It had been three months since T.O.P. told Tiffany she had beautiful eyes.

It had been three months since T.O.P. looked at her with a gaze that was so intense it made her forget how to breathe.

It was embarassing to admit even to herself, but she had kept track of the days.

It had been over two months since they started talking regularly, going out for drinks or meals with Lee Joon or mutual friends tagging along. Jessica and Taeyeon often went with her, and they became friends with Ji Yong and Seungri who occasionally accompanied T.O.P. on these meet ups. It was fun to hang out with Big Bang – they were surprisingly down-to-earth and Ji Yong was one of the humblest, shyest male idols Tiffany had ever met....besides T.O.P. that is.

Tiffany thought to herself in wonder that it had been two whole months of talking to T.O.P.; of shaking her head at his sense of humour while hiding her own amusement; of catching herself staring at him when he talked; of slowly peeling back the layers to get to know him better and find the bashful dork hidden under a charismatic gaze and an intimidating beauty.

There was only one day left to Tiffany’s movie debut’s premiere.

She would be alone with Lee Joon and T.O.P. and based on Lee Joon’s sneaky behavior when it was just the three of them, Tiffany had no doubt Lee Joon would probably find some excuse to leave the two of them together. His attempts to matchmake them had been growing increasingly obvious, but Tiffany wasn’t exasperated at all. Far from it.

She found herself trembling, spending longer getting ready in front of the mirror, agonizing too much over what to wear when she was going to meet T.O.P. Even now, as she tried on a good dozen dresses for the premiere and her stylist tried to persuade her to just pick already, she found herself wondering, will he think this is pretty?

That was when she realized she had already fallen.

“Tiffany sshi, please look this way!”

“Lee Joon oppa! Oppa, I love you!”

“Please smile!”

“Unnie, you’re so pretty!”

Tiffany smiled brighter, waving. The volume spiked as her fans screamed while snapping away on their cellphones and large, fancy cameras. SNSD used to joke among themselves that their fandom was definitely the most dedicated to preserving their idols’ beauty in photos; after all, almost every event was frequented by fans handling expensive cameras to get the best shot possible.

“Wow, your SONEs are definitely–” Lee Joon searched for a word before finally settling on one, “–passionate.”

Then the noise racheted to a whole new level.

“T.O.P. oppa, you’re so cool!”

“Oppa! Oppa, oppa, you’re so y!”

“The VIPs do give them a run for their money.” Tiffany replied wryly as she turned. Lee Joon glanced behind with her, before sending her a smirk which she promptly ignored.

T.O.P. was striding up towards them on the red carpet, lopsided smile firmly in place as he waved to his fans. He was dressed impeccably – as always – in a glen plaid double ed suit with his dark brown hair coiffed back, and all the girls in attendance screamed even louder as he ran a hand through his hair casually.

Tiffany watched him as he strode across the red carpet, watched him hungrily, intensely like she had for the past three months and even the months before that when they were huddled in blankets waiting to shoot their scenes together and exchanged small talk or discussed music and their future plans in the industry. She watched him as he smiled and waved and became idol actor T.O.P. of Big Bang instead of the Bingu T.O.P. she had grown to recognize and fell some more.

“Wow,” Lee Joon whistled. “I’m totally straight, but he is really attractive.”

“You clean up pretty nice yourself.” Tiffany murmured, her gaze still on T.O.P. who was looking straight at her while he made his way to them. She smiled calmly at him despite the flutter in her stomach when his smile widened slightly.

Butterflies, she thought to herself. He gave her butterflies.

“Sure, but who are you looking at?” Lee Joon chuckled quietly just as T.O.P. reached them.

“Sorry I’m a little late,” T.O.P. grinned charmingly, greeting Lee Joon with a one armed hug.

He was always charming even when he was just still, just watching her right back with those dark, unreadable eyes of his that revealed so little but saw everything. Tiffany liked that about him. She had dated charming men before; men who were funny, or sweet or gentle, but T.O.P. had a mysterious charm of his own.

“It’s alright, we had to wait for you anyway.” Lee Joon smiled cheerfully.

“Smile for the cameras, boys,” Tiffany reminded them as T.O.P. stepped back, motioning for her to stand in the middle. She obliged, all too aware of his body heat and the brush of his suit’s material against her bare arms. The contact made frissons of pleasure run across her skin frantically like wildfire spreading, bursting into flames.

“Remember to breathe, Fany.” Lee Joon muttered amusedly under his breath on the other side as she gritted out, “Joon.”

They posed for a few photos as reporters shouted frantic questions and jostled for the best spot to take photos from before the trio finally moved  up the red carpet.

“You know what, hyung,” Lee Joon told T.O.P. conversationally as he helped Tiffany with the long folds of her dress, “I think Hee Ae noona needs some help with her dress.”

T.O.P. glanced further up the red carpet, where the veteran actress who had played his mother in the movie was holding up the hem of her dress gingerly between fingertips as she glided down the carpet.

“I’ll go help her out so you look after Fany, okay?” Lee Joon didn’t even wait for an agreement before he was making his way up to the older woman with large strides, dispersing waves and grins that the screaming fangirls lapped up.

“Well.” T.O.P. paused only briefly before offering an arm to Tiffany. “May I?”

Tiffany smiled shyly, taking his arm hesitantly and the volume of screams was downright painful at this point.

Her fingers tightened and she felt an odd sense of pride: they weren't dating, he wasn't really hers to claim in any sense but she was the one on his arm, she had his full attention right now. T.O.P. was looking at her.

She flushed.

“Thank you, Seunghyun sshi.” she told him quietly as they posed for more pictures. He bent closer to her to hear what she was saying over the din and her breath caught at the proximity.

“It’s my pleasure.” He told her casually, even though his eyes were sincere. Onyx, soft, gentle.

Breathe. 

“Why do you call me Seunghyun though?” T.O.P. asked curiously out of the side of his mouth as they both smiled widely for another camera.

“I-I don’t know,” she hesitated. “Why do you call me Miyoung then?”

“I don’t know. Maybe Tiffany just feels like a mask to me instead of the girl I know.” He shot a blinding grin at another camera lens before he smiled down at her, smaller but no less sincere.

Tiffany was sure her cheeks were on fire at this point even as she dipped her head, focusing her gaze elsewhere instead. She smiled blindly, flustered by his proximity and the force of his stare.

“Then does Stephanie feel like a mask to you too?” she asked conversationally as they finally left the red carpet behind. Her hand was still light on his arm, and she moved to pull away, but he reached up to cover hers with one of his own. His hand was large and warm around her fingers, gentle in its pressure. Tiffany could literally feel her heart take off, thrumming as fast as a hummingbird and she hoped he couldn’t hear the heartbeat that was slamming away in her ears.

“No, not really. Miyoung’s a really pretty name – prettier than Stephanie and Tiffany even. It just seems really sweet and simple.” He replied, gently steering her to their seats as Lee Joon pretended to be engrossed in conversation with an old lady next to him.

“Seunghyun’s cool too,” Tiffany muttered before mentally slapping herself. She sounded so pathetic; it was embarrassing just to listen to herself talk.

“By the way, your dress is really pretty.” T.O.P. said lightly as he settled into his seat next to her. “Pink is a nice colour on you.”

“It’s my favourite colour.” Tiffany smiled, trying her best to ignore the butterflies that were literally going crazy in her stomach by this time.

Something she had noticed about him was that he was observant; a watcher. She could carry entire conversations with him by herself, he would do nothing but listen. Yet she always felt like he heard and absorbed all she wanted to say and she liked that.

He reminded her of Taeyeon sometimes, with how quiet he was before measuring the situation and coming out and saying things that surprised her even though he had a gift for spoken words that Taeyeon lacked but made up for with her raw lyrics she penned. Tiffany appreciated how careful he was with his words perhaps because she had so many of her own to share.

“I know.” He grinned, lowering his voice as the MC for the event took the stage. “Well, it’s kind of hard not to notice. Pink phone case, pink handbags, pink purse…” T.O.P. cocked his head curiously. “Have you ever tried pink hair?”

“No, but Sunny has. It was really pretty – it looked like candy floss.” Tiffany told him, her eyes brightening up as her own cheeks pinked. He noticed her. “My stylist unnie wouldn’t let me – she said Sunny could pull it off because of her aegyo concept and that I’d just make a fool out of myself.”

“Well, you did look good in any hairstyle you’ve tried, but pink would be pushing it.” T.O.P. agreed amicably.

Lee Joon cleared his throat then, and Tiffany wished she wasn't in public at that moment so she could stare at T.O.P. as unabashedly as she wanted, so that she could stare at him and let him see all the words that she wanted to say but had to restrain in her gaze instead.

“Uh, guys, it’s starting.”

Tiffany flushed, turning to stare straight ahead as T.O.P. did the same. She couldn’t help peeking at him from under her lashes, letting her eyes wander over his profile. He grinned at something, dimpling as his eyes crinkled and Tiffany felt her breath catch again.

“Remember, breathing is kind of essential for staying alive.” Lee Joon whispered in her ear humorously. "Take a deep breath, Fany."

She only blushed, then complied.

A/N: So, this was basically fluff I wrote after I literally woke up from a nap with an image of Tiffany and T.O.P. at a red carpet event dressed to kill and on each other's arms. With a Lee Joon third-wheeling the way only he can. 

And wow! 200 subscribers! *throws confetti and sprays champagne* It's a real milestone for me - just, thank you all! Much love~

Also, if you have a thing for EXO and high school stories, check out my new story Nuit Blanche. Hehe, I'm sorry, I just couldn't resist when I got the idea. I think it's generally going to be romantic fluff with slight deviations into angst territory once in awhile. You have been warned.