I'll be there for you when you need someone to come and hold you tight.

The school bell rang and she heaved a sigh of relief, slouching back onto her chair. It was the end of another school week, finally. Before Baekhyun could turn around to speak, Jiyoon had already stuffed her belongings into her backpack and ran out of the class hastily as usual. Sehun glanced at the cold empty seat beside him, giving a soft sigh.

“Is she going to be like that forever?”
 

“I don’t know.” Jongin placed his earphones over his ears, tuning the volume to its loudest. He was undeniably displeased. Especially when all of the boys were acting nonchalantly even though they knew everything was not okay. It was doing no good to anyone at all.
 

Jiyoon had a clear mindset of what EXO was now, the puzzle pieces finding themselves together. She guessed it was just like her old high school where the girls gave the most popular guys a nickname and fangirled crazily over them. It was ridiculous, still is and she refused to be caught up in their childish school affairs. Her grasp on her textbooks tightened as she caught sight of the bright yellow sticky note with test dates and assignments due scribbled neatly on it. Studying was the reason why she came to this school, not to make friends. Still, her mind couldn't help but drift back to Xiumin who would cling to her most of the time when he was not on the soccer field. They still had a promise to eat ice-cream at the convenience store down the street.

Jiyoon scanned the huge cafeteria, trying to search for an empty seat, hands holding a bowl of salad. Now that she wasn't with the boys who'd occasionally ask her to join them it was harder to find seats. Having the idea of returning back to the classroom, she her heels and was about to head out when she felt someone grabbing her wrist.

"Join us?" Kyungsoo smiled, tilting his head to the boys who were looking expectantly at her. Flashbacks of the entire week swept across her mind. She had been acting very cold to the boys and trying to avoid them at all cost but they never acted indifferently towards her, or even pretended not to know her. Baekhyun placed a packet of milk on her doorstep, hoping to get a response from her and Sehun who was awkwardly cold in the beginning even initiated dry conversations in class like Lay hyung said you should go hear them in the music room sometime. Chanyeol would slip a mathmatics question from the bookcase, hoping for Jiyoon to solve them for him which she always returned a blank one. Whenever she saw Xiumin and Luhan waving to her in the cafeteria, she'd turn her back against them and walk towards the other direction. She rejected Tao who suggested teaching her martial arts and ignored Kyungsoo's dinner invitations one after another. Kris who was still very scary to her would ask awkwardly about her day. But-

"It's alright." Jiyoon tried to pull away but Kyungsoo's grip around her wrist tightened. 

"Please?"

There was a desperate look in Kyungsoo's eyes and Jiyoon looked away. Why was he acting this way when they were only.... only acquaintances? Wouldn't it be awkward for everyone?

"Kyungsoo ssi..." Jiyoon asked politely, "Please release me."

The certainty in her tone was evident, and Kyungsoo almost scoffed. Was she going to treat them as strangers from now on? Kyungsoo ssi?

"I'm sorry." he immediately released his grip on hers and stepped backwards. "I'm sorry, please excuse me."
 

"Oppa, did you see that?" the tiny girl whined, hiding under her English book. "D.O oppa likes her? Does he? Does he not like me?"

"Silly girl," the boy fed a spoonful of rice into the girl's mouth gently, gaze set on the girl standing in the middle of the crowd with a bowl of salad. Kyungsoo had already turned his back against her, walking back to his seat defeated. It was getting interesting.

"He doesn't even know you."
 

"What did she say?" Chanyeol asked, a glint of hope in his eyes. They sent Kyungsoo who they thought would speak well with Jiyoon and-

"She said no." Kyungsoo picked up his metal spoon, looking at the fish and chips on his bone china plate. Suddenly, it looked very distasteful to the eyes, revolting even. He set his spoon back on the table. "She called me Kyungsoo ssi."

"Kyungsoo ssi?" Suho widened his eyes, "Is she trying to act like she doesn't know us?"

"Hyung, are you that concerned?" Kyungsoo blurted bluntly, "You didn't even care when she said to distance herself."

"You know very well that's n-"

"That feeling of being unwanted, misplaced, lonely. No one likes feeling that way and I believe you understand that better than I do." Kyungsoo threw a cold glare at Suho.
 

"I'm full." he stood up from the table, dumping his food into the bin, walking out of the cafeteria with hands in his pockets. 
 

"He's just a little sensitive." Xiumin patted Suho on his back, trying to calm him down. 

Suho took a deep breath, watching Kyungsoo's retreating figure stepping further away from them. He knew perfectly well how Kyungsoo felt at the moment and he knew Kyungsoo was trying his best for Jiyoon though the term friendship seemed a little forced if used on the relationship between the 12 and Jiyoon. He glanced down the table at Luhan who was laughing at a silly joke said by Baekhyun.

He might be selfish but he was just trying to protect them.
 

Jiyoon stepped into the washroom and headed straight for the sink. She hoped splashing some cold water on her face might be useful but she couldn't help but think that with the cold water droplets dripping down her face, it made her look more pathetic. Patting her face, she was about to leave the washroom when a familiar figure stepped inside with four girls mirroring her actions.

"Caught you." she sang, her pink lips tilting upwards. With a head gesture, two girls blocked the entrance to the toilet and another two went behind Jiyoon, restraining her hands and knocked her down onto her knees with a plop.

"What do we have here~" she circled around Jiyoon like a predator, fingers tapping lightly on her thighs.

"Kim Hyerim, I only want to live peacefully." Jiyoon took the opportunity to explain the misunderstanding to the girl. "I'm not close to the boys you call EXO and I don't wish to be. I will stay away from them if that's what you like so please, leave me alone."

"You don't look too sincere about it though," Hyerim frowned, "I still saw you with Kyungsoo oppa this afternoon and you call it distancing yourself?" Hyerim bent down to Jiyoon's eye level with a questioning look on her face.

"Who are you trying to kid?!" Hyerim raised her voice and pulled onto Jiyoon's hair tightly, earning a yel