Jongin is the mysterious playboy from 11A but Qiuyue, the ice queen from 11B is the real enigma here.

Jongin lay back, his back resting against the cold metal steel of the lockers. His eyes were closed, counting the footsteps of the people passing by. His lithe figure draws looks but he is used to it by now. He steals a discrete glance at the end of the hallway. Sure enough, there she is. Kim Jongin is the most popular boy in school but it's Li Qiuyue who is the cold unapproachable genius. Laughing and walking down the hallway with Wu Lin, her best friend, she remains oblivious to his attention.

Li Qiuyue in really frustrating in that regard. Even Lin acknowledges him, albeit to flick his forehead for being an idiot. but Qiuyue, has only ever nodded at him. No matter what he tries, she remains the same level of indifferent. Also, Kim Jongin is the only one in the entire school apart from her close circle who knows of her love for dancing and secret dance sessions in the studio he practices at. But that has done nothing to alleviate his status in her eyes. She remains cold and closed. And Jongin does not know why it bothers him so much but it does. She should look at him damnit.

It starts off as something trivial. Jongin takes up the challenge because which man does not like a challenge. But when he sees how truly difficult it is, a switch flicks and all of a sudden he starts pursuing the girl with a fiery determination. There has to be some ounce of soul in her that is affected by him. Jongin won't accept any less. He doesn't understand why he is obsessed, but he is.

Sehun texts him, apologising but ditching him for Luhan anyways. Jongin rolls his eyes and gets off the locker he is resting against. They were supposed to hang out at the arcade but Sehun would rather do something as pansy as art with Luhan hyung. Some best friend he was. Maybe he'll go to the studio early today.

He has his earphones on and is lost to the world. He vaguely registers some girls from another school on the bus he has taken. He knows they are looking from all the excited murmuring he can hear. He decides to oblige them with a smirk, still keeping his eyes closed. The murmuring increases in pitch and he finds himself quite enjoying it. He gets off at the next stop, tilting his cap in acknowledgement to the ladies and walks towards the old building under renovation. his earphones block out the noise. He has Jeremiah's All The Time at max volume, counting the beats so that he can choreograph a new routine to the song. So its understandable when he accidentally swipes his card and enters the studio when someone is aready inside, not having heard the music that was filtering across the walls.

He stops when he finds Qiuyue looking at him. There is a chair in the middle of the dance floor and she is sitting on it, poised mid move when he stumbled in. the song on his phone stops and he registers Nana's voice. First Love by After School is playing on the speakers. Qiuyue is looking at him expectantly and then he realises his mistake. "Sorry I uh..." he gestures to his phone and the door. "It's cool. I wasn't gonna stay longer here anyways" Qiuyue shrugs, getting up from the chair. She drags it back to the place and walks over to the speakers to stop the song. 

"All yours" she says, detaching her iPod from the speakers. "After School?" he asks, surprised. "Yeah. Except for the pole dancing though" she says, raising a disapproving eyebrow. Jongin briefly wonders if she could actually pull a pole dance off. He glances her up and down. She doesn't exactly have the leg strength needed to stay on the pole but she is flexible. He knows because he has seen her do a centre split from three weeks ago. It's a shame that she only dances for a hobby and not seriously. She could pull off some killer moves in showcases.

"Show me the routine sometime" he says as she packs up her things. "Maybe after I actually choreograph something" she says with a shrug. He nods. He knows that this part of the creative process needs time. She smiles as she waves goodbye and Jongin considers it a mini victory. Atleast he has some positive reply.

"You are such a creepy stalker" Sehun says, throwing candy at Jongin. It's Valentine's Day and their lockers are b with chocolate and disgustingly pink letters with confessions of love or admiration. Jongin isn't heartless enough to reject someone who has put in so much effort but everytime he finds his locker stuffed with junk like this, he re-evaluates that decision. His junk gets mixed up with that junk and he has to actually sit and clean everything out. He does not really like cleaning.

"I am not a stalker" Jongin says defensively. He finally comes clean to Sehun about how he finds Qiuyue interesting. Except he has clearly let on more than he intended to and now Sehun knows of his obsession with the girl and as usual is udging him for it. "You've been watching her all day you creep" Sehun comments. "I just want to know who she gave the box of chocolates to! She doesn't have a boyfriend, does she?" Jongin asks. If she is the totally-devoted-to-one-man kind then it explains why she won't even look his way. 

"If you were paing attention then you would know that Lin gave them to her to give it to her brother whom she has been searching for all day" Sehun deadpans. Jongin frowns. "Everyone knows that Lin likes Minseok. geez keep up Jongin" Sehun takes offense at how slow his friend sometimes is. what do those girls see in him anyways? "So she's not dating anyone?" he clarifies. "Nope. Says she isnt interested at all" Sehun tells him. "Lin jokes that its because she is usually busy and secretly way too fussy." Jongin nods absentmindedly. So Qiuyue isn't interested in dating at all. He guesses that is the answer to his question then. 

He still finds himself looking at her, wondering what exactly goes on in her head.

"No umbrella?" Qiuyue asks Jongin when they run into each other in the lounge of the studio building. It's late at night after practice and he feels hot and sweaty despite the chill due to the spring showers. His jacket is wrapped around his waist and his wifebeater accentuates his muscles. Qiuyue is unfazed as usual. "Yeah" Jongin says, scooting over to give her space on the bench he was sitting on. "Me neither. I guess we're both stuck" she says. He nods, letting his roll back. She sits down next to him, plugging in earphones. There is no point complaining.

Jongin looks over at her. Her jacket is ped and beads of sweat glisten on her temple. She just finished practicing too. Her hair is pushed into a messy bun with stray strands everywhere. Her eyes are closed and she is breathing to the rhythm of the song she is listening to. He takes a moment to admire her thin lips that have begun humming to the song.

She opens her eyes and starts, wanting to apologize for singing out loud by mistake but finds Jongin staring at her. The hint of blush on her cheeks persists as they stare at each other. She schools her expression and looks straight ahead instead of at him. Jongin hides an amused grin. So the ice queen does react after all.

"Would you like to dance with me?" Jongin asks when he runs into her at the library the following week. "In the middle of the library?" Qiuyue aks, judging him. "No. At this charity showcase I found. The first round is in teams of two. I was wondering if you were interested" he said, holding up a flyer he had pulled off from the school bulletin board. It's torn because he forgot about a pin that still held it in place but it relays the essentials like time and venue. "It's three weeks away" she said with a frown. "I know its short notice. But we don't have to do an elaborate routine" Jongin says, shoving his hands down his pockets. The way his palms sweat in nervousness, you would think he was confessing to her or something.

"Okay" she says simply, handing the flyer back to Jongin. "Okay? So you'll do it?" he asks her. "It's for a good cause so why not" she says casually. "Great" he smiles. She nods (Jongin thinks she can show a little more emotion than that). "I'll see you at the studio at seven then?" she asks him. "Yeah. I have a song and concept planned out. If you like it then we can directly go ahead with that" he tells her. "Sounds like a plan. But I've never danced in front of an audience before. Are you sure you wanna dance with me and not Sehun or Taemin like you usually do?" she asks him.

Sehun or Taemin? So she has been watching. He believed she never noticed but she knows enough to ask about Sehun or Taemin, even when the latter does not go to their school. "That's ok. You'll do great" he says with an encouraging smile. She blushes, nodding and turning to go. Lin is waiting for her by the checkout counter. Jongin stares. That is a first. An all out blush. Something warm stirs up in his chest.

Now to actually find a song and a concept by seven tonight.

Jongin sits down by the speakers. His mp3 player is plugged in, ready to go. He glances at the door as it opens and Qiuyue walks in. She's wearing black sweatpants and a tank top with a jacket throw over it lazily. Her hair is in a bun like the last time. Jongin stands up hastily. She's early actually. "Hey" she says, a little out of breathe. It's oddly y to him. Jongin nods. He turns back to the speakers so he can concentrate. 

"So the song is a mashup of Kanye's All Of the Lights" he says, pressing play. Piano notes started to play. He had kept the intro in. "That's a cool song" Qiuyue says, counting the beats in her head. "The showcase didn't put any restrictions on the theme except the usual that it shouldn't be adultish or explicit" he explained. She nodded, starting to stretch. He joined her on the floor as both of them listened to the song. "I was thinking of contemporary and hip hop mixed" Jongin tells her. "You'd have to teach me the hip hop part. I've only done contemporary before" she tells him. He nods in understanding.

They start with simple expressive contemporary duet moves for the piano intro. That part is easy to get down. Jongin learns that Qiuyue is extremely expressive with her body. He feels jealous. He wants to be able to tell stories like she does through her movements. He decides to dance around her. She is doing a good job of it. He stands behind her, mimicing her movements like a shadow, occasionally interweaving their movements. Qiuyue adapts easily. He lets his hands run over hers as he pulls her in for the last bit before the beats begin.

They stop in that pose. While Jongin is trying to figure out how to move suddenly into a hip hop, his eyes land on hers. She is looking at him thoughtfully. he wants to ask her what she is looking at, but she looks away. They manage to choreograph Lil Wayne's and Kanye West's part that day, but all Jongin remembers are her eyes on him.

"That looks cool" Sehun says, as soon as the video ends. It's a week to the showcase and they finall have the choreography down. Sehun helps them by recording it and then going over it with them. It looks pretty cool if Jongin can say so himself. "I'll be off. Need to meet Lin for our assignment. I'll take the camcorder from you tomorrow" Sehun says, getting up and dusting off his clothes. "Yeah sure" Jongin says. Sehun takes his leave after waving goodbye to Qiuyue. "Two more runs then we'll call it a night" she says. Jongin groans but agrees. Qiuyue is a closet perfectionist. He knows that she noticed the flaws he did and she wont let  go till they are correct. 

He slumps against the mirror after the fifth run. (Jongin had messed up the second and she had messed up the fourth resulting in reruns). "No more" he rasps and she agrees, stopping the music. She throws a water bottle at him before bringing a towel along. "Looks pretty cool huh" she starts, sitting next to him against the mirror. He nods drinking water. His lips are full, she thinks enviously. Jongin stares and she realizes that she may have accidentally said it out loud.

"What about my lips?" he asks leaning in. He heard her loud and clear but he wants her to say it. That fiery determination thing feeling or whatever it is, is suddenly back. "Nothing" she says expressionlessly. He knows that if he loses this opportunity he wont get another one quickly, so he turns and traps her legs between his. She sits up straight in alarm and he puts his hands against the mirror, trapping her between them. "Jongin..." she starts, putting her hands on his chest to stop him.

"What about my lips Qiuyue?" he asks her, lowering down to look at hers. Her eyes are closed and her cheeks red. Her breathing is slow and it mixes in with his when he leans in close. She opens her eyes when she senses his proximity to her. He stops, waiting for her to make a move. If she pushes him away, he wont try anything but it doesn't seem like the case. She looks conflicted and he feels her hands bunching up the fabric of his tshirt.  He puts her out of her dilemma by kissing her on her cheek.

"How about I walk you home tonight?" he asks, when he pulls away. "It's okay. It's pretty much safe and it'll be out of your way" she says hurriedly. "But I'd like to" he says, putting an end to the argument. "Okay" she agrees, getting up. They gather their things in silence and switch off the lights before leaving. They don't talk on their way home because Qiuyue's mind is racing. 

"Hey Jongin?" Qiuyue asks. Jongin looks up, surprised. Qiuyue has never talked to him in school before. There are very few students in the hallway so it's okay he guesses. "Yeah?" he asks, closing his locker. "About yesterday..." she starts. She bites her lips, unsure of how to continue. Jongin has no clue either to be honest. So they just stand around awkwardly for a few seconds.

"Your lips" she speaks up, breaking the silence. He looks at her expectantly. She steps closer to him and tugs on the lapel of blazer. He bends down, unsure of where this is leading to when she kisses him. On his lips. In front of everyone. He hears someone gasp as he deepens the kiss and when she pulls away he sees Lin and Sehun staring at them with jaws dropped to the floor. "Just thought you should know" Qiuyue says with her cheeks tinted red. She walks away, dragging Lin along before the latter has the chance to say anything. Sehun just judges Jongin when the boy grins at Qiuyue's antics. 

He is pretty sure that it will be public knowledge by the evening. The smartest girl in class 11B has kissed the biggest player in school from 11A. But the ice queen has a heart and that is all that Kim Jongin is concerned with. A rather passionate one, he gauges from the way she responded to him deepening the kiss. He can't wait to see her at the studio again tonight.

-x-

A/n - Yeah... okay so... let's all move on from chocolate boy now ^^;