“Since you’ve all focused in class well today, you get 10 minutes to talk to each other until the bell rings,” the math teacher declared. Kang-sseongnim put down her math textbooks on the desk and sat in her chair, letting the class have their freedom.

Taemin looked up at the clock, then at his new cute desk mate. “Ha, she lied. There’s only about six minutes until lunch, not ten,” he informed Kisa. “Yes! I’ll finally have freedom from all these teachers and strange kids!” Kisa exclaimed. Taemin pouted. “Hey! I’m not a strange kid,” Taemin whined. Kisa laughed. “You, by far, are the second strangest kid at this whole school.” Kisa rolled her eyes, teasing him.

“Second strangest?” Taemin wondered aloud. Kisa nodded her head. “Who’s the first then?” he asked her. “A Godzilla-sized and always-on-a-crack happy weirdo named Chanyeol,” Kisa muttered. “That’s quite the description,” Taemin chuckled. “Can’t help but agree with you, though. But you know … he’s actually the second greatest person to go to for a smile. Chanyeol is a really considerate person.”

Kisa raised an eyebrow. “The second greatest person? Who would the first be then?” Taemin held his hand over his heart and jumped back in his seat with a mocking look of offense. “You have to ask? It’s me, duh!” Taemin exclaimed.

Kisa looked at him blankly. Taemin sat up normally. “Well … hello? Say something.” Taemin waved his hands in front of Kisa’s face, thinking that she was daydreaming. “HELLO~ HELLO~” he sang, in the tune of SHINee’s song Hello. Taemin did the hand motions to the Hello dance. Kisa’s left eye twitched. “Yeah, you’re definitely a strange kid,” she finally spoke.

“Yah! Don’t be so mean to your friend!” Taemin pouted again.

Friend. Everyone loves to use that word; they say it so often as if the word was a toy they commonly like to play with. Kisa thought.

“Friend …” Kisa echoed. “Yeah. I like you, and I think the feeling is mutual. We get along well and we make each other laugh. Friends, Kisa. Friends, you socially-lacking cute girl,” Taemin grinned.

“Um, thanks?”

Taemin looked up at the clock again. “Only two more minutes until lunch. Would you like to eat with me?” he asked her. “I guess-,” Kisa paused. “Crap. I just remembered I have to sit with my cousin and Chanyeol’s friends.”

Taemin smiled. “It’s okay.”

The bell then rang, and everyone scurried out of the class to eat lunch.

~

Kisa walked into the cafeteria. Uninvited aromas of what could or could not be cooked meat overwhelmed her senses, and she crinkled her nose at the unpleasant smell.

She spotted Kyungsoo and Chanyeol instantly. Her so-called wingman was piggybacking the smiling giant. It was just such a perfect image for blackmailing Kyungsoo, so Kisa quickly snapped a photo of the ridiculous scene with her phone and snickered.

Kyungsoo and the others didn’t notice Kisa yet. They continued to laugh about whatever nonsense the topic of conversation about as Kisa quietly observed from her little area in the cafeteria. The left corner of curved upwards in hint of a slight smile when she saw Kyungsoo laughing so hard at Kai’s joke that milk came out of his nose. It was disgustingly hilarious. “Oh, Kyungie. You’re still the little nerd I’ve known since we were both four,” Kisa muttered, shaking her head at the group of boys’ playfulness.

As she watched the five boys, Kisa felt a little pang inside her chest. She felt like she didn’t belong in their little fun, in this world where new friends could be made easily by just exchanging names and kind smiles. She felt … empty.

Kisa watched the boys silently for about another five minutes before Chanyeol coincidentally turned towards her direction. His eyes locked in with hers, now aware that Kisa was near. Chanyeol raised one beckoning eyebrow, telepathically inviting Kisa to sit down and eat with them. She smirked and she herself raised one eyebrow. Chanyeol copycatted Kisa’s smirk, as if he was trying to say ‘two can play this game’.

Chanyeol wiggled both of his eyebrows, and the other boys finally noticed Chanyeol’s little silent game with Kisa. Kisa read their lips from afar, and saw that Sehun had asked Chanyeol, “Dude, what the hell is up with your eyebrows?” Baekhyun gave Chanyeol a disapproving and judging look, asking his best friend if he was on a crack again. “I’m trying to summon Kisa to our table,” Chanyeol stated loudly enough so that even with the distance in the cafeteria between Kisa and him, Kisa could hear.

And Kisa did indeed hear him. Chanyeol pointed his index finger to where Kisa was standing, but before Sehun, Kai, Baekhyun, and Kyungsoo could turn around in their seats to see her, she quickly, yet gracefully, walked out of the cafeteria. She really felt like she didn’t belong with them here.

The four boys turned around to see if Kisa really was over where Chanyeol directed. “You’re just being delusional, Yeol,” Kyungsoo said, already into the best friend status of the group, which meant it wasn’t awkward or uncomfortable to call the others by nicknames. Kyungsoo wasn’t surprised if Kisa had skipped lunch with Chanyeol’s friends; in fact, he kind of expected it. Mentally sighing, he went back to pushing around the carrots (which he hated) on his plate with a fork and ignored Chanyeol’s pout. “No, she really was over there!” the giant protested.

Sehun shook his head. “Tsk, tsk, hyung. Shame. I thought that all of us thought the on-the-crack thing was a joke, but apparently you took it to heart.”

“What? One, Oh Sehun, watch your words, and two, shut up, I’m certainly NOT on a crack,” Chanyeol scolded the maknae.

“I don’t know, Yeol. I agree with Sehun,” Kai added to the conversation. Chanyeol shot the two youngest of the group dirty looks. “I’m also your hyung, Jongin.”

“Baek, maybe Channie here is in love with Kisa, so now she’s the only person he sees,” Kai continued to talk, ignoring Chanyeol’s empty threatening tone. Baekhyun sipped his apple juice and hummed in agreement. Sehun laughed at the poor bullied giant.

“Fine, be like that,” Chanyeol whimpered. “I’m going to go find her.” Chanyeol stood up and dumped his lunch tray on top of Sehun’s. “Here, Merry Christmas. Throw that away for me as punishment for being a jerk,” Chanyeol snickered. “HYUNG!” Sehun yelled, but before Sehun could yell any swears, Chanyeol had picked up both their lunch trays and went to the trashcan to dump them.

“That crackhead is really too nice,” Baekhyun sighed. “Wonder if he really is going to look for Kisa.” Kyungsoo’s eyes widened. If Chanyeol finds Kisa alone, then who knows what might happen to that happy-go-lucky kid.

I know I’m being a traitor and that I’m supposed to help you have Chanyeol dead, Kyungsoo thought. But I want to experience more of high school. Kyungsoo stood up quickly to quickly follow in pursuit after Chanyeol.

“Kyungsoo, where are you going?” Kai hollered.

“To the restroom by myself, don’t follow unless you’re gay!”

A/N: Sorry I haven't updated in about two weeks, I've had a bit of a writer's block and I was out of town for the weekend. I also got sick, yay (I'm just bursting with sarcasm). But I was able to write a lot, so double update! :) Chapters 4 and 5 were originally both one chapter, but it was six pages long on Microsoft Word so I decided to chop this update in half. Enjoy ^.^