Bobby shoved a pencil in his pocket, chewing loudly on the piece of gum in his mouth. It was already the end of the day and his partner for the project wasn't there. He was growing frustrated but he decided to wait a little longer. 

 This whole idea of partners didn't roll with him and he would much rather work alone but, knowing Eun Sup since a few months back, it was safe to say he had no difficulty. Especially since he had growing feelings for her. She was rough, hard headed and seemingly demanding but something about her defensive side made Bobby more curious. The more he didn't know about her, the stronger the attachment. 

 "Hey," Eun Sup smiled. 

 Bobby waved, a part of him regretting chewing gum so disrespectfully in front of her. 

 "I'm sorry if I was too late, my teacher held me back-" She began to explain but Bobby shook his hands.

 "Don't worry about it, I'm just glad you're here now," he promised. 

 Eun Sup bit her lip. Bobby was extremely sweet and caring. She had always been fond of his soft side. Sometimes she felt horrible after playing hard to get around him especially since he was so nice to her. She just didn't want to get involved in anything intimate. Not after her experiences. 

 "Thanks," She murmured quickly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

 Bobby noticed her awkward response and he cursed mentally, bringing his attention back to the seriousness of the project. If he couldn't win her, he might as well win an A+ on the assignment. 

 "So in terms of question three, did you get the same thing I did?" He turned his paper towards her and she glanced at it.

 Bobby had to force himself to look away, her 'work' face was extremely attractive. 

 "Yeah, but my variable is different. See, I have a different constant," She pointed at her sheet, "Mine isn't the same value as yours because my variable isn't the same."

 Bobby nodded, taking note that she was good at math. He pulled out an eraser and began to fix his mistake when she stopped him by placing a soft hand of his wrist. 

 "No, you might be right. Maybe I'm wrong," She said casually. 

 Bobby gulped; she was making it much harder than it was.

 "But you're probably right anyways." He shrugged, the feeling of her hand on his still lingering on his wrist. 

 She gave him a look, "What do you mean? I make mistakes. I'm not a robot."

 Bobby laughed, "That's a surprise seeing that you're perfect."

 She didn't return the laugh but instead turned to face her sheet again. Bobby felt cold again and looked down at his paper also. What upset him was that this was their last year in school. It was a special arts school and seeing that she was talented like he was, he thought it would be easier to get her. But her wall was high and he wasn't even halfway there. 

 "Bobby, I asked you a question," Eun Sup waved a hand in front of his face. 

 "I asked you a question too," he blurted.

 "What? When?" She asked, confused.

 "Last year, I asked you a very important question last year." 

 She had turned him down that one time and he had never forgotten it nor would he ever. He loved her, this was a feeling he wouldn't be able to get over for as long as he lived. And no matter how much he wanted to get over it and wake up to the fact that she wasn't interested,  it would never happen. 

 "I asked you out last year and you said no," Bobby tapped at the desk awkwardly.

 Eun Sup tensed at his sudden remembrance. She had thought this whole topic was done and over with. Of course she hated that she had to say no. Bobby was someone who she had developed feelings for but it didn't come easy. After ending her relationship with a jerk, Bobby had come into her life and with time her heart began to beat faster around him. But she couldn't take it any further, not after she knew what relationships were really like. They were useless and only ended in heartbreak. Aside from that, she didn't want to lead Bobby to think they would ever have a chance. 

 "I told you why Bobby, can we drop it?" She asked politely. 

 "How can I drop it? You know how I feel about you." For a second he thought he was being too honest. 

 "I can't date you, I don't like you like that." She lied. 

 Bobby cringed at her blunt response. Maybe he was being too pushy on the subject. But he didn't mean any harm, he just wanted her at any cost. 

 "Then get to know me," he suggested. 

 Eun Sup began to remember those same words her old boyfriend had used on her. She pulled a blank expression to mask the hurt that was piling up inside of her. 

 "Relationships are messy," She mumbled.

 "You're missing the point." Bobby countered.

 She turned back to her sheet, scribbling down answers and numbers to distract her train of thought and memories that began to plant in her head. She felt sick.

 "Can we get back to the assignment?" She squeaked.

 "Tell me why you're not interested in me," Bobby pushed. 

 The constant questions and assumptions began to make Eun Sup feel upset. Why was it so hard for him to understand that she didn't want to date. 

 "Bobby-"

 "I just want to know." His voice grew.

 All she wanted was to finish her last of year of high school boyfriend free and healthy. All this bickering and annoyance threw her off guard completely. For some reason she was getting angry and being in the same room ad Bobby was making her mad. It wasn't that hard to understand. She wasn't ready for a relationship, her wounds were still healing and she didn't want anything to do with anybody for now. 

 "I'm leaving. Finish up the rest and we'll take it up tomorrow." Eun Sup smiled forcefully. 

 With that, she got up and quickly scrapped up the papers on the table. With a polite bow, she waved Bobby off and strode out of the library. 

 She wanted to be alone from everything and decided to head to the gym where she could lay off some stress and dance. It was her favorite hobby and would always get her mind off of things. With a heavy heart, she blinked the images of a broken-hearted Bobby out of her mind and made her way to the basement. 

 Besides, a little pain and suffering hurt nobody; she learned that the hard way.  

------

 Bobby swore for the tenth time that evening, walking the halls of the basement over and over again in circles. He hated that he was so nice. Maybe that was the reason why he lost every single chance with Eun Sup. Every time he tried to approach her or tell her how much of a gorgeous person she was to him, she would turn him around and cut him off. He hated the fact that he kept coming back to her even after she denied him countless times. He was attached to her and her constant denial of liking him made him fall for her even more.

So that was how he ended up in the basement, wandering around in circles with her notebook in hand. She and forgotten in back in the library and his good morals had forced him to go find her and return it. Seeing that it was almost 6:00, he thought she would be at home but something told him to keep looking and so he did.  It was only the soft sound of thumping music from the gym that caught his attention. With a concerned expression, he jogged over towards the noise and paused at the doors. He brought his ears up against the wooden frame. A familiar beat was playing and he found himself moving to the music from the other side.

Without a seconds worth of wait, he pushed open the door and his jaw went slack. Right in front of him was the girl of his dreams, dancing in the room.

She was biting her lip, her eyes closed and still in her uniform. The music was coming to an end but she continued to dance. Her hair was flying everywhere and the sense of professionalism in her flow was mesmerizing. Even Bobby had never seen anyone dance like this in a while. She was a born natural and didn’t even have to try. She would automatically guess the beats and move accordingly. It was amazing.

When she finally stopped, she smiled to herself. She was breathing hard and began to tie her hair up in a bun when she heard the sound of faint clapping from behind her.

“You’re seriously perfect.” Bobby sighed, astonished by her talent.

Eun Sup blushed, her hands quickly covering her face. She hadn’t expected anyone to see this...ever. It was her little secret and she always wanted to keep it that way. This situation was just embarrassing, especially since she was only dancing for fun and not her absolute best.

For a second, she didn’t hear or see anything and she was still hiding behind her hands but a part of her thought Bobby had left and she felt her heart drop to her stomach.

It wasn’t until soft hands were placed on top of hers that she realized he was still there. Without looking, she could still feel how close he was and she held her breath. Bobby moved her hands away from her face gently and he almost stepped back upon realizing how close they were.

“Don’t be shy,” He gulped, trying to keep his cool.

Eun Sup didn’t bother to let go of his hand and so she stood there, her heart in and she couldn’t speak. She hadn’t felt like this in years. This sensation she got when she was so close to him shocked her. Her feelings for Bobby were always classified as a simple crush but now, things were feeling much different.

As for Bobby, he himself didn’t know how it was possible to love someone more than he loved Eun Sup. After seeing her dance, his emotions grew and his smiling just about grew wider.

“I’m sorry you had to see that,” She mumbled, her eyes on him. She wasn’t feeling as nervous and before, she was feeling confident and as if they had had these moments all the time.

“Sorry? I’m so happy I had to see that!” Bobby laughed, his eyes almost disappearing.

Eun Sup didn’t realize how much cuter he was up close, “I’m sorry for before.”

He let out a breath, not wanting to remember that time. He felt like nothing and the way she spoke to him was horrible.

“It’s okay, I wasn’t really upset anyways-“ He started but she waved a hand in front of his face.

“No, I’m seriously an idiot! I should have respected your feelings at least. I just wasn’t ready for a relationship,” She was babbling now, letting everything roll off of her tongue, “I was going to tell anyone this but I think you deserve to know. I was in a relationship with a douche a few years ago and he broke-“

“Stop,” Bobby shook his head.

Eun Sup tightened her lips, looking him straight in the eye. Didn’t he want to know? Almost everyone she decided to tell would always bug her for the story. Why wasn’t he eager to know as well?

“I want to tell you,” She spoke under her breath.

If it was one ting Bobby hated, it was reliving a moment that he didn’t want to relive. He hated bringing up the past and talking about it, opening up and stripping his life to people he barely knew. And in no way was he going to allow Eun Sup to do that. Maybe one day he would ask her to explain everything to him but now, he was going to let it slide. It wasn’t fair that she had to tell him everything as if it were her fault. It wasn’t fair for her and he knew he couldn’t let her stand in that position.

“No, don’t tell me. I’m not going to allow you to relive that moment. Whoever did anything to you is a total idiot and I don’t want to hear anything about him.” Bobby phrased his words carefully, not wanting to push any of her buttons.

Eun Sup watched him closely, trying to de-code whether this was a joke or not. After noticing he wasn’t going to say anything else, she smiled. This was why she liked him so much. He was genuine. No other guy in her life had been as respectful to her as Bobby was. This was what she had fallen for, this was the boy she had been crushing on months ago, this was the boy she was falling in love with now.

“Please tell me you’re falling for me as much as I’m falling for you right now,” She breathed, wanting to kiss him right then.

Bobby cupped her cheeks, tilting her head down so he could plant a gentle kiss on her forehead.

”I don’t want to date you right away. I want to take things back to when we first met. I want to laugh with you and start off as friends. I want the feelings to grow and start up again. I want to fall in love with you slowly. I want it to be so painful that I can’t take it anymore,” Bobby mumbled against her forehead.  

Eun Sup sighed, wrapping her arms around his waist and burying her face into his chest.

Yes, this was the boy she had been crushing on months ago, this was the boy she was falling in love with now.