The pained look on her face must have been clear, because Tao's concerned expression darkened and he turned to look at the other male.

"It was his loss." was all he said, but silently, he took her hand, rubbing the back of it with his thumb comfortingly. She relaxed slightly, knowing that he was by her side. The warmth of friendship coursed through her as she whispered a nearly silent thank you, and saw Tao's lips curve up in a slight smile.

When at last they had reached the start of the queue again, Kuri felt Tao pulling her off to one side, towing her towards a shiny black car. He pushed her gently down into her seat, while he took the driver's seat.

"Watch me drive." He grinned and winked, silently mouthing the countdown as the buzzing began.

"Go!" He said, almost to himself, as the cars started to move.

The car they were in started to head straight for the other end of the ring, not seeming to want to slam into any other cars along the way. Kuri was confused until she saw him in a green car, his back to them as he drove around.

The pieces suddenly clicked just before the two cars collided, with an impact that would have thrown Kuri forward had it not been for Tao's arm in front of her, acting as a sort of seat belt as he reversed to a safe distance, watching as the other boy looked around for his assailant. A determined look took over Tao's face as he revved up their car, speeding towards that green car once more.

By this time, Kuri was laughing, the adrenaline of the ride was getting to her and she didn't care who was in that car anymore; she just felt so carefree, so happy, so... Sad?

A sudden wave of repressed memories hit her, as if attracted by the scent of happiness. She saw dark brown eyes framed by black, tousled locks, plump pink lips that curved into a familiar smile, and a lean body that felt so impossibly good against hers. A voice that was like melted sugar, so impossibly sweet yet smooth as chocolate. It was him all along, he who had encouraged her, supported her, helped her get the job of her dreams.

But now he was gone.

Taylor...

Tears stung the back of her eyes, and she blinked rapidly to clear the moisture that was building alarmingly quickly in her eyes.

Tao was laughing, grinning as he went for another go at Taylor, until he saw her. He stopped immediately, and it was with gentle fingers that he wiped the tears that had begun to fall off of her face.

Taylor finally managed to turn his car around to see who the culprit who kept attacking his car was, and looked around until he spotted the crying girl with the boy, his arm around her and his thumb rubbing her shoulder soothingly, the very thing he used to do to calm her down.

Somehow, the pain of a love lost stung his heart, but he quickly shook the feelings of guilt and regret away as he silently drove off to the other end of the ring.

Time seemed to slow down as she cried for the second time that day. Part of her scolded herself for being so weak, for crying so much. But try as she might, she couldn't stop. She could feel Tao's arm around her, holding her in a warm embrace.

He pulled her towards him, laying her head on his shoulder as he comforted her. He didn't know why he was doing so much for her or why he cared so much about a girl he barely knew, but there was something about her that made her different. Unique. The way a thousand emotions could cross her face and she'd still say she was fine, the way she could smile through the obvious pain in her heart to keep others from worrying, and even the child-like smile of wonder and excitement she had when she got happy. That smile was his favourite so far; but then again, he hadn't known her long, but now, he wished he did.

He wished he knew every expression that could cross her features, every feeling behind each look. He didn't know what happened between her and Taylor, but that look on her face when she said he was her first love... No one deserved to wear such an expression. And thus, it was with a worry-filled heart that he held her, willing her to let go of the one thing that hurt her so much.

He wasn't sure if the others were right that he actually liked her, or that it was just friendship he was feeling. But when he caught sight of the keychain he had given her dangling from her bag, a sudden warmth filled him. He was an idiot in relationships; he knew that well. But these feelings... What could he do with them?

First things first. Calm her down before you start thinking about all these you . She's crying and you can't even comfort her.

As he opened his mouth to say something comforting, the bell rang, signaling the end of their ride. The EXO members came bounding over, curious about the strange behaviour of their car. But when they found the crying girl and the boy who had his arm around her, trying to comfort her, they backed away slowly, prompting Tao to gently pull her to her feet as he escorted her out of the ring, an arm still wrapped protectively around her.

As they left, he caught sight of the boy Kuri had pointed out; he had a strange expression on his face, one that was torn between relief and heartbreak. He saw him raise a hand tentatively as if in farewell, but seemed to think the better of it and dropped it.

At last, the sobbing had begun to abate, but she still sniffed and hiccoughed as she took a swipe at her face with her sleeve, trying to erase all traces of her tears. The other members had drifted away to various stalls, probably trying to give her her space.

"Hey.." Tao began, but was cut off by a pair of warm arms suddenly wrapping themselves around his waist, and he looked down to find the journalist he was comforting mere seconds ago clinging to him, her expression showing nothing but gratitude for him.

"Thank you." She whispered, hugging him tighter.

"For comforting me even though you barely know me."

[A/N hello! First of all, I'd like to say whoa I never expected to get so far with this this is like the tenth chapter and legit the furthest I've ever gotten with a story ahh (': I've had had a lot of fun writing this, and I hope that you guys will like it too! Even if it's not as good and might not live up to some expectations >^< but really; thank you for reading this. I really appreciate it cause well, this fic feels almost like it's my baby and I really love it haha >^< hopefully you guys will enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

PS. I wrote this chapter in the middle of the night, and I'm super sleep deprived hahaha so please forgive the randomness and any mistakes I might have made ;w; thank you once again for stopping by and remember that reads/reviews are always appreciated! <3]