New 'Classmates'.

FIORE HIGH DORM.

“You’re super late, Ara. It’s like 11 : 40 already. It’s almost midnight. Where have you been? My ears going to bleed if you aren’t coming any sooner than this because of her whines asking what if you’re being kidnapped, what if you get yourself into an accident and what if you ran away because you can’t stand her childish act anymore and what if you’re freezing to death outside.” Jessica nagged as she pulled the door a bit more so that Ara could get herself inside of their house.

“…. I’m sorry I’m late….” Ara whispers slowly as she dragged herself in while looking down on the floor. Taeyeon rush towards the living room as she kind of heard Jessica’s annoying ahjumma nag from inside of her room.

“Ara!! You’re back!! Oh my god, thank goodness that you’re fine.” She said—well likely yelling towards Ara as she throws herself towards the said girl. Not really realizing that Ara’s being a little bit different from when they last met at school.

“… I’m sorry… really. It’s just… something came up.” She slowly said again, almost inaudible that Jessica close the door behind her and make her way towards both of her other friends. She pulls Taeyeon away from Ara as she stares at her face a little bit too long that Taeyeon, being the ignorant girl she was had to blink a few times in confusions. Thinking what the hell was Jessica doing staring up on someone’s face like she’s going to eat them up.

“You look… awful, Ara. What happened? What was that something that came up?” Jessica ask with a frown appears on her forehead. Her voice showed concern because Ara is the most cheerful and happy-go-lucky type of a girl that she had met but this time, she appears  to be a little bit weird. Looking as if she had been bawling her eyes out when Jessica scanned her whole face. Her eyes were a bit puffy and red, with her usually beautiful and neat hair had been a mess as if she had been yanking non-stop on it.

Out of the three of them, Jessica is the only one who are the fastest to realize if there’s something wrong with  them. Like when she saw Taeyeon walks downstairs towards the two of them who was at the living room, she knows something went wrong and that the latter would bawl her eyes again. So she quickly prepared herself for the deafeaning cries.

Ara bit on her lower lips hard as she curl her hand into a fist tightly that her knuckles turned white when Jessica asked her. Taeyeon took a few more steps forwards as she brush the bangs aside from Ara’s face, trying to look on her face. “Did you cry, Ara? What’s wrong? Ara, are you okay?” Taeyeon ask again as Jessica just keep on looking at her face.

“You know that both me and Jessica will always be here for you if you need someone to talk to… ” Taeyeon tried again while patting her shoulder gently. They were worried of her current state and not knowing what was wrong with her didn’t even help so they really do need to know what had happened to her at least for both of them to help her.

“I—I ‘m not okay…” She utters slowly with her shaky breath. She tried to hold back her tears from coming out, she really did but she just couldn’t . She wants to cry again. Even after almost the entire day she had been crying, she still wants to cry all over again. And that was when she breaks down, hiding her face behind her hands and cried.

She just couldn’t hold it back anymore. She feels so angry, frustrated and even disappointed. And all of it is being directed towards herself and not anyone else. She feels so useless that she couldn’t protect Taehyung that in the end, had caused his death. She hated the fate. She hated it so much. Why does every person that Ara loves, that she cares, that she cherishes most need to be taken away from her?

Why?

Taeyeon’s eyes widened in shock but Jessica remains calm besides Ara. She shuts her eyes as she pulls Ara into her embrace because she knows that all that Ara needs the most right now is a comforting silence. Not with words but with silence and just let her talk her hearts out. Taeyeon’s eyes get all watery as she hadn’t seen Ara acting like this from the first time she befriended Ara.

The Ara that was standing infront of her right at this moment is a very different one. She looks so broken and lifeless. Ara’s body was slightly shaking inside of Jessica’s embrace as the brown haired girl caress her hair gently. Just like how a mother would plays with her daughter’s hair just so that her daughter could sleep peacefully knowing that nothing’s bad going to happen when she’s asleep.

“I’ve lost Taehyung….” Ara whispers in between her sobs as the tears wouldn’t stop flowing out from her eyes. She had to let it go all out tonight. Jessica nods her head slowly, as if telling her to keep continue with her words, that she is listening to her every words, that they both are listening to her.

“Taehyung died…” Jessica nods her head again and without herself knowing, a single drop of tears rolled down her cheeks because Ara seems to be effortlessly awful and it had pained her to see her best friend in this state.

Taeyeon gasps as her eyes widened again in disbelief. Eventhough that they both didn’t know or didn’t have any idea on who this Taehyung guy is but they know that he must be so precious to Ara. Because Ara didn’t cry just for anyone. She cried when it was because of her loved one.

“I—I  don’t know what to do….”

“I missed him….”

“I’m useless….”

Jessica hugs her tighter than before as she keeps on caressing her back with so much comfort that Ara just couldn’t say anything else but too just keep on bawling her eyes out. Crying sorrowfully as both Taeyeon and Jessica mirrors her action, crying also in sorrow.

***

“Are you sure you can go to school today? Maybe you should get some more rest—“

“—I’m alright. Really. Look.” Ara said as she starts to jump while shaking her head, doing something that the rockers always does whenever they were performing their rock songs on the stage. Jessica rolled her eyes as she picks up her car keys.

“I get it, idiot. You’re over reacting. Now hurry up. We’re gonna be late.” She said again and starts to walk her way towards the front door after sparing one last glance towards Ara who was now busy brushing her hair with her bare hands in order to place it back to it's usual place. Jessica smiles secretly, as she was so glad that her Ara that she knew had come back eventhough that pained expression still evident in her eyes.

“Wait up!!” Taeyeon shouted from inside her room and quickly dash outside to where the car was because she was afraid that Jessica will leave her behind again. It’s not like she hadn’t done that before—She actually did leave her for about almost 3 times already and now, she didn’t want to have the same trouble for being left behind.

Stumbling on her tracks, Taeyeon finally trips on her own feet that she falls knee first on the ground with a loud thudding sounds. Ara turns around with a shock expressions while Jessica just let out a sigh when she walks towards the latter as she helps her to get on her two feet again. Rubbing her sore knees, Taeyeon grimaced when her knees aching so badly after the strong impact that it had.

"I'm not gonna leave you, calm your ." Jessica said as she rolled her eyes.

Taeyeon lifts her head up to face Jessica as she makes a face. "But you did leave me before and i doubt hard that you'll wait for me." She replied as she makes her way towards the car, like a grandmother who had walked a few feets down the streets because of her aching knees.

***

FIORE HIGH.

Ara who had her head placed on top of the table with her hands as her pillow is staring at the outside of the window from the very first moment that she stepped her foot and settle down her belongings on her own table. But when she heard that the whole class turns quiet, she lift her head slowly and look at infront of her classroom only to find two small build looking guy who was standing beside her classroom teacher.

She frowned as she stares quite for a long time at the both of them that when one of them caught Ara staring at him, she quickly turns her head away. One of them had that big round eyes that look like it would come out from it’s socket if anyone were about to smack at the back of his head. Plus, he looks so small than any other boy in her class.

The other guy had that strong jaw lines and cute cheekbones—the one who caught Ara staring earlier—and that guy look a bit smaller also for someone his ages. The teacher smiles slowly while talking something at the two boys as they both nods their head, telling him that they understand whatever she was talking about.

“Hello. My name is Kyungsoo. Do Kyungsoo. I just moved into Korea a few weeks ago. And I hope I could make as many friends as I can here at my new school.” He said before he flash his pearl white teeth towards the whole student in the classroom and he also succeed in making the girls squeals in their seat over how cute he looked.

“Your lips shapped a love when you smile.” A girl said as she looks at him adoringly. The other students nods their head in agreement as Kyungsoo giggles, blushing a bit when the girl said it out of the blue.

“Yes, I acknowledge that of course. Many people had told me that before.” He said towards the girl as he bowed his head down, thanking her for praising his smile. Ara blinks as she stares at the guy.

He really did had a shape of love on his lips whenever he smiles. Ara thought to himself as she unknowingly smiles also. Kyungsoo turns his head as his gaze met with Ara’s before he smiles wider than before. Her cheeks turns pink as she blush a little bit because damn it, that boy really do have a nice smile.

“Where did you came from?” Another person asked as he raises his hand up in the air. Kyungsoo lift his eyebrows slightly and smiles softly before he answer.

“America. I came from America.” All of the students starts talking to themselves, probably feeling quite grateful that the transfer student in their class used to live in a foreigner’s land. The teacher clasps her hand signaling for the rest of them to shuts their mouth before she nods her head towards the other guy.

“Nice to meet you guys. I’m Kim Jongdae or you guys could call me by my nickname.” He said as he waves his hand happily.

This one seems to be a happy-go-lucky type. Ara thought as she props her head up using his hand and place her elbow on the table to support her head.

“What is your nickname?” Someone, obviously a girl ask as she change her voice so that it would comes out to be more cute. Ara rolled her eyes in annoyance. It’s pretty much clear that the girls were trying to flirt with this Jongdae guy.

Jongdae smiles and scratch his nape in process, acting all charming. “It’s Chen.”

“Wow. Are you a Chinese? You speak so fluent in Korean.”

Kyungsoo chuckles softly besides him and Jongdae shakes his head. “I used to live in China before I moved here, well, about a few weeks ago also.” He said and once again, the class was buzzing loudly with some girls cracking and giggling and putting on their lip tint not-so-secretly behind their textbooks.

“Alright then. I quess you all had known who this fellas here is. So, both of you could choose your place to sit.” The teacher said and here we go again, the girls were fighting to get their attention so that they’ll choose to sit besides them but they just smiles in  return before they walks towards the very end of  the classroom before they settles down their things down on the table infront  Ara and at the right sides of Ara’s place.

Ara turn to her right side, looking straight towards the boy with the huge doe eyes. The guy turn his head as he notices that Ara is staring at him, boring holes into his side profile.

“Hi. Nice to meet you…” He didn’t end his words but he did send Ara a signal that she interprets as ‘Tell me your name so that we could be friend’ and so she flashes a small smile towards the guy