Wooyoung wasn’t even sure what he was doing here. Tiffany and Taeyeon were practicing a move in the grassy area in a secluded area at the back of the school, and Wooyoung had just been passing by.

Okay so that’s partially a lie. Taeyeon had approached him when the bell rang for lunch, looking embarrassed about something as she asked how he was doing. Wooyoung wasn’t even sure why she seemed so flustered, since nothing of interesting had happened earlier that day, so of course he was doing okay.

And then Tiffany came along, and with hushed whispers, the two had ended up dragging him along, and there he was.

“Why aren’t you asking the guys on your squad to help again?”

Tiffany shot him a look. “We wanna test this without anyone from the squad first before we present the idea.”

“Right.” Wooyoung’s gaze wandered to Taeyeon and their eyes briefly met, before he quickly looked away.

The change in Taeyeon’s expression when she saw Junho the other day remained etched in his memories. Her eyes had lit up, her shy smile turning into a full out grin at his appearance. No matter what either of them said, Wooyoung knew there was something there, between them. The question was, whether he cared or not.

“Wooyoung, could you?”

Wooyoung snapped back to reality, looking over at Tiffany. He walked over and stood by her, waiting for more instructions. Apparently being the guy, he was supposed to help with some simple lift?

Wooyoung’s eyes wandered again, finding Taeyeon as she was deep in thought, most imagining how the move would play out in her mind.

“Ack!”

Tiffany squeaked, dropping back to the ground with a few backward hops.

“Sorry!” Wooyoung said as his hands automatically shot out, trying to steady her.

“Fany you okay?” Taeyeon said worryingly, approaching her friend’s side.

“I think I did something to my ankle,” Tiffany replied with a wince as she tried to put her weight on her right foot.

Taeyeon’s brows furrowed in worry and she watched helplessly.

“The nurse’s office isn’t far, think you can make it?” Wooyoung asked, leaning his head so he could see her response. She was still holding on to him for balance, his own hand steadying her under her elbow.

“I dunno,” Tiffany replied, biting her lower lip as she tested her ankle.

“Wooyoung can you stay with her? I’ll go grab one of the guys…”

Without another word Taeyeon spun around and dashed back to the school.

“You okay?”

Tiffany nodded, keeping her head down and preventing him from reading her expression.

“Sorry, I kinda dropped you.”

Tiffany hastily shook her head, her hair swishing around her face as she did so. “No, it’s not your fault, I’m kinda clumsy, if you haven’t noticed,” she replied with a tiny chuckle.

Wooyoung couldn’t help the tiny smile that found his lips. “How you feeling?”

“It’s not too bad if I don’t put pressure on it,” she replied. Wooyoung leaned over again, and her expression said otherwise.

“Where did Taeyeon go?” he asked, eyeing the school where she had disappeared off to.

“Probably getting Taec or Seulong to- Eep!”

Wooyoung straightened up, one arm underneath her knees and the other by her back. “I’m not as weak as I look,” he commented with a smirk as he looked down at the girl in his arms.

Tiffany’s eyes had widened in shock as he started walking back towards the school. “Woo-young… Are you sure? I’m kinda heavy…”

“The nurse’s office isn’t far from this side of the school, I’ll be fine,” he replied without looking down.

He had been impulsive, deciding to pick her up like that, and it had its consequences. His heart was racing in his chest, from the strain, or from their shared proximity, he wasn’t even sure. Tiffany smelled nice, like scented lavender, something his mom used to spray to freshen up the house at home.

“Oh, prince charming I see,” the nurse commented once they were inside.

Wooyoung noticed Tiffany’s blush as he gently placed her down on the seat, and the nurse came over to inspect her ankle.  

“There you are!”

Wooyoung turned to see Taeyeon by the door, her cheeks pink as she caught her breath. “Yeah sorry, I decided to take her to the nurse’s office myself,” he told her.

Taeyeon nodded in understanding. “The bell’s gonna ring any minute. I grabbed all our stuff and put it in my locker, I’ll get it to you when we go to class?”

Wooyoung chanced a quick glance over to where Tiffany was getting looked at. “Give it to me after? I’ll be late for math. Just wanna check on her to make sure she’s okay.”

Wooyoung gestured in Tiffany’s direction and Taeyeon nodded before coming halfway in herself. “How you doing?” she asked.

“I’m alright.” Tiffany smiled as the nurse busied over her ankle. The bell rung and Taeyeon made a face. “Go to class,” Tiffany told her, shooing her with a flap of her hand. “I’ll be just fine.”

Taeyeon nodded. “I’ll check up on you after.” She waved lightly at Wooyoung as she disappeared from the office.

“Give me 5 minutes,” the nurse suddenly said as she stood up. “I’m going to go get some lining cloth to wrap your ankle.”

She disappeared through another doorway as Wooyoung replaced her, leaning on the counter opposite Tiffany’s seat.

“Aren’t you going to class?” Tiffany asked in surprise.

“It’s all good. Wanna make sure you’re alright, since it’s kinda my fault and all.”

“It’s not,” she insisted, looking down at her ankle. “I can be a total clutz sometimes.”

“No worries, it’s cute.” Wooyoung said, mostly to make her feel better, but he had replied automatically, without thinking.

Tiffany giggled, and Wooyoung grinned sheepishly. “Hey, so did you think about trying out for the basketball team?” She suddenly asked, looking up at him.

“Dunno.” Wooyoung replied after a pause. “I’ve been thinking about it. I wasn’t my school team cause I was busy dancing… not sure if I’m good enough for this team either…”

“You should definitely do it.” She stated firmly, grabbing his attention. “I’m not an expert, but I still think you play good.”

He breathed out a smile. “Thanks-”

“I’m serious,” Tiffany insisted, her eyes on him. “You looked really relaxed that day. You like playing basketball, don’t you.”

Wooyoung was slightly taken back at the statement, and he merely nodded. Tiffany surprised him. It may have been that he had never had the chance to actually hang out with her, but she always seemed to be preoccupied with other things.

“You’re definitely in your moment when you dance… but it doesn’t mean that it’s the only thing that could make you feel that way. It’s good to be multi-talented,” she added with a laugh.

“Yeah,” Wooyoung agreed with a nod. His gaze drifted to the small window in the office he watched the trees sway ever so slightly by the wind.

“Hey Wooyoung…”

Wooyoung looked back down to see Tiffany’s lips turned up in a tiny smile.

“Thanks, for carrying me… and staying…”

Wooyoung nodded, and before an awkward silence could fall between the two the nurse came back in with her a bundle of line cloth.

“So it’s not actually anything bad,” the nurse started as she wrapped the cloth around Tiffany’s ankle. “Nothing severe, you just landed on your ankle wrong. Don’t put any weight on it, and it should heal up in about a week.”

They both thanked the nurse as she turned to write a quick note on behalf of the late students, and Wooyoung approached Tiffany, letting the latter grasp his shoulder as he hooked his arm behind her waist.

“Now I think I’m burdening you.”

Wooyoung chuckled. “Yeah right. You’re doing me a favor, I get to be late for math class.”

Tiffany laughter tinkled in his ears as they strode off, and Wooyoung was vaguely aware of the quickening of his heart beat, and this time, he wasn’t straining at all.