< EDIT: Changed 10 ft to 10 yds>

I blush as Onew comes forward to greet me. The door closes behind me and I jump a bit at the loud noise. Onew rushes and grabs my hands, causing me to freeze. I look down and I feel my cheeks growing red.

"Shall we?" he asks without releasing my hands. My hands... He's holding them. Oh my gosh he's holding them.

"Sure," I whisper. He releases one, keeping the other tightly in his grip. I can't bear to stammer out a protest, and some part of me doesn't want to.

"So, how do you like it here?" he asks as we start into the garden. I look around, smiling at the clipped hedges and bright flowers.

"It's beautiful," I breathe out in awe. He chuckles as I stop to peer up at a tree of flowers with delicate petals that furl up the bright pinks and creamy whites with elegance that mirrors the glossy green leaves. A hand reaches up and grasps one of the blossoms. I look up to see Onew smiling at me as he twists the stem, breaking off the flower and handing it to me. I feel my cheeks grow hot as his fingers touch mine. He doesn't draw his hand away.

"It sure is," he murmurs. I close my eyes as he leans forward, my lips parting weakly...

"Cool, flowers!" an all-too-familiar voice shouts happily. I turn to see Minho running towards us with Yoogeun in his arms. Yoogeun leaps from Minho's grasp and into mine.

"Appa!" he coos happily. I catch him, still in shock.

"Y-Yoogeun! What are you doing here?" I ask as he takes the flower from my hand and plays with it, smoothing out the petals with tiny fingers.

"I wanted to walk with appa and Onew ajusshi," he explains cheerfully as he squirms to get to the ground. I put him down and glare at Minho, who shrugs nonchalantly.

"Okay," Onew says kindly, taking Yoogeun's hand. My eyes fly open in surprise.

"You don't mind?" I ask. Onew chuckles and shakes his head.

"I think it could be fun, seeing what Yoogeun's interested in," he says, flashing a small look at Minho. Minho just gives a cocky grin.

"I bet it could," he fires back, walking up behind me. He bends forward slightly so that he whisper directly in my ear. "What do you think, Taemin?"

"Let's just walk," I snarl, irritated. I catch up to Onew and Yoogeun, but Minho just lopes up to me with easy steps.

"What's your favorite plant?" he asks as Onew and Yoogeun gab in their own little world. I glare at him, but his face is too genuine. Too true and curious. I look away before I can find myself not hating him.

"I don't know," I lie.

"Appa likes roses," Yoogeun pipes up. I send him a half glare, but it fizzles down quickly. I redirect it at Minho, expecting to see him smirk. Instead, he's thinking in his own little world. He turns to me and smiles. it's not a smirk; it's a genuine, true smile.

"Follow me," he says.

"Where are we going?" Yoogeun asks, tearing himself from Onew. He grabs onto Minho and is lifted into the air. Minho kisses his cheek and grins.

"We're going to see your appa's favorite plant."

"Oh. My. Gosh," Taemin gasps as I watch on, amused. His jaw's nearly touching the ground as I lean on the iron gate that leads to the rose garden. Then his lips curve up in a smile.

"Pretty!" Yoogeun screams, running with open arms into the clipped grass. His feet softly smush onto the damp soil and he runs up to a bush, shoving his face into the largest blossom and taking a blissful whiff. I turn to Taemin and I'm forced to clech my fists to keep from touching him. His cheeks, which have brightened up with this small gift. His lips, which have turned into a grin. He's happy, and I'm the reason why.

I am so winning this bet.

"It's beautiful," Taemin admits as he follows Yoogeun around the ring of bushes, trailing his fingers on the plump red petals. The garden's about ten yards, so when they reach the other side they can't hear us. It's then that Onew sidles up to me.

"You beat me on this one," Onew murmurs. I turn and see him smirking. "Seems you like him-"

"I don't," I cut him off bluntly. I pick a leaf off of the ground and twirl it between my fingers as I stand up and continue. "I don't like him, but I like to win, and I'm a damn good actor."

"Really now?" Onew asks. I scowl down at him.

"Really," I snarl.

"Ow!" The shriek sounds from across the garden and I drop the leaf, sprinting to the source. I see Yoogeun clutch his finger and sniffling. He sees me and runs to me, hand held out and his finger sticking up from his fist. A droplet of blood's sporting from the tip.

"What happened?" I ask as I bend down. Onew comes in after me, panting slightly as he looks from Yoogeun to me to Yoogeun.

"The bush bit me," he whimpers. I hold back my chuckle and place his finger in my mouth, on it slightly to get rid of the blood. I pull it out and ruffle his hair as he looks at his finger in amazement.

"Let's get you a band aid, neh?" I say. Onew hurriedly takes Yoogeun's hand.

"I'll take him back to the house," Onew says. I look at him, puzzled. It's like he doesn't even want to win. I dispell the thought and turn to Taemin.

"So, care to tell me the version that doesn't involve chomping bushes?" I ask with a slight smirk. I can't help it; the way Taemin's glaring at me is just way too satisfying.

"He pricked himself, genius," Taemin snarls. He pushes me out of the way and I laugh loudly, directing the next shout at his back as he storms away.

"So we're touching each other now?" I ask cockily. He turns and his eyes shoot daggers at me. I shoot them down because my eyes shoot bullets. Flaming bullets.

"Only if you want me to break your jaw," he retorts coldly. I roll my eyes. Where did his smile go? I sigh as I catch up to him, casting a small glance towards the maze in the center of the garden. I smile as I think about that maze with the glossy-leaved bushes and the fountain in the center... I wonder if Taemin would like to go into it?

No! Stop it! I scold myself. I scoff at my own stupidity. What the was I thinking just now? Oh right... Taemin...

"Minho, why are there roses in that garden?" Taemin asks, cutting into my thoughts. I look up at the sound of his bitter voice, and yet it's almost like the bitterness is retreating. I smile as I answer.

"This wasn't always my house, you know," I begin. "When I was a kid I always used to want a house like this, with a huge thing of roses just smack in the middle of the property."

"Really?" Taemin asks. He sounds almost... intrigued. For some reason this eggs me on to talk more. Maybe he'll become more interested and that prospect scares me and confuses me and excites me at the same time. Why do I want this? Why don't I want this? My head's a mixture of thoughts and emotions that I can't decipher. And yet I talk.

"Really. I used to love Beauty and the Beast, and the original story had roses in it." My words are stumbling over the other as I feel that sudden need to pour the information out into Taemin's ears.

"I see," Taemin says slowly. I swallow the next sentence and look down at the ground. The dirt makes pretty dappled patterns with the struggling grass, I observe as I keep walking.

"You know, the garden can be yours if you want," I murmur finally, noticing how alone I feel even though Taemin's right there. He looks up and I see pride and joy battle in his eyes. Finally, they're shadowed over by curiousity.

"Why?" he asks as we reach the end of the garden path. I look up and see the tree with the blossoms of cream and blushes. I reach up and pluck one, looking from it to Taemin and then to the flower again.

"I don't know," I confess. I smile out of confusion. "Let's go in."

"N-neh," Taemin says softly. Is he just as confused as me? I doubt it.

Because I can't be confused. There's nothing to be confused about. It's just a contest. One that I am determined to win.

A/N - Denying Minho is denying. More to come! Comments are love!

BTW, would you like more out of the A/N section? Like I know some authors put pic spam. Would you like that?