai about it later, or something.

In the corner of my eye, I notice a familiar looking white rose bush, and when I turn to face the whole site, my eyes widen.

This is Tao's house; how did I end up here?

The surprise in me now slowly dissolves into one of confusion, as I begin to ponder about this.

But when my gaze catches sight of a few light brown boxes, (which are stacked next to the house's door) my eyebrows crumple together, as I bite my lip down in sadness.

There was actually a tiny part of me that was always wondering if Kai was possibly making this whole thing up, but now that the evidence is here right in front of me, I feel a little bad, for doubting my best friend.

Breathing out a glum sigh, I now force myself to keep moving forward, because staring at someone's house with so much longing and intensity, might come across as a little creepy, if I happen to get caught.

And I think I've just spoken too soon, because after a step or two, I hear my name being called from behind me.

My curiosity makes my body spin towards the source of the voice, and I inwardly flinch, upon seeing who it is.

He didn't see me staring at his house all weirdly, did he?!

The smile on Tao's face brightens a little, as he's now in better speaking range. "So it is you!" he happily says. "But I knew it would be you, anyway."  

His playful comment makes me chortle. "How so?" I question, with interest.

"Your headband," he answers. "I recognize your headband."

I blink a little, as my right hand goes to slowly touch the hair accessory, because it completely slipped my mind, that I was wearing it today.

Tao suddenly covers his mouth, looking as though he wasn't expecting that to leave his lips so easily. "I-I mean," he quickly says. "It's a nice...headband and all, and you seem to be the only one amongst the girls in our grade to have it, so...uh, y-yeah?"

Flattered that he would notice such a thing, I feel my cheeks blush a little, with content. "Thanks," I quietly say, with a tiny smile.

And the fact that he seems to be slightly flustered, makes the fluttery feeling in me, secretly giggle to myself.

"A-Anyway," begins Tao, with a clear of his throat. "You looked a little sad today, so...I wanted to ask you, if you're okay."

Once again, I'm taken aback by his comment.

He was...no, he's worried, about me...?

My astonishment only grows, as he's now timidly rubbing the back of his neck, where the sincerity in his voice, is enough to daze me. Tao's sheepish smile meets with my blinking eyes, and my features sooner or later, come to soften at him. My heart now goes into a strange rhythm, as I swallow down my nerves. This is it, this is my chance—this is probably going to be the only moment where I can tell him. It's...actually not that bad, now that I think of it, because I can always just pretend to laugh it off. And because he will be off at another school, he won't be around to really see me be all mopey and such.

With those so called 'reassuring' thoughts, I square out my shoulders, and force myself to properly look at him. "Actually," I begin. "There is...something that I need to tell you..."

Tao looks as though he wasn't expecting me to say this, with how his eyebrows have jumped. "Is it bad?" he worriedly says.

"Um..." I think for a bit. "It...kind of depends on how you take it, I guess?"

He blinks a little, as he lets that sink in. "Oh, okay then...?" murmurs his unsure voice.

I take in a deep breath, before speaking again. "To be honest, I don't really know how to say this, since...I've never really done this before," I expose, laughing slightly. "It...also might be a little out of nowhere as well, but I just want to let you know, before you go."

Tao tilts his head at me. "Before I go?" he questioningly repeats.

"Yeah..." I say, with a nod of my head. "I'm going to miss you, when you move away." Another small laugh escapes me, but it's only because I'm feeling rather nervous. "I've always liked you, and I kind of wish I could have told you sooner," I coyly confess. "But I've just always been way too shy, and...you already have someone that you like, so...I guess you snooze you lose, right?" Another embarrassed laugh comes out from me, and because Tao is now pretty much gawking at me, the heat on my cheeks only become warmer.

"You...like me?" he quietly says, with wide eyes. "And you...will miss me, when I go...?"

With my cherry cheeks, I soundlessly nod my head at him, slightly wishing that this would end already.

But Tao continues to stare at me in bewilderment. "Before I say anything, can you tell me where I'm supposed to be moving to?" he inquires, with a perplexed arch of his brow.

His puzzled tone of voice now makes me mimic his expression of confusion. "What?" I mumble. "I was just about to ask you..."

Tao blinks at me. "Well...I'm not going anywhere..." he slowly announces.

"What?" I find myself blurting out once more. "B-But Kai said that he overheard you talking about moving during class one time, and—" I quickly turn over to point at the boxes from afar. "You told me that you needed to do some packing!"

There's a pause, as a soft breeze now brushes past us, and through this silence, I can feel the awkwardness begin to smother me.

And then what happens next, doesn't fail to make my jaw drop, because Tao is laughing.

He's laughing, and because he seems to be having trouble in recomposing himself, I can tell that his amusement level is off the roof. I'm now frowning, as I'm not quite exactly sure at of what he's finding to be so funny. The possibility of it being my confession, is starting to make me feel really small and self-conscious, and I think he's now only become aware of that, because he's now trying to muffle down his laughing fit.

"I'm sorry—" guffaws Tao. "I really don't mean to be laughing at you, honest! But it's just—" Another chuckle pops out of him. "Kai—"

Kai...

Kai.

Kai’s mocking laughter suddenly echoes in my mind, and it all makes sense now—with how he had brought this up from out of the blue, with how he had suddenly stopped talking about it, when it looked as though his efforts weren't making me budge—but more importantly, that suspicious feeling, telling me how he was possibly making this whole thing up, is true!

Tao lets out a satisfied sigh, as he seems to be finished with his laughter. "Yeah, I'm not moving anywhere," he states. "Kai just played another trick on you."

"Then what are those boxes over there?" I immediately ask.

"Oh, those?" he says, with a smile. "They’re just my old wushu equipment."

"W-Wu...shu...?" I utter.

Tao nods his head at me, to confirm it. "Yeah, my parents just thought that it was time to finally renovate my training area, by making it more spacious," he answers.

All I can do now, is bit by bit, go to shamefully bury my face into the palms of my hands, all while muttering curse words at a certain someone—I can still clearly hear Kai's stupid, teasing laughter, ringing through my head, and that thought only makes me further groan in aggravation.

"Look, I'm really sorry about this," I mumble, with my hands still covering my face. "But I'm just really embarrassed right now, and—" I let out a sigh. "Can you just, I don't know, wushu Kai's for me, or something?"

Tao chuckles at my request. "Why would I do that?" he says. "I should be thanking him."

Confused, I now little by little, lower down my hands, to peek up at him. "Why...?" I carefully ask.

And it's as if the roles have switched, because it's now his turn to be gazing at the floor rather meekly.

"Well, it's because I...like you, too," he quietly confesses.

His soft voice makes my heart skip into a loop, as my hands now cover my mouth, in astonishment.      

“I’ve liked you for a while,” continues Tao, rather bashfully. “I just...didn’t really know what to do. I wasn’t sure of how to ask you to spend some time with me, and...I was actually kind of convinced that you liked Kai.” When Tao sees my face cringe into one of horror, he laughs in embarrassment. “You guys would arrive at school together, sit next to each other in the classes that you share, and even eat lunch together. He sometimes waits for you at your locker, and I sometimes see you share your food with him. You both even go home together, so because of how close you two are, I just thought that maybe you guys aren’t just...well, best friends?”

Tao shuffles a little, as I watch him carry on, with my surprised eyes. He now tells me how he would feel a little envious, watching me and Kai interact with each other. Like how he would sometimes poke (I think it’s more like a stab) at my forehead, to snap me out of my daydream, or when he would suddenly decide to stick out his leg, just to make me squeal and almost tumble over, so that he can laugh. I actually had no idea that Tao was aware of all of the evil things that Kai would do to me, but now knowing this, I’m actually feeling a little embarrassed, because that means he must have seen me do these things back at him, too.

“—sorry,” apologizes Tao, from out of the blue. “I kind of ramble on, when I get a little nervous, so—”

I’m not sure what’s suddenly overcome me, but my feet now lift themselves up on my tippy toes, for me to leave a chaste kiss on his cheek.

The abrupt peck automatically silences him, as his eyes are now wide with shock. He blinks a little, and then slowly directs his gaze onto me, where his hand, bit by bit, then gently goes to touch the spot where my lips were a second ago. With a sheepish smile, all I can do is let out a small giggle, as he continues to blink at me, in wonder. Tao’s dazed expression proceeds on, as I now reach out for his hand, to have our fingers laced together. Another light chortle escapes me, as I see him now rapidly blinking at our connected hands, as though not believing the sight.

But then when his eyes gradually travel back to my face, they in the end, soften with ease, as I see a relaxed smile sketch across his features.

It makes the smile on my face grow, and when I feel his hand respond to my hold, by giving it a warm squeeze, my heart flurries with joy, until—

“Huang Zitao, what are you doing?!” calls out a sudden voice.

The out of the blue presence of another person, makes Tao and I automatically jump, as we’re startled by the suddenness of them.

Our eyes now turn towards the source of it, and there, standing at the front door of Tao’s house, is an extremely tall male, with butterscotch hair. He blinks a little when his eyes land on me, but then go to lift up a questioning brow, as he now spots our linked hands.

“Hey, is that the girl that you keep telling me about?” queries the male. “You know, the one where you make it seem as though you’re the ‘other’ guy in those dramas that you like to watch, who don’t get the girl in the end?”

Tao’s cheeks are now back to tinting themselves with awkwardness. “Kris!” he whines, with an unhappy pout. “You’re embarrassing me!”

Kris smoothly folds his arms together, with a playful look on his face. “Don’t you mean Kris hyung?” he teases, with a mocking tilt of his head. “Anyway, you need to move your wushu things out of the way, because I keep accidentally falling over, and it’s getting really annoying.”

An inaudible grumble comes from Tao, just before he turns his attention over to me. “Are you still up for some yoghurt?” he softly asks.

I blink at him. “Um, yeah, but don’t you have to—“

“Then let’s go!” he quickly chimes.

I don’t get a chance to respond, except let out a surprised sound, from abruptly being dragged forward, and away from his house.

“Hey, Tao, come on!” yells Kris’ unamused voice, from afar. “If you don’t move them by the time dad gets home, then you’re on your own!”   

“I don’t care!” hollers Tao. “I’m going on a date now, so I’ll worry about that later!”

My heart is temporarily stunned by his words, but it soon melts, and goes back to skipping away, when I see his beaming face, gazing down at me.

The two of us continue to run, hand in hand, down the footpath, and into the streets, until Kris' voice has completely faded. It's only then that we begin to slow down our pace, laughing slightly, as we now go to catch back our breaths. I can't help but wonder if this really was the right decision, so I voice it out, worried that Tao might be in for a scolding, when he returns back home. He tells me that he can see it happening, and that his father yelling is indeed, a scary thing, but he quickly dismisses it to the side, by giving my hand a tug, and leading me forward.

"You know..." I speak up, after a moment or so. "I'm actually still feeling really stupid with the whole thinking-that-you're-moving-away thing, and yet at the same time, I'm kind of thankful of Kai for doing this?" I frown a little, unsure of how to feel. "This is probably the most horrible and yet amazing prank he has ever pulled on me...it kind of makes me wish he had done it sooner."

"Well, you know what they say; better late than never, right?" says Tao, with a cheesy grin.

I give him a playful push. "Ah, that's so corny," I say, with a scrunch of my nose.

Tao continues grinning at me. "I'm just throwing this out here, but I also like long walks on the beach, and—"

I pretend to gag. "Aigoo, what are you, a corn?" I laughingly say.

"No," he chimes, playing along. "I'm a panda!" He chuckles a little, at his lively announcement. "Well, that's what my mom says...hey, do you want to be something, too?" Tao doesn't really give me a chance to reply though. "Hmm," he ponders. "What goes well with pandas?"

Nothing really comes to my mind, as I think about it.

"Oh, I know!" he suddenly says, while holding up a finger. "How about a bamboo?"

"A bamboo?" I confusedly say.

Tao nods his head at me. "Yeah!" he cheers. "Pandas like bamboo, and I like you, so..."

I watch as his voice trails off, now that he's shyly rubbing the back of his neck, with his free hand.

"How about we continue this over the froyo, instead?" I suggest.

"Sure," agrees Tao. "Alright then, let’s go, Miss Bamboo!"

His sudden burst of energy makes me continue to smile, as I run alongside him, towards the pink frozen yoghurt store, up ahead.

And as I watch Tao ponder over which toppings to add to his serving, my heart goes back to having itself being covered in this giant bubble of warmth, when my eyes look down towards our connected hands.

Because my confession to him really is, better late, than never.