~ Chapter Twenty-Four: A List ~

The Fallen

***

Nr.1: The Majestic Twelve as a group are nearly seen as the princes of the school. Lili told me that they're popular, but individually it was a different story. 

Nr.2: Individually, the twelve are their own characters. They have their own unique personalities and are of different years. How are they such close friends? Arinya, a senior who was in the same class as Luhan and Xiumin, said that the twelve treat each other like brothers, even though they come from different backgrounds and have different upbringings. Nobody seems to find this strange. Not even in the slightest. 

Nr.3: They're handsome. As in, that is the general consensus of the school. Even the guys reluctantly admit to that fact and often aspire to be more like them. The twelve appear to get the most chocolates, flowers and confessions around Valentine's Day and White Day. They don't appear to have girlfriends, but they're always polite and kind to their admirers... I don't know why this fact is listed here...Yeah...uh- Moving on! 

Nr.4: The girls claim that the twelve each have something special about them that makes them attractive, besides their looks. When I asked what they mean, I was surprised to have found out that it wasn't their ability to dance or play basketball or excel at soccer. In fact, it would be easier to subdivide this section further to give a brief explanation on each individual.

4a. Xiumin's charm is not based solely on the fact that he's cute- apparently his nickname is Baozi (because, yeah trying to remember twelve names wasn't difficult enough) - but the fact that he's quiet and is a strong and silent presence. If I recall, correctly, one of the girls that had a crush on him said that there was something cold and distant about him that she couldn't resist. Cold and distant

4b. Luhan. Need I say more? The very thing that I find disconcerning about him, the other girls find attractive. The way he looks at you, as if he can stare into your soul. Some people may like that, but I still find it rather creepy. There was no denying however that he had attractive, bright eyes. Lili said that she always felt like a moth being caught in a flame when she looked into his eyes. That girl had it bad...

4c. This is going to be a long list. The honey blonde guy, Kris. I personally couldn't be all too objective towards him considering what had happened between us, but he was the tallest person of the group and the girls, for whatever reason, thought he moved as though he was walking on air. He was smooth and cool, though honestly, I thought he was a bit of a dork. With big hands... 

4d. Ah, my favorite: Suho. I think the girls may have been describing another person when talking about him. Coming from a comfortable upbringing, Suho was raised by his parents like a humble prince (their words, I guarantee you, they are definitely not mine). He was kind, warmhearted, gentle and polite- calm and soothing like water, flowing easily amongst the people which earned him a good reputation and standing in the island in general. They must've been talking about someone else, right?

4e. We haven't even reached the list halfway. When the girls talked about Lay, their eyes all lit up. He was considered cute, dopey and a bit slow to react. However, the dude seemed to be multi-talented. He was an average student concerning academics, but he was active in all sorts of extracurricular activities and clubs. He was part of the music class, basketball team (along with Kris), science club and dance team. Yes- they have a dance team here, go figure. On his free time he did volunteer work at the animal shelter. The guy was some kind of freaking saint, but the girls said that his biggest charm point was the fact that he made people feel energized. He had a soothing, pleasant aura. I guess I could agree with that.

4f. Baekhyun, also known as Bacon, who was responsible for making me dislike bacon for that very reason. People kept saying how he had a very strong presence, like sunshine, lighting up the room. I was the last person to deny that. The boy definitely had a way with claiming the spotlight and, in my own experience, not necessarily for the better. Yeah, let's keep moving on...

4g. Chen, the smiley guy who keeps calling me Newbie. He struck me as playful and mischievous and I wasn't entirely wrong. However, the girls, again, stated that there was something- electrifying about him. Sometimes he could suddenly look at you and you'd feel as though you were struck by lightning. His gaze was intense. I found it more subtle. We had accidentally crossed gazes during lunch and I was startled when he looked directly at me, but I felt a subtle jolt instead of the lightning some of the girls were talking about. Except, I wasn't being metaphorical. I felt a literal jolt when we met gazes. Now that I thought about it, I always appear to get shocked by static electricity when that guy was near. Probably just a coincidence.

4h. You thought we were done? Nope, not by a long shot. Next guy up was Chanyeol. His family owned a popular cafe/restaurant  which was apparently a cool hangout place for the local youth on the island. He was described as being outgoing, funny and playful, but most of all, and surprising to me- fiery. They said he was passionate about the things he did and there was always a spark about him when he interacted with others.

4...i? Bear with me here, it's not easy for me to keep track with all of it either. Ah, D.O., probably the one person of all twelve that seemed most amicable to me, despite of his rather introverted and stoic nature. It was known that the guy was bullied exactly for those reasons, but the girls who harbored a crush on him were in madly and deeply. He probably didn't know that he had admirers, though, since they claimed that he only focused on his studies and hanging out with his brothers. His absolute charm? Being steadfast. I kid you not, that's what they said. He was solid and strong, like the earth.

4j. Tao, nicknamed lovingly as the Kung Fu Panda. I wasn't sure what to think of the lanky guy. I actually thought he was rather shy and appeared a bit childish to me. He was an avid practitioner of the martial art of Wushu, which, I have to admit was very cool, but I hadn't expected him to be the type for it. There was a timelessness about him, a strange charm that even the girls had difficulty explaining. He was somewhat of a blindspot to me, as well.

4k. Kai, the snarky, bronze-skinned kid. At least, that was my first impression of him. The mere mention of his name though, brought the girls I was with into near hysteria. He seemed to be part of the dance team as well, which I really wouldn't have expected, given his attitude. Again, they described someone that I wasn't familiar with. A boyish, shy guy who didn't laugh or smile much, but when he did- wow, exploding ovaries everywhere. His biggest charm, however? Mystery. Intrigue. The feeling that he was unreachable, that he couldn't get caught. These girls, ah-yah, they were in deep. 

4l. The last one and the youngest one, the maknae, was Sehun. They called him a breath of fresh air, with his platinum blonde hair and dark roots, cute face and slender frame. He may appear sweet and innocent on the surface, but according to the girls, he had something wild about him when he was lost in thought. Wild and unpredictable. 

Nr.5: Yes, I am very well aware at how stalkery this all is, but every bit of information about them seemed useful to me. Not because I was fangirling over them like most of the girls at the school, but because- because...? I blinked when I pondered over it. Why was I fascinated? Because I just wanted- noneeded - to know. I realized now that maybe they were behaving strangely towards me, but there was no denying that I felt out of place when they were around as well. It reminded me of the feelings I get when I was having one of those anxiety attacks. 

Nr.6: I'm not obsessed. Honestly. They just seemed to be there everywhere I go.

I contemplated my list, feeling out of sorts whilst looking around the school grounds. I told Mom that I would check out a few extracurricular activities, but I didn't know where to start. There was drama club, chess club, a variety of sport clubs, music, dance, art, film, the school newspaper... Where to go?

My feet moved automatically towards the secret rosegarden I had discovered yesterday by accident and I plopped down rather ungraciously on the soft grass. I forgot I was wearing a skirt and quickly changed my sitting position. Feeling a bit lazy, I thought about just lying here until it was time to go home. I could always check out the clubs and such tomorrow as well.

But as I was starting to get comfortable, I heard raised voices, breaking the pleasant silence. I sat up, a little agitated, until I clearly heard a soft boom as if something had exploded, followed by excited laughter and shouts. Frowning, I looked around my peaceful garden, and got to my feet. There was a narrow, overgrown little path that lead a bit further into the woods, which I hadn't noticed yesterday and decided to follow it. The sounds grew louder with each step I took and the little path took me to yet another building. It was small and could have easily been mistaken for a storage room, except that it looked too luxurious for it. The building was similar in the style of the rest of the school, so maybe this was used for club activities. I wondered which activity that could be though. By the sound of things, it was a good one. 

I wasn't sure whether I should be doing this, but I was curious. I opened the door and walked through the hallway, still following the noise. I paused momentarily when I recognized the shouts of excitement to be all male.

Hm. My spidey senses were tingling- you know, if I had spidey senses...

"One more time! One more time!" a voice called out. I stopped in front of the door where the noise came from. My hand was on the door handle, but I didn't move just yet. Maybe it was weird suddenly barging in. Should I knock first? Yeah, I should knock first. I jumped back when more shouting came out of the room.

I knocked, since my curiosity got the better of me, and I didn't know why I persisted, but something drew me to this place. Following my instinct, I cautiously opened the door and entered the room. The door fell shut behind me, and all I smelled was Cola fizz and mint. I jumped a little when a strong and steady stream of the black soda drink shot up to the ceiling, causing the black fountain to fall back down like rain. I chuckled at the sight of something so childish, but when I followed the stream of soda back down, I saw who were surrounding it and froze.

You have got to be kidding me...

The group of guys were laughing loudly at the experiment, not noticing that I was here. I don't believe I have to tell you which group I'm talking about, right?

Unfreakingbelievable!

Since they were too enthralled with their experiement, no one had seen me yet, but I was frozen like a deer caught in the headlights. Making sure I didn't make a single sound, I backed away, turning around to reach for the door. Just when I thought I was in the clear-

"Oh! Miss Jae?"

I cringed at the low voice and you could hear a needle drop right now. The voices and shouts and general rowdiness had drowned away, leaving tense silence. I honestly could not believe my bad luck. Did someone have it in for me? I turned slowly to the person that had called for me, and still I couldn't help but smile when I saw Mr. Tabi, wearing big goggles whilst grinning brightly at me. 

"Whoa, it is you! Came to join the science club, huh? Or did you happen to bring me another Common Jae?" he beamed at me, immediately walking towards me to welcome me as he took off his goggles. Replacing it with his regular glasses, he came to shake my hand. 

I shook it reluctantly, well aware that they were staring at me. "H-hi, Mr. Tabi. Sorry, I made a mistake, I took a wrong turn," I stammered, unable to look at the others present, so I just kept looking at the handsome biology teacher. 

"Ah, are you sure about that? I take it you're still browsing to see which clubs you can join, right?" he asked, completely oblivious at the sudden change of atmosphere. 

"Uh, y-yes, but I don't think- um, I'm not very good at science," I blurted out, hoping that Mr. Tabi would get the hint and let me leave. 

His eyes widened in excitement however, grabbing me by the shoulders. "Oh! But that's fine! More reason for you to check out the club and get you excited for it," he stated resolutely, refusing to let me go. I was trapped. Crap!

Mr. Tabi turned to the other students behind him in his enthusiasm. "Boys, get everything cleaned up, huh? We have a lady in our midst now," he called out which made me want to cringe and die. At the instruction, the twelve boys started moving, cleaning up diligently and putting the tables and chairs neatly in a row. 

Mr. Tabi was smiling the entire time and eventually placed his arm over my shoulder and lead me further inside, into the lion's den. "Good job, guys," he said, complimenting them, though they were obviously being reserved for my sake. They stood in perfect lines behind the tables, watching us and I groaned inwardly. Why did I have to be so curious?!

"Come on, Jae, no need to be shy. These boys won't bite," Mr. Tabi joked. 

Much, Kai had added in a whisper, thinking I didn't hear it. Sehun was beside him, nudging him warningly. Mr. Tabi was none the wiser. 

"Wow, you've some sort of gift, don't you, Jae?" Mr. Tabi suddenly piped up and I looked up in surprise at him. He smiled gently back. "Usually I'm having the toughest time keeping this bunch under control, but now you've showed up and you're already a good influence," he joked. "Look at how well-behaved they are," he obviously teased, but I couldn't bear to look at any of them. "Honestly, boys, this is the first time I've seen you like this," he directed to them, probably trying to break the ice. Then he smiled again. 

"She's pretty, right?" Mr. Tabi couldn't help but laugh when he noticed that all of us had cast our glances away. The dude was making an effort, but he was seriously misunderstanding the situation right now. 

"Alright, alright, I'll stop. Jae, this is the science club, boys, this is Jae, she's new here, but something tells me that you're probably already aware of that," the teacher introduced, my cheeks heating up by the second now. My only consolation was the fact that they looked out of sorts as well. "Jae, you already know Kyungsoo, of course," Mr. Tabi pointed out and I looked up at him. He gave a shy smile. "I understand that you're in the same year as Yixing and Joonmyeon, so I take it you know them as well," he continued casually. I knew that Yixing was Lay's real name, but I had to try not to laugh when I heard Suho's real name. He continued with the rest of the introduction and when he was finally done, he told everyone to take a seat so that we could begin. 

"Why don't you sit next to Kyungsoo, Jae?" Mr. Tabi suggested and I moved to the front table, D.O. making way for me. His smile seemed more relax now that I was just sitting next to him, but there was still tension in the air. Mr. Tabi moved around and gave all of us different plants. He winked at me when he set the white rose in front of me and walked to the school board to give an explanation about the capillary action of water in plants. There was a faucet in the middle row of tables behind me where we could fill the vases with water. D.O. grabbed my vase without a word and filled it up for me. I gave him a grateful smile.

Steadfast. Check!

While Mr. Tabi had his back turned to us, Chanyeol, who was sitting behind me sneezed loudly, which startled me. Actually, there was quite some ruckus behind me, as if they were already moving things about. I was about turn my head when I thought I distinctly felt heat coming from behind me- and was that smoke I smelled?

"What is your favorite color?" D.O. asked out of the blue. There was a deadpan expression on his face when he looked at me.

"Eh, I don't know. I guess...pink?" I answered quietly. He gave a little smirk and handed me his bottle of colored pink dye.

"See? You're definitely a girl," he even teased and I chuckled. I caught his big eyes glancing behind us however, and remembering what I wanted to do, I followed his gaze. 

Chanyeol, Baekhyun and Chen simultaneously grinned at me, reminding me an awful lot like a bunch of naughty children who had something to hide. I blinked when I saw that Chanyeol's white orchid flower seemed to be smoldering, but maybe it was just dust, or something. It was, by far, one of the most beautiful flowers around, though. Seeing the three of them still smiling innocently at me, I returned it with an awkward smile of my own. 

Was it my imagination?

Mr. Tabi finished scribbling on the board and turned deftly around on his heels, clasping his hands excitedly together. He opened his mouth to speak, but then frowned in confusing, sniffing the air. "Is something burning?" he questioned. I jumped lightly when all twelve of them shook their heads and mumbled 'no'. I turned to check behind me again, seeing nothing really out of the ordinary until I happened to catch Suho's eyes. He looked at me calmly while I felt uneasy, seeing a frown appearing slowly on his brow. 

Keep on glaring, dude, but I'm gonna find out what you're hiding. One way or another...

 

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Nin-Nin
Hi guys~ my first original ebook is available on Amazon and I'm having a lot of feels. If you have the time, check out my previous blog post for more details - I'd appreciate the support <3 Thank you and have a lovely weekend! Love, Nin-Nin

Comments

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Wanderer_bj
#1
I don't even know how many times I have read this.😍
BeckyBooGirl
#2
Chapter 4: This is one of my favorite exo fanfic. I have read this story 5 or 6 times already and still love it like i did when I first read it❤
InspiritCarolyn
#3
This is one of those fics I can come back to again and again without getting tired of re-reading it. Each time I read it, I love it the same as the first time.
aonani_k
#4
Chapter 109: I finished it once again and as before, I enjoyed reading such a great story. Hope all is well. :)
aonani_k
#5
Chapter 2: It's been years since I read the story and today I just felt like re-reading it! Glad it's still here. :)
Sehixneeo
#6
Chapter 109: Argh, I will never ever forget this story. Ever. 🥺💛
Jaerin
#7
Chapter 109: This story will always be one of my favorite, a masterpiece 🤧💞❤️
Pxnellyxq #8
Chapter 107: WHAT IM LEGITIMATELY SHOCKED AND TEARING UP
Pxnellyxq #9
Chapter 100: why is the white wolf making me feel emotional :///
Pxnellyxq #10
Chapter 61: Stinky kumiho