The boy in the cap grabbed it and slipped it on, beaming. “Thanks! I can’t believe I didn’t realize it had fallen off!” He shoved Junior to the side, ignoring the other boy’s protests, and stood in front of Lili with his hand out expectantly. “I’m Jackson! Nice to meet you! What’s your name?”

She hesitantly placed her hand in his, somewhat surprised by the rough callousness of his skin, and shook it firmly.

This time it was Jackson’s turn to be surprised. She had a strong grip, a good handshake. He had expected it to be weak and floppy. He grinned. Maybe there was another side to this girl.

“Um, may I go home now?” Lili peered up at Jackson and retracted her hand.

“Sure! I’ll walk you back!” Jackson offered cheerily. The other boys looked at him.

Lili cracked the tiniest of smiles. “Thank you.”

“But you have to tell me your name!”

Her smile slipped. “Never mind, I can go by myself.”

“Hey, wait--”

But she had already slipped away, darting around a corner and disappearing.

Junior slapped Jackson on the back comfortingly. “See, Hyung? Told you she was scared of you.”

Jackson bared his teeth at the younger boy. “You’re the one who should be scared of me! Go practice! You made a mistake when we performed!”

Lili was panting by the time she arrived in front of her house. The sun was just starting to set; she hoped her parents hadn’t noticed how long it took her to get home.

“Lili Park! Where did you go after school?”

But of course they did.

“Nowhere, Mother, I just got a little lost. You know how bad I am with directions,” she called back as she joined her family at dinner.

Later, after she had done all her homework and showered and was in bed, she allowed herself to think of the seven boys from this afternoon. They really were arrogant and strange. She giggled a little to herself as she recalled Jackson’s face when she refused to tell him her name and slipped away.

She cringed a little as she thought about her own behavior. She really had acted rather wimpy, though she was usually much less excitable and submissive. But it had all been so sudden, she defended to herself decisively.

She found herself thinking about the five other boys she hadn’t been introduced to yet. I wonder what their names are, she thought, but as soon as the thought appeared in her mind she locked it away. No, no, stop thinking about them. I probably won’t ever see them again anyway.

The next morning, she arrived at school several minutes early, as she had planned, and immediately ran to the piano room. The music teacher had given her permission to use the room before and after school. It housed a glorious, polished wood grand piano that sang the most exquisite notes. At home, she only had a small upright spinet piano to practice on, so she wanted to take advantage of the school’s expensive one.

She sat down, straightened her back, laid her hands on her lap, and took a deep breath, watching the keys. Then she lifted her arms gracefully and let them fall.

She wanted to play something happy to set her mood for the day, so her fingers out Mozart’s Piano Sonata No. 10 in C major. An involuntary smile spread across her face until she was grinning wide with her pearly teeth exposed.

She loved the piano. It was her best friend, her arch nemesis, her one true love. The music she could produce with it was boundless. The song seamlessly melded into the hiphop song she heard the day before, the one with the offensive lyrics, the one the seven mysterious boys had performed. She played it by ear, trying to match the chords and rhythm. She messed up a few times, but after a few minutes, she could play through the song flawlessly. She ended with a flourish and clapped to herself, smiling widely.

“Hey, that was awesome!” someone said straight into her ear, wrapping his arms around her waist.

Lili shrieked, bloody murder, jolting the stranger away from her. She shot up and spun around, desperately looking for a weapon. Then she did a double-take.

It was one of the boys from yesterday. And he was wearing her school’s uniform.

A/N: Muahahaha, another cliffie! Who do you think it is? :D

Keep voting on the polls by the way!

But here’s a new one to decide Lili’s love life! Wheeeeeeeee! HER FATE LIES IN YOUR HANDS!

I’m actually updating two days in a row! Wowzers! xD This is only because it’s a new story so I’m still inspired. But it’ll probably run out by the end of the week. There’s no way I can keep this up with all the work I have...but we’ll see! I'll try my best! :D

Thanks and enjoy!

skyblaze208, OUT!

EDIT 3/25/14: OMG I POSTED THE WRONG NEW POLL OMG SORRY GUYS IF THERE WAS CONFUSION I'm so stupid OTL. Haha, well fixed now, please vote! :D

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